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But it is the coalescence of their personalities that amplifies all that sporting talent. And underpinning the team are two key things – total honesty and trust.

As McMillan puts it, “If one of us is in the wrong, the rest can say so”, while the more measured Mouat describes it as “knowing the different things to say to get the best out of each other”.

Individually, they are all very different.

Hype man McMillan is lively enough for all four of them; Hardie is the logic guy, an engineer by trade; Mouat is thoughtful, reflective and calm; Lammie is the quiet, reliable presence; and Waddell the experienced head in the background.

It might be labelled as ‘Team Mouat’ – as per the convention of naming a rink after its skip – but this is very much a collective. In fact, Mouat is keen to share the spotlight.

“Bruce is very different from a lot of skips,” explains BBC Sport pundit and 2022 gold medallist Vicky Wright. “A lot of them are clearly the leader but the GB team operates so well because they function on a level playing field.

“The dynamic they’ve got works because they all bring a different aspect to the table and they all respect that. That’s a massive part of why they’re so successful.”

It is instructive to see how comfortable they are in each other’s company and with the position in which they find themselves.

All five have been right in among it in Cortina these past couple of weeks, be it stopping for a chat in the street or in restaurants, meeting friends and relatives, watching other British athletes compete.

Or – in Mouat’s case – going pillowcase shopping and “spending far too much money” on the morning of the semi-final.

Even in the moments before the final, McMillan and Hardie were sharing a laugh with a journalist; Mouat was picking out familiar faces in the crowd for a smile and a wave, and Lammie and Waddell were casually studying the Canadians warming up.

This is their stage – but for how much longer?

These are the key developments from day 1,459 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Sunday, February 22:

Fighting

• A Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region killed four people, including a 17-year-old boy, while another attack on the southeastern Zaporizhia region killed a 77-year-old man, according to Ukrainian authorities.
• Russian attacks on Ukraine’s Odesa region wounded two people and caused damage to homes, cars and an energy facility, officials said. Another Russian attack on the Dnipropetrovsk region wounded a 77-year-old man.
• In the Donetsk region, Russian shelling wounded four people in 18 attacks throughout the day, Governor Vadym Filashkin wrote on Telegram. Authorities evacuated 562 people, including 244 children, from front-line settlements.
• Russian forces also hit the facility of US snack food company Mondelez in Sumy, sparking a reaction from Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha, who wrote on X that Russia was “targeting American business interests in Europe”.
• “Moscow cannot speak of economic dialogue with the United States while attacking US-owned production facilities,” Sybiha added.
• In the front-line Kherson region, Russian shelling wounded two police officers and one civilian, Ukraine’s National Police wrote on Telegram. Three apartment buildings, 18 homes, a hospital and numerous public buildings sustained damage.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that Ukrainian security forces “neutralised Russian mercenaries preparing assassination attempts” against “high-profile” figures, including military personnel, intelligence officers and journalists.
• Moscow’s ⁠forces ⁠took control of the village of ⁠Karpivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk ⁠region, the Russian RIA state news agency reported on Saturday, citing ‌the Ministry of Defence.
• A Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Belgorod region wounded a man and a three-year-old child, according to the Russian TASS news.
• The Ukrainian General Staff said Ukraine’s home-produced “Flamingo” cruise missiles hit a Russian ballistic missile plant in the Udmurtia region, as well as a gas plant in the Samara region.

Politics and diplomacy

• Zelenskyy held discussions with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on the next round of trilateral negotiations with the US and Russia, as well as Ukraine’s energy situation. He said on X that “in many areas, our views align”.
• Zelenskyy said in his evening address that “we continue working every day… so that the next round of negotiations can deliver results for Ukraine, results for peace”.The Ukrainian leader said he was closely coordinating with European partners so that the European Union is “involved in all processes and grows only stronger”.
• Demonstrators in Washington, DC, Paris, and Prague rallied in support of Ukraine ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24.
• Zelenskyy awarded Ukraine’s civilian award, the Order of Princess Olga, to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo in the Ukrainian capital. Hidalgo’s visit marked her sixth trip to Kyiv since the start of the war.
• Sybiha, the Ukrainian foreign minister, condemned Russia’s alleged ongoing recruitment of Kenyans and other Africans into Moscow’s war, writing that it “evokes the worst memories of colonial attitudes from the past” and warning Africans against signing contracts with Russian recruiters.
• Ukraine enforced new sanctions against the captains of vessels allegedly transporting Russian oil, a list that Zelenskyy said totalled 225 people.

Energy

• Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico threatened to stop providing emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine unless Kyiv resumed Russian oil transit to Slovakia over Ukrainian territory, through the Druzhba pipeline. Hungary said it would block a 90 billion euro ($106bn) EU loan for Ukraine for the same reason.
• Shipments of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia have been cut ⁠off since January 27, when Kyiv says a Russian drone strike hit pipeline equipment in Western Ukraine. Slovakia and Hungary say Ukraine is to blame for the prolonged outage.
• The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “rejects and condemns” Hungary and Slovakia’s statements and that the “provocative, irresponsible ultimatums threaten the energy security of the entire region”.
• Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk criticised Hungary’s move on X, writing, “Guess who’s happy”, in an apparent reference to Russia.

Military aid

• The Czech Republic transferred 200 reconnaissance drones to five Ukrainian brigades, equipment worth about $800,000, Ukraine’s Interfax news agency reported.
• Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in an interview with the BBC that the United Kingdom and the EU should send “peaceful ground forces” to “show our support for a free, independent Ukraine”.

United States President Donald Trump has doubled down on his new global tariffs, raising them from 10 to 15 percent, days after the Supreme Court struck down his sweeping levies on imports.

The move on Saturday came as businesses and governments around the world sought repayment for the estimated $133bn that Washington has already collected.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump announced the raise “effective immediately” and said the move was based on a review of the “ridiculous, poorly written and extraordinarily anti-American decision” issued by the Supreme Court on Friday.

By a six-to-three vote, the court had ruled that it was unconstitutional for Trump to unilaterally set and change tariffs, because the power to tax lies with the US Congress.

The court’s decision struck down tariffs that Trump had imposed on nearly every country using an emergency powers law, known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

Trump railed against the majority justices as “fools and lapdogs” in a news conference after the ruling, calling them an “embarrassment to their families”. He quickly signed an executive order – resting on a different statute, Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 – to impose the blanket 10 percent tariff, starting on Tuesday.

The 15 percent hike announced on Saturday is the highest rate allowed under that law.

However, those tariffs are limited to 150 days unless they are extended by Congress. No president has previously invoked Section 122, and its use could lead to further legal challenges.

It was not immediately clear whether an updated executive order was forthcoming.

The White House said the Section 122 tariffs include exemptions for certain products, including critical minerals, metals and energy products, according to the Reuters news agency.

Lawsuits

Trump wrote on Saturday that his administration will continue to work on issuing other permissible tariffs.

“During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs, which will continue our extraordinarily successful process of Making America Great Again,” he said.

The president has already said his administration intends to rely on two other statutes that permit import taxes on specific products or countries based on investigations into national ‌security or unfair trade practices.

Tariffs have been central to Trump’s economic agenda, which he has used as a tool to address a range of goals – from reviving domestic manufacturing to pressuring other nations to crack down on drug trafficking, and pushing warring countries toward peace.

He has also wielded tariffs, or the threat of them, as leverage to extract trade concessions from foreign governments.

Federal data shows the US Treasury had collected more than $133bn from the import taxes the president has imposed under the emergency powers law as of December.

Since the Supreme Court’s ruling, more than a thousand lawsuits have been filed by importers in the US to seek refunds, and more cases are on the way.

While legally sound, the path forward for such claims is not straightforward, especially for smaller firms, said John Diamond, director of the Center for Tax and Budget Policy at Rice University.

“It’s pretty clear that they will win in court, but it’ll take some time,” Diamond said. “Once we get the court orders in effect, I don’t think those refunds will be all that messy for larger firms. Smaller firms are going to have a much more difficult time getting through the process.”

But foreign governments are managing “the real mess”, Diamond said.

“What do you do if you’re Taiwan, or Great Britain, and you have this existing trade deal, but now it’s kind of been turned upside down?”

The US-Taiwan trade deal lowers the general tariff on Taiwanese goods from 20 percent to 15 percent, the same level as Asian trade partners South Korea and Japan, in exchange for Taipei agreeing to buy about $85bn of US energy, aircraft and equipment.

The US-United Kingdom deal imposes a 10 percent tariff on imports of most UK goods, and reduces higher tariffs on imports of UK cars, steel and aluminium.

‘Pickpocketing the American people’

After ⁠the Supreme Court’s decision, Trump’s trade representative, Jamieson Greer, told Fox News on Friday that those countries must honour their agreements ⁠even if they call for higher rates than the Section 122 tariffs.

Exports to the US from countries such as Malaysia and Cambodia would continue to be taxed at their negotiated rates of 19 percent, even though the universal rate is lower, Greer said.

Indonesia’s chief negotiator for US tariffs, Airlangga Hartarto, said the trade deal between the countries that set US tariffs at 19 percent, which was signed on Friday, remains in force despite the court decision.

The ‌ruling could spell good news for countries like Brazil, which has not negotiated a deal with Washington to lower its 40 percent tariff rate but could now see its tariff rate drop to 15 percent, at least temporarily.

Governments around the world have reacted to the Supreme Court decision – as well as Trump’s subsequent tariff announcement – with a mix of cautious optimism, trepidation and frustration.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would coordinate a joint European stance before talks with Trump in early March, while Hong Kong’s secretary for financial services and the Treasury, Christopher Hiu, described the situation surrounding Trump’s new tariff moves as a “fiasco”.

With the November midterm elections in the US looming, Trump’s approval rating on his handling of the economy has steadily declined during his year in office.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday showed 34 percent of ‌respondents ‌saying they approved of Trump’s handling of the economy, while 57 percent said they did not approve.

Democrats, who need to flip only three Republican-held seats in the US House of Representatives in November to win a majority, have blamed Trump’s tariffs for exacerbating the rising cost of living.

They were quick to condemn Trump’s new tariff threat on Saturday.

Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee accused Trump of “pickpocketing the American people” with his newly announced higher tariff.

“A little over 24 hours after his tariffs were ruled illegal, he’s doing anything he can to make sure he can still jack up your costs,” they wrote on social media.

California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, a Trump nemesis, added that “he [Trump] does not care about you”.

All the updates as a Nico O’Reilly brace gives City a 2-1 win over Newcastle United at Etihad Stadium.

Pakistan’s military has carried out air strikes in Afghanistan, targeting what it called “camps and hideouts” belonging to armed groups behind a spate of recent attacks, including a suicide bombing that killed dozens of worshippers at a Shia mosque in Islamabad.

There was no immediate comment from Afghanistan’s Taliban government, but Afghan sources told Al Jazeera the strikes on Sunday hit two border provinces.

The sources said a drone strike hit a religious school in the Paktika province, and that attacks also took place in Nangarhar province.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in a statement on X, said the country’s military conducted “intelligence-based, selective operations” against seven camps and hideouts belonging to the Pakistan Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and its affiliates.

An affiliate of the Islamic State group was also targeted in the border region, it said.

The ministry said it had “conclusive evidence” that recent attacks in Islamabad, as well as in the northwestern Bajaur and Bannu districts, were perpetrated by fighters “on behest of their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers”.

It said Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Taliban government to take action to prevent armed groups from using Afghan territory to launch attacks, but that Kabul has failed to “undertake any substantive action”.

Pakistan “has always strived to maintain peace and stability in the region”, it added, but said the safety and security of Pakistani citizens remained its top priority.

The Pakistani air strikes on Afghanistan came hours after a suicide bomber targeted a security convoy in the Bannu district of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing two soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel.

On Monday, a suicide bomber, backed by gunmen, rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the wall of a security post in the nearby Bajaur, killing 11 soldiers and a child. Authorities later said the attacker was an Afghan national.

On February 6, another suicide bomber detonated his explosives during noon prayers at the Khadija Tul Kubra mosque in Islamabad’s Tarlai Kalan area, killing at least 31 worshippers and wounding 170 others.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.

While bombings are rare in the heavily guarded capital, the attack on Khadija Tul Kubra was the second such attack in three months, raising fears of a return to violence in Pakistan’s major urban centres.

At the time, the Pakistani military said the “planning, training, and indoctrination for the attack took place in Afghanistan”.

In its statement on Sunday, the Pakistani Information Ministry reiterated a call on the international community to press the Taliban to uphold its commitments under the agreement it signed with the United States, in the Qatari capital, Doha, in 2020, to prevent the use of Afghan territory for attacks against other countries.

The ministry said the move was “vital for regional and global peace and security”.

Pakistan has seen a surge in violence in recent years, much of it blamed on the TTP and outlawed Baloch separatist groups. Islamabad accuses the TTP of operating from inside Afghanistan, a charge the group denies.

The Taliban government has also consistently denied sheltering anti-Pakistan armed groups.

Relations between the neighbouring countries have remained tense since October, when deadly border clashes killed dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected fighters.

The violence followed explosions in Kabul, which Afghan officials blamed on Pakistan.

A ceasefire mediated by Qatar on October 19 has largely held, but subsequent talks in Turkiye’s Istanbul failed to produce a formal agreement.

More than 1,5000 political prisoners in Venezuela have applied for amnesty under a new law that came into effect just a few days ago, according to the head of the country’s legislature.

“A total of 1,557 cases are being addressed immediately, and hundreds of people deprived of their freedom are already being released under the amnesty law”, National Assembly chief Jorge Rodriguez told a news conference on Saturday.

Rodriguez’s announcement comes two days after the country’s legislature unanimously adopted a landmark amnesty law.

Amnesty is not automatic under the law: petitioners must ask the court handling their cases.

On Friday, the lawmaker overseeing the amnesty process, Jorge Arreaza, announced that prosecutors had asked courts to free 379 prisoners. They include opposition members, activists, human rights defenders, journalists and many others detained for months or even years.

So far, 80 prisoners have been freed, Rodriguez told the AFP news agency on Saturday. All of those released had been detained in the capital, Caracas, he said, without offering further details.

Further releases could be granted within 15 days, said Arreaza.

Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, the sister of the top lawmaker, pushed for the United States-backed legislation after she rose to power following the US’s abduction of leftist leader Nicolas Maduro during a military raid on January 3.

The legislation’s approval marked a reversal for Venezuelan authorities, who have for decades denied holding political prisoners and say those jailed have committed crimes.

During its signing, Rodriguez said the law showed that the country’s political leaders were “letting go of a little intolerance and opening new avenues for politics in Venezuela”.

However, opposition figures have criticised the new legislation, which appears to include carve-outs for some offences previously used by authorities to target Maduro’s political opponents.

Human rights organisations are also calling for the law to be applied to all prisoners held for political reasons, even if they are not listed among the beneficiaries.

“It is discriminatory and unconstitutional to exclude imprisoned military personnel and persecuted political figures,” Alfredo Romero, president of rights group Foro Penal, said on X Saturday. Without this, “there can be no talk of national coexistence”.

The law explicitly does not apply to those prosecuted for “promoting” or “facilitating… armed or forceful actions” against Venezuela’s sovereignty by foreign actors.

Delcy Rodriguez has levelled such accusations against opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate Maria Corina Machado, who hopes, at some point, to return to Venezuela from the US.

Opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa, a close ally of Machado, had a house arrest order against him lifted, his brother, lawmaker Tomas Guanipa, told the Reuters news agency late on Thursday.

The law also excludes members of the security forces convicted of “terrorism”-related activities.

But the amnesty extends to 11,000 political prisoners who, over nearly three decades, were paroled or placed under house arrest.

“The law provides for those substitute measures to be lifted so that these people can enjoy full freedom”, Rodriguez told reporters.

Outside a national police facility in Caracas known as Zone 7, relatives – some of whom have been on site for weeks – waited patiently.

“Let’s hope it’s true,” Genesis Rojas told AFP.

A group of relatives who have been camped out for days chanted: “We want to go home!”

Hundreds have already been granted conditional release by Rodriguez’s government since the deadly US raid that resulted in Maduro’s capture.

Maduro and his wife are in US custody awaiting trial. He has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges and declared that he was a “prisoner of war.”

China reacted angrily to the CIA’s public campaign, launched in February 2026, to recruit spies from within the ranks of the Chinese military, vowing to take “all necessary measures” to protect its national security. The Chinese response to the “recruitment video” included an official warning: Foreign Ministry spokesperson “Lin Jian” stated that the attempts by forces hostile to China “will not succeed,” emphasizing that Beijing would resolutely counter foreign infiltration and sabotage operations. In addition to Beijing’s accusation that the United States engaged in blatant political provocation, the Chinese Embassy in Washington described the American recruitment video targeting Chinese military personnel as a “blatant political provocation” and an explicit admission by the United States of its attempts to steal other countries’ secrets. This was especially true given the nature of the video, released by the CIA, which featured Mandarin Chinese and targeted “disillusioned” Chinese military officers, exploiting corruption within the Chinese army and recent purges within the Chinese military leadership. While other foreign intelligence agencies typically maintain contact with sources and agents within both friendly and hostile militaries, observers noted that the 95-second CIA video was “unusually explicit,” as described by Newsweek magazine. This angered China, prompting it to lodge a formal protest through the Chinese Embassy in Washington.

To counter this American intelligence campaign, official Chinese measures to contain Western and American intelligence intensified. Beijing pursued a multi-pronged strategy to tighten the noose on espionage activities, including expanding the Anti-Espionage Law: China amended its laws to broaden the definition of “espionage” to include any data or documents that threaten national security, granting authorities greater powers to search and access electronic devices. (Increasing Public Awareness and “Reporting Hotlines”): The Chinese Ministry of State Security, which acts as China’s intelligence agency, encouraged citizens to report suspicious activities through substantial financial rewards and released educational videos on how to detect “foreign spies” who might be disguised as researchers or diplomats. (Chinese Technological Counter-Response): China used artificial intelligence and simulation tools to mock American recruitment videos, releasing videos that mimicked the same style to highlight “Wall Street corruption” and internal American crises. With (China’s purge of sensitive leaders): Beijing launched a widespread purge within the People’s Liberation Army, targeting high-ranking generals such as “Zhang Youxia” on charges of corruption and leaking sensitive information. With China’s expansion in drafting and enacting counter-sanctions laws: In March 2025, China activated new regulations for its Foreign Counter-Sanctions Law, allowing it to freeze assets and impose visa bans on any foreign individuals or entities that interfere in its internal affairs or threaten its security interests.

This confrontation comes at a time when reports indicate that the CIA is seeking to rebuild its human network in China after most of it was dismantled between 2010 and 2012. China has begun intensifying its internal security measures to counter Western espionage, particularly American espionage, by updating its anti-espionage laws, strengthening cybersecurity, and raising public awareness, targeting the activities of the CIA and Mossad. These efforts include strict data controls, protecting sensitive technology, dismantling spy recruitment networks, and considering Western espionage a direct security threat. Among the most prominent Chinese measures to contain Western and American intelligence activities are the following (updating anti-espionage laws): China has broadened the definition of espionage in its laws to include any documents, data, or materials related to national security, granting authorities wider powers to search and investigate suspects. (Strengthening cybersecurity): Beijing is conducting intensive campaigns to secure sensitive networks and data and is working to protect its digital infrastructure from infiltration, especially after reports indicating widespread cyber operations by Western actors. This is in addition to (Chinese security awareness campaigns): The Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) is urging citizens to report any suspicious activities, considering counter-espionage a societal responsibility. It has also published warnings about methods used to recruit spies. Along with Chinese authorities tightening control over foreigners and foreign companies in China, control has been intensified over foreign consultancies and companies that could be used as cover for intelligence activities, with a focus on uncovering foreign spies, whether affiliated with the CIA or any other foreign agency. Along with China’s emphasis on protecting technology and scientific research: Here, Beijing is taking strict measures to protect its technological and industrial secrets from theft, especially in the fields of artificial intelligence and computing, to prevent their exploitation to advance the interests of foreign countries.

This Chinese escalation comes at a time when US intelligence reports have described China as the “greatest overall military and security threat” to the interests of the United States and its allies, further intensifying the intelligence conflict between the two sides. Therefore, China began taking strict and decisive measures to contain Western and American intelligence activities within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). These measures include strengthening information security through the Information Support Force, enforcing anti-espionage laws, and increasing internal oversight to ensure the protection of national security and development interests from infiltration and sabotage. The most prominent measures include tightening digital surveillance by enhancing capabilities in electronic espionage, signals intelligence, and cybersecurity to counter any breaches; strengthening internal security by tightening security measures around personnel and sensitive data to prevent recruitment or leaks; and activating the role of the Ministry of State Security domestically. The Chinese intelligence ministry, “MSS,” has become highly effective in combating foreign espionage, particularly American espionage, and in maintaining political security within military and civilian institutions. The Chinese authorities also established the Information Support Force: this force was created to promote the development and implementation of secure network information systems, thereby enhancing the army’s ability to repel infiltrations. With China’s keenness to modernize its anti-espionage laws, it has taken strict measures against infiltration and sabotage activities, pledging to protect China’s national security.

Based on the preceding analysis, we understand that these Chinese security measures are a response to intensive US intelligence efforts to recruit informants within the Chinese military, which has provoked Beijing’s ire and resentment. This is especially true given the sensitive timing for the Chinese military establishment, coming just weeks after another senior officer was implicated in President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign within the army. The video released by the CIA showing the recruitment and targeting of Chinese military personnel represents the latest episode in a US intelligence campaign targeting Chinese military personnel on social media. This campaign, which openly targets China, has been described by CIA Director “John Ratcliffe” as the agency’s top intelligence priority amidst what he called a generational competition with Beijing.

The Palestinian prisoners in Israel’s Shatta Prison are medically neglected and enduring unprecedented maltreatment, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs said on Thursday.

The Commission described the conditions of the Palestinian prisoners in Shatta as “horrifying,” reported the Palestinian Information Centre. “They are exposed constantly to brutal beatings and pepper spray attacks, and served raw and unsalted food.”

According to the Commission’s lawyer who visited the prisoners in Shatta recently, they are medically neglected and not provided with any treatment. The lawyer specifically mentioned Waleed Musallam, who suffers from severe psoriasis, and Fadi Raddad, who has been suffering from sharp pains in his back and right shoulder since Israeli jailers assaulted him.

The detainees appealed to rights groups to intervene with the Israel Prison Service to allow them to practice their religious rituals during the holy month of Ramadan without restrictions, to improve the quality of food, and to provide them with copies of the Holy Qur’an and clocks.

READ: Hundreds of Palestinians, including children and women, released from Israeli jails

Artemis 2 is a precursor to the US space agency’s planned astronaut moon landing with Artemis III scheduled for 2028.

NASA chief Jared Isaacman says Artemis 2 – the first crewed flyby mission to the moon in more than 50 years – will not launch next month because of technical problems.

Workers detected an issue with helium flow to the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will “take the March launch window out of consideration”, Issacman said in a post on social media Saturday.

Solid helium flow is essential for purging the rocket’s engines and pressurising its fuel tanks.

“I understand people are disappointed by this development. That disappointment is felt most by the team at NASA who have been working tirelessly to prepare for this great endeavor,” Isaacman said.

NASA’s next opportunity for the launch would be at the beginning or end of April.

The US space agency hopes to put humans back on the moon as China forges ahead with a rival effort that is targeting 2030 at the latest for its first crewed mission.

China’s uncrewed Chang’e 7 mission is expected to be launched in 2026 for an exploration of the moon’s south pole, and testing of its crewed spacecraft Mengzhou is also set to go ahead this year.

Multiple postponements

NASA surprised many late last year when it said Artemis 2 could happen as soon as February – an acceleration explained by the administration of US President Donald Trump’s wish to beat China to the punch.

But the programme has been plagued by delays. The uncrewed Artemis 1 mission took place in November 2022 after multiple postponements and two failed launch attempts.

Then, technical problems in early February – which included a liquid hydrogen leak – cut short a so-called wet dress rehearsal for the Artemis 2 launch. That was finally completed earlier this week.

The wet dress rehearsal was conducted under real conditions – with full rocket tanks and technical checks – at Cape Canaveral in Florida, with engineers practising the manoeuvres needed to carry out an actual launch.

The space agency revealed the latest technical problem just one day after targeting March 6 for the launch of the Artemis 2 mission.

The towering SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft will be rolled back into the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to investigate the technical issues and make any necessary repairs, Isaacman said. He said a bad filter, valve, or connection plate could be to blame for the stalled helium flow.

Isaacman added that a complete briefing will follow in the coming days.

The goal of the Artemis 2 mission, a 10-day flight around the moon and back, is to “explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars”, according to NASA.

The planned Artemis 2 crew includes three US astronauts – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch – and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The mission is poised to be the farthest human flight into space ever, and the first crewed moon mission since the US Apollo programme more than half a century ago.

Artemis 2 is a precursor to NASA’s planned astronaut moon landing with Artemis 3, which is scheduled for 2028.

Tandy’s response to heavy opening defeats against England and France, in which Wales conceded 15 tries and 102 points, was to make four changes.

Uncapped Leicester wing Gabriel Hamer-Webb, Scarlets fly-half Sam Costelow , Dragons second-row Ben Carter and Scarlets flanker Taine Plumtree coming in for Ellis Mee, Dan Edwards, Adam Beard and Olly Cracknell.

Wales made shocking starts in the opening two games but ensured that was not the case on this occasion.

Plumtree and Hamer-Webb both picked up injuries in the opening two minutes. Hamer-Webb was forced off briefly with a bloody nose before Plumtree was permanently replaced by James Botham because of a shoulder problem.

Wales’ discipline was again poor in the opening exchanges with two soft penalties, before Joe Hawkins was sent to the bunker for a high tackle on Scotland flanker Gregor Brown, who had moved from lock to the back row from the victory over England to replace the injured Jamie Ritchie.

Wing Josh Adams made a couple of important early interventions with a crucial tackle on Scotland centre Huw Jones followed by a vital interception.

Wales rallied with 14 men and after a searing break from scrum-half Tomos Williams, the home side produced an identical successful tap penalty move to last week when Carre dived over after the initial drive from Lake.

Hawkins’ card remained yellow as it was deemed a passive tackle but it was still an 11th sin-binning in Tandy’s seven games in charge.

Scotland took advantage of the extra back with a sweeping move that was finished by Steyn.

Hawkins returned and his fellow Scarlets centre Eddie James, along with Lake, Carre and flanker Alex Mann, laid the foundations for Adams to cross for his 24th Wales try.

Costelow, who was starting his first game since July 2025 with Edwards having played the past seven games, converted from the touchline.

Botham was outstanding after his early introduction and a turnover laid the foundations for a Costelow penalty.

Scotland made a couple of early tactical substitutions as prop Pierre Schoeman and back rower Josh Bayliss came on for Nathan McBeth and Max Williamson, with Brown reverting to lock.

After another storming Steyn break, a vital Mann turnover forced a penalty as Wales led 17-5 at half-time, the first time the home side had led under Tandy at the interval.

Latest Israeli attacks bring total death toll in Gaza since October ‘ceasefire’ to 614.

Israeli air strikes killed at least two Palestinians in Gaza on the third day of Ramadan in the latest breach of the truce deal signed with Hamas more than four months ago.

The attacks on Saturday occurred in northern Gaza’s Jabalia camp and the Qizan an-Najjar area in southern Gaza.

The total death toll from Israel’s attacks since the “ceasefire” came into effect has risen to 614, with 1,640 more Palestinians wounded, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Israel’s military appeared to acknowledge one of the attacks in a post on X, claiming its forces killed a fighter who crossed onto Israel’s side of the demarcation line in northern Gaza and approached its troops “in a manner that posed an immediate threat”.

The army said it would “continue to act to remove any immediate threat”.

‘Board of Peace’ deliberations

Saturday’s attacks come two days after US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace held its first-ever meeting addressing reconstruction, security, and governance in the war-battered Strip.

Trump announced at the gathering that nine countries committed $7bn for Gaza reconstruction efforts, on top of a $10bn contribution from the United States. While significant, the total is far short of the estimated $70bn needed to rebuild the devastated Palestinian territory.

Trump also said five countries pledged to send troops to participate in an eventual 20,000-strong International Stabilization Force (ISF), which is to take over security from Hamas. But the task of disarming Hamas – called for in the next stage of the deal – is still unresolved, threatening to delay or derail the entire process.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted Hamas must disarm before any reconstruction begins. Last week, a top Netanyahu aide said Israel planned to give Hamas a 60-day deadline to comply before resuming its war, an ultimatum the group rejected.

Hamas has said it will not relinquish its weapons as long as Israel continues occupying the Strip and discussions on any political process in Gaza “must start with the total halt of aggression”.

The group has said it is open to a peacekeeping force, but with caveats.

“We want peacekeeping forces that monitor the ceasefire, ensure its implementation, and act as a buffer between the occupation army and our people in the Gaza Strip, without interfering in Gaza’s internal affairs,” said Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem on Friday.

‘Unclear in vision’

Along with Hamas’s disarmament, the next stage of Trump’s plan for Gaza calls for the gradual withdrawal of the Israeli military and the ISF’s deployment, with a transitional Palestinian technocratic committee overseeing day-to-day governance.

Many Palestinians told Al Jazeera they are deeply sceptical about the plan’s prospects for success, citing Israel’s continued deadly attacks and lingering aid shortages.

“Israel kills, bombs, violates the ceasefire agreement daily and expands the buffer zone without anyone stopping it,” said Awad al-Ghoul, 70, a Palestinian displaced from Tal as-Sultan in southern Rafah and who now lives in a tent in the town of az-Zawayda.

“So this project is a failure from the start and unclear in vision.”

Maryna Bondarenko, a 51-year-old journalist, has three packed suitcases in her apartment in Poland, hopeful for the return of peace in Ukraine. She fled Kyiv with her son and mother when Russia invaded on February 24, 2022, expecting to be away for just a month or two. Now, four years later, she continues to work in a Ukrainian language newsroom serving over 1.5 million Ukrainians in Poland. Bondarenko recounts many moments of anticipation for returning home, having even packed her belongings multiple times, convinced the war would soon end.

The ongoing war has resulted in Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War Two, with over 5 million Ukrainians dispersed across Europe, particularly in Central and Eastern regions. Most refugees are women and children due to martial law in Ukraine that prevents military-age men from leaving. Bondarenko expresses a strong desire to reunite with her husband, Andrij Dudko, who works as a drone operator on the front line. However, the harsh conditions in Kyiv, including devastating air strikes and bitter winter, keep her from returning with her child.

In Poland, large Ukrainian communities have formed in cities like Warsaw and Krakow, but this has sometimes led to tensions with local residents over jobs and welfare benefits. Bondarenko wishes to return home but acknowledges that Ukraine will be significantly changed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hopes that 70% of Ukrainians abroad will go back after the war, but surveys indicate that many want to stay away, particularly among younger generations. Her 11-year-old son, Danylo, finds it hard to remember life in Ukraine and finds Poland more familiar, though he has faced some hostility at school.

Additionally, Iryna Kushnir and Olga Yermolenko, who were high school friends in Kharkiv, found each other again in Istanbul, where they moved at the start of the war. Kushnir had hoped for a quick return home but remains in Turkey, now married and employed as a teacher at Istanbul University, while she left her 19-year-old daughter Sofia to study in Ukraine. Yermolenko works remotely for Ukrainian clients and stays in touch with her mother who still lives in Kharkiv. Despite her efforts to adapt to life in Turkey, she feels caught between her past and an uncertain future. Both women follow the war closely, with Yermolenko expressing fear when seeing news of missile strikes in Kharkiv and making sure to check on her mother’s safety.

With information from Reuters

The Israeli Knesset is pushing through a bill that, if passed, would allow the occupation authorities to legally execute Palestinians. This development has attracted hardly any international attention, but for Palestinians, it is yet another looming horror.

The bill is part of the deal that allowed the formation of Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government in late 2022. It was demanded by Itamar Ben-Gvir, now national security minister, who has led a reign of terror across the West Bank for the past three years.

In November, the bill passed its first reading, and in January, its provisions were revealed: execution carried out within 90 days of sentencing, no appeals, and death by hanging. Palestinians charged with planning attacks or killing Israelis would face the death penalty. Ben-Gvir has repeatedly called for the execution of Palestinians, most recently during his visit to Ofer Prison, where he filmed himself overseeing the abuse of detainees.

That we got to this point is hardly surprising. For decades, the international community has neglected the fate of Palestinian prisoners. In the past two and a half years, there has been almost no global reaction to the mass brutalisation of Palestinians held in Israeli jails with or without charges. Israeli efforts to legalise executions of Palestinian is the logical next step in eliminating the Palestinian question.

‘Prisoners’ or captives?

The use of the term “prisoners” to refer to Palestinians held by Israel is deceptive. It strips this cruelty of its context – the military occupation and colonisation Palestinians live under. Prisoners of war or captives are much more accurate terms. That is because Palestinians are taken away either for resisting the occupation or for no reason at all – for the sake of terrorising their families and communities.

Currently, more than a third of the Palestinians Israel is holding are under “administrative detention” – ie, they are being held without charge – and some are women and children. Palestinians are also “tried” in military courts, which are blatantly biased against the occupied population.

I, myself, was a victim of this system of oppression through unjust detention.

In November 2015, Israeli soldiers burst into my home in Ramallah and took me away.  They tortured and isolated me for weeks without even telling me what I was accused of.

Eventually, they came up with an accusation of “incitement”, for which they did not produce any evidence. They kept me under their “administrative detention”, or what is really an arbitrary arrest. The abuse continued, and during one interrogation session, an Israeli officer threatened me with rape.

They treated me like an animal without rights or legal protection. Representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross were prevented from visiting me. I was released only after I went on a hunger strike for three months and my condition deteriorated to a dangerous level.

This happened to me 10 years ago, long before October 7, 2023. Back then, the international community was turning a blind eye to Israel’s violations of international law through administrative detention and abuse.

After October 7, the conditions in Israeli military prisons worsened, with rampant torture, starvation and medical neglect. At least 88 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli detention since then. The international community has remained silent, issuing an occasional weak condemnation.

Legalising the illegal

Israel’s brutal mistreatment of detained Palestinians is in direct violation of the Geneva Conventions, which it is a party to. By virtue of being under occupation, Palestinians are considered a protected population and have rights which the Israeli authorities have systematically denied.

Nevertheless, the international community has accepted these flagrant violations. Under the guise of anti-terrorism, the international discourse has transformed Palestinians from an occupied people to threats to Israeli and international security.

Not even the shocking images and testimonies of mass rape at Israeli detention centres managed to overturn this flawed framing.

In this context, the death penalty bill is not an extremist proposal; it fits right into the pattern of the brutalisation of Palestinian detainees.

From the perspective of the Palestinians, this bill is yet another tool of Israeli revenge. If passed, it would spread more fear and further diminish any peaceful resistance against the Israeli settlers’ violent assaults on the Palestinian people and their property.

The bill is also a nightmare for every family that has a member in an Israeli prison. They have already been pushed to the edge by the lack of information about their loved ones since a ban on visiting amid the spike in deaths in detention.

Even more horrific is the prospect that the bill may be applied retroactively. This means anyone with the charges of planning or causing the death of an Israeli could be executed.

There are currently reports in Israeli media that supposedly, the Israeli government is under pressure not to push forward with this law. There have been some suggestions to amend the text to make it more palatable. But we know that Israel will eventually get to executing Palestinians. Just as it has done with other laws, it will deceptively manoeuvre to minimise reactions but still proceed with what it wants to do.

As Israel is well on its way to bulldozing through yet another international legal norm, the most it will likely get is “calls for restraint” or “statements of condemnation”. Such weak rhetoric has enabled its onslaught against international law for the past few decades, and especially during the past two and a half years.

If the international community wants to salvage what is left of the international legal regime and save face, it is time to radically change its approach.

Instead of making weak statements about respect for international law, they must impose sanctions on Israel. Israeli officials who have been accused of committing crimes against Palestinians should not be hosted but held to account.

Only then can there be hope for the safe and peaceful return of all Palestinian prisoners – something that was already agreed upon during the Oslo Accords. And only then can there be hope that Israeli efforts to dismantle international law so it can do as it pleases in Palestine will be stopped.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

Kharkiv regional administration head, Oleh Syniehubov, reported that 175 ‘combat clashes’ were recorded over the past 24 hours.

A Russian attack on the Kharkiv region killed two police officers Saturday during an evacuation in the village of Seredniy Burlyk, as Moscow and Kyiv continue trading attacks.

The head of Kharkiv’s regional administration, Oleh Syniehubov, reported that the city and 10 populated areas had been subjected to Russian attacks over the past 24 hours.

In Seredniy Burlyk, five people were also wounded by shelling.

“Over the past 24 hours, 175 combat clashes were recorded. On the South-Slobozhansky direction, the enemy four times stormed the positions of our units in the areas of the populated settlements of Staritsa, Lyman, Vovchansky Khutory, and Krugle,” Syniehubov wrote.

Moreover, three people were injured, including a woman, after a Russian air strike targeted one of the private sectors of Sumy, the National Police of Sumy Oblast reported.

According to the police, the Russian attack destroyed two residential buildings and damaged at least 10 neighbouring houses and a gas pipe.

It added that three people who were injured included two children aged five and 17, as well as a 70-year-old woman who was hospitalised.

Attack on an industrial site

Ukrainian drones targeted an industrial site in Russia’s Udmurt Republic, injuring 11 people, three of whom were hospitalised, according to the local health minister, Sergei Bagin, who issued an update on Telegram.

The head of the Udmurt Republic, Alexander Brechalov, also wrote in a Telegram post that “one of the republic’s facilities was attacked by drones”, adding that injuries and damage were reported.

Brechalov did not elaborate on what the targeted facility was responsible for. However, an unofficial Russian Telegram channel, ASTRA, reported after analysing footage from residents that the strike targeted the Votkinsk Machine Building Plant, a major state defence enterprise.

The Votkinsk factory produces Iskander ballistic missiles, which are often used against Ukraine, as well as nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Ukraine’s military confirmed the attack on the Votkinsk factory and said in a post on Facebook that a “fire was recorded on the territory of the object. The results are getting real.”

The army added that its troops hit a Russian gas processing plant in the Samara region, which caused a fire.

Separately, Russia’s TASS state news agency reported that Ukrainian drones were attempting to ⁠attack production facilities in ⁠Almetyevsk in Russia’s Tatarstan region, citing the head of the city as saying that defence systems were operating.

Russia’s RIA news agency also reported, citing the defence ministry, that Moscow’s forces took control of the village of Karpivka in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine.

Who: India vs South Africa
What: T20 World Cup Super Eights
Where: Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India
When: Sunday, February 22, at 7pm (13:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the buildup on Al Jazeera Sport from 10:30 GMT in advance of our text commentary stream.

Defending champions and tournament co-hosts India begin their Super Eights phase on Sunday against the team they defeated in the 2024 final, South Africa.

Both sides stormed through the group stage of the 2026 edition and look heavy favourites to at least reach the semifinals, with the Indians clear favourites to lift the trophy once again.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at the most mouth-watering match-up of two of the heavy contenders for the crown so far at the tournament.

India gunning for South Africa’s top order

India’s bowlers will target early wickets against South Africa, said bowling coach Morne Morkel on Friday.

“We know that their top order gives them that momentum, with Quinton (de Kock) and Aiden (Markram) up front in good form and hitting the ball very well,” said the former South Africa quick bowler Morkel.

“We will definitely put our best foot forward to try and get those early wickets.”

How did India reach the T20 World Cup Super Eights?

India stormed their group to claim top spot with four wins from four. A slightly nervous start against USA was followed by a thumping 93-run win against Namibia.

The game everyone had their eyes on was the latest pairing with rivals Pakistan, which resulted in a 61-run win, while the final game saw the Netherlands fall only 17 runs short of their 194 target.

How did South Africa reach the T20 World Cup Super Eights?

South Africa opened their tournament with a 57-run win against Canada, but needed a Super Over to confirm their win against Afghanistan in their second match.

New Zealand were given a thumping by the Proteas, who claimed a seven-wicket win to confirm their passage to the Super Eights with a game to spare, before completing the group with a six-wicket win against the UAE.

India expect Abhishek to return to form soon

While Markram’s South Africa have looked strong in all departments, tournament favourites India have not enjoyed batting consistency, with opener Abhishek Sharma out of form. Morkel, though, predicts he will be back among the runs soon.

Morkel said the left-hander, who has recorded three consecutive ducks, was just one innings away from getting back in the zone.

“Absolutely no discussion in our team group about that,” said Morkel about Abhishek’s failure to score in any of the matches yet.

“He is a world-class player. We are going to a very important phase of the World Cup now and I am sure he is going to deliver.

“I am pretty sure he is hitting the ball in the nets.

“It is just a matter of getting the start and getting the innings going.”

Can South Africa be the team to stop India at the T20 World Cup?

Morkel acknowledged South Africa have been one of the form teams of the T20 World Cup so far.

“They are a team that’s full of confidence,” said Morkel.

“They have got guys at the top who are in form. In terms of weaknesses, there aren’t many.”

South Africa have also shown guts when needed, coming out victorious after two nerve-shredding super overs against Afghanistan.

“For us it comes down, on the day, to how well we execute with the bat and the ball,” said Morkel of defending champions India.

“It’s going to be world-class players against each other. It is going to be a mouth-watering thing.”

What is India’s record in T20 World Cup cricket?

Not only are India the defending champions after their victory against South Africa at the 2024 edition, but they are also the joint-record winners of the T20 World Cup.

The Indian side won their inaugural event in 2007, beating Pakistan in the final, but that made for a long wait for their second win at the last edition.

England and the West Indies have both also recorded two tournament wins.

What is South Africa’s record in T20 World Cup cricket?

South Africa still await their first T20 World Cup title. In fact, the wait goes on for the Proteas to lift any trophy at a major ICC tournament.

Their seven-run defeat at the hands of India in the 2024 edition was their first appearance in a final of either a T20 World Cup or a 50-over Cricket World Cup.

South Africa make surprise wholesale T20 changes for future tour

South Africa ‌have named a much-changed squad that includes five uncapped ⁠players for ⁠their five-match Twenty20 tour of New Zealand next month, leaving behind most of the team that have ⁠qualified for the Super Eights at the ongoing World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

Batters Connor Esterhuizen, Dian Forrester ⁠and Jordan Hermann, all-rounder Eathan Bosch and teenage seamer Nqobani Mokoena will all hope to make their international debuts on the tour.

Hermann is the younger brother of Rubin, who is also in ‌the squad and has been capped in One Day Internationals and T20 matches for South Africa, while Bosch is the younger sibling of Corbin, who has impressed at the World Cup.

The side will be captained by spinner Keshav Maharaj, with a return for seamers Gerald Coetzee, ⁠Lutho Sipamla and Ottneil Baartman.

Three players from the current World Cup squad will tour: Maharaj, spinner George Linde and all-rounder Jason Smith.

“With this series taking place directly after the ⁠T20 World Cup, the majority of that squad will return home, which creates a ⁠great opportunity for this group of ⁠players to step into the international environment and show what they’re about at this level,” South Africa coach Shukri Conrad said.

The five-match series will be played ‌between March 15 and 25.

Head-to-head

This will be the 36th meeting between the sides in T20 internationals. India have won 21 of the matches, while South Africa have claimed victory on 13 occasions with one no result/abandonment.

Predicted India team:

Ishan Kishan (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh

Predicted South Africa team:

Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (c), Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Ryan Rickelton, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj

Hundreds of US troops have been pulled out of the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, The New York Times reported Friday, citing anonymous Pentagon sources.

The report also said forces have been evacuated from Bahrain, where the US Navy’s 5th Fleet is based.

American forces remain stationed at bases in Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

The withdrawal is being interpreted as a precautionary measure amid rising tensions about a possible US. attack on Iran, with Tehran expected to respond by striking American forces in the region.

The US military’s Central Command, which covers Iran and much of the surrounding region, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a letter Thursday to the UN secretary-general, the head of Iran’s mission to the UN said if Iran were attacked, then “all bases, facilities, and assets of the hostile force in the region would constitute legitimate targets,” and the “United States would bear full and direct responsibility for any unpredictable and uncontrolled consequences.”

Al Udeid is the largest US military base in the Middle East, hosting 10,000 troops.

READ: Top Russian diplomat reaffirms support for negotiation process amid US-Iran tensions

Tehran, Iran – The Iranian government has again blamed “terrorists” for the killings of thousands during last month’s nationwide protests after United States President Donald Trump and human rights experts weighed in.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that the government has released a list of 3,117 people, whom he described as “victims of recent terrorist operation”, including about 200 security personnel.

“If anyone disputes accuracy of our data, please share any evidence,” the diplomat, who has previously stated that 690 people on the list were “terrorists” armed and funded by the US and Israel, wrote on X.

Araghchi’s comments come hours after the US president told reporters that 32,000 people were killed during the protests, adding that “the people of Iran have lived in hell” under the theocratic establishment.

The Iranian foreign minister has also been speaking with multiple US media outlets to advocate for a “fair” agreement with Washington over Iran’s nuclear programme.

The threat of war looms increasingly large over the country and potentially the region, with Serbia on Saturday becoming the latest country to call on all its citizens to immediately leave Iran.

‘Majority of those killed are ordinary people’

Mai Sato, United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, has said more than 20,000 civilians may have been killed, but information remains limited amid heavy internet filtering by the state, six weeks after a nationwide communications blackout was imposed.

The US-based HRANA says it has documented more than 7,000 people killed during the nationwide protests, and is investigating nearly 12,000 more cases.

Sato was among 30 special rapporteurs and international human rights experts who signed a joint statement on Friday calling on Iranian authorities to fully disclose the fate and whereabouts of tens of thousands arrested, forcibly disappeared or missing in the aftermath of the nationwide protests, and to halt all related death sentences and executions.

“The true scale of the violent crackdown on Iranian protesters remains impossible to determine at this point,” the experts said. “The discrepancy between official figures and grassroots estimates only deepens the anguish of families searching for their loved ones and displays a profound disregard for human rights and accountability.”

The international experts added that “the vast majority of those detained or killed are ordinary people, including children, from all provinces and diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, as well as Afghan nationals”, in addition to lawyers representing protesters, medical professionals who treated the wounded, journalists and writers, artists and human rights defenders.

Iranian state media were accused of regularly broadcasting what the experts said are “widely regarded as forced confessions”.

The latest such incident came on Saturday, when the official Mizan news agency of the Iranian judiciary released footage from a court session for three men who said they regret setting fire to motorcycles, a mosque and copies of the Quran in Tehran during the unrest.

Also on Saturday, some students in Tehran and across the country returned to university campuses for the first time, as authorities kept universities closed and took some classes and exams online in the aftermath of the protests.

In Tehran’s Sharif University, one of the most prestigious in the country, students clashed after two separate demonstrations. Videos circulating online showed students shouting “dishonourables” at a group of paramilitary Basij students affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who chanted back in favour of the establishment.

The clashes come amid a heightened security atmosphere in Iranian schools and university dormitories. Teachers and schools in a number of cities near the capital went on strike last week to protest the killing of at least 230 children and teenagers, as well as increased presence of security forces in classrooms.

Families dance in defiant grief

The Iranian government held mourning events on Tuesday and Wednesday in Tehran, with some officials in attendance.

Culture Minister Reza Salehi-Amiri announced on Saturday that the government has decided to call the upcoming ceremonies around Newroz, the new Iranian year starting in late March, an exercise in “unity and empathy” with the aim of “getting past the grief” of thousands killed.

But numerous families have been holding defiant commemoration events of their own over the past week to mark 40 days since the killing of their loved ones during the anti-establishment protests.

Footage from many ceremonies across the country this week showed family members, and large crowds gathered to support them, proudly holding up images of those killed and celebrating their shortened lives.

Many chose to clap, play traditional drums and cymbals, and even dance in symbolic shows of resistance and defiance that heavily clash with religious rituals favoured by the theocratic state.

“May your pen break, O fate, if you do not write about that which befell us,” the father of Abolfazl MirAeez, a 33-year-old killed in the city of Gorgan in the northern province of Golestan, told crowds gathered at a ceremony on Thursday.

“My son was neither a rioter, nor an embezzler nor an aghazadeh [child of an elite]. He was the son of a farmer.”

Follow our live build-up, with toss and team news, ahead of our text commentary stream of the Super Eights opener.