An Iranian missile struck an oil refinery in the Israel city of Haifa. The plant produces half of Israel’s domestic fuel supplies. Power was briefly disrupted before being restored, with no casualties reported. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it targeted refineries and military sites in the attack.
Published On 19 Mar 202619 Mar 2026
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BRITS applying for a new standard passport will be charged more than £100 for the first time ever.
The fee for online applications for adults within the UK will rise on April 8 from £94.50 to £102.
Holidaymakers looking to renew their passport before the summer holiday rush will be stung unless they get their bid in soon.
The Home Office says the hike is to “move towards a system that meets its costs through those who use it, reducing reliance on funding from general taxation.”.
But it will likely spark a backlash for putting up prices as many families face the pinch in a cost of living crisis.
The standard fee for kids will rise from £61.50 to £66.50.
Postal applications will increase from £107 to £115.50 for adults and £74 to £80 for children.
The charge for a next-day premium service made from within the UK will rise from £222 to £239.50.
The Home Office said: “The fees contribute to the cost of processing passport applications, consular support overseas, including for lost or stolen passports, and the cost of processing British citizens at UK borders.
“In 2025, where no further information was required, 99.7 per cent of standard applications from the UK were processed within three weeks.”
WASHINGTON — Anti-Muslim rhetoric from some Republicans in Congress intensified this week against the backdrop of the Iran war, with several lawmakers — including one who said that “Muslims don’t belong in American society” — drawing condemnation from Democrats but little response from GOP leaders.
The derogatory language has been percolating among Republican officials for months, often prominent when criticizing New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is Muslim. But against the backdrop of the Iran war, a country with an overwhelmingly Muslim population, and attacks at a synagogue in Michigan and a college in Virginia, the tone sharpened this week.
“The enemy is inside our gates,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama wrote Thursday in response to a photo of Mamdani sitting on the ground during an iftar dinner at New York City Hall. The photo was juxtaposed with a picture of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Hours later, Tuberville added: “To be clear, I didn’t ‘suggest’ Islamists are the enemy. I said it plainly.”
The rhetoric intensified Friday as GOP lawmakers responded to the attacks in Michigan and Virginia by urging a halt to all immigration into the United States. Some singled out Muslims specifically.
For many Muslims, it’s a political moment that carries echoes from the early 2000s, when the Sept. 11 attacks and the Afghanistan and Iraq wars generated hostility toward Muslim communities in the United States, often accompanied by discrimination and racist violence.
“When members of Congress speak, it’s not just words,” said Iman Awad, the national director for policy and advocacy for the Muslim American advocacy group Emgage Action. “It shapes public perception. It legitimizes prejudice.”
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) in his social media post stated flatly that Muslims don’t belong in the United States. He stood behind it after criticism mounted, later writing that “paperwork doesn’t magically make you American” and that “Muslims are unable to assimilate; they all have to go back.”
Asked about Ogles’ post Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he had spoken to members “about our tone and our message and what we say.” He said Ogles used “different language than I would use,” but added that he believes the issue raised by the comments is “serious.”
“There’s a lot of energy in the country, and a lot of popular sentiment that the demand to impose sharia law in America is a serious problem,” Johnson said. “That’s what animates this.”
Sharia is a religious framework that guides many Muslims’ moral and spiritual conduct. References to “sharia law” have often been invoked by officials to suggest Muslims are attempting to impose religious practices on communities in the United States.
Many Republicans point to a Muslim-centered planned community near Dallas as proof of “sharia law” — though the developers have denied the allegations and said they are being targeted only because they are Muslim.
With Johnson not condemning Ogles’ remarks — or recent comments from Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) that “the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one” — the anti-Muslim rhetoric grew louder. After the photo circulated of Mamdani at the iftar dinner, several Republicans responded with critical posts.
Democrats broadly condemned the Republican messages. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the leader of Senate Democrats, called Tuberville’s post “mindless hate.”
“Islamophobic hate like this is fundamentally un-American and we must confront and overcome it whenever it rears its ugly head,” Schumer said.
Mamdani — in response to Tuberville’s post that “the enemy is inside our gates” — said: “Let there be as much outrage from politicians in Washington when kids go hungry as there is when I break bread with New Yorkers.”
Federal officials identified a man who rammed his vehicle into a hallway at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Mich., this week as a naturalized citizen born in Lebanon. Officials have said that the man — who was killed by security guards at the temple — had lost four family members in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon during the ongoing war in the Middle East, just after sunset as they were having their fast-breaking meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
In Virginia, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh opened fire in a classroom at Old Dominion University before ROTC students subdued and killed him. Court documents showed that he had served time for attempting to aid the militant group Islamic State and was released less than two years ago.
Some Republican lawmakers claimed vindication for their views. Others pushed for legislation. Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the House Republican whip, said that “the security of our nation hinges on our ability to denaturalize and deport terrorists.”
Rep. Riley M. Moore (R-W.Va.) said he would introduce a bill to denaturalize and deport any naturalized citizen who “commits an act of terrorism, plots to commit an act of terrorism, joins a terrorist organization or otherwise aids and abets terrorism against the American people.”
Similar rhetoric and policy efforts have surfaced before and stoked controversy. Protesters connected to demonstrations in recent years over the Israel-Hamas war were arrested and targeted by authorities, including former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist the government has sought to detain and deport.
Middle East conflicts bringing domestic tensions is nothing new. With the war in Gaza, both Muslim and Jewish communities have faced faith-based discrimination and attacks.
Mamdani said the posts invoking the 9/11 attacks are problematic not just because of the words, but because of “the actions that often accompany them.”
“I think too of the smaller indignities, the indignities that many New Yorkers face, but that Muslims are expected to face in silence,” the mayor said. “Of the exhaustion of having to explain yourself to those who are not interested in understanding. Of the men who introduce themselves by their given name only to be called Muhammad for years on end.”
The stark silence from Republican leaders, including President Trump, reflects a broader change in the party. After the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, Republican President George W. Bush visited the Islamic Center of Washington to explicitly warn against Muslim discrimination.
“America counts millions of Muslims amongst our citizens, and Muslims make an incredibly valuable contribution to our country,” Bush said during the visit, adding: “They need to be treated with respect. In our anger and emotion, our fellow Americans must treat each other with respect.
“Those who feel like they can intimidate our fellow citizens to take out their anger don’t represent the best of America, they represent the worst of humankind, and they should be ashamed of that kind of behavior,” Bush said.
Cappelletti writes for the Associated Press.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (C) speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, South Korea, 10 February 2026. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
March 6 (Asia Today) — South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s approval rating rose to 65%, matching its highest level since he took office, according to a new national poll released Thursday.
A survey conducted by Korea Gallup from Monday through Wednesday among 1,001 adults nationwide found 65% of respondents approved of Lee’s job performance, up 1 percentage point from the previous week. Negative evaluations fell 1 point to 25%.
The poll shows Lee’s approval rating has increased steadily in recent weeks, rising from 63% in mid-February to 64% in late February and reaching 65% in the latest survey.
The figure matches the peak level recorded in early July shortly after Lee’s administration began, marking a return to the highest level in about eight months.
Regionally, approval exceeded 60% in most parts of the country, except in the conservative strongholds of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, where support stood at 49%, and Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province, where it reached 58%.
Support was strongest in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province, where Lee recorded a 94% approval rating.
Across age groups, approval ratings exceeded 50% among all generations. Support was highest among voters in their 40s at 79% and those in their 50s at 77%. Among centrist voters, approval reached 70%.
Respondents who evaluated Lee positively most frequently cited economic and livelihood policies at 18%, followed by real estate policy at 16% and foreign policy at 11%.
Among those with negative views, the most common reasons included dissatisfaction with real estate and economic policies at 13%, concerns about changes to laws at 8% and criticism of authoritarian leadership at 7%.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.
Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260306010001693
This photo, taken Thursday, shows the trading room of Hana Bank in central Seoul after the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index soared almost 10 percent to close at 5,583.9, snapping a three-session losing streak. Photo by Yonhap
South Korean stocks sharply rebounded on Thursday from the previous session’s sharpest decline ever, soaring almost 10 percent, amid signs of an easing oil price surge sparked by the ongoing Iran conflict. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 490.36 points, or 9.63 percent, to close at 5,583.9, snapping the three-session losing streak.
It marked the largest daily gain in terms of points in KOSPI history, renewing the previous record of 338.41 points set on Feb. 3.
Also, the 9.63 percent rise is the second steepest since Oct. 30, 2008, when the index rose 11.95 percent in the midst of the global financial crisis.
The country’s main bourse operator, the Korea Exchange (KRX), issued a buy-side sidecar around opening, suspending the selling of KOSPI futures for five minutes.
Trade volume was heavy at 1.6 billion shares worth 44.8 trillion won (US$30.5 billion), with gainers sharply beating decliners 898 to 21.
Individual investors drove the steep rally, scooping up a net 1.79 trillion won, while foreigners and institutions sold a net 144.6 billion won and 1.7 trillion won, respectively.
“The KOSPI experienced the sharpest decline in history and dropped near the 5,000-point line the previous day,” Roh Dong-gil, an analyst at Shinhan Securities, said. “Bargain hunters returned to the market to pull off a turnaround.”
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.49 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.29 percent on calmed oil price hikes.
In Seoul, market heavyweights led the rally.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics surged 11.27 percent to 191,600 won, and chip giant SK hynix soared 10.84 percent to 941,000 won.
Top carmaker Hyundai Motor escalated 9.38 percent to 548,000 won, and its sister Kia jumped 6.19 percent to 166,400 won.
Defense shares were among the biggest winners as industry leader Hanwha Aerospace vaulted 4.38 percent to 1.38 million won and LIG Nex1 shot up 23.26 percent to 763,000 won.
Shinhan Financial Group rose 4.62 percent to 92,900 won, and internet giant Naver advanced 5.77 percent to 220,000 won.
Samsung Biologics, a leading pharmaceutical firm, mounted 8.64 percent to 1.65 million won, and entertainment giant CJ ENM increased 5.91 percent to 64,500 won.
The Korean won was quoted at 1,468.1 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., up 8.1 won from the previous session.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 3.4 basis points to 3.189 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds declined 3.5 basis points to 3.442 percent.
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UK and other European markets opened a little higher but energy prices remain volatile.
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Loud explosions have been heard in Doha, the capital of Qatar, as defence systems shot down incoming Iranian missiles. Falling debris ignited large fire that sent plumes of black smoke rising above the city. Iran has hit multiple Gulf states as it responds to US-Israeli attacks.
Published On 1 Mar 20261 Mar 2026
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The Israeli Air Force has launched a new wave of attacks on Tehran. Huge plumes of smoke were seen rising about the Iranian capital as multiple targets were hit.
Published On 1 Mar 20261 Mar 2026
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