03 World

Blurb:

I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting on how good my life is right now. It’s been spring in Central Texas since February, and the program I teach at has had classes outside, like next to a turtle pond and a running creek.

I‘ve found myself thinking of how wonderful it is to see the fish swimming in the stream, to see the turtles sunning themselves on the rocks, to feel the sun and the breeze on my face, to smell the Texas Mountain Laurel bushes with flowers that smell like grape candy, to have a job where I help others, to have long-desired writing and speaking opportunities, to  work in an intellectually stimulating environment, to live in a lovely apartment with my sweet, cuddly cat, to have close friends and kind coworkers and to be able to share that happiness with my family.

Blurb:

Poland has been rocked by an alarming scandal after a heinous abuse ring involving the nation’s powerful elite was exposed, with critics warning the fallout could topple the highest levels of the country’s political establishment.

The shocking criminal case, linking political heavyweights to a child sex abuse and animal cruelty ring, is sending shockwaves through Poland.

The so-called “Kłodzko scandal” has already resulted in lengthy prison sentences.

Blurb:

We reported on Thursday about a United Nations Security Council resolution, designed to try to ensure safe shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The resolution from Bahrain:

“[A]uthorizes member States, acting nationally or through voluntary multinational naval partnerships, with advance notifications to the Security Council,” to use all necessary means “to secure transit passage and to deter attempts to close, obstruct or otherwise interfere with international navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.”

Blurb:

President Donald Trump spoke from the White House on Wednesday night to explain to the American people “why Operation Epic Fury is necessary for the safety of America and the security of the free world.” The United States and Israel have been allied in their fight against Iran, which in turn closed the Strait of Hormuz, limiting the worldwide oil supply.

Trump told allies that if they want the oil in Iran they should go get it or they should buy oil from the United States instead. In recent days, Trump has theatened to pull the US out of NATO over the allies’ refusal to aid the US in the Iran fight. He did not mention this in his remarks, nor did he indicate that a ground invasion of Iran was imminent.

Blurb:

The United Arab Emirates has signaled a willingness to participate in military operations aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

According to the report, which cites senior Emirati officials who spoke with the outlet on the condition of anonymity, the UAE is preparing to assist the United States and other allies in opening the strait by force if necessary. If confirmed, the nation would become the first Gulf State to signal openness to military action in order to free the vital shipping lane from Iranian blockades.

Blurb:

President Trump announces the administration is going hartd after whoever leaked the fact only ONE airman was saved

“When they did that, all of a sudden, the entire country of Iran, knew that there was a pilot that was somewhere on land that was FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE.

“It became a MUCH more difficult operation. Because a leaker leaked that we have one. We’ve rescued one. But there’s another one out there that we’re trying to get.”

Blurb:

Donald Trump’s flip-flopping has been laid bare in the statements he has made over the last six weeks of the war – which culminated today in a chilling threat to annihilate Iran.

Donald Trump has appeared increasingly desperate as the war in Iran continues

Donald Trump’s descent into desperation during the Iran War has been laid bare, with a massive timeline of the president’s public statements capturing his conflicting briefings about the war as it enters its sixth week.

Trump, 79, despite having long insisted that the operation he launched on February 28 was successful from day one, has been accused of constantly U-turning, leaving international allies frustrated as he asks for their aid.

Blurb:

According to Zelenskyy, Kyiv has information that Moscow shared data on “some 50–53 facilities in total,” adding that these are civilian infrastructure sites with no military significance.

“It resembles the lives of Ukrainians under Russian attacks, when they target our energy grid or water supply systems,” Zelenskyy said.

“Of course, all the experience Russia has obtained during the war against Ukraine is being shared with Iran. This was the case with Shaheds, the same drones the Russians have, only used under a different name and upgraded to newer generations.”

Blurb:

CAIRO — Ukrainian forces are operating in western Libya under a covert deal endorsed by the West, and they used the Northern African country’s territory to strike a Russian tanker in the Mediterranean last month, two Libyan officials said Tuesday.

The Russian-flagged Arctic Metagaz, carrying 61,000 tons of liquefied natural gas, was badly damaged in a suspected sea drone attack near Maltese waters early in March. It has since drifted off Libya. All 30 crew members were rescued and put on another vessel heading to the Libyan city of Benghazi, the Libyan Maritime Authority said.

Blurb:

President Donald Trump is weighing a range of military options against Iran as tensions escalate, with Pentagon planners outlining scenarios for what officials describe as a potential “massive final blow.”

According to Axios, President Trump has been presented with four possible paths.

Those plans reportedly include deploying U.S. troops and launching a ground operation targeting Kharg Island, a critical hub in Iran’s oil network.

Blurb:

In the 1964 black comedy Dr. Strangelove, an emergency war plan called “Plan R” allows an unhinged U.S. Air Force commander, Jack Ripper, to launch a nuclear strike without presidential authorization. Once the president, the joint chiefs, and the Soviet ambassador convene in the war room, the bombers are already airborne. Only Ripper knows the three-letter prefix needed to recall them, until his aide, Lionel Mandrake, reconstructs it from Ripper’s notes. Although nearly all planes are turned back, one damaged B-52 cannot receive the recall message and successfully drops its bomb, triggering the Soviets’ secret doomsday machine and bringing about global destruction.

The film’s lesson is not only about nuclear weapons, but also about what happens when critical systems are not governed effectively.

Blurb:

Islam in the West:

French police caught two people trying to light a bomb at Bank of America offices in Paris on Saturday.

One was arrested, the other fled. Two alleged accomplices were detained Sunday.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said there is “significant suspicion” of Iran’s involvement via proxies, noting similar incidents targeting U.S.-linked sites in other European countries.

French police dismantled a bomb intended for the Bank of America headquarters in the 8th arrondissement — blocks from the Champs-Elysees. Five liters of an unidentified liquid. 650 grams of powder. A lighter as an ignition system. This wasn’t a prototype.

The arrest chain reveals the – : a minor was recruited on Snapchat for 600 euros to plant it. Two additional conspirators in custody. A terrorism probe now active in France.

Bank of America. Symbolic target in the financial capital of the Western world. The operational security was tight enough that -. Not mid-planning. Mid-execution.

Blurb:

Belgium had a record 4,486 assisted deaths in 2025, an increase of 12.4% on the previous year, accounting for 4% of all deaths in the country, with almost a quarter of all deaths not expected in the short-term.

According to the annual review released by Belgium’s ‘Federal Commission for the Control and Evaluation of Euthanasia’:

There is no requirement that someone seeking an assisted death in Belgium be near the end of their lives. The law allows adults and emancipated minors experiencing “constant, unbearable physical or psychological suffering due to a serious and incurable condition” to end their lives by euthanasia or assisted suicide.

A major amendment to the law in 2014 removed the age restriction for assisted suicide and euthanasia in Belgium, making Belgium the first country to legalise euthanasia for minors “with capacity of discernment”.

One minor ended their life by assisted suicide or euthanasia in Belgium in 2025.

Blurb:

Noelia Castillo Ramos’ case galvanized international attention after her father, Gerónimo Castillo, mounted a legal battle against the authorization of various Spanish courts for his daughter to receive euthanasia in 2023. Aided by Abogados Cristianos (Christian Lawyers), a conservative Catholic organization, Mr. Castillo exhausted all appeals to the Spanish courts.

The father argued that his daughter wasn’t fully psychologically able to make a decision regarding euthanasia and that she needed better medical and psychiatric care. His legal battle was ultimately shut down by the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, on March 10.

Blurb:

The United Kingdom will not come to the aid of its allies the United States and Israel in Iran, no matter what pressure there is to join and no matter who asks, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The British Armed Forces will act to defend itself and British citizens in the Middle East but will never be “dragged in” to the war against Iran, Sir Keir Starmer said.

The remarks came in Starmer’s speech launching his Labour party’s local elections campaign for the forthcoming May 7th votes. While geopolitics and foreign war discourse may not seem like traditional fodder for local government elections, which in Britain tend to be fought on neighbourhood issues like refuse collection and road repairs, UK politics has taken on distinctly ethno-religious qualities that have led to claims it is developing a new sectarian politics.

For many voters in the United Kingdom, that the government doesn’t bomb Muslim countries is a primary concern at the ballot box, and several Labour Party MPs are privately concerned they stand to lose their seats to single-issue sectarian parties.

Promising his government wouldn’t engage in the joint American-Israeli attempt to reduce Iran’s capacity to hold the global economy to ransom, Sir Keir said in Wolverhampton on Monday that he wouldn’t change his mind “whatever the pressure and whoever it’s coming from”. He said:

We’re facing on a war on two fronts: the Ukraine war, now four-and-a-bit years in, and let’s salute the bravery of Ukrainians over so many years both on the frontline and the civilians as they fight for the values that matter to us.

And the other war … the Iran war, which I know is causing huge concern. People look at their screens and they’re worried when they see explosions, infrastructure blown up, the rhetoric that goes with it, worried about whether this is going to escalate even further.

And therefore it’s really important that I reiterate where I stand and where this government stands, because this is not our war and we are not going to be dragged into it.

Blurb:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told G7 foreign ministers that the US anticipates the conflict to continue for another two to four weeks.

Members of the US Armed Forces in Saudi Arabia were injured on Friday during a missile attack on Prince Sultan airbase. US officials confirmed to CBS News that about a dozen service members were injured.

The attack, reported Jennifer Jacobs, “consisted of Iranian missiles and drones.” Two Americans, she confirmed, were seriously injured while eight others suffered injuries. The total of US service members who have been killed during the conflict in Iran prior to this attack was 13.

Blurb:

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called out former president Barack Obama Thursday, accusing him of helping to finance Iran’s military with “pallets of American cash.”

“Many of the Iranian military factories and bases that we’re systematically destroying were paid for by the pallets of American cash that Barack Obama flew into Tehran under the Iran deal,” Hegseth said.

Critics have long condemned Obama for empowering the state sponsor of terrorism in 2016 with a $1.7 billion cash payout.

Blurb:

As the US-Israeli war against Iran entered its second month on Saturday, US President Donald Trump had an urgent message for the American people: turn on Fox News.

Those who followed the president’s advice – delivered through his Truth Social media platform – would have tuned in to see ultraconservative pundit Mark Levin publicly calling on Trump to seize Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium by force.

“We’ve got to get the uranium,” he said. “If it cannot be destroyed, if it cannot be altered, we gotta get it.”

Blurb:

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressed his frustration towards allies that have been unwilling to help the US reopen the Iran-controlled Strait of Hormuz by force, stating that countries upset by high fuel prices should “go get your own oil”.

“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the USA won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us. Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Blurb:

An apparent Iranian attack on a fully loaded Kuwaiti crude oil tanker at Dubai Port sparked a fire that was later extinguished, authorities said.

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said early on Tuesday that the Al Salmi tanker was struck in an Iranian attack while anchored at the port in the United Arab Emirates, causing damage to the vessel and a fire on board.