World, US, Culture, Market, and Sci-Tech News Aggregation from MSM and Independent News
An Israeli airstrike on a bridge in Lebanon has left large parts of the southern region disconnected from rest of country.
The Qasmiyeh bridge In Tyre was largely destroyed after Israel struck it on Sunday.
On Monday, an Israeli airstrike destroyed another bridge on the Litani river in the south.
Monday’s strike on the bridge in the southern village of Qaaqaaiyet al-Jisr cut a main link between the southern city of Nabatiyeh and al-Hujair valley region further south.
Hundreds of millions of cameras have been installed above shops, in homes and on street corners across the world, many connected to the internet and poorly secured. Recent advances in artificial intelligence have enabled militaries and intelligence agencies to sift through vast amounts of surveillance footage and identify targets.
On Feb. 28, Israel vividly demonstrated the potential of such systems to be hacked and used against adversaries when Israel tracked down Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with the help of Tehran’s own street cameras – despite repeated warnings that Iran’s surveillance systems had been compromised, according to interviews and an Associated Press review of leaked data, public statements and news reports.
In a lengthy Truth Social post on Friday, President Donald Trump laid out the U.S. objectives for winding down the conflict with Iran and re-opening the vital Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint responsible for handling 20 percent of global oil exports and large quantities of other valuable commodities.
“We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran,” the president wrote. He went on to list a number of objectives for the operation, many of which have already been achieved, according to the Pentagon.
Venezuela forgets about Maduro and starts down an irreversible path EL PAÍS English
from news.google.com
The main U.S. indexes were on track to open higher on Monday after President Donald Trump said he would order the military to postpone strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure following “productive conversations” with Tehran.
Iran’s Fars News Agency, however, disputed Trump’s statement, citing a source who said there had been no direct communication with the United States, nor via intermediaries. Israel’s military said it was conducting strikes on Iran.
Still, global markets staged a sharp recovery after Trump’s comments, with Europe’s STOXX 600 and precious metals turning positive, while oil prices fell, signaling improving risk appetite.
IMPERIAL — Whenever the weather changes suddenly, or the skyline becomes shrouded in a windy haze, Fernanda Camarillo braces herself for an asthma attack.
Her condition has become more manageable, but the 27-year-old said it’s still scary when her chest tightens and she starts to wheeze. It was one of her first thoughts when she heard about plans to develop a massive data center next to her home in Imperial County, a farming community near the border of Mexico that struggles with poor air quality.
A military source says Iran has designed new surprises for the coming days of the war, and that Donald Trump should ‘take his head out of social media for a bit’
from www.mirror.co.uk
In the middle of a worship song on Sunday, the morning after Cuba’s electrical grid collapsed for a second time in six days, the preacher at Renewal in Christ Church in Havana said he had a message to share that came to him in a dream.
Sunlight splashed in through an open window to the right of the raised platform where he stood, as a battery-powered light affixed to the ceiling shone weakly over the pulpit. A row of desk fans, plugs dangling, lined the top of the concrete walls of the shadowed sanctuary.
Almost every plastic and metal chair was filled at this small evangelical church, built from two housing units along a block of row housing in East Havana, which, like most of the city on this morning, had no power.
“If you are thinking of giving up, don’t give up, keep going, keep going,” said Pastor Daniel Cisnero, sweat on his brow, eyes closed, his voice a shout.
“It’s not the time to give up, it’s the time to keep walking holding God’s hand.”
China’s Military Purges Were Larger Than We Thought The Cipher Brief
from news.google.com
Chad warns Sudan it will retaliate after drone strike on mourners kills 17 The Nation (Pakistan )
from news.google.com
Canada and allies say in a joint statement they are willing to “contribute to appropriate efforts” to ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing war in Iran.
In a statement co-signed with the United Kingdom. France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan, the nations “call for an immediate comprehensive moratorium on attacks on civilian infrastructure, including oil and gas installations.”
“We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait. We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning,” the statement reads.
The statement comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump called upon NATO and other U.S. allies to help secure the Strait from Iranian attacks.
We’ve just heard from Pete Hegseth. He reiterated the claim from Donald Trump that the US president knew nothing about the attack on Iran’s South Pars gasfield.
However, Reuters is reporting that Israel says its attack on the gas facilities was coordinated with the United States.
Israel has not publicly acknowledged responsibility for the South Pars attack. On Wednesday night, Trump said in a social media post that Washington “knew nothing about this particular attack” and that Israel would not attack the gas field further unless Iran again attacked Qatar.
The three Israeli officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said that Israel was not surprised by Trump’s comments.
They described the dynamic as similar to one that played out after Israel struck fuel depots in Iran several weeks ago. After those attacks, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said that in “that particular case those weren’t our strikes”.
Members of Iran’s national women’s football team were greeted with a welcome ceremony upon their return to the Islamic Republic after several of the players had sought asylum in Australia.
“First of all we are so happy to be in Iran, because Iran is our homeland,” midfielder Fatemeh Shaban said.
People in the crowd waved flags, while some players held bouquets of flowers and signed what appeared to be miniature soccer balls. Iranian media had reported that the team returned Wednesday.
In a significant escalation of U.S. military presence in the Middle East, the Pentagon has ordered the deployment of an Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and attached Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), totaling roughly 4,000 service members. The latest deployment will include approximately 2,500 Marines and units specializing in amphibious operations, according to a report from Newsmax.
The report, which citied multiple U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity, elements of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, based in Japan, along with the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, were initially redirected toward the region. This was done as part of a broader reinforcement, with the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and 11th MEU from the West Coast accelerating their deployment ahead of schedule to join operations.
A RUSSIAN warship and sanctioned oil tanker has sailed through the English channel and is potentially headed for Cuba.
The Russian tanker has crossed the Atlantic with suggestions it could be attempting to break Donald Trump’s oil blockade of the island.
Around 1,00,000 flee South Sudan offensive into Ethiopia: UNICEF The Hindu
from news.google.com
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Mar 17) said the United States had been informed by most of its NATO allies that they did not want to get involved with the country’s military operation in Iran, a move he described as a “very foolish mistake.”
But Trump gave no indication that he plans to punish NATO allies for their stances, as he took questions from reporters in the Oval Office during the St. Patrick’s Day visit of Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin.
Trump said NATO countries were supportive of the joint US-Israeli war, which has now entered its third week, even as they did not want to get involved.
“I think NATO is making a very foolish mistake,” Trump said. “Everyone agrees with us, but they don’t want to help. And we, you know, we as the United States have to remember that because we think it’s pretty shocking,” he added.
Baroness Monckton’s amendment (424) to overturn the extreme abortion up to birth clause 208 was rejected by Peers who voted 185 to 148 against it; and Baroness Stroud’s amendment (425) to reinstate in-person consultations with a medical professional prior to an abortion taking place at home was also rejected by Peers who voted 191 to 119 against it.
Amendment to overturn abortion up to birth clause rejected
Earlier this evening, Peers rejected amendment 424, which Baroness Monckton, along with other female Members of the House of Lords, tabled at Report Stage, that would have removed clause 208 from the Crime and Policing Bill.
Russia has dispatched two tankers carrying oil and gas to Cuba as the island grapples with a deepening energy crisis exacerbated by a U.S. oil blockade, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
The ships would be providing the Caribbean island nation with its first energy shipments in three months. Fuel shortages have pushed Cuba into one of its most severe economic crises in decades, with widespread blackouts and disruptions to basic services.
The Hong Kong-flagged tanker Sea Horse, which is believed to be loaded with around 27,000 tons of gas, is expected to arrive in Cuba in the coming days after diverting its course last month, Samir Madani, co-founder of maritime intelligence company TankerTrackers, told the FT.
A second vessel, the Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin, is carrying between 725,000 and 728,000 barrels of oil and is due to reach Cuba in early April, he said.
Attacks on a town along Sudan’s border with Chad have killed at least 17 people and injured 123, Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, said
CAIRO — The latest heavy fighting between warring parties along Sudan ’s border with Chad has killed 17 people and many wounded, a medical group said.
The attacks on Monday in Tina left 66 people in serious condition, Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF, said in a post on X late Tuesday.
Christian legal group raises safety concerns over ‘all-gender’ toilet rules in Australia www.christiandaily.com
from news.google.com
HAVANA — The Trump administration made clear Tuesday that it sees Cuba as the next country where the U.S. can play out its desires on the world stage.
A day after Cuba’s third nationwide blackout in four months as the socialist island’s economy suffers under U.S. sanctions, President Donald Trump said, “Cuba right now is in very bad shape.”
“And we’ll be doing something with Cuba very soon,” the president added.
Students and staff at colleges across the United States include relatives of Iran’s political elite, even as Iran’s leaders continue to oppose the United States in public rhetoric. According to reporting from The New York Post, children of senior Iranian officials have studied or taught at prestigious universities including the University of Massachusetts, Union College in New York and George Washington University in Washington, DC.The presence of these individuals in American academic institutions raises questions, given their family connections to the Iranian regime. Critics describe this as a striking contrast between Iran’s public hostility to US and the private choices of its elite to send their children abroad for education and careers.
A U.S. F-35 fighter jet was forced to make an emergency landing at a U.S. air base in the Middle East after taking fire believed to have come from Iran, according to two sources familiar with the incident.
Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, said the fifth-generation stealth aircraft was “flying a combat mission over Iran” when it had to divert and land.
“The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot is in stable condition,” Hawkins said. “This incident is under investigation.”
President Donald Trump bragged that the military might of the United States against Iran had led to members of the Middle Eastern nation’s military abandoning it during a Thursday bilateral in the Oval Office.
“There’s a lot of military defections. You have a lot of military defections in Iran,” Trump said while seated next to the visiting Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. “I don’t blame them.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent prompted Trump’s comments, saying during the bilateral meeting that the U.S is “seeing defections at all levels” in the Iranian military and that the regime will probably “collapse” into itself.
The Pentagon appears to be seeking hundreds of billions of dollars from Congress for the War with Iran.
However, with slim majorities in both chambers and a partisan divide over the conflict, will Republican leaders be able to squeeze that sum out of Congress?
On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported the Pentagon “has asked the White House to approve a more than $200 billion request to Congress to fund the war in Iran.”