EU lawmakers in Brussels are worried that the bloc is drifting into the crosshairs of US domestic politics, as the White House launched new trade investigations into EU goods accusing the European Union is “implementing close to zero” of trade commitments.
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Next week could prove decisive for the EU–US trade deal struck last summer.
Washington has stepped up pressure on the EU in recent days to implement the agreement cut last summer cut between the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and President Donald Trump, tripling tariffs on the EU.
Still, MEPs have kept the implementation process, which also includes investment pledges from the Europeans in the US, frozen, seeking clarity after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in February that US tariffs imposed in 2025 were illegal.
The fate of the deal remains uncertain after the White House launched new investigations into EU products this week that could lead to tariffs exceeding the 15% ceiling agreed under the pact.
“It is domestic politics and the worst-case scenario has happened: we got involved,” Croatian MEP Željana Zovko, lead negotiator for the European People’s Party, told Euronews.
She added: “We were waiting for the Supreme Court’s decision but now of course this administration will do its utmost to do it its own way.”
In the days following the court’s ruling, the US administration has looked for new legal grounds for tariffs and invoked Section 122 to impose fresh duties of 10% on EU goods, on top of the 4.8% tariffs already in place under most-favored nation regime.
The provision allows temporary duties for a maximum of 150 days, after which the US Congress would need to agree an extension. The Supreme Court suggested in its initial ruling that the President had exceeded his powers under emergency grounds.
As Washington looks for a way to make the tariff salvo permanent, it is also increasing the pressure on allies by opening new investigations into trading partners including the EU over alleged unfair trade practices. China and India were also targeted.
The probes could pave the way for tariffs above the 15% ceiling agreed in the deal struck in July 2025 by Ursula von der Leyen and Donald Trump in Turnberry, Scotland.
Next week will be pivotal for the EU-US deal
“Now uncertainty is increasing even more for our businesses,” Zovko said.
Since the court ruling, the EU has sought clarity from Washington on whether the Turnberry agreement signed last year still stands or has been broken.
US officials assured EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič they would stick to the deal, though they have not detailed how the 10% tariffs after the court ruling will be replaced in the long-term. In return, the US expects the EU to implement the agreement fully and quickly.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer raised the temperature on Wednesday, lashing at the Europeans on the basis that “the EU has done approximately zero percent of what they were supposed to do for their trade deal with us.”
This week’s investigations should be taken seriously, German MEP Bernd Lange (S&D) told Euronews, despite the erratic moves by the US administration since the court ruling.
“Section 301 will allow the US to differentiate between countries and therefore add pressure to each of them,” he said.
Next week could be pivotal for the EU–US trade deal.
Italian MEP Brando Benifei (S&D) will travel to Washington hoping to meet Greer. He may be joined by Lange, the chair of the EU trade committee, on Monday although a decision has not been made yet.
The trip comes as negotiators in the European Parliament must decide whether to resume work on the agreement or postpone the vote once more. A vote is required to cut EU duties on US goods to zero, as foreseen in the Turnberry deal.
But political groups remain divided.
“When I read what the socialists are saying, I’m losing hope that we will have a vote, despite reassurance given by Iratxe García Pérez [Spanish MEP, chair of the S&D] and Bernd Lange,” a source at the EPP told Euronews.
Benifei said the EU needs a clear political signal from Washington that it will stick to the deal, otherwise “there is no way we can vote on the file.”
Islamabad, Pakistan – The reverberations of a war in which US-Israel attacks have killed more than a thousand people in Iran, including the country’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, and Iranian missiles and drones have fallen on Israel in retaliation, are being felt deeply in Pakistan.
Six Gulf countries have also come under Iranian missile and drone attacks, putting Pakistan in a tough position.
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The country shares a 900-kilometre (559 miles) border with Iran in its southwest, and millions of its workers are residents in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations.
Since September last year, Islamabad has also reinforced its decades-long ties with Riyadh by signing a formal mutual defence agreement that commits each side to treat aggression against the other as aggression against both.
As Iranian drones and ballistic missiles continue to target Gulf states, the question being asked with increasing urgency in Pakistan is what Islamabad will do next if it finds itself pulled into the war.
Islamabad’s answer so far has been to work the phones furiously, engaging regional leaders, including Iran and Saudi Arabia.
When US-Israeli strikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, Pakistan condemned the attacks as “unwarranted”. Within hours, it also condemned Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Gulf states as “blatant violations of sovereignty”.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who was attending an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Riyadh when the conflict began last week, launched what he later described as “shuttle communication” between Tehran and Riyadh.
Speaking in the Senate on March 3, and at a news conference later the same day, Dar disclosed that he had personally reminded Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of Pakistan’s defence obligations to Saudi Arabia.
“We have a defence pact with Saudi Arabia, and the whole world knows about it,” Dar said. “I told the Iranian leadership to take care of our pact with Saudi Arabia.”
Araghchi, he said, asked for guarantees that Saudi soil would not be used to attack Iran. Dar said he obtained those assurances from Riyadh and credited the back-channel exchange with limiting the scale of Iranian strikes on the kingdom.
On March 5, Iran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alireza Enayati, said his country welcomed Saudi Arabia’s pledge not to allow its airspace or territory to be used during the ongoing war with the US and Israel.
“We appreciate what we have repeatedly heard from Saudi Arabia – that it does not allow its airspace, waters, or territory to be used against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said in an interview.
But only a day later, during early hours of March 6, Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry confirmed it intercepted three ballistic missiles targeting the kingdom’s Prince Sultan Air Base. And hours later, Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir was in Riyadh, meeting Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, where they “discussed Iranian attacks on the Kingdom and the measures needed to halt them within the framework” of their mutual defence pact, the Saudi minister said in a post on X.
As the war escalates, analysts say that Pakistan’s tightrope walk between two close partners could become harder and harder.
A defence pact under pressure
A month after Iranian president’s visit to Islamabad, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh in September 2025 to sign a defence agreement [File: Handout/Saudi Press Agency via Reuters]
The Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement, signed on September 17, 2025, in Riyadh by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif alongside army chief Asim Munir, was the most significant formal defence commitment Pakistan had entered into in decades.
Its central clause states that any aggression against either country shall be considered aggression against both. The wording was modelled on collective defence principles similar to NATO’s Article 5, though analysts have cautioned against interpreting it as an automatic trigger for military intervention.
The agreement followed Israel’s September 2025 strikes on Hamas officials in Doha, an event that shook confidence in US security guarantees across the six Gulf Cooperation Council states: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan has maintained a military relationship with Saudi Arabia for decades, according to which an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 Pakistani troops remain stationed in the kingdom.
Now the pact is being tested under conditions neither side anticipated.
Umer Karim, an associate fellow at the Riyadh-based King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, called Pakistan’s current predicament the outcome of a miscalculation.
Islamabad, he argued, likely never expected to find itself caught between Tehran and Riyadh, particularly after the China-brokered rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran in 2023.
“Pakistani leaders were always careful not to take an official plunge vis-a-vis Saudi defence. It was done for the first time by the current army chief, and though the potential dividends are big, so are the costs,” Karim told Al Jazeera.
“Perhaps this is the last time the Saudis will test Pakistan, and if Pakistan doesn’t fulfil its commitments now, the relationship will be irreversibly damaged,” he added.
In 2015, it declined a direct Saudi request to join the military coalition fighting in Yemen, following a parliamentary resolution that the country must remain neutral.
Aziz Alghashian, senior non-resident fellow at the Gulf International Forum in Riyadh, pointed to that episode. “The limitation of the Saudi-Pakistan treaty is clear. Treaties are only as strong as the political calculations and political will behind them,” Alghashian told Al Jazeera.
But Ilhan Niaz, a professor of history at Islamabad’s Quaid-e-Azam University, said that if Saudi Arabia feels sufficiently threatened by Iran to formally request Pakistani military assistance, “Pakistan will come to Saudi Arabia’s aid.”
“To do otherwise would undermine Pakistan’s credibility,” he told Al Jazeera.
The Iran constraint
The complicating factor for Pakistan is that it cannot afford to treat Iran simply as an adversary if Riyadh calls for military assistance.
The two countries share a long and porous border, maintain significant trade ties, and have recently stepped up diplomatic engagement. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visited Islamabad in August 2025, and the two governments maintain a range of formal and backchannel contacts.
Niaz acknowledged that Tehran has also been “a difficult neighbour”, pointing to the January 2024 exchange of cross-border strikes initiated by Iran as evidence of the relationship’s unpredictability.
Even so, he said Pakistan had “vital national interests” in ensuring Iran’s stability and territorial integrity.
“The collapse of Iran into civil war, its fragmentation into warring states, and the extension of Israeli influence to Pakistan’s western borders are all developments that greatly, and rightly, worry Islamabad,” he said.
The domestic fallout from the US-Israel strikes and Iran’s response has already been immediate.
The army was deployed and a three-day curfew imposed in Gilgit-Baltistan after at least 23 people were killed in protests across Pakistan following Khamenei’s assassination. The protests were driven largely by Pakistan’s Shia community, estimated to make up between 15 and 20 percent of the 250 million population, which has historically mobilised around developments involving Iran.
Pakistan’s violent sectarian history adds another layer of risk.
The Zainabiyoun Brigade, a Pakistan-origin Shia militia trained, funded and commanded by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has recruited thousands of fighters from Pakistan over the past decade. While many fought in Syria against ISIL (ISIS), many Syrians activists accuse them of committing sectarian violence.
Two years ago, Pakistan’s northwestern Kurram district, the Zainabiyoun’s primary recruitment ground, saw more than 130 people killed in sectarian clashes in the final weeks of 2024 alone.
Pakistan formally banned the group in 2024, but many believe the designation has done little to dismantle its networks.
Analysts warn that fighters hardened in Syria’s civil war could, if Iran’s conflict with Pakistan’s Gulf partners deepens, shift from a defensive to an offensive posture on Pakistani soil.
“Iran has significant influence over Shia organisations in Pakistan,” Islamabad-based security analyst Amir Rana, executive director of the Pak Institute of Peace Studies, told Al Jazeera. “And then you have Balochistan, which is already a highly volatile area. If there is any confrontation, the fallout for Pakistan would be severe.”
Pakistan’s Balochistan province borders Iran, and has been ground-zero for a decades-long separatist movement. “That reality cannot be ignored,” Muhammad Khatibi, a political analyst based in Tehran, said, pointing out that geography itself constrains Islamabad’s choices.
“Any perception that Islamabad is siding militarily against Tehran could inflame domestic sectarian divisions in ways that a full-scale regional war would make very difficult to contain,” Khatibi told Al Jazeera.
Violence erupted in Pakistan following news of US and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28. At least 23 people were killed in violence across the country, with at least 10 people killed in Karachi during a protest outside the US Consulate General [Akhtar Soomro/Reuters]
What are Pakistan’s options?
Analysts say direct offensive military action against Iran, such as deploying combat aircraft or conducting strikes on Iranian territory, is not a realistic option for Pakistan, given its domestic constraints.
Rana describes Islamabad’s current posture as an attempt to placate both sides.
“Iran’s primary threat is through air strikes using drones and missiles, and that is an area where Pakistan can help and provide assistance to Saudi Arabia. But that would mean Pakistan becoming a party to the war, and that is a major question mark,” he said.
He added that the most viable option for Pakistan could be to provide covert operational support to Saudi Arabia while maintaining diplomatic engagement with Iran.
Alghashian also agreed; he identified air defence cooperation as the most concrete role Pakistan could play — it would be both “militarily meaningful and politically defensible”
“They could help create more air defence capacity,” he said. “This is tangible, it is defensive, and it is in Pakistan’s interest that Saudi Arabia becomes more stable and prosperous.”
Karim, however, warned that the window for Pakistan’s balancing act may be closing faster than Islamabad realises.
“As the situation reaches a tipping point and as Saudi energy installations and infrastructure are hit, it is only a matter of time that Saudi Arabia will ask Pakistan to contribute towards its defence,” he said.
He added that if Pakistan deploys air defence assets to Saudi Arabia, doing so could leave its own air defences dangerously exposed, while deeper involvement could carry political costs at home.
For now, Islamabad’s strongest card remains diplomacy, using its access to both Riyadh and Tehran and the trust it has accumulated. Khatibi said Pakistan should protect that position “at all costs”.
“Pakistan’s most realistic positioning is as a mediator and leveraging its relationships with both sides. It is highly unlikely that Pakistan deploys forces into an anti-Iran coalition. The risks would outweigh the benefits,” he said.
The stakes for Pakistan
The scenario least favourable to Islamabad would be a collective Gulf Cooperation Council decision to enter the war directly, and the warning signs are mounting.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have both declared that Iranian attacks “crossed a red line”.
A joint statement issued on March 1 by the United States, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE said they “reaffirm the right to self-defense in the face of these attacks.”
For Pakistan, such an escalation could carry serious consequences.
Economically, with millions of Pakistani workers living and earning their wages in Gulf states, remittances from the region provide crucial foreign exchange for an economy still recovering from a balance of payments crisis.
Khatibi said any prolonged regional war that disrupts Gulf economies would directly affect Pakistan’s financial position.
“Energy prices could also spike, adding further strain,” he said, noting Pakistan’s heavy dependence on Gulf states for its energy needs.
Pakistan is also simultaneously managing its own military confrontation with the Afghan Taliban which began two days before the US-Israel strikes.
Karim warned that deeper involvement in the regional conflict could trigger internal instability.
“Sectarian conflict,” he said, “can reignite, taking the country back to the bloody 1990s. The government already has lean political legitimacy, and such an occurrence will make it even more unpopular.”
Alghashian also highlighted Pakistan’s reluctance to be drawn into the conflict.
“Saudi Arabia does not want to be in this war and is getting dragged into it. Pakistan will also certainly not want to be dragged into somebody else’s war that they didn’t want to be dragged into. It just wouldn’t make any sense,” he says.
But Niaz said that if the crisis eventually forces Islamabad to choose, the calculus may become unavoidable.
“If Tehran forces Pakistan to choose between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the choice would unquestionably be in favour of the Saudis.”
Todd Meadows died after going overboard off the coast of Alaska last weekCredit: Facebook/Todd MeadowsHis mother has begged for footage of his death not to be airedCredit: GoFundMe
The 25-year-old fell into the freezing waters of the Bering Sea while filming the long-running Discovery Channel series.
His body was recovered ten minutes later, but attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.
His mother, Angela, told TMZ: “We don’t want to see any footage of the accident and do not want Discovery to air any of that footage or make money off of our son’s death.
“We hope they only air good things of Todd on that boat.”
Instead, Angela said the family has requested footage of Todd crabbing so they can remember him doing what he loved.
The family is still waiting for a definitive answer about how he died, but Angela says she has been assured her son did not suffer in his final moments.
“We don’t want to put the blame on anyone, but someone has to take responsibility. We will have justice for Todd,” she added.
A spokesperson for the US Coast Guard said that on February 25, just after 5pm local time, officials were alerted that Meadows had gone overboard.
The alarm was raised by the fishing vessel Aleutian Lady, which reported he fell into the water about 170 miles north of Dutch Harbour, near Alaska.
Captain Rick Shelford confirmed the devastating loss in a Facebook post, calling February 25 “the most tragic day in the history of the Aleutian Lady on the Bering Sea.”
“We lost our brother, Todd Meadows,” he wrote.
“Todd was the newest member of our crew, he quickly became family. His love for fishing and his strong work ethic earned everyone’s respect right away.
“His smile was contagious, and the sound of his laughter coming up the wheelhouse stairs or over the deck hailer is something we will carry with us always.”
Discovery Channel also released a statement: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Todd Meadows.
“This is a devastating loss, and our hearts are with his loved ones, his crewmates and the entire fishing community during this incredibly difficult time.
“Our hearts are broken in a way that words can’t fully express.”
Todd is survived by three sons, and a GoFundMe has been started to support them.
The Bering Sea – known for its shallow depth, volatile weather, and freezing temperatures – is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous bodies of water in the world.
The hazards of the job are well-known among those who work the waters.
Captain Sig Hansen has previously described facing “life-threatening situations” at sea.
“We’ve had events where the boat was icing down to the point where I thought there was no return, he told Fox News.
Todd is survived by three young boysCredit: GoFundMe
A FITNESS influencer has confessed to lying about getting caught in an explosion.
Influencer Malibu Fit Maxx has admitted that he lied about the ordeal while serving in the army.
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Malibu Fit Maxx has apologised about telling his followers a lieCredit: InstagramThe influencer, whose real name is Lee Markham, took to social media in the candid videoCredit: malibufitmaxx/Instagram
The fitness influencer, whose real name is Lee Markham, shared a video this week where he revealed that he lied about sustaining an injury from an improvised explosive device while on active duty.
Speaking in his candid video, the influencer said: “I wanted to talk to you directly about the claim that I made, taking an IED blast to the face.”
He then said how he was “deeply proud” to have served in the military between 2005 and 2010.
The internet star explained how he received negative comments online about his appearance, which in turn let to him making a false claim about his time serving in the army.
“I’ve always got comments about my face and appearance.
“Some of them were harsh. And to be honest, I didn’t handle it well,” he began.
“I was new to being in the public eye and I didn’t know how to handle the criticism.”
He went on: “Instead of facing that right away, I made a bad decision and put ‘IED Survivor’ in my bio. That was not true and it was wrong.
“But truly I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart,” he said.
He added: “I have always tried to promote positivity and support for others, especially veterans.
“But I understand that my actions here contradict that. I take full responsibility for it,” he said later in the video.
Keen to regain the trust of his followers and fans, he added: “I know words alone will not fix this.
“Trust is earned. It’s not owed.
“All I can do is be honest with you guys going forward and let my actions speak over time.”
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His followers were divided in the comments section.
One person penned: “hanks for keeping it real bro. You’re one of the only accounts on here that brings true happiness to so many people.
“Don’t ever forget that and don’t ever stop going, bro.”
While another said: “This is a great example of taking accountability. You turned that from a disaster into a humble moment that other men can learn from. Respect!”
“Apologised like a man and didnt make excuses or keep lying – still a legend in my eyes,” added a third.
Meanwhile, someone else penned: “Bro only making this video because he got called out publicly. This is not accountability, this is damage control.”
And another slammed: “You ain’t sorry you’re only sorry because you got caught.”
Some fans were divided by his apology videoCredit: malibufitmaxx/Instagram
DUE to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, many Brits will find their holiday plans postponed or cancelled.
From those who are stranded in the UAE or supposed to be heading abroad, what does the conflict mean when it comes to travel insurance and your airline rights?
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UK travellers have very different rights depending on who they booked their trip withCredit: tawanlubfahHead of Sun Travel Lisa Minot explains your travel insurance rightsCredit: Dan Charity
Well, UK travellers stranded across the globe or due to fly via the Middle East in the coming days have very different rights depending on who they booked their trip with.
Those who booked flights with a non UK or EU airline like Emirates, Etihad or Qatar and were travelling from a destination outside the UK via the Middle Eastern hubs have limited rights compared to those who are travelling with a UK or EU airline or flying directly in or out of the UK.
UK passenger rights mean airlines have a duty of care to provide you with food and drink while you are delayed as well as a way to communicate by email or phone and overnight hotels and transfers if needed.
Under these same rights, the airline must get you to your destination as soon as is possible, even if that involves a different airline.
However, those travelling on non UK or EU flights from elsewhere in the world to the big hub airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar do not get the same rights.
This could be someone travelling from Thailand back to the UK via Dubai that is now stranded in Thailand as flights have been cancelled and the airspace is closed.
Airlines in this case MUST get you to your destination as soon as possible but there is no legal right to meals, accommodation or communication.
They also must provide you with a refund if you choose not to travel but beware of this option. The minute you accept a refund, the airline has no duty of care to you and no obligation to re-route you.
You would then need to book new flights yourself, which may be significantly more expensive. Travel insurance would not cover the difference between a refunded ticket and a new booking.
Despite this, the General Civil Aviation Authority in the UAE have – in a very rare move – confirmed that the state would be covering all accommodation and hosting costs for stranded passengers.
Of course, this only applies to Brits who are stranded in the UAE, so the likes of Dubai or Abu Dhabi.
Due to its location many holidaymakers will pass through the likes of Dubai or Doha before travelling onwards during an indirect journey.
In fact more than half a million travellers head through the hubs of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha every day.
For Brits, many long-haul flights to destinations like Thailand, Australia and South Africa generally stop in these airports.
Due the ongoing conflict, the airspace has been closed, as have the airports in Dubai and Doha.
Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi is starting up very limited flights with Etihad Airways.
Lots of holidaymakers will stopover in the UAE during a long-haul flightCredit: Alamy
Tim Riley, MD of travel insurer True Traveller and chairman of the UK Travel Industry Association, which represents all the major UK insurers, has advice for impacted travellers.
He explained that while airlines have an obligation to re-route passengers, they cannot override certain situations.
Tim said: “The primary issue in the current situation is airspace closures and the inability to leave the country.
“Travel insurance cannot override government airspace restrictions or operate repatriation flights.
“Airlines have a legal obligation to re-route passengers to their final destination once services resume, whether on their own aircraft or with an alternative carrier.”
Thousands of Brits are thought to be stranded in the Middle East after US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran
Thousands remain stranded after military strikes rocked the Middle East(Image: AP)
A travel expert has issued three words of crucial advice for people stranded in the Middle East following US and Israeli air strikes on Iran. Simon Calder made the remarks after hundreds of thousands of travellers found themselves stuck in destinations such as Qatar and Abu Dhabi in the wake of the attacks.
Numerous airlines, including British Airways, Emirates, and Qatar Airways, grounded flights following Iranian retaliatory strikes throughout the region. When flights will resume normal service remains unclear, with thousands of Britons believed to be stranded.
Speaking on Radio 5 Live, Mr Calder had three key words he urged travellers to follow: “At the moment, the best advice I have for anyone who is stuck in various parts of the world is: just be patient.”
The situation will be resolved – I hope, very much sooner rather than later,” he added. “What we have seen is the extraordinary sight of the big three of Middle Eastern hubs – Dubai International, Doha, and Abu Dhabi – all closing because of the retaliatory strikes from Iran. We have never seen that. The last thing of this scale we saw in this area like that here was the Covid pandemic.
“Consider this. More than a quarter of a million passengers were due (on Saturday) to fly to and through Dubai International Airport alone. It is bigger than Heathrow Airport, handles more passengers, and everyone is desperate to get where they need to be.
“I have been speaking to people who were about to take off, they had the ‘boarding complete’ announcement, and suddenly the captain said, ‘Sorry, airspace closed, we are staying here’. It took them three hours to get off the aircraft because they all had to be processed through immigration, leaving them in a place where they really didn’t want to be. Many of them were just off a previous flight a few hours before and were waiting to travel on to their final destination of London Heathrow.”
It was subsequently confirmed that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes, casting serious doubt over the future of the Islamic Republic. The death of Mr Khamenei, following decades in power, has triggered furious scenes across other parts of the Middle East and beyond, heightening the threat of potential regional instability.
Dubai International ranks as the world’s busiest airport, processing roughly 250,000 passengers daily. Doha Airport in Qatar handles approximately 150,000 travellers each day, meaning enormous travel chaos as both airports continue to be affected.
Doha holds particular significance for British passengers flying to and from the Middle East, Asia and the UK. Mr Calder went on to say: “Some people are in the difficult position of being stranded on the wrong side, and they are trying to get back to the UK but finding that air passenger rights rules – which are great when you are flying from Europe – don’t work the same way when you are flying to Europe on a non-UK or non-EU airline.
“They can basically just say, ‘well, good luck, we’ll try and get you there in a week or you can take a refund’. It’s really, really difficult Airlines like Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, they are not legally obliged to find hotel accommodation for all these stranded passengers and get them back as soon as possible but hopefully they will do so.
“The other problem for people whose flights have been cancelled, when flights resume, they go to the back of the queue. If flights resume on Monday, anybody who has a flight booked on Monday will fly on Monday, and people whose flights were cancelled over the weekend – and we are talking hundreds of thousands now – they are going to be finding that they are at the back of the queue, scrabbling for whatever available seats there are.”