GENEVA — The public wrangling between Iran, FIFA and U.S. President Donald Trump over the narrative of playing in the World Cup shifted on Tuesday to Mexico where President Claudia Sheinbaum seemed open to a suggestion by Islamic Republic diplomats that Iran’s games in June be moved to her country.
The Iranian ambassador and embassy in Mexico City said the country was negotiating with FIFA to move Iran’s three group-stage matches from the United States to Mexico after Trump last week discouraged the team from attending the 48-nation tournament, citing safety concerns.
It was already unclear whether such talks were even happening before FIFA said such unprecedented changes in World Cup history were not planned to a match schedule agreed three months ago.
Sheinbaum was asked about it Tuesday during her daily briefing.
“They are discussing with FIFA whether it’s feasible because they were going to hold the [games] in the United States,” she said. “They are looking into whether they can hold [them] in Mexico, and we will inform you when the time comes. Mexico has relations with all countries in the world. We’ll see what FIFA decides and then we’ll announce it.”
In a statement, FIFA said it is “in regular contact with all participating member associations, including [the Islamic Republic of] Iran, to discuss planning for the FIFA World Cup 2026. FIFA is looking forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced on Dec. 6, 2025.”
The Feb. 28 start of U.S. and Israeli bombing of Iran that killed the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior officials immediately cast doubt on the national soccer team going to play at least three World Cup games in the U.S., which is co-hosting the most watched global sports event with Mexico and Canada.
Iran’s soccer federation has not canceled its World Cup entry with FIFA, though official comments have variously suggested the U.S. is unable or unwilling to ensure the delegation’s secure arrival and accommodation.
Since last week, Trump has variously said “I don’t really care” if the Iran team comes, that it was welcome and would be treated like all players as stars, and that the players’ safety was at risk.
In comments posted late Monday on the embassy website, Iran’s Ambassador to Mexico Abolfazl Pasandideh urged FIFA to move the team’s games to Mexico, saying the U.S. was not cooperative on visas.
“We love the Mexican people very much and for us, the best situation is for our games to be held in Mexico,” he was quoted as saying by state-run news agency IRNA.
An Iranian government spokesman and the team itself have said in recent days it is up to FIFA and the U.S. to keep the team safe during the World Cup. The Iran team’s planned training camp is in Tucson.
Pasandideh’s embassy in Mexico City also posted a statement attributed to national soccer federation president Mehdi Taj saying Iran wants to move its group-stage matches out of the U.S.
“When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America,” the statement said. “We are currently negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s matches in the World Cup in Mexico.”
Iran is scheduled to play New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 at SoFi Stadium before finishing group play in Seattle against Egypt on June 26.
Moving the games would be remarkable less than three months before the World Cup and risks being judged a failure in the history of tournament hosting.
It also is not envisaged by Iran’s first opponent.
New Zealand soccer federation chief executive Andrew Pragnell said Monday: “I also don’t foresee it as remotely feasible” to move scheduled games to another country. Tens of thousands of tickets have been sold for Iran games, including to visiting fans who have booked flights to the U.S.
“By trying to move the match schedule, you actually create more problems down the track,” Pragnell told New Zealand media outlet Stuff, adding “I don’t think it’ll happen.”
The Belgian soccer federation declined to comment Tuesday.
Trump said last week that the Iran team was welcome at the World Cup despite the ongoing war in the Middle East but “I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.”
Iran’s mixed signals include Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali telling state TV last week that it was not possible to play “due to the wicked acts they have done against Iran.”
But after Trump’s post the national team said on Instagram that “no one can exclude” it from the tournament and a government spokesman in Tehran stressed it was the responsibility of FIFA and the U.S. as a co-host nation to keep players safe and secure.
“FIFA is the organizer of the World Cup,” Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said. “When warnings are issued at the highest level about the environment being unsafe for Iranian football players, this indicates that the host country apparently lacks the capacity and ability to provide security for such an important sporting event.”
Soccer is followed passionately in Iran, a nation of more than 90 million people which has qualified for seven men’s World Cups and each of the past four editions. The team is ranked No. 20 in the world by FIFA and behind only Japan from Asia.
FIFA has not commented in recent days beyond an Instagram post by president Gianni Infantino last week that he’d received assurances from Trump that Iran was welcome at the tournament.
Dunbar and Pye write for the Associated Press. Amir-Hussein Rajdy in Cairo and Fabiola Sanchez in Mexico City contributed to this report.
1 of 2 | Deputy Prime Minister Bae Kyung-hoon, sixth from left, and Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eun-won pose for a group photo at a public-private meeting on the “K-NVIDIA Project” at the Seoul Press Center on Tuesday. Photo by Asia Today
March 17 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s government has launched a major initiative to foster domestic artificial intelligence semiconductor companies, committing tens of billions of dollars as part of a broader national investment plan.
The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Financial Services Commission held a public-private meeting in Seoul on Tuesday to introduce the so-called “K-NVIDIA Project,” a strategy aimed at building globally competitive AI chipmakers.
Under the plan, the government will allocate 30 trillion won (about $22.5 billion) to artificial intelligence and about 21 trillion won (about $15.8 billion) to semiconductors from a 150 trillion won ($112.5 billion) National Growth Fund to be created over five years.
Officials said the initiative is designed to nurture homegrown AI chip firms capable of competing with global industry leaders, strengthening South Korea’s position in next-generation technologies.
Participants at the meeting included Deputy Prime Minister and Science and ICT Minister Bae Kyung-hoon, Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eun-won and Korea Development Bank Chairman Park Sang-jin, along with executives from local AI semiconductor firms.
Industry representatives from companies such as FuriosaAI, DeepX, Mobilint, HyperExcel and Rebellion also attended the session.
The meeting brought together government officials and private-sector leaders to discuss investment strategies, technological development and policy support for the emerging AI semiconductor ecosystem.
WASHINGTON — An advocacy group hoping to expand support for child and elder care is planning to spend $50 million to back Democrats in congressional races, tying the costs of caregiving to the nation’s affordability debate.
The Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, created a decade ago, aims to make caregiver issues more salient in elections. The announcement comes as the cost of child care continues to rise and as waiting lists for federal child-care subsidies, which support working families in poverty, continue to grow.
Sondra Goldschein, executive director of the campaign and its political action committee, said child care and elder care are important to the affordability conversation, especially as child-care costs exceed what families pay for housing. Then there is the pressure on the “sandwich generation,” composed of middle-aged people who are caring simultaneously for their own children and parents.
“When child care can cost more than your rent or a mortgage, or you have to sacrifice a paycheck in order to be able to take care of a loved one,” that can motivate how people vote, said Goldschein. “Each election cycle, we see candidates recognizing that more and more.”
She hopes the message will resonate as families face a slew of rising costs, including climbing gas prices driven by a war in Iran that is unpopular with many voters.
The campaign plans to pour support for Democrats into Senate races in North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Maine and Ohio and into House races in Iowa and Pennsylvania. It is also slated to dispatch volunteers to talk with voters about caregiving.
The National Republican Congressional Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Republicans have begun to back child care as an issue crucial to growing the workforce, but their proposals tend to be less dramatic than those offered by Democrats. Last year, through President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, Republicans made an estimated 4 million more families eligible for a child-care tax credit. The law also increased child-care aid for military families and tax credits for employers who provide child care to their workers.
Before 2020, many candidates rarely spoke about child care. But the COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the child-care industry’s precarity and necessity. Preschools and child-care centers were pressed to stay open so parents in front-line jobs — such as those in healthcare — could return to work.
Then-President Biden successfully persuaded Congress in 2021 to pass $39 billion in aid for child care, allowing states to offer support to more families and subsidizing wages for child-care workers. Later that year, Biden sought to create nationwide universal pre-kindergarten and to vastly expand child-care subsidies for families so that none would pay more than 7% of their household income for care. But the proposal narrowly failed in Congress. Since then, the pandemic aid has dried up and families are feeling the pinch of rising costs.
Now, several candidates have centered their campaigns around child-care affordability. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who won election after pledging to make the city more affordable for middle-class residents, ran on universal child care. Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and Gov. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia won elections after pledging to expand child-care subsidies.
Candidates this election cycle are running on universal child-care pledges. They include Democrats Janeese Lewis George, who is running for mayor in Washington, D.C., and Francesca Hong, a gubernatorial candidate in Wisconsin. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is up for reelection this year, has pledged to support Mamdani’s ambitions and eventually to expand universal child care statewide.
Neither the White House nor the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees federal child-care programs, responded to requests for comment. In his 2024 campaign, during an address to the Economic Club of New York, Trump said increasing foreign tariffs would “take care” of the expense of child care. That plan, thus far, has not materialized.
In Trump’s current term, the administration has largely focused on cracking down on fraud, after a viral video alleged Somali-run child-care centers in Minneapolis were billing the government for children they weren’t caring for.
While there have been prosecutions stemming from child-care subsidy fraud, the Minneapolis video’s central claims were disproven by state inspectors. Nonetheless, the Trump administration attempted to freeze child-care funding for Minnesota and five other Democratic-led states until a court ordered the funding to be released.
A group of California trial lawyers is backing a package of bills aimed at policing their industry by ramping up the penalties for attorneys who recruit clients illegally or prioritize the desires of hedge fund investors.
The Consumer Attorneys of California, a prominent trade group, said it is supporting two bills this session meant to crack down on the “small number of bad actors engaged in illegal conduct that threatens to undermine public trust” in the state’s legal bar.
The group said the bills, introduced Monday by Assemblymembers Ash Kalra (D-San José) and Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Los Angeles), were a response to recent Times investigations involving California lawyers. The Times found nine clients within L.A. County’s $4-billion sex-abuse settlement who said they were paid to sue and, in some cases, fabricate claims that became part of the historic payout. Another story examined opaque investor financing arrangements used by some firms.
“We’re not trying to insulate ourselves from accountability,” said Douglas Saeltzer, president of the attorney group, in an interview. “There needs to be consequences.”
The bill introduced by Zbur would disbar any attorney who is convicted of illegally soliciting clients. Kalra’s bill would ban private equity firms and hedge funds from dictating case strategy after giving money to a law firm.
Plaintiff’s attorneys say the legislative push is an attempt to clean up their profession’s image. It comes amid efforts by companies and governments frequently targeted by lawsuits to rein in a barrage of litigation.
Uber is pushing a measure for the November ballot that would limit how much lawyers can collect in fees for car crash cases, encouraging Californians to “stop the billboard lawyer scam.” A coalition of California counties has simultaneously begun circulating language to lawmakers that would limit attorneys’ ability to sue over older sex-abuse cases, pointing to recent allegations of fraud.
Zbur’s legislation, Assembly Bill 2039, would require the State Bar strip the license of any attorney with a felony conviction for a practice known as capping, in which law firms directly solicit or procure clients to sign up for lawsuits. Currently, attorneys convicted of capping can face suspension or probation, but are eligible to keep their license.
Under the bill, the attorney also would be disbarred for a misdemeanor capping conviction if the lawyer “acted knowingly and for financial gain.”
“It really is making very clear that if you’re engaging in this kind of capping, then there’s going to be a consequence,” Zbur said.
All clients who said they were paid to sue L.A. County over sex abuse were represented by Downtown LA Law Group, one of Southern California’s largest personal injury firms. The firm, also known as DTLA, is under investigation by the district attorney, the State Bar and L.A. County.
DTLA has denied any wrongdoing and said its lawyers “operate with unwavering integrity, prioritizing client welfare.”
Zbur’s bill also would provide whistleblower protections to people who report on attorney misconduct and tighten the rules around client loans. California is one of the few states where lawyers can lend money directly to clients.
Other states have barred the practice, concerned that direct loans give an attorney too much leverage over their clients.
The second bill introduced Monday, AB 2305, is aimed at the rising trend of private equity firms and hedge funds lending money to law firms and profiting from the payouts. The Times reported in December that investors were financing some of the flood of sex-abuse litigation against L.A. County.
Supporters of litigation finance say it gives attorneys the funding they need to take on deep-pocketed corporations and represent victims who can’t afford to sue on their own. Critics say investors can secretly sway case strategy, putting their profit before the best interests of a client.
“These Wall Street investors are salivating,” Kalra said. “This is just gonna clearly say, ‘No, no more. We’re not gonna allow these types of investments to influence the practice of law.’”
Kalra’s bill would bar investors from weighing in on litigation, such as who the firm should take on as a client and when they should settle a case. Any contracts that allow investor influence would be void under the law.
It’s unclear how the restrictions would be enforced. It’s often difficult to tell when an investor is financing a firm’s caseload, much less whether they’re exerting influence on a case.
Lawyers already are barred under the State Bar’s rules from allowing a third party to dictate case strategy and are barred in many cases from sharing legal fees with a nonlawyer.
“We’re finding that’s not enough,” Kalra said. “We actually need clear statutory safeguards.”
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
Members of the NATO alliance are denying U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand that they send warships to help protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz after frequent Iranian attacks. As we noted yesterday, the president said that “If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.”
“This is not our war; we did not start it,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters in Berlin on Monday. “We want diplomatic solutions and a swift end to the conflict, but sending more warships to the region will likely not help achieve that.”
WATCH: German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius:
We did not start this war.
What does the world expect, what does Donald Trump expect from a handful or two handfuls of European frigates to achieve there in the Strait of Hormuz, which the powerful American Navy cannot manage… https://t.co/lO4WR2zly3pic.twitter.com/MWwu3U4xyS
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul doesn’t see NATO playing a role in dealing with the blockade of the Strait.
“I don’t see that NATO has made any decision in this direction or could assume responsibility for the Strait of Hormuz,” he said Monday ahead of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels. “If that were the case, then the NATO bodies would address it accordingly.”
Wadephul added that despite the volatile situation in the Middle East, Ukraine remained Europe’s top security priority, the BBC noted. When the prices for oil and gas rise, he explained, it contributes to Russia’s war chest.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Wadephul on Iran War:
Will we soon be an active part of this conflict? No.
We will not participate in this conflict.
We want to participate in negotiations, because security for the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea will only be achieved through a… pic.twitter.com/J6cJNxXWsO
“Blackmail is not what I wish for,” he stated, adding that NATO is there to react when members are attacked, not for all defensive or military requests, Bloomberg News noted.
“I want to remind that none of us has been directly attacked,” he said. “There are no grounds for now to invoke Article 5,” he added, referencing the alliance’s collective defense clause.
Germany and Luxembourg joined Japan and Australia in rejecting Trump’s call for help in reopening the Strait, at least for now.
“Let me be clear, that won’t be, and it’s never envisioned to be, a NATO mission,” he said, adding that Britain will not be “drawn into the wider war.”
Britain “is working with allies on a collective plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restore freedom of navigation in the Middle East but it will not be easy, ” Starmer posited, according to Reuters.
“Ultimately, we have to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ensure stability in the (oil) market. That is not a simple task,” Starmer told reporters.
Britain and Germany, after Australia, become the latest allies not jumping to send warships to protect the Strait of Hormuz, as Trump wants. https://t.co/wxDkAnoIa4
Some nations are willing to listen to any plan Trump might present to NATO.
“We have to look into it and consider it,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys told Bloomberg TV in an interview in Brussels. “I would look for an in-depth debate within NATO.”
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski concurred.
“If there is a request with NATO to discuss the issue, we will of course consider it out of respect and sympathy for our allies,” he said.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas encouraged member states to consider expanding their Aspides naval mission, originally launched in 2024 while Houthis attacked shipping in the nearby Red Sea.
“If we want to have security in this region, it would be easiest to already use the operation we have in the region and maybe change a bit,” Kallas said.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz hurts the global economy and helps Russia fund its war.
It is affecting our partners in the region and is dangerous for global energy supplies.
Today, EU Foreign Ministers will discuss how to better protect shipping in the region, including… pic.twitter.com/iJSVdT7FqA
While the Aspides vessels are currently allowed to navigate in the Strait of Hormuz, its mandate doesn’t allow more than that,” Bloomberg News posited, adding that EU countries would have to unanimously agree to change those directives, which could be difficult.
“There is no change to Aspides mission or posture,” Lt Colonel Socrates Ravanos, an Aspides spokesman, told us on Monday. “EUNAVFOR ASPIDES continues to carry out its mandate, ensuring the protection and security of commercial maritime traffic within its area of operations.”
The operation’s “assets in the area of operation monitor the situation closely and remain vigilant,” he continued. “Maritime security developments in the region are continuously assessed in coordination with partners and relevant maritime authorities.”
Concern over Iranian attacks in the Strait date back many decades. Back in 2012, The Washington Institute estimated that clearing the Strait of Hormuz could require up to 16 Avenger-class (mine counter measure) MCM vessels.
The Washington Institute estimated years ago that clearing the Strait of Hormuz could require up to 16 Avenger-class MCM vessels.⁰ The Navy has three MCM-equipped LCS in the region. https://t.co/vFTRppfdwL
As we previously reported, however, the last four of those decommissioned vessels left Bahrain in January aboard a larger heavy lift vessel.
The Navy has three MCM-equipped Littoral Combat Ships in the region, Hunterbrook noted. As we reported yesterday, two Independence class Littoral Combat Ships configured for mine-sweeping duties that were previously deployed to the Middle East showed up in port in Malaysia. Both the USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara had arrived in Bahrain in the past year or so to take the place of a group of now-decommissioned Avenger class mine hunters. You can read more about that in our story here.
In Washington, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday reiterated that the administration is forming a naval coalition to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
“The president is speaking with our allies in Europe and also many of our partners in the Gulf and Arab world to encourage them to step up and do more to open the Strait of Hormuz, and our NATO allies especially need to step up,” she told Fox News. “President Trump has been very frank with our friends in NATO for a very long time… now he’s calling on them to do the right thing.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on the administration forming a naval coalition to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz: “The president is speaking with our allies in Europe and also many of our partners in the Gulf and Arab world to encourage them to step up… pic.twitter.com/SgxvPSExab
In his latest update on Epic Fury, CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper on Monday said attacks are “zeroed in on dismantling Iran’s decades old threat to the free flow of commerce through the Strait of Hormuz, through a combination of air, land and maritime capabilities. We have successfully destroyed over 100 Iranian naval vessels, and we aren’t done.”
Iranian attacks on shipping seem to have tapered off.
Between the start of Epic Fury on Feb. 28 and March 12, The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) office received 20 reports of incidents affecting vessels operating in and around the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman. There were 16 attacks on ships, and four reports of suspicious activity. There have been no verified reports of attacks since March 12, according to UKMTO.
Amid the debate on how to protect Strait shipping, the first non-Iranian ship has transited the Strait with its AIS transponder on, according to the MarineTraffic open-source tracking site. Several observers have noted how close to the Iranian shore these ships are traveling. This could be due to Iranian mines, even though Trump on Monday repeated the assertion that Epic Fury attacks have destroyed all Iran’s mine-laying ships. Mines can be laid by small boats and Iran has practices doing exactly this in the past. This could also just be a safe deconfliction corridor Iran is using for safe passage.
The U.S. is “fine” with some Iranian, Indian and Chinese ships getting through the Strait of Hormuz for now, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Monday.
The closure of the Strait has forced several nations to alter their energy policies. Japan started the largest-ever release of oil from its strategic reserves on Monday, according to the Japan Times. The 80 million-barrel effort comes as the Strait of Hormuz stays effectively closed amid the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and crude oil prices continue to soar.
“The release — 15 days’ worth of domestic demand from mandatory private reserves and one month from national reserves — was the seventh ever conducted in the nation,” the publication noted.
BREAKING Japan says it is beginning the release of its strategic oil reserves after the International Energy Agency indicated that the release would begin in Asia and Oceania before other regions.
South Korea is also taking action in the wake of the Strait of Hormuz closure. It is lifting a cap on coal-fired power generation (until now set at 80% of capacity) to offset the loss of LNG, explains Bloomberg energies and commodities columnist Javier Blas in a post on X.
South Korea is lifting a cap on coal-fired power generation (until now set at 80% of capacity) to offset the loss of LNG
The flexibility of Asia to performan gas-to-coal switching (and its enormous coal-fired fleet) provides a layer of insulation that Europe didn’t have in 2022
— איתי בלומנטל 🇮🇱 Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) March 16, 2026
An Indian-flagged crude tanker had a close call when the UAE’s Fujairah port came under attack on Saturday while it was loading crude at the oil terminal, according to the Times of India. The vessel sailed out safely the next day with everyone onboard unhurt.
JAG LAADKI an Indian flagged Crude Oil Tanker is being escorted out of the Gulf of Oman by the Indian Navy as maritime security in the region remains tense pic.twitter.com/0YdR06QxDJ
Iran has asked India to release three tankers seized in February as part of talks seeking the safe passage of Indian‑flagged or India‑bound vessels out of the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported on X, citing three sources with knowledge of the matter.
(Reuters) – Iran has asked India to release three tankers seized in February as part of talks seeking the safe passage of Indian‑flagged or India‑bound vessels out of the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
In a brief chat with PBS News, Trump repeated his stance, since denied by Tehran, that Iran wants to negotiate.
“We’re doing very well,” he told the outlet, reiterating comments about destroying Iran’s military. He added: “They want to make a deal but they’re not ready to make a deal in my opinion.”
Just had a brief phone call with @potus this morning and asked him several questions about Iran. He noted when he answered that it was not a good time to chat because he was in the middle of a “very important meeting” about it – but said the following:
In addition to frequent conversations with Israeli leaders, Trump is also talking regularly to Arab leaders, particularly Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince.
“According to several officials, the advice Mr. Trump is getting from the prince is to keep hitting the Iranians hard — essentially repeating the advice that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who died in 2015, repeatedly gave to Washington: “Cut off the head of the snake, according to The New York Times.
Just as the war is poised to escalate this leak could be adding fuel to fire. According to @nytimes “Mr. Trump is talking regularly to Arab leaders, particularly Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince. According to several officials, the advice Mr. Trump is getting from the…
Axios reported that “some key officials around Trump were reluctant or wanted more time” before an attack on Iran.
“He ended up saying, ‘I just want to do it,’” the source told the outlet. “He grossly overestimated his ability to topple the regime short of sending in ground troops.”
A source close to the administration said some key officials around Trump were reluctant or wanted more time.
“He ended up saying, ‘I just want to do it,'” the source said. “He grossly overestimated his ability to topple the regime short of sending in ground troops.” https://t.co/lJWB1SyOhM
The America class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli is continuing to speed toward the Middle East after the Pentagon ordered a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) to bolster forces in the region.
The vessel, along with two Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer escorts, was last seen about 420 miles from Manilla, pushing deep into the South China Sea, according to open-source investigator MT Anderson.
“Running an aviation-optimized amphibious assault ship at high speed with a dedicated twin-destroyer escort is a heavily protected, offensive posture,” Anderson assessed. “They are moving with purpose, bringing a major Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) umbrella with them as they sprint toward the theater.”
HIGH-SPEED TRANSIT: USS Tripoli Flanked by Heavy Escorts
OSINT Update (Mar 15 imagery): Tracking the USS Tripoli (LHA-7) as she continues her rapid push toward the Middle East for Operation Epic Fury. She is not making this run alone.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Monday it had begun a “targeted ground operation against key targets” in southern Lebanon, pushing more forces deeper into the area as part of an expanded buffer zone, The Times of Israel reported. The move came after Hezbollah began attacking Israel earlier this month amid the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the operation would continue until Hezbollah no longer poses a threat to the residents of northern Israel, and said displaced Lebanese would not return to their homes until then.
IDF’s 401st Brigade troops of the 91st Division carry out precision raids in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah’s terror infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/eYwjr2jwXG
Hezbollah reportedly used its Almas missiles for the first time in this conflict. You can read more about these weapons in our story here.
#Lebanon: Hezbollah has used its first Almas missile amid ongoing conflict with Israel.
While Hezbollah primarily uses anti-tank missiles such as the Konkurs and Kornet, the Iranian-made Almas (a copy of the Israeli Spike) offers more advanced capabilities.
The IDF also said it attacked an Iranian space-related compound that researcher Fabian Hinz said was used to conduct research on exoatmospheric guidance.
The Iranians were conducting a lot of research and development work on exoatmospheric guidance technologies as part of their missile and SLV programs. Would not be surprised if they were eventually aiming to develop direct-ascent anti-satellite capabilities as well. https://t.co/sugj1KrDPq
China’s Foreign Ministry is calling for an immediate halt to military operations in the Middle East, warning that further regional escalation could hit the global economy, Al Jazeera reported on X.
BREAKING: China’s Foreign Ministry is calling for an immediate halt to military operations in the Middle East, warning that further regional escalation could hit the global economy. pic.twitter.com/rWyDn2DxgV
Online flight trackers say a Qatari Air Force C-17A strategic military transport plane flew to Rzeszów, Poland, earlier last week, following a similar flight the week before.
The nature of these flights is unclear. However, with Rzeszów serving as the primary hub for military aid being transshipped to Ukraine, it is possible the flights may have been delivering air defense interceptors originally intended for Ukraine or transporting Ukrainian counter drone specialists. We just don’t know.
A Qatar Air Force C-17A strategic military transport plane flew to Rzeszów, Poland, earlier last week.
A UAE Air Force C-17A also carried out a similar flight to the same destination last week.
Rzeszów is the primary hub for military aid being transshipped to Ukraine, so the… pic.twitter.com/o5JjxEulpc
The flow of videos out of Iran, already greatly reduced because of the regime’s internet blockage, has slowed even further.
“There’s been a notable drop in the number of videos coming out of Iran in the last 24 hours. I’ve now heard from multiple sources inside Iran that the government has further tightened its imposed internet blackout by closing loopholes and targeting those with Starlink access,” BBC journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh noted on X.
There’s been a notable drop in the number of videos coming out of Iran in the last 24 hours.
I’ve now heard from multiple sources inside Iran that the government has further tightened its imposed internet blackout by closing loopholes and targeting those with Starlink access. https://t.co/KOCGBS5fXr
Still, some videos are making it out, like this one purporting to show Iranian Basij paramilitary forces hiding in a school.
Basij forces and government security agents had gathered inside a school, a citizen who sent a video to Iran International said. pic.twitter.com/RkEjEtMCMK
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) March 16, 2026
UPDATES:
We have concluded our rolling coverage for the day.
UPDATE: 5:48 PM EST –
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi pushed back on claims that he has established backchannel communications with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.
My last contact with Mr. Witkoff was prior to his employer’s decision to kill diplomacy with another illegal military attack on Iran.
Any claim to the contrary appears geared solely to mislead oil traders and the public.
With speculation rife that is he is badly wounded or perhaps even dead, new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei will reportedly give a television speech in the coming days. Khamenie, who Iranian officials have admitted was wounded in an airstrike, has not been seen in public since.
An Iranian Foreign Ministry Advisor tells Lebanese Al-Jadeed that the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, will deliver a televised speech “in the coming days.”
The advisor stated that Khamenei is in direct contact with military and political leaders, “and the reason for his…
— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) March 16, 2026
Speaking to reporters at The White House, Trump extolled the virtues of the B-2A Spirit stealth bomber.
“Let me hug that little sucker,” he said while asking an aide to hand him a model of the aircraft the president keeps in the Oval Office.
UPDATE: 5:24 PM EST –
MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, home of the command running the war in Iran, is reopening its main gate after a bomb scare earlier today, a spokesman for the 6th Air Refueling Wing, the base host unit, confirmed to The War Zone.
“The incident has been terminated and we are ready to open the main gate and visitor center,” the spokesman told us. The base, however, was not on lockdown.
MacDill is home to CENTCOM, U.S. Special Operations Command as well as the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6th ARW) and the 927th Air Refueling Wing and dozens of other mission partners. Last week, three airmen assigned to the 6th ARW were among six killed in a crash of a KC-135 aerial refueling tanker.
Today’s situation unfolded this afternoon when a suspicious package was found at the Visitors Center near the Dale Mabry entrance gate, according to the FBI. The bureau sent its Special Agent Bomb Techs to the scene, who worked it along with Tampa Police, the FBI said in a post on X.
The main gate at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, was reopened Monday afternoon after a bomb scare. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Vernon L. Fowler Jr MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa is home to both U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Vernon L. Fowler Jr.
UPDATE: 4:23 PM EST –
Talking to reporters on Monday, Trump seemed surprised that Iran would actually attack its neighbors if it came under fire.
The president was responding to a question about whether he was briefed about possible Iranian strikes on nations like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.
Trump on Iran:
I heard they were sending missiles to the UAE. I said, “That’s strange, you know? The UAE is like the banker for Iran.” They’re sort of the banker. Qatar, their neighbors — they got along okay.
A direct communications channel between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has been reactivated in recent days, Axios reported, citing a U.S. official and a source with knowledge.
🇮🇷📲🇺🇸A direct communications channel between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi & U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff has been reactivated in recent days, according to a U.S. official & a source with knowledge. Read the story by @MarcACaputo & me on @Axioshttps://t.co/izoFpwZV5m
Araghchi lashed out at comments made by U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth that America would show “no quarter” in Epic Fury.
“When the U.S. Secretary of War declares ‘no quarter.’ he doesn’t project strength,” Araghchi stated on X. “He conveys moral bankruptcy and ignorance about law of armed conflict. We advise him to review the Hague Convention and Rome Statute of the ICC, unless he aspires to join Netanyahu as war criminal.”
When the U.S. Secretary of War declares “no quarter”, he doesn’t project strength. He conveys moral bankruptcy and ignorance about law of armed conflict. We advise him to review the Hague Convention and Rome Statute of the ICC, unless he aspires to join Netanyahu as war criminal.
The IDF Chief of the General Staff approved plans to continue operations in the Northern Command.
“The impact of the strike and the weakening of the radical regime in Iran is also felt in the campaign against Hezbollah,” said Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir. “To date, the Northern Command has eliminated more than 400 Hezbollah terrorists.”
הרמטכ״ל באישור תוכניות להמשך בפיקוד הצפון: ״ההדף של הפגיעה והחלשת המשטר הרדיקאלי באיראן מורגש גם במערכה מול חיזבאללה; עד כה פיקוד צפון חיסל למעלה מ-400 מחבלי חיזבאללה״
״אנו נערכים להמשך ומתגברים את פיקוד הצפון בכוחות נוספים על מנת להרחיב את הפעולה הצבאית, להעמיק את הפגיעה… pic.twitter.com/HrBMLk9LFf
CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins confirmed to The War Zone that more than 200 troops have been wounded or injured across seven countries since the start of Epic Fury. The injuries took place in Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
“The vast majority of these injuries have been minor, and more than 180 troops have already returned to duty,” he explained, adding that 10 troops were seriously injured.
In addition to the wounded, seven U.S. troops have been killed in Iranian attacks, the most serious being March 1 when six Army soldiers were killed in an Iranian drone attack on Kuwait. Another six Air Force airmen died when their KC-135 refueling plane crashed in Iraq, reportedly after colliding with another KC-135.
CENTCOM released its latest Epic Fury update, saying it struck more than 7,000 targets, flew more than 6,500 combat sorties and damaged or destroyed more than 100 Iranian ships.
CENTCOM
Baghdad continues to be hit.
In what looks like a scene from a video game, a counter rocket, artillery, and mortar C-RAM system is seen engaging with a drone over Baghdad.
C-Ram successful interception of a drone/rocket launched by Iranian-backed militias in Baghdad this evening. The Target was the U.S embassy. pic.twitter.com/EuHGx705gR
Footage of a reported coalition interception of an Iranian drone can be seen in the following video.
Not all the interceptions apparently worked. A drone reportedly slammed into the Royal Tulip al-Rasheed hotel in the Iraqi capital.
The Spanish Ministry of Defense confirmed on Sunday that it temporarily transferred its special forces from Iraq due to worsening safety and failure to conduct missions securely.“The Special Operations Task Group was relocated to safe areas because the security situation prevented it from continuing training operations with Iraqi forces,” according to the ministry.
GPS interference in and around the Strait of Hormuz has continued to rise since the crisis began, suggesting a persistent and geographically dispersed campaign of electronic disruption, according to Kpler.
Hormuz GPS disruption continues
GPS interference in and around the Strait of Hormuz has continued to rise since the crisis began, suggesting a persistent and geographically dispersed campaign of electronic disruption. This interference is triggering false AIS positioning,… pic.twitter.com/VXiaxHwFat
Wild video was posted on X of an Israeli interception of an Iranian ballistic missile. No injuries were reported, according to Times of Israel military correspondent Emanuel “Mannie” Fabian.
No injuries are reported in Iran’s latest ballistic missile salvo on Israel, the sixth since midnight, and the first in some six hours.
A small number of missiles were launched, which were likely intercepted, according to initial military assessments.
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 16, 2026
UPDATE: 2:42 PM EST –
The war with Iran is expected to last at least another month, according to Israel media, citing a senior Israeli official.
“Israel is reportedly preparing for an extended phase of fighting as it seeks to further weaken the Iranian regime and capitalize on what it views as signs of internal instability within the country’s leadership,” The Times of Israel reported. “According to the source, U.S. President Donald Trump supports Israel in continuing the campaign.”
We reached out to the White House for comment.
❗️ Senior Israeli source: Iran war will continue for longer than expected; we’re preparing to fight for another month at least; Trump is on board.
NATO responded to our query about debate over sending warships to the Strait of Hormuz.
“Allies have already stepped up to provide additional security in the Mediterranean,” a NATO official told us. “We are aware that individual Allies are talking with the US and others on what more they might do, including in the context of security in the Strait of Hormuz.”
In the first 96 hours of Epic Fury, the US-led coalition “expended approximately 5,197 munitions across 35 types,” according to a new report from the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI).
“This carries a munitions-only replacement bill of $10–$16 billion in four days,” FPRI posited. “This represents a significant industrial burden for replacing some munitions that cannot be replenished in 4 days, 4 weeks, or even 4 months. Worse, those estimates do not include combat losses of warfighting assets or damage to bases and the high-end air defense enabling architecture.”
We have an important new analysis of munitions used in the first 96 hours of the war with Iran out at the @FPRI (Foreign Policy Research Institute).
In the first 96 hours, the US-led coalition expended approximately 5,197 munitions across 35 types. This carries a munitions-only…
Video has emerged showing intense flames at Dubai International Airport’s fuel storage area after an Iranian attack.
CENTCOM posted additional video of its attacks on Iranian targets.
Thousands of Iranian military targets have been struck by U.S. forces to neutralize threats posed by the Iranian regime now and into the future. pic.twitter.com/dE4VNxjjW1
MT Anderson provided an update on the location of the Tripoli. The ship was spotted on AIS North of the Riau Archipelago, transiting the southern South China Sea at 18 knots.
The Iraqi armed faction Kataib Hezbollah announced the death of its spokesperson, known as Abu Ali al-Askari. He was reportedly killed in a U.S. airstrike after a wave of attacks against U.S. facilities in Iraq.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم بكل فخر ورضا بقضاء الله وقدره، نزف لكم نبأ استشهاد الحاج أبو علي العسكري إلى جنات الخلد. ذلك الصوت الشجاع الذي لم يخرس أمام الظلم، واللسان الصادق الذي زرع في نفوس المجاهدين معاني الإباء والصمود. لقد كان الشهيد شريان التواصل بين ميادين التضحية ومنصات…
— صابرين نيوز – Sabereen news (@sabreenS11) March 16, 2026
Six people were injured in a Hezbollah rocket attack in Nahariya, according to medics. The town is located about eight miles south of the Lebanese border.
Six people are injured in a Hezbollah rocket strike on a home in Nahariya, medics say.
Magen David Adom says it treated two adults and four minors with signs of smoke inhalation. They are all listed in good condition.
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 16, 2026
Turkey’s Foreign Affairs Ministry (MFA) condemned the latest Israeli incursion into Lebanon.
“The Netanyahu government’s collective punishment and genocidal policies in Lebanon will lead to a new humanitarian catastrophe in the region,” the MFA said in a statement on Monday. “We reaffirm our solidarity with Lebanon amid these attacks, which violate its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
UPDATE: 1:50 PM EST –
Speaking at a board meeting of the Trump Kennedy Center, the president claimed he predicted that Iran would attack shipping in the Strait.
NOW – Trump says he predicted Iran would weaponize the Strait of Hormuz, adding, “I predicted all of it. I predicted Osama bin Laden would knock out the World Trade Center. I made that prediction a year before he did it.” pic.twitter.com/6VqkvzamW0
The president added that he does not know Iran mined the Strait.
He also said the U.S. has hit 7,000 targets since launching Epic Fury.
Trump on Iran:
Since the beginning of the conflict, we struck more than 7,000 targets across Iran; these have been mostly military and commercial targets. pic.twitter.com/ppiyztSRDj
France has reportedly boosted its deployment of Rafale fighters to Jordan and UAE to 24, more than double the usual 10, according to French defense observer Tom Antonov. The jets have already intercepted dozens of Iranian drones, he added in a post on X.
The MQ-9 Reaper drones have played a big role in the war, and have been heavily targeted by Iran. To date, the U.S. has lost about a dozen Reapers, including one accidentally shot down by an ally, according to The Wall Street Journal.
NATO is considering boosting its ballistic missile defense capacity in Turkey against threats from neighboring Iran, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter
“The military alliance already deployed a battery in eastern Turkey to protect an early-warning radar used to track missiles across the Middle East,” the outlet stated. “It’s now considering sending another Patriot missile-defense system to bolster an airbase where American troops are stationed.”
NATO is looking into reinforcing further its ballistic missile defense capacity in Turkey against threats from neighboring Iran, according to people familiar with the matter. https://t.co/eQzealf1qp
Vancouver, Canada – Prime Minister Mark Carney’s efforts to unite Canadians around protecting the nation’s economy from the US are hitting roadblocks as he nears one year in power.
Indigenous peoples across Canada are increasingly divided over Carney’s aggressive push to expand resource extraction and projects on their ancestral lands.
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Some experts question how his government can advance its agenda while respecting Indigenous rights enshrined in the country’s constitution.
March 14 will mark one year since Carney, former head of Canada’s central bank, was sworn into office.
After an election last year, his centrist Liberal party formed a minority government with the highest share of the popular vote in 40 years.
A key to Carney’s victory was his pledge to “stand strong” against US trade threats and grow Canada’s economic sovereignty, an assertive approach the prime minister has called “elbows up”.
“In the face of global trade shifts … we will build big and build fast to create a stronger, more sustainable, more independent economy,” Carney said in a statement on March 6.
Part of that push was to create a Major Projects Office to speed up approvals of economic developments, starting by fast-tracking 10 mega-projects.
They include two massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants and an open-pit mine in British Columbia, a nuclear plant in Ontario, a Quebec shipping terminal, and wind power in Atlantic Canada.
Those developments are worth 116 billion Canadian dollars ($85bn), the government estimates.
‘Our rights get pushed to the side’
Carney’s approach to the US trade war has gained support from Canadians, according to recent opinion surveys.
A March 3 poll of 1,500 citizens by Abacus Data found that 50 percent say Carney is protecting Canada’s core interests when dealing with Trump — compared with 36 percent with negative views.
“Whenever Canada is threatened, the protectionist nature of the state kind of re-emerges,” said Shady Hafez, assistant politics professor at Toronto Metropolitan University.
“Self-preservation of Canada becomes the priority.”
Hafez, a research associate with the Yellowhead Institute, is a member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation in Quebec.
He said there are growing concerns in his community and others about Carney’s push to accelerate mega-projects across the country.
“For that to happen, Canada needs land, and it needs resources,” Hafez said, “and it takes those lands and resources from us.”
Blowback was swift after Carney pledged to build a highly controversial oil pipeline to the west coast in a late November deal signed with Alberta, Canada’s oil powerhouse.
Carney’s culture minister swiftly resigned, decrying “no consultation” with Indigenous nations and “major environmental impacts”.
And the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), which represents more than 600 Indigenous chiefs, unanimously passed an emergency resolution opposing a new pipeline.
“First Nations people, we stand with Canada against Trump’s illegal tariffs, but not at the expense of our rights,” AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak told Al Jazeera in an interview. “If you want to fast-track anything, you better make sure that First Nations are being included right off the bat.
“Trying to sideswipe or push aside First Nations people when there’s agreements between provinces and the feds — they have to remember that First Nations are here … and they are to be respected in their own homelands.”
The rights of Indigenous people in the country are enshrined in Canada’s constitution.
But too often, Hafez said, in the name of national prosperity, “Indigenous communities have to suffer.”
“Whenever there’s somewhat of an emergency, our rights get pushed to the side.”
But the resistance to the major projects push isn’t universal.
The First Nations Natural Gas Alliance praised Carney’s “much more aggressive” approach compared with his predecessor on developing energy resources.
But the group’s CEO, Karen Ogen, acknowledged there’s a “highly charged environment” on such issues.
“First Nations communities continue to face significant socioeconomic barriers”, stated the former chief of Wet’suwet’en First Nation. “LNG and natural gas development are not just an opportunity; they are a national imperative.
“Billions of dollars in procurement benefits and revenues are flowing to First Nations.”
Call for collaboration ‘on all major projects’
The trade war with the US has galvanised and united many Canadians — but with little acknowledgement of the impacts on Indigenous communities, said Sheryl Lightfoot, political science professor at the University of Toronto.
Lightfoot is vice-chair of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“These projects, by many accounts, are advancing without full consultation or transparency”, she told Al Jazeera.
“It appears that economic or geopolitical pressures … are being used to justify bypassing Indigenous rights and environmental safeguards.”
But Canada’s Major Projects Office insists it will “seek input, hear concerns and ideas, and work in partnership moving forward” with Indigenous communities — and “will not be skipping over vital project steps including consultations with Indigenous Peoples,” an agency spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement.
“We are unlocking Canada’s economic potential, while respecting our environmental responsibilities and the rights of Indigenous Peoples,”
A significant number of projects on Carney’s fast-track list are concentrated in British Columbia (BC).
Those include two liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals on the Pacific coast — LNG Canada and Ksi Lisims LNG — as well as the electric transmission line to power the sector, and a copper and gold mine.
BC is unique in the country because, historically, very little of its land was subject to treaties between the Crown and First Nations. Canada’s top court has repeatedly ruled in favour of First Nations rights and title in the westernmost province.
All four major projects in the province have proven divisive among the region’s Indigenous peoples — even though several have the backing of individual First Nations governments.
One of those is the massive Ksi Lisims LNG plant, in which the Nisga’a Nation is a direct partner.
Co-developed with Texas-based Western LNG, the mega-project will “benefit all Canadians,” said Nisga’a President Eva Clayton.
In 2000, her nation became the first in BC to reach a modern self-government treaty.
“We are co-developing the Ksi Lisims LNG project on land that our nation owns under our treaty,” she told a parliamentary committee on February 24.
“This project is expected to bring in 30 billion [Canadian] dollars [$22bn] in investment, create thousands of skilled careers, and strengthen Canada’s leadership in low-emission LNG.”
‘Elbows up’ meets opposition
But LNG is fiercely opposed by other nearby First Nations.
Tara Marsden is Wilp sustainability director for the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs, traditional leaders of the 900-member Gitanyow community.
“We have a lot more concerns and evidence regarding impacts in our territory,” she said.
“The federal government has done zero consultation on their fast-track list and the projects that actually affect our territory.”
Gitanyow oppose the BC projects on the fast-track list as harming their interests.
She said Ottawa cannot ignore First Nations opposition, even if there is support from others like the Nisga’a.
“They have a right to develop in their own territories”, said Marsden. “But if you have maybe 20 to 30 First Nations whose territory would be crossed — and you get maybe three on board — that’s not a resounding consensus.
“They’re just trying to use this small handful of nations to steamroll over everybody else.”
If Canada truly wants to strengthen its sovereignty and economy, she said, it must do so alongside Indigenous people.
“This is something that First Nations across the country have been saying since Carney took the ‘elbows up’ approach,” Marsden said.
“The government has really just ignored that … and actually now back-stopping these mega-projects with taxpayer dollars.”
Free, prior and informed consent
McGill University economics lecturer Julian Karaguesian served for decades in the Department of Finance and Canada’s Embassy in Washington, DC.
He agreed that most Canadians support Carney’s attempt to boost the economy with “nation-building” projects.
“I think they’re a fantastic idea”, he told Al Jazeera. “But we’ve committed to consultations with First Nations, Metis and Inuit people.
“Once we’ve started compromising on economic and social justice … we can create bitterness. First Nations leaders understand the situation we’re in, and I think [Ottawa] can work with them.”
Even on projects endorsed by some First Nations, the international legal principle of “free, prior and informed consent” must still apply to other communities impacted, said Lightfoot.
That’s “not simply a procedural requirement” to rubber-stamp projects, she said.
“It is a substantive right, anchored in Indigenous peoples’ self-determination and their ability to make decisions about matters that affect their lands, communities, and futures.”
And that could risk slowing down Carney’s hopes to speed through projects if there is no Indigenous consensus — potentially tying more divisive ones up in the courts.
“Failure to include Indigenous knowledge and decision-making early in the process,” Lightfoot said, “can undermine the legitimacy and fairness of project approvals.”
Carney’s ratings among First Nations are “mixed,” says AFN’s national chief. One positive, she noted, is his openness to meeting Indigenous leaders raising concerns.
But with many of the prime minister’s economic hopes dependent on building “national interest” infrastructure on First Nations homelands, Woodhouse Nepinak said the relationship needs care.
“Carney is at a crossroads in his personal relationship with First Nations,” she said.
“And we understand First Nations rights are under threat in new ways by this government.”
Wood has been plagued by injuries during his career – including multiple knee and elbow operations – which have robbed England for periods of one of their finest strike bowlers.
He spent seven months rehabilitating his knee in order to be fit for the Ashes and lamented not being able to play some games for his county before heading to Australia for the series.
“I tried to get back at certain points but my knee wasn’t quite ready,” he said.
“It’s easy in hindsight, even if I was at 80% then at least the game would have given us an indicator of where I was.”
He was thought to have been close to a return in the home summer, but ultimately did not take the field until England’s only Ashes warm-up game against the Lions at Lilac Hill in November.
He bowled eight overs but was only cleared to play in the first Test following a hamstring scan.
For now, although focused on his recovery, Wood said he has been thinking about life after cricket: “I’ve started thinking about other things, doing podcasts, doing my coaching badges.
“I’ve now started to try and think for the first time about what I should do if this doesn’t go well.”
Wood – regarded as one of the fastest bowlers to play for England – has taken 119 wickets in 38 Tests since making his debut in 2015.
He was part of the 2015 Ashes-winning side, lifted the 2019 50-over World Cup and won the T20 World Cup in 2022.
A series of proposed changes to the city’s charter — essentially its constitution — could give elected leaders in Los Angeles more oversight of the police department and enable the chief to fire problematic officers, reforms long sought by advocates that are likely to once again face fierce opposition.
Among the recommendations approved last week by the city’s Charter Reform Commission was a proposal that would require any LAPD accountability-related motion or ordinance passed by the City Council to automatically become law if not acted on by the Police Commission within 60 days.
Once the language is finalized, the proposals must clear the City Council and its committees before they can be put to voters on November’s ballot.
Another proposal would give city leaders the ability to override the policy decisions by the Police Commission, a board appointed by the mayor that sets the LAPD policies, oversees its budget and serves as a civilian watchdog.
With the police chief taking criticism for a recent rise in shootings by officers, several proposals sought to strengthen accountability for the use deadly force. One recommendation could require the LAPD to purchase “no less than” $1 million of liability insurance for its roughly 8,700 officers. The insurance would be used to cover legal fees if an officer is found liable for a wrongful injury or death, instead of tapping into the city’s General Fund budget.
Another potential change would “clarify and strengthen” the police chief’s ability to “to initiate and pursue the removal of officers with documented, repeated histories of harm or misconduct.”
Under city rules, the chief of police does not have the authority to fire an officer. Instead, they must send officers whose misconduct they deem severe to disciplinary panels, which occasionally lead to lighter penalties. The new proposal would give the City Council the power to override decisions not to fire, still leaving officers the right to appeal through the courts.
Mayor Karen Bass vetoed a similar bid to rework the disciplinary process in 2024.
The latest proposals drew cautious optimism from activists, many of whom claim the Police Commission is too cozy with the LAPD and have pushed for stronger independent oversight.
Godfrey Plata, deputy director of the nonprofit L.A. Forward, called the proposals a “huge victory” in the fight for police accountability.
“Months ago, police reform wasn’t even on the Charter Commission’s to-do list. Today, because community members came together to force conversations that likely never would have happened on their own, we have multiple reforms headed to City Council,” Plata said.
The Police Commission and LAPD issued nearly identical statements that said they are looking forward to working with the City Council on the charter reform process.
An LAPD spokesman declined to say how Chief Jim McDonnell felt about the proposal, saying it wasn’t “in his interests to give his opinion on something like this as long as it’s still with the full council.”
Samantha Stevens, a Los Angeles political consultant and former legislative staffer, said she is worried the proposed changes are a shortsighted solution to address police abuses that will create another layer of bureaucracy.
“If we don’t like how they’re running things, we should replace the commissioners.” she said. “I don’t know that this will be as effective when you’ve got 15 councilmembers now telling LAPD what to do in their own districts. Is that now too many cooks in the kitchen?”
The charter commission, which has been meeting since last July, must send all its recommended changes to the City Council by April 2.
Washington, DC – In September, the United States began launching dozens of deadly military strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific.
Nearly half a year later, remarkably little is known about the strikes. The identities of the nearly 157 people killed have not been released. Any purported evidence against them has not been made public.
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But a group of United Nations and international law experts are hoping to change that on Friday, when they testify at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
The international hearing will be the first of its kind since the strikes began on September 2, and rights advocates hope it can help lead to accountability as individual legal cases related to the strikes proceed.
Steven Watt, a senior staff lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union’s human rights programme, said the goal of the hearing will be threefold.
“Our ask will be to conduct a fact-finding investigation into what’s going on,” Watt said.
The second aim, he continued, would be “to assert or to arrive at a conclusion that there is no armed conflict here”, in what would be a rebuke to US President Donald Trump’s previous claims.
Finally, Watt said, he hopes the proceedings will yield long-sought transparency from the Trump administration on “whether or not they have a legal justification for these boat strikes”.
“We don’t think there are any,” Watt added.
‘We don’t know the names’
The experts set to testify at Friday’s hearing said the IACHR has a unique mandate to uncover the truth behind the US strikes.
The commission, based in Guatemala City, Guatemala, is an independent investigative body within the Organization of American States, of which the US was a founding member in 1948.
While the Trump administration has claimed it has a right to carry out the deadly attacks as part of a wider military offensive against so-called “narco-terrorists”, rights groups have decried the campaign as a series of extrajudicial killings.
They argue that Trump’s deadly tactics deny those targeted of anything that approaches due process.
Legal experts have also dismissed Trump’s claims that suspects in drug-related crimes are equivalent to “unlawful combatants” in an “armed conflict”.
Few details have emerged from the air strikes. Several families have come forward, however, to informally identify the dead as their loved ones.
Victims are said to include 26-year-old Chad Joseph and 41-year-old Rishi Samaroo, who were sailing home to Trinidad and Tobago when they were killed in October, according to relatives.
A complaint filed against the US government said both men travelled often between the islands and Venezuela, where Joseph found work as a farmer and fisherman, and Samaroo laboured on a farm.
The family of Colombian national Alejandro Carranza, 42, have also said he was killed in September when the US military attacked his fishing boat off the country’s coast.
The US has yet to confirm the victims’ identities, and only two survivors have ever been rescued in the 45 reported strikes.
A clearer picture of what happened will be a significant step towards accountability, according to experts like Watt.
“[The IACHR] is uniquely positioned to identify who all these persons are,” Watt said. “We just know the numbers from the United States. We don’t know the names or the backgrounds of these people.”
The IACHR has launched a range of human rights investigations in recent decades, including probes into the 2014 mass kidnapping of 43 students in Iguala, Mexico, and a series of murders in Colombia from 1988 to 1991 dubbed the Massacre of Trujillo.
The commission has also examined US policies, including extrajudicial detentions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during its so-called “global war on terror”.
The IACHR has the power to seek resolutions to human rights complaints or refer them for litigation before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Just last week, the court ordered Peru to pay reparations to the family of a woman who died during a government-led forced sterilisation campaign in the 1990s.
The Carranza family has filed its own complaint to the IACHR, and the families of Joseph and Samaroo have also lodged a lawsuit against the US in a federal court in Massachusetts.
Angelo Guisado, a senior staff lawyer at the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), said a fuller accounting of the US actions is needed to prevent future abuses. He is among the experts testifying on Friday.
“You can’t normalise assassinating fishermen off the coast of South America,” Guisado told Al Jazeera. “That’s just sadistic and an abomination to the rules-based order that we’ve created.”
“So we hope that the commission can do some investigation.”
A war against ‘narco-terrorists’?
One of Guisado’s goals for Friday’s hearing will be to unpack the Trump administration’s argument that the attacks are necessary from a national security standpoint.
Even before the US strikes began, the Trump administration began framing the Latin American drug trade as an existential threat to the US.
As part of that re-framing, the administration borrowed messaging from its “global war on terror”, taking the unorthodox approach of labelling several cartels “foreign terrorist organisations”.
Speaking last week at a meeting of Latin American leaders, White House security adviser Stephen Miller maintained there is no “criminal justice solution” to drug cartels.
Instead, he affirmed that the US would use “hard power, military power, lethal force, to protect and defend the American homeland”, even if that meant carrying out deadly operations throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Guisado, however, noted that the administration has admitted that the targeted boats were largely carrying cocaine, not the highly addictive fentanyl responsible for the majority of US drug overdoses.
He explained that the administration has done little to prove its claims that drug traffickers are part of a coordinated effort to destabilise the US.
Such hyperbolic language, Guisado added, could be used as a smokescreen to conceal illegal actions.
“When you invoke national security interest, it seems as if scrutiny and any legitimate analysis or condemnation gets pushed to one side in favour of an ersatz martial law,” Guisado said.
“The idea that you could just proclaim anyone a narcoterrorist and do whatever you want with them is just so repugnant to our system of fairness, justice and law.”
Watt, meanwhile, said he hopes the IACHR will draw a clear “line in the sand”, separating drug crimes from what is conventionally considered an armed conflict.
He also would like to see the IACHR clearly outline the US’s human rights obligations.
“But even if there was an armed conflict — of which there isn’t — the laws of war would prohibit the type of conduct that the United States is engaging in here,” Watt explained.
“It would be an extrajudicial killing. It would be a war crime.”
Transparency or accountability
Friday’s hearing will only be an initial step towards accountability, and critics question how effective the IACHR will ultimately be.
The US has regularly shrugged off human rights probes at international forums, and it is not party to entities like the International Criminal Court in The Hague, raising barriers to the pursuit of justice.
Despite being a member of the OAS, the US has also not ratified the American Convention on Human Rights, one of the organisation’s founding documents.
It is, therefore, unclear how binding any IACHR decisions could be, although Watt argued that it is “longstanding jurisprudence of the commission that the declaration imposes obligations on non-ratifying member states”.
Still, legal experts said Friday’s hearing may yield clarity on the Trump administration’s legal argument for the boat strikes.
The IACHR has said US government representatives are set to appear at the hearing.
To date, the US Department of Justice has not released the Office of Legal Counsel’s official reasoning for the boat strikes, considered the foundational legal document for the military actions.
A separate memorandum from that office addressed the US abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3, which it framed as a drug enforcement action.
That memo touched on the boat strikes, but it only served to raise further questions about Trump’s rationale.
“This will be an opportunity for the United States to put its case before the commission,” Watt said.
“But of course, it depends on US cooperation,” he continued. “They’re going down there, but it’ll be interesting to see what they actually say”.
The EU’s six largest economies are urging Brussels to accelerate the long-awaited integration of capital markets to “strengthen Europe’s growth potential”, according to a letter sent on Tuesday to the Eurogroup boss and several EU commissioners.
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The finance ministers of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain say that making tangible progress on the rebranded “Savings and Investment Union” has become an “urgent necessity,” pledging to push “this important project forward”, in a letter addressed to EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis and Eurogroup President.
“Deeper and more integrated capital markets would strengthen Europe’s growth potential, enhance its economic sovereignty and provide a stronger foundation for financing common priorities,” the letter said.
In particular, the ministers call on EU institutions to reach an agreement among member states by summer on one of the key elements of the capital markets integration agenda: the Market Integration and Supervision Package (MISP).
The MISP is a set of legislative proposals by the European Commission aimed at strengthening the supervision of financial market infrastructures across the bloc and improving how they operate.
“A central purpose of the package is to remove national barriers and to improve cross border distribution of investment funds, so investors have better access to the EU capital markets and companies benefit from deeper pools of capital”, the letter says.
The six countries also ask the EU to advance its digital payments agenda, specifically by promoting private pan-European payment networks that can compete with US-based Visa and Mastercard, and by accelerating the adoption of the digital euro.
Agreement by the summer
Capital markets allow companies and governments to raise funds by selling assets such as shares or bonds to investors.
To strengthen and integrate these markets across the EU, the European Commission has proposed a series of legislative measures under the Savings and Investment Union package.
In recent months, EU countries and institutions have signalled a more ambitious goal, aiming for an agreement among co-legislators on most of the SIU legislation by June.
However, EU countries are not fully aligned on the technical aspects of capital markets integration, causing delays to the broader strategic agenda.
Another key legislative proposal is the revisions of the securitisation framework, which are EU rules introduced in 2019 with the objective of ensuring safer market practices, to avoid other financial crisis such as the 2008 global shock.
The revision, which aims to simplify certain requirements and reduce high operational costs, is to be approved by autumn 2026, according to signatories.
Digital payments
The six EU countries also support the development of additional pan-European private digital payment solutions, viewed as a key pillar of the EU’s strategic autonomy, since most digital payments are currently processed through US-based infrastructures.
According to 2025 European Central Bank data, Mastercard and Visa account for 61% of card payments and nearly 100% of cross-border ones.
In this context, the six countries are also calling for an accelerated rollout of a public digital payment solution: the digital euro. Currently under negotiation, it would be an electronic form of cash issued by the European Central Bank, serving as an additional payment option alongside cash and bank-issued cards.
The project is facing significant delays in the European Parliament. In particular, the leading rapporteur on the file, the Spanish centre-right MEP Fernando Navarrete, is pushing to reduce the scope of the digital euro to offline payments only, in order to avoid competing with other private infrastructure, such as Visa and Mastercard.
“We push for swift conclusions of the legislative process of the digital euro and we invite the European Parliament to follow the Council’s approach to establish the digital euro (in both its online and offline modalities) as a comprehensive, interoperable and sovereign European payment solution for European citizens”, the six countries wrote in the letter.
The co-legislators initially aimed for full adoption of the digital euro by the end of 2026. However, due to delays in the parliament, the six countries have not set a specific adoption deadline.
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to spend $19 million promoting California and dispelling “myths driven by misinformation and political rhetoric” in a marketing campaign that would run through the final months of his administration as he weighs a potential run for president.
The new contract, which is in the bidding process, comes as Newsom’s political future and national standing are closely tied to how voters view California’s economy, crime and quality of life — issues that have become central to attacks from President Trump and conservative media outlets.
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development is seeking a contractor to design a statewide taxpayer-funded “California Brand Campaign,” with two-thirds of spending under the proposal to be used for paid advertising and media placements. Bidding on the contract opened Feb. 24 and is expected to end March 13.
The solicitation frames the campaign as an effort to push back on what Newsom has often described as misleading narratives about California. The campaign would launch during a period of financial uncertainty for the state, with Newsom’s January budget projecting a $3-billion deficit next fiscal year.
“California and its business climate have been falsely and maliciously maligned for years, and the state has a right to tell the true story — California is a great place to do live, work, invest and visit,” said Newsom spokesperson Tara Gallegos. “Setting the record straight will benefit every business, worker and resident of this state.”
Newsom is contemplating a run for president in 2028 and says he remains undecided about whether he will pursue the Oval Office.
State Sen. Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks), who is vice chair of the Senate budget committee, said the language of the proposal request is concerning. He said it would make it easier to stifle criticisms of policies that he says make it difficult to do business in California.
“This is clearly part of the Gavin Newsom for President campaign, but what is most troubling to me is that this is a program to be developed by some private-sector contractor to define what is acceptable speech in the state of California,” Niello said. “That scares the stuffing out of me.”
The negative image of California — homeless encampments lining the streets, smash-and-grab robberies at malls and an exodus of residents and businesses fleeing high taxes and nanny-state governance — could be a liability for Newsom if he runs for president.
Newsom has seen his popularity surge in the last year after his fight-fire-with-fire approach to countering Trump’s rhetoric. The two-term governor has used his expanding platform, including a podcast and nationwide book tour for his recently released memoir, to repeatedly push back on Trump’s criticisms of California. He argues that California remains one of the world’s largest and most dynamic economies and the envy of other states.
The tone of the marketing campaign bid request itself echoes that message, with its introductory paragraph pulled directly from Newsom’s State of the State speech in January.
“California has never been about perfection,” it reads. “It’s about persistence. The courage of our convictions and the strength to embody them. That’s the California Way.”
Mike Madrid, a Republican strategist who runs the research nonprofit Latino Working Class Project, said scrutiny of the campaign will depend on whether the ads veer into politics or overtly promote Newsom in the way federal border security ads showcased the now ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“You have to ask why now?” Madrid said of Newsom’s timing for the California ad campaign. “He’s in the eighth inning of a nine-inning baseball game. Timing and tone are everything when considering the appropriateness.”
The use of taxpayer dollars to combat negative publicity about the state and the governor isn’t new under the Newsom administration.
Newsom tapped an employee in his communications office to serve as his “deputy director of rapid response” in 2024. Staff member Brandon Richards, who made $136,000 last year, is tasked with quickly dispatching responses to information the governor’s team deems inaccurate or misleading that is spread on social media and in the media.
Newsom’s frustration reached a boiling point over claims about the state’s response to the Los Angeles wildfires last year. President Trump publicly blamed Newsom and “his Los Angeles crew” for the disaster, though the Republican’s claims that a lack of water in Southern California led to a shortage for firefighters were widely debunked.
Newsom’s political team launched a website in January 2025 to fight misinformation about the L.A. fires, which he said at the time would “ensure the public has access to fact-based data.” The site, www.californiafirefacts.com, no longer appears to exist.
At one point, however, it redirected viewers to the redistricting campaign website for Proposition 50, according to internet archives. Newsom championed the successful redistricting ballot measure to add more Democrats to California’s congressional delegation, a direct response to Trump urging Texas and other Republican states to reconfigure their congressional boundaries to elect more Republicans to Congress.
Newsom adopted an even more aggressive social media strategy last summer after Trump deployed the National Guard and U.S. Marines to California during federal immigration sweeps. The governor directed his team to match the brash communication tactics emanating from the White House. His aides continue to shoot down criticism and launch their own snarky assaults on Trump and his allies.
The new ad campaign appears to be an extension of his work to refute the anti-California narrative.
The request for bids says “some look at this state and try to tear down our progress. They attack our values and caricature our culture. They distort the data to diminish our accomplishments.”
Coming into her senior year, Ciena Alipio wanted to be as present as humanly possible and learn how to trust herself going into every competition.
She set forth goals for herself and a bigger one for the UCLA gymnastics team. With the first box checked after clinching their second consecutive Big Ten title, the work toward meeting each of her standards is just beginning.
“You’re seeing the result of every hard practice that we’re having,” Alipio said after Friday’s victory over Maryland. “We’re putting in work and we’re doing what we absolutely have to every single day in the gym and I think it’s just putting it all together on the same day.”
After an unbeaten conference season, Alipio has not only transformed herself into a three-event staple in the lineup, she was among the 45 nominees for the 2026 AAI Award along with her teammate Jordan Chiles — an NCAA honor that is given to the most outstanding senior female gymnast of the season.
“She’s just one of those athletes that’s really willing to do whatever it takes to be at her best for the team, and she’s an incredibly hard worker,” coach Janelle McDonald said. “She puts her heart into everything she does and she really has a growth mentality that she takes into every aspect of her life.”
During the first three years of her college career, Alipio was known as a balance beam expert. That fact hasn’t changed, except now she added success on the uneven bars and the floor exercise.
She’s currently ranked No. 4 in the nation on beam and leads the team with six individual titles in the event. Against Nebraska in January, Alipio led the meet in the floor exercise. On her way to another Big Ten title, she has shown consistency by hitting all 23 of her routines without a fall.
Alipio is averaging a mark above 9.800 on beam, bars and floor exercise. The two-time first-team All-American on beam has been named Big Ten event specialist of the week three times this season for her high performances on multiple apparatuses.
McDonald describes the Big Ten balance beam champion as a steady leader who leads by example, someone who’s willing to put her head down and go through the grind to get better — a valuable asset to any team.
“To see somebody always trying to show up and get better with that growth mindset is so great,” she said. “Ciena really has leveled up in her leadership in that she’s somebody that continually checks in on people.”
When Alipio notices someone needs a little pick-me-up, she’s there to support them, McDonald added.
“She’s also just become a really great messenger of our team culture and just [continues] to build and tighten our culture where it’s needed and to step up in those moments when the team needs a leader.”
UCLA gymnast Ciena Alipio celebrates with teammate Jordan Chiles after completing a balance beam routine.
(Jesus Ramirez / UCLA Athletics)
With two meets left in the regular season — against Stanford on Saturday and Utah on March 14, senior night at Pauley Pavilion — Alipio is just going to have fun competing.
“Coming in as a freshman I was like, ‘Oh, I have so much time,’ and now it has gone by in a blink of an eye,” she said. “… But I’m really, really trying to just stay present for the next few weeks and just enjoy every single moment with this team.”
Rosen update
McDonald and the coaching staff will take a conservative approach to dealing with Katelyn Rosen’s foot injury from Friday’s meet. Resting her and making sure she is 100% to go for the Big Ten championships is the priority. Replacing her at the top of rotations is an ongoing conversation.
“We really look for that lead-off to be very steady,” she said. “Somebody that doesn’t kind of go with the ups and downs of their emotions. They can show up, be really steady, kick off the event really aggressively, confidently and so those things we’re gonna be looking for this weekend [against Stanford].”
Han Byung-do, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, speaks during a policy coordination meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul on Feb. 26. Photo by Asia Today
March 3 (Asia Today) — Han Byung-do, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said Monday that his party will maintain an emergency legislative posture in March and convene plenary sessions every Thursday to advance key bills.
Speaking at a party strategy meeting, Han said the March session of the National Assembly begins Wednesday and that the party will focus on livelihood- and reform-related legislation to support President Lee Jae-myung’s policy agenda.
“We will operate all standing committees and hold plenary sessions every Thursday to ensure there is no shortage of bills ready for passage,” he said.
Han also addressed delays in passing an administrative integration bill, which has stalled amid disagreements with the opposition People Power Party.
He accused the conservative party of blocking the bill’s submission to the plenary session while claiming that the Democratic Party opposes integration of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province. Han argued that integration efforts involving Daegu and North Gyeongsang as well as Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province should move forward together, calling administrative consolidation a “century-long national plan.”
Han criticized the People Power Party for staging a public march to the presidential office in protest of three judicial reform laws passed by the Democratic Party majority, including measures creating a crime of judicial distortion, allowing constitutional complaints against court rulings and expanding the number of Supreme Court justices.
“The march is not about judicial justice but about appealing to far-right street forces,” Han said. “Public sentiment lies not on the asphalt but in people’s everyday lives.”
He added that the party would work with the government to respond to what he described as a “global complex crisis” stemming from escalating tensions in the Middle East, including developments involving Iran.
“Rising oil prices and broader instability could affect the real economy, financial markets and security,” Han said. “We will closely monitor the situation with the government and seek to prevent excessive anxiety from spreading.”
Oman had been mediating talks between Iran and the US before Washington attacked Tehran.
Published On 3 Mar 20263 Mar 2026
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Omani Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr al-Busaidi, who mediated the US-Iran talks before the war, has said that diplomatic options are still “available” to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.
“Oman reaffirms its call for an immediate ceasefire and a return to responsible regional diplomacy. There are off ramps available. Let’s use them,” he said on X on Tuesday.
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Al-Busaidi did not provide details on what the options to end the ongoing conflict between Iran and joint Israeli and US forces could be.
Oman had been mediating talks between Iran and the US and said that peace was “within reach” hours before the US-Israeli air strikes began on Saturday, plunging the region into a crisis.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump told journalists in Washington, DC, that the US had attacked Iran because “he had a feeling” that Iran would strike first, as negotiations over its nuclear programme stalled.
However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said on Monday that the US attacked Iran because it knew Israel was about to bomb the country, and because the Trump administration believed that Tehran would then strike US facilities in the region.
But Oman’s foreign minister pushed back on the Trump administration’s characterisation that Iran was an “imminent threat” to the US. He maintained that “significant progress” had been made in the nuclear talks before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran.
In its retaliatory strikes, Iran has attacked Israel and US forces across the Gulf region. While Oman does not host any US forces, it has also been struck and dragged into the conflict.
The Oman News Agency reported on Sunday that the Duqm commercial port, located in Al Wusta Governorate in central Oman, was struck by two drones. It said that an expatriate worker was injured in the attack.
A fuel tank at Duqm Port was also hit in a drone attack on Tuesday, but there were no casualties.
Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the strike on Oman was “an attack on the very principle of mediation”.
Trump expressed solidarity with Gulf countries on Tuesday, saying, “Iran is hitting countries that had nothing to do with what is going on.”
Democrats are pushing for a vote next week on a resolution to curtail President Trump’s authority to conduct strikes in Iran, a move that would reassert Congress’ role in approving the use of military might.
The effort was already underway to force a vote on a war powers resolution, but it gained fresh momentum as the U.S. and Israel bombed Iran beginning early Saturday, an action that Trump referred to in a video shortly afterward as “war.” House Democratic leaders announced this week — before the strikes — that they would begin procedures to force a floor vote on a resolution for Iran.
The resolution directs Trump to terminate the use of armed forces against Iran, unless explicitly authorized by Congress. Presidents of both parties have skirted around war powers resolutions in the past.
Passage is uncertain in the Republican-controlled House and Senate, with GOP members of both chambers expressing initial support for the bombing of Iran. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) praised the attacks Saturday and said to reporters that the administration “better well make it about getting new leadership and regime change.”
But the effort for a war powers vote has gained the support of at least two House Republicans, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio, making it possible for the measure to pass the House if enough Democrats support the measure and enough members show up for the final vote.
On the Senate side, Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky, who voted for an earlier war powers resolution, said he would “oppose another presidential war.”
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Iran “is a bad actor and must be aggressively confronted for its human rights violations, nuclear ambitions, support of terrorism and the threat it poses” to allies in the region.
“However, absent exigent circumstances, the Trump administration must seek authorization for the preemptive use of military force that constitutes an act of war,” Jeffries’ statement said.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont), a California Democrat who is co-sponsoring the resolution with Massie, urged lawmakers to reconvene in Washington on Monday to vote, calling the strikes the launch of “an illegal regime change war in Iran with American lives at risk.”
Massie on social media described the attack as “acts of war unauthorized by Congress.”
The resolution faced initial opposition from staunch pro-Israel House Democrats Jared Moskowitz of Florida and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said the Senate should pass the resolution but didn’t outright oppose the strikes. He complained that the administration did not lay out its case to Congress or the public.
Trump would surely veto the resolution if passed, but substantial GOP votes for it could persuade him to limit the attacks on Iran. The Senate passed a procedural vote for a resolution against the strikes in January that culminated in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, after which the White House sent Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Capitol Hill to testify to members.
The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, but no president since Franklin D. Roosevelt in World War II has used that formal declaration, instead relying on less expansive authorization to deploy military force. Congress passed the War Powers Resolution in 1973 to slow the Vietnam War.
However, most presidents have sought some level of buy-in and approval from Congress, which approves the budget for the Pentagon.
“The Constitution is clear: The decision to take this nation to war rests with Congress, and launching large-scale military operations — particularly in the absence of an imminent threat to the United States — raises serious legal and constitutional concerns,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said in a statement. “Congress must be fully briefed, and the administration must come forward with a clear legal justification.”
Other Senate Democrats, including Tim Kaine of Virginia and Andy Kim of New Jersey, have also urged their chamber to vote on a similar measure to put checks on Trump’s use of military force in Iran.
Rubio notified the so-called Gang of Eight — the top congressional leaders in the House and Senate and on the intelligence committees — of the strikes, the White House said.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, defended the strikes as “pivotal and necessary.”
“The President has stated the operation’s goals clearly: thwart permanently the ayatollahs’ desire to create a nuclear weapon, degrade their ballistic missile force and their production capacity, and destroy their naval and terrorism capabilities,” Wicker said in a statement.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) noted in his statement: “This is not how a democracy goes to war.”
Park Young-jae, head of the National Court Administration, speaks during a meeting with chiefs of district and appellate courts nationwide at the top court in Seoul, South Korea, 25 February 2026. Park said that the opinions of the judiciary should be reflected in deliberations for controversial judicial reform bills pushed by the ruling Democratic Party (DP), after three DP-led bills were met by strong opposition from the judiciary. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
Feb. 27 (Asia Today) — Park Young-jae, chief of the National Court Administration, has offered to step down, just over 40 days after taking office, as the ruling party moves ahead with a package of judicial reform bills.
According to court officials, Park conveyed his intention to resign Thursday morning to Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae.
In a statement, Park said, “Considering recent discussions both inside and outside the judiciary, I concluded that stepping down would better serve the public and the courts.”
“I regret leaving at a time when the judiciary faces many challenges,” he added, expressing hope that discussions on reforming the judicial system would proceed “in a direction that benefits the public.”
His resignation is widely seen as linked to the National Assembly’s handling of three controversial reform measures: the creation of a new crime of “distorting the law,” the introduction of a system allowing constitutional complaints against court rulings and an increase in the number of Supreme Court justices.
The National Assembly has been processing the bills in plenary sessions since Monday. Lawmakers passed a revised version of the “distortion of law” bill Wednesday, narrowing its scope to criminal cases and adjusting the elements required to establish the offense. A separate bill to allow constitutional petitions against court decisions was expected to be voted on later Thursday.
Since his appointment last month as successor to former court administration chief Cheon Dae-yeop, Park had repeatedly voiced concerns about the reform package.
He warned that the proposed “distortion of law” offense could be abused and lacked sufficient clarity, raising potential constitutional issues. On the plan to allow constitutional complaints against court rulings, he said it risked plunging citizens into excessive litigation. Regarding the proposal to expand the number of Supreme Court justices, Park said it could weaken lower courts by drawing experienced judges away without a clear plan to fill the gaps.
Earlier this week, he convened an emergency meeting of court presidents nationwide, saying the three bills could bring fundamental changes to the courts’ role and directly affect the public. He stressed that the judiciary’s views should be reflected in the legislative deliberation process.
Park had also faced criticism from some lawmakers over his prior involvement in an appeal case related to President Lee Jae-myung under the Public Official Election Act before his appointment as court administration chief.
His departure comes as tensions between the judiciary and the legislature intensify over the scope and direction of judicial reform.
Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer give a victory speech to supporters in Manchester early Friday after being declared the winner of the Gorton and Denton byelection to choose a new Member of Parliament. Photo by Adam Vaughan/EPA
Feb. 27 (UPI) — Britain’s Green Party won the Gorton and Denton byelection in southeast Manchester with a more than 4,000-seat majority, beating the ruling Labour Party into third place, and 12 points clear of Reform UK.
The Greens’ new Member of Parliament, Hannah Spencer, a plumber from a neighboring suburb of Manchester, produced a convincing win in Thursday’s poll, overturning the 13,000-seat majority won in the 2024 general election by the previous Labour holder of the seat who is standing down due to ill-health.
Spencer won 14,980 seats, or 40.7% of the vote, Reform’s Matt Goodwin, 10,578 and Labour’s Angeliki Stogia trailing in third place with 9,364. The Conservative Party’s candidate came in a distant fourth with just 706 votes. Turnout was 47.6%.
The win, a first for the Green Party in a byelection, takes the party’s contingent in the House of Commons to five.
Speaking in the early hours of Friday after the results were announced, 34-year-old Spencer vowed to “fight” for the people of Gorton and Denton “who feel left behind and isolated.”
“There is an appetite here for change, and there are people across this constituency and much further beyond who are rejecting the old political parties and who are coming together to fight for something better, but who are doing it positively and in a really hopeful way.”
Spencer said her victory proved there was “no longer any such thing as a safe seat” and that there was “no part of the country where the Green Party cannot win.”
Asked if the Greens’ intention was to “eviscerate” Labour, Party leader Zack Polanski said that taking a seat Labour had held for more than 100 years showed it was “beginning already.”
“If we see a swing like this at the next general election, there will be a tidal wave of new Green MPs. This is an existential crisis for the Labour Party,” he said.
Labour’s second-straight loss of a byelection with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the helm, and with local elections just around the corner in May, could prove highly consequential for his future.
Speaking to reporters Friday, a defiant Starmer rejected any suggestion he might be considering his position, saying he would never quit.
“I came into politics late in life to fight for change for those people who need it. I will keep on fighting for those people for as long as I’ve got breath in my body,” he said.
Starmer played down the loss saying that while it was “very disappointing,” voters often took out frustrations on sitting administrations in mid way through their terms.
However, Strathclyde University Politics Professor John Curtice said the Green Party was now challenging Labour’s stranglehold on the left of British politics in a way that would cause the parliamentary wing of the party to seriously question whether Starmer was still the right person to lead the country.
Reform UK chairman David Bull, telling the BBC he was “absolutely thrilled” with his party’s performance,” echoed that analysis.
“Keir Starmer is in big trouble now — it is not a matter of if he leaves office, it’s when he leaves.”
Party leader, MP Nigel Farage, warned the Greens’ win would embolden the radical left and said opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch should apologize for leading the party to the worst result in its history.
“Roll on the elections on May 7. It will be goodbye Starmer and goodbye to the Tory [Conservative] party,” he wrote on X.
Badenoch, who is Black, called on Starmer to quit immediately.
“Our country is not broken, but this byelection showed that Labour, Reform and the Greens are trying very hard to break it. Labour trying to buy people off with more and more benefits spending, Reform telling people you can’t be British if you’re not white. The Greens running a nasty, sectarian campaign while simultaneously wanting to legalize crack-cocaine,” she wrote in a statement.
“The result shows Keir Starmer’s premiership is finished. He lost authority a long time ago, a mere hostage at the mercy of a divided Labour Party that cannot decide who to replace him with. He has lost the support of his MPs and the country. He is in office but not in power. If had any integrity he would go,” said Badenoch.
Former South African president Nelson Mandela speaks to reporters outside of the White House in Washington on October 21, 1999. Mandela was famously released from prison in South Africa on February 11, 1990. Photo by Joel Rennich/UPI | License Photo
The latest tranche of documents released by the United States Department of Justice on the convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein has caused an uproar and a slew of resignations by senior officials and businesspeople across the US and Europe.
In Africa, the more than three million emails, photos, and videos released on January 23 are also causing some aftershocks as they reveal the extent of Epstein’s connections with prominent African figures, though appearing in the Epstein files does not automatically indicate a crime or wrongdoing.
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According to the documents, Epstein had ties with former South African President Jacob Zuma; Karim Wade, a politician and son of Senegal’s ex-president Abdoulaye Wade; and deceased Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
The new files also shed more light on Epstein’s connections to a relative of Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara, who appeared to connect the two men. This connection reportedly opened the door for a friend of Epstein’s, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, to propose a mass surveillance system to Ouattara that would work in the West African country. It is unclear if such a system is in place now.
Epstein’s possible fixing role culminated in a formal 2014 security deal between the two countries, although the details of it are scant.
The revelations, in general, underscore the range of Epstein’s influence on powerful figures across continents.
Epstein, who was first convicted in 2008 on charges of sex trafficking, was found dead by suicide in his prison cell in 2019 while awaiting a trial on sex trafficking charges. His ex-girlfriend and co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted and sentenced in 2021.
Here’s what we know about the Ivory Coast deal and his ties to Africa’s political elite:
A balloon bearing the image of President Alassane Ouattara floats above supporters during a campaign rally in Koumassi, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, before the 2025 election [File: Misper Apawu/AP]
Israel and Ivory Coast: The context
Discussions between Ouattara and Barak appeared to start in mid-2012, after the Ivorian president travelled to Jerusalem for talks with Israeli leaders, presumably in hopes of striking a security agreement. Ouattara met Barak, who was then the Israeli defence minister, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Five days before the trip, on June 12, 2012, exiled military officials linked to the Ivory Coast’s former president had attempted to overthrow Ouattara’s government.
Ouattara’s predecessor, Laurent Gbagbo, had refused to hand over power to Ouattara, and a civil war that killed at least 3,000 people ensued. The fighting had only ended about a year before when UN and French forces intervened and arrested Gbagbo.
Ouattara’s son, Dramane, and niece, Nina Keita, also met Epstein in New York on the same day, according to the Epstein files. It’s unclear what the parties discussed.
Keita, a former model, was friends with Epstein and travelled regularly on his private jet, according to the documents. She appeared to have connected Epstein with her uncle, as well as other highly placed Ivorian politicians, according to the documents.
The files showed that on September 12, three months after Epstein met Ouattara’s son, he again met Keita in New York.
He met Barak immediately after in a private meeting at the Regency Hotel in New York, according to a schedule published in the files. It’s not known what was discussed.
In November, Drop Site News reported that Epstein referred to a trip to the Ivory Coast, Angola and Senegal in a note to his assistant, but that there are no flight records to confirm the travels.
What did Israel propose to Ouattara?
A month after Ouattara’s travel to Jerusalem, an Israeli delegation visited Abidjan.
At the meetings, Ouattara reportedly asked about Israeli defence systems to overhaul security in his country, according to reporting by Calcalist, an Israeli publication that covered the exchanges at the time.
In late 2012, Ivorian Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko travelled to Tel Aviv for a meeting with Barak, where they discussed a cybersecurity deal, Drop Site News found.
Then, in spring 2013, Barak, who had now left office as defence minister, travelled to Abidjan himself to converse with Ouattara in what would be their second meeting.
Barak presented an expensive security defence plan to the president, Calcalist reported. The $150m proposal encompassed border security, army training, and strategic military consulting, the publication said.
Drop Site News, in an investigation in November, added that the proposal included a mobile and internet surveillance centre, as well as a video monitoring centre.
The publication cited two sets of documents: an archive of leaked emails released by the Handala hacking group and hosted by nonprofit whistleblower site, Distributed Denial of Secrets, as well as earlier Epstein-linked documents released by the US House Oversight Committee in October 2025.
Barak’s surveillance centre was to be developed by the French-Israeli private security company, MF-Group, which specialises in surveillance systems, and was to be located in Abidjan, Drop Site News reported.
Email logs showed Epstein introduced Barak to Ouattara’s chief of staff later in September 2013, and planned a meeting in New York where the two men met.
Although Ouattara was pleased with the plan, he ultimately did not sign the deal because of the price tag, Calcalist reported.
Barak, in a response to Calcalist at the time, denied that he offered to build the Ivory Coast an intelligence apparatus. “The claims about establishing an intelligence apparatus and price offers are incorrect. These are private conversations, and the public has no interest in them,” he was quoted as saying.
Ivory Coast’s President Ouattara being sworn in for another term at the Presidential Palace in Abidjan on December 8, 2025 [File: Sia Kambou/ Reuters]
What was the final agreement?
Although the plan appeared to be rejected, both countries continued to forge friendly ties.
In June 2014, then-Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman was welcomed in Abidjan on a state visit.
Liberman had travelled to the country along with 50 Israeli businesspeople who were interested in investing in the Ivory Coast.
In a news release at the time, the Ivorian government said two agreements were signed: “One concerning regular consultations between the two countries and the other on defence and internal security.”
No details were provided. It is not known if Abidjan is using Israeli surveillance security systems.
Nevertheless, the Israeli-Ivorian security relationship has continued, with the latter buying military vessels, aircraft, and armoured tanks from Israeli weapons companies.
In 2016, a United Nations report found that Israeli firm Troya Tech Defence had sold weapons and night vision goggles to Ivory Coast in 2015, violating a UN arms embargo that was in place at the time.
In 2018, an investigation into Israeli spyware Pegasus, developed by the NSO Group, revealed that the malware had targeted journalists’ phones in the Ivory Coast. Pegasus, believed to be used by governments, was found to be operating in 45 countries.
In March 2023, privately owned Israel Shipyards, which builds naval vessels, delivered two offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) to Abidjan.
Critics of President Ouattara say the Ivory Coast has slid further from democracy under his rule and point to incidents like the Pegasus scandal, among other issues.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in 2019 [Corinna Kern/Reuters]
Did Epstein and Barak strategise about other African countries?
Barak also tried to leverage the Boko Haram crisis in Nigeria for a security deal, according to Drop Site News, citing the new documents.
Epstein was aware of Barak’s business deals and advised him on doing business in Nigeria between 2013 and 2020, according to email exchanges.
Both saw the escalating violence in the West African nation not as a humanitarian crisis, but as a business opportunity, the publication found.
In June 2013, Barak attended a cybersecurity conference in Abuja, which organisers said privately was a pretext to meet Nigeria’s then-President Goodluck Jonathan.
It came after Nigeria awarded Israeli firm, Elbit Systems, a controversial contract to surveil digital communications in the country. Public outrage caused Jonathan to consider cancelling the project, but the government never announced that it was withdrawn.
Barak continued leveraging his access in Nigeria to promote Israeli products and services. In 2015, he facilitated the sale of Israeli biometric surveillance equipment to a private Christian university in Nigeria, Drop Site News found. The university, in a statement, denied the sale.
In 2020, the World Bank selected Barak’s intelligence firm, Toka, and the Israeli National Cyber Directorate to advise Nigeria on designing its national cyber-infrastructure.
Epstein, meanwhile, also facilitated high-level access for Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, ex-chairman of the Emirati firm DP World. In 2018, Epstein connected bin Sulayem with Jide Zeitlin, then-chair of Nigeria’s sovereign investment fund, for discussions on securing port ownerships in Lagos and Badagry.
Bin Sulayem, last March, visited Nigeria and proposed that DP World establish industrial parks at Nigerian ports. The proposal has not been approved.
Former South African President Jacob Zuma in 2025 [File: Rogan Ward/Reuters]
Which other African leaders had links to Epstein?
Jacob Zuma
The new files revealed that Epstein had some relations with former South African President Jacob Zuma, who led the country from 2009 until 2018.
Epstein appeared to arrange a “small dinner” on behalf of Zuma in March 2010 at the Ritz Hotel in London.
It’s unclear what the purpose of the dinner was, but emails released as part of the Epstein files seemed to show that a Russian model was invited. The model was told her presence would “add some real glamour to the occasion”, according to emails sent by Epstein’s planner, whose name was redacted in the files.
In a different email, Epstein appeared to share that information with British politician Peter Mandelson, who is now under investigation for his links to Epstein. A host, whose name was redacted “is having dinner for zuma tomorrow night at the ritz„ i have invited a beautiful russina named (redacted) to attend,” he wrote.
It’s unclear if Mandelson responded.
After the dinner appeared to have taken place, one email sender whose name was redacted wrote to Epstein: “(Redacted name) was a delight last night and enchanted all those she met…By the way, Jacob Zuma was much more impressive and engaging than I thought he would be!”
Karim Wade
Politician and son of Senegal’s ex-President Abdoulaye Wade, Karim Wade’s name appeared 504 times in the released files.
Wade, under his father, was a minister with an open-ended portfolio, and was so powerful that he was nicknamed “minister of heaven and earth”.
His relationship with Epstein began in 2010, according to an investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which cited the newly released files.
In an email to an unnamed contact in November of that year, Epstein wrote: “the President of Senegal is sending his son to see me in paris,” the publication noted. Over the years, they planned trips in Africa along with Emirati businessman, bin Sulayem. They also discussed business ideas, the files showed.
In 2015, after Wade was convicted on corruption charges by a new administration, records show Epstein approaching Norwegian leader of the Council of Europe, Thorborn Jagland, to ask about possibly filing an appeal at the European Court of Human Rights. Wade’s lawyers regularly updated Epstein on efforts to free him, according to OCCRP.
Senegal pardoned Wade in 2016, after which he went into exile in Qatar. Keita, niece to Ivory Coast’s President Ouattara, who appeared to play some role in the efforts to free Wade, texted Epstein: “Thank you for everything you have done for him!!!!”
Robert Mugabe
The Epstein documents revealed that the sex trafficker planned to meet then-President Mugabe to propose a new currency for Zimbabwe amid that country’s hyperinflation crisis.
In email exchanges back in 2015, Japanese financier Joi Ito recommended to Epstein that they both approach Mugabe to discuss the currency after the Zimbabwean dollar lost its value. It’s unclear if the meeting ever took place.
Released along with the emails were FBI documents from 2017, which appeared to show unverified testimony from a “confidential source” who said Epstein was a wealth manager for Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as Mugabe.
Staff members display Samsung’s Galaxy S26, S26 Plus and S26 Ultra smartphones at a KT retail store in Seoul on Wednesday. Photo by Asia Today
Feb. 26 (Asia Today) — Samsung Electronics President Roh Tae-moon said the company aims for the new Galaxy S26 to surpass its predecessor’s sales, highlighting upgraded artificial intelligence features despite higher retail prices.
Speaking Tuesday at a Galaxy Unpacked press briefing in San Francisco, Roh said the Galaxy S25 series exceeded the prior model’s sales, citing improved real-world user feedback over time.
Market researcher Counterpoint Research said Galaxy S25 sales from February through December rose 5% from the previous generation. Industry estimates place total sales in the high 30 million range.
Roh said the Galaxy S26 features more advanced “agentic AI” capabilities and strengthened practical tools such as Photo Assist. He added that tighter integration between software and hardware, including a privacy-focused display feature, has drawn positive responses from global partners.
Samsung has expanded its AI platform beyond Bixby and Google Gemini to include additional services, and introduced a new AI operating system developed in cooperation with Google to enable smoother AI-driven functions. Roh described the strategy as a “hybrid AI” approach allowing users to choose optimized AI tools for different tasks.
The company is also positioning AI as a differentiator across product tiers, from flagship to entry-level smartphones.
Samsung raised domestic launch prices for its latest Galaxy S series by as much as 300,000 won, about $225, after keeping prices unchanged for three years, citing rising component costs. Counterpoint has projected Samsung’s smartphone shipments could decline about 2% this year amid higher prices.
Roh acknowledged cost pressures but said Samsung’s long-established supply chain gives it flexibility. He said the company will pursue innovation that maintains performance even with fewer components, using AI to offset hardware constraints and limit the impact of cost increases.
“As AI evolves, the importance of devices will only grow,” Roh said, adding that smartphones remain the primary interface through which users generate data and interact with AI services.
![Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak gestures after delivering a statement in Tel Aviv, Israel June 26, 2019. [Corinna Kern/Reuters]](https://i0.wp.com/www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2019-06-26T153913Z_1424687355_RC17C8B80DA0_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-POLITICS-BARAK_cropped-1770216915.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
