Kseniya Petrova was returning to the US from a trip to France when officials revoked her visa and detained her
A Russian scientist from Harvard Medical School has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to her friends and colleagues.
On Wednesday, Cora Anderson, a friend and colleague of Kseniya Petrova, shared the news of Petrova's detention on Facebook, saying the Russian scientist arrived at Boston Logan international airport on 16 February from a trip to France when she was stopped by US authorities.
According to Anderson, authorities revoked Petrova's visa and told her that she was to be deported to Russia. In response, Petrova said that she feared political persecution and was instead sent by authorities to a detention facility, Anderson said.
“We had no idea initially what had happened to her since she was unable to send any messages or make any calls upon detention. She was moved to a facility in Vermont at first and then Louisiana where she is now. Where she is now is a jail that has space rented by ICE and is kept in a room with over 80 other female detainees,” Anderson wrote in her Facebook post.
“Despite having lawyers and the fact she did not do anything illegal in the first place, she is still there, and we have no idea when she will be paroled (or released, however simply released is unlikely),” she added.
Speaking to the independent Russian news outlet Agentstvo, Petrova's friend Andrei Shevtsov said that Petrova was detained after undeclared frog embryo samples were discovered in her luggage.
Another colleague of Petrova who spoke anonymously to Mediazona, another independent Russian news outlet, said that Petrova was carrying a “sizable box with several cold blocks, which was clearly impossible to hide”. Petrova's colleague added that she may have accidentally made a mistake while filling out the US customs declaration form.
According to a LinkedIn post by Petrova from seven months ago which the independent news outlet the Insider reviewed, Petrova pointed to a 2024 study which shed light on molecular pathways that orchestrate meiotic progression in frogs.
A GoFundMe page set up by Anderson for Petrova said that the researcher was hired to work for Harvard Medical School and had entered the US on a work visa. Anderson did not specify which work visa category Petrova was under. She said that Petrova is “supported in applying for a new visa” but added that it is a “multi-month process during which she will not be able to work thus not collect a paycheck”.
Reports of Petrova's detention come just weeks after a French scientist was denied entry in the US this month after US immigration officers searched his phone and found messages critical of Donald Trump.
Also earlier this month, Canadian citizen Jasmine Mooney was detained by US authorities and was held by ICE for two weeks before being released. In another case, a German tourist, 29-year-old tattoo artist Jessica Brösche, spent six weeks in detention including eight days in solitary confinement after she was arrested at the Mexican border on 18 February.
In recent weeks, federal authorities have detained a handful of other university students and researchers – including green card holders – who have expressed Palestinian solidarity amid Israel's deadly war on Gaza. Earlier this week, 30-year-old Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University, was detained by masked federal officials in dramatic footage that has caused widespread outrage.
Immigration officials also detained Palestinian activist and Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil – a green card holder – earlier this month in front of his pregnant wife, Noor, a US citizen. Other students detained by immigration officials include Badar Khan Suri, an Indian postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University, after the Department of Homeland Security accused him of having ties to Hamas.
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OpenAI's latest image generation tool sparked a viral trend of Studio Ghibli-style renderings, flooding social media with cartoons of pets, families, and famous landmarks or events reflecting the work of legendary auteur and animator Hayao Miyazaki -- only for the AI company to restrict access to Plus and Pro subscribers, within 24 hours.
By Wednesday night, social media timelines had transformed into vibrant galleries of whimsical imagery as users rushed to experiment with OpenAI's newest image generation capabilities.
By Thursday, many users found their creative endeavors met with rejection messages. OpenAI had begun blocking requests from ChatGPT accounts which were still on the free tier for images in the “style of Ghibli” and some other artists — a swift response to concerns about creative rights that demonstrated the precarious balance between innovation and ethical responsibility in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
The viral sensation highlighted a significant evolution for ChatGPT as it competes in the increasingly crowded AI chatbot market. Image generation isn't unique to OpenAI's offering — competitors such as xAI's Grok and Google Gemini already feature similar capabilities — but the quality and precision of GPT-4o's creations potentially set a benchmark that was evident by how popular it became.
“GPT-4o image generation excels at accurately rendering text, precisely following prompts, and leveraging 4o's inherent knowledge base and chat context—including transforming uploaded images or using them as visual inspiration,” OpenAI said in its update documentation.
The tool's distinctive strength lies in its granular understanding of complex prompts. While “other systems struggle with around 5-8 objects,” according to OpenAI, GPT-4o can handle requests featuring up to 20 different elements with remarkable accuracy. This precision stems from extensive human labelling of training data, creating what the company describes as a “tighter binding of objects to their traits and relations” that allows for unprecedented control.
To create these images, users simply upload a photo or describe a scene with text prompts such as “Visualise this photo into a Studio Ghibli-style anime illustration with soft textures, warm colours, and whimsical details.” Within seconds, GPT-4o generates an image that captures the essence of the Oscar-winning Miyazaki's signature aesthetic — soft colour palettes, detailed natural settings, and lush backgrounds reminiscent of films such as Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle and The Wind Rises.
The swift Ghibli-style generations captured the tenuous relationship today between technological innovation and creative rights. That this emerged around Studio Ghibli's aesthetic makes for a more striking capture of this challenge: the Japanese animation house occupies a unique position in global cinema — transcending both the animation genre and its cultural origins to achieve a rare universality, from mainstream culture to those with more nuanced and niche appreciation of the arts.
When Disney conquered Western animation with optimistic fairy tales, Miyazaki and his collaborators crafted narratives addressing environmental destruction, pacifism, and female agency without simplistic moralising. Each meticulously hand-drawn frame represents countless hours of human artistry — precisely the kind of creative labour that raises thorny questions about AI's relationship to original artistic expression.
This isn't the first time style transformation tools have captured public imagination. In 2016, the Prisma app gained rapid popularity for its ability to apply artistic filters inspired by painters like Pablo Picasso and Edvard Munch. The iOS version was downloaded 7.5 million times in its debut week, with the Android release achieving 1.7 million downloads on its first day — impressive figures in the pre-AI boom era.
However, OpenAI's latest technology's impressive realism also raised concerns about potential misuse. To address this, OpenAI confirms all image generations will adhere to C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity) metadata guidelines, allowing viewers to distinguish between AI-generated and authentic images.
“What we'd like to aim for is that the tool doesn't create offensive stuff unless you want it to, in which case within reason it does,” said Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. “As we talk about in our model spec, we think putting this intellectual freedom and control in the hands of users is the right thing to do, but we will observe how it goes and listen to society.”
OpenAI is particularly mindful of artistic rights following previous controversies and lawsuits. “We're respecting of the artists' rights in terms of how we do the output, and we have policies in place that prevent us from generating images that directly mimic any living artists' work,” says Brad Lightcap, COO of OpenAI.
This commitment appears to have motivated the company's swift response to the Ghibli-style trend. When questioned by news reporters about the restrictions, OpenAI explained that they had “added a refusal which triggers when a user attempts to generate an image in the style of a living artist.”
The latest ChatGPT update represents a significant transition from text-only or externally dependent image generation tools to fully integrated multimodal systems. It also reflects the accelerating pace of AI development, with companies racing to enhance their offerings. Google's Imagen 3 model powers Gemini's image generation capabilities across web and smartphone apps, while xAI's Grok 3 has included image generation since early 2025.
OpenAI initially intended to make the new image generation capabilities available across all subscription tiers, but the overwhelming demand has forced a change of plans. “Roll-out to our free tier is unfortunately going to be delayed for a while,” Altman confirmed. For now, only ChatGPT Plus and ChatGPT Pro subscribers will maintain access to these features.
Hundreds of people asked to leave their homes amid states of emergency and out-of-state responders battling blazes
At least a half-dozen large wildfires continued to burn in the Blue Ridge Mountains of South Carolina and North Carolina on Thursday, leading to states of emergency and evacuations as firefighters deployed from other parts of the US to help bring the blazes under control.
In North Carolina, progress was being made in containing two of the largest wildfires burning in the mountains, but officials warned that fire danger remained from dry and windy conditions.
The news was worse in South Carolina, where two fires nearly doubled in size on Wednesday.
Hundreds of people have been asked to leave their homes in the two states. Wednesday's dry weather led to several new fires in western North Carolina and prompted the state's governor, Josh Stein, to declare a state of emergency in 34 western counties. At least nine fires were active in that part of the state, officials said.
The so-called Black Cove complex fire is currently the highest-priority wildfire in the US, according to an update from the North Carolina department of agriculture, with hundreds of firefighters working to battle the flames. States such as Oregon have already sent dozens of firefighters to assist with the efforts, deploying an additional 11 people on Wednesday.
Acres burned
US wildfires are measured in terms of acres. While the size of a wildfire doesn't necessarily correlate to its destructive impact, acreage provides a way to understand a fire's footprint and how quickly it has grown.
There are 2.47 acres in a hectare, and 640 acres in a square mile, but this can be hard to visualise. Here are some easy comparisons: one acre equates to roughly the size of an American football field. London's Heathrow airport is about 3,000 acres. Manhattan covers roughly 14,600 acres, while Chicago is roughly 150,000 acres, and Los Angeles is roughly 320,000 acres.
Megafire
A megafire is defined by the National Interagency Fire Center as a wildfire that has burned more than 100,000 acres (40,000 hectares).
Containment level
A wildfire's containment level indicates how much progress firefighters have made in controlling the fire. Containment is achieved by creating perimeters the fire can't move across. This is done through methods such as putting fire retardants on the ground, digging trenches, or removing brush and other flammable fuels.
Containment is measured in terms of the percentage of the fire that has been surrounded by these control lines. A wildfire with a low containment level, such as 0% or 5%, is essentially burning out of control. A fire with a high level of containment, such as 90%, isn't necessarily extinguished but rather has a large protective perimeter and a rate of growth that is under control.
Evacuation orders and warnings
Evacuation warnings and orders are issued by officials when a wildfire is causing imminent danger to people's life and property. According to the California office of emergency services, an evacuation warning means that it's a good idea to leave an area or get ready to leave soon. An evacuation order means that you should leave the area immediately.
Red flag warning
A red flag warning is a type of forecast issued by the National Weather Service that indicates when weather conditions are likely to spark or spread wildfires. These conditions typically include dryness, low humidity, high winds and heat.
Prescribed burn
A prescribed burn, or a controlled burn, is a fire that is intentionally set under carefully managed conditions in order to improve the health of a landscape. Prescribed burns are carried out by trained experts such as members of the US Forest Service and Indigenous fire practitioners. Prescribed burns help remove flammable vegetation and reduce the risk of larger, more catastrophic blazes, among other benefits.
Prescribed burning was once a common tool among Native American tribes who used “good fire” to improve the land, but was limited for much of the last century by a US government approach based on fire suppression. In recent years, US land managers have returned to embracing the benefits of prescribed burns, and now conduct thousands across the country every year.
So far no one has been hurt in the fires, which have burned more than 20 sq miles in mostly rugged, remote forests and the popular state park that includes Table Rock Mountain. Only a few dozen structures have been damaged.
But the fires are burning in an area that was hit hard by Hurricane Helene in September. Fed by dry conditions, the millions of fallen trees from that storm have become a tinderbox, providing fuel for the wildfires and hindering firefighters' use of logging roads and paths.
Forestry officials were worried after all those trees came down during Helene. It's not just the fuel they create – they also hinder firefighters' movement.
“It is nearly impossible to get through this stuff. We've got about five bulldozers, an excavator and saw crews to open this up and clean this,” Toby Cox, the firefighter in charge of the Table Rock fire, said about a fire break in a video briefing on Thursday morning.
Six months ago, Eric Young packed up his cats and left his home in Transylvania county, North Carolina, after floods and winds from Helene knocked out power, water and cell service. On Wednesday, the fires in nearby South Carolina forced them all out again.
A retired environmental educator who moved there from Long Island a few years ago, he lost his car and a heater when his driveway and crawl space were inundated in September.
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Now he is at a friend's home in Charlotte, trying to keep a sense of humor about the absurdity of floodwaters followed so soon by flames.
“I thought it was nirvana here – never get anything but severe thunderstorms, the weather is temperate, very nice,” he said. “I didn't know I'd be gut-punched twice in six months.”
Wildfires are unusual in the Carolinas, but not unheard of. The Great Fire of 1898 burned about 4,700 sq miles (12,175 sq km) in the two states, an area roughly the size of Connecticut, said David Easterling, the director of the technical support unit at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Spring is typically when blazes happen, according to Kathie Dello, North Carolina's state climatologist.This season the Blue Ridge Mountains are dry, having received only about two-thirds of the normal amount of rainfall in the last six months since Hurricane Helene. March has been full of sunny, dry, windy days.
There is rain in the forecast for the weekend, but it isn't the kind of soaking downpour that can knock a fire out on its own, said the National Weather Service meteorologist Ashley Rehnberg in Greer, South Carolina.
“Hopefully that will at least calm things down briefly,” Rehnberg said.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
The submarine, carrying 45 tourists, sank about a half-mile off the coast of Egypt.
At least six tourists were killed Thursday when a submarine sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast, according to Egyptian officials. At least five Russian tourists died, according to Russian officials in Egypt.
The governor of Egypt's Red Sea region, Maj. Gen. Amr Hanafy, said Thursday that the vessel was carrying 50 people: 45 passengers and five Egyptian crew members. He added that the passengers included Russians, Indians, Norwegians and Swedes.
The submarine was making a routine excursion to observe coral reefs, according to a statement from the Russian Embassy in Egypt. Earlier, the embassy said that all of the passengers on board were Russian tourists.
Emergency crews on the coast rescued 39 passengers, Hanafy said. Of those, 14 were hospitalized, according to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. Several Egyptians and Indians were also hospitalized, the agency reported.
The cause of the sinking is still unclear. The submarine sank about half a mile off the shore of the Egyptian resort town of Hurghada at 10 a.m. local time. The vessel, called Sindbad, was chartered by a resort of the same name.
A website for the Sindbad submarine experience says “there are only 14 real recreational submarines in the world,” and Sindbad operates two of them. Trips last three hours and reach a maximum depth of about 82 feet. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
Egypt is a popular tourist destination for Russians, with more than a million Russian tourists visiting the country every year over the past few years.
The Red Sea has become a focal point of heightened regional tensions amid strikes on shipping by Yemen's Houthi rebels, which have prompted an international response, including U.S. strikes on Yemen. Houthi attacks have targeted commercial shipping and Israel, not tourist vessels just off Egypt's shore.
The Israeli leader bought himself a form of insurance for up to 18 months as he navigates a constellation of conflicts at home and in Gaza.
TEL AVIV — From waging war anew in Gaza to seeking more control over his nation's judiciary to sacking his critics, a bevy of items on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's agenda may now be within reach after Israel's parliament approved a hotly debated state budget this week, giving Netanyahu a rare year of political security.
For weeks, questions had swirled over whether the spending package would pass. If it had failed, Netanyahu's government would have collapsed, forcing fresh elections that public opinion polls have suggested the prime minister's Likud party might lose.
Now, political analysts say, Netanyahu has bought himself a form of insurance for up to 18 months — Israel will have to go to elections by October 2026 at the latest — as he navigates a constellation of conflicts: in Gaza, where he has vowed to eradicate Hamas; and against Israel's courts, where he has pledged to hobble the “deep state” that he claims has been undermining his democratically elected government.
The Knesset on Thursday passed further legislation advancing Netanyahu's goal to overhaul the judiciary, giving lawmakers greater political influence over the appointment of the nation's judges.
All along, demonstrators have taken to the streets, accusing Netanyahu of prioritizing his political survival over Israel's security in a time of prolonged crisis. Underscoring the threat, Yemen's Houthi militia, which is backed by Iran, fired two missiles at Israel, both of which were intercepted, the military said.
The group, in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza, has been sending drones and missiles toward Israel since October 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 others hostage. The military campaign Israel launched in response has killed more than 50,000 people in Gaza, according to the local Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children.
“Many balls are in the air in Israel,” said Yuval Shany, a law professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. “But, paradoxically, now that Netanyahu has passed the budget, with a lot of generosity for the constituencies of the coalition parties, he has more room to show flexibility in the negotiations on Gaza.”
The relationship between Netanyahu's political survival, his management of the war in Gaza and confrontations with the judiciary is constantly evolving. A week before the budget vote, Netanyahu resumed deadly aerial bombardments in Gaza and sent troops back into strategic areas in Rafah and the Netzarim Corridor that bisects the enclave. The move to break a two-month-long ceasefire with Hamas helped usher in the return of far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who had resigned from government in opposition to the truce when it took effect in January.
Ben Gvir and other far-right ministers who called for a return to war in Gaza voted in favor of the spending plan this week. Ben Gvir's return, along with the addition of other Netanyahu loyalists to the government, effectively neutralized growing threats by ultra-Orthodox politicians, who in recent weeks demanded to enshrine their exemption from military service into law or else they would vote down the budget.
“With Netanyahu, everything has to do with survival,” said Uriel Abulof, a politics professor at Tel Aviv University. “He had to get the budget passed. To get the budget passed, he needed Ben Gvir. To get Ben Gvir, he needed the war.”
The $200 billion budget that was passed Tuesday — marking a 20 percent increase in spending from the previous year — allocated hundreds of millions of shekels to fund religious schools and institutions for the ultra-Orthodox. Opposition to ultra-Orthodox exemption has long been central to the anti-government protests, including among the supporters of the Israeli far right, who make up the country's reservists and have been supplementing Israel's standing army over the past year and a half.
The budget also cuts funds for public services such as welfare and the national health-care system, while funneling cash to programs championed by Netanyahu's coalition partners. Opposition leader Yair Lapid called the spending bill the “greatest robbery in the nation's history.”
Overall, the budget allocated an unprecedented increase for the defense sector, matching Israeli military predictions that the nation will remain on a war footing for the coming years.
And on Wednesday, amid shouts from the opposition, Netanyahu told the Knesset that Iran and Hamas had wanted the budget and the Israeli government to fail, “because they know that a government under my leadership will not give up until it reaches victory.”
“It will bring back the hostages, it will destroy Hamas, and it will ensure the security of Israel for generations to come,” he said, referring to Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.
Over the past week, Netanyahu also started the process of firing both Ronen Bar, the head of Israel's internal security service, or Shin Bet, and Gali Baharav-Miara, Israel's attorney general.
In Gaza, as the military ramps up operations, Israeli leaders have issued threats to occupy and later annex at least part of the territory. Under the ceasefire deal agreed in January, Israel and Hamas were supposed to negotiate a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent end to the hostilities. But Israel refused to engage in meaningful talks on the ceasefire's second phase; instead, Israel cut off all food, fuel and other aid to Gaza and demanded Hamas release all of the hostages still held in captivity.
Abulof, the professor, said that Netanyahu, in continuing the war in Gaza, is tapping into an “immense rage that is still rumbling in the Israeli public” after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. But, for now, he is still careful to rein in some of his coalition partners' more extreme ideas, such as fully reoccupying Gaza while also escalating political battles on the domestic front.
“All the actors know it; they are careful not to go all the way” on Gaza, Abulof said. “Their common agenda is to eradicate Israel's democratic institutions. For now, that's something they can all agree on.”
Shih reported from Jerusalem. Lior Soroka in Tel Aviv contributed to this report.
Israel's military launched a large-scale bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip on 18 March, breaking the fragile ceasefire with Hamas that had been in place since late January. Follow live updates on the ceasefire and the hostages remaining in Gaza.
The Israel-Gaza war: On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas militants launched an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking civilian hostages. Israel declared war on Hamas in response, launching a ground invasion that fueled the biggest displacement in the region since Israel's creation in 1948. In July 2024, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an attack Hamas has blamed on Israel.
Hezbollah: In late 2024, Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire deal, bringing a tenuous halt to more than a year of hostilities that included an Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon. Israel's airstrikes into Lebanon had been intense and deadly, killing over 1,400 people including Hasan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's longtime leader. The Israel-Lebanon border has a history of violence that dates back to Israel's founding.
Gaza crisis: In the Gaza Strip, Israel has waged one of this century's most destructive wars, killing tens of thousands and plunging at least half of the population into “famine-like conditions.” For months, Israel has resisted pressure from Western allies to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave.
U.S. involvement: Despite tensions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some U.S. politicians, including former President Joe Biden, the United States supports Israel with weapons, funds aid packages, and has vetoed or abstained from the United Nations' ceasefire resolutions.
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King Charles III was hospitalised on Thursday after experiencing side effects from cancer treatment.
“Following scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer this morning, The King experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital. His Majesty's afternoon engagements were therefore postponed," a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace told the Sun on Thursday.
The spokesperson added, "His Majesty has now returned to Clarence House and as a precautionary measure, acting on medical advice, tomorrow's diary programme will also be rescheduled. His Majesty would like to send his apologies to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result.”
According to the Sun, the monarch was taken by car to The London Clinic, not by emergency vehicle. The outlet noted that his treatment is progressing in the right direction.
The palace spokesman told the Sun: "His Majesty was due to receive Credentials from the Ambassadors of three different nations this afternoon. Tomorrow, he was due to undertake four public engagements in Birmingham and is greatly disappointed to be missing them on this occasion. He very much hopes that they can be rescheduled in due course and offers his deepest apologies to all those who had worked so hard to make the planned visit possible."
King Charles was diagnosed with cancer in February 2024, following a medical procedure for benign prostate enlargement.
"During The King's recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, a separate issue of concern was noted. Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer," the palace said in a statement at the time.
In December, Sky News reported that cancer treatment would continue into the New Year. Palace sources told the outlet, “His treatment has been moving in a positive direction and as a managed condition the treatment cycle will continue into next year.”
Health secretary aims to close regional offices and establish new division called ‘administration for a healthy America'
Robert F Kennedy Jr said the nation's health agencies will cut 10,000 jobs from their 82,000-person workforce – an enormous reduction the US health secretary characterized as streamlining federal bureaucracy amid internal resistance to the administration's agenda.
The cuts announced on Thursday, along with previous restructuring and voluntary buyouts, mean the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will lose roughly 20,000 workers.
Kennedy said the department will also close half of its regional offices and create a new agency called the “administration for a healthy America”, or AHA.
“We aren't just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy said on Thursday morning.
HHS is among the largest branches of the federal government, overseeing a $1.7tn budget and agencies that are household names. Among the agencies under HHS's oversight are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The critical work performed by these agencies includes protecting Americans from outbreaks and infectious disease at the CDC, helming the world's largest publicly funded biomedical and behavioral research agency at the NIH, providing health insurance to 137 million Americans through the public programs Medicare and Medicaid at the CMS, and approving and regulating the nation's medical devices, drugs and foods at the FDA.
Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk, who oversees the massive federal job-cutting initiative via the unofficial “department of government efficiency”, have been gutting agencies as part of an effort to shrink the federal bureaucracy, with cuts that have roiled health agencies in particular.
“Any cut you make to a health agency should be done with incredible care and consideration for the hundreds of millions of Americans who rely on their work to stay healthy and get treatment when they're sick,” said Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, previously the Biden administration's CMS administrator and now a senior fellow at the Century Foundation. Taking a “wrecking ball” to health agencies and “laying off thousands of people … doesn't move us forward”, Brooks-LaSure said.
In his announcement, Kennedy also alluded to internal resistance to the upheaval at HHS, saying: “In one case, defiant bureaucrats impeded the secretary's office from accessing the closely guarded databases that might reveal the dangers of certain drugs and medical interventions.” Kennedy did not specify the databases or medical interventions in question.
In a description of the cuts, HHS said it plans to eliminate 3,500 full-time employees at the FDA. The administration claimed the cuts would not affect inspectors or drug, medical device and food reviewers. The CDC will lose 2,400 staff members, with the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response folded into the CDC. The NIH will lose a further 1,200 employees across its 27 institutes and centers. The CMS will lose 300 people. HHS did not provide a detailed breakdown of the programs, services or roles to be cut.
“We are getting panicked calls from our health agencies about what funding is going to get cut off,” said Democratic US senator Patty Murray of Washington state, noting the country is in the midst of a severe flu season and expanding measles outbreak in west Texas. Murray added the administration's move appears to be an illegal “impounding” of funds allocated by Congress.
The restructuring will also consolidate 28 branches of the department into 15 new divisions, including the new AHA. AHA will combine offices in HHS that address addiction, mental health, toxic substances and occupational safety, among others, into one central office, the agency said. The new units will also centralize functions such as external affairs, human resources and IT, HHS said.
“Today's announcement is not just a restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services, it is a catastrophe for the health of every American,” said Democratic senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts. “Kennedy, Musk and Trump only serve themselves and the wealthiest people in our country.”
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While Democrats argued the downsizings are in service of extending tax cuts to the wealthy, consumer advocates also sounded alarms, arguing mass layoffs will inevitably close programs.
The consumer group Public Citizen said cuts to the FDA increase “the chances that more unsafe drugs and medical devices will be marketed and that all of us will suffer preventable diseases”.
The massive restructuring comes as research funding is under threat. The NIH canceled nearly 400 active grants since the administration took the reins, with diversity, equity and inclusion programs; transgender issues; and research into South Africa and now Covid-19 as targets for defunding. The Office of Long Covid Research and Practice announced this week it would be shuttered as part of the reorganization.
A report in Nature on Wednesday revealed that federal workers who manage the government's research investments with scientists had been directed to cancel Covid-19 research grants, a category potentially encompassing $850m and more than 600 projects. Funding freezes at the same agency have thrown into upheaval critical research on diseases as diverse as pediatric cancer and Alzheimer's disease.
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Reuters contributed reporting
Critics say US defense secretary's tattoo of the word kafir, meaning ‘infidel' or ‘non-believer' could offend Muslims
The US secretary of defense Pete Hegseth has a tattoo that appears to read “infidel” or “non-believer” in Arabic, according to recently posted photos on his social media account.
In photos posted on Tuesday on X, the Fox News host turned US defense secretary had what appears to be a tattoo that says “kafir”, an Arabic term used within Islam to describe an unbeliever. Hegseth appears to have also had the tattoo in another Instagram photo posted in July 2024.
Some people on social media criticized Hegseth for getting a tattoo that could be considered offensive to Muslims, especially as the US military seeks to represent a diverse pool of faiths. It is estimated that upwards of 5,000 to 6,000 US military members practice Islam.
“This isn't just a personal choice; it's a clear symbol of Islamophobia from the man overseeing U.S. wars,” posted Nerdeen Kiswani, a pro-Palestinian activist in New York.
She added: “‘Kafir' has been weaponized by far-right Islamophobes to mock and vilify Muslims. It's not about his personal beliefs. It's about how these beliefs translate into policy – how they shape military decisions, surveillance programs, and foreign interventions targeting Muslim countries.”
A former leader of the far-right Proud Boys, Joe Biggs, also has a similar tattoo.
“Tattooing the Arabic word kafir – which refers to someone who knowingly denies or conceals fundamental divine truths – on his body is a display of both anti-Muslim hostility and personal insecurity,” Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair), told Newsweek.
This is not the first time Hegseth has been involved in a tattoo-related controversy. The defense secretary has previously shown off tattoos that indicate a fascination with “crusader aesthetics”, an increasing trend among the far right.
His prior contentious tattoo is located on his right biceps – right next to the new one. It reads “Deus Vult”, which translates to “God Wills It” in Latin, believed to be a Crusader battle cry. Hegseth also has a tattoo on his chest of the Jerusalem cross, also known as the Crusader's cross due to being popularized during the Christian Crusades.
The criticism of the tattoo comes at a time of increased scrutiny for the defense secretary. Members of Congress in the US are calling for an investigation into Hegseth and the other officials involved in the Signal leak that inadvertently exposed operational details of US plans to bomb Yemen. Several representatives have called for Hegseth to resign.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
A knife-wielding assailant seriously wounded five people in a stabbing attack on a busy shopping street in Amsterdam before he was taken into custody, police said Thursday.
Police officers stand behind a cordoned off area after a stabbing near Dam Square in central Amsterdam, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Delong)
Police officers stand behind a cordoned off area after a stabbing near Dam Square in central Amsterdam, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Delong)
Police officers cordon-off an area after a stabbing near Dam Square in central Amsterdam, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Delong)
Emergency services personnel gather near the scene after a stabbing near Dam Square in central Amsterdam, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Delong)
A person walks past police officers and under police tape of a cordoned off area after a stabbing near Dam Square in central Amsterdam, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Delong)
Police officers gather not far from the area after a stabbing near Dam Square in central Amsterdam, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Delong)
A police officer speaks to a man near a cordoned-off area after a stabbing near Dam Square in central Amsterdam, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Delong)
Police officers walk under the tape of a cordoned off area after a stabbing near Dam Square in central Amsterdam, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Delong)
Police officers stand behind a cordoned off area after a stabbing near Dam Square in central Amsterdam, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Delong)
A police officer stands near a cordoned off area after a stabbing near Dam Square in central Amsterdam, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Police officers gather not far from the area after a stabbing near Dam Square in central Amsterdam, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
AMSTERDAM (AP) — A knife-wielding assailant in Amsterdam seriously wounded five people — including two from the United States, one from Belgium and one from Poland — in a stabbing attack Thursday on a busy shopping street, Dutch police said.
The attack lasted several minutes before the assailant was stopped by a passerby near the city's Dam Square in the late afternoon. Police cordoned off the area and several ambulances and a trauma helicopter were called to the scene.
Authorities said in a statement that no motive had been established for the attack, but that police were considering a scenario where the man targeted victims at random.
The victims were identified as a 67-year-old woman and a 69-year old man from the United States, a 73-year-old woman from Belgium, a 26-year-old man from Poland and a 19-year old Dutch woman from Amsterdam.
“The police investigation is in full swing and has full priority at the moment. We hope to soon get more clarity about the background of this horrible stabbing,” Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said in a statement. Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and loved ones,”
The assailant was injured when he was overpowered by a bystander. “The suspect was detained with the help of a civilian,” police spokesperson Eline Roovers told The Associated Press.
Last year, the city experienced several stabbings attributed to people with mental health issues. Amsterdam set up a hotline last month for residents to report concerns about irrational behavior. The reporting mechanism was recommended after an investigation showed that a man was stabbed to death by his neighbor.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Israel lost to Norway 4-2 in a match where the visitors broke a 1-1 tie with three second-half goals, securing the victory and three points in 2026 World Cup qualifying. The blue-and-white entered the “home” clash, played in Debrecen, Hungary, due to the security situation in the Holy Land, after having slipped by Estonia 2-1 over the weekend. Head coach Ran Ben Shimon's squad was confident that it would be able to record a positive result against the likes of superstar striker Erling Haaland and company. However, the size and physicality of the Norwegians were just too much for Israel to handle as it split the opening two matches of the campaign.Norway opened the game with a number of chances, but Israel was able to match it throughout the opening half-hour of play. However, the visitors continued to press for a goal ahead of halftime and finally broke through via David Moller Wolfe, who put home a Martin Ødegaard ball for a 1-0 advantage at the break. AdvertisementIsrael began to look for the equalizer as the second half got underway, with chances from Oscar Gloukh and Manor Solomon, but it was Muhammed Abu Fani who finally found the back of the net from a distance to draw the hosts even at 1-1 in the 55th minute. ISRAELI OSCAR GLOUKH – pictured in October 2023 wearing jersey number 30 in recognition of the 30 children that were then being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza mere days after the October 7 massacre. (credit: PEDRO NUNES/REUTERS)Norway did not take the tally lightly and began to hammer away at Daniel Peretz's goal, as the Bayern Munich protégé made one spectacular save after another until Alexander Sørloth scored off a corner to give Ståle Solbakken's team a 2-1 lead in the 59th minute. From there on, it was all Norway, as Kristoffer Ajer was left all alone in the box and scored to double the advantage, while Manchester City's Haaland also finally got on the board in the 83rd minute to bump the lead up to 4-1.Dor Turgeman was able to pull a second goal back for the blue-and-white in second-half injury time, but that would be as close as Israel would get, as it ended their first two games with three out of a possible six points. Next up for Ben Shimon's side will be an away trip to Estonia in June, followed by a pair of qualifiers at Moldova and home against Italy. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now 'We are in the process of progress'“These are players at a very high level, and we had a hard time against them,” Ben Shimon said following the game. “We tried. The players played football and moved the ball, but it is difficult to reduce the gaps on the set-pieces. The loss hurts, but as I have said every time, we are in the process of progress, and we can see that this team can play and compete.” AdvertisementBen Shimon continued: “The issue now is how we will lift ourselves up, continue on our path, and show improvement from game to game. There was a good level of fight, and I have no qualms about how we played. Part of the process is experiencing these types of games. At 1-1, we should have held on for a few more minutes, but we were quickly exposed on the transition, and there was a little bit of imbalance between the defense and the attack.”Norway head coach Solbakken praised his side's effort.“Israel played strong at the beginning of the second half and was very good at counterattacks,” he said. “They have a lot of power on the left wing. But we are happy with the performance and the three points. Perhaps we were stronger physically in this game, but they also have strong players. This is one of the most difficult games for us, as Israel is a good team. They drew 0-0 with France and beat Belgium 1-0 in the Nations League just a few months ago. We know they can cause trouble for anyone.” Abu Fani, Israel's goal-scorer also reflected on the game.“I really think we faced a very strong team. They have top-of-the-world players. We managed to keep the game close and were able to draw even at 1-1. But it's really a shame. Now we have to move forward.”“I think Ran really believes in me, and I'm happy about that,” Abu Fani continued. “The most important thing is to get back on the pitch, and whoever is playing well will feature for the team. Of course, I expect to lead the team. This is my time to lead. I played great when I was with Maccabi Haifa and won titles, as well as with Ferencváros, so I hope to continue that way.”Solomon, the acting captain for the match, also shared his thoughts on the game.“There is no doubt that they were better than us. We saw the differences in physicality and size – they are tall and strong, and they have great players. We played amazingly in the second half and came back into the game, then a goal was conceded on a set-piece. Then we went ahead and conceded two more goals and were pretty disappointed. No matter how hard we work on the set-pieces, once there are such height differences, it shows. Unfortunately, they had a lot of set-pieces, and that made the difference.”
The blue-and-white entered the “home” clash, played in Debrecen, Hungary, due to the security situation in the Holy Land, after having slipped by Estonia 2-1 over the weekend. Head coach Ran Ben Shimon's squad was confident that it would be able to record a positive result against the likes of superstar striker Erling Haaland and company. However, the size and physicality of the Norwegians were just too much for Israel to handle as it split the opening two matches of the campaign.Norway opened the game with a number of chances, but Israel was able to match it throughout the opening half-hour of play. However, the visitors continued to press for a goal ahead of halftime and finally broke through via David Moller Wolfe, who put home a Martin Ødegaard ball for a 1-0 advantage at the break. AdvertisementIsrael began to look for the equalizer as the second half got underway, with chances from Oscar Gloukh and Manor Solomon, but it was Muhammed Abu Fani who finally found the back of the net from a distance to draw the hosts even at 1-1 in the 55th minute. ISRAELI OSCAR GLOUKH – pictured in October 2023 wearing jersey number 30 in recognition of the 30 children that were then being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza mere days after the October 7 massacre. (credit: PEDRO NUNES/REUTERS)Norway did not take the tally lightly and began to hammer away at Daniel Peretz's goal, as the Bayern Munich protégé made one spectacular save after another until Alexander Sørloth scored off a corner to give Ståle Solbakken's team a 2-1 lead in the 59th minute. From there on, it was all Norway, as Kristoffer Ajer was left all alone in the box and scored to double the advantage, while Manchester City's Haaland also finally got on the board in the 83rd minute to bump the lead up to 4-1.Dor Turgeman was able to pull a second goal back for the blue-and-white in second-half injury time, but that would be as close as Israel would get, as it ended their first two games with three out of a possible six points. Next up for Ben Shimon's side will be an away trip to Estonia in June, followed by a pair of qualifiers at Moldova and home against Italy. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now 'We are in the process of progress'“These are players at a very high level, and we had a hard time against them,” Ben Shimon said following the game. “We tried. The players played football and moved the ball, but it is difficult to reduce the gaps on the set-pieces. The loss hurts, but as I have said every time, we are in the process of progress, and we can see that this team can play and compete.” AdvertisementBen Shimon continued: “The issue now is how we will lift ourselves up, continue on our path, and show improvement from game to game. There was a good level of fight, and I have no qualms about how we played. Part of the process is experiencing these types of games. At 1-1, we should have held on for a few more minutes, but we were quickly exposed on the transition, and there was a little bit of imbalance between the defense and the attack.”Norway head coach Solbakken praised his side's effort.“Israel played strong at the beginning of the second half and was very good at counterattacks,” he said. “They have a lot of power on the left wing. But we are happy with the performance and the three points. Perhaps we were stronger physically in this game, but they also have strong players. This is one of the most difficult games for us, as Israel is a good team. They drew 0-0 with France and beat Belgium 1-0 in the Nations League just a few months ago. We know they can cause trouble for anyone.” Abu Fani, Israel's goal-scorer also reflected on the game.“I really think we faced a very strong team. They have top-of-the-world players. We managed to keep the game close and were able to draw even at 1-1. But it's really a shame. Now we have to move forward.”“I think Ran really believes in me, and I'm happy about that,” Abu Fani continued. “The most important thing is to get back on the pitch, and whoever is playing well will feature for the team. Of course, I expect to lead the team. This is my time to lead. I played great when I was with Maccabi Haifa and won titles, as well as with Ferencváros, so I hope to continue that way.”Solomon, the acting captain for the match, also shared his thoughts on the game.“There is no doubt that they were better than us. We saw the differences in physicality and size – they are tall and strong, and they have great players. We played amazingly in the second half and came back into the game, then a goal was conceded on a set-piece. Then we went ahead and conceded two more goals and were pretty disappointed. No matter how hard we work on the set-pieces, once there are such height differences, it shows. Unfortunately, they had a lot of set-pieces, and that made the difference.”
However, the size and physicality of the Norwegians were just too much for Israel to handle as it split the opening two matches of the campaign.Norway opened the game with a number of chances, but Israel was able to match it throughout the opening half-hour of play. However, the visitors continued to press for a goal ahead of halftime and finally broke through via David Moller Wolfe, who put home a Martin Ødegaard ball for a 1-0 advantage at the break. AdvertisementIsrael began to look for the equalizer as the second half got underway, with chances from Oscar Gloukh and Manor Solomon, but it was Muhammed Abu Fani who finally found the back of the net from a distance to draw the hosts even at 1-1 in the 55th minute. ISRAELI OSCAR GLOUKH – pictured in October 2023 wearing jersey number 30 in recognition of the 30 children that were then being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza mere days after the October 7 massacre. (credit: PEDRO NUNES/REUTERS)Norway did not take the tally lightly and began to hammer away at Daniel Peretz's goal, as the Bayern Munich protégé made one spectacular save after another until Alexander Sørloth scored off a corner to give Ståle Solbakken's team a 2-1 lead in the 59th minute. From there on, it was all Norway, as Kristoffer Ajer was left all alone in the box and scored to double the advantage, while Manchester City's Haaland also finally got on the board in the 83rd minute to bump the lead up to 4-1.Dor Turgeman was able to pull a second goal back for the blue-and-white in second-half injury time, but that would be as close as Israel would get, as it ended their first two games with three out of a possible six points. Next up for Ben Shimon's side will be an away trip to Estonia in June, followed by a pair of qualifiers at Moldova and home against Italy. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now 'We are in the process of progress'“These are players at a very high level, and we had a hard time against them,” Ben Shimon said following the game. “We tried. The players played football and moved the ball, but it is difficult to reduce the gaps on the set-pieces. The loss hurts, but as I have said every time, we are in the process of progress, and we can see that this team can play and compete.” AdvertisementBen Shimon continued: “The issue now is how we will lift ourselves up, continue on our path, and show improvement from game to game. There was a good level of fight, and I have no qualms about how we played. Part of the process is experiencing these types of games. At 1-1, we should have held on for a few more minutes, but we were quickly exposed on the transition, and there was a little bit of imbalance between the defense and the attack.”Norway head coach Solbakken praised his side's effort.“Israel played strong at the beginning of the second half and was very good at counterattacks,” he said. “They have a lot of power on the left wing. But we are happy with the performance and the three points. Perhaps we were stronger physically in this game, but they also have strong players. This is one of the most difficult games for us, as Israel is a good team. They drew 0-0 with France and beat Belgium 1-0 in the Nations League just a few months ago. We know they can cause trouble for anyone.” Abu Fani, Israel's goal-scorer also reflected on the game.“I really think we faced a very strong team. They have top-of-the-world players. We managed to keep the game close and were able to draw even at 1-1. But it's really a shame. Now we have to move forward.”“I think Ran really believes in me, and I'm happy about that,” Abu Fani continued. “The most important thing is to get back on the pitch, and whoever is playing well will feature for the team. Of course, I expect to lead the team. This is my time to lead. I played great when I was with Maccabi Haifa and won titles, as well as with Ferencváros, so I hope to continue that way.”Solomon, the acting captain for the match, also shared his thoughts on the game.“There is no doubt that they were better than us. We saw the differences in physicality and size – they are tall and strong, and they have great players. We played amazingly in the second half and came back into the game, then a goal was conceded on a set-piece. Then we went ahead and conceded two more goals and were pretty disappointed. No matter how hard we work on the set-pieces, once there are such height differences, it shows. Unfortunately, they had a lot of set-pieces, and that made the difference.”
Norway opened the game with a number of chances, but Israel was able to match it throughout the opening half-hour of play. However, the visitors continued to press for a goal ahead of halftime and finally broke through via David Moller Wolfe, who put home a Martin Ødegaard ball for a 1-0 advantage at the break. AdvertisementIsrael began to look for the equalizer as the second half got underway, with chances from Oscar Gloukh and Manor Solomon, but it was Muhammed Abu Fani who finally found the back of the net from a distance to draw the hosts even at 1-1 in the 55th minute. ISRAELI OSCAR GLOUKH – pictured in October 2023 wearing jersey number 30 in recognition of the 30 children that were then being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza mere days after the October 7 massacre. (credit: PEDRO NUNES/REUTERS)Norway did not take the tally lightly and began to hammer away at Daniel Peretz's goal, as the Bayern Munich protégé made one spectacular save after another until Alexander Sørloth scored off a corner to give Ståle Solbakken's team a 2-1 lead in the 59th minute. From there on, it was all Norway, as Kristoffer Ajer was left all alone in the box and scored to double the advantage, while Manchester City's Haaland also finally got on the board in the 83rd minute to bump the lead up to 4-1.Dor Turgeman was able to pull a second goal back for the blue-and-white in second-half injury time, but that would be as close as Israel would get, as it ended their first two games with three out of a possible six points. Next up for Ben Shimon's side will be an away trip to Estonia in June, followed by a pair of qualifiers at Moldova and home against Italy. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now 'We are in the process of progress'“These are players at a very high level, and we had a hard time against them,” Ben Shimon said following the game. “We tried. The players played football and moved the ball, but it is difficult to reduce the gaps on the set-pieces. The loss hurts, but as I have said every time, we are in the process of progress, and we can see that this team can play and compete.” AdvertisementBen Shimon continued: “The issue now is how we will lift ourselves up, continue on our path, and show improvement from game to game. There was a good level of fight, and I have no qualms about how we played. Part of the process is experiencing these types of games. At 1-1, we should have held on for a few more minutes, but we were quickly exposed on the transition, and there was a little bit of imbalance between the defense and the attack.”Norway head coach Solbakken praised his side's effort.“Israel played strong at the beginning of the second half and was very good at counterattacks,” he said. “They have a lot of power on the left wing. But we are happy with the performance and the three points. Perhaps we were stronger physically in this game, but they also have strong players. This is one of the most difficult games for us, as Israel is a good team. They drew 0-0 with France and beat Belgium 1-0 in the Nations League just a few months ago. We know they can cause trouble for anyone.” Abu Fani, Israel's goal-scorer also reflected on the game.“I really think we faced a very strong team. They have top-of-the-world players. We managed to keep the game close and were able to draw even at 1-1. But it's really a shame. Now we have to move forward.”“I think Ran really believes in me, and I'm happy about that,” Abu Fani continued. “The most important thing is to get back on the pitch, and whoever is playing well will feature for the team. Of course, I expect to lead the team. This is my time to lead. I played great when I was with Maccabi Haifa and won titles, as well as with Ferencváros, so I hope to continue that way.”Solomon, the acting captain for the match, also shared his thoughts on the game.“There is no doubt that they were better than us. We saw the differences in physicality and size – they are tall and strong, and they have great players. We played amazingly in the second half and came back into the game, then a goal was conceded on a set-piece. Then we went ahead and conceded two more goals and were pretty disappointed. No matter how hard we work on the set-pieces, once there are such height differences, it shows. Unfortunately, they had a lot of set-pieces, and that made the difference.”
Israel began to look for the equalizer as the second half got underway, with chances from Oscar Gloukh and Manor Solomon, but it was Muhammed Abu Fani who finally found the back of the net from a distance to draw the hosts even at 1-1 in the 55th minute. ISRAELI OSCAR GLOUKH – pictured in October 2023 wearing jersey number 30 in recognition of the 30 children that were then being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza mere days after the October 7 massacre. (credit: PEDRO NUNES/REUTERS)Norway did not take the tally lightly and began to hammer away at Daniel Peretz's goal, as the Bayern Munich protégé made one spectacular save after another until Alexander Sørloth scored off a corner to give Ståle Solbakken's team a 2-1 lead in the 59th minute. From there on, it was all Norway, as Kristoffer Ajer was left all alone in the box and scored to double the advantage, while Manchester City's Haaland also finally got on the board in the 83rd minute to bump the lead up to 4-1.Dor Turgeman was able to pull a second goal back for the blue-and-white in second-half injury time, but that would be as close as Israel would get, as it ended their first two games with three out of a possible six points. Next up for Ben Shimon's side will be an away trip to Estonia in June, followed by a pair of qualifiers at Moldova and home against Italy. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now 'We are in the process of progress'“These are players at a very high level, and we had a hard time against them,” Ben Shimon said following the game. “We tried. The players played football and moved the ball, but it is difficult to reduce the gaps on the set-pieces. The loss hurts, but as I have said every time, we are in the process of progress, and we can see that this team can play and compete.” AdvertisementBen Shimon continued: “The issue now is how we will lift ourselves up, continue on our path, and show improvement from game to game. There was a good level of fight, and I have no qualms about how we played. Part of the process is experiencing these types of games. At 1-1, we should have held on for a few more minutes, but we were quickly exposed on the transition, and there was a little bit of imbalance between the defense and the attack.”Norway head coach Solbakken praised his side's effort.“Israel played strong at the beginning of the second half and was very good at counterattacks,” he said. “They have a lot of power on the left wing. But we are happy with the performance and the three points. Perhaps we were stronger physically in this game, but they also have strong players. This is one of the most difficult games for us, as Israel is a good team. They drew 0-0 with France and beat Belgium 1-0 in the Nations League just a few months ago. We know they can cause trouble for anyone.” Abu Fani, Israel's goal-scorer also reflected on the game.“I really think we faced a very strong team. They have top-of-the-world players. We managed to keep the game close and were able to draw even at 1-1. But it's really a shame. Now we have to move forward.”“I think Ran really believes in me, and I'm happy about that,” Abu Fani continued. “The most important thing is to get back on the pitch, and whoever is playing well will feature for the team. Of course, I expect to lead the team. This is my time to lead. I played great when I was with Maccabi Haifa and won titles, as well as with Ferencváros, so I hope to continue that way.”Solomon, the acting captain for the match, also shared his thoughts on the game.“There is no doubt that they were better than us. We saw the differences in physicality and size – they are tall and strong, and they have great players. We played amazingly in the second half and came back into the game, then a goal was conceded on a set-piece. Then we went ahead and conceded two more goals and were pretty disappointed. No matter how hard we work on the set-pieces, once there are such height differences, it shows. Unfortunately, they had a lot of set-pieces, and that made the difference.”
Norway did not take the tally lightly and began to hammer away at Daniel Peretz's goal, as the Bayern Munich protégé made one spectacular save after another until Alexander Sørloth scored off a corner to give Ståle Solbakken's team a 2-1 lead in the 59th minute. From there on, it was all Norway, as Kristoffer Ajer was left all alone in the box and scored to double the advantage, while Manchester City's Haaland also finally got on the board in the 83rd minute to bump the lead up to 4-1.Dor Turgeman was able to pull a second goal back for the blue-and-white in second-half injury time, but that would be as close as Israel would get, as it ended their first two games with three out of a possible six points. Next up for Ben Shimon's side will be an away trip to Estonia in June, followed by a pair of qualifiers at Moldova and home against Italy. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now 'We are in the process of progress'“These are players at a very high level, and we had a hard time against them,” Ben Shimon said following the game. “We tried. The players played football and moved the ball, but it is difficult to reduce the gaps on the set-pieces. The loss hurts, but as I have said every time, we are in the process of progress, and we can see that this team can play and compete.” AdvertisementBen Shimon continued: “The issue now is how we will lift ourselves up, continue on our path, and show improvement from game to game. There was a good level of fight, and I have no qualms about how we played. Part of the process is experiencing these types of games. At 1-1, we should have held on for a few more minutes, but we were quickly exposed on the transition, and there was a little bit of imbalance between the defense and the attack.”Norway head coach Solbakken praised his side's effort.“Israel played strong at the beginning of the second half and was very good at counterattacks,” he said. “They have a lot of power on the left wing. But we are happy with the performance and the three points. Perhaps we were stronger physically in this game, but they also have strong players. This is one of the most difficult games for us, as Israel is a good team. They drew 0-0 with France and beat Belgium 1-0 in the Nations League just a few months ago. We know they can cause trouble for anyone.” Abu Fani, Israel's goal-scorer also reflected on the game.“I really think we faced a very strong team. They have top-of-the-world players. We managed to keep the game close and were able to draw even at 1-1. But it's really a shame. Now we have to move forward.”“I think Ran really believes in me, and I'm happy about that,” Abu Fani continued. “The most important thing is to get back on the pitch, and whoever is playing well will feature for the team. Of course, I expect to lead the team. This is my time to lead. I played great when I was with Maccabi Haifa and won titles, as well as with Ferencváros, so I hope to continue that way.”Solomon, the acting captain for the match, also shared his thoughts on the game.“There is no doubt that they were better than us. We saw the differences in physicality and size – they are tall and strong, and they have great players. We played amazingly in the second half and came back into the game, then a goal was conceded on a set-piece. Then we went ahead and conceded two more goals and were pretty disappointed. No matter how hard we work on the set-pieces, once there are such height differences, it shows. Unfortunately, they had a lot of set-pieces, and that made the difference.”
From there on, it was all Norway, as Kristoffer Ajer was left all alone in the box and scored to double the advantage, while Manchester City's Haaland also finally got on the board in the 83rd minute to bump the lead up to 4-1.Dor Turgeman was able to pull a second goal back for the blue-and-white in second-half injury time, but that would be as close as Israel would get, as it ended their first two games with three out of a possible six points. Next up for Ben Shimon's side will be an away trip to Estonia in June, followed by a pair of qualifiers at Moldova and home against Italy. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now 'We are in the process of progress'“These are players at a very high level, and we had a hard time against them,” Ben Shimon said following the game. “We tried. The players played football and moved the ball, but it is difficult to reduce the gaps on the set-pieces. The loss hurts, but as I have said every time, we are in the process of progress, and we can see that this team can play and compete.” AdvertisementBen Shimon continued: “The issue now is how we will lift ourselves up, continue on our path, and show improvement from game to game. There was a good level of fight, and I have no qualms about how we played. Part of the process is experiencing these types of games. At 1-1, we should have held on for a few more minutes, but we were quickly exposed on the transition, and there was a little bit of imbalance between the defense and the attack.”Norway head coach Solbakken praised his side's effort.“Israel played strong at the beginning of the second half and was very good at counterattacks,” he said. “They have a lot of power on the left wing. But we are happy with the performance and the three points. Perhaps we were stronger physically in this game, but they also have strong players. This is one of the most difficult games for us, as Israel is a good team. They drew 0-0 with France and beat Belgium 1-0 in the Nations League just a few months ago. We know they can cause trouble for anyone.” Abu Fani, Israel's goal-scorer also reflected on the game.“I really think we faced a very strong team. They have top-of-the-world players. We managed to keep the game close and were able to draw even at 1-1. But it's really a shame. Now we have to move forward.”“I think Ran really believes in me, and I'm happy about that,” Abu Fani continued. “The most important thing is to get back on the pitch, and whoever is playing well will feature for the team. Of course, I expect to lead the team. This is my time to lead. I played great when I was with Maccabi Haifa and won titles, as well as with Ferencváros, so I hope to continue that way.”Solomon, the acting captain for the match, also shared his thoughts on the game.“There is no doubt that they were better than us. We saw the differences in physicality and size – they are tall and strong, and they have great players. We played amazingly in the second half and came back into the game, then a goal was conceded on a set-piece. Then we went ahead and conceded two more goals and were pretty disappointed. No matter how hard we work on the set-pieces, once there are such height differences, it shows. Unfortunately, they had a lot of set-pieces, and that made the difference.”
Dor Turgeman was able to pull a second goal back for the blue-and-white in second-half injury time, but that would be as close as Israel would get, as it ended their first two games with three out of a possible six points. Next up for Ben Shimon's side will be an away trip to Estonia in June, followed by a pair of qualifiers at Moldova and home against Italy. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now 'We are in the process of progress'“These are players at a very high level, and we had a hard time against them,” Ben Shimon said following the game. “We tried. The players played football and moved the ball, but it is difficult to reduce the gaps on the set-pieces. The loss hurts, but as I have said every time, we are in the process of progress, and we can see that this team can play and compete.” AdvertisementBen Shimon continued: “The issue now is how we will lift ourselves up, continue on our path, and show improvement from game to game. There was a good level of fight, and I have no qualms about how we played. Part of the process is experiencing these types of games. At 1-1, we should have held on for a few more minutes, but we were quickly exposed on the transition, and there was a little bit of imbalance between the defense and the attack.”Norway head coach Solbakken praised his side's effort.“Israel played strong at the beginning of the second half and was very good at counterattacks,” he said. “They have a lot of power on the left wing. But we are happy with the performance and the three points. Perhaps we were stronger physically in this game, but they also have strong players. This is one of the most difficult games for us, as Israel is a good team. They drew 0-0 with France and beat Belgium 1-0 in the Nations League just a few months ago. We know they can cause trouble for anyone.” Abu Fani, Israel's goal-scorer also reflected on the game.“I really think we faced a very strong team. They have top-of-the-world players. We managed to keep the game close and were able to draw even at 1-1. But it's really a shame. Now we have to move forward.”“I think Ran really believes in me, and I'm happy about that,” Abu Fani continued. “The most important thing is to get back on the pitch, and whoever is playing well will feature for the team. Of course, I expect to lead the team. This is my time to lead. I played great when I was with Maccabi Haifa and won titles, as well as with Ferencváros, so I hope to continue that way.”Solomon, the acting captain for the match, also shared his thoughts on the game.“There is no doubt that they were better than us. We saw the differences in physicality and size – they are tall and strong, and they have great players. We played amazingly in the second half and came back into the game, then a goal was conceded on a set-piece. Then we went ahead and conceded two more goals and were pretty disappointed. No matter how hard we work on the set-pieces, once there are such height differences, it shows. Unfortunately, they had a lot of set-pieces, and that made the difference.”
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“These are players at a very high level, and we had a hard time against them,” Ben Shimon said following the game. “We tried. The players played football and moved the ball, but it is difficult to reduce the gaps on the set-pieces. The loss hurts, but as I have said every time, we are in the process of progress, and we can see that this team can play and compete.” AdvertisementBen Shimon continued: “The issue now is how we will lift ourselves up, continue on our path, and show improvement from game to game. There was a good level of fight, and I have no qualms about how we played. Part of the process is experiencing these types of games. At 1-1, we should have held on for a few more minutes, but we were quickly exposed on the transition, and there was a little bit of imbalance between the defense and the attack.”Norway head coach Solbakken praised his side's effort.“Israel played strong at the beginning of the second half and was very good at counterattacks,” he said. “They have a lot of power on the left wing. But we are happy with the performance and the three points. Perhaps we were stronger physically in this game, but they also have strong players. This is one of the most difficult games for us, as Israel is a good team. They drew 0-0 with France and beat Belgium 1-0 in the Nations League just a few months ago. We know they can cause trouble for anyone.” Abu Fani, Israel's goal-scorer also reflected on the game.“I really think we faced a very strong team. They have top-of-the-world players. We managed to keep the game close and were able to draw even at 1-1. But it's really a shame. Now we have to move forward.”“I think Ran really believes in me, and I'm happy about that,” Abu Fani continued. “The most important thing is to get back on the pitch, and whoever is playing well will feature for the team. Of course, I expect to lead the team. This is my time to lead. I played great when I was with Maccabi Haifa and won titles, as well as with Ferencváros, so I hope to continue that way.”Solomon, the acting captain for the match, also shared his thoughts on the game.“There is no doubt that they were better than us. We saw the differences in physicality and size – they are tall and strong, and they have great players. We played amazingly in the second half and came back into the game, then a goal was conceded on a set-piece. Then we went ahead and conceded two more goals and were pretty disappointed. No matter how hard we work on the set-pieces, once there are such height differences, it shows. Unfortunately, they had a lot of set-pieces, and that made the difference.”
Ben Shimon continued: “The issue now is how we will lift ourselves up, continue on our path, and show improvement from game to game. There was a good level of fight, and I have no qualms about how we played. Part of the process is experiencing these types of games. At 1-1, we should have held on for a few more minutes, but we were quickly exposed on the transition, and there was a little bit of imbalance between the defense and the attack.”Norway head coach Solbakken praised his side's effort.“Israel played strong at the beginning of the second half and was very good at counterattacks,” he said. “They have a lot of power on the left wing. But we are happy with the performance and the three points. Perhaps we were stronger physically in this game, but they also have strong players. This is one of the most difficult games for us, as Israel is a good team. They drew 0-0 with France and beat Belgium 1-0 in the Nations League just a few months ago. We know they can cause trouble for anyone.” Abu Fani, Israel's goal-scorer also reflected on the game.“I really think we faced a very strong team. They have top-of-the-world players. We managed to keep the game close and were able to draw even at 1-1. But it's really a shame. Now we have to move forward.”“I think Ran really believes in me, and I'm happy about that,” Abu Fani continued. “The most important thing is to get back on the pitch, and whoever is playing well will feature for the team. Of course, I expect to lead the team. This is my time to lead. I played great when I was with Maccabi Haifa and won titles, as well as with Ferencváros, so I hope to continue that way.”Solomon, the acting captain for the match, also shared his thoughts on the game.“There is no doubt that they were better than us. We saw the differences in physicality and size – they are tall and strong, and they have great players. We played amazingly in the second half and came back into the game, then a goal was conceded on a set-piece. Then we went ahead and conceded two more goals and were pretty disappointed. No matter how hard we work on the set-pieces, once there are such height differences, it shows. Unfortunately, they had a lot of set-pieces, and that made the difference.”
Norway head coach Solbakken praised his side's effort.“Israel played strong at the beginning of the second half and was very good at counterattacks,” he said. “They have a lot of power on the left wing. But we are happy with the performance and the three points. Perhaps we were stronger physically in this game, but they also have strong players. This is one of the most difficult games for us, as Israel is a good team. They drew 0-0 with France and beat Belgium 1-0 in the Nations League just a few months ago. We know they can cause trouble for anyone.” Abu Fani, Israel's goal-scorer also reflected on the game.“I really think we faced a very strong team. They have top-of-the-world players. We managed to keep the game close and were able to draw even at 1-1. But it's really a shame. Now we have to move forward.”“I think Ran really believes in me, and I'm happy about that,” Abu Fani continued. “The most important thing is to get back on the pitch, and whoever is playing well will feature for the team. Of course, I expect to lead the team. This is my time to lead. I played great when I was with Maccabi Haifa and won titles, as well as with Ferencváros, so I hope to continue that way.”Solomon, the acting captain for the match, also shared his thoughts on the game.“There is no doubt that they were better than us. We saw the differences in physicality and size – they are tall and strong, and they have great players. We played amazingly in the second half and came back into the game, then a goal was conceded on a set-piece. Then we went ahead and conceded two more goals and were pretty disappointed. No matter how hard we work on the set-pieces, once there are such height differences, it shows. Unfortunately, they had a lot of set-pieces, and that made the difference.”
“Israel played strong at the beginning of the second half and was very good at counterattacks,” he said. “They have a lot of power on the left wing. But we are happy with the performance and the three points. Perhaps we were stronger physically in this game, but they also have strong players. This is one of the most difficult games for us, as Israel is a good team. They drew 0-0 with France and beat Belgium 1-0 in the Nations League just a few months ago. We know they can cause trouble for anyone.” Abu Fani, Israel's goal-scorer also reflected on the game.“I really think we faced a very strong team. They have top-of-the-world players. We managed to keep the game close and were able to draw even at 1-1. But it's really a shame. Now we have to move forward.”“I think Ran really believes in me, and I'm happy about that,” Abu Fani continued. “The most important thing is to get back on the pitch, and whoever is playing well will feature for the team. Of course, I expect to lead the team. This is my time to lead. I played great when I was with Maccabi Haifa and won titles, as well as with Ferencváros, so I hope to continue that way.”Solomon, the acting captain for the match, also shared his thoughts on the game.“There is no doubt that they were better than us. We saw the differences in physicality and size – they are tall and strong, and they have great players. We played amazingly in the second half and came back into the game, then a goal was conceded on a set-piece. Then we went ahead and conceded two more goals and were pretty disappointed. No matter how hard we work on the set-pieces, once there are such height differences, it shows. Unfortunately, they had a lot of set-pieces, and that made the difference.”
Abu Fani, Israel's goal-scorer also reflected on the game.“I really think we faced a very strong team. They have top-of-the-world players. We managed to keep the game close and were able to draw even at 1-1. But it's really a shame. Now we have to move forward.”“I think Ran really believes in me, and I'm happy about that,” Abu Fani continued. “The most important thing is to get back on the pitch, and whoever is playing well will feature for the team. Of course, I expect to lead the team. This is my time to lead. I played great when I was with Maccabi Haifa and won titles, as well as with Ferencváros, so I hope to continue that way.”Solomon, the acting captain for the match, also shared his thoughts on the game.“There is no doubt that they were better than us. We saw the differences in physicality and size – they are tall and strong, and they have great players. We played amazingly in the second half and came back into the game, then a goal was conceded on a set-piece. Then we went ahead and conceded two more goals and were pretty disappointed. No matter how hard we work on the set-pieces, once there are such height differences, it shows. Unfortunately, they had a lot of set-pieces, and that made the difference.”
“I really think we faced a very strong team. They have top-of-the-world players. We managed to keep the game close and were able to draw even at 1-1. But it's really a shame. Now we have to move forward.”“I think Ran really believes in me, and I'm happy about that,” Abu Fani continued. “The most important thing is to get back on the pitch, and whoever is playing well will feature for the team. Of course, I expect to lead the team. This is my time to lead. I played great when I was with Maccabi Haifa and won titles, as well as with Ferencváros, so I hope to continue that way.”Solomon, the acting captain for the match, also shared his thoughts on the game.“There is no doubt that they were better than us. We saw the differences in physicality and size – they are tall and strong, and they have great players. We played amazingly in the second half and came back into the game, then a goal was conceded on a set-piece. Then we went ahead and conceded two more goals and were pretty disappointed. No matter how hard we work on the set-pieces, once there are such height differences, it shows. Unfortunately, they had a lot of set-pieces, and that made the difference.”
“I think Ran really believes in me, and I'm happy about that,” Abu Fani continued. “The most important thing is to get back on the pitch, and whoever is playing well will feature for the team. Of course, I expect to lead the team. This is my time to lead. I played great when I was with Maccabi Haifa and won titles, as well as with Ferencváros, so I hope to continue that way.”Solomon, the acting captain for the match, also shared his thoughts on the game.“There is no doubt that they were better than us. We saw the differences in physicality and size – they are tall and strong, and they have great players. We played amazingly in the second half and came back into the game, then a goal was conceded on a set-piece. Then we went ahead and conceded two more goals and were pretty disappointed. No matter how hard we work on the set-pieces, once there are such height differences, it shows. Unfortunately, they had a lot of set-pieces, and that made the difference.”
Solomon, the acting captain for the match, also shared his thoughts on the game.“There is no doubt that they were better than us. We saw the differences in physicality and size – they are tall and strong, and they have great players. We played amazingly in the second half and came back into the game, then a goal was conceded on a set-piece. Then we went ahead and conceded two more goals and were pretty disappointed. No matter how hard we work on the set-pieces, once there are such height differences, it shows. Unfortunately, they had a lot of set-pieces, and that made the difference.”
“There is no doubt that they were better than us. We saw the differences in physicality and size – they are tall and strong, and they have great players. We played amazingly in the second half and came back into the game, then a goal was conceded on a set-piece. Then we went ahead and conceded two more goals and were pretty disappointed. No matter how hard we work on the set-pieces, once there are such height differences, it shows. Unfortunately, they had a lot of set-pieces, and that made the difference.”
Move comes after months of delays, with unconfirmed New York Republican unable to participate in either UN or House
Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he was pulling US House representative Elise Stefanik's nomination to be the US ambassador to the United Nations, a stunning turnaround for his cabinet pick after her confirmation had been stalled over concerns about Republicans' tight margins in the House.
Trump confirmed he was withdrawing the New York Republican's nomination in a Truth Social post, saying that it was “essential that we maintain EVERY Republican Seat in Congress”.
“We must be unified to accomplish our Mission, and Elise Stefanik has been a vital part of our efforts from the very beginning. I have asked Elise, as one of my biggest Allies, to remain in Congress,” the president said, without mentioning who he would nominate as a replacement for his last remaining cabinet seat.
Stefanik's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump had tapped Stefanik to represent the US at the international body shortly after winning re-election in November. She was seen as among the least controversial cabinet picks, and her nomination advanced out of committee in late January, but House Republicans' razor-thin majority kept her ultimate confirmation in a state of purgatory for the last several months.
In recent weeks, it had seemed as if Stefanik's nomination would advance to the Senate floor, given two US House special elections in Florida in districts that Trump easily won in 2024. Filling those vacant GOP seats would have allowed Stefanik to finally resign from the House and given Republicans, who currently hold 218 seats, a little more breathing room on passing legislation in a growingly divided Congress. Democrats hold 213 seats.
But Democrats' upset in a Tuesday special election for a Pennsylvania state Senate seat in Republican-leaning suburbs and farming communities surely gave the GOP pause.
Stefanik is the fourth Trump administration nominee who didn't make it through the confirmation process. Previously, former US House representative Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration for attorney general, Chad Chronister was pulled for the Drug Enforcement Administration and former Florida representative Dr David Weldon was yanked from contention to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Stefanik had been in a state of limbo for months, not able to engage in her official duties as a member of the 119th Congress or to participate in the action at the UN. The vacancy of a permanent US ambassador was happening at a critical moment for the international body as the world leaders had been discussing the two major wars between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas.
In late February, the US mission, under Trump, split with its European allies by refusing to blame Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in votes on three U.N. resolutions seeking an end to the three-year war. Dorothy Shea, the deputy US ambassador to the UN, has been the face of America's mission in New York during the transition.
President Salva Kiir ordered the arrest of Riek Machar, the opposition said, imperiling a 2018 peace deal. Several embassies urged their citizens to leave the country.
The president of South Sudan has arrested his vice president, according to a statement released by the vice president's party on Thursday, threatening to plunge the oil-rich but deeply impoverished nation back into full-fledged civil war.
President Salva Kiir ordered the arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar on Wednesday night, the statement said. Machar's bodyguards were disarmed and taken away, the statement added.
“Tonight, the country's leaders stand on the brink of relapsing into widespread conflict or taking the country forward toward peace, recovery and democracy,” said Nicholas Haysom, the special representative of the United Nations secretary general and head of the U.N. mission in South Sudan.
Several embassies, including those for the United States, Germany and Britain, have already begun closing or pulling out their employees, urging their citizens to leave while commercial flights are still operating. On Wednesday morning, before Machar's arrest, gunfire was reported in several locations in the capital, Juba.
“We are concerned by reports South Sudan's First Vice President Machar is under house arrest. We urge President Kiir to reverse this action & prevent further escalation,” the U.S. State Department's Bureau of African Affairs wrote on X.
There was no immediate public comment from Kiir or other government or military officials.
Sudan's previous civil war was characterized by extreme sexual violence, the widespread recruitment of child soldiers, famine and ethnic massacres. It ended with a 2018 peace deal that led to a unity government in which Kiir and Machar served together.
“It looks like President Kiir is continuing to escalate. … Some people in Juba worry that Kiir is trying to start an ethnic war,” said Alan Boswell, the International Crisis Group's project director for the Horn of Africa. The two come from different pastoralist groups that have often clashed over land, politics and cattle: Kiir comes from the Dinka ethnic group, and Machar is a Nuer.
Earlier this month, more than two dozen members of the South Sudanese military, including an injured general, and a U.N. peacekeeper were killed when gunmen shot at a U.N. helicopter in Nasir, Upper Nile state, a stronghold of the opposition-aligned ethnic militant group known as the White Army. Last week, the South Sudanese army or its allies dropped incendiary bombs on Nasir, killing at least 21 people.
The latest developments suggested “a severe unraveling of the peace process — and a direct threat to millions of lives,” the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said in a statement Thursday.
Rivalry between Kiir and Machar plunged South Sudan into a five-year civil war in 2013. The violence triggered pockets of famine and was so widespread that around a third of the country's residents were forced to flee their homes, many spilling into neighboring nations. On Thursday, the deputy chair of Machar's party said that Machar's arrest “effectively collapses” the 2018 peace deal, Reuters reported.
The war erupted two years after South Sudan won its independence from neighboring Sudan, following years of scorched-earth conflict. But the two nations remained inextricably linked: South Sudan kept most of the oil fields, but Sudan kept the pipeline infrastructure needed to export the crude. Last year, that pipeline burst.
“His government has faced a lot of challenges since the main export oil pipeline burst last year,” Boswell said. “After that happened, he did a full shake-up of his government.”
First, Boswell said, Kiir fired all his major security people. Then last month, he fired two of his vice presidents.
“Then he elevated his family money man into the most powerful position below Machar — a perceived indication of who he wanted to be his successor, which alienated the other elites in his government,” Boswell said. Benjamin Bol Mel Kuol, the man Kiir appointed, is under U.S. government sanctions for alleged corruption.
South Sudan was always one of the world's most conflict-ridden countries, but money siphoned off from oil revenue helped lubricate the government. The civil war eventually ended in 2018, but not all of the armed groups signed the peace deal, and key parts of the agreement, such as the integration of Machar's forces into the national army, were never implemented.
South Sudan was one of the world's poorest nations when it was created, and after more than a decade of independence it has only 300 kilometers (186 miles) of paved roads in a nation the size of France. Over the past decade, it has been battered by two droughts, seven severe floods and covid-19, in addition to the civil war. It has also received an influx of about a million refugees and returnees from Sudan, which was plunged into civil war in 2023 after two of its rival generals turned on each other. Earlier this month, Kiir invited Ugandan soldiers armed with tanks and helicopters into South Sudan to support his forces.
Almost the entire Horn of Africa is either riven by civil war or on the brink of international conflict. Sudan's civil war is two years old, and Sudanese generals are threatening retaliation against neighboring Chad for allowing a paramilitary force to operate from its territory.
Ethiopia, which borders South Sudan and Sudan, is battling two major insurgencies, and tensions are high with neighboring Eritrea — both countries are militarizing along their border. Somalia has been at war since 1991. Only the tiny nation of Djibouti — home to enormous military bases established by China and the U.S. — has an uneasy peace.
Victoria Bisset contributed to this report.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that he would speak with Us President Donald Trump in the coming days after Mr Trump announced 25% tariffs on auto imports.
Mr Carney, who has not spoken with Mr Trump since becoming Canada's new leader nearly two weeks ago, said that the US president reached out on Wednesday night to schedule a call.
“We will be speaking soon, certainly in the course of the next day or two,” Mr Carney said.
Mr Carney said that Mr Trump has to respect Canada's sovereignty.
“That's not much to ask, but apparently it's a lot for him,” he said.
Mr Trump has declared a trade war on Canada and continues to call for the US' northern neighbour to become the 51st US state, a position that has infuriated Canadians.
Mr Carney was sworn in as Canada's new prime minister on March 14.
It is unusual for a US president and Canadian prime minister to go so long without talking after a new leader takes office.
Mr Carney, who replaced Justin Trudeau as Canada's leader and the head of the Liberal Party, is at the start of a five-week campaign after calling an early election for April 28.
The governing Liberals had appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Mr Trump declared a trade war and challenged Canada's sovereignty.
The crisis has created a surge in patriotism among Canadians, with many in the country feeling that Mr Carney is the best person to lead the country at the moment.
Mr Trump has acknowledged himself that he has upended Canadian politics.
Mr Carney has called the tariffs unjustified and left the election campaign to chair his special Cabinet committee on US relations in Ottawa.
Automobiles are Canada's second-largest export and the sector employs 125,000 Canadians directly and almost another 500,000 in related industries.
Mr Trump previously had granted a one-month exemption on his stiff new tariffs on auto imports from Mexico and Canada for US automakers.
In the auto sector, parts can go back and forth across the Canada-US border several times before being fully assembled in Ontario or Michigan.
Mr Trump previously placed 25% tariffs on Canada's steel and aluminium and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products — as well as on all of America's trading partners — on April 2.
The president has plunged the US into a global trade war — all while on-again, off-again new levies continue to escalate uncertainty.
The tax hike on auto imports starting in April means automakers could face higher costs and lower sales.
“This is not an industry that is Donald Trump's to steal or take,” said Lana Payne, the national president of Unifor, the union that represents auto workers in Canada.
Ms Payne said that Mr Carney should tell Mr Trump that if US automakers are going to sell cars and trucks in Canada, they are going to have to build in Canada.
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European far-right leaders were in Jerusalem on Thursday for a conference organized by the Israeli government aimed at combating antisemitism, which was shunned by mainstream Jewish leaders because of the divisive guest list.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during the International Conference on Combating Antisemitism in Jerusalem, Israel,Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during the International Conference on Combating Antisemitism in Jerusalem, Israel, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The leader of France's National Rally (RN) Jordan Bardella, attends the International Conference on Combating Antisemitism in Jerusalem, Israel, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, left, attends the International Conference on Combating Antisemitism, in Jerusalem, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, center, shakes hands with the leader of France's National Rally (RN) Jordan Bardella, left, during the International Conference on Combating Antisemitism in Jerusalem, Israel, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, center, attends the International Conference on Combating Antisemitism, in Jerusalem, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Leader of France's National Rally (RN) Jordan Bardella, left, visits the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, Israel, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Jack Guez/Pool Photo via AP)
Leader of France's National Rally (RN) Jordan Bardella and and RN Vice-President and Mayor of Perpignan Louis Aliot, background, visit a memorial for victims and hostages of the 2023 Hamas attacks, near kibbutz Re'im in southern Israel, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Jack Guez/Pool Photo via AP)
JERUSALEM (AP) — European far-right leaders were in Jerusalem on Thursday for a conference organized by the Israeli government aimed at combating antisemitism, which was shunned by mainstream Jewish leaders because of the divisive guest list.
The event illustrates a growing alliance between Israel — a country founded on the ashes of the Holocaust — and a European far-right that some critics say has not shed its links to antisemitism and Naziism during World War II.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who leads an ultranationalist government, has cultivated close ties in recent years with far-right populist leaders in countries like Hungary, Brazil and Argentina. Many of these leaders, including Netanyahu, have been greatly influenced by the policies and demeanor of U.S. President Donald Trump.
In a speech to the conference, Netanyahu commended Trump for his “decisive actions against antisemitism” and blamed U.S. campus protests against Israel's war in Gaza on “a systemic alliance between ultra-progressive left and radical Islam.”
“Antisemitism is a disease carried by barbarians” in “all civilized societies,” said Netanyahu.
Thursday's conference illuminated the increasingly strained relationship between Israel and its traditional allies in the West, which have grown uneasy with Israeli politics and the direction of the country's devastating war in Gaza. Israel broke the ceasefire with Hamas and resumed the war earlier this month, and Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Jewish communities around the world have reported increases in antisemitic violence since the start of the war.
Also attending the event was Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, even after a Bosnian court requested an international arrest warrant for him for his separatist policies.
During the conference, Dodik spoke out defiantly against the warrant.
“The Muslims from Sarajevo they want to punish me because I came here to Israel supporting Israel,” Dodik told The Associated Press through a translator. “They are misusing the judiciary and the prosecutor office because they are in charge for that.”
Most speakers at the conference railed against antisemitism on the political left and in Muslim societies, with only brief mention of antisemitism on the right. Panels of speakers were set to focus on “How Progressivism Fell Captive to Antisemitism” and “How Radical Islam Fuels Antisemitism in the West.”
Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right French National Rally party, gave a keynote address in which he blamed rising antisemitism in Europe on migration and Islamism.
“Islamism is the totalitarianism of the 21st century. It threatens to destroy everything that is not like it,” he said.
David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel during Trump's first term, also attended. Asked by the moderator about Trump's plan to remove Palestinians from Gaza, Friedman said: “I love it! I love it. And I think it's doable.”
Other far-right Europeans are attending from the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Hungary.
The European far-right's anti-immigrant platform has focused heavily on immigration from Muslim countries, finding common ground in what Israel describes as a shared battle against Islamic extremism. Critics say this alliance often veers into Islamophobia.
Many mainstream Jewish leaders dropped out of the event after initially agreeing to attend, including Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, a leading U.S. nonprofit that battles antisemitism.
French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, German antisemitism czar Felix Klein and German politician Volker Beck also canceled their participation, while Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, also pulled out of the conference in favor of hosting a separate meeting of Jewish leaders who had originally come to the country for the conference, his office said.
—
AP correspondent Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel, contributed reporting.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Homeland security chief went to infamous prison holding deported Venezuelans as White House targets immigrants
Human rights organizations on Thursday denounced the visit by the US homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, to the notorious prison in El Salvador that is holding hundreds of Venezuelans deported from the US earlier this month without a hearing, calling her actions “political theater”.
Critics condemned Noem's visit as just the latest example of the Trump administration's aim to spread fear among immigrant communities, as the cabinet member stood in a baseball hat in front of a line of caged men bare from the waist up.
Noem visited the so-called Cecot, or Terrorism Confinement Center, an infamous maximum-security prison. The prison, built in 2022 during a brutal government crackdown on organized crime, is where nearly 300 migrants, previously in US custody, were recently expelled and are currently detained.
They have been accused of being violent gang members, despite family members of several of the men asserting that they are not.
“The Department of Homeland Security secretary's visit is an example of the fear that Trump's government wants to instill in immigrants,” attorney Ivania Cruz said on Thursday. Cruz works with the Committee to Defend Human and Community Rights (Unidehc), a human rights organization in El Salvador. “This is precisely what Noem has done — use the Cecot as a cinematographic space,” she added.
Noem's visit to the prison “was a typical gross and cruel display of political theater that we have come to expect from the Trump administration,” Vicki Gass said. Gass is the executive director of the Latin America Working Group (LAWG), a human rights organization based in Washington DC. “That the Trump administration is flouting judicial orders and denying due process to people within the US borders is outrageous and frightening.”
Earlier this month, Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime provision that allows the executive to detain and deport people coming from an “enemy” nation. Despite a federal judge blocking the invocation of the act, shortly after, planes from the US landed in El Salvador, filled with men and women in immigration custody. More than 250 men, mostly from Venezuela, were quickly and forcibly shuffled into the Cecot, where officials shaved their heads and placed them in cells.
Trump and his administration have repeatedly claimed that the men were members of transnational gangs. When invoking the Alien Enemies Act, Trump – without proof – accused the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua of having “infiltrated” the US at the behest of the Venezuelan government. US intelligence agencies contradict Trump's claims about ties between the gang and the Venezuelan government, the New York Times has reported, and the Venezuelan government has also denied it is connected.
News reports across various publications have emerged revealing the identity of the Venezuelan men expelled to El Salvador, with family members saying some of the men are innocent. When pressed, the DHS has not provided proof of those men's purported ties to the gang and they were flown out of the US without a hearing, raising questions about violations of constitutional due process rights.
The federal judge in Washington who blocked the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act has repeatedly pressed the Trump administration to provide information about their process to conduct the operation, also ordering “individualized hearings” for people Trump wants to expel under the act. In response, the Trump administration invoked “state secrets” privilege, to avoid disclosing any information about the operation.
The Salvadorian prison that Noem visited was constructed in 2022, during El Salvador's “state of exception”, a move by the president, Nayib Bukele, that rounded up thousands of people in an attempt to crack down on criminal gangs. According to Cruz, the human rights attorney, and other organizations, the state of exception violated due process rights, with thousands being caught up in arrests and detention without proof of gang membership.
Cruz has been targeted for her work denouncing conditions in the Salvadorian prisons. During the state of exception, her brother was arrested and imprisoned by the Bukele government. Cruz fought for his release and since then, she has taken on a role as a key spokesperson for people who have been wrongfully detained in the prisons.
“It is not by chance that the expelled immigrants are from Venezuela, when we know there is a political conflict between the two countries,” Cruz said. “Today it is Venezuelans – tomorrow may be Chileans, then Colombians. It's an international problem that is provoking conflict.”
Noem's visit came one day before a protest organized by a Salvadorian rights organization, opposing the Central American government's “arbitrary detentions”.
“I also want everybody to know, if you come to our country illegally, this is one of the consequences you can face,” Noem said in a video posted on X from the Cecot prison. “Know that this facility is one of the tools in our toolkit that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people.”
The use of another country's vast, maximum-security prison to detain immigrants from a third country is unprecedented, especially considering the grave allegations of abuses at this and other Salvadorian prisons.
“Amnesty International has extensively documented the inhumane conditions within detentions centers in El Salvador, including the Cecot, where those removed are now being held,” the organization said in a statement on Wednesday. “Reports indicate extreme overcrowding, lack of access to adequate medical care, and widespread ill-treatment amounting to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.”
According to Ana María Méndez Dardón, the Central America director for the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights non-profit in DC, there are two or three huge prisons in El Salvador where the mass incarceration of people has been concentrated. The detention centers in the country have faced extreme allegations of human rights abuses.
“The Cecot has a capacity for 40,000 people, that is to say only 30% of the current prison population, the rest of the population is located in other centers, such as the one in Mariona, where torture and other human rights violations have been documented,” Méndez Dardón said.
She added: “Unlike the videos edited and produced about Cecot, President Bukele is not showing the world the true reality within the other detention centers, where the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has stated that they have committed torture and other cruel and inhuman treatment.”
Reports have described bare metal bunks stacked high like shelving and with no bedding whatsoever.
The Trump administration's practice of denying due process and defying judicial orders “is outrageous and frightening”, Gass, from LAWG, added. “So is forcibly disappearing them to Cecot where prisoners are not allowed to meet with lawyers or their family members, are jammed into overcrowded cells, and never see the light of day.”
Vice-chancellor Sasha Roseneil accuses Office for Students of seeking to ‘persecute' rather than solve problems
The University of Sussex is taking legal action to overturn a record fine levied by England's higher education regulator, accusing the regulator of seeking to “persecute” it rather than solve problems.
This week the Office for Students (OfS) said it would fine Sussex £585,000 for two “historic” breaches of its regulations related to freedom of speech and governance. It comes after a three-and-a-half-year investigation into the resignation of Prof Kathleen Stock, who was the target of protests at Sussex over her views on gender identification and transgender rights.
The university intends to challenge the size of the fine – 15 times larger than any previous penalty levied by the OfS – through tribunal, and also seek a judicial review of the judgment.
Sasha Roseneil, who joined as vice-chancellor a year after the investigation began, said she was initially shocked by the OfS's judgment but was confident the courts would find in the university's favour.
“I think our position is extremely strong, and I think they will lose a judicial review. But I'm not surprised that they've dug in, because [the OfS] has been so determined to pursue this, and so unwilling to engage,” Roseneil said in an interview with the Guardian.
Roseneil said Sussex had substantially overturned sections of the OfS's interim judgment, delivered last year, which would have fined the university £1m for a string of additional allegations.
She said: “The provisional decision was much, much worse, and we rebutted it at length. We sent back a 2,000-page response, and they have reduced the fine from the provisional decision – a million-pound fine – to £585,000 and they've dropped quite a lot of what they were alleging against us.
“They haven't explained why they've dropped any of it but one has to imagine they realised that they weren't on strong legal grounds, and we produced a lot of evidence against what they were saying, including evidence against what they're still saying.”
An OfS spokesperson said: “We are confident in the decisions made in this case and will vigorously defend any legal action.”
Roseneil said the OfS refused to meet the leadership team at Sussex or interview those involved, with the exception of Stock, and instead relied on thousands of pages it requested from the university. She said that when she arrived at Sussex in 2022 she sought a meeting with OfS executives to discuss the investigation but was turned down.
Arif Ahmed, the OfS's director for freedom of speech and academic freedom, defended the regulator's methods. He said: “There may have been occasions where [Sussex] wanted to see somebody, and in fact that was done in writing instead, I'm quite sure that could well have happened. But the engagement would nevertheless have happened in the sense that we communicated with them and they communicated with us.”
But Roseneil said the OfS had refused to tell Sussex if its amended policies had met its conditions. She said: “We have been up for working with the OfS on these difficult issues but they have just wanted to prosecute us, even persecute us, on this. It's a very sorry state for a regulator to be doing this rather than actually trying to help the sector work better.”
The OfS's final ruling focuses on a trans and non-binary equality policy statement passed in 2018, which the regulator argued had “a chilling effect” that could result in self-censorship by staff and students.
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Stock, in her response, said the “most egregious” part of the statement was a clause that said “any materials within relevant courses and modules will positively represent trans people and trans lives”. She said she “tried to raise the matter with superiors but to no avail”, and added: “Over time, my teaching about sex and gender in feminist philosophy grew increasingly cautious, and most of my criticism of the sudden sanctification of gender identity took place elsewhere.”
Roseneil said: “Obviously she left long before I arrived but it is deeply regrettable that Kathleen [Stock] wasn't supported to the extent that she felt able to stay working at Sussex. I regret that.”
But she said the OfS had erred by inflating the statement into a “governing document” of the university. “The whole case rests on it being a governing document. This is a really small statement, of which we have many dozens, if not hundreds, of similar policies and statements. Whereas the governing documents of the university are its charter and statutes and regulations. So that's the core of the problem.”
Roseneil said the OfS policy was a “sort of libertarian, free speech absolutism” that meant universities were unable to apply rules for anything other than unlawful behaviour or speech.
“We can't now say that we will remove or take down antisemitic or anti-Muslim propaganda because not all such propaganda is illegal,” she said.
Reform leader also says Andrew Tate has so many young male followers because society ‘feminises' them too much
Nigel Farage has said men will more readily sacrifice their family lives to be successful in their business careers than women, and that young men are being too “feminised” by modern society.
The Reform UK leader set out his view on gender balance in the workplace in a conversation with journalists in Westminster, saying women made “different life choices” when it came to work. He went on to suggest that Reform attracts men because they are more impulsive than their female counterparts.
Asked if the men who fill 80% of top jobs in business were all there based purely on merit, he said: “I think the truth is that in many cases women make very different life choices to men. If you look at business, men are prepared to sacrifice family lives in order to pursue a career and be successful in a way that fewer women are. Those women that do probably have more chance of reaching the top than the blokes.”
Reform is dominated by men at the top, with Farage as leader, Richard Tice as deputy, Nick Candy as treasurer and Zia Yusuf as chair, along with two more male MPs. Its press and policy teams are also staffed by men. Pressed on whether there should be more women at the top of his party, he said: “I'm very pro-women, don't worry about that,” and listed several candidates who are female.
Farage's comments appear to echo those widely circulating in the online “manosphere” where views are commonly expressed that men are being too “feminised”. He said he was not a fan of the misogynist influencer Andrew Tate, but that people should try to understand why he had 10 million young male followers. He has previously spoken of Tate being an important voice for young men.
The Labour MP for Bolsover, Natalie Fleet, said: “Nigel Farage seems to be stuck in the 1970s. He clearly has no idea about the sacrifices women make, how on Earth can his party represent them?”
In a wide-ranging question and answer session, Farage also:
Lifted the lid further on his row with Elon Musk, saying the billionaire adviser to Donald Trump had tried to push him too much on supporting the far-right activist Tommy Robinson. “You can't bully me,” he said. “I've got my principles, I stand by them good or bad.”
Said the idea of a $100m (£77m) donation from Musk had been “massively overexaggerated”, but insisted they were now on “perfectly reasonable terms” by text message.
Dismissed the idea of a pact with the Tories, saying Reform “despises” the party. He suggested its leader, Kemi Badenoch, was lazy and referred to her leadership rival Robert Jenrick as Robert “Generic”. Of Tory MPs, he said: “I've never met a more stuck up, arrogant, out of touch group of people. At least half of the Conservative MPs are stuffy, boring old bastards.”
Blamed net zero policies rather than the threat of Trump tariffs for the planned closure of Scunthorpe's steel plant, and claimed the US president had wanted to do a trade deal during his previous term, but that the Tories had “blown it” by delaying Brexit.
In his comments on men and women, Farage said it was wrong that boys were “being told not to be boys” with advice not to shout, sing songs or drink more than two pints of beer at football tournaments.
“I mean, no point going, really, but, you know, we try and sort of feminise men. And that's why people like Andrew Tate have picked up the support they have … I'm not a Tate supporter. I'm identifying a truth that young men feel that they're not allowed to be blokes.”
In relation to Reform's support, which was stronger among young men at the last election, he said: “I think men are more impulsive. I think men say ‘I like that, I'm going to do it.' And I think women think, hang on a second, and are more cautious.”
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He said, however, that new support for Reform since the election was equally split between the sexes, and he hoped his party would appoint more senior women.
Farage also joked about his portrayal in the media. “There are things that have been written about me over the years and said that I really find awkward, and difficult and embarrassing. I've seen all these diary pieces and gossip columns say that I'm a chain smoker,” he said.
“Others have written that my drink intake verges on alcoholism. Others have said I spend my entire life spending with bookmakers at race events. Some have said that I'm a womaniser on a level that's not been seen in modern political history. And you guys have written all this about me. I had to live with … The trouble is, it's all true. Well it was true, but as you get older it becomes less important.”
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The latest image generator released on OpenAI's ChatGPT has sparked a wave of memes online. It features artwork inspired by Studio Ghibli, the renowned Japanese animation studio behind classics like My Neighbor Totoro and Princess Mononoke.
Social media platforms have been inundated with Ghibli-style images as users experiment with AI-generated versions of their family members, friends, and more. Brands have also jumped on the trend, using it for promotional content.
The new feature has led to a surge in user-generated content, with many sharing their creations across social media.
Since its release on Wednesday, viral AI-generated images have depicted Studio Ghibli-inspired versions of Elon Musk with President Donald Trump, scenes from The Lord of the Rings, and even a recreation of the September 11 attacks.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also joined the trend, changing his X profile picture to a Ghibli-style version of himself. On X, he wrote:
">be me >grind for a decade trying to help make superintelligence to cure cancer or whatever >mostly no one cares for first 7.5 years, then for 2.5 years everyone hates you for everything >wake up one day to hundreds of messages: ‘look i made you into a twink ghibli style haha.'”
What is Ghibli art?Ghibli art refers to the studio's distinctive visual style, characterized by pastel and muted colour palettes along with meticulous detailing. This artistic approach has remained popular among anime fans due to its rich creative expression and narrative depth. Founded in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki, Studio Ghibli is a highly regarded Japanese animation studio, known for its hand-drawn animation, intricate backgrounds, and emotionally resonant storytelling. The name "Ghibli" comes from a Libyan Arabic word referring to a hot desert wind. The widespread appeal of the Ghibli art trend can be attributed to anime's massive global following, particularly in the US, where around 72% of people watch anime daily, according to CNBC TV18. OpenAI's ability to transform images into the Ghibli style has captured users' attention, further fueling the trend. Initially planned as a free feature, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged that the new image generator's unexpected success led to the decision to limit the tool to paid users for now. While ChatGPT previously had image-generation capabilities, the latest version—powered by GPT-4o, OpenAI's most advanced model—enables the creation of highly detailed images with minimal input, something that was not possible before. Amid the trend's virality, an old video from 2016 resurfaced, showing Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki expressing strong disapproval during an AI demonstration by his team. "I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all. I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself," he said, according to an English translation. Commenting on the trend, artist and illustrator Jayd "Chira" Ait-Kaci criticised the use of AI-generated Ghibli-style art, writing on Bluesky: "The trend is especially insidious and malicious because of how outspokenly scathing Miyazaki has been toward the tech." "It's always about contempt for artists, every time," Ait-Kaci added. Ghibli Art PromptsCreate a Studio Ghibli-style character from a photo, capturing intricate details and a whimsical feel.Imagine the user as a character in a Ghibli film and depict how they would look.Convert an image into a hand-drawn animated artwork with watercolor effects, soft organic lines, and a warm color palette.Maintain the original composition while adding a dreamy, magical quality with smooth colour blending and a slightly surreal, whimsical atmosphere inspired by classic Japanese animation.Transform a photo into a Ghibli-style illustration.Interpret the user's facial features as if drawn by a Studio Ghibli artist.Depict the user in the signature Studio Ghibli animation style.
Ghibli art refers to the studio's distinctive visual style, characterized by pastel and muted colour palettes along with meticulous detailing. This artistic approach has remained popular among anime fans due to its rich creative expression and narrative depth.
Founded in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki, Studio Ghibli is a highly regarded Japanese animation studio, known for its hand-drawn animation, intricate backgrounds, and emotionally resonant storytelling. The name "Ghibli" comes from a Libyan Arabic word referring to a hot desert wind.
The widespread appeal of the Ghibli art trend can be attributed to anime's massive global following, particularly in the US, where around 72% of people watch anime daily, according to CNBC TV18. OpenAI's ability to transform images into the Ghibli style has captured users' attention, further fueling the trend.
Initially planned as a free feature, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged that the new image generator's unexpected success led to the decision to limit the tool to paid users for now.
While ChatGPT previously had image-generation capabilities, the latest version—powered by GPT-4o, OpenAI's most advanced model—enables the creation of highly detailed images with minimal input, something that was not possible before.
Amid the trend's virality, an old video from 2016 resurfaced, showing Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki expressing strong disapproval during an AI demonstration by his team.
"I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all. I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself," he said, according to an English translation.
Commenting on the trend, artist and illustrator Jayd "Chira" Ait-Kaci criticised the use of AI-generated Ghibli-style art, writing on Bluesky:
"The trend is especially insidious and malicious because of how outspokenly scathing Miyazaki has been toward the tech."
"It's always about contempt for artists, every time," Ait-Kaci added.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a ceremony meeting a group of officials, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian state media said Thursday that Iran has sent an official response to a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump to the Iranian supreme leader that was seen as an attempt to jumpstart talks over Tehran's nuclear program.
The Iranian response was “appropriately sent through Oman” on Wednesday, state-run IRNA news agency quoted Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as saying.
No details have been released of the Iranian response nor the contents of Trump's letter to 85-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which came as the Trump administration levied new sanctions on Iran as part of its “maximum pressure” campaign.
Araghchi, which not discussing details of the letters, said that Iran's policy “remains firm on not engaging in direct negotiations under maximum pressure and military threats.” However, he said that indirect talks, which have taken place under previous administrations, could continue.
Trump letter was handed to Iranian officials by Anwar Gargash, a senior Emirati diplomat, while he visited Tehran on March 12, 2025.
Trump has sought to launch talks on Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program. In addition to sanctions, Trump also has suggested that military action against Iran remained a possibility, while emphasizing he still believed a new deal could be reached.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Paul Hyon Kim allegedly set vehicles ablaze in latest attack on Tesla amid protests over Elon Musk-led budget cuts
Las Vegas police have arrested a man suspected of attacking a Tesla service center earlier this month with molotov cocktails that he allegedly used to set several vehicles on fire.
Paul Hyon Kim, 36, who is in custody at the Clark county detention center, faces multiple felony counts, including suspicion of arson and destroying or injuring real or personal property, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
The incident in Las Vegas was part of a wave of high-profile attacks on Tesla dealerships amid growing frustration over Elon Musk's powerful role in the Trump administration and efforts to gut the US government. There have been large peaceful protests outside Tesla dealerships and a boycott campaign as well as growing incidents of vandalism.
The Guardian has documented multiple incidents involving molotov cocktails as well as swastikas drawn with spray paint at Tesla facilities across the US and bullets fired through a dealership window. Almost 20 Tesla showrooms and charging stations have faced deliberate fires, the Guardian previously reported.
Earlier this month, the Tesla site in Las Vegas was subjected to what the sheriff described as a “targeted attack”. In the early morning hours, a person dressed in black threw what looked like molotov cocktails into vehicles, security cameras showed. The suspect also fired rounds of ammunition into the parked vehicles.
“Upon arrival, officers discovered several vehicles on fire, as well as the word ‘resist' spraypainted on the front doors of the business,” Dori Koren, the assistant sheriff with the Las Vegas metropolitan police department, said at a press conference earlier this month. “At least five Tesla vehicles were damaged, to include at least two of which were engulfed in flames.”
The Las Vegas police department and the FBI announced they were investigating the incident as potential terrorism, while the federal agency was looking at other incidents of molotov cocktails thrown at Tesla facilities in recent months. Musk also described the incident as “terrorism”.
Donald Trump has said he would label attacks on Tesla properties as terrorism, and the attorney general, Pam Bondi, last week announced charges against three people accused of “violent destruction of Tesla properties”.
Earlier this week, the FBI said it was creating a taskforce in response to the growing reports of vandalism at Tesla dealerships.
France and Britain will continue to push for a deployment of a military contingent to Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron has said. A plan by Paris and London to send troops to Ukraine in case of a peace deal with Russia has been rejected already by several EU members.
While a shift in Western European thinking was reported by Reuters, citing multiple sources, Kiev has been pushing for a deployment of troops as a security guarantee, including combat troops ready to fight.
Speaking after a summit in Paris on Thursday, Macron announced that the so-called “coalition of the willing” will seek to deploy a “reassurance force” to Ukraine after a peace deal with Russia is reached. The French leader admitted that the proposal failed to win anonymous support, however, a French-British delegation would visit Kiev to discuss the plan anyway.
“It does not have unanimity, but we do not need unanimity to do this,” Macron stated.
The so-called “coalition of the willing” – initially coined by the US to refer to countries who supported the invasion of Iraq in 2003 - now involves countries that have pledged to continue to militarily support Kiev and who have previously discussed sending a peacekeeping force to Ukraine.
Establishing such a force would require consensus among EU member states and would operate under an international mandate, such as from the UN. The “reassurance force” would see countries provide direct military assistance to Ukraine.
Italy, Germany, and Hungary reportedly spoke against the Anglo-French peacekeeping plan, citing concerns over a possible escalation and financial implications. Moscow has repeatedly dismissed the idea of any NATO states undertaking peacekeeping roles in Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused France and Britain of hatching plans for “military intervention in Ukraine” which could lead to a direct military clash between Russia and NATO.
Moscow has also accused France and the UK of deliberately escalating tensions to undermine efforts to resolve the conflict by the US and Russia.
The US recently brokered a limited ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, placing a moratorium on attacks on energy infrastructure. Moscow has accused Kiev of repeatedly breaching the ceasefire terms and attacking energy-related sites in Russia.
The EU has been pushing a militarization agenda despite the ongoing peace process. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently unveiled a €800 billion plan to ramp up military spending through loans. Southern European states, such as Italy and Spain, however, have reportedly been pushing back against the proposal amid concerns it could deepen their already heavy debt burdens.
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Russia could supply a small nuclear power plant for a mission to Mars planned by billionaire entrepreneur and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, President Vladimir Putin's international cooperation envoy said on Thursday.
The envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, said Moscow could discuss the offer with Musk by video conference. It was the second time Dmitriev has spoken of potential cooperation with Musk this month.
The proposal comes after US President Donald Trump launched talks with Russia aimed at reviving bilateral ties which were languishing at their lowest level in decades due to Russia's war in Ukraine. Moscow is seeking to develop economic cooperation with Washington, even as US sanctions against Russia over the conflict remain in place.
Musk, a close Trump associate, said earlier this month that his Starship rocket would blast off for Mars by the end of next year despite various failures in tests and amid scepticism from some space experts about Musk's projected timeline.
In a post on X, Musk said human landings could take place as early as 2029, but that "2031 was more likely." He spoke last year of plans to build a "self-sustaining city in about 20 years" on Mars, something that would need a power source.
Speaking in Murmansk on the sidelines of an Arctic Forum, Dmitriev, who is also head of a fund that works to attract foreign investors, said Russia could contribute a lot to a potential Mars mission.
"Russia can offer a small-sized nuclear power plant for a mission to Mars and other advanced technological capabilities," the state RIA news agency cited him as saying.
"We believe that Russia has a lot to offer for a mission to Mars, because we have some nuclear technologies that I think could be applicable," he added, saying Russia regarded cooperation with Musk, whom Dmitriev hailed as a "great visionary", as important.
Yuri Borisov, the then head of Russia's Roscosmos space agency, said last year that Russia and China were considering putting a nuclear power plant on the moon from 2033-35, something he said could one day allow lunar settlements to be built.
Russia said in 2022 it would start work on its own Mars mission after the European Space Agency (ESA) suspended a joint project after the start of the war.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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National security committee is investigating whether secret services breached law by using surveillance tool to monitor activists and journalists
The Italian government approved the use of a sophisticated surveillance tool to spy on members of a humanitarian NGO because they were allegedly deemed a possible threat to national security, MPs have heard.
Alfredo Mantovano, a cabinet undersecretary, made the admission during a classified meeting with Copasir, the parliamentary committee for national security, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Copasir is investigating whether the secret services breached the law in using Graphite, military-grade spyware made by the Israel-based Paragon Solutions, to monitor activists and journalists, and is expecting to report on its finding soon.
Giorgia Meloni's government has been under pressure to address the case since January, when a handful of Italian activists and a journalist received warnings from WhatsApp, the messaging app owned by Meta, that their phones had been targeted by spyware.
The government initially denied involvement, but Mantovano, who oversees the intelligence services, told the committee that the spyware had targeted Luca Casarini and Giuseppe Caccia, the founders of Mediterranea Saving Humans, an NGO that tries to protect refugees who cross the Mediterranean.
He said the spyware was approved by the government and the attorney general of Rome's court of appeal, and that the intelligence agencies used the surveillance system within the parameters of the law in order to conduct a “preventive” investigation into illegal immigration. He denied the spyware was used to target Francesco Cancellato, the editor-in-chief of the Italian news outlet Fanpage.
Mantovano's assertions, which were first reported by La Repubblica, have so far not been denied by the government.
Paragon suspended its relationship with Italy when the breaches emerged, a person familiar with the matter told the Guardian. The company's spyware is intended for use on criminals.
Mediterranea Saving Humans said it was informed about Mantovano's claims by journalist sources, adding in a statement that the “secret operation worthy of a regime” had been “unmasked to the world”.
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In addition to the Copasir inquiry, prosecutors in five cities, including Rome, Palermo, Naples, Bologna and Venice, are investigating claims after complaints were submitted by targets of the alleged spyware breach, who include Mattia Ferrari, a priest, and David Yambio, a humanitarian activist, both of whom have worked with Mediterranea Saving Humans.
“Five prosecutors are investigating and we trust someone will have the courage to get to the bottom of it and demonstrate, as is clear, that this is an abuse of power and nothing else,” Mediterranea Saving Humans added.
Prosecutors allege suspects spiked victims' drinks with drugs at venues in Kortrijk between 2021 and 2024
Belgian authorities are investigating the alleged rape and sexual assault of at least 41 women whose drinks are thought to have been spiked, with three bar managers identified as prime suspects, prosecutors have said.
Officials believe drugs were mixed into the women's drinks, including ketamine, a general anaesthetic used for recreational purposes because of its hallucinogenic effects.
Investigators say the three main suspects, who run the establishments where the spiking is alleged to have taken place in the north-western city of
Kortrijk, discussed the attacks with one another.
“There are already 41 victims identified for the period between December 2021 to December 2024, and the investigation continues to potentially identify others,” Griet De Prest, a spokesman for the Western Flanders public prosecutor's office, said on Thursday.
De Prest said one of the main suspects had been arrested.
A second is due to appear in front of a judge on Thursday, while a third was released after a series of arrests on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The men are suspected of rape, sexual assault and illegal administration of harmful substances, the prosecutor's office said.
“The young women were offered shots of alcohol, often with an amaretto flavour, after which they woke up the next morning, groggy in an unknown bed or in their own bed, with clear evidence of sexual abuse,” Tom Janssens, another spokesman for the prosecutor's office, told Flemish public television VRT.
Belgium's interior minister, Bernard Quintin, denounced the alleged attacks as “unacceptable” and criticised how easy it was to get hold of ketamine.
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“If the drug can be obtained easily and cheaply, it becomes easier to commit crimes,” the minister added.
“Women must be able to go out safely, wherever they want, whenever they want,” he said.
US President Donald Trump's pick to be ambassador to the United Nations has been withdrawn, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch said on Thursday.Republican Representative Elise Stefanik is a close Trump ally and was chosen by the president for the role less than a week after he was elected in November. "It is essential that we maintain EVERY Republican Seat in Congress," Trump said in a social media post. "With a very tight Majority, I don't want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise's seat."Trump's Republicans currently hold a 218 to 213 majority in the House of Representatives, where there are four vacancies. AdvertisementSenate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch told reporters on Thursday: "I have been notified by the White House. She's been withdrawn."A spokesperson for Stefanik did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REP. Elise Stefanik (R) for New York, appointed by President Trump as ambassador to the UN, testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing last month. The Jews of Judea and Samaria and all of Israel, are grateful for Stefanik's constant stand for truth, the writer asserts (credit: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS)Trump's Republicans currently hold a 218 to 213 majority in the House of Representatives, where there are four vacancies.'They got to get their act together'Trump said in February that the UN has "great potential and ... we'll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together." The UN pushed back at the time, saying Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had worked tirelessly to implement reforms. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced US plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization. Advertisement
Republican Representative Elise Stefanik is a close Trump ally and was chosen by the president for the role less than a week after he was elected in November. "It is essential that we maintain EVERY Republican Seat in Congress," Trump said in a social media post. "With a very tight Majority, I don't want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise's seat."Trump's Republicans currently hold a 218 to 213 majority in the House of Representatives, where there are four vacancies. AdvertisementSenate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch told reporters on Thursday: "I have been notified by the White House. She's been withdrawn."A spokesperson for Stefanik did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REP. Elise Stefanik (R) for New York, appointed by President Trump as ambassador to the UN, testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing last month. The Jews of Judea and Samaria and all of Israel, are grateful for Stefanik's constant stand for truth, the writer asserts (credit: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS)Trump's Republicans currently hold a 218 to 213 majority in the House of Representatives, where there are four vacancies.'They got to get their act together'Trump said in February that the UN has "great potential and ... we'll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together." The UN pushed back at the time, saying Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had worked tirelessly to implement reforms. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced US plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization. Advertisement
"It is essential that we maintain EVERY Republican Seat in Congress," Trump said in a social media post. "With a very tight Majority, I don't want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise's seat."Trump's Republicans currently hold a 218 to 213 majority in the House of Representatives, where there are four vacancies. AdvertisementSenate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch told reporters on Thursday: "I have been notified by the White House. She's been withdrawn."A spokesperson for Stefanik did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REP. Elise Stefanik (R) for New York, appointed by President Trump as ambassador to the UN, testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing last month. The Jews of Judea and Samaria and all of Israel, are grateful for Stefanik's constant stand for truth, the writer asserts (credit: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS)Trump's Republicans currently hold a 218 to 213 majority in the House of Representatives, where there are four vacancies.'They got to get their act together'Trump said in February that the UN has "great potential and ... we'll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together." The UN pushed back at the time, saying Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had worked tirelessly to implement reforms. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced US plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization. Advertisement
Trump's Republicans currently hold a 218 to 213 majority in the House of Representatives, where there are four vacancies. AdvertisementSenate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch told reporters on Thursday: "I have been notified by the White House. She's been withdrawn."A spokesperson for Stefanik did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REP. Elise Stefanik (R) for New York, appointed by President Trump as ambassador to the UN, testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing last month. The Jews of Judea and Samaria and all of Israel, are grateful for Stefanik's constant stand for truth, the writer asserts (credit: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS)Trump's Republicans currently hold a 218 to 213 majority in the House of Representatives, where there are four vacancies.'They got to get their act together'Trump said in February that the UN has "great potential and ... we'll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together." The UN pushed back at the time, saying Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had worked tirelessly to implement reforms. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced US plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization. Advertisement
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch told reporters on Thursday: "I have been notified by the White House. She's been withdrawn."A spokesperson for Stefanik did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REP. Elise Stefanik (R) for New York, appointed by President Trump as ambassador to the UN, testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing last month. The Jews of Judea and Samaria and all of Israel, are grateful for Stefanik's constant stand for truth, the writer asserts (credit: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS)Trump's Republicans currently hold a 218 to 213 majority in the House of Representatives, where there are four vacancies.'They got to get their act together'Trump said in February that the UN has "great potential and ... we'll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together." The UN pushed back at the time, saying Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had worked tirelessly to implement reforms. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced US plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization. Advertisement
A spokesperson for Stefanik did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REP. Elise Stefanik (R) for New York, appointed by President Trump as ambassador to the UN, testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing last month. The Jews of Judea and Samaria and all of Israel, are grateful for Stefanik's constant stand for truth, the writer asserts (credit: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS)Trump's Republicans currently hold a 218 to 213 majority in the House of Representatives, where there are four vacancies.'They got to get their act together'Trump said in February that the UN has "great potential and ... we'll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together." The UN pushed back at the time, saying Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had worked tirelessly to implement reforms. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced US plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization. Advertisement
Trump's Republicans currently hold a 218 to 213 majority in the House of Representatives, where there are four vacancies.'They got to get their act together'Trump said in February that the UN has "great potential and ... we'll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together." The UN pushed back at the time, saying Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had worked tirelessly to implement reforms. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced US plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization. Advertisement
Trump said in February that the UN has "great potential and ... we'll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together." The UN pushed back at the time, saying Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had worked tirelessly to implement reforms. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced US plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization. Advertisement
Stay updated with the latest news!
Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter
Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced US plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization. Advertisement
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the U.S. is serious about its plans regarding Greenland. Speaking at the plenary session of the International Arctic Forum, Putin called it a mistake to “believe that these are some kind of extravagant talks of the new American administration.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the plenary session of the International Arctic Forum in Murmansk, Russia, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the plenary session of the International Arctic Forum in Murmansk, Russia, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting on the development of the Russian Arctic Zone on the sidelines of the International Arctic Forum in Murmansk, Russia, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Alexey Nikolskiy, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that President Donald Trump's push for control over Greenland wasn't surprising given longtime U.S. interest in the mineral-rich territory.
Speaking at a policy forum in the Artic port of Murmansk, Putin noted that the United States first considered plans to win control over Greenland in the 19th century, and then offered to buy it from Denmark after World War II.
“It can look surprising only at first glance and it would be wrong to believe that this is some sort of extravagant talk by the current U.S. administration,” Putin said. “It's obvious that the United States will continue to systematically advance its geostrategic, military-political and economic interests in the Arctic.”
Trump irked much of Europe by suggesting that the United States should in some form control the self-governing, mineral-rich territory of Denmark, a U.S. ally and NATO member. As the nautical gateway to the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America, Greenland has broader strategic value as both China and Russia seek access to its waterways and natural resources.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife are due to visit an American military base in Greenland on Friday on a trip that was scaled back after an uproar by Greenlanders and Danes.
Speaking on Thursday, Putin noted that Russia is worried about NATO's activities in the Arctic and will respond by strengthening its military capability in the polar region.
“We are certainly concerned about NATO members describing the Far North as the region of possible conflicts,” he said, noting that Russia's neighbors Finland and Sweden have joined the alliance. “Russia has never threatened anyone in the Arctic, but we will closely follow the developments and mount an appropriate response by increasing our military capability and modernizing military infrastructure.”
Russia has sought to assert its influence over wide areas of the Arctic in competition with the United States, Canada, Denmark and Norway as shrinking polar ice from the warming planet offers new opportunities for resources and shipping routes. China also has shown an increasing interest in the region, believed to hold up to one-fourth of the Earth's undiscovered oil and gas.
“We won't allow any infringement on our country's sovereignty, reliably safeguard our national interests while supporting peace and stability in the polar region,” Putin said.
While pledging to strengthen Russia's military foothold in the Arctic, Putin said that Moscow was holding the door open to broader international cooperation in the region.
“The stronger our positions will be, the more significant the results will be and the broader opportunities we will have to launch international projects in the Arctic involving the countries that are friendly to us, and, possibly, Western countries if they show interest in joint work. I'm sure the time will come to launch such projects.”
Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Putin's envoy for international investment who took part in talks with U.S. officials, told reporters last month that Russia and the U.S. should develop joint energy ventures.
“We need joint projects, including in the Arctic and other regions,” he said.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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The fallout continues over a security breach in which high-ranking members of the Trump administration accidentally shared plans about a forthcoming U.S. military attack on Yemen with the top editor of the Atlantic magazine on the Signal messaging app.
Military and intelligence experts and some members of Congress have expressed shock over the inadvertent leak, raising questions about national security protocols and the use of unsecured channels for sensitive information. The Senate Armed Services Committee is calling for an independent investigation.
President Trump and U.S. intelligence officials have tried to downplay the security risks and insist no classified material was shared.
The Atlantic's editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed in an article published on Monday that he knew about U.S. airstrikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen hours before they happened, because he was added to a Signal group chat where members of the Trump administration appeared to be discussing such war plans.
Goldberg said he received a Signal connection request on March 11 from someone whom he believed to be Michael Waltz, President Trump's national security adviser. Two days later, Goldberg said he was added to a conversation with 18 members of the administration — including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard — where they talked about plans to bomb Yemen.
U.S. air and naval assets hit multiple Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15.
Goldberg said that he initially did not think the Signal group chat was real. “I could not believe that the national-security leadership of the United States would communicate on Signal about imminent war plans,” he wrote. "I have never seen a breach quite like this.
“It is not uncommon for national-security officials to communicate on Signal,” Goldberg added. “But the app is used primarily for meeting planning and other logistical matters — not for detailed and highly confidential discussions of a pending military action. And, of course, I've never heard of an instance in which a journalist has been invited to such a discussion."
Related from Yahoo News: What is Signal, anyway?
White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement that the message thread described by Goldberg “appears to be authentic” and that security council officials were “reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain.”
Trump first told reporters on Monday that he knew nothing about the incident. Then, in a phone interview with NBC News, the president said he stood by Waltz.
“Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he's a good man," Trump said. The president suggested that a member of Waltz's staff accidentally added Goldberg to the group.
Speaking to reporters at the White House Tuesday, Trump disparaged Goldberg and the Atlantic, calling the editor a “total sleazebag” and the 167-year-old publication a “failed magazine.”
On Wednesday, White House reporters asked Trump which members of his administration bore responsibility for the chat.
“It was Mike, I guess, I don't know,” Trump responded.
When pressed on Hegseth's role in the scandal, the president did not seem fully briefed on the fact that his defense secretary had shared sensitive information on Signal.
“How do you bring Hegseth into it? He had nothing to do with it,” Trump said.
In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday night, Waltz said that he takes “full responsibility" for the “embarrassing” security breach, and that he built the group chat himself.
“I take full responsibility. … I built the group,” Waltz said. “My job is to make sure everything's coordinated.”
But Waltz also said he doesn't know how Goldberg was added to the chat.
"I can tell you for 100% I don't know this guy," Waltz said, adding that he had spoken to Elon Musk for help in finding out what happened.
Appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, Gabbard and Ratcliffe were grilled by Democrats over the breach, which they both sought to downplay.
During a House Intelligence Committee hearing Wednesday, Gabbard acknowledged the inclusion of a Goldberg on the Signal chat was a “mistake,” but said no classified information was shared.
Speaking to reporters in Hawaii on Monday, Hegseth flatly denied sharing any sensitive military information.
“Nobody was texting war plans,” Hegseth said. “And that's all I have to say about that.”
He reiterated those comments on Tuesday.
“Nobody's texting war plans,” Hegseth said. “I know exactly what I'm doing.”
During a news conference in Kingston, Jamaica, on Wednesday, Rubio said he hoped "there'll be reforms and changes made so this never — it's not going to happen again. It can't."
“Obviously, someone made a mistake. Someone made a big mistake and added a journalist. Nothing against journalists, but you ain't supposed to be on that thing,” Rubio added.
In the article published Monday, Goldberg did not reveal details of the strike plans, saying the information “could conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel.”
But on Wednesday, the Atlantic published the full text thread from the Signal group under the headline: “Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump's Advisers Shared on Signal.”
“The statements by Hegseth, Gabbard, Ratcliffe, and Trump — combined with the assertions made by numerous administration officials that we are lying about the content of the Signal texts — have led us to believe that people should see the texts in order to reach their own conclusions,” Goldberg and colleague Shane Harris explained.
The messages include specific details on the timing of launches by U.S. military jets that were to strike Houthi targets.
In an interview with the BBC, Goldberg said such specifics undercut the administration's assertions that no sensitive military information was shared.
"If Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, is texting me, telling me the attack was about to be launched on Yemen — telling me what kind of aircraft are going to be used, what kind of weapons are going to be used, and when the bombs are going to fall two hours after the text is received — that seems like sensitive information, war-planning information to me," he said.
Current and former intelligence officials and mostly Democratic lawmakers have expressed shock over the breach, wondering why members of the Trump administration would be discussing security plans on Signal in the first place.
"This Signal chat situation sheds light on a sloppy and grossly incompetent national security strategy from the Trump administration," said Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
“Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that they'd be this reckless and careless with our national security,” Ned Price, a former CIA analyst who was deputy to the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the Biden administration, told NPR.
Price said he had spoken to former national security officials and colleagues involved in military planning, adding, “It's fair to say ... that heads are exploding.”
Some security experts have suggested that the group chat may have violated the Espionage Act for mishandling national defense information on Signal. But FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi each signaled this week that neither the FBI nor the Justice Department will investigate the matter.
While most Republicans have avoided criticizing the administration over the breach, a few have spoken out.
“Classified information should not be transmitted on unsecured channels — and certainly not to those without security clearances, including reporters. Period,” Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York, wrote on X. “Safeguards must be put in place to ensure this never happens again.”
“The White House is in denial that this was not classified or sensitive data,” Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska and a former Air Force brigadier general, told reporters on Wednesday. “They should just own up to it and preserve credibility.”
Meanwhile, the Senate Armed Services Committee is calling for an independent investigation into the leak. Sen. Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican and chairman of the panel, and Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island and the committee's ranking member, sent a letter to the Pentagon's acting inspector general Wednesday requesting a formal probe over “the use of unclassified networks to discuss sensitive and classified information, as well as the sharing of such information with those who do not have proper clearance and need to know.”
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois and a member of the committee, did not mince words in a post on X Wednesday.
"Pete Hegseth is a f***ing liar," Duckworth wrote. "This is so clearly classified info he recklessly leaked that could've gotten our pilots killed. He needs to resign in disgrace immediately."
A YouGov poll conducted on March 25 found that 74% of Americans — including 60% of Republicans — thought the Trump administration's military leak is a very or somewhat serious problem.
The survey of 5,976 U.S. adults was conducted a day before the Atlantic published the full text of the group chat.
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Ukrainian president has learned Trump's team demand positivity and there is little point in trying to ‘inject reality'
At a press briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday, explaining where initial US-brokered peace negotiations had got to, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, struck a notably different tone. Long gone is the tetchiness on display in London in the aftermath of the Ukrainian leader's catastrophic trip to the White House. In its place was a degree of optimism so high that it could only be interpreted as political positioning.
Though he complained about comments made by Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's special envoy, that four Ukrainian regions wholly or partly occupied by Russia consisted of people who wanted Moscow's rule in an “overwhelming majority” – these were “in line with the messages of the Kremlin”, Zelenskyy said – he insisted that had advantages too.
Over time, Zelenskyy reasoned, the White House team would appreciate the Kremlin was not acting in good faith. It would become clear that “the Russians don't want” an unconditional ceasefire as they threw up more and more objections as the peace talks developed. “People,” he said, meaning Trump's top team “will not believe the Russians more and more with every day”.
Though Zelenskyy signed up Ukraine to the energy and maritime ceasefire proposed by the US, he knew there were Russian qualifications. Within hours, the Kremlin said its participation in a maritime ceasefire was conditional on agricultural sanctions relief, while reports on Thursday of a power outage in Kherson after Russian shelling suggest the energy ceasefire is not entirely being honoured either.
Unequally applied ceasefires may not obviously be to Ukraine's advantage, but Zelenskyy acknowledged many details were left vague in the two statements put out by the US (one negotiated with Ukraine, one with Russia) because the Trump White House was in a rush to get some sort of deal.
“It does not say what happens if somebody violates the ceasefire; the US did not want it to break down,” the president said, suggesting during his briefing “don't delve too deeply”. For its part Ukraine would document any Russian violations and share them with the US and the world, though the impact on Kremlin behaviour may be limited.
Keir Giles, a Russia expert at the Chatham House thinktank, said: “Zelenskyy has assessed that it is better to go along with what is being cooked, rather than to attempt to inject reality into the process, because he has seen what happens if he does the latter.”
When, at the beginning of the month, a tired Zelenskyy, still reeling from the Oval Office ambush, said at some point during an hour-plus press briefing in London, that a deal to end the war “is still very, very far away” it was used as justification by the White House to halt military aid and intelligence sharing.
That was only restarted when Ukraine committed to a full ceasefire in Saudi Arabia a week or so later, a commitment that Russia has yet to match, arguing, in the words of Vladimir Putin, that any ceasefire should lead to “the elimination of the root causes of the conflict” and therefore more negotiation while the land and air war continues.
The problem for Zelenskyy's strategy is that if there are significant Russian attacks against Ukraine's energy infrastructure, or some other inequality emerges in the Black Sea, it is unsure how long Kyiv will be able to turn the other cheek. On the day of the ceasefire announcement, it was notable that Ukraine's defence minister immediately warned Russia not to use the ceasefire as a cover for manoeuvring its navy out of the eastern Black Sea, where it has been penned in.
Nor is it obvious that the White House would be willing to ramp up the pressure on the Kremlin if the peace talks show only negligible progress. That would represent a sharp change of White House strategy. So far, the US has offered concessions to Moscow, such as ruling out Ukraine's Nato membership, while Trump appears far more comfortable talking to Putin than Zelenskyy.
Putin and his Russian colleagues, said Giles, “will be calculating just how far they can go and how much they can extract from the Americans, before it becomes so embarrassing that even Trump, with no sense of shame or humiliation, says enough is enough”. On Monday in Saudi Arabia, the US and Russia talked about Ukrainian territory, though nothing concrete emerged. Zelenskyy did not make much of that on Tuesday – saying simply that he was “worried” – but in the coming weeks, the president's newfound patience is likely to be tested again.
A Jerusalem District Court ordered the seizure of NIS 50 million, or $13.6 million, from the Palestinian Authority following the lawsuit filed by Rabbi Leo Dee and his family, two years after the murder of his wife and two of his daughters, according to a statement made on behalf of the family.Rabbi Leo Dee and his family have filed a lawsuit against the Palestinian Authority and Hamas for the murder of his wife and two daughters in October 2024, demanding compensation after a shooting attack that claimed the lives of his deceased loved ones. The case was filed with the claim that the Palestinian Authority supports terrorism and the murder was committed by Hamas terrorists. Rabbi Dee, who is British-Israeli, spoke to the Jewish Chronicle when he visited the UK last year. He criticized the PA's “pay for slay” system, also known as the “Martyrs' Fund,” which pays monthly stipends to the families of Palestinian terrorists killed while attacking Israelis."It's the largest terror funding scheme in the world,” Dee stated. AdvertisementOn April 7, 2023, Lucy Dee and her daughters Maia, 20, and Rina, 15, were driving to Tiberias. Their vehicle was rammed off the road by terrorist gunmen, who shot all three women. Maia and Rina were killed on the scene, and Lucy passed away from her wounds two days later. SHIRAT LUCY: Yehuda, Keren, Tali, and Rabbi Leo Dee in front of a portrait of Lucy, Rina, and Maia, at the first yahrzeit event, April 7. (credit: Yacov Segal)"On Passover [a year and a half ago], my wife Lucy and my daughters Rina and Maia were murdered by despicable terrorists. Since then, our lives have changed beyond recognition," said Rabbi Dee in the interview. "It is unbelievable that to this day, the Palestinian Authority pays rewards to the families of the terrorists in support of the perpetrators of the damned attack." Dee stated, "This lawsuit is our attempt to do some justice on behalf of Lucy, Maia, and Rina. The lawsuit does nothing to heal our pain or sorrow, but we continue to fight evil wherever it is. We are working at the legal level and hope to be able to damage the rewards and incentives that the terrorists have been receiving from the Palestinian Authority for decades as much as possible."'First step in a long process of recovery'Though the lawsuit cannot bring back his loved ones, the temporary seizure of funds is the first step in a long process of recovery, and a long legal process in holding necessary terrorist entities responsible. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now In a statement, Rabbi Dee accused the Palestinian Authority of funding terroristic activities. “If every terror victim in Israel were to file similar lawsuits against the PA and demand compensation for their losses, including victims of the October 7 massacre, we would weaken their ability to fund terrorism,” he stated, calling for a unified front in preventing future atrocities. AdvertisementIn alignment with the Oslo Accords, Israel is responsible for collecting customs and duties on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, to be transferred to Ramallah on a monthly basis. However, a 2018 law allowed Israel to withhold sums that would have been paid to security prisoners and their families.In 2024, the Knesset approved the Compensation of Victims of Terrorism Bill, enabling impacted families to seek damages through lawsuits against parties offering financial compensation for carrying out such acts. This comes weeks before the anniversary of the murders of Lucy, Maia, and Rina Dee.
Rabbi Leo Dee and his family have filed a lawsuit against the Palestinian Authority and Hamas for the murder of his wife and two daughters in October 2024, demanding compensation after a shooting attack that claimed the lives of his deceased loved ones. The case was filed with the claim that the Palestinian Authority supports terrorism and the murder was committed by Hamas terrorists. Rabbi Dee, who is British-Israeli, spoke to the Jewish Chronicle when he visited the UK last year. He criticized the PA's “pay for slay” system, also known as the “Martyrs' Fund,” which pays monthly stipends to the families of Palestinian terrorists killed while attacking Israelis."It's the largest terror funding scheme in the world,” Dee stated. AdvertisementOn April 7, 2023, Lucy Dee and her daughters Maia, 20, and Rina, 15, were driving to Tiberias. Their vehicle was rammed off the road by terrorist gunmen, who shot all three women. Maia and Rina were killed on the scene, and Lucy passed away from her wounds two days later. SHIRAT LUCY: Yehuda, Keren, Tali, and Rabbi Leo Dee in front of a portrait of Lucy, Rina, and Maia, at the first yahrzeit event, April 7. (credit: Yacov Segal)"On Passover [a year and a half ago], my wife Lucy and my daughters Rina and Maia were murdered by despicable terrorists. Since then, our lives have changed beyond recognition," said Rabbi Dee in the interview. "It is unbelievable that to this day, the Palestinian Authority pays rewards to the families of the terrorists in support of the perpetrators of the damned attack." Dee stated, "This lawsuit is our attempt to do some justice on behalf of Lucy, Maia, and Rina. The lawsuit does nothing to heal our pain or sorrow, but we continue to fight evil wherever it is. We are working at the legal level and hope to be able to damage the rewards and incentives that the terrorists have been receiving from the Palestinian Authority for decades as much as possible."'First step in a long process of recovery'Though the lawsuit cannot bring back his loved ones, the temporary seizure of funds is the first step in a long process of recovery, and a long legal process in holding necessary terrorist entities responsible. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now In a statement, Rabbi Dee accused the Palestinian Authority of funding terroristic activities. “If every terror victim in Israel were to file similar lawsuits against the PA and demand compensation for their losses, including victims of the October 7 massacre, we would weaken their ability to fund terrorism,” he stated, calling for a unified front in preventing future atrocities. AdvertisementIn alignment with the Oslo Accords, Israel is responsible for collecting customs and duties on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, to be transferred to Ramallah on a monthly basis. However, a 2018 law allowed Israel to withhold sums that would have been paid to security prisoners and their families.In 2024, the Knesset approved the Compensation of Victims of Terrorism Bill, enabling impacted families to seek damages through lawsuits against parties offering financial compensation for carrying out such acts. This comes weeks before the anniversary of the murders of Lucy, Maia, and Rina Dee.
Rabbi Dee, who is British-Israeli, spoke to the Jewish Chronicle when he visited the UK last year. He criticized the PA's “pay for slay” system, also known as the “Martyrs' Fund,” which pays monthly stipends to the families of Palestinian terrorists killed while attacking Israelis."It's the largest terror funding scheme in the world,” Dee stated. AdvertisementOn April 7, 2023, Lucy Dee and her daughters Maia, 20, and Rina, 15, were driving to Tiberias. Their vehicle was rammed off the road by terrorist gunmen, who shot all three women. Maia and Rina were killed on the scene, and Lucy passed away from her wounds two days later. SHIRAT LUCY: Yehuda, Keren, Tali, and Rabbi Leo Dee in front of a portrait of Lucy, Rina, and Maia, at the first yahrzeit event, April 7. (credit: Yacov Segal)"On Passover [a year and a half ago], my wife Lucy and my daughters Rina and Maia were murdered by despicable terrorists. Since then, our lives have changed beyond recognition," said Rabbi Dee in the interview. "It is unbelievable that to this day, the Palestinian Authority pays rewards to the families of the terrorists in support of the perpetrators of the damned attack." Dee stated, "This lawsuit is our attempt to do some justice on behalf of Lucy, Maia, and Rina. The lawsuit does nothing to heal our pain or sorrow, but we continue to fight evil wherever it is. We are working at the legal level and hope to be able to damage the rewards and incentives that the terrorists have been receiving from the Palestinian Authority for decades as much as possible."'First step in a long process of recovery'Though the lawsuit cannot bring back his loved ones, the temporary seizure of funds is the first step in a long process of recovery, and a long legal process in holding necessary terrorist entities responsible. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now In a statement, Rabbi Dee accused the Palestinian Authority of funding terroristic activities. “If every terror victim in Israel were to file similar lawsuits against the PA and demand compensation for their losses, including victims of the October 7 massacre, we would weaken their ability to fund terrorism,” he stated, calling for a unified front in preventing future atrocities. AdvertisementIn alignment with the Oslo Accords, Israel is responsible for collecting customs and duties on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, to be transferred to Ramallah on a monthly basis. However, a 2018 law allowed Israel to withhold sums that would have been paid to security prisoners and their families.In 2024, the Knesset approved the Compensation of Victims of Terrorism Bill, enabling impacted families to seek damages through lawsuits against parties offering financial compensation for carrying out such acts. This comes weeks before the anniversary of the murders of Lucy, Maia, and Rina Dee.
"It's the largest terror funding scheme in the world,” Dee stated. AdvertisementOn April 7, 2023, Lucy Dee and her daughters Maia, 20, and Rina, 15, were driving to Tiberias. Their vehicle was rammed off the road by terrorist gunmen, who shot all three women. Maia and Rina were killed on the scene, and Lucy passed away from her wounds two days later. SHIRAT LUCY: Yehuda, Keren, Tali, and Rabbi Leo Dee in front of a portrait of Lucy, Rina, and Maia, at the first yahrzeit event, April 7. (credit: Yacov Segal)"On Passover [a year and a half ago], my wife Lucy and my daughters Rina and Maia were murdered by despicable terrorists. Since then, our lives have changed beyond recognition," said Rabbi Dee in the interview. "It is unbelievable that to this day, the Palestinian Authority pays rewards to the families of the terrorists in support of the perpetrators of the damned attack." Dee stated, "This lawsuit is our attempt to do some justice on behalf of Lucy, Maia, and Rina. The lawsuit does nothing to heal our pain or sorrow, but we continue to fight evil wherever it is. We are working at the legal level and hope to be able to damage the rewards and incentives that the terrorists have been receiving from the Palestinian Authority for decades as much as possible."'First step in a long process of recovery'Though the lawsuit cannot bring back his loved ones, the temporary seizure of funds is the first step in a long process of recovery, and a long legal process in holding necessary terrorist entities responsible. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now In a statement, Rabbi Dee accused the Palestinian Authority of funding terroristic activities. “If every terror victim in Israel were to file similar lawsuits against the PA and demand compensation for their losses, including victims of the October 7 massacre, we would weaken their ability to fund terrorism,” he stated, calling for a unified front in preventing future atrocities. AdvertisementIn alignment with the Oslo Accords, Israel is responsible for collecting customs and duties on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, to be transferred to Ramallah on a monthly basis. However, a 2018 law allowed Israel to withhold sums that would have been paid to security prisoners and their families.In 2024, the Knesset approved the Compensation of Victims of Terrorism Bill, enabling impacted families to seek damages through lawsuits against parties offering financial compensation for carrying out such acts. This comes weeks before the anniversary of the murders of Lucy, Maia, and Rina Dee.
On April 7, 2023, Lucy Dee and her daughters Maia, 20, and Rina, 15, were driving to Tiberias. Their vehicle was rammed off the road by terrorist gunmen, who shot all three women. Maia and Rina were killed on the scene, and Lucy passed away from her wounds two days later. SHIRAT LUCY: Yehuda, Keren, Tali, and Rabbi Leo Dee in front of a portrait of Lucy, Rina, and Maia, at the first yahrzeit event, April 7. (credit: Yacov Segal)"On Passover [a year and a half ago], my wife Lucy and my daughters Rina and Maia were murdered by despicable terrorists. Since then, our lives have changed beyond recognition," said Rabbi Dee in the interview. "It is unbelievable that to this day, the Palestinian Authority pays rewards to the families of the terrorists in support of the perpetrators of the damned attack." Dee stated, "This lawsuit is our attempt to do some justice on behalf of Lucy, Maia, and Rina. The lawsuit does nothing to heal our pain or sorrow, but we continue to fight evil wherever it is. We are working at the legal level and hope to be able to damage the rewards and incentives that the terrorists have been receiving from the Palestinian Authority for decades as much as possible."'First step in a long process of recovery'Though the lawsuit cannot bring back his loved ones, the temporary seizure of funds is the first step in a long process of recovery, and a long legal process in holding necessary terrorist entities responsible. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now In a statement, Rabbi Dee accused the Palestinian Authority of funding terroristic activities. “If every terror victim in Israel were to file similar lawsuits against the PA and demand compensation for their losses, including victims of the October 7 massacre, we would weaken their ability to fund terrorism,” he stated, calling for a unified front in preventing future atrocities. AdvertisementIn alignment with the Oslo Accords, Israel is responsible for collecting customs and duties on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, to be transferred to Ramallah on a monthly basis. However, a 2018 law allowed Israel to withhold sums that would have been paid to security prisoners and their families.In 2024, the Knesset approved the Compensation of Victims of Terrorism Bill, enabling impacted families to seek damages through lawsuits against parties offering financial compensation for carrying out such acts. This comes weeks before the anniversary of the murders of Lucy, Maia, and Rina Dee.
"On Passover [a year and a half ago], my wife Lucy and my daughters Rina and Maia were murdered by despicable terrorists. Since then, our lives have changed beyond recognition," said Rabbi Dee in the interview. "It is unbelievable that to this day, the Palestinian Authority pays rewards to the families of the terrorists in support of the perpetrators of the damned attack." Dee stated, "This lawsuit is our attempt to do some justice on behalf of Lucy, Maia, and Rina. The lawsuit does nothing to heal our pain or sorrow, but we continue to fight evil wherever it is. We are working at the legal level and hope to be able to damage the rewards and incentives that the terrorists have been receiving from the Palestinian Authority for decades as much as possible."'First step in a long process of recovery'Though the lawsuit cannot bring back his loved ones, the temporary seizure of funds is the first step in a long process of recovery, and a long legal process in holding necessary terrorist entities responsible. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now In a statement, Rabbi Dee accused the Palestinian Authority of funding terroristic activities. “If every terror victim in Israel were to file similar lawsuits against the PA and demand compensation for their losses, including victims of the October 7 massacre, we would weaken their ability to fund terrorism,” he stated, calling for a unified front in preventing future atrocities. AdvertisementIn alignment with the Oslo Accords, Israel is responsible for collecting customs and duties on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, to be transferred to Ramallah on a monthly basis. However, a 2018 law allowed Israel to withhold sums that would have been paid to security prisoners and their families.In 2024, the Knesset approved the Compensation of Victims of Terrorism Bill, enabling impacted families to seek damages through lawsuits against parties offering financial compensation for carrying out such acts. This comes weeks before the anniversary of the murders of Lucy, Maia, and Rina Dee.
Dee stated, "This lawsuit is our attempt to do some justice on behalf of Lucy, Maia, and Rina. The lawsuit does nothing to heal our pain or sorrow, but we continue to fight evil wherever it is. We are working at the legal level and hope to be able to damage the rewards and incentives that the terrorists have been receiving from the Palestinian Authority for decades as much as possible."'First step in a long process of recovery'Though the lawsuit cannot bring back his loved ones, the temporary seizure of funds is the first step in a long process of recovery, and a long legal process in holding necessary terrorist entities responsible. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now In a statement, Rabbi Dee accused the Palestinian Authority of funding terroristic activities. “If every terror victim in Israel were to file similar lawsuits against the PA and demand compensation for their losses, including victims of the October 7 massacre, we would weaken their ability to fund terrorism,” he stated, calling for a unified front in preventing future atrocities. AdvertisementIn alignment with the Oslo Accords, Israel is responsible for collecting customs and duties on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, to be transferred to Ramallah on a monthly basis. However, a 2018 law allowed Israel to withhold sums that would have been paid to security prisoners and their families.In 2024, the Knesset approved the Compensation of Victims of Terrorism Bill, enabling impacted families to seek damages through lawsuits against parties offering financial compensation for carrying out such acts. This comes weeks before the anniversary of the murders of Lucy, Maia, and Rina Dee.
Though the lawsuit cannot bring back his loved ones, the temporary seizure of funds is the first step in a long process of recovery, and a long legal process in holding necessary terrorist entities responsible. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now In a statement, Rabbi Dee accused the Palestinian Authority of funding terroristic activities. “If every terror victim in Israel were to file similar lawsuits against the PA and demand compensation for their losses, including victims of the October 7 massacre, we would weaken their ability to fund terrorism,” he stated, calling for a unified front in preventing future atrocities. AdvertisementIn alignment with the Oslo Accords, Israel is responsible for collecting customs and duties on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, to be transferred to Ramallah on a monthly basis. However, a 2018 law allowed Israel to withhold sums that would have been paid to security prisoners and their families.In 2024, the Knesset approved the Compensation of Victims of Terrorism Bill, enabling impacted families to seek damages through lawsuits against parties offering financial compensation for carrying out such acts. This comes weeks before the anniversary of the murders of Lucy, Maia, and Rina Dee.
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In a statement, Rabbi Dee accused the Palestinian Authority of funding terroristic activities. “If every terror victim in Israel were to file similar lawsuits against the PA and demand compensation for their losses, including victims of the October 7 massacre, we would weaken their ability to fund terrorism,” he stated, calling for a unified front in preventing future atrocities. AdvertisementIn alignment with the Oslo Accords, Israel is responsible for collecting customs and duties on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, to be transferred to Ramallah on a monthly basis. However, a 2018 law allowed Israel to withhold sums that would have been paid to security prisoners and their families.In 2024, the Knesset approved the Compensation of Victims of Terrorism Bill, enabling impacted families to seek damages through lawsuits against parties offering financial compensation for carrying out such acts. This comes weeks before the anniversary of the murders of Lucy, Maia, and Rina Dee.
In alignment with the Oslo Accords, Israel is responsible for collecting customs and duties on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, to be transferred to Ramallah on a monthly basis. However, a 2018 law allowed Israel to withhold sums that would have been paid to security prisoners and their families.In 2024, the Knesset approved the Compensation of Victims of Terrorism Bill, enabling impacted families to seek damages through lawsuits against parties offering financial compensation for carrying out such acts. This comes weeks before the anniversary of the murders of Lucy, Maia, and Rina Dee.
In 2024, the Knesset approved the Compensation of Victims of Terrorism Bill, enabling impacted families to seek damages through lawsuits against parties offering financial compensation for carrying out such acts. This comes weeks before the anniversary of the murders of Lucy, Maia, and Rina Dee.
This comes weeks before the anniversary of the murders of Lucy, Maia, and Rina Dee.
Support for Ukraine continues with divided opinion on Franco-British plan for ‘reassurance force' to help ceasefire
European leaders have affirmed their support for Ukraine at a Paris summit and agreed now was “not the time” to lift sanctions against Russia, but with splits remaining on Franco-British plans for a “reassurance force” to help guarantee an eventual ceasefire.
France's president, Emmanuel Macron, said on Thursday the meeting of more than two dozen heads of state and government had agreed unanimously that sanctions on Moscow should not be eased until “peace has clearly been established” in Ukraine.
The third meeting of what France and the UK have called the “coalition of the willing” for Ukraine was called amid widespread concern that Donald Trump may be open to rolling back some sanctions in order to get Russia to agree to a partial ceasefire deal.
“Ukraine had the courage to accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire,” Macron said after the summit, also attended by Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Nato's secretary general, Mark Rutte, and the heads of the European Commission and council.
“Since that Ukrainian announcement, there has been no Russian response,” Macron said. “There have just been new conditions posed [by Moscow] for a much more limited and hypothetical ceasefire.”
The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, said there was “complete clarity” on the importance of not lifting sanctions, with leaders “on the contrary” discussing how sanctions could be increased “to support the US initiative to bring Russia to the table” with further pressure.
Starmer told reporters at the British embassy after the summit: “It means increasing the economic pressure on Russia, accelerating new tougher sanctions bearing down on Russia's energy revenues and working together to make this pressure count.”
He added that he did not believe Putin was negotiating in good faith. Starmer said: “It's clear the Russians are filibustering. They are playing games and then playing for time. It is a classic from the Putin playbook.”
In a separate briefing, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said lifting sanctions on Russia would be a grave mistake and “makes no sense” as long as peace had “not actually been achieved – and unfortunately we are still a long way from that”.
Zelenskyy said Russia “does not want any kind of peace” but instead “wants to divide Europe and America”, and there should be “no lifting of any kind of sanctions until Russia stops this war”. Instead, there should be “more packages of sanctions”.
Zelenskyy added after the summit that he felt the US should respond to what he called Moscow's violation of a commitment not to strike Ukrainian energy targets. “I think there should be a reaction from the US,” he said.
The meeting sought to define the security guarantees the European and other allies could offer Ukraine once a ceasefire was agreed to end the three-year-old war – including the possible deployment of military forces by some of its members.
Facing political and logistical constraints and possible Russian and US resistance, coalition members are far from agreed on the latter option. Anglo-French plans for a post-truce “reassurance force” had not won universal backing, Macron said.
The force was “a British-French proposition, desired by Ukraine”, he said, adding: “It does not have unanimity, but we do not need unanimity to do this.” Nonetheless, an Anglo-French delegation would soon travel to Ukraine to discuss needs, he said.
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The French president said “several” of Ukraine's European allies were prepared to deploy to Ukraine, but some did not “have the necessary capacity” and others were reluctant to put troops on the ground due to the “political context”.
Italy's prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, repeated Rome's refusal to send troops to defend any ceasefire deal, adding that it was “important to continue working with the US” and she hoped a US delegation would attend the next coalition meeting.
Macron said the reassurance force, stationed away from the frontline but offering strategic support, could form part of a security guarantee that also included more support for the Ukrainian army and a broader push to rearm by coalition members.
The UK-France mission would also discuss the shape of “tomorrow's Ukraine army”, Macron said, emphasising the importance of a “strong Ukrainian army … that is well equipped for the day after”.
Starmer confirmed that French, British and also German army chiefs would travel to Kyiv to help with planning support for Ukraine's army, with a new Ukraine defence contact group to meet “to marshal more military aid and keep Ukraine in the fight”.
Zelenskyy said there were “many questions” and “few answers” on the possible deployment of European troops and “the actions of this contingent, its responsibilities – what it can do, how it can be used, who will be in charge of it”.
Starmer said the Paris meeting had made progress “in terms of numbers and intent”, but could not say how many countries were willing to deploy troops to Ukraine, nor whether he was any closer in securing support for such an idea from Washington.
Pushed to say how long he would give Putin to respond positively to the ceasefire proposals, the British prime minister said: “We need to see this developing in days and weeks, not months and months.”
North Bergen's Robert Farley allegedly drugged coffee pot and shaved body hair on colleagues in series of ‘pranks'
A New Jersey police chief has come under fire after colleagues accused him of defecating on the station floor, attempting to drug co-workers by putting Viagra and Adderall in their coffee, and sticking a hypodermic needle into an officer's penis, according to a report.
NJ.com reported that Robert Farley, chief of North Bergen police, repeatedly harassed his co-workers with a series of so-called pranks, while he is also accused of retaliating after a colleague, who is a person of color, complained of racial harassment.
Five former and current North Bergen officers plan to sue the township over Farley's behavior, which allegedly also included the police chief shaving his body hair on to people's food and “scraping fluids from his underwear on to people seated in the chief's office”.
In an email to NJ.com, a North Bergen spokesperson called the claims “false and outrageous”.
“The Township of North Bergen has full confidence in Chief Robert Farley's leadership,” the spokesperson said.
But Farley's accusers allege that the police chief, who took on the role in February 2024, instigated a reign of terror which one officer said included retaliation after they cooperated with an internal affairs investigation over a hostile work environment and civil rights violations.
In his notice to sue, Lt Alex Guzman wrote: “Chief Farley has, on several occasions, pulled his pants down and defecated on the floor in front of his entire office staff.”
Guzman added: “He has also left feces on the bathroom floor, apparently with the intent of having someone unknowingly step on it.”
Michael F Derin worked as a special captain with administrative duties at the department. He wrote in his notice to sue that he and Farley had been friends before the chief's behavior towards him changed in August 2024.
“Chief Farley chases me around his office,” Derrin wrote. “After cornering me in the filing area with no further room for retreat, he sticks a hypodermic needle through my jeans into the tip of my penis.”
Derin said the needle drew blood from his penis, and said: “From this point on, the chief creates a hostile work environment.”
He wrote, “The chief would shave his body hair on people's property, their persons, and their food,” adding: “He was also fond of scraping fluids from his underwear on to people seated in the chief's office.”
Derin's son, detective Michael A Derin, said he had witnessed Farley putting Viagra and Adderall into a coffee pot. Farley stirred the pills until they dissolved, Derin said, and then waited for someone to drink the coffee.
Officer Rashid Siyam said Farley and others retaliated against him after he participated in an internal investigation into civil rights violations. Siyam said some department members had referred to him as a “camel jockey” and “terrorist”.
NJ.com published photos that seemed to support the officers' claims. In one a man who the news outlet identified as Farley is shirtless and appears to be shaving his arm over a colleague's desk. Another photo shows a toilet cubicle which appears to have been befouled.
In a statement on the North Bergen police website, posted after he became chief in February 2024, Farley, who reportedly earns more than $228,000 a year, said he was “proud” to lead the community.
“Like my predecessors, I will strive to lead the officers of our department to be an accessible component of our community while maintaining their competency, transparency, and professionalism,” Farley said at the time.
Discussions are being held on whether Representative Elise Stefanik should step away from her nomination to be President Donald Trump's US ambassador to the United Nations, a White House official said on Thursday.Pulling her from the nomination would be done in part because of concern about Republicans' tight majority in the House of Representatives, which she would leave if confirmed for the post. CBS News first reported that Stefanik's nomination was in jeopardy.Stefanik is a close Trump ally. The president chose her for the role less than a week after he was elected in November. AdvertisementA spokesperson for Stefanik did not immediately respond to a request for comment.REP. Elise Stefanik (R) for New York, appointed by President Trump as ambassador to the UN, testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing last month. The Jews of Judea and Samaria and all of Israel, are grateful for Stefanik's constant stand for truth, the writer asserts (credit: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS)Trump's Republicans currently hold a 218 to 213 majority in the House of Representatives, where there are four vacancies. 'They got to get their act together'Trump said in February that the UN has "great potential and ... we'll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together." The UN pushed back at the time, saying Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had worked tirelessly to implement reforms.Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced US plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization.
Pulling her from the nomination would be done in part because of concern about Republicans' tight majority in the House of Representatives, which she would leave if confirmed for the post. CBS News first reported that Stefanik's nomination was in jeopardy.Stefanik is a close Trump ally. The president chose her for the role less than a week after he was elected in November. AdvertisementA spokesperson for Stefanik did not immediately respond to a request for comment.REP. Elise Stefanik (R) for New York, appointed by President Trump as ambassador to the UN, testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing last month. The Jews of Judea and Samaria and all of Israel, are grateful for Stefanik's constant stand for truth, the writer asserts (credit: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS)Trump's Republicans currently hold a 218 to 213 majority in the House of Representatives, where there are four vacancies. 'They got to get their act together'Trump said in February that the UN has "great potential and ... we'll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together." The UN pushed back at the time, saying Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had worked tirelessly to implement reforms.Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced US plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization.
CBS News first reported that Stefanik's nomination was in jeopardy.Stefanik is a close Trump ally. The president chose her for the role less than a week after he was elected in November. AdvertisementA spokesperson for Stefanik did not immediately respond to a request for comment.REP. Elise Stefanik (R) for New York, appointed by President Trump as ambassador to the UN, testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing last month. The Jews of Judea and Samaria and all of Israel, are grateful for Stefanik's constant stand for truth, the writer asserts (credit: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS)Trump's Republicans currently hold a 218 to 213 majority in the House of Representatives, where there are four vacancies. 'They got to get their act together'Trump said in February that the UN has "great potential and ... we'll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together." The UN pushed back at the time, saying Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had worked tirelessly to implement reforms.Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced US plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization.
Stefanik is a close Trump ally. The president chose her for the role less than a week after he was elected in November. AdvertisementA spokesperson for Stefanik did not immediately respond to a request for comment.REP. Elise Stefanik (R) for New York, appointed by President Trump as ambassador to the UN, testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing last month. The Jews of Judea and Samaria and all of Israel, are grateful for Stefanik's constant stand for truth, the writer asserts (credit: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS)Trump's Republicans currently hold a 218 to 213 majority in the House of Representatives, where there are four vacancies. 'They got to get their act together'Trump said in February that the UN has "great potential and ... we'll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together." The UN pushed back at the time, saying Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had worked tirelessly to implement reforms.Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced US plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization.
A spokesperson for Stefanik did not immediately respond to a request for comment.REP. Elise Stefanik (R) for New York, appointed by President Trump as ambassador to the UN, testifies before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing last month. The Jews of Judea and Samaria and all of Israel, are grateful for Stefanik's constant stand for truth, the writer asserts (credit: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS)Trump's Republicans currently hold a 218 to 213 majority in the House of Representatives, where there are four vacancies. 'They got to get their act together'Trump said in February that the UN has "great potential and ... we'll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together." The UN pushed back at the time, saying Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had worked tirelessly to implement reforms.Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced US plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization.
Trump's Republicans currently hold a 218 to 213 majority in the House of Representatives, where there are four vacancies. 'They got to get their act together'Trump said in February that the UN has "great potential and ... we'll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together." The UN pushed back at the time, saying Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had worked tirelessly to implement reforms.Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced US plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization.
Trump said in February that the UN has "great potential and ... we'll continue to go along with it, but they got to get their act together." The UN pushed back at the time, saying Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had worked tirelessly to implement reforms.Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced US plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization.
Since returning to office on January 20, Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced US plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization.
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Russia must continue to develop the Arctic and improve urban environments in the region, President Vladimir Putin has said. He made the remarks at the 6th International Arctic Forum in Murmansk.
Putin reiterated that the region holds great strategic importance for Russia and that there are a number of large-scale and systemic tasks that must be addressed.
”We must strengthen the transport and logistics infrastructure, [and] expand opportunities for the economy and business with the obligatory protection of the sensitive ecosystems of the Arctic,” Putin said.
He further stressed the need to “consistently improve the urban environment and develop settlements in the Far North” and to “generally improve the quality of life” in the region to make living in the Arctic “truly comfortable and attractive.”
Putin also called on the participants of the forum to come up with concrete plans for developing the Northern Sea Route to provide its cargo flows with infrastructure and a fleet.
Speaking to RT, Andrey Chibis, the governor of Murmansk Region, also stressed the importance of developing the route as a “long, powerful corridor” and the Arctic territories as the basis for the next “major leap forward for the economy of the future.”
This year's International Arctic Forum is being held under the motto ‘To Live in the North', which organizers say “not only symbolizes the desire to create a comfortable living environment in the harsh conditions of the North but also underscores the region's strategic importance.”
The forum is also dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the opening of the Northern Sea Route. Over the past nine years, Russia has made considerable progress in modernizing the route, attracting significant investment from countries such as India and China.
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The US health department will reduce its workforce by around 10,000 full-time employees as part of a broader cost-cutting overhaul of the federal government, according to an official statement released Thursday.
Including early retirements and so-called "deferred resignations," the total downsizing will shrink the department from 82,000 to 62,000 employees.
"We aren't just reducing bureaucratic sprawl," said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. "We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
A lawyer for The Associated Press has asked a US judge to reinstate the agency's access to the White House press pool and other official events, saying the Trump administration's ban is a fundamental attack on freedom of speech and should be overturned.
“AP has now spent 44 days in the penalty box,” said Charles Tobin, speaking on behalf of the news agency.
The AP and the new administration are at odds over the White House's removal of AP reporters and photographers from the small group of journalists who follow the president in the pool and other events.
Last month, AP sued White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and two other administration officials, demanding reinstatement.
The White House retaliated against the news outlet last month for not following President Trump's executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
The notion of banning a news agency for what it says — and for not using the words that a government demands — is extraordinarily unusual in a country whose constitution guarantees free speech without official interference.
By punishing AP for what it publishes, the administration has raised questions about what the White House feels it could punish from news outlets whose words or images it does not like.
A lawyer for the government, Brian Hudak, told US District Court Judge Trevor N McFadden that AP had not shown irreparable harm.
“There is no showing of exclusion,” he said, adding that AP can still access events in the East Room and document who arrives at the White House and leaves it.
In actuality, AP has been able to access East Room events only occasionally, at the discretion of the White House.
Evan Vucci, an AP photographer, gave evidence that the agency was “basically dead in the water on major news stories”.
Mr Vucci took a renowned and widely distributed photo of Trump immediately after an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania last summer.
Mr Tobin held up a book published by Mr Trump that depicted the same photo on its cover.
– ‘Viewpoint discrimination' is at the centre of the case
In last month's hearing, Judge McFadden refused the AP's request for an injunction to stop the White House from barring reporters and photographers from events in the Oval Office and Air Force One.
He urged the Trump administration to reconsider its ban before Thursday's hearing. It has not.
“It seems pretty clearly viewpoint discrimination,” Judge McFadden told the government's lawyer at the time.
The AP has sued Mr Trump's team for punishing a news organisation for using speech that it does not like.
The news outlet said it would still refer to the Gulf of Mexico in its style guidance to clients around the world, while also noting that Mr Trump has ordered it renamed the Gulf of America.
“For anyone who thinks the Associated Press's lawsuit against President Trump's White House is about the name of a body of water, think bigger,” Julie Pace, the AP's executive editor, wrote in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
“It's really about whether the government can control what you say.”
The White House said it has the right to decide who gets to question the president, and has taken steps to take over a duty that has been handled by journalists for decades.
The president has dismissed the AP as a group of “radical left lunatics” and said that “we're going to keep them out until such time as they agree that it's the Gulf of America”.
– AP is still covering the president
The AP has still covered the president, and has been permitted in Ms Leavitt's press briefings, but the ban has cost the organisation time in reporting and impeded its efforts to get still images.
Even if Judge McFadden rules in favour of the news organisation, it is unclear how the White House will respond to the judge's order.
The White House Correspondents' Association has asked its members to show solidarity with the AP.
Its president Eugene Daniels, was in the courtroom gallery on Thursday.
The case is one of several aggressive moves the second Trump administration has taken against the press since his return to office, including FCC investigations against ABC, CBS and NBC News, dismantling the government-run Voice of America and threatening funding for public broadcasters PBS and NPR.
A Trump executive order to change the name of the United States' largest mountain back to Mount McKinley from Denali is being recognised by the AP.
Mr Trump has the authority to do so because the mountain is completely within the country he oversees, AP has said.
Writing in the Journal, Ms Pace said the AP did not ask for the fight and made efforts to resolve the issue before going to court, but needed to stand on principle.
“If we don't step up to defend Americans' right to speak freely,” she wrote, “who will?”
Even if a judge rules in favour of the news organisation, it is unclear how the White House will respond to the order.
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A stabbing attack in the heart of Amsterdam on Thursday seriously wounded four people, Dutch police said, adding that a suspect was in custody after being overpowered by a bystander.
Police had earlier given a figure of five injured, as the suspect was also wounded in the incident.
There was no immediate information about a possible motive. Police said their investigation was in full swing.
"This afternoon, at around 3:50 (1450 GMT), a stabbing took place here in the Saint Nicolaasstraat. Four people were injured here, seriously injured. And a suspect was arrested, who was also injured," a police spokesman told reporters.
A bystander overpowered the suspect who was injured in the leg, police said in a statement on X.
The suspect "is receiving medical care and will be questioned at a later stage", said the police spokesman.
Police erected a cordon around the area where the stabbings took place, near the central Dam Square, where a trauma helicopter had landed to take victims to hospital.
An AFP reporter on the scene said the injured had been evacuated from the location but there was still a heavy police presence and ambulances were also on hand.
The police spokesman was unable to give information about the condition of the wounded.
Early images from local news agency ANP showed a person on a stretcher being loaded into the back of an ambulance.
Public broadcaster NOS showed images of police pushing someone on a stretcher while hooked up to an intravenous drip.
According to local media reports, Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema left a meeting in the town hall when news of the attack broke.
The police urged anyone with images of the incident to upload them as evidence. They also called on people to avoid the area and let them carry out their investigation.
Local media Het Parool cited a witness Marco Schoenmaeckers as saying that he saw one of the victims.
"I saw a knife of at least 10 centimetres (nearly four inches) sticking out of the girl's back, between her shoulders," Het Parool quoted Schoenmaeckers as saying.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Ukraine's allies from across Europe have gathered for talks in Paris about how to strengthen Kyiv's hand as it pushes for a ceasefire with Russia, and to consider proposals to deploy European troops in the country in tandem with any peace deal.
At least 12 people were injured, including a 12-year-old girl, in a Russian strike late Wednesday on Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, according to local Ukrainian officials and emergency services.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy he had the full support of the so-called coalition of the willing, NATO and the EU “for as long as it takes” at a summit in Paris on Thursday.
French President Emmanuel Macron, second left, greets Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during arrivals for a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, March 27, 2025 . (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speak during a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of a summit for “coalition of the willing” at the Elysee Palace, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, greets Latvia's Prime Minister Evika Silina during arrivals for a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, March 27, 2025 . (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
French President Emmanuel Macron, center left, walks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center right, during arrivals for a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, March 27, 2025 . (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
French President Emmanuel Macron, center left, walks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center right, during arrivals for a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, March 27, 2025 . (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, greets Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer during arrivals for a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, March 27, 2025 . (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, French President Emmanuel Macron and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speak during a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of a summit for “coalition of the willing” at the Elysee Palace, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron, center, greets Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer during arrivals for a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, March 27, 2025 . (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, French President Emmanuel Macron, center, and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speak during a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of a summit for “coalition of the willing” at the Elysee Palace, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron, center, speaks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during arrivals for a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, March 27, 2025 . (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, waits for the arrival of leaders during a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, March 27, 2025 . (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to the media at the UK Ambassador's Residence after a meeting with European leaders on strengthening support for Ukraine, in Paris, Thursday, March 27, 2025, on the sidelines of a summit for “coalition of the willing”. (Stephanie Lecocq/Pool Photo via AP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet at the UK Ambassador's Residence after a meeting with European leaders on strengthening support for Ukraine, in Paris, Thursday, March 27, 2025, on the sidelines of a summit for “coalition of the willing”. (Stephanie Lecocq/Pool Photo via AP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speak to the media at the UK Ambassador's Residence after a meeting with European leaders on strengthening support for Ukraine, in Paris, Thursday, March 27, 2025, on the sidelines of a summit for “coalition of the willing”. (Stephanie Lecocq/Pool Photo via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech after the so-called Coalition of the willing summit at the Elysee Palace, Thursday, March 27, 2025 in Paris. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech after the so-called Coalition of the willing summit at the Elysee Palace, Thursday, March 27, 2025 in Paris. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, center left, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center right, depart a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, March 27, 2025 . (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni departs after a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, March 27, 2025 . (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends a press conference at the UK Ambassador's Residence in Paris, after a meeting with European leaders on strengthening support for Ukraine in Paris, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Stephanie Lecocq/Pool Photo via AP)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a press conference after the so-called “Coalition of the willing” summit, Thursday, March 27, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a press conference after the so-called “Coalition of the willing” summit, Thursday, March 27, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
PARIS (AP) — France and Britain will continue to forge ahead with plans to deploy troops in Ukraine to defend an eventual peace deal with Russia but only some other nations want to take part, French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday after a summit of countries that have been mulling the proposal.
The French leader said “several” nations other than France and Britain want to be part of the armed force but added, “It is not unanimous.” Paris and London say such a force would aim to secure any peace deal by dissuading Russia from attacking Ukraine again.
“We do not need unanimity to achieve it,” Macron said. French and British military officials will work with Ukraine to determine where the contingents should be deployed and how many troops they'd need to be a credible deterrent, the French leader added.
“There will be a reassurance force with several European nations that will deploy,” he insisted.
The summit of leaders of nearly 30 countries plus NATO and European Union chiefs came at a crucial juncture in the more than three-year war, with intensifying diplomatic efforts to broker ceasefires, driven by pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.
But fighting rages on.
Before the leaders met in the luxury of the French presidential palace, Russian drone attacks overnight wounded more than 20 people and heavy shelling Thursday afternoon killed one person and knocked out electricity in parts of Kherson, Ukrainian officials said.
Macron and other summit participants accused Russia of only pretending to want a negotiated settlement.
“They are playing games and they're playing for time,” said U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “We can't let them drag this out while they continue prosecuting their illegal invasion.”
U.S.-brokered agreements this week to safeguard shipping in the Black Sea and last week to halt long-range strikes on energy infrastructure were greeted as first steps toward peace. But Ukraine and Russia have disagreed over the details and accused each other of deal violations, foreshadowing a long and contentious process ahead.
One reason why some European countries are balking at a potential deployment in Ukraine is because it's unclear whether Trump would support such a contingent with air power and other military assistance.
“This will require the engagement and support of the United States,” Starmer said. “That's a discussion we've had with the president on many occasions.”
Macron suggested they may have to do without U.S. backing.
“You have to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst,” he said. “My hope is that the Americans will be on our side and that the Americans will support, even play an active role.”
“But we have to be prepared for a situation where perhaps they won't join in,” he added.
Building a force big enough to act as a credible deterrent — U.K. officials have talked about possibly 10,000 to 30,000 troops — would be a considerable effort for nations that shrank their militaries after the Cold War but are now rearming.
Starmer's office said military planners from Europe and beyond have been drilling down into details, examining “the full range of European military capabilities including aircraft, tanks, troops, intelligence and logistics.”
One nation that publicly rejected sending troops was Greece. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said those discussions were “somewhat divisive” and distracted from the goal of ending the war as soon as possible.
In the face of enduring pressure from Trump on Europe to increase military spending and rely less on U.S. forces, the proposed contingent is seen as a test of the continent's willingness to defend itself and its interests.
While the U.S. has spearheaded ceasefire talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisted that Europe, represented by Macron and Starmer, must also be at the negotiating table.
“We do not consider any alternative,” he said. “This is our firm stance. Europe is vast, and it must have clear representation in these negotiations.”
Summit participants were more in agreement that sanctions squeezing Russia's economy must be continued, and even toughened, to force Moscow to negotiate in good faith.
“Lifting sanctions on Russia right now would be a disaster for diplomacy,” Zelenskyy said. “Sanctions are one of the few real tools the world has to pressure Russia into serious talks.”
Russia has demanded that sanctions be lifted to meet its terms for the Black Sea ceasefire. The White House said it would help restore Russia's access to the world market for fertilizer and farm exports, but it didn't validate Moscow's conditions. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Russia's demands would be evaluated and presented to Trump.
Zelenskyy said: “They're dragging out the talks and trying to get the U.S. stuck in endless, pointless discussions about fake ‘conditions' just to buy time and then try to grab more land.”
As ceasefire efforts gather steam, Ukraine's allies in Europe are working to strengthen Kyiv's hand militarily. Their aim is to enable it to keep fighting until any broad peace takes hold and also to turn the Ukrainian army into the first line of defense against any future Russian aggression.
Macron announced a new package of defense aid for Ukraine that he said was worth 2 billion euros ($2.15 billion) and will include light tanks, air defense and anti-tank missiles and other weaponry and support.
Russian drone attacks overnight wounded at least 18 people in the Kharkiv region and three people in Dnipro, officials said. Shelling in a front-line community in the Zaporizhzhia region knocked out electricity and phone coverage, regional head Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram.
Separately, the Ukrainian Army General Staff said that its attack at Engels military airfield in Russia on March 20 had destroyed 96 air-to-air cruise missiles and significant reserves of aviation fuel.
Satellite imagery taken the next day by Maxar Technologies appeared to show damage to ammunition and weapons storage at Engels, the main base for Russia's nuclear-capable strategic bombers.
Melley reported from London. Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine, Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, and Pan Pylas in London contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
The US-led NATO bloc views the Arctic as a “bridgehead” for future conflicts and is actively training troops to operate in the far north, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.
Speaking at the International Arctic Forum in Murmansk on Thursday, he stated that Russia would do its best to uphold its national interests and sovereignty in the region.
The number of Russian forces deployed in the Arctic is bound to grow to meet the growing challenges there, Putin said.
“We are, of course, concerned by the fact that NATO countries as a whole are more frequently designating the far north as a bridgehead for possible conflicts, practicing the use of troops in these conditions, including their new recruits from Finland and Sweden,” he declared.
Moscow has been “closely monitoring” the situation in the region, and has taken “an adequate response approach by increasing the combat capabilities of the armed forces and modernizing military infrastructure facilities,” the president explained.
“I would like to emphasize that Russia has never threatened anyone in the Arctic,” he said, adding that Russia will not tolerate any encroachments on its sovereignty and will “reliably protect” its national interests.
Maintaining “peace and stability” in the Arctic is the key to the long-term development of the region, in addition to “improvement of the quality of life of people and preservation of the unique natural environment,” Putin said.
“The stronger our positions are, the more significant the results will be,” he stressed.
Russia's strong posture in the Arctic gives more opportunities to “launch global international projects” there with the participation of “friendly nations,” and potentially with Western states as well. “Should they, of course, show interest in working together, and I am sure that the time for such projects will definitely come,” the president stated.
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US attorney general lauded arrest of Salvadorian man, 24, accused of leading the street gang on the east coast
The alleged leader of the MS-13 gang on the US east coast has been arrested in Virginia, Pam Bondi announced on Thursday.
The US attorney general lauded the early morning arrest of the 24-year-old man from El Salvador, who was described as one of MS-13's top three leaders in the United States, as a major victory in the Trump administration's effort to crack down on a gang known for brutal violence and extortion.
The justice department did not immediately release his name or detail the charges against him. Bondi said he was living in the US illegally, in northern Virginia, just outside of Washington DC. It was unclear whether he was facing federal criminal charges or had been taken into custody by immigration officials.
The administration promoted the arrest as part of its effort to fulfill campaign promises to quash illegal immigration and eliminate gangs. MS-13 gang, or Mara Salvatrucha, was one of eight Latin American criminal organizations declared foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration last month.
“We want to make our streets safer,” Bondi told reporters. “We want to make our schools safer. We want to make your neighborhoods safer. This guy was living in a neighborhood right around you – no longer.”
In the past decade, the US justice department has intensified its focus on MS-13, which originated as a neighborhood street gang in Los Angeles, but grew into a transnational gang based in El Salvador. It has members in Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico and thousands of members across the US with numerous branches or “cliques.”
The 2016 killings of two high school girls, who were hacked and beaten to death as they walked through their neighborhood on New York's Long Island, focused national attention on the gang. Nisa Mickens, 15, and Kayla Cuevas, 16, friends and classmates at Brentwood high school, were killed with a machete and a baseball bat by a group of young men and teenage boys who had stalked them from a car. More killings occurred in the months that followed.
The submarine, carrying 45 tourists, sank about a half-mile off the coast of Egypt. At least five Russian tourists died, including two children, the Russian embassy said.
At least five Russian tourists, including two children, were killed Thursday when a submarine sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast, according to Russian officials in the region.
The submarine was making a routine excursion to observe coral reefs, according to a statement from the Russian embassy in Egypt.
The governor of Egypt's Red Sea region, Maj. Gen. Amr Hanafy, said Thursday that the vessel was carrying 50 people: 45 passengers and five Egyptian crew members. He added that the passengers included Russians, Indians, Norwegians and Swedes.
The Russian Embassy said earlier that all of the passengers on board were Russian tourists.
Emergency crews on the coast have rescued at least 38 Russians, reports the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. Of those, 14 have been hospitalized and 24 have been returned to their hotels, according to RIA Novosti. Several Egyptians and Indians were also hospitalized, the agency reported.
The cause of the sinking is still unclear. The submarine sank about half a mile off the shore of the Egyptian resort town of Hurghada at 10 a.m. local time. The vessel, called Sindbad, was chartered by a resort of the same name.
A website for the Sindbad submarine experience boasts: “there are only 14 real recreational submarines in the world,” and Sindbad operates two of them. Trips last three hours and reach a maximum depth of about 82 feet.
Egypt is a popular tourist destination for Russians, with more than a million Russian tourists visiting the country every year over the past few years.
The Red Sea has become a focal point of heightened regional tensions amid strikes on shipping by Yemen's Houthi rebels, which have prompted an international response, including U.S. strikes on Yemen. Houthi attacks have targeted commercial shipping and Israel, not tourist vessels just off Egypt's shore.
I have spent years fighting this reign of terror in the West Bank – and Hamdan Ballal's treatment is typical of it
Imagine a group of a dozen armed men storming your village at nightfall. They assault you and your neighbours, throw stones at your house, beat you. If you try to defend yourself, or document the violence, they attack you. When the military arrive, they detain you. Some of them join in with the violence. This harrowing scene is not a story from Tsarist Russia or Jim Crow America. Last Monday, this was exactly what occurred in the Palestinian village of Susya in the occupied West Bank.
The attackers who arrived in Susya were neither Cossacks nor Klansmen but Jewish-Israeli settlers accompanied by soldiers. Indeed, when the attacks commenced, three Palestinians were seized by the Israeli military, detained, and then subjected to police interrogation. Such violent raids are far from unique in West Bank, especially in the areas of South Hebron Hills, Masafer Yatta and the Jordan river valley. Since the start of this year, the Centre for Jewish Non Violence has documented more than 40 violent settler attacks in the village of Susya alone.
Most go unnoticed by the rest of the world. But this time was different. One of the Palestinian victims was the award-winning director Hamdan Ballal, whose film, No Other Land, which covers the destruction of Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank, won best documentary at the recent Academy Awards. For hours, the military didn't officially disclose his whereabouts, and attempts to locate him failed. When the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) finally issued a statement, they absurdly labelled him and his fellow villagers terrorists.
This facade of justice, when law is nothing but an empty shell, is typical of how the Israeli occupation works. Under its veneer of legality, the most brutal savagery is legitimised and the role of criminal and victim inverted. In the past three years I have submitted numerous complaints to the Israeli Ministry of Defence and Israel's attorney general about settler violence. Nothing has ever happened. My experience is only one of many that indicates how the Israeli legal system makes a farce of justice and allows settlers to terrorise Palestinian communities with impunity.
After the attack on Gaza began in 2023, the reign of terror in the West Bank has only intensified. According to B'Tselem (the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories), settlers have forced at least 18 Palestinian communities – more than 1,000 people – to flee their homes since October 2023. The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has found that settler violence, intimidation and harassment have displaced at least 300 Palestinian households, including hundreds of children.
Benjamin Netanyahu's government hasn't just stood by passively and allowed this to happen. It has actively allocated funding and weaponry to illegal settlers. Last June, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data initiative (Acled) found that armed settlers, some of whom have formed their own quasi-military forces, had received a “considerable amount” of weapons and munitions, including thousands of pistols, M-16 semi-automatic rifles and machine guns from the Israeli military, while regional councils had coordinated with the IDF and the national security ministry to buy hundreds of additional rifles. As that report put it: “the lines between settlers and the military are increasingly blurring”, and “the difference between civilian aggressors and the Israeli state apparatus is fading even further”.
While civilian security squads are supposed to act only in self-defence, the truth remains that Israel is unwilling to tackle those vicious gangs, and that senior government ministers advocate in their favour. Only last week, Israel's security cabinet approved a plan to recognise 13 Jewish settlements in the West Bank as independent. “We continue to lead a revolution of normalisation and regulation in the settlements. Instead of hiding and apologising – we raise the flag, build and settle,” said the Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.
The atrocity that happened in Susya is only one example of the countless injustices committed under this criminal occupation. It shouldn't take an Oscar winner for international audiences to notice these acts of violence. The Palestinian people deserve safety and liberation from the occupation, and sovereignty and independence. The international community must play its part in pursuing this. In recent months, a number of governments have issued sanctions against Israeli settlers. This is a good start, but these sanctions must be far stronger if they are to have an effect.
The sanctions should include established illegal settler municipalities. Those imposed by the UK, for example, only target three illegal settler outposts and four organisations that have supported the settlers. The established municipalities, such as Shomron regional council, which oversees 35 settlements that are home to an estimated 47,200 people, are the driving force behind violent attempts to take control of more Palestinian territories. Personal sanctions against government ministers who block counter-terrorist measures against violent settler groups are also essential. The UK can play a leading role in coordinating this response, particularly given the moral depravity of Donald Trump's administration. As Washington DC cancels sanctions against violent settlers, London could present the world with a different and more righteous path.
When I arrived in Susya on Tuesday after the attack, I knew exactly what I wanted to tell its people. I said that we want to live together, Arabs and Jews, as brothers and sisters. That we are not the enemy of one another, as we struggle together for freedom. A mere day after a gang of criminal Israeli settlers terrorised this village, its villagers welcomed me, an Israeli member of the Knesset, and my message for peace. This proves that the real conflict is not between nations, but between those who seek justice and those who vow bloodshed. The government of Israel has chosen the path of bloodshed, ethnic cleansing and war. It is up to all of us – and to you – to choose a different path.
Dr Ofer Cassif is a member of the Knesset, representing the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) since 2019
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Top Republican and Democrat on Senate armed services committee urge inspector general to launch inquiry
The Republican chair and the ranking Democrat on the Senate armed services committee have written to the acting watchdog of the Department of Defense to demand an investigation into the scandal over how a senior American journalist was added to a Signal app group chat in which top government figures shared details of US airstrikes in Yemen at the weekend.
Addressing Steven Stebbins, the acting inspector general at the Pentagon, the senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the committee chair, and the Democratic senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island wrote: “On 11 March 2025, Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, was reportedly included on a group chat on the commercially available communications application called Signal, which included members of the National Security Council.”
The bipartisan letter continued: “This chat was alleged to have included classified information pertaining to sensitive military actions in Yemen. If true, this reporting raises questions as to the use of unclassified networks to discuss sensitive and classified information, as well as the sharing of such information with those who do not have proper clearance and need to know.”
The senators went on to make a list of demands including an assessment of facts and circumstances, and of “any remedial actions taken as a result”, a summary of Pentagon policies regarding such breaches of policies and processes, an assessment of whether other departments have different policies on the subject, an assessment of whether classified information was leaked through the Signal chat and “any recommendations to address potential issues identified”.
The senators also say they will schedule a briefing from Stebbins.
Stebbins holds the Pentagon inspector general role in an acting capacity because Donald Trump fired his predecessor amid a round of such terminations in January – a highly controversial move by the US president given the notionally independent status of such officials.
Mike Waltz, the national security adviser who set up the Signal chat and added Goldberg, and Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary who then shared sensitive military material including the timing of a forthcoming air strike on Houthis in Yemen, have denied wrongdoing and attacked Goldberg and the Atlantic magazine.
So far, Trump appears not to be minded to sack anyone over the scandal, the Guardian reports, and no one has offered to resign.
This despite high fury from Democrats and evident disapproval also coming from some Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Mike Rounds, a Republican senator from South Dakota, told CNN: “We recognize the seriousness of this indiscretion, and we're going to get the inspector general's report we've asked for … and that means the bottom line, we want as much information as we can get, and then we'll do our own assessment.”
He added: “But right now, I think they screwed up. I think they know they screwed up. I think they also learned their lesson, and I think the president made it very clear to them that this is a lesson they don't want to forget.”
The former CIA director and defense secretary Leon Panetta told CNN on Thursday morning that the use of Signal and the inclusion of a journalist in the group was a “serious breach” of national security and that those most responsible should be “punished and fired”. He questioned whether overseas allies would now feel able to trust the US with sharing sensitive information.
Friendly countries around the globe join China in insisting import taxes are harmful to all, including Washington
Governments from Tokyo to Berlin and Ottawa to Paris have voiced sharp criticism of Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on car imports, with several of the US's staunchest long-term allies threatening retaliatory action.
Trump announced on Wednesday that he would impose a 25% tariff on cars and car parts shipped to the US from 3 April in a move experts have predicted is likely to depress production, drive up prices and fuel a global trade war.
The US imported almost $475bn (£367bn) worth of cars last year, mostly from Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Canada and Germany. European carmakers alone sold more than 750,000 vehicles to American drivers.
France's president, Emmanuel Macron, said on Thursday he had told his US counterpart that tariffs were not a good idea. They “disrupt value chains, create an inflationary effect and destroy jobs. So it's not good for the US or European economies,” he said.
Paris would work with the European Commission on a response intended to get Trump to reconsider, he said. Officials in Berlin also stressed that the commission would defend free trade as the foundation of the EU's prosperity.
Germany's chancellor, Olaf Scholz, bluntly described Trump's decision as wrong, and said Washington appeared to have “chosen a path at whose end lie only losers, since tariffs and isolation hurt prosperity, for everyone”.
France's finance minister, Eric Lombard, called the US president's plan “very bad news” and said the EU would be forced to raise its own tariffs. His German counterpart, Robert Habeck, promised a “firm EU response”. “We will not take this lying down,” he said.
Poland's prime minister, Donald Tusk, said Europe would approach the US with common sense but “not on our knees”. Good transatlantic relations are “a strategic matter” and must survive more than one prime minister and one president, he said.
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, described the move as “bad for businesses, worse for consumers” because “tariffs are taxes”. She said the bloc would continue to seek negotiated solutions while protecting its economic interests.
The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, said the tariffs were “very concerning” and that his government would be “pragmatic and clear-eyed” in response. The UK “does not want a trade war, but it's important we keep all options on the table”, he said.
His Canadian counterpart, Mark Carney, said on social media: “We will get through this crisis, and we will build a stronger, more resilient economy.”
Carney later told a press conference that his administration would wait until next week to respond to the new US threat of tariffs, and that nothing was off the table regarding possible countermeasures.
He would, he added, speak to provincial premiers and business leaders on Friday to discuss a coordinated response.
“It doesn't make sense when there's a series of US initiatives that are going to come in relatively rapid succession to respond to each of them. We're going to know a lot more in a week, and we will respond then,” he said.
One option for Canada is to impose excise duties on exports of oil, potash and other commodities. “Nothing is off the table to defend our workers and our country,” said Carney, who added that the old economic and security relationship between Canada and the US was over.
South Korea said it would put in place a full emergency response to Trump's proposed measures by April.
China's foreign ministry said the US approach violated World Trade Organization rules and was “not conducive to solving its own problems”. Its spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, said: “No country's development and prosperity are achieved by imposing tariffs.”
The Japanese prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, said Tokyo was putting “all options on the table”. Japan “makes the largest amount of investment to the US, so we wonder if it makes sense for [Washington] to apply uniform tariffs to all countries”, he said.
Reuters and Agence-France Presse contributed to this report
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A massive controversy has erupted over the content of a course on the Hindu religion offered by the University of Houston. An Indian-American student and activist has accused the university of being "Hinduphobic" and "distorting India's political landscape".
According to an India Today report, the university has said it is reviewing the concerns raised by the student named Vasant Bhatt.
HT cannot independently verify this information.
The University of Houston's Lived Hindu Religion course is offered to the students online, with video lectures delivered by Professor Aaron Michael Ullrey weekly.
Bhatt, a political science major at the university, has lodged a complain before the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences under which this course is being offered.
According to the student, Professor Ullrey reportedly said that Hinduism was not an “ancient, lived tradition”, but a “political tool” weaponised by “Hindu nationalists, and a system of oppression against minorities.”
According to the report, Bhatt shared a quote from the syllabus that stated that the word ‘Hindu' is recent and not found in scriptures.
“Hindutva, or 'Hindu-ness', is a term that Hindu nationalists, those who believe Hinduism should be the official religion of India, use to designate their religion and denigrate others, namely Islam,” Bhatt quoted the syllabus according to the report.
The development comes a day after India rejected the latest report by the the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), calling the findings as “biased and politically motivated assessments.”
ALSO READ: US religious freedom panel recommends sanctions against India's RAW over alleged assassination plots: Report
“We have seen the recently released 2025 Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which once again continues its pattern of issuing biased and politically motivated assessments. The USCIRF's persistent attempts to misrepresent isolated incidents and cast aspersions on India's vibrant multicultural society reflect a deliberate agenda rather than a genuine concern for religious freedom,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was quoted by ANI as saying on Wednesday.
Chancellor says UK not planning retaliatory tariffs on US ‘at the moment' while PM calls move ‘very concerning'
Rachel Reeves has said the UK is not immediately planning retaliatory tariffs on the US after Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on all car imports, sending shares in carmakers around the world sharply lower.
“We are not at the moment in a position where we want to do anything to escalate these trade wars,” the UK chancellor told Sky News when asked if Britain would impose retaliatory tariffs against the US. “Trade wars are no good for anyone.”
An escalation of tariffs would be bad for Britain “but it would be bad for the US as well, and that's why we are working intensely these next few days to try to secure a good deal for Britain”, Reeves said in a BBC interview. “We don't want to get into a trade war.”
Trump said in the Oval Office that the tariffs “start off with a 2.5% base, which is what we're at, and go to 25%”.
Speaking to reporters in Paris, Keir Starmer called the latest US tariffs “very concerning”.
The new levies on cars and light trucks will take effect on 3 April, a day after Trump plans to announce reciprocal tariffs aimed at the countries responsible for the bulk of the US trade deficit.
Shares in US carmakers fell in after-hours trading after Trump's announcement, with General Motors down by 6.2% and Ford 4.7% lower.
Cars are the UK's biggest goods export to the US, with £6.4bn in sales in 2023, led by manufacturers such as Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover.
Aston Martin was the top faller on the FTSE 100 index in London on Thursday morning, with the shares falling 6% to hit a record low of 67p. The FTSE 100 fell more than 50 points.
Carmakers dragged European shares to a two-week low. Volkswagen lost 3.6% – the company is the most exposed to tariffs among German carmakers because of its large supply base in Mexico and lack of US production for its Audi and Porsche brands.
The Dax benchmark index for Germany, which is among the biggest suppliers of cars and car parts to the US, fell by 1.6%.
The Chrysler parent, Stellantis, slumped by 6.4%, Mercedes-Benz lost 5.5%, BMW fell by 3.9% and Porsche slid by 4.2%, while Volvo Cars and the car parts maker Continental declined by about 2.5% each.
It was a similar picture in Asia. In Japan, shares in Toyota Motor lost 2%, Honda Motor fell by 2.5%, while Nissan Motor was down by 1.7%, which helped to pull the Nikkei index down 0.6%. In South Korea, Hyundai Motor's shares fell by 4.3%, only days after it tried to placate Trump by announcing a $21bn investment in the US.
The UK's Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders called for more government support after reporting another fall in output. Mike Hawes, its chief executive, said: “These are worrying times for UK vehicle makers with car production falling for 12 months in a row, rising trade tensions and weak demand.”
He urged the UK and US governments to “come together immediately and strike a deal that works for all”.
Reeves also said the government could review an electric vehicle incentive scheme that had given subsidies to Tesla, which is owned by Trump's senior adviser Elon Musk. Canada recently froze rebate payments to Tesla.
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As a company that only sells EVs, it can sell surplus credits to car firms that are struggling to meet EV sales targets set by the government.
“We are looking at the zero-emission vehicle mandate, which is why some of … that money goes to Tesla, and looking at how we can better support the car manufacturing industry in the UK,” Reeves said.
Asked if Britain could save carmakers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin from tariffs, she said: “That's what we're working on. We've got a few more days left of those negotiations before these tariffs are due to come in.”
Starmer, who was in Paris for a summit on Ukraine, insisted all options are open.
“Rather than jumping into a trade war, it is better, pragmatically, to come to an agreed way forward on this, if we can,” he said. “But look, we always have to put the national interest first, and that's why also being clear that as we engage in those negotiations, those discussions, we will keep all options on the table.
“The industry doesn't want [a] trade war, but it's important we keep all options on the table.”
Trump's announcement drew swift condemnation from the EU and from the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, who called it a “direct attack” on Canadian workers. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, described the move as “bad for businesses, worse for consumers”.
The new tariffs could increase the cost of a US vehicle by thousands of dollars, given the intertwined manufacturing operations across Canada, Mexico and the US.
Germany's economy minister, Robert Habeck, called for the EU to give a firm response to Trump: “It needs to be clear that we will not take this lying down.”
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Boats search for survivors after a tourist submarine sank in the popular Egyptian Red Sea destination of Hurghada, Egypt, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo)
A tourist watches search operations in the area where a tourist submarine sank in the popular Egyptian Red Sea destination of Hurghada, Egypt, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo)
A police vehicle stand alert in front of of the Egyptian hospital in Hurghada, where survivors receive medical care after a tourist submarine sank in the popular Egyptian Red Sea destination of Hurghada, Egypt, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo)
A tourist watches search operations in the area where a tourist submarine sank in the popular Egyptian Red Sea destination of Hurghada, Egypt, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo)
Tourists wait on the beach after a tourist submarine sank in the popular Egyptian Red Sea destination of Hurghada, Egypt, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo)
Tourists walk on the Giftun Island beach as the sun sets over the Red Sea in Hurghada, Egypt, Thursday Aug. 20, 2015. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
CAIRO (AP) — A recreational submarine taking 45 tourists on an underwater cruise of coral reefs in the Red Sea sank off the Egyptian resort town of Hurghada on Thursday, leaving six Russians dead, the provincial governor said. The remaining tourists, more than two dozen of whom were injured, were rescued, he said.
The cause of the sinking was not immediately known. The Russian consulate said it took place about 1,000 meters (0.6 miles) offshore.
The submarine was carrying 45 tourists and five Egyptian crewmembers when it sank, Red Sea governor Maj. Gen. Amr Hanafi, said in a statement, adding that rescue teams were quickly sent.
He said all six dead were Russians, and that 29 of the 39 tourists rescued were injured and taken to hospitals. No one was still missing from the vessel, he said.
Hurghada is a major destination for divers, snorkelers and other tourists drawn by the Red Sea's extensive coral reefs.
The submarine, named “Sindbad,” runs tours lasting about 40 minutes underwater, cruising at about 20-25 meters (65-80 feet) underwater with panoramic windows on the bottom to give views of the marine life, according to the website of the company that the Russian consulate identified as running the vessel.
The company did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.
Russia's Tass news agency earlier said the Russian dead included at least two children, citing the country's consul in Hurghada. The consulate had said all 45 tourists on board were Russian, but the Egyptian governor said they also included Indian, Norwegian and Swedish citizens.
Footage posted by the governor's office showed Hanafy meeting survivors at the hospital, including two Egyptian crewmembers. One Russian tourist had a small bandage on his head. A family with two young daughters smiled and told him they were OK. An Indian man asked Hanafy to see his daughter, who remains in critical condition, doctors can be heard explaining.
In November, a tourist yacht sank in the Red Sea after warnings of rough waters, Egyptian officials said. At least four people drowned, while 33 were rescued.
Tourism is an important sector of Egypt's economy but many tourist companies have stopped or limited traveling on the Red Sea due to the dangers from conflicts in the region.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Many importers halt shipments on chance White House makes good on threat of 200% markup on European goods
As the threat of exorbitant US tariffs on European alcohol imports looms, a warehouse in the French port city of Le Havre awaits a delivery of more than 1,000 cases of wine from a dozen boutique wineries across the country.
Under normal circumstances, Randall Bush, the founder of Loci Wine in Chicago, would have already arranged with his European partners to gather these wines in Le Havre, the last stop before they are loaded into containers and shipped across the Atlantic. But these wines won't be arriving stateside anytime soon.
After the Trump administration threatened on 13 March to impose 200% tariffs on alcoholic products from Europe, many US importers like Bush have halted all outgoing shipments from Europe.
The 1,100 cases of his wine, from family-owned producers in his company's modest European portfolio, have already been paid for. But due to the tariff threat, they will remain stranded at their respective domaines at least until 2 April when the Trump administration is expected to reveal a “reciprocal tariff number” for each of its global trading partners.
The newfound uncertainty around tariffs has many restaurant owners, beverage directors, liquor distributors and wine importers on edge in recent weeks. The only certainty among the trade professionals interviewed is that a 200% tariff would be catastrophic for the wine and spirits industry globally. And while most believe the actual number will end up much lower, everyone agrees that even modest tariffs would send shock waves throughout the entire food and beverage ecosystem, weakening distribution channels and further driving up already astronomical prices.
“What scares me is how these hypothetical tariffs would affect [the many] European-themed restaurants like French bistros, Italian trattorias and German beer halls,” said Richard Hanauer, wine director and partner with Lettuce Entertain You. The Chicago-based group owns, manages and licenses more than 130 restaurants and 60 brands in a dozen different states and Washington DC. Hanauer predicts that concept-driven eateries that rely on European products would have to source wine and spirits from other regions because “the consumer is not going to accept the markup”.
Even though Trump has been known to walk back dubious claims about tariffs before, the wine and spirits industry is taking this recent threat very seriously. Most American importers, such as Loci's Bush, are adhering to the US Wine Trade Alliance's (USWTA) guidance issued in mid-March warning its members to cease wine shipments from Europe. Without guarantees that any potential tariffs would come with a notice period or exemptions for wines shipped prior to their announcement, the organization had no choice but to advise its constituents to halt all EU wine shipments.
“Once the wine is on the water, we have no power,” said Bush. “We're billed by our shippers as soon as the wine arrives.”
Tariffs are import taxes incurred by the importer and paid as a percentage of the value of the freight at the point of entry upon delivery. Since shipments from Europe can often take up to six to eight weeks to arrive, firms like Loci face the predicament of not knowing how much they will owe to take delivery of their products when they reach US ports.
“We've had many US importers tell us that even a 50% unplanned tariff could bankrupt their businesses, so we felt we had no choice,” said Benjamin Aneff, president of the USWTA, of the organization's injunction. “It's a sad situation. These are mostly small, family-owned businesses.”
Europe's wineries can also ill afford to be dragged into a trade war with the United States. According to the International Trade Center, the US comprises almost 20% of the EU's total wine exports, accounting for a total of $14.1bn (€13.1bn) of exported beverage, spirit and vinegar products from the EU in 2024.
Many independent importers still recall Trump levying $7.5bn of tariffs on exports from the EU during his first presidency, which included 25% duties on Scotch whiskey, Italian cheeses, certain French wines and other goods. These retaliatory measures, which took effect in October 2019, resulted from a years-long trade dispute between the US and the EU over airline subsidies.
“We were hit with duties in late 2019. But we negotiated with a lot of our suppliers, so we were able to stave off any significant price increases,” said André Tamers, the founder of De Maison Selections, a fine-wine importer with a large portfolio of French and Spanish wines and spirits. But because the Covid-19 pandemic hit shortly thereafter, Tamers admitted, it was difficult to gauge the impact of the first round of Trump tariffs. The Biden administration eventually rescinded the measures in June 2021.
To pre-empt any potentially disastrous news on the tariff front, many restaurants and bars are ramping up inventory purchases to the extent that their budgets allow. “We made some large commitments for rosé season,” said Grant Reynolds, co-founder of Parcelle, which has an online wine shop as well as two bars and a bricks-and-mortar retail outlet in Manhattan. “To whatever we can reasonably afford, we've decided to secure those commitments sooner than later so that we can better weather the storm.”
The same is true for many cocktail-focused bars around the country, which are looking to shore up supplies of popular spirits that could end up a victim of tariffs, including allocated scotches and rare cognacs.
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“If it becomes very apparent that these tariffs are going to go live, we could be looking at dropping close to $100,000 on inventory just to insulate ourselves because it will save us so much money over the next six months,” said Deke Dunne, beverage director of Washington DC's award-winning cocktail bar Allegory. “It will have to be a game-time decision, though, because the last thing I want to do is to buy up a lot of inventory I don't need.” Hanauer said that he's seen some vendors offering wine buyers heavy discounts and incentives to stockpile cases of European products to prepare for the possibility of onerous tariffs.
One bar owner feeling a little less panic compared with his industry counterparts is Fred Beebe, co-owner of Post Haste, a sustainability-minded cocktail bar in Philadelphia. Since it opened in 2023, Post Haste eschews imported spirits of any kind; the bar is stocked exclusively with US products from east of the Mississippi River. “We always thought it would be advantageous to have our producers close to us for environmental reasons and to support the local economy,” said Beebe, “but we didn't necessarily think that it would also benefit from fluctuations in distribution or global economic policy.”
Instead of serving popular European liquor brands such as Grey Goose vodka or Hendrick's gin, the bar highlights local craft distillers such as Maggie's Farm in Pittsburgh, which produces a domestic rum made from Louisiana sugar cane. After the recent tariff threats, Beebe says, the decision to rely on local products has turned out to be fortuitous. “I feel really bad for anyone who is running an agave-based program, a tequila or mezcal bar,” said Beebe. “They must be worried constantly about whether the price of all of their products are going to go up by 25% to 50%.”
On the importing side, there is agreement that this is an inopportune moment for the wine industry to face new headwinds. Wine consumption has steadily declined in the United States in recent years as gen Z and millennial consumers are turning to cannabis, hard seltzers and spirits such as tequila, or simply embracing sobriety in greater numbers.
“Unfortunately, the reality is that wine consumption was already down before this compared to what it was five years ago,” said Reynolds. “This obviously doesn't help that. So, with more tariffs, you would start to see a greater shift of behaviors away from drinking wine.”
But despite slumping sales and the impending tariff threats, niche importers like Tamers say they have little choice but to stay the course. “You leave yourself vulnerable, but if you don't buy wine, then you don't have any wine to sell. So, it's a double-edged sword,” he said. “Our customers are still asking for these products, so there's not much else we can do.”
Aneff hopes that commonsense negotiations will lead to both parties divorcing alcohol tariffs from other trade disputes over aluminum, steel and digital services.
“I do have some hope for a potential sectoral agreement on wine, and perhaps spirits, which would benefit domestic producers and huge numbers of small businesses on both sides of the Atlantic,” he said. “I can't think of anything that would bring more joy to people's glasses than ensuring free trade on wine.”
When the president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, sat down for an exclusive interview with me at The Jerusalem Post's Jerusalem offices this past Wednesday, he did so at his own request. His representatives reached out to us ahead of his trip to Israel, seeking a platform to speak directly to Israelis and to the wider Jewish world.His stated purpose: to raise awareness about rising antisemitism and to underscore what he describes as a historic bond between the Serbian and Jewish peoples. But less than 24 hours later, the headlines were no longer about antisemitism. A court in Sarajevo issued an international arrest warrant for Dodik, accusing him of undermining Bosnia and Herzegovina's constitutional order and defying rulings by the Office of the High Representative (OHR), the international body overseeing the fragile peace in the country. The court also issued a warrant for the speaker of the Serb Republic's parliament, Nenad Stevandic. AdvertisementThe timing raised eyebrows. Dodik had already arrived in Israel when the announcement was made. He left the Jerusalem conference on antisemitism abruptly after just one hour, reportedly after Israeli officials informed him that his presence was diplomatically problematic. “I came to Israel to speak against antisemitism,” he told me. “Instead, I found myself unwelcome — a guest made to feel like an intruder.”To understand why this matters and why the Post agreed to conduct this interview, it's essential to look at the broader picture. Dodik is no ordinary regional politician. As the president of Republika Srpska — the Serb-majority autonomous entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina — he has become a central and polarizing figure in Balkan politics. Once seen as a moderate reformer, Dodik has, over the past decade, embraced a fiercely nationalist and pro-Russian stance.He has repeatedly threatened to secede from Bosnia and has worked to weaken the central government in Sarajevo, leading critics to accuse him of pushing the country toward renewed ethnic division — or worse. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now His geopolitical alliances are equally provocative. He maintains a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has frequently criticized the European Union and the United States for what he calls their “interventionist” policies in the Balkans. Advertisement“The West wants to impose liberal values that have no connection to our history or identity,” he told me. “They tried their solution for 30 years, and it failed. Now it's time to let us — the Serbs — decide our future.”Dodik's support for Trump-era policies has also come at a cost. He blames his inclusion on the US sanctions list in 2017 on his vocal endorsement of then-candidate Donald Trump. “I was days away from attending Trump's inauguration,” he said. “Two days before my flight, the Obama-Biden administration sanctioned me. That was political punishment.” Since then, Dodik has positioned himself as an unapologetic opponent of the liberal international order — a stance that resonates with some far-right movements in Europe and beyond. But it has also earned him increasing isolation.Why Israel? Why now?So why did he come to Israel — and why did he want to speak about antisemitism?“Serbs and Jews have suffered together,” he said. “We understand what it means to be targeted, to have your history rewritten, to be blamed for everything. That is what is happening to us in Bosnia, just as it's happening to Israel in the world.”He insisted that Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, has become a hub of Islamist influence, accusing Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) leaders of maintaining ties with Iran and enabling the spread of radical ideologies. “During the civil war, the largest embassy in Sarajevo was Iran's — 480 people, most of them spies,” he claimed. “They trained mujahideen fighters in Bosnia, some of whom later participated in global terror, including 9/11.”He argued that “antisemitism is allowed to thrive” in parts of Bosnia and said that in Sarajevo, “they project Palestinian flags onto buildings while in Banja Luka, we raise the Israeli flag.”Some of Dodik's claims are rooted in truth. During the Bosnian War in the 1990s, foreign fighters, including Iranian-backed mujahideen, were present on the Bosniak side. Today, some Western officials are concerned about Iranian and Turkish influence in Bosnia's Muslim-majority areas — particularly in the context of rising antisemitism in Europe.But Dodik also treads into dangerous historical revisionism. He has repeatedly denied the Srebrenica genocide, despite rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. In this interview, he called the genocide designation a “political fabrication.”“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
His stated purpose: to raise awareness about rising antisemitism and to underscore what he describes as a historic bond between the Serbian and Jewish peoples. But less than 24 hours later, the headlines were no longer about antisemitism. A court in Sarajevo issued an international arrest warrant for Dodik, accusing him of undermining Bosnia and Herzegovina's constitutional order and defying rulings by the Office of the High Representative (OHR), the international body overseeing the fragile peace in the country. The court also issued a warrant for the speaker of the Serb Republic's parliament, Nenad Stevandic. AdvertisementThe timing raised eyebrows. Dodik had already arrived in Israel when the announcement was made. He left the Jerusalem conference on antisemitism abruptly after just one hour, reportedly after Israeli officials informed him that his presence was diplomatically problematic. “I came to Israel to speak against antisemitism,” he told me. “Instead, I found myself unwelcome — a guest made to feel like an intruder.”To understand why this matters and why the Post agreed to conduct this interview, it's essential to look at the broader picture. Dodik is no ordinary regional politician. As the president of Republika Srpska — the Serb-majority autonomous entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina — he has become a central and polarizing figure in Balkan politics. Once seen as a moderate reformer, Dodik has, over the past decade, embraced a fiercely nationalist and pro-Russian stance.He has repeatedly threatened to secede from Bosnia and has worked to weaken the central government in Sarajevo, leading critics to accuse him of pushing the country toward renewed ethnic division — or worse. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now His geopolitical alliances are equally provocative. He maintains a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has frequently criticized the European Union and the United States for what he calls their “interventionist” policies in the Balkans. Advertisement“The West wants to impose liberal values that have no connection to our history or identity,” he told me. “They tried their solution for 30 years, and it failed. Now it's time to let us — the Serbs — decide our future.”Dodik's support for Trump-era policies has also come at a cost. He blames his inclusion on the US sanctions list in 2017 on his vocal endorsement of then-candidate Donald Trump. “I was days away from attending Trump's inauguration,” he said. “Two days before my flight, the Obama-Biden administration sanctioned me. That was political punishment.” Since then, Dodik has positioned himself as an unapologetic opponent of the liberal international order — a stance that resonates with some far-right movements in Europe and beyond. But it has also earned him increasing isolation.Why Israel? Why now?So why did he come to Israel — and why did he want to speak about antisemitism?“Serbs and Jews have suffered together,” he said. “We understand what it means to be targeted, to have your history rewritten, to be blamed for everything. That is what is happening to us in Bosnia, just as it's happening to Israel in the world.”He insisted that Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, has become a hub of Islamist influence, accusing Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) leaders of maintaining ties with Iran and enabling the spread of radical ideologies. “During the civil war, the largest embassy in Sarajevo was Iran's — 480 people, most of them spies,” he claimed. “They trained mujahideen fighters in Bosnia, some of whom later participated in global terror, including 9/11.”He argued that “antisemitism is allowed to thrive” in parts of Bosnia and said that in Sarajevo, “they project Palestinian flags onto buildings while in Banja Luka, we raise the Israeli flag.”Some of Dodik's claims are rooted in truth. During the Bosnian War in the 1990s, foreign fighters, including Iranian-backed mujahideen, were present on the Bosniak side. Today, some Western officials are concerned about Iranian and Turkish influence in Bosnia's Muslim-majority areas — particularly in the context of rising antisemitism in Europe.But Dodik also treads into dangerous historical revisionism. He has repeatedly denied the Srebrenica genocide, despite rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. In this interview, he called the genocide designation a “political fabrication.”“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
But less than 24 hours later, the headlines were no longer about antisemitism. A court in Sarajevo issued an international arrest warrant for Dodik, accusing him of undermining Bosnia and Herzegovina's constitutional order and defying rulings by the Office of the High Representative (OHR), the international body overseeing the fragile peace in the country. The court also issued a warrant for the speaker of the Serb Republic's parliament, Nenad Stevandic. AdvertisementThe timing raised eyebrows. Dodik had already arrived in Israel when the announcement was made. He left the Jerusalem conference on antisemitism abruptly after just one hour, reportedly after Israeli officials informed him that his presence was diplomatically problematic. “I came to Israel to speak against antisemitism,” he told me. “Instead, I found myself unwelcome — a guest made to feel like an intruder.”To understand why this matters and why the Post agreed to conduct this interview, it's essential to look at the broader picture. Dodik is no ordinary regional politician. As the president of Republika Srpska — the Serb-majority autonomous entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina — he has become a central and polarizing figure in Balkan politics. Once seen as a moderate reformer, Dodik has, over the past decade, embraced a fiercely nationalist and pro-Russian stance.He has repeatedly threatened to secede from Bosnia and has worked to weaken the central government in Sarajevo, leading critics to accuse him of pushing the country toward renewed ethnic division — or worse. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now His geopolitical alliances are equally provocative. He maintains a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has frequently criticized the European Union and the United States for what he calls their “interventionist” policies in the Balkans. Advertisement“The West wants to impose liberal values that have no connection to our history or identity,” he told me. “They tried their solution for 30 years, and it failed. Now it's time to let us — the Serbs — decide our future.”Dodik's support for Trump-era policies has also come at a cost. He blames his inclusion on the US sanctions list in 2017 on his vocal endorsement of then-candidate Donald Trump. “I was days away from attending Trump's inauguration,” he said. “Two days before my flight, the Obama-Biden administration sanctioned me. That was political punishment.” Since then, Dodik has positioned himself as an unapologetic opponent of the liberal international order — a stance that resonates with some far-right movements in Europe and beyond. But it has also earned him increasing isolation.Why Israel? Why now?So why did he come to Israel — and why did he want to speak about antisemitism?“Serbs and Jews have suffered together,” he said. “We understand what it means to be targeted, to have your history rewritten, to be blamed for everything. That is what is happening to us in Bosnia, just as it's happening to Israel in the world.”He insisted that Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, has become a hub of Islamist influence, accusing Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) leaders of maintaining ties with Iran and enabling the spread of radical ideologies. “During the civil war, the largest embassy in Sarajevo was Iran's — 480 people, most of them spies,” he claimed. “They trained mujahideen fighters in Bosnia, some of whom later participated in global terror, including 9/11.”He argued that “antisemitism is allowed to thrive” in parts of Bosnia and said that in Sarajevo, “they project Palestinian flags onto buildings while in Banja Luka, we raise the Israeli flag.”Some of Dodik's claims are rooted in truth. During the Bosnian War in the 1990s, foreign fighters, including Iranian-backed mujahideen, were present on the Bosniak side. Today, some Western officials are concerned about Iranian and Turkish influence in Bosnia's Muslim-majority areas — particularly in the context of rising antisemitism in Europe.But Dodik also treads into dangerous historical revisionism. He has repeatedly denied the Srebrenica genocide, despite rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. In this interview, he called the genocide designation a “political fabrication.”“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
AdvertisementThe timing raised eyebrows. Dodik had already arrived in Israel when the announcement was made. He left the Jerusalem conference on antisemitism abruptly after just one hour, reportedly after Israeli officials informed him that his presence was diplomatically problematic. “I came to Israel to speak against antisemitism,” he told me. “Instead, I found myself unwelcome — a guest made to feel like an intruder.”To understand why this matters and why the Post agreed to conduct this interview, it's essential to look at the broader picture. Dodik is no ordinary regional politician. As the president of Republika Srpska — the Serb-majority autonomous entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina — he has become a central and polarizing figure in Balkan politics. Once seen as a moderate reformer, Dodik has, over the past decade, embraced a fiercely nationalist and pro-Russian stance.He has repeatedly threatened to secede from Bosnia and has worked to weaken the central government in Sarajevo, leading critics to accuse him of pushing the country toward renewed ethnic division — or worse. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now His geopolitical alliances are equally provocative. He maintains a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has frequently criticized the European Union and the United States for what he calls their “interventionist” policies in the Balkans. Advertisement“The West wants to impose liberal values that have no connection to our history or identity,” he told me. “They tried their solution for 30 years, and it failed. Now it's time to let us — the Serbs — decide our future.”Dodik's support for Trump-era policies has also come at a cost. He blames his inclusion on the US sanctions list in 2017 on his vocal endorsement of then-candidate Donald Trump. “I was days away from attending Trump's inauguration,” he said. “Two days before my flight, the Obama-Biden administration sanctioned me. That was political punishment.” Since then, Dodik has positioned himself as an unapologetic opponent of the liberal international order — a stance that resonates with some far-right movements in Europe and beyond. But it has also earned him increasing isolation.Why Israel? Why now?So why did he come to Israel — and why did he want to speak about antisemitism?“Serbs and Jews have suffered together,” he said. “We understand what it means to be targeted, to have your history rewritten, to be blamed for everything. That is what is happening to us in Bosnia, just as it's happening to Israel in the world.”He insisted that Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, has become a hub of Islamist influence, accusing Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) leaders of maintaining ties with Iran and enabling the spread of radical ideologies. “During the civil war, the largest embassy in Sarajevo was Iran's — 480 people, most of them spies,” he claimed. “They trained mujahideen fighters in Bosnia, some of whom later participated in global terror, including 9/11.”He argued that “antisemitism is allowed to thrive” in parts of Bosnia and said that in Sarajevo, “they project Palestinian flags onto buildings while in Banja Luka, we raise the Israeli flag.”Some of Dodik's claims are rooted in truth. During the Bosnian War in the 1990s, foreign fighters, including Iranian-backed mujahideen, were present on the Bosniak side. Today, some Western officials are concerned about Iranian and Turkish influence in Bosnia's Muslim-majority areas — particularly in the context of rising antisemitism in Europe.But Dodik also treads into dangerous historical revisionism. He has repeatedly denied the Srebrenica genocide, despite rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. In this interview, he called the genocide designation a “political fabrication.”“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
The timing raised eyebrows. Dodik had already arrived in Israel when the announcement was made. He left the Jerusalem conference on antisemitism abruptly after just one hour, reportedly after Israeli officials informed him that his presence was diplomatically problematic. “I came to Israel to speak against antisemitism,” he told me. “Instead, I found myself unwelcome — a guest made to feel like an intruder.”To understand why this matters and why the Post agreed to conduct this interview, it's essential to look at the broader picture. Dodik is no ordinary regional politician. As the president of Republika Srpska — the Serb-majority autonomous entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina — he has become a central and polarizing figure in Balkan politics. Once seen as a moderate reformer, Dodik has, over the past decade, embraced a fiercely nationalist and pro-Russian stance.He has repeatedly threatened to secede from Bosnia and has worked to weaken the central government in Sarajevo, leading critics to accuse him of pushing the country toward renewed ethnic division — or worse. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now His geopolitical alliances are equally provocative. He maintains a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has frequently criticized the European Union and the United States for what he calls their “interventionist” policies in the Balkans. Advertisement“The West wants to impose liberal values that have no connection to our history or identity,” he told me. “They tried their solution for 30 years, and it failed. Now it's time to let us — the Serbs — decide our future.”Dodik's support for Trump-era policies has also come at a cost. He blames his inclusion on the US sanctions list in 2017 on his vocal endorsement of then-candidate Donald Trump. “I was days away from attending Trump's inauguration,” he said. “Two days before my flight, the Obama-Biden administration sanctioned me. That was political punishment.” Since then, Dodik has positioned himself as an unapologetic opponent of the liberal international order — a stance that resonates with some far-right movements in Europe and beyond. But it has also earned him increasing isolation.Why Israel? Why now?So why did he come to Israel — and why did he want to speak about antisemitism?“Serbs and Jews have suffered together,” he said. “We understand what it means to be targeted, to have your history rewritten, to be blamed for everything. That is what is happening to us in Bosnia, just as it's happening to Israel in the world.”He insisted that Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, has become a hub of Islamist influence, accusing Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) leaders of maintaining ties with Iran and enabling the spread of radical ideologies. “During the civil war, the largest embassy in Sarajevo was Iran's — 480 people, most of them spies,” he claimed. “They trained mujahideen fighters in Bosnia, some of whom later participated in global terror, including 9/11.”He argued that “antisemitism is allowed to thrive” in parts of Bosnia and said that in Sarajevo, “they project Palestinian flags onto buildings while in Banja Luka, we raise the Israeli flag.”Some of Dodik's claims are rooted in truth. During the Bosnian War in the 1990s, foreign fighters, including Iranian-backed mujahideen, were present on the Bosniak side. Today, some Western officials are concerned about Iranian and Turkish influence in Bosnia's Muslim-majority areas — particularly in the context of rising antisemitism in Europe.But Dodik also treads into dangerous historical revisionism. He has repeatedly denied the Srebrenica genocide, despite rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. In this interview, he called the genocide designation a “political fabrication.”“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
To understand why this matters and why the Post agreed to conduct this interview, it's essential to look at the broader picture. Dodik is no ordinary regional politician. As the president of Republika Srpska — the Serb-majority autonomous entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina — he has become a central and polarizing figure in Balkan politics. Once seen as a moderate reformer, Dodik has, over the past decade, embraced a fiercely nationalist and pro-Russian stance.He has repeatedly threatened to secede from Bosnia and has worked to weaken the central government in Sarajevo, leading critics to accuse him of pushing the country toward renewed ethnic division — or worse. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now His geopolitical alliances are equally provocative. He maintains a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has frequently criticized the European Union and the United States for what he calls their “interventionist” policies in the Balkans. Advertisement“The West wants to impose liberal values that have no connection to our history or identity,” he told me. “They tried their solution for 30 years, and it failed. Now it's time to let us — the Serbs — decide our future.”Dodik's support for Trump-era policies has also come at a cost. He blames his inclusion on the US sanctions list in 2017 on his vocal endorsement of then-candidate Donald Trump. “I was days away from attending Trump's inauguration,” he said. “Two days before my flight, the Obama-Biden administration sanctioned me. That was political punishment.” Since then, Dodik has positioned himself as an unapologetic opponent of the liberal international order — a stance that resonates with some far-right movements in Europe and beyond. But it has also earned him increasing isolation.Why Israel? Why now?So why did he come to Israel — and why did he want to speak about antisemitism?“Serbs and Jews have suffered together,” he said. “We understand what it means to be targeted, to have your history rewritten, to be blamed for everything. That is what is happening to us in Bosnia, just as it's happening to Israel in the world.”He insisted that Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, has become a hub of Islamist influence, accusing Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) leaders of maintaining ties with Iran and enabling the spread of radical ideologies. “During the civil war, the largest embassy in Sarajevo was Iran's — 480 people, most of them spies,” he claimed. “They trained mujahideen fighters in Bosnia, some of whom later participated in global terror, including 9/11.”He argued that “antisemitism is allowed to thrive” in parts of Bosnia and said that in Sarajevo, “they project Palestinian flags onto buildings while in Banja Luka, we raise the Israeli flag.”Some of Dodik's claims are rooted in truth. During the Bosnian War in the 1990s, foreign fighters, including Iranian-backed mujahideen, were present on the Bosniak side. Today, some Western officials are concerned about Iranian and Turkish influence in Bosnia's Muslim-majority areas — particularly in the context of rising antisemitism in Europe.But Dodik also treads into dangerous historical revisionism. He has repeatedly denied the Srebrenica genocide, despite rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. In this interview, he called the genocide designation a “political fabrication.”“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
Dodik is no ordinary regional politician. As the president of Republika Srpska — the Serb-majority autonomous entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina — he has become a central and polarizing figure in Balkan politics. Once seen as a moderate reformer, Dodik has, over the past decade, embraced a fiercely nationalist and pro-Russian stance.He has repeatedly threatened to secede from Bosnia and has worked to weaken the central government in Sarajevo, leading critics to accuse him of pushing the country toward renewed ethnic division — or worse. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now His geopolitical alliances are equally provocative. He maintains a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has frequently criticized the European Union and the United States for what he calls their “interventionist” policies in the Balkans. Advertisement“The West wants to impose liberal values that have no connection to our history or identity,” he told me. “They tried their solution for 30 years, and it failed. Now it's time to let us — the Serbs — decide our future.”Dodik's support for Trump-era policies has also come at a cost. He blames his inclusion on the US sanctions list in 2017 on his vocal endorsement of then-candidate Donald Trump. “I was days away from attending Trump's inauguration,” he said. “Two days before my flight, the Obama-Biden administration sanctioned me. That was political punishment.” Since then, Dodik has positioned himself as an unapologetic opponent of the liberal international order — a stance that resonates with some far-right movements in Europe and beyond. But it has also earned him increasing isolation.Why Israel? Why now?So why did he come to Israel — and why did he want to speak about antisemitism?“Serbs and Jews have suffered together,” he said. “We understand what it means to be targeted, to have your history rewritten, to be blamed for everything. That is what is happening to us in Bosnia, just as it's happening to Israel in the world.”He insisted that Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, has become a hub of Islamist influence, accusing Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) leaders of maintaining ties with Iran and enabling the spread of radical ideologies. “During the civil war, the largest embassy in Sarajevo was Iran's — 480 people, most of them spies,” he claimed. “They trained mujahideen fighters in Bosnia, some of whom later participated in global terror, including 9/11.”He argued that “antisemitism is allowed to thrive” in parts of Bosnia and said that in Sarajevo, “they project Palestinian flags onto buildings while in Banja Luka, we raise the Israeli flag.”Some of Dodik's claims are rooted in truth. During the Bosnian War in the 1990s, foreign fighters, including Iranian-backed mujahideen, were present on the Bosniak side. Today, some Western officials are concerned about Iranian and Turkish influence in Bosnia's Muslim-majority areas — particularly in the context of rising antisemitism in Europe.But Dodik also treads into dangerous historical revisionism. He has repeatedly denied the Srebrenica genocide, despite rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. In this interview, he called the genocide designation a “political fabrication.”“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
He has repeatedly threatened to secede from Bosnia and has worked to weaken the central government in Sarajevo, leading critics to accuse him of pushing the country toward renewed ethnic division — or worse. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now His geopolitical alliances are equally provocative. He maintains a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has frequently criticized the European Union and the United States for what he calls their “interventionist” policies in the Balkans. Advertisement“The West wants to impose liberal values that have no connection to our history or identity,” he told me. “They tried their solution for 30 years, and it failed. Now it's time to let us — the Serbs — decide our future.”Dodik's support for Trump-era policies has also come at a cost. He blames his inclusion on the US sanctions list in 2017 on his vocal endorsement of then-candidate Donald Trump. “I was days away from attending Trump's inauguration,” he said. “Two days before my flight, the Obama-Biden administration sanctioned me. That was political punishment.” Since then, Dodik has positioned himself as an unapologetic opponent of the liberal international order — a stance that resonates with some far-right movements in Europe and beyond. But it has also earned him increasing isolation.Why Israel? Why now?So why did he come to Israel — and why did he want to speak about antisemitism?“Serbs and Jews have suffered together,” he said. “We understand what it means to be targeted, to have your history rewritten, to be blamed for everything. That is what is happening to us in Bosnia, just as it's happening to Israel in the world.”He insisted that Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, has become a hub of Islamist influence, accusing Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) leaders of maintaining ties with Iran and enabling the spread of radical ideologies. “During the civil war, the largest embassy in Sarajevo was Iran's — 480 people, most of them spies,” he claimed. “They trained mujahideen fighters in Bosnia, some of whom later participated in global terror, including 9/11.”He argued that “antisemitism is allowed to thrive” in parts of Bosnia and said that in Sarajevo, “they project Palestinian flags onto buildings while in Banja Luka, we raise the Israeli flag.”Some of Dodik's claims are rooted in truth. During the Bosnian War in the 1990s, foreign fighters, including Iranian-backed mujahideen, were present on the Bosniak side. Today, some Western officials are concerned about Iranian and Turkish influence in Bosnia's Muslim-majority areas — particularly in the context of rising antisemitism in Europe.But Dodik also treads into dangerous historical revisionism. He has repeatedly denied the Srebrenica genocide, despite rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. In this interview, he called the genocide designation a “political fabrication.”“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
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His geopolitical alliances are equally provocative. He maintains a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has frequently criticized the European Union and the United States for what he calls their “interventionist” policies in the Balkans. Advertisement“The West wants to impose liberal values that have no connection to our history or identity,” he told me. “They tried their solution for 30 years, and it failed. Now it's time to let us — the Serbs — decide our future.”Dodik's support for Trump-era policies has also come at a cost. He blames his inclusion on the US sanctions list in 2017 on his vocal endorsement of then-candidate Donald Trump. “I was days away from attending Trump's inauguration,” he said. “Two days before my flight, the Obama-Biden administration sanctioned me. That was political punishment.” Since then, Dodik has positioned himself as an unapologetic opponent of the liberal international order — a stance that resonates with some far-right movements in Europe and beyond. But it has also earned him increasing isolation.Why Israel? Why now?So why did he come to Israel — and why did he want to speak about antisemitism?“Serbs and Jews have suffered together,” he said. “We understand what it means to be targeted, to have your history rewritten, to be blamed for everything. That is what is happening to us in Bosnia, just as it's happening to Israel in the world.”He insisted that Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, has become a hub of Islamist influence, accusing Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) leaders of maintaining ties with Iran and enabling the spread of radical ideologies. “During the civil war, the largest embassy in Sarajevo was Iran's — 480 people, most of them spies,” he claimed. “They trained mujahideen fighters in Bosnia, some of whom later participated in global terror, including 9/11.”He argued that “antisemitism is allowed to thrive” in parts of Bosnia and said that in Sarajevo, “they project Palestinian flags onto buildings while in Banja Luka, we raise the Israeli flag.”Some of Dodik's claims are rooted in truth. During the Bosnian War in the 1990s, foreign fighters, including Iranian-backed mujahideen, were present on the Bosniak side. Today, some Western officials are concerned about Iranian and Turkish influence in Bosnia's Muslim-majority areas — particularly in the context of rising antisemitism in Europe.But Dodik also treads into dangerous historical revisionism. He has repeatedly denied the Srebrenica genocide, despite rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. In this interview, he called the genocide designation a “political fabrication.”“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
“The West wants to impose liberal values that have no connection to our history or identity,” he told me. “They tried their solution for 30 years, and it failed. Now it's time to let us — the Serbs — decide our future.”Dodik's support for Trump-era policies has also come at a cost. He blames his inclusion on the US sanctions list in 2017 on his vocal endorsement of then-candidate Donald Trump. “I was days away from attending Trump's inauguration,” he said. “Two days before my flight, the Obama-Biden administration sanctioned me. That was political punishment.” Since then, Dodik has positioned himself as an unapologetic opponent of the liberal international order — a stance that resonates with some far-right movements in Europe and beyond. But it has also earned him increasing isolation.Why Israel? Why now?So why did he come to Israel — and why did he want to speak about antisemitism?“Serbs and Jews have suffered together,” he said. “We understand what it means to be targeted, to have your history rewritten, to be blamed for everything. That is what is happening to us in Bosnia, just as it's happening to Israel in the world.”He insisted that Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, has become a hub of Islamist influence, accusing Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) leaders of maintaining ties with Iran and enabling the spread of radical ideologies. “During the civil war, the largest embassy in Sarajevo was Iran's — 480 people, most of them spies,” he claimed. “They trained mujahideen fighters in Bosnia, some of whom later participated in global terror, including 9/11.”He argued that “antisemitism is allowed to thrive” in parts of Bosnia and said that in Sarajevo, “they project Palestinian flags onto buildings while in Banja Luka, we raise the Israeli flag.”Some of Dodik's claims are rooted in truth. During the Bosnian War in the 1990s, foreign fighters, including Iranian-backed mujahideen, were present on the Bosniak side. Today, some Western officials are concerned about Iranian and Turkish influence in Bosnia's Muslim-majority areas — particularly in the context of rising antisemitism in Europe.But Dodik also treads into dangerous historical revisionism. He has repeatedly denied the Srebrenica genocide, despite rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. In this interview, he called the genocide designation a “political fabrication.”“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
“The West wants to impose liberal values that have no connection to our history or identity,” he told me. “They tried their solution for 30 years, and it failed. Now it's time to let us — the Serbs — decide our future.”Dodik's support for Trump-era policies has also come at a cost. He blames his inclusion on the US sanctions list in 2017 on his vocal endorsement of then-candidate Donald Trump. “I was days away from attending Trump's inauguration,” he said. “Two days before my flight, the Obama-Biden administration sanctioned me. That was political punishment.” Since then, Dodik has positioned himself as an unapologetic opponent of the liberal international order — a stance that resonates with some far-right movements in Europe and beyond. But it has also earned him increasing isolation.Why Israel? Why now?So why did he come to Israel — and why did he want to speak about antisemitism?“Serbs and Jews have suffered together,” he said. “We understand what it means to be targeted, to have your history rewritten, to be blamed for everything. That is what is happening to us in Bosnia, just as it's happening to Israel in the world.”He insisted that Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, has become a hub of Islamist influence, accusing Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) leaders of maintaining ties with Iran and enabling the spread of radical ideologies. “During the civil war, the largest embassy in Sarajevo was Iran's — 480 people, most of them spies,” he claimed. “They trained mujahideen fighters in Bosnia, some of whom later participated in global terror, including 9/11.”He argued that “antisemitism is allowed to thrive” in parts of Bosnia and said that in Sarajevo, “they project Palestinian flags onto buildings while in Banja Luka, we raise the Israeli flag.”Some of Dodik's claims are rooted in truth. During the Bosnian War in the 1990s, foreign fighters, including Iranian-backed mujahideen, were present on the Bosniak side. Today, some Western officials are concerned about Iranian and Turkish influence in Bosnia's Muslim-majority areas — particularly in the context of rising antisemitism in Europe.But Dodik also treads into dangerous historical revisionism. He has repeatedly denied the Srebrenica genocide, despite rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. In this interview, he called the genocide designation a “political fabrication.”“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
Dodik's support for Trump-era policies has also come at a cost. He blames his inclusion on the US sanctions list in 2017 on his vocal endorsement of then-candidate Donald Trump. “I was days away from attending Trump's inauguration,” he said. “Two days before my flight, the Obama-Biden administration sanctioned me. That was political punishment.” Since then, Dodik has positioned himself as an unapologetic opponent of the liberal international order — a stance that resonates with some far-right movements in Europe and beyond. But it has also earned him increasing isolation.Why Israel? Why now?So why did he come to Israel — and why did he want to speak about antisemitism?“Serbs and Jews have suffered together,” he said. “We understand what it means to be targeted, to have your history rewritten, to be blamed for everything. That is what is happening to us in Bosnia, just as it's happening to Israel in the world.”He insisted that Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, has become a hub of Islamist influence, accusing Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) leaders of maintaining ties with Iran and enabling the spread of radical ideologies. “During the civil war, the largest embassy in Sarajevo was Iran's — 480 people, most of them spies,” he claimed. “They trained mujahideen fighters in Bosnia, some of whom later participated in global terror, including 9/11.”He argued that “antisemitism is allowed to thrive” in parts of Bosnia and said that in Sarajevo, “they project Palestinian flags onto buildings while in Banja Luka, we raise the Israeli flag.”Some of Dodik's claims are rooted in truth. During the Bosnian War in the 1990s, foreign fighters, including Iranian-backed mujahideen, were present on the Bosniak side. Today, some Western officials are concerned about Iranian and Turkish influence in Bosnia's Muslim-majority areas — particularly in the context of rising antisemitism in Europe.But Dodik also treads into dangerous historical revisionism. He has repeatedly denied the Srebrenica genocide, despite rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. In this interview, he called the genocide designation a “political fabrication.”“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
Since then, Dodik has positioned himself as an unapologetic opponent of the liberal international order — a stance that resonates with some far-right movements in Europe and beyond. But it has also earned him increasing isolation.Why Israel? Why now?So why did he come to Israel — and why did he want to speak about antisemitism?“Serbs and Jews have suffered together,” he said. “We understand what it means to be targeted, to have your history rewritten, to be blamed for everything. That is what is happening to us in Bosnia, just as it's happening to Israel in the world.”He insisted that Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, has become a hub of Islamist influence, accusing Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) leaders of maintaining ties with Iran and enabling the spread of radical ideologies. “During the civil war, the largest embassy in Sarajevo was Iran's — 480 people, most of them spies,” he claimed. “They trained mujahideen fighters in Bosnia, some of whom later participated in global terror, including 9/11.”He argued that “antisemitism is allowed to thrive” in parts of Bosnia and said that in Sarajevo, “they project Palestinian flags onto buildings while in Banja Luka, we raise the Israeli flag.”Some of Dodik's claims are rooted in truth. During the Bosnian War in the 1990s, foreign fighters, including Iranian-backed mujahideen, were present on the Bosniak side. Today, some Western officials are concerned about Iranian and Turkish influence in Bosnia's Muslim-majority areas — particularly in the context of rising antisemitism in Europe.But Dodik also treads into dangerous historical revisionism. He has repeatedly denied the Srebrenica genocide, despite rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. In this interview, he called the genocide designation a “political fabrication.”“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
So why did he come to Israel — and why did he want to speak about antisemitism?“Serbs and Jews have suffered together,” he said. “We understand what it means to be targeted, to have your history rewritten, to be blamed for everything. That is what is happening to us in Bosnia, just as it's happening to Israel in the world.”He insisted that Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, has become a hub of Islamist influence, accusing Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) leaders of maintaining ties with Iran and enabling the spread of radical ideologies. “During the civil war, the largest embassy in Sarajevo was Iran's — 480 people, most of them spies,” he claimed. “They trained mujahideen fighters in Bosnia, some of whom later participated in global terror, including 9/11.”He argued that “antisemitism is allowed to thrive” in parts of Bosnia and said that in Sarajevo, “they project Palestinian flags onto buildings while in Banja Luka, we raise the Israeli flag.”Some of Dodik's claims are rooted in truth. During the Bosnian War in the 1990s, foreign fighters, including Iranian-backed mujahideen, were present on the Bosniak side. Today, some Western officials are concerned about Iranian and Turkish influence in Bosnia's Muslim-majority areas — particularly in the context of rising antisemitism in Europe.But Dodik also treads into dangerous historical revisionism. He has repeatedly denied the Srebrenica genocide, despite rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. In this interview, he called the genocide designation a “political fabrication.”“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
“Serbs and Jews have suffered together,” he said. “We understand what it means to be targeted, to have your history rewritten, to be blamed for everything. That is what is happening to us in Bosnia, just as it's happening to Israel in the world.”He insisted that Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, has become a hub of Islamist influence, accusing Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) leaders of maintaining ties with Iran and enabling the spread of radical ideologies. “During the civil war, the largest embassy in Sarajevo was Iran's — 480 people, most of them spies,” he claimed. “They trained mujahideen fighters in Bosnia, some of whom later participated in global terror, including 9/11.”He argued that “antisemitism is allowed to thrive” in parts of Bosnia and said that in Sarajevo, “they project Palestinian flags onto buildings while in Banja Luka, we raise the Israeli flag.”Some of Dodik's claims are rooted in truth. During the Bosnian War in the 1990s, foreign fighters, including Iranian-backed mujahideen, were present on the Bosniak side. Today, some Western officials are concerned about Iranian and Turkish influence in Bosnia's Muslim-majority areas — particularly in the context of rising antisemitism in Europe.But Dodik also treads into dangerous historical revisionism. He has repeatedly denied the Srebrenica genocide, despite rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. In this interview, he called the genocide designation a “political fabrication.”“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
He insisted that Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, has become a hub of Islamist influence, accusing Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) leaders of maintaining ties with Iran and enabling the spread of radical ideologies. “During the civil war, the largest embassy in Sarajevo was Iran's — 480 people, most of them spies,” he claimed. “They trained mujahideen fighters in Bosnia, some of whom later participated in global terror, including 9/11.”He argued that “antisemitism is allowed to thrive” in parts of Bosnia and said that in Sarajevo, “they project Palestinian flags onto buildings while in Banja Luka, we raise the Israeli flag.”Some of Dodik's claims are rooted in truth. During the Bosnian War in the 1990s, foreign fighters, including Iranian-backed mujahideen, were present on the Bosniak side. Today, some Western officials are concerned about Iranian and Turkish influence in Bosnia's Muslim-majority areas — particularly in the context of rising antisemitism in Europe.But Dodik also treads into dangerous historical revisionism. He has repeatedly denied the Srebrenica genocide, despite rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. In this interview, he called the genocide designation a “political fabrication.”“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
He argued that “antisemitism is allowed to thrive” in parts of Bosnia and said that in Sarajevo, “they project Palestinian flags onto buildings while in Banja Luka, we raise the Israeli flag.”Some of Dodik's claims are rooted in truth. During the Bosnian War in the 1990s, foreign fighters, including Iranian-backed mujahideen, were present on the Bosniak side. Today, some Western officials are concerned about Iranian and Turkish influence in Bosnia's Muslim-majority areas — particularly in the context of rising antisemitism in Europe.But Dodik also treads into dangerous historical revisionism. He has repeatedly denied the Srebrenica genocide, despite rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. In this interview, he called the genocide designation a “political fabrication.”“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
Some of Dodik's claims are rooted in truth. During the Bosnian War in the 1990s, foreign fighters, including Iranian-backed mujahideen, were present on the Bosniak side. Today, some Western officials are concerned about Iranian and Turkish influence in Bosnia's Muslim-majority areas — particularly in the context of rising antisemitism in Europe.But Dodik also treads into dangerous historical revisionism. He has repeatedly denied the Srebrenica genocide, despite rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. In this interview, he called the genocide designation a “political fabrication.”“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
But Dodik also treads into dangerous historical revisionism. He has repeatedly denied the Srebrenica genocide, despite rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. In this interview, he called the genocide designation a “political fabrication.”“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
“The UN resolution on Srebrenica passed with only 84 votes out of 193,” he said in an interview with the Post's Elded beck last week. “That's not a consensus — it's a campaign. There is no resolution on Jasenovac, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews were murdered by Croats and Muslims. Why not?”This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
This grievance-based narrative — of Serbs as historical victims, of being unfairly blamed, of being abandoned by the West — fuels much of Dodik's rhetoric. But it also contains a consistent through line: a deep affinity for Israel, particularly the Israel of October 8, 2023, the one fighting for legitimacy in the face of growing international hostility.“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
“We are not interested in war,” he said. “But we are also not interested in living in a country where our identity is erased and our people are blamed for everything. It's the same story as Israel. Look at the reaction to Hamas's massacre — and then look at how Israel is treated by the world.”A risky platform?Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
Some may question the decision to give Dodik a platform, especially as legal proceedings against him advance. But journalism — real journalism — means asking questions, even of people with whom we may fundamentally disagree. It means letting readers judge for themselves.In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
In this case, there is an additional angle: Dodik is not only a Balkan nationalist. He is also someone who sought out Israel to deliver his message. He chose to speak to the Jewish people—not through Moscow or Belgrade, but in Jerusalem. The Post hasn't and will not take sides in a conflict not directly in our jurisdiction. “The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
“The world needs to understand,” he said, “there is no peaceful coexistence where one side is always expected to apologize. We tried that. It failed.”The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
The full interview will be published next week. It is lengthy, complex, and provocative. It includes his thoughts on Trump, Putin, Ukraine, Iran, and what he sees as the West's moral decline. Some of his statements are bound to stir anger — others may resonate in surprising ways. Stay tuned.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that if Hamas doesn't release the hostages held in Gaza, pressure will increase, and may include “seizing territory,” on the Strip.
Palestinians chanted against Hamas during an anti-war protest in northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, videos showed. Wednesday's protest comes after similar ones the day before, marking a rare show of public anger against the militant group that has long repressed dissent and still rules the territory 17 months into the war with Israel.
Palestinian Muslim women pray during Laylat Al Qadr, also known as the Night of Power and marked on the 27th day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in front of the Dome of the Rock shrine at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Israelis block a highway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, demanding the realese of the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles that were launched from Yemen, as seen from the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
AnPalestinian injured during Israeli army strikes in nearby Zawaida and Nuseirat camp is taken into the hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians chant slogans during an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians attend an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, banner in Arabic reads, “Enough destruction, enough killing, we want to live. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A family of six and a Hamas spokesman were killed in separate Israeli strikes in the northern Gaza Strip overnight and into Thursday, according to the territory's Health Ministry and another Hamas official.
In Israel, the parliament passed a key part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to overhaul the judiciary, angering critics who view it as a power grab by his far-right government.
Israel broke its ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza last week and has been pounding Gaza with airstrikes since, killing more than 800 people. Israel has vowed to escalate the offensive if Hamas does not release hostages, disarm and leave the territory.
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining 59 hostages — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.
European far-right leaders were in Jerusalem for a conference organized by the Israeli government aimed at “ combating antisemitism.”
Thursday's event was shunned by mainstream Jewish leaders because of the divisive guest list. It illustrates a growing alliance between Israel — a country founded on the ashes of the Holocaust — with a European far-right that has not, some critics say, shed its links to antisemitism and Naziism during World War II.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who leads an ultranationalist government, has cultivated close ties in recent years with far-right populist leaders in countries like Hungary, Brazil and Argentina. Many of these leaders, including Netanyahu, have been greatly influenced by the policies and demeanor of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right French National Rally party, gave a keynote address in which he blamed rising antisemitism in Europe on migration and Islamism.
Lebanon's state news agency says an Israeli drone strike in the country's south hit a car, killing two people on Thursday afternoon in the village of Baraachit.
The National News Agency gave no further details and it was not immediately clear if the two killed were members of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group. Israel's military said the strike targeted two Hezbollah members.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency says an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon killed three people.
There was no comment from the Israeli military. The National News Agency said Thursday's strike occurred in the Yohmor area in south Lebanon.
Israel's Arabic-language military spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on the social platform X on Thursday that an Israeli strike late Wednesday killed an official with Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force in the southern village of Derdghaiya.
Since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire went into effect in late November, ending the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war, Israel's air forces has carried out dozens of airstrikes mainly targeting Hezbollah members.
The long-range missiles were fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels and were intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory on Thursday, according to the military.
Air-raid sirens were heard in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, central Israel and the occupied West Bank, with local media reporting fragments fell in several places. There were no reports of injuries.
Since Israel broke the ceasefire last week, a handful of rockets have been fired from Gaza as well as missiles from Yemen. No one in Israel has been hurt.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack. The Iran-backed rebels have been attacking Israel and shipping off Yemen for well over a year, saying they aim to end Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Although Palestinian militants were once firing volleys of rockets each day out of Gaza, that dwindled to nearly zero over the course of the 17-month war.
Israel's parliament has passed a key part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to overhaul the judiciary, angering critics who view it as a power grab by his far-right government.
The planned overhaul sparked mass demonstrations in 2023, leaving the country deeply divided ahead of Hamas' attack on Oct. 7 of that year, which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.
The law that was passed Thursday gives the government a larger role in appointing judges.
It would give two of the nine seats on the Judicial Selection Committee to lawyers chosen by the government and the opposition. Those seats are currently held by the Israeli Bar Association. The political appointees would have the power to veto nominations to Israel's Supreme Court and lower court appointments.
Supporters of the measure say it gives more power to elected officials, while critics say it would undermine an independent body that provides essential checks and balances.
The law would not take effect until the next parliament, and the opposition has vowed to repeal it if it regains power.
A strike hit the tent where Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua was staying in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza, killing him, according to Basem Naim, another Hamas official.
Another strike near Gaza City killed four children and their parents, according to the emergency service of Gaza's Health Ministry.
Israel's war in Gaza has killed over 50,000 people, according to the territory's Health Ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count but says women and children make up over half the dead.
The war was triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel, in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
A stabbing attack in Amsterdam on Thursday wounded five people, Dutch police said, adding that a suspect was in custody.
Police erected a cordon around the area where the stabbings took place, near the central Dam Square.
"We currently have no information about the cause or motive of the stabbing incident. This is part of our investigation," police said in a statement.
An AFP reporter on the scene said the injured had been evacuated but there was still a heavy police presence and ambulances were also on hand.
There was no immediate information on the condition of those wounded.
Early images from local news agency ANP showed a person on a stretcher being loaded into the back of an ambulance.
A trauma helicopter landed on Dam Square to tend to the victims.
According to local media reports, Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema left a meeting in the town hall when news of the attack broke.
The police urged anyone with images of the incident to upload them as evidence. They also called on people to avoid the area and let them carry out their investigation.
ric/rmb
At least five people were injured and a suspect was arrested after a stabbing in central Amsterdam on Thursday, March 27, according to Dutch police.The incident occurred close to Dam Square, the city's busy central plaza.“The victims include a 67-year-old woman and a 69-year-old man of American nationality, a 26-year-old man of Polish nationality, a 73-year-old woman from Belgium and a 19-year-old woman from Amsterdam,” police said in a statement. The suspect, who also injured himself in the leg, was overpowered and detained with the help of bystanders, they said. Two of the victims were in critical condition, a police spokesman told media at the scene.“The cause or motive is still unclear at this time and is being investigated. The police are considering the scenario that the suspect made random victims,” the police statement said.This footage shows a medical helicopter landing in a cordoned-off area of the square. A number of ambulances also responded to the scene, according to local media. Credit: mina.sourii via Storyful
A knife-wielding assailant seriously wounded five people in a stabbing attack on a busy shopping street in Amsterdam before he was taken into custody, police said Thursday.
Top US diplomat Marco Rubio on Thursday bluntly warned Venezuela against attacking its oil-rich neighbor Guyana, brandishing the power of the US military to protect the small South American nation.Asked what the United States would do if Venezuela attacked ExxonMobil oil projects in Guyana, Rubio said: "It would be a very bad day -- a very bad week for them."
Five people were injured, including two Americans, in a "serious" stabbing attack that occurred in broad daylight in Amsterdam's city center on Thursday, police said. The suspected assailant is in custody and a motive remains under investigation into what authorities are considering might have been a random attack, police said. The victims were located at various locations near Amsterdam's central Dam Square, according to police.
A Belleville, Ont., man has been charged with assault after a security officer was stabbed in the emergency department of the Belleville General Hospital on Tuesday, according to police.Officers responded around 12:20 p.m. to a report that a person had threatened staff and stabbed a security guard, Belleville Police wrote in a media release Wednesday. The situation was contained by the time police arrived.People at the scene told police the 42-year-old man had come to the emergency room earlier
The incident happened near Dam Square, in the southern part of the Dutch capital, with local media reporting the area has been cordoned off.View on euronews
Five people were stabbed in central Amsterdam on Thursday by a male assailant who was overpowered by a bystander and taken into custody, police said.
The knife-wielding suspect is thought to have targeted victims at random
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The Eddie Stobart lorry drives up the wrong side of the road at Cameron Toll after allegedly failing to notice a low bridge at around 10.30am on March 21.
People are being told to avoid the area
Five people were stabbed in the attack in the Dutch capital's historic centre
Emergency crews were called to a bin lorry fire in a Wiltshire town.
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The stabbing happened on Thursday near Dam Square in central Amsterdam.
Five people, including the suspect, were injured in a stabbing attack in central Amsterdam on Thursday, March 27, according to Dutch police.The incident occurred close to Dam Square, the city's busy central plaza, police said.The suspect was arrested and the motive was being investigated, police said.A number of ambulances were at the scene, according to local media, and video posted online showed a medical helicopter landing outside the Royal Palace on Dam Square. Credit: @georgia_wwfc via Storyful
A dog owner's swing chair collapsed after two of her dogs joined her for a sit-down in Keystone Heights, Florida, footage published to TikTok shows.This home security footage was provided by TikTok user @Justafrenchiedogmom, who said that she was relaxing on the chair with two of her pups when it suddenly collapsed.“I'm OK, just really sore,” she said on TikTok. Credit: @Justafrenchiedogmom via Storyful
Police are hunting for a suspect after a man was stabbed near Woolwich train station.
At least five people were injured and a suspect was arrested after a stabbing in central Amsterdam on Thursday, March 27, according to Dutch police.The incident occurred close to Dam Square, the city's busy central plaza.“The victims include a 67-year-old woman and a 69-year-old man of American nationality, a 26-year-old man of Polish nationality, a 73-year-old woman from Belgium and a 19-year-old woman from Amsterdam,” police said in a statement. The suspect, who also injured himself in the leg, was overpowered and detained with the help of bystanders, they said.“The cause or motive is still unclear at this time and is being investigated. The police are considering the scenario that the suspect made random victims,” police added.This footage shows a medical helicopter landing in cordoned-off area of square. A number of ambulances also responded to the scene, according to local media. Credit: @ilselafleur via Storyful
Ed Miliband has been forced to set aside £8 billion to cover the risk of a carbon capture disaster as the costs of net zero stack up.
The Iranian-backed Houthis launched two long-range missiles at Israel on Thursday. The attack was an attempt to showcase that they can fire multiple missiles in broad daylight, even as US airstrikes continue to hit them.The Houthis have been attacking Israel for more than a year, using ballistic missiles and drones. They have also attacked ships in the Red Sea. Nevertheless, their most recent attack was another example of their escalation. The missile attack took place in the afternoon, as some parents would have been picking up their children, and as other kids were transitioning to afternoon activities.This is the second attack in a week designed to terrorize Israelis, the first was on Sunday at 7:20 a.m., which was timed to coincide with parents dropping off their children at school. AdvertisementThe Houthis want to demonstrate that they can attack at the time and place of their choosing. Firing two missiles highlighted a new level of attack that is designed to demonstrate their capabilities despite being the target of intensifying US airstrikes since March 15. A US military airplane launches on its mission to strike Houthi terrorists in Yemen, March 15, 2025. (credit: X/CENTCOM)The Houthis appear to be keeping their missiles in underground bunkers, and these areas are hard to find and strike. Ballistic missiles can be disguised in the back of flatbed trucks and carried inside of a type of shipping container, for instance, as showcased by the Iranians in the past. It is likely this kind of disguise may have made it to Yemen. In addition, it is notoriously hard to find rocket launchers. During the Gulf War in 1991, the US tried to stop Scud missile attacks against Israel that were launched by Saddam Hussein's regime from Anbar Province in western Iraq.The “great Scud hunt” did not go well, and it showed how even modern militaries have a hard time finding the proverbial Scud needle in the haystack of a desert. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Yemen is full of mountainous terrain that rises more than 2,000 meters above sea level. It has mountain crags and steep roads, all of which make it hard to find missiles that might be rolled out of cave complexes or underground missile bunkers. AdvertisementThe Iranians have perfected the creation of so-called underground “missile cities.” In fact, Iran showcased a new “missile city” this week. Clearly, this kind of bunker complex is what Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps advised the Houthis to build.The Houthis built these bunkers after 2015 when Saudi Arabia was intervening in Yemen and bombing them. They have 10 years of experience hiding missiles from modern US-made warplanes.Houthis remain deterred The Israeli airstrikes against the Houthis in 2024 did not deter them. The US airstrikes have not deterred them. The Houthis are demonstrating that they will not stop their attacks. This has left the Israeli home front under unprecedented threats for the last 17 months. Never in Israel's history have millions of people had to run to shelters for so long. The Houthis and other Iranian-backed groups have created arsenals that are a threat to the Middle East and the world.Clearly, this shows why the Houthis must be stopped and their arsenal reduced. How to accomplish this continues to bedevil the US and Israel.
The Houthis have been attacking Israel for more than a year, using ballistic missiles and drones. They have also attacked ships in the Red Sea. Nevertheless, their most recent attack was another example of their escalation. The missile attack took place in the afternoon, as some parents would have been picking up their children, and as other kids were transitioning to afternoon activities.This is the second attack in a week designed to terrorize Israelis, the first was on Sunday at 7:20 a.m., which was timed to coincide with parents dropping off their children at school. AdvertisementThe Houthis want to demonstrate that they can attack at the time and place of their choosing. Firing two missiles highlighted a new level of attack that is designed to demonstrate their capabilities despite being the target of intensifying US airstrikes since March 15. A US military airplane launches on its mission to strike Houthi terrorists in Yemen, March 15, 2025. (credit: X/CENTCOM)The Houthis appear to be keeping their missiles in underground bunkers, and these areas are hard to find and strike. Ballistic missiles can be disguised in the back of flatbed trucks and carried inside of a type of shipping container, for instance, as showcased by the Iranians in the past. It is likely this kind of disguise may have made it to Yemen. In addition, it is notoriously hard to find rocket launchers. During the Gulf War in 1991, the US tried to stop Scud missile attacks against Israel that were launched by Saddam Hussein's regime from Anbar Province in western Iraq.The “great Scud hunt” did not go well, and it showed how even modern militaries have a hard time finding the proverbial Scud needle in the haystack of a desert. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Yemen is full of mountainous terrain that rises more than 2,000 meters above sea level. It has mountain crags and steep roads, all of which make it hard to find missiles that might be rolled out of cave complexes or underground missile bunkers. AdvertisementThe Iranians have perfected the creation of so-called underground “missile cities.” In fact, Iran showcased a new “missile city” this week. Clearly, this kind of bunker complex is what Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps advised the Houthis to build.The Houthis built these bunkers after 2015 when Saudi Arabia was intervening in Yemen and bombing them. They have 10 years of experience hiding missiles from modern US-made warplanes.Houthis remain deterred The Israeli airstrikes against the Houthis in 2024 did not deter them. The US airstrikes have not deterred them. The Houthis are demonstrating that they will not stop their attacks. This has left the Israeli home front under unprecedented threats for the last 17 months. Never in Israel's history have millions of people had to run to shelters for so long. The Houthis and other Iranian-backed groups have created arsenals that are a threat to the Middle East and the world.Clearly, this shows why the Houthis must be stopped and their arsenal reduced. How to accomplish this continues to bedevil the US and Israel.
The missile attack took place in the afternoon, as some parents would have been picking up their children, and as other kids were transitioning to afternoon activities.This is the second attack in a week designed to terrorize Israelis, the first was on Sunday at 7:20 a.m., which was timed to coincide with parents dropping off their children at school. AdvertisementThe Houthis want to demonstrate that they can attack at the time and place of their choosing. Firing two missiles highlighted a new level of attack that is designed to demonstrate their capabilities despite being the target of intensifying US airstrikes since March 15. A US military airplane launches on its mission to strike Houthi terrorists in Yemen, March 15, 2025. (credit: X/CENTCOM)The Houthis appear to be keeping their missiles in underground bunkers, and these areas are hard to find and strike. Ballistic missiles can be disguised in the back of flatbed trucks and carried inside of a type of shipping container, for instance, as showcased by the Iranians in the past. It is likely this kind of disguise may have made it to Yemen. In addition, it is notoriously hard to find rocket launchers. During the Gulf War in 1991, the US tried to stop Scud missile attacks against Israel that were launched by Saddam Hussein's regime from Anbar Province in western Iraq.The “great Scud hunt” did not go well, and it showed how even modern militaries have a hard time finding the proverbial Scud needle in the haystack of a desert. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Yemen is full of mountainous terrain that rises more than 2,000 meters above sea level. It has mountain crags and steep roads, all of which make it hard to find missiles that might be rolled out of cave complexes or underground missile bunkers. AdvertisementThe Iranians have perfected the creation of so-called underground “missile cities.” In fact, Iran showcased a new “missile city” this week. Clearly, this kind of bunker complex is what Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps advised the Houthis to build.The Houthis built these bunkers after 2015 when Saudi Arabia was intervening in Yemen and bombing them. They have 10 years of experience hiding missiles from modern US-made warplanes.Houthis remain deterred The Israeli airstrikes against the Houthis in 2024 did not deter them. The US airstrikes have not deterred them. The Houthis are demonstrating that they will not stop their attacks. This has left the Israeli home front under unprecedented threats for the last 17 months. Never in Israel's history have millions of people had to run to shelters for so long. The Houthis and other Iranian-backed groups have created arsenals that are a threat to the Middle East and the world.Clearly, this shows why the Houthis must be stopped and their arsenal reduced. How to accomplish this continues to bedevil the US and Israel.
This is the second attack in a week designed to terrorize Israelis, the first was on Sunday at 7:20 a.m., which was timed to coincide with parents dropping off their children at school. AdvertisementThe Houthis want to demonstrate that they can attack at the time and place of their choosing. Firing two missiles highlighted a new level of attack that is designed to demonstrate their capabilities despite being the target of intensifying US airstrikes since March 15. A US military airplane launches on its mission to strike Houthi terrorists in Yemen, March 15, 2025. (credit: X/CENTCOM)The Houthis appear to be keeping their missiles in underground bunkers, and these areas are hard to find and strike. Ballistic missiles can be disguised in the back of flatbed trucks and carried inside of a type of shipping container, for instance, as showcased by the Iranians in the past. It is likely this kind of disguise may have made it to Yemen. In addition, it is notoriously hard to find rocket launchers. During the Gulf War in 1991, the US tried to stop Scud missile attacks against Israel that were launched by Saddam Hussein's regime from Anbar Province in western Iraq.The “great Scud hunt” did not go well, and it showed how even modern militaries have a hard time finding the proverbial Scud needle in the haystack of a desert. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Yemen is full of mountainous terrain that rises more than 2,000 meters above sea level. It has mountain crags and steep roads, all of which make it hard to find missiles that might be rolled out of cave complexes or underground missile bunkers. AdvertisementThe Iranians have perfected the creation of so-called underground “missile cities.” In fact, Iran showcased a new “missile city” this week. Clearly, this kind of bunker complex is what Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps advised the Houthis to build.The Houthis built these bunkers after 2015 when Saudi Arabia was intervening in Yemen and bombing them. They have 10 years of experience hiding missiles from modern US-made warplanes.Houthis remain deterred The Israeli airstrikes against the Houthis in 2024 did not deter them. The US airstrikes have not deterred them. The Houthis are demonstrating that they will not stop their attacks. This has left the Israeli home front under unprecedented threats for the last 17 months. Never in Israel's history have millions of people had to run to shelters for so long. The Houthis and other Iranian-backed groups have created arsenals that are a threat to the Middle East and the world.Clearly, this shows why the Houthis must be stopped and their arsenal reduced. How to accomplish this continues to bedevil the US and Israel.
The Houthis want to demonstrate that they can attack at the time and place of their choosing. Firing two missiles highlighted a new level of attack that is designed to demonstrate their capabilities despite being the target of intensifying US airstrikes since March 15. A US military airplane launches on its mission to strike Houthi terrorists in Yemen, March 15, 2025. (credit: X/CENTCOM)The Houthis appear to be keeping their missiles in underground bunkers, and these areas are hard to find and strike. Ballistic missiles can be disguised in the back of flatbed trucks and carried inside of a type of shipping container, for instance, as showcased by the Iranians in the past. It is likely this kind of disguise may have made it to Yemen. In addition, it is notoriously hard to find rocket launchers. During the Gulf War in 1991, the US tried to stop Scud missile attacks against Israel that were launched by Saddam Hussein's regime from Anbar Province in western Iraq.The “great Scud hunt” did not go well, and it showed how even modern militaries have a hard time finding the proverbial Scud needle in the haystack of a desert. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Yemen is full of mountainous terrain that rises more than 2,000 meters above sea level. It has mountain crags and steep roads, all of which make it hard to find missiles that might be rolled out of cave complexes or underground missile bunkers. AdvertisementThe Iranians have perfected the creation of so-called underground “missile cities.” In fact, Iran showcased a new “missile city” this week. Clearly, this kind of bunker complex is what Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps advised the Houthis to build.The Houthis built these bunkers after 2015 when Saudi Arabia was intervening in Yemen and bombing them. They have 10 years of experience hiding missiles from modern US-made warplanes.Houthis remain deterred The Israeli airstrikes against the Houthis in 2024 did not deter them. The US airstrikes have not deterred them. The Houthis are demonstrating that they will not stop their attacks. This has left the Israeli home front under unprecedented threats for the last 17 months. Never in Israel's history have millions of people had to run to shelters for so long. The Houthis and other Iranian-backed groups have created arsenals that are a threat to the Middle East and the world.Clearly, this shows why the Houthis must be stopped and their arsenal reduced. How to accomplish this continues to bedevil the US and Israel.
The Houthis appear to be keeping their missiles in underground bunkers, and these areas are hard to find and strike. Ballistic missiles can be disguised in the back of flatbed trucks and carried inside of a type of shipping container, for instance, as showcased by the Iranians in the past. It is likely this kind of disguise may have made it to Yemen. In addition, it is notoriously hard to find rocket launchers. During the Gulf War in 1991, the US tried to stop Scud missile attacks against Israel that were launched by Saddam Hussein's regime from Anbar Province in western Iraq.The “great Scud hunt” did not go well, and it showed how even modern militaries have a hard time finding the proverbial Scud needle in the haystack of a desert. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Yemen is full of mountainous terrain that rises more than 2,000 meters above sea level. It has mountain crags and steep roads, all of which make it hard to find missiles that might be rolled out of cave complexes or underground missile bunkers. AdvertisementThe Iranians have perfected the creation of so-called underground “missile cities.” In fact, Iran showcased a new “missile city” this week. Clearly, this kind of bunker complex is what Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps advised the Houthis to build.The Houthis built these bunkers after 2015 when Saudi Arabia was intervening in Yemen and bombing them. They have 10 years of experience hiding missiles from modern US-made warplanes.Houthis remain deterred The Israeli airstrikes against the Houthis in 2024 did not deter them. The US airstrikes have not deterred them. The Houthis are demonstrating that they will not stop their attacks. This has left the Israeli home front under unprecedented threats for the last 17 months. Never in Israel's history have millions of people had to run to shelters for so long. The Houthis and other Iranian-backed groups have created arsenals that are a threat to the Middle East and the world.Clearly, this shows why the Houthis must be stopped and their arsenal reduced. How to accomplish this continues to bedevil the US and Israel.
It is likely this kind of disguise may have made it to Yemen. In addition, it is notoriously hard to find rocket launchers. During the Gulf War in 1991, the US tried to stop Scud missile attacks against Israel that were launched by Saddam Hussein's regime from Anbar Province in western Iraq.The “great Scud hunt” did not go well, and it showed how even modern militaries have a hard time finding the proverbial Scud needle in the haystack of a desert. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Yemen is full of mountainous terrain that rises more than 2,000 meters above sea level. It has mountain crags and steep roads, all of which make it hard to find missiles that might be rolled out of cave complexes or underground missile bunkers. AdvertisementThe Iranians have perfected the creation of so-called underground “missile cities.” In fact, Iran showcased a new “missile city” this week. Clearly, this kind of bunker complex is what Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps advised the Houthis to build.The Houthis built these bunkers after 2015 when Saudi Arabia was intervening in Yemen and bombing them. They have 10 years of experience hiding missiles from modern US-made warplanes.Houthis remain deterred The Israeli airstrikes against the Houthis in 2024 did not deter them. The US airstrikes have not deterred them. The Houthis are demonstrating that they will not stop their attacks. This has left the Israeli home front under unprecedented threats for the last 17 months. Never in Israel's history have millions of people had to run to shelters for so long. The Houthis and other Iranian-backed groups have created arsenals that are a threat to the Middle East and the world.Clearly, this shows why the Houthis must be stopped and their arsenal reduced. How to accomplish this continues to bedevil the US and Israel.
The “great Scud hunt” did not go well, and it showed how even modern militaries have a hard time finding the proverbial Scud needle in the haystack of a desert. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Yemen is full of mountainous terrain that rises more than 2,000 meters above sea level. It has mountain crags and steep roads, all of which make it hard to find missiles that might be rolled out of cave complexes or underground missile bunkers. AdvertisementThe Iranians have perfected the creation of so-called underground “missile cities.” In fact, Iran showcased a new “missile city” this week. Clearly, this kind of bunker complex is what Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps advised the Houthis to build.The Houthis built these bunkers after 2015 when Saudi Arabia was intervening in Yemen and bombing them. They have 10 years of experience hiding missiles from modern US-made warplanes.Houthis remain deterred The Israeli airstrikes against the Houthis in 2024 did not deter them. The US airstrikes have not deterred them. The Houthis are demonstrating that they will not stop their attacks. This has left the Israeli home front under unprecedented threats for the last 17 months. Never in Israel's history have millions of people had to run to shelters for so long. The Houthis and other Iranian-backed groups have created arsenals that are a threat to the Middle East and the world.Clearly, this shows why the Houthis must be stopped and their arsenal reduced. How to accomplish this continues to bedevil the US and Israel.
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Yemen is full of mountainous terrain that rises more than 2,000 meters above sea level. It has mountain crags and steep roads, all of which make it hard to find missiles that might be rolled out of cave complexes or underground missile bunkers. AdvertisementThe Iranians have perfected the creation of so-called underground “missile cities.” In fact, Iran showcased a new “missile city” this week. Clearly, this kind of bunker complex is what Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps advised the Houthis to build.The Houthis built these bunkers after 2015 when Saudi Arabia was intervening in Yemen and bombing them. They have 10 years of experience hiding missiles from modern US-made warplanes.Houthis remain deterred The Israeli airstrikes against the Houthis in 2024 did not deter them. The US airstrikes have not deterred them. The Houthis are demonstrating that they will not stop their attacks. This has left the Israeli home front under unprecedented threats for the last 17 months. Never in Israel's history have millions of people had to run to shelters for so long. The Houthis and other Iranian-backed groups have created arsenals that are a threat to the Middle East and the world.Clearly, this shows why the Houthis must be stopped and their arsenal reduced. How to accomplish this continues to bedevil the US and Israel.
The Iranians have perfected the creation of so-called underground “missile cities.” In fact, Iran showcased a new “missile city” this week. Clearly, this kind of bunker complex is what Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps advised the Houthis to build.The Houthis built these bunkers after 2015 when Saudi Arabia was intervening in Yemen and bombing them. They have 10 years of experience hiding missiles from modern US-made warplanes.Houthis remain deterred The Israeli airstrikes against the Houthis in 2024 did not deter them. The US airstrikes have not deterred them. The Houthis are demonstrating that they will not stop their attacks. This has left the Israeli home front under unprecedented threats for the last 17 months. Never in Israel's history have millions of people had to run to shelters for so long. The Houthis and other Iranian-backed groups have created arsenals that are a threat to the Middle East and the world.Clearly, this shows why the Houthis must be stopped and their arsenal reduced. How to accomplish this continues to bedevil the US and Israel.
The Houthis built these bunkers after 2015 when Saudi Arabia was intervening in Yemen and bombing them. They have 10 years of experience hiding missiles from modern US-made warplanes.Houthis remain deterred The Israeli airstrikes against the Houthis in 2024 did not deter them. The US airstrikes have not deterred them. The Houthis are demonstrating that they will not stop their attacks. This has left the Israeli home front under unprecedented threats for the last 17 months. Never in Israel's history have millions of people had to run to shelters for so long. The Houthis and other Iranian-backed groups have created arsenals that are a threat to the Middle East and the world.Clearly, this shows why the Houthis must be stopped and their arsenal reduced. How to accomplish this continues to bedevil the US and Israel.
The Israeli airstrikes against the Houthis in 2024 did not deter them. The US airstrikes have not deterred them. The Houthis are demonstrating that they will not stop their attacks. This has left the Israeli home front under unprecedented threats for the last 17 months. Never in Israel's history have millions of people had to run to shelters for so long. The Houthis and other Iranian-backed groups have created arsenals that are a threat to the Middle East and the world.Clearly, this shows why the Houthis must be stopped and their arsenal reduced. How to accomplish this continues to bedevil the US and Israel.
Never in Israel's history have millions of people had to run to shelters for so long. The Houthis and other Iranian-backed groups have created arsenals that are a threat to the Middle East and the world.Clearly, this shows why the Houthis must be stopped and their arsenal reduced. How to accomplish this continues to bedevil the US and Israel.
Clearly, this shows why the Houthis must be stopped and their arsenal reduced. How to accomplish this continues to bedevil the US and Israel.
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A stabbing attack in Amsterdam on Thursday wounded five people, Dutch police said, with one suspect in custody.
Police said they had erected a cordon around the area where the stabbings took place, near the central Dam Square.
"We currently have no information about the cause or motive of the stabbing incident. This is part of our investigation," police said in a statement.
There was no immediate information on the condition of those wounded.
Early images from local news agency ANP showed someone on a stretcher being loaded into the back of an ambulance.
A trauma helicopter has landed on Dam Square to tend to the victims. Police vans and ambulances are also in attendance.
According to local media reports, Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema left a meeting in the town hall when news of the attack broke.
The police urged anyone with images of the incident to upload them as evidence.
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A 33-year-old German man was arrested for allegedly masturbating in front of fellow passengers on a Swiss Air flight from Switzerland's Zurich to Dresden in Germany.
According to a report by the Swiss-German news website Blick, the incident occurred at around 7:40 am on Swiss Air flight LX918. A shocked passenger approached a flight attendant and asked for a different seat.
According to the Dresden Federal Police statement, after several requests by the flight crew, the man “removed his hand from his pants".
The airline told Blick,"A passenger engaged in intimate acts during the flight, whereupon the crew issued a warning." After landing, the passenger was handed over to the relevant authorities."
According to the Dresden Federal Police report, the suspect admitted that the suspected passenger admitted to have “been active” in the presence of two women on the flight.
The passenger claimed that he was not aware of any wrongdoing, as he claimed “he did not expose his genitals.”
An investigation has been initiated against the German passenger for “causing a public nuisance,” the Blick report added.
ALSO READ: 2023: FBI arrests Indian American doctor for allegedly masturbating in front of a minor on a flight to Boston
In October last year, US authorities arrested an Indian man for masturbating on a flight.
According to a statement by the US justice department, 39-year-old Krishna Kunapuli pleaded guilty on October 24, 2024 to “one count of committing lewd, indecent, or obscene acts on an aircraft”.
He was sentenced by US Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy to two years of probation and a $5,000 fine.
Kunapuli was also ordered to delete, in the presence of law enforcement, photographs that he took of a female passenger during the flight and to have no contact with her, the US Justice Department added.
“Kunapuli made unwanted sexual advances towards a female passenger on board a flight from Abu Dhabi to Boston, including touching her hair and taking pictures of her without her permission. After a crew member intervened, Kunapuli returned to his seat,” the statement read.
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This is Radio Schuman, your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news, insights, and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond.
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From the economy to the climate and the EU's role in world affairs, this talk show sheds light on European affairs and the issues that impact on our daily lives as Europeans. Tune in to understand the ins and outs of European politics.
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The incident happened near Dam Square, in the southern part of the Dutch capital, with local media reporting the area has been cordoned off.
At least five people have been wounded in a stabbing in central Amsterdam, police in the Dutch capital have said.
The stabbing happened near downtown Dam Square and one person has been arrested.
Police have cordoned off the area and multiple ambulances have responded to the event. A trauma helicopter called to the scene has landed on the square.
"A motive is currently still unclear, but part of our investigation," city police said in a post on social media.
Local media reported that a city council meeting involving Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema was interrupted because of the stabbing.
No further details were immediately available.
Our journalists are working on this story and will update it as soon as more information becomes available.
Blending Scottish bagpipes and Bollywood, an Indian band welcomed King Charles III and Queen Camilla at a royal ceremony by playing the beats of Dhoom Machale-song from the 2004 Bollywood action blockbuster Dhoom-at the Commonwealth Day ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
Social media users were left amazed after the moment, captured by the Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa Pipe Band, went viral.
The Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa Pipe Band, established in the 1950s, has performed in front of royalty multiple times. With branches in the UK, India, the US, and Kenya, the group specialises in blending Scottish musical traditions with elements of Hindu culture.
A post shared by Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa Pipe Band London (@smspipeband_london)
The video, recently shared on the Hindu Scottish pipe band's Instagram page, has gained massive traction online, with many desi viewers struggling to believe it was real.
Several users referenced Dhoom 2, where Hrithik Roshan's character disguises himself as Queen Elizabeth for a diamon heist. "That's clearly Hrithik Roshan disguised as Camilla," wrote an Instagram user.
However, for those who suspected the clip was edited, the BBC's official coverage of the event confirmed that the performance did indeed take place as King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived at the Abbey.
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For more than two decades, some scientists have pondered the possibility that life as we know is actually an unfathomably complex simulation.
While some suggest looking for “glitches” to find evidence of the simulation, University of Portsmouth's Michael Vopson argues that the universe's predilection for symmetry could be seen as a kind of a compression algorithm following his hypothesized “Second Law of Thermodynamics.”
Such grand statements about the nature of reality are inherently controversial with some experts suggests that simulation theory borders on pseudoscience of even a kind a techno-religion.
In the early 4th century BCE, the legendary ancient Greek philosopher Plato put forth a simple thought experiment. Known as the Allegory of the Cave, the idea suggests that what we believe to be “reality” could be little more than shadows dancing upon a cave wall. Fast forward to the 21st century, and scientists are pondering the same question albeit in a more technological context.
In 2003, University of Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom put forward the idea that it was probably likely that what humans perceived as reality was actually a hyper-advanced simulation created by beings with almost infinite technological capability. In the decades since this famous formulation, scientists have pondered exactly how we could discover some evidence of this simulation—or even escaping the simulation altogether.
“The hypothesis that we live in a simulation seems provable: it could be the discovery of a flaw in the simulation, such as a distant region of the universe that cannot be zoomed in on, where a telescope would not be able to obtain a clear image,” Philosopher Paul Francheshi told Gizmodo in December. “Of course, an even more advanced simulation could roll back time, erase the flaw, and then restart the simulation.”
While trying to a find a flaw, or glitch in the simulation would certain provide credible evidence, Michael Vopson, a physicist at the University of Portsmouth in the U.K. says that looking for a kind of “source code” of the universe could provide a more compelling pathway for proving our artificial existence.
The code, known more specifically as the Second Law of Infodynamics, states that information entropy “must remain constant or decrease over time – up to a minimum value at equilibrium,” Vospon writes in a 2023 article for The Conversation. He also states in that same article that this can apply to how genetic information behaves—not random as Charles Darwin suggests but instead always trying to minimize information entropy. Similarly, the universe also strives for symmetry rather than asymmetry thus acting as a kind of optimization program or a “most effective data compression” program, according to Vopson.
Although an intriguing argument, Vopson argues that the Second Law of Infodynamics, as well as further study into the simulation hypothesis, requires more research to come to any definitive conclusions. Many scientists remain plenty skeptical with some arguing that the idea even approaches the level of pseudoscience or even a kind of religion. After all, what's the real difference between some hyper-advanced super species (perhaps even future humans) and some all-powerful god.
Just as it was in Plato's time, the idea of a reality that exists beyond our own remains forever an enticing idea. It's unlikely we'll ever learn for sure whether our reality is true to form or a clever collection of 1s and 0s, but it doesn't change the fact that it's the only life we get to live.
Best make it a good one.
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The leader of the Russian Communist Party (CPRF), Gennady Zyuganov, has called for the city of Volgograd to be renamed Stalingrad to properly mark the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
The city, which was known as Stalingrad from 1925 to 1961, became the venue for one of the fiercest battles of WWII, which historians believe changed the course of the conflict in the Soviet Union's favor and paved the way for the ultimate defeat of the Nazis.
Addressing the Russian parliament on Wednesday, Zyuganov stressed that “we have 80 years of victory ahead of us. I call on everyone once again” to make sure that Volgograd has its “true name” returned to it.
If the city of 860,000 is not re-branded as Stalingrad before May 9, when Victory Day is celebrated in Russia, then MPs should fly there and make sure it happens, he insisted.
During World War II, Soviet troops “fought for Stalingrad and got their medals for it too,” the Communist leader explained.
The Russian people “will understand everything” if Stalingrad is back on the map, Zyuganov insisted. “We must mark this holiday properly,” he added.
Volgograd was originally called Tsaritsyn, taking its name from the island where Russian troops built a fort during the 16th century. Due to the name's association with the monarchy, the Bolshevik government rebranded the city in honor of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in 1925.
The USSR's next leader, Nikita Khrushchev, changed the name to Volgograd after the nearby Volga river in 1961 as part of his “de-Stalinization” campaign. Since 1991, multiple petitions have been launched to revert the name to either Tsaritsyn or Stalingrad.
There have been at least two big campaigns to restore the name Stalingrad. One was spearheaded by the Communist Party in 2013, while another emerged in 2021 and was backed by the party ‘A Just Russia – For Truth'. Over the past decade, Volgograd has used the name during events commemorating war victims as a token of respect.
A 2023 study by state-owned pollster VTSIOM showed some 67% of the city's residents were skeptical of the name change and wanted to keep living in Volgograd.
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North Bergen's Robert Farley allegedly drugged coffee pot and shaved body hair on colleagues in series of ‘pranks'
A New Jersey police chief has come under fire after colleagues accused him of defecating on the station floor, attempting to drug co-workers by putting Viagra and Adderall in their coffee, and sticking a hypodermic needle into an officer's penis, according to a report.
NJ.com reported that Robert Farley, chief of North Bergen police, repeatedly harassed his co-workers with a series of so-called pranks, while he is also accused of retaliating after a colleague, who is a person of color, complained of racial harassment.
Five former and current North Bergen officers plan to sue the township over Farley's behavior, which allegedly also included the police chief shaving his body hair on to people's food and “scraping fluids from his underwear on to people seated in the chief's office”.
In an email to NJ.com, a North Bergen spokesperson called the claims “false and outrageous”.
“The Township of North Bergen has full confidence in Chief Robert Farley's leadership,” the spokesperson said.
But Farley's accusers allege that the police chief, who took on the role in February 2024, instigated a reign of terror which one officer said included retaliation after they cooperated with an internal affairs investigation over a hostile work environment and civil rights violations.
In his notice to sue, Lt Alex Guzman wrote: “Chief Farley has, on several occasions, pulled his pants down and defecated on the floor in front of his entire office staff.”
Guzman added: “He has also left feces on the bathroom floor, apparently with the intent of having someone unknowingly step on it.”
Michael F Derin worked as a special captain with administrative duties at the department. He wrote in his notice to sue that he and Farley had been friends before the chief's behavior towards him changed in August 2024.
“Chief Farley chases me around his office,” Derrin wrote. “After cornering me in the filing area with no further room for retreat, he sticks a hypodermic needle through my jeans into the tip of my penis.”
Derin said the needle drew blood from his penis, and said: “From this point on, the chief creates a hostile work environment.”
He wrote, “The chief would shave his body hair on people's property, their persons, and their food,” adding: “He was also fond of scraping fluids from his underwear on to people seated in the chief's office.”
Derin's son, detective Michael A Derin, said he had witnessed Farley putting Viagra and Adderall into a coffee pot. Farley stirred the pills until they dissolved, Derin said, and then waited for someone to drink the coffee.
Officer Rashid Siyam said Farley and others retaliated against him after he participated in an internal investigation into civil rights violations. Siyam said some department members had referred to him as a “camel jockey” and “terrorist”.
NJ.com published photos that seemed to support the officers' claims. In one a man who the news outlet identified as Farley is shirtless and appears to be shaving his arm over a colleague's desk. Another photo shows a toilet cubicle which appears to have been befouled.
In a statement on the North Bergen police website, posted after he became chief in February 2024, Farley, who reportedly earns more than $228,000 a year, said he was “proud” to lead the community.
“Like my predecessors, I will strive to lead the officers of our department to be an accessible component of our community while maintaining their competency, transparency, and professionalism,” Farley said at the time.
Six tourists were killed and 39 rescued when a submarine sank in the Egyptian Red Sea, the local governor confirms
The accident happened around one kilometre off the coast of Hurghada
The governor says the tourists were from Russia, Norway, Sweden, and India - all six who died were Russian
In November, a tourist boat called the Sea Story sank in Hurghada, leaving 11 dead or missing - including a British couple - and 35 survivors
The question is why these incidents keep happening, writes Sally Nabil from Cairo
One person who went on the submarine last month tells us he "never felt unsafe" - while another tourist shares recent footage of a trip with the same company
Are you in Hurghada? Get in touch with us here
Edited by Owen Amos and Imogen James, with Sally Nabil reporting from Cairo
Imogen JamesLive reporter
At about 10:00 local time (08:00 GMT), a tourist submarine sank in the Egyptian Red Sea, off the coast of Hurghada. Our live coverage is ending now, so here's everything we know - and don't know:
What we know:
Six people, all Russian, died after the tourist vessel sank around one kilometre from the coast. The local governor said 39 tourists were rescued, and nobody is missing.
The 45 tourists were from Russia, Norway, Sweden and India, the governor said, along with five Egyptian crew members.
The company in charge, Sindbad, has cancelled upcoming trips and authorities are investigating.
A number of people have got in touch with the BBC to share their experiences on Sindbad submarines - this tourist shared footage from their trip this past weekend.
What we don't know:
We still don't know what caused the sinking.
Speaking to Russian media, a survivor said that as they took their reserved seats, water started "pouring in" as two hatches were open. She said it was as if the submarine had fallen off "whatever it was holding on to".
(Earlier, we learned that tourists are taken out to the submarine - which is docked at a floating platform - on a regular boat).
But other unconfirmed reports said the vessel hit a reef at 20 metres and lost pressure.
For more on the who, what, where, when and why, here's our explainer. Thanks for reading.
Just last week, tourist Roy Gillson took a trip on a Sindbad submarine in Egypt.
He says they enjoyed the trip, but "looking back we had no safety drill whatsoever".
(We earlier heard from a different tourist who said they listened to a recorded safety briefing).
Watch his footage from their trip below:
This video can not be played
Footage taken from inside a Red Sea Sindbad submarine last weekend
It's still not known what caused the Sindbad submarine to sink. One report, from the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, suggested the vessel may have hit a reef at a depth of around 20 metres.
A woman now tells Russian outlet Ren TV, in a phone interview, that water flowed into hatches as passengers boarded the submarine.
Ekaterina says as they took their reserved seats, water started "pouring in" as two hatches were open.
She says it was as if the submarine had fallen off "whatever it was holding on to". Earlier, we learned that tourists are taken out to the submarine, which is docked at a floating platform.
Some managed to swim out and some didn't, she says. Her daughter and mother are in hospital, she adds.
We're beginning to get details of those injured and killed in today's incident.
Two people who died are from the village of Urussu, in the Russian republic of Tatarstan, the republic's authorities tell Russian media.
They were married doctors, and their two daughters are in hospital, the authorities add.
As a reminder, the Red Sea governor earlier said all six who died are Russian citizens.
A Sindbad submarine (not the vessel lost) in Hurghada today
We still don't know what caused the Sindbad submarine to sink in the Red Sea.
But according to a Telegram post from the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, "unconfirmed reports" say the submarine hit a reef and lost pressure.
The collision happened at a depth of 20 metres (65 feet), the post adds. The company website says it takes tourists to a maximum depth of 25 metres.
The post adds that all excursions and ticket sales for the tours have been suspended, and all other recreational submersible dives off the Hurghada coast have been cancelled.
We've been receiving pictures from people who have been on the Sindbad excursion in recent weeks.
These are from one of the two submarines the company says it owns - we don't know if this is the specific submarine involved in today's incident.
We've spoken to Dr James Aldridge, from Bristol, who took a trip on the submarine last month.
This is how he described the excursion:
First, tourists are taken out on a boat to the submarine, which is at a floating dock.
There are two entry points, he says, and the tourists then climb into the vessel. Inside, he describes it as modern, clean, and well-maintained.
Once inside, the tourists sit down on a cushion next to their assigned window and listened to a recorded safety briefing. He says it wasn't overcrowded.
They toured the reef for 40 minutes, and Aldridge says he "never felt unsafe". He says they never went to the depths of 25 metres that the company says is possible.
Divers who went alongside the submarine used fish food to attract marine life, so there would be more for the guests to see.
They were not issued life jackets, and "at all times the staff were professional and knowledgeable", he says.
Sally NabilReporting from Cairo
We don't know yet what caused this submarine to sink. But the question is why these incidents are still happening frequently in this area.
The frequency of these tragedies raises questions about the security measures employed by the local authorities, especially by excursion companies.
The Red Sea resort is a very popular tourist destination - but this tragedy will deal a very, very heavy blow to the industry, which is a lifeline to the Egyptian economy.
The industry is also highly dependent on Russian tourists, and all those who died were Russian, the local governor says.
Wael HusseinReporting from Cairo
We're getting more information from the Red Sea governor, Amr Hanafy.
He says there were 45 passengers on board, plus five Egyptian crew.
The passengers were from Russia, India, Norway and Sweden. The six killed were Russians, he says.
Earlier, the Russian embassy in Egypt said all the passengers were Russian.
We can bring you more now from the Red Sea governor.
Amr Hanafy says the submarine involved had a valid licence and the crew leader obtained the correct "scientific certificates".
The company, Sindbad, has been operating for several years and owns two submarines, according to its website.
In a new update, the Red Sea area governor says six tourists are dead and 39 others have been rescued.
There are no tourists missing, Amr Hanafy adds in an update on Facebook.
The authorities are investigating the cause of the accident, he says.
Hanafy praises the rescue teams involved in the incident, and says they will continue to coordinate with the relevant embassies and parties.
A video alongside the post shows him speaking to families and individuals in hospital, wrapped in blankets.
There's a lot of boating activity around Hurghada harbour near where the submarine sank.
The below video shows vessels on the water today, as well as the clear skies and calm conditions we mentioned earlier.
This video can not be played
A Russian official in Hurghada, Viktor Voropaev, says at least five Russians were killed in the submarine accident, including two children.
Voropaev - Russia's consul general in the Red Sea resort - was speaking to Tass, the state-owned Russian news agency.
BBC reporters in Egypt say six people are feared dead. Earlier, the Russian embassy in Egypt said four people had been killed, and that all passengers on board were Russian.
Emma PengellyReporter
We're now seeing more pictures from Hurghada, where ambulances have gathered after a tourist submarine sank off the popular resort's coast.
In the second image, you can see a second Sindbad vessel docked in the harbour. This isn't the same vessel involved in this morning's incident.
A tourist staying at the Sindbad Club in Hurghada, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells the BBC: "We
heard the ambulance sirens which lasted a long time and there are still at
least three ambulances at the harbour."
Darren BettBBC weather presenter
Weather observations are very sparse in the Red Sea. There
is a weather site at Hurghada that was reporting very light winds – around 5mph
and no low cloud early this morning.
It can be windy in the Red Sea when a northerly wind blows
and the seas become rough. But it looks like the weather was quite calm this
morning with wave heights nearby around 0.2m, so no sign of any rough waters.
As we've been reporting, a number of people have been taken to hospital following the incident.
In new pictures, we can see police waiting outside the Egyptian Hospital in Hurghada. Sources earlier told the BBC that nine people were injured, four critically.
Joe InwoodBBC correspondent
I've been hearing from Dr Simon Boxall, from the National Oceanography Centre at Southampton University.
He's been telling me a bit more about these types of vessels. According to the tour company Sindbad, the submarines were built in Finland - Boxall says he isn't sure if this is true but if it is, they will have been built to very high standards.
There is an "intense nature" in operating these vessels, he adds.
If a submarine runs into a problem, it will either surface quickly, or get the passengers out as soon as possible before it drops down too far, Boxall explains.
It is still early days, and we are yet to hear of any potential cause of this incident.
But Boxall says Egypt is facing a "crisis on at the moment, in terms of safety on some of these tourist vessels".
Whatever the cause of today's incident, Boxall says it's a "terrible tragedy".
As we've been reporting, a tourist submarine has sunk in Egypt. Here are the details:
Who: At least six people are feared dead, with nine injured and 29 rescued, sources tell the BBC. All passengers on board are Russian, according to Moscow's embassy in Egypt.
What: The vessel is believed to be operated by Sindbad Submarines, and the submarine has been operating tourist trips for several years.
When: The incident happened this morning at around 10:00 local time, according to the Russian embassy.
Where: Sindbad, the submarine, sank close to the harbour in Hurghada, a popular tourist resort in the Red Sea known for its beaches and coral reefs.
How: We don't know yet what caused the submarine to sink, but our teams in London and Egypt are trying to find out what happened.
Sally NabilReporting from Cairo
It's
the second incident in the Red Sea in around six months.
Last November,
a boat named Sea Story carrying more than 40 people also sank near the
Egyptian resort of Marsa Allam, with 11 people unaccounted, or presumed dead.
Today, six people are feared to have died, with others injured, after a submarine sank in Hurghada, another famous tourist
resort.
Reasons behind this latest tragedy are not clear yet. But the frequency
of such incidents raise big questions about safety measures employed by local
authorities, in such popular tourist sea excursion areas, and whether or not proper safety checks are being carried out.
Back in November, Egyptian officials
were talking about rough weather conditions causing the Sea Story to sink.
But
the BBC spoke to survivors, who cast doubt on the claim.
It's a pretty warm, sunny day in Egypt now. We don't know yet what the authorities will say caused the incident in Hurghada.
The local governorate's office in Hurghada tells the Reuters news agency that six foreigners, whose nationalities are unknown, were killed in the Red Sea submarine incident.
That tallies with the BBC's reporters in Egypt, who also say six people are feared dead.
The Russian embassy in Egypt says at least four people were killed, and that all tourists on board were Russian.
Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
The findings of a government probe confirm what many adoptees attested to for years: Babies were sent abroad for profit, often with falsified backstories.
SEOUL — Boon Young Han remembers growing up in the lush, green countryside of western Denmark in the 1970s and 1980s, where she reconnected to the country she came from when she fell in love with taekwondo.
Adopted at 3 months old by a Danish family, she first became interested in her place of birth — South Korea — through martial arts, which led her to visit the country in the 1990s and begin studying the language there in the early 2000s.
While in Seoul, she discovered an ugly truth: Many of her fellow adoptees were stolen at birth without their biological parents' consent, or adopted internationally for profit, often without legally valid documents. Many had their original identities concealed by adoption agencies, and some are still on a quest for their original names and birth families. Numerous children went to homes that were poorly vetted, if at all.
“People need to understand the magnitude of being robbed of your original identity,” Han said. “I was adopted to a good family, but that doesn't really negate any of my rights to know where I came from, how my life began, what happened to me and what happened to my body for the first few months of my life.”
Han, 50, is one of several adoptees from Denmark who banded together as the Danish Korean Rights Group and successfully campaigned for the South Korean government to launch an investigation into its fraught history with international adoptions, a widely celebrated victory among adoptee activists who for decades campaigned for the government to examine the system's troubling practices.
On Wednesday, the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission released preliminary results of its nearly three-year, ongoing investigation — and for the first time acknowledged that human rights abuses occurred.
“I'm glad to see these long-standing issues finally receiving official recognition,” said Youngeun Koo, an assistant professor at Lund University in Sweden who wrote a book on the history of international adoptions in South Korea. “… However, like many who have worked in this field, I am not surprised by the findings themselves.”
More than 200,000 South Korean children were adopted to families in foreign countries after an armistice halted the Korean War in 1953, according to experts, and the country's government “failed in its duty” to protect their rights, the commission said in a damning report.
The commission — which is examining more than 360 cases submitted by adoptees from 11 countries — found that some children were taken without their birth parents' knowledge or consent, and that adoption agency directors at times illegally acted as a guardian to sign off on the adoption. All of the cases involve adoptees sent overseas between 1964 and 1999, and include countries such as the United States, Norway, Sweden, Germany and Canada.
At times, records were falsified to incorrectly state that children were abandoned or orphaned, and their original identities as well as information about their birth families were either “lost, falsified or fabricated,” it said. Agencies sometimes swapped the identity of a child who had died during the adoption process or who was reclaimed by their biological family with that of another child to evade further paperwork, speed up the process and avoid refunding adoption fees, the commission found.
Adoptive families often were not vetted. In 1984 alone, 99 percent of emigration applications for adoptees were approved on the same or the following day, according to the commission. It accused agencies of turning adoptions “into a profit-driven industry,” charging high fees and coordinating with foreign agencies to “send a set number of adoptees each month” in what it called a “mass exportation of children to meet demand.”
“The ways that the children have been procured has been anything but legal, and many have simply closed their eyes,” Han said.
After the Korean War left many in poverty, foreign aid began to pour in, with religious organizations and humanitarian groups establishing orphanages and child welfare programs that allowed the authoritarian regime at the time to show “little interest in building a comprehensive public welfare system,” according to Koo.
By the 1970s, much of that foreign aid had been diverted to other war-torn places such as Vietnam, leaving a vacuum in child welfare funds.
“Rather than increasing public spending or reforming its welfare infrastructure, the government outsourced much of the responsibility to private adoption agencies in South Korea and the Korean social workers working within them,” Koo said. “These agencies were expected to fund domestic welfare services — such as orphanages, reception centers and counseling programs for unwed mothers — through revenue from international adoptions.”
In the end, international adoptions became “not a last resort, but the first and fastest solution,” she said.
Katelyn Hemmeke, a 34-year-old editor of comics and graphic novels, was adopted as an infant and grew up in a “very rural, very White” part of Michigan. She didn't know that her adoption records were falsified until she was 26 and living in South Korea on a Fulbright research grant. Then she discovered that she was taken without her birth parents' consent.
“People love to brand us as ‘those angry adoptees.' But wouldn't you be angry?” she said. “Wouldn't you be angry if you were stolen? Angry for yourself — angry for your birth parents?”
“Before I can fully applaud anything, I think it remains to be seen what kind of real action comes out of this,” she said.
Adoptees who have had human rights abuses formally recognized by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission are more likely to be able to pursue some form of legal recourse, Han said. However, the committee so far has only reached a conclusion on a fraction of the cases submitted, and some applicants are being asked to submit further documentation to aid investigators.
“The key issue is that we were never given a legal identity or our legal identity changed, and now suddenly because we don't have enough documentation, we cannot have human rights violations against us recognized,” Han said.
Most of the records are stored across four different adoption agencies, which have so far resisted activists' calls to release their full archives. An adoptee's ability to obtain these records often depends on the individual worker contacted at any given agency, according to Koo.
Human rights abuses were identified in 56 of 100 cases reviewed by the commission so far. The remaining cases have yet to reach a definitive conclusion, according to Han. The inquiry is set to expire in May, and some activists are calling for an extension.
“This reaches far beyond finding mom and dad. We want to restore our true identity,” Han said. “Were you ripped from your mother at birth? Were you stolen while playing outside? That matters to people. That matters for our understanding of self — where and what we came from.”
Riek Machar's house arrest and armed clashes signal ‘a severe unravelling' of 2018 peace deal, his party says
South Sudan's first vice-president and main opposition leader, Riek Machar, has been placed under house arrest, prompting a warning from the UN that the country is at risk of relapsing into widespread conflict.
Machar's party said his arrest had in effect collapsed the peace deal that ended the 2013-2018 civil war.
In a statement on Facebook, the acting chair of the foreign relations committee of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), Reath Muoch Tang, said the defence minister and chief of national security accompanied a convoy of more than 20 heavily armed vehicles, which had “forcefully entered” Machar's residence. There his bodyguards were disarmed and an arrest warrant issued “under unclear charges”, he said.
The UN human rights commission in South Sudan said in a statement that the arrest, alongside escalating armed clashes and reported attacks on civilians, “signals a severe unravelling of the peace process – and a direct threat to millions of lives..
“Failure to uphold the protections enshrined in the peace agreement – including freedom of movement, political participation and the cessation of hostilities – will lead to a catastrophic return to war,” it added.
Adhering to the agreement and protecting civilians was “critical to preventing all-out war”, the commission said.
Tang said Machar was being held with his wife, Angelina Teny, who is the country's interior minister, at their home. Machar has been accused of supporting the White Army militia, which clashed with the military recently. His party denies current links with the White Army, which it fought alongside during the war.
In a video address, the SPLM-IO spokesperson Pal Mai Deng said Machar was “in confinement by the government” and that his life was at risk.
Machar's arrest poses a grave threat to the power-sharing agreement between him and the country's president, Salva Kiir, his longtime rival. The agreement was part of a 2018 peace deal to end the civil war, in which 400,000 people were killed.
Tensions have been rising in recent months. The White Army, a community militia loyal to Machar, launched attacks against the country's military, the South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), in Nasir county earlier this month and overran an army base. The militia, which protects the Nuer community, said it had acted in self-defence.
The government responded by bombarding areas where the group is based and arresting opposition figures.
An SSPDF commander and a UN crew member were among at least 27 soldiers killed in gunfire as a UN helicopter was trying to evacuate troops from Nasir county on 7 March.
The deputy chair of SPLM-IO, Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, said Machar's detention meant the power-sharing agreement was at an end.
It “effectively brings the agreement to a collapse, thus the prospect for peace and stability in South Sudan has now been put into serious jeopardy”, he said.
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011. A civil war between government and opposition forces swiftly followed, fought largely along ethnic lines.
International bodies called for restraint after Machar's arrest. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an eastern African trade bloc, said his detention seriously undermined the peace agreement and risked “plunging the country back into violent conflict”.
The head of the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, said the country stood on the brink of relapsing into widespread conflict that “will not only devastate South Sudan but also affect the entire region”.
He called for the parties involved to immediately cease hostilities and engage in constructive talks.
The US Bureau of African Affairs urged Kiir to release Machar and called on South Sudan's leaders to “demonstrate sincerity of stated commitments to peace”.
Five people have been wounded in a stabbing near Amsterdam's central Dam Square, local police said on Thursday.Two of the victims are in serious condition, according to local reports. The wounded include a 67-year-old woman and a 69-year-old man of American nationality, a 26-year-old man of Polish nationality, a 73-year-old woman from Belgium, and a 19-year-old woman from Amsterdam. הצגת פוסט זה באינסטגרםפוסט משותף על ידי Femke Halsema | Burgemeester (@burgemeesterfemkehalsema)A spokesperson could not confirm whether the attacker had been arrested or the motive of the stabbing. AdvertisementThe knifeman reportedly attacked individuals at random, according to De Telegraaf. His stabbing spree was reportedly stopped after he was overpowered by a civilian. Pro-Palestinian protesters face Dutch police while taking part in a banned demonstration in Amsterdam, Netherlands November 10, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/Anthony Deutsch)Motive behind the stabbingPolice received reports of a robbery at the time of the attack, a spokesperson said. Investigations into the attack are ongoing. Minister Van Weel said that authorities are not ruling out a terror attack but added that"It is still much too early for that" to be known."The police investigation is in full swing and has full priority at the moment. We hope to get more clarity soon about the background of this horrible stabbing," said mayor Femke Halsema. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Reuters contributed to this report. Advertisement
Two of the victims are in serious condition, according to local reports. The wounded include a 67-year-old woman and a 69-year-old man of American nationality, a 26-year-old man of Polish nationality, a 73-year-old woman from Belgium, and a 19-year-old woman from Amsterdam. הצגת פוסט זה באינסטגרםפוסט משותף על ידי Femke Halsema | Burgemeester (@burgemeesterfemkehalsema)A spokesperson could not confirm whether the attacker had been arrested or the motive of the stabbing. AdvertisementThe knifeman reportedly attacked individuals at random, according to De Telegraaf. His stabbing spree was reportedly stopped after he was overpowered by a civilian. Pro-Palestinian protesters face Dutch police while taking part in a banned demonstration in Amsterdam, Netherlands November 10, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/Anthony Deutsch)Motive behind the stabbingPolice received reports of a robbery at the time of the attack, a spokesperson said. Investigations into the attack are ongoing. Minister Van Weel said that authorities are not ruling out a terror attack but added that"It is still much too early for that" to be known."The police investigation is in full swing and has full priority at the moment. We hope to get more clarity soon about the background of this horrible stabbing," said mayor Femke Halsema. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Reuters contributed to this report. Advertisement
הצגת פוסט זה באינסטגרםפוסט משותף על ידי Femke Halsema | Burgemeester (@burgemeesterfemkehalsema)
פוסט משותף על ידי Femke Halsema | Burgemeester (@burgemeesterfemkehalsema)
A spokesperson could not confirm whether the attacker had been arrested or the motive of the stabbing. AdvertisementThe knifeman reportedly attacked individuals at random, according to De Telegraaf. His stabbing spree was reportedly stopped after he was overpowered by a civilian. Pro-Palestinian protesters face Dutch police while taking part in a banned demonstration in Amsterdam, Netherlands November 10, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/Anthony Deutsch)Motive behind the stabbingPolice received reports of a robbery at the time of the attack, a spokesperson said. Investigations into the attack are ongoing. Minister Van Weel said that authorities are not ruling out a terror attack but added that"It is still much too early for that" to be known."The police investigation is in full swing and has full priority at the moment. We hope to get more clarity soon about the background of this horrible stabbing," said mayor Femke Halsema. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Reuters contributed to this report. Advertisement
The knifeman reportedly attacked individuals at random, according to De Telegraaf. His stabbing spree was reportedly stopped after he was overpowered by a civilian. Pro-Palestinian protesters face Dutch police while taking part in a banned demonstration in Amsterdam, Netherlands November 10, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/Anthony Deutsch)Motive behind the stabbingPolice received reports of a robbery at the time of the attack, a spokesperson said. Investigations into the attack are ongoing. Minister Van Weel said that authorities are not ruling out a terror attack but added that"It is still much too early for that" to be known."The police investigation is in full swing and has full priority at the moment. We hope to get more clarity soon about the background of this horrible stabbing," said mayor Femke Halsema. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Reuters contributed to this report. Advertisement
Police received reports of a robbery at the time of the attack, a spokesperson said. Investigations into the attack are ongoing. Minister Van Weel said that authorities are not ruling out a terror attack but added that"It is still much too early for that" to be known."The police investigation is in full swing and has full priority at the moment. We hope to get more clarity soon about the background of this horrible stabbing," said mayor Femke Halsema. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Reuters contributed to this report. Advertisement
Minister Van Weel said that authorities are not ruling out a terror attack but added that"It is still much too early for that" to be known."The police investigation is in full swing and has full priority at the moment. We hope to get more clarity soon about the background of this horrible stabbing," said mayor Femke Halsema. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Reuters contributed to this report. Advertisement
"The police investigation is in full swing and has full priority at the moment. We hope to get more clarity soon about the background of this horrible stabbing," said mayor Femke Halsema. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Reuters contributed to this report. Advertisement
Stay updated with the latest news!
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Reuters contributed to this report. Advertisement
National security adviser faces new scrutiny after adding journalist to group chat discussing Yemen attack plans
Mike Waltz, Donald Trump's national security adviser who is at the center of the storm over a group chat which leaked highly sensitive military plans to a journalist, left his Venmo account open to the public, according to a new report.
The oversight represents a further security breach, days after the news that Waltz added the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic to a Signal chat in which operational planning for a US attack on Houthis in Yemen was shared.
A Venmo account with the name “Michael Waltz”, which bore a picture of Waltz, was visible to the public until Wednesday afternoon, Wired reported. Waltz's 328-person list of friends included accounts that appeared to belong to Walker Barrett, a National Security Council staffer, and Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff – whose account was also public.
Both Wiles and Barrett were part of the Signal chat, news of which rocked Washington this week and led to Democrats to call for Waltz and the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, who shared timings of forthcoming airstrikes and their results, to resign.
Waltz said this week that he takes “full responsibility” for the debacle, contradicting a claim by Trump that a “lower level” staffer was to blame.
Wired reported that many of the accounts linked to Waltz's page belonged to “local and national politicians and political operatives”. Dan Crenshaw, a Republican congressman from Texas, was among Waltz's friend list, as were journalists including Bret Baier and Brian Kilmeade from Fox News.
After Wired approached the White House for comment, Waltz and Wiles's accounts went private, the outlet said.
Last year Wired reported that JD Vance, then the nominee for vice-president, had left his Venmo public. His friend list revealed a host of connections including the people behind Project 2025, the rightwing plan for government that Trump was forced to distance himself from during the campaign but which appears to have greatly influenced the direction of his second term in office.
Opposition parties say political control of appointments will make judges subject to politicians and undermine democracy
Israel's parliament has passed a law expanding elected officials' power to appoint judges, in defiance of a years-long protest against Benjamin Netanyahu's attempts to drive through judicial changes.
The approval of the bill, which opposition parties say will make judges subject to the will of politicians, comes as Netanyahu's government is locked in a standoff with the supreme court over its attempts to dismiss the attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara and Ronen Bar, the head of the internal security agency.
Opposition parties, which have filed a petition with the supreme court challenging the vote, said in a joint statement: “This government is undermining the foundations of democracy, and the entire opposition will stand as a strong barrier against it until every attempt to turn Israel into a dictatorship is stopped.”
The justice minister, Yariv Levin, who sponsored the bill, said the measure was intended to “restore balance” between the legislative and judicial branches.
Currently judges in Israel, including supreme court justices, are selected by a nine-member committee composed of judges and lawmakers, under the justice minister's supervision.
The new law, which would come into effect at the start of the next legislative term would increase political control over appointments. The committee would still have nine members: three supreme court judges, the justice minister and another minister, one coalition lawmaker, one opposition lawmaker, and two public representatives – one appointed by the majority and the other by the opposition.
In his closing remarks before the vote, Levin criticised the supreme court, saying it had “effectively nullified the Knesset. “It has taken for itself the authority to cancel laws and even basic laws. This is something unheard of in any democracy in the world,” he said.
In 2023, changes to the judiciary prompted one of the largest protest movements in Israel's history. With the announcement of the new bill, rallies were once again held in main cities. On Wednesday, thousands of people protested against the bill before it was approved in parliament.
The row came as European far-right leaders flew in to Jerusalem for a conference organised by the Israeli government aimed at “combating antisemitism”. The event, which was shunned by mainstream Jewish leaders because of the divisive guest list, illustrated a growing alliance between Israel and the European far right.
The supreme court has so far blocked Netanyahu's attempt to fire Bar. The Shin Bet intelligence chief has been investigating the prime minister's close aides for alleged breaches of national security, including leaking classified documents to foreign media and allegedly taking money from Qatar, which is known to have given significant financial aid to Hamas.
Netanyahu is also attempting to fire the attorney general after Baharav-Miara told him he could not fire Bar until her office had reviewed his motives for doing so.
In an unprecedented step on Sunday, Netanyahu's cabinet approved a no confidence motion against Baharav-Miara, its latest move against officials deemed hostile to the government.
Claude Klein, a public law expert at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, said enactment of the law would be catastrophic. “They want to take real power. Netanyahu thinks that the supreme court is keeping him from running the country his way,” he told Agence-France Presse.
Last week Israel resumed its military operation in Gaza, shattering the calm of the ceasefire with Hamas. According to the Palestinian health ministry, 855 people have been killed in the renewed assault.
On Thursday Hamas said an Israeli strike hit the tent in the Jabaliya area, where its spokesperson Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua was living, killing him. Another strike near Gaza City killed four children and their parents, according to the emergency service of the region's health ministry.
Security sources told Reuters that Egypt, one of the mediators in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, had received positive indications from Israel over a new ceasefire proposal that would include a transitional phase. The proposal suggests Hamas release five Israeli hostages each week, sources said.
Explosions were heard in Jerusalem as Israel said it had intercepted two missiles launched from Yemen. The long-range missiles were fired by the Houthi rebels and were intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory, according to the military.
Agence France-Presse and Associated Press contributed to this report
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
A protester waves Turkish flag during a protest against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, outside Caglayan courthouse, in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
A protester gives a flower to riot police officers during a protest after Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison, in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Huseyin Aldemir)
A policeman checks an injured protester during a protest after Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison, in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Protesters stand behind police barrier during a protest after Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison, in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
ISTANBUL (AP) — Police used pepper spray, plastic pellets and water cannon against protesters in Turkey's capital early Thursday, the latest clash in the country's biggest anti-government protests in over a decade.
The demonstrations began last week following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Imamoglu was jailed pending trial on corruption charges many see as politically motivated and is also accused of supporting terrorism. The government insists the judiciary is independent, but critics say the evidence is based on secret witnesses and lacks credibility.
Early Thursday, student demonstrators tried to march and gathered to read a statement near the gates at Middle East Technical University, pro-opposition broadcaster Halk TV and local media reported. They were met by security forces who deployed pepper spray, water cannon and plastic pellets. A standoff ensued where the students hid behind a barricade of dumpsters until the police charged to detain them.
Melih Meric, a legislator with Imamoglu's Republican People's Party or CHP, was seen soaked with water and suffering from pepper spray exposure.
“My student friends only wanted to make a press statement, but the police strictly did not allow it, this is the result,” Meric said in social media videos.
Interior Minister Ali Yerkikaya said Thursday that nearly 1,900 people have been arrested over eight days of massive protests across the country. He said that 1,879 suspects were detained, including 260 who were jailed pending trial. A further 468 were released under judicial control while their cases continue. Proceedings are ongoing for 662 other people.
The minister said some faced charges for drug offenses and assault, adding that 150 police officers had been injured. He did not specify the nature of other charges but offenses such as resisting police and not complying with a ban on protests and gatherings have been cited previously.
Demonstrations involving hundreds of thousands of largely peaceful protesters have swept across major cities, including opposition-organized rallies outside Istanbul City Hall. Other major protests have been held in Istanbul's districts of Kadikoy and Sisli districts in recent days.
Some demonstrations have been marred by violence as police used water cannons, tear gas, plastic pellets and pepper spray to breakup protests that have been banned in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.
Police continued to carry out house raids targeting protesters Thursday morning. Most of those detained in their homes appear to belong to left-wing parties, trade unions and civil society groups.
Eleven journalists were arrested and sent to jail Wednesday after covering the protests. At least eight were released under judicial control a day later, the Media and Law Studies Association said, but still face charges relating to the protests.
Turkey's broadcasting authority, meanwhile, issued a 10-day airwave ban on opposition-supporting channel Sozcu TV, the station said. The penalty was issued for “inciting the public to hatred and hostility” during broadcasts leading up to Imamoglu's imprisonment.
Radio and Television Supreme Council member Ilhan Tasci said that other channels backing the opposition were fined and handed program suspensions over their protest coverage.
BBC reporter Mark Lowen was deported from Turkey following his arrest Wednesday, the British news broadcaster said. He was detained at his hotel and held for 17 hours before being issued with a notice describing him as a “threat to public order,” according to a BBC statement Thursday.
The state-run Analdu Agency reported that 30 people were detained in Istanbul for what it described as “creating panic” with “provocative” social media posts calling others to street protests.
Imamoglu, the Istanbul mayor, was detained in a dawn raid on his home last Wednesday and later remanded to prison. He faces charges stemming from two investigations into the opposition-controlled Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality -- a corruption case and one alleging support for terrorism.
The mayor is the main challenger to Erdogan in an election currently scheduled for 2028 but which is likely to take place earlier.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said Thursday that 106 people had been arrested in both municipality investigations, with 51 in jail pending trial, including Imamoglu. Those detained include municipal officials and business figures accused of crimes such as bribery, extortion and bid-rigging.
Many see the case against Imamoglu as politically motivated. Protesters often say they have come out against Turkey's democratic backsliding and increasing authoritarianism, as well as the country's bleak economic outlook.
Imamoglu was confirmed as the CHP candidate for presidential elections the same day he was sent to prison He has performed well in recent polls against Erdogan, and his election as mayor of Turkey's largest city in 2019 was a major blow to the president.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
US nationals traveling to Namibia will soon be required to obtain a visa prior to entry, Washington's embassy has announced. The country in southern Africa, a major tourist destination, had traditionally allowed free entry to Americans and visitors from several other parts of the world.
In a statement on Tuesday, the US mission in the Namibian capital, Windhoek, said the new measure would take effect on April 1.
“Visitors are recommended to apply for their visa in advance of planned travel through Namibia's online visa on arrival portal,” it stated.
“Visitors arriving in Windhoek, Walvis Bay, or entering at high volume border crossing points… will also have the option of purchasing a tourist visa upon arrival at the respective airport or border crossing point,” it added.
The UK High Commission in Windhoek has also updated its travel advice, urging British nationals to apply for a visa before visiting Namibia or be prepared to obtain one upon arrival.
“The cost is 1,600 Namibian dollars [around $87] per person, regardless of the age of the traveler,” according to the British government.
Along with Germany, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Canada, and Austria, the US is among the top 10 Western countries whose tourists visit Namibia, according to an official.
Last year, Windhoek announced the new visa policy and plans to revoke exemption status for 31 countries, including the country's major overseas tourism markets, citing a lack of reciprocity.
Russia is among the foreign countries whose citizens are unaffected by Windhoek's restrictions. Earlier this month, Yulia Maksutova, deputy director of Moscow's Center for Strategic Research, said Russia had visa-free entry agreements with Namibia, Botswana, Cape Verde, Mauritius, Tunisia, South Africa, and the Seychelles.
The implementation of the measure comes days after the country swore in its first female president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. The 72-year-old member of the South West Africa People's Organisation party, which has governed the sparsely populated country for over three decades, received more than 57% of the votes in elections last December.
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Permanent residents in the U.S. have faced detention and deportation while tourists have been turned away under the new immigration regime taking shape under the Trump administration.
Immigration officials face accusations that they have targeted individuals because of their political opinions or because they have taken part in political activities, such as protests or demonstrations.
Iranian citizen Alireza Doroudi, a doctoral student at the University of Alabama, has been detained by ICE. The university said in a statement Wednesday that the detention of a student occurred off campus, according to The New York Times. While Doroudi was not named by the school, ICE records indicate that Doroudi was arrested by federal immigration authorities. It remains unclear why he was targeted.
Doroudi studied mechanical engineering at the university, according to a LinkedIn page listed in his name. He specialized in metallurgical engineering, with a focus on metals for industrial use.
A University of Alabama student paper, The Crimson White, initially reported on Doroudi's detention on Wednesday.
The arrest of Rumeysa Ozturk was caught on video, showing ICE walking up to the Turkish doctoral student.
Surveillance footage of the arrest shows plainclothes federal agents approaching her from the street outside her off-campus apartment before putting her in handcuffs.
A man covered by his sweatshirt hood appears to approach Rumeysa Ozturk without identifying himself and then grabs her arm. Another officer approaches and takes her phone while she is placed in handcuffs. Three officers cover their faces with neck gaiters.
Ozturk, a PhD student in the graduate school of arts and sciences at the Massachusetts university who is legally in the United States on a non-immigrant F-1 visa, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on Tuesday outside her apartment on her way to an Iftar dinner to break her Ramadan fast with friends near her home in Somerville, according to her attorney and activists.
In an email to the Tufts community, university president Sunil Kumar said the school was told that federal authorities terminated her visa status, “and we seek to confirm whether that information is true.”
Georgetown University graduate student Badar Khan Suri, originally from India, was detained last Monday night at his home in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. Masked agents said his student visa had been revoked.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Suri has been accused of "spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media" as well as having “close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas.”
On Thursday, a judge blocked the Trump administration from deporting him as his legal challenge against his arrest plays out.
A French researcher, whose name has not been revealed, was reportedly stopped from entering the U.S. earlier in March because of text messages criticizing the Trump administration's academic research policies.
The scientist was on his way to a conference close to Houston at the time, according to Le Monde.
The French minister of higher education and research, Philippe Baptiste, said in a statement that "Freedom of opinion, free research, and academic freedom are values that we will continue to proudly uphold. I will defend the right of all French researchers to be faithful to them while respecting the law.”
Baptiste took to X to say that he had asked for an emergency meeting with other European ministers to establish a plan to defend academic freedom.
"Europe must rise to the occasion to protect research and welcome the talents who can contribute to its success," he said.
It was reported that the researcher had been blocked because of text messages found on his phone criticizing the Trump administration's policies on research. The Department of Homeland Security denied this, saying the man was found to have “confidential” data from a U.S. lab.
Brown University Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a Lebanese citizen in the U.S. on an H-1B visa, was detained and deported this month as she arrived back in the U.S. at an airport in Boston. A DHS spokesperson said she went to Beirut to attend the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, the late leader of Hezbollah.
Alawieh, who specializes in kidney medicine, was previously on a J-1 visa for “exchange students,” but Brown University subsequently sponsored her H-1B visa, a complaint states.
Officers “determined that her true intentions in the United States could not be determined,” according to a filing from Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Sady.
Alawieh has been working at Rhode Island Hospital for the last year caring for kidney transplant recipients, the transplant division's medical director Dr. George Bayliss told the Boston Globe. “I am outraged and upset,” Bayliss said. “The government is acting without regard for the courts.”
Ma Yang, a 37-year-old Hmong-American, had been living in the U.S. since she was a baby and was a legal resident with a green card. However, the mother of five was detained and then deported to Laos, a country she had never been to – having been born in Thailand – and where she says she doesn't know anyone and can't speak the language.
However, she was stripped of her green card by the Trump administration some two-plus years after being released from federal prison, where she served 30 months on marijuana-related charges.
In February, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Yang to report to the agency's Milwaukee facility. When she showed up, agents detained Yang, sent her to Indiana, then Chicago, and finally was shipped off to Laos. She says she doesn't know anyone in the Southeast Asian country and can't speak the language.
In a previous interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Yang said her attorney in the case never told her deportation was a possibility. Defense attorney Matt Ricci, who represented Ma Yang in the 2020 marijuana case, disputed this on Monday, saying his files and notes showed otherwise. He said he told Yang at the time that deportation “could happen,” but that he didn't think it “would happen.”
Rebecca Burke, 28, a Welsh artist, was detained on February 26 after she “set off on the trip of a lifetime across North America,” according to a GoFundMe page. She was reunited with her family this month after spending 19 days in a processing center after being denied entry at the border between the U.S. and Canada.
Burke had been residing with host families, with whom she helped out with chores in exchange for her stay. As she attempted to enter Canada, authorities believed that she may need a work visa, and she was told that she had to go back to the U.S.
"She was refused re-entry and classified as an 'illegal alien,'" her father wrote. "Despite being a tourist with no criminal record, she was handcuffed and taken to a detention facility in Tacoma, Washington."
Her father said she had been led on to the plane in chains “like Hannibal Lecter.”
Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by federal agents despite being a lawful permanent resident with a green card after he was involved in last year's protests and encampments in support of Palestine at Columbia University.
The Department of Homeland Security said it had collected evidence that Khalil was actively, but not materially, supporting Hamas. Officials concede that he has not committed any crimes. A DHS spokesperson claimed in a statement that Khalil "led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.”
The spokesperson added that Khalil was detained "in support of President Trump's executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism."
His eight-months-pregnant wife, a U.S. citizen, said that he was seized by agents in front of her at their university-owned apartment.
Canadian actor and entrepreneur Jasmine Mooney was detained at the border in San Diego as she legally went through the process of trying to get a work visa. She was detained for about two weeks, writing in The Guardian that "There was no explanation, no warning. One minute, I was in an immigration office talking to an officer about my work visa, which had been approved months before and allowed me, a Canadian, to work in the U.S.”
"The next, I was told to put my hands against the wall, and patted down like a criminal before being sent to an ICE detention center without the chance to talk to a lawyer,” she added.
She said she was held in a local prison for two days before transported – in a jump suit and chains – to the detention center.
She had been applying for a TN visa, which allows professionals from Canada and Mexico to stay temporarily in the U.S. It was not clear why she was detained.
Germany updated its travel advisories for the U.S., noting its immigration enforcement after several Germans were detained.
Twenty-five-year-old Lucas Sielaff spent two weeks in detention before being allowed to return to Germany. Because of a language barrier, he got an answer wrong regarding where he lived as he attempted to re-enter the U.S. from Mexico.
Jessica Brösche, 29, spent more than six weeks in detention, including eight days in solitary confinement, as she was traveling with tattoo equipment, with border officers believing that she was trying to work unlawfully in the U.S., according to The Guardian.
U.S. permanent resident Fabian Schmidt, 34, was detained on his way back from Luxembourg on March 7. The electrical engineer, originally from Germany, has held a U.S. green card since 2008 and renewed it last year, according to his mother, Astrid Senior, who also lives in the U.S. on a green card.
He was arrested at Boston Logan International Airport on March 7 after returning from a short vacation visiting family in Germany. Senior claimed he was “interrogated” before being taken to Rhode Island's Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls. She has not heard from her son since March 11.
An immigration hearing has been set for June. Officials have referenced drugs and DUI charges dating back to 2015.
With reporting from Rhian Lubin, Kelly Rissman, Alex Woodward, Justin Rohrlich and Joe Sommerlad
Airline capacity between two countries reduced through October 2025 as high-profile incidents of Ice arrests on rise
Airline travel between Canada and the US is “collapsing” amid Donald Trump's tariff war, with flight bookings between the two countries down by over 70%, newly released data suggests.
According to data from the aviation analytics company OAG, airline capacity between Canada and the US has been reduced through October 2025, with the biggest cuts occurring between the months of July and August, which is considered peak travel season. Passenger bookings on Canada to US routes are currently down by over 70% compared to the same period last year.
Comparing the available bookings from March 2024 to March 2025, OAG looked at how many people have booked trans-border flights in the six-month period between April through September. It found that the number of tickets booked was down anywhere from 71% to 76%.
Total capacity available for passengers on flights between the two countries has also seen a reduction, likely a response to decreasing demands. The data shows that more than 320,000 seats have been removed by airlines operating between the two countries through to the end of October, with the highest cuts, 3.5%, also occurring during the peak summer months.
But the steep decline suggests that the current capacity cuts do not even begin to cover the current disinterest in traveling to the US.
The dramatic drop in bookings suggests that Canadian travelers are holding off on making reservations, probably due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding the tariff war. Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, called the latest round of Trump's tariffs a “direct attack” on Canadian workers.
Though a decline in travel between Canada and the US was expected, the substantial 70% drop in bookings could require drastic changes for airlines, such as Air Canada, which is the airline that has the largest network of border crossings between the neighboring countries.
Beyond the trade dispute, some Canadians say they feel increasingly uneasy crossing into the US following several high-profile incidents of foreign visitors being detained by Ice.
Two children are among the six people who died after a tourist submarine sank off the coast of Egypt.
The Sindbad submarine was sailing off the Red Sea resort of Hurghada and was reportedly carrying 45 passengers – from countries including Russia, India, Norway and Sweden – and five Egyptian crew when it sank, according to Reuters.
Red Sea governor Major General Amr Hanafi earlier said that all six dead were Russians, and that 29 of the 39 tourists rescued were injured and taken to hospitals for treatment.
No-one was still missing from the vessel, he added, suggesting the crew had also been rescued.
Local news outlet Al Masry Al Youm earlier reported that the submarine was taking people on an underwater tour of the coral reefs when it sank. There have been no reports on what caused the vessel to capsize.
Six people are understood to have died, including two children.
Red Sea governor Major General Amr Hanafi said all six dead were Russians, and that 29 of 39 tourists rescued were injured and taken to hospitals.
No-one was still missing from the vessel, he added, suggesting the crew had also been rescued.
According to the Russian consul in Hurghada earlier in the day, most of the passengers, including all of those who were rescued, were Russian tourists.
The incident took place at around 10am local time and the vessel was being operated by Sindbad Submarines.
It is not known what caused the incident or why the vessel capsized.
Oceanographer Dr Simon Boxall told GB News he understood the submarine sank soon after leaving port, and it was unknown if all the hatches had been closed before it got into trouble.
He said the sub could reach a maximum of 75 metres depth but is designed to operate at 25 metres.
The submarine was unlikely to be near its designed depth when it got into trouble.
Sindbad Submarines is based in Hurghada, Egypt, and is tied to the tied to the Sindbad Club Hotel.
Its website says the company offers underwater excursions aboard one of only 14 recreational submarines worldwide, with two operated by the Sindbad Club.
Dr Boxall the submarines had a very good safety record.
The submarines dive to a depth of 25 metres below the Red Sea, allowing passengers to explore 500 meters of vibrant coral reefs and marine life.
Each submarine accommodates 44 passengers and two pilots, featuring air-conditioned cabins, seating and large round viewing windows for every passenger. It can seat a maximum of 50 people.
Operating for over 25 years, Sindbad Submarines' tours typically last for about three hours, including a 20- to 30-minute boat ride to a floating platform, followed by a 40- to 55-minute dive.
A British holiday-maker who had previously travelled with Sindbad just three days before it sank said she was "shocked" by the news.
Kelly Collins, 32, descended 25 metres below the surface in the sub on Monday 24 March.
She said: "I'm shocked, saddened and in disbelief to hear the news about the poor people on the submarine.
"I think this has put me off submarines."
She said the trip started with a 30-minute boat ride to the submarine before boarding it, then 40 minutes underwater before surfacing and making the return trip back to land.
Another previous passenger Tom McDowell, 63, said he was "shocked" by the news it had sank and he had noticed "how safety focused the crew were" when he was on board.
He said: "The boat felt sturdy and the staff and the captain we very friendly and professional."
He added: "I didn't feel like I was in danger at all whilst I was onboard - everyone felt very safe as it seemed like it was being run properly."
Overall McDowell said it was worth money he paid which was £40 for an adult and £20 for a child.
But he added he would not step on a submarine again after hearing the news of the sinking.
Hurghada is a vibrant resort town stretching 25 miles along Egypt's Red Sea coast.
It has evolved from a modest fishing village into a popular tourist destination fuelled by its year-round sunshine, pristine beaches, and clear waters.
The town is famous for its scuba diving and snorkelling, thanks to the Red Sea's vibrant coral reefs, and diverse marine life, including think dolphins and turtles.
Tourist numbers to Hurghada reach the millions annually, with four million visiting in 2022.
Over a million of those were German tourists but Russians also visit in large numbers, with 472,000 visiting in 2022. Czechs, Poles and Brits also are common visitors.
The safety of many of the vessels that operate in the Red Sea has become an increasing issue for many tourists in recent years.
In November, a tourist yacht sank in the Red Sea after warnings of rough waters, Egyptian officials said. At least four people drowned, while 33 were rescued.
A United Nations report ranked Egypt first in Africa for tourism revenues in 2024 at £11bn, more than twice what it earns in Suez Canal revenues, highlighting tourism's vital role in sustaining the hard-pressed economy.
The underwater vessel was carrying 45 passengers on a trip to a local coral reef, Russian embassy officials said.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a motorist was allegedly struck by another driver following a fight near a roundabout. Police believe both men were earlier involved in an altercation in Oldham, Greater Manchester.
The King has cancelled engagements on Friday due to "temporary side effects" from his cancer treatment. Buckingham Palace said after "scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer" on Thursday morning, the King "experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital". "His Majesty's afternoon engagements were therefore postponed," the statement added.
Live action film was plagued by controversies leading up to release
A British tourist has spoken of her shock after learning that the Sindbad submarine she travelled on just days earlier sank, killing six people. Kelly Collins, 32, from Wigan, Greater Manchester, took the trip in Hurghada, Egypt, on 24 March and now says she will never go on a submarine again. Fellow Briton Tom McDowell, 63, who travelled on the same sub last year, recalled feeling safe due to the crew's professionalism. He described the trip as scenic but now says he will avoid submarines. The tragedy has left former passengers in disbelief over the vessel's fate.
City of London Police said the incident is being treated as non-suspicious
The US is the UK's largest export partner for cars, ahead of Germany and the Netherlands.
The 57-year-old died in hospital on Thursday morning, having been undergoing treatment for secondary breast cancer.
(Bloomberg) -- At least six people died when a submarine carrying tourists sank off the coast of the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada, a state-run newspaper reported.Most Read from BloombergWhy Did the Government Declare War on My Adorable Tiny Truck?How SUVs Are Making Traffic WorseTrump Slashed International Aid. Geneva Is Feeling the Impact.These US Bridges Face High Risk of Catastrophic Ship StrikesAffordable Housing Developers Stalled by Blocked Federal FundsAnother 29 passengers were re
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In the shadow of Russia's war with Ukraine, some European countries have offered advice on how to prepare for conflict and other emergencies.
Prosecutors say the anatomical scars on the skull of Émile Soleil are ‘suggestive of violent facial trauma'
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Owen Haggerty's mother wrote to the King of Bahrain to request his release.
The woman was attempting "to show the child there was nothing under the bed" when she "came face-to-face" with the man, officers in Kansas said
It was the summer of 2023 when Ruth and Martin Evans decided to make their expat dream a reality. Their daughters Nonny, 32, and Jessy, 29, had both relocated to Australia from the UK several years earlier, so the question as they approached retirement was which side of the world they would live on.
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In a video filmed at the jail, Kristi Noem warned immigrants that they could face the same fate as the 238 Venezuelans controversially deported by the Trump administration on 15 March.
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has visited the mega-prison in El Salvador where hundreds of Venezuelans recently deported by the Trump administration are being detained.
The senior American official was given a tour on Wednesday of the Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT), a facility Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele built as part of his gang crackdown.
Noem filmed a social media video from the jail, in which she directed a strongly worded message at immigrants.
The prison is “one of the tools in our toolkit that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people”, she warned in the video, which showed her in front of a packed dormitory-style cell.
More than 230 Venezuelans are currently housed at the facility, having been deported from the US earlier this month. Their removal to El Salvador came after Bukele said the US could pay to send gang members to his country's prisons.
Despite the US government's claim that all these Venezuelans are gang members, many of their families back home insist they have no ties to any criminal group.
A judge hired by the government in Caracas is attempting to have them freed.
These efforts come as a US appeals court on Wednesday kept in place an order preventing the Trump administration from deporting more Venezuelans under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, which allows non-citizens to be expelled without appearing before a judge.
Earlier this week, a US judge hit out at the Trump government over its use of the law.
“There were plane loads of people,” Judge Patricia Millett said of the Venezuelan deportations. “Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemy Act than has happened here,” she added.
In El Salvador, Noem, who will also visit Colombia and Mexico as part of a three-day tour of the region, did not directly comment on what will happen to the Venezuelans currently held at the CECOT.
After her visit to the prison, she met with Bukele, who is popular with the American right for his clampdown against El Salvador's gangs.
The Salvadoran president's critics accuse his government of committing large-scale human rights abuses, claiming thousands of innocent people have been arrested and imprisoned in harsh conditions without due process.
Critics also say that Bukele, who is serving a second presidential term which legal experts say is unconstitutional, has used a state of emergency — in force since 2022 — to undermine democracy and amass more power.
“This unprecedented relationship we have with El Salvador is going to be a model for other countries on how they can work with America,” Noem said on Wednesday.
Mark Lowen considered ‘threat to public order' after reports on nationwide anti-government demonstrations
The BBC correspondent Mark Lowen has been arrested and deported from Turkey after reporting on the country's largest anti-government protests in years.
The broadcaster said Lowen was arrested in Istanbul on Wednesday, having been there for several days to cover the protests, which were prompted by the arrest last week of the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu.
In a statement, the BBC said: “This morning, the Turkish authorities deported BBC News correspondent Mark Lowen from Istanbul, having taken him from his hotel the previous day and detained him for 17 hours. Mark Lowen was in Turkey to report on the recent protests. He has been told he was deported for ‘being a threat to public order'.”
His deportation comes after other journalists were arrested amid the protests, in which thousands of people have taken to the streets across Turkey. So far, more than 1,850 people have been detained, including 11 journalists.
İmamoğlu, seen as the main rival of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is being held on corruption charges, which he denies. His supporters claim his arrest is politically motivated.
Mark Lowen said in a statement: “To be detained and deported from the country where I previously lived for five years and for which I have such affection has been extremely distressing. Press freedom and impartial reporting are fundamental to any democracy.”
Deborah Turness, the chief executive of BBC News, said Lowen's deportation was “an extremely troubling incident and we will be making representations to the Turkish authorities”. She added: “Mark is a very experienced correspondent with a deep knowledge of Turkey and no journalist should face this kind of treatment simply for doing their job. We will continue to report impartially and fairly on events in Turkey.”
Turkish courts ordered the release of seven journalists on Wednesday. Separately, Turkey's broadcasting watchdog, RTÜK, has said it will impose a 10-day broadcast ban on the opposition TV channel Sözcü, after claims of incitement regarding its coverage of the protests.
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Leaders from nearly 30 countries and NATO and EU chiefs met in the French capital to discuss bolstering aid to Kyiv and deploying European troops to secure long-term peace.
Emmanuel Macron announced a plan to send “reassurance forces” from “several European countries” based in “certain strategic locations” in Ukraine in the event of a peace treaty with Russia.
These forces would “act as a deterrent against potential Russian aggression," he told reporters during a press conference following a high-stakes "Coalition of the Willing" summit for Ukraine in Paris on Thursday.
However, these reassurance forces “are not intended to be peacekeeping forces” as they will not replace the Ukrainian Armed Forces and will not be positioned on the frontlines but instead in "strategic towns" and bases.
This proposal “will be worked on by our military chiefs of staff” in the coming weeks to determine “the map and format” of these deployments.
“These reassurance forces would in no way replace or reduce our efforts on NATO's eastern flank”, but "would come in addition'" concluded Macron.
The French leader said that not every country at the summit agreed with this plan. "It is not unanimous," he said, "But we do not need unanimity to achieve it."
The question of sending troops to Ukraine has created stark divisions among EU and NATO allies.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that Italy will not participate in this plan, while her Polish counterpart Donald Tusk said last month, "We do not plan to send Polish soldiers to the territory of Ukraine."
While Macron expressed his wish for US support in the case of a European deployment, he also stressed the need to prepare for a scenario where Europe has to independently.
The French leader also announced the dispatch of a “Franco-British team to Ukraine” to “prepare the format of tomorrow's Ukrainian army" to analyse what sort of equipment Kyiv would need to dissuade any further Russian attacks.
Echoing his statements from Wednesday night, the French President reiterated that it is too early to lift sanctions on Russia.
The announcement comes after the US said on Tuesday that it will start lifting some sanctions on Moscow, particularly on agricultural trade.
The summit's goal was to lay the groundwork for long-term security guarantees and turn the Ukrainian army into the first line of defence against any future aggression amid the growing threat from Russia.
The meeting in Paris came amid intensifying efforts to broker a ceasefire, driven by pressure from US President Donald Trump to end Russia's war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year.
US-brokered agreements to safeguard shipping in the Black Sea and halt strikes on energy infrastructure were greeted as a first step towards peace. However, both Moscow and Kyiv have disagreed over details and accused each other of violations.
Despite the agreement, the conflict rages on. Ukrainian media on Thursday reported that dozens of people had been injured and one person killed over the last day by Russian attacks.
Zelenskyy said the attacks were further evidence that the US and Europe should not ease sanctions on Moscow.
Anti-Israel forces spread lies about the right-wing European politicians that attended the International Conference on Combating Antisemitism, Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli said in a speech at the Thursday convention.Chikli thanked the politicians who had attended the conference, which had bled high-profile participants since the announcement of the attendance list.The campaign of pressure was led by Haaretz, according to Chikli, continuing to lambast it as an anti-Israel “beacon of lies” that doesn't represent the Jewish people. Hebrew University of Jerusalem professor Gadi Taub also slammed the newspaper during the “progressivism fell captive to antisemitism” panel, declaring it to be “antisemitic.” Chikli warned about the danger of Islamic terrorism to the world, attacking Muslims as well.It was not Dutch or French people that had attacked Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam or gang-raped a Jewish 12-year-old French girl while berating her about Israel, but radical Islamists, explained Chikli. Islamists in suits were also threatening the West through groups like CAIR and SJP. Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli seen at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem on March 27, 2025 (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)Sa'ar's warning Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar also warned in his own conference address about the “radical alliance” between the far Left and Islamists, which threatened Israel and the West.Antisemitism had evolved since its first inception, and while it hadn't destroyed the Jewish people, it had weakened them over history because they lacked rhetoric and unity to defend themselves, he said. Now that Jews could defend themselves through the Jewish state, antisemitism had adapted from persecution by arms to attack Israel through legal warfare using institutions such as the ICC, ICJ, and UN bodies.
Chikli thanked the politicians who had attended the conference, which had bled high-profile participants since the announcement of the attendance list.The campaign of pressure was led by Haaretz, according to Chikli, continuing to lambast it as an anti-Israel “beacon of lies” that doesn't represent the Jewish people. Hebrew University of Jerusalem professor Gadi Taub also slammed the newspaper during the “progressivism fell captive to antisemitism” panel, declaring it to be “antisemitic.” Chikli warned about the danger of Islamic terrorism to the world, attacking Muslims as well.It was not Dutch or French people that had attacked Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam or gang-raped a Jewish 12-year-old French girl while berating her about Israel, but radical Islamists, explained Chikli. Islamists in suits were also threatening the West through groups like CAIR and SJP. Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli seen at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem on March 27, 2025 (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)Sa'ar's warning Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar also warned in his own conference address about the “radical alliance” between the far Left and Islamists, which threatened Israel and the West.Antisemitism had evolved since its first inception, and while it hadn't destroyed the Jewish people, it had weakened them over history because they lacked rhetoric and unity to defend themselves, he said. Now that Jews could defend themselves through the Jewish state, antisemitism had adapted from persecution by arms to attack Israel through legal warfare using institutions such as the ICC, ICJ, and UN bodies.
The campaign of pressure was led by Haaretz, according to Chikli, continuing to lambast it as an anti-Israel “beacon of lies” that doesn't represent the Jewish people. Hebrew University of Jerusalem professor Gadi Taub also slammed the newspaper during the “progressivism fell captive to antisemitism” panel, declaring it to be “antisemitic.” Chikli warned about the danger of Islamic terrorism to the world, attacking Muslims as well.It was not Dutch or French people that had attacked Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam or gang-raped a Jewish 12-year-old French girl while berating her about Israel, but radical Islamists, explained Chikli. Islamists in suits were also threatening the West through groups like CAIR and SJP. Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli seen at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem on March 27, 2025 (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)Sa'ar's warning Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar also warned in his own conference address about the “radical alliance” between the far Left and Islamists, which threatened Israel and the West.Antisemitism had evolved since its first inception, and while it hadn't destroyed the Jewish people, it had weakened them over history because they lacked rhetoric and unity to defend themselves, he said. Now that Jews could defend themselves through the Jewish state, antisemitism had adapted from persecution by arms to attack Israel through legal warfare using institutions such as the ICC, ICJ, and UN bodies.
Chikli warned about the danger of Islamic terrorism to the world, attacking Muslims as well.It was not Dutch or French people that had attacked Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam or gang-raped a Jewish 12-year-old French girl while berating her about Israel, but radical Islamists, explained Chikli. Islamists in suits were also threatening the West through groups like CAIR and SJP. Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli seen at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem on March 27, 2025 (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)Sa'ar's warning Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar also warned in his own conference address about the “radical alliance” between the far Left and Islamists, which threatened Israel and the West.Antisemitism had evolved since its first inception, and while it hadn't destroyed the Jewish people, it had weakened them over history because they lacked rhetoric and unity to defend themselves, he said. Now that Jews could defend themselves through the Jewish state, antisemitism had adapted from persecution by arms to attack Israel through legal warfare using institutions such as the ICC, ICJ, and UN bodies.
It was not Dutch or French people that had attacked Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam or gang-raped a Jewish 12-year-old French girl while berating her about Israel, but radical Islamists, explained Chikli. Islamists in suits were also threatening the West through groups like CAIR and SJP. Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli seen at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem on March 27, 2025 (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)Sa'ar's warning Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar also warned in his own conference address about the “radical alliance” between the far Left and Islamists, which threatened Israel and the West.Antisemitism had evolved since its first inception, and while it hadn't destroyed the Jewish people, it had weakened them over history because they lacked rhetoric and unity to defend themselves, he said. Now that Jews could defend themselves through the Jewish state, antisemitism had adapted from persecution by arms to attack Israel through legal warfare using institutions such as the ICC, ICJ, and UN bodies.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar also warned in his own conference address about the “radical alliance” between the far Left and Islamists, which threatened Israel and the West.Antisemitism had evolved since its first inception, and while it hadn't destroyed the Jewish people, it had weakened them over history because they lacked rhetoric and unity to defend themselves, he said. Now that Jews could defend themselves through the Jewish state, antisemitism had adapted from persecution by arms to attack Israel through legal warfare using institutions such as the ICC, ICJ, and UN bodies.
Antisemitism had evolved since its first inception, and while it hadn't destroyed the Jewish people, it had weakened them over history because they lacked rhetoric and unity to defend themselves, he said. Now that Jews could defend themselves through the Jewish state, antisemitism had adapted from persecution by arms to attack Israel through legal warfare using institutions such as the ICC, ICJ, and UN bodies.
Now that Jews could defend themselves through the Jewish state, antisemitism had adapted from persecution by arms to attack Israel through legal warfare using institutions such as the ICC, ICJ, and UN bodies.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
South Sudan's President Salva Kiir, right, and Vice President Riek Machar, left, attend a Holy Mass led by Pope Francis at the John Garang Mausoleum in Juba, South Sudan Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudan's main opposition party said Thursday a peace agreement that ended a five-year civil war has collapsed, following the arrest of its leader Riek Machar a day earlier.
The party's deputy chairperson, Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, said in a statement that the agreement “has been abrogated” and that Machar's arrest shows a lack of political goodwill to achieve peace and stability.
The U.N. warned on Monday that the country was teetering on the edge of a renewed civil war following fighting in the north between an armed group allied to Machar and government forces.
South Sudan's five-year civil war, in which 400,000 people were killed, ended in a 2018 peace agreement that brought President Salva Kiir and Machar together in a unity government. Machar is one of the five vice presidents in the country.
Machar was “in confinement by the government” and his life was “at risk,” opposition spokesperson Pal Mai Deng said in a video address to the media Wednesday night.
The head of the U.N mission in South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, said following reports of the detention of Machar all parties should “exercise restraint and uphold the Revitalized Peace Agreement.”
Tensions have been increasing between Kiir and Machar's parties and escalated in March when the White Army, an armed group loyal to Machar, overran an army base in Upper Nile state and attacked a U.N helicopter.
The government responded with airstrikes, warning any civilian in the area where the army group is based to vacate or “face consequences.”
More than a dozen people have died since the airstrikes started in mid-March and the UN warned of a renewed civil war if the leaders do not put the country's interests first.
“Tonight, the country's leaders stand on the brink of relapsing into widespread conflict or taking the country forward towards peace, recovery and democracy in the spirit of the consensus that was reached in 2018 when they signed and committed to implementing a Revitalized Peace Agreement,” Haysom said in a statement on Wednesday night.
An opposition official described 20 heavily armed vehicles arriving at Machar's home where he was arrested alongside his wife.
“His bodyguards were disarmed, and an arrest warrant was delivered to him under unclear charges,” said Reath Muoch Tang, an official in the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army - In Opposition.
The African Union Commission's chair, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, said he would deploy a team to Juba “as part of efforts to de-escalate the situation.”
In a statement on X, the U.S. State Department's bureau of African affairs urged Kiir to reverse the house arrest and “prevent further escalation of the situation.”
The chairperson of the U.N commission on human rights in South Sudan, Yasmin Sooka, said on Thursday that “the deliberate targeting of opposition leaders and civilians represents a reckless disregard for international law and the country's future.”
In early March, several of Machar's senior allies were arrested by security forces, an action his supporters condemned as a “grave violation” of the peace deal.
Germany and Norway have temporarily closed their respective embassies in Juba. The U.S Embassy further reduced its minimal staff due to security threats and advised Americans who are in the country to prepare to shelter should the “situation deteriorate further.” The British Embassy also said it had temporarily reduced its staff with consular services “severely limited.”
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Ranjini Srinivasan, the 37-year-old Indian PhD student in the US who self-deported to Canada after her student visa was revoked for allegedly being a "terror sympathizer", opened up about her ordeal today. She even said that she feels 'betrayed' by her alma mater - the renowned Columbia University.
Ms Srinivasan has been accused of being a supporter and sympathizer of Hamas - a designated terrorist organisation in the Palestinian region of Gaza. She was pursuing her doctorate in public planning, and was on the verge of completing her PhD, when the Trump administration revoked her student visa for her alleged involvement in propagating and aligning with Hamas.
Her student visa was renewed in December - just a month before Trump's inauguration to the White House. She is now pinning her hope on Columbia University to consider her appeal and reinstate her enrollment. But she feels equally betrayed by Columbia for the treatment met to her so far.
"I spent five years at Columbia University, working, I don't know, maybe 100 hours a week sometimes. I never expected the institution to let me down. But it did," she told Al Jazeera in an interview.
Ms Srinivasan was a Fulbright recipient at Columbia University.
"I hope Columbia comes to its senses and re-enrolls me," she said, hoping for fairness and justice from an institution of global repute. She went on to say that she has made all her academic submission and completed all the university's requirements needed to complete her PhD - hinting that it is now just a formality for the institution to award her her due.
"All the requirements for my PhD are complete, and whatever is left, I don't even need to be in the US for it," she said, adding that "So, I'm trying to appeal to Columbia" for them to do their bit.
Speaking about her ordeal, Ms Srinivasan recalled how she got an email from the US Consulate in Chennai on March 5 which stated that her student visa had been revoked indefinitely. Within a matter of a few hours, while she was still trying to understand what had happened by contacting officials at Columbia and her PhD group, agents from the United States' Immigration and Customs Enforcement showed up at her doorstep, possibly to detain her in order to deport her from the country. She didn't answer the door.
The next evening, while she was not at home, the agents returned, asking for her. Her roommate had to deal with them. Hours later, another Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil was detained on campus, which led to unrest between students and authorities.
Ms Srinivasan, now fearing arrest, managed to escape with a bag containing her documents, essentials, and a few items of value. Agents were on a constant lookout for her while she was on the run. On March 11, after evading officials, she somehow managed to fly out of New York on a flight to Canada, where she touched base with her relatives and friends who came to her rescue. CCTV footage from New York's LaGuardia Airport showed her lugging a bag with her belongings. The footage was shared widely on social media.
Ms Srinivasan recalled how she feared being arrested in the US. Four days later, Kristi Noem, Secretary of US' Department of Homeland Security labelled Ms Srinivasan a "terrorist sympathiser" in a post on X.
There has still not been a word on the incident by Columbia University. Their stand on the issue is not known. Even at the time of this report, there has been no official statement issued by Columbia University. Whether or not the institution will investigate the matter and deal with it fairly is not known.
It is also not clear whether she was targeted only for her political views on Israel-Palestine issue, or if she was actually involved in any way for the charges made against her. It is also not known if, as a student of Columbia, she had entered into an agreement with the institution which forbids her from even speaking about her political views.
Though the US Government has labelled her a "terror sympathiser", no evidence of her actively being involved has been shared publicly, nor the grounds for the charges been clarified. "I'm fearful that even the most low-level political speech or just doing what we all do - like shout into the abyss that is social media - can turn into this dystopian nightmare, where somebody is calling you a terrorist sympathizer and making you, literally, fear for your life and your safety," Ms Srinivasan has said.
Ms Srinivasan, currently in Canada, now lives with uncertainty and hope.
Soldiers had worked for ‘extremely sensitive and important units' and ‘their acts betrayed the country', Taipei court says
A Taiwan court has sentenced four soldiers, including three who worked in the president's security team, to jail for up to seven years on charges of spying for China.
The men were convicted of violating the national security law by passing “internal military information that should be kept confidential to Chinese intelligence agents for several months” between 2022 and 2024, the Taipei district court said on Wednesday.
Three of the four convicted were members of a military unit in charge of security for the Presidential Office, while the fourth was a soldier in the defence ministry's information and telecommunications command. Three of the soldiers were discharged from the military before an investigation was launched in August last year after a tip-off to the defence ministry, and the fourth was suspended.
According to the court, the four received payments from around NT$260,000 to NT$660,000 ($7,850-$20,000) in return for taking photographs of information with their mobile phones.
The defendants had worked for “extremely sensitive and important units but violated their duties to accept bribes, and stole secrets by photographing”, the court said in a statement.
“Their acts betrayed the country and endangered national security.”
The four received jail terms ranging from five years and 10 months to seven years.
The number of people prosecuted in Taiwan for allegedly spying for China has risen sharply in recent years as the military and civilian investigative bodies crack down on infiltration and espionage. Many of those prosecuted have been current or retired members of Taiwan's military, recruited by Beijing or its agents in Taiwan.
Beijing has vowed to annex Taiwan, which it claims is Chinese territory. It has not ruled out using force to do so, but in the meantime runs multifaceted pressure campaigns including greyzone acts of military intimidation, cyberwarfare, disinformation and espionage.
Earlier this month Taiwan's president, Lai Ching-te, designated China as a “foreign hostile power” and announced a swathe of new measures to counter its efforts. The measures include plans to reinstate military courts to hear cases of espionage and other offences involving military personnel.
Last week Taiwan's government also announced increases to the base pay rates of Taiwan military personnel.
The relatively small payments disclosed in some cases had drawn attention to the conditions and benefits offered to Taiwan's serving military. Last year Dr Shen Ming-Shih, a research fellow at the Taiwan government-linked thinktank the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said some recruited spies were lured by financial and sexual incentives, while others were driven by bitterness over their treatment or lack of advancement during their career.
Both sides of the Taiwan Strait have been spying on each other for decades. But analysts have warned that espionage is a bigger problem for Taiwan, which faces the existential threat of a Chinese invasion.
Taiwan's intelligence agency previously reported that 64 people were prosecuted for Chinese espionage in 2024, compared with 48 in 2023 and 10 in 2022. In 2017 Taiwan's government estimated there were more than 5,000 spies working for China in Taiwan.
Cases have included soldiers filming themselves declaring they will surrender as soon as China's military invades, or making written pledges of loyalty to the Chinese Communist party. Some retired officers have allegedly been paid to recruit active soldiers.
European allies of Ukraine do not all agree on the proposed deployment of an armed force in the country to back up an eventual peace deal and only some want to take part, French President Emmanuel Macron has said.
“It is not unanimous,” he said. “We do not need unanimity to achieve it.”
He said that France and the UK, who are driving the initiative, will forge ahead with the proposed contingent.
“There will be a reassurance force with several European countries that will deploy,” Mr Macron said.
William Hewes, 22, died after delays in giving antibiotics at London hospital where his mother worked, inquest heard
A hospital failed to treat the son of one of its consultants with antibiotics and fluids with the required urgency hours before he died of sepsis, a coroner has ruled.
It was unclear whether mistakes and delays in the treatment of William Hewes, 22, on 21 January contributed to his death, the coroner, Mary Hassell, said.
The death of Hewes raised similar issues to the death of 13-year-old Martha Mills in 2021, Hassell said. Martha's death led to the adoption of Martha's rule, which gives families the right to a second opinion on medical treatment.
Hewes, who was studying politics and history at Leeds University, died of meningococcal septicaemia at Homerton hospital in east London, where his mother, Dr Deborah Burns, was a consultant paediatrician.
Burns told the inquest she had been unable to work at the hospital since her son's death because of feelings of “betrayal” towards colleagues who ignored her warnings about his treatment.
Hewes, a “fit and healthy” Arsenal fan 1.98 metres (6ft 6in) tall, who loved to cook and sing, began feeling ill while trying to write a university essay on 20 January. When his condition worsened his mother took him to Homerton's A&E just after midnight and told colleagues she suspected he had meningococcal sepsis.
Burns repeatedly asked medics to administer lifesaving antibiotics in the vital first hour of his treatment. But antibiotics were not given until 1.25am due to a misunderstanding between a doctor and nurses, the inquest at Bow coroner's court heard. There was also a delay of about 90 minutes in transferring Hewes from the resuscitation area of A&E to the intensive care unit amid a disagreement between medics about escalating his care.
The hospital admitted these mistakes were “suboptimal”. Hassell said Hewes was not treated “with the urgency he should have been” but added: “It is unclear whether, if he had been administered all appropriate treatment promptly, his life would have been saved.”
She said: “I am not convinced, even on the balance of probabilities, that the state of medical knowledge is such that we know the answer to the question of whether William would have survived had he received earlier treatment. My conclusion is that I simply do not know whether earlier treatment would have saved William.”
She said she would issue a prevention of future deaths report to Homerton hospital on the basis that the work it had done since Hewes's death should be shared nationally.
Hassell was also the coroner at the inquest into the death of Martha, who died of sepsis after delays at a different London hospital. Martha's mother, Merope Mills, an editor at the Guardian, said doctors ignored her and her husband's requests to escalate their daughter's care. Her death led to the adoption in some hospitals, including Homerton, of Martha's rule, which gives patients and their families the right to request an urgent review of hospital treatment.
At the end of the inquest Hassell highlighted the similarities of the cases, including the fact that “a great deal of the investigation has been driven by the family”.
The inquests into both deaths heard how parents' concerns were ignored. There were also communication problems between doctors in intensive care and elsewhere in both hospitals that led to delays in the escalation of treatment.
Hassell concluded in March 2022 that delays in Martha's treatment contributed to her death.
Burns said: “On the night I took William to hospital I knew he needed antibiotics as soon as possible but I witnessed a delay. In all, I raised the alarm eight times. They were then given, but late, and outside the time recommended by the hospital's and the national guideline.”
Burns, who was represented by Fieldfisher, said Homerton hospital closed the investigation into her son's death without telling her, and when she found out she began investigating herself. She said: “This analysis was the most distressing thing I have ever had to do. It uncovered more causes for concern about his care.
“My pursuit of the truth is not about blame. It has always been driven by concerns about the standard of care I witnessed in my own emergency department. I cannot believe that my hospital, which I know is proud of its standard of care, has not seen me as a resource to help improve its service.”
Homerton Healthcare NHS trust said: “We will take onboard what the coroner has said in relation to the actions we have taken and will be sharing these nationally with our NHS colleagues.
“We know that the impact of William's death on his mother was compounded by it happening in the hospital where she works. Deborah has told us that our policies and processes for this situation are inadequate and detached and we are determined to learn from her experience. This work will ensure a more personal response for staff members or members of their family who are patients here.
“Our thoughts remain with Deborah and her family during this incredibly difficult time.”
Gene Likens, who first identified acidic rainwater in 1960s, said the Trump administration's ‘rollbacks are alarming'
The US could be plunged back into an era of toxic acid rain, an environmental problem thought to have been solved decades ago, due to the Donald Trump administration's rollback of pollution protections, the scientist who discovered the existence of acid rain in North America has warned.
A blitzkrieg launched by Trump's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on clean air and water regulations could revert the US to a time when cities were routinely shrouded in smog and even help usher back acid rain, according to Gene Likens, whose experiments helped identify acidic rainwater in the 1960s.
While drastic improvements in America's air quality have seemingly consigned acid rain to a problem belonging to a bygone era, Likens said if rules curbing toxic emissions from power plants, cars and trucks are aggressively scaled back, the specter of acid rain could again haunt the US.
“I'm very worried that might happen, it's certainly not impossible that it could happen,” Likens, 90, told the Guardian. Likens is still involved in a long-term monitoring project, stretching back to 1976, to sample rainwater for acidity but this program has just had its funding cut by the Trump administration.
“I hope we don't go back to the old days, so these rollbacks are very alarming,” Likens said. “I care about the health of my children and grandchildren, I want them to have clean air to breathe. I care about clean water and clean and healthy soil, I want them to have that too.”
It was in 1963 when Likens, as a young scientist, sampled rainwater in the Hubbard Brook Experimental forest in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and found that it was 100 times more acidic than expected. “That was really an ‘a-ha!' moment that led us to question what was happening,” he said.
Years of subsequent study by Likens and other scientists ascertained that pollution wafting from coal-fired power plants in the American midwest was being transported by the wind, primarily to the eastern US and Canada. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the pollution reacted with water and oxygen to form sulfuric and nitric acids, combining with water to fall to the ground as acid rain.
By 1980, the average rainfall in the US was 10 times more acidic than normal, with a devastating environmental impact. Lakes and streams became too acidic to support fish and amphibians, nutrients were stripped from soil and the rain damaged plants, trees and even buildings.
A national outcry about acid rain, with newspaper cartoonists depicting people's umbrellas dissolving and mounting evidence presented by Likens and others in public talks eventually spurred political action.
In 1990, an update to the Clean Air Act targeting acid rain by reducing power plant pollution was passed resoundingly by Congress and signed by President George HW Bush, a Republican. “Every city in America should have clean air,” Bush said as he signed the bill. “With this legislation I firmly believe we will.”
“Acid rain is an example of a major environmental success story – the public spoke up and the politicians listened,” said Likens. Recent sampling of rainwater and soils in the White Mountains region shows acidity levels have fallen by 85% since a peak period in the 1970s, although Likens said the soil remains degraded and any return of acid rain to ecosystems in this fragile state would be disastrous.
“If the Trump administration starts releasing controls on emissions we are going to destroy that success story,” he said.
The plan by the EPA to eliminate or weaken 31 regulations, a move called a “dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion” by the agency's administrator, Lee Zeldin, risks many thousands of extra deaths and a litany of heart, lung and other illnesses, according to the EPA's own estimates of the rules' benefits.
However, the exact scale of the rollbacks will probably take several years and various court battles to become fully apparent. The US, too, is a very different country from the one before the EPA's foundation in 1970, when rampant air pollution blotted out the skies in cities such as New York and Los Angeles and rivers were so polluted they caught fire.
Major air pollutants have plummeted in recent decades, due to regulations as well as technological upgrades to power plants and vehicle catalytic converters. Coal, meanwhile, has declined as a power source in favor of cleaner-burning gas and renewables, although Trump has sought to stymie clean energy and help resurrect coal, the dirtiest of fossil fuels.
“I don't think it's likely we will see acid rain again because I don't think there will be a comeback for coal – the main beneficiary of a relaxation in regulations will probably be gas,” said William Reilly, who was EPA administrator in 1990 when the federal action on acid rain was taken.
Reilly said the Clean Air Act amendments were a “home run” victory for public health and a high point in bipartisan cooperation between Republicans and Democrats on the environment. He added the Trump administration was now seeking to take the US in a radically different direction.
“I do think this administration will take us back to a pre-EPA world,” Reilly said. “That will mean unbreathable air, places where there is pollution that you can see, rivers that burn. That is what it was like before and that is what it could be like again if enforcement is cut back.”
Other scientists said a return of acid rain was possible, although it would be gradual rather than immediate. “It's not like you'll wake up tomorrow and it will be 1975 in terms of acid rain but we could move in that direction,” said Richard Peltier, an environmental scientist at the University of Massachusetts.
“It would take a number of years but why would we want to do that? It's frustrating because we know improved air quality is good for the public. There is a viewpoint now that scientists are the bad guys, that the science is corrupt – things that just aren't true.”
Several of the rules targeted for reversal by Trump's EPA are aimed at slashing large amounts of sulfur dioxide, among other pollutants, such as standards around coal plant emissions. “We aren't sure how far back Mr Zeldin is thinking of taking this,” said Murray McBride, a crop and soil scientist at Cornell University. “It would take a dramatic rollback to allow that much sulphur dioxide, but it's possible.”
After alerting Americans to the dangers of acid rain, Likens founded the Institute of Ecosystem Studies (now the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies) to conduct further research.
At Cornell University he then set up a separate monitoring system, near New York's Finger Lakes, which has been running since 1976 but had its funding cut this month by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) as part of a Trump administration effort to shrink the size of government.
“There was no explanation given why they cut the funding and I'm not sure if we can keep the project going,” said Likens, who conducts this work himself alongside two technicians. “If we don't have the funding for research to look at what's happening, we are just blind. It's an awful way for the country to go.”
Likens continues to conduct lectures, often to people who were not born when acid rain was a major problem in the US. “I try to explain to them that this was one of the few environmental success stories that we have,” he said. “To see that get turned around is just sad. It makes me extremely sad.”
An EPA spokesperson did not answer questions about a potential return of acid rain or how the agency will ensure more people will not become sick or die because of the regulatory rollbacks.
“The US can protect the environment and grow the economy at the same time,” the spokesperson said, adding that the rollbacks were “the greatest and most consequential day of deregulation in American history”.
“This is a very important change from the previous administration's attempts to shut down American energy and make our citizens more reliant on foreign fossil fuels, resulting in worse environmental outcomes globally, billions in fresh funding to many of our nation's adversaries at the expense to all Americans, and economic pain on those who can least afford it.”
Italian household equipment manufacturer Ariston has announced its return to Russia after exiting the market in 2022, according to a company statement.
Ariston has become the first major Western brand to announce a return, after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Wednesday removing the firm's Russian subsidiary from the list of companies subject to temporary state administration.
“On March 26, 2025, Presidential Decree… reinstated Ariston Holding N.V. into the possession and full management of the shares of its Russian subsidiary,” the company said in the statement.
President Putin's decree reverses his April 26, 2024 order that had transferred control of Ariston's Russian assets to the temporary management of Gazprom Household Systems JSC.
More than 1,000 Western firms – from well-known retail names such as Adidas, H&M, and Calvin Klein to car giants such as Volkswagen and Ford – have exited Russia in the past three years under pressure from Ukraine-related sanctions.
Ariston's executive chairman, Paolo Merloni, said the group is “very pleased with the decision” to reinstate the company as the owner and manager of its Russian unit, Ariston Thermo Rus.
“We believe it reflects an appreciation for decades of responsible investments and management, our dedication to over 300 Russian employees, and the ongoing operations of the company's local business,” Merloni said.
According to the executive, the firm will resume activities with local leadership, “adhering fully to existing sanctions, and continue our legacy in the country.”
Ariston also stated that its board would need to revisit its previous decision from August of last year to deconsolidate its Russian subsidiary and to account for the related losses.
The development comes amid a US pivot on relations with Russia and shift in tone on the Ukraine conflict, which has sparked speculation that major Western brands which left Russia en masse may be looking to return.
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin stated on Wednesday that a special commission will assess each company's case individually. Foreign firms that left “under government pressure” but preserved “jobs, contacts, and technologies,” as well as the buy-back option could be allowed back, Mishustin said. He added that companies with unique expertise would be welcomed, provided they comply with localization and investment requirements.
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Der Spiegel reports that in some cases it found password details for Mike Waltz, Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard via hacked data dumps and commercial providers
The private data of top security advisers to US President Donald Trump can be accessed online, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Wednesday, adding to the fallout from the officials' use of a Signal group chat to plan airstrikes on Yemen.
Mobile phone numbers, email addresses and in some cases passwords used by national security adviser Mike Waltz, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, and director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard can be found via commercial data-search services and hacked data dumped online, it reported. It is not clear in all cases how recent the details are.
The Trump administration has been facing calls for the resignation of senior officials amid bipartisan criticism after Monday's embarrassing revelations. The chat group, which included vice-president JD Vance, Hegseth, the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and others, discussed sensitive plans to carry out strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen via the Signal app, potentially threatening the safety of US servicemen and women taking part in the operation.
On Wednesday evening, Trump backed Hegseth, saying “He had nothing to do with this” and calling the scandal a “witch-hunt”.
The phone numbers and email addresses – mostly current – were in some cases used for Instagram and LinkedIn profiles, cloud-storage service Dropbox, and apps that track a user's location.
Der Spiegel reported it was “particularly easy” to discover Hegseth's mobile number and email address, using a commercial provider of contact information. It found that the email address, and in some cases even the password associated with it, could be found in more than 20 data leaks. It reported that it was possible to verify that the email address was used just a few days ago.
It said the mobile number led to a WhatsApp account that Hegseth appeared to have only recently deleted.
The Gabbard and Waltz numbers were reportedly linked to accounts on messaging services WhatsApp and Signal. Der Spiegel said that left them exposed to having spyware installed on their devices.
It said it was even possible foreign agents were spying during the recent Signal group chat on top-secret US plans for airstrikes on Yemen's Houthi rebels on 15 March.
Waltz inadvertently included a journalist in the chat, the Atlantic magazine's Jeffrey Goldberg. The magazine published further details of the conversation on Wednesday.
Der Spiegel said the three officials had not responded to its requests for comment.
The national security council said the Waltz accounts and passwords referenced by the German magazine had all been changed in 2019.
With Agence France-Presse
While many in Brazil delight at the ex president's predicted downfall, others fear who may follow in his far-right footsteps
There were cries of joy in progressive parts of Rio on Wednesday as Brazil's supreme court ruled that the former president Jair Bolsonaro should stand trial for an alleged coup plot.
“No amnesty! No amnesty!” one elated lefty roared from his balcony into the sunny autumn afternoon.
Across the bay in the city of Niterói, the composer Edu Krieger was so delighted by the prospect of Bolsonaro serving time he wrote a song – a parody of a Tom Jobim bossa nova classic called Waters of March – celebrating the downfall of the “coup-mongering fascist”.
“It was a feeling of relief,” Krieger, one of many progressive Brazilians who abhor the far-right populist for his attacks on culture and human rights, said of the court's decision.
Thousands of miles north, deep in the Amazon, the Yanomami leader Júnior Hekurari also voiced satisfaction. “Never before were we so abandoned by the Brazilian state [than during Bolsonaro's 2019-23 administration] … His words encouraged thousands of illegal miners to infiltrate our forests, bringing mercury, violence and environmental destruction,” Hekurari recalled.
Bolsonaro's critics have said they hope this week's ruling will end his divisive and hate-filled 36-year career, in which the paratrooper turned politician underwent an astonishing transformation from eccentric backbencher to the country's most powerful man.
“He turned his back on us – and now the world can see the consequences of his acts,” said Hekurari, condemning Bolsonaro's “negligence and omission” for plunging his Yanomami people into a deadly crisis of hunger and pain.
Bolsonaro's future looks bleak after the unanimous ruling. When he goes on trial, possibly later this year, few believe the politician will escape punishment for allegedly leading a murderous conspiracy to stop his left-wing successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, taking power after his 2022 election win. Those crimes could earn the 72-year-old a sentence of more than 40 years.
As she voted for Bolsonaro to be put in the dock, the supreme court justice Cármen Lúcia Antunes Rocha launched a searing attack on the kind of authoritarian takeover the far-right politician is accused of plotting. “Dictatorship kills. Dictatorship lives off death – not just the death of society and of democracy, but of human beings made of flesh and bone who are tortured, mutilated and murdered,” she said.
Bolsonaro tried to strike a defiant tone during a rambling, peevish 45-minute pronouncement to reporters, insisting he was innocent of “unfounded” accusations. “I'm not obsessed with power, I have a passion for Brazil,” he shouted, before a prankster trumpet player gatecrashed the press conference with a sarcastic rendition of Chopin's Funeral March.
Maria Cristina Fernandes, a columnist from the Valor Econômico newspaper, said she believed Bolsonaro cut a diminished figure. “It was the speech of someone who is bewildered, who doesn't have a strategy … I saw a Bolsonaro who was lost and I think [in his position] anyone would be,” she said.
Fernandes said she thought Bolsonaro – who she expected to be convicted – would try to grab two lifelines as he fought for political survival.
The first involved securing a presidential pardon by helping to elect a right-wing president in next year's election, in which he is banned from running. Bolsonaro had hoped his congressman son, Eduardo, might stand in his place. But Fernandes said she believed the court's verdict meant he would instead be compelled to support São Paulo's less radical right-wing governor, Tarcísio de Freitas, who stood a better chance of winning.
Second, Fernandes said, Bolsonaro would fight to ensure a large number of right-wing senators were elected, wagering they would help impeach the supreme court judge Alexandre de Moraes – the man Bolsonaristas suspect would spearhead efforts to strike down any such pardon. “This is Bolsonaro's absolute top priority,” she said.
It is far from certain Bolsonaro will achieve those goals. When the ex-president summoned supporters to rally on Rio's Copacabana beach this month, allies anticipated a million-strong crowd. About 18,000 people turned up, according to an estimate by one of Brazil's top universities.
“For me, the protest in Copacabana was a sign that people want to turn the page,” Fernandes said. “I really think Bolsonaro is running the risk of becoming yesterday's news.
“I'm not saying Brazil's right and extreme right are doomed,” she added, but Bolsonaro looked a spent force and the populist's hopes of staging a Donald Trump-style comeback were not good. “Voters want to look to the future.”
Not everyone is so sure. Bernardo Mello Franco, a political columnist for the newspaper O Globo, said he also expected Bolsonaro to be found guilty and jailed – if he did not flee abroad or hide in a foreign embassy first.
Mello Franco said he believed the ex-president was hoping the “global extreme-right alliance” – spearheaded by Trump and Elon Musk – might somehow rescue him, even if the US president appeared to have more urgent priorities than a septuagenarian South American politician who no longer held power.
But was Bolsonaro truly finished?
“In Brazil, we can never say someone's politically dead and buried,” Mello Franco replied. “Just look at the case of President Lula,” whose career looked over when he was jailed in 2018 but who reclaimed the presidency four years later. “Sometimes people seem to be out of the game and then suddenly there's a twist.”
Krieger, the musician, voiced similar fears.
“When it comes to politics, everything is so unpredictable,” Krieger said, pointing to the emergence of a new generation of social media savvy far-right figures. “While it might be the end of the road for a specific person, it isn't, unfortunately, the end of the road for conspiratorial, coup-mongering, fascist ways of thinking.” .
He added: “This seed wasn't planted in Brazil by Bolsonaro – it was planted more than 500 years ago when Brazil was invaded by the Europeans, and native people began to be exterminated and slavery [took root] … These far-right ideas are still very much alive.”
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Helicopters dumped water over a burning forest in South Korea on Thursday as fire crews struggled to contain the country's worst-ever wildfires, which have killed 27 people, forced at least 37,000 others to flee their homes and destroyed more than 300 structures.
Workers cut down trees and put up protection around a temple in the South Korean city of Andong, one of the hardest hit areas, as wildfires continue to scorch southern regions of the country. The fires have killed 26 people, forced at least 37,000 others to flee their homes and destroyed more than 300 structures.
Firefighters continued to battle wildfires in South Korea's southern regions as the government mobilized thousands of people, dozens of helicopters and other equipment to extinguish the blazes.
A helicopter dumps water on a mountain after a wildfire broke out in Cheongsong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korean soldiers work to prevent the further spread of wildfires in Uiseong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Yoon Kwan-shik/Yonhap via AP)
Residents watch their burnt-out houses at a damaged village due to wildfires in Cheongsong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Burnt-out houses are seen at a damaged village due to wildfires in Cheongsong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Escaped villagers from wildfires rest at a shelter in Uiseong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Workers cover temples with fireproof fabric in preparation for a possible approaching wildfire at a temple in Cheongsong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Smoke rises from a wildfire at a national park in Cheongsong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Lee Moo-yeol/Newsis via AP)
A helicopter tries to extinguish a wildfire by dropping water at a national park in Cheongsong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Lee Moo-yeol/Newsis via AP)
A firefighter vehicle sprays water in preparation for a possible approaching wildfire at a temple in Cheongsong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korean soldiers arrive to prevent the further spread of wildfires in Uiseong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Yoon Kwan-shik/Yonhap via AP)
A burnt-out house in a destroyed village is seen in Cheongsong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Kim Do-hun/Yonhap via AP)
A burnt-out houses and warehouses in a destroyed village are seen in Andong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Kim Do-hun/Yonhap via AP)
A burnt-out houses in a destroyed village are seen in Uiseong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Kim Do-hun/Yonhap via AP)
A burnt-out houses and warehouses in a destroyed village are seen in Andong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Kim Do-hun/Yonhap via AP)
Buddhist temple and pagoda are covered by flameproof materials to prevent them from damage from wildfire at Daejeon temple in Cheongsong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Kim Do-hun/Yonhap via AP)
South Korean army soldiers work to prevent the further spread of wildfires in Uiseong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korean army soldiers work to prevent the further spread of wildfires in Uiseong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korean army soldiers work to prevent the further spread of wildfires in Uiseong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korean army soldiers work to prevent the further spread of wildfires in Uiseong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
CHEONGSONG, South Korea (AP) — Helicopters dumped water over a burning forest in South Korea on Thursday as fire crews struggled to contain the country's worst-ever wildfires, which have killed 28 people, forced at least 37,800 to flee their homes and destroyed thousands of structures and vehicles.
Multiple wildfires fueled by strong winds and dry weather have been raging across South Korea's southeastern regions since last Friday. The government has mobilized thousands of personnel, dozens of helicopters and other equipment to extinguish the blazes, but gusty winds are hampering their efforts.
Rain was expected later Thursday. But Korea Forest Service chief Lim Sang-seop said the amount — less than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) is forecast — likely won't help much in extinguishing the wildfires.
The fatalities include a pilot whose helicopter crashed during efforts to contain a fire Wednesday and four firefighters and other workers who died earlier after being trapped by fast-moving flames.
South Korean soldiers work to prevent the further spread of wildfires in Uiseong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Yoon Kwan-shik/Yonhap via AP)
Authorities haven't disclosed details of the civilian dead, except that they are mostly in their 60s or older who found it difficult to escape quickly or who even refused orders to evacuate. They suspect human error caused several of the wildfires, including cases where people started fires while clearing overgrown grass from family tombs or with sparks during welding work.
Lee Han-kyung, deputy head of the government's disaster response center, told a meeting Thursday that the wildfires showed “the reality of climate crisis that we have yet experienced,” according to Yonhap news agency. Calls to his center were unanswered.
Scientists say the warming atmosphere around the world is driving ever more extreme weather events, including wildfires, flooding, droughts, hurricanes and heat waves that are killing people and causing billions of dollars in damage every year.
The wildfires have burned 38,665 hectares (95,543 acres) of land, the disaster response center said Thursday. Observers say that's the worst figure of its kind in South Korea. The center said the blazes have also injured 32 people and forced more than 37,800 people to evacuate. More than 2,600 structures, including homes, factories and other buildings, as well as vehicles, were damaged or destroyed.
Escaped villagers from wildfires rest at a shelter in Uiseong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
As of Thursday morning, the center said authorities were mobilizing more than 9,000 people and about 120 helicopters to battle the wildfires.
In Cheongsong, one of the fire-hit areas, thick plumes of smoke were bellowing from Juwang Mountain on Thursday morning. Helicopters repeatedly hovered over the mountain, dropping water. The amount of smoke later appeared to have diminished.
At a Buddhist temple near the mountain, workers covered a stone pagoda and other structures with fire-resistant materials, while firefighters poured water on sites near the temple.
The hardest-hit areas include Andong city and the neighboring counties of Uiseong and Sancheong, and the city of Ulsan.
A burnt-out houses and warehouses in a destroyed village are seen in Andong, South Korea, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Kim Do-hun/Yonhap via AP)
On Wednesday night, strong winds and smoke-filled skies forced authorities in the southeastern city of Andong to order evacuations in two villages, including Puncheon, home to the Hahoe folk village — a UNESCO World Heritage Site founded around the 14th-15th century. Hikers were advised to leave the scenic Jiri Mountain as another fire spread closer.
The fires in the past week have destroyed houses, factories and some historic structures. In Uiseong, about 20 of the 30 structures at the Gounsa temple complex, which was said to be originally built in the 7th century, have burned. Among them were two state-designated “treasures” — a pavilion-shaped building erected overlooking a stream in 1668, and a Joseon dynasty structure built in 1904 to mark the longevity of a king.
The Korea Forest Service wildfire warning is at its highest level, requiring local governments to assign more workers to emergency response, tighten entry restrictions for forests and parks, and recommend that military units withhold live-fire exercises.
Hyung-jin Kim and Kim Tong-hyung reported from Seoul, South Korea. Associated Press photographer Ahn Young-joon in Cheongsong, South Korea, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik gestures during a news conference after Bosnian prosecutors ordered the detention of three top Bosnian Serb officials over a series of separatist actions, in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic)
Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik watches ruling by the court after a court sentenced him to one year in prison and banned him from engaging in politics for six years over his separatist actions, during a rally in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic)
Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik speaks after a court sentenced him to one year in prison and banned him from engaging in politics for six years over his separatist actions, during a rally in the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic)
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — A Bosnian court said Thursday it was seeking an international arrest warrant for Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, who is facing legal action for his separatist policies.
The Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina said in a statement that it issued the demand on Wednesday and that the decision is now in the hands of Interpol.
Pro-Russia Dodik, who leads the Serb-run half of Bosnia, has repeatedly called for the separation of the territory from the rest of Bosnia, fueling fears of instability.
He has faced U.S. and British sanctions for his separatism, but he has had the support of Moscow.
Defying Bosnia's court, Dodik has refused to appear for questioning on suspicion that he violated the country's constitution. He traveled this week to neighboring Serbia, where he attended an gathering with populist President Aleksandar Vucic, before proceeding to Israel.
Vucic has said Serbia would not arrest Dodik and has criticized legal proceedings against him.
“Nothing unusual, the abuse of justice continues,” Dodik told a Bosnian Serb television in Jerusalem on Thursday when asked about the international arrest warrant. “Bosnia is a failed state.”
The Bosnia court statement also said it is seeking the arrest of Bosnian Serb parliamentary speaker Nenad Stevandic, who also briefly visited Serbia.
Serbia's Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said on Thursday that both Dodik and Stevandic hold Serbian citizenship. Belgrade has filed a protest note to Interpol over Bosnia's request, Dacic said in a statement.
There have been fears of clashes between the police loyal to Dodik and the Bosnian police forces, stoking tensions that have pushed Bosnia to the biggest crisis since more than 100,000 people were killed in an ethnic war from 1992 to 1995.
The conflict in Bosnia ended in a U.S.-brokered peace deal that created two administrations bound by central institutions.
Bosnia's Serbs took up arms after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s to create a state with the aim of joining neighboring Serbia.
Bosnia has been seeking European Union membership, but progress has been slow because of constant ethnic and political disputes.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
The Iran-backed Houthis said Thursday they targeted an Israeli airport and army site as well as a US warship, soon after Israel reported intercepting missiles launched from Yemen.
The Houthis "targeted Ben Gurion airport... with a ballistic missile... and a military target" south of Tel Aviv, their military spokesman Yahya Saree said.
Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli military said it intercepted two missiles launched from Yemen "prior to crossing into Israeli territory" after it activated air raid sirens across multiple areas, including Jerusalem.
Saree said the rebels also "targeted hostile warships in the Red Sea, including the American aircraft carrier (USS Harry S) Truman," which he said was "in retaliation to the ongoing US aggression against our country".
The United States launched what its Central Command called a "large scale operation" involving air strikes against the Houthis on March 15.
Washington vowed to use overwhelming force until they stopped firing on vessels in the key shipping routes of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden after the rebels threatened to resume attacks over the Gaza war.
The Houthis have since reported near-daily US air strikes on areas under their control.
Rebels Say 2 Killed
Earlier on Thursday, the rebels said two people had been killed in overnight air strikes near the rebel-controlled capital Sanaa that they blamed on the United States.
The Houthis' Al-Masirah TV channel reported nearly 20 strikes on Sanaa governorate, both north and south of the capital.
"The American aggression killed two and injured two," the Houthi-run health ministry's spokesman Anis al-Asbahi said on social media platform X.
Al-Masirah also reported strikes early Thursday in Saada, the Iran-backed rebels' northern stronghold which Houthi media had said was hit 17 times the day before.
While the United States does not always report these raids, a United States defence official told AFP on Sunday that American forces were "conducting strikes across multiple locations of Iran-backed Houthi locations every day and night in Yemen".
The latest strikes claimed by the Houthis come with Washington embroiled in scandal linked to the March 15 strikes. The Atlantic Magazine published the transcript of messages accidentally shared with its editor in a chat group of senior US officials on Signal, a commercially available messaging app.
The magazine on Thursday published details of the March 15 attack plans, which it initially withheld, after the White House insisted no classified details were involved.
In response to the US strikes, the Houthis have claimed responsibility for multiple attacks on the Truman carrier group off Yemen's coast, as well as projectiles fired at Israel.
The Houthis began targeting shipping vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden after the start of the Gaza war, claiming solidarity with the Palestinian people, but paused their campaign when a ceasefire in Gaza took effect in January.
Earlier this month, they threatened to renew the attacks in the vital maritime trade route over Israel's aid blockade on the Palestinian territory, triggering the first US strikes on Yemen since President Donald Trump took office in January.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
South Korea's government enabled the "mass exportation" of children with private adoption agencies by fabricating birth records and failing to follow consent procedures, a long-awaited investigation has found. According to CNN, the country, which remains one of the biggest exporters of babies in the world, has sent over 200,000 South Korean children overseas since the 1950s, when the impoverished country was rebuilding from the devastation of World War II and the Korean War. Many of those adopted children, now adults trying to trace their origins, accused agencies of coercion and deception, including in some cases forcibly removing them from their mothers.
Now, after a three-year investigation, the government's Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its findings on the first 100 cases out of 367 total petitions filed by adoptees sent overseas between 1964 and 1999, per CNN. It found that 56 of the 100 were "victims" of the government's negligence, which amounted to a violation of their rights under the Korean constitution and international convention.
According to the investigation, local agencies collaborated with foreign groups to mass export South Korean children, driven by monthly quotas set by overseas demand. Many adoptions occurred through dubious or outright unethical means, it said. The commission found evidence of fabricated records, including "deliberate identity substitution" and false reports that the children being adopted had been abandoned by their birth parents. It said that there was a lack of proper parental consent for adoption as well.
The commission noted that such lack of oversight led to large-scale inter-country adoptions, with many children losing their true identities and family histories due to falsified or fabricated records.
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The commission determined "the state violated the human rights of adoptees protected under the constitution and international agreements by neglecting its duty to ensure basic human rights, including inadequate legislation, poor management and oversight, and failures in implementing proper administrative procedures while sending large numbers of children abroad," as per The Independent.
"Numerous legal and policy shortcomings emerged," commission head Park Sun Young said, adding, "These violations should never have occurred."
The investigation of more than 300 cases began in 2022 and is due to end in May. Till then, the commission has recommended that the government offer an official apology, conduct a comprehensive survey of adoptees' citizenship status and come up with remedies for victims whose identities were falsified.
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A minute's silence is held in tribute to Scottish government minister Christina McKelvie who has died, aged 57
Presiding officer Alison Johnstone fights back tears as she pays tribute before First Minister John Swinney says his party is "aching at the news"
Swinney is grilled by Tory leader Russell Findlay on an Audit Scotland report that highlights GP problems
Labour leader Anas Sarwar asks about a "devastating" HIS report into emergency departments in Glasgow - Swinney says the findings are not acceptable
Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie uses his question to pay tribute to Christina McKelvie, asking how all MSPs can show the kindness and compassion she did
Edited by Catherine Lyst
That concludes a very respectful and understandably sombre First Minister's Questions, which was preceded by a minute's silence in tribute to Christina McKelvie. Here are the key lines:
That's all from the live page team, thank you for joining us. Catherine Lyst was today's editor. Craig Hutchison and James Delaney were the writers.
Regan says “serious concerns” were raised at the Scottish
Police Federation conference around officer burnout and under-resourcing.
She says residents have the right not to be left at the risk
of being caught up in gang warfare.
And she asks whether police funding will be redirected to areas
of Edinburgh where people are at risk from increased gang activity.
Swinney says he wants to “reassure communities” that Police
Scotland actively scrutinise intelligence to prevent violence and says resources
are allocated accordingly.
He says the government has allocated £1.62bn to support police
capacity and capability.
Police have been carrying out investigations around West Pilton Bank
Police investigating separate incidents of shots being fired in Edinburgh say they believe they are linked to groups who were "actively targeting each other".
The first incident happened in Niddrie Marischal Crescent at about 03:05 last Thursday.
Then at about 07:55 last Friday, there was a report of shots being fired eight miles away in West Pilton Bank.
Police said there were no reported injuries in either incident and "extensive inquiries" were being carried out.
Read more here.
Alba's Ash Regan asks the first minister what action can be
taken to support emergency services in east Edinburgh following a flare-up in
suspected gang violence.
Reports suggest a feud between rival organisations has
resulted in several commercial and residential properties being targeted in
firebomb attacks, while shootings have been reported in Niddrie and West Pilton.
Swinney says he is “deeply concerned” by reports, but says “significant
resource” is being put in to investigations.
He says other measures from the serious organised crime
taskforce to “disrupt, detect and deter” organised crime remains a “key priority”.
Tory MSP Craig Hoy says OBR forecasts reveal that by the end of the decade tax receipts from North Sea Oil and gas will slump from £5.4bn to just £2.3bn.
"How can this be described as a just transition?"
John Swinney says the challenges that exist are a consequence of a declining oil basin.
"We have to adjust to that," says the FM.
Shona Robison says the Scottish government is facing a "major shortfall"
One story has cast its shadow far and wide this week, the impact of the Spring Statement.
Scotland's Finance Secretary Shona Robison said the Scottish government would have to make cuts to public service budgets to cover the increase in employers' National Insurance.
It came after Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced welfare cuts and an increase in defence spending in her Spring Statement.
Robison said the announcement was "really grim news" for some of the most vulnerable in society.
But Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said the UK government was delivering the largest budget settlement in the history of devolution.
A clearly distraught SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson also begins by paying tribute to Christina McKelvie.
"She was truly a force of nature," he says.
He moves on to ask for John Swinney's reaction to the Spring Statement.
The FM says his government is concerned by a number of details within the statement and he highlights the assessment from the DWP that the measures in the statement are likely to drive 250,000 more people into relative poverty, including 50,000 children.
Swinney adds that the Fraser of Allander Institute has estimated the measures will see a block grant adjustment to Scotland's budget that removes £455m by 29/30.
Gibson accuses Labour of a "shameful litany of broken manifesto promises".
The FM replies that Scotland has implemented a social security system that is "based on dignity and respect" and he says those values will always be at the heart of the decisions of the Scottish government.
"We are once again...swimming against a tide of rising poverty levels as a consequence of UK government decision making," he adds.
A clearly emotional Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie says: "This parliament has lost one of our very best today."
He offers this deepest sympathies and those of his party to "everyone who knew and loved Christina McKelvie".
The Scottish Greens co-leader says "compassion and kindness" were at her core.
"The only question I would like to ask the first minister today is how does he think we can all bring that kindness and compassion into our work, as Christina did?"
The FM thanks Harvie for his kind words and says he endorses all that he said.
"I do think there are lessons to be learned from the magnificent generosity of spirit of Christina McKelvie," he adds.
Kirsten CampbellBBC Scotland political correspondent
The atmosphere is very sombre in the chamber.
You can tell the politician's hearts aren't in it.
They don't want to be shouting at each other when they're
mourning the loss of a friend.
So questions are being asked and answered in a much more
respectful manner than usual.
Sarwar says “patients and staff have heard this before”.
He points to the infections scandal thought to have caused
the death of several patients as an example and says families' fight for
information had been “covered up”.
He asks the first minister what it will take for the culture
to change.
Swinney says the government has been prepared to “honestly confront
acute difficulties” within the health service.
He says corridor care “will not be normalised or tolerated”.
The first minister says he accepts there will be “failings”
in the health service, but says most people experience “high-quality care” within
the health service.
Sarwar says the report “exposes serious issues”.
He says staff had been “intimidated” when they tried to blow
the whistle on the issues, adding it is a “constant battle” to keep patients
safe.
Swinney says the government “would not be resigned” to the
issues repeating.
He says he wants to make it “abundantly clear” to every
health board that the findings of HIS are “completely unacceptable”.
Swinney says the report's findings are “not acceptable”.
He acknowledged Sarwar's “sustained questioning” on the
topic, but said there was “new leadership” in place to address the issues.
Swinney said they would be tackled “at pace and at scale”.
The Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) report into
emergency rooms across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) found a “serious
breakdown” in relationships between manager and consultants.
HIS said doctors had been subjected to "disrespectful
behaviours, poor teamwork and incivility" at the Queen Elizabeth University
Hospital (QEUH).
The review also found the culture at the hospital had a “detrimental
impact” on patient care.
HIS said 29 doctors at QEUH first contacted them in 2023 to raise concerns
about treatment delays, inadequate staffing levels and patients being left
unassessed in unsuitable waiting areas.
The health watchdog apologised for not investigating the
claims at the time, but later launched a review into three NHSGGC emergency
departments.
NHSGGC said a transformation programme was working "at
pace and scale" to improve care at the hospital.
Sarwar says he has “long-standing concerns” over the
leadership and culture at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
He describes a Health Improvement Scotland report into
emergency departments across the city as “devastating”.
The Scottish Labour leader cites the report stating that
corridor care is now “normalised,” frontline A&E staff “bullied and
silenced” and “patient care compromised”.
He asks Swinney if he feels that is acceptable.
Anas Sarwar begins his questions by echoing condolences to the
friends, family and loved ones of Christina McKelvie.
He says the pain of her passing “will be felt across the parliament”.
He describes her as “fierce politically,” adding she was “great
fun” and a “dedicated MSP”.
He says his thoughts are with her family, friends and
colleagues.
The FM says the report from Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) expects the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board to address the findings of the report.
"I am confident the entire board will do so," he adds.
Findlay turns to "serious concerns" about A&E units in Greater Glasgow.
The Scottish Tory leader says it has become routine for ambulances to queue up outside Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and for patients to be treated in the corridor.
He says the HIS report says patient safety is being "seriously compromised".
The Scottish Tory leader tells the chamber the government has failed to deliver on previous pledges which should have been delivered by 2021.
Findlay asks if the FM can confirm he will bring forward a plan by the end of the year.
The first minister hits back, saying Scotland has the highest number of GPs per head of population in the UK.
"We are determined to build on that," Swinney adds.
He details interventions to improve access to general practice.
The first minister says: "The Audit Scotland report contains some recommendations that the government will consider."
He says his government has made a series of investments to strengthen the access to healthcare within Scotland.
The FM points to the Primary Care Improvement Fund as an example.
A Scottish government agreement with GPs to improve general practice has failed to deliver on several of its commitments, according to a report by Audit Scotland.
Scotland's spending watchdog says the estimated number of whole-time equivalent GPs has fallen while pressure on general practice has increased.
The pressure on general practice is increasing because of a growing and ageing population, widening health inequalities, and longer waits for hospital care.
The report says the Scottish government is not delivering in several areas - among them plans to hit its target of 800 more GPs by 2027. It says this is unlikely to be met and spending on general practice as a proportion of overall NHS spending has fallen slightly in recent years.
The Scottish government said it was working with doctors to support general practice and remained committed to adding 800 additional GPs within two years.
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Vicente Gonzalez tirelessly promoting Nayib Bukele, including reposting calls to ‘impeach corrupt judges'
A Texas Democrat is co-chair of a congressional caucus that has tirelessly promoted El Salvador's authoritarian president, Nayib Bukele, including on the caucus's X account by reposting calls to “impeach the corrupt judges” who impede the actions of Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Bukeke is also currently at the center of a scandal in the US involving the transport of hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador, where they have entered the country's notorious prisons for gang members – despite clear evidence that some of them have no gang links.
Vicente Gonzalez, who has been in Congress since 2016, has co-chaired the El Salvador caucus since it was founded by the far-right Republican former Florida representative Matt Gaetz last August.
The apparent admiration of Bukele by the centrist Democrat has sparked criticism and concerns about the negotiability of human rights and democracy for centrist Democrats in the Trump era when the US president is showing increasingly authoritarian traits domestically and sympathies for autocrats abroad.
Ana María Méndez-Dardón of the Washington Office on Latin America, where she is director for Central America, said the El Salvador caucus “symbolizes political support for Bukele's regime” at a time when “human rights organizations have documented torture in El Salvador's prison system”.
Sonja Wolf, a political scientist at the Panamerican University in Mexico City and the author of Mano Dura, a book on the politics of gang control in El Salvador, said: “The social media posts of the caucus indicate admiration for, and support of, Bukele's security strategy.”
Wolf added: “As things currently stand in the United States, the Democratic party has yet to figure out how to resist the Trump administration and try to halt the authoritarian regression in the United States.”
The El Salvador caucus was created just weeks after Gonzalez attended Bukele's second inauguration last June alongside Gaetz, four other Congress members and Maga world figures including Donald Trump Jr and Tucker Carlson.
The Guardian contacted Gonzalez's office for comment but received no response.
Gonzalez's co-chair on the committee has been the far-right Republican representative Anna Paulina Luna. In January, Luna introduced a bill to add Trump's face to the side of Mount Rushmore, the mountainside memorial to the nation's greatest presidents.
The caucus publicizes its activities via an account on Musk's social media platform, X. In many posts and reposts, that account has appeared to endorse unconstitutional and anti-democratic proposals from Bukele, Musk and other far-right actors.
One of the account's reposts is of a post from Bukele that embeds a 26 February complaint from Musk saying: “The only way to restore rule of the people in America is to impeach judges. No one is above the law, including judges. That is what it took to fix El Salvador. Same applies to America.”
The day before, a federal judge blocked Musk's so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) from accessing the personal details of millions of Americans via data from the Department of Education and the Office of Personnel Management.
Bukele shared Musk's post with the remark: “If you don't impeach the corrupt judges, you CANNOT fix the country.”
He added: “They will form a cartel (a judicial dictatorship) and block all reforms, protecting the systemic corruption that put them in their seats.”
In May 2021, Bukele removed the country's attorney general and five supreme court judges. Later that year, the Biden state department put Bukele's hand-picked replacement judges on a list of “undemocratic and corrupt actors”, with the US chargé d'affaires in El Salvador at that time warning of a “decline in democracy” in the country.
In a 26 February post reposted by the El Salvador caucus account, Matt Gaetz amplified yet another of Bukele post from 2021. Bukele had posted pictures apparently showing a rally of the leftwing Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) party; that party initially formed as an armed insurgent group, but has participated in national elections since 1994 after the insurgency ended in peace accords in 1992.
Bukele himself served as mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán and San Salvador, before he was ousted from the party in 2017. He has consistently attacked the party in power, including by refusing to commemorate the peace accords that brought peace to El Salvador after years of brutal civil war.
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In 2021, Bukele wrote of the apparently peaceful protest: “US taxpayers should know that their government is using their money to fund communist movements against a democratic elected (and with a 90% approval rating) government in El Salvador.”
In the Gaetz post, reposted by the El Salvador caucus account, he wrote: “Every dollar of this must be cut off @elonmusk.”
On 16 March, the account reposted a post from Luna, who was herself reposting a celebratory Bukele post about the brutal delivery of Venezuelan immigrants, whom the Trump administration alleges are Tren de Aragua gang members, to the Salvadoran prison system.
She commented: “Well done @nayibbukele!”
Those prisoners were sent to El Salvador in apparent defiance of a restraining order issued by the federal court judge James Boasberg. On Monday, the appeals court judge Patricia Millett averred that “Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemies Act” during the second world war.
The relatives of some people sent to El Salvador as gang members have said that they are innocent. While immigration officials selected deportees on the basis of alleged gang tattoos, family members say the tattoos were of religious imagery and football club logos.
Bukele has long been in favor on the US far right, who admire his authoritarian approach to law and order, his strongman constitutional brinkmanship, and his embrace of cryptocurrencies.
Wolf said: “Having been elected president twice, the second time by violating the constitution, [Bukele] has established an opaque and corrupt regime that pursues personal enrichment… the president has also eroded institutional checks and balances, stifled press freedom, and pushed for gentrification and megaprojects that undermine people's livelihoods and displace communities.”
Gonzalez has a history of striking conservative positions both in Congress and on the campaign trail. In January, he was one of two Democrats who voted to support a Trump-backed act that would withhold federal funding from schools that allow transgender athletes to compete alongside girls. During the Biden administration, he was one of a number of Texas Democrats who pushed back on the administration's environmental legislation, before eventually supporting it.
During his 2022 campaign, a blogger who had previously received campaign funds from Gonzalez's committee made comments about his Mexican-born opponent Mayra Flores that were criticized as racist, including references to her as “Miss Frijoles” and “Miss Enchiladas”.
Ofcom acts after finding flaws in how subscription platform responded to request for details of ‘challenge age' process
Ofcom has fined the subscription platform OnlyFans just over £1m for failing to provide accurate information about its age checks.
In June 2022 and 2023, Ofcom asked OnlyFans' parent company, Fenix International, for information on its age checking procedures, including the effectiveness of its facial estimation technology.
OnlyFans enables celebrities, influencers and content creators to make money from their work, and is a popular platform among sex workers who use it to sell explicit content.
Ofcom launched a dual investigation into OnlyFans last May over concerns it was not doing enough to stop children accessing pornography, and that it had failed to provide complete and accurate information. The regulator subsequently decided to pursue the second strand, after it did not make any findings on age limits.
Ofcom determined that OnlyFans had failed to provide accurate information in response to requests by the regulator, which allow it to monitor if video-sharing platforms are protecting children. The errors stemmed from a claim by Fenix that it had set a “challenge age” for its facial age estimation technology at 23 years old.
The technology requires a prospective user to upload a live selfie, which it then uses to estimate their age. If the tool estimates the prospective user's age as being above the challenge age, they can create an account on the OnlyFans platform. Any user not estimated to be above the challenge age is required to verify that they are over 18 using another method.
In January 2024, Fenix learned from its technology provider that since 2021 the challenge age for OnlyFans had been set at 20 years old, not 23. After learning this, Fenix raised the challenge age to 23, but then quickly changed it again to 21 on 19 January.
Ofcom requires robust checks to be in place to ensure information is properly interrogated and reviewed before it is submitted to a formal information request.
The Ofcom investigation established that it took Fenix more than 16 months to discover it had provided inaccurate information, suggesting it did not have “robust factchecking processes”, despite being a large and lucrative company, Ofcom determined.
As a result of these failings, Ofcom has imposed a financial penalty on Fenix of £1.05m, which will be passed on to the Treasury.
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Suzanne Cater, Ofcom's enforcement director, said: “When we use our statutory powers to request information from platforms, they are required, by law, to ensure it is complete, accurate and delivered to us on time.
“Receiving accurate and complete information is fundamental for Ofcom to do its job as a regulator and to understand and monitor how platforms are operating. We will hold platforms to high standards and will not hesitate to take enforcement action where we find failings.”
A spokesperson for OnlyFans said: “OnlyFans recognises the importance of providing Ofcom with accurate and timely information. We welcome the conclusion of this process and Ofcom's previous decision to close their investigation into our age assurance measures.”
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From the economy to the climate and the EU's role in world affairs, this talk show sheds light on European affairs and the issues that impact on our daily lives as Europeans. Tune in to understand the ins and outs of European politics.
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The vessel went down on Thursday after setting off from the harbour in the tourist promenade area in the coastal city of Hurghada.
At least six people have died and nine have been injured after a tourist submarine carrying 45 people sank in Egypt's Red Sea, authorities said on Thursday.
The vessel went down after setting off from the harbour in the tourist promenade area in the coastal city of Hurghada. The sub was heading for an underwater tour of local coral reefs.
The Russian Embassy in Egypt said in a post on Facebook Thursday that all of the tourists on the submarine “Sindbad,” which operated from a hotel of the same name, were Russian nationals. The embassy added that four have been confirmed dead, while it awaits further information on others.
The death toll was later reported as five, of which two are children, according to Russia's state-run agency Tass.
Emergency crews were able to rescue 38 people, according to the Russian consul in Hurghada.
It was not clear if any crew members or tourists from other countries were among the casualties or what caused the sub to sink. According to reports, the Sindbad has a total capacity of 50.
It's not the first incident involving tourist boats sinking in the Red Sea. In November last year, a tourist boat called the Sea Story sank, leaving 11 dead or missing and 35 survivors.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
In this photo provided Thursday, March 27, 2025, by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un, center left in a black jacket, stands by what appeared to be a large reconnaissance drone at an undisclosed location in North Korea, earlier this week. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: “KCNA” which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
In this photo provided Thursday, March 27, 2025, by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un, center bottom, walks by what appeared to be a large reconnaissance drone at an undisclosed location in North Korea, earlier this week. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: “KCNA” which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
In this photo provided Thursday, March 27, 2025, by the North Korean government, a man in a military uniform films what is called an attack drone crashing into a prepared target at an undisclosed location in North Korea, earlier this week. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: “KCNA” which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea sent around 3,000 additional troops to Russia in January and February in continued support for Russian President Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine, South Korea's military said Thursday in its latest assessment.
The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea has also been sending more missiles, artillery equipment and ammunition to help Russia and that North Korea could increase its weapons supplies further depending on the war situation. Russia and Ukraine recently agreed on a limited ceasefire, though both sides have accused each other of violations.
The military equipment North Korea has sent to Russia includes a “considerable amount” of short-range ballistic missiles, 170 millimeter self-propelled howitzers and around 220 units of 240 millimeter multiple rocket launchers.
North Korea has sent approximately 11,000 military personnel to fight in the war against Ukraine in its first involvement in a large-scale conflict since the 1950-53 Korean War, and the Joint Chiefs assessed that around 4,000 of them have been killed or wounded.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service previously attributed the high North Korean casualties to the troops' likely struggles in adapting to drones and other elements of modern warfare. North Korean troops are further disadvantaged by the crude tactics of their Russian commanders, who have sent them into assault campaigns without providing rear-fire support, the spy agency told lawmakers in January.
Still, Ukrainian military and intelligence officials have assessed that the North Koreans are gaining crucial battlefield experience and have been key to Russia's strategy of overwhelming Ukraine by throwing large numbers of soldiers into the battle for Kursk.
The South Korean military report came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed his unwavering support for Russia's war in Ukraine during a meeting with a top Russian security official, Sergei Shoigu, last week in Pyongyang. State media reports said Kim and Shoigu reaffirmed their commitment to uphold a major mutual defense treaty agreed upon last year. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told Russian media on Thursday that the governments were discussing a potential visit by Kim to Moscow but did not specify when it might take place.
“We always talk to everyone about exchanging visits. We are always preparing,” he told RIA Novosti.
Kim's military support of Russia has raised concerns that he may receive Russian technology transfers in return, further strengthening the threat posed by his nuclear-armed military. Experts say aircraft and drones are among the potential areas where North Korea might seek to acquire Russian technology and know-how.
North Korean state media said Thursday that Kim observed tests of newly developed reconnaissance and attack drones this week and called for their increased production. Kim in recent months has been emphasizing the development of drones, and the tests were the latest display of his country's growing military capabilities.
Photos released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency showed Kim observing a large reconnaissance drone resembling the U.S.-made RQ-4B Global Hawk, first unveiled during a 2023 military exhibition. Other photos showed Kim boarding what appeared to be an airborne early-warning aircraft, similar in appearance to the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail. Other images showed exploding drones crashing into military vehicles used as targets.
The agency said the test demonstrated the reconnaissance drone's ability to track multiple targets and monitor troop movements on land and at sea, potentially enhancing North Korea's intelligence-gathering operations and ability to neutralize enemy threats. The report said the new exploding drones are designed for various attack missions and feature unspecified artificial intelligence capabilities.
Kim expressed satisfaction with the drones' performance and approved plans to expand production, emphasizing that drones and AI should be “top” priorities in efforts to advance his armed forces and adapt them to modern warfare, KCNA said. The agency said the tests took place as Kim visited a drone technology complex and an electronic warfare research group on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Kim previously inspected other demonstrations of drones that explode on impact in November and August last year.
When asked about the possibly early-warning aircraft, which North Korean state media unveiled for the first time, Lee Sung Joon, spokesperson for South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the North likely modified an existing plane to create an early-warning aircraft and may have used certain components from Russia. He said the aircraft's operational capabilities have yet to be proven.
“As you can see, it looks quite cumbersome and we assess that it's likely vulnerable to interception,” Lee said during a briefing, without elaborating further on the assessment. __ AP writer Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
A secret group chat on Signal among top Trump administration officials provided an unfiltered look at how the team decided to bomb Houthi militants in Yemen.
A secret group chat of top Trump administration officials, disclosed to the world after the mistaken addition of the Atlantic's top editor, provided an unfiltered look at the decision-making process behind the U.S. strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen earlier this month.
After war broke out between Hamas and Israel in October 2023, the Houthis began attacking container ships and oil tankers traversing the Red Sea in protest of Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip. The rebel movement — which functions as a de facto government in the parts of Yemen it controls — says it is attacking Israeli-linked vessels and those destined for Israel's ports.
The Red Sea is an important shipping route for global trade, connecting Asia to Europe. Many shipping companies have diverted from the route to avoid such attacks, disrupting so-called freedom of navigation and adding to shipping costs.
Here's what to know about why the United States bombed Yemen, and what the now not-so-secret chat tells us about the Trump team's strategy:
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Signal chat leak: Top officials in the Trump administration discussed highly sensitive military planning using an unclassified chat application that mistakenly included a journalist. The Atlantic published a transcript of the Signal group chat after the administration denied that any classified material had been shared. Here's a comparison of the transcript versus several claims the administration has made about the leak.
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Singer Neha Kakkar has been in the limelight for the last few days, after several users criticised the singer for arriving three hours late her Melbourne show last week. In a long note on her Instagram account, Neha has now stated what happened behind the scenes, stating that the organisers ran away with all the money and she wanted to perform for all the fans who were waiting for her. (Also read: Neha Kakkar breaks silence after facing flak over Melbourne show: 'You'll regret judging me…')
In her latest Instagram post, Neha began by writing, “They said she came 3 hours late, did they even ask once that what happened to her, what did they do to her and her band? When I spoke on stage I didn't even tell anyone what happened to us coz I didn't want anyone to get harmed coz who am I to punish anyone but now that it's come on my name, I had to speak up, so here it is!”
A post shared by Neha Kakkar (@nehakakkar)
The note read, “Do you all know that I performed absolutely free for my Melbourne audience? The organisers ran away with my money and others too. My band was not even given food, hotel and even water. My husband and his boys went and provided them food. Inspite of all of this we still went on stage and did the show without any rest or anything because there my fans were waiting for hours for me.”
She added, “Do you know our sound check got delayed by hours coz the sound vendor was not paid and he refused to put the sound on. And when after so much of delay our sound check started, I could not reach the venue, could not do the sound check, we didn't even know if the concert is happening coz the organisers stopped picking my manager's calls coz apparently they were running away from the sponsors n everyone. Though there's still a lot to share but I guess this is enough.”
The note concluded with Neha thanking her fans for coming out to support her amid all the backlash.
Several videos on social media platforms showed Neha in tears as she apologized to the audience. The singer was also seen assuring the crowd that she would make up for the lost time.
Following the criticism, her brother, singer and composer Tony Kakkar, came out in her defense and wrote in an Instagram post, “Artist maryada mein rahe, aur janta? (An artist should remain within their limits, but what about the public?).”
Manage your account
The fallout continues over a security breach in which high-ranking members of the Trump administration accidentally shared plans about a forthcoming U.S. military attack on Yemen with the top editor of the Atlantic magazine on the Signal messaging app.
Military, intelligence experts and some members of Congress have expressed shock over the inadvertent leak, raising questions about national security protocols and the use of unsecured channels for sensitive information.
President Trump and U.S. intelligence officials have tried to downplay the security risks, and insist no classified material was shared.
The Atlantic's editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, revealed in an article published on Monday that he knew about U.S. airstrikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen hours before they happened, because he was added to a Signal group chat where members of the Trump administration appeared to be discussing such war plans.
Goldberg said he received a Signal connection request on March 11 from someone whom he believed to be Michael Waltz, President Trump's national security adviser. Two days later, Goldberg said he was added to a conversation with 18 members of the administration — including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard — where they talked about plans to bomb Yemen.
U.S. air and naval assets hit multiple Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15.
Goldberg said that he initially did not believe the Signal group chat was real. “I could not believe that the national-security leadership of the United States would communicate on Signal about imminent war plans,” he wrote. "I have never seen a breach quite like this.
“It is not uncommon for national-security officials to communicate on Signal,” Goldberg added. “But the app is used primarily for meeting planning and other logistical matters — not for detailed and highly confidential discussions of a pending military action. And, of course, I've never heard of an instance in which a journalist has been invited to such a discussion."
Related from Yahoo News: What is Signal, anyway?
White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement that the message thread described by Goldberg “appears to be authentic” and that security council officials were “reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain.”
Trump first told reporters on Monday that he knew nothing about the incident. Then, in a phone interview with NBC News, the president said he stood by Waltz.
“Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he's a good man," Trump said. The president suggested that a member of Waltz's staff accidentally added Goldberg to the group.
Speaking to reporters at the White House Tuesday, Trump disparaged Goldberg and the Atlantic, calling the editor a “total sleazebag” and the 167-year-old publication a “failed magazine.”
On Wednesday, White House reporters asked Trump which members of his administration bore responsibility for the chat.
“It was Mike, I guess, I don't know,” Trump responded.
When pressed on Hegseth's role in the scandal, the president did not seem fully briefed on the fact that his defense secretary had shared sensitive information on Signal.
“How do you bring Hegseth into it? He had nothing to do with it,” Trump said.
In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday night, Waltz said that he takes “full responsibility" for the “embarrassing” security breach, and that he built the group chat himself.
“I take full responsibility. … I built the group,” Waltz said. “My job is to make sure everything's coordinated.”
But Waltz also said he doesn't know how Goldberg was added to the chat.
"I can tell you for 100% I don't know this guy," Waltz said, adding that he had spoken to Elon Musk for help in finding out what happened.
Appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, Gabbard and Ratcliffe were grilled by Democrats over the breach, which they both sought to downplay.
During a House Intelligence Committee hearing Wednesday, Gabbard acknowledged the inclusion of a Goldberg on the Signal chat was a “mistake,” but said no classified information was shared.
Speaking to reporters in Hawaii on Monday, Hegseth flatly denied sharing any sensitive military information.
“Nobody was texting war plans,” Hegseth said. “And that's all I have to say about that.”
He reiterated those comments on Tuesday.
“Nobody's texting war plans,” Hegseth said. “I know exactly what I'm doing.”
During a news conference in Kingston, Jamaica, on Wednesday, Rubio said he hoped "there'll be reforms and changes made so this never — it's not going to happen again. It can't."
“Obviously, someone made a mistake. Someone made a big mistake and added a journalist. Nothing against journalists, but you ain't supposed to be on that thing,” Rubio added.
In the article published Monday, Goldberg did not reveal details of the strike plans, saying the information “could conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel.”
But on Wednesday, the Atlantic published the full text thread from the Signal group under the headline: “Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump's Advisers Shared on Signal.”
“The statements by Hegseth, Gabbard, Ratcliffe, and Trump — combined with the assertions made by numerous administration officials that we are lying about the content of the Signal texts — have led us to believe that people should see the texts in order to reach their own conclusions,” Goldberg and colleague Shane Harris explained.
The messages include specific details on the timing of launches by U.S. military jets that were to strike Houthi targets.
In an interview with the BBC, Goldberg said such specifics undercut the administration's assertions that no sensitive military information was shared.
"If Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, is texting me, telling me the attack was about to be launched on Yemen — telling me what kind of aircraft are going to be used, what kind of weapons are going to be used, and when the bombs are going to fall two hours after the text is received — that seems like sensitive information, war-planning information to me," he said.
Current, former intelligence officials and Democratic lawmakers have expressed shock over the breach, wondering how members of the Trump administration would be discussing security plans on Signal in the first place.
"This Signal chat situation sheds light on a sloppy and grossly incompetent national security strategy from the Trump administration," said Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
“Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that they'd be this reckless and careless with our national security,” Ned Price, a former CIA analyst who was deputy to the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the Biden administration, told NPR.
Price said he had spoken to former national security officials and colleagues involved in military planning, adding, “It's fair to say ... that heads are exploding.”
While most Republicans have avoided criticizing the administration over the breach, a few have spoken out.
“Classified information should not be transmitted on unsecured channels — and certainly not to those without security clearances, including reporters. Period,” Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York, wrote on X. “Safeguards must be put in place to ensure this never happens again.”
“The White House is in denial that this was not classified or sensitive data,” Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska and a former Air Force brigadier general, told reporters on Wednesday. “They should just own up to it and preserve credibility.”
Sen. Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday that the panel is calling for an independent investigation into the leak.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois and a member of the committee, did not mince words in a post on X Wednesday.
"Pete Hegseth is a f***ing liar," Duckworth wrote. "This is so clearly classified info he recklessly leaked that could've gotten our pilots killed. He needs to resign in disgrace immediately."
A YouGov poll conducted on March 25 found that found 74% of Americans — including 60% of Republicans — thought the Trump administration's military leak is a very or somewhat serious problem.
The survey of 5,976 U.S. adults was conducted on March 25, a day before the Atlantic published the full text of the group chat.
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Recently declassified CIA documents reveal that in 1988, the CIA conducted an experiment as part of a secret project called Sun Streak, aiming to locate the lost artifact using remote viewing techniques.In one of these experiments, a person identified as Remote Viewer No. 032 was tasked with finding an unknown target, which was, in fact, the Ark of the Covenant. Without prior knowledge of the target, Remote Viewer No. 032 described a container made of wood, gold, and silver, adorned with images of six-winged angels, and similar in shape to a coffin."The target is a container. The container contains another container inside it," Remote Viewer No. 032 stated, according to the New York Post. The remote viewer further described the object as being "hidden—subterranean, dark, and wet," indicating the concealed nature of its location. The viewer perceived the presence of protective entities, warning that anyone attempting unauthorized access to the Ark would be "destroyed by the protectors of the container by a force unknown to us." Additionally, Remote Viewer No. 032 suggested that the site was populated by Arabic-speaking individuals dressed in all white, with visuals indicating the presence of mosque domes, as reported by Insider Paper."The purpose of the target is to bring people together. It has something to do with ceremony, memory, homage, the resurrection," Remote Viewer No. 032 said, according to Metro. "There is an aspect of spirituality, information, lessons, and historical knowledge far beyond what we now know."The CIA's Project Sun Streak, initiated in the 1980s, sought to employ individuals with purported psychic abilities to locate distant targets using only geographical coordinates. The project's findings fueled debates among historians, archaeologists, and conspiracy theorists alike.The Ark of the Covenant, considered the holiest object in Judaism, was built by the Israelites around the 13th century BCE, according to the Bible. Moses is said to have placed the stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments inside the Ark. It was housed in the Holy of Holies, the innermost chamber of the Temple in Jerusalem, until it vanished during the Babylonian conquesclassit in 586 BCE. Over the centuries, numerous theories emerged regarding the fate of the Ark. One theory claims it was taken to Ethiopia, where it allegedly resides in a local church called Mary of Zion. In 2018, a group of American Christians from the Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration Institute (BASE) claimed to have discovered the Ark inside a remote church in Africa, according to Metro. However, many researchers quickly dismissed this claim, leaving its true location a mystery.The declassified document included several pages of drawings depicting one of the four seraphim that stand on the corners of the Ark, as well as a drawing of mummies lined up on a wall. The report also includes sketches of a domed mosque, fueling further speculation about the Ark's location in the Middle East.Review the documents Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
In one of these experiments, a person identified as Remote Viewer No. 032 was tasked with finding an unknown target, which was, in fact, the Ark of the Covenant. Without prior knowledge of the target, Remote Viewer No. 032 described a container made of wood, gold, and silver, adorned with images of six-winged angels, and similar in shape to a coffin."The target is a container. The container contains another container inside it," Remote Viewer No. 032 stated, according to the New York Post. The remote viewer further described the object as being "hidden—subterranean, dark, and wet," indicating the concealed nature of its location. The viewer perceived the presence of protective entities, warning that anyone attempting unauthorized access to the Ark would be "destroyed by the protectors of the container by a force unknown to us." Additionally, Remote Viewer No. 032 suggested that the site was populated by Arabic-speaking individuals dressed in all white, with visuals indicating the presence of mosque domes, as reported by Insider Paper."The purpose of the target is to bring people together. It has something to do with ceremony, memory, homage, the resurrection," Remote Viewer No. 032 said, according to Metro. "There is an aspect of spirituality, information, lessons, and historical knowledge far beyond what we now know."The CIA's Project Sun Streak, initiated in the 1980s, sought to employ individuals with purported psychic abilities to locate distant targets using only geographical coordinates. The project's findings fueled debates among historians, archaeologists, and conspiracy theorists alike.The Ark of the Covenant, considered the holiest object in Judaism, was built by the Israelites around the 13th century BCE, according to the Bible. Moses is said to have placed the stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments inside the Ark. It was housed in the Holy of Holies, the innermost chamber of the Temple in Jerusalem, until it vanished during the Babylonian conquesclassit in 586 BCE. Over the centuries, numerous theories emerged regarding the fate of the Ark. One theory claims it was taken to Ethiopia, where it allegedly resides in a local church called Mary of Zion. In 2018, a group of American Christians from the Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration Institute (BASE) claimed to have discovered the Ark inside a remote church in Africa, according to Metro. However, many researchers quickly dismissed this claim, leaving its true location a mystery.The declassified document included several pages of drawings depicting one of the four seraphim that stand on the corners of the Ark, as well as a drawing of mummies lined up on a wall. The report also includes sketches of a domed mosque, fueling further speculation about the Ark's location in the Middle East.Review the documents Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
"The target is a container. The container contains another container inside it," Remote Viewer No. 032 stated, according to the New York Post. The remote viewer further described the object as being "hidden—subterranean, dark, and wet," indicating the concealed nature of its location. The viewer perceived the presence of protective entities, warning that anyone attempting unauthorized access to the Ark would be "destroyed by the protectors of the container by a force unknown to us." Additionally, Remote Viewer No. 032 suggested that the site was populated by Arabic-speaking individuals dressed in all white, with visuals indicating the presence of mosque domes, as reported by Insider Paper."The purpose of the target is to bring people together. It has something to do with ceremony, memory, homage, the resurrection," Remote Viewer No. 032 said, according to Metro. "There is an aspect of spirituality, information, lessons, and historical knowledge far beyond what we now know."The CIA's Project Sun Streak, initiated in the 1980s, sought to employ individuals with purported psychic abilities to locate distant targets using only geographical coordinates. The project's findings fueled debates among historians, archaeologists, and conspiracy theorists alike.The Ark of the Covenant, considered the holiest object in Judaism, was built by the Israelites around the 13th century BCE, according to the Bible. Moses is said to have placed the stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments inside the Ark. It was housed in the Holy of Holies, the innermost chamber of the Temple in Jerusalem, until it vanished during the Babylonian conquesclassit in 586 BCE. Over the centuries, numerous theories emerged regarding the fate of the Ark. One theory claims it was taken to Ethiopia, where it allegedly resides in a local church called Mary of Zion. In 2018, a group of American Christians from the Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration Institute (BASE) claimed to have discovered the Ark inside a remote church in Africa, according to Metro. However, many researchers quickly dismissed this claim, leaving its true location a mystery.The declassified document included several pages of drawings depicting one of the four seraphim that stand on the corners of the Ark, as well as a drawing of mummies lined up on a wall. The report also includes sketches of a domed mosque, fueling further speculation about the Ark's location in the Middle East.Review the documents Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
The viewer perceived the presence of protective entities, warning that anyone attempting unauthorized access to the Ark would be "destroyed by the protectors of the container by a force unknown to us." Additionally, Remote Viewer No. 032 suggested that the site was populated by Arabic-speaking individuals dressed in all white, with visuals indicating the presence of mosque domes, as reported by Insider Paper."The purpose of the target is to bring people together. It has something to do with ceremony, memory, homage, the resurrection," Remote Viewer No. 032 said, according to Metro. "There is an aspect of spirituality, information, lessons, and historical knowledge far beyond what we now know."The CIA's Project Sun Streak, initiated in the 1980s, sought to employ individuals with purported psychic abilities to locate distant targets using only geographical coordinates. The project's findings fueled debates among historians, archaeologists, and conspiracy theorists alike.The Ark of the Covenant, considered the holiest object in Judaism, was built by the Israelites around the 13th century BCE, according to the Bible. Moses is said to have placed the stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments inside the Ark. It was housed in the Holy of Holies, the innermost chamber of the Temple in Jerusalem, until it vanished during the Babylonian conquesclassit in 586 BCE. Over the centuries, numerous theories emerged regarding the fate of the Ark. One theory claims it was taken to Ethiopia, where it allegedly resides in a local church called Mary of Zion. In 2018, a group of American Christians from the Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration Institute (BASE) claimed to have discovered the Ark inside a remote church in Africa, according to Metro. However, many researchers quickly dismissed this claim, leaving its true location a mystery.The declassified document included several pages of drawings depicting one of the four seraphim that stand on the corners of the Ark, as well as a drawing of mummies lined up on a wall. The report also includes sketches of a domed mosque, fueling further speculation about the Ark's location in the Middle East.Review the documents Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
"The purpose of the target is to bring people together. It has something to do with ceremony, memory, homage, the resurrection," Remote Viewer No. 032 said, according to Metro. "There is an aspect of spirituality, information, lessons, and historical knowledge far beyond what we now know."The CIA's Project Sun Streak, initiated in the 1980s, sought to employ individuals with purported psychic abilities to locate distant targets using only geographical coordinates. The project's findings fueled debates among historians, archaeologists, and conspiracy theorists alike.The Ark of the Covenant, considered the holiest object in Judaism, was built by the Israelites around the 13th century BCE, according to the Bible. Moses is said to have placed the stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments inside the Ark. It was housed in the Holy of Holies, the innermost chamber of the Temple in Jerusalem, until it vanished during the Babylonian conquesclassit in 586 BCE. Over the centuries, numerous theories emerged regarding the fate of the Ark. One theory claims it was taken to Ethiopia, where it allegedly resides in a local church called Mary of Zion. In 2018, a group of American Christians from the Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration Institute (BASE) claimed to have discovered the Ark inside a remote church in Africa, according to Metro. However, many researchers quickly dismissed this claim, leaving its true location a mystery.The declassified document included several pages of drawings depicting one of the four seraphim that stand on the corners of the Ark, as well as a drawing of mummies lined up on a wall. The report also includes sketches of a domed mosque, fueling further speculation about the Ark's location in the Middle East.Review the documents Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
The CIA's Project Sun Streak, initiated in the 1980s, sought to employ individuals with purported psychic abilities to locate distant targets using only geographical coordinates. The project's findings fueled debates among historians, archaeologists, and conspiracy theorists alike.The Ark of the Covenant, considered the holiest object in Judaism, was built by the Israelites around the 13th century BCE, according to the Bible. Moses is said to have placed the stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments inside the Ark. It was housed in the Holy of Holies, the innermost chamber of the Temple in Jerusalem, until it vanished during the Babylonian conquesclassit in 586 BCE. Over the centuries, numerous theories emerged regarding the fate of the Ark. One theory claims it was taken to Ethiopia, where it allegedly resides in a local church called Mary of Zion. In 2018, a group of American Christians from the Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration Institute (BASE) claimed to have discovered the Ark inside a remote church in Africa, according to Metro. However, many researchers quickly dismissed this claim, leaving its true location a mystery.The declassified document included several pages of drawings depicting one of the four seraphim that stand on the corners of the Ark, as well as a drawing of mummies lined up on a wall. The report also includes sketches of a domed mosque, fueling further speculation about the Ark's location in the Middle East.Review the documents Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
The Ark of the Covenant, considered the holiest object in Judaism, was built by the Israelites around the 13th century BCE, according to the Bible. Moses is said to have placed the stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments inside the Ark. It was housed in the Holy of Holies, the innermost chamber of the Temple in Jerusalem, until it vanished during the Babylonian conquesclassit in 586 BCE. Over the centuries, numerous theories emerged regarding the fate of the Ark. One theory claims it was taken to Ethiopia, where it allegedly resides in a local church called Mary of Zion. In 2018, a group of American Christians from the Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration Institute (BASE) claimed to have discovered the Ark inside a remote church in Africa, according to Metro. However, many researchers quickly dismissed this claim, leaving its true location a mystery.The declassified document included several pages of drawings depicting one of the four seraphim that stand on the corners of the Ark, as well as a drawing of mummies lined up on a wall. The report also includes sketches of a domed mosque, fueling further speculation about the Ark's location in the Middle East.Review the documents Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
Over the centuries, numerous theories emerged regarding the fate of the Ark. One theory claims it was taken to Ethiopia, where it allegedly resides in a local church called Mary of Zion. In 2018, a group of American Christians from the Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration Institute (BASE) claimed to have discovered the Ark inside a remote church in Africa, according to Metro. However, many researchers quickly dismissed this claim, leaving its true location a mystery.The declassified document included several pages of drawings depicting one of the four seraphim that stand on the corners of the Ark, as well as a drawing of mummies lined up on a wall. The report also includes sketches of a domed mosque, fueling further speculation about the Ark's location in the Middle East.Review the documents Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
The declassified document included several pages of drawings depicting one of the four seraphim that stand on the corners of the Ark, as well as a drawing of mummies lined up on a wall. The report also includes sketches of a domed mosque, fueling further speculation about the Ark's location in the Middle East.Review the documents Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
Review the documents Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
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The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
A Yemeni walks over the debris of a destroyed building following U.S. airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo)
This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows B-2 stealth bombers, right side, parked at Camp Thunder Cove in Diego Garcia on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, as a U.S. airstrike campaign continues against Yemen's Houthi rebels. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
President Donald Trump waves as he departs a reception celebrating Greek Independence Day in the East Room of the White House, Monday, March 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
A Yemeni checks debris at his home after U.S. airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo)
A Yemeni walks on debris from a destroyed building after it was struck by U.S. airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo)
This image taken from video provided by the U.S. Navy shows an aircraft launching from the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea before airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (U.S. Navy via AP)
This image taken from video provided by the U.S. Navy shows an aircraft launching from the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea before airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (U.S. Navy via AP)
Houthi supporters chant slogans and hold pictures of Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi movement, during an anti-U.S. and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
Yemenis clean debris in front of their shops after a U.S. airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz listens to a question from a reporter in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
In this photo released by the Etat-Major des Armées, the MV Tutor sinks in the Red Sea after it was struck by a Houthi drone vessel, June 12, 2024. (Etat-Major des Armées/France via AP, File)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, second from right, walks outside the Oval Office at the White House, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A new American airstrike campaign against Yemen's Houthi rebels appears more intense and more extensive, as the U.S. moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel as well as dropping bombs in city neighborhoods, an Associated Press review of the operation shows.
The pattern under U.S. President Donald Trump reflects a departure from the Biden administration, which limited its strikes as Arab allies tried to reach a separate peace with the group. It comes after the Iran-backed Houthis threatened to resume attacking “any Israeli vessel” and have repeatedly fired at Israel over the country's refusal to allow aid into the Gaza Strip.
President Donald Trump waves as he departs a reception celebrating Greek Independence Day in the East Room of the White House, Monday, March 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The Houthi attacks and the response to them have drawn new scrutiny in Washington after security officials in Trump's administration shared plans for the first round of strikes on the rebels in a group chat that included a journalist. But bombing alone may not be enough to stop the Houthis, whose earlier barrage of missile fire toward the U.S. Navy represented the most intense combat it had seen since World War II.
“Folks that say, ‘We'll go in there and take out everyone with the last name Houthi and we'll win.' The Houthi leadership has been taken out in history in the past, and they are resilient,” retired U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan said. “They came back and they grew stronger. So this isn't something that is a one-and-done.”
This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows B-2 stealth bombers, right side, parked at Camp Thunder Cove in Diego Garcia on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, as a U.S. airstrike campaign continues against Yemen's Houthi rebels. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
Meanwhile, concerns are growing over civilians being caught in the middle of the campaign. While the U.S. military has not acknowledged any civilian casualties since the strikes began over a week ago, activists fear strikes may have killed noncombatants already in territory tightly controlled by the Houthis.
“Just because you can't see civilian harm doesn't mean it's not happening,” warned Emily Tripp, the director of the U.K.-based group Airwars, which studies Western airstrike campaigns.
Yemenis clean debris in front of their shops after a U.S. airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
The Trump campaign began March 15. American warships fired cruise missiles while fighter jets flying off of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier dropped bombs on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, a nation on the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula that is the Arab world's poorest.
“No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World,” Trump said in a social media post announcing the campaign, days after his administration reimposed a “foreign terrorist organization” designation on the Houthis.
So far, the Houthis say the airstrikes have killed 57 people.
That's just over half the 106 people the Houthis' secretive leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, claimed the U.S. and U.K. killed during all of 2024. He provided no breakdown of combatants versus noncombatants. Houthi fighters often aren't in uniform.
Houthi supporters chant slogans and hold pictures of Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi movement, during an anti-U.S. and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
Al-Houthi said the two countries launched over 930 strikes last year. The U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, known as ACLED, has recorded 305 strikes. The discrepancy between the figures could not be immediately reconciled, though the Houthis could be counting individual pieces of ordnance launched, rather than a single event with multiple bombs used, as ACLED does. The rebels also have exaggerated details in the past.
This image taken from video provided by the U.S. Navy shows an aircraft launching from the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea before airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (U.S. Navy via AP)
Between March 15 to March 21, ACLED reported 56 events. The campaign also has seen the highest number of events in a week since the American bombing campaign began on Yemen during the Israel-Hamas war.
Trump administration officials have touted the differences between their strikes and those carried out under President Joe Biden.
“The difference is, these were not kind of pin prick, back and forth, what ultimately proved to be feckless attacks,” Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, told ABC's “This Week” on March 16. “This was an overwhelming response that actually targeted multiple Houthi leaders and took them out.”
Waltz has also claimed key members of Houthi leadership, including their “head missileer,” have been killed. The Houthis have not acknowledged any losses in their leadership.
White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz listens to a question from a reporter in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
There are indeed clear differences, said Luca Nevola, the senior analyst for Yemen and the Gulf at ACLED. Under Biden, the focus appeared to be on mobile launchers for missiles and drones, then infrastructure, he said. Trump is targeting urban areas more intensely, judging from the number of strikes on cities so far.
“It's very likely that somehow the Trump administration is pursuing a decapitation strategy,” Nevola added.
The Trump administration is also allowing the U.S. military's Central Command, which oversees Mideast operations, to launch offensive strikes at will, rather than having the White House sign off on each attack as under Biden. That will mean more strikes.
Israel, which has repeatedly been targeted by Houthi missile fire and drones, including Thursday, also launched four rounds of airstrikes in 2024 and another in January.
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A Yemeni checks debris at his home after U.S. airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo)
During the Biden administration, Central Command offered details to the public on most strikes conducted during the campaign. Those details often included the target struck and the reason behind it.
Since the start of the new campaign, however, there's been no similar breakdown.
Donegan, the retired vice admiral, praised that strategy during a recent call hosted by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. “You don't tell the enemy what you're going to do, and you don't tell them what you're not going to do.”
But that also means the Houthis' description of targets is the only one that's public. They've claimed two attacks targeted an under-construction cancer clinic in the city of Saada, as well as private homes and crowded city neighborhoods. There's been no effort so far from the U.S. military to either dispute that or offer evidence to support strikes on those targets.
“It's an extremely complicated information environment in Yemen,” Tripp, of Airwars, said. “The Houthis have extensive restrictions on (activists) and operations, media and press.”
Even so, some information can be gleaned from Houthi-released footage. One strike around Saada that the Houthis say killed a woman and four children included missile debris. Serial numbers on the fragments correspond to a contract for Tomahawk cruise missiles, an AP examination of the imagery showed. That corresponded to an assessment separately made by Airwars.
Including that Saada strike, Airwars believes it is likely that at least five U.S. strikes in the new Trump campaign that have hurt or killed civilians, based off of videos and photos from the site, Houthi statements and other details.
The U.S. military declined to answer questions regarding possible civilian casualties but said the “Houthis continue to communicate lies and disinformation.”
“CENTCOM won't provide details on strikes and locations until the operation has concluded, and there is no additional risk to U.S. personnel or assets involved,” it added, using an acronym for Central Command. “At the direction of the president, CENTCOM continues to conduct strikes across multiple Iran-backed Houthi locations every day and night to restore freedom of navigation and restore American deterrence.”
From November 2023 — weeks after the Israel-Hamas war began — until January of this year, the Houthis targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two and killing four sailors.
In this photo released by the Etat-Major des Armées, the MV Tutor sinks in the Red Sea after it was struck by a Houthi drone vessel, June 12, 2024. (Etat-Major des Armées/France via AP, File)
The rebels said the campaign in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting the two waterways was carried out in solidarity with Hamas. It stopped with the ceasefire reached in that war in January.
The attacks greatly raised the Houthis' profile as they faced economic problems and launched a crackdown targeting any dissent and aid workers at home amid Yemen's decadelong stalemated war.
Since the ceasefire ended, the Houthis have not resumed their attacks on shipping in the vital corridor for cargo and energy shipments moving between Asia and Europe. Still, overall traffic remains sharply reduced.
A European Union naval force has been patrolling the Red Sea and escorting ships, as well as taking Houthi fire. However, the vast majority of Houthi attacks toward military targets has been pointed at U.S. Navy vessels.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, second from right, walks outside the Oval Office at the White House, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The U.S. airstrikes have kept up a daily tempo since beginning March 15. Meanwhile, the USS Carl Vinson and its carrier strike group is to transit into the Middle East.
That, along with the Truman, will likely give the American military two places to launch aircraft since it hasn't immediately appeared that any strikes came from bases in other Mideast nations — where public sentiment remains strongly with the Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war.
The U.S. military also may be bringing additional firepower, as radio transmissions from B-2 stealth bombers and flight-tracking data suggested the U.S. Air Force is moving a number of the aircraft to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by the AP showed three B-2s parked Wednesday at Camp Thunder Cove on the island. That would provide a closer location for the long-range bombers to launch that's still far outside of the range of the rebels — and avoids using allies' Mideast bases.
In October, the Biden administration used the B-2 to target what it described as underground bunkers used by the Houthis.
But the future of Yemen itself remains in question. The Houthis broadly maintain control over the capital of Sanaa and the country's northwest. Yemen's exiled government is part of a fractious coalition that for now appears unable to wrest any control back from the rebels. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which launched a war 10 years ago against the Houthis, have pushed for peace talks as fighting appears broadly frozen on the ground.
“The United States can hurt the Houthis, it can weaken them,” wrote Gregory D. Johnsen, a Yemen expert at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, “but without effective ground troops — either its own or someone else's — it will not be able to eliminate their capabilities.”
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Lawyers called Gerard Depardieu a sexual predator and a misogynist in their final plea at a Paris trial over accusations that he sexually assaulted two women who were working on a film with him.
The French actor, 76, is accused of having groped a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant during filming of the movie Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters) in 2021. He has denied the accusations.
He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros (£62,616) if convicted. The verdict is expected at a later date.
The set dresser's lawyer, Carine Durrieu Diebolt, called Depardieu a sexual predator who committed misconduct for decades towards “little people” in the cinema world.
“Maybe you think he's a great actor and you love his films,” she said. “Depardieu is also a sexual predator.”
His status as a world-renowned actor made him both an artistic and an economic power in the film industry, in contrast with the plaintiffs who risked being blacklisted if they speak up, Ms Durrieu Diebolt said, denouncing what she called a “system of impunity”.
“Depardieu, when he's touching women's bodies, he's exercising his power over them,” she said.
On Tuesday, Depardieu acknowledged that he had used vulgar and sexualised language with the set dresser who accused him of sexual assault. He said he grabbed her hips during an argument, but denied that his behaviour was sexual.
The lawyer for the other plaintiff, Claude Vincent, started her plea with a minutes-long list of obscene words and other vulgar expressions rarely heard in a courtroom, saying: “That's how Gerard Depardieu behaves on a film set, that the atmosphere he's imposing around him.”
“No, you can't separate the man from the artist,” she said. “He is Gerard Depardieu, a misogynist amid misogynists.”
The plaintiff, a film assistant, said Depardieu groped her buttocks and her breasts during three separate incidents on the film set.
Depardieu has rejected the accusations since the beginning of the trial, saying he's “not like that”.
The actor is being tried by a panel of three judges, not a jury, which is normal for such cases. The judges do not issue their verdict straight away but generally deliberate for weeks or months.
Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky has admitted that his "hatred" of Russians is one of the driving forces propelling him to “keep going” in the conflict against Moscow.
In an interview with the French daily Le Figaro published on Wednesday, Zelensky identified the emotion as one of his three key psychological drivers since the escalation of the conflict in February 2022.
Zelensky said he hated “Russians who killed so many Ukrainian citizens,” adding that he considered such an attitude appropriate in wartime. His other motivations included a sense of national dignity and the desire for his descendants to live “in the free world.”
Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of being a historic oppressor while Zelensky has previously touted Ukrainians' “love of freedom” as a trait that distinguishes them from Russians.
Zelensky, whose presidential term expired last year, was elected in 2019 on a platform of defusing tensions with Moscow and reconciling ethnic Russian Ukrainians in Donbass, many of whom opposed the 2014 Western-backed coup in Kiev. However, his initial diplomatic efforts were thwarted by radical Ukrainian nationalists in the body politic.
Since the coup, Kiev has enacted various policies undermining the rights of ethnic minorities, with Russians as the primary target. Moscow has accused Zelensky of intensifying the crackdown, particularly by attacking the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the country's largest religious denomination, which now faces potential prohibition for having historic links with Russia.
In a recent interview, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov asserted that Zelensky caters to “the segment of the population that holds radical, ultra-right, revanchist, Banderite views,” as his image as a national leader increasingly deteriorates.
“Zelensky does not want to display weakness, as he realizes that his days are numbered,” the Russian official claimed.
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At least six people were killed and nine others injured Thursday when an Egyptian tourist submarine sank off the coast of the Red Sea resort town of Hurghada, local media reported.
Details were still emerging. The Russian embassy in Egypt said the sub Sinbad had 45 tourists on board, all of them Russian and some of them children. Local media outlet Al Masry Al Youm reported that about 35 people were on board and 29 were pulled from the waters.
The sub sank at 10 a.m. local time less than a mile from shore, authorities said. Al Masry said rescue boats and other tourist boats raced to the scene along with more than a dozen ambulances.
“According to the initial data, most of those on board were rescued and taken to their hotels and hospitals in Hurghada,” the Russian embassy said in a social media post.
The sub had been operating for several years, taking mostly trips to view the sea life and coral reefs at a depth of about 80 feet, Al Masry reported. Tourists take a boat ride from a marina to the submarine, then descend into the waters to the view the scenery while divers work to divert fish to within view.
The cause of the tragedy was not immediately determined. The Red Sea is a major factor in Egypt's tourism industry, which is crucial to the nation's economy.
Last month, a tour boat with six people aboard that caters to divers capsized and sank in rough weather in the Red Sea near Hurghada. Everyone aboard the Triton was rescued. That same day the U.K. Marine Accident Investigation Branch issued a safety bulletin on the dangers of dive boats operating in the Red Sea.
In November, the dive boat Sea Story sank with 46 people aboard. Four people were confirmed killed and several others remain missing.
The Titan Submersible was on a tourist expedition to explore the remains of the Titanic when it imploded on June 18, 2023, killing all five people on board. Wreckage of the vessel was later found scattered across the ocean floor, 330 yards away from the bow of the Titanic, the infamous liner that sank in 1912.
Five people on board the submersible included OceanGate's founder and CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French maritime expert Paul-Henri-Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman Dawood.
The Coast Guard held a series of hearings last year on the implosion as part of its ongoing investigation into the causes of the disaster. Authorities believe the submersible suffered a "catastrophic implosion" that instantly killed everyone on board.
Titan sub audio: Audio of Titan submersible's final moments before implosion released by Coast Guard
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: At least 6 killed as Egyptian sub sinks near Red Sea town
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The bill, which has been criticised by human rights groups, was signed into law by Poland's President Andrzej Duda.
Poland on Wednesday temporarily suspended the right of migrants arriving in the country via its border with Belarus to apply for asylum.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk declared that the contentious bill would be adopted "without a moment's delay" after it was signed into law by Polish President Andrzej Duda.
“I believe that it is necessary to strengthen the security of our borders and the security of Poles,” Duda announced, despite expressing concerns in the past that the legislation would make it harder for dissidents in Belarus to flee the country's repressive regime.
The new legislation, which will allow Polish authorities to suspend the right to asylum for 60 days at a time, has been roundly criticised by human rights groups.
In February, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned Poland that the proposed law would not be compatible with either international or European asylum law.
Human Rights Watch last month said the EU should take legal action against Poland should the bill be implemented, adding that the legislation “flies in the face of Poland's international and EU obligations" and encouraged the Polish parliament to vote it down.
However, a spokesperson for the European Commission conceded on Thursday that it would assess the law in the "context" of the security threat facing Poland.
The Commission effectively greenlighted the proposed change in December by tabling new guidelines allowing the suspension of fundamental rights if it is proportionate, temporary and limited to what is "strictly necessary" to address a security threat — as Poland describes the situation on its border with Belarus.
"There are hybrid threats arising from the weaponisation of migration by Russia, assisted by Belarus, dispose a risk to the sovereignty, national security, and territorial integrity of Poland and the Union as a whole," the spokesperson said Thursday.
Tusk himself has framed the bill as necessary to combat the flow of migrants entering Poland via Belarus, where he and others in his government argue that Moscow and Minsk are deliberately encouraging migrants to try cross in an attempt to destabilise Europe.
The legislation allows Poland to suspend a migrant's right to asylum in such situations, which Tusk has argued amount to a "serious and real threat" to national security.
It allows exemptions for certain categories of people, including minors, pregnant women, individuals with special healthcare needs, people deemed at "real risk of harm" if returned over the border, and citizens of countries such as Belarus that stand accused of using migration as a political weapon.
A last minute amendment to the bill also allows families accompanying minors to claim asylum under the new restrictions.
Despite criticism from NGOs, Tusk has maintained that the legislation is strictly aimed at tackling illegal migration orchestrated by Russia and Belarus and does not infringe on migrants' human rights in general.
Poland's 400-kilometre border with Belarus has long been a scene of crisis, with thousands of people periodically attempting to cross into Poland through thick forests in temperatures that fall below zero in the winter.
Warsaw has spent billions fortifying the location in an effort to combat illegal migration, including erecting a 5.5-metre steel wall topped with barbed wire and a 206-kilometre electronic barrier fitted with motion-sensing cameras.
Rights groups estimate that hundreds have died at the Poland-Belarus border since 2021, with thousands said to have been subject to illegal and violent pushbacks by Polish border guards.
Public health experts are sounding the alarm over recent move by the NIH to collect information about funding for research into mRNA technology
A cutting-edge technology expected to foster new medical breakthroughs in treatments for cancers and infectious disease is being treated “like a four-letter word” inside the Trump administration, causing panic among scientists who fear Trump-appointed health officials, driven by misinformation and conspiracy theories about the Covid-19 vaccine, will cut critical research in the field.
Scientists and public health experts interviewed by the Guardian are sounding the alarm over a recent move by the National Institutes of Health to collect information about funding for research into mRNA technology.
Some fear it is the first step in a move to cut or defund grants that involve the technology, which was an essential component in the rapid creation of vaccines against Covid-19, a major accomplishment of the first Trump term in fighting the pandemic.
Messenger RNA technology, which in the case of Covid-19 teaches the body to fight infection by introducing immune cells to the coronavirus's characteristic spike proteins, is being tested for use against diseases ranging from bird flu and dengue, to pancreatic cancer and melanoma.
While the NIH has not formally stated that it is cutting mRNA vaccine and therapy research, scientists who were interviewed by the Guardian said they have been told informally that the NIH is performing key word searches on grants that mention mRNA vaccine-related technology and related phrases.
“Colleagues have also been advised not to apply for mRNA vaccine grants. This is all through the grapevine. There has not been an official statement about it,” said one New York-based scientist.
The NIH confirmed in a statement to the Guardian that it made a “data call” to learn more information about the funding of mRNA vaccine grants. Nature, the scientific journal, first reported the data call, and said it had been conducted by the acting NIH director, Matthew Memoli, on 6 March. Scientists were given one day to report the information, and NIH collected information about 130 mRNA grants as a result.
Many of the scientists, public health experts and medical researchers interviewed by the Guardian spoke on the condition of anonymity, fearing that they might be targeted if they expressed concerns publicly.
One former senior NIH official who resigned recently said what was happening inside the organization was “not understandable”.
“So far, any attempt at reasoning with people has fallen on deaf ears. Everything is being run by the department [Department of Health and Human Services] or the White House,” the person said. KFF Health News separately reported that all grants involving mRNA research were to be reported to Memoli, for referral to the office of the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, and the White House.
Adding to concerns is the administration's February decision to review a nearly $600m contract between HHS and Moderna, which was set to fund research into potential mRNA vaccines against five flu subtypes, including H5N1 or bird flu.
The person said: “mRNA has become the new four letter word. I mean, it's crazy. It goes beyond just anti-vax,” referring to the anti-vaccine movement in the US. “It's about anything associated with the Covid response, which has been weaponized by extreme people in the administration,” the person added.
Paul Offit, director of the vaccine education center and an attending physician at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said he knew of one researcher working on mRNA technology who had their grants “flagged”.
“That doesn't necessarily mean they won't get it, but it is worrisome that they might not get it,” he said. “There seems to be a war against mRNA technology. ‘Why?' is the question.”
Most experts agree that it relates to the politicization of the pandemic and misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccines.
“Prior to the pandemic, even anti-vaccine groups were not focused on mRNA vaccines,” said Dorit Rubinstein Reiss, an expert in vaccine law and professor at the University of California College of Law in San Francisco.
Most prominent among Trump's vaccine skeptics is Kennedy, the recently confirmed head of HHS. Kennedy criticized mRNA vaccines while he led the anti-vaccine non-profit Children's Health Defense. In 2021, the group then led by Kennedy filed a petition to the FDA to revoke emergency approval of Covid-19 vaccines, “because the current risks of serious adverse events or deaths outweigh the benefits”.
Studies later showed that claim was inaccurate. A study by the Commonwealth Fund found that Covid-19 vaccines saved 3.2 million American lives and prevented more than 18 million hospitalizations through November 2022.
Kennedy denied being anti-vaccine in Senate confirmation hearings.
Others promoted into positions of power in the Trump administration also questioned Covid-19 strategies; Dr Jay Bhattacharya, who is expected to be confirmed as the new director of the NIH, and Martin Makary, who has just been confirmed as the new head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Jonathan Howard, a New York neurologist who closely tracked medical misinformation over the last four years, has been critical of both Bhattacharya and Makary, who Howard has alleged sought to try to convince people that the world overreacted to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bhattacharya was one of three authors of the Great Barrington declaration, a statement that argued against Covid-19 lockdowns in favor of so-called herd immunity. Signed in October 2020 on the campus of the right-leaning American Institute for Economic Research, the declaration called for isolating the “old and infirm” and allowing people less vulnerable to death from Covid-19 to socialize.
“Keeping [lockdown] measures in place until a vaccine is available will cause irreparable damage, with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed,” the declaration said. “Those who are not vulnerable should immediately be allowed to resume life as normal.”
The statement was widely criticized for oversimplifying the protection of the vulnerable. Vaccines would become available just two months later, in December 2020.
In a post on X in June 2024, Bhattacharya said he would support pulling the regulatory authorization for the marketing of the Covid mRNA vaccines. While he said he initially hesitated to sign on to a petition calling for the move, he had been convinced that doing so would lead to “good clinical trial evidence testing” to check whether some patient groups still benefit from the vaccine.
Makary is not anti-vaccine, but in June 2021 suggested parents should “think twice” before giving the Covid vaccine to healthy children. In an article he also said he was not aware of a single case of a healthy child who had died of Covid-19. Scientific studies at the time did, however, report that healthy children had died of the virus.
Three experts, including two who have closely monitored the growth of the anti-Covid vaccine movement in the US, said they believed that any opposition to mRNA-related research may influence others under the HHS umbrella, including the FDA, which regulates the approval of drugs and therapies.
“I am sure companies will continue to invest in mRNA research. The key will be whether the FDA will continue to approve mRNA vaccines,” said a former senior NIH official. “That to me is the big question because if there is a concerted effort to erase anything related to mRNA vaccines, then obviously support for research is only one aspect. Hopefully, they are not going to do that, but I don't have much hope for this crowd.”
Another former senior official, who worked on the deployment of the Covid-19 vaccine during the Biden administration, said he had not seen any evidence to suggest that the FDA would take any unilateral position against approval of drugs and therapies that use mRNA technology.
The person pointed to the fact that Dr Peter Marks, who serves as the FDA's center for biologics evaluation and research, which is responsible for assuring the safety and efficacy of products including vaccines, was still in his job. The former official said he believed Marks would, in effect, serve as a “guardrail” to protect the drug approval process against politicization.
The Guardian asked the FDA about its position on reviewing mRNA vaccines, and whether its position was under review. The Guardian also asked the FDA to comment on concerns among scientists about whether such vaccines will continue to be given approval by the FDA. The FDA did not directly respond to the questions.
It said in a statement: “The FDA is a science-based regulatory agency that evaluates the safety and effectiveness of all products based upon data submitted by sponsors and the totality of the available scientific evidence … The decision to vaccinate is a personal one. People should consult with their healthcare provider to understand their options to get a vaccine and should be informed about the potential risks and benefits associated with vaccines.”
The Guardian contacted Pfizer, Moderna, Merck and PhRMA, the drug industry's lobbying group, to ask whether the Trump administration's apparent mistrust of mRNA vaccines was an area of concern. None responded to the Guardian's questions.
“I don't know when the shoe is going to drop. As a vaccine researcher we are all extremely nervous about what can happen to research funding,” said the New York scientist who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “There is no Plan B. It is economic madness as well as the elimination of a powerful technology against future pandemics. It is a freaking nightmare.”
Do you have a tip? Please contact Stephanie.Kirchgaessner@theguardian.com or on Signal at 646-886-8761.
The United States cutting funding to Gavi, an organisation that provides vaccines to the world's poorest countries, could result in more than a million deaths and will endanger lives everywhere, the group's CEO warned on Thursday.
The news that Washington is planning to end funding for Gavi, first reported in the New York Times, comes as the two-month-old administration of President Donald Trump aggressively slashes foreign aid.
The decision was included in a 281-page spreadsheet that the severely downsized United States Agency for International Development sent to Congress on Monday night.
Gavi's chief executive Sania Nishtar told AFP the alliance had "not received a termination notice from the US government".
The alliance was "engaging with the White House and Congress with a view to securing $300 million approved by Congress for our 2025 activities and longer-term funding", Nishtar said.
"A cut in Gavi's funding from the US would have a disastrous impact on global health security, potentially resulting in over a million deaths from preventable diseases and endangering lives everywhere from dangerous disease outbreaks," she said.
Health experts and organisations have warned that cutting Gavi's funding would ultimately cost the world more money and set back a quarter-century of progress in the fight against many deadly diseases.
Jennifer Nuzzo, a professor of epidemiology at Brown University in the United States, said the "mind-bogglingly short-sighted proposal" would have "devastating consequences for the health of children everywhere".
"US support for Gavi's vaccination efforts is not charity -- it's a cost-effective investment to prevent deadly and costly outbreaks that can come here," she told AFP.
'Cruel'
Gavi says it helps vaccinate more than half the world's children against infectious diseases including Covid-19, Ebola, malaria, rabies, polio, cholera, tuberculosis (TB), typhoid and yellow fever.
The United States currently provides around a quarter of the budget of Gavi, a public-private partnership headquartered in Geneva.
David Elliman, a child health researcher at University College London, said cutting funding "is not only cruel, but is not in the interests of anyone".
"If diseases such as measles and TB increase anywhere in the world, it is a hazard to us all," he told the Science Media Centre, adding that measles was already rising in the United States, Europe and elsewhere.
In the face of the Trump administration's sweeping aid cuts, "institutions are reluctant to speak out in case they are targeted and individuals are self-censoring to protect themselves," said Andrew Pollard, head of the Oxford Vaccine Group.
"We must wake up to the moral case for supporting the remarkable global health efforts that help the poor of the world, but also remember that it is in our own interest," he added.
"As the Covid-19 pandemic reminds us, infectious diseases cross borders and put all of us at risk."
'We Will Regret This'
Several health researchers also said the cuts would be a poor return on investment.
For every $1 spent on vaccinations in developing countries where Gavi operates, $21 will be saved this decade in "health care costs, lost wages and lost productivity from illness and death", the vaccine group estimates.
A report from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health recently found that costs averted by vaccine programmes in 73 countries will add up to nearly $782 billion over the next decade.
Craig Spencer, a doctor and Ebola survivor at Brown University, said the loss of US support to Gavi means "kids will die".
He also warned that Gavi maintains the global stockpile of vaccines for diseases including Ebola, cholera, yellow fever and more.
"We will regret this," Spencer wrote on X.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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Block, the financial technology company co-founded by Jack Dorsey, has laid off over 900 people, roughly 8% of the company's staff, on Tuesday, TechCrunch reported. The news was announced to staff in an email from Mr Dorsey himself. In an internal email, he emphasised that the cuts are not financially motivated or aimed at replacing workers with artificial intelligence. Rather, he stated that Block is cutting the roles owing to shifting strategic needs while "raising the bar and acting faster on performance".
Block owns Cash App and Square. The company provides mobile payments services for consumers, as well as point-of-sale hardware and software for businesses. In the internal email seen by TechCrunch, Mr Dorsey said that the firm is laying off a total of 931 workers - 80 managers, 391 "off strategy" workers and 460 workers who the company believes are underperforming.
In addition to the layoffs, Mr Dorsey noted that Block is closing 748 open roles at the company, with the exception of those that have progressed to an offer stage, critical operations roles and key leadership roles, among others. He also said that 193 managers are being moved to individual contributor roles.
In the email, Mr Dorsey stressed the urgency of the reorganisation, stating that the company has been "behind in our actions" and needs to move quickly to stay competitive in a transformative industry moment. The tech entrepreneur also emphasised his commitment to increasing shareholder value and maintaining a "high bar of correctness" in organisational decisions.
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"hi all. today we'll be making some org changes, including eliminating roles and beginning the consultation process in countries where required. i want to give you all the straight facts. as I said at the last Block, there are three areas we'd like to address - strategy: reducing from teams that are off strategy, and fixing our discipline ratios. performance: parting ways with people with a "below" or trending towards "below". (and) hierarchy: driving to flattening our org to a max depth of innercore+4," Mr Dorsey wrote in the mail.
"none of the above points are trying to hit a specific financial target, replacing folks with AI, or changing our headcount cap. they are specific to our needs around strategy, raising the bar and acting faster on performance, and flattening our org so we can move faster and with less abstraction," he continued.
Elsewhere in the email, Mr Dorsey stated that "this is the toughest part of my job". "we're working to give clarity to everyone as quickly, with as much context and support, as possible," he said.
According to TechCrunch, the recent round of layoffs follows a similar restructuring in early 2024, when around 1,000 employees were let go. As of December 2024, the company had around 11,300 staff members worldwide.
Another 39 people rescued and brought to shore after incident on vessel at Red Sea resort
Six Russian tourists have died and 39 people have been rescued after a submarine sank near the resort of Hurghada, the latest in a series of fatal accidents involving tourists on Egypt's Red Sea coast.
Four survivors, including at least one child, were admitted to intensive care, according to an official statement.
The incident, involving a 44-seater recreational vessel operated by Sindbad Submarines, occurred in waters less than a mile offshore from Hurghada's Marriott hotel resort.
One report suggested the submersible had “crashed” during the sightseeing trip near local reefs.
Investigations were underway to determine the cause of the accident, the local governor's office said, adding that the submarine “had a valid licence and its crew leader had the requisite academic qualifications”.
“Six people were struggling under the water and we were able to pull them out,” a Sindbad employee told the governor in the hospital, according to a video shared by the governor's office.
There have been several deadly accidents in the area in recent years, raising questions over safety standards. In November, a dive boat capsized off the coast of Marsa Alam, south of Hurghada, leaving four dead and seven missing. In June 2024, two dozen French tourists were safely evacuated before their boat sank in a similar incident. In 2023, three British tourists died after a fire broke out on their yacht, engulfing it in flames.
The submarine was carrying 45 tourists and five Egyptian crew members when it sank, the Red Sea governor, Maj Gen Amr Hanafi, said in a statement, adding that rescue teams were quickly sent.
Hanafi said all six dead were Russians, and 29 of the 39 tourists rescued were injured and taken to hospital. No people remained missing from the vessel, he said, suggesting the crew had also been rescued.
Russia's Tass news agency earlier said the Russian dead included at least two children, citing the country's consul in Hurghada. The consulate had said all 45 tourists on board were Russian, but the Egyptian governor said they also included Indian, Norwegian and Swedish citizens.
The consulate said the submarine was on an underwater excursion to observe coral reefs when it “crashed 1km from the shore” at about 10am local time. “According to initial data, most of those onboard were rescued and taken to their hotels and hospitals in Hurghada,” the consulate said, adding that diplomats had been sent to the pier.
Tourism is a key source of income for Egypt, in which Russian tourists play an increasing part. A United Nations report ranked Egypt first in Africa for tourism revenues in 2024 at $14.1bn (£11bn), more than twice what it earns in Suez Canal revenues.
Many tourist companies have stopped or limited travelling on the Red Sea owing to the dangers from conflicts in the region over the past decade. A number of airlines suspended package flights to Egypt after the bombing of an aircraft operated by Metrojet in 2015.
The Sindbad website says it offers short tourist trips in two submarines usually lasting about three hours and which operate to a maximum depth of 25 metres (80ft).
According to the website its submarines allow tourists to “experience the beauty of the Red Sea's underwater world without getting wet”.
Hurghada, a resort about 280 miles (460km) south-east of Cairo, is a major destination for foreign visitors, with its airport receiving more than 9 million passengers last year, according to state media.
Thursday's forecast in the city was clear, with above-average winds reported but optimum visibility underwater.
Dozens of tourist boats sail through the coastal area daily for snorkelling and diving activities, but Sindbad Submarines says it deploys the region's “only real” recreational submarine. The vessel has been operating in the area for many years, a source familiar with the company told Agence France-Presse.
US President Donald Trump's latest move is a "direct attack" on Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday. Mr Carney was speaking about the latest tariffs imposed by President Trump, which the latter announced as a "permanent" measure.
Earlier in the day, Donald Trump brought into effect a massive 25 per cent tariff on all auto imports, including spare and ancillary components. "This tariff shall remain permanent", President Trump said at the time of declaring it.
Reacting to this almost immediately, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said, "This is a very direct attack" on Canada. "We will defend our workers, we will defend our companies, and we will defend our country." He however, did not announce any retaliatory measures.
"We need to see the details of Donald Trump's executive order before responding to them," he said. Prime Minister Carney also decided to cut short his election campaign to fly back to Ottawa immediately to chair a special meeting with the Cabinet committee on US relations to respond to this "unjustified" move by President Trump.
Prime Minister Carney has already announced a $2billion (Canadian dollar) "strategic response fund" in order to protect Canadians employed in the auto industry which will be severely hit by Trump's decision. "Canada will protect its auto workers," he said assuring hundreds of thousands of people who are faced with uncertainty.
The automobile industry is Canada's second-largest industry in terms of exports. It employs more than 125,000 Canadians directly and over 500,000 more in allied industries.
Sharpening his attack on President Trump, Prime Minister Carney said that the president has plunged the US into a global trade war. He said Trump's decisions are hurting Americans too - and hurting them bad. "His trade war is hurting American consumers and workers and it will hurt more. I see that American consumer confidence is at a multi-year low," Mr Carney said.
On Tuesday, The Conference Board reported that US consumer confidence index fell 7.2 points in March to 92.9, the fourth straight monthly decline and its lowest reading since January of 2021. President Trump's latest 25 per cent tax hike on auto imports starting April means automakers in the US will face higher costs, which may result in lower sales.
Donald Trump had already placed 25 per cent tariffs on Canada's steel and aluminum and has threatened sweeping tariffs on each and every Canadian product imported in the United States starting April 2.
"He wants to break us so America can own us," Carney said. "And that will never ever happen," Prime Minister Carney said, adding that "The relationship between Canada and the United States has changed. We did not change it."
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose province has the bulk of Canada's auto industry, said auto plants on both sides the border will shut simultaneously if the tariffs go ahead.
"President is calling it Liberation Day. I call it Termination Day for American workers. I know President Trump likes tell people 'Your fired!" I didn't think he meant US auto workers when he said it," Mr Ford said.
Donald Trump is determined to annex Canada and make it the "51st State of the United States of America" - a stand that has infuriated Canadians far and wide. He has been calling the Canadian Prime Minister a "Governor". The first time he did that with then PM Justin Trudeau, the world thought it was just a joke. But that has now become a strategic objective of US foreign policy, for "national security" reasons.
(Inputs from Associated Press)
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Incident took place near the popular Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada
The six foreigners who were killed in the sinking of a tourist submarine off the Egyptian Red Sea coast were all Russians, Egypt's Red Sea governorate said on Facebook on Thursday.
A total of 39 foreign tourists were rescued and no one else was missing, the governorate added.
Six people have died and nine others are injured after a tourist submarine sank in the popular Egyptian Red Sea destination of Hurghada, two municipal officials said. AP reported that the officials were speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media.
The incident, involving a recreational vessel operated by Sindbad Submarines, occurred in waters opposite Hurghada's Marriot Hotel resort. Citing municipal officials, Reuters and Associated Press reported that six foreigners, whose nationalities are still unknown, had died. It was not immediately clear what caused the submarine to sink.
The Russian embassy in Egypt has said that that all of the tourists on board the submarine were Russian. It said 45 passengers were on board the vessel, including children, in a Facebook post.
The Russian consulate in Hurghada said the submarine, named “SINDBAD”, had 45 Russian tourists on board in addition to crew members. The consulate said four people had died, but did not specify if they were Russian, Reuters reported.
The local governorate's office told Reuters that all of those confirmed dead were foreign citizens, while survivors had been ferried by ambulance to several hospitals in the city. Emergency crews were able to rescue 29 people, according to a statement released by the governorate. Many tourist companies have stopped or limited travelling on the Red Sea due to the dangers from conflicts in the region.
The Sindbad club's website says it offers short tourist trips in two submarines that it operates that have a maximum depth range of 25 metres. According to the website its submarines allow tourists to “experience the beauty of the Red Sea's underwater world without getting wet”.
The website for Sinbad Submarines, the company that operated the submarine that sank in the Red Sea on Thursday, appears to be no longer working. It is unclear if the website has been taken down or if technical difficulties are to blame.
The submarine, named “Sindbad,” runs one to three hour tours, usually cruising at about 20-25 metres (65-80 feet) underwater with panoramic windows on the bottom to give views of the marine life, according to the website of the company that the Russian consulate identified as running the vessel. The company did not respond to phone calls seeking comment, AP reported.
Egyptian authorities are conducting investigations with crew members to determine the causes of the submarine sinking, the local governorate cited Red Sea Province governor Amr Hanafy as saying. The submarine, which is owned by an Egyptian, was licensed and so was the crew captain, he said.
That's all from me, Tom Ambrose, and from this blog. Thank you for following along.
For the latest news lines from this story, please see our full report below:
Egyptian authorities are conducting investigations with crew members to determine the causes of the submarine sinking, the local governorate cited Red Sea Province governor Amr Hanafy as saying.
The submarine, which is owned by an Egyptian, was licensed and so was the crew captain, he said.
There have been several recent incidents of tourist boats capsizing. Last June, a boat sank after suffering severe damage from high waves, though no casualties were reported.
The submarine, named “Sindbad,” runs one to three hour tours, usually cruising at about 20-25 metres (65-80 feet) underwater with panoramic windows on the bottom to give views of the marine life, according to the website of the company that the Russian consulate identified as running the vessel.
The company did not respond to phone calls seeking comment, AP reported.
The six foreigners who were killed in the sinking of a tourist submarine off the Egyptian Red Sea coast were all Russians, Egypt's Red Sea governorate said on Facebook on Thursday.
A total of 39 foreign tourists were rescued and no one else was missing, the governorate added.
The website for Sinbad Submarines, the company that operated the submarine that sank in the Red Sea on Thursday, appears to be no longer working.
It is unclear if the website has been taken down or if technical difficulties are to blame.
More when we have it.
A Russian official in Hurghada, Viktor Voropaev, has told the BBC that at least five Russians were killed in the submarine accident, including two children.
The Guardian has been unable to verify this.
It is now being reported that emergency crews were able to rescue at least 38 Russian passengers on board the sunken “Sinbad” submarine, the AP reports.
The Russian consulate in Hurghada said that 45 Russians were on board Sindbad, which operated from a hotel of the same name.
The submarine has a capacity of 50 people, but it is not known how many crewmembers or other tourists were on board.
Sinbad Submarines, who operated the vessel that sank in the Red Sea on Thursday, say their company owns two among “14 real recreational submarines in the world.”
According to the company's website, their submarines explore “500 metres of coral reef and its marine inhabitants.”
What caused the vessel to sink remains unclear. When that information is verified, it will be posted here.
Here's a map showing where the submarine sank in the Red Sea.
Hurghada, a resort about 280 miles (460 kilometres) southeast of the Egyptian capital Cairo, is a major destination for visitors to Egypt, with its airport receiving more than nine million passengers last year, according to state media.
It is still unclear what caused the submarine to sink.
In November, four people drowned and 33 were rescued when a tourist diving boat was struck by high waves and sank within minutes.
Another boat sank in June after storm damage, the environment ministry said at the time, although no casualties were reported.
However, Thursday's forecast in the city was clear, with above average winds reported but optimum visibility underwater.
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Toronto: While an unnamed Canadian official blamed the revocation of Indo-Canadian MP Chandra Arya candidacy for the forthcoming Federal election on factors like his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, he countered by accusing the Liberal Party of taking that sudden decision because of his “firm stance against Khalistani extremism.”
The anonymous official was cited by the outlet Globe and Mail, which in a report on Wednesday, linked the revocation of the candidacy of the three-term MP to “alleged foreign-interference concerns involving India.”
The official also alluded to Arya's meeting with Modi in New Delhi in August last year, which was not cleared with Ottawa in advance and to a briefing by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service or CSIS on his alleged close links to the Indian Government and to the High Commission in Ottawa.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Arya refuted those allegations, as he said, “As a Member of Parliament, I have engaged with numerous diplomats and heads of Government, both in Canada and internationally. Not once have I sought – nor been required to seek – permission from the Government to do so.”
“The sole point of contention with the Liberal Party has been my outspoken advocacy on issues important to Hindu Canadians and my firm stance against Khalistani extremism,” he stressed.
Arya also met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during that visit to India. ““As the outgoing Canadian High Commissioner in India said a few months back ‘in the long-term, Canada's strategic interest and India's strategic interest are absolutely aligned.' Economic relations, specifically Canadian investments in India are going strong,” he posted on X at the time, referring to the statement of Cameron Mackay, who was still last summer Canada's top diplomat in India.
While the accusations against Arya were raised on Wednesday, his meetings were public since August last year and he was nominated as the ruling party's candidate for the riding of Nepean in Ontario. He was the first elected Federal politician to visit India since then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's statement in the House of Commons on September 18, 2023, that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia three months earlier.
Relations further cratered in October last year when Ottawa asked New Delhi to waive diplomatic immunity for six officials posted in Canada so they could be questioned in connection with violent criminal activity in the country. India refused and instead withdrew the six diplomats and officials and, in retaliation, expelled six Canadian diplomats.
He was a vocal critic of the pro-Khalistan movement in Canada and the sole MP to raise concerns over it in the House of Commons.
He was attacked by pro-Khalistan groups like Sikhs for Justice or SFJ. In July last year, its general counsel Gurpatwant Pannun wrote a letter to then Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc demanding Arya's disqualification from the House.
That month Arya's name was also spraypainted as part of graffiti desecrating the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Edmonton last month. He was called a “Hindu terrorist.”
The revocation of Arya's candidacy conveniently came a day before Prime Minister Mar Carney was announced as the Liberal Party candidate from Nepean. Carney did not comment on the matter on Wednesday citing the terms of the security clearance he had.
In January this year, Arya was barred from participating in the race to select the next leader of the ruling Liberal Party.
“This decision raises significant questions about the legitimacy of the leadership race and, by extension, the legitimacy of the next Prime Minister of Canada,” Arya said, in a statement at the time.
No reason was attributed for the disqualification, though the agency Canadian Press cited a Liberal Party spokesperson pointed to a section of the national leadership rules which bars a candidate if they were deemed to be “manifestly unfit for the office”.
The agency added that could be “due to public statements, past improper conduct, a lack of commitment to democracy, or other reputational or legal jeopardy,” as per the rules.
Six people have died and nine others are injured after a tourist submarine sank in the popular Egyptian Red Sea destination of Hurghada, two municipal officials said.
Emergency crews were able to rescue 29 people, according to a statement released by the Red Sea governorate.
The submarine was sailing off one of the beaches in the tourist promenade area, and it had carried 45 tourists of various nationalities.
It was not immediately clear what caused the submarine to sink.
Many tourist companies have stopped or limited traveling on the Red Sea due to the dangers from conflicts in the region.
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And on-again, off-again trade war and threats from the US toward both of its co-hosts leave fans and teams in a tough position
The cover of the bid book for the 2026 World Cup submitted to Fifa by the United States, Mexico and Canada in April of 2017 has not aged well.
“UNITY,” the front page bellowed in a huge font.
Neither, for that matter, has the second page, which hollered “CERTAINTY.”
Yeah … about all that. With less than 15 months to go until Mexico kicks off the biggest World Cup ever at 48 teams and 104 games at the Estadio Azteca, the notion of unity between the host nations feels downright fanciful. Since sweeping back into office, US president Donald Trump has started an unprovoked on-again, off-again, on-again trade war with Canada and threatened the same with Mexico. The Trump administration plans to further militarize the southern border and has picked other assorted fights large and small with its neighbors while bloviating about annexing Canada as a “51st state.”
The 68th Fifa Congress appeared to be making the safe choice in June of 2018 when they decisively picked the united North American bid over Morocco. After all, the attendance records set by the 1994 World Cup in the United States still stand – almost 3.6 million total fans at an average of nearly 69,000 per game – even though that was the last edition contested by just 24 teams over 52 games, rather than 32 over 64. Now, the promise of certainty is one that the organizers may not be able to keep.
A certain, sad irony runs through all of this: The bid truly was intended to smooth over tensions between the countries. When the North American bid was announced, Trump was hellbent on building a wall on the Mexican border, and each of the three nations had erstwhile planned separate bids before combining forces.
“A big part of wanting to have a three-country bid for us was to try to bring people and our countries closer together,” recalls Sunil Gulati, then the president of US Soccer and chairman of the bid. “We have a huge Mexican community in the US. It was especially important for us back then, when we were talking with the Mexican side, to bring our people a little bit closer together. That was certainly part of the thinking. Our relationship with Canada was obviously so strong – we didn't have the same sets of issues that needed addressing.”
There is only one precedent for a men's World Cup with multiple hosts, and it is a messy one: Japan and South Korea in 2002. The distances were shorter than they will be in 2026, and the transportation infrastructure between the 20 venues was superior to anything in the US, Mexico and Canada. But tensions borne of history and pride between the hosts created obstacles. Japan had been the overwhelming favorite to land the tournament over South Korea after a murky and expensive race. Fifa president João Havelange proclaimed that, “Fifa rules do not allow co-hosting of the World Cup. As long as I am Fifa president, that will not change” just days before his executive committee split the baby and foisted shared custody upon the two nations. The sides bickered over everything from ticket revenue shares to whose name would go first in the tournament's official title.
The 2002 World Cup ended up as a success, but the difficulties left a bad taste for subsequent joint bids. Yet now that the World Cup has swollen to such a size at 48 teams, and with the idea of expanding to 64 already soft-launched in the Fifa Council, vanishingly few nations remain that can host it on their own.
Staging mega events is to weave together hundreds of smaller events. To do it between three countries is vexingly complex to begin with, spreading the tournament out over a vast continent with two long borders and the attendant travel and visa headaches for the millions of fans expected to attend.
Yet unlike at previous World Cups, Fifa has no overarching local organizing committee staffed by locals who understand the host nations and their governments. Instead, Fifa directly oversees 16 separate host groups in each of the cities. Fifa did not specifically respond to questions about this arrangement. Instead, it pointed to the recently announced task force chaired by Trump that will oversee preparations. “Our organization continues to work closely with the three host countries in question, in order to host what will be one of the biggest sporting events ever held,” a Fifa spokesperson said.
But the decentralized approach has presented problems, such as how to interact with the US federal government in its current form. Each of the 11 host cities in the United States, which are all responsible for their own security among a litany of other things, have separately engaged lobbyists to push the Trump administration to provide $625 million to cover the World Cup's security apparatus, per The Athletic.
If the first World Cup staged across three countries was never going to be a straightforward affair, the geopolitical saber-rattling by the nation at the center of the event – the USA will host 78 matches, while Canada and Mexico will each stage 13 – has introduced an element of unpredictability.
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The US government is reportedly considering the possibility of a new travel ban, totally or severely restricting access to the citizens of as many as 41 nations, a reprisal of the so-called “Muslim ban” of 2017. Iran is on that list, and has now qualified for the tournament. Other countries on the list could follow, with Sudan and Venezuela each possible qualifiers, with both currently on the same “red list” as Iran.
In 1994, chairman of that year's World Cup organizing committee Alan Rothenberg worried when Iran, Iraq and North Korea all reached the final round of World Cup qualifying in Asia. Securing visas for their players and staff, let alone fans, would have been a tall task. England and its attendant traveling hooligans, who had brought all kinds of trouble to Italy in 1990, concerned him too. Conveniently, none of them made it to the final tournament. “That England, Iran, Iraq and North Korea didn't qualify saved us a ton of headaches and a lot of money,” says Rothenberg.
The question that lingers is whether Fifa president Gianni Infantino, who seems to have nurtured a close if transactional relationship with President Trump, has enough sway to make exceptions for the World Cup. Then again, Trump, who keeps a small World Cup replica trophy in the Oval Office, seems intent on leveraging the tournament to burnish his own legacy.
Yet even if no more of the nations on any potential restricted travel list are among the 48 to qualify in 2026, obtaining visas into the United States promises to be a headache for fans. Visa wait times at American embassies in some countries that will likely qualify, like Turkey and Colombia, are already longer than the time remaining until the tournament kicks off, The Athletic found.
Even if the process can be facilitated for players, staff and delegations, how will fans be able to plan for a trip they don't have to make? How will they cross borders with only a few days to plan for knockout round games? Let's imagine, for a moment, that defending champions Argentina are drawn into Group K. They could play group stage games in Houston, Guadalajara and Miami, followed by knockout games in Kansas City, Vancouver and Kansas City again. That would mean four border crossings during the tournament, the last two with only four days' notice apiece. As of yet, there is no process in place to address these issues.
Optimism prevails among insiders that solutions will be found.
“It is worth noting that the current administration was in office during the successful bid process for 2026, and signed the government guarantees as part of that process,” the Fifa spokesperson said. “We continue to work with various departments and agencies of the US Government to ensure the US can capitalize on this once-in-a-generation opportunity to tap into billions of dollars in positive financial benefits and goodwill, and bring millions of people from different nations and communities together to celebrate in the United States.”
But a great many issues have to be resolved before then, some of them only exacerbated by the Trump administration's hostility to its neighboring countries, and its own internal federal downsizing. Some World Cup participants are already feeling the effect of the issues. “The last time in Los Angeles we were waiting one hour and a half in the [immigration] queue [at the airport],” US men's national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino said in a recent interview.
“They still didn't give me… como se dice,” he quipped. “The green card.”
Leander Schaerlaeckens is at work on a book about the United States men's national soccer team, out in 2026. He teaches at Marist University.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Recovery efforts continue for four missing U.S. soldiers near the spot where their Hercules armored vehicle was found submerged at a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
U.S. soldiers stand in the back of a truck on a road towards a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Military road equipment working at a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Soldiers walk along a road near a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Recovery efforts continue for four missing U.S. soldiers near the spot where their Hercules armored vehicle was found submerged at a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
U.S. soldiers stand in the back of a truck on a road towards a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Lithuanian soldiers patrol on a road near a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
U.S. soldiers gather near military and other vehicles parked at a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
U.S. soldiers stand near military vehicles parked at a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Eurocopters Tiger of the German Army take part in the Lithuanian-German division-level international military exercise ‘Grand Quadriga 2024' at a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania on May 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis, File)
Lithuanian military police stand near military and other vehicles parked at a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Military and other vehicles are seen parked at a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Military road and other equipment are seen parked at a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
A military vehicle parked at a bridge towards at a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Military road equipment seen working at a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
The sign “no tanks” is set on the forest road towards a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
Military road equipment working at a training range in Pabrade, north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — NATO on Wednesday clarified comments that Secretary-General Mark Rutte made earlier in the day, when he suggested that four U.S. soldiers who went missing while training in Lithuania had died, even though the U.S. Army said their fate was not yet confirmed.
“The search is ongoing,” NATO said in a statement posted on X. “We regret any confusion about remarks @SecGenNATO delivered on this today. He was referring to emerging news reports & was not confirming the fate of the missing, which is still unknown.”
The U.S. Army said the Hercules armored vehicle the four U.S. soldiers were in during a training exercise had been found submerged in a body of water. It said recovery efforts were underway by U.S. Army and Lithuanian Armed Forces and civilian agencies.
The soldiers, all from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, were conducting tactical training when they went missing.
Asked Wednesday evening by reporters if he had been briefed about the missing soldiers, President Donald Trump said, “No, I haven't.”
During a trip to Warsaw, Rutte told reporters that he had received word of the deaths of the four soldiers while he was delivering a lecture, and that his thoughts were with their families and with the United States.
“This is still early news so we do not know the details. This is really terrible news and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones,” Rutte said in Warsaw.
Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT reported that the four U.S. soldiers and their vehicle were reported missing Tuesday afternoon during an exercise at the General Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in Pabradė, a town located less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border with Belarus.
The Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are all NATO members and have often had chilly ties with Russia, a key ally of Belarus, since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1990.
Relations soured further over Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has been one of the most outspoken supporters of Ukraine in its fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces.
———
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump's auto tariffs are a “direct attack” on his country. The new prime minister, sworn in March 14, still hasn't had a phone call with Trump.
Unifor auto workers stand behind Liberal Leader Mark Carney as he speaks during a campaign stop at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont., on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Frank Gunn /The Canadian Press via AP)
Liberal Leader Mark Carney greets Unifor workers at the Ambassador Bridge as he arrives for a campaign stop in Windsor, Ont., on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Frank Gunn /The Canadian Press via AP)
Unifor auto workers stand behind Liberal Leader Mark Carney as he speaks during a campaign stop at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont., on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Frank Gunn /The Canadian Press via AP)
Unifor auto workers stand behind Liberal Leader Mark Carney as he speaks during a campaign stop at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont., on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Frank Gunn /The Canadian Press via AP)
Unifor auto workers stand behind Liberal Leader Mark Carney as he speaks during a campaign stop at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont., on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Frank Gunn /The Canadian Press via AP)
TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump's auto tariffs are a “direct attack” on his country and that the trade war is hurting Americans, noting that American consumer confidence is at a multi-year low.
Trump said earlier Wednesday that he was placing 25% tariffs on auto imports and, to underscore his intention, he stated, “This is permanent.”
“This is a very direct attack,” Carney responded. “We will defend our workers. We will defend our companies. We will defend our country.”
Carney said he needs to see the details of Trump's executive order before taking retaliatory measures. He called it unjustified and said he will leave the election campaign to go to Ottawa on Thursday to chair his special Cabinet committee on U.S. relations.
AP correspondent Ben Thomas reports President Trump's planned auto tariffs are not being received well in Canada.
Carney earlier announced a CA$2 billion ($1.4 billion) “strategic response fund” that will protect Canadian auto jobs affected by Trump's tariffs.
Autos are Canada's second-largest export. Carney noted the sector employs 125,000 Canadians directly and almost another 500,000 in related industries.
“Canada will be there for auto workers,” he said.
Trump previously granted a one-month exemption on his stiff new tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada for U.S. automakers.
The president has plunged the U.S. into a global trade war — all while on-again, off-again new levies continue to escalate uncertainty.
The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its U.S consumer confidence index fell 7.2 points in March to 92.9, the fourth straight monthly decline and its lowest reading since January of 2021.
“His trade war is hurting American consumers and workers and it will hurt more. I see that American consumer confidence is at a multi-year low,” Carney said earlier while campaigning in Windsor, Ontario ahead of Canada's April 28 election.
The tax hike on auto imports starting in April means automakers could face higher costs and lower sales.
Trump previously placed 25% tariffs on Canada's steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products — as well as on all of America's trading partners — on April 2.
“He wants to break us so America can own us,” Carney said. “And it will never ever happen because we just don't look out for ourselves, we look out for each other.”
Carney, a former two-time central banker in Canada and the U.K., made the earlier comments while campaigning against the backdrop of the Ambassador Bridge, which is considered the busiest U.S.-Canadian border crossing, carrying 25% of all trade between the two countries. It plays an especially important role in auto manufacturing.
Carney said the bridge carries $140 billion Canadian dollars ($98 billion) in goods every year and CA$400 million ($281 million) per day.
“Now those numbers and the jobs and the paychecks that depend on that are in question,” Carney said. “The relationship between Canada and the United States has changed. We did not change it.”
In the auto sector, parts can go back and forth across the Canada-U.S. border several times before being fully assembled in Ontario or Michigan.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose province has the bulk of Canada's auto industry, said auto plants on both sides the border will shut simultaneously if the tariffs go ahead.
“President is calling it Liberation Day. I call it Termination Day for American workers. I know President Trump likes tell people 'Your fired!” I didn't think he meant U.S. auto workers when he said it,” Ford said.
Trump has declared a trade war on his northern neighbor and continues to call for Canada to become the 51st state, a position that has infuriated Canadians.
Canadians booed Trump repeatedly at a Carney election rally in Kitchener, Ontario.
The new prime minister, sworn in March 14, still hasn't had a phone call with Trump. It is unusual for a U.S. president and Canadian prime minister to go so long without talking after a new leader takes office.
“It would be appropriate that the president and I speak given the action that he has taken. I'm sure that will happen soon,” Carney said.
Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said the tariffs will damage American auto workers just as they will damage Canadian auto workers.
“The message to President Trump should be to knock it off,” Poilievre said. “He's changed his mind before. He's done this twice, puts them on, takes them off. We can suspect that may well happen again.”
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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Canada's Liberal Party has revoked Indian-origin Chandra Arya's bid to run for the party leadership and the nomination in his own Ottawa Nepean constituency over his alleged ties to the Indian government, PTI quoted a local media report.
According to the Globe and Mail report, Arya visited India last August and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He reportedly did not inform the Canadian government about his trip amid strain in diplomatic ties between the two countries.
ALSO READ: Canada PM Mark Carney to debut in 2025 election, replaces Chandra Arya in Nepean
The Canadian daily said that the Liberal Party has not revealed why the three-term MP has been barred from the leadership race or from running again in Nepean constituency.
Globe and Mail reported that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) briefed the government about Arya's "alleged close ties to the government of India, including its High Commission in Ottawa".
ALSO READ: India, Canada resume talks to reset relations
Liberal Party officials who have security clearances and received a general CSIS briefing on foreign interference also had concerns about Arya.
The decisions to remove Arya as a candidate for the leadership and Nepean nomination were solely made by the Liberal Party and were not on the advice of CSIS, the report added.
Party officials, in charge of monitoring foreign meddling, found troubling inconsistencies in information that Arya had put in a confidential questionnaire, the report added, citing another source.
Arya rejected allegations against him, saying,“As a Member of Parliament, I have engaged with numerous diplomats and heads of government, both in Canada and internationally."
Not once have I sought – nor been required to seek – permission from the government to do so. At no point did former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or any cabinet minister raise concerns about my meetings or public statements," PTI quoted him as saying in a statement to The Globe.
Arya, who is of the Hindu faith, said he believes he was removed from the leadership and Nepean nomination because he's spoken out against the Sikh Khalistani movement in Canada that promotes a separate state in Punjab.
“The sole point of contention with the Liberal Party has been my outspoken advocacy on issues important to Hindu Canadians and my firm stance against Khalistani extremism,” he said in the statement.
The voting for the general election will take place on April 28.
(With PTI inputs)
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CAIRO (AP) — A recreational submarine taking 45 tourists on an underwater cruise of coral reefs in the Red Sea sank off the Egyptian resort town of Hurghada on Thursday, leaving six Russians dead, the provincial governor said. The remaining tourists, more than two dozen of whom were injured, were rescued, he said.
The cause of the sinking was not immediately known. The Russian consulate said it took place about 1,000 meters (0.6 miles) offshore.
The submarine was carrying 45 tourists and five Egyptian crewmembers when it sank, Red Sea governor Maj. Gen. Amr Hanafi, said in a statement, adding that rescue teams were quickly sent.
He said all six dead were Russians, and that 29 of the 39 tourists rescued were injured and taken to hospitals. No one was still missing from the vessel, he said.
Hurghada is a major destination for divers, snorkelers and other tourists drawn by the Red Sea's extensive coral reefs.
The submarine, named “Sindbad,” runs tours lasting about 40 minutes underwater, cruising at about 20-25 meters (65-80 feet) underwater with panoramic windows on the bottom to give views of the marine life, according to the website of the company that the Russian consulate identified as running the vessel.
The company did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.
Russia's Tass news agency earlier said the Russian dead included at least two children, citing the country's consul in Hurghada. The consulate had said all 45 tourists on board were Russian, but the Egyptian governor said they also included Indian, Norwegian and Swedish citizens.
Footage posted by the governor's office showed Hanafy meeting survivors at the hospital, including two Egyptian crewmembers. One Russian tourist had a small bandage on his head. A family with two young daughters smiled and told him they were OK. An Indian man asked Hanafy to see his daughter, who remains in critical condition, doctors can be heard explaining.
In November, a tourist yacht sank in the Red Sea after warnings of rough waters, Egyptian officials said. At least four people drowned, while 33 were rescued.
Tourism is an important sector of Egypt's economy but many tourist companies have stopped or limited traveling on the Red Sea due to the dangers from conflicts in the region.
NATO's Eastern European members are aware that the US-led military bloc has no intention of protecting them from Russia, Ukraine's former top general Valery Zaluzhny has said.
Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, stipulating that an attack on one NATO member is to be considered an attack on all, is not being implemented in practice, Zaluzhny, who currently serves as Kiev's ambassador to the UK, said during a meeting with students in the city of Lviv on Wednesday.
“The Baltic States understand that there is no Article 5 and never has been. Poland understands this too as missiles fall there from time to time – sometimes ours, sometimes Russian. Romania understands everything, but keeps silent,” he claimed.
The ambassador recalled that when he was still head of the Ukrainian army, “they called from Romania and asked me not to say a word” after two alleged Russian drones crashed in Romanian territory.
An official from Bucharest blamed Ukraine for the incident, saying that the UAVs had been diverted to Romania because of the use of electronic warfare by Kiev, he said.
“I told them: ‘Shoot them [drones] down. You have 40 F-16 jets',” added Zaluzhny, who was sacked as Kiev's top general in February 2023.
He also suggested that even if Ukraine's push to join NATO were to succeed, it would not provide the country with security guarantees. “It would not give anything besides political protection,” the ambassador insisted.
US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said in an interview with Tucker Carlson last week that Vladimir Zelensky and his chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, “have largely conceded that they are not going to be a member of NATO.”
“I think it is accepted that Ukraine and Russia, if there is going to be a peace deal, Ukraine cannot be a member of NATO,” he said.
As for the option of Ukraine getting “what is called Article 5 protection” from the US or Western European countries without being in NATO “that is open for discussion,” Witkoff stated.
Preventing Kiev from joining NATO, which Moscow views as a hostile bloc, had been named by Moscow as among the reasons for launching its military operation in February 2022. Late last year, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that Ukraine's membership would be “unacceptable” and would contradict Russia's stance that “security of one country cannot be ensured at the expense of the security of another.”
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As the job market is facing a major shift, with businesses leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to cut costs and streamline operations, sparking debates, Bill Gates issued a stark warning about the future of work, emphasising rapidly transforming industries and putting many jobs at risk.
As AI becomes more sophisticated and deeply integrated into daily operations, roles that rely on repetitive tasks and routine decision-making are increasingly vulnerable to automation. The former CEO of Microsoft pointed out that while AI will drive efficiency and innovation, its rise also raises serious concerns about job displacement, particularly in sectors such as finance, healthcare, and customer service, where AI-powered systems are already handling tasks once performed by humans.
In his prediction, the tech mogul emphasised that despite AI's growing proficiency in generating code, human expertise remains essential for monitoring systems, troubleshooting errors, and crafting even more advanced solutions. This creates a scenario where, ironically, AI depends on people to build and oversee further advancements.
In the realm of biology, although AI is already being used as a tool in medical research for data analysis and diagnostics, it still lacks the creative capacity necessary for groundbreaking scientific discoveries. According to the 69-year-old tech mogul, AI will not be capable of replacing biologists, though it will assist in areas such as disease diagnosis and DNA analysis. “AI won't be able to replace biologists, but serve as a useful tool for doing things like disease diagnosis, DNA analysis,” Gates stated.
Also read: Indian-origin co-founder who sold his startup for nearly $1 billion says he has no income, is looking for internships
Gates also cited the energy sector as an example where full automation is unlikely. He explained that industries such as oil, nuclear, and renewable energy are inherently complex, necessitating strategic oversight from engineers, researchers, and technicians to manage infrastructure and drive innovation.
Another field he believes will remain beyond AI's full control is energy. Gates pointed out that industries such as oil, nuclear, and renewable energy require complex decision-making and human oversight, making full automation unlikely. “AI won't replace energy experts as the field is still too complex to be fully automated,” he said.
As AI continues to evolve, business leaders and industry experts have repeatedly emphasised its growing influence on the workplace. In some sectors, AI is already outperforming human intelligence in specific tasks, raising important questions about the future of employment. While Gates acknowledges that AI will bring significant changes, he remains confident that certain careers will continue to rely on human expertise for years to come.
Also read: Did Nikhil Kamath just apply for a 3-month internship? Indian-origin CEO reacts to his unexpected request
Tens of thousands of children have been wounded in Gaza. Even those evacuated for treatment face an impossible path
When I entered the home in north-east Philadelphia, Elias, a lively four-year-old boy, grabbed the pack of KitKats I had brought with me and began swinging it over his head. He whirled around in circles, hollering something unintelligible. In a familiar scene – I have small children of my own – his mother tried to impose order, but yielded to the greater force of a kid on sugar kept indoors by a cold snap.
Elias, his five-year-old sister Taline and nine-year-old brother Khaled were in the US because Elias and Taline needed urgent medical care. They had sustained staggering injuries when an Israeli pilot or drone operator shot a missile at the house they were taking refuge in. The explosion cleaved Elias's right leg off below the knee. Taline's injuries were also severe; she arrived in the US with external fixators – pins and steel in her legs – as she battled infection. A program organized and managed by Heal Palestine, a non-profit that helps evacuate wounded children from Gaza, arranged the children's travel with their mother, Amna.
When we met, Taline shied away from me, withdrawing into a large sofa. She peeked out from behind copious bangs while I talked with a volunteer from the organization, which had secured housing for the family for the duration of their stay in the US. Once the children's treatment is completed, perhaps by the summer, their mother said, the family will have to leave the US for Egypt, a stipulation of the state department.
Their father, Amna's husband, was still trapped in Gaza – he hoped to join the family in Egypt whenever the Rafah border reopens, now a distant possibility with Israel resuming its assault. In Egypt, their rights and access to education will be limited. The Egyptian government has indicated that Palestinians who have taken refuge in the country will have to return to Gaza, an uncertain prospect even before Donald Trump pronounced his intention to cleanse the territory of Palestinians. The question of what the children's futures would be like – what kind of future was possible – cast a long shadow over our time together.
Taline was unable to walk well – her doctors in the US had tried to repair her legs hoping to avoid amputation, which remains a possibility. Elias had been fitted with a prosthesis, enabling him to move around the home. He was boisterous, and when I played back a recording of my conversation with his mother, Amna, his voice – his shouts and laughter – acted as counterpoint to the horrors Amna was describing.
Khaled, the nine-year-old, was different. He had been trapped with his father in Gaza's al-Shifa hospital for three days during Israel's second siege of the facility in March 2024; Taline and Elias had already been evacuated south to Rafah with Amna by that time. Khaled watched as Israeli troops killed people at the hospital. He watched, too, when his father was beaten, stripped and dragged off to the beach, where he was interrogated for two days. Israeli troops bulldozed the nearby cemetery, and when Khaled was compelled to leave on the third day of the siege, he picked his way, with all the other surviving women and children, through a field of corpses.
He was, his mother told me, suffering from emotional issues.
I had sought the family out – and others like them – to begin to piece together what had happened to the children of Gaza. Before October 2023, kids accounted for roughly half of the 2 million Palestinians there. Official figures put the death toll in Gaza at more than 50,000 people, a number that continues to climb as Israel renews its attacks. But a study in the Lancet estimates that Israeli troops killed more than 64,000 people in just the first nine months of their rampage, the time for which the study's authors had data. In other words, the official count is probably dramatically understated.
Meanwhile, the UN reports that at least 14,500 children have been killed – also probably a dramatic undercount. The real mortality figure is probably unknowable, not least because so many families have been killed at once, leaving no one to account for some babies or toddlers ever having existed.
Beyond the mass death, international agencies suggest that at least 110,000 people in Gaza have been injured, including at least 25,000 children. And Unicef estimates that between 3,000 and 4,000 children in Gaza have had one or more limbs amputated. That small tract of earth is now home to more child amputees per inhabitant than anywhere else in the world.
Much of what these kids are experiencing is hidden from the world – journalists still cannot enter Gaza, and many of those who called the place home have been killed. Yet, a handful of children have made it out for treatment, in the US and elsewhere.
In the United States a life-changing injury doesn't mean the end of a life worth living. Laws are in place to ensure people with disabilities enjoy equal rights and opportunities. For those with insurance, there is advanced medical infrastructure with follow-up care.
But what does an amputation mean in a place with no sidewalks, no streets or wheelchair ramps or prosthetists? What promise can the future hold for children who have sustained brain injuries, or burns that destroy their ability to maneuver or function? What kinds of outcomes will exist for children who have no access to psychologists, physical therapists, legal rights – or homes?
The many thousands of injured children are important. Yet together, their bodies tell a story, one that has been embossed for all time on the terrain of the 21st century. They act as the prism through which questions of international law and the protection of the vulnerable will be mediated. But if the loss these children have endured is a judgment, it is also prologue. Because their needs, their capacities and limitations, will define the contours of Palestinian society and memory forever.
Amna seemed wary of me initially. But as she spoke the words came more freely.
She had survived multiple Israeli wars on Gaza, and had lived through an 18-year siege. Then came the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, and Israel's devastating response.
Before then, Amna recalled, life was hard, but home “was my heaven, too”. She was pregnant when the assault on Gaza began, and she delivered Faris by cesarean section on 11 December 2023.
Ten days later, an Israeli pilot fired a missile at her apartment building. In past wars, her neighborhood in Jabalia had been spared. “The area where we were was supposed to be safe,” Amna told me.
Amna, Khaled and Taline sustained deep cuts in that first assault, and required stitches – in Taline's case, to close lacerations on her arm and head. A neighbor provided the address of a nurse who lived nearby. The family fled the rubble and made their way to her home.
“We got to the house. It was overflowing with displaced people. I can't tell you how many. There were so many people,” Amna said.
The nurse stitched the open wounds on Taline's arm and head. She explained that the laceration in Taline's arm was deep and would require internal stitches, something she was unable to do. She also told Amna that the little girl's arm was broken.
The entire time, the bombing continued. Soon after the nurse finished treating Taline, a second explosive struck, killing 11 people at the nurse's home.
“The walls disappeared. You can't see anything. You swallow the dust. You can't hear anything,” Amna recalled.
“My first shock came when I saw [Faris]. He was in my arms. He was choking. I thought he was dead. But he hadn't died. Someone took him from me and shook him and he began to scream. My baby who died. He was alive then.”
Skin is the body's largest organ, made of fat and protein. The top layer, the epidermis, is where melanin is formed and where new skin cells are made. Humans wear new skin – the whole is renewed – every month. But not in the case of injury, particularly one caused by fire.
The Cleveland Clinic offers a guide to burn injuries. First-degree burns are what we experience after touching a hot kettle. The damage caused by the heat is superficial, and the skin recovers quickly. Second-degree burns mean the “top and middle” layers of the skin are damaged. The next degree of severity – third-degree burns – touches the third layer of skin and thin layer of fat just beneath it.
A fourth-degree burn goes into the muscle and gristle, the nerves. Muscle is roasted by the fifth degree. Sixth-degree burns scorch bone.
In Gaza, the extraordinary incidence of amputations is explained not only by the traumatic force injuries caused by relentless Israeli bombardment, but burns and resulting infections as well. Many amputations should not have been necessary.
Dr Feroze Sidhwa, speaking from Gaza, said that he saw many children lose limbs that could have been saved under other circumstances. He cited the destructiveness of the weapons, the high rates of infection given the sanitary conditions at hospitals, the scarcity of necessary medical equipment, and malnutrition as leading contributors to amputation.
“It's very difficult to heal a wound when you have no protein intake for a week, let alone for 15 months,” he said
Dr Thaer Ahmad, another doctor who operated in Gaza, explained that treating burns requires a lot of resources that were often unavailable. In ordinary circumstances, he said, a physician may be willing to tolerate an infection that results from a burn, since infections can typically be treated.
“But given the pressure that's being put on the health system and practitioners in Gaza, an amputation is a relatively quick treatment than can be done,” he said.
We may never learn how many children had treatable wounds that, in different circumstances, may have resulted in their keeping a limb.
Baylasan was 11 when her house was bombed in Khan Younis. We met in a suburb of Washington DC in December 2024, near where she was receiving treatment.
“I'm afraid of loud noises,” she said.
She told me about the first nights of the war in Gaza, in October 2023. A missile exploded nearby one evening: “I woke up and started screaming. My mother came to comfort me. I was afraid; I was shaking.”
The night of her injury, in November of 2023, her mother had made her a cheese sandwich before bed.
“At nine or 10 I went to sleep – I didn't feel anything until 2am. I heard Mama screaming under the rubble. I didn't know I was under the rubble.”
She lost consciousness and awoke four days later in the hospital, unaware that her leg had been amputated.
“Every time someone would sit by my leg I would scream thinking they would injure it.”
Baylasan – vivacious, funny and sarcastic – stood out when we spoke. She was the only child I met who wasn't accompanied by a guardian. She was alone in Virginia, staying with a Palestinian-American family who volunteered through Heal Palestine to host her. She'd made friends at school, and was learning English. When I asked about her favorite music she lit up. She loved Al Shami, a pop singer from Syria.
Baylasan's mother survived that bombing, and after being evacuated for treatment in Turkey with Baylasan, had traveled to Belgium. Baylasan's brother had been studying there when the assault on Gaza began. He had succeeded in obtaining a visa for their mother, who traveled there after Baylasan departed for the US. The family hopes to receive asylum in Belgium, a process that could take 18 months.
When we met, Baylasan was completing intensive physical therapy at the Prosthetic Care Facility of Virginia. Her father remained in Gaza, where an amputation virtually guarantees a life of social isolation, no access to support services, and limited opportunity for emotional recovery.
When I asked Baylasan whether her father had the means to join the family in Belgium, she gave me an exasperated look; it was a stupid question.
“Raho al masary. Inharago.”
The money's gone. It burned.
Gaza was a difficult place before October of 2023. My own memories of life there – I was born in Rafah – are imbued with a feeling of closeness, of being hemmed in. For many people, education was the only path to a better life, which perhaps helps explain why literacy rates in Gaza exceeded 97.8% for adults. The degree of educational attainment was also reflected in the relatively well-developed medical infrastructure in the territory.
Doctors Without Borders reports that before the Israeli assault, there were 36 hospitals serving 2.3 million residents in Gaza – one for every 60,500 people. People in the US have more access – one hospital for every 23,500 people – but the development of the healthcare sector surpassed what could be reasonably expected in light of Israel's longstanding siege on the impoverished territory.
Today, most of that infrastructure no longer exists. Gaza's reconstruction will require more than $50bn over 10 years, according to a UN, EU and World Bank assessment. That's saying nothing about the lost human capital, the doctors and nurses and the people who educate and train them. The Guardian reports that more than 1,000 healthcare professionals were killed by the Israeli military. Of Gaza's 36 hospitals, only 16 are partially functioning today, according to a UN report. If critically injured, disabled people in Gaza could lead dignified, productive lives before 2023, that no longer seems possible.
Organizations like Heal Palestine and the Palestine Children's Relief Fund have worked assiduously, against long odds in challenging conditions, to meet some of the need. Steve Sosebee, who leads Heal Palestine, described the organization's work as comprehensive. Its staff operate a field hospital in Gaza. They also manage a mental health program and food kitchens there. The organization has also facilitated the evacuation of and care for 37 severely injured children. It continues to provide mental healthcare even after their physical wounds have healed.
“We get them the medical care that they need but otherwise don't have access to,” Sosebee explained. “We're also providing a holistic approach to their healing which is mental health therapy, education and community support.”
Many of those who escaped Gaza for medical treatment – including the 11 children I met with in the US and Egypt – did so before Israeli troops overran the Rafah border with Egypt in May of last year. Their petitions for medical evacuation involved a long chain of coordination through the health ministry in Gaza, the Egyptian government, the World Health Organization and the Israeli army. Typically they traveled to the Rafah border with Egypt and from there were loaded into ambulances which then undertook the six-hour drive from the border to Cairo.
I met Marah and her mother, Amal, in Long Island. They were staying at a Ronald McDonald House, a facility that houses families with children who require long-term care, near the hospital where Marah was being treated.
Marah, who is one of seven children, was 16 when an Israeli bomb struck her aunt's house in Al-Shaboura, in Rafah, where she was sheltering. Both of her legs had been amputated above the knee, near her pelvis.
In New York, Marah had numerous surgeries to prepare her for prosthesis. When we met, she was learning to walk – a process which is markedly more difficult for those with amputations above the knee. Her days are filled with physical therapy and more physical therapy, as she put it to me.
The family's nightmare began early, and like virtually everyone else I spoke with, continued until they left Gaza.
In October 2023, an Israeli airstrike destroyed the family home in Al Zeitoun in northern Gaza, sending them to seek shelter in Marah's aunt's home. Eight days later, another bomb killed her brother, her sister, her brother-in-law; and one of her sister's young daughters.
Another niece, a 15-month-old child named Mona, survived the bombing with serious injuries. The family took Mona with them and fled south to the home of another one of Marah's aunts in Rafah. At 3am, two months after arriving, the bombers struck again. A missile exploded in the room where Marah was sleeping with Mona.
The toddler was killed in that bombing, joining her mother, father and baby sister in death.
“I remember waking up briefly in the rubble and calling for my father. I thought he hadn't heard me and I said the shehada [an Islamic prayer] three times and after that I don't have any memory of the next two or three weeks,” Marah told me.
Marah's legs were badly lacerated and mangled; she had multiple fractures and a head injury. She was taken to a hospital which, lacking resources, directed her rescuers to another hospital.
Overwhelmed staff at the second hospital believed she was dead and moved her to the morgue.
“My [surviving] brother – he's three years older than I am. He came close to say goodbye to me and came close to my face and saw that I was breathing. He told the doctor: ‘She's breathing.'”
Marah was in a coma for eight days, during which her doctors amputated her legs.
Marah's mother, Amal, was also severely wounded in the strike that injured her daughter. She made a point of serving me coffee despite her difficulty walking.
“I had 22 operations,” Amal told me. “The flesh had melted off my legs.”
Amal spent eight months at the Emirati hospital – a field hospital in Rafah, which was operating through the efforts of the UAE. She decided to leave, despite needing additional care, when she learned that Marah would be able to travel to New York for treatment through Heal Palestine. After extensive back and forth with Israeli and international officials, Marah succeeded in obtaining permission to leave. Heal Palestine coordinated her travel and care by enlisting the services of various hospitals and charities, and raising funds for travel. Marah's father and brother remained in Gaza.
Marah and Amal will eventually have to travel to Egypt from New York, where they will await their return to Gaza.
I asked Amal about her hopes for her daughter's future.
“There is no future in Gaza for someone like Marah,” she told me, gesturing to her daughter in her wheelchair. “I want her to complete her education.”
I traveled to Cairo to meet children who had been injured and were receiving care there. I wanted to see too, what life could be like for Marah, Elias, Khaled and Taline, all of whom are meant to go to Egypt after completing treatment in the US.
I met Malik, a little eight-year-old boy who had suffered a severe head injury when his home in Gaza was bombed, in a suburb of Cairo. He had been evacuated to the US where doctors had performed a cranioplasty – a titanium plate covered most of the back of his head. After three months of treatment in Florida, he and his mother returned to Egypt in August of last year. Malik slurred his speech but had learned to walk again by the time we met – he accompanied me to the store to buy chocolate for him and his sisters.
Ibtisam, Malik's mother, described pulling him from the rubble from an airstrike on their home in Nuseirat on 8 January 2024.
“I called for my girls; they were screaming and crying. It was dark – you couldn't see anything. I called for Malik but he didn't respond,” she said.
“I started feeling around in the dark … I found a pile of hot rubble and glass. I started to uncover him there. I pulled him out and was cut by glass. I held him. He was awake but he wasn't responding to me. I cradled his head with my hand and my hand went inside – into his head.”
Prospects for a life in Egypt are better for those with life-altering injuries than they are in Gaza, but public infrastructure there cannot truly support the needs of disabled people.
I spoke with a developmental neuroscientist who leads a lab at a large research university in Philadelphia. He requested anonymity because of his lab's reliance on funding provided by the National Institutes of Health, which is at risk under the Trump administration.
“[Brain development] is a process of refining cellular connections postnatally,” he explained.
“Kids' brains are remarkably resilient and can recover from things that adult brains never could … but there is a limit to the ability to repair and rewire around injuries.”
Brain-injured patients need years of support from “trained physical therapists and occupational therapists and physicians to really maximize the amount of recovery [they] can get”, he said. That's in addition to the child psychologists who are tasked with addressing the post-traumatic stress disorders that attend trauma.
Dr Hazem Madi, a Palestinian doctor from Gaza who managed to escape to Cairo in February 2024, explained that while private hospitals in the Egyptian capital can meet a high standard of care, many public hospitals cannot. Access to occupational therapists and child psychologists is limited as well.
An Amnesty International report elaborates: “Egypt's public healthcare system has been struggling with a shortage of public hospital beds, offering only 1.4 beds per 1,000 people, which is significantly below the global average of 2.9 beds per 1,000 people.” In that regard, Malik is more fortunate than others. Heal Palestine has facilitated his ongoing mental and physical therapy in Cairo.
Beyond medical care, Egyptian authorities do not permit Palestinian refugees from Gaza – roughly 100,000 people – to register their children in public school. Malik and his sisters were attending school remotely – teachers in Gaza had succeeded in organizing virtual learning, albeit haphazardly and unevenly.
Nor can the challenge of earning a living be overstated. Malik's family rely on Heal Palestine for housing – the organization rents an apartment for them in 6 October City near Cairo. But the aid won't last forever, and Palestinians in Egypt lack residency permits and cannot work. Their status is, like so much about their lives, precarious.
Amna, the young mother I met in Philadelphia, searched frantically for her husband and children after the strike at the nurse's home.
“When I saw them I was shocked. Elias's leg was gone. Taline looked … Her legs were mangled. Shredded. They were going to die. I collapsed. Khaled carried his brother out and he returned and carried his sister out. Can you imagine a nine-year-old in that situation?”
Her husband sustained a leg injury too. The family spent a night in the stairwell. The ambulance never came – no one would risk the drive to Jabalia. Tourniquets kept the children alive through the night.
“All night – I want you to imagine – all night. My kids are saying I need water. Please give me water. All night. The bombing was going all night. It wouldn't stop.”
The area was bombed again in the morning. Someone suggested they try to evacuate to a nearby school.
“Everyone said we have to go. Everyone was fleeing from death. My husband couldn't stand. How was I going to move my children? I said I'm not going anywhere. I can't leave Elias and Taline.”
A stranger came along and offered to carry Elias and Taline. He helped make crutches from discarded wood for Amna's husband and encouraged him to try to walk. The school was no more than 200 meters away.
Amna started to walk, which was difficult since she had given birth by C-section 10 days earlier.
“There were people in front of me,” she said. “They had their kids. They were shelled. Limbs. Things that I still can't comprehend. Those people wanted to enter the school and they were killed … The soldiers shelled them.”
Amna fled into a nearby house and was separated from her husband, who was with Taline and Elias. She remained with Khaled and her infant, Faris. “I didn't know if Elias and Taline were alive or dead. If my husband was dead.”
Elias and Taline found refuge with their father at al-Shifa hospital. They received basic care, keeping them alive.
Amna spent two days in hiding until the Israeli troops withdrew. Finally, she left with her baby and son Khaled, who carried a makeshift white flag. They emerged into a new landscape.
“We were barefoot. Everything was destroyed. No school. No hospital. The landmarks – it wasn't Jabalia any more.”
Eventually, she made her way to al-Shifa, the last operating hospital in the area. There, she found her husband with Elias and Taline.
“They were on the ground. The crowd was unbelievable. People stepping on one another. My children were on the ground.
“I gave the doctor my infant. He said to me: ‘Your son needs oxygen' – there was none. ‘Try to nurse him – hold him.'
“I understood. My son was going to die. Hours or a day or two – he was going to die. Six hours later he died. Faris died. He was 12 days old.”
Amna buried Faris in the Shifa cemetery, the one Khaled would walk through after it had been bulldozed by Israeli forces.
Soon after Faris died, an ambulance drove Amna, Taline and Elias south to another hospital in Rafah. Weeks later, she secured permission to leave Gaza with Elias. An Egyptian border guard was moved by Taline's condition and said he would let her out too. Soon after that, Khaled was allowed to travel south in an ambulance with a cousin who had been injured. Eventually, he was permitted to join his mother in Cairo.
The children's father stayed behind in Jabalia, which was bombed again this month.
I met Baylasan in December of 2024. In March, I learned that she had been reunited with her mother and brother in Belgium, where Heal Palestine is providing them with housing. For now, Baylasan is completing her physical therapy treatment virtually. When it's time she will travel back to Virginia for a new prosthesis. Baylasan's father remains in Gaza.
Marah and her mother were supposed to leave for Egypt in March, but the severity of Marah's injuries led her doctors to conclude that she needed at least another nine months of therapy and treatment in the US. She's now studying for a high school equivalency exam.
Elias, Taline and Khaled are enrolled in school in Philadelphia. Taline may have another surgery scheduled in the spring, an attempt to save her leg.
In November of 2024 – the same month I first visited Marah – hundreds of Israelis traveled to Amsterdam to watch a football match. They received a lot of attention when they attacked, and were attacked by, locals there. Yet in all the reporting, one provocation stood out to me: the Israeli visitors sang: “Why is school out in Gaza”?
And they answered: “There are no children left.”
Almost all of the small children I met in the course of writing this story carried haunted looks. I asked them things like “What are your hobbies?” and “What's your favorite show on television?” and I was met, mostly, by blankness. Beyond their physical injuries, they have experienced unspeakable loss. Their schools, their neighborhoods are gone. Many of their loved ones, siblings and friends are now dead.
If childhood is a time of innocence, small hurts and joys, playground anxieties and high drama, then, the Israeli fans, for all their venom, were right. There is no childhood in Gaza.
Kamal Kharrazi, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, said on Thursday that Tehran has not closed all doors to resolve its disputes with the United States and is ready for indirect negotiations with Washington.Tehran has so far rebuffed US President Donald Trump's warning it to make a deal or face military consequences. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the message deceptive, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said talks are impossible unless Washington changes its "maximum pressure" policy."The Islamic Republic has not closed all doors. It is ready for indirect negotiations with the United States in order to evaluate the other party, state its own conditions, and make the appropriate decision," Kharrazi said, according to the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency. Iran is meant to soon reply to Trump's letter, with Araqchi saying last week that Tehran would take into consideration both Trump's threat and opportunities in its response.A brief history of Trump's Iran policyIn his first 2017-21 term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran's disputed nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looks on during a meeting with Iranian students in Tehran, Iran, March 12, 2025. (credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS)After Trump pulled out in 2018 and reimposed sweeping US sanctions, the Islamic Republic breached and has since far surpassed those limits in its escalating program of uranium enrichment.Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program. Tehran says its nuclear program is wholly for civilian energy purposes.
Tehran has so far rebuffed US President Donald Trump's warning it to make a deal or face military consequences. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the message deceptive, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said talks are impossible unless Washington changes its "maximum pressure" policy."The Islamic Republic has not closed all doors. It is ready for indirect negotiations with the United States in order to evaluate the other party, state its own conditions, and make the appropriate decision," Kharrazi said, according to the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency. Iran is meant to soon reply to Trump's letter, with Araqchi saying last week that Tehran would take into consideration both Trump's threat and opportunities in its response.A brief history of Trump's Iran policyIn his first 2017-21 term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran's disputed nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looks on during a meeting with Iranian students in Tehran, Iran, March 12, 2025. (credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS)After Trump pulled out in 2018 and reimposed sweeping US sanctions, the Islamic Republic breached and has since far surpassed those limits in its escalating program of uranium enrichment.Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program. Tehran says its nuclear program is wholly for civilian energy purposes.
"The Islamic Republic has not closed all doors. It is ready for indirect negotiations with the United States in order to evaluate the other party, state its own conditions, and make the appropriate decision," Kharrazi said, according to the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency. Iran is meant to soon reply to Trump's letter, with Araqchi saying last week that Tehran would take into consideration both Trump's threat and opportunities in its response.A brief history of Trump's Iran policyIn his first 2017-21 term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran's disputed nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looks on during a meeting with Iranian students in Tehran, Iran, March 12, 2025. (credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS)After Trump pulled out in 2018 and reimposed sweeping US sanctions, the Islamic Republic breached and has since far surpassed those limits in its escalating program of uranium enrichment.Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program. Tehran says its nuclear program is wholly for civilian energy purposes.
Iran is meant to soon reply to Trump's letter, with Araqchi saying last week that Tehran would take into consideration both Trump's threat and opportunities in its response.A brief history of Trump's Iran policyIn his first 2017-21 term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran's disputed nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looks on during a meeting with Iranian students in Tehran, Iran, March 12, 2025. (credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS)After Trump pulled out in 2018 and reimposed sweeping US sanctions, the Islamic Republic breached and has since far surpassed those limits in its escalating program of uranium enrichment.Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program. Tehran says its nuclear program is wholly for civilian energy purposes.
In his first 2017-21 term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran's disputed nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looks on during a meeting with Iranian students in Tehran, Iran, March 12, 2025. (credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS)After Trump pulled out in 2018 and reimposed sweeping US sanctions, the Islamic Republic breached and has since far surpassed those limits in its escalating program of uranium enrichment.Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program. Tehran says its nuclear program is wholly for civilian energy purposes.
After Trump pulled out in 2018 and reimposed sweeping US sanctions, the Islamic Republic breached and has since far surpassed those limits in its escalating program of uranium enrichment.Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program. Tehran says its nuclear program is wholly for civilian energy purposes.
Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program. Tehran says its nuclear program is wholly for civilian energy purposes.
Tehran says its nuclear program is wholly for civilian energy purposes.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Macron is expecting 31 delegations around the table Thursday morning at the presidential Elysee Palace. (AP video by Yesica Brumec)
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before their meeting to prepare Thursday's gathering of the so-called “coalition of the willing” nations that are allies of Ukraine, Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives before his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron to prepare Thursday's gathering of the so-called “coalition of the willing” nations that are allies of Ukraine, Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before their meeting to prepare Thursday's gathering of the so-called “coalition of the willing” nations that are allies of Ukraine, Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before their meeting to prepare Thursday's gathering of the so-called “coalition of the willing” nations that are allies of Ukraine, Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before their meeting to prepare Thursday's gathering of the so-called “coalition of the willing” nations that are allies of Ukraine, Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
French President Emmanuel Macron waits for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before their meeting to prepare Thursday's gathering of the so-called “coalition of the willing” nations that are allies of Ukraine, Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, gives a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron following a bilateral meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Yoan Valat, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron gives a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following a bilateral meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Yoan Valat, Pool via AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive for a joint press conference following a bilateral meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Yoan Valat, Pool via AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, andFrench President Emmanuel Macron arrive for a press conferencefollowing a bilateral meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Yoan Valat, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following a bilateral meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Yoan Valat, Pool via AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron leave a joint press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Yoan Valat, Pool via AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron leave a joint press conference following their bilateral meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Yoan Valat, Pool via AP)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen participate in the so-called “Coalition of the willing” summit at the Elysee Palace, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer participate in the so-called “Coalition of the willing” summit at the Elysee Palace, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron, center, speaks with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer during arrivals for a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, March 27, 2025 . (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
French President Emmanuel Macron, center, greets Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during arrivals for a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, March 27, 2025 . (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, greets Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen during arrivals for a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, March 27, 2025 . (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Officials pose as part of the so-called “Coalition of the willing” summit at the Elysee Palace, Thursday, March 27, 2025 in Paris. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
Officials pose as part of the so-called “Coalition of the willing” summit at the Elysee Palace, Thursday, March 27, 2025 in Paris. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, French President Emmanuel Macron, center, and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer participate in the so-called Coalition of the Willing summit at the Elysee Palace, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
Officials participate to a so-called Coalition of the Willing summit at the Elysee Palace, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
Officials participate to a so-called Coalition of the Willing summit at the Elysee Palace, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that a proposed European armed force for possible deployment in Ukraine in tandem with an eventual peace deal could “respond” to a Russian attack if Moscow launched one.
Macron spoke after talks with Ukraine's president and ahead of a summit in Paris of some 30 nations on Thursday that will discuss the proposed force for Ukraine that Macron suggested could be deployed in “important towns” and elsewhere.
“If there was again a generalized aggression against Ukrainian soil, these armies would, in fact, be under attack and then it's our usual framework of engagement,” Macron said. “Our soldiers, when they are engaged and deployed, are there to react and respond to the decisions of the commander in chief and, if they are in a conflict situation, to respond to it.”
Macron, together with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has been driving an effort to build a coalition of nations willing in one way or another to support the deployment of an armed force in Ukraine, with the aim of securing a lasting peace by dissuading Russia from attacking the country again.
Macron didn't specify what sort of response he envisaged in the eventuality of a Russian attack.
He said the proposed European forces wouldn't be stationed on the frontlines in Ukraine, “nor be engaged on the first day opposite Russian forces.” They would “be forces that dissuade the Russians from attacking again. And by holding important towns, strategic bases, mark the clear support from several European governments and allies,” he said.
“So we are not on the frontlines, we don't go to fight, but we are there to guarantee a lasting peace. It's a pacifist approach,” he said. “The only ones who would, at that moment, trigger a conflict, a bellicose situation, would be the Russians if they decided again to launch an aggression.”
Macron is expecting 31 delegations around the table Thursday morning at the presidential Elysee Palace. That's more than the French leader gathered for a first meeting in Paris in February — evidence that the coalition to help Ukraine, possibly with boots on the ground, is gathering steam, according to the presidential office.
The big elephant in the room will be the country that's missing: the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has shown no public enthusiasm for the coalition's discussions about potentially sending troops into Ukraine after an eventual ceasefire to help make peace stick. Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has dismissed the idea of a European deployment or even the need for it.
“It's a combination of a posture and a pose and a combination of also being simplistic,” he said in an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
That's not the view in Europe. The shared premise upon which the coalition is being built is that Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions in Ukraine — starting with the illegal seizure of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and culminating in the 2022 full-scale invasion that unleashed all-out war — shows that he cannot be trusted and that a European force could help dissuade another attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Macron both suggest that a foreign contingent in Ukraine could also provide military training, something allies already have been doing outside Ukraine, preparing more than 75,000 Ukrainian troops for battle against Russia's larger and expanding military and helping to make up for some of Ukraine's losses from more than three years of intense fighting.
“Primarily, any contingent consists of combat units, but they are above all intended to control the situation, monitor it, carry out joint training, and also to prevent any desire by Russia to return with renewed waves of aggression,” Zelenskyy said at Wednesday's news conference with Macron.
European officials say that in any peace-deal scenario, Ukraine's first line of defense against any future Russian aggression would be Ukraine's own army. The 27-nation European Union is pressing ahead with a so-called steel “porcupine strategy” aimed at making Ukraine an even tougher nut for Russia to crack, by strengthening its armed forces and defense industry. Britain is also pledging continued military aid so Ukraine can keep fighting if peace talks fail or a ceasefire is broken.
Macron announced a new package of defense aid for Ukraine that he said was worth 2 billion euros (US$ 2.15 billion) and will include light tanks, air defense and anti-tank missiles and other weaponry and support.
The basket of possible options that European military chiefs and planners have been looking at includes an array of scenarios they have been preparing for government leaders to consider and, ultimately, green light.
A possible option that France has been pushing would be a deployment by coalition members of a sizable force in central Ukraine, somewhere along the Dnieper River, away from frontlines, said a French official who spoke on condition of anonymity about the closed-door discussions.
The official said other possible options being examined are deploying a support force even further away from the fronts, in Ukraine's far west, or in a neighboring country.
British officials have said a force could consist of between 10,000 and 30,000 troops — which would be a considerable effort for nations that shrank their militaries after the Cold War but are now rearming.
AP journalists Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Ukraine, Jill Lawless and Emma Burrows in London and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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Fresh off India's triumphant Champions Trophy campaign, where they clinched the title with a resounding victory over New Zealand in the final, Gautam Gambhir has taken a well-earned break from the game. With the IPL season in full swing, the Indian team's head coach has momentarily stepped away from the high-intensity cricketing action, choosing to spend quality time with his family.
Currently vacationing, Gambhir recently posted a picture alongside his wife and children. But what also caught everyone's attention was a playful jab from his former teammate Yuvraj Singh.
Never one to miss a chance for banter, Yuvraj playfully roasted Gambhir's facial expressions with a witty comment in Hindi: “Tu Na Hasiyo” (You Don't Smile). The remark caught the fans' attention.
A post shared by Gautam Gambhir (@gautamgambhir55)
This isn't the first instance of Yuvraj poking fun at Gambhir's signature seriousness. Back in 2020, when Gambhir posted a stern-faced picture with the caption, “Social distancing since 2003,” Yuvraj had quipped, “The only smile here is the emoji!”
Gambhir and Yuvraj's relationship goes a long way back, with both sharing the senior men's team's dressing room for a long period. The duo played key roles in India's 2007 T20 World Cup win, as well as the ODI World Cup victory four years later.
It was earlier reported that Gambhir could travel with the India A team for their tour to England, which serves as a precursor to the senior team's tour, where it plays five Tests. India endured a disappointing run under Gambhir and Rohit Sharma's duo in Test cricket, facing home series whitewash to New Zealand (0-3), as well as a 3-1 loss in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
India's white-ball run under the duo, however, remains terrific, with the side enjoying an invincible run in the Champions Trophy 2025.
India's tour of England will begin on June 20, with both sides facing off at Headingley. The tour will also kickstart India's fourth campaign at the World Test Championship.
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Indian PhD student Ranjani Srinivasan, who self-reported herself to Canada after her student visa was revoked on allegations of ‘supporting Hamas', is feeling betrayed by Columbia University.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Srinivasan said she never expected her institution to let her down, but that is exactly what she feels it did.
“I spent five years at Columbia, working – I don't know – maybe 100 hours a week sometimes. I never expected the institution to let me down. But it did,” she said in the interview.
Srinivasan, who was pursuing her doctorate in public planning before the Donald Trump administration accused her of ‘supporting Hamas' and revoked her visa that was renewed in December last year, is still hopeful the university will consider her appeal and reinstate her enrollment.
“I hope Columbia comes to its senses and re-enrolls me. All the requirements for my PhD are complete, and whatever is left, I don't even need to be in the US for. So I'm trying to appeal to Columbia to do that,” she added.
Ranjani Srinivasan, a doctoral student at Columbia University in New York, first got an email from the United States consulate in Chennai on March 5, stating that her student visa had been revoked.
While the 37-year-old was still trying to make sense of it all, contacting her PhD group and the university authorities, ICE agents showed up at her door.
US homeland security secretary Kristi Noem accused her of being a “terrorist sympathiser” in a post on X.
Srinivasan flew out of New York to Canada on March 11, four days before Noem's post, after concluding that she could be arrested. A grainy security camera footage from New York's LaGuardia Airport showing her dragging a suitcase went viral throughout the world.
Srinivasan is currently living with her friends and family in Canada, still hoping to complete her course from Columbia.
A young child slipped through the fencing outside the White House on Wednesday before being spotted by Secret Service officers. The entire incident was caught on camera. It shows one of the agents carrying the child wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt across the lawn and handing him off to another officer, who then takes the kid to his parents. In a statement, Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said the young trespasser squeezed through the fence on the North Lawn around 6:30 pm, about an hour after President Donald Trump announced planned auto tariffs from the Oval Office.
"Just after 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division officers observed a child slip through the White House north fence. Officers quickly reunited the child with their parents without incident," Mr Guglielmi said in a social media post.
Just after 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division officers observed a child slip through the White House north fence. Officers quickly reunited the child with their parents without incident. https://t.co/MeEEJxvLsq
Since being shared online, the video has amassed thousands of views and likes. Social media users were amused by the incident.
"Wow. He just wanted to play with X Musk for a minute. Playdate! Playdate! Playdate!" wrote one user. "Hahaha I enjoyed Agent 1, who is clearly not a dad yet, passing him off to Agent 2, who almost certainly is," commented another.
"That was actually a midget spy testing the defense of the secret service," jokingly wrote a third user. "wow... that is nuts! Great Job Secret Service! This kid has one heck of story for show and tell!" said another.
The 18-acre White House complex is secured by uniformed officers, special agents, mission support personnel and advanced protective systems.
Also read | "Vladimir Putin Will Die Soon": Zelensky Claims Amid Health Rumours
According to the New York Post, this is not the first time a child slipped through the White House fencing. In 2023, a toddler squeezed through the metal fencing, also on the North lawn, and was later reunited with his parents, who were briefly questioned.
More recently, a man dressed in all black got stuck while climbing the security fencing outside the White House. The incident took place last month. A tourist filmed the man as he charged toward the fence on the South Grounds and started climbing to the top. Witnesses said they heard the man say "f*** it" before he tried to climb over. Authorities did not release the identity of the climber or share his motive for scaling the White House fence.
Six tourists were killed and 39 rescued when a submarine sank in the Egyptian Red Sea, the local governor confirms
The accident happened around one kilometre off the coast of Hurghada
The governor says the tourists were from Russia, Norway, Sweden, and India - all six who died were Russian
In November, a tourist boat called the Sea Story sank in Hurghada, leaving 11 dead or missing - including a British couple - and 35 survivors
The question is why these incidents keep happening, writes Sally Nabil from Cairo
One person who went on the submarine last month tells us he "never felt unsafe"
Are you in Hurghada? Get in touch with us here
Edited by Owen Amos and Imogen James, with Sally Nabil reporting from Cairo
Just last week, tourist Roy Gillson took a trip on a Sindbad submarine in Egypt.
He says they enjoyed the trip, but "looking back we had no safety drill whatsoever".
(We earlier heard from a different tourist who said they listened to a recorded safety briefing).
Watch his footage from their trip below:
This video can not be played
Videos show what it's like inside a Sindbad submarine, days before incident
It's still not known what caused the Sindbad submarine to sink. One report, from the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, suggested the vessel may have hit a reef at a depth of around 20 metres.
A woman now tells Russian outlet Ren TV, in a phone interview, that water flowed into hatches as passengers boarded the submarine.
Ekaterina says as they took their reserved seats, water started "pouring in" as two hatches were open.
She says it was as if the submarine had fallen off "whatever it was holding on to". Earlier, we learned that tourists are taken out to the submarine, which is docked at a floating platform.
Some managed to swim out and some didn't, she says. Her daughter and mother are in hospital, she adds.
We're beginning to get details of those injured and killed in today's incident.
Two people who died are from the village of Urussu, in the Russian republic of Tatarstan, the republic's authorities tell Russian media.
They were married doctors, and their two daughters are in hospital, the authorities add.
As a reminder, the Red Sea governor earlier said all six who died are Russian citizens.
A Sindbad submarine (not the vessel lost) in Hurghada today
We still don't know what caused the Sindbad submarine to sink in the Red Sea.
But according to a Telegram post from the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, "unconfirmed reports" say the submarine hit a reef and lost pressure.
The collision happened at a depth of 20 metres (65 feet), the post adds. The company website says it takes tourists to a maximum depth of 25 metres.
The post adds that all excursions and ticket sales for the tours have been suspended, and all other recreational submersible dives off the Hurghada coast have been cancelled.
We've been receiving pictures from people who have been on the Sindbad excursion in recent weeks.
These are from one of the two submarines the company says it owns - we don't know if this is the specific submarine involved in today's incident.
We've spoken to Dr James Aldridge, from Bristol, who took a trip on the submarine last month.
This is how he described the excursion:
First, tourists are taken out on a boat to the submarine, which is at a floating dock.
There are two entry points, he says, and the tourists then climb into the vessel. Inside, he describes it as modern, clean, and well-maintained.
Once inside, the tourists sit down on a cushion next to their assigned window and listened to a recorded safety briefing. He says it wasn't overcrowded.
They toured the reef for 40 minutes, and Aldridge says he "never felt unsafe". He says they never went to the depths of 25 metres that the company says is possible.
Divers who went alongside the submarine used fish food to attract marine life, so there would be more for the guests to see.
They were not issued life jackets, and "at all times the staff were professional and knowledgeable", he says.
Sally NabilReporting from Cairo
We don't know yet what caused this submarine to sink. But the question is why these incidents are still happening frequently in this area.
The frequency of these tragedies raises questions about the security measures employed by the local authorities, especially by excursion companies.
The Red Sea resort is a very popular tourist destination - but this tragedy will deal a very, very heavy blow to the industry, which is a lifeline to the Egyptian economy.
The industry is also highly dependent on Russian tourists, and all those who died were Russian, the local governor says.
Wael HusseinReporting from Cairo
We're getting more information from the Red Sea governor, Amr Hanafy.
He says there were 45 passengers on board, plus five Egyptian crew.
The passengers were from Russia, India, Norway and Sweden. The six killed were Russians, he says.
Earlier, the Russian embassy in Egypt said all the passengers were Russian.
We can bring you more now from the Red Sea governor.
Amr Hanafy says the submarine involved had a valid licence and the crew leader obtained the correct "scientific certificates".
The company, Sindbad, has been operating for several years and owns two submarines, according to its website.
In a new update, the Red Sea area governor says six tourists are dead and 39 others have been rescued.
There are no tourists missing, Amr Hanafy adds in an update on Facebook.
The authorities are investigating the cause of the accident, he says.
Hanafy praises the rescue teams involved in the incident, and says they will continue to coordinate with the relevant embassies and parties.
A video alongside the post shows him speaking to families and individuals in hospital, wrapped in blankets.
There's a lot of boating activity around Hurghada harbour near where the submarine sank.
The below video shows vessels on the water today, as well as the clear skies and calm conditions we mentioned earlier.
This video can not be played
A Russian official in Hurghada, Viktor Voropaev, says at least five Russians were killed in the submarine accident, including two children.
Voropaev - Russia's consul general in the Red Sea resort - was speaking to Tass, the state-owned Russian news agency.
BBC reporters in Egypt say six people are feared dead. Earlier, the Russian embassy in Egypt said four people had been killed, and that all passengers on board were Russian.
Emma PengellyReporter
We're now seeing more pictures from Hurghada, where ambulances have gathered after a tourist submarine sank off the popular resort's coast.
In the second image, you can see a second Sindbad vessel docked in the harbour. This isn't the same vessel involved in this morning's incident.
A tourist staying at the Sindbad Club in Hurghada, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells the BBC: "We
heard the ambulance sirens which lasted a long time and there are still at
least three ambulances at the harbour."
Darren BettBBC weather presenter
Weather observations are very sparse in the Red Sea. There
is a weather site at Hurghada that was reporting very light winds – around 5mph
and no low cloud early this morning.
It can be windy in the Red Sea when a northerly wind blows
and the seas become rough. But it looks like the weather was quite calm this
morning with wave heights nearby around 0.2m, so no sign of any rough waters.
As we've been reporting, a number of people have been taken to hospital following the incident.
In new pictures, we can see police waiting outside the Egyptian Hospital in Hurghada. Sources earlier told the BBC that nine people were injured, four critically.
Joe InwoodBBC correspondent
I've been hearing from Dr Simon Boxall, from the National Oceanography Centre at Southampton University.
He's been telling me a bit more about these types of vessels. According to the tour company Sindbad, the submarines were built in Finland - Boxall says he isn't sure if this is true but if it is, they will have been built to very high standards.
There is an "intense nature" in operating these vessels, he adds.
If a submarine runs into a problem, it will either surface quickly, or get the passengers out as soon as possible before it drops down too far, Boxall explains.
It is still early days, and we are yet to hear of any potential cause of this incident.
But Boxall says Egypt is facing a "crisis on at the moment, in terms of safety on some of these tourist vessels".
Whatever the cause of today's incident, Boxall says it's a "terrible tragedy".
As we've been reporting, a tourist submarine has sunk in Egypt. Here are the details:
Who: At least six people are feared dead, with nine injured and 29 rescued, sources tell the BBC. All passengers on board are Russian, according to Moscow's embassy in Egypt.
What: The vessel is believed to be operated by Sindbad Submarines, and the submarine has been operating tourist trips for several years.
When: The incident happened this morning at around 10:00 local time, according to the Russian embassy.
Where: Sindbad, the submarine, sank close to the harbour in Hurghada, a popular tourist resort in the Red Sea known for its beaches and coral reefs.
How: We don't know yet what caused the submarine to sink, but our teams in London and Egypt are trying to find out what happened.
Sally NabilReporting from Cairo
It's
the second incident in the Red Sea in around six months.
Last November,
a boat named Sea Story carrying more than 40 people also sank near the
Egyptian resort of Marsa Allam, with 11 people unaccounted, or presumed dead.
Today, six people are feared to have died, with others injured, after a submarine sank in Hurghada, another famous tourist
resort.
Reasons behind this latest tragedy are not clear yet. But the frequency
of such incidents raise big questions about safety measures employed by local
authorities, in such popular tourist sea excursion areas, and whether or not proper safety checks are being carried out.
Back in November, Egyptian officials
were talking about rough weather conditions causing the Sea Story to sink.
But
the BBC spoke to survivors, who cast doubt on the claim.
It's a pretty warm, sunny day in Egypt now. We don't know yet what the authorities will say caused the incident in Hurghada.
The local governorate's office in Hurghada tells the Reuters news agency that six foreigners, whose nationalities are unknown, were killed in the Red Sea submarine incident.
That tallies with the BBC's reporters in Egypt, who also say six people are feared dead.
The Russian embassy in Egypt says at least four people were killed, and that all tourists on board were Russian.
If you're in the area around Egypt's Hurghada, we'd like to hear from you as this incident develops.
You can contact us in the following ways:
Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
The Serbian government is preparing for a visit from a group of Russian experts to probe allegations regarding the deployment of a “sonic weapon” during recent mass protests, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin has announced.
The opposition Freedom and Justice Party (SSP) has accused security forces of utilizing a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), a crowd-control technology originally designed by the US Navy, which poses a significant risk of hearing damage. The incident occurred on March 15 during mass protests in the capital, Belgrade, which the government has claimed are foreign-instigated efforts to undermine its authority through popular unrest.
In an interview with RTS on Wednesday, Vulin rejected the claims that LRAD had been deployed and announced that specialists from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) will arrive in Serbia to conduct an inquiry.
“Their task is to clarify what transpired. We have nothing to conceal,” Vulin stated, emphasizing Belgrade's commitment to a thorough investigation in hopes of moving beyond the controversy.
President Aleksandar Vucic's government has alleged that the US “deep state” and European intelligence agencies are inciting the wave of protests in retaliation for Serbia's refusal to endorse anti-Russian policies. The EU has insisted that Belgrade align its foreign policy with Brussels, before a Serbian bid to join the bloc could proceed.
The ongoing protests stem from a tragic event in Novi Sad last November, where 16 lives were lost due to the collapse of a concrete canopy at a railway station, leading to multiple resignations among senior officials.
The demonstration on March 15 represented the peak of the pressure campaign. Claims of the “sonic weapon” deployment were propagated by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP), a USAID-funded NGO supported by George Soros' Open Society Foundations.
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The White House has installed two Trump loyalists at the federal HR agency after allies of billionaire Elon Musk blindsided top Trump officials with a surprise government-wide email last month demanding workers summarize five things they achieved at work in the previous week.
Billy Long, President Donald Trump's nominee to run the Internal Revenue Service, and Douglas Hoelscher, a former aide to Trump during his 2017-2021 presidential term, are now serving as senior advisors at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the agency confirmed to Reuters.
Two sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the men had started earlier this month.
They were brought in to ensure better policy coordination between the White House and the agency, which is playing a central role in Trump's overhaul of the federal bureaucracy, a third source said.
One of the sources said the arrival of the two men was due in part to an OPM email sent on February 22 titled "What did you do last week?" that demanded all civilian government employees account for what they had done the previous week.
The Saturday email, which was accompanied by a post on X by Musk warning workers they risked termination if they did not respond, caused consternation among civil servants and tensions within Trump's cabinet. It also frustrated White House officials, who had not signed off on the email, as Reuters previously reported.
OPM did not respond to a request for comment on the reason behind Long and Hoelscher's appointments but said in a statement it is "continuing to bring in top talent to support President Trump's mission and the federal workforce" and ensure "strong leadership" at the agency.
Hoelscher, Long and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A White House spokesman declined to comment on details of the story laid out by Reuters, but said the Trump administration was committed to executing the President's agenda.
"We want to rid the federal government of waste, fraud and abuse," the spokesman said.
Overhaul
Musk moved swiftly to take over OPM after Trump was sworn in on January 20 and appointed the tech billionaire to lead an unprecedented effort to reshape and downsize the government. Musk, a top donor to Trump, has elevated the once-obscure agency and made it the engine room of his sweeping cost-cutting drive.
The agency, led by Acting Director Chuck Ezell on paper, is informally overseen by Musk allies including Anthony Armstrong, a former Morgan Stanley banker who helped him acquire Twitter, according to two of the sources. Amanda Scales, who oversaw human resources work at Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI, serves as chief of staff.
Ezell said in a statement that he was proud to lead OPM and took that responsibility seriously, having been appointed by Trump.
"Under my leadership, we've taken decisive action to remove bureaucratic barriers, strengthen interagency collaboration, and ensure that federal employees are supported and empowered to serve the American people," he said.
Scales and Armstrong did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A January 28 OPM email offering buyouts to all federal workers blindsided White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and led to a push for better communication between the agency and the White House, Reuters previously reported.
However, the February email demanding workers account for what they had done on a weekly basis caused new tensions and fueled confusion among government workers over how to handle it. Leaders at several agencies, including the State Department, the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security told employees to ignore the email.
The disquiet among some cabinet secretaries forced Trump to clarify Musk's role at a cabinet meeting, where he said they, not Musk, had the final say on staffing and policy at their agencies. The White House has denied that Trump was surprised by Musk's "five things" email and said he had signed off on it.
Long, a former auctioneer and a Republican congressman from Missouri, was an early supporter of Trump. He is still awaiting Senate confirmation to lead the IRS.
Hoelscher, who served as director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs during Trump's first term, is chair of the American Leadership Initiative at the America First Policy Institute, a right-wing think tank that produced a blueprint of conservative policies for Trump's second term.
Among the policy recommendations is a plan to strip federal workers of virtually all employment protections to make it very easy to fire poor performers.
"Quite frankly, one rogue bureaucrat is one too many," Hoelscher said in a video promoting the project.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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Europe's water is under increasing pressure. Pollution, droughts, floods are taking their toll on our drinking water, lakes, rivers and coastlines. Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters, how our wastewater can be better managed, and to discover some of the best water solutions. Video reports, an animated explainer series and live debate - find out why Water Matters, from Euronews.
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Radio Schuman
This is Radio Schuman, your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news, insights, and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond.
Brussels, My Love?
From the economy to the climate and the EU's role in world affairs, this talk show sheds light on European affairs and the issues that impact on our daily lives as Europeans. Tune in to understand the ins and outs of European politics.
No Comment
No agenda, no argument, no bias, No Comment. Get the story without commentary.
My Wildest Prediction
Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries
The Big Question
Deep dive conversations with business leaders
Euronews Tech Talks
Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives. With explanations, engaging Q&As, and lively conversations, the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society.
Water Matters
Europe's water is under increasing pressure. Pollution, droughts, floods are taking their toll on our drinking water, lakes, rivers and coastlines. Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters, how our wastewater can be better managed, and to discover some of the best water solutions. Video reports, an animated explainer series and live debate - find out why Water Matters, from Euronews.
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Euronews spoke to Israeli survivors of the 7 October Hamas attack about their increasing concern for the 24 living hostages still held in Gaza.
After bringing an end to a two-month ceasefire that saw the release of dozens of Israeli hostages from Gaza in return for nearly 1,800 Palestinian prisoners, Israel is now reportedly planning a new, more significant ground operation in Gaza that could involve occupying large portions of the Strip.
Almost a year and a half since Hamas launched its 7 October attack which killed around 1,200 Israelis and ignited the ongoing war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to be more determined and more empowered than ever to achieve the stated goals of dismantling of Hamas' governing and military capabilities and removing any future threat from Gaza.
But questions are increasingly being asked, including from Israeli society, whether this would help bring back the hostages still being held by Hamas or put their lives in even more danger, while at the same time causing more devastation and more death in the Strip.
Ron Segev, a survivor of Hamas' attack on the Nova music festival, says releasing the hostages is his only goal.
"We will not move on until everyone comes back home. I don't know about the goals of the government, but for the people, that's the main goal. The only goal," Segev told Euronews.
The daughter of Thomas Hand spent 50 days in Hamas captivity before she was released during a brief ceasefire in November 2023. He doesn't believe diplomacy can help release the hostages.
"The only reason why we got the first phase (of the ceasefire) was through military action, where (Hamas) felt that they were going to be wiped out," Hand said.
On Tuesday, hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza protested to call for an end to the war, urging Hamas to make concessions.
"I'm glad they're trying to make a stand. They were doing it with their faces uncovered, which is a very risky thing," Hand told Euronews.
Civilians "risking their lives" to go against Hamas brings hope, he added. However, Hand remains sceptical that standing up to the militant group would make a difference.
"They are civilians, let's say, going against an armed terrorist organisation, they would be crushed. They don't have a chance, no," he said.
"Maybe in the future if the UN, Egyptian army, Israeli army go in as an international army, they could back them up and maybe we can get rid of Hamas that way."
Earlier this month, Israel halted deliveries of food, fuel, medicine and humanitarian aid to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians.
Israel has vowed to escalate the war until Hamas returns the 59 hostages it still holds, of which 24 are believed to be alive at this time. Israel is also demanding that the group give up power, disarm and send its leaders into exile.
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Israelis have taken to the streets for several days to protest the government's failure to secure a deal to free hostages held in Gaza and its recent moves to fire top legal and security officials, which many view as further steps that threaten the balance of power in Israel.
Firefighters are racing to save people and ancient artefacts from the largest wildfires in South Korea's history, which have killed at least 27 people so far
Tens of thousands have also been displaced in the blazes, which started in the south-east on 21 March
Most of those killed were in their 60s and 70s, local officials say
Eyewitnesses described apocalyptic scenes as fires engulfed their homes, with one man telling the BBC the damage in his city has been "devastating"
Authorities believe human activities started multiple fires, but strong winds and dry land allowed them to spread quickly
The winds also make it dangerous for helicopters to operate - one crashed while fighting the fires on Tuesday
The fires have gutted a 1,300-year-old temple in Uiseong city and are threatening other cultural sites
This video can not be played
Watch: Historic Buddhist temples burn in South Korea wildfires
Edited by Sean Seddon, with reporting from Jake Kwon, David Oh, Hyunjung Kim, and Suhnwook Lee in Seoul
At least 27 people have died in what have grown into the largest wildfires in South Korea's history. Most of those who have lost their lives were in their 60s and 70s - in other words, those who struggled to escape the fast-moving infernos.
The figure includes three care home residents who died when their car was engulfed by the flames as they tried to escape, local media reported.
Tens of thousands have been displaced and efforts are continuing to protect ancient historical sites which lie in the path of the five fires which are continuing to rage.
BBC Weather forecasters have analysed the data to see if any relief is on the horizon. There is some good news: temperatures will fall and some rain will arrive - but it is feared it will not be enough to stop the fires in their tracks.
We're pausing our live coverage for the time being but you can read more analysis on the cause and fallout of the unprecedented natural disaster elsewhere on the BBC News website.
Four more areas have been declared special disaster zones, meaning the government will channel more damage recovery and victim relief into those places.
The latest areas to be added to the list are Gyeongbuk Andong, Cheongsong, Yeongyang, and Yeongdeok forest.
A number of other areas, including Sancheong, Ulju and Ulsan, had already been made special disaster zones.
Korea's forest service says five major fires are continuing to burn.
President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by parliament in December
The South Korean government is grappling with the fires at a time of great uncertainty over the country's leadership.
Earlier this week, the attempted impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was thrown out by the Supreme Court, meaning he resumed his role as the country's acting leader a matter of days ago.
Meanwhile, the wait continues to hear from the court over whether it will uphold the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived declaration of martial law last year, which cast the country into an unprecedented political crisis.
Yoon has also been charged with insurrection, which is punishable by life in prison or death.
This chaotic period has also seen the government having to grapple with the fatal Jeju Air passenger plane crash that killed 179 people.
Ben RichLead weather presenter
A cold front
moving southwards across the region is bringing an end to the
exceptional spring heat that has helped to fuel the wildfires.
Temperatures
that have been well above the seasonal norm will fall dramatically and will
actually be a few degrees below average over the next few days.
However, what
is really needed is heavy and persistent rain.
While some
rain is falling across parts of South Korea right now, it will continue to be
mostly light and patchy in nature. Crucially, it will also be quite
hit-and-miss, so while some places will get a decent downpour others are likely
to remain fairly dry.
Scattered wintry showers are expected over the weekend, but not everywhere will see them.
This
certainly doesn't look like a significant spell of really wet weather - which
is what would be needed to break the ongoing drought conditions.
Strong winds have also been helping to spread wildfires, and the forecast remains windy over the next few
days.
The burnt remains of the Goun Temple in Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province - one of several it is feared stand in the way of flames
The military has been drafted in to help put out fires in Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province
A helicopter drops water over a forest in Uiseong, North Gyeongsang, as work continues to tackle the wildfires
Rain has begun to fall in parts of Uiseong County in North Gyeongsang Province, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.
The area has been among the hardest hit by the fires. The 1,300-year-old Gounsa temple, which is located in Uiseong city, was destroyed by the blaze.
However, as we reported earlier, forecasters fear the amount of rain expected will not be enough to stop the fires spreading.
We'll have a closer look at the impact the weather could have on fuelling or containing the fires shortly.
If you're just joining our ongoing live coverage of the deadly South Korea wildfires, here are the main details you need to know:
Hosu Lee and Koh EweReporting from Seoul and Singapore
As flames rage on in South Korea's south-east, the scorched remains of the 1,300-year-old Gounsa temple in Uiseong have become perhaps the most prominent symbol of the destruction.
As we reported earlier, workers are scrambling to move artefacts out of the flames' reach, as other temples come under threat as well.
Back in 2022, South Korea's fire department urged "extreme caution" in preventing fires breaking out at temples, noting that the wooden structures of traditional temples in the country make them highly vulnerable to flames.
If the initial firefighting efforts fail, a small blaze can quickly escalate into a major fire, authorities warned.
Additionally, many traditional temples are located in mountainous or high-altitude areas, which makes it difficult for fire engines to access them quickly—posing limitations for swift firefighting responses.
In some cases, trees that retain more water, and are therefore more fire resistant, have been planted around historic temples in an attempt to deter burning.
Half of South Korea's forest fires in the past decade have occurred in Spring
This deadly inferno comes as South Korea enters its wildfire season, which typically takes place in the Spring or Autumn.
There are about 546 forest fires every year – and in the past decade, half of these have occurred between March and May. A quarter have occurred in March.
Authorities say that in the Autumn, combustible items like fallen leaves, dried out by the sun, raise the risk of forest fires. However, Autumn winds are generally not as strong as in Spring, limiting the spread of the fires.
The rise of average temperatures has also seen more fires breaking out during Winter, authorities say.
“Even before these wildfires, the country had been experiencing drier-than-usual conditions with less rainfall than average," Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said yesterday. "This year alone, there have already been 244 wildfires—2.4 times more than the same period last year.”
Simon AtkinsonAustralia producer, BBC News
Australia is no stranger to wildfires – or "bushfires" as
they call them here – and its rural firefighters, made up largely of
volunteers, have honed their skills over summer-after-summer of blazes.
The country is often called on to help others going
through fire disasters by sending expertise, firefighters and equipment. Perhaps
most notably, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service's Large Air Tanker
aircraft is regularly sent to help during the US wildfire season.
South Korea has not reached out to Australia for help fighting off the wildfires
So far, though, there has been no request for assistance from South Korea, a spokesperson for Australia's National Emergency Management Agency told the BBC.
During Australia's 2019-2020 Black Summer fires, which killed 33 people, South Korea was one of several countries to provide support – including US$1m in aid through the Red Cross, help with satellite imagery and a delegation to offer support for the country's recovery.
Rachel LeeBBC Korean
Everyday South Koreans are supporting firefighters throughout the disaster zone
Kim Hyun-jung, who lives in Seoul, travelled three hours to Uiseong County where the wildfire initially broke out. Despite the distance, he told BBC Korean that he felt compelled to volunteer.
"I felt terrible after watching the news. I thought I had to come and help, so I took a train and came here," he said.
When Kim arrived at Daegu Station, near Uiseong, he could already smell smoke in the air.
"I was shocked. I told the taxi driver to take me to the nearest place where I could assist firefighters and police at the scene," said Kim, who has since been helping to prepare meals for firefighters.
"There are many people here willing to help, not just me," he added. "Staff from the forest service are constantly going back and forth, transporting helicopter fuel. Everyone is working around the clock."
Ben RichLead Weather Presenter
The weather rarely causes wildfires on its own, but it can give conditions that help wildfires to take hold and spread.
That is exactly what has happened in South Korea. Temperatures several degrees above the seasonal norm have combined with dry ground, strong winds and low humidity to fuel fires that authorities say were ignited by human activity.
Scientists have been carrying out so-called rapid attribution studies to assess what part climate change has played in creating these conditions.
Analysis by Climate Central, external suggests that the high temperatures recorded in parts of South Korea over the last week have been made up to five times more likely by global warming.
Human-induced climate change is widely recognised as making wildfires more likely and severe
Meanwhile, researchers at ClimaMeter, external say the fires are associated with "exceptional meteorological conditions" that have mostly been strengthened by human-induced climate change.
This ties in with the findings of the IPCC, external – the UN's climate change body – which says the weather conditions needed for wildfires to spread are becoming more likely around the globe.
South Korea's interior ministry said in a statement on Thursday that as of 16:00 local time (07:00 GMT), the wildfires have killed an estimated 27 people and injured 32.
Prior to the update, 26 people had been confirmed killed and 30 injured.
BBC Visual Journalism Team
The largest wildfires in South Korea's recorded history have engulfed more than 35,000 hectares within the space of a week.
Tens of thousands have been displaced in the blazes, which broke out in Sancheong county on 21 March.
Wildfires have engulfed much of North Gyeongsang Province, home to mountain ranges and South Korea's largest concentration of pine forests
South Korea's wildfires have already exceeded the scale of the recent Southern California and Western Japan wildfires combined
The wildfires in South Korea, which started on 21 March and have killed at least 26 people, have since spread to cover more than 36,000 hectares - larger than recent wildfires that have similarly made headlines and sent panic rippling through local communities.
In January, the Southern California wildfires that tore through 23,000 hectares of land in and around Los Angeles killed 29 people.
Wildfires in the northern Japanese city of Ofunato earlier this month torched more than 2,600 hectares and killed one person. Thousands were evacuated during those fires, which were the country's worst in half a century.
New fires have also broken out this week in western Japan, destroying 15 buildings and burning through a cumulative 900 hectares.
Experts say that climate change has amplified wildfires, especially in temperate areas, making them more frequent and larger.
South Korea's disaster chief Lee Han-gyeong said on Thursday that the country was "witnessing the reality of climate crisis like never before".
Ben RichLead Weather Presenter
The weather forecast is predicting patchy rain in the coming days
The exceptional spring heat that has helped fuel South Korea's wildfires is set to ease, with temperatures forecast to drop below the seasonal average over the next couple of days.
That change is being driven by a cold front which is moving south-eastwards at the moment, bringing some outbreaks of much-needed rain, and even some snow over high ground.
However, the rain will continue to be patchy and quite hit-and-miss – so while a few places will get a decent soaking others are, unfortunately, likely to remain fairly dry.
Beyond that the weather remains colder, but without much prolonged rain or snow in the forecast.
Rachel LeeBBC Korean
As the wind is not currently blowing toward Uiseong, some residents have come out to support the emergency crews.
Among them is Kang Eun-joo, who has volunteered to support firefighters.
"The fire isn't just in one place - it's breaking out in multiple areas at the same time. Firefighters are being dispatched across all these different locations," she said.
When asked about the physical demands of her work, she said "it's nothing compared to what firefighters are going through, or evacuees who've lost their homes".
She also said the wind is making the situation unpredictable.
Thousands of firefighters have been deployed to contain the fires, and are being assisted in places by volunteers
"Volunteers are keeping a close eye on the news," she explained. "If the wind changes direction and heads toward their hometown, they immediately stop what they're doing and rush back to their homes. That's how tense things are here."
At one point, a firefighter briefly stopped by to collect water from volunteers before quickly returning to the scene.
"The situation is complicated," he said. "Even if we manage to extinguish the fire in one area, flames often reappear from behind. It's difficult to say how effective our efforts are. Rain is desperately needed right now."
Jake KwonReporting from Seoul
Firefighters spray water on thatched roof and walls as the wildfire approaches Hahoe village
Significant effort has
been put into ensuring the safety of Hahoe - a beautiful and quaint traditional folk village.
The fires were mere miles away from this UNESCO
heritage site on Wednesday night.
Like most pre-modern villages, everything in Hahoe is
made of flammable material. Firefighters sprayed flame retardant on the
thatched roofs and wooden columns. But the area is not in the clear.
Days earlier, a
7th century Buddhist temple burned down completely. These are places that survived all the major disasters in this country's history, including
several wars like the Korean War.
For many Koreans, destruction by wildfire would have been the least
expected fate for these treasured locations.
Richard Kim and Hyunjung KimBBC Korean
The main reason this wildfire spread so rapidly was the strong winds at the beginning. In the early stages of the fire, gusts reached up to 15 metres per second, leading to frequent occurrences of fire spotting.
Fire spotting refers to embers being carried by the wind for tens to hundreds of meters, or even over 2km, igniting new fires in distant locations.
North Gyeongsang Province, where this wildfire occurred, also contains South Korea's largest concentration of pine forests, which are particularly vulnerable to wildfires.
Huge swathes of forest have been torched in the fires
“Pine trees are beneficial in that they grow well even in dry areas, establishing themselves first and creating dense forests that allow other trees to thrive," said Lee Byung-Doo, head of the Forest Disaster and Environment Research Division at the National Institute of Forest Science.
Lee also noted, however, that "because pine trees contain resin, when a wildfire occurs the resin acts like fuel, causing the fire to burn more intensely and for a longer duration".
Furthermore, pine trees retain their leaves throughout winter, making them susceptible to ‘crown fires'—wildfires that spread by igniting the dense canopy of branches and leaves. This has contributed to the rapid and extensive spread of the flames over the past week.
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The US Embassy warned a key immigrant group about visa overstay. In a stern message issued earlier this week, officials said that overstaying could result in a ‘permanent ban on traveling to the United States'. This comes as President Donald Trump's administration has paused processing of green card applications to ‘do more vetting', CBS News first reported, citing sources.
The report added that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) asked its officials to suspend processing of requests for legal permanent residency submitted by immigrants granted refugee or asylum status.
Read More: Donald Trump threatens Canada, EU with more tariffs if ‘they harm US economically'
Amid the uncertainty around visas and immigration, the US mission in Nigeria warned people about ‘overstaying'.
“If you overstay your U.S. visa, you could face a permanent ban on traveling to the United States. Consular officers have full access to your immigration history and will know about past violations. There is no such thing as an “honest mistake” – it is your responsibility to use your visa correctly," a message posted on the mission's social media handles read.
The 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) estimated that 712,294 residents of the US were of Nigerian ancestry.
Read More: Who is the most popular politician in the US? It's not Donald Trump, poll shows
Meanwhile, an audio clip of President Trump announcing visa restrictions for some Nigerian professionals went viral on social media last month. However, Reuters cited AI forensics experts to report that it was probably AI-generated.
In the audio, Trump could be heard saying that he is temporarily limiting US visas for Nigerian professionals, including doctors, nurses, engineers and ‘others in essential fields'.
"For Nigeria to become the world leader it has the potential to be it needs its doctors in its hospitals, its engineers on its infrastructure projects, its teachers in its classrooms, and its entrepreneurs in its economy," he could be heard further adding. We could not find any such claim in Trump's speeches. The White House did not respond to the viral audio.
As the war in Gaza continues, a group of Israeli teens are saying no to the draft, a requirement for most secular Jews and other minorities over the age of 18. Since the war began, a dozen of these so-called "refuseniks" have publicly refused to enlist in the Israeli army, citing conscientious grounds. Their protest comes at a price: Some have served over 100 days in prison for their beliefs. And more are planning to follow suit. CNN followed the group to a weekly Tel Aviv pro-democracy protest where they hoped to draw attention to why they are refusing to fight.
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Google employees questioned company leadership about smaller salary hikes at a recent all-hands meeting, Business Insider has reported.
Google's compensation structure generally includes a base salary, equity awards, and, in some cases, bonuses. At Google's monthly TGIF meetings, employees get the chance to submit and vote on questions for leadership. This week, one of the top-voted questions centred on why some employees saw a drop in their refreshed stock grants and overall compensation, even as the company delivered strong financial results.
According to a transcript of the meeting shared with Business Insider, some employees expressed frustration over smaller pay bumps.
John Casey, Google's VP of global compensation and benefits, answered the question at the all-hands meeting. He reportedly informed employees that over 80% of Google staff saw a year-on-year increase in their 2025 compensation.
However, he noted that some Googlers in less technical roles in certain locations received smaller equity packages this year to align pay with local market conditions.
A Google spokesperson also told Business Insider that the company aligns its salaries to local markets. This is a stance that Google has maintained for years. In 2021, a company spokesperson told Reuters: “Our compensation packages have always been determined by location, and we always pay at the top of the local market based on where an employee works from.” The Google spokesperson added that employees' pay differs from city to city and state to state.
Casey also said that Google's compensation structure is set up to reward high performers.
However, the issue of smaller salary hikes has clearly left some employees frustrated. On the anonymous workplace forum Blind, one person claiming to be a Google employee said that raises at the company are “sh**” and that he himself received a hike of just 3% - which barely keeps up with the increasing cost of living. The person called this salary hike a “spit in the face.”
(Also read: Indian-origin techie reveals 6 takeaways from her first 6 months working at Google)
The Black Swan follows a repentant master criminal as she sets up corrupt clients in front of hidden cameras. But is she really reformed – and is the director up to his own tricks?
The trap was laid in a rented office: two rooms in downtown Copenhagen, furnished without a whisper of Scandi style. If it wasn't for a Frida Kahlo print on one wall, the premises might have felt as impersonal and stark as a confessional. That, in any event, was what it became. For six months, beginning in mid-2022, a parade of people – members of motorcycle gangs, entrepreneurs, lawyers, real-estate barons, politicians – trooped through to recount their sins to Amira Smajic. They didn't come for expiation. They knew Smajic to be one of them – an outlaw, and in her particular case, a business lawyer so skilled at laundering money that she'd enabled a couple of billion kroner in financial crime over the previous decade. They called her the Ice Queen, because she showed not a flicker of regret for what she did.
In her office, Smajic's visitors bragged about dodging tax, bribing officials or exploiting the bankruptcy code. She offered them coffee and coaxed forth their confidences. Six cameras and three microphones, secreted in power sockets, captured it all – footage that was turned into a documentary called The Black Swan. In its surreptitious method and breathtaking drama, The Black Swan bore all the fingerprints of its director, Mads Brügger, a provocateur who has spent his career searching for bombshells to drop but who had never quite managed it as well as he did here. Denmark's national bird is the Cygnus olor, a swan as white as virtue. The Black Swan, in showing such easy, unbridled formulations of crime, blew up Denmark's idea of itself.
Since airing last May as a five-part series on TV2, Denmark's biggest television network, The Black Swan has sent the country into convulsions. One out of every two Danes has seen the documentary. After its release, a biker-gang member and his accountant were charged with financial crimes and taken into custody; others, including a municipal official, are under investigation. The Danish Bar and Law Society formally apologised to the minister of justice for the conduct of two lawyers caught on camera; they have been either fired or disbarred. A new money-laundering law was introduced to give banks more oversight over “client accounts” – the kind of accounts in which lawyers pool the funds of several clients and transact on their behalf, and that featured in many of the machinations in Smajic's office. In her New Year's speech, Denmark's prime minister suggested biker-gang criminals ought to be stripped of their pension rights – a detail so specific it was surely inspired by The Black Swan.
Other Scandinavian nations also reeled upon watching The Black Swan. After the series premiered in Sweden, a criminologist at Lund University warned: “There's a lot of evidence that it's probably even worse here.” Norwegian civil servants invited Brügger to Oslo in January to talk to them about money-laundering. All of Scandinavia, he believes, has persuaded itself that crime exists only in violent, poor abscesses on the edges of their societies. “The Danes totally subscribe to this idea that Denmark has no corruption, and to the idea of Denmark as the end of the road,” Brügger said, referring to the political scientist Francis Fukuyama's notion that “getting to Denmark” is the goal of every modern democracy. “The Black Swan punctured that hallucination,” Brügger said. “It was Denmark's red-pill moment.”
Sitting in the Copenhagen offices of Frihedsbrevet, or Freedom Letter, an investigative journalism site Brügger co-founded in 2021, I asked him what ordinarily passes for corruption in Denmark. He thought about it for a comically long time. During his boyhood, he recalled, one major scandal involved a small-town mayor being bribed with a bathroom renovation for his home. In 2011, Danish newspapers carried as front-page news the revelation that the prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, was leasing her car from Germany, saving €20 a month and depriving the exchequer of €70 a month in tax. Brügger had told a Greek friend about this brouhaha; the friend stared at him and said: “Back home, we're talking about a politician who was given an entire island as a bribe.” Brügger also related a Frihedsbrevet scoop: Copenhagen's leading newspaper editors had been attending a Proust book club run by a government official, a degree of socialising that Brügger characterised as unhealthy. This was, he was suggesting, the scale of grift Danes were used to – chump-change tax avoidance and highbrow hobnobbing – until The Black Swan came along.
But he was embroidering for effect. There have been graver controversies: a stock price manipulation scheme in 2008; a money-laundering case involving Danske Bank; a $1bn tax fraud case that ended in a 12-year prison sentence for its mastermind last December. Michael Bang Petersen, a political scientist at Aarhus University who studies trust in Danish society, told me that citizens' trust in politicians has fallen by 20 percentage points since 2007. But their trust in fellow citizens has stayed stable. When asked if they can trust most people, an astonishing 80% of Danes reply in the affirmative. Lawyers, roasted as rogues practically everywhere, enjoy a glowing reputation in Denmark, and the welfare state is revered, as inviolable as a cathedral.
“We're taught from a young age that cheating the system is not something you do, because you end up pissing on everybody,” Ane Cortzen, a television presenter and Brügger's sister, told me. “Cheating on taxes is one of the most serious crimes you can commit.” Kalle Johannes Rose, an associate professor at Copenhagen Business School, observed: “Most Danish scandals have to do with the state – public healthcare, public banks, public something or the other. People want to know their high taxes are being spent correctly. If they don't trust the system, they don't pay their taxes, and then the house of cards falls down.” The Black Swan thus invited viewers to dwell on their worst nightmare: a shattering of the trust that underpins not just the smooth functioning of their beloved welfare state but the essence of what makes Danes proud to be Danes.
Amira Smajic wears her dark hair pulled back so tightly that her skin tightens around her high cheekbones. It lends her the severe, credible look of a schoolteacher, doubtless an asset during her years of crime. In her first job after university, at an accounting firm, Smajic quickly sensed they were skating close to the edge of the law. Her employer was subsequently convicted of fraud and forgery – but by then, Smajic had struck out on her own, working with Denmark's biker gangs, which are notorious for criminality and violence. “I specialised in making accounts look as needed – getting white money to turn black and vice versa,” she says in the film. For these services, she earned several hundred thousand kroner a month. “I shopped in Louis Vuitton every week. I bought shoes like other people buy milk.”
In 2020, wearying of the paranoia and guilt of this delinquent life, Smajic thought of going public – through a book, perhaps, or a film. Having met several publishers and journalists, she eventually found her way to Brügger, and she commanded every shred of his attention. Over sushi, she told him so much about her connections with the criminal underworld that “she was clearly the real deal”, Brügger told me. He was instantly smitten, in that half-ardent, half-extractive way that journalists are with their subjects.
Brügger and TV2 first considered investigating the old contracts, emails and texts in Smajic's files. But Michael Nørgaard, TV2's editor-in-chief, said he was aware that Smajic had spent years engaging in fraud and forgery. “Could we believe that the materials she came to us with were intact – that she didn't take out documents to put her in a better light?” he wondered. The idea to open a new office and clandestinely film its operations, Brügger and Nørgaard told me, came from Smajic. In a 2021 email, which Brügger showed me, Smajic excitedly laid out five pages of plans to monetise her past: articles, newsletters, podcasts, an eight-part true-crime show, the documentary, four books, the full panoply of a repentance empire. The arc, Smajic wrote, referring to herself in the third person, would be of “her social and moral redress”.
Brügger says he believed her. Smajic had come to Denmark as a child refugee from Bosnia, along with her family, and on one occasion she told Brügger that her father, who'd died of cancer, would have been disappointed that she'd turned to crime after Denmark had taken her in. “I will never get out of this life if I do nothing,” Smajic says in the first episode, with the air of a woman plotting to burn a bridge even as she flees over it. Before filming began, a security expert talked Smajic through the consequences of making the documentary, Brügger told me. “He didn't spare her. He said she may have to relocate to another country, change her name, or not see her friends any more. She was crying, and I thought: ‘OK, that's it. She's out.' But she insisted on continuing.”
Brügger and Nørgaard knew one more thing about Smajic. She was at the time, and had been for years, a police informant. On her request, they withheld that from the documentary – but they also didn't let the police know in advance about the trap they were setting. In a brief contract, drafted at the outset of production and barely two pages long, Brügger's producer, Peter Engel, stipulated that Smajic would be paid 30,000 kroner (roughly £3,350) a month. Engel said she also agreed to refrain from any actual criminal activity during production. In the opening minutes of The Black Swan, sitting across a desk from Smajic in a room resembling an interrogation chamber, Brügger asks her what the worst outcome of her undertaking could be. She replies: “That someone finds out and I will be liquidated before any of this is shown.”
The suspense of whether Smajic will be unmasked keeps The Black Swan as taut as a bowstring. The documentary's more immediate shocks come from watching people methodically plan to break the law. The crimes range from the paltry to the serious. A man named Wassem, to whom Smajic introduces herself in the first episode, runs a shawarma shop and wants to skip out on tax. Fasar Abrar Raja, a grey-bearded member of a motorcycle gang called Bandidos, helps demolition crews dispose of asbestos and other toxic material without the costly safety measures the law requires. For a fee, he will bribe environmental analysts and local officials to look the other way while he dumps the material in the Danish countryside. Fasar also brings along Martin Malm, a smooth-faced businessman who launders millions of kroner a month through his “invoice factories”: companies that issue fake invoices for services never rendered. (Malm might invoice a nightclub owner for providing bouncers, say; the owner would pay Malm, who'd keep a fee and return the rest to the owner in cash or some other fashion, allowing him to avoid paying tax on it. The bouncers, needless to say, don't exist.)
One of the film's revelations, Brügger says in a voiceover, is the connection “between the nice-looking, everyday citizens and the underworld”. In Smajic's presence, a lawyer named Lise Roulund delivers to Fasar a USB drive full of confidential documents she has obtained from the police – an illegal act in itself. On suspicions of money-laundering, Fasar's bank account has been frozen, so Roulund helps him enact his tax dodges by transferring money in and out of an account she controls. Without lawyers willing to look the other way, criminal activity would seize up, Roulund says. “We're the ones who make it go around.”
Another lawyer, named Nicolai Dyhr, a partner at one of Denmark's most prestigious law firms, is a fount of suggestions on how to exploit the bankruptcy code. He lays out how Wassem could shutter his shawarma business, declare bankruptcy and avoid a tax debt of 2.4m kroner; he even details how Wassem could squeeze additional money out of a government fund that guarantees worker salaries while companies are going through bankruptcy. Malm, the businessman with the invoice factories, also files for bankruptcy, and Dyhr advises him to hide evidence of fraud and deliberately undervalue his businesses. (Later, Dyhr claimed he was “eel-trapping” – leading Malm on to secure him as a client, but with no plans to commit crimes. Dyhr sued TV2, demanding that all covert footage of him be edited out of the film, but lost his case. Fasar denied committing the crimes discussed on camera; Malm told TV2 it “didn't have the whole picture”; Roulund has refused to comment.)
By themselves, the sums of laundered money bandied about run only to a few million pounds, small enough in scale that one expert described it to me as hyggekrim – crime so domestic it's practically cosy. But all these cons purport to show how simple it is to exploit the Danish state. It was one of the earliest lessons of Smajic's career, she says: “The state always pays.”
Some episodes of The Black Swan prickle with violence. On a trip to his native Pakistan, Fasar discusses killing a patient in a hospital – a potential witness in a trial against him. (Nørgaard told me TV2 tipped off the Danish police about Fasar's plans.) After returning to Copenhagen, Fasar storms into Smajic's office, threatening to “crush you with my bare hands” because she has failed to secure a Danish passport for his daughter. Without breaking character, Smajic mollifies him. By the end of the meeting, they're reminiscing about how a mental illness diagnosis concocted years ago has kept Fasar out of prison for drug and arms trafficking offences, and he's laughing along. It's an astonishing performance from Smajic – like watching someone act out Hamlet while walking a high wire.
Then, in the final episode, we learn Smajic is an even more nerveless and consummate actor than we thought – that she has double-crossed Brügger himself.
From one of Smajic's sound recorders, the producers recover a file she has deleted, and discover that she knows Wassem far better than she lets on. His name is not even Wassem, and from their conversation on the file, about transporting cash, she seems to be engaged in an entirely different caper with him, one that Brügger and TV2 know nothing about. Upon investigation, they find she has secretly been running a second office, where they suspect she has been laundering hundreds of thousands of kroner via invoice factories for other clients. (Smajic has said she never facilitated any crimes during this period.) In one case, TV2 claims to have found undiluted fraud: Smajic embezzling 65,000 kroner from a client by forwarding him emails that she'd fabricated, and that appeared to be from the tax authority. Smajic isn't a crook on the mend at all, the film concludes; she's a crook in the thick of committing an assortment of crimes. When she finds out that Brügger and his colleagues know about her side hustles, she demands the documentary be shelved.
All documentaries are artificial: their footage has been carefully threshed and sieved with an eye to telling a story or pushing an argument. The Black Swan, though, relies on the unblinking, real-time gaze of hidden CCTV cameras, so we lull ourselves into thinking that we're seeing the full picture, the full truth. No such thing. Instead, we get evasion upon evasion: Smajic's charade for her clients, Malm cheating the taxman, TV2 withholding their work from the police, Brügger keeping details from his audience. Smajic's final bluff merely confirms what Brügger seems to have believed throughout his career: everywhere, there are conspiracies and lies that he must expose, even if he has to participate in the dissembling himself.
Brügger, who turns 53 in June, is a very tall, very bald man with a very red beard. He never seems to run out of conversational energy; whatever time of day it is, he's likely to be ready to talk for hours, looking at you unblinkingly through his chunky spectacles as he tells you how bizarre or absurd the world really is. When I first met him, at the Frihedsbrevet offices in January, we loitered in the building's courtyard, our pates goose-pimpling over in the Danish winter, so he could finish his cigarette. He warmed us up with fresh gossip. We had originally planned to attend, that evening, a public lecture by three TV2 journalists about The Black Swan. But Smajic had emailed the journalists a few days earlier, promising to show up and ask a few questions of her own, such as: “How does it feel to take credit for a program I pay for with my life (even though I'm still breathing, yes)?” or “How many people have you thrown under the bus against your better judgment to make your story work?”
After the documentary's release, fearing for her safety and that of her young son, Smajic had gone into hiding, so her cameo at the lecture would have been sensational. She would bring “a bunch of friends”, she warned – and then, in a second email, added: “Have you thought about and arranged security for that night … The assessment is that my participation that evening increases the risk for both me, you and the audience.”
Citing caution, TV2 cancelled the event. I couldn't tell if Brügger felt disappointed or vindicated – the first at the dashed prospect of seeing Smajic rising in the audience and setting it abuzz, the second at how Smajic's emails appeared laced with an articulate derangement. “She's an expert in creating conflict and manipulating people,” he told me. “If you plant her inside a biker gang, she could tear it apart within two weeks.”
Brügger was raised in the belief that conflict makes for great copy. His parents were journalists, and at the dinner table, his sister, Ane Cortzen, said: “We'd talk about society and politics, and you couldn't just sit and listen. You had to have an opinion.” Cortzen remembers Brügger as an inventive child obsessed with comic books, to the point that he developed a “very black-and-white view of the world, in which some people are good and some are evil”. (On the middle finger of his right hand, Brügger wears a skull ring as homage to The Phantom, a comic-book crimefighter who wears a skintight purple suit and lives in a cave resembling a human cranium.) At university, Brügger studied film-making, and then worked at the state broadcaster, where he met his longtime producer, Peter Engel. “The best thing, I discovered, is to let him do his own stuff,” Engel said. “If you hear there's a black market for diplomatic credentials, an ordinary journalist will say: ‘I'll interview the broker and write a piece.' Mads would say: ‘Let me become a fake diplomat.' He always wants to step into his own universe.”
As a documentarian, Brügger likes to make things happen. Not for him the Attenboroughian serenity of waiting for a lion to grow hungry and then track down its antelope; he'd rather starve the lion, hobble the antelope, and then introduce both beasts into a cage to film the carnage. In all his projects, Brügger has mounted elaborate, artificial setups just like Smajic's office, and lured people into self-indictment, folly or sudden disclosures. Most of his films pivot on Brügger pretending to be someone he isn't. In The Red Chapel, which won a Sundance award in 2010, he plays the manager of a pair of comedians touring North Korea. In The Ambassador, he impersonates a Liberian diplomat in Central African Republic. His cameras are, if not hidden, claiming to be present for benign purposes. In Pyongyang with his comedians, Brügger's tapes were screened every night by a government agency; the film's splenetic views of North Korea – “a sanctuary for crazy people” – emerge in the edits and in Brügger's voiceovers. As in The Black Swan, the most burning question in these films is always: will someone tear the facade away and expose Brügger?
Even in Cold Case Hammarskjöld, in which Brügger tamely appears as himself – a film-maker smelling conspiracy behind the death of Dag Hammarskjöld, the UN secretary general, in a 1961 plane crash – he cannot resist a splash of play-acting. He wears an all-white outfit, down to his sneakers, because, as he says in his narration: “I know for a fact that the villain of this story, he wore only white.” Brügger fails to prove that this villain – a long-dead South African mercenary – actually brought down Hammarskjöld's plane, but that kind of factfinding is, in any case, never the priority of his films. “Hammarskjöld was a ticket to all the things I really enjoy: tracking down mercenaries, telling tales of evil men who dress in white, [and] rumours about secret African societies,” Brügger says in one voiceover. He's always out for spectacle, shock and a wild ride. “If Hunter S Thompson had gone into film and ditched all the drugs,” a Norwegian columnist wrote of Cold Case Hammarskjöld, “maybe this is what he could have ended up with.”
Brügger's approach can leave his collaborators uneasy. When I spoke to one of the comedians in The Red Chapel, he euphemistically called Brügger's journalism “uncompromising,” adding: “Mads is often portrayed as either a villain or a genius – and maybe he's both.” An early collaborator described Brügger to me as ruthlessly ambitious – someone who wouldn't hesitate to pilfer an idea or sell out a friend to make good TV. But he admits Brügger can be charming and persuasive, and I know what he means. When Brügger outlines his outre philosophies of journalism – of orchestrating scenarios and entering them – you feel like a mug for having arranged an interview in a cafe.
It's often unclear what Brügger is setting out to discover, what facts he's seeking to establish. In The Red Chapel, even as his comedians rehearse on a riverbank, Brügger declares he wants to “expose the very core of the evil in North Korea” – an aim as grand and adolescent as it is vague. (As it happens, he never even makes it out of his minders' line of sight.) As a Liberian diplomat in The Ambassador, Brügger tries to buy blood diamonds, pretends he wants to start a match factory in Central African Republic (CAR), and arranges to tour a “Pygmy village”. The CAR is a place with no moral boundaries, he tells us, and so it “offers itself as a sort of Jurassic Park for people longing for the Africa of the 1970s”. He circles some sort of exposé – evidence of how illicitly obtained diplomatic papers can be used to smuggle diamonds and commit other crimes – but never quite pins it to the mat. By the end of Cold Case Hammarskjöld, similarly, Brügger has proven no conspiracy. The ride has been weird, but the case remains cold.
Only in The Mole, a story of such reckless and dogged infiltration that it might have been hatched by an intelligence agency, does Brügger obtain more orthodox journalistic results. Ulrich Larsen, a retired chef who had watched The Red Chapel, tracked Brügger down in 2010 and volunteered as a spy within the Copenhagen chapter of the Korean Friendship Association. Brügger gave him cameras and instructed him to film everything. “I thought I'd just be showing these Danish guys as Monty Python weirdos doing silly walks,” Larsen told me. Instead, under Brügger's supervision, Larsen posed so effectively as a sympathiser that he wound up penetrating the heart of North Korea's influence network better than any full-time spy – and filmed himself doing it, to boot. With an accomplice, he duped North Korean officials into thinking he was setting up a drug and arms factory in Uganda – part of a plan to make enough money to buy North Korea weapons despite prevailing sanctions. The con ran a full decade – so long that Brügger sometimes clean forgot about it for months on end.
Brügger wouldn't necessarily quibble with these characterisations of his movies. “I'm a film-maker who craves sensation,” he says in The Mole, and that he does provide. His tone is caustic, his characters are colourful, and his plot twists are what Lotte Folke Kaarsholm, the opinion editor at the Danish daily Politiken, wryly calls “maximalist”. During one of our conversations, Brügger quoted Jørgen Leth, the doyen of Danish documentarians, to describe their line of work as “laying a trap in the forest and then waiting behind a tree to see who falls in”. Later, I looked up the quote and found that Leth had talked about setting a trap for reality, to capture the most authentic version of the world. “We are relaxed, attentive and noncommittal,” he said in a 2000 interview. “Things happen when they happen.” Leth was advocating patience and preparation; Brügger was thinking of a literal trap to tempt someone into making a mistake.
One morning in Copenhagen, I visited Smajic's lawyer, who led me into a conference room, laid his mobile on the table, and dialled her on speakerphone. The previous day, she'd been convicted in a different case of a million-kroner fraud; the following week, she would be sentenced to 18 months in prison. When we spoke, she was still in hiding, but there wasn't a trace of anxiety in her voice. She complimented me on pronouncing her name correctly, and said she'd spoken to no other journalist since the documentary's release. Midway through our conversation, while mentioning the episode during which Fasar threatened her, I told her I was appalled that journalists had put her in that position. I did mean it, but it's also the sort of thing a journalist says, with exaggerated concern, to gain someone's confidence. “That's the first time someone has been sympathetic and said that,” she told me – something I knew to be false, because I'd read Danish columnists expressing the same views. Later, I learned that I was also not the first journalist to interview her about the film.
Smajic believes she's a victim of journalistic deceit. The Black Swan was meant to be about her life, she said, with the hidden camera footage being used only sparingly to corroborate her stories. She'd been offered no security during the filming, she said. When TV2 screened the first three episodes for her approval, they were really just raw, unedited clips, she maintained, and in any case, she'd been strongly medicated after a surgery and couldn't assess them with a clear mind. (“Amira watched the edited episodes, they just needed finalising,” TV2's Nørgaard told me. “During the four hours she spent with the editorial team that day, she appeared unaffected and seemed coherent, as we also documented in the series.”) Smajic hadn't been running any other office at the time, she said to me, and in any case, “they hadn't bought the rights to every single moment in my life”.
Smajic felt betrayed. “For two years, these people were telling me to go through with it, saying: ‘This is going to be the biggest thing. You're going to be a star.'” When she began worrying that the documentary would place her in danger, she asked for it to be suspended. “They figured that if they made me out to be a criminal, I wouldn't have a say,” she told me. Early in 2024, months before The Black Swan was due to be broadcast, Smajic sued for an injunction against the film. A court denied her plea on grounds of public interest. In its verdict, it decided Smajic was fully aware of the project's risks, the protection that TV2 arranged for her, and the ambit of the documentary.
Among those who think Smajic was treated poorly is Jacob Mollerup, a veteran of the Danish media and a co-founder of Foreningen for Undersøgende Journalistik (FUJ), an association of investigative journalists. Mollerup described The Black Swan as “an exceptional production”, but argued Brügger had prized his dramatisation too much, abandoning fairness and balance in the bargain. “Normally, you protect your sources, but here they say: ‘Now she's just a criminal, she broke our contract, so we can set aside her wishes about the production,” Mollerup told me. Hiding Smajic's ongoing work as a police informant from The Black Swan's viewers was dishonest, he said. If she was telling her handlers everything about the sting as it happened, that made it an operation implicitly sanctioned by the police – and plunged it into all sorts of ethical murk. Was Smajic inviting into her lair suspects whom the police wanted to nab? Which of the crimes being planned on camera were actually carried out, and how? Mollerup believes journalists must be transparent about their methods and precise in documenting misdeeds. When The Black Swan won an FUJ prize, he gave up his membership. “I told them: ‘This is not what I worked for.'”
Brügger briskly rejected all of Smajic's statements. She'd often claimed to be on medication before, he said, including once when she was pleading loss of memory while testifying in another criminal trial. She was merely recycling this excuse to explain to me why she hadn't objected to the advance cuts of the first three episodes, Brügger told me. On his laptop, he found a photo of a production team's stakeout that had been in place throughout the sting, in an office near Smajic's. The team constantly watched the feed from the hidden cameras, ready to summon security if things went south – a setup she knew about, he said. When I wondered if the police had known of Smajic's parallel adventures in money-laundering, or perhaps even endorsed them for their own purposes, Brügger said: “I find it highly unlikely, but it's a possibility. The police wouldn't confirm or deny this anyway.”
Nothing I learned from Smajic solved the central mystery of The Black Swan: why did she choose to capsize her life by participating at all? Janet Malcolm, the deft vivisectionist of the psyche in journalism, would argue that such masochistic tendencies can be found in anyone who volunteers to talk to the press. But Smajic wasn't just anyone: she was a habitual lawbreaker, so for her to let a television crew into the darkest corners of her life felt positively self-destructive. Perhaps she did think of exposure as disinfectant, a step towards a cure. Perhaps she believed she could bear any waves of bad press, or even surf them towards fame and freedom. “The thing is,” Brügger said, “with Amira, you can just never be sure of anything.”
He said this with the kind of awe that one veteran trickster reserves for another. Despite the lies and lawsuits, Brügger remains magnetised by Smajic. In one conversation, he'd mentioned his sole contribution to the decor of Smajic's office: a print of The Two Fridas, in which Frida Kahlo painted herself twice, once with a gaping hole in her chest cavity, and again with a healthy heart and a small picture in her hand. “I'd hoped someone would come in and ask about it, but I didn't prepare Amira for that,” Brügger said. This trap-within-a-trap is sprung in the fourth episode by a motorcycle thug's curiosity, but Smajic improvises like a maestro. “It's only when you cut out the heart that you can think coldly and rationally,” she explains. The picture the second Kahlo holds is of her child, Smajic ad-libs: “You can't be cold if you have a family … That was me then, and this is me now.”
Brügger was delighted. “It was brilliant. I became so happy and excited when I saw that. It's my favourite scene.” The journalist may often be cast as the seducer, coaxing information out of people, but he's just as liable to be seduced – by the mirage of the perfect story, as clean and vivid as a comic book. For Brügger, Smajic had initially promised to provide just that. When she turned out to be staging a perilous deception, throwing his production into chaos, he only grew further enthralled – perhaps because he recognised in Smajic an even more skilled version of himself.
It's difficult to feel sorry for Smajic, or for anyone in The Black Swan. The most moving passages in Brügger's films always involve peripheral players in the great jape: the Ugandan villagers who are told they will be relocated so that an arms factory can be built on their land; or the North Korean interpreter who weeps at the memorial to Kim Il-Sung, claiming she's mourning him but possibly grieving for some other reason; or the Central African Republicans who take lessons in how to make matches in a factory that Brügger will never build. To his credit, Brügger acknowledges the odd pang of guilt in his voiceovers – but only in passing.
For The Ambassador, Brügger flew an Indian match-exporter named Sumeet Mehta to the CAR for a few days, ostensibly to train his employees. The Ambassador came out in 2011, but until I called him recently, Mehta didn't know he'd featured in a documentary – or, indeed, that Brügger was a film-maker and not a diplomat. “I was kind of afraid to go, but I went anyway,” Mehta said, sounding baffled. “I sensed this factory was some kind of gimmick, but I didn't know the reason behind it.” Ulrich Larsen told me that he wonders about the repercussions that the North Koreans unwittingly cast in The Mole might have suffered. “The rough answer is: I'm not responsible for what the regime does,” Larsen said. He hoped that “Mr Kang”, his translator in Pyongyang, was all right, “but of course, nobody knows. I did what I could. I brought his daughter a Lego.” Like Brügger, Larsen seemed to write it off as the cost of making an engrossing film. As Brügger says in The Red Chapel: “For your sake and mine, I have to lie.”
The Black Swan is such a careful, hermetically sealed production that it yields no such collateral damage, and I wondered if it was because Brügger was less cavalier in his own country, with his compatriots. Most journalists begin their careers at home before venturing farther afield. Brügger's has run in reverse – in part, I think, because he, too, had once bought into the image of Denmark as a safe, dull place where nothing ever happens. “I've come to Africa because Europe has become old and tired,” he says in The Ambassador – a sentence that could have been uttered by a European man in any of the last half-dozen centuries. It was a backhanded jibe: a suggestion that Europe was no longer troubled by the anarchic social disorder that he desires in his films. The Black Swan showed Brügger can find all that he craves at home: conspiracy, corruption, shape-shifters, sensation, stories that evaporate like dry ice or swallow you like quicksand. The world is full of lies, not least the ones we tell ourselves.
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‘Coalition of the willing' leaders to meet in Paris; no ceasefire in place as Russia demands concessions. What we know on day 1,128
Emmanuel Macron has warned that Russia still shows a “desire for war” despite efforts towards a ceasefire as European leaders including Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in Paris on Thursday to discuss how Europe might offer Kyiv security guarantees in the event of a lasting truce. Macron said Russia had tried to impose “new conditions” and not responded to a 30-day general ceasefire offered by Ukraine “without preconditions”. He praised Kyiv for having “taken the risk of peace”.
Thursday's gathering brings together leaders from the so-called “coalition of the willing” – a British-French-led group of countries considering deploying peacekeeping troops to Ukraine should a ceasefire be reached. Macron on Wednesday announced a new French €2bn ($2.15bn) military aid package for Ukraine, with Paris ready to rapidly ship existing hardware from its stocks.
There remained no clearly defined or mutually agreed ceasefire covering any aspect of the Russia-Ukraine war. Russia said that only in return for the lifting of a raft of sanctions and access to the Swift international banking system would it implement a ceasefire covering Black Sea shipping. The US said it would consider the sanctions request, while the EU suggested it would only lift sanctions in response to “the unconditional withdrawal of all Russian military forces” from Ukraine. The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said examining Russia's asks and reaching a deal “won't be simple, it'll take some time, but at least we're on that road and we're talking about these things”.
Russia claimed to be observing a month-long moratorium declared by Vladimir Putin on strikes against Ukrainian energy targets; however, Russian drone and missile strikes have continued to cause blackouts and, according to Ukraine, energy sites have been hit. Despite there being no actual ceasefire, Russia has accused Ukraine of committing breaches, including by targeting gas storage in Crimea – actually Ukrainian territory – which Ukraine denied; while Zelenskyy says Russia has proven by its continued attacks on Ukraine that it does not truly want peace.
Four people were reported killed and six injured across Ukraine overnight into Wednesday, writes Pjotr Sauer, while the Ukrainian air force said it shot down 56 of 117 incoming drones and another 48 were decoys that caused no damage.
Late on Wednesday, Russian forces launched a mass drone attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, injuring nine people, causing considerable damage and starting four fires in the city centre, officials said. The Kharkiv mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said there had been at least 12 drone strikes. A drone attack also triggered fires in the central city of Dnipro, said the regional governor, Serhiy Lysak.
North Korea has sent 3,000 more troops to Russia so far this year and continues to supply missiles, artillery and ammunition, according to South Korea's military joint chiefs of staff. Of the initial 11,000 soldiers sent in 2024, 4,000 were believed to have been killed or wounded.
The US-Ukraine critical minerals deal was mentioned again as the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, told Fox News that “a completed document for the economic partnership is currently being reviewed by Ukrainians, and we hope to go to full discussions and perhaps even get signatures next week”. A week ago, the White House said it had “moved beyond” that deal to focus on peace efforts – only for Trump, the US president, to reverse that a day later by saying it would be signed “very shortly”.
Relations between Kyiv and Washington were “back on track”, said Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukraine's president. He told Reuters that after the fraught Oval Office encounter last month, two rounds of talks in Saudi Arabia on a potential ceasefire had given Kyiv an opportunity to show it could work with US officials on ending the war.
Russia convicted 23 captured Ukrainians on terrorism charges in a military trial that Kyiv denounced as a sham and a violation of international law. The defendants included 14 current or former fighters of the Azov brigade, and nine women and one man who worked as cooks or support personnel, according to Russian media reports and human rights defenders. They were given sentences ranging from 13 to 23 years in prison. Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, called the verdicts “illegal”, adding: “Ukrainian prisoners of war are combatants, not criminals! They were fulfilling their duty to the state, protecting its territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
Last year brought Ukraine's worst wildfires in more than three decades as shelling along front lines triggered an unprecedented number of blazes, scientists said. Forest fires in Ukraine in 2024 burnt more than twice the area destroyed by fire in the entire 27-country European Union in 2024, said an EU report.
Top aides ‘aggressively' made case to Democratic donors last summer, according to account of 2024 campaign by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes
Top aides to Joe Biden “aggressively” warned Democratic donors last summer that if the then president was forced out of the 2024 election over concerns about his age and fitness, the party would inevitably make the “mistake” of running the vice-president, Kamala Harris, against Donald Trump, a new book says.
“One donor on the receiving end of an electronic message summed up the sentiments of Biden's top aides: ‘They were aggressively saying that we would wind up with the vice-president and that would be a mistake.'”
Biden was forced out and Harris did become the nominee. Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House, Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes' account of the campaign that followed, will be published next week – as Trump's second term enters its third tempestuous month. The Guardian obtained a copy.
Published extracts from the book have described controversial episodes from Harris's short campaign and conclusive defeat, including her inability to land an interview with the influential podcaster Joe Rogan, in contrast to Trump, and her frustration with close control maintained by former aides to Biden.
Long an issue for Democrats, the question of Biden's age and fitness came to a head on 27 June, when the president performed disastrously onstage with Trump in Atlanta. Parnes and Allen provide detailed and dramatic insights into the crisis.
Amid calls for Biden to withdraw, the authors write, aides to Biden “frantically push[ed] back in phone calls and in text messages, accusing donors of promoting their own agendas at the expense of Biden, the party, and the country”.
Parnes and Allen then switch to using italics, which they say indicates sources describing personal thoughts or descriptions of the private thoughts and conversations of others.
“It all sounded like a serial killer's conspiracy theory. Donors want to scrap Biden so they can get his wannabe replacements – the governors, with power over state decisions – to beg them for cash, Biden aides argued.
“This isn't fucking Wall Street financiers versus Ivy League presidents. Our guy isn't scared of your money. We have grassroots donors. We have the support of the voters. We have the nomination in hand. All you're doing is fucking yourself and the president. We will remember this. Capisce?
“The last threat, the ace in the hole, was Kamala Harris. Even if Biden did drop out and you got your dreamed-up open convention, you would only succeed in nominating the vice-president. Is that what you want? You want her? Look at her polling. No one wants her. Forget it. It's never gonna happen.”
Entreaties fell on deaf ears. Donors “cut off hundreds of millions of dollars”. On 21 July, Biden dropped out.
It was a historic moment but the party moved swiftly to avoid further upheaval. There would be no open convention. Instead, Allen and Parnes describe how opposition to Harris, even from grandees including the former president Barack Obama and the former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, was beaten aside by figures including Jim Clyburn, the veteran South Carolina congressman who did much to make Biden the nominee and Harris his running mate just four years before.
“There are some powerful folks saying, ‘Off with both their heads,' Clyburn thought. They're all planning to pass over Kamala.”
Parnes and Allen also describe how before becoming the nominee, and for a time after, Harris “pined” for Obama's support. A painful process, it was made worse by Harris never having forged close ties with the former president and his wife, Michelle, ever since being denied access to a VIP area at the Obamas' election celebration in Chicago in 2009.
“Doesn't he see what's happening? she thought. Harris felt hurt that he thought so little of her. That pain turned to anger. What's holding him back?”
According to Parnes and Allen, Obama never thought Harris could beat Trump but backed her when he saw he was under threat himself, “suddenly in a position where his actions against Biden and Harris could diminish him in the eyes of Democratic elites”.
Obama endorsed Harris and campaigned for her. So did Pelosi, who spoke of her “immense pride” in doing so.
Parnes and Allen report a less positive verdict from the former speaker. According to an unnamed “person who spoke to” Pelosi on the night of the Atlanta debate, Pelosi “actually was worried … saying, ‘Oh my God, it's going to be her.'”
High-ranking officials can spill military secrets with apparent near-total immunity
The problem with the now infamous Signal chat read around the world is not just that sensitive military-operations details were broadcast, but that this reveals a pattern of what appears to be institutional dishonesty inside the Trump administration and the legal ramifications that presents.
While the national security sphere operating in secret is nothing new, the leak exposes a system of broken accountability, where high-ranking officials can spill military secrets with apparent near-total immunity. Despite potential violations of classification protocols, federal record-keeping laws and promises of operational security, the leaders look to face no meaningful legal consequences.
The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, and the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, have doubled down on the administration's position that none of the messages in the Signal chat were classified, claiming they amounted to a “team update” that did not name intelligence-collection sources or methods.
But Brian Finucane, a former state department attorney with extensive experience in counter-terrorism and military operations, including deliberating and advising on past US military strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, said the specificity of the information about the aircraft types suggests it was classified.
“If I had seen that sort of information beforehand, that was shared with the special operation, in my experience, it would have been classified,” Finucane said. “I can't guarantee what the state of the information was that Hegseth shared, but in my experience, this kind of pre-operational detail would have been classified.”
The US Department of Defense's own classification guidelines suggest the kind of detailed military plans in the Signal chat would typically be classified at least at the “secret” level, while some of the real-time updates could have risen to a higher level of classification.
The information shared by Hegseth included a summary of operational details about the operation to strike Houthi rebel targets in Yemen, such as the launch times of F-18 fighter jets, the time that the first bombs were expected to drop, and the time that naval Tomahawk missiles would be launched. Hegseth's update was sent before the operation had been carried out, and his reference to “clean on OPSEC” – operational security – indicated he recognized the sensitivity.
According to the classification guide, information about the “date and time mission/operation begins”, “time lines/schedules” and “concept of operations including order of battle, execution circumstances, operating locations, resources required, tactical maneuvers, deployments” would all usually be classified.
The chat also included a message from Mike Waltz, the national security adviser, who shared a real-time update (“first target – their top missile guy – we had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend's building and it's now collapsed”), which had the potential to reveal the capabilities and assets the US had in the region.
The detail of targeting an individual at his girlfriend's building exposes another legal problem: a military strike that blurs the lines between legitimate warfare and extrajudicial targeting, potentially violating both the War Powers Act's strategic intent and international humanitarian law's core principle of distinguishing combatants from civilians.
An Associated Press review from Thursday found that there had also been a shift in US airstrikes in Yemen, operating on a widening scope of striking Houthi leadership and urban areas that are still continuing.
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project documented 56 distinct strike events in Yemen between 15 March and 21 March, while the UK-based monitoring group Airwars suggests that at least five US strikes may have resulted in civilian casualties, based on video evidence, Houthi statements, and other documented details. There have been 57 killed in Yemen so far, according to Houthi figures.
Finucane explained that the primary areas of legal concern would be the Espionage Act, typically used to target whistleblowers; the Federal Records Act, for federal agencies to preserve documentation; and the Presidential Records Act, which requires the president to save all their records to be transferred to the National Archives post-term.
“The bigger-picture question is, who actually authorized what in respect to Yemen?” Finucane said. “It's not clear what decision Trump actually made. We don't know what Trump authorized.”
A former White House official said that while many in the government use Signal for convenience, this incident can only be summed up as “complete amateur hour”, and that Hegseth's oversharing would have resulted in immediate security-clearance revocation in previous administrations.
“I would have lost my clearance,” the official said. “I mean, these guys won't lose their clearances, because no one fucking cares about anything any more, but if I would have done this, I would have been investigated, and I would have lost my clearance.”
The web of potential misrepresentations extends beyond the White House's official denial of the chat containing any classified information. Waltz, who according to the screenshots created and invited members into the group, attempted to distance himself from the incident, claiming he had “never met, don't know, never communicated with” Jeffrey Goldberg, the Atlantic editor-in-chief – a statement complicated by the Atlantic's reporting suggesting prior communication between the two.
More than a dozen top-level Trump administration leaders use a Signal group chat, rather than secure government communication channels that they are all well aware of, which raises additional questions about information handling.
The officials face a potential Department of Defense inspector general investigation that could become embarrassing for the Trump administration, after the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate armed services committee asked for a review in a rare bipartisan letter on Wednesday.
But the officials appear to face no criminal exposure under the Espionage Act, which makes it a crime to improperly disclose “national defense information” regardless of its classification, in part because the Trump justice department is unlikely to prosecute its own cabinet officials.
Trump said at an event with his nominees for US ambassadorships at the White House on Tuesday that it was “not really” a matter for the FBI to investigate. Former FBI agents suggested that could be true since it did not involve an act of espionage for a foreign adversary.
The immediate legal consequence is likely to come in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday that accuses Hegseth; the CIA director, John Ratcliffe; the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and others of flouting federal records retention laws.
In the 18-page suit, the watchdog group American Oversight asks a federal judge to compel the Trump administration to preserve the messages in the Signal chat, arguing that the use of a function that automatically deleted the messages after a certain time was unlawful.
The suit was assigned on Wednesday to James Boasberg, the chief US district judge in Washington DC, who is also presiding in the other major national security case involving the administration, over the deportations of Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act.
At issue for the administration in that case is that it flouted Boasberg's verbal order to turn back flights that had already departed, and then stonewalled his inquiry into the possible violation of the order by invoking national security protections.
The aggressive approach that the administration took in the deportations case could become awkward in the new lawsuit over the Signal chat, with Boasberg likely to be skeptical from the outset of officials' shifting interpretations of which materials are classified.
What that would mean in practical terms remains unclear. The Atlantic magazine releasing the full Signal text chain renders some of the suit redundant, since the messages are now in the public domain. But Boasberg could, for instance, order some fact-finding into the matter.
When Edna Weinstock-Gabay assumed the role of CEO and Director General of Keren Hayesod-United Israel Appeal, she was stepping into a century-old institution at a critical juncture in Jewish history. As the first female leader of Israel's primary fundraising arm for the Jewish diaspora, particularly outside of the United States, Weinstock-Gabay's work took on new urgency after October 7, when Hamas launched a devastating attack on Israel. Overnight, Keren Hayesod shifted its focus to emergency response, and Weinstock-Gabay became a key figure in mobilizing global Jewish support.Keren Hayesod-UIA, founded in 1920, has long been the financial backbone of many key Zionist initiatives, from facilitating Aliyah to strengthening Israel's geographical and social peripheries. Traditionally, its work centered on helping Jews around the world connect to Israel. But since October 7, Weinstock-Gabay and her team have been in overdrive, working around the clock to provide immediate aid to communities devastated by war. “We started fundraising from the first hour,” Weinstock-Gabay recalled to the Jerusalem Post. “All of our leadership around the world pivoted to focus on emergency needs, and the support we received was outstanding—not just financial, but through solidarity missions and advocacy for Israel.”In the months following the attack, Keren Hayesod raised an astonishing $275 million, directing funds to hospitals, mental health programs, regional councils, and victims of terror. The goal was not just to react but to build long-term resilience. Aliyah — immigration to Israel — also remains at the forefront of their efforts. Advertisement“We've committed to supporting ten different communities in the south for the next three years,” Weinstock-Gabay explains. “We sit at roundtables with local leaders, the Jewish Agency, and other philanthropic organizations to ensure we're filling gaps rather than duplicating efforts.” Weinstock-Gabay at an event for Keren Hayesod. (credit: Jarrod Freedman)Just weeks after October 7, Keren Hayesod, in collaboration with the Israeli consulate in Sao Paulo, brought 165 reservists who received call up orders back to Israel via an evacuation flight from Latin America. Not a 'female CEO,' but a CEO who is a womanWeinstock-Gabay is aware of the historic significance of being Keren Hayesod's first female CEO, but she's reluctant to define her leadership through the lens of gender.“I'm not here because I'm a woman—I'm here because I'm the best person for the job,” she asserted to the Post. “For many years, I never thought about International Women's Day because I had always been able to achieve my goals through hard work and professionalism.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now However, the birth of her daughter, after four sons, changed her perspective. “I realized that what felt obvious to me—that women can achieve anything—is not obvious to everyone. We still have to fight for our place.” AdvertisementWeinstock-Gabay's position is unique among Israel's national institutions, where nearly all CEOs are men. “There are very few female leaders in ministries and senior government positions,” she acknowledges. “That needs to change.”For Weinstock-Gabay, the war is not just a professional challenge—it's deeply personal. She has two sons serving in the IDF, one of whom has suffered from combat-related trauma.“I remember the moment I understood that October 7 was different,” she says. “It was early in the morning when we learned that Ofir Liebstein, the mayor of Sha'ar HaNegev, had been killed. He was a close friend. I was driving my son to his unit, crying, while on a Zoom call with our leadership. That's Israel—personal loss and national duty intertwined.” Weinstock-Gabay's family life, like that of so many Israelis, has been reshaped by war. Her youngest son, just 12 years old, now carries a knife for protection. Her seven-year-old daughter has grown up discussing the likelihood of her brothers not returning from battle as if it were an everyday fact of life.“This is our reality,” Weinstock-Gabay said emotionally. “Every night, I chose my pajamas carefully—because if someone comes to my door to tell me my son has fallen, I want to be prepared.”Fighting donor fatigue, rebuilding the northNow, nearly 18 months into the war, Weinstock-Gabay faces a new challenge: keeping the global Jewish community engaged.“This is the third calendar year we've been fundraising for the same war,” she notes. “We hear about ‘donor fatigue.' But my son is also fatigued—he's been fighting for 16 months. And yet, every day, he chooses to keep going. Supporting Israel is the diaspora's reserve duty.”Looking forward, Keren Hayesod is shifting its focus to rebuilding Israel's north, an area still grappling with security threats and economic hardship. Through a joint initiative with the Israeli government, every dollar raised from the diaspora will be matched or tripled, ensuring maximum impact.“It's a strong message to donors: you're not alone. The Israeli government and local philanthropists are stepping up too,” Weinstock-Gabay emphasizes. Weinstock-Gabay sees her role as more than just fundraising—it's about strengthening the bond between Israel and world Jewry. After October 7, Keren Hayesod leaders from Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Uruguay took the first flights they could get to Israel, some arriving just ten days after the attack.“They've been back nine times since,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “They've visited the north and south, attended shiva visits, funerals, and stood with Israelis in their darkest moments. That's the kind of commitment that defines our people.”As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
Keren Hayesod-UIA, founded in 1920, has long been the financial backbone of many key Zionist initiatives, from facilitating Aliyah to strengthening Israel's geographical and social peripheries. Traditionally, its work centered on helping Jews around the world connect to Israel. But since October 7, Weinstock-Gabay and her team have been in overdrive, working around the clock to provide immediate aid to communities devastated by war. “We started fundraising from the first hour,” Weinstock-Gabay recalled to the Jerusalem Post. “All of our leadership around the world pivoted to focus on emergency needs, and the support we received was outstanding—not just financial, but through solidarity missions and advocacy for Israel.”In the months following the attack, Keren Hayesod raised an astonishing $275 million, directing funds to hospitals, mental health programs, regional councils, and victims of terror. The goal was not just to react but to build long-term resilience. Aliyah — immigration to Israel — also remains at the forefront of their efforts. Advertisement“We've committed to supporting ten different communities in the south for the next three years,” Weinstock-Gabay explains. “We sit at roundtables with local leaders, the Jewish Agency, and other philanthropic organizations to ensure we're filling gaps rather than duplicating efforts.” Weinstock-Gabay at an event for Keren Hayesod. (credit: Jarrod Freedman)Just weeks after October 7, Keren Hayesod, in collaboration with the Israeli consulate in Sao Paulo, brought 165 reservists who received call up orders back to Israel via an evacuation flight from Latin America. Not a 'female CEO,' but a CEO who is a womanWeinstock-Gabay is aware of the historic significance of being Keren Hayesod's first female CEO, but she's reluctant to define her leadership through the lens of gender.“I'm not here because I'm a woman—I'm here because I'm the best person for the job,” she asserted to the Post. “For many years, I never thought about International Women's Day because I had always been able to achieve my goals through hard work and professionalism.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now However, the birth of her daughter, after four sons, changed her perspective. “I realized that what felt obvious to me—that women can achieve anything—is not obvious to everyone. We still have to fight for our place.” AdvertisementWeinstock-Gabay's position is unique among Israel's national institutions, where nearly all CEOs are men. “There are very few female leaders in ministries and senior government positions,” she acknowledges. “That needs to change.”For Weinstock-Gabay, the war is not just a professional challenge—it's deeply personal. She has two sons serving in the IDF, one of whom has suffered from combat-related trauma.“I remember the moment I understood that October 7 was different,” she says. “It was early in the morning when we learned that Ofir Liebstein, the mayor of Sha'ar HaNegev, had been killed. He was a close friend. I was driving my son to his unit, crying, while on a Zoom call with our leadership. That's Israel—personal loss and national duty intertwined.” Weinstock-Gabay's family life, like that of so many Israelis, has been reshaped by war. Her youngest son, just 12 years old, now carries a knife for protection. Her seven-year-old daughter has grown up discussing the likelihood of her brothers not returning from battle as if it were an everyday fact of life.“This is our reality,” Weinstock-Gabay said emotionally. “Every night, I chose my pajamas carefully—because if someone comes to my door to tell me my son has fallen, I want to be prepared.”Fighting donor fatigue, rebuilding the northNow, nearly 18 months into the war, Weinstock-Gabay faces a new challenge: keeping the global Jewish community engaged.“This is the third calendar year we've been fundraising for the same war,” she notes. “We hear about ‘donor fatigue.' But my son is also fatigued—he's been fighting for 16 months. And yet, every day, he chooses to keep going. Supporting Israel is the diaspora's reserve duty.”Looking forward, Keren Hayesod is shifting its focus to rebuilding Israel's north, an area still grappling with security threats and economic hardship. Through a joint initiative with the Israeli government, every dollar raised from the diaspora will be matched or tripled, ensuring maximum impact.“It's a strong message to donors: you're not alone. The Israeli government and local philanthropists are stepping up too,” Weinstock-Gabay emphasizes. Weinstock-Gabay sees her role as more than just fundraising—it's about strengthening the bond between Israel and world Jewry. After October 7, Keren Hayesod leaders from Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Uruguay took the first flights they could get to Israel, some arriving just ten days after the attack.“They've been back nine times since,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “They've visited the north and south, attended shiva visits, funerals, and stood with Israelis in their darkest moments. That's the kind of commitment that defines our people.”As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
“We started fundraising from the first hour,” Weinstock-Gabay recalled to the Jerusalem Post. “All of our leadership around the world pivoted to focus on emergency needs, and the support we received was outstanding—not just financial, but through solidarity missions and advocacy for Israel.”In the months following the attack, Keren Hayesod raised an astonishing $275 million, directing funds to hospitals, mental health programs, regional councils, and victims of terror. The goal was not just to react but to build long-term resilience. Aliyah — immigration to Israel — also remains at the forefront of their efforts. Advertisement“We've committed to supporting ten different communities in the south for the next three years,” Weinstock-Gabay explains. “We sit at roundtables with local leaders, the Jewish Agency, and other philanthropic organizations to ensure we're filling gaps rather than duplicating efforts.” Weinstock-Gabay at an event for Keren Hayesod. (credit: Jarrod Freedman)Just weeks after October 7, Keren Hayesod, in collaboration with the Israeli consulate in Sao Paulo, brought 165 reservists who received call up orders back to Israel via an evacuation flight from Latin America. Not a 'female CEO,' but a CEO who is a womanWeinstock-Gabay is aware of the historic significance of being Keren Hayesod's first female CEO, but she's reluctant to define her leadership through the lens of gender.“I'm not here because I'm a woman—I'm here because I'm the best person for the job,” she asserted to the Post. “For many years, I never thought about International Women's Day because I had always been able to achieve my goals through hard work and professionalism.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now However, the birth of her daughter, after four sons, changed her perspective. “I realized that what felt obvious to me—that women can achieve anything—is not obvious to everyone. We still have to fight for our place.” AdvertisementWeinstock-Gabay's position is unique among Israel's national institutions, where nearly all CEOs are men. “There are very few female leaders in ministries and senior government positions,” she acknowledges. “That needs to change.”For Weinstock-Gabay, the war is not just a professional challenge—it's deeply personal. She has two sons serving in the IDF, one of whom has suffered from combat-related trauma.“I remember the moment I understood that October 7 was different,” she says. “It was early in the morning when we learned that Ofir Liebstein, the mayor of Sha'ar HaNegev, had been killed. He was a close friend. I was driving my son to his unit, crying, while on a Zoom call with our leadership. That's Israel—personal loss and national duty intertwined.” Weinstock-Gabay's family life, like that of so many Israelis, has been reshaped by war. Her youngest son, just 12 years old, now carries a knife for protection. Her seven-year-old daughter has grown up discussing the likelihood of her brothers not returning from battle as if it were an everyday fact of life.“This is our reality,” Weinstock-Gabay said emotionally. “Every night, I chose my pajamas carefully—because if someone comes to my door to tell me my son has fallen, I want to be prepared.”Fighting donor fatigue, rebuilding the northNow, nearly 18 months into the war, Weinstock-Gabay faces a new challenge: keeping the global Jewish community engaged.“This is the third calendar year we've been fundraising for the same war,” she notes. “We hear about ‘donor fatigue.' But my son is also fatigued—he's been fighting for 16 months. And yet, every day, he chooses to keep going. Supporting Israel is the diaspora's reserve duty.”Looking forward, Keren Hayesod is shifting its focus to rebuilding Israel's north, an area still grappling with security threats and economic hardship. Through a joint initiative with the Israeli government, every dollar raised from the diaspora will be matched or tripled, ensuring maximum impact.“It's a strong message to donors: you're not alone. The Israeli government and local philanthropists are stepping up too,” Weinstock-Gabay emphasizes. Weinstock-Gabay sees her role as more than just fundraising—it's about strengthening the bond between Israel and world Jewry. After October 7, Keren Hayesod leaders from Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Uruguay took the first flights they could get to Israel, some arriving just ten days after the attack.“They've been back nine times since,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “They've visited the north and south, attended shiva visits, funerals, and stood with Israelis in their darkest moments. That's the kind of commitment that defines our people.”As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
In the months following the attack, Keren Hayesod raised an astonishing $275 million, directing funds to hospitals, mental health programs, regional councils, and victims of terror. The goal was not just to react but to build long-term resilience. Aliyah — immigration to Israel — also remains at the forefront of their efforts. Advertisement“We've committed to supporting ten different communities in the south for the next three years,” Weinstock-Gabay explains. “We sit at roundtables with local leaders, the Jewish Agency, and other philanthropic organizations to ensure we're filling gaps rather than duplicating efforts.” Weinstock-Gabay at an event for Keren Hayesod. (credit: Jarrod Freedman)Just weeks after October 7, Keren Hayesod, in collaboration with the Israeli consulate in Sao Paulo, brought 165 reservists who received call up orders back to Israel via an evacuation flight from Latin America. Not a 'female CEO,' but a CEO who is a womanWeinstock-Gabay is aware of the historic significance of being Keren Hayesod's first female CEO, but she's reluctant to define her leadership through the lens of gender.“I'm not here because I'm a woman—I'm here because I'm the best person for the job,” she asserted to the Post. “For many years, I never thought about International Women's Day because I had always been able to achieve my goals through hard work and professionalism.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now However, the birth of her daughter, after four sons, changed her perspective. “I realized that what felt obvious to me—that women can achieve anything—is not obvious to everyone. We still have to fight for our place.” AdvertisementWeinstock-Gabay's position is unique among Israel's national institutions, where nearly all CEOs are men. “There are very few female leaders in ministries and senior government positions,” she acknowledges. “That needs to change.”For Weinstock-Gabay, the war is not just a professional challenge—it's deeply personal. She has two sons serving in the IDF, one of whom has suffered from combat-related trauma.“I remember the moment I understood that October 7 was different,” she says. “It was early in the morning when we learned that Ofir Liebstein, the mayor of Sha'ar HaNegev, had been killed. He was a close friend. I was driving my son to his unit, crying, while on a Zoom call with our leadership. That's Israel—personal loss and national duty intertwined.” Weinstock-Gabay's family life, like that of so many Israelis, has been reshaped by war. Her youngest son, just 12 years old, now carries a knife for protection. Her seven-year-old daughter has grown up discussing the likelihood of her brothers not returning from battle as if it were an everyday fact of life.“This is our reality,” Weinstock-Gabay said emotionally. “Every night, I chose my pajamas carefully—because if someone comes to my door to tell me my son has fallen, I want to be prepared.”Fighting donor fatigue, rebuilding the northNow, nearly 18 months into the war, Weinstock-Gabay faces a new challenge: keeping the global Jewish community engaged.“This is the third calendar year we've been fundraising for the same war,” she notes. “We hear about ‘donor fatigue.' But my son is also fatigued—he's been fighting for 16 months. And yet, every day, he chooses to keep going. Supporting Israel is the diaspora's reserve duty.”Looking forward, Keren Hayesod is shifting its focus to rebuilding Israel's north, an area still grappling with security threats and economic hardship. Through a joint initiative with the Israeli government, every dollar raised from the diaspora will be matched or tripled, ensuring maximum impact.“It's a strong message to donors: you're not alone. The Israeli government and local philanthropists are stepping up too,” Weinstock-Gabay emphasizes. Weinstock-Gabay sees her role as more than just fundraising—it's about strengthening the bond between Israel and world Jewry. After October 7, Keren Hayesod leaders from Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Uruguay took the first flights they could get to Israel, some arriving just ten days after the attack.“They've been back nine times since,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “They've visited the north and south, attended shiva visits, funerals, and stood with Israelis in their darkest moments. That's the kind of commitment that defines our people.”As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
“We've committed to supporting ten different communities in the south for the next three years,” Weinstock-Gabay explains. “We sit at roundtables with local leaders, the Jewish Agency, and other philanthropic organizations to ensure we're filling gaps rather than duplicating efforts.” Weinstock-Gabay at an event for Keren Hayesod. (credit: Jarrod Freedman)Just weeks after October 7, Keren Hayesod, in collaboration with the Israeli consulate in Sao Paulo, brought 165 reservists who received call up orders back to Israel via an evacuation flight from Latin America. Not a 'female CEO,' but a CEO who is a womanWeinstock-Gabay is aware of the historic significance of being Keren Hayesod's first female CEO, but she's reluctant to define her leadership through the lens of gender.“I'm not here because I'm a woman—I'm here because I'm the best person for the job,” she asserted to the Post. “For many years, I never thought about International Women's Day because I had always been able to achieve my goals through hard work and professionalism.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now However, the birth of her daughter, after four sons, changed her perspective. “I realized that what felt obvious to me—that women can achieve anything—is not obvious to everyone. We still have to fight for our place.” AdvertisementWeinstock-Gabay's position is unique among Israel's national institutions, where nearly all CEOs are men. “There are very few female leaders in ministries and senior government positions,” she acknowledges. “That needs to change.”For Weinstock-Gabay, the war is not just a professional challenge—it's deeply personal. She has two sons serving in the IDF, one of whom has suffered from combat-related trauma.“I remember the moment I understood that October 7 was different,” she says. “It was early in the morning when we learned that Ofir Liebstein, the mayor of Sha'ar HaNegev, had been killed. He was a close friend. I was driving my son to his unit, crying, while on a Zoom call with our leadership. That's Israel—personal loss and national duty intertwined.” Weinstock-Gabay's family life, like that of so many Israelis, has been reshaped by war. Her youngest son, just 12 years old, now carries a knife for protection. Her seven-year-old daughter has grown up discussing the likelihood of her brothers not returning from battle as if it were an everyday fact of life.“This is our reality,” Weinstock-Gabay said emotionally. “Every night, I chose my pajamas carefully—because if someone comes to my door to tell me my son has fallen, I want to be prepared.”Fighting donor fatigue, rebuilding the northNow, nearly 18 months into the war, Weinstock-Gabay faces a new challenge: keeping the global Jewish community engaged.“This is the third calendar year we've been fundraising for the same war,” she notes. “We hear about ‘donor fatigue.' But my son is also fatigued—he's been fighting for 16 months. And yet, every day, he chooses to keep going. Supporting Israel is the diaspora's reserve duty.”Looking forward, Keren Hayesod is shifting its focus to rebuilding Israel's north, an area still grappling with security threats and economic hardship. Through a joint initiative with the Israeli government, every dollar raised from the diaspora will be matched or tripled, ensuring maximum impact.“It's a strong message to donors: you're not alone. The Israeli government and local philanthropists are stepping up too,” Weinstock-Gabay emphasizes. Weinstock-Gabay sees her role as more than just fundraising—it's about strengthening the bond between Israel and world Jewry. After October 7, Keren Hayesod leaders from Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Uruguay took the first flights they could get to Israel, some arriving just ten days after the attack.“They've been back nine times since,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “They've visited the north and south, attended shiva visits, funerals, and stood with Israelis in their darkest moments. That's the kind of commitment that defines our people.”As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
Just weeks after October 7, Keren Hayesod, in collaboration with the Israeli consulate in Sao Paulo, brought 165 reservists who received call up orders back to Israel via an evacuation flight from Latin America. Not a 'female CEO,' but a CEO who is a womanWeinstock-Gabay is aware of the historic significance of being Keren Hayesod's first female CEO, but she's reluctant to define her leadership through the lens of gender.“I'm not here because I'm a woman—I'm here because I'm the best person for the job,” she asserted to the Post. “For many years, I never thought about International Women's Day because I had always been able to achieve my goals through hard work and professionalism.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now However, the birth of her daughter, after four sons, changed her perspective. “I realized that what felt obvious to me—that women can achieve anything—is not obvious to everyone. We still have to fight for our place.” AdvertisementWeinstock-Gabay's position is unique among Israel's national institutions, where nearly all CEOs are men. “There are very few female leaders in ministries and senior government positions,” she acknowledges. “That needs to change.”For Weinstock-Gabay, the war is not just a professional challenge—it's deeply personal. She has two sons serving in the IDF, one of whom has suffered from combat-related trauma.“I remember the moment I understood that October 7 was different,” she says. “It was early in the morning when we learned that Ofir Liebstein, the mayor of Sha'ar HaNegev, had been killed. He was a close friend. I was driving my son to his unit, crying, while on a Zoom call with our leadership. That's Israel—personal loss and national duty intertwined.” Weinstock-Gabay's family life, like that of so many Israelis, has been reshaped by war. Her youngest son, just 12 years old, now carries a knife for protection. Her seven-year-old daughter has grown up discussing the likelihood of her brothers not returning from battle as if it were an everyday fact of life.“This is our reality,” Weinstock-Gabay said emotionally. “Every night, I chose my pajamas carefully—because if someone comes to my door to tell me my son has fallen, I want to be prepared.”Fighting donor fatigue, rebuilding the northNow, nearly 18 months into the war, Weinstock-Gabay faces a new challenge: keeping the global Jewish community engaged.“This is the third calendar year we've been fundraising for the same war,” she notes. “We hear about ‘donor fatigue.' But my son is also fatigued—he's been fighting for 16 months. And yet, every day, he chooses to keep going. Supporting Israel is the diaspora's reserve duty.”Looking forward, Keren Hayesod is shifting its focus to rebuilding Israel's north, an area still grappling with security threats and economic hardship. Through a joint initiative with the Israeli government, every dollar raised from the diaspora will be matched or tripled, ensuring maximum impact.“It's a strong message to donors: you're not alone. The Israeli government and local philanthropists are stepping up too,” Weinstock-Gabay emphasizes. Weinstock-Gabay sees her role as more than just fundraising—it's about strengthening the bond between Israel and world Jewry. After October 7, Keren Hayesod leaders from Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Uruguay took the first flights they could get to Israel, some arriving just ten days after the attack.“They've been back nine times since,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “They've visited the north and south, attended shiva visits, funerals, and stood with Israelis in their darkest moments. That's the kind of commitment that defines our people.”As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
Weinstock-Gabay is aware of the historic significance of being Keren Hayesod's first female CEO, but she's reluctant to define her leadership through the lens of gender.“I'm not here because I'm a woman—I'm here because I'm the best person for the job,” she asserted to the Post. “For many years, I never thought about International Women's Day because I had always been able to achieve my goals through hard work and professionalism.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now However, the birth of her daughter, after four sons, changed her perspective. “I realized that what felt obvious to me—that women can achieve anything—is not obvious to everyone. We still have to fight for our place.” AdvertisementWeinstock-Gabay's position is unique among Israel's national institutions, where nearly all CEOs are men. “There are very few female leaders in ministries and senior government positions,” she acknowledges. “That needs to change.”For Weinstock-Gabay, the war is not just a professional challenge—it's deeply personal. She has two sons serving in the IDF, one of whom has suffered from combat-related trauma.“I remember the moment I understood that October 7 was different,” she says. “It was early in the morning when we learned that Ofir Liebstein, the mayor of Sha'ar HaNegev, had been killed. He was a close friend. I was driving my son to his unit, crying, while on a Zoom call with our leadership. That's Israel—personal loss and national duty intertwined.” Weinstock-Gabay's family life, like that of so many Israelis, has been reshaped by war. Her youngest son, just 12 years old, now carries a knife for protection. Her seven-year-old daughter has grown up discussing the likelihood of her brothers not returning from battle as if it were an everyday fact of life.“This is our reality,” Weinstock-Gabay said emotionally. “Every night, I chose my pajamas carefully—because if someone comes to my door to tell me my son has fallen, I want to be prepared.”Fighting donor fatigue, rebuilding the northNow, nearly 18 months into the war, Weinstock-Gabay faces a new challenge: keeping the global Jewish community engaged.“This is the third calendar year we've been fundraising for the same war,” she notes. “We hear about ‘donor fatigue.' But my son is also fatigued—he's been fighting for 16 months. And yet, every day, he chooses to keep going. Supporting Israel is the diaspora's reserve duty.”Looking forward, Keren Hayesod is shifting its focus to rebuilding Israel's north, an area still grappling with security threats and economic hardship. Through a joint initiative with the Israeli government, every dollar raised from the diaspora will be matched or tripled, ensuring maximum impact.“It's a strong message to donors: you're not alone. The Israeli government and local philanthropists are stepping up too,” Weinstock-Gabay emphasizes. Weinstock-Gabay sees her role as more than just fundraising—it's about strengthening the bond between Israel and world Jewry. After October 7, Keren Hayesod leaders from Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Uruguay took the first flights they could get to Israel, some arriving just ten days after the attack.“They've been back nine times since,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “They've visited the north and south, attended shiva visits, funerals, and stood with Israelis in their darkest moments. That's the kind of commitment that defines our people.”As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
“I'm not here because I'm a woman—I'm here because I'm the best person for the job,” she asserted to the Post. “For many years, I never thought about International Women's Day because I had always been able to achieve my goals through hard work and professionalism.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now However, the birth of her daughter, after four sons, changed her perspective. “I realized that what felt obvious to me—that women can achieve anything—is not obvious to everyone. We still have to fight for our place.” AdvertisementWeinstock-Gabay's position is unique among Israel's national institutions, where nearly all CEOs are men. “There are very few female leaders in ministries and senior government positions,” she acknowledges. “That needs to change.”For Weinstock-Gabay, the war is not just a professional challenge—it's deeply personal. She has two sons serving in the IDF, one of whom has suffered from combat-related trauma.“I remember the moment I understood that October 7 was different,” she says. “It was early in the morning when we learned that Ofir Liebstein, the mayor of Sha'ar HaNegev, had been killed. He was a close friend. I was driving my son to his unit, crying, while on a Zoom call with our leadership. That's Israel—personal loss and national duty intertwined.” Weinstock-Gabay's family life, like that of so many Israelis, has been reshaped by war. Her youngest son, just 12 years old, now carries a knife for protection. Her seven-year-old daughter has grown up discussing the likelihood of her brothers not returning from battle as if it were an everyday fact of life.“This is our reality,” Weinstock-Gabay said emotionally. “Every night, I chose my pajamas carefully—because if someone comes to my door to tell me my son has fallen, I want to be prepared.”Fighting donor fatigue, rebuilding the northNow, nearly 18 months into the war, Weinstock-Gabay faces a new challenge: keeping the global Jewish community engaged.“This is the third calendar year we've been fundraising for the same war,” she notes. “We hear about ‘donor fatigue.' But my son is also fatigued—he's been fighting for 16 months. And yet, every day, he chooses to keep going. Supporting Israel is the diaspora's reserve duty.”Looking forward, Keren Hayesod is shifting its focus to rebuilding Israel's north, an area still grappling with security threats and economic hardship. Through a joint initiative with the Israeli government, every dollar raised from the diaspora will be matched or tripled, ensuring maximum impact.“It's a strong message to donors: you're not alone. The Israeli government and local philanthropists are stepping up too,” Weinstock-Gabay emphasizes. Weinstock-Gabay sees her role as more than just fundraising—it's about strengthening the bond between Israel and world Jewry. After October 7, Keren Hayesod leaders from Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Uruguay took the first flights they could get to Israel, some arriving just ten days after the attack.“They've been back nine times since,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “They've visited the north and south, attended shiva visits, funerals, and stood with Israelis in their darkest moments. That's the kind of commitment that defines our people.”As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
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However, the birth of her daughter, after four sons, changed her perspective. “I realized that what felt obvious to me—that women can achieve anything—is not obvious to everyone. We still have to fight for our place.” AdvertisementWeinstock-Gabay's position is unique among Israel's national institutions, where nearly all CEOs are men. “There are very few female leaders in ministries and senior government positions,” she acknowledges. “That needs to change.”For Weinstock-Gabay, the war is not just a professional challenge—it's deeply personal. She has two sons serving in the IDF, one of whom has suffered from combat-related trauma.“I remember the moment I understood that October 7 was different,” she says. “It was early in the morning when we learned that Ofir Liebstein, the mayor of Sha'ar HaNegev, had been killed. He was a close friend. I was driving my son to his unit, crying, while on a Zoom call with our leadership. That's Israel—personal loss and national duty intertwined.” Weinstock-Gabay's family life, like that of so many Israelis, has been reshaped by war. Her youngest son, just 12 years old, now carries a knife for protection. Her seven-year-old daughter has grown up discussing the likelihood of her brothers not returning from battle as if it were an everyday fact of life.“This is our reality,” Weinstock-Gabay said emotionally. “Every night, I chose my pajamas carefully—because if someone comes to my door to tell me my son has fallen, I want to be prepared.”Fighting donor fatigue, rebuilding the northNow, nearly 18 months into the war, Weinstock-Gabay faces a new challenge: keeping the global Jewish community engaged.“This is the third calendar year we've been fundraising for the same war,” she notes. “We hear about ‘donor fatigue.' But my son is also fatigued—he's been fighting for 16 months. And yet, every day, he chooses to keep going. Supporting Israel is the diaspora's reserve duty.”Looking forward, Keren Hayesod is shifting its focus to rebuilding Israel's north, an area still grappling with security threats and economic hardship. Through a joint initiative with the Israeli government, every dollar raised from the diaspora will be matched or tripled, ensuring maximum impact.“It's a strong message to donors: you're not alone. The Israeli government and local philanthropists are stepping up too,” Weinstock-Gabay emphasizes. Weinstock-Gabay sees her role as more than just fundraising—it's about strengthening the bond between Israel and world Jewry. After October 7, Keren Hayesod leaders from Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Uruguay took the first flights they could get to Israel, some arriving just ten days after the attack.“They've been back nine times since,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “They've visited the north and south, attended shiva visits, funerals, and stood with Israelis in their darkest moments. That's the kind of commitment that defines our people.”As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
Weinstock-Gabay's position is unique among Israel's national institutions, where nearly all CEOs are men. “There are very few female leaders in ministries and senior government positions,” she acknowledges. “That needs to change.”For Weinstock-Gabay, the war is not just a professional challenge—it's deeply personal. She has two sons serving in the IDF, one of whom has suffered from combat-related trauma.“I remember the moment I understood that October 7 was different,” she says. “It was early in the morning when we learned that Ofir Liebstein, the mayor of Sha'ar HaNegev, had been killed. He was a close friend. I was driving my son to his unit, crying, while on a Zoom call with our leadership. That's Israel—personal loss and national duty intertwined.” Weinstock-Gabay's family life, like that of so many Israelis, has been reshaped by war. Her youngest son, just 12 years old, now carries a knife for protection. Her seven-year-old daughter has grown up discussing the likelihood of her brothers not returning from battle as if it were an everyday fact of life.“This is our reality,” Weinstock-Gabay said emotionally. “Every night, I chose my pajamas carefully—because if someone comes to my door to tell me my son has fallen, I want to be prepared.”Fighting donor fatigue, rebuilding the northNow, nearly 18 months into the war, Weinstock-Gabay faces a new challenge: keeping the global Jewish community engaged.“This is the third calendar year we've been fundraising for the same war,” she notes. “We hear about ‘donor fatigue.' But my son is also fatigued—he's been fighting for 16 months. And yet, every day, he chooses to keep going. Supporting Israel is the diaspora's reserve duty.”Looking forward, Keren Hayesod is shifting its focus to rebuilding Israel's north, an area still grappling with security threats and economic hardship. Through a joint initiative with the Israeli government, every dollar raised from the diaspora will be matched or tripled, ensuring maximum impact.“It's a strong message to donors: you're not alone. The Israeli government and local philanthropists are stepping up too,” Weinstock-Gabay emphasizes. Weinstock-Gabay sees her role as more than just fundraising—it's about strengthening the bond between Israel and world Jewry. After October 7, Keren Hayesod leaders from Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Uruguay took the first flights they could get to Israel, some arriving just ten days after the attack.“They've been back nine times since,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “They've visited the north and south, attended shiva visits, funerals, and stood with Israelis in their darkest moments. That's the kind of commitment that defines our people.”As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
For Weinstock-Gabay, the war is not just a professional challenge—it's deeply personal. She has two sons serving in the IDF, one of whom has suffered from combat-related trauma.“I remember the moment I understood that October 7 was different,” she says. “It was early in the morning when we learned that Ofir Liebstein, the mayor of Sha'ar HaNegev, had been killed. He was a close friend. I was driving my son to his unit, crying, while on a Zoom call with our leadership. That's Israel—personal loss and national duty intertwined.” Weinstock-Gabay's family life, like that of so many Israelis, has been reshaped by war. Her youngest son, just 12 years old, now carries a knife for protection. Her seven-year-old daughter has grown up discussing the likelihood of her brothers not returning from battle as if it were an everyday fact of life.“This is our reality,” Weinstock-Gabay said emotionally. “Every night, I chose my pajamas carefully—because if someone comes to my door to tell me my son has fallen, I want to be prepared.”Fighting donor fatigue, rebuilding the northNow, nearly 18 months into the war, Weinstock-Gabay faces a new challenge: keeping the global Jewish community engaged.“This is the third calendar year we've been fundraising for the same war,” she notes. “We hear about ‘donor fatigue.' But my son is also fatigued—he's been fighting for 16 months. And yet, every day, he chooses to keep going. Supporting Israel is the diaspora's reserve duty.”Looking forward, Keren Hayesod is shifting its focus to rebuilding Israel's north, an area still grappling with security threats and economic hardship. Through a joint initiative with the Israeli government, every dollar raised from the diaspora will be matched or tripled, ensuring maximum impact.“It's a strong message to donors: you're not alone. The Israeli government and local philanthropists are stepping up too,” Weinstock-Gabay emphasizes. Weinstock-Gabay sees her role as more than just fundraising—it's about strengthening the bond between Israel and world Jewry. After October 7, Keren Hayesod leaders from Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Uruguay took the first flights they could get to Israel, some arriving just ten days after the attack.“They've been back nine times since,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “They've visited the north and south, attended shiva visits, funerals, and stood with Israelis in their darkest moments. That's the kind of commitment that defines our people.”As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
“I remember the moment I understood that October 7 was different,” she says. “It was early in the morning when we learned that Ofir Liebstein, the mayor of Sha'ar HaNegev, had been killed. He was a close friend. I was driving my son to his unit, crying, while on a Zoom call with our leadership. That's Israel—personal loss and national duty intertwined.” Weinstock-Gabay's family life, like that of so many Israelis, has been reshaped by war. Her youngest son, just 12 years old, now carries a knife for protection. Her seven-year-old daughter has grown up discussing the likelihood of her brothers not returning from battle as if it were an everyday fact of life.“This is our reality,” Weinstock-Gabay said emotionally. “Every night, I chose my pajamas carefully—because if someone comes to my door to tell me my son has fallen, I want to be prepared.”Fighting donor fatigue, rebuilding the northNow, nearly 18 months into the war, Weinstock-Gabay faces a new challenge: keeping the global Jewish community engaged.“This is the third calendar year we've been fundraising for the same war,” she notes. “We hear about ‘donor fatigue.' But my son is also fatigued—he's been fighting for 16 months. And yet, every day, he chooses to keep going. Supporting Israel is the diaspora's reserve duty.”Looking forward, Keren Hayesod is shifting its focus to rebuilding Israel's north, an area still grappling with security threats and economic hardship. Through a joint initiative with the Israeli government, every dollar raised from the diaspora will be matched or tripled, ensuring maximum impact.“It's a strong message to donors: you're not alone. The Israeli government and local philanthropists are stepping up too,” Weinstock-Gabay emphasizes. Weinstock-Gabay sees her role as more than just fundraising—it's about strengthening the bond between Israel and world Jewry. After October 7, Keren Hayesod leaders from Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Uruguay took the first flights they could get to Israel, some arriving just ten days after the attack.“They've been back nine times since,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “They've visited the north and south, attended shiva visits, funerals, and stood with Israelis in their darkest moments. That's the kind of commitment that defines our people.”As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
Weinstock-Gabay's family life, like that of so many Israelis, has been reshaped by war. Her youngest son, just 12 years old, now carries a knife for protection. Her seven-year-old daughter has grown up discussing the likelihood of her brothers not returning from battle as if it were an everyday fact of life.“This is our reality,” Weinstock-Gabay said emotionally. “Every night, I chose my pajamas carefully—because if someone comes to my door to tell me my son has fallen, I want to be prepared.”Fighting donor fatigue, rebuilding the northNow, nearly 18 months into the war, Weinstock-Gabay faces a new challenge: keeping the global Jewish community engaged.“This is the third calendar year we've been fundraising for the same war,” she notes. “We hear about ‘donor fatigue.' But my son is also fatigued—he's been fighting for 16 months. And yet, every day, he chooses to keep going. Supporting Israel is the diaspora's reserve duty.”Looking forward, Keren Hayesod is shifting its focus to rebuilding Israel's north, an area still grappling with security threats and economic hardship. Through a joint initiative with the Israeli government, every dollar raised from the diaspora will be matched or tripled, ensuring maximum impact.“It's a strong message to donors: you're not alone. The Israeli government and local philanthropists are stepping up too,” Weinstock-Gabay emphasizes. Weinstock-Gabay sees her role as more than just fundraising—it's about strengthening the bond between Israel and world Jewry. After October 7, Keren Hayesod leaders from Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Uruguay took the first flights they could get to Israel, some arriving just ten days after the attack.“They've been back nine times since,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “They've visited the north and south, attended shiva visits, funerals, and stood with Israelis in their darkest moments. That's the kind of commitment that defines our people.”As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
“This is our reality,” Weinstock-Gabay said emotionally. “Every night, I chose my pajamas carefully—because if someone comes to my door to tell me my son has fallen, I want to be prepared.”Fighting donor fatigue, rebuilding the northNow, nearly 18 months into the war, Weinstock-Gabay faces a new challenge: keeping the global Jewish community engaged.“This is the third calendar year we've been fundraising for the same war,” she notes. “We hear about ‘donor fatigue.' But my son is also fatigued—he's been fighting for 16 months. And yet, every day, he chooses to keep going. Supporting Israel is the diaspora's reserve duty.”Looking forward, Keren Hayesod is shifting its focus to rebuilding Israel's north, an area still grappling with security threats and economic hardship. Through a joint initiative with the Israeli government, every dollar raised from the diaspora will be matched or tripled, ensuring maximum impact.“It's a strong message to donors: you're not alone. The Israeli government and local philanthropists are stepping up too,” Weinstock-Gabay emphasizes. Weinstock-Gabay sees her role as more than just fundraising—it's about strengthening the bond between Israel and world Jewry. After October 7, Keren Hayesod leaders from Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Uruguay took the first flights they could get to Israel, some arriving just ten days after the attack.“They've been back nine times since,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “They've visited the north and south, attended shiva visits, funerals, and stood with Israelis in their darkest moments. That's the kind of commitment that defines our people.”As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
Now, nearly 18 months into the war, Weinstock-Gabay faces a new challenge: keeping the global Jewish community engaged.“This is the third calendar year we've been fundraising for the same war,” she notes. “We hear about ‘donor fatigue.' But my son is also fatigued—he's been fighting for 16 months. And yet, every day, he chooses to keep going. Supporting Israel is the diaspora's reserve duty.”Looking forward, Keren Hayesod is shifting its focus to rebuilding Israel's north, an area still grappling with security threats and economic hardship. Through a joint initiative with the Israeli government, every dollar raised from the diaspora will be matched or tripled, ensuring maximum impact.“It's a strong message to donors: you're not alone. The Israeli government and local philanthropists are stepping up too,” Weinstock-Gabay emphasizes. Weinstock-Gabay sees her role as more than just fundraising—it's about strengthening the bond between Israel and world Jewry. After October 7, Keren Hayesod leaders from Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Uruguay took the first flights they could get to Israel, some arriving just ten days after the attack.“They've been back nine times since,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “They've visited the north and south, attended shiva visits, funerals, and stood with Israelis in their darkest moments. That's the kind of commitment that defines our people.”As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
“This is the third calendar year we've been fundraising for the same war,” she notes. “We hear about ‘donor fatigue.' But my son is also fatigued—he's been fighting for 16 months. And yet, every day, he chooses to keep going. Supporting Israel is the diaspora's reserve duty.”Looking forward, Keren Hayesod is shifting its focus to rebuilding Israel's north, an area still grappling with security threats and economic hardship. Through a joint initiative with the Israeli government, every dollar raised from the diaspora will be matched or tripled, ensuring maximum impact.“It's a strong message to donors: you're not alone. The Israeli government and local philanthropists are stepping up too,” Weinstock-Gabay emphasizes. Weinstock-Gabay sees her role as more than just fundraising—it's about strengthening the bond between Israel and world Jewry. After October 7, Keren Hayesod leaders from Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Uruguay took the first flights they could get to Israel, some arriving just ten days after the attack.“They've been back nine times since,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “They've visited the north and south, attended shiva visits, funerals, and stood with Israelis in their darkest moments. That's the kind of commitment that defines our people.”As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
Looking forward, Keren Hayesod is shifting its focus to rebuilding Israel's north, an area still grappling with security threats and economic hardship. Through a joint initiative with the Israeli government, every dollar raised from the diaspora will be matched or tripled, ensuring maximum impact.“It's a strong message to donors: you're not alone. The Israeli government and local philanthropists are stepping up too,” Weinstock-Gabay emphasizes. Weinstock-Gabay sees her role as more than just fundraising—it's about strengthening the bond between Israel and world Jewry. After October 7, Keren Hayesod leaders from Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Uruguay took the first flights they could get to Israel, some arriving just ten days after the attack.“They've been back nine times since,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “They've visited the north and south, attended shiva visits, funerals, and stood with Israelis in their darkest moments. That's the kind of commitment that defines our people.”As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
“It's a strong message to donors: you're not alone. The Israeli government and local philanthropists are stepping up too,” Weinstock-Gabay emphasizes. Weinstock-Gabay sees her role as more than just fundraising—it's about strengthening the bond between Israel and world Jewry. After October 7, Keren Hayesod leaders from Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Uruguay took the first flights they could get to Israel, some arriving just ten days after the attack.“They've been back nine times since,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “They've visited the north and south, attended shiva visits, funerals, and stood with Israelis in their darkest moments. That's the kind of commitment that defines our people.”As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
“They've been back nine times since,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “They've visited the north and south, attended shiva visits, funerals, and stood with Israelis in their darkest moments. That's the kind of commitment that defines our people.”As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
As the war continues, Weinstock-Gabay remains determined. “We can't afford to let exhaustion set in,” she insists. “The Jewish people have faced existential threats before, and we have survived. We will survive this too.”At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
At the helm of Keren Hayesod, Weinstock-Gabay is proving that leadership in times of crisis requires not just strategy and skill, but an unshakable belief in the mission. For her, that mission is clear: securing the future of Israel and the Jewish people, no matter the obstacles ahead.
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Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has made a bold assessment while speaking on the ongoing war with Russia when he predicted that his counterpart "Vladimir Putin will die soon", calling it a “fact”, The Mirror reported.
The Ukrainian leader was reportedly speaking at a round table with journalists on the Russia- Ukraine war on March 26 in Paris.
“…it will come to an end,” Volodymyr Zelensky made the remarks as he urged the United States to "stay strong" and to keep up the pressure on Russia to end the war, The Sun reported.
Ukraine's 47-year-old leader made the remark amid ongoing speculation about Vladimir Putin's health. Reports last week suggested Putin suffered a “mini-stroke” after he was seen shaking uncontrollably during a conference. Rumours about the Russian President battling cancer have also persisted for years.
HT.com could not independently verify the authenticity of these claims.
Earlier this month, the US paused intelligence-sharing as well as military trade with Ukraine, which experts believed to be a tactic to build pressure on Zelensky to let US President Donald Trump convene peace talks with Russia.
US and Russian officials have begun talks in Saudi Arabia as Donald Trump pushed to forge a limited ceasefire deal that Washington hopes will mark the first step toward lasting peace in Ukraine.
The US reached separate agreements with Ukraine and Russia to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea and to implement a ban on attacks by the two countries on each other's energy facilities.
Also Read | Zelensky denies ‘pressure' on Russia concessions as Trump lauds ‘very good' call with Ukraine president
“The ultimate goal is a 30-day ceasefire, during which time we discuss a permanent ceasefire. We're not far away from that,” said the US special envoy Steve Witkoff in a podcast with Tucker Carlson over the weekend.
Some 30 leaders will meet in Paris on Thursday to discuss with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy how to strengthen military support, review ceasefire efforts and assess what role they could play if a peace deal is struck with Russia.
Also Read | 'Too early to say it will work': Zelensky lauds US deal, slams support for Russian exports
The third summit of what France has called the coalition of the "willing and able" brings together the likes of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot held talks with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing on Thursday as he began a two-day visit to China. During the discussions, Barrot and China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, were set to discuss multiple issues including the war in Ukraine and longstanding trade disputes between China and Europe, officials said.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, left, is greeted by China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Greg Baker/Pool Photo via AP)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, left, is greeted by China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Greg Baker/Pool Photo via AP)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, second left, meets China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, second right, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Greg Baker/Pool Photo via AP)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, unseen, during their meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Greg Baker/Pool Photo via AP)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, left, meets with Duan Peng President of the Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU), in Beijing, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Adek Berry/Pool Photo via AP)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, left, and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi shake hands after a joint briefing at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Greg Baker/Pool Photo via AP)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, left, and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi chat after a joint briefing at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Greg Baker/Pool Photo via AP)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, left looks on as China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks at a joint briefing at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Greg Baker/Pool Photo via AP)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, front right, walks next to Duan Peng, front left, president of the Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU), in Beijing Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Adek Berry/Pool Photo via AP)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks during a joint briefing with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Greg Baker/Pool Photo via AP)
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during a joint briefing with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Greg Baker/Pool Photo via AP)
BEIJING (AP) — French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot began a two-day visit to China on Thursday and held talks with his Chinese counterpart on Ukraine and longstanding trade disputes between China and Europe.
There was no word of any immediate progress, but both sides sounded positive on the state of relations.
Barrot met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who said in a news conference afterward that both countries should “choose multilateralism over unilateralism ... and pursue mutual benefit and win-win outcomes instead of decoupling and isolation.”
That echoed language frequently used by China in criticizing U.S. foreign policy and the Western-led political order.
Barrot later met with Premier Li Qiang, who said: “As we all know, the world is currently not peaceful, and instability and uncertainty are increasing.”
“As two independent and responsible major countries, China and France should strengthen cooperation. Through our cooperation, we should inject more certainty into bilateral relations and the world,” Li said.
Barrot responded that the world was “indeed going through troubled times where a number of major principles, particularly those of multilateralism, are being shaken.”
“In this context, a new Europe is rapidly emerging, its only compass being strategic autonomy. This new Europe is investing massively in its defense, in energy,” the minister said before reporters were escorted from the room.
On Friday, Barrot will travel to Shanghai for meetings with local officials and business leaders.
France has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its struggle against Russia's invasion, while Beijing has backed Russia diplomatically and provided an economic lifeline by buying Russian natural resources. Barrot's visit is an opportunity to gauge China's attitude on Ukraine ahead of a major French-hosted meeting on a possible peacekeeping force for the country.
The talks come as fissures are showing between the U.S. and Europe over support for Ukraine, with Washington increasingly seen as backing Moscow.
French President François Macron said Wednesday that a proposed European armed force could be deployed in Ukraine in under an eventual peace deal, and could “respond” to a Russian attack if Moscow launched one.
Europe has long complained of unfair Chinese trade practices that it says force European companies to take on Chinese partners, share business practices and result in a major Chinese trade surpluses.
The sides also issued a joint statement reaffirming cooperation on climate change marking the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, saying “the agreement and its long-term goals even more requires all parties to inject political impetus into the international cooperation on jointly fighting climate change (and) protecting biodiversity and ecosystems.”
China is both the largest producer and consumer of fossil fuels, mainly coal.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has started the one-year process to once again pull out of the 2015 Paris climate agreement and, formalizing another withdrawal from both climate and foreign aid programs, the Trump administration has told world financial institutions that the U.S is pulling out of the international climate Loss and Damage Fund.
In its first 50 days, the Trump administration has eliminated or cut funding for environmental justice domestically, foreign aid, climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
UK youth parliament concludes tech firms should do more to protect users from violent and inappropriate content
Banning teenagers from social media is neither a “practical nor effective” solution to the growing problem of youth violence, young people from across the UK have told MPs.
Although Australia has implemented a social media ban for under-16s, a better solution would be to strengthen regulation deterring social media companies from promoting violent and age-inappropriate content, the youth select committee of the UK youth parliament concluded in its report examining the links between social media and youth violence.
The report stated that this was because there were benefits to being online, such as learning about the world and forming connections, and because an age ban would be too easy to circumvent.
Wania Eshaal Ahmad, the chair of the youth select committee, said: “The inquiry has made one thing clear: that social media companies should do more to protect young people from violent and harmful content.
“The committee believes that a social media ban, like in Australia, is neither practical nor effective. Instead, tech companies must be held accountable.”
The committee's membership is made up of 14- to 19-year-olds, who examined written evidence from teens across the UK as well as from experts. They urged the government to involve young people in policymaking that affects them at every stage of its development, and specifically those from marginalised and under-represented groups.
Asking for the introduction of a youth advisory panel on Ofcom, they noted: “We have heard little evidence that Ofcom has engaged with young people on online safety.”
They recommended that the government create a consumer-facing online safety standards rating, which would evaluate platforms on their safety measures, responsiveness to harmful content, and efforts to educate users. This would serve as a scorecard giving users accessible information about how safe an online space is.
The committee members added: “We are not persuaded that the Online Safety Act is robust enough to enforce minimum age limits on social media platforms and ensure children and young people will be protected from harmful content.”
They suggested that Ofcom should report annually to parliament on whether the act was proving effective in holding tech companies accountable for providing safe online spaces.
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The report cited a 2024 survey from the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) of 10,000 young people aged between 13 and 17, which found that 70% had encountered some form of violence on social media in the past 12 months, though only 6% had been actively searching for it. The most common form of violence viewed online was fights involving young people, reported by over half of 13- to 17-year-olds.
The same survey found that one in five children had been a victim of some sort of violence in the past year, while 16% had perpetrated violence themselves.
The report also cited research from the children's commissioner for England noting that exposure to online violence “can desensitise them to violence, normalise aggressive behaviour and, in some instances, lead to retaliatory violence”, and suggested that the government should commission research to establish whether there is a causal link, which would feed into the Online Safety Act.
The role of toxic influencers was also cited, including comments from the YEF that “influencers' presentation of crime as a lucrative career option can seem enticing” to young people in “challenging socioeconomic conditions with concerns about their future opportunities”. The report asked the government to work with social media companies to address the harmful content spread by influencers, and to ensure it is not rewarded financially.
On Wednesday, the head of Ofsted added his voice to calls for headteachers to ban smartphones in schools in England. Martyn Oliver, who is chief inspector of the schools watchdog, said heads already had the necessary powers and Ofsted would back those who make the tough decision to ban phones.
In a Q&A with parents, he said children's developing brains should not be “bombarded by non-human algorithms that might be preying upon them”, adding: “It's harmful and it's damaging, so I do believe they should be banned. Ofsted will support schools in banning phones.”
Oliver, who led a large multi-academy trust before taking on the top job at Ofsted, said he had walked into schools in special measures that were in utter chaos, with mobile phone use rife. “And within those schools, within days of banning phones, and as hard as that is initially, you get an immediate sense of calmness across the school.”
The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has asked officials to look into how to monitor more effectively the use of smartphones in schools in England. She told a gathering of headteachers: “The government's position is clear: you have our full backing in ridding our classrooms of the disruption of phones.”
A government spokesperson said: “We are making our streets and online spaces safer for children through delivering our plan for change. Last week, the key provisions of the Online Safety Act came into effect so that online services are required to take action to protect children from illegal content and criminal activity occurring on their platforms.
“This is just the beginning, and in summer additional protection will prevent children from encountering harmful material like pornography and violent and abusive content.”
Nato has clarified comments that its secretary-general Mark Rutte made when he suggested that four US soldiers who went missing while training in Lithuania had died.
“The search is ongoing,” Nato said in a statement posted on X on Wednesday. “We regret any confusion about remarks @SecGenNATO delivered on this today. He was referring to emerging news reports & was not confirming the fate of the missing, which is still unknown.”
The US army said the Hercules armoured vehicle the four US soldiers were in during a training exercise had been found submerged in a body of water. It said recovery efforts were under way by the US army and Lithuanian armed forces and civilian agencies.
On the 4 US soldiers missing in a military exercise in Lithuania, the search is ongoing. We regret any confusion about remarks @SecGenNATO delivered on this today. He was referring to emerging news reports & was not confirming the fate of the missing, which is still unknown
— NATO Spokesperson (@NATOpress) March 26, 2025
The soldiers were conducting tactical training when they went missing.
Asked on Wednesday evening by reporters if he had been briefed about the missing soldiers, US President Donald Trump said: “No, I haven't.”
During a trip to Warsaw, Mr Rutte told reporters that he had received word of the deaths of the four soldiers while he was delivering a lecture, and that his thoughts were with their families and with the United States.
“This is still early news so we do not know the details. This is really terrible news and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones,” Mr Rutte said in Warsaw.
Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT reported that the four US soldiers and their vehicle were reported missing on Tuesday afternoon during an exercise at the General Silvestras Zukauskas training ground in Pabrade.
The Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are all Nato members and have often had chilly ties with Russia, a key ally of Belarus, since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1990.
Relations soured further over Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has been one of the most outspoken supporters of Ukraine in its fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces.
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After facing criticism over a delay in arriving at her Melbourne show, singer Neha Kakkar has shared a message for her fans. Taking to her Instagram Stories on Thursday, Neha warned people against judging her "so quickly". (Also Read | Neha Kakkar's brother Tony Kakkar shares cryptic posts after she faces backlash: ‘Artist maryada mein rahe, aur janta')
Neha simply wrote, "Wait for the truth, you'll regret judging me so quickly (sad face emoji)." The singer faced backlash after she allegedly arrived three hours late for her concert in Melbourne. As the crowd grew restless, Neha broke down on stage and apologised to the audience.
What happened at Neha's Melbourne showSeveral videos on social media platforms showed Neha in tears as she apologized to the audience. The singer was also seen assuring the crowd that she would make up for the lost time. "You have been really sweet and patient itni der se aap log wait kar rahe ho (you have been waiting for so long). I hate it. Maine life mein kabhi kisi ko wait nahi karwaya (I've never made anyone wait in my entire life)," Neha said. Neha got emotional at Melbourne show"Aap itne der se wait kar rahe ho (You have been waiting for so long). I'm so sorry. You mean the world to me. Aap log itne sweet ho (You people are so sweet). I was so worried about ki kya hoga (I was worried what would happen). It means a lot to me. I'll always remember this evening forever. But I'll make sure, aap log jo mere liye itna keemati time nikaal ke aaye ho (that you have taken out your precious time for me), I will make you all dance," she had added. Neha's brother Tony Kakkar defended herFollowing the criticism, her brother, singer and composer Tony Kakkar, came to her defence. Tony took to his Instagram account to share a statement that read, "Suppose I invite you to my city for an event and take full responsibility for all arrangements--booking your hotel, car, airport pickup, and tickets. Now, imagine you arrive only to find that nothing has been booked. No car at the airport, no hotel reservation, and no tickets. In that situation, who is to blame?" In another post, the singer simply wrote, "Artist maryada mein rahe, aur janta? (An artist should remain within their limits, but what about the public?)." Neha is known for songs such as Buhe Vich, Kaala Chashma and Manali Trance. She performed in Melbourne on Sunday, a day after her concert in Sydney, Australia.
Several videos on social media platforms showed Neha in tears as she apologized to the audience. The singer was also seen assuring the crowd that she would make up for the lost time. "You have been really sweet and patient itni der se aap log wait kar rahe ho (you have been waiting for so long). I hate it. Maine life mein kabhi kisi ko wait nahi karwaya (I've never made anyone wait in my entire life)," Neha said.
"Aap itne der se wait kar rahe ho (You have been waiting for so long). I'm so sorry. You mean the world to me. Aap log itne sweet ho (You people are so sweet). I was so worried about ki kya hoga (I was worried what would happen). It means a lot to me. I'll always remember this evening forever. But I'll make sure, aap log jo mere liye itna keemati time nikaal ke aaye ho (that you have taken out your precious time for me), I will make you all dance," she had added.
Following the criticism, her brother, singer and composer Tony Kakkar, came to her defence. Tony took to his Instagram account to share a statement that read, "Suppose I invite you to my city for an event and take full responsibility for all arrangements--booking your hotel, car, airport pickup, and tickets. Now, imagine you arrive only to find that nothing has been booked. No car at the airport, no hotel reservation, and no tickets. In that situation, who is to blame?"
In another post, the singer simply wrote, "Artist maryada mein rahe, aur janta? (An artist should remain within their limits, but what about the public?)."
Neha is known for songs such as Buhe Vich, Kaala Chashma and Manali Trance. She performed in Melbourne on Sunday, a day after her concert in Sydney, Australia.
By Maya Gebeily, Timour Azhari and Feras Dalatey
DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Close to midnight on March 6, as a wave of sectarian killings began in western Syria, masked men stormed the homes of Alawite families in the capital Damascus and detained more than two dozen unarmed men, witnesses said.
Those taken from the neighbourhood of al-Qadam included a retired teacher, an engineering student and a mechanic, all of them Alawite - the minority sect of toppled leader Bashar al-Assad.
A group of Alawites loyal to Assad had launched a fledgling insurgency hours earlier in coastal areas, some 200 miles (320 km) to the northwest. That unleashed a spree of revenge killings there that left hundreds of Alawites dead.
Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa told Reuters he dispatched his forces the next day to halt the violence on the coast but that some fighters who flooded the region to crush the uprising did so without defence ministry authorisation.
Amid fears of wider sectarian conflict across Syria, Sharaa's government took pains to emphasize in the wake of the violence that the killings were geographically limited. It named a fact-finding committee to investigate "the events on the coast".
According to accounts from 13 witnesses in Damascus, however, the sectarian violence spread to the southern edges of Syria's capital, a few kilometres from the presidential palace. The details of the alleged raids, kidnappings and killings have not been previously reported.
"Any Alawite home, they knocked the door down and took the men from inside," said one resident, whose relative, 48-year-old telecoms engineer Ihsan Zeidan, was taken by masked men in the early hours of March 7.
"They took him purely because he's Alawite."
All the witnesses who spoke to Reuters requested anonymity out of fear of reprisals.
The neighbourhood of al-Qadam is well-known to be home to many Alawite families. In total, the witnesses said, at least 25 men were taken. At least 12 of them were later confirmed dead, according to relatives and neighbours, who said they either saw photographs of the bodies or found them dead nearby.
The rest of the men have not been heard from.
Four of the witnesses said some of the armed men who came to al-Qadam identified themselves as members of General Security Service (GSS), a new Syrian agency comprising former rebels.
A spokesperson for the interior ministry, under which the GSS operates, told Reuters the force "did not target Alawites directly. The security forces are confiscating weapons from all sects."
The spokesperson did not respond to further questions, including why unarmed men were allegedly taken in these operations.
Yasser Farhan, spokesman for the committee investigating the sectarian violence, said its work has been geographically limited to the coast, so it had not investigated cases in al-Qadam. "But there may be deliberations within the committee at a later time to expand our work," he told Reuters.
Alawites comprise around 10% of Syria's population, concentrated in the coastal heartlands of Latakia and Tartus. Thousands of Alawite families have also lived in Damascus for decades, and in provincial cities such as Homs and Hama.
CYCLE OF IMPUNITY
Human Rights Watch researcher Hiba Zayadin called for a thorough investigation of the alleged raids, in response to Reuters' reporting.
"Families deserve answers, and the authorities must ensure that those responsible are held accountable, no matter their affiliation," she said. "Until that happens, the cycle of violence and impunity will continue."
Four of the men confirmed dead in Damascus were from the same extended family, according to a relative who escaped the raid by hiding on an upper floor with the family's young children.
They were Mohsen Mahmoud Badran, 77, Fadi Mohsen Badran, 41, Ayham Hussein Badran, a 40-year-old born with two fingers on his right hand, a birth defect that disqualified him from army service, and their brother-in-law Firas Mohammad Maarouf, 45.
Relatives visited the Mujtahid Hospital in central Damascus in search of their bodies but staff denied them access to the morgue and referred them to the GSS branch in al-Qadam, the witness said.
An official there showed them photographs on a phone of all four men, dead. No cause of death was given and none could be ascertained from the images, the relative said.
The official told the family to collect the bodies from the Mujtahid hospital but staff there denied they had them.
"We haven't been able to find them, and we're too scared to ask anyone," the relative told Reuters.
Mohammad Halbouni, Mujtahid Hospital's director, told Reuters that any bodies from al-Qadam were taken directly to the forensic medicine department next door. Staff there said they had no information to share.
The interior ministry spokesperson did not respond to questions about whether the forces at al-Qadam station were linked to the deaths.
Sharaa has announced the dissolution of all rebel groups and their planned integration into Syria's restructured defence ministry. But full command-and-control over the various, sometimes rival, factions remains elusive.
Four other men seized the same night were found in an orchard near al-Qadam, with gunshot wounds indicating they were killed "execution-style," according to a second resident, who told Reuters the family swiftly buried the bodies.
Reuters was unable to confirm independently the details of her account.
Another set of four men were confirmed dead by their relatives, who received photographs of the bodies on messaging platform WhatsApp on Thursday, nearly three weeks after they were taken.
The pictures, reviewed by Reuters, depicted four men on the ground with blood and bruises on their faces. One of them was identified by the relative as Samer Asaad, a 45-year-old with a mental handicap who was taken on the night of March 6.
Most of those seized remain missing.
They include university student Ali Rustom, 25, and his father Tamim Rustom, a 65-year-old retired maths teacher, two relatives told Reuters. "We have no proof, no bodies, no information," one said.
'ALL I WANT IS TO LEAVE'
A relative of Rabih Aqel, a mechanic, said his family had inquired at the local police station and other security agencies but were told they had no information on Aqel's whereabouts.
She drew parallels with forced disappearances under Assad, when thousands vanished into a labyrinthine prison system. In many cases, families would learn years later their relatives had died in detention.
She and the other witnesses said they have not been approached by the fact-finding committee.
Farhan, the committee spokesman, told reporters on Tuesday its members had interviewed witnesses in several coastal districts and had two more cities there to visit.
All the witnesses said they felt under pressure to leave al-Qadam specifically because they were Alawite. Some already had.
One young resident said armed men had come to his home several times in the weeks after Assad's ouster, demanding proof the family owned the house and had not been affiliated to the ousted Assad family.
He and his family have since fled, asking Sunni Muslim neighbours to look after their home.
Others said they had stopped going to work or were only moving around in the daytime to avoid possible arrest.
Another woman in her sixties said she was looking to sell her house in al-Qadam because of the risks her husband or sons would be taken. "After what happened, all I want is to leave the area."
(Reporting by Maya Gebeily, Timour Azhari and Feras Dalatey; Editing by Daniel Flynn)
A 36-year-old man allegedly killed his four children by slitting their throats before hanging himself in a village under Roza Police Station here, an officer said on Thursday.
Rajiv Kumar, a native of Manpur Chachari village, killed his three daughters, Smriti, 12, Kirti, 9, Pragati, 7, and five-year-old son Rishabh, Superintendent of Police Rajesh Dwivedi said.
Rajiv slit their throats with a sharp weapon and hanged himself in another room of his house Wednesday night, he said. The carnage was discovered by Rajiv's father Thursday morning.
"When Rajiv did not open in the morning, his father climbed the roof and went inside the house through the staircase. This is how he came to know about the incident," the officer said.
Family members revealed that Rajiv had suffered a severe head injury in an accident a year ago and was undergoing treatment. The injury had caused him to become easily agitated.
His wife had left for her maternal home the previous day.
The reason behind the incident is yet to be ascertained, police said.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that Rajiv used a sandpaper to sharpen the weapon before killing his children.
The weapon and sandpaper were recovered from the crime scene.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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Pam Bondi suggests there would be no inquiry into the leaked Signal communications about airstrikes in Yemen, New York Times reports
The New York Times reports on remarks by Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, who the paper said “signaled” that there will be no criminal investigation of “Signalgate” – the scandal over the sharing of sensitive information about airstrikes in Yemen on a group chat which contained a top Washington journalist.
“It was sensitive information, not classified, and inadvertently released,” Bondi told reporters in Virginia “while praising the military operation that ensued”, the Times said.
“What we should be talking about is, it was a very successful mission.”
Bondi also said: “If you want to talk about classified information, talk about what was in Hillary Clinton's home. Talk about the classified documents in Joe Biden's garage, that Hunter Biden had access to.”
People have indeed been talking about such episodes, particularly the saga over Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of state between 2009 and 2013, which Republicans notably including Donald Trump used as a bludgeon against Clinton when she ran against Trump in the presidential election of 2016.
Observers have also noted Trump's own problems regarding the handling of classified information after leaving the White House in 2021, which resulted in criminal charges only laid aside after he won the election last year.
Biden also faced scrutiny over his handling of classified information after leaving office, in his case as vice-president between 2009 and 2017. Unlike Trump, Biden was not charged though a scathing report did real political damage. The former president's son, Hunter Biden, was found guilty on tax and guns charges before his father pardoned him on his way out of office.
The US Department of Justice has proposed merging the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Washington Post reports.
The Post said it obtained a memo proposing the move and other reforms. Unnamed justice department officials were said to have “stressed” that the DEA-ATF merger, like other reforms, was not a done deal.
Other possible reforms, the Post said, included transferring an office that deals with international law enforcement to the US Marshals Service.
“The memo does not detail how the changes would be implemented and what, if any, functions of the affected offices would be eliminated,” the Post said, on a day when elsewhere in the federal government, US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr announced 10,000 layoffs, an approach consistent with the Trump administration's brutal slashing of federal departments, under the eye of Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge.
“Many of the proposals reflect the public priorities of the Trump administration,” the Post said about the justice department memo it obtained. “For example, the memo floats reducing the number of attorneys working on investigations and prosecutions related to the Foreign Agents Registration Act.”
As controversy over “Signalgate” continues through a fourth day, Hugo Lowell and Joseph Gedeon consider what this very Washington controversy really means …
The problem with the now infamous Signal chat read around the world is not just that sensitive military-operations details were broadcast, but that this reveals a pattern of what appears to be institutional dishonesty inside the Trump administration and the legal ramifications that presents.
While the national security sphere operating in secret is nothing new, the leak exposes a system of broken accountability, where high-ranking officials can spill military secrets with apparent near-total immunity. Despite potential violations of classification protocols, federal record-keeping laws and promises of operational security, the leaders look to face no meaningful legal consequences.
The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, and the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, have doubled down on the administration's position that none of the messages in the Signal chat were classified, claiming they amounted to a “team update” that did not name intelligence-collection sources or methods.
But Brian Finucane, a former state department attorney with extensive experience in counter-terrorism and military operations, including deliberating and advising on past US military strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, said the specificity of the information about the aircraft types suggests it was classified.
“If I had seen that sort of information beforehand, that was shared with the special operation, in my experience, it would have been classified,” Finucane said. “I can't guarantee what the state of the information was that Hegseth shared, but in my experience, this kind of pre-operational detail would have been classified.”
Full story:
The New York Times reports on remarks by Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, who the paper said “signaled” that there will be no criminal investigation of “Signalgate” – the scandal over the sharing of sensitive information about airstrikes in Yemen on a group chat which contained a top Washington journalist.
“It was sensitive information, not classified, and inadvertently released,” Bondi told reporters in Virginia “while praising the military operation that ensued”, the Times said.
“What we should be talking about is, it was a very successful mission.”
Bondi also said: “If you want to talk about classified information, talk about what was in Hillary Clinton's home. Talk about the classified documents in Joe Biden's garage, that Hunter Biden had access to.”
People have indeed been talking about such episodes, particularly the saga over Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of state between 2009 and 2013, which Republicans notably including Donald Trump used as a bludgeon against Clinton when she ran against Trump in the presidential election of 2016.
Observers have also noted Trump's own problems regarding the handling of classified information after leaving the White House in 2021, which resulted in criminal charges only laid aside after he won the election last year.
Biden also faced scrutiny over his handling of classified information after leaving office, in his case as vice-president between 2009 and 2017. Unlike Trump, Biden was not charged though a scathing report did real political damage. The former president's son, Hunter Biden, was found guilty on tax and guns charges before his father pardoned him on his way out of office.
As we're halfway through the day in Washington and other places affected by what goes on in Washington, here's a brief rundown of significant stories in US politics today:
“Signalgate”, the scandal over how a journalist was added to a group chat about US airstrikes in Yemen, drags on. Two senators have demanded a Pentagon investigation into the affair, while Guardian reporting from Hugo Lowell suggests Donald Trump does not plan to give his political opponents or the media a scalp, whether Mike Waltz, the national security adviser who set up the chat and added Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to it, or Pete Hegseth, the Fox News host turned defense secretary who shared sensitive information.
In a related development, Waltz abruptly made his Venmo account private after Wired was first to report that it was public, showing contacts including White House officials and prominent journalists, and, experts said, exposing his account to malign actors.
Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, said he will cut around 10,000 jobs at his department, saying: “We aren't just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic.”
Amid Trump's blizzard of tariff announcements, newly released data shows airline travel between Canada and the US is “collapsing”, with flight bookings between the two countries down by over 70%.
Speaking of tariffs, here's some further lunchtime reading:
Away from “Signalgate”, in a hearing room on Capitol Hill, Paul Atkins, Donald Trump's pick to lead the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has been facing senators in a confirmation hearing.
In prepared remarks, the chief executive of Patomak Global Partners said: “The current regulatory environment for our financial system inhibits investment and too often punishes success. Unclear, overly politicized, complicated, and burdensome regulations are stifling capital formation, while American investors are flooded with disclosures that do the opposite of helping them understand the true risks of an investment. It is time to reset priorities and return common sense to the SEC.”
Atkins is yet another Trump nominee drawn from the world of the extremely rich. On Wednesday, Reuters reported that he had disclosed “personal assets held jointly with his wife valued at more than $328m”.
Reuters went on: “The SEC is set to hemorrhage workers under voluntary buyouts offered by the White House, which come as officials say the agency was already stretched thin. Atkins, who was an SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, a spokesperson for the Trump presidential transition said Atkins was in full compliance with ethics and disclosure requirements. If confirmed, Mr Atkins will consult with the SEC's ethics officer and act in accordance with the governing regulations during his term at the SEC,” the spokesperson said.
Atkins' disclosures revealed $6m in crypto-related assets – not something to please Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic senator from Massachussetts. In a letter to Atkins on Sunday, Warren posited “significant conflicts of interest” ahead, and said: “You … have served as an expert witness hired by Wall Street firms accused of engaging in Ponzi schemes and other misconduct that you would now be responsible for investigating as SEC chair. Furthermore, you have served as a Board Advisor to the Digital Chamber, a registered lobbying group for the crypto industry. In these roles, you and your firm were paid by the same companies that you would now be responsible for regulating.
“This will raise serious concerns about your impartiality and commitment to serving the public interest if you are confirmed to serve as the next SEC chair.”
Some related reading:
Mike Waltz, Trump's national security adviser who is at the center of the storm over a group chat that leaked highly sensitive military plans to a journalist, left his Venmo account open to the public, according to a new report.
The oversight represents a further security breach, days after the news that Waltz added the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic to a Signal chat in which operational planning for a US attack on Houthis in Yemen was shared.
A Venmo account with the name “Michael Waltz”, which bore a picture of Waltz, was visible to the public until Wednesday afternoon, Wired reported. Waltz's 328-person list of friends included accounts that appeared to belong to Walker Barrett, a National Security Council staffer, and Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff – whose account was also public.
Full story:
Leon Panetta, who served Democratic presidents as White House chief of staff, US defense secretary and CIA director, thinks someone should be fired over the “Signalgate” scandal:
“There's no question that this is a serious breach of national security,” Panetta, 86, told CNN.
“For goodness sakes, this was an attack plan that carries, I think, the highest classification. It certainly did when I was secretary of defense, any kind of attack plan was top secret and had to be protected. And here it was not only put on a Signal commercial network, which is not cleared for confidential communications, but they also included a journalist in a list of very top national security officials who then was exposed to this kind of information.
“This is a serious breach. It needs to be investigated because it could have cost lives. It could have cost us a military mission, and it certainly costs us harm to our national security. It needs to be investigated, and the responsible individual who committed these offenses needs to be punished and fired.”
Mike Waltz, the national security adviser, set up the Signal chat and invited the Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg. Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, shared sensitive information. Donald Trump has backed both men. Both have denied wrongdoing and heaped abuse on Goldberg.
Panetta said he had “been around in Washington for a long time. The biggest problem in Washington, often times, is the truth, and when there are those that don't want to acknowledge the truth, it will come back to undermine them in the future.
We have the truth here. We all know what happened here. There's no mystery here. This is not rocket science. This was an attack plan that was leaked and could have potentially harmed our forces in the attack. There's no question that this was an attack plan. There was talk of weapons, the talk of targets, timing, deployment. This is an attack plan, and it should not have been put on that kind of communication.
“Frankly, this is the kind of thing that ought to be handled in the National Security Council, a situation room, that's where it should be handled. But it wasn't. And now, I think what it does is it puts us in danger, because our enemies are going to be all over this. You know, they've seen us fail to protect our most sensitive information. They're going to be all over the internet. They're going to be all over Signal. They're going to be trying to get the information that was available that put upon this mission, that that really does harm our national security. And it's for that reason that, frankly, Republicans and Democrats ought to be concerned about making sure that this never happens again.”
Asked if he thought US allies would increasingly question whether to share information with the US, Panetta said: “One of the most important things when I was director of the CIA was our relationship with our allies and with those that we could share information with, because getting that kind of information helped us protect the country.
“I think, as a result of showing that we are careless in the way we're handling highly classified information, that there are going to be a lot of countries that think twice about whether or not they're going to share sensitive intelligence with the United States.
“That's going to hurt us.”
Here's a Guardian interview with Panetta from January with a headline that now seems somewhat optimistic:
A little more from Mike Rounds, the Republican senator from South Dakota who spoke to CNN about Signalgate and bipartisan congressional demands for investigations into how national security information came to be shared on a chat group containing a top journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic.
“We work together,” Rounds said, shortly after Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the chair of the Senate armed services committee, and Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the ranking Democrat, demanded a Pentagon investigation.
“We recognize the seriousness of this indiscretion, and we're going to get the inspector general's report we've asked for … and that means the bottom line, we want as much information as we can get, and then we'll do our own assessment.
“But right now, I think they screwed up. I think they know they screwed up. I think they also learned their lesson, and I think the president made it very clear to them that this is a lesson they don't want to forget.”
Mike Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota, is on the Senate armed services and intelligence committees. He just spoke to CNN about the “Signalgate” scandal about top national security officials' sharing of sensitive information about air strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Earlier this week, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, and John Ratcliffe, the CIA director, testified before the Senate intelligence committee. Both denied breaking the law or revealing classified information.
Asked if he thought Gabbard and Ratcliffe had told the truth under oath, Rounds did not give a resounding yes:
“I think they were doing their best to try to get past the committee hearing,” he said.
Mike Waltz, the national security adviser, set up the Signal chat and invited the Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg. Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, shared sensitive information. Donald Trump has backed both men. Both men have angrily denied wrongdoing and heaped abuse on Goldberg.
Rounds continued: “Look, these folks made a mistake, and they're having a very difficult time trying to explain how they made the mistake. They made a mistake. I just hope they've learned their lesson. I think the president probably took a number of them to the woodshed.”
Rounds said Trump “made it clear in his statement that he was not happy with the way this thing turned out, in part because in the middle of a mission that was hugely successful … to have that overshadowed because they started talking way too early about what was going on in the Middle East and doing it on Signal where they really should not have done that.
“And so I think the president probably made it clear to a number of them that this is not going to happen again in front of the committee. I think a number of my colleagues, on a bipartisan basis, kind of sent the same message, and I know that we're going to have an inspector general look at this thing and give us a classified annex report as well, but on a bipartisan basis, Republicans and Democrats, we will have another meeting on this, and we will discuss it with them.”
The request to the acting inspector general for an investigation was made by the armed services chair, Roger Wicker, and ranking Democrat, Jack Reed, on Thursday morning.
The Republican chair and ranking Democrat on the Senate armed services committee have written to the acting inspector general of the Department of Defense, to demand an investigation of “Signalgate”, the scandal over how a journalist was added to a group chat in which top national security officials shared details of airstrikes in Yemen.
Addressing Steven A Stebbins, Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Jack Reed of Rhode Island write: “On 11 March 2025, Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, was reportedly included on a group chat on the commercially available communications application called Signal, which included members of the National Security Council.
This chat was alleged to have included classified information pertaining to sensitive military actions in Yemen. If true, this reporting raises questions as to the use of unclassified networks to discuss sensitive and classified information, as well as the sharing of such information with those who do not have proper clearance and need to know.
The senators go on to demand an assessment of facts and circumstances, and of “any remedial actions taken as a result”; a summary of Pentagon policies regarding such breaches of policies and processes; an assessment of whether other departments' have different policies on the subject; an assessment of whether classified information was leaked through the Signal chat; and “any recommendations to address potential issues identified”.
The senators also say they will schedule a briefing from Stebbins.
Stebbins is in the Pentagon inspector general role in an acting capacity because Donald Trump fired his predecessor amid a round of such terminations in January – a highly controversial move given the notionally independent status of such officials.
Mike Waltz, the national security adviser who set up the Signal chat and added Goldberg, and Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary who shared sensitive material, have denied wrongdoing and attacked Goldberg and the Atlantic.
The Guardian's Hugo Lowell reports that Trump is not minded to sack anyone over the scandal.
Another Republican member of the Senate armed services committee, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, just spoke to CNN. More to come.
As Hugo Lowell reports (see post here and full story here), Donald Trump is sticking by his men in the “Signalgate” scandal, reluctant to give the mainstream media or his political enemies the satisfaction of claiming a scalp.
Today, the president's schedule shows an intelligence briefing at 11am, an executive order signing session at 2pm, a White House session with a group of podcasters, and at 8pm the White House Iftar dinner, an annual celebration of and for Muslim Americans which Joe Biden had to cancel last year, when US support for Israel's war in Gaza prompted many guests to decline invitations.
Trump hasn't been particularly busy on social media – at least not since the small hours of the morning, when posts included a rant about James Boasberg, the federal judge Trump wants impeached, over rulings concerning the invocation of the Aliens and Enemies Act of 1798, in relation to deportations of alleged (but not proven) undocumented criminals.
Boasberg has been assigned to a lawsuit concerning the Signal leak. Trump wrote, in part: “How disgraceful is it that ‘Judge' James Boasberg has just been given a fourth ‘Trump Case,' something which is, statistically, IMPOSSIBLE. There is no way for a Republican, especially a TRUMP REPUBLICAN, to win before him. He is Highly Conflicted, not only in his hatred of me — Massive Trump Derangement Syndrome! — but also, because of disqualifying family conflicts.”
Trump, the likely direct author of the post, given its length, timing and extensive use of capitals, continued without identifying the alleged “family conflicts” he claimed. (Rightwing media has more.)
Trump also complained about NPR and PBS, which he wants Republicans in Congress to defund, and the European Union and Canada, targets of his newly announced automotive industry tariffs.
This morning, Trump heralded the arrest of “a major leader of MS-13”, a criminal gang with roots in El Salvador. Then he returned to attacking Judge Boasberg … and Politico and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
Later, the attorney general, Pam Bondi, spoke to reporters about the MS-13 arrest, which she said involved a “top” leader of the gang in the US, “right here in Virginia, living half an hour outside of Washington, DC”. No name was given – court documents should show that later.
El Salvador has been the destination for US deportation flights at issue in Trump's clash with Judge Boasberg. Here's a heartbreaking report from the Dallas Morning News, about a deportee who insists on his innocence and his family's grief.
The US Embassy in India cancelled over 2,000 visa applications due to fraud-related activities. The embassy detected major violations in the appointment system by "bad actors" or bots and suspended their accounts, it said on Wednesday.
"Consular Team India is cancelling about 2,000 visa appointments made by bots. We have zero tolerance for agents and fixers that violate our scheduling policies," the US Embassy wrote in a post on X.
"Effective immediately, we are cancelling these appointments and suspending the associated accounts' scheduling privileges," they added.
Consular Team India is canceling about 2000 visa appointments made by bots. We have zero tolerance for agents and fixers that violate our scheduling policies. pic.twitter.com/ypakf99eCo
B1 and B2 visas, meant for business and tourism, have seen significant backlogs in recent years. In 2022-23, waiting times ranged from 800 to 1,000 days, prompting the US to open visa appointments for Indian applicants in Frankfurt and Bangkok.
In 2022, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar raised concerns about the visa delays with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who attributed the backlog to the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr Jaishankar again spoke about these concerns in January this year to the second Trump administration.
"If it takes 400-odd days of waiting period to get a visa, I don't think the relationship is well served by this. He (Marco Rubio) also noted that point," Mr Jaishankar said after his bilateral meeting with US Senator Marco Rubio, where immigration issues were discussed.
Beyond business and tourism visas, student visa denials have also surged. In FY 23-24 (October 2023 - September 2024), the US received 6.79 lakh applications for F-1 student visas, rejecting 2.79 lakh of them. This was a 41 per cent rejection rate, a sharp increase from the previous year when 36 per cent of 6.99 lakh applications were denied.
In 2014, the rejection rate was 15 per cent, which has now nearly tripled. The total number of visas approved has also declined, impacting universities and international students.
Though country-specific rejection rates are not officially disclosed, reports suggest that Indian students faced a 38 per cent drop in student visas issued in the first nine months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin "will die soon," believing it will bring an end to the ongoing war between their countries, according to The Kyiv Independent. Zelensky made these remarks during an interview with European journalists on March 26 in Paris, amid persistent rumours about Putin's health. The statement is a bold one, given the ongoing conflict and the sensitivity surrounding the health of world leaders.
As per the new portal, his comments come a day after Russia and Ukraine agreed to implement a US-brokered partial ceasefire on energy infrastructure attacks and hostilities in the Black Sea. In exchange, the US agreed to expand Russia's access to global markets.
"It is very important that America does not help Putin to get out of this global isolation now," Zelensky said during a visit to Paris.
"I believe that this is dangerous. This is one of the most dangerous moments."
Putin hopes to "remain in power until his death", Zelensky said, and his ambitions are not limited to Ukraine but could lead to "a direct confrontation with the West".
Zelensky urged the US and Europe to remain united in pressuring Putin. The Russian leader fears the European-American alliance and hopes to divide it, Zelensky said.
Putin also fears his own mortality, he added.
"He will die soon, that is a fact, and everything will be over," Zelensky said.
Meanwhile, Zelenskiy expressed gratitude for US assistance in the war but said Washington had become "influenced" by Russian narratives of the conflict.
"We cannot agree with these narratives. We are fighting for ourselves, and we will fight against these narratives wherever they appear because there is simply no other way," he said.
"The only thing we can do is reveal more truth. We must demonstrate with our own examples that we are fighting on the battlefield."
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and now controls about 113,000 sq km, or about 20%, of Ukraine, with fighting along a 1,000 km (621 mile) frontline.
Russia has pounded Ukraine's power grid with missiles and drones, and Kyiv has launched long-range strikes on Russian oil and gas targets in attacks that have become a major aspect of the war to undermine each other's war efforts.
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The Democrats have increased their calls for US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to resign for sending Yemen war plans via a messaging app.
A national security scandal involving senior US officials has intensified with the release of screenshots showing that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth shared detailed information about airstrikes in Yemen via a messaging app.
The Pentagon leader used a group chat on Signal to communicate with other top Trump administration figures about imminent airstrikes against the Iran-backed Houthis on 15 March this year.
Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic magazine, revealed the existence of the chat on Monday, explaining that he had mistakenly been added to the group by Michael Waltz, the US national security adviser.
Since Goldberg's bombshell piece was published, Democrats have called for Hegseth and Waltz to resign over what they have called a serious intelligence breach, while the Trump administration has sought to limit the fallout.
After Trump and his allies insisted that no classified information had been shared in the group, the Atlantic decided to publish the full transcript of the conversation on Wednesday.
In the course of the discussion, Hegseth listed the precise timings of US military operations against the Houthis, just hours before they were due to take place. He also detailed the weapons and aircraft that would be used.
In response to the latest revelations, Democrats have ramped up their demands for Hegseth to step down.
Andy Kim, a Democratic senator from New Jersey, posted on X: “This new Signal chat is shocking. Clearly incredibly sensitive and classified information.”
“As someone who worked in the Situation Room before, I cannot believe Hegseth would recklessly text info that could put a target on our pilots and service members. He needs to resign,” Kim wrote.
Jim Himes, a Democratic congressman representing Connecticut, thought it was lucky that the US' enemies had not intercepted the messages and handed them to the Houthis.
“It's by the awesome grace of god that we are not mourning dead pilots right now,” he said.
During an appearance before the House intelligence committee on Wednesday, Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence, continued to insist that the country's national security had not been endangered.
“There were no sources, methods, locations or war plans that were shared,” she said.
Hegseth, who is currently on a tour of the Indo-Pacific, has denied revealing “war plans”.
Analysts have questioned why Hegseth and his colleagues were using Signal, an encrypted messaging app, to exchange such sensitive information.
One day before the 15 March strikes against the Houthis, the defence department warned its staff about the vulnerability of Signal, saying Russia was trying to hack the app, according to an anonymous US official.
The US government has been targeting the Iran-backed group in Yemen over its attacks against ships in the Red Sea.
UK prime minister Keir Starmer calls out Russia for ‘playing games' as French president Emmanuel Macron says Europe must prepare for any scenario
Key European leaders stressed that it was “not the time” to start lifting sanctions against Russia, as they called out Moscow's delaying tactics in responding to a US-led ceasefire proposal in Ukraine (14:07, 14:18, 14:29).
French president Emmanuel Macron outlined the structure of a future security guarantee proposed by the “coalition of the willing,” with further support for the Ukrainian army, a reassurance force stationed away from the frontline but offering support in “strategic” areas, and a broader push to rearm and coordinate better among the participating countries (14:52).
French president Emmanuel Macron said there was currently no unanimity among all participants in the Paris summit on sending a European-led reassurance force to Ukraine, although he stressed it was not required to advance plans for its deployment.
The French president said that Europe must prepare for any scenario, including one where its security initiative would not be supported by the US, but he appeared to repeatedly suggest that US president Donald Trump could change his mind once it becomes clear that Russia does not engage with his plans in good faith (15:00).
UK prime minister Keir Starmer confirmed plans for French, British and German army chiefs to travel to Kyiv to help with planning support for future Ukrainian army, as part of a broader push to offer reassurance to the country, and a new Ukraine defence contact group meeting “to marshal more military aid and keep Ukraine in the fight” (15:09).
Starmer also repeatedly called out Russia for “playing games and … playing for time,” saying he would want to see progress in “days and weeks, not months and months” (15:17).
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia does not want peace in Ukraine and seeks to divide Europe and America, as he urged the US to take a stronger line and impose sanctions on Russia for refusing to accept an unconditional ceasefire and called for a “reaction” to Moscow's repeated violation of limited arrangements in place (16:57, 17:03).
Zelenskyy also said the US was “constantly” shifting its approach to a minerals deal with Ukraine, but insisted that Kyiv remained willing and “sending positive signals” on the agreement (16:20).
Bulgaria has offered to host a multinational maritime coordination centre to ensure the safety of shipping in the western part of the Black Sea, as part of a future security architecture supporting Ukraine, the Bulgarian government said.
The proposal was made at the Paris summit by the country's prime minister, Rosen Zhelyazkov, according to the government's press release.
It said that the Bulgarian proposal includes a mechanism for “constant maritime surveillance and early warning [alerts] on potential threats,” as well as monitoring of the critical underwater infrastructure in the Black Sea.
Zhelyazkov argued that the new structure could build on the Black Sea mine action group, formed with Turkey and Romania.
Estonian prime minister Kristen Michal said his main message in Paris was that “there is only one plan, Ukraine's plan,” as he stressed that “Russia should have no say in Ukraine's defence and security guarantees.”
“Ukraine wants peace – and proves it. Russia delays and demands,” he says.
He added that “Europe will do its share and remain determined to build lasting peace.”
Key European leaders stressed that it was “not the time” to start lifting sanctions against Russia, as they called out Moscow's delaying tactics in responding to a US-led ceasefire proposal in Ukraine (14:07, 14:18, 14:29).
French president Emmanuel Macron outlined the structure of a future security guarantee proposed by the “coalition of the willing,” with further support for the Ukrainian army, a reassurance force stationed away from the frontline but offering support in “strategic” areas, and a broader push to rearm and coordinate better among the participating countries (14:52).
French president Emmanuel Macron said there was currently no unanimity among all participants in the Paris summit on sending a European-led reassurance force to Ukraine, although he stressed it was not required to advance plans for its deployment.
The French president said that Europe must prepare for any scenario, including one where its security initiative would not be supported by the US, but he appeared to repeatedly suggest that US president Donald Trump could change his mind once it becomes clear that Russia does not engage with his plans in good faith (15:00).
UK prime minister Keir Starmer confirmed plans for French, British and German army chiefs to travel to Kyiv to help with planning support for future Ukrainian army, as part of a broader push to offer reassurance to the country, and a new Ukraine defence contact group meeting “to marshal more military aid and keep Ukraine in the fight” (15:09).
Starmer also repeatedly called out Russia for “playing games and … playing for time,” saying he would want to see progress in “days and weeks, not months and months” (15:17).
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia does not want peace in Ukraine and seeks to divide Europe and America, as he urged the US to take a stronger line and impose sanctions on Russia for refusing to accept an unconditional ceasefire and called for a “reaction” to Moscow's repeated violation of limited arrangements in place (16:57, 17:03).
Zelenskyy also said the US was “constantly” shifting its approach to a minerals deal with Ukraine, but insisted that Kyiv remained willing and “sending positive signals” on the agreement (16:20).
Separately from Zelenskyy's press conference, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni also offered her take on today's talks, saying she hopes the United States will be involved in the next European meeting on Ukraine.
She “stressed the importance of continuing to work with the United States to stop the conflict and achieve peace”, her office said, AFP reported.
As such, she “hoped for the involvement of an American delegation at the next coordination meeting”, it said.
Zelenskyy also noted the Black Sea ceasefire is more beneficial for Russia, as Ukrainian export corridors were working anyway.
He also says that Ukraine will put together a list of examples of Russian violations of the agreed ceasefire arrangements on energy infrastructure and the Black Sea, hoping for a reaction from the US.
That concludes his press conference.
Zelenskyy suggests that the US should have imposed sanctions on Russia when it rejected the US proposal for a full ceasefire.
But, probably remembering the Oval Office spat, he quickly makes a pause there and adds:
Okay, let's just make a pause and not just tell America, advise America what to do. They have their own people who can advise.
But he points out that Ukraine keeps agreeing to US proposals without changes, meanwhile Russia effectively keeps rejecting it, as it demands late adjustments or introduces new conditions.
Zelenskyy has been giving fascinating insight into the reality of working as a wartime leader, as he talks about the need to have open communications channels with other leaders, as “compared to the country at war, the entire world live at a very slow pace” and in “different realities.”
He says some pertinent issues could be addressed quickly, as he talks about difficulties with getting the US agreement and licenses for producing Patriot missiles locally in Ukraine.
He also takes a slight detour to criticise US envoy Steve Witkoff, saying that some of the things he says “for us, for Ukrainians, they look in a very abstract matter, like from another world.”
He appears to suggest that his experience of being a real estate diplomat in the US has limited application to the realities of a country at war.
But he pointedly stresses the importance of remaining close partners with both Europe and the US.
He then repeatedly says that Russian president Vladimir Putin is the only blockage to progress in peace talks, as he says he is ready for talks in any possible format.
Turning to president Trump more directly, he issues a passionate plea for him to back Ukraine against Russia and offer adequacy security guarantees if the US blocks Ukraine's accession to Nato.
He also says that the US could play a critical role in enforcing the ceasefire or peace deal, as its military power would make Russia aware there would be serious consequences of breaking whatever is agreed.
Zelenskyy responds to questions on the outcomes of the summit, repeatedly insisting he is happy that with every summit “the position … is clearer and stronger,” despite natural minor differences when over 30 countries meet in one place.
“What unites us is that everybody is in support of, speaks in support of Ukraine, for the security guarantees for us and it's very important, they are on our side,” he says.
He stresses that Ukraine would not recognise any part of its occupied territory as Russian.
Earlier he also spoke about the need for stronger air defence systems, suggesting there is scope for the US to provide it with more support in this area as requested during his recent phone call with president Trump, but says this has not been discussed in details yet.
Zelenskyy also says the meeting sent a very clear signal that Russia “cannot dictate the personnel strength of our armed forces,” as there was a consensus that having a strong Ukrainian army will be a key part of any future security infrastructure.
He says it is “important that the same attitude is present within the United States,” adding that the meeting “sends this signal to US and others” on this.
On specific reassurance force that could be deployed to Ukraine, he says “there are lot of proposals from leaders,” and “there are a lot of issues, there are fewer answers,” but he notes there are planned meetings that will take it further, like the Franco-British visit to Kyiv later.
Asked directly about it, he insists he is not disappointed with outcome of the summit, listing what he sees as benefits of the meeting, with commitments on future drone production and a clear political signal on sanctions.
In his first question, Zelenskyy gets asked about the role of the US, and he says it is “undoubtedly very important.”
He repeats his accusation that Russian president Vladimir Putin “doesn't want” peace and wants to divide Europe and America.
“His Kremlin machinery has been working it more for more than one year, dividing weakening Europe, dividing the European Union, dividing the United States of America, dividing the united states, states from within, in terms of support for Ukraine or not supporting Ukraine,” he says.
Zelenskyy then gets asked about the prospect of signing a new minerals deal between the US and Ukraine.
He says that the US has “constantly” been changing its approach to the deal, which was originally meant to be signed as a framework agreement first, followed by a detailed one, but now the US wants to pursue a full agreement.
He says there appears to be a reverse process to the one previously discussed, but says that lawyers at looking at proposals, ready to work through it.
“But I wouldn't like to leave the United States with the feeling that Ukraine is against in general; we have shown constantly our [will] and have been sending positive signals,” he says.
Asked specifically about whether there are any prospects of him making another visit to the White House, he says there are currently no such plans.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy opens by saying that it is important that “lifting of any sanctions on Russia” will not happen until “a fair and just peace” is agreed.
He also welcomes new support packages for Ukraine, and adds there is a broader “vision” in terms of how Ukraine could be supported in the future.
He also thanks France for lighting up the Eiffel Tower in the Ukrainian colours last night, “demonstrating to the rest of the world what kind of support Ukraine enjoys” from partners.
We're expecting to hear from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy soon. I will bring you the key lines here.
A sightseeing trip took a terrifying turn when a small aircraft, a Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser, crashed into Alaska's Tustumena Lake on Sunday, the Independent reported. The pilot and two children, stranded on the plane's partially submerged wing, endured nearly 12 hours in freezing temperatures before a Good Samaritan spotted them and alerted rescuers.
Terry Godes, a local pilot, joined the search on Monday morning after seeing a Facebook plea for help. While flying over the vast, glacial lake, he initially spotted what appeared to be aircraft wreckage.
"It kind of broke my heart to see that," Mr Godes said.
But as he flew lower, he saw movement- three people were atop the plane's wing, desperately waving.
"I could see that there were three people on top of the wing," he recalled.
Realizing they were alive, Mr Godes quickly radioed other search pilots. Dale Eicher, another pilot in the area, picked up the call and, using his better cell service, relayed the exact coordinates to authorities.
The Alaska National Guard responded immediately, rescuing the survivors from their precarious perch.
"I wasn't sure if we would find them, especially with the cloud cover over the mountains," Mr Eicher said. "Finding them within an hour-and alive-was very good news."
According to Alaska State Troopers, the survivors were taken to a hospital, where their injuries were determined to be non-life-threatening.
Mr Godes described the rescue as nothing short of miraculous. The trio faced brutal conditions overnight, with temperatures dropping into the 20s (below freezing Celsius), stranded on a sinking plane in the middle of a remote lake.
"They spent a long, cold, dark, wet night on top of a wing of an airplane that they weren't planning on," Mr Godes said.
The plane was nearly submerged, with only part of the wing and rudder visible above the water.
Located about 80 miles southwest of Anchorage, Tustumena Lake is notorious for its sudden and powerful winds. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game warns that the area, surrounded by mountains and a glacier, can be treacherous for both boats and planes.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
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North Korea appears to have sent at least 3,000 more soldiers to Russia early this year, South Korea's military said Thursday, demonstrating Pyongyang's continued support for Moscow's war on Ukraine as world leaders push for an end to the three-year conflict.
The news comes as Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said a visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia is being prepared, according to state media TASS.
The reinforcements, sent in January and February, add to the roughly 11,000 troops North Korea has sent to Russia so far, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. About 4,000 of them have been killed or injured in combat, according to Seoul.
Pyongyang has also sent a “significant amount” of short-range ballistic missiles and about 220 pieces of 170-millimeter self-propelled howitzers and 240-millimeter multiple rocket launchers, South Korea said. It said the North's contributions are “expected to increase according to the situation.”
While North Korea appears to be ramping up its support for Russia's war, European leaders and allies are set to meet in Paris Thursday to discuss aid for Ukraine and long-term stability in the region, amid shaky efforts by the White House to broker a ceasefire.
Following talks in Saudi Arabia this week, the US said both Russia and Ukraine agreed to stop using force in the Black Sea and uphold a previously announced pause on attacks against energy infrastructure. But Russia introduced some far-reaching conditions for signing up to the partial truce, which falls far short of a 30-day full ceasefire initially proposed by the White House.
The Kremlin said it would only implement the agreements once sanctions on its banks and exports are lifted, showing the significant gulf in expectations between the negotiating parties.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russia's President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, have been deepening security ties since they signed a landmark defense pact last year and pledged to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance in the event the other is attacked.
Putin's top security adviser Sergei Shoigu met with Kim last week in Pyongyang, where he conveyed Putin's “warmest wishes and greetings,” Russian state-run news agency TASS reported.
“He pays the utmost attention to the implementation of agreements reached with you,” Shoigu told Kim, according to TASS.
The United States has warned that Russia may be close to sharing advanced space and satellite technology with North Korea, on top of military equipment and training it is already providing, in exchange for North Korean support for the war in Ukraine.
North Korean troops had been deployed to the Russian region of Kursk to repel Ukraine's incursion since at least November. But they withdrew from the front lines in January after reports of mass casualties, Ukrainian officials said.
South Korean lawmaker Yoo Yong-won, who visited Ukraine in late February, said about 400 North Korean soldiers in Russia had been killed and about 3,600 injured as of February 26.
CNN has previously reported on the brutal and near-suicidal tactics of North Korean soldiers, who in some cases have detonated grenades rather than be captured by Ukrainian forces, and have written pledges of allegiance to Kim on the battlefield.
Since the war began, North Korea has also sent thousands of shipping containers of munitions or munitions-related material to Russia, and Moscow's forces have launched North Korea-made missiles on Ukraine, according to US officials.
North Korean medical facilities have also treated hundreds of Russian soldiers injured in Ukraine, Moscow's ambassador to Pyongyang said in an interview with state-run outlet Rossiyskaya Gazeta in February.
Meanwhile, Russia supplies North Korea with coal, food and medicine, Ambassador Alexander Matsegora told the outlet. He also said children of Russian troops killed in Ukraine had vacationed in North Korea last summer, and Russia and North Korea are developing student exchanges.
South Korean officials have echoed US concerns that the deepening partnership between Russia and North Korea could facilitate technology transfers to the Kim regime.
This week, Kim oversaw a test of new AI-powered attack drones, North Korean state-run news agency KCNA reported, and directed that they be further developed “in keeping with the trend of modern warfare.”
Pyongyang also unveiled a new reconnaissance drone that could have partly come from Russia, South Korea's military said Thursday.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Lee Seong-jun said that the aircraft model had been modified from an original North Korean plane, but the “internal equipment and such parts could be related to Russia.”
Drones have become a central weapon in the fighting between Russia and Ukraine. The number of Russian drone attacks on Ukraine skyrocketed from just 379 in May 2024 to nearly 2,500 in November.
Amid ongoing talks of a ceasefire, Ukraine and Russia have continued to exchange attacks. Late Wednesday, Russian forces launched a massive drone attack on the northeastern city of Kharkiv, injuring at least nine people and damaging civilian infrastructure, Ukrainian authorities said.
“No country should have to go through this,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram following the attack.
In an interview with Newsmax Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said he believes Russia wants to end the war, but “it could be they're dragging their feet.”
CNN's Gawon Bae and Sebastian Shukla contributed reporting.
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A state-level food safety task force recently flagged numerous violations at a restaurant in southern Hyderabad. On March 21, 2025, the officials inspected Hotel Tulips Grand situated in the locality of Turkayamjal. They found and discarded unsafe food stocks, including 96 kilos of spoiled meat, infested ice cream worth Rs 2500 and 10 packets of mushrooms. In the cold room, they discovered "completely rotten" meat that had been stored for a long time. Moreover, they found expired mushrooms as well as insect-infested ice creams and poppy seeds in the store room.
Also Read: Serious Unhygienic Conditions, Unsafe Food Flagged At These Restaurants In Madhapur And Gachibowli
The food safety team made note of the "unhygienic condition" of the cooking and storage areas. They flagged the lack of a proper drainage system in the kitchen and open dustbins near the cooking area. The task force said that oil was being used repeatedly for cooking on the premises. Apart from these problems, the FBO [Food Business Operator] did not have documentation relating to rest control and other necessary records.
State level task force team has conducted an inspection at the below establishment on 21.03.2025.𝗛𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗸𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗺𝗷𝗮𝗹, 𝗛𝗮𝘆𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗿* Unhygienic conditions observed in the cooking area and storage premises.* Dustbin found to… pic.twitter.com/B9QCx3we3g
Also Read: Cockroach And Rodent Infestation Found At '4 Seasons Multi Cuisine Restaurant' In Hyderabad
On the same day, food safety officials inspected three 'mandi' restaurants in and around Hyderabad's Khairatabad area. The establishments were Mandi King Royale, Mandi Town and Mandi 36 Arabian Kitchen. The task force flagged issues with storage, lack of documentation, unhygienic premises, unsafe food items and more. Click here to read more about their findings.
The officials also conducted inspections of dairy units in the state recently. On March 20, 2025, the team went to the Shrinath Dairy Unit in the Katedan area. On March 18, the food safety team inspected Yashoda Dairy Products in Quthbullapur. Serious hygiene problems were discovered during their checks. Read the complete article here.
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This is Radio Schuman, your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news, insights, and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond.
Brussels, My Love?
From the economy to the climate and the EU's role in world affairs, this talk show sheds light on European affairs and the issues that impact on our daily lives as Europeans. Tune in to understand the ins and outs of European politics.
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Europe's water is under increasing pressure. Pollution, droughts, floods are taking their toll on our drinking water, lakes, rivers and coastlines. Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters, how our wastewater can be better managed, and to discover some of the best water solutions. Video reports, an animated explainer series and live debate - find out why Water Matters, from Euronews.
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Authorities have struggled to contain the blazes which have killed 27 people and damaged scores of buildings.
South Korea authorities are battling the country's worst-ever wildfires that have left 27 dead and destroyed over 300 structures, including ancient Buddhist temples.
Among the dead is a pilot whose helicopter crashed in Uiseong whilst trying to control the flames.
On Thursday, helicopters dumped water over the wildfires that have been raging across South Korea's southeastern regions since last Friday.
The government has mobilised thousands of emergency responders and dozens of helicopters to tackle the blazes, but officials say their efforts are hampered by strong winds fanning the flares.
Korea Forest Service chief Lim Sang-seop said “a small amount” — less than 5 millimetres — of rain was expected in the area on Thursday, but added it would likely not be enough to combat the infernos.
The wildfires have so far burned through 88,980 acres of land in the country's southeast, with observers saying the figure is the worst of its kind in South Korea.
The blazes have also injured 30 people — eight seriously — destroyed 325 buildings and forced 37,180 people to evacuate.
A temple built in the 7th century was among the buildings destroyed in Uiseong, with around 20 of the 30 structures at the Gounsa temple complex collapsing due to the fires.
Among them were two state-designated “treasures” — a pavilion-shaped building erected overlooking a stream in 1668, and a Joseon dynasty structure built in 1904 to mark the longevity of a king.
On Wednesday night, strong winds and smoke-filled skies forced authorities in the southeastern city of Andong to order evacuations in two villages, including Puncheon, home to the Hahoe folk village — a UNESCO World Heritage Site founded around the 14th-15th century.
“Damages are snowballing,” acting President Han Duck-soo warned in a televised address on Wednesday. “There are concerns that we'll have wildfire damages that we've never experienced, so we have to concentrate all our capabilities on putting out the wildfires this week.”
Authorities suspect human error caused several of the wildfires, including cases where people started fires while clearing overgrown grass from family tombs or with sparks during welding work.
Russia and North Korea will soon begin construction of a road bridge over the Tumen river between the two countries, Russia's ambassador to Pyongyang was quoted as saying by state news agency RIA.The bridge was agreed upon during a visit by President Vladimir Putin to North Korea in 2024, when the two countries signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement. The road bridge will be built near the existing "Friendship Bridge" rail bridge, which was commissioned in 1959 after the Korean War. An ancient wooden bridge used to cross the border in the early 20th century, but it was destroyed, according to Russian media."The construction of the bridge has not yet begun," Alexander Matsegora, Russia's ambassador to North Korea, told RIA. Advertisement"The parties are carrying out preparatory work, finalizing design documentation, forming construction crews and columns of equipment," he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin's top security adviser Sergei Shoigu disembarks a plane as he arrives in North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency March 21, 2025. (credit: KCNA VIA REUTERS)The road bridge, which has been under discussion for years, will be 850 meters (2789 ft) and link up with the Russian highway system. Status of the bridge's constructionSouth Korean satellite imagery analysis firm SI Analytics said in a March 5 report that work on the bridge's foundations and road links appeared to have begun."With the rapid construction of this bridge following the existing rail link, the only passage between North Korea and Russia, a sharp increase in economic, social, and military exchanges is anticipated," the report said. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now "This could potentially lead to a gradual erosion of the effectiveness of international sanctions against North Korea and Russia." AdvertisementA visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia this year is also being prepared, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said on Thursday, state-run news agency TASS reported.A visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Pyongyang is also being prepared, Rudenko added.
The bridge was agreed upon during a visit by President Vladimir Putin to North Korea in 2024, when the two countries signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement. The road bridge will be built near the existing "Friendship Bridge" rail bridge, which was commissioned in 1959 after the Korean War. An ancient wooden bridge used to cross the border in the early 20th century, but it was destroyed, according to Russian media."The construction of the bridge has not yet begun," Alexander Matsegora, Russia's ambassador to North Korea, told RIA. Advertisement"The parties are carrying out preparatory work, finalizing design documentation, forming construction crews and columns of equipment," he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin's top security adviser Sergei Shoigu disembarks a plane as he arrives in North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency March 21, 2025. (credit: KCNA VIA REUTERS)The road bridge, which has been under discussion for years, will be 850 meters (2789 ft) and link up with the Russian highway system. Status of the bridge's constructionSouth Korean satellite imagery analysis firm SI Analytics said in a March 5 report that work on the bridge's foundations and road links appeared to have begun."With the rapid construction of this bridge following the existing rail link, the only passage between North Korea and Russia, a sharp increase in economic, social, and military exchanges is anticipated," the report said. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now "This could potentially lead to a gradual erosion of the effectiveness of international sanctions against North Korea and Russia." AdvertisementA visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia this year is also being prepared, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said on Thursday, state-run news agency TASS reported.A visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Pyongyang is also being prepared, Rudenko added.
The road bridge will be built near the existing "Friendship Bridge" rail bridge, which was commissioned in 1959 after the Korean War. An ancient wooden bridge used to cross the border in the early 20th century, but it was destroyed, according to Russian media."The construction of the bridge has not yet begun," Alexander Matsegora, Russia's ambassador to North Korea, told RIA. Advertisement"The parties are carrying out preparatory work, finalizing design documentation, forming construction crews and columns of equipment," he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin's top security adviser Sergei Shoigu disembarks a plane as he arrives in North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency March 21, 2025. (credit: KCNA VIA REUTERS)The road bridge, which has been under discussion for years, will be 850 meters (2789 ft) and link up with the Russian highway system. Status of the bridge's constructionSouth Korean satellite imagery analysis firm SI Analytics said in a March 5 report that work on the bridge's foundations and road links appeared to have begun."With the rapid construction of this bridge following the existing rail link, the only passage between North Korea and Russia, a sharp increase in economic, social, and military exchanges is anticipated," the report said. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now "This could potentially lead to a gradual erosion of the effectiveness of international sanctions against North Korea and Russia." AdvertisementA visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia this year is also being prepared, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said on Thursday, state-run news agency TASS reported.A visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Pyongyang is also being prepared, Rudenko added.
"The construction of the bridge has not yet begun," Alexander Matsegora, Russia's ambassador to North Korea, told RIA. Advertisement"The parties are carrying out preparatory work, finalizing design documentation, forming construction crews and columns of equipment," he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin's top security adviser Sergei Shoigu disembarks a plane as he arrives in North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency March 21, 2025. (credit: KCNA VIA REUTERS)The road bridge, which has been under discussion for years, will be 850 meters (2789 ft) and link up with the Russian highway system. Status of the bridge's constructionSouth Korean satellite imagery analysis firm SI Analytics said in a March 5 report that work on the bridge's foundations and road links appeared to have begun."With the rapid construction of this bridge following the existing rail link, the only passage between North Korea and Russia, a sharp increase in economic, social, and military exchanges is anticipated," the report said. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now "This could potentially lead to a gradual erosion of the effectiveness of international sanctions against North Korea and Russia." AdvertisementA visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia this year is also being prepared, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said on Thursday, state-run news agency TASS reported.A visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Pyongyang is also being prepared, Rudenko added.
"The parties are carrying out preparatory work, finalizing design documentation, forming construction crews and columns of equipment," he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin's top security adviser Sergei Shoigu disembarks a plane as he arrives in North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency March 21, 2025. (credit: KCNA VIA REUTERS)The road bridge, which has been under discussion for years, will be 850 meters (2789 ft) and link up with the Russian highway system. Status of the bridge's constructionSouth Korean satellite imagery analysis firm SI Analytics said in a March 5 report that work on the bridge's foundations and road links appeared to have begun."With the rapid construction of this bridge following the existing rail link, the only passage between North Korea and Russia, a sharp increase in economic, social, and military exchanges is anticipated," the report said. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now "This could potentially lead to a gradual erosion of the effectiveness of international sanctions against North Korea and Russia." AdvertisementA visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia this year is also being prepared, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said on Thursday, state-run news agency TASS reported.A visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Pyongyang is also being prepared, Rudenko added.
The road bridge, which has been under discussion for years, will be 850 meters (2789 ft) and link up with the Russian highway system. Status of the bridge's constructionSouth Korean satellite imagery analysis firm SI Analytics said in a March 5 report that work on the bridge's foundations and road links appeared to have begun."With the rapid construction of this bridge following the existing rail link, the only passage between North Korea and Russia, a sharp increase in economic, social, and military exchanges is anticipated," the report said. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now "This could potentially lead to a gradual erosion of the effectiveness of international sanctions against North Korea and Russia." AdvertisementA visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia this year is also being prepared, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said on Thursday, state-run news agency TASS reported.A visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Pyongyang is also being prepared, Rudenko added.
South Korean satellite imagery analysis firm SI Analytics said in a March 5 report that work on the bridge's foundations and road links appeared to have begun."With the rapid construction of this bridge following the existing rail link, the only passage between North Korea and Russia, a sharp increase in economic, social, and military exchanges is anticipated," the report said. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now "This could potentially lead to a gradual erosion of the effectiveness of international sanctions against North Korea and Russia." AdvertisementA visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia this year is also being prepared, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said on Thursday, state-run news agency TASS reported.A visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Pyongyang is also being prepared, Rudenko added.
"With the rapid construction of this bridge following the existing rail link, the only passage between North Korea and Russia, a sharp increase in economic, social, and military exchanges is anticipated," the report said. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now "This could potentially lead to a gradual erosion of the effectiveness of international sanctions against North Korea and Russia." AdvertisementA visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia this year is also being prepared, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said on Thursday, state-run news agency TASS reported.A visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Pyongyang is also being prepared, Rudenko added.
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"This could potentially lead to a gradual erosion of the effectiveness of international sanctions against North Korea and Russia." AdvertisementA visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia this year is also being prepared, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said on Thursday, state-run news agency TASS reported.A visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Pyongyang is also being prepared, Rudenko added.
A visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Russia this year is also being prepared, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said on Thursday, state-run news agency TASS reported.A visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Pyongyang is also being prepared, Rudenko added.
A visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Pyongyang is also being prepared, Rudenko added.
Maintaining a fit body is challenging in today's demanding world, but despite the difficulties of modern life, some are conquering fitness goals. Recently, a man has successfully lost 13.5kg of body weight and eliminated his belly fat with the help of a diet and fitness coach, and his story is going viral. Fitness coach Priyanka Lahiri, known for her own remarkable transformation, managed to shed significant weight despite being in her 40s. Through her expert guidance, the man was able to achieve impressive fitness goals, proving that dedication to proper diet and exercise can lead to lasting results at any age.
Sharing his story on microblogging platform X, Priyanka wrote, "My mentee approached me to improve his diet, reduce body fat, gain strength and improve his running capacity. And in the process of his journey, he lost 13.5 kg of body weight and all of his belly fat. But how did he get to this situation where he needed intervention?"
My mentee approached me to improve his diet, reduce body fat, gain strength and improve his running capacityAnd in the process of his journey, he lost 13.5kg body weight and whole of his belly fat.But how did he get to this situation where he needed intervention?Let me… pic.twitter.com/s7gOtj63ja
She further wrote, "His biggest problem area was his workplace, which contributed to most of his junk and calorie intake, while his high-stress job made him super sedentary. His office cafeteria was full of good and bad food, but there were temptations. From chocolates to all kinds of high-calorie dense snacks readily accessible, he didn't realise when it all changed his health for the worse, and that's when he approached me."
Sharing the changes she made in his diet programme, she wrote, "I gave him a customised diet plan based on what was available in his office cafeteria. He just needed to make the right choices, which he did wonderfully. I created his 5-day exercise plan that targeted 4 days of strength, 1 day of endurance, core and agility and 2 days of outdoor runs."
How I started in 2012 and how 2021 has been a long journey. At the age of 42, I am happy about not stopping even now. It has been challenging and fun. I am so glad that I never gave up and the mental transformation is what I cherish the most pic.twitter.com/WMTBJjsXts
Having undergone a significant transformation herself, Priyanka offers valuable insights on weight loss through her social media posts, earning widespread appreciation from her followers.
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A woman allegedly stripped naked, bit a person and stabbed a couple of staff members with a pencil at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in Texas. The woman, Samantha Palma, allegedly had a "manic episode" on March 14, TMZ reported.
A video of the terrifying incident has gone viral on social media. In the video, she was also heard shouting and flinging insults at the security guards.
Ms Palma, who identified herself as the 'goddess Venus', stabbed a restaurant manager in the head and face at the airport using his pencil while he tried to restrain her.
She bit him on his right forearm, resulting in "immediate bruising."
As tourists gawked and took pictures with their phones, she threw water in the air and danced wildly.
Woman strips n*ked and storms through Dallas Fort Worth Airport in a huge public meltdownThe woman shrieked and sprinted down the concourse, leaving the frame, while no authorities were seen interveningThere were no signs of restraints, arrests, or immediate action taken by… pic.twitter.com/8y8jGfCGwq
At one point, a woman handed her a coat, which made Ms Palma squeal and flee, screaming "f**k you" at strangers as she hurried off to smash a display television.
She then repeatedly threw her phone at another screen and broke a monitor at the airport before ducking behind an emergency door. Security personnel eventually took her into custody.
According to the complaint, police found Ms Palma cowering behind an emergency door at Gate D1 of Terminal D, covered in blood that was not her own.
Ms Palma reportedly told police she "wanted to be with the flowers" and was "in a forest" when they handcuffed her. She said she was "going to heaven" and that she had come from hell.
The woman also claimed to identify as several Disney princesses, including Ariel and Pocahontas. She also admitted she was travelling with her 8-year-old daughter.
She informed officers that she and her daughter drove to the airport in a car that she "manifested." Although Ms Palma told police she was "trying to make herself better and sometimes that hurts," she insisted she didn't want to harm herself or others.
Ms Palma subsequently admitted to authorities during the interrogation that she had skipped her medication that day. However, the police did not specify what kind of medicine she was taking.
She was initially placed on a mental health hold and is currently facing charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
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An American journalist has put together data that has revealed who the most popular politician in the United States is, and it's not Donald Trump. G. Elliott Morris shared on his website that he found the answer by collecting all the questions of YouGov/Economist polls in the last three months that ask voters to reveal how favourably they view prominent political figures or possible 2028 candidates.
“Then I picked out notable figures, and graphed their net favorability rating (the share of adults saying they viewed the person/party favorably minus share saying they viewed the person/party unfavorably) in the most recent result,” said Morris, known for his work on election polling and predictive analytics.
The analysis found that Senator Bernie Sanders, and not President Trump, got the #1 spot. 46% of adults said they view Sanders favourably and 39% unfavourably. In fact, Sanders is also net favourable with young people (by nearly 20 points), lower-income voters, moderates, independents, Hispanics, Black voters, and men. He happens to be just two points underwater with white voters.
Morris wrote on his website, “One theory for Sanders' relative crossover appeal is his emphasis on criticism of the system — something young men in particular shared with him in 2016, and which left them open to the appeal of Trumpism in 2024 (especially post inflation in 2022-2023). Sanders's campaigning against the neoliberal consensus is persuasive with the many voters (and again, especially young people) that believe has left them behind. Trump was the voice for this cohort in 2024, as Sanders was in the 2016 primary (and to a certain extent in the 2016 general). Maybe Democrats can learn something from that.”
The analysis found that Elon Musk is the most unpopular GOP-aligned major official, and that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Pete Buttigieg are more popular than Trump and JD Vance.
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US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to hit the European Union and Canada with more tariffs if they work together "to do economic harm" to the United States, news agency AFP reported.
In a late night Truth Social post, Trump said large scale tariffs “far larger than currently planned” would be placed on these countries.
"If the European Union works with Canada to do economic harm to the USA, large-scale Tariffs, far larger than currently planned, will be placed on them both to protect the best friend that each of those two countries has ever had!" Trump posted on his TruthSocial network.
The US President's warning comes hours after he has announced 25% tariffs on auto imports and parts, provoking threats of retaliation from trading partners ahead of further promised trade levies next week.
Also Read | Which Indian companies will be impacted by Donald Trump's 25% auto tariff?
Wall Street slumped ahead of Trump's Wednesday afternoon announcement, while the world's top-selling automaker, Toyota, plunged more than three per cent.
The duties take effect at 12:01 am (0401 GMT) on April 3 and impact foreign-made cars and light trucks. Key automobile parts will also be hit within the month.
Also Read | Who is the most popular politician in the US? It's not Donald Trump, poll shows
The move even appeared to raise eyebrows from Trump ally and Tesla boss Elon Musk, who said the cost impact of the tariffs on his firm's cars was "not trivial."
"To be clear, this will affect the price of parts in Tesla cars that come from other countries. The cost impact is not trivial," he posted on X.
As per reports, Trump is also eyeing sector-specific tariffs, such as on pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and lumber.
Wednesday's announcement comes ahead of Trump's so-called "Liberation Day" for the world's biggest economy on April 2.
A bizarre scene unfolded at a Texas airport when a woman, in a state of apparent distress, stripped naked and then proceeded to bite and stab staff members.
A woman, identified as Samantha Palma, allegedly attacked two people with a pencil and later bit a restaurant manager during a chaotic incident at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on March 14, according to TMZ.
The woman, who was reportedly experiencing a "manic episode," was seen walking naked through the airport, claiming to be the goddess Venus. When a restaurant manager attempted to restrain her, she allegedly grabbed his own pencil and stabbed him in the head and face.
She then reportedly bit the manager on the forearm, leaving a visible bruise.
A video of the incident has gone viral on social media, capturing Samantha Palma's erratic behaviour. Footage shows her smashing a television, throwing water, and running around frantically as bystanders filmed the chaos.
At one point, an onlooker offered Palma a coat, prompting her to run away while shouting expletives at random people.
Authorities later found her hiding behind an emergency door at Gate D1 in Terminal D. According to reports, she was covered in blood, though it was not her own.
Palma was taken into police custody, where she admitted to missing her medication that day. She also claimed she was travelling with her 8-year-old daughter, TMZ reported.
During questioning, she told officers that she identifies as various Disney princesses, including Ariel and Pocahontas. At another point, she referred to herself as the goddess Venus.
Palma has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
US president acknowledges Beijing's role in any sale as app's owner faces 5 April deadline to find non-Chinese buyer or be hit with US ban
Donald Trump has said he would be willing to reduce tariffs on China to get a deal done with TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the social media app used by 170 million Americans.
He acknowledged the role China would play in any agreement. “With respect to TikTok, and China is going to have to play a role in that, possibly in the form of an approval, maybe, and I think they'll do that,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “Maybe I'll give them a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done,” he added.
Trump's comment suggests the sale of TikTok's is a priority for his administration and important enough to use tariffs as a bargaining chip with Beijing.
TikTok did not immediately comment.
ByteDance has a 5 April deadline to find a non-Chinese buyer for TikTok or face a US ban on national security grounds that was supposed to have taken effect in January under a 2024 law.
The move is the result of concern in Washington that TikTok's ownership by ByteDance makes it beholden to the Chinese government and that Beijing could use the short video app to conduct influence operations against the US and collect data on Americans.
In February and earlier this month, Trump added levies totalling 20% to existing tariffs on all imports from China.
Getting China to agree to any deal to give up control of a business worth tens of billions of dollars has always been the biggest sticking point to getting any agreement finalised. Trump has used tariffs as a bargaining chip in the TikTok negotiations in the past.
On 20 January, his first day in office, he warned that he could impose tariffs on China if Beijing failed to approve a US deal with TikTok.
Vice-president JD Vance has said he expects the general terms of an agreement that resolves the ownership of the social media platform to be reached by 5 April.
Reuters reported last week that White House-led talks among investors are coalescing around a plan for the biggest non-Chinese backers of ByteDance to increase their stakes and acquire the video app's US operations, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
The future of the app used by nearly half of all Americans has been up in the air since a law – passed with overwhelming bipartisan support – required ByteDance to divest TikTok by 19 January.
The app briefly went dark in January after the US supreme court upheld the ban, but flickered back to life days later once Trump took office. Trump quickly issued an executive order postponing enforcement of the law to 5 April and said last month that he could further extend that deadline to give himself time to shepherd a deal.
The White House has been involved to an unprecedented level in the closely watched deal talks, in effect playing the role of investment bank.
Free speech advocates have argued that the ban unlawfully threatens to restrict Americans from accessing foreign media in violation of the first amendment of the US constitution.
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L2 Empuraan Twitter reviews: Fans have shared mixed reviews of the much-awaited Malayalam film starring Mohanlal as it released in theatres on Thursday. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), a person wrote about how they loved Mohanlal's entry and jungle fight scenes. A few of the cinemagoers criticised the "poor writing" of the script, adding that the "plot ended up as an average one". Prithviraj Sukumaran acted in and directed the film, which is a sequel to Lucifer. (Also Read | Mammootty hopes Mohanlal, Prithviraj's L2 Empuraan makes Malayalam cinema proud: ‘Best wishes for historic victory')
On X, a fan wrote, "Well-paced stylish entertainer with fanboy moments. The storyline is baked in drama, politics, and current affairs. Bang on entry for Mohanlal after an hour with peak commercial elevation. Hollywood-level visuals & stunts." A tweet read, “Empuraan Good One. Lal saab's intro and jungle fight scene were peak cinematic experiences.”
"I felt I was watching an English film for the most part, which is an achievement. It was well written by Murali Gopy and was astoundingly made by @PrithviOfficial. Special mention for the opening stretch. Really glad to see amazing moments for @ManjuWarrier4. Overall, it was very good work, Empuraan Mohanlal," wrote a person.
A fan reviewed the first and second halved individually, "Empuraan first half--production value and scale was of fire, easily feels like the biggest film made in India and BGM elevates the scenes. Empuraan second half--the forest fight was perfect, the visual elevations BGM were all top-notch, the writing could have been better, and the natural elevations were missing. Overall great theatre experience." "If it wasn't for all the expectations, this would have been an absolute blockbuster movie. Still a very good one. Watch it!" said another person.
Internet ‘highly disappointed' with L2: Empuraan"I don't why they went into this typical revenge story into a great world of characters set in Lucifer. I wished Prithviraj had focused more on other exciting parts rather than this," read a comment. "Empuraan positives--Mohanlal screen presence, surprise cameo, and few Manju Warrier political scenes are good. Empuraan negatives--Length could have been trimmed, but Malayalam nativity was missed (mostly English and Hindi). Overall--a mass entertainer with Hollywood standard making," wrote another person. "@PrithviOfficial strikes back with his usual stunt of favourite shots being out of focus and uses them anyway in the final cut. Empuraan is truly miles ahead in technical richness across most industries here," tweeted a fan. "Empuraan had all the chances to be a benchmark film but failed miserably with poor writing. Even the stylised making of Prithvi wasn't enough for the rescue. An industry-hyped film getting minimal clap-worthy moments itself underlines the fate of the film," read a tweet. "Empuraan - highly disappointed--didn't expect this kind of a film at all," said a person who watched the film. "Empuraan started very well but later lost the plot and ended up as an average one. Empuraan's first half is pretty average. I felt bored in most of the places. I hope the send half should stand tall; otherwise, it will be difficult," tweeted an X user. All about L2: EmpuraanL2: Empuraan is the second instalment in a planned trilogy and follows the success of Lucifer (2019). The second part of the film delves into a socio-political drama, with Mohanlal's character at the centre. Packed with intensity, the video is a cinematic spectacle, with Mohanlal commanding a larger-than-life screen presence as Khureshi-Ab'raam. Apart from Mohanlal, the film also stars Tovino Thomas, Abhimanyu Singh, Indrajith Sukumaran, and Manju Warrier, among others. Apart from Malayalam, the film has also been released in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu. Murali Gopy penned the story of the film.
"I don't why they went into this typical revenge story into a great world of characters set in Lucifer. I wished Prithviraj had focused more on other exciting parts rather than this," read a comment. "Empuraan positives--Mohanlal screen presence, surprise cameo, and few Manju Warrier political scenes are good. Empuraan negatives--Length could have been trimmed, but Malayalam nativity was missed (mostly English and Hindi). Overall--a mass entertainer with Hollywood standard making," wrote another person.
"@PrithviOfficial strikes back with his usual stunt of favourite shots being out of focus and uses them anyway in the final cut. Empuraan is truly miles ahead in technical richness across most industries here," tweeted a fan. "Empuraan had all the chances to be a benchmark film but failed miserably with poor writing. Even the stylised making of Prithvi wasn't enough for the rescue. An industry-hyped film getting minimal clap-worthy moments itself underlines the fate of the film," read a tweet.
"Empuraan - highly disappointed--didn't expect this kind of a film at all," said a person who watched the film. "Empuraan started very well but later lost the plot and ended up as an average one. Empuraan's first half is pretty average. I felt bored in most of the places. I hope the send half should stand tall; otherwise, it will be difficult," tweeted an X user.
L2: Empuraan is the second instalment in a planned trilogy and follows the success of Lucifer (2019). The second part of the film delves into a socio-political drama, with Mohanlal's character at the centre. Packed with intensity, the video is a cinematic spectacle, with Mohanlal commanding a larger-than-life screen presence as Khureshi-Ab'raam.
Apart from Mohanlal, the film also stars Tovino Thomas, Abhimanyu Singh, Indrajith Sukumaran, and Manju Warrier, among others. Apart from Malayalam, the film has also been released in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu. Murali Gopy penned the story of the film.
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The notorious Ejipura flyover in Bengaluru, infamous for its delays and stalled construction, is going viral on social media again—this time with a Studio Ghibli-inspired makeover.
A popular X (formerly Twitter) handle, Peak Bengaluru, shared an AI-generated image of the unfinished flyover, giving it a whimsical, dreamy makeover using ChatGPT's new image-generation feature.
The reimagined image presents the flyover in a lush, magical setting, reminiscent of Studio Ghibli's iconic landscapes, while also mockingly labeling it as the ‘Ejipura Stonehenge Elevated Corridor', a nod to its long-standing incompleteness.
(Also Read: 'Bengaluru, hang your head in shame': Kiran Mazumdar Shaw compares city to Ecuador's clean, well-designed streets)
The image quickly went viral, with social media users reacting to the reimagination while also highlighting the real-world frustration over the incomplete project.
X users reacted with a mix of sarcasm, frustration, and humor to the viral Studio Ghibli-style makeover of the Ejipura flyover. One user quipped, "UNESCO, we have a potential location for Heritage Site classification." Another commuter, who frequently gets stuck in traffic near the flyover, wrote, "Twice a week, I drive past this beautiful spot on my way to work. Of course, the universe also ensures I am always stuck at the Stonehenge (Ejipura) signal—no exceptions."
Some users pointed out the stark contrast between the AI-generated image and reality. "The image doesn't do justice to the ugliness of the place," one person commented, adding that they were "typing this while stuck at that signal in traffic."
Others noted how much the area has changed over time, with one user remarking, "These trees don't exist on that road anymore. Most have been cut down."
Echoing the widespread skepticism about the flyover's completion, another user lamented, "This will never be completed! Bengaluru is heading for a disaster, and there seems to be no urgency to take this up."
The 2.5-km Ejipura flyover, which began construction in 2017, has been marred by delays. Work stalled in 2019 after the contractor went bankrupt, and land acquisition hurdles have further slowed progress. Originally slated for completion in 2019 at a cost of ₹204 crore, the project has been repeatedly pushed back. The BBMP had promised to complete it by March 2024, but the deadline has now been extended yet again.
(Also Read: Bengaluru resident invites Kunal Kamra to perform at Ejipura flyover after ‘Gaddar' row)
The United States on Wednesday approved a $1.96 billion sale of eight MQ-9B drones and related equipment to Qatar, one of Washington's closest allies in the Middle East.
"This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country that continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress," the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement.
The sale "will improve Qatar's capability to meet current and future threats by providing timely intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, target acquisition, counter-land, and counter-surface sea capabilities for its security and defense," DSCA said.
"This capability is a deterrent to regional threats and will primarily be used to strengthen its homeland defense," it added.
The State Department approved the possible sale and the DSCA on Wednesday provided the required notification to the US Congress, which still needs to sign off on the transaction.
Qatar -- a small, gas-rich peninsula which is home to three million people -- has played a key role as a mediator in efforts to bring an end to the devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas, which began with a shock attack by the Palestinian group in October 2023.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
The civil war has spilled over Sudan's borders, sending millions of refugees streaming into neighboring Chad, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Egypt.
The Sudanese military recaptured the capital of Khartoum on Wednesday, the military chief announced, a significant victory nearly two years into the civil war that has killed more than 150,000 people and created what international aid groups describe as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
There was no immediate comment from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), but footage posted on social media showed fighters streaming over a bridge and out of the city on foot.
The military had recaptured the airport earlier Wednesday, and Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the military chief and de facto head of state, flew into the capital Wednesday, telling journalists in the remains of the war-ravaged presidential palace, “Khartoum is now free.”
Footage posted on social media showed the newly recaptured airport — one of the first places targeted by the RSF when war broke out in April 2023 — was almost destroyed, with blackened shells surrounded by ruined planes.
“There are people crying out in joy everywhere. I still can't believe it. Now we can move freely. We can go to any area, and I can return home whenever I want. Before, you only risked your life to go once, and if you survived, you couldn't return,” said Mohamed Mudather, a member of the city's civilian-run Emergency Response Room.
Mudather said RSF fighters had begun escaping days ago but had completely fled by Tuesday. On Wednesday, a large military force crossed a river and reached his neighborhood.
The RSF still has some presence in the south of the city, and across the Nile in Omdurman, residents said. But Wednesday's push is the culmination of grueling, street-by-street battles for control of the city where the military has clawed back control of strategic locations. Its advance sped up significantly last autumn after the delivery of powerful Turkish drones.
Civilians in RSF-held areas have frequently complained of abuses, including looting, torture and executions, and extreme sexual violence. The United States says that both sides have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, which they both deny, and that the RSF has committed genocide. The United Nations and other investigators say the United Arab Emirates has supplied weapons and diplomatic support to the RSF since the beginning of the conflict — although Emirati authorities and the RSF deny the allegations.
The RSF still holds significant swaths of the country, including most of the western region of Darfur. On Monday, locals in the town of Tora reported an airstrike that killed dozens of people in a market; footage posted online showed lines of incinerated bodies.
The civil war has spilled over Sudan's borders, sending millions of refugees streaming into neighboring Chad, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Egypt.
Oil-rich South Sudan, which won its independence from Sudan in 2011 after decades of civil war, is also sliding into a civil war. The ongoing violence in South Sudan, one of the world's poorest nations, is fueled by endemic corruption and long-standing rivalry between its president and vice president.
Earlier this month, a South Sudanese general and dozens of soldiers were reportedly killed in an attack on a U.N. helicopter, and embassies have shut down or reduced their staffing. Gunfire and explosions were heard in South Sudan's capital of Juba on Wednesday.
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Around two weeks ago, the British royal family gathered for the annual Commonwealth Day ceremony, with King Charles and Queen Camilla leading the royals at Westminster Abbey. Upon their arrival, they were welcomed by the distinctive sounds of Dhoom Machale, performed by Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa Pipe Band, a Hindu Scottish pipe band. The group chose the iconic Bollywood track to greet the King and Queen of England, creating a moment that has left desi viewers in disbelief.
It was a moment that flew under the radar when it first happened. However, Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa Pipe Band shared a video of the Dhoom Machale performance on Instagram yesterday, where it has since gone viral.
A post shared by Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa Pipe Band London (@smspipeband_london)
Desi viewers who saw the moment play out on Instagram were left in disbelief by this cross-cultural moment. Some even doubted the authenticity of the video, asking if it was real. However, the BBC, which covered the Commonwealth Day ceremony, also included the moment when King Charles and Camilla were greeted with tunes of Dhoom Machale, leaving no doubt about its authenticity.
Many viewers immediately thought of Dhoom 2, where Hrithik Roshan as the protagonist pulls off a daring heist by disguising himself as Queen Elizabeth.
“That's clearly Hrithik Roshan disguised as Camilla,” joked one Instagram user. “I think Dhoom 4 movie promotion happened there,” another quipped.
“Plot twist. The king is Hritik is disguise,” a person added.
Others cracked ‘Kohinoor' jokes, and at least one person called it “India's revenge.”
“Relax boys, it's Hritik gone to take the Kohinoor back,” an Instagram user joked. Another comment under the viral video read: “The band master cooked that day.”
Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa Pipe Band is a unique ensemble that blends traditional Scottish bagpiping with Hindu cultural elements. The band has multiple branches worldwide, with groups based in the UK (London), India, the USA, and Kenya.
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India's Tata Motors and the country's auto parts makers that supply Tesla, among others, dropped on Thursday after US President Donald Trump announced plans for 25% tariffs on all imported cars and auto parts.
Tata Motors slid 5%, while Tesla's biggest Indian supplier, Sona Comstar, dropped over 4%, leading to a 1.2% drop in the auto sector in the world's third-largest auto market.
Also Read | Which Indian companies will be impacted by Donald Trump's 25% auto tariff?
The 25% tariffs on cars and light trucks imported into the US will start on April 2, while tariffs on auto parts will take effect on May 3. The news rocked the auto sector globally, with Tesla CEO Elon Musk saying the impact on the EV maker is "significant."
The US is a top destination for Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover's (JLR) luxury cars, which are imported from plants in the UK and Slovakia.
Also Read | ‘Very direct attack': How countries reacted to Donald Trump's 25% ‘permanent' tariff on imported automobiles
Among other stocks, Samvardhana Motherson, India's biggest auto parts supplier, fell over 2%, while Bharat Forge, which also supplies Tesla, was down 0.4%.
The US, Samvardhana's top market, along with India, accounts for 20% of its total revenue. North America, led by the US, forms a steeper 40% of Sona Comstar's revenue.
Also Read | Indian stocks set to open muted as Trump's auto tariffs hit markets
The day's decline also mirrors share moves of larger global carmakers, from Toyota and Hyundai to Stellantis and Ford, all of which fell after Trump's announcement.
The migrants, accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang, are being held at CECOT without access to either the Salvadoran or American justice systems.
Kristi L. Noem, the U.S. homeland security secretary, threatened Wednesday to send more immigrants from the United States to a notorious maximum-security prison in El Salvador that has become a black hole for Venezuelans spirited out of the United States with no judicial hearing.
The Trump administration is locked in a court battle over whether it acted improperly in expelling the Venezuelans, who are accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang. A U.S. judge is investigating whether the government defied his order on March 15 to stop their transfer. The Trump administration maintains the ruling didn't apply to the expulsion.
Despite the legal standoff, Noem said after a visit to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, that the administration was prepared to send more migrants there.
“If you come to our country illegally, this is one of the consequences you could face,” the secretary said in a video post, standing in front of a cell packed with shirtless, tattooed prisoners. It was unclear if the men had anything to do with the Trump administration's recent removals. “This facility is one of the tools in our tool kit, that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people.”
Noem met Wednesday evening with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele “to strengthen bilateral cooperation on security and migration,” according to a post on X from the U.S. Embassy there. She also signed an agreement to improve information-sharing on fugitives.
Bukele offered last month to take in dangerous criminals held in U.S. detention facilities. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had previously complained about Venezuela's refusal to accept deported migrants, said the deal would “save our taxpayer dollars.” The U.S. agreed to pay $6 million a year to keep them at the CECOT prison.
But the prisoners have no clear access to either the Salvadoran or U.S. justice systems. “They are in a legal limbo,” said Enrique Anaya, a Salvadoran constitutional lawyer.
Several of their families have said they are not gang members at all, just migrants who had tattoos. The U.S. government has acknowledged that many did not have criminal records in the United States.
In El Salvador, “they aren't sentenced, they didn't commit crimes, they weren't tourists. What is the migration status of these people?” asked Napoleón Campos, a Salvadoran attorney specializing in international law.
Noem, in a blue ICE baseball hat and gray drawstring pants, toured the prison complex outside the capital with El Salvador's justice minister, Gustavo Villatoro. They entered one detention area, Cell 8, where some of the Venezuelans are being held. The inmates stood in white T-shirts and cotton shorts in the hot, unair-conditioned cell, looking silently at the visitors.
The Salvadoran minister pointed out one man's star-shaped tattoo, telling Noem it was a marker of Tren de Aragua. But organized-crime experts caution against determining gang membership on the basis of tattoos, noting that many of the designs are common in Latin America.
When Noem and the minister left the cell, it erupted in noise, including chants that were indecipherable, according to a press pool report.
The U.S. delegation then was taken to another cell that Villatoro said held Salvadoran prisoners. One man, the minister said, was serving a 465-year sentence for homicide and terrorism crimes. “No one expects that these people can go back to society and behave,” he said.
On Monday, lawyers hired by the Venezuelan government, who said they represented 30 of the detainees, submitted a habeas corpus petition for all the jailed Venezuelans.
“There is no legal basis for their detentions,” the lawyers argued in their submission to the Constitutional Chamber of El Salvador's Supreme Court. They asked for the men's release.
Legal experts said that request was unlikely to be granted. The chamber's judges were installed after Bukele's party won a congressional majority in 2021. They have consistently backed the president.
The 238 Venezuelans arrived in San Salvador on three U.S. planes, along with 23 Salvadorans accused of belonging to the ruthless MS-13 gang. The Trump administration used an 18th-century law, the Alien Enemies Act, to expel 137 of the Venezuelans — essentially arguing they belonged to an invading force linked to the Venezuelan government. The act allows expedited deportation of noncitizens. The other 101 Venezuelans were removed under traditional immigration law. Bukele described all of them as members of Tren de Aragua, which was designated a terrorist group last month by the U.S. government.
The Trump administration has removed other undocumented migrants to third-party countries — deporting more than 400 people from countries such as China and Iran to Panama and Costa Rica last month.
The difference this time is that the migrants were jailed like criminals. The CECOT prison, built for 40,000, is known for its harsh conditions. Up to 70 men share a single cell, and they sleep on metal bunks with no mattresses, according to journalists who have been to the prison. The inmates are not allowed visits by their relatives or lawyers.
It wasn't clear when — or if — the Venezuelans would ever be tried or freed.
Noah Bullock, executive director of the human rights group Cristosal, said that President Donald Trump and Bukele had usurped from the courts the power to determine who was a criminal.
“Nobody here is waving the flag of Tren de Aragua,” he said. “But do you want the president to have the right to determine who is a terrorist and who has rights — and who doesn't?”
Rubio has likened the removal of the Venezuelans to a counterterrorism operation. The State Department referred questions on the Salvadoran detention of the Venezuelans to DHS and the Salvadoran government.
Asked for comment, the Justice Department responded with Attorney General Pam Bondi's statement after U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg's initial order blocking the removal of the Venezuelans. Bondi said at that point that the ruling “disregards well-established authority regarding President Trump's power.”
Salvadoran attorneys said that, in order for the U.S. government to legally outsource prisoners to El Salvador, the countries would have to sign a treaty or convention, and get the approval of their legislatures. In such a treaty, “you'd have to spell out who would have legal jurisdiction over these people — the United States or El Salvador,” Anaya said.
The Salvadoran presidential commissioner for human rights, Andrés Guzmán, did not respond to a request for comment.
The New Zealand Warriors' assistant coach Richard Agar has accepted a fine and suspension handed down by the NRL for an alleged altercation with a Guardian journalist during the side's season opener against Canberra in Las Vegas.
Agar agreed to the $5,000 fine as well as a three-match suspension proposed by the NRL, though a club statement on Wednesday said the coach had a “different view” to the contents of the breach notice he was handed for bringing the game into dispute.
“I regret what happened and I know it's not acceptable,” Agar said in a club statement. “I accept the penalty and now want to move forward and learn from this.”
It is alleged that Agar verbally abused the rugby league reporter John Davidson and pushed him in the throat during an altercation in the press box at half-time of the NRL match at Allegiant Stadium.
Davidson, an Australian based in the UK who was in the US to cover the match as a freelancer, complained to the NRL integrity unit, which investigated the allegation.
According to New Zealand media reports after the Warriors returned from the US, Agar said: “There's two sides to every story.”
The English coach has worked with the Warriors since 2023 after four years leading the Super League club Leeds Rhinos.
“It's in the best interests of the club, the players and the game to accept the penalty and move on,” said Cameron George, the Warriors chief executive.
“We don't condone Richard's actions. While he has a different view on some elements of the breach notice he wants to put the club first and accept the decision.”
Agar must also undertake education and training programs and will be fined an additional $5,000 if he reoffends.
The 53-year-old is barred from performing any match-day duties and from travelling to Warriors away matches during the suspension, which will include clashes with Wests Tigers and Melbourne Storm in Australia. Agar will still be able to coach the team during the week.
The Warriors have won their past two games since their 30-8 defeat to the Raiders in Las Vegas and sit seventh on the ladder heading into round four.
If you have been active on social media, particularly X, in the last 24 hours, it may give you the impression that it's a Studio Ghibli world, and we are living in it. It all has come about, courtesy of OpenAI's latest image-generation update on ChatGPT.
And while people reimagine themselves in the Studio Ghibli world, an old video of its co-founder Hayao Miyazaki saying AI-generated animation was an "insult to life itself" is going viral.
Since this utter garbage is trending, we should take a look at what Hayao Miyazaki, the founder of Studio Ghibli, said about machine created art. https://t.co/1TMPcFGIJE pic.twitter.com/IvaM9WZL3T
In the old clip, the renowned filmmaker, known for masterpieces such as Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro, expressed his views on AI, saying it would not understand the real feelings of humans.
The video shows a group of animators and designers presenting Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki and Mr Miyazaki with their "creation" of an AI machine that can animate images.
The animated image looked like a horrific zombie, and they explained that AI could come up with strange, unnatural movements beyond what humans can imagine.
The presenter stated, "It looks like it's dancing. It's moving by using its head. It doesn't feel any pain and has no concept of protecting its head. It uses its head like a leg. This movement is so creepy and could be applied to a zombie video game. Artificial intelligence could present us with grotesque movements that we humans can't imagine."
Unimpressed by the explanation and the animated image, Mr Miyazaki said he had a friend with a disability who struggled with easy movements such as giving a high five because of stiff muscles. He further said that this animated image of unnatural movements reminded him of his friend's struggle, which is not entertaining.
Mr Miyazaki told FarOut Magazine, "I can't watch this stuff and find [it] interesting. Whoever creates this stuff has no idea what pain is whatsoever. I am utterly disgusted. If you really want to make creepy stuff, you can go ahead and do it. I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all."
He further said, "I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself."
Explaining his presentation, the designer said, "This is just our experiment and we don't intend to do anything by showing it to the world."
Toshio Suzuki also asked the team about their aim. One of them replied they wanted to build a machine that could draw pictures like humans do.
ChatGPT's latest model, GPT4o, which comes with an integrated image generator has taken social media by storm, with people creating and being in awe of never-seen-before Ghibli-inspired artwork. It's been such a hit among users that even Open AI CEO Sam Altman changed his profile picture to an AI-generated Ghibli-style version.
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Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
A panel of Brazil Supreme Court justices on Wednesday unanimously accepted charges against former President Jair Bolsonaro over an alleged attempt to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat, and ordered him to stand trial. (AP/Eduardo François, Mario Lobao)
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro speaks to the press at Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, after panel of Brazil Supreme Court justices accepted charges against him over an alleged attempt to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro speaks to the press at Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, after panel of Brazil Supreme Court justices accepted charges against him over an alleged attempt to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro speaks to the press at Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, after panel of Brazil Supreme Court justices accepted charges against him over an alleged attempt to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
SAO PAULO (AP) — A panel of Brazil Supreme Court justices unanimously ruled that former President Jair Bolsonaro and seven of his associates will stand trial on five counts, including attempting to stage a coup after the far-right leader lost the 2022 election.
The panel will review existing evidence, potentially gather new evidence and hear testimonies. Legal experts estimate that Bolsonaro could be sentenced to up to 40 years in prison, though his actual jail time — if convicted — would be less than that due to procedural considerations.
Here's what to know about what will happen after Wednesday's ruling:
Bolsonaro will stand trial on the counts of attempting to stage a coup, involvement in an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, damage characterized by violence and a serious threat against the state's assets, and deterioration of listed heritage.
The five-justices panel of Brazil's Supreme Court ruled based on the indictment by Prosecutor-General, Paulo Gonet. His formal accusation came from a federal police investigation that placed Bolsonaro on the top of a criminal organization that had been active since at least 2021.
Gonet also accused Bolsonaro of supporting a plan that allegedly included poisoning his successor, current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and killing Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
While a specific trial date has not been set, the chairman of the Supreme Court panel is expected to outline the procedural framework in the coming days.
Eloísa Machado, a law professor at the Fundacao Getulio Vargas university in Sao Paulo, explained that the evidentiary phase of the criminal case, which includes defendant interrogations, witness testimony and further procedures such as expert examinations, begins. Many of those procedures will be conducted by auxiliary judges.
“Then, the rapporteur prepares a report and requests a trial date,” Machado said. “After this stage, prosecutors and defense attorneys will present their final arguments before the court rules on whether to acquit or convict.”
Bolsonaro's defense team had requested the case to be sent to the full Supreme Court, not just on the 5-justice panel, which could drag a ruling into 2026 as all 11 justices would have their say on the case. The request was denied.
Brazil's top court is using one of its two permanent 5-justice panels to put Bolsonaro on trial. None of the five was appointed by Bolsonaro.
As rapporteur of the case, justice de Moraes brought the charges to the one he sits on.
The other four justices are Cármen Lúcia, considered one of the harshest on criminal cases; Cristiano Zanin, the chairman of the panel and Lula's attorney between 2013 and 2023; Flávio Dino, appointed by the leftist president in 2023 after serving as his justice minister; and Luiz Fux, the court's chief-justice between 2020 and 2022, considered a moderate.
Brazilian criminal law mandates that arrests occur only after a final, unappealable conviction.
The Supreme Court of Brazil, being the final appeals tribunal for criminal cases involving public authorities, possesses ultimate jurisdiction over Bolsonaro's case.
If the former president takes any action that hampers the court's ability to deliver its ruling, such as seeking shelter in an embassy, he could be arrested before the trial ends.
Bolsonaro, who has been banned from running for office until 2030 for abuse of power and undermining confidence in the country's voting system, has denied wrongdoing and claims he is the target of political persecution.
“If I go to jail, I will give you a lot of work,” Bolsonaro said after Wednesday's Supreme Court's decision.
Lula was convicted of corruption and money laundering by low court judge Sergio Moro in 2017, and had his sentence later upheld by a group of magistrates. He served more than a year and seven months in prison and was released after the Supreme Court changed its jurisprudence to forbid jail time for any Brazilian until all appeals are exhausted.
In 2021, the same court annulled Lula's sentence as it found Moro to be biased. Moro left his position as a federal judge to become Bolsonaro's justice minister.
Michel Temer, who governed between 2016 and 2018 after Dilma Rousseff was impeached, was acquitted by a federal court in 2024 in a corruption and money laundering case. He was briefly arrested in 2019 under the accusation of profiting from fraudulent contracts between state-run Eletronuclear and companies AF Consult Ltd and Engevix during his time as vice president.
Fernando Collor, who governed between 1990 and his impeachment in 1992, was sentenced to eight years and ten months in jail in 2023 for his role in a corruption scheme at then state-run BR Distribuidora. The sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court last year, but Collor is yet to be imprisoned.
The inclusion of high-ranking military officials to stand trial in Brazil's top court is unprecedented, as the country's transition from a military dictatorship to democracy in the 1980s was marked by a sweeping amnesty for military personnel.
Four high-ranking military officials who operated under Bolsonaro will stand trial. These are former Defense Minister Paulo Sérgio Nogueira; former Navy commander Almir Garnier Santos; retired Gen. Augusto Heleno, who headed the Institutional Security Office; and retired Gen. Walter Braga Netto, who served as Bolsonaro's chief of staff and defense minister.
“Four-star generals accused of plotting a coup are now likely to be convicted and punished under Brazil's democratic legal system,” said João Roberto Martins Filho, a political science professor at the Federal University of Sao Carlos and former president of the Brazilian Association of Defense Studies. “Anyone who attempts a military-backed coup and fails could face consequences like what we're seeing now. They could end in prison.”
____ Associated Press writer Mauricio Savarese contributed to this report.
Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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Salman Khan is busy promoting his upcoming film, Sikandar. On Wednesday, the star interacted with media persons at a Mumbai hotel and appeared at his candid best there, talking about everything from the film to the debate around nepotism in the film industry. (Also read: Salman Khan breaks silence on box office clash of Sikandar with L2 Empuraan, says Mohanlal-starrer will be ‘excellent')
When asked to talk about being a 'self-made' star, Salman responded, "Nobody in this world is self-made. I don't believe in that. It's all teamwork. Had my father not come to Mumbai from Indore, I would have been farming there. It was his decision that (paved the way for me)."
Salman said that he had the choice to return but instead chose to follow in his father's footsteps. "He came here, worked in films. Now, I am his son. I could either go back or continue here (in Mumbai). People bring new terms for all this, like that thing all of you use a lot - nepotism. I love it."
Later in the interaction, as journalists talked about new talent, a journalist mentioned Raveena Tandon's daughter entering the industry. Salman misheard Raveena as Kangana and acted surprised. "Kangana ki beti aa rahi hain (Kangana's daughter is coming)?" As journalists clarified, Salman quipped, "Ab Kangana ki beti aayengi, to films karengi, ya politics join karengi, to unko bhi...(Kangana's daughter will come, will she do films or join politics)." As journalists said 'nepotism', the actor said, "Yeah, she or he will have to do something else."
Salman urged the audiences to come to the theatres to watch Sikandar, as well as the other releases this week. "I am hoping people working get good bonuses on Eid so that they can watch Sikandar, Mohanlal sir's L2: Empuraan, and also Sunny Deol's new film (Jaat). Three big stars are coming with big films and I hope all work," he added.
Sikandar also stars Rashmika Mandanna, Kajal Aggarwal, Sathyaraj, and Sharman Joshi. The film will be releasing in theatres on May 30 on Eid.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
A majority of a panel of justices of Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday has accepted charges against former President Jair Bolsonaro over an alleged attempt to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat. Three justices voted in favor of putting Bolsonaro on trial. (AP Video by Eduardo François)
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro speaks to the press at Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, after panel of Brazil Supreme Court justices accepted charges against him over an alleged attempt to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat. (AP Photo/Luis Nova)
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro speaks to the press at Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, after panel of Brazil Supreme Court justices accepted charges against him over an alleged attempt to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Military police guard the Supreme Court during hearings to decide whether former President Jair Bolsonaro is to face trial for an alleged coup attempt, in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Police stand on the other side of a window at Planalto Palace that was shattered by protesters, supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro, after they stormed the official workplace of the president in Brasilia, Brazil, Jan. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro speaks to the press at Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, after panel of Brazil Supreme Court justices accepted charges against him over an alleged attempt to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Journalists listen to Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes during hearings to decide whether former President Jair Bolsonaro is to face trial for an alleged coup attempt, as they follow from an external area of the Supreme Court building in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro speaks to the press at Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, after panel of Brazil Supreme Court justices accepted charges against him over an alleged attempt to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
A security agent stands near the statue of Lady Justice at the entrance of the Supreme Court before hearings to decide whether former President Jair Bolsonaro is to face trial for an alleged coup attempt, in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro speaks to the press at Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, after panel of Brazil Supreme Court justices accepted charges against him over an alleged attempt to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat. (AP Photo/Luis Nova)
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A panel of Brazil Supreme Court justices on Wednesday unanimously accepted charges against former President Jair Bolsonaro over an alleged attempt to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat, and ordered him to stand trial.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet has accused Bolsonaro and 33 others of attempting a coup that included a plan to poison his successor, current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and kill a Supreme Court judge.
The justices said seven close allies should also stand trial on five counts: attempting to stage a coup, involvement in an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, damage characterized by violence and a serious threat against the state's assets, and deterioration of listed heritage.
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro speaks to the press at Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, after panel of Brazil Supreme Court justices accepted charges against him over an alleged attempt to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
The former president has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and says he's being politically persecuted. A lawyer for Bolsonaro did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“It seems that there is something personal against me,” Bolsonaro told journalists after the panel's decision. “The accusation is very serious and (is) unfounded.”
Under Brazilian law, a coup conviction carries a sentence of up to 12 years. When combined with the other charges, it could result in a sentence of decades behind bars.
“Coups kill,” Justice Flávio Dino said when casting his vote. “It doesn't matter if it happens today, the following month or a few years later.”
Gonet on Tuesday said those facing the charges sought to keep Bolsonaro in power “at all costs,” in a multi-step scheme that accelerated after the far-right politician lost to the current president.
As in his February indictment, Gonet said part of the plot included a plan to kill Lula and Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who were put under surveillance by the alleged conspirators. The plan did not go ahead at the last minute because the accused failed to get the army's commander on board, Gonet said.
“Frustration overwhelmed the members of the criminal organization who, however, did not give up on the violent seizure of power, not even after the elected president of the republic was sworn in,” he said.
That was a reference to the Jan. 8, 2023, riot when Bolsonaro supporters stormed the Supreme Court, presidential palace and Congress in Brasilia a week after Lula took office.
Police stand on the other side of a window at Planalto Palace that was shattered by protesters, supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro, after they stormed the official workplace of the president in Brasilia, Brazil, Jan. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
De Moraes on Wednesday showed the panel a video with scenes from that day. “We had a very violent coup attempt,” he said. “A savage violence, in total incivility, with the request for military intervention in the coup d'état.”
Bolsonaro on Wednesday denied any involvement and said he was in the U.S. at the time, having left a few days before the end of his term. “One of the five charges against me is destruction of property. Only if it were by telepathy,” he told journalists.
Bolsonaro's running mate during the 2022 election and former Defense Minister Walter Braga Netto, ex-Justice Minister Anderson Torres and his aide-de-camp Mauro Cid, among others, will also stand trial. The court will decide on the others' fate later.
Observers had expected the charges to be accepted.
Lula said Thursday that the evidence supported the charges against Bolsonaro.
“It is clear that the former president tried to stage a coup in the country. It is clear from all the evidence that he tried to contribute to my assassination, to the assassination of the former president of the Brazilian Electoral Court,” Lula said while on a four-day visit to Japan.
“I just hope that the justice system will do justice,” he added.
João Pedro Pádua, a law professor at the Fluminense Federal University, said the vote was not a surprise, but it was historic.
“It is the first time a former head of state will be tried for the crimes of coup d'état and violent abolition of the democratic and legal state,” he said.
Bolsonaro, a former military officer who was known to express nostalgia for the country's past dictatorship, openly defied Brazil's judicial system during his 2019-2022 term in office.
He has sought to shore up political support before the possible trial, including with a protest in Rio de Janeiro earlier this month. Local media said around 18,000 people attended, based on figures from a monitoring project linked to the University of Sao Paulo.
Bolsonaro's allies had hoped to draw 1 million people. Some analysts have said his ability to mobilize voters is diminishing. He has called for a new demonstration on April 6 in Sao Paulo.
The former president and his allies also will push for Congress to grant amnesty to those in jail for their roles in the Jan. 8, 2023, riot.
Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo, said he didn't expect Wednesday's decision to have much impact on next year's presidential election.
Bolsonaro has already been banned by Brazil's top electoral court from running in elections until 2030 over abuse of power while in office and casting unfounded doubts on the country's electronic voting system.
“Bolsonaro will claim he's a candidate anyway. Why? To avoid being sidelined. He will claim it's him, or someone he appoints. He doesn't want to give up a political asset he has,” Melo said.
Associated Press journalists Gabriela Sá Pessoa in Rio de Janeiro and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
The Associated Press (AP) is returning to a federal courtroom on Thursday to ask a judge to restore its full access to presidential events.
It comes after the White House retaliated against the news outlet last month for not following president Donald Trump's executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
In a hearing last month, US District Court Judge Trevor N McFadden refused the AP's request for an injunction to stop the White House from barring reporters and photographers from events in the Oval Office and Air Force One.
He urged the Trump administration to reconsider its ban before Thursday's hearing.
It has not.
“It seems pretty clearly viewpoint discrimination,” Mr McFadden told the government's attorney at the time.
The AP has sued Mr Trump's team for punishing a news organisation for using speech that it does not like.
The news outlet said it would still refer to the Gulf of Mexico in its style guidance to clients around the world, while also noting that Mr Trump has ordered it renamed the Gulf of America.
“For anyone who thinks the Associated Press's lawsuit against President Trump's White House is about the name of a body of water, think bigger,” Julie Pace, the AP's executive editor, wrote in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
“It's really about whether the government can control what you say.”
The White House said it has the right to decide who gets to question the president, and has taken steps to take over a duty that has been handled by journalists for decades.
The president has dismissed the AP as a group of “radical left lunatics” and said that “we're going to keep them out until such time as they agree that it's the Gulf of America”.
The AP has still covered the president, and has been permitted in White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt's press briefings, but the ban has cost the organisation time in reporting and impeded its efforts to get still images.
Even if Mr McFadden rules in favour of the news organisation, it is unclear how the White House will respond to the judge's order.
The White House Correspondents' Association has asked its members to show solidarity with the AP on Thursday, perhaps by showing up at the courtroom or wearing a pin that signifies the importance of the First Amendment.
The case is one of several aggressive moves the second Trump administration has taken against the press since his return to office, including FCC investigations against ABC, CBS and NBC News, dismantling the government-run Voice of America and threatening funding for public broadcasters PBS and NPR.
A Trump executive order to change the name of the United States' largest mountain back to Mount McKinley from Denali is being recognised by the AP.
Mr Trump has the authority to do so because the mountain is completely within the country he oversees, AP has said.
Writing in the Journal, Ms Pace said the AP did not ask for the fight and made efforts to resolve the issue before going to court, but needed to stand on principle.
“If we don't step up to defend Americans' right to speak freely,” she wrote, “who will?”
Auburn University men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl is this generation's Sandy Koufax.Koufax is an iconic figure for American Jews not because of his remarkable achievements as a baseball pitcher, although that certainly helps, but because of his unwavering and unabashed commitment to his Jewish identity. His decision not to pitch in Game 1 of the 1965 World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers because it fell on Yom Kippur cemented his role as a Jewish cultural hero for many American Jews growing up at the time.Although personally not particularly religious, Koufax prioritized respect for his heritage over professional obligations – including one of the most important baseball games of the year. In so doing, he set an example for Jews of standing up for one's identity and beliefs. His move took place at a time when antisemitism was acceptable in much of American society, and many Jews felt pressure to assimilate into the mainstream to “make it.”What did Pearl do to warrant this comparison?AUBURN TIGERS coach Bruce Pearl talks with his players during a practice at the YMCA in Jerusalem this week as part of the college team's trip to the Holy Land. (credit: YEHUDA HALICKMAN)So what did Pearl do to warrant this comparison? On Sunday, after his Auburn Tigers defeated Creighton in the widely watched NCAA basketball tournament known as March Madness, he opened the postgame press conference not talking about Auburn's dominance on the boards or its three-point shooting percentage, but rather remembering Edan Alexander, the 19-year-old Israeli-American held hostage in Gaza.“I get asked a lot how this basketball program has become so competitive over the last eight years,” Pearl said. “But for me, I believe it was God's plan to give us this success – success beyond what we deserve. To give us this platform. To give me an opportunity to start this conference really briefly and remind the world that Edan Alexander is still held hostage in Gaza right now… Bring the hostages home.”Later in the same press conference, watched by millions of American basketball fans, he professed his love for the US as a Jewish American, but also his connection to Israel. Israel is the “ancestral homeland for the Jewish people,” he said, and “it's under attack, it's under siege, and all it wants to do is live in peace with its neighbors. And, you know what, there are some Arab countries that are actually wanting peace with Israel right now, but there is a segment of the population there in the Middle East who have been doing nothing but attacking Israel for 85 years. October 7 was the worst day since the Holocaust for the Jewish people, and they [Hamas] say they want to do it again and again and again. We have Americans that are held hostage in Gaza right now. It's unacceptable.”Two days later, Pearl appeared on Fox & Friends, where host Brian Kilmeade said he had interviewed many college basketball coaches over the years but had never spoken with someone so passionate about a cause beyond sports.Pearl, sitting in an office with two Israeli flags – alongside a basketball net – visible on a bookcase, said since Israel's creation, there have been some in the Mideast who have “wanted the Jews to be dead, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now “I am just grateful to be a citizen of this country and to be Jewish, and we've got to call out the difference between good and evil,” he said.Jews are prominent in every corner of American life: science, law, literature, movies, music, business, politics, you name it. And while there have been some notable exceptions – Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Rapaport, for example – there are few instances when someone has used such a massive public platform to proudly and loudly stand up as a Jew, not only against antisemitism but also in support of Israel.Imagine if a Bob Dylan, or a Scarlett Johansson, or a Mark Zuckerberg expressed similar sentiments at events watched by millions. Gal Gadot gave a stirring speech earlier this month that began with, “My name is Gal… I am an Israeli, and I am Jewish,” but that was to an ADL summit on antisemitism. Pearl was talking to America – not just a Jewish audience – from Lexington, Kentucky. Pride and conviction can surface in the most unexpected places. Who would have thought that the torch of Jewish pride and pride in Israel would be carried by a basketball coach from an Alabama university?To which all we can say is: Thank you, Coach Pearl. And, of course, Go Tigers!
Koufax is an iconic figure for American Jews not because of his remarkable achievements as a baseball pitcher, although that certainly helps, but because of his unwavering and unabashed commitment to his Jewish identity. His decision not to pitch in Game 1 of the 1965 World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers because it fell on Yom Kippur cemented his role as a Jewish cultural hero for many American Jews growing up at the time.Although personally not particularly religious, Koufax prioritized respect for his heritage over professional obligations – including one of the most important baseball games of the year. In so doing, he set an example for Jews of standing up for one's identity and beliefs. His move took place at a time when antisemitism was acceptable in much of American society, and many Jews felt pressure to assimilate into the mainstream to “make it.”What did Pearl do to warrant this comparison?AUBURN TIGERS coach Bruce Pearl talks with his players during a practice at the YMCA in Jerusalem this week as part of the college team's trip to the Holy Land. (credit: YEHUDA HALICKMAN)So what did Pearl do to warrant this comparison? On Sunday, after his Auburn Tigers defeated Creighton in the widely watched NCAA basketball tournament known as March Madness, he opened the postgame press conference not talking about Auburn's dominance on the boards or its three-point shooting percentage, but rather remembering Edan Alexander, the 19-year-old Israeli-American held hostage in Gaza.“I get asked a lot how this basketball program has become so competitive over the last eight years,” Pearl said. “But for me, I believe it was God's plan to give us this success – success beyond what we deserve. To give us this platform. To give me an opportunity to start this conference really briefly and remind the world that Edan Alexander is still held hostage in Gaza right now… Bring the hostages home.”Later in the same press conference, watched by millions of American basketball fans, he professed his love for the US as a Jewish American, but also his connection to Israel. Israel is the “ancestral homeland for the Jewish people,” he said, and “it's under attack, it's under siege, and all it wants to do is live in peace with its neighbors. And, you know what, there are some Arab countries that are actually wanting peace with Israel right now, but there is a segment of the population there in the Middle East who have been doing nothing but attacking Israel for 85 years. October 7 was the worst day since the Holocaust for the Jewish people, and they [Hamas] say they want to do it again and again and again. We have Americans that are held hostage in Gaza right now. It's unacceptable.”Two days later, Pearl appeared on Fox & Friends, where host Brian Kilmeade said he had interviewed many college basketball coaches over the years but had never spoken with someone so passionate about a cause beyond sports.Pearl, sitting in an office with two Israeli flags – alongside a basketball net – visible on a bookcase, said since Israel's creation, there have been some in the Mideast who have “wanted the Jews to be dead, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now “I am just grateful to be a citizen of this country and to be Jewish, and we've got to call out the difference between good and evil,” he said.Jews are prominent in every corner of American life: science, law, literature, movies, music, business, politics, you name it. And while there have been some notable exceptions – Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Rapaport, for example – there are few instances when someone has used such a massive public platform to proudly and loudly stand up as a Jew, not only against antisemitism but also in support of Israel.Imagine if a Bob Dylan, or a Scarlett Johansson, or a Mark Zuckerberg expressed similar sentiments at events watched by millions. Gal Gadot gave a stirring speech earlier this month that began with, “My name is Gal… I am an Israeli, and I am Jewish,” but that was to an ADL summit on antisemitism. Pearl was talking to America – not just a Jewish audience – from Lexington, Kentucky. Pride and conviction can surface in the most unexpected places. Who would have thought that the torch of Jewish pride and pride in Israel would be carried by a basketball coach from an Alabama university?To which all we can say is: Thank you, Coach Pearl. And, of course, Go Tigers!
Although personally not particularly religious, Koufax prioritized respect for his heritage over professional obligations – including one of the most important baseball games of the year. In so doing, he set an example for Jews of standing up for one's identity and beliefs. His move took place at a time when antisemitism was acceptable in much of American society, and many Jews felt pressure to assimilate into the mainstream to “make it.”What did Pearl do to warrant this comparison?AUBURN TIGERS coach Bruce Pearl talks with his players during a practice at the YMCA in Jerusalem this week as part of the college team's trip to the Holy Land. (credit: YEHUDA HALICKMAN)So what did Pearl do to warrant this comparison? On Sunday, after his Auburn Tigers defeated Creighton in the widely watched NCAA basketball tournament known as March Madness, he opened the postgame press conference not talking about Auburn's dominance on the boards or its three-point shooting percentage, but rather remembering Edan Alexander, the 19-year-old Israeli-American held hostage in Gaza.“I get asked a lot how this basketball program has become so competitive over the last eight years,” Pearl said. “But for me, I believe it was God's plan to give us this success – success beyond what we deserve. To give us this platform. To give me an opportunity to start this conference really briefly and remind the world that Edan Alexander is still held hostage in Gaza right now… Bring the hostages home.”Later in the same press conference, watched by millions of American basketball fans, he professed his love for the US as a Jewish American, but also his connection to Israel. Israel is the “ancestral homeland for the Jewish people,” he said, and “it's under attack, it's under siege, and all it wants to do is live in peace with its neighbors. And, you know what, there are some Arab countries that are actually wanting peace with Israel right now, but there is a segment of the population there in the Middle East who have been doing nothing but attacking Israel for 85 years. October 7 was the worst day since the Holocaust for the Jewish people, and they [Hamas] say they want to do it again and again and again. We have Americans that are held hostage in Gaza right now. It's unacceptable.”Two days later, Pearl appeared on Fox & Friends, where host Brian Kilmeade said he had interviewed many college basketball coaches over the years but had never spoken with someone so passionate about a cause beyond sports.Pearl, sitting in an office with two Israeli flags – alongside a basketball net – visible on a bookcase, said since Israel's creation, there have been some in the Mideast who have “wanted the Jews to be dead, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now “I am just grateful to be a citizen of this country and to be Jewish, and we've got to call out the difference between good and evil,” he said.Jews are prominent in every corner of American life: science, law, literature, movies, music, business, politics, you name it. And while there have been some notable exceptions – Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Rapaport, for example – there are few instances when someone has used such a massive public platform to proudly and loudly stand up as a Jew, not only against antisemitism but also in support of Israel.Imagine if a Bob Dylan, or a Scarlett Johansson, or a Mark Zuckerberg expressed similar sentiments at events watched by millions. Gal Gadot gave a stirring speech earlier this month that began with, “My name is Gal… I am an Israeli, and I am Jewish,” but that was to an ADL summit on antisemitism. Pearl was talking to America – not just a Jewish audience – from Lexington, Kentucky. Pride and conviction can surface in the most unexpected places. Who would have thought that the torch of Jewish pride and pride in Israel would be carried by a basketball coach from an Alabama university?To which all we can say is: Thank you, Coach Pearl. And, of course, Go Tigers!
His move took place at a time when antisemitism was acceptable in much of American society, and many Jews felt pressure to assimilate into the mainstream to “make it.”What did Pearl do to warrant this comparison?AUBURN TIGERS coach Bruce Pearl talks with his players during a practice at the YMCA in Jerusalem this week as part of the college team's trip to the Holy Land. (credit: YEHUDA HALICKMAN)So what did Pearl do to warrant this comparison? On Sunday, after his Auburn Tigers defeated Creighton in the widely watched NCAA basketball tournament known as March Madness, he opened the postgame press conference not talking about Auburn's dominance on the boards or its three-point shooting percentage, but rather remembering Edan Alexander, the 19-year-old Israeli-American held hostage in Gaza.“I get asked a lot how this basketball program has become so competitive over the last eight years,” Pearl said. “But for me, I believe it was God's plan to give us this success – success beyond what we deserve. To give us this platform. To give me an opportunity to start this conference really briefly and remind the world that Edan Alexander is still held hostage in Gaza right now… Bring the hostages home.”Later in the same press conference, watched by millions of American basketball fans, he professed his love for the US as a Jewish American, but also his connection to Israel. Israel is the “ancestral homeland for the Jewish people,” he said, and “it's under attack, it's under siege, and all it wants to do is live in peace with its neighbors. And, you know what, there are some Arab countries that are actually wanting peace with Israel right now, but there is a segment of the population there in the Middle East who have been doing nothing but attacking Israel for 85 years. October 7 was the worst day since the Holocaust for the Jewish people, and they [Hamas] say they want to do it again and again and again. We have Americans that are held hostage in Gaza right now. It's unacceptable.”Two days later, Pearl appeared on Fox & Friends, where host Brian Kilmeade said he had interviewed many college basketball coaches over the years but had never spoken with someone so passionate about a cause beyond sports.Pearl, sitting in an office with two Israeli flags – alongside a basketball net – visible on a bookcase, said since Israel's creation, there have been some in the Mideast who have “wanted the Jews to be dead, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now “I am just grateful to be a citizen of this country and to be Jewish, and we've got to call out the difference between good and evil,” he said.Jews are prominent in every corner of American life: science, law, literature, movies, music, business, politics, you name it. And while there have been some notable exceptions – Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Rapaport, for example – there are few instances when someone has used such a massive public platform to proudly and loudly stand up as a Jew, not only against antisemitism but also in support of Israel.Imagine if a Bob Dylan, or a Scarlett Johansson, or a Mark Zuckerberg expressed similar sentiments at events watched by millions. Gal Gadot gave a stirring speech earlier this month that began with, “My name is Gal… I am an Israeli, and I am Jewish,” but that was to an ADL summit on antisemitism. Pearl was talking to America – not just a Jewish audience – from Lexington, Kentucky. Pride and conviction can surface in the most unexpected places. Who would have thought that the torch of Jewish pride and pride in Israel would be carried by a basketball coach from an Alabama university?To which all we can say is: Thank you, Coach Pearl. And, of course, Go Tigers!
So what did Pearl do to warrant this comparison? On Sunday, after his Auburn Tigers defeated Creighton in the widely watched NCAA basketball tournament known as March Madness, he opened the postgame press conference not talking about Auburn's dominance on the boards or its three-point shooting percentage, but rather remembering Edan Alexander, the 19-year-old Israeli-American held hostage in Gaza.“I get asked a lot how this basketball program has become so competitive over the last eight years,” Pearl said. “But for me, I believe it was God's plan to give us this success – success beyond what we deserve. To give us this platform. To give me an opportunity to start this conference really briefly and remind the world that Edan Alexander is still held hostage in Gaza right now… Bring the hostages home.”Later in the same press conference, watched by millions of American basketball fans, he professed his love for the US as a Jewish American, but also his connection to Israel. Israel is the “ancestral homeland for the Jewish people,” he said, and “it's under attack, it's under siege, and all it wants to do is live in peace with its neighbors. And, you know what, there are some Arab countries that are actually wanting peace with Israel right now, but there is a segment of the population there in the Middle East who have been doing nothing but attacking Israel for 85 years. October 7 was the worst day since the Holocaust for the Jewish people, and they [Hamas] say they want to do it again and again and again. We have Americans that are held hostage in Gaza right now. It's unacceptable.”Two days later, Pearl appeared on Fox & Friends, where host Brian Kilmeade said he had interviewed many college basketball coaches over the years but had never spoken with someone so passionate about a cause beyond sports.Pearl, sitting in an office with two Israeli flags – alongside a basketball net – visible on a bookcase, said since Israel's creation, there have been some in the Mideast who have “wanted the Jews to be dead, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now “I am just grateful to be a citizen of this country and to be Jewish, and we've got to call out the difference between good and evil,” he said.Jews are prominent in every corner of American life: science, law, literature, movies, music, business, politics, you name it. And while there have been some notable exceptions – Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Rapaport, for example – there are few instances when someone has used such a massive public platform to proudly and loudly stand up as a Jew, not only against antisemitism but also in support of Israel.Imagine if a Bob Dylan, or a Scarlett Johansson, or a Mark Zuckerberg expressed similar sentiments at events watched by millions. Gal Gadot gave a stirring speech earlier this month that began with, “My name is Gal… I am an Israeli, and I am Jewish,” but that was to an ADL summit on antisemitism. Pearl was talking to America – not just a Jewish audience – from Lexington, Kentucky. Pride and conviction can surface in the most unexpected places. Who would have thought that the torch of Jewish pride and pride in Israel would be carried by a basketball coach from an Alabama university?To which all we can say is: Thank you, Coach Pearl. And, of course, Go Tigers!
“I get asked a lot how this basketball program has become so competitive over the last eight years,” Pearl said. “But for me, I believe it was God's plan to give us this success – success beyond what we deserve. To give us this platform. To give me an opportunity to start this conference really briefly and remind the world that Edan Alexander is still held hostage in Gaza right now… Bring the hostages home.”Later in the same press conference, watched by millions of American basketball fans, he professed his love for the US as a Jewish American, but also his connection to Israel. Israel is the “ancestral homeland for the Jewish people,” he said, and “it's under attack, it's under siege, and all it wants to do is live in peace with its neighbors. And, you know what, there are some Arab countries that are actually wanting peace with Israel right now, but there is a segment of the population there in the Middle East who have been doing nothing but attacking Israel for 85 years. October 7 was the worst day since the Holocaust for the Jewish people, and they [Hamas] say they want to do it again and again and again. We have Americans that are held hostage in Gaza right now. It's unacceptable.”Two days later, Pearl appeared on Fox & Friends, where host Brian Kilmeade said he had interviewed many college basketball coaches over the years but had never spoken with someone so passionate about a cause beyond sports.Pearl, sitting in an office with two Israeli flags – alongside a basketball net – visible on a bookcase, said since Israel's creation, there have been some in the Mideast who have “wanted the Jews to be dead, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now “I am just grateful to be a citizen of this country and to be Jewish, and we've got to call out the difference between good and evil,” he said.Jews are prominent in every corner of American life: science, law, literature, movies, music, business, politics, you name it. And while there have been some notable exceptions – Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Rapaport, for example – there are few instances when someone has used such a massive public platform to proudly and loudly stand up as a Jew, not only against antisemitism but also in support of Israel.Imagine if a Bob Dylan, or a Scarlett Johansson, or a Mark Zuckerberg expressed similar sentiments at events watched by millions. Gal Gadot gave a stirring speech earlier this month that began with, “My name is Gal… I am an Israeli, and I am Jewish,” but that was to an ADL summit on antisemitism. Pearl was talking to America – not just a Jewish audience – from Lexington, Kentucky. Pride and conviction can surface in the most unexpected places. Who would have thought that the torch of Jewish pride and pride in Israel would be carried by a basketball coach from an Alabama university?To which all we can say is: Thank you, Coach Pearl. And, of course, Go Tigers!
Later in the same press conference, watched by millions of American basketball fans, he professed his love for the US as a Jewish American, but also his connection to Israel. Israel is the “ancestral homeland for the Jewish people,” he said, and “it's under attack, it's under siege, and all it wants to do is live in peace with its neighbors. And, you know what, there are some Arab countries that are actually wanting peace with Israel right now, but there is a segment of the population there in the Middle East who have been doing nothing but attacking Israel for 85 years. October 7 was the worst day since the Holocaust for the Jewish people, and they [Hamas] say they want to do it again and again and again. We have Americans that are held hostage in Gaza right now. It's unacceptable.”Two days later, Pearl appeared on Fox & Friends, where host Brian Kilmeade said he had interviewed many college basketball coaches over the years but had never spoken with someone so passionate about a cause beyond sports.Pearl, sitting in an office with two Israeli flags – alongside a basketball net – visible on a bookcase, said since Israel's creation, there have been some in the Mideast who have “wanted the Jews to be dead, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now “I am just grateful to be a citizen of this country and to be Jewish, and we've got to call out the difference between good and evil,” he said.Jews are prominent in every corner of American life: science, law, literature, movies, music, business, politics, you name it. And while there have been some notable exceptions – Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Rapaport, for example – there are few instances when someone has used such a massive public platform to proudly and loudly stand up as a Jew, not only against antisemitism but also in support of Israel.Imagine if a Bob Dylan, or a Scarlett Johansson, or a Mark Zuckerberg expressed similar sentiments at events watched by millions. Gal Gadot gave a stirring speech earlier this month that began with, “My name is Gal… I am an Israeli, and I am Jewish,” but that was to an ADL summit on antisemitism. Pearl was talking to America – not just a Jewish audience – from Lexington, Kentucky. Pride and conviction can surface in the most unexpected places. Who would have thought that the torch of Jewish pride and pride in Israel would be carried by a basketball coach from an Alabama university?To which all we can say is: Thank you, Coach Pearl. And, of course, Go Tigers!
Israel is the “ancestral homeland for the Jewish people,” he said, and “it's under attack, it's under siege, and all it wants to do is live in peace with its neighbors. And, you know what, there are some Arab countries that are actually wanting peace with Israel right now, but there is a segment of the population there in the Middle East who have been doing nothing but attacking Israel for 85 years. October 7 was the worst day since the Holocaust for the Jewish people, and they [Hamas] say they want to do it again and again and again. We have Americans that are held hostage in Gaza right now. It's unacceptable.”Two days later, Pearl appeared on Fox & Friends, where host Brian Kilmeade said he had interviewed many college basketball coaches over the years but had never spoken with someone so passionate about a cause beyond sports.Pearl, sitting in an office with two Israeli flags – alongside a basketball net – visible on a bookcase, said since Israel's creation, there have been some in the Mideast who have “wanted the Jews to be dead, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now “I am just grateful to be a citizen of this country and to be Jewish, and we've got to call out the difference between good and evil,” he said.Jews are prominent in every corner of American life: science, law, literature, movies, music, business, politics, you name it. And while there have been some notable exceptions – Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Rapaport, for example – there are few instances when someone has used such a massive public platform to proudly and loudly stand up as a Jew, not only against antisemitism but also in support of Israel.Imagine if a Bob Dylan, or a Scarlett Johansson, or a Mark Zuckerberg expressed similar sentiments at events watched by millions. Gal Gadot gave a stirring speech earlier this month that began with, “My name is Gal… I am an Israeli, and I am Jewish,” but that was to an ADL summit on antisemitism. Pearl was talking to America – not just a Jewish audience – from Lexington, Kentucky. Pride and conviction can surface in the most unexpected places. Who would have thought that the torch of Jewish pride and pride in Israel would be carried by a basketball coach from an Alabama university?To which all we can say is: Thank you, Coach Pearl. And, of course, Go Tigers!
Two days later, Pearl appeared on Fox & Friends, where host Brian Kilmeade said he had interviewed many college basketball coaches over the years but had never spoken with someone so passionate about a cause beyond sports.Pearl, sitting in an office with two Israeli flags – alongside a basketball net – visible on a bookcase, said since Israel's creation, there have been some in the Mideast who have “wanted the Jews to be dead, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now “I am just grateful to be a citizen of this country and to be Jewish, and we've got to call out the difference between good and evil,” he said.Jews are prominent in every corner of American life: science, law, literature, movies, music, business, politics, you name it. And while there have been some notable exceptions – Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Rapaport, for example – there are few instances when someone has used such a massive public platform to proudly and loudly stand up as a Jew, not only against antisemitism but also in support of Israel.Imagine if a Bob Dylan, or a Scarlett Johansson, or a Mark Zuckerberg expressed similar sentiments at events watched by millions. Gal Gadot gave a stirring speech earlier this month that began with, “My name is Gal… I am an Israeli, and I am Jewish,” but that was to an ADL summit on antisemitism. Pearl was talking to America – not just a Jewish audience – from Lexington, Kentucky. Pride and conviction can surface in the most unexpected places. Who would have thought that the torch of Jewish pride and pride in Israel would be carried by a basketball coach from an Alabama university?To which all we can say is: Thank you, Coach Pearl. And, of course, Go Tigers!
Pearl, sitting in an office with two Israeli flags – alongside a basketball net – visible on a bookcase, said since Israel's creation, there have been some in the Mideast who have “wanted the Jews to be dead, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now “I am just grateful to be a citizen of this country and to be Jewish, and we've got to call out the difference between good and evil,” he said.Jews are prominent in every corner of American life: science, law, literature, movies, music, business, politics, you name it. And while there have been some notable exceptions – Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Rapaport, for example – there are few instances when someone has used such a massive public platform to proudly and loudly stand up as a Jew, not only against antisemitism but also in support of Israel.Imagine if a Bob Dylan, or a Scarlett Johansson, or a Mark Zuckerberg expressed similar sentiments at events watched by millions. Gal Gadot gave a stirring speech earlier this month that began with, “My name is Gal… I am an Israeli, and I am Jewish,” but that was to an ADL summit on antisemitism. Pearl was talking to America – not just a Jewish audience – from Lexington, Kentucky. Pride and conviction can surface in the most unexpected places. Who would have thought that the torch of Jewish pride and pride in Israel would be carried by a basketball coach from an Alabama university?To which all we can say is: Thank you, Coach Pearl. And, of course, Go Tigers!
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“I am just grateful to be a citizen of this country and to be Jewish, and we've got to call out the difference between good and evil,” he said.Jews are prominent in every corner of American life: science, law, literature, movies, music, business, politics, you name it. And while there have been some notable exceptions – Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Rapaport, for example – there are few instances when someone has used such a massive public platform to proudly and loudly stand up as a Jew, not only against antisemitism but also in support of Israel.Imagine if a Bob Dylan, or a Scarlett Johansson, or a Mark Zuckerberg expressed similar sentiments at events watched by millions. Gal Gadot gave a stirring speech earlier this month that began with, “My name is Gal… I am an Israeli, and I am Jewish,” but that was to an ADL summit on antisemitism. Pearl was talking to America – not just a Jewish audience – from Lexington, Kentucky. Pride and conviction can surface in the most unexpected places. Who would have thought that the torch of Jewish pride and pride in Israel would be carried by a basketball coach from an Alabama university?To which all we can say is: Thank you, Coach Pearl. And, of course, Go Tigers!
Jews are prominent in every corner of American life: science, law, literature, movies, music, business, politics, you name it. And while there have been some notable exceptions – Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Rapaport, for example – there are few instances when someone has used such a massive public platform to proudly and loudly stand up as a Jew, not only against antisemitism but also in support of Israel.Imagine if a Bob Dylan, or a Scarlett Johansson, or a Mark Zuckerberg expressed similar sentiments at events watched by millions. Gal Gadot gave a stirring speech earlier this month that began with, “My name is Gal… I am an Israeli, and I am Jewish,” but that was to an ADL summit on antisemitism. Pearl was talking to America – not just a Jewish audience – from Lexington, Kentucky. Pride and conviction can surface in the most unexpected places. Who would have thought that the torch of Jewish pride and pride in Israel would be carried by a basketball coach from an Alabama university?To which all we can say is: Thank you, Coach Pearl. And, of course, Go Tigers!
Imagine if a Bob Dylan, or a Scarlett Johansson, or a Mark Zuckerberg expressed similar sentiments at events watched by millions. Gal Gadot gave a stirring speech earlier this month that began with, “My name is Gal… I am an Israeli, and I am Jewish,” but that was to an ADL summit on antisemitism. Pearl was talking to America – not just a Jewish audience – from Lexington, Kentucky. Pride and conviction can surface in the most unexpected places. Who would have thought that the torch of Jewish pride and pride in Israel would be carried by a basketball coach from an Alabama university?To which all we can say is: Thank you, Coach Pearl. And, of course, Go Tigers!
Pride and conviction can surface in the most unexpected places. Who would have thought that the torch of Jewish pride and pride in Israel would be carried by a basketball coach from an Alabama university?To which all we can say is: Thank you, Coach Pearl. And, of course, Go Tigers!
To which all we can say is: Thank you, Coach Pearl. And, of course, Go Tigers!
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Philippine wildcard Alexandra Eala pulled off what could go down as the biggest upset of the year with a stunning 6-2 7-5 upset of Polish world number two Iga Swiatek. What makes the victory even more stunning is that Swiatek is now the third Grand Slam champion to have been knocked out by Eala in the tournament after earlier wins over Australian Open champion Madison Keys and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Among those who celebrated Eala's win was none other than the legendary Rafael Nadal, whose academy the 19-year-old is an alumnus of. Nadal's uncle and former coach Toni Nadal was in the stands watching on as she beat Swiatek. "We are extremely proud of you, Alex. What an incredible tournament! Let's keep dreaming!" said the 22-time Grand Slam champion on X.
Nadal's academy had also been extensively posting about Eala's progress in the match on X.
The big-hitting 19-year-old showed no signs of being intimidated playing against one of her idols and was instead a picture of poise for much of the game. Her demeanor broke only right at the end, when she looked rather bewildered and stunned after taking the winning point and looked almost unsure as she walked up to the net to gree Swiatek.
"I don't know what to say, I mean, complete just disbelief right now and I am on cloud nine," Eala said in her on-court interview. "It's forever in my heart."
Up next will be a match against American fourth seed Jessica Pegula, who beat 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu of Britain. Eala, who is ranked 140th in the world has already put Phillipines on the map in tennis. She became the third wild card to reach the Miami Open semifinals, following Justine Henin in 2010 and Victoria Azarenka in 2018.
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This is Radio Schuman, your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news, insights, and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond.
Brussels, My Love?
From the economy to the climate and the EU's role in world affairs, this talk show sheds light on European affairs and the issues that impact on our daily lives as Europeans. Tune in to understand the ins and outs of European politics.
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No agenda, no argument, no bias, No Comment. Get the story without commentary.
My Wildest Prediction
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Deep dive conversations with business leaders
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Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives. With explanations, engaging Q&As, and lively conversations, the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society.
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Europe's water is under increasing pressure. Pollution, droughts, floods are taking their toll on our drinking water, lakes, rivers and coastlines. Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters, how our wastewater can be better managed, and to discover some of the best water solutions. Video reports, an animated explainer series and live debate - find out why Water Matters, from Euronews.
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We give you the latest climate facts from the world's leading source, analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing. We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt.
The tariffs come as analysts warn that they could in fact affect the US car industry, as even domestic carmakers source their components from around the world, meaning that they could face higher costs and lower sales.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he was placing 25% tariffs on car imports, a move the American leader claims would boost domestic manufacturing.
“This is permanent,” Trump announced, underscoring his seriousness about the tariffs directive. He added that the vehicle tariffs would come into effect next Friday.
The tariffs come as analysts warn that this could likely affect the US automotive industry, as even US car makers source their components from around the world, meaning that they could face higher costs and lower sales.
Some of the projections estimate that the likely average price of an imported car might increase by around €11,000 if the taxes are fully passed on to the buyer, which could contribute to general inflation.
In the first reaction to Trump's announcement, General Motors shares plunged roughly 3% on Wednesday afternoon while shares in Stellantis, the owner of Jeep and Chrysler, dropped nearly 4%. Ford's stock was up slightly.
A swift reaction followed in Brussels, where European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed regret at the US decision. She vowed that the bloc would protect consumers and businesses.
“Tariffs are taxes — bad for businesses, worse for consumers equally in the U.S. and the European Union,” she said in a statement, adding that the EU's executive branch would assess the impact of the move, as well as other US tariffs planned for the coming days.
Trump has long declared that he would impose tariffs on auto imports as a hallmark of his presidency, hoping that as the price of the taxes increased, more manufacturing would move to the US and the budget deficit would be reduced.
However, American and international carmakers already have plants all around the world to meet demand from customers across the world while keeping prices competitive.
There are concerns that it may take years for businesses to plan, construct, and launch the additional factories that Trump is proposing.
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says he needs to see the details of Trump's executive order before taking retaliatory measures.
He described Trump's tariffs as unjustified and said he would be heading straight to Ottawa to chair his special Cabinet committee on US relations on Thursday.
Earlier, Carney announced a €1.2 billion “strategic response fund” that will protect Canadian auto jobs affected by Trump's tariffs.
Carney stressed that the automobile industry directly employs 125,000 Canadians and nearly another 500,000 in connected industries, making them the country's second-largest export.
The recently appointed prime minister wants to mitigate the effect of the tariffs on the Canadian economy and has called for talks with Trump, whom he has not yet met or spoken to since being sworn in on 14 March.
Lithuanian military and rescue services and U.S. troops are searching for the men, who went missing Tuesday near the Belarusian border.
RIGA, Latvia — NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told news agencies on Wednesday that four U.S. soldiers who went missing during military exercises in Lithuania had died.
He told reporters during a trip to Warsaw it was still early news and there were no further details. NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart later walked back Rutte's remarks, noting that the soldiers should be considered missing.
“The Secretary General was referring to news reports that had just emerged,” she said. “He did not confirm the death of the four U.S. soldiers, but noted that the details remain unconfirmed.”
The U.S. military said in a statement that a recovery effort was still underway after an armored vehicle was discovered submerged in a body of water at a training ground. “Search efforts for the Soldiers continue,” the U.S. military said.
Lithuanian military and rescue services and U.S. troops began a search for the men when they went missing Tuesday afternoon at the training ground near Pabrade in eastern Lithuania near the Belarusian border.
They were traveling in an M88 recovery vehicle, a large tracked armored vehicle used to recover other tanks, the U.S. military said.
The men are part of the 3rd Infantry Division, 1st Brigade, that was carrying out a tactical training exercise, according to the U.S. military.
Ignas Grinevicius, a spokesman for the Lithuanian Defense Ministry, said men and helicopters from the Lithuanian air force and border guard service were involved in the search.
German and U.S. forces are deployed in Lithuania alongside Lithuanian troops as part of NATO's eastern flank defenses to deter a Russian attack on the Baltic states.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said he was being constantly updated on the rescue operation. Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene was on her way to the training ground late Wednesday to inspect the search and to show solidarity with American forces, according to her office.
Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, commander of the U.S. V Corps, thanked the Lithuanian military and first responders who assisted in the search.
Ellen Francis in Brussels contributed to this report.
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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's union with American author Lauren Wendy Sanchez, set for summer 2025 in Italy's Venice, is being touted as the “wedding of the century". Finer details of the couple's bash, as reported by Page Six, will make you believe that it is indeed worthy to be considered as such.
The event is set to be hosted on their $500 million mega yacht, Koru, which will be anchored in the Italian city. Reportedly the largest ever built at 415 feet long, it can host a modest 18 VIPs in its nine cabins, the report added.
However, sources close to the couple insisted that the yacht is only “involved” as a part of their celebrations and not as a venue due to the country's regulations to protect Venice's famous canal network.
ALSO READ | Will Lauren Sanchez take Jeff Bezos' last name after their long-awaited wedding and who will be her gown designers?
They explained that a yacht of Koru's size has to be anchored in the Arsenale area, which is not as visually appealing as the other parts of the city with canals.
A source also told the Daily Mail that the couple cannot get their way around regulations despite owning billions. “All the money in the world cannot change those regulations. There's no way that you want to wake up in Venice and not be looking out onto the Grand Canal,” it added.
However, the report, quoting a local media outlet, said the entire fleet of water taxis will be made available to shuttle guests across the canals.
ALSO READ | Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sanchez's wedding invites out; a Trump and ‘Desperate Housewife' top the list
The Daily Mail reported that Venice's best hotels, the Gritti Palace and Aman Venice, are completely booked from June 26 to June 29. Rooms start at $3,200 a night and go up to ten times that amount, depending on the extent of luxury the guests need.
Bezos proposed to Sanchez in May 2023 with a spectacular pink diamond ring reportedly worth at least $2.5 million. The proposal took place aboard Koru, Bezos's three-masted sailing yacht.
Officials point to ultra-dry conditions as death toll reaches 27 and fires threaten Unesco heritage sites
Authorities in South Korea are battling wildfires that have doubled in size in a day in the country's worst ever natural fire disaster.
At least 27 people have died and hundreds of buildings destroyed in the south-eastern province of North Gyeongsang, with the country's disaster chief saying the fires had exposed the “harsh reality” of global heating.
Pointing to ultra-dry conditions and strong winds that have worsened the damage, Lee Han-kyung, disaster and safety division chief, said: “This wildfire has once again exposed the harsh reality of a climate crisis unlike anything we've experienced before.”
The affected areas have seen only half the average rainfall this season, while the country has experienced more than double the number of fires this year than last.
More than 36,000 hectares (88,960 acres) have been charred or were still burning in the largest of the fires, which began in the central Uiseong county, making it the biggest single forest fire in South Korea's history. About 37,000 people have been displaced, the Yonhap news agency said.
“We are nationally in a critical situation with numerous casualties because of the unprecedented rapid spread of forest fires,” the acting president, Han Duck-soo, told a government response meeting, adding that the high number of older victims, including those in nursing hospitals, was a particular concern.
The military has released stocks of aviation fuel to help keep firefighting helicopters flying to douse flames across mountainous regions in the province, where fires have been burning now for nearly a week. More than 300 structures had been destroyed, officials said.
As of Thursday morning, authorities were mobilising more than 9,000 people and about 120 helicopters to battle the fires, the government's disaster response centre said.
The country's disaster chief said the wildfires were now “the largest on record”, having burned more forest than any previous blazes. The last major wildfire, in April 2020, scorched 23,913 hectares across the east coast.
“The wildfire is spreading rapidly,” Lee said. “The forest damage has reached 35,810 hectares, already exceeding the area affected by the 2000 east coast wildfire, previously the largest on record, by more than 10,000 hectares.”
The fatalities include a pilot whose helicopter crashed during efforts to contain a fire and four firefighters and other workers who died after being trapped by fast-moving flames driven by strong winds.
Authorities have not disclosed details of the civilian dead, except that they are mainly in their 60s and 70s. They suspect human error caused several of the wildfires that began last Friday, including cases where people started fires while clearing overgrown grass from family tombs or with sparks during welding work.
Last year was South Korea's hottest year on record, with the Korea Meteorological Administration saying that the average annual temperature was 14.5C – two degrees higher than the preceding 30-year average of 12.5C.
Yeh Sang-Wook, professor of climatology at Hanyang University in Seoul, said the lack of rainfall had dried out the land “creating favourable conditions for wildfires”.
“This can be seen as one of the fundamental causes,” he said. “We can't say that it's only due to climate change, but climate change is directly [and] indirectly affecting the changes we are experiencing now. This is a simple fact.”
The blazes were threatening two Unesco world heritage sites – Hahoe Village and the Byeongsan Confucian academy – in Andong city on Wednesday, a city official said, as authorities sprayed fire retardants to try to protect them.
Andong and the neighbouring counties of Uiseong and Sancheong, as well as the city of Ulsan, have been hardest hit. On Wednesday night, strong winds and smoke-filled skies forced authorities in Andong, in the south-east, to order evacuations in two villages, including Puncheon, home to the Hahoe folk village, founded around the 14th-15th century. Hikers were advised to leave the scenic Jiri mountain as another fire spread closer.
The wildfires originated in Uiseong and have been moving rapidly eastward, spreading almost to the coast, carried by gusty winds and with dry conditions aggravating the situation.
The meteorological agency has forecast some rain for the south-west but precipitation is expected to be under 5mm for most of the affected areas.
“The amount of rain is going to be small so it doesn't look like it'll be big help in trying to extinguish the fire,” said the Korea Forest Service minister, Lim Sang-seop.
Officials said earlier this week that firefighters had extinguished most of the flames from the largest wildfires in key areas, but wind and dry conditions allowed them to spread again.
Houses, factories, vehicles and some historic structures have been destroyed in the fires. In Uiseong, about 20 of the 30 structures at the Gounsa temple complex – which was said to be originally built in the 7th century – have been burned. Among them were two state-designated “treasures” – a pavilion-shaped building erected overlooking a stream in 1668, and a Joseon dynasty structure built in 1904 to mark the longevity of a king.
Experts have said the Uiseong fire showed extremely unusual spread in terms of its scale and speed, and that climate change was expected to make wildfires more frequent and deadly globally.
Higher temperatures amplified by human-caused climate change contributed to the existing seasonally dry conditions, “turning dry landscapes into dangerous fire fuel” in the region, said the Climate Central group, an independent body made up of scientists and researchers.
With Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France-Presse
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Billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sánchez are all set to exchange vows in June. According to Page Six, the couple has already started sending out invitations for their extravagant wedding in Venice, Italy. Initially, they planned to host the ceremony aboard their $500 million megayacht, Koru. However, sources told the Daily Mail that the yacht's role may now be limited to supporting the festivities, perhaps functioning as a water taxi. The reason? Local regulations dictate that a vessel of Koru's size must anchor near the Arsenale area, far from the city's most picturesque spots. For those unfamiliar, Koru is the world's largest masted yacht, stretching an impressive 127 meters in length.
“All the money in the world cannot change those regulations,” one source told Daily Mail. “There's no way that you want to wake up in Venice and not be looking out on to the Grand Canal.”
Meanwhile, the city's premier luxury hotels, The Gritti Palace and the seven-star Aman, are fully booked from June 26 to June 29. Rates at these properties reportedly begin at $3,200 per night, with top-tier suites soaring to nearly ten times that price.
“In preparation for the event, Venice is bracing for the arrival of VIPs. The city's top luxury hotels have already been booked, and reports say the entire fleet of water taxis will be made available to shuttle guests across the canals. The logistics point to a highly exclusive, tightly coordinated celebration,” a local news site reported, per the Daily Mail.
“Choosing Venice is more than a romantic gesture — it's a nod to the couple's shared history with the city, which they've frequently visited during their relationship. … The wedding is poised to be a defining social event of 2025, not only for the couple but for Venice itself," the local website added.
A college classroom, a group of students, and an unexpected dose of Michael Jackson-level magic- this is the latest viral video that has the internet buzzing. In a surprising yet entertaining moment, a professor turned a regular lecture into a full-fledged dance performance, effortlessly nailing MJ's iconic moves.
Instagram user @ajdiaries shared the now-viral clip, which features professor Ravi from New Horizon College of Engineering, Bengaluru, dancing to the legendary track "Thriller." The energy, precision, and sheer enthusiasm have left social media users stunned.
Along with the video, the caption read, "The energy, the swag, dancer by passion, a teacher by profession."
The video captures a moment no student would have anticipated-just as they were expecting a typical lesson, the professor took centre stage and channelled the King of Pop. With smooth footwork, sharp spins, and electrifying moves, he perfectly recreated MJ's signature dance style.
Watch the video here:
A post shared by AJ (@ajdiaries___)
What makes the video even more special is the audience reaction-students are seen cheering, clapping, and hyping up their lecturer as he delivers an unforgettable performance.
Since being posted, the reel has garnered 2.7 million views and 192,000 likes, with users flooding the comments section with praise:
A user wrote, "Fortunate we had him as our professor back in 2007 to 11...he has not changed... Ravi sir."
Another user wrote, "This is so wholesome, it's a core memory for him now. Fr the people cheering him on are adorable."
"I'm sure his class roll call will have a full turnout," the third user remarked.
The fourth user wrote, "Okay, coolest thing on the Internet today!"
"Ravi sir, not only best dancer but also best teacher in NHCE," the fifth user wrote.
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The private data of several top security advisers to Donald Trump have been found online, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported. National security adviser Mike Waltz, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, and director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's mobile phone numbers, email addresses and in some cases even passwords can be found via commercial data-search services and hacked data that was dumped online. However, it is unclear how recent all the details are.
This incident comes at a time when the Trump administration is facing calls for senior officials to step down amid the Signal leak scandal. The controversy surfaced after The Atlantic revealed that Jeffrey Goldberg, its editor-in-chief, added to a secret group chat by mistake where high-ranking Trump administration members had been discussing an upcoming military strike against Yemen's Houthi rebels. This led to the administration's handling of classified conversations to be questioned. The chat group reportedly included Vice President JD Vance, Hegseth, the secretary of state Marco Rubio, and others. Trump later said Hegseth “had nothing to do with this” and called the scandal a “witch-hunt.”
The phone numbers and email IDs found were used for Instagram and LinkedIn profiles in some cases, as well as cloud-storage service Dropbox, and apps that track a user's location. According to Der Spiegel, it was “particularly easy” to discover Hegseth's mobile number and email address, using a commercial provider of contact information. The outlet found that the email address, and even the password associated with it, could be found in over 20 data leaks. The email address was reportedly used only a few days back. In fact, the mobile number led to a WhatsApp account that seemed to have been recently deleted by Hegseth.
Gabbard and Waltz' numbers, on the other hand, were linked to accounts on WhatsApp and Signal, exposing them to having spyware installed on their devices. The national security council said Waltz' accounts and passwords that were referenced by the German magazine were changed in 2019.
Rare demonstrations against Hamas, which has long repressed dissent, came amid widespread despair after Israel resumed the war in Gaza following a two-month ceasefire.
Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza marched through neighborhoods reduced to rubble chanting against Hamas for a second day Wednesday, in some of the largest anti-war protests the enclave has seen during the ongoing conflict.
According to participants and firsthand observers, along with photos and videos shared online and by media outlets, the protests appeared to begin in Beit Lahia, a largely destroyed area of northern Gaza, on Tuesday. Videos verified by Reuters and the Associated Press show some people chanting: “Hamas out,” amid wider calls from hundreds of demonstrators for an end to the war. In one image, a young girl in a pink dress carries a sign that reads: “the children of Palestine would like to live.”
By Wednesday afternoon, the protests had spread to at least two other parts of the enclave.
“Explosions echo from all directions in Beit Lahia. What crime have we committed to deserve this?” Saeed Kilani, one of the protesters, said in a phone interview Wednesday. “Our children cannot sleep for even an hour due to the relentless bombardment.”
The Israeli military placed an evacuation order on Beit Lahia on Monday, saying that it intended to intensify its operations there after Hamas launched rockets from the area. Kilani said that residents were in despair over the idea of another round of displacement.
Since Israel resumed strikes eight days ago, ending the nearly two-month ceasefire, it has issued evacuation orders for more than 15 percent of Gaza, the United Nations said. Israel has killed at least 830 people in that time, according to data from the Gaza Ministry of Health. The majority of those killed in the war have been women and children, according to the Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007 following elections the previous year and a brief war with Fatah, the backbone of the Palestinian Authority and a rival Palestinian movement. Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has vowed to eliminate the group as a military and governing force in Gaza.
“The chants of ‘Hamas out' does not mean that we want to eliminate Hamas, nor that we have the ability to do so, nor that we are against Hamas,” Kilani said. “Hamas exists in every family, even among those in the streets — some of whom are members of Hamas,” he said. Still, 17 months of devastating Israeli strikes have made Palestinians more critical of the group that has ruled the territory for the past 17 years. But large public expressions of dissent, which Hamas has long repressed, remain rare.
“The people of Beit Lahia have endured all this time, but today they are speaking out: Hamas's management of the negotiations is flawed, inadequate and has not brought us security or safety,” said Kilani, a lifelong resident of Beit Lahia. “We demand that this responsibility be transferred to another party. We do not care who that party is.”
“Hamas can even hand it over to the Great Satan,” an epithet for the United States, “if necessary,” he said. “Just stop the war on Gaza, stop the displacement, stop the genocide.”
An invitation circulated in Gaza calling on residents to join Wednesday's protests called on “clans and people of Shejaiya,” a large neighborhood, to “go out in a popular march of anger to reject the ongoing war and demand that Hamas lift its grip on the Gaza Strip, so that life can return to its people and our ongoing suffering can end.”
It was not immediately clear who organized the demonstration, but two attendees said that people appeared to be joining spontaneously.
“All people have the right to cry out of pain and raise their voices against the aggression against our people,” Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said in a statement, in response to questions about the protests. “However, it is unacceptable and reprehensible to exploit these tragic humanitarian conditions, whether to advance suspicious political agendas or to absolve the criminal aggressor, the occupation and its army, of responsibility.”
Ibrahim Hajjaj, 22, a freelance videographer who covered the protests in Shejaiya on Wednesday, said that he saw “intense anger” on display.
“It seems that the protesters, although called for by notables and mukhtars, were completely spontaneous and express the voice of the people on the Gazan street,” he said. They “expressed their rejection of Hamas's approach to negotiations and demanded to stop the bloodshed at all costs.”
He estimated that dozens of men, women and children were protesting in Shejaiya. The demonstrations in Beit Lahia appeared to draw hundreds of people on Wednesday.
The protests come after decade and a half of authoritarian rule by Hamas, “coupled with a year and a half of arguably the most destructive, most ferocious, worst chapter in Palestinian modern history,” said Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a critic of Hamas and head of Realign for Palestine, a project of the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank. “That has gotten people to think: Enough.”
Mustafa Ibrahim, a Gaza-based political analyst, said that he fears that the protests, while within the rights of participants, could be exploited by Israel or sow further factional divisions in Palestinian politics.
“The danger in the issue is the exploitation of it, what some Israeli commentators claimed was an opportunity to apply more pressure on Hamas to remove it from the scene completely,” Ibrahim said. “But there are also questions being asked: Who is the alternative? Who will rule? Is it Israel?”
Israeli officials were quick to respond to the anti-Hamas sentiment in Gaza.
“Very soon, the IDF will operate forcefully in additional areas of Gaza,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement Wednesday. “You will be required to evacuate and will lose more and more territory. The plans are already prepared and approved. Learn from the residents of Beit Lahia: demand the removal of Hamas from Gaza and the immediate release of all Israeli hostages — this is the only way to end the war.”
Hajar Harb contributed to this report.
Israel's military launched a large-scale bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip on 18 March, breaking the fragile ceasefire with Hamas that had been in place since late January. Follow live updates on the ceasefire and the hostages remaining in Gaza.
The Israel-Gaza war: On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas militants launched an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking civilian hostages. Israel declared war on Hamas in response, launching a ground invasion that fueled the biggest displacement in the region since Israel's creation in 1948. In July 2024, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an attack Hamas has blamed on Israel.
Hezbollah: In late 2024, Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire deal, bringing a tenuous halt to more than a year of hostilities that included an Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon. Israel's airstrikes into Lebanon had been intense and deadly, killing over 1,400 people including Hasan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's longtime leader. The Israel-Lebanon border has a history of violence that dates back to Israel's founding.
Gaza crisis: In the Gaza Strip, Israel has waged one of this century's most destructive wars, killing tens of thousands and plunging at least half of the population into “famine-like conditions.” For months, Israel has resisted pressure from Western allies to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave.
U.S. involvement: Despite tensions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some U.S. politicians, including former President Joe Biden, the United States supports Israel with weapons, funds aid packages, and has vetoed or abstained from the United Nations' ceasefire resolutions.
The screenshots of the chat on the "Houthi PC small group" were released by The Atlantic magazine
American magazine The Atlantic on Wednesday released the details of plans for US airstrikes on Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen that were mistakenly shared by top Trump administration officials with its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, on the messaging app Signal.
The screenshots of the chat on the "Houthi PC small group" showed top US officials discussing the time of strikes and types of planes used against Houthis on March 15 - the first attack on the group since Donald Trump took office in January.
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who has accepted accidentally adding Mr Goldberg to the chat on the commercially available app, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Vice President JD Vance were among 19 members in the group.
The chats by The Atlantic, which first published the story about the massive security breach on Monday, were released after Mr Hegseth, while responding to a reporter on why he shared plans about a forthcoming attack on Yemen, said that "Nobody was texting war plans".
"The statements by Hegseth, (national intelligence director Tulsi) Gabbard, (CIA director John) Ratcliffe, and Trump - combined with the assertions made by numerous administration officials that we are lying about the content of the Signal texts - have led us to believe that people should see the texts in order to reach their own conclusions," the magazine said.
In the screenshots shared by The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg can be seen being added to the "Houthi PC small group" on March 11 by Michael Waltz.
Mr Waltz also changed the settings so the group messages will automatically disappear after one week. Later, the NSA extended the timer to four weeks.
"Team - establishing a principles group for coordination on Houthis, particularly over the next 72 hours," Mr Waltz apparently said at 4:28 pm on March 13.
The "principles group" referred to the Principals Committee, which is convened by the National Security Advisor and generally includes the heads of departments or agencies involved with the subject matter being discussed at a given meeting.
"Pls provide the best staff POC from your team for us to coordinate with over the next couple days and over the weekend. Thx," Mr Waltz added.
A minute later, Marco Rubio wrote, "Mike Needham for State", apparently designating the current counsellor of the US state department as his representative.
Seconds later, Vice President Vance also said, "Andy baker for VP".
Subsequently, other officials in the group, including Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, designated their representatives.
The next morning, at 8.05 am, Mr Waltz again texted in the group, "Team, you should have a statement of conclusions with taskings per the Presidents [sic] guidance this morning in your high side inboxes."
"High side inboxes" are the classified email accounts of the US government officials.
BREAKING: Jeffrey Goldberg from the Atlantic has released the entire chat of the Signal group where the highest U.S. officials discuss war plans.The Atlantic redacted the name of a CIA agent. They care more about his life than Ratcliffe does.Tulsi Gabbard lied under oath. pic.twitter.com/TEhIAMLWBf
"State and DOD (Department of Defence), we developed suggested notification lists for regional Allies and partners. Joint Staff is sending this am a more specific sequence of events in the coming days and we will work w (with) DOD to ensure COS [chief of staff], OVP [office of the vice president] and POTUS [president of the United States] are briefed," Mr Waltz's message read further.
The screenshots shared by The Atlantic then showed JD Vance writing, "Team, I am out for the day doing an economic event in Michigan. But I think we are making a mistake."
"3 percent of US trade runs through the suez. 40 percent of European trade does. There is a real risk that the public doesn't understand this or why it's necessary. The strongest reason to do this is, as POTUS said, to send a message. But I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now. There's a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices," his text continued.
"I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc," he said.
Joe Kent, Trump's nominee for National Counterterrorism Center director, then weighs in and said, "There is nothing time sensitive driving the time line. We'll have the exact same options in a month."
"The Israelis will likely take strikes & therefore ask us for more to replenish whatever they use against the Houthis. But that's a minor factor. I will send you the unclass data we pulled on BAM shipping," he added.
"BAM shipping" reportedly referred to combat operations in the region focused on protecting international shipping lanes and freedom of navigation.
Mr Ratcliffe then entered the chat and said, "From CIA perspective, we are mobilizing assets to support now but a delay would not negatively impact us and additional time would be used to identify better starting points for coverage on Houthi leadership."
Minutes later, a message from Pete Hegseth said, "VP: I understand your concerns - and fully support you raising w/ POTUS. Important considerations, most of which are tough to know how they play out (economy, Ukraine peace, Gaza, etc). I think messaging is going to be tough no matter what - nobody knows who the Houthis are - which is why we would need to stay focused on: 1) Biden failed & 2) Iran funded."
"Waiting a few weeks or a month does not fundamentally change the calculus. 2 immediate risks on waiting: 1) this leaks, and we look indecisive; 2) Israel takes an action first - or Gaza cease fire falls apart - and we don't get to start this on our own terms. We can manage both.
"We are prepared to execute, and if I had final go or no go vote, I believe we should. This [is] not about the Houthis. I see it as two things: 1) Restoring Freedom of Navigation, a core national interest; and 2) Reestablish deterrence, which Biden cratered. But, we can easily pause. And if we do, I will do all we can to enforce 100% OPSEC. I welcome other thoughts," Mr Hegseth added.
Mr Waltz responded, saying the trade figures they have are 15% of global and 30% of container.
"It's difficult to break that down to US. Specific because much of the container either going through the red sea still or around the Cape of Good Hope our component going to Europe that turns into manufactured goods for transatlantic trade to the United States.
"Whether we pull the plug or not today European navies do not have the capability to defend against the types of sophisticated, antiship, cruise missiles, and drones the Houthis are now using. So whether it's now or several weeks from now, it will have to be the United States that reopens these shipping lanes. Per the president's request we are working with DOD and State to determine how to compile the cost associated and levy them on the Europeans," he said.
JD Vance then joined the conversation and said, "Pete Hegseth if you think we should do it let's go. I just hate bailing Europe out again."
"Let's just make sure our messaging is tight here. And if there are things we can do upfront to minimize risk to Saudi oil facilities we should do it," he said.
Mr Hegseth then said he "fully shares" Mr Vance's "loathing of European free-loading".
"It's PATHETIC. But Mike is correct, we are the only ones on the planet (on our side of the ledger) who can do this. Nobody else even close. Question is timing. I feel like now is as good a time as any, given POTUS directive to reopen shipping lanes. I think we should go; but POTUS still retains 24 hours of decision space," he wrote further.
The conversation in the group then resumed on March 15 - the day of the attack.
At 11:44 am, Mr Hegseth posted a "TEAM UPDATE."
"TIME NOW (1144 et): Weather is FAVORABLE. Just CONFIRMED w/CENTCOM we are a GO for mission launch," he said.
Centcom, or the US Central Command, oversees troops in the Middle East.
"1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package). 1345: 'Trigger Based' F-18 1st Strike Window Starts(Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME - also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s). 1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package). 1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRSTBOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier 'Trigger Based'targets). 1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts - also, first sea-basedTomahawks launched," he said.
"MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline). We are currently clean on OPSEC. Godspeed to our Warriors," he added
OPSEC, an acronym for operational security, means ensuring safety and security of an operation are not violated ahead of its execution.
At 12:13 pm, Mr Vance said, "I will say a prayer for victory".
At 1:48 pm, Mr Waltz said, "VP. Building collapsed. Had multiple positive ID. Pete, Kurilla, the IC (Intelligence Community), amazing job".
Mr Vance replied, "What?"
"Typing too fast. The first target - their top missile guy - we had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend's building and it's now collapsed," Mr Waltz responded at 2 pm.
Mr Vance then said, "Excellent."
Thirty-five minutes later, Mr Ratcliffe wrote, "A good start."
Mr Waltz then responded with a fist emoji, an American-flag emoji, and a fire emoji.
At 5:20 pm, Mr Hegseth said the "CENTCOM was/is on point".
"Great job all. More strikes ongoing for hours tonight, and will provide full initial report tomorrow. But on time, on target, and good readouts so far," he said.
Susie Wiles, the White House Chief of Staff, then wrote, "Kudos to all - most particularly those in theater and CENTCOM! Really great. God bless."
Steve Witkoff, who is leading Trump's efforts to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war and bring peace to the Middle East, also responded with five emojis - two hands-praying, a flexed bicep, and two American flags.
The conversation ends with Ms Gabbard saying, "Great work and effects!"
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Thousands of Palestinians marched between the wreckage of a heavily destroyed town in northern Gaza Wednesday in the second day of anti-war protests, with many chanting against Hamas in a rare display of public anger against the militant group.
Palestinians chanted against Hamas during an anti-war protest in northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, videos showed. Wednesday's protest comes after similar ones the day before, marking a rare show of public anger against the militant group that has long repressed dissent and still rules the territory 17 months into the war with Israel.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said Wednesday the bodies of 39 people killed by Israeli strikes have been brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours. Hospitals also received 124 wounded, the ministry said in its daily report.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that if Hamas doesn't release the hostages held in Gaza, pressure will increase, and may include “seizing territory,” on the Strip.
Palestinians chant slogans during an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians chant slogans during an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians chant slogans during an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians chant slogans during an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians chant slogans during an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians chant slogans during an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians attend an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians attend an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians chant slogans during an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians burn tires during an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians hold signs against the war as a man chants slogans in support of the people in Bait Lahiya who came out against Hamas Tuesday in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians attend an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians, one holds a white flag, attend an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians attend an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, banner in Arabic reads, “Enough destruction, enough killing, we want to live. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians waiting in queue to receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
CAIRO (AP) — Thousands of Palestinians marched between the wreckage of a heavily destroyed town in northern Gaza on Wednesday in the second day of anti-war protests, with many chanting against Hamas in a rare display of public anger against the militant group.
The protests, which centered mainly on Gaza's north, appeared to be aimed generally against the war, with protesters calling for an end to 17 months of deadly fighting with Israel that has made life in Gaza insufferable.
Palestinians chant slogans during an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
But protesters also leveled unusually direct and public criticism of Hamas, which has quashed dissent violently in the past in Gaza, a territory it still rules months into the war with Israel.
In the town of Beit Lahiya, where a similar protest took place Tuesday, about 3,000 people demonstrated, with many chanting “the people want the fall of Hamas.” In the hard-hit Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City, dozens of men chanted “Out, out out! Hamas get out!”
Palestinians burn tires during an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
“Our children have been killed. Our houses have been destroyed,” said Abed Radwan, who said he joined the protest in Beit Lahiya “against the war, against Hamas, and the (Palestinian political) factions, against Israel and against the world's silence.”
Ammar Hassan, who took part in a protest Tuesday, said it started as an anti-war protest with a few dozen people but swelled to more than 2,000, with people chanting against Hamas.
Palestinians chant slogans during an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
“It's the only party we can affect,” he said by phone. “Protests won't stop the (Israeli) occupation, but it can affect Hamas.”
The militant group has violently cracked down on previous protests. This time no outright intervention was apparent, perhaps because Hamas is keeping a lower profile since Israel resumed its war against it.
Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim, in a post on Facebook, wrote that people had the right to protest but that their focus should be on the “criminal aggressor,” Israel.
Palestinians attend an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Family elders from Beit Lahiya expressed support for the protests against Israel's renewed offensive and its tightened blockade on all supplies into Gaza. Their statement said the community fully supports armed resistance against Israel.
“The protest was not about politics. It was about people's lives,” said Mohammed Abu Saker, a father of three from the nearby town of Beit Hanoun, who joined a demonstration Tuesday.
“We want to stop the killing and displacement, no matter the price. We can't stop Israel from killing us, but we can press Hamas to give concessions,” he said.
Palestinians receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A similar protest occurred in the heavily destroyed area of Jabaliya on Tuesday, according to witnesses.
One protester in Jabaliya, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said they joined the demonstration because “everyone failed us.”
They said they chanted against Israel, Hamas, the Western-backed Palestinian Authority and Arab mediators. They said there were no Hamas security forces at the protest but scuffles broke out between supporters and opponents of the group.
Later, they said they regretted participating because of Israeli media coverage, which emphasized the opposition to Hamas.
Palestinians receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz urged Palestinians to join the protests.
“You too should demand the removal of Hamas from Gaza and the immediate release of all Israeli hostages. That is the only way to stop the war,” he said.
A 19-year-old Palestinian, who also spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution said he planned to join demonstrations on Wednesday. His mother has cancer and his 10-year-old brother is hospitalized with cerebral palsy, and he said the family has been displaced multiple times since their home was destroyed.
“People are angry at the whole world,” including the United States, Israel and Hamas, he said. “We want Hamas to resolve this situation, return the hostages and end this whole thing.”
Palestinians waiting in queue to receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
The protests erupted a week after Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas by launching a surprise wave of strikes that killed hundreds of people. Earlier this month, Israel halted deliveries of food, fuel, medicine and humanitarian aid to Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians.
Israel has vowed to escalate the war until Hamas returns the 59 hostages it still holds — 24 of them believed to be alive. Israel is also demanding that the group give up power, disarm and send its leaders into exile.
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
The war was triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel, in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 50,000 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants. Israel's bombardment and ground operations have caused vast destruction and at their height displaced some 90% of Gaza's population.
Hamas won a landslide victory in the last Palestinian elections, held in 2006. It seized power in Gaza from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, dominated by the secular Fatah movement, the following year after months of factional unrest and a week of heavy street battles.
Rights groups say both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas violently suppress dissent, quashing protests in the areas they control and jailing and torturing critics.
El Deeb reported from Beirut.
Follow AP's war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
The United States says it has reached a tentative agreement for Ukraine and Russia to stop fighting and ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea but many details are unresolved and the Kremlin made the deal conditional on the lifting of some Western sanctions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting of the supervisory board of the Movement of the First, Russian public-and-state children and youth organisation, at the Russia National Centre in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy leaves the room after his briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A worker of DTEK company cuts metal structures during repair works of a substation destroyed by a Russian drone strike in undisclosed location, Ukraine, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Workers of DTEK company work on a site of a substation destroyed by a Russian drone strike in undisclosed location, Ukraine, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade press service, a view of Pokrovsk, the site of heavy battles with Russian troops, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Iryna Rybakova/Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP)
In this photo taken on March 21, 2025 and provided by Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade press service on March 24, 2025, servicemen attend a dedication ceremony for soldiers near the frontline in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade press service, a woman takes shelter in the basement of a multi-apartment building in Pokrovsk, the site of heavy battles with Russian troops, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Iryna Rybakova/Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — After three days of intense negotiations, the Trump administration, Ukraine and Russia agreed to a limited ceasefire in which the key details, including what was covered and how it will start, were disputed by the warring sides, indicating the road to a complete truce will be long and mired with contention.
The negotiations focused on easing Black Sea shipping and halting long-range strikes on energy infrastructure, relatively low-hanging fruit that both sides had experience in negotiating before the U.S. brokered indirect talks.
While much is yet unknown, here is a breakdown of the key elements of the partial ceasefire and what is at stake in the coming weeks as talks continue.
Conflicting statements emerged immediately after the talks on Tuesday. Both sides differed on the start time of halting strikes on energy sites and accused the other of violating the ceasefire.
Russia also conditioned its part in opening Black Sea shipping on the U.S. lifting sanctions, which Kyiv dismissed.
Russian officials have greeted the results of the talks with optimism, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described it as a good start, though some Ukrainian officials have expressed discontent.
“Something tells me this is more advantageous for the enemy,” Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak told the Interfax Ukraine news agency.
The U.S. said Tuesday it had reached a tentative agreement with Ukraine and Russia to stop fighting and ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea in separate talks with the two sides.
Details of the deal were not released, including how or when it was to be implemented and monitored, but it appeared to mark another attempt to ensure safe Black Sea shipping after a 2022 agreement that was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey was halted by Russia one year later, in July 2023.
Russia said the Black Sea deal announced Tuesday could only be implemented after sanctions against the Russian Agricultural Bank and other financial institutions involved in food and fertilizer trade were lifted and their access to the SWIFT system of international payments was ensured.
Zelenskyy said Moscow was lying about the terms of the agreement, despite the U.S. later saying it would help restore Russia's access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports.
While the benefits to Russia are clear, Ukrainian officials questioned how the Black Sea deal announced Tuesday would profit them. It isn't clear, for instance, if it would also halt attacks on Ukrainian ports.
“Personally, I don't think this will significantly boost our export capacity. Frankly speaking, thanks to Ukrainian naval drones, we have considerably expanded our capabilities in the Black Sea,” Ukrainian lawmaker Zhelezniak said.
That's because Ukraine took matters into its own hands after Russia backed out in 2023 of the earlier deal to ensure safe Black Sea shipping. Ukraine carved out a trade route requiring ships to sail near the coast lines of Bulgaria and Romania, guided by the Ukrainian Navy. At the same time, Ukrainian forces launched a campaign of sea drone attacks to further push back Russia's fleet.
“Unfortunately,'' Zhelezniak said, the new deal “worsens our position in terms of influence in the Black Sea.”
The ceasefire also included a halt to long-range strikes on energy infrastructure, but sharp differences emerged immediately after Tuesday's announcement over when the halt to fighting would begin.
Moscow said the ceasefire had started on March 18 and accused Kyiv of violating the terms by striking energy sites inside Russia, a charge that Ukraine's General Staff denied on Wednesday.
The Kremlin later posted a list of the types of facilities covered by the limited ceasefire.
It included refineries, oil and gas pipelines, oil storage facilities, including pump stations, power-generating and transmitting infrastructure, as well as power plants, substations, transformers, distribution switchgear, nuclear power plants and hydropower plant dams.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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The Atlantic magazine published the actual transcript of US attack plans on the Houthi rebels in Yemen shared by high-ranking officials even as the Trump administration sought to downplay the scandal, with the US president himself dismissing the issue as a “witch hunt” against his National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
US attack plans were revealed as the magazine's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was added to a chat group on the commercially available Signal messaging app by Waltz. He downplayed the reveal in a post on X, “No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS.” he wrote.
The reveal came on Wednesday after White House continued to insist that no classified details were revealed and attacked Goldberg as a “liar”. Its story Wednesday said it had come to believe that “people should see the texts in order to reach their own conclusions.”
ALSO READ | ‘It was a mistake, but…': Tulsi Gabbard as Trump officials grilled over leaked US military plan on Signal
The chat included key figures of the Trump administration including Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, CIA director John Ratcliffe, and national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard.
Goldberg received an invitation to the group chat from Waltz on March 11, and he said it turned active on March 15 -the day of the US attack on the Houthis in Yemen.
11:44 am EST: “TEAM UPDATE,” Hegseth posted an update.
Hegseth wrote, “TIME NOW (1144et): Weather is FAVORABLE. Just CONFIRMED w/CENTCOM we are a GO for mission launch.”
Hegseth's text continued as follows:
“1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)”
“1345: ‘Trigger Based' F-18 1st Strike Window Starts(Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME –also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s)”
“1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)”
“1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRSTBOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based'targets)”
“1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-basedTomahawks launched.”
“MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline)”
“We are currently clean on OPSEC" * “Godspeed to our Warriors.”
1:48 pm: “VP. Building collapsed. Had multiple positive ID. Pete, Kurilla, the IC, amazing job.”
Vance replied, “What?”
Waltz responded at 2 pm, “Typing too fast. The first target – their top missile guy – we had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend's building and it's now collapsed.”
“Excellent,” Vance replied.
Thirty-five minutes later, Ratcliffe, the CIA director, wrote, “A good start,” to which Waltz replied with a text containing a series of emojis –a fist, an American-flag emoji, and a fire emoji.
Hegseth posted later that afternoon: “CENTCOM was/is on point.”
“Great job all. More strikes ongoing for hours tonight, and will provide full initial report tomorrow. But on time, on target, and good readouts so far,” he added.
(With Reuters inputs)
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A wild video that has gone viral shows a naked woman acting bizarrely at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in Texas on March 14. Samantha Palma has been accused of stabbing two people with a pencil and biting a restaurant manager during a “manic episode,” TMZ reported.
Palma, who reportedly called herself the goddess Venus, is accused of stabbing a manager of an airport restaurant in the head and face using his own pencil when he attempted to subdue her. He also allegedly bit the man on the forearm, breaking the skin and causing bruising.
Video of the incident that has surfaced on X shows Palma behaving erratically at the airport, breaking a display television, throwing water in the air, and moving her hips suggestively. She was seen prancing around strangely while people stared at her and recorded her using their cell phones.
A woman offered Palma a coat at one point, prompting her to squeal and run away while shouting “fu** you” to random people around her. Palma later destroyed a display television.
Police found Palma hiding behind an emergency door at Gate D1 of Terminal D, covered in blood. However, the blood was reportedly not her own.
Palma was taken into custody, following which she told the police that she had not taken her medication that day. It is unclear what medication she took. She also told cops she was travelling with her eight-year-old daughter.
Palma told the police she identified as Disney princesses, including Ariel and Pocahontas. She is reportedly being charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. She was initially detained on a mental health hold.
What caused the mental breakdown and prompted the unusual behaviour remains unclear. While it appears as though Palma is battling some kind of mental health issue, it is unclear what exactly she suffers from.
The three war goals outlined by the Israeli government immediately after the October 7 attack were clear: to destroy Hamas, to free the hostages, and to ensure Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel. Each of these goals has been achieved to a degree yet not completed.Since the last hostages were released on February 27, there has been a de facto ceasefire between Israel and Hamas – the IDF hasn't been fighting Hamas, nor have any hostages been released. Meanwhile, the path of negotiations with Hamas has reached a dead-end, as the terror organization is simply unwilling to meet Israel's minimal demands. Israel cannot and will not accept a situation where its war aims are not being advanced at all. This is why we are now returning to war against Hamas.However, many in Israel and around the world are pondering whether the fighting will be any different this time around. If the war goals were not achieved in their entirety through military force for over a year, why is the IDF launching another offensive in Gaza? Some have suggested that another military campaign is futile, extremely costly, and unjustified. AdvertisementBut the strategic environment that now enables the return to war is dramatically different from where we were a few months ago. The two main shifts that are conducive to the ultimate defeat of Hamas are the changes in leadership – in the White House and in Israel's military headquarters in Tel Aviv. IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip. March 23, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)The impact of the Trump administration on Israel's position vis-à-vis Gaza cannot be overstated. For the first time since the outbreak of the war in October 2023, Israel has the resounding support of the United States – in word and in action. The White House has given Israel the green light to act forcefully and effectively in Gaza, provided the diplomatic backing in international institutions, and, crucially, supplied the necessary tools. The Israeli government is fully aligned with President Donald Trump and his team, and together will act to take down Hamas, once and for all.Secondly, the changes in the leadership of Israel's security apparatus, particularly the IDF chief of staff, have created the strategic opportunity to return to fighting – better, stronger, and sharper than before. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now It is well-documented that former IDF chief of staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi did not see eye to eye with the political leadership about how best to conduct operations in Gaza. The disagreements were vast and deep, including on the issues of humanitarian aid, the prospect of an Israeli military rule, and the operation of the Rafah crossing. AdvertisementHalevi finished his tenure in early March and was succeeded by Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir. By all accounts, Zamir has already made his mark, devising a war plan that is notably different from Halevi's military and strategic philosophy.Other senior appointments in the military leadership, including a new head of Southern Command, are similarly significant, as is the switch of defense minister at the end of last year, with Israel Katz replacing Yoav Gallant.Strategic conditions are ripe for Israel to finally defeat HamasWithout going into classified details, we can say with confidence: This time, the IDF war effort will be different. It will entail the full-out conquest of Gaza, effective military control of the territory, and will prevent Hamas from receiving the humanitarian aid that sustained it. We will see an unprecedented and unparalleled offensive against the Palestinian terror organizations, thanks mainly to the arms, ammunition, and equipment delivered by the US in recent weeks. The defeat of Hezbollah and the Assad regime on Israel's northern border also facilitates the return to war. Without these Iranian proxies, it is easier for Israel to wage war against Hamas without having to direct resources and attention elsewhere.Another factor in Israel's favor is that the majority of the hostages have been rescued or released (192 of the 251 taken on October 7). With fewer Israelis being held hostage in Gaza in a tight urban war zone, the IDF can operate more freely and smoothly.As Clausewitz wrote, “War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.” The military effort in Gaza is supposed to assist the political solution proposed by Trump and embraced by Israel: opening Gaza's borders for those who want to emigrate. It is estimated that the harder Hamas is hit, the more Gazans would want to leave.In the same way that Assad's soldiers lay down their weapons the moment they realized the regime was about to fall, Hamas terrorists and their sympathizers are likely to cede control of the territory and request to live elsewhere.In short, what we are about to witness in Gaza is like nothing we have seen before. The strategic and tactical conditions allow Israel to finally defeat Hamas and create a better, safer, and more prosperous future for the region.For various reasons, 18 months have not been enough to achieve the war goals of defeating Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and achieving peace and security for Israel's residents in the North and South. However, as Jews always say, “The eternal people are not afraid of a long road.” With the help of God, we will prevail.The writer is an MK and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Since the last hostages were released on February 27, there has been a de facto ceasefire between Israel and Hamas – the IDF hasn't been fighting Hamas, nor have any hostages been released. Meanwhile, the path of negotiations with Hamas has reached a dead-end, as the terror organization is simply unwilling to meet Israel's minimal demands. Israel cannot and will not accept a situation where its war aims are not being advanced at all. This is why we are now returning to war against Hamas.However, many in Israel and around the world are pondering whether the fighting will be any different this time around. If the war goals were not achieved in their entirety through military force for over a year, why is the IDF launching another offensive in Gaza? Some have suggested that another military campaign is futile, extremely costly, and unjustified. AdvertisementBut the strategic environment that now enables the return to war is dramatically different from where we were a few months ago. The two main shifts that are conducive to the ultimate defeat of Hamas are the changes in leadership – in the White House and in Israel's military headquarters in Tel Aviv. IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip. March 23, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)The impact of the Trump administration on Israel's position vis-à-vis Gaza cannot be overstated. For the first time since the outbreak of the war in October 2023, Israel has the resounding support of the United States – in word and in action. The White House has given Israel the green light to act forcefully and effectively in Gaza, provided the diplomatic backing in international institutions, and, crucially, supplied the necessary tools. The Israeli government is fully aligned with President Donald Trump and his team, and together will act to take down Hamas, once and for all.Secondly, the changes in the leadership of Israel's security apparatus, particularly the IDF chief of staff, have created the strategic opportunity to return to fighting – better, stronger, and sharper than before. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now It is well-documented that former IDF chief of staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi did not see eye to eye with the political leadership about how best to conduct operations in Gaza. The disagreements were vast and deep, including on the issues of humanitarian aid, the prospect of an Israeli military rule, and the operation of the Rafah crossing. AdvertisementHalevi finished his tenure in early March and was succeeded by Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir. By all accounts, Zamir has already made his mark, devising a war plan that is notably different from Halevi's military and strategic philosophy.Other senior appointments in the military leadership, including a new head of Southern Command, are similarly significant, as is the switch of defense minister at the end of last year, with Israel Katz replacing Yoav Gallant.Strategic conditions are ripe for Israel to finally defeat HamasWithout going into classified details, we can say with confidence: This time, the IDF war effort will be different. It will entail the full-out conquest of Gaza, effective military control of the territory, and will prevent Hamas from receiving the humanitarian aid that sustained it. We will see an unprecedented and unparalleled offensive against the Palestinian terror organizations, thanks mainly to the arms, ammunition, and equipment delivered by the US in recent weeks. The defeat of Hezbollah and the Assad regime on Israel's northern border also facilitates the return to war. Without these Iranian proxies, it is easier for Israel to wage war against Hamas without having to direct resources and attention elsewhere.Another factor in Israel's favor is that the majority of the hostages have been rescued or released (192 of the 251 taken on October 7). With fewer Israelis being held hostage in Gaza in a tight urban war zone, the IDF can operate more freely and smoothly.As Clausewitz wrote, “War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.” The military effort in Gaza is supposed to assist the political solution proposed by Trump and embraced by Israel: opening Gaza's borders for those who want to emigrate. It is estimated that the harder Hamas is hit, the more Gazans would want to leave.In the same way that Assad's soldiers lay down their weapons the moment they realized the regime was about to fall, Hamas terrorists and their sympathizers are likely to cede control of the territory and request to live elsewhere.In short, what we are about to witness in Gaza is like nothing we have seen before. The strategic and tactical conditions allow Israel to finally defeat Hamas and create a better, safer, and more prosperous future for the region.For various reasons, 18 months have not been enough to achieve the war goals of defeating Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and achieving peace and security for Israel's residents in the North and South. However, as Jews always say, “The eternal people are not afraid of a long road.” With the help of God, we will prevail.The writer is an MK and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Israel cannot and will not accept a situation where its war aims are not being advanced at all. This is why we are now returning to war against Hamas.However, many in Israel and around the world are pondering whether the fighting will be any different this time around. If the war goals were not achieved in their entirety through military force for over a year, why is the IDF launching another offensive in Gaza? Some have suggested that another military campaign is futile, extremely costly, and unjustified. AdvertisementBut the strategic environment that now enables the return to war is dramatically different from where we were a few months ago. The two main shifts that are conducive to the ultimate defeat of Hamas are the changes in leadership – in the White House and in Israel's military headquarters in Tel Aviv. IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip. March 23, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)The impact of the Trump administration on Israel's position vis-à-vis Gaza cannot be overstated. For the first time since the outbreak of the war in October 2023, Israel has the resounding support of the United States – in word and in action. The White House has given Israel the green light to act forcefully and effectively in Gaza, provided the diplomatic backing in international institutions, and, crucially, supplied the necessary tools. The Israeli government is fully aligned with President Donald Trump and his team, and together will act to take down Hamas, once and for all.Secondly, the changes in the leadership of Israel's security apparatus, particularly the IDF chief of staff, have created the strategic opportunity to return to fighting – better, stronger, and sharper than before. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now It is well-documented that former IDF chief of staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi did not see eye to eye with the political leadership about how best to conduct operations in Gaza. The disagreements were vast and deep, including on the issues of humanitarian aid, the prospect of an Israeli military rule, and the operation of the Rafah crossing. AdvertisementHalevi finished his tenure in early March and was succeeded by Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir. By all accounts, Zamir has already made his mark, devising a war plan that is notably different from Halevi's military and strategic philosophy.Other senior appointments in the military leadership, including a new head of Southern Command, are similarly significant, as is the switch of defense minister at the end of last year, with Israel Katz replacing Yoav Gallant.Strategic conditions are ripe for Israel to finally defeat HamasWithout going into classified details, we can say with confidence: This time, the IDF war effort will be different. It will entail the full-out conquest of Gaza, effective military control of the territory, and will prevent Hamas from receiving the humanitarian aid that sustained it. We will see an unprecedented and unparalleled offensive against the Palestinian terror organizations, thanks mainly to the arms, ammunition, and equipment delivered by the US in recent weeks. The defeat of Hezbollah and the Assad regime on Israel's northern border also facilitates the return to war. Without these Iranian proxies, it is easier for Israel to wage war against Hamas without having to direct resources and attention elsewhere.Another factor in Israel's favor is that the majority of the hostages have been rescued or released (192 of the 251 taken on October 7). With fewer Israelis being held hostage in Gaza in a tight urban war zone, the IDF can operate more freely and smoothly.As Clausewitz wrote, “War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.” The military effort in Gaza is supposed to assist the political solution proposed by Trump and embraced by Israel: opening Gaza's borders for those who want to emigrate. It is estimated that the harder Hamas is hit, the more Gazans would want to leave.In the same way that Assad's soldiers lay down their weapons the moment they realized the regime was about to fall, Hamas terrorists and their sympathizers are likely to cede control of the territory and request to live elsewhere.In short, what we are about to witness in Gaza is like nothing we have seen before. The strategic and tactical conditions allow Israel to finally defeat Hamas and create a better, safer, and more prosperous future for the region.For various reasons, 18 months have not been enough to achieve the war goals of defeating Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and achieving peace and security for Israel's residents in the North and South. However, as Jews always say, “The eternal people are not afraid of a long road.” With the help of God, we will prevail.The writer is an MK and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
However, many in Israel and around the world are pondering whether the fighting will be any different this time around. If the war goals were not achieved in their entirety through military force for over a year, why is the IDF launching another offensive in Gaza? Some have suggested that another military campaign is futile, extremely costly, and unjustified. AdvertisementBut the strategic environment that now enables the return to war is dramatically different from where we were a few months ago. The two main shifts that are conducive to the ultimate defeat of Hamas are the changes in leadership – in the White House and in Israel's military headquarters in Tel Aviv. IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip. March 23, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)The impact of the Trump administration on Israel's position vis-à-vis Gaza cannot be overstated. For the first time since the outbreak of the war in October 2023, Israel has the resounding support of the United States – in word and in action. The White House has given Israel the green light to act forcefully and effectively in Gaza, provided the diplomatic backing in international institutions, and, crucially, supplied the necessary tools. The Israeli government is fully aligned with President Donald Trump and his team, and together will act to take down Hamas, once and for all.Secondly, the changes in the leadership of Israel's security apparatus, particularly the IDF chief of staff, have created the strategic opportunity to return to fighting – better, stronger, and sharper than before. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now It is well-documented that former IDF chief of staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi did not see eye to eye with the political leadership about how best to conduct operations in Gaza. The disagreements were vast and deep, including on the issues of humanitarian aid, the prospect of an Israeli military rule, and the operation of the Rafah crossing. AdvertisementHalevi finished his tenure in early March and was succeeded by Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir. By all accounts, Zamir has already made his mark, devising a war plan that is notably different from Halevi's military and strategic philosophy.Other senior appointments in the military leadership, including a new head of Southern Command, are similarly significant, as is the switch of defense minister at the end of last year, with Israel Katz replacing Yoav Gallant.Strategic conditions are ripe for Israel to finally defeat HamasWithout going into classified details, we can say with confidence: This time, the IDF war effort will be different. It will entail the full-out conquest of Gaza, effective military control of the territory, and will prevent Hamas from receiving the humanitarian aid that sustained it. We will see an unprecedented and unparalleled offensive against the Palestinian terror organizations, thanks mainly to the arms, ammunition, and equipment delivered by the US in recent weeks. The defeat of Hezbollah and the Assad regime on Israel's northern border also facilitates the return to war. Without these Iranian proxies, it is easier for Israel to wage war against Hamas without having to direct resources and attention elsewhere.Another factor in Israel's favor is that the majority of the hostages have been rescued or released (192 of the 251 taken on October 7). With fewer Israelis being held hostage in Gaza in a tight urban war zone, the IDF can operate more freely and smoothly.As Clausewitz wrote, “War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.” The military effort in Gaza is supposed to assist the political solution proposed by Trump and embraced by Israel: opening Gaza's borders for those who want to emigrate. It is estimated that the harder Hamas is hit, the more Gazans would want to leave.In the same way that Assad's soldiers lay down their weapons the moment they realized the regime was about to fall, Hamas terrorists and their sympathizers are likely to cede control of the territory and request to live elsewhere.In short, what we are about to witness in Gaza is like nothing we have seen before. The strategic and tactical conditions allow Israel to finally defeat Hamas and create a better, safer, and more prosperous future for the region.For various reasons, 18 months have not been enough to achieve the war goals of defeating Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and achieving peace and security for Israel's residents in the North and South. However, as Jews always say, “The eternal people are not afraid of a long road.” With the help of God, we will prevail.The writer is an MK and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
But the strategic environment that now enables the return to war is dramatically different from where we were a few months ago. The two main shifts that are conducive to the ultimate defeat of Hamas are the changes in leadership – in the White House and in Israel's military headquarters in Tel Aviv. IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip. March 23, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)The impact of the Trump administration on Israel's position vis-à-vis Gaza cannot be overstated. For the first time since the outbreak of the war in October 2023, Israel has the resounding support of the United States – in word and in action. The White House has given Israel the green light to act forcefully and effectively in Gaza, provided the diplomatic backing in international institutions, and, crucially, supplied the necessary tools. The Israeli government is fully aligned with President Donald Trump and his team, and together will act to take down Hamas, once and for all.Secondly, the changes in the leadership of Israel's security apparatus, particularly the IDF chief of staff, have created the strategic opportunity to return to fighting – better, stronger, and sharper than before. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now It is well-documented that former IDF chief of staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi did not see eye to eye with the political leadership about how best to conduct operations in Gaza. The disagreements were vast and deep, including on the issues of humanitarian aid, the prospect of an Israeli military rule, and the operation of the Rafah crossing. AdvertisementHalevi finished his tenure in early March and was succeeded by Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir. By all accounts, Zamir has already made his mark, devising a war plan that is notably different from Halevi's military and strategic philosophy.Other senior appointments in the military leadership, including a new head of Southern Command, are similarly significant, as is the switch of defense minister at the end of last year, with Israel Katz replacing Yoav Gallant.Strategic conditions are ripe for Israel to finally defeat HamasWithout going into classified details, we can say with confidence: This time, the IDF war effort will be different. It will entail the full-out conquest of Gaza, effective military control of the territory, and will prevent Hamas from receiving the humanitarian aid that sustained it. We will see an unprecedented and unparalleled offensive against the Palestinian terror organizations, thanks mainly to the arms, ammunition, and equipment delivered by the US in recent weeks. The defeat of Hezbollah and the Assad regime on Israel's northern border also facilitates the return to war. Without these Iranian proxies, it is easier for Israel to wage war against Hamas without having to direct resources and attention elsewhere.Another factor in Israel's favor is that the majority of the hostages have been rescued or released (192 of the 251 taken on October 7). With fewer Israelis being held hostage in Gaza in a tight urban war zone, the IDF can operate more freely and smoothly.As Clausewitz wrote, “War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.” The military effort in Gaza is supposed to assist the political solution proposed by Trump and embraced by Israel: opening Gaza's borders for those who want to emigrate. It is estimated that the harder Hamas is hit, the more Gazans would want to leave.In the same way that Assad's soldiers lay down their weapons the moment they realized the regime was about to fall, Hamas terrorists and their sympathizers are likely to cede control of the territory and request to live elsewhere.In short, what we are about to witness in Gaza is like nothing we have seen before. The strategic and tactical conditions allow Israel to finally defeat Hamas and create a better, safer, and more prosperous future for the region.For various reasons, 18 months have not been enough to achieve the war goals of defeating Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and achieving peace and security for Israel's residents in the North and South. However, as Jews always say, “The eternal people are not afraid of a long road.” With the help of God, we will prevail.The writer is an MK and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
The impact of the Trump administration on Israel's position vis-à-vis Gaza cannot be overstated. For the first time since the outbreak of the war in October 2023, Israel has the resounding support of the United States – in word and in action. The White House has given Israel the green light to act forcefully and effectively in Gaza, provided the diplomatic backing in international institutions, and, crucially, supplied the necessary tools. The Israeli government is fully aligned with President Donald Trump and his team, and together will act to take down Hamas, once and for all.Secondly, the changes in the leadership of Israel's security apparatus, particularly the IDF chief of staff, have created the strategic opportunity to return to fighting – better, stronger, and sharper than before. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now It is well-documented that former IDF chief of staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi did not see eye to eye with the political leadership about how best to conduct operations in Gaza. The disagreements were vast and deep, including on the issues of humanitarian aid, the prospect of an Israeli military rule, and the operation of the Rafah crossing. AdvertisementHalevi finished his tenure in early March and was succeeded by Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir. By all accounts, Zamir has already made his mark, devising a war plan that is notably different from Halevi's military and strategic philosophy.Other senior appointments in the military leadership, including a new head of Southern Command, are similarly significant, as is the switch of defense minister at the end of last year, with Israel Katz replacing Yoav Gallant.Strategic conditions are ripe for Israel to finally defeat HamasWithout going into classified details, we can say with confidence: This time, the IDF war effort will be different. It will entail the full-out conquest of Gaza, effective military control of the territory, and will prevent Hamas from receiving the humanitarian aid that sustained it. We will see an unprecedented and unparalleled offensive against the Palestinian terror organizations, thanks mainly to the arms, ammunition, and equipment delivered by the US in recent weeks. The defeat of Hezbollah and the Assad regime on Israel's northern border also facilitates the return to war. Without these Iranian proxies, it is easier for Israel to wage war against Hamas without having to direct resources and attention elsewhere.Another factor in Israel's favor is that the majority of the hostages have been rescued or released (192 of the 251 taken on October 7). With fewer Israelis being held hostage in Gaza in a tight urban war zone, the IDF can operate more freely and smoothly.As Clausewitz wrote, “War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.” The military effort in Gaza is supposed to assist the political solution proposed by Trump and embraced by Israel: opening Gaza's borders for those who want to emigrate. It is estimated that the harder Hamas is hit, the more Gazans would want to leave.In the same way that Assad's soldiers lay down their weapons the moment they realized the regime was about to fall, Hamas terrorists and their sympathizers are likely to cede control of the territory and request to live elsewhere.In short, what we are about to witness in Gaza is like nothing we have seen before. The strategic and tactical conditions allow Israel to finally defeat Hamas and create a better, safer, and more prosperous future for the region.For various reasons, 18 months have not been enough to achieve the war goals of defeating Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and achieving peace and security for Israel's residents in the North and South. However, as Jews always say, “The eternal people are not afraid of a long road.” With the help of God, we will prevail.The writer is an MK and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
The White House has given Israel the green light to act forcefully and effectively in Gaza, provided the diplomatic backing in international institutions, and, crucially, supplied the necessary tools. The Israeli government is fully aligned with President Donald Trump and his team, and together will act to take down Hamas, once and for all.Secondly, the changes in the leadership of Israel's security apparatus, particularly the IDF chief of staff, have created the strategic opportunity to return to fighting – better, stronger, and sharper than before. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now It is well-documented that former IDF chief of staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi did not see eye to eye with the political leadership about how best to conduct operations in Gaza. The disagreements were vast and deep, including on the issues of humanitarian aid, the prospect of an Israeli military rule, and the operation of the Rafah crossing. AdvertisementHalevi finished his tenure in early March and was succeeded by Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir. By all accounts, Zamir has already made his mark, devising a war plan that is notably different from Halevi's military and strategic philosophy.Other senior appointments in the military leadership, including a new head of Southern Command, are similarly significant, as is the switch of defense minister at the end of last year, with Israel Katz replacing Yoav Gallant.Strategic conditions are ripe for Israel to finally defeat HamasWithout going into classified details, we can say with confidence: This time, the IDF war effort will be different. It will entail the full-out conquest of Gaza, effective military control of the territory, and will prevent Hamas from receiving the humanitarian aid that sustained it. We will see an unprecedented and unparalleled offensive against the Palestinian terror organizations, thanks mainly to the arms, ammunition, and equipment delivered by the US in recent weeks. The defeat of Hezbollah and the Assad regime on Israel's northern border also facilitates the return to war. Without these Iranian proxies, it is easier for Israel to wage war against Hamas without having to direct resources and attention elsewhere.Another factor in Israel's favor is that the majority of the hostages have been rescued or released (192 of the 251 taken on October 7). With fewer Israelis being held hostage in Gaza in a tight urban war zone, the IDF can operate more freely and smoothly.As Clausewitz wrote, “War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.” The military effort in Gaza is supposed to assist the political solution proposed by Trump and embraced by Israel: opening Gaza's borders for those who want to emigrate. It is estimated that the harder Hamas is hit, the more Gazans would want to leave.In the same way that Assad's soldiers lay down their weapons the moment they realized the regime was about to fall, Hamas terrorists and their sympathizers are likely to cede control of the territory and request to live elsewhere.In short, what we are about to witness in Gaza is like nothing we have seen before. The strategic and tactical conditions allow Israel to finally defeat Hamas and create a better, safer, and more prosperous future for the region.For various reasons, 18 months have not been enough to achieve the war goals of defeating Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and achieving peace and security for Israel's residents in the North and South. However, as Jews always say, “The eternal people are not afraid of a long road.” With the help of God, we will prevail.The writer is an MK and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Secondly, the changes in the leadership of Israel's security apparatus, particularly the IDF chief of staff, have created the strategic opportunity to return to fighting – better, stronger, and sharper than before. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now It is well-documented that former IDF chief of staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi did not see eye to eye with the political leadership about how best to conduct operations in Gaza. The disagreements were vast and deep, including on the issues of humanitarian aid, the prospect of an Israeli military rule, and the operation of the Rafah crossing. AdvertisementHalevi finished his tenure in early March and was succeeded by Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir. By all accounts, Zamir has already made his mark, devising a war plan that is notably different from Halevi's military and strategic philosophy.Other senior appointments in the military leadership, including a new head of Southern Command, are similarly significant, as is the switch of defense minister at the end of last year, with Israel Katz replacing Yoav Gallant.Strategic conditions are ripe for Israel to finally defeat HamasWithout going into classified details, we can say with confidence: This time, the IDF war effort will be different. It will entail the full-out conquest of Gaza, effective military control of the territory, and will prevent Hamas from receiving the humanitarian aid that sustained it. We will see an unprecedented and unparalleled offensive against the Palestinian terror organizations, thanks mainly to the arms, ammunition, and equipment delivered by the US in recent weeks. The defeat of Hezbollah and the Assad regime on Israel's northern border also facilitates the return to war. Without these Iranian proxies, it is easier for Israel to wage war against Hamas without having to direct resources and attention elsewhere.Another factor in Israel's favor is that the majority of the hostages have been rescued or released (192 of the 251 taken on October 7). With fewer Israelis being held hostage in Gaza in a tight urban war zone, the IDF can operate more freely and smoothly.As Clausewitz wrote, “War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.” The military effort in Gaza is supposed to assist the political solution proposed by Trump and embraced by Israel: opening Gaza's borders for those who want to emigrate. It is estimated that the harder Hamas is hit, the more Gazans would want to leave.In the same way that Assad's soldiers lay down their weapons the moment they realized the regime was about to fall, Hamas terrorists and their sympathizers are likely to cede control of the territory and request to live elsewhere.In short, what we are about to witness in Gaza is like nothing we have seen before. The strategic and tactical conditions allow Israel to finally defeat Hamas and create a better, safer, and more prosperous future for the region.For various reasons, 18 months have not been enough to achieve the war goals of defeating Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and achieving peace and security for Israel's residents in the North and South. However, as Jews always say, “The eternal people are not afraid of a long road.” With the help of God, we will prevail.The writer is an MK and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
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It is well-documented that former IDF chief of staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi did not see eye to eye with the political leadership about how best to conduct operations in Gaza. The disagreements were vast and deep, including on the issues of humanitarian aid, the prospect of an Israeli military rule, and the operation of the Rafah crossing. AdvertisementHalevi finished his tenure in early March and was succeeded by Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir. By all accounts, Zamir has already made his mark, devising a war plan that is notably different from Halevi's military and strategic philosophy.Other senior appointments in the military leadership, including a new head of Southern Command, are similarly significant, as is the switch of defense minister at the end of last year, with Israel Katz replacing Yoav Gallant.Strategic conditions are ripe for Israel to finally defeat HamasWithout going into classified details, we can say with confidence: This time, the IDF war effort will be different. It will entail the full-out conquest of Gaza, effective military control of the territory, and will prevent Hamas from receiving the humanitarian aid that sustained it. We will see an unprecedented and unparalleled offensive against the Palestinian terror organizations, thanks mainly to the arms, ammunition, and equipment delivered by the US in recent weeks. The defeat of Hezbollah and the Assad regime on Israel's northern border also facilitates the return to war. Without these Iranian proxies, it is easier for Israel to wage war against Hamas without having to direct resources and attention elsewhere.Another factor in Israel's favor is that the majority of the hostages have been rescued or released (192 of the 251 taken on October 7). With fewer Israelis being held hostage in Gaza in a tight urban war zone, the IDF can operate more freely and smoothly.As Clausewitz wrote, “War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.” The military effort in Gaza is supposed to assist the political solution proposed by Trump and embraced by Israel: opening Gaza's borders for those who want to emigrate. It is estimated that the harder Hamas is hit, the more Gazans would want to leave.In the same way that Assad's soldiers lay down their weapons the moment they realized the regime was about to fall, Hamas terrorists and their sympathizers are likely to cede control of the territory and request to live elsewhere.In short, what we are about to witness in Gaza is like nothing we have seen before. The strategic and tactical conditions allow Israel to finally defeat Hamas and create a better, safer, and more prosperous future for the region.For various reasons, 18 months have not been enough to achieve the war goals of defeating Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and achieving peace and security for Israel's residents in the North and South. However, as Jews always say, “The eternal people are not afraid of a long road.” With the help of God, we will prevail.The writer is an MK and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Halevi finished his tenure in early March and was succeeded by Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir. By all accounts, Zamir has already made his mark, devising a war plan that is notably different from Halevi's military and strategic philosophy.Other senior appointments in the military leadership, including a new head of Southern Command, are similarly significant, as is the switch of defense minister at the end of last year, with Israel Katz replacing Yoav Gallant.Strategic conditions are ripe for Israel to finally defeat HamasWithout going into classified details, we can say with confidence: This time, the IDF war effort will be different. It will entail the full-out conquest of Gaza, effective military control of the territory, and will prevent Hamas from receiving the humanitarian aid that sustained it. We will see an unprecedented and unparalleled offensive against the Palestinian terror organizations, thanks mainly to the arms, ammunition, and equipment delivered by the US in recent weeks. The defeat of Hezbollah and the Assad regime on Israel's northern border also facilitates the return to war. Without these Iranian proxies, it is easier for Israel to wage war against Hamas without having to direct resources and attention elsewhere.Another factor in Israel's favor is that the majority of the hostages have been rescued or released (192 of the 251 taken on October 7). With fewer Israelis being held hostage in Gaza in a tight urban war zone, the IDF can operate more freely and smoothly.As Clausewitz wrote, “War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.” The military effort in Gaza is supposed to assist the political solution proposed by Trump and embraced by Israel: opening Gaza's borders for those who want to emigrate. It is estimated that the harder Hamas is hit, the more Gazans would want to leave.In the same way that Assad's soldiers lay down their weapons the moment they realized the regime was about to fall, Hamas terrorists and their sympathizers are likely to cede control of the territory and request to live elsewhere.In short, what we are about to witness in Gaza is like nothing we have seen before. The strategic and tactical conditions allow Israel to finally defeat Hamas and create a better, safer, and more prosperous future for the region.For various reasons, 18 months have not been enough to achieve the war goals of defeating Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and achieving peace and security for Israel's residents in the North and South. However, as Jews always say, “The eternal people are not afraid of a long road.” With the help of God, we will prevail.The writer is an MK and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Other senior appointments in the military leadership, including a new head of Southern Command, are similarly significant, as is the switch of defense minister at the end of last year, with Israel Katz replacing Yoav Gallant.Strategic conditions are ripe for Israel to finally defeat HamasWithout going into classified details, we can say with confidence: This time, the IDF war effort will be different. It will entail the full-out conquest of Gaza, effective military control of the territory, and will prevent Hamas from receiving the humanitarian aid that sustained it. We will see an unprecedented and unparalleled offensive against the Palestinian terror organizations, thanks mainly to the arms, ammunition, and equipment delivered by the US in recent weeks. The defeat of Hezbollah and the Assad regime on Israel's northern border also facilitates the return to war. Without these Iranian proxies, it is easier for Israel to wage war against Hamas without having to direct resources and attention elsewhere.Another factor in Israel's favor is that the majority of the hostages have been rescued or released (192 of the 251 taken on October 7). With fewer Israelis being held hostage in Gaza in a tight urban war zone, the IDF can operate more freely and smoothly.As Clausewitz wrote, “War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.” The military effort in Gaza is supposed to assist the political solution proposed by Trump and embraced by Israel: opening Gaza's borders for those who want to emigrate. It is estimated that the harder Hamas is hit, the more Gazans would want to leave.In the same way that Assad's soldiers lay down their weapons the moment they realized the regime was about to fall, Hamas terrorists and their sympathizers are likely to cede control of the territory and request to live elsewhere.In short, what we are about to witness in Gaza is like nothing we have seen before. The strategic and tactical conditions allow Israel to finally defeat Hamas and create a better, safer, and more prosperous future for the region.For various reasons, 18 months have not been enough to achieve the war goals of defeating Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and achieving peace and security for Israel's residents in the North and South. However, as Jews always say, “The eternal people are not afraid of a long road.” With the help of God, we will prevail.The writer is an MK and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Without going into classified details, we can say with confidence: This time, the IDF war effort will be different. It will entail the full-out conquest of Gaza, effective military control of the territory, and will prevent Hamas from receiving the humanitarian aid that sustained it. We will see an unprecedented and unparalleled offensive against the Palestinian terror organizations, thanks mainly to the arms, ammunition, and equipment delivered by the US in recent weeks. The defeat of Hezbollah and the Assad regime on Israel's northern border also facilitates the return to war. Without these Iranian proxies, it is easier for Israel to wage war against Hamas without having to direct resources and attention elsewhere.Another factor in Israel's favor is that the majority of the hostages have been rescued or released (192 of the 251 taken on October 7). With fewer Israelis being held hostage in Gaza in a tight urban war zone, the IDF can operate more freely and smoothly.As Clausewitz wrote, “War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.” The military effort in Gaza is supposed to assist the political solution proposed by Trump and embraced by Israel: opening Gaza's borders for those who want to emigrate. It is estimated that the harder Hamas is hit, the more Gazans would want to leave.In the same way that Assad's soldiers lay down their weapons the moment they realized the regime was about to fall, Hamas terrorists and their sympathizers are likely to cede control of the territory and request to live elsewhere.In short, what we are about to witness in Gaza is like nothing we have seen before. The strategic and tactical conditions allow Israel to finally defeat Hamas and create a better, safer, and more prosperous future for the region.For various reasons, 18 months have not been enough to achieve the war goals of defeating Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and achieving peace and security for Israel's residents in the North and South. However, as Jews always say, “The eternal people are not afraid of a long road.” With the help of God, we will prevail.The writer is an MK and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
The defeat of Hezbollah and the Assad regime on Israel's northern border also facilitates the return to war. Without these Iranian proxies, it is easier for Israel to wage war against Hamas without having to direct resources and attention elsewhere.Another factor in Israel's favor is that the majority of the hostages have been rescued or released (192 of the 251 taken on October 7). With fewer Israelis being held hostage in Gaza in a tight urban war zone, the IDF can operate more freely and smoothly.As Clausewitz wrote, “War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.” The military effort in Gaza is supposed to assist the political solution proposed by Trump and embraced by Israel: opening Gaza's borders for those who want to emigrate. It is estimated that the harder Hamas is hit, the more Gazans would want to leave.In the same way that Assad's soldiers lay down their weapons the moment they realized the regime was about to fall, Hamas terrorists and their sympathizers are likely to cede control of the territory and request to live elsewhere.In short, what we are about to witness in Gaza is like nothing we have seen before. The strategic and tactical conditions allow Israel to finally defeat Hamas and create a better, safer, and more prosperous future for the region.For various reasons, 18 months have not been enough to achieve the war goals of defeating Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and achieving peace and security for Israel's residents in the North and South. However, as Jews always say, “The eternal people are not afraid of a long road.” With the help of God, we will prevail.The writer is an MK and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Another factor in Israel's favor is that the majority of the hostages have been rescued or released (192 of the 251 taken on October 7). With fewer Israelis being held hostage in Gaza in a tight urban war zone, the IDF can operate more freely and smoothly.As Clausewitz wrote, “War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.” The military effort in Gaza is supposed to assist the political solution proposed by Trump and embraced by Israel: opening Gaza's borders for those who want to emigrate. It is estimated that the harder Hamas is hit, the more Gazans would want to leave.In the same way that Assad's soldiers lay down their weapons the moment they realized the regime was about to fall, Hamas terrorists and their sympathizers are likely to cede control of the territory and request to live elsewhere.In short, what we are about to witness in Gaza is like nothing we have seen before. The strategic and tactical conditions allow Israel to finally defeat Hamas and create a better, safer, and more prosperous future for the region.For various reasons, 18 months have not been enough to achieve the war goals of defeating Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and achieving peace and security for Israel's residents in the North and South. However, as Jews always say, “The eternal people are not afraid of a long road.” With the help of God, we will prevail.The writer is an MK and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
As Clausewitz wrote, “War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.” The military effort in Gaza is supposed to assist the political solution proposed by Trump and embraced by Israel: opening Gaza's borders for those who want to emigrate. It is estimated that the harder Hamas is hit, the more Gazans would want to leave.In the same way that Assad's soldiers lay down their weapons the moment they realized the regime was about to fall, Hamas terrorists and their sympathizers are likely to cede control of the territory and request to live elsewhere.In short, what we are about to witness in Gaza is like nothing we have seen before. The strategic and tactical conditions allow Israel to finally defeat Hamas and create a better, safer, and more prosperous future for the region.For various reasons, 18 months have not been enough to achieve the war goals of defeating Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and achieving peace and security for Israel's residents in the North and South. However, as Jews always say, “The eternal people are not afraid of a long road.” With the help of God, we will prevail.The writer is an MK and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
In the same way that Assad's soldiers lay down their weapons the moment they realized the regime was about to fall, Hamas terrorists and their sympathizers are likely to cede control of the territory and request to live elsewhere.In short, what we are about to witness in Gaza is like nothing we have seen before. The strategic and tactical conditions allow Israel to finally defeat Hamas and create a better, safer, and more prosperous future for the region.For various reasons, 18 months have not been enough to achieve the war goals of defeating Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and achieving peace and security for Israel's residents in the North and South. However, as Jews always say, “The eternal people are not afraid of a long road.” With the help of God, we will prevail.The writer is an MK and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
In short, what we are about to witness in Gaza is like nothing we have seen before. The strategic and tactical conditions allow Israel to finally defeat Hamas and create a better, safer, and more prosperous future for the region.For various reasons, 18 months have not been enough to achieve the war goals of defeating Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and achieving peace and security for Israel's residents in the North and South. However, as Jews always say, “The eternal people are not afraid of a long road.” With the help of God, we will prevail.The writer is an MK and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
For various reasons, 18 months have not been enough to achieve the war goals of defeating Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and achieving peace and security for Israel's residents in the North and South. However, as Jews always say, “The eternal people are not afraid of a long road.” With the help of God, we will prevail.The writer is an MK and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
The writer is an MK and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
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The latest version of OpenAI's image generation technology has taken over the internet. From trippy landscapes to quirky avatars, users are going gaga and creating studio Ghibli-style AI images. While some are turning their favourite pics into works of art, others are creating memes using it.
Here are five things to know about the image generator:
OpenAI recently launched GPT-4o, labelling it the “most advanced image generator yet.” It also creates images replicating Studio Ghibli's anime style. The company is famous for creating popular anime like The Boy and the Heron and Spirited Away.
Here are some memes that got the makeover:
ChatGPT on new image generator:“At OpenAI, we have long believed image generation should be a primary capability of our language models. That's why we've built our most advanced image generator yet into GPT‑4o. The result—image generation that is not only beautiful, but useful,” the AI company wrote. Also Read: ChatGPT falsely claims Norwegian man killed his sons, he takes legal action against Sam Altman's OpenAISam Altman on Ghibli style:The OpenAI boss also shared a post on this new development. However, instead of sharing a pic, he took a witty dig at himself. “Be me. Grind for a decade trying to help make superintelligence to cure cancer or whatever. Mostly no one cares for first 7.5 years, then for 2.5 years everyone hates you for everything. Wake up one day to hundreds of messages: ‘look i made you into a twink ghibli style haha',” he posted on X. He also changed his profile picture on X into the same Studio Ghibli style. Who can use the image generation feature?The ChaGPT's new native image generation feature was scheduled to roll out for Plus, Pro, Team and Free users on the chatbots. However, in a later X post, Sam Altman updated that the feature for the Free users has been "delayed for a while". Will it cause legal issues?Evan Brown, an intellectual property lawyer at the law firm Neal & McDevitt, told Techcrunch that this product by OpenAI falls in a legal grey area. “I think this raises the same question that we've been asking ourselves for a couple years now,” he said, adding, “What are the copyright infringement implications of going out, crawling the web, and copying into these databases?” Trending on GoogleWhile people are having fun generating Ghibli-style photos, some are also wondering what it is all about—especially those who are not well-versed in the world of anime. As people search more about this style and ChatGPT's image generator, the word Ghibli is trending on Google.
“At OpenAI, we have long believed image generation should be a primary capability of our language models. That's why we've built our most advanced image generator yet into GPT‑4o. The result—image generation that is not only beautiful, but useful,” the AI company wrote.
The OpenAI boss also shared a post on this new development. However, instead of sharing a pic, he took a witty dig at himself.
“Be me. Grind for a decade trying to help make superintelligence to cure cancer or whatever. Mostly no one cares for first 7.5 years, then for 2.5 years everyone hates you for everything. Wake up one day to hundreds of messages: ‘look i made you into a twink ghibli style haha',” he posted on X. He also changed his profile picture on X into the same Studio Ghibli style.
The ChaGPT's new native image generation feature was scheduled to roll out for Plus, Pro, Team and Free users on the chatbots. However, in a later X post, Sam Altman updated that the feature for the Free users has been "delayed for a while".
Evan Brown, an intellectual property lawyer at the law firm Neal & McDevitt, told Techcrunch that this product by OpenAI falls in a legal grey area.
“I think this raises the same question that we've been asking ourselves for a couple years now,” he said, adding, “What are the copyright infringement implications of going out, crawling the web, and copying into these databases?”
While people are having fun generating Ghibli-style photos, some are also wondering what it is all about—especially those who are not well-versed in the world of anime. As people search more about this style and ChatGPT's image generator, the word Ghibli is trending on Google.
Have you tried this new feature? Did GPT-4o's native image generator impress you?
Approved refugees reportedly affected by freeze on processing after Trump demands more aggressive vetting
The Trump administration has paused the processing of certain green card applications as the US government continues to implement a hardline immigration agenda.
CBS News reported that approved refugees are part of the processing freeze, as the White House enacts an effort to more aggressively vet immigrants to the US.
The move is likely to leave some immigrants granted refuge in the US in limbo, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claiming the pause is necessary to carry out two executive actions on immigration signed by Donald Trump.
“USCIS [United States Citizenship and Immigration Services] is placing a temporary pause on finalizing certain Adjustment of Status applications pending the completion of additional screening and vetting to identify potential fraud, public safety, or national security concerns, in alignment” with Trump's orders, DHS told CBS News.
Adjustment of status is the process by which individuals can apply to become a lawful permanent resident, or green-card holder, in the US.
The DHS cited a presidential action issued by Trump in January, which ordered the federal government to ensure people seeking admission to the US “are vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible”.
It comes as a federal judge in Manhattan on Tuesday blocked immigration officials from detaining Yunseo Chung, a Columbia University student and legal permanent resident the Trump administration is trying to deport for taking part in Gaza solidarity protests.
Chung, 21, has lived in the US since she was seven years old. She filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday, arguing the government was “attempting to use immigration enforcement as a bludgeon to suppress speech that they dislike”.
Chung's case has echoes of the ongoing detention of Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian activist and green-card holder who took part in protests at Columbia, and experts told the Guardian that there was evidence that people of color are being targeted for deportation.
At least five students and academics of color who participated in protests in support of Palestine at US universities have been targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as a part of the Trump administration's ongoing crackdown on Palestinian support.
“What we're seeing is the use of immigration law to go after visa holders, permanent lawful residents, [over] their speech,” Samah Sisay, a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, told the Guardian this week. “[Trump is] trying to suppress political speech that goes against what the administration wants.”
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Chairperson Park Sun Young, right, comforts adoptee Yooree Kim during a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Peter Møller, left, Boonyoung Han, second from left, co-founders of the Danish Korea Rights Group, and adoptee Yooree Kim, second from right, attend a press conference at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Peter Møller, left, Boonyoung Han, co-founders of the Danish Korea Rights Group, and adoptee Yooree Kim, right, attend a press conference at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's truth commission concluded the government bears responsibility for facilitating a foreign adoption program rife with fraud and abuse, driven by efforts to reduce welfare costs and enabled by private agencies that often manipulated children's backgrounds and origins.
The landmark report released Wednesday followed a nearly three-year investigation into complaints from 367 adoptees in Europe, the United States, and Australia, representing the most comprehensive examination yet of South Korea's foreign adoptions, which peaked under a succession of military governments in the 1970s and '80s.
The government-appointed Truth and Reconciliation Commission said it confirmed human rights violations in 56 of the complaints and aims to review the remaining cases before its mandate expires in late May.
However, some adoptees and even a commission investigator criticized the cautiously written report, acknowledging that investigative limitations prevented the commission from more strongly establishing the government's complicity.
That investigator, Sang Hoon Lee, also lamented that the panel on Tuesday deferred assessments of 42 other adoptees' cases, citing a lack of documentation to sufficiently prove their adoptions were problematic. Lee and the commission chairperson, Sun Young Park, did not specify which types of documents were central to the discussions.
However, Lee implied that some members of the commission's decision-making committee were reluctant to recognize cases in which adoptees had yet to prove beyond doubt that the biological details in their adoption papers had been falsified — either by meeting their birth parents or confirming information about them.
Most Korean adoptees were registered by agencies as abandoned orphans, although they frequently had relatives who could be easily identified or found, a practice that often makes their roots difficult or impossible to trace. Government data obtained by The Associated Press shows less than a fifth of 15,000 adoptees who have asked South Korea for help with family searches since 2012 have managed to reunite with relatives.
Lee said the committee's stance reflects a lack of understanding of the systemic problems in adoptions and risks excluding many remaining cases.
“Personally, I find yesterday's decision very regrettable and consider it a half-baked decision,” Lee said.
After reviewing government and adoption records and interviewing adoptees, birth families, public officials and adoption workers, the commission assessed that South Korean officials saw foreign adoptions as a cheaper alternative to building a social welfare system for needy children.
Through policies and laws that promoted adoption, South Korea's military governments permitted private adoption agencies to exercise extensive guardianship rights over children in their custody and swiftly transfer custody to foreign adopters, resulting in “large-scale overseas placements of children in need of protection,” the commission said.
Authorities provided no meaningful oversight as adoption agencies engaged in dubious or illicit practices while competing to send more children abroad. These practices included bypassing proper consent from biological parents, falsely documenting children with known parents as abandoned orphans, and switching children's identities, according to the commission's report. It cited that the government failed to ensure that agencies properly screened adoptive parents or prevent them from excessively charging foreign adopters, who were often asked to make additional donations beyond the standard fees.
South Korea's government has never acknowledged direct responsibility for issues surrounding past adoptions. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it had not formally received the commission's report as of Thursday morning but planned to “actively review” its recommendations. It said “efforts to improve the adoption system will continue,” citing its preparations to enforce a new law taking effect in July that's designed to strengthen the state's responsibility over adoptions.
The commission's findings broadly aligned with previous reporting by The AP. The AP investigations, which were also documented by Frontline (PBS), detailed how South Korea's government, Western countries and adoption agencies worked in tandem to supply some 200,000 Korean children to parents overseas, despite years of evidence that many were being procured through questionable or outright unscrupulous means.
The military governments implemented special laws aimed at promoting foreign adoptions, removing judicial oversight and granting vast powers to private agencies, which bypassed proper child relinquishment practices while shipping thousands of children to the West every year. Western nations ignored these problems and sometimes pressured South Korea to keep the kids coming as they focused on satisfying their huge domestic demands for babies.
“The commission determined that the state violated the human rights of adoptees protected under the constitution and international agreements, by neglecting its duty to ensure basic human rights, including inadequate legislation, poor management and oversight, and failures in implementing proper administrative procedures while sending large numbers of children abroad,” the commission said in a statement. It said the government “actively utilized” foreign adoptions, which “required no budget allocation,” rather than strengthening a social safety net for needy children.
When asked why the commission's report focused on the government's negligence and monitoring failures, rather than highlighting its more direct responsibility for creating a system that put children at risk, Lee acknowledged a need for a deeper investigation into the government's role, citing limitations in the commission's reach.
A more extensive review of the systemic problems would require a closer look at adoptions to the United States, which by far was the largest recipient of Korean children, Lee said. U.S. adoptees accounted for a smaller number of complaints received by the commission, most of which were filed by adoptees in Europe.
“Rather than producing a final conclusion, we focused on pointing out the problems the best we could,” Lee said.
The commission recommended the government issue an official apology over the problems it identified and develop plans to address the grievances of adoptees who discovered that the biological origins in their adoption papers were falsified. It also urged the government to investigate citizenship gaps among adoptees sent to the United States and to implement measures to assist those without citizenship, who may number in the thousands.
During the news conference, Yooree Kim, who was sent at age 11 by an adoption agency to a couple in France without her biological parents' consent, pleaded for the commission to strengthen its recommendations.
She said the government should encourage broader DNA testing for biological families to increase the chances of reunions with adoptees and officially declare an end to foreign adoptions. She said adoptees who fell victim to illicit practices should be entitled to “compensation from the Korean government and adoption agencies, without going through lawsuits.”
South Korea's practices in the past seven decades formed what's believed to be the world's largest diaspora of adoptees. Recent reforms, including a 2011 law that required foreign adoptions go through family courts, have led to a significant decline, with only 79 cases of South Korean children placed abroad in 2023.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Justification for arrest not clear as Trump administration increasingly targets students for arrest and deportation
There was an outcry on campus at the University of Alabama on Thursday after US immigration authorities detained a doctoral student – an event which campus officials confirmed on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the state's flagship university said in a brief statement that a student was arrested “off campus” by federal immigration officials, but declined to comment further, citing privacy laws.
The US government's justification for detaining the student was not immediately clear, and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) did not respond to a request for comment late on Wednesday.
News of the arrest comes amid reports of the Trump administration increasingly targeting college students for arrest and deportation across the country, including people in the US on visas and permanent residents with green cards, raising alarms on campuses and in surrounding communities.
The Crimson White, a student newspaper at the University of Alabama, reported on the arrest, saying the targeted student was detained at their home early on Tuesday morning. The individual is Iranian and was in the US on a student visa and studying mechanical engineering, the newspaper said, identifying the student as Alireza Doroudi. The university's College Democrats group said in a statement that Trump and Ice “have struck a cold, vicious dagger through the heart of UA's international community”.
“Our fears have come to pass. Donald Trump, Tom Homan, and Ice have struck a cold, vicious dagger through the heart of UA's international community,” the group said. Homan, previously Ice's acting director, is Trump's newest so-called border czar.
“As far as we know right now, Ice is yet to provide any justification for their actions, so we are not sure if this persecution is politically motivated, as has been seen in other universities across the country. Regardless, our mission to advocate for all corners of the UA community is ironclad, and forever will be,” the group added.
It was not immediately clear on Wednesday evening if the arrested student had a lawyer.
Alex House, a university spokesperson, said its international student and scholar services center was available to assist students with concerns: “International students studying at the university are valued members of the campus community.”
But House's statement added that the university “has and will continue to follow all immigration laws and cooperate with federal authorities”.
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) also condemned the student's detention on Thursday, saying: “We are deeply disturbed by the arrest of Alireza Doroudi, a doctoral student at the University of Alabama, by Ice agents. At a minimum, Ice must make his whereabouts known and make clear if he has been charged with any crime. If not, he should be immediately released.
“The cruelty appears to have been the point of these harsh arrests, spreading fear in many communities. We call on the administration to halt these harsh and unjust actions and immediately release all those unjustly detained,” NIAC added.
The Alabama arrest was confirmed the same day news broke that Rumeysa Ozturk, a doctoral student at Tufts University in Boston, was detained by federal immigration agents and taken to an Ice detention center in Louisiana. Her arrest appeared to be part of the US government's crackdown on students with ties to pro-Palestinian activism on campus last year.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Ozturk was in the US on a visa and accused her of supporting Hamas, but did not provide evidence to support its claims. Media reports noted that Ozturk, a Fulbright scholar and Turkish citizen, had in March 2024 co-written an opinion piece in the Tufts student newspaper, alongside three other authors, supporting calls for the university to “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide”.
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Ozturk's arrest has sparked widespread outrage as video circulated showing masked officers, in plainclothes, approaching her on the street and taking her into custody. A 32-year-old software engineer whose surveillance camera recorded the arrest told the Associated Press it “looked like a kidnapping”.
The Massachusetts director of Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Muslim civil rights group, said in a statement: “We unequivocally condemn the abduction of a young Muslim hijab-wearing scholar by masked federal agents in broad daylight. This alarming act of repression is a direct assault on free speech and academic freedom.”
Ozturk's lawyer told the New York Times she was heading out to break her Ramadan fast with friends when she was detained near her apartment.
Tufts's president said the university “had no pre-knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with federal authorities prior to the event”. The university was told the student's visa was “terminated”, the president added.
Ice records suggested Ozturk was taken to Louisiana despite a judge ordering DHS to give advanced notice if officials sought to transfer her out of state.
DHS has also faced scrutiny over its efforts to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and recent Columbia graduate, who is a green card holder. A US judge in Manhattan on Wednesday blocked immigration officials from detaining Yunseo Chung, a Columbia undergraduate, who is also a permanent resident facing threats of deportation for involvement in Gaza solidarity protests.
Maya Yang contributed reporting
Justification for arrest not clear as Trump administration increasingly targets students for arrest and deportation
There was an outcry on campus at the University of Alabama on Thursday after US immigration authorities detained a doctoral student – an event which campus officials confirmed on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the state's flagship university said in a brief statement that a student was arrested “off campus” by federal immigration officials, but declined to comment further, citing privacy laws.
The US government's justification for detaining the student was not immediately clear, and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) did not respond to a request for comment late on Wednesday.
News of the arrest comes amid reports of the Trump administration increasingly targeting college students for arrest and deportation across the country, including people in the US on visas and permanent residents with green cards, raising alarms on campuses and in surrounding communities.
The Crimson White, a student newspaper at the University of Alabama, reported on the arrest, saying the targeted student was detained at their home early on Tuesday morning. The individual is Iranian and was in the US on a student visa and studying mechanical engineering, the newspaper said, identifying the student as Alireza Doroudi. The university's College Democrats group said in a statement that Trump and Ice “have struck a cold, vicious dagger through the heart of UA's international community”.
“Our fears have come to pass. Donald Trump, Tom Homan, and Ice have struck a cold, vicious dagger through the heart of UA's international community,” the group said. Homan, previously Ice's acting director, is Trump's newest so-called “border czar”.
“As far as we know right now, Ice is yet to provide any justification for their actions, so we are not sure if this persecution is politically motivated, as has been seen in other universities across the country. Regardless, our mission to advocate for all corners of the UA community is ironclad, and forever will be,” the group added.
It was not immediately clear on Wednesday evening if the arrested student had a lawyer.
Alex House, a university spokesperson, said its international student and scholar services center was available to assist students with concerns: “International students studying at the university are valued members of the campus community.”
But House's statement added that the university “has and will continue to follow all immigration laws and cooperate with federal authorities”.
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) also condemned the student's detention on Thursday, saying: “We are deeply disturbed by the arrest of Alireza Doroudi, a doctoral student at the University of Alabama, by Ice agents. At a minimum, Ice must make his whereabouts known and make clear if he has been charged with any crime. If not, he should be immediately released.
“The cruelty appears to have been the point of these harsh arrests, spreading fear in many communities. We call on the administration to halt these harsh and unjust actions and immediately release all those unjustly detained,” NIAC added.
The Alabama arrest was confirmed the same day news broke that Rumeysa Ozturk, a doctoral student at Tufts University in Boston, was detained by federal immigration agents and taken to an Ice detention center in Louisiana. Her arrest appeared to be part of the US government's crackdown on students with ties to pro-Palestinian activism on campus last year.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Ozturk was in the US on a visa and accused her of supporting Hamas, but did not provide evidence to support its claims. Media reports noted that Ozturk, a Fulbright scholar and Turkish citizen, had in March 2024 co-written an opinion piece in the Tufts student newspaper, alongside three other authors, supporting calls for the university to “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide”.
Sign up to Headlines US
Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning
after newsletter promotion
Ozturk's arrest has sparked widespread outrage as video circulated showing masked officers, in plainclothes, approaching her on the street and taking her into custody. A 32-year-old software engineer whose surveillance camera recorded the arrest told the Associated Press it “looked like a kidnapping”.
The Massachusetts director of Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Muslim civil rights group, said in a statement: “We unequivocally condemn the abduction of a young Muslim hijab-wearing scholar by masked federal agents in broad daylight. This alarming act of repression is a direct assault on free speech and academic freedom.”
Ozturk's lawyer told the New York Times she was heading out to break her Ramadan fast with friends when she was detained near her apartment.
Tufts's president said the university “had no pre-knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with federal authorities prior to the event”. The university was told the student's visa was “terminated”, the president added.
Ice records suggested Ozturk was taken to Louisiana despite a judge ordering DHS to give advanced notice if officials sought to transfer her out of state.
DHS has also faced scrutiny over its efforts to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and recent Columbia graduate, who is a green card holder. A US judge in Manhattan on Wednesday blocked immigration officials from detaining Yunseo Chung, a Columbia undergraduate, who is also a permanent resident facing threats of deportation for involvement in Gaza solidarity protests.
Maya Yang contributed reporting
President Isaac Herzog, on the occasion of Antisemitism Awareness Week, hosted friends of Israel from across the world on Wednesday and held a panel with Jewish community heads about the realities of modern-day Jew-hatred. Natan Sharansky and the CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, William Daroff, were among the panel speakers.The President also delivered a speech during the event, where he called for collective action against antisemitism and emphasized the critical importance of Jewish unity in the face of the challenges faced by world Jewry. President Herzog said, “Jewish unity is not just an idea—it is a living, breathing force. We feel it most deeply when we stand together and demand the immediate release of our hostages.”Addressing Ayelet Samerano, whose son Yonatan is currently being held captive in Gaza, President Herzon expressed, “Ayelet, your courage is our courage. Your pain is our pain. And your fight is our fight,” he said. “We will not stop. We will not rest. We will not be silent until Yonatan and every single one of our hostages are home.”President Isaac Herzog, on the occasion of Antisemitism Awareness Week, hosted friends of Israel from across the world and held a panel with Jewish community heads about the realities of modern-day Jew-hatred. (credit: AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO)“The fact is, that there is no circumstance and no equation in which negating the right of the Jewish people to live safely in their one and only nation-state is not antisemitism. To invalidate the existence of the singular Jewish national home, is to declare the world has no place for Jews,” Herzog told the attendees. “As President of the democratic nation-state of the Jewish People, a state in which all are equal—I say to you, Jewish leaders and activists Fight back! Don't give up! To my Jewish brothers and sisters I say: I understand your concern for the safety of your communities, and for the future of your children. I understand your pain and outrage. I understand your concern for Jewish life, period. I also understand- and I share your worries in this urgent battle. The State of Israel is your full partner, and we are all in this battle.”Thanking those combatting antisemitismPresident Herzog also expressed his gratitude to US President Donald Trump, in reference to the action Trump's administration took against Columbia University - one of many colleges accused of being a hotbed for antisemitism.Despite the rising hate, however, the President noted a renewed sense of Jewish pride and identity in response. “We have seen the Jews of October 8th—those whose Jewish identity was not the predominant factor in their lives—declare with strength: ‘We are Jewish!'” Concluding his address, the President reaffirmed Israel's commitment to fighting antisemitism at every level and called for continued unity in the battle for truth and justice. “In our fight for the values of liberty and tolerance, our absolute commitment to one another is our greatest strength,” he summarized.Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, added, “The establishment of the State of Israel did not end the ‘Jewish question.' Religious and racial attacks have been replaced by an attack on our collective identity – Zionism.”He noted, “The essence of antisemitism today is an attack on the Jewish people's right to self-determination. Today, the State of Israel, which went to war in self-defense following the mass massacres committed by Hamas on October 7, is accused of perpetrating genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. There is no crime against humanity that the State of Israel has not been and is not being accused of. This is the new face of the ancient blood libels.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now He argued, “We don't need a diplomatic struggle against antisemitism; we need a full-scale war. To fight antisemitism, we need courageous leadership and resolute action.”
Natan Sharansky and the CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, William Daroff, were among the panel speakers.The President also delivered a speech during the event, where he called for collective action against antisemitism and emphasized the critical importance of Jewish unity in the face of the challenges faced by world Jewry. President Herzog said, “Jewish unity is not just an idea—it is a living, breathing force. We feel it most deeply when we stand together and demand the immediate release of our hostages.”Addressing Ayelet Samerano, whose son Yonatan is currently being held captive in Gaza, President Herzon expressed, “Ayelet, your courage is our courage. Your pain is our pain. And your fight is our fight,” he said. “We will not stop. We will not rest. We will not be silent until Yonatan and every single one of our hostages are home.”President Isaac Herzog, on the occasion of Antisemitism Awareness Week, hosted friends of Israel from across the world and held a panel with Jewish community heads about the realities of modern-day Jew-hatred. (credit: AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO)“The fact is, that there is no circumstance and no equation in which negating the right of the Jewish people to live safely in their one and only nation-state is not antisemitism. To invalidate the existence of the singular Jewish national home, is to declare the world has no place for Jews,” Herzog told the attendees. “As President of the democratic nation-state of the Jewish People, a state in which all are equal—I say to you, Jewish leaders and activists Fight back! Don't give up! To my Jewish brothers and sisters I say: I understand your concern for the safety of your communities, and for the future of your children. I understand your pain and outrage. I understand your concern for Jewish life, period. I also understand- and I share your worries in this urgent battle. The State of Israel is your full partner, and we are all in this battle.”Thanking those combatting antisemitismPresident Herzog also expressed his gratitude to US President Donald Trump, in reference to the action Trump's administration took against Columbia University - one of many colleges accused of being a hotbed for antisemitism.Despite the rising hate, however, the President noted a renewed sense of Jewish pride and identity in response. “We have seen the Jews of October 8th—those whose Jewish identity was not the predominant factor in their lives—declare with strength: ‘We are Jewish!'” Concluding his address, the President reaffirmed Israel's commitment to fighting antisemitism at every level and called for continued unity in the battle for truth and justice. “In our fight for the values of liberty and tolerance, our absolute commitment to one another is our greatest strength,” he summarized.Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, added, “The establishment of the State of Israel did not end the ‘Jewish question.' Religious and racial attacks have been replaced by an attack on our collective identity – Zionism.”He noted, “The essence of antisemitism today is an attack on the Jewish people's right to self-determination. Today, the State of Israel, which went to war in self-defense following the mass massacres committed by Hamas on October 7, is accused of perpetrating genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. There is no crime against humanity that the State of Israel has not been and is not being accused of. This is the new face of the ancient blood libels.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now He argued, “We don't need a diplomatic struggle against antisemitism; we need a full-scale war. To fight antisemitism, we need courageous leadership and resolute action.”
The President also delivered a speech during the event, where he called for collective action against antisemitism and emphasized the critical importance of Jewish unity in the face of the challenges faced by world Jewry. President Herzog said, “Jewish unity is not just an idea—it is a living, breathing force. We feel it most deeply when we stand together and demand the immediate release of our hostages.”Addressing Ayelet Samerano, whose son Yonatan is currently being held captive in Gaza, President Herzon expressed, “Ayelet, your courage is our courage. Your pain is our pain. And your fight is our fight,” he said. “We will not stop. We will not rest. We will not be silent until Yonatan and every single one of our hostages are home.”President Isaac Herzog, on the occasion of Antisemitism Awareness Week, hosted friends of Israel from across the world and held a panel with Jewish community heads about the realities of modern-day Jew-hatred. (credit: AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO)“The fact is, that there is no circumstance and no equation in which negating the right of the Jewish people to live safely in their one and only nation-state is not antisemitism. To invalidate the existence of the singular Jewish national home, is to declare the world has no place for Jews,” Herzog told the attendees. “As President of the democratic nation-state of the Jewish People, a state in which all are equal—I say to you, Jewish leaders and activists Fight back! Don't give up! To my Jewish brothers and sisters I say: I understand your concern for the safety of your communities, and for the future of your children. I understand your pain and outrage. I understand your concern for Jewish life, period. I also understand- and I share your worries in this urgent battle. The State of Israel is your full partner, and we are all in this battle.”Thanking those combatting antisemitismPresident Herzog also expressed his gratitude to US President Donald Trump, in reference to the action Trump's administration took against Columbia University - one of many colleges accused of being a hotbed for antisemitism.Despite the rising hate, however, the President noted a renewed sense of Jewish pride and identity in response. “We have seen the Jews of October 8th—those whose Jewish identity was not the predominant factor in their lives—declare with strength: ‘We are Jewish!'” Concluding his address, the President reaffirmed Israel's commitment to fighting antisemitism at every level and called for continued unity in the battle for truth and justice. “In our fight for the values of liberty and tolerance, our absolute commitment to one another is our greatest strength,” he summarized.Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, added, “The establishment of the State of Israel did not end the ‘Jewish question.' Religious and racial attacks have been replaced by an attack on our collective identity – Zionism.”He noted, “The essence of antisemitism today is an attack on the Jewish people's right to self-determination. Today, the State of Israel, which went to war in self-defense following the mass massacres committed by Hamas on October 7, is accused of perpetrating genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. There is no crime against humanity that the State of Israel has not been and is not being accused of. This is the new face of the ancient blood libels.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now He argued, “We don't need a diplomatic struggle against antisemitism; we need a full-scale war. To fight antisemitism, we need courageous leadership and resolute action.”
President Herzog said, “Jewish unity is not just an idea—it is a living, breathing force. We feel it most deeply when we stand together and demand the immediate release of our hostages.”Addressing Ayelet Samerano, whose son Yonatan is currently being held captive in Gaza, President Herzon expressed, “Ayelet, your courage is our courage. Your pain is our pain. And your fight is our fight,” he said. “We will not stop. We will not rest. We will not be silent until Yonatan and every single one of our hostages are home.”President Isaac Herzog, on the occasion of Antisemitism Awareness Week, hosted friends of Israel from across the world and held a panel with Jewish community heads about the realities of modern-day Jew-hatred. (credit: AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO)“The fact is, that there is no circumstance and no equation in which negating the right of the Jewish people to live safely in their one and only nation-state is not antisemitism. To invalidate the existence of the singular Jewish national home, is to declare the world has no place for Jews,” Herzog told the attendees. “As President of the democratic nation-state of the Jewish People, a state in which all are equal—I say to you, Jewish leaders and activists Fight back! Don't give up! To my Jewish brothers and sisters I say: I understand your concern for the safety of your communities, and for the future of your children. I understand your pain and outrage. I understand your concern for Jewish life, period. I also understand- and I share your worries in this urgent battle. The State of Israel is your full partner, and we are all in this battle.”Thanking those combatting antisemitismPresident Herzog also expressed his gratitude to US President Donald Trump, in reference to the action Trump's administration took against Columbia University - one of many colleges accused of being a hotbed for antisemitism.Despite the rising hate, however, the President noted a renewed sense of Jewish pride and identity in response. “We have seen the Jews of October 8th—those whose Jewish identity was not the predominant factor in their lives—declare with strength: ‘We are Jewish!'” Concluding his address, the President reaffirmed Israel's commitment to fighting antisemitism at every level and called for continued unity in the battle for truth and justice. “In our fight for the values of liberty and tolerance, our absolute commitment to one another is our greatest strength,” he summarized.Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, added, “The establishment of the State of Israel did not end the ‘Jewish question.' Religious and racial attacks have been replaced by an attack on our collective identity – Zionism.”He noted, “The essence of antisemitism today is an attack on the Jewish people's right to self-determination. Today, the State of Israel, which went to war in self-defense following the mass massacres committed by Hamas on October 7, is accused of perpetrating genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. There is no crime against humanity that the State of Israel has not been and is not being accused of. This is the new face of the ancient blood libels.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now He argued, “We don't need a diplomatic struggle against antisemitism; we need a full-scale war. To fight antisemitism, we need courageous leadership and resolute action.”
Addressing Ayelet Samerano, whose son Yonatan is currently being held captive in Gaza, President Herzon expressed, “Ayelet, your courage is our courage. Your pain is our pain. And your fight is our fight,” he said. “We will not stop. We will not rest. We will not be silent until Yonatan and every single one of our hostages are home.”President Isaac Herzog, on the occasion of Antisemitism Awareness Week, hosted friends of Israel from across the world and held a panel with Jewish community heads about the realities of modern-day Jew-hatred. (credit: AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO)“The fact is, that there is no circumstance and no equation in which negating the right of the Jewish people to live safely in their one and only nation-state is not antisemitism. To invalidate the existence of the singular Jewish national home, is to declare the world has no place for Jews,” Herzog told the attendees. “As President of the democratic nation-state of the Jewish People, a state in which all are equal—I say to you, Jewish leaders and activists Fight back! Don't give up! To my Jewish brothers and sisters I say: I understand your concern for the safety of your communities, and for the future of your children. I understand your pain and outrage. I understand your concern for Jewish life, period. I also understand- and I share your worries in this urgent battle. The State of Israel is your full partner, and we are all in this battle.”Thanking those combatting antisemitismPresident Herzog also expressed his gratitude to US President Donald Trump, in reference to the action Trump's administration took against Columbia University - one of many colleges accused of being a hotbed for antisemitism.Despite the rising hate, however, the President noted a renewed sense of Jewish pride and identity in response. “We have seen the Jews of October 8th—those whose Jewish identity was not the predominant factor in their lives—declare with strength: ‘We are Jewish!'” Concluding his address, the President reaffirmed Israel's commitment to fighting antisemitism at every level and called for continued unity in the battle for truth and justice. “In our fight for the values of liberty and tolerance, our absolute commitment to one another is our greatest strength,” he summarized.Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, added, “The establishment of the State of Israel did not end the ‘Jewish question.' Religious and racial attacks have been replaced by an attack on our collective identity – Zionism.”He noted, “The essence of antisemitism today is an attack on the Jewish people's right to self-determination. Today, the State of Israel, which went to war in self-defense following the mass massacres committed by Hamas on October 7, is accused of perpetrating genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. There is no crime against humanity that the State of Israel has not been and is not being accused of. This is the new face of the ancient blood libels.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now He argued, “We don't need a diplomatic struggle against antisemitism; we need a full-scale war. To fight antisemitism, we need courageous leadership and resolute action.”
“The fact is, that there is no circumstance and no equation in which negating the right of the Jewish people to live safely in their one and only nation-state is not antisemitism. To invalidate the existence of the singular Jewish national home, is to declare the world has no place for Jews,” Herzog told the attendees. “As President of the democratic nation-state of the Jewish People, a state in which all are equal—I say to you, Jewish leaders and activists Fight back! Don't give up! To my Jewish brothers and sisters I say: I understand your concern for the safety of your communities, and for the future of your children. I understand your pain and outrage. I understand your concern for Jewish life, period. I also understand- and I share your worries in this urgent battle. The State of Israel is your full partner, and we are all in this battle.”Thanking those combatting antisemitismPresident Herzog also expressed his gratitude to US President Donald Trump, in reference to the action Trump's administration took against Columbia University - one of many colleges accused of being a hotbed for antisemitism.Despite the rising hate, however, the President noted a renewed sense of Jewish pride and identity in response. “We have seen the Jews of October 8th—those whose Jewish identity was not the predominant factor in their lives—declare with strength: ‘We are Jewish!'” Concluding his address, the President reaffirmed Israel's commitment to fighting antisemitism at every level and called for continued unity in the battle for truth and justice. “In our fight for the values of liberty and tolerance, our absolute commitment to one another is our greatest strength,” he summarized.Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, added, “The establishment of the State of Israel did not end the ‘Jewish question.' Religious and racial attacks have been replaced by an attack on our collective identity – Zionism.”He noted, “The essence of antisemitism today is an attack on the Jewish people's right to self-determination. Today, the State of Israel, which went to war in self-defense following the mass massacres committed by Hamas on October 7, is accused of perpetrating genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. There is no crime against humanity that the State of Israel has not been and is not being accused of. This is the new face of the ancient blood libels.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now He argued, “We don't need a diplomatic struggle against antisemitism; we need a full-scale war. To fight antisemitism, we need courageous leadership and resolute action.”
President Herzog also expressed his gratitude to US President Donald Trump, in reference to the action Trump's administration took against Columbia University - one of many colleges accused of being a hotbed for antisemitism.Despite the rising hate, however, the President noted a renewed sense of Jewish pride and identity in response. “We have seen the Jews of October 8th—those whose Jewish identity was not the predominant factor in their lives—declare with strength: ‘We are Jewish!'” Concluding his address, the President reaffirmed Israel's commitment to fighting antisemitism at every level and called for continued unity in the battle for truth and justice. “In our fight for the values of liberty and tolerance, our absolute commitment to one another is our greatest strength,” he summarized.Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, added, “The establishment of the State of Israel did not end the ‘Jewish question.' Religious and racial attacks have been replaced by an attack on our collective identity – Zionism.”He noted, “The essence of antisemitism today is an attack on the Jewish people's right to self-determination. Today, the State of Israel, which went to war in self-defense following the mass massacres committed by Hamas on October 7, is accused of perpetrating genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. There is no crime against humanity that the State of Israel has not been and is not being accused of. This is the new face of the ancient blood libels.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now He argued, “We don't need a diplomatic struggle against antisemitism; we need a full-scale war. To fight antisemitism, we need courageous leadership and resolute action.”
Concluding his address, the President reaffirmed Israel's commitment to fighting antisemitism at every level and called for continued unity in the battle for truth and justice. “In our fight for the values of liberty and tolerance, our absolute commitment to one another is our greatest strength,” he summarized.Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, added, “The establishment of the State of Israel did not end the ‘Jewish question.' Religious and racial attacks have been replaced by an attack on our collective identity – Zionism.”He noted, “The essence of antisemitism today is an attack on the Jewish people's right to self-determination. Today, the State of Israel, which went to war in self-defense following the mass massacres committed by Hamas on October 7, is accused of perpetrating genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. There is no crime against humanity that the State of Israel has not been and is not being accused of. This is the new face of the ancient blood libels.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now He argued, “We don't need a diplomatic struggle against antisemitism; we need a full-scale war. To fight antisemitism, we need courageous leadership and resolute action.”
Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, added, “The establishment of the State of Israel did not end the ‘Jewish question.' Religious and racial attacks have been replaced by an attack on our collective identity – Zionism.”He noted, “The essence of antisemitism today is an attack on the Jewish people's right to self-determination. Today, the State of Israel, which went to war in self-defense following the mass massacres committed by Hamas on October 7, is accused of perpetrating genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. There is no crime against humanity that the State of Israel has not been and is not being accused of. This is the new face of the ancient blood libels.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now He argued, “We don't need a diplomatic struggle against antisemitism; we need a full-scale war. To fight antisemitism, we need courageous leadership and resolute action.”
He noted, “The essence of antisemitism today is an attack on the Jewish people's right to self-determination. Today, the State of Israel, which went to war in self-defense following the mass massacres committed by Hamas on October 7, is accused of perpetrating genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. There is no crime against humanity that the State of Israel has not been and is not being accused of. This is the new face of the ancient blood libels.” Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now He argued, “We don't need a diplomatic struggle against antisemitism; we need a full-scale war. To fight antisemitism, we need courageous leadership and resolute action.”
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He argued, “We don't need a diplomatic struggle against antisemitism; we need a full-scale war. To fight antisemitism, we need courageous leadership and resolute action.”
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President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that a 25% tariff would be imposed on automobiles imported into the United States in an effort to bring back manufacturing jobs to the country.
The White House said the tariff would apply to fully assembled cars and key automobile components, including engines, transmissions, powertrain parts, and electrical components. That list could expand over time to encompass additional components. US car and light truck imports were valued last year at more than $240 billion.
ALSO READ | Donald Trump announces 25% tariff on imported cars. What does it mean? | 10 points
Trump claimed that his new trade measure is “permanent”, will continue to spur growth in tax revenues and bring back manufacturing jobs as tariffs force automakers to reorient supply chains from Canada and Mexico which the US president has termed “ridiculous.”
“The beauty of the 25 (per cent) is it's one number. And that number is going to be used to reduce debt greatly in the United States. “Basically I view it as reducing taxes and also reducing debt, and within a fairly short period of time I think we're going to have a balance sheet which will be outstanding,” Trump said.
Canada: New Prime Minister Mark Carney criticised the US's trade action and said, “This is a very direct attack. We will defend our workers. We will defend our companies. We will defend our country.”
Ottawa shipped nearly C$50 billion ($35 billion) worth of vehicles into the US market last year, making autos one of its most important exports.
European Commission: President Ursula von der Leyen regretted Trump's latest tariff escalation and said the bloc would assess the economic impact and other tariffs planned by the US. "Tariffs are taxes — bad for businesses, worse for consumers equally in the U.S. and the European Union,” she said in a statement.
ALSO READ | US won't club India with China, Canada on tariffs
Japan: Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said all retaliatory options are on the table and added that Tokyo must consider measures that best serve the country's interests.
“We invest in the US, we provide employment, and we pay the highest wages. We are the largest investor in the US. We must clearly state that it is not right to treat all countries in the same way,” Ishiba said.
Ontario: Premier Doug Ford, who once threatened to cut off the province's electricity export to the US, urged Carney to target American cars. “I can assure you one thing. We're going to make sure that we inflict as much pain as possible to the American people without inflicting pain on the Canadian population,” Ford said.
UK: The UK's industry body, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), warned that Trump's tariffs would hurt both American and British businesses and consumers.
ALSO READ | Donald Trump's tariffs may lead to an unintended effect: A reset of India-Canada ties
Mike Hawes, chief executive of SMMT, said the move as “not surprising but, nevertheless, disappointing” and added that it is “a blow to a long-standing and productive relationship.”
Autos Drive America, a lobbying group for non-US carmakers, warned that the new tariff would have the opposite effect. “The tariffs imposed today will make it more expensive to produce and sell cars in the United States, ultimately leading to higher prices, fewer options for consumers and fewer manufacturing jobs in the US,” Jennifer Safavian, the group's president, said in a statement.
Business leaders of Ford and Jeep have urged the White House to target roughly 4 million vehicles imported to the US annually that are made without domestically manufactured parts content.
(With AP inputs)
The talk of an alleged Deep State here in Israel reminds me of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. This document – fabricated by Russia's security services at the beginning of the 20th century, when the czar's throne was shaking – supposedly contained a detailed plan by international Jewry to control the world. But what is that Deep State, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims controls the country? What is the mysterious entity that exploits the legal system in order to undermine the people's will, as he and his acolytes declare? It is a network of unofficial power centers that operate within and without the official system, to promote an agenda that will serve their own interests while circumventing the government, thus undermining the will of the people. The ruler is painted as someone who is acting to save the country from them. If, in order to do so, established institutions must be diminished – so be it.Other leaders have drawn on Deep State terminologyIn addition to leaders such as former Philippine strongman Rodrigo Duterte (recently extradited to the International Criminal Court), US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan (who had his main rival arrested), prominent among leaders who draw on Deep State terminology is Hungary's Viktor Orban. AdvertisementHe often refers to conspiracies by civil society and globalists (a code for Jews). Netanyahu has chosen to join such authoritarian rulers who encourage and exploit fears so that they can entrench their rule by undermining the foundations of democracy. US President Donald Trump meets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, DC. (credit: LEAH MILLIS/REUTERS)It should be noted that there is a genuine debate about the power of public officials, whether it provides the continuity and stability that enable democracy, or undermines it. Such issues were raised by American president Dwight Eisenhower. A former general and World War II hero, his speech upon departing the White House in 1961 included a warning against the excess power of the military-industrial complex – its components are vital while their combined power is problematic. But there is a vast difference between concrete criticism designed to seek balance and improve how systems function, and turning them into a scapegoat while offering no substitute except “yay” sayers. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Everyone who has taken control of an existing operation knows that there may be among the veteran workers those who are unable or unwilling to adjust to the agenda, demands, or even style, of new management. She also understands that without the support of experienced staff, none of her goals will be achieved. AdvertisementBut if the Protocols are fake and some criticism of public structures is justified, how are they similar to the accusations of Deep State? Especially as one focuses on the establishment while the other targets Jews, one undermines bureaucracy and the second enabled pogroms? In both cases, those in power blame “them” for secretly using “their” power to distort aspects of society, such as the economy, to serve “their” goals. Only “he” will save us from “them.” If only we allow “him” to eliminate or at least weaken “them,” “he” will restore us and our beloved country to our rightful grandeur.In both cases, it is all but impossible to return the evil spirit that has been released back into the bottle. Some 20 years after its publication, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion was exposed as fiction. But its distribution continues, including during dark times, as if it were truth incarnate.In Israel's case, what will be required to renew the people's trust in the state, not the alleged Deep State but the real one, and in its institutions? How much time until the populist accusations by its leader dissipate, allowing us to return to normality? The writer was Israel's first ambassador to the Baltic states after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and congressional liaison officer at the embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel's National Defense College.
But what is that Deep State, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims controls the country? What is the mysterious entity that exploits the legal system in order to undermine the people's will, as he and his acolytes declare? It is a network of unofficial power centers that operate within and without the official system, to promote an agenda that will serve their own interests while circumventing the government, thus undermining the will of the people. The ruler is painted as someone who is acting to save the country from them. If, in order to do so, established institutions must be diminished – so be it.Other leaders have drawn on Deep State terminologyIn addition to leaders such as former Philippine strongman Rodrigo Duterte (recently extradited to the International Criminal Court), US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan (who had his main rival arrested), prominent among leaders who draw on Deep State terminology is Hungary's Viktor Orban. AdvertisementHe often refers to conspiracies by civil society and globalists (a code for Jews). Netanyahu has chosen to join such authoritarian rulers who encourage and exploit fears so that they can entrench their rule by undermining the foundations of democracy. US President Donald Trump meets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, DC. (credit: LEAH MILLIS/REUTERS)It should be noted that there is a genuine debate about the power of public officials, whether it provides the continuity and stability that enable democracy, or undermines it. Such issues were raised by American president Dwight Eisenhower. A former general and World War II hero, his speech upon departing the White House in 1961 included a warning against the excess power of the military-industrial complex – its components are vital while their combined power is problematic. But there is a vast difference between concrete criticism designed to seek balance and improve how systems function, and turning them into a scapegoat while offering no substitute except “yay” sayers. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Everyone who has taken control of an existing operation knows that there may be among the veteran workers those who are unable or unwilling to adjust to the agenda, demands, or even style, of new management. She also understands that without the support of experienced staff, none of her goals will be achieved. AdvertisementBut if the Protocols are fake and some criticism of public structures is justified, how are they similar to the accusations of Deep State? Especially as one focuses on the establishment while the other targets Jews, one undermines bureaucracy and the second enabled pogroms? In both cases, those in power blame “them” for secretly using “their” power to distort aspects of society, such as the economy, to serve “their” goals. Only “he” will save us from “them.” If only we allow “him” to eliminate or at least weaken “them,” “he” will restore us and our beloved country to our rightful grandeur.In both cases, it is all but impossible to return the evil spirit that has been released back into the bottle. Some 20 years after its publication, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion was exposed as fiction. But its distribution continues, including during dark times, as if it were truth incarnate.In Israel's case, what will be required to renew the people's trust in the state, not the alleged Deep State but the real one, and in its institutions? How much time until the populist accusations by its leader dissipate, allowing us to return to normality? The writer was Israel's first ambassador to the Baltic states after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and congressional liaison officer at the embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel's National Defense College.
It is a network of unofficial power centers that operate within and without the official system, to promote an agenda that will serve their own interests while circumventing the government, thus undermining the will of the people. The ruler is painted as someone who is acting to save the country from them. If, in order to do so, established institutions must be diminished – so be it.Other leaders have drawn on Deep State terminologyIn addition to leaders such as former Philippine strongman Rodrigo Duterte (recently extradited to the International Criminal Court), US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan (who had his main rival arrested), prominent among leaders who draw on Deep State terminology is Hungary's Viktor Orban. AdvertisementHe often refers to conspiracies by civil society and globalists (a code for Jews). Netanyahu has chosen to join such authoritarian rulers who encourage and exploit fears so that they can entrench their rule by undermining the foundations of democracy. US President Donald Trump meets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, DC. (credit: LEAH MILLIS/REUTERS)It should be noted that there is a genuine debate about the power of public officials, whether it provides the continuity and stability that enable democracy, or undermines it. Such issues were raised by American president Dwight Eisenhower. A former general and World War II hero, his speech upon departing the White House in 1961 included a warning against the excess power of the military-industrial complex – its components are vital while their combined power is problematic. But there is a vast difference between concrete criticism designed to seek balance and improve how systems function, and turning them into a scapegoat while offering no substitute except “yay” sayers. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Everyone who has taken control of an existing operation knows that there may be among the veteran workers those who are unable or unwilling to adjust to the agenda, demands, or even style, of new management. She also understands that without the support of experienced staff, none of her goals will be achieved. AdvertisementBut if the Protocols are fake and some criticism of public structures is justified, how are they similar to the accusations of Deep State? Especially as one focuses on the establishment while the other targets Jews, one undermines bureaucracy and the second enabled pogroms? In both cases, those in power blame “them” for secretly using “their” power to distort aspects of society, such as the economy, to serve “their” goals. Only “he” will save us from “them.” If only we allow “him” to eliminate or at least weaken “them,” “he” will restore us and our beloved country to our rightful grandeur.In both cases, it is all but impossible to return the evil spirit that has been released back into the bottle. Some 20 years after its publication, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion was exposed as fiction. But its distribution continues, including during dark times, as if it were truth incarnate.In Israel's case, what will be required to renew the people's trust in the state, not the alleged Deep State but the real one, and in its institutions? How much time until the populist accusations by its leader dissipate, allowing us to return to normality? The writer was Israel's first ambassador to the Baltic states after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and congressional liaison officer at the embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel's National Defense College.
In addition to leaders such as former Philippine strongman Rodrigo Duterte (recently extradited to the International Criminal Court), US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan (who had his main rival arrested), prominent among leaders who draw on Deep State terminology is Hungary's Viktor Orban. AdvertisementHe often refers to conspiracies by civil society and globalists (a code for Jews). Netanyahu has chosen to join such authoritarian rulers who encourage and exploit fears so that they can entrench their rule by undermining the foundations of democracy. US President Donald Trump meets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, DC. (credit: LEAH MILLIS/REUTERS)It should be noted that there is a genuine debate about the power of public officials, whether it provides the continuity and stability that enable democracy, or undermines it. Such issues were raised by American president Dwight Eisenhower. A former general and World War II hero, his speech upon departing the White House in 1961 included a warning against the excess power of the military-industrial complex – its components are vital while their combined power is problematic. But there is a vast difference between concrete criticism designed to seek balance and improve how systems function, and turning them into a scapegoat while offering no substitute except “yay” sayers. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Everyone who has taken control of an existing operation knows that there may be among the veteran workers those who are unable or unwilling to adjust to the agenda, demands, or even style, of new management. She also understands that without the support of experienced staff, none of her goals will be achieved. AdvertisementBut if the Protocols are fake and some criticism of public structures is justified, how are they similar to the accusations of Deep State? Especially as one focuses on the establishment while the other targets Jews, one undermines bureaucracy and the second enabled pogroms? In both cases, those in power blame “them” for secretly using “their” power to distort aspects of society, such as the economy, to serve “their” goals. Only “he” will save us from “them.” If only we allow “him” to eliminate or at least weaken “them,” “he” will restore us and our beloved country to our rightful grandeur.In both cases, it is all but impossible to return the evil spirit that has been released back into the bottle. Some 20 years after its publication, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion was exposed as fiction. But its distribution continues, including during dark times, as if it were truth incarnate.In Israel's case, what will be required to renew the people's trust in the state, not the alleged Deep State but the real one, and in its institutions? How much time until the populist accusations by its leader dissipate, allowing us to return to normality? The writer was Israel's first ambassador to the Baltic states after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and congressional liaison officer at the embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel's National Defense College.
He often refers to conspiracies by civil society and globalists (a code for Jews). Netanyahu has chosen to join such authoritarian rulers who encourage and exploit fears so that they can entrench their rule by undermining the foundations of democracy. US President Donald Trump meets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, DC. (credit: LEAH MILLIS/REUTERS)It should be noted that there is a genuine debate about the power of public officials, whether it provides the continuity and stability that enable democracy, or undermines it. Such issues were raised by American president Dwight Eisenhower. A former general and World War II hero, his speech upon departing the White House in 1961 included a warning against the excess power of the military-industrial complex – its components are vital while their combined power is problematic. But there is a vast difference between concrete criticism designed to seek balance and improve how systems function, and turning them into a scapegoat while offering no substitute except “yay” sayers. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Everyone who has taken control of an existing operation knows that there may be among the veteran workers those who are unable or unwilling to adjust to the agenda, demands, or even style, of new management. She also understands that without the support of experienced staff, none of her goals will be achieved. AdvertisementBut if the Protocols are fake and some criticism of public structures is justified, how are they similar to the accusations of Deep State? Especially as one focuses on the establishment while the other targets Jews, one undermines bureaucracy and the second enabled pogroms? In both cases, those in power blame “them” for secretly using “their” power to distort aspects of society, such as the economy, to serve “their” goals. Only “he” will save us from “them.” If only we allow “him” to eliminate or at least weaken “them,” “he” will restore us and our beloved country to our rightful grandeur.In both cases, it is all but impossible to return the evil spirit that has been released back into the bottle. Some 20 years after its publication, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion was exposed as fiction. But its distribution continues, including during dark times, as if it were truth incarnate.In Israel's case, what will be required to renew the people's trust in the state, not the alleged Deep State but the real one, and in its institutions? How much time until the populist accusations by its leader dissipate, allowing us to return to normality? The writer was Israel's first ambassador to the Baltic states after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and congressional liaison officer at the embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel's National Defense College.
It should be noted that there is a genuine debate about the power of public officials, whether it provides the continuity and stability that enable democracy, or undermines it. Such issues were raised by American president Dwight Eisenhower. A former general and World War II hero, his speech upon departing the White House in 1961 included a warning against the excess power of the military-industrial complex – its components are vital while their combined power is problematic. But there is a vast difference between concrete criticism designed to seek balance and improve how systems function, and turning them into a scapegoat while offering no substitute except “yay” sayers. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Everyone who has taken control of an existing operation knows that there may be among the veteran workers those who are unable or unwilling to adjust to the agenda, demands, or even style, of new management. She also understands that without the support of experienced staff, none of her goals will be achieved. AdvertisementBut if the Protocols are fake and some criticism of public structures is justified, how are they similar to the accusations of Deep State? Especially as one focuses on the establishment while the other targets Jews, one undermines bureaucracy and the second enabled pogroms? In both cases, those in power blame “them” for secretly using “their” power to distort aspects of society, such as the economy, to serve “their” goals. Only “he” will save us from “them.” If only we allow “him” to eliminate or at least weaken “them,” “he” will restore us and our beloved country to our rightful grandeur.In both cases, it is all but impossible to return the evil spirit that has been released back into the bottle. Some 20 years after its publication, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion was exposed as fiction. But its distribution continues, including during dark times, as if it were truth incarnate.In Israel's case, what will be required to renew the people's trust in the state, not the alleged Deep State but the real one, and in its institutions? How much time until the populist accusations by its leader dissipate, allowing us to return to normality? The writer was Israel's first ambassador to the Baltic states after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and congressional liaison officer at the embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel's National Defense College.
A former general and World War II hero, his speech upon departing the White House in 1961 included a warning against the excess power of the military-industrial complex – its components are vital while their combined power is problematic. But there is a vast difference between concrete criticism designed to seek balance and improve how systems function, and turning them into a scapegoat while offering no substitute except “yay” sayers. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Everyone who has taken control of an existing operation knows that there may be among the veteran workers those who are unable or unwilling to adjust to the agenda, demands, or even style, of new management. She also understands that without the support of experienced staff, none of her goals will be achieved. AdvertisementBut if the Protocols are fake and some criticism of public structures is justified, how are they similar to the accusations of Deep State? Especially as one focuses on the establishment while the other targets Jews, one undermines bureaucracy and the second enabled pogroms? In both cases, those in power blame “them” for secretly using “their” power to distort aspects of society, such as the economy, to serve “their” goals. Only “he” will save us from “them.” If only we allow “him” to eliminate or at least weaken “them,” “he” will restore us and our beloved country to our rightful grandeur.In both cases, it is all but impossible to return the evil spirit that has been released back into the bottle. Some 20 years after its publication, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion was exposed as fiction. But its distribution continues, including during dark times, as if it were truth incarnate.In Israel's case, what will be required to renew the people's trust in the state, not the alleged Deep State but the real one, and in its institutions? How much time until the populist accusations by its leader dissipate, allowing us to return to normality? The writer was Israel's first ambassador to the Baltic states after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and congressional liaison officer at the embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel's National Defense College.
But there is a vast difference between concrete criticism designed to seek balance and improve how systems function, and turning them into a scapegoat while offering no substitute except “yay” sayers. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now Everyone who has taken control of an existing operation knows that there may be among the veteran workers those who are unable or unwilling to adjust to the agenda, demands, or even style, of new management. She also understands that without the support of experienced staff, none of her goals will be achieved. AdvertisementBut if the Protocols are fake and some criticism of public structures is justified, how are they similar to the accusations of Deep State? Especially as one focuses on the establishment while the other targets Jews, one undermines bureaucracy and the second enabled pogroms? In both cases, those in power blame “them” for secretly using “their” power to distort aspects of society, such as the economy, to serve “their” goals. Only “he” will save us from “them.” If only we allow “him” to eliminate or at least weaken “them,” “he” will restore us and our beloved country to our rightful grandeur.In both cases, it is all but impossible to return the evil spirit that has been released back into the bottle. Some 20 years after its publication, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion was exposed as fiction. But its distribution continues, including during dark times, as if it were truth incarnate.In Israel's case, what will be required to renew the people's trust in the state, not the alleged Deep State but the real one, and in its institutions? How much time until the populist accusations by its leader dissipate, allowing us to return to normality? The writer was Israel's first ambassador to the Baltic states after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and congressional liaison officer at the embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel's National Defense College.
Stay updated with the latest news!
Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter
Everyone who has taken control of an existing operation knows that there may be among the veteran workers those who are unable or unwilling to adjust to the agenda, demands, or even style, of new management. She also understands that without the support of experienced staff, none of her goals will be achieved. AdvertisementBut if the Protocols are fake and some criticism of public structures is justified, how are they similar to the accusations of Deep State? Especially as one focuses on the establishment while the other targets Jews, one undermines bureaucracy and the second enabled pogroms? In both cases, those in power blame “them” for secretly using “their” power to distort aspects of society, such as the economy, to serve “their” goals. Only “he” will save us from “them.” If only we allow “him” to eliminate or at least weaken “them,” “he” will restore us and our beloved country to our rightful grandeur.In both cases, it is all but impossible to return the evil spirit that has been released back into the bottle. Some 20 years after its publication, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion was exposed as fiction. But its distribution continues, including during dark times, as if it were truth incarnate.In Israel's case, what will be required to renew the people's trust in the state, not the alleged Deep State but the real one, and in its institutions? How much time until the populist accusations by its leader dissipate, allowing us to return to normality? The writer was Israel's first ambassador to the Baltic states after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and congressional liaison officer at the embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel's National Defense College.
But if the Protocols are fake and some criticism of public structures is justified, how are they similar to the accusations of Deep State? Especially as one focuses on the establishment while the other targets Jews, one undermines bureaucracy and the second enabled pogroms? In both cases, those in power blame “them” for secretly using “their” power to distort aspects of society, such as the economy, to serve “their” goals. Only “he” will save us from “them.” If only we allow “him” to eliminate or at least weaken “them,” “he” will restore us and our beloved country to our rightful grandeur.In both cases, it is all but impossible to return the evil spirit that has been released back into the bottle. Some 20 years after its publication, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion was exposed as fiction. But its distribution continues, including during dark times, as if it were truth incarnate.In Israel's case, what will be required to renew the people's trust in the state, not the alleged Deep State but the real one, and in its institutions? How much time until the populist accusations by its leader dissipate, allowing us to return to normality? The writer was Israel's first ambassador to the Baltic states after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and congressional liaison officer at the embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel's National Defense College.
In both cases, those in power blame “them” for secretly using “their” power to distort aspects of society, such as the economy, to serve “their” goals. Only “he” will save us from “them.” If only we allow “him” to eliminate or at least weaken “them,” “he” will restore us and our beloved country to our rightful grandeur.In both cases, it is all but impossible to return the evil spirit that has been released back into the bottle. Some 20 years after its publication, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion was exposed as fiction. But its distribution continues, including during dark times, as if it were truth incarnate.In Israel's case, what will be required to renew the people's trust in the state, not the alleged Deep State but the real one, and in its institutions? How much time until the populist accusations by its leader dissipate, allowing us to return to normality? The writer was Israel's first ambassador to the Baltic states after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and congressional liaison officer at the embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel's National Defense College.
In both cases, it is all but impossible to return the evil spirit that has been released back into the bottle. Some 20 years after its publication, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion was exposed as fiction. But its distribution continues, including during dark times, as if it were truth incarnate.In Israel's case, what will be required to renew the people's trust in the state, not the alleged Deep State but the real one, and in its institutions? How much time until the populist accusations by its leader dissipate, allowing us to return to normality? The writer was Israel's first ambassador to the Baltic states after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and congressional liaison officer at the embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel's National Defense College.
Some 20 years after its publication, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion was exposed as fiction. But its distribution continues, including during dark times, as if it were truth incarnate.In Israel's case, what will be required to renew the people's trust in the state, not the alleged Deep State but the real one, and in its institutions? How much time until the populist accusations by its leader dissipate, allowing us to return to normality? The writer was Israel's first ambassador to the Baltic states after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and congressional liaison officer at the embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel's National Defense College.
In Israel's case, what will be required to renew the people's trust in the state, not the alleged Deep State but the real one, and in its institutions? How much time until the populist accusations by its leader dissipate, allowing us to return to normality? The writer was Israel's first ambassador to the Baltic states after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and congressional liaison officer at the embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel's National Defense College.
The writer was Israel's first ambassador to the Baltic states after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and congressional liaison officer at the embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel's National Defense College.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that if Hamas doesn't release the hostages held in Gaza, pressure will increase, and may include “seizing territory,” on the Strip.
Palestinians chanted against Hamas during an anti-war protest in northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, videos showed. Wednesday's protest comes after similar ones the day before, marking a rare show of public anger against the militant group that has long repressed dissent and still rules the territory 17 months into the war with Israel.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said Wednesday the bodies of 39 people killed by Israeli strikes have been brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours. Hospitals also received 124 wounded, the ministry said in its daily report.
Palestinians hold signs against the war as a man chants slogans in support of the people in Bait Lahiya who came out against Hamas Tuesday in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Israelis block a highway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, demanding the realese of the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Palestinians chant slogans during an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians attend an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Smoke from Israeli bombardment rises from the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
American-Israeli Keith Siegel, who was held hostage by Hamas in Gaza before being freed last month, talks with his family at the opening of the “Keith Siegel Pancake House” in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Palestinian Muslim worshippers pray during Laylat Al Qadr, also known as the Night of Power and marked on the 27th day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in front of the Dome of the Rock shrine at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
The Israeli military on Wednesday ordered the evacuation of parts of Gaza City as it steps up its renewed offensive against Hamas after breaking the ceasefire last week. Israel's bombardments and ground operations have caused vast destruction and at their height displaced some 90% of Gaza's population.
Thousands of Palestinians marched in heavily destroyed northern Gaza on Wednesday in the second day of anti-war protests. It's a rare display of public anger against Hamas, although the protests appeared generally aimed against the war in Gaza and their insufferable living conditions.
Israel has cut off all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to war-torn Gaza's roughly 2 million people since the beginning of the month — a strategy that rights groups say is a war crime.
Israel has vowed to increase military pressure until Hamas returns the remaining 59 hostages — 24 of whom are believed to be alive. Israel also demands Hamas disarm and send its leaders into exile. Hamas says it won't release the remaining hostages without a lasting ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Here's the latest:
Tens of thousands of Israelis flocked to Jerusalem on Wednesday to protest a bill that would change the way judges are selected. It's the latest in a series of anti-government demonstrations that have rocked the country in recent weeks.
The proposed bill is up for a final vote overnight and is expected to pass. Critics say the changes would dangerously politicize the process of judicial appointments.
An earlier version of the bill was a cornerstone of the sweeping overhaul of the judiciary launched by Prime Minister Netanyahu's government in early 2023. That process touched off months of mass protests that only ground to a halt after the Oct. 7 attack triggered the war in Gaza.
Israelis have taken to the streets for several days to protest the government's failure to secure a deal to free hostages held in Gaza and its recent moves to fire top legal and security officials, which many view as further steps that threaten the balance of powers in Israel.
The rocket crossed from the northern Gaza Strip into southern Israel, according to the military. It said the interception is under review.
Although Palestinian militants were once firing volleys of rockets each day out of Gaza, that dwindled to nearly zero over the course of the 17-month war.
Since Israel broke the ceasefire last week, a handful of rockets have been fired from Gaza as well as long-range missiles from Yemen. No one in Israel has been hurt.
At least nine Palestinians were killed Wednesday in two separate Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza, medics said.
One strike hit a group of Palestinians gathered outside a charity providing hot meals in the Nuseirat refugee camp. At least five people, including a woman and her adult daughter, were killed in the strike, according to the Awda hospital, which received the casualties.
A separate strike on a tent killed a father, mother and their daughter in the town of Zwaeida, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the nearby city of Deir al-Balah. The hospital said the explosion tore the man's body in half.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
In the town of Beit Lahiya, where a similar protest took place Tuesday, about 3,000 people demonstrated Wednesday, with many chanting “the people want the fall of Hamas.” In the hard-hit Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City, dozens of men chanted “Out, out out! Hamas get out!”
“Our children have been killed. Our houses have been destroyed,” said Abed Radwan, who said he joined the protest in Beit Lahiya “against the war, against Hamas, and the (Palestinian political) factions, against Israel and against the world's silence.”
“You too should demand the removal of Hamas from Gaza and the immediate release of all Israeli hostages. That is the only way to stop the war,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday.
One Palestinian who protested on Tuesday told The Associated Press they regretted participating because of Israeli media coverage, which emphasized the opposition to Hamas.
The protester, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said they joined the demonstration in the heavily destroyed northern town of Jabaliya because “everyone failed us.”
They said they chanted against Israel, Hamas, the Western-backed Palestinian Authority and Arab mediators. They said there were no Hamas security forces at the protest but scuffles broke out between supporters and opponents of the group.
Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim, in a post on Facebook, wrote that people had the right to protest but that their focus should be on the “criminal aggressor,” Israel.
“The exploitation of these tragic human conditions is rejected and denounced, either to pass on dubious political agendas or to drop responsibility for the criminal aggressor, which is the occupation and its army,” he wrote.
The militant group has violently cracked down on previous protests. This time no outright intervention was apparent, perhaps because Hamas is keeping a lower profile since Israel resumed the war.
The United Nations Population Fund said Israel's ongoing aid blockade into Gaza is creating a critical shortage of maternal health supplies. They include much needed drugs for pregnancy and to prevent deaths and complications during childbirth.
Since the beginning of the month, Israel has cut off the entry of all food and other goods into Gaza, and last week resumed bombardment as it tries to pressure Hamas to accept its demands to extend the January ceasefire.
UNFPA said its supplies are languishing at the border, including more than 50 ultrasounds to monitor fetal health, nine incubators and 350 midwifery kits to help during deliveries, impacting more than 15,000 women.
The group said pregnant women and newborns in Gaza are facing higher than normal rates of complications, driven by widespread malnutrition, which is being compounded by the aid blockade. Since the blockade around 520 babies — one in five —have required advanced medical care that is increasingly scarce, it said.
Lawyers representing a Gaza hospital director detained in an Israeli raid late last year say an Israeli court has extended his detention for another six months.
Israeli troops detained Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya when they raided Kamal Adwan Hospital in December. He was held without access to a lawyer for 47 days and has not been charged, according to Al Mezan, a human rights group representing him in court.
Al Mezan said the Beersheba District Court issued the order extending his detention on Tuesday. It said prosecutors submitted secret evidence alleging he is a threat to Israeli security, allegations he denies. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Israel has raided hospitals in Gaza on several occasions during the 17-month war with Hamas, accusing the militant group of using them for military purposes. Hospital staff deny the allegations and accuse Israel of recklessly endangering civilians.
An Israeli co-director of an Oscar-winning film about settler violence said the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences refused to publicly condemn the beating and detention of the Palestinian co-director by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the occupied West Bank.
Writing on X, Yuval Abraham, co-director of “No Other Land,” wrote that several members of the academy, which awards the Oscars, advocated in vain for the group to make a statement denouncing the attack on Hamdan Ballal. He said he was told that the academy would not denounce the attack because it involved other Palestinians.
“In other words, while Hamdan was clearly targeted for making No Other Land … he was also targeted for being Palestinian — like countless others every day who are disregarded. This, it seems, gave the Academy an excuse to remain silent when a filmmaker they honored, living under Israeli occupation, needed them the most,” wrote Abraham.
He noted that the European Academy had voiced solidarity with Ballal following the attack and said it was not too late for the American Academy to do the same. The military has denied that Ballal was beaten.
Palestinians chanted against Hamas during an anti-war protest in the Gaza Strip, according to videos circulating online. It was a rare show of public anger against the militant group, which has long repressed dissent and still rules the territory 17 months into the war with Israel.
The videos, which appeared to be authentic, showed hundreds of people taking part in an anti-war protest in the heavily destroyed northern town of Beit Lahiya on Tuesday. People held signs saying “Stop the war,” “We refuse to die,” and “The blood of our children is not cheap.”
Some could be heard chanting: “Hamas out!” Other videos appeared to show Hamas supporters dispersing the crowds.
A similar protest occurred in the heavily destroyed area of Jabaliya on Tuesday, according to witnesses.
The Israeli military has ordered the evacuation of parts of Gaza City as it steps up its renewed offensive against Hamas.
The latest orders issued Wednesday apply to Zeitoun, Tel al-Hawa and other neighborhoods where Israeli forces have carried out previous operations during the 17-month war. The military said it will soon respond to rocket fire from the area and ordered residents to move south.
Israel broke its ceasefire with Hamas last week when it launched a surprise wave of strikes that killed hundreds of Palestinians.
It has vowed to increase military pressure until Hamas returns the remaining 59 hostages it holds – 24 of whom are believed to be alive. Israel has also demanded that Hamas disarm and send its leaders into exile.
Hamas has said it will not release the remaining hostages without a lasting ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
The war was triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel, in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. Israel's retaliatory war has killed over 50,000 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count but says women and children make up over half the dead.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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Actor Sadia Khateeb is garnering rave reviews for her performance in The Diplomat. The actor plays the role of an Indian Muslim woman stuck in Pakistan in the film, which also stars John Abraham. In an interview with The Indian Express, Sadia revealed that she was initially offered the lead role in Laila Majnu but she missed the part because she blocked the number of the casting call. (Also read: John Abraham says he ‘started his life with Shah Rukh Khan'. Here's how)
When asked whether it is true that she was first offered the part of Laila in the romantic drama film, Sadia said, “That's how it all started. I was an engineering student. I'm from Jammu & Kashmir, and had no background in acting. They asked me to play Laila and I blocked the number, thinking it's a fake call. Imagine if you're living in a small town, would you have any idea who's actually casting in Mumbai? It can be human trafficking!”
Laila's role went to actor Triptii Dimri. The film also starred Avinash Tiwary.
The actor also said that she did not meet the real person on whom her character is based in the film. “After the film released, I met her for the first time at a promotional podcast. My director was very sure that he didn't want me to meet her because he asked me to do what the script wants. I just followed the human emotions, considered what I'd have done had I been trapped in the same situation, and listening to my director who had his own vision. He had met Uzma, he knew more about the character. Whatever he narrated, I put my insights into it, went ahead and lived it,” she added.
Set against the backdrop of India–Pakistan relations and exploring themes of diplomacy and the personal conflicts faced by diplomats, The Diplomat also stars Sharib Hashmi, Kumud Mishra, and Revathy in key roles. It is directed by Shivam Nair.
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President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a 25 per cent tariff on auto imports, saying it would boost domestic manufacturing and generate $100 billion annually.
“This will continue to spur growth. We will effectively be charging a 25 per cent tariff,” Donald Trump told reporters.
With the tariff taking effect from April 3, automakers could face rising costs and lower sales. However, Trump expects the move to drive factory openings in the United States and eliminate what he calls a “ridiculous” supply chain spanning the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Emphasising his stance, he said, “This is permanent.”
Trump has consistently maintained that auto import tariffs are a key policy of his presidency, expecting the added costs to push more production to the United States and reduce the budget deficit.
“We are looking at much higher vehicle prices. We are going to see reduced choice... These kinds of taxes fall more heavily on the middle and working class,” Mary Lovely, an economist and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics told news agency Associated Press.
Lovely added that more households would be priced out of the new car market, where prices already average about $49,000, forcing them to hold on to ageing vehicles.
The United States imported nearly 8 million cars and light trucks last year, valued at $244 billion, with Mexico, Japan, and South Korea as the top sources. Auto parts imports totaled over $197 billion, primarily from Mexico, Canada, and China, according to the commerce department.
Revenue generation: The White House expects these tariffs to generate around $100 billion annually. The administration believes that this revenue can help reduce the budget deficit and support American industries, but experts warn that increased costs could hurt consumer demand and economic growth.
Higher car prices: If automakers pass the full tariff cost onto buyers, the price of an imported vehicle could rise by around $12,500. With the average new car price already near $49,000, middle-class consumers may struggle to afford new vehicles.
Manufacturing shift: The Trump administration claims the tariffs will encourage automakers to move production to the US, creating jobs. Trump cited Hyundai's $5.8 billion steel plant in Louisiana as proof that his policies are working.
Long-term uncertainty: While the White House argues tariffs will strengthen the US auto industry, restructuring supply chains takes time. In the short term, automakers and consumers could face higher costs, and job losses may take place before any benefits materialise.
Impact on automakers: US and foreign carmakers rely on global supply chains, with many parts made in Mexico, Canada, and Asia. Automakers must now either absorb higher costs, pass them on to consumers, or restructure manufacturing, which could take years.
Market response: General Motors' stock fell nearly 3 per cent, Stellantis (owner of Jeep and Chrysler) dropped 3.6 per cent, while Ford saw a slight increase following Trump's announcement. Investors are wary of the long-term effects on profitability.
Global backlash: Leaders from Canada and the European Union (EU) criticised the tariffs, warning of economic disruptions. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed to defend Canadian businesses, while the EU warned of damage to consumers and trade ties.
Retaliation risk: The tariffs could trigger a global trade war, with other nations imposing countermeasures. The EU has already threatened a 50 per cent tariff on US spirits, and Trump responded with a potential 200 per cent tax on European alcohol.
Tax deduction plan: Trump proposed a new tax incentive to offset higher car costs. He suggested allowing buyers to deduct interest on auto loans from their federal income taxes, but only for vehicles made in the US.
Trade impact: Economists warn that these tariffs could fuel inflation and limit consumer choices. They are part of Trump's broader economic policy, which includes tariffs on steel, aluminum, computer chips, and energy products.
As figure skating's world championships began in Boston, a ceremony was held in honor of the 28 members of the sport's community who died in January's midair collision
The lights dimmed, the arena fell silent and a sport took a collective breath. On Wednesday night at TD Garden, the world figure skating championships paused between events for something far more profound than medals or scores: a solemn tribute to the 28 members of the skating community who died in January when American Eagle flight 5342 crashed into the Potomac River.
Held after the women's short program and before the start of the pairs' short program, the ceremony honored the skaters, coaches and parents who were returning from a development camp held in conjunction with the US figure skating championships in Wichita, Kansas.
Flight 5342 had lifted off from a wintry runway in southeast Kansas, carrying dozens of young skaters, their coaches and parents who had just attended a US Figure Skating development camp following nationals. Many had posted about what they'd learned – new jumps, spins, friendships. They never got the chance to bring that energy home. On final approach to Washington DC, the regional jet collided with a military helicopter, killing all 67 people aboard.
Schedule
All times EST.
Wed 26 Mar
• Women's Short, 12.05pm (Peacock)
• Women's Short, 3pm (USA Network)
• Remembrance Ceremony, 6.15pm (Peacock)
• Pairs' Short, 6.45pm (Peacock)
Thu 27 Mar
• Men's Short, 11.05am (Peacock)
• Men's Short, 3pm (USA Network)
• Pairs' Free, 6.15pm (Peacock)
• Pairs' Free, 8pm (USA Network)
Fri 28 Mar
• Rhythm Dance, 11.15am (Peacock)
• Rhythm Dance, 3pm (USA Network)
• Women's Free, 6pm (Peacock)
• Women's Free, 8pm (NBC/Peacock)
Sat 29 Mar
• Free Dance, 1.30pm (Peacock)
• Free Dance, 3pm (USA Network)
• Men's Free, 6pm (Peacock)
• Men's Free, 8pm (NBC/Peacock)
Sun 30 Mar
• Exhibition Gala, 2pm (Peacock)
How to watch outside the US
United Kingdom
As of last year, Premier Sports holds the broadcasting rights for the World Figure Skating Championships in the UK, with coverage extending until 2028. To watch the championships, you'll need a subscription to Premier Sports, which offers live coverage of the events. You can subscribe through their official website or via certain TV providers that include Premier Sports in their packages.
Australia
SBS provides live and free coverage of the World Figure Skating Championships in Australia through SBS On Demand.
Among the victims were two young athletes from Boston – Jinna Han, 13, and Spencer Lane, 16 – their mothers, along with revered Olympic coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov. The tragedy cut across generations and geographies: 11 of the dead were skaters between the ages of 11 and 16. The city of Boston, long a historic hub for American skating, became its emotional epicenter.
“Someone once told me time is a great healer,” said International Skating Union president Jae Youl Kim during the memorial. “But for those who have experienced deep loss, we know that time does not simply erase pain. For many of us, it feels like we are frozen in time.”
Doug Lane, whose son Spencer and wife Christine were among those killed, stood before a hushed crowd of thousands at TD Garden and offered a message that blended grief with resolve.
“They haven't really invented the vocabulary to talk about the grief that we're all feeling,” Lane said. “So what I thought I would do with my time today is share a few thoughts of hope.”
He called on the audience to support the young skaters who are still here – those who are grieving and still lacing up their skates each day. “They're hurting,” he said. “I hope we can support them in their skating journeys, but I also hope we can help them find paths of happiness and impact off the ice as well.”
Lane also addressed the systemic failures that may have led to the crash. “Even a layperson like me can easily identify the breakdowns that allowed this to happen,” he said. “But rather than look for blame, I hope we can work with our elected officials to make air travel safer for everyone.”
The 20-minute tribute included a video montage of the victims, poetry read by US Figure Skating's interim CEO Sam Auxier, before concluding with live performance from Boston's Coro Allegro Choir. Massachusetts governor Maura Healey and Boston mayor Michelle Wu both addressed the gathering. The audience, including many moved to tears, rose for a standing ovation when it finished.
At the renowned Skating Club of Boston, which produced such champions as Dick Button, Tenley Albright and Nancy Kerrigan and where the six local victims trained and taught, an impromptu memorial remains: two folding chairs that once belonged to Jinna Han and Spencer Lane are now covered in cards, flowers, photos, and stuffed animals. The space is roped off – not by the club, but by the skaters themselves.
“The kids insisted,” said Doug Zeghibe, the club's chief executive. “It's their way of keeping Spencer and Jinna close.”
Earlier this month, a gala tribute in Washington DC brought generations of figure skating stars together. Legacy on Ice featured performances by Kristi Yamaguchi, Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano, Amber Glenn and reigning world champion Ilia Malinin. Thirteen-year-old Isabella Aparicio skated in honor of her father and brother, Franco and Luciano, who were killed. Max Naumov – whose parents, Shishkova and Naumov, died in the crash – performed in their memory.
“They're not here right now, but they'll always be here,” Naumov told NBC Sports. “It's not just me anymore. It's our family. I have the strength of two other people with me forever.”
The Washington gala raised more than $1.2m for victims' families and first responders. Malinin, too, has spoken openly about how the crash affected him. Several of the young skaters killed trained at the same rink as the 20-year-old US champion.
“Now I'll always have them in my head and in my heart,” Malinin said. “This worlds, I really want to dedicate to everyone on that flight. I want to give my all in that performance and really make it special for them.”
Though grief was front and center on Wednesday night, the world championships now turn toward the ice. The event also serves as a critical qualifying step toward the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, with national quotas on the line and international rivalries heating up – even as one of skating's most dominant nations remains sidelined. Russian skaters are still barred from international competition due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, now in its third year.
Malinin enters as the overwhelming favorite in the men's event. Known as the Quad God for his boundary-pushing jumps, he's looking to defend his world title on home ice. His challengers include France's Adam Siao Him Fa and Japan's Yuma Kagiyama.
In the women's event, the Japanese star Kaori Sakamoto's bid for a fourth straight world title hit a snag earlier Wednesday when she finished the short program in fifth place behind surprise leader Alysa Liu, back on the world championships stage following a two-year retirement. American Amber Glenn, who entered Boston undefeated this season, was ninth after falling on her opening triple Axel, but honored the crash victims by holding up a T-shirt emblazoned with their names during her post-skate interview.
The pairs field remains wide open, and in ice dance, Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates are seeking a third consecutive world title. That would mark the first three-peat at worlds in the discipline in 28 years.
Still, for many, these world championships will never be just about competition.
“The kids are back on the ice,” Zeghibe said. “But they're skating with a deeper purpose.”
The lights came up harshly after the tribute. The music swelled and the competition resumed. But for those who lost friends, coaches and teammates this winter, the ice will never quite feel the same.
“February was hard,” as Zeghibe put it. “March has been a little better. And it's all our hope that April will be better still.”
With only two years separating their official births, Israel and Syria have never known a time when they weren't at odds. Since 1948, the Syrian Arab Republic participated in every major war against the State of Israel, proudly raising the flag of resistance.Even after signing the 1974 armistice agreement, Syria aligned itself with Iran and Hezbollah, continuing its aggression against Israel through Lebanon and acting as a base for Tehran's proxies. However, Syria reached a historic turning point on December 8 with the fall of president Bashar al-Assad's regime and his subsequent flight to Moscow, raising critical questions about Syria's future, domestically and in terms of regional and international relations.The new administration in Syria quickly sought to reassure the world and its neighbors, including Israel, that it would not pursue further conflict. Instead, it sought to introduce a pragmatic agenda focused on power-sharing, minority rights, and economic development, which are critically needed in a war-torn country. This shift seemed to offer an opportunity to reshape regional relations. Yet, Israel's response – launching airstrikes on Syrian military sites, moving forces toward Damascus, and aligning with some of Syria's minority groups – raised doubts about Israel's intentions.Could this new chapter in Syria's transformation pave the way for a new relationship between these two rival states, or would it lead to further cycles of fear, conflict, and suspicion, pushing them deeper into confrontation? Could a carefully crafted policy help transition an old conflict into a new framework of relations between the two countries, or will a momentum of war prevail, transitioning the conflict into the new Syrian reality of continuous war between Syria and Israel?IDF soldiers gather near the ceasefire line between Syria and Israel, in the Golan Heights, December 9, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)Since the Hamas attack on October 7 and up until the fall of Assad's regime, many Syrians developed a more positive view of Israel. This shift in perception was largely due to Israel's indirect role in weakening the Syrian regime through striking its allies, Iran and Hezbollah. Through targeted airstrikes that destroyed military sites and killed numerous top leaders, Israel significantly drained the strength of Assad's forces.However, Israel's continued hostile policies toward the Syrian people, including its military occupation of new territories and public support for minorities – mainly the Druze and Kurds – suggested a lack of interest in building bridges of trust with the new Syrian government. Instead of fostering reconciliation, Israel seemed to be taking sides in Syria's internal conflicts. New Syrian leadership must avoid escalating tensions with IsraelTO AN outside observer, it seemed that Israel would attempt to recognize the significance of the moment and seize the historic opportunity to reassess its relations with Syria's Sunni majority.Israel has long been concerned that Syria could fall under the rule of an ideologically driven Islamic government with hostile views toward it, especially with groups like Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which Israel considers a terrorist organization. The violent killings in Syria's coastal regions, although perpetrated by Assad loyalists with ties to Iran, did little to reassure Israel that the new Syrian government was either pragmatic enough to fulfill its promises or strong enough to assert control.Israel fears the formation of a Sunni alliance led by Turkey and Qatar in Syria, which could mirror the hostility of Iran's Shi'ite axis. The growing Turkish influence in Syria, along with the possibility of Turkish military bases on Syrian soil, prompted Israel to turn to the United States, urging it to maintain a Russian military presence in Syria to curb Turkish influence. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now This also prompted Israel to offer a “minority alliance” despite the distance of both the Kurds and Druze from its soil and regardless of the fact that the same minority groups have actually tied themselves to the new central government of Syria.Israel's active policy, combined with American indifference, presents significant challenges for Syria's new government as it attempts to rebuild a war-torn nation. In this context, the Syrian leadership must take proactive measures to avoid escalating tensions with Israel. Despite the provocations, Damascus must take steps to allay Israeli fears, even if these actions require painful compromises or strategic sacrifices.One immediate step for Damascus would be to open direct communication channels with Israel, bypassing intermediaries who might miss critical details. Additionally, Syria should swiftly endorse the Arab Peace Initiative, signaling a commitment to peace and aligning with the Arab moderation axis led by Saudi Arabia. Syria must also exercise caution in its public statements and appointments. Any language that could provoke Israel should be avoided, as should the appointment of controversial figures or those with explicitly anti-Israel agendas. Additionally, hosting Arab or Islamic personalities linked to groups like Hamas and the Iranian axis would further inflame tensions.View of the Israeli border fence with Syria, in northern Israel, December 8, 2024 (credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)Syria and Israel have the opportunity to reshape relationsGIVEN THE country's fragile condition, Syria must adopt a flexible, patient approach to these sensitive issues. Syria is simply not in a position to bear the cost of another war, particularly after the devastation it has already suffered. Damascus could learn from the experiences of other countries, like Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, endured significant diplomatic insults to protect his country's core interests.Syria and Israel stand at a historic crossroads, with the potential to reshape their relations. However, achieving progress toward peace and stability will require effort from both sides. Israel must abandon its policy of intimidation, hostility, and minority-led policy and instead build trust with Syria's Sunni majority.In return, Syria's new government must take proactive steps to ease Israel's concerns, adopting diplomatic policies that promote regional stability and engaging in direct dialogue that could lead to strategic gains for all parties involved.While it is often easier to identify the threats and not the opportunities, a move toward engagement and recognition could provide significant gains to both countries.For Syria, it could bring economic opportunities and solutions for some of its critical problems, considering Israel's infrastructure and technological edge. A successful move toward Israel could positively influence the international positioning of Syria's new government and convince other stakeholders of its ability to pursue a more pragmatic policy line.For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
Even after signing the 1974 armistice agreement, Syria aligned itself with Iran and Hezbollah, continuing its aggression against Israel through Lebanon and acting as a base for Tehran's proxies. However, Syria reached a historic turning point on December 8 with the fall of president Bashar al-Assad's regime and his subsequent flight to Moscow, raising critical questions about Syria's future, domestically and in terms of regional and international relations.The new administration in Syria quickly sought to reassure the world and its neighbors, including Israel, that it would not pursue further conflict. Instead, it sought to introduce a pragmatic agenda focused on power-sharing, minority rights, and economic development, which are critically needed in a war-torn country. This shift seemed to offer an opportunity to reshape regional relations. Yet, Israel's response – launching airstrikes on Syrian military sites, moving forces toward Damascus, and aligning with some of Syria's minority groups – raised doubts about Israel's intentions.Could this new chapter in Syria's transformation pave the way for a new relationship between these two rival states, or would it lead to further cycles of fear, conflict, and suspicion, pushing them deeper into confrontation? Could a carefully crafted policy help transition an old conflict into a new framework of relations between the two countries, or will a momentum of war prevail, transitioning the conflict into the new Syrian reality of continuous war between Syria and Israel?IDF soldiers gather near the ceasefire line between Syria and Israel, in the Golan Heights, December 9, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)Since the Hamas attack on October 7 and up until the fall of Assad's regime, many Syrians developed a more positive view of Israel. This shift in perception was largely due to Israel's indirect role in weakening the Syrian regime through striking its allies, Iran and Hezbollah. Through targeted airstrikes that destroyed military sites and killed numerous top leaders, Israel significantly drained the strength of Assad's forces.However, Israel's continued hostile policies toward the Syrian people, including its military occupation of new territories and public support for minorities – mainly the Druze and Kurds – suggested a lack of interest in building bridges of trust with the new Syrian government. Instead of fostering reconciliation, Israel seemed to be taking sides in Syria's internal conflicts. New Syrian leadership must avoid escalating tensions with IsraelTO AN outside observer, it seemed that Israel would attempt to recognize the significance of the moment and seize the historic opportunity to reassess its relations with Syria's Sunni majority.Israel has long been concerned that Syria could fall under the rule of an ideologically driven Islamic government with hostile views toward it, especially with groups like Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which Israel considers a terrorist organization. The violent killings in Syria's coastal regions, although perpetrated by Assad loyalists with ties to Iran, did little to reassure Israel that the new Syrian government was either pragmatic enough to fulfill its promises or strong enough to assert control.Israel fears the formation of a Sunni alliance led by Turkey and Qatar in Syria, which could mirror the hostility of Iran's Shi'ite axis. The growing Turkish influence in Syria, along with the possibility of Turkish military bases on Syrian soil, prompted Israel to turn to the United States, urging it to maintain a Russian military presence in Syria to curb Turkish influence. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now This also prompted Israel to offer a “minority alliance” despite the distance of both the Kurds and Druze from its soil and regardless of the fact that the same minority groups have actually tied themselves to the new central government of Syria.Israel's active policy, combined with American indifference, presents significant challenges for Syria's new government as it attempts to rebuild a war-torn nation. In this context, the Syrian leadership must take proactive measures to avoid escalating tensions with Israel. Despite the provocations, Damascus must take steps to allay Israeli fears, even if these actions require painful compromises or strategic sacrifices.One immediate step for Damascus would be to open direct communication channels with Israel, bypassing intermediaries who might miss critical details. Additionally, Syria should swiftly endorse the Arab Peace Initiative, signaling a commitment to peace and aligning with the Arab moderation axis led by Saudi Arabia. Syria must also exercise caution in its public statements and appointments. Any language that could provoke Israel should be avoided, as should the appointment of controversial figures or those with explicitly anti-Israel agendas. Additionally, hosting Arab or Islamic personalities linked to groups like Hamas and the Iranian axis would further inflame tensions.View of the Israeli border fence with Syria, in northern Israel, December 8, 2024 (credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)Syria and Israel have the opportunity to reshape relationsGIVEN THE country's fragile condition, Syria must adopt a flexible, patient approach to these sensitive issues. Syria is simply not in a position to bear the cost of another war, particularly after the devastation it has already suffered. Damascus could learn from the experiences of other countries, like Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, endured significant diplomatic insults to protect his country's core interests.Syria and Israel stand at a historic crossroads, with the potential to reshape their relations. However, achieving progress toward peace and stability will require effort from both sides. Israel must abandon its policy of intimidation, hostility, and minority-led policy and instead build trust with Syria's Sunni majority.In return, Syria's new government must take proactive steps to ease Israel's concerns, adopting diplomatic policies that promote regional stability and engaging in direct dialogue that could lead to strategic gains for all parties involved.While it is often easier to identify the threats and not the opportunities, a move toward engagement and recognition could provide significant gains to both countries.For Syria, it could bring economic opportunities and solutions for some of its critical problems, considering Israel's infrastructure and technological edge. A successful move toward Israel could positively influence the international positioning of Syria's new government and convince other stakeholders of its ability to pursue a more pragmatic policy line.For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
The new administration in Syria quickly sought to reassure the world and its neighbors, including Israel, that it would not pursue further conflict. Instead, it sought to introduce a pragmatic agenda focused on power-sharing, minority rights, and economic development, which are critically needed in a war-torn country. This shift seemed to offer an opportunity to reshape regional relations. Yet, Israel's response – launching airstrikes on Syrian military sites, moving forces toward Damascus, and aligning with some of Syria's minority groups – raised doubts about Israel's intentions.Could this new chapter in Syria's transformation pave the way for a new relationship between these two rival states, or would it lead to further cycles of fear, conflict, and suspicion, pushing them deeper into confrontation? Could a carefully crafted policy help transition an old conflict into a new framework of relations between the two countries, or will a momentum of war prevail, transitioning the conflict into the new Syrian reality of continuous war between Syria and Israel?IDF soldiers gather near the ceasefire line between Syria and Israel, in the Golan Heights, December 9, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)Since the Hamas attack on October 7 and up until the fall of Assad's regime, many Syrians developed a more positive view of Israel. This shift in perception was largely due to Israel's indirect role in weakening the Syrian regime through striking its allies, Iran and Hezbollah. Through targeted airstrikes that destroyed military sites and killed numerous top leaders, Israel significantly drained the strength of Assad's forces.However, Israel's continued hostile policies toward the Syrian people, including its military occupation of new territories and public support for minorities – mainly the Druze and Kurds – suggested a lack of interest in building bridges of trust with the new Syrian government. Instead of fostering reconciliation, Israel seemed to be taking sides in Syria's internal conflicts. New Syrian leadership must avoid escalating tensions with IsraelTO AN outside observer, it seemed that Israel would attempt to recognize the significance of the moment and seize the historic opportunity to reassess its relations with Syria's Sunni majority.Israel has long been concerned that Syria could fall under the rule of an ideologically driven Islamic government with hostile views toward it, especially with groups like Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which Israel considers a terrorist organization. The violent killings in Syria's coastal regions, although perpetrated by Assad loyalists with ties to Iran, did little to reassure Israel that the new Syrian government was either pragmatic enough to fulfill its promises or strong enough to assert control.Israel fears the formation of a Sunni alliance led by Turkey and Qatar in Syria, which could mirror the hostility of Iran's Shi'ite axis. The growing Turkish influence in Syria, along with the possibility of Turkish military bases on Syrian soil, prompted Israel to turn to the United States, urging it to maintain a Russian military presence in Syria to curb Turkish influence. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now This also prompted Israel to offer a “minority alliance” despite the distance of both the Kurds and Druze from its soil and regardless of the fact that the same minority groups have actually tied themselves to the new central government of Syria.Israel's active policy, combined with American indifference, presents significant challenges for Syria's new government as it attempts to rebuild a war-torn nation. In this context, the Syrian leadership must take proactive measures to avoid escalating tensions with Israel. Despite the provocations, Damascus must take steps to allay Israeli fears, even if these actions require painful compromises or strategic sacrifices.One immediate step for Damascus would be to open direct communication channels with Israel, bypassing intermediaries who might miss critical details. Additionally, Syria should swiftly endorse the Arab Peace Initiative, signaling a commitment to peace and aligning with the Arab moderation axis led by Saudi Arabia. Syria must also exercise caution in its public statements and appointments. Any language that could provoke Israel should be avoided, as should the appointment of controversial figures or those with explicitly anti-Israel agendas. Additionally, hosting Arab or Islamic personalities linked to groups like Hamas and the Iranian axis would further inflame tensions.View of the Israeli border fence with Syria, in northern Israel, December 8, 2024 (credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)Syria and Israel have the opportunity to reshape relationsGIVEN THE country's fragile condition, Syria must adopt a flexible, patient approach to these sensitive issues. Syria is simply not in a position to bear the cost of another war, particularly after the devastation it has already suffered. Damascus could learn from the experiences of other countries, like Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, endured significant diplomatic insults to protect his country's core interests.Syria and Israel stand at a historic crossroads, with the potential to reshape their relations. However, achieving progress toward peace and stability will require effort from both sides. Israel must abandon its policy of intimidation, hostility, and minority-led policy and instead build trust with Syria's Sunni majority.In return, Syria's new government must take proactive steps to ease Israel's concerns, adopting diplomatic policies that promote regional stability and engaging in direct dialogue that could lead to strategic gains for all parties involved.While it is often easier to identify the threats and not the opportunities, a move toward engagement and recognition could provide significant gains to both countries.For Syria, it could bring economic opportunities and solutions for some of its critical problems, considering Israel's infrastructure and technological edge. A successful move toward Israel could positively influence the international positioning of Syria's new government and convince other stakeholders of its ability to pursue a more pragmatic policy line.For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
This shift seemed to offer an opportunity to reshape regional relations. Yet, Israel's response – launching airstrikes on Syrian military sites, moving forces toward Damascus, and aligning with some of Syria's minority groups – raised doubts about Israel's intentions.Could this new chapter in Syria's transformation pave the way for a new relationship between these two rival states, or would it lead to further cycles of fear, conflict, and suspicion, pushing them deeper into confrontation? Could a carefully crafted policy help transition an old conflict into a new framework of relations between the two countries, or will a momentum of war prevail, transitioning the conflict into the new Syrian reality of continuous war between Syria and Israel?IDF soldiers gather near the ceasefire line between Syria and Israel, in the Golan Heights, December 9, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)Since the Hamas attack on October 7 and up until the fall of Assad's regime, many Syrians developed a more positive view of Israel. This shift in perception was largely due to Israel's indirect role in weakening the Syrian regime through striking its allies, Iran and Hezbollah. Through targeted airstrikes that destroyed military sites and killed numerous top leaders, Israel significantly drained the strength of Assad's forces.However, Israel's continued hostile policies toward the Syrian people, including its military occupation of new territories and public support for minorities – mainly the Druze and Kurds – suggested a lack of interest in building bridges of trust with the new Syrian government. Instead of fostering reconciliation, Israel seemed to be taking sides in Syria's internal conflicts. New Syrian leadership must avoid escalating tensions with IsraelTO AN outside observer, it seemed that Israel would attempt to recognize the significance of the moment and seize the historic opportunity to reassess its relations with Syria's Sunni majority.Israel has long been concerned that Syria could fall under the rule of an ideologically driven Islamic government with hostile views toward it, especially with groups like Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which Israel considers a terrorist organization. The violent killings in Syria's coastal regions, although perpetrated by Assad loyalists with ties to Iran, did little to reassure Israel that the new Syrian government was either pragmatic enough to fulfill its promises or strong enough to assert control.Israel fears the formation of a Sunni alliance led by Turkey and Qatar in Syria, which could mirror the hostility of Iran's Shi'ite axis. The growing Turkish influence in Syria, along with the possibility of Turkish military bases on Syrian soil, prompted Israel to turn to the United States, urging it to maintain a Russian military presence in Syria to curb Turkish influence. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now This also prompted Israel to offer a “minority alliance” despite the distance of both the Kurds and Druze from its soil and regardless of the fact that the same minority groups have actually tied themselves to the new central government of Syria.Israel's active policy, combined with American indifference, presents significant challenges for Syria's new government as it attempts to rebuild a war-torn nation. In this context, the Syrian leadership must take proactive measures to avoid escalating tensions with Israel. Despite the provocations, Damascus must take steps to allay Israeli fears, even if these actions require painful compromises or strategic sacrifices.One immediate step for Damascus would be to open direct communication channels with Israel, bypassing intermediaries who might miss critical details. Additionally, Syria should swiftly endorse the Arab Peace Initiative, signaling a commitment to peace and aligning with the Arab moderation axis led by Saudi Arabia. Syria must also exercise caution in its public statements and appointments. Any language that could provoke Israel should be avoided, as should the appointment of controversial figures or those with explicitly anti-Israel agendas. Additionally, hosting Arab or Islamic personalities linked to groups like Hamas and the Iranian axis would further inflame tensions.View of the Israeli border fence with Syria, in northern Israel, December 8, 2024 (credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)Syria and Israel have the opportunity to reshape relationsGIVEN THE country's fragile condition, Syria must adopt a flexible, patient approach to these sensitive issues. Syria is simply not in a position to bear the cost of another war, particularly after the devastation it has already suffered. Damascus could learn from the experiences of other countries, like Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, endured significant diplomatic insults to protect his country's core interests.Syria and Israel stand at a historic crossroads, with the potential to reshape their relations. However, achieving progress toward peace and stability will require effort from both sides. Israel must abandon its policy of intimidation, hostility, and minority-led policy and instead build trust with Syria's Sunni majority.In return, Syria's new government must take proactive steps to ease Israel's concerns, adopting diplomatic policies that promote regional stability and engaging in direct dialogue that could lead to strategic gains for all parties involved.While it is often easier to identify the threats and not the opportunities, a move toward engagement and recognition could provide significant gains to both countries.For Syria, it could bring economic opportunities and solutions for some of its critical problems, considering Israel's infrastructure and technological edge. A successful move toward Israel could positively influence the international positioning of Syria's new government and convince other stakeholders of its ability to pursue a more pragmatic policy line.For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
Could this new chapter in Syria's transformation pave the way for a new relationship between these two rival states, or would it lead to further cycles of fear, conflict, and suspicion, pushing them deeper into confrontation? Could a carefully crafted policy help transition an old conflict into a new framework of relations between the two countries, or will a momentum of war prevail, transitioning the conflict into the new Syrian reality of continuous war between Syria and Israel?IDF soldiers gather near the ceasefire line between Syria and Israel, in the Golan Heights, December 9, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)Since the Hamas attack on October 7 and up until the fall of Assad's regime, many Syrians developed a more positive view of Israel. This shift in perception was largely due to Israel's indirect role in weakening the Syrian regime through striking its allies, Iran and Hezbollah. Through targeted airstrikes that destroyed military sites and killed numerous top leaders, Israel significantly drained the strength of Assad's forces.However, Israel's continued hostile policies toward the Syrian people, including its military occupation of new territories and public support for minorities – mainly the Druze and Kurds – suggested a lack of interest in building bridges of trust with the new Syrian government. Instead of fostering reconciliation, Israel seemed to be taking sides in Syria's internal conflicts. New Syrian leadership must avoid escalating tensions with IsraelTO AN outside observer, it seemed that Israel would attempt to recognize the significance of the moment and seize the historic opportunity to reassess its relations with Syria's Sunni majority.Israel has long been concerned that Syria could fall under the rule of an ideologically driven Islamic government with hostile views toward it, especially with groups like Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which Israel considers a terrorist organization. The violent killings in Syria's coastal regions, although perpetrated by Assad loyalists with ties to Iran, did little to reassure Israel that the new Syrian government was either pragmatic enough to fulfill its promises or strong enough to assert control.Israel fears the formation of a Sunni alliance led by Turkey and Qatar in Syria, which could mirror the hostility of Iran's Shi'ite axis. The growing Turkish influence in Syria, along with the possibility of Turkish military bases on Syrian soil, prompted Israel to turn to the United States, urging it to maintain a Russian military presence in Syria to curb Turkish influence. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now This also prompted Israel to offer a “minority alliance” despite the distance of both the Kurds and Druze from its soil and regardless of the fact that the same minority groups have actually tied themselves to the new central government of Syria.Israel's active policy, combined with American indifference, presents significant challenges for Syria's new government as it attempts to rebuild a war-torn nation. In this context, the Syrian leadership must take proactive measures to avoid escalating tensions with Israel. Despite the provocations, Damascus must take steps to allay Israeli fears, even if these actions require painful compromises or strategic sacrifices.One immediate step for Damascus would be to open direct communication channels with Israel, bypassing intermediaries who might miss critical details. Additionally, Syria should swiftly endorse the Arab Peace Initiative, signaling a commitment to peace and aligning with the Arab moderation axis led by Saudi Arabia. Syria must also exercise caution in its public statements and appointments. Any language that could provoke Israel should be avoided, as should the appointment of controversial figures or those with explicitly anti-Israel agendas. Additionally, hosting Arab or Islamic personalities linked to groups like Hamas and the Iranian axis would further inflame tensions.View of the Israeli border fence with Syria, in northern Israel, December 8, 2024 (credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)Syria and Israel have the opportunity to reshape relationsGIVEN THE country's fragile condition, Syria must adopt a flexible, patient approach to these sensitive issues. Syria is simply not in a position to bear the cost of another war, particularly after the devastation it has already suffered. Damascus could learn from the experiences of other countries, like Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, endured significant diplomatic insults to protect his country's core interests.Syria and Israel stand at a historic crossroads, with the potential to reshape their relations. However, achieving progress toward peace and stability will require effort from both sides. Israel must abandon its policy of intimidation, hostility, and minority-led policy and instead build trust with Syria's Sunni majority.In return, Syria's new government must take proactive steps to ease Israel's concerns, adopting diplomatic policies that promote regional stability and engaging in direct dialogue that could lead to strategic gains for all parties involved.While it is often easier to identify the threats and not the opportunities, a move toward engagement and recognition could provide significant gains to both countries.For Syria, it could bring economic opportunities and solutions for some of its critical problems, considering Israel's infrastructure and technological edge. A successful move toward Israel could positively influence the international positioning of Syria's new government and convince other stakeholders of its ability to pursue a more pragmatic policy line.For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
Since the Hamas attack on October 7 and up until the fall of Assad's regime, many Syrians developed a more positive view of Israel. This shift in perception was largely due to Israel's indirect role in weakening the Syrian regime through striking its allies, Iran and Hezbollah. Through targeted airstrikes that destroyed military sites and killed numerous top leaders, Israel significantly drained the strength of Assad's forces.However, Israel's continued hostile policies toward the Syrian people, including its military occupation of new territories and public support for minorities – mainly the Druze and Kurds – suggested a lack of interest in building bridges of trust with the new Syrian government. Instead of fostering reconciliation, Israel seemed to be taking sides in Syria's internal conflicts. New Syrian leadership must avoid escalating tensions with IsraelTO AN outside observer, it seemed that Israel would attempt to recognize the significance of the moment and seize the historic opportunity to reassess its relations with Syria's Sunni majority.Israel has long been concerned that Syria could fall under the rule of an ideologically driven Islamic government with hostile views toward it, especially with groups like Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which Israel considers a terrorist organization. The violent killings in Syria's coastal regions, although perpetrated by Assad loyalists with ties to Iran, did little to reassure Israel that the new Syrian government was either pragmatic enough to fulfill its promises or strong enough to assert control.Israel fears the formation of a Sunni alliance led by Turkey and Qatar in Syria, which could mirror the hostility of Iran's Shi'ite axis. The growing Turkish influence in Syria, along with the possibility of Turkish military bases on Syrian soil, prompted Israel to turn to the United States, urging it to maintain a Russian military presence in Syria to curb Turkish influence. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now This also prompted Israel to offer a “minority alliance” despite the distance of both the Kurds and Druze from its soil and regardless of the fact that the same minority groups have actually tied themselves to the new central government of Syria.Israel's active policy, combined with American indifference, presents significant challenges for Syria's new government as it attempts to rebuild a war-torn nation. In this context, the Syrian leadership must take proactive measures to avoid escalating tensions with Israel. Despite the provocations, Damascus must take steps to allay Israeli fears, even if these actions require painful compromises or strategic sacrifices.One immediate step for Damascus would be to open direct communication channels with Israel, bypassing intermediaries who might miss critical details. Additionally, Syria should swiftly endorse the Arab Peace Initiative, signaling a commitment to peace and aligning with the Arab moderation axis led by Saudi Arabia. Syria must also exercise caution in its public statements and appointments. Any language that could provoke Israel should be avoided, as should the appointment of controversial figures or those with explicitly anti-Israel agendas. Additionally, hosting Arab or Islamic personalities linked to groups like Hamas and the Iranian axis would further inflame tensions.View of the Israeli border fence with Syria, in northern Israel, December 8, 2024 (credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)Syria and Israel have the opportunity to reshape relationsGIVEN THE country's fragile condition, Syria must adopt a flexible, patient approach to these sensitive issues. Syria is simply not in a position to bear the cost of another war, particularly after the devastation it has already suffered. Damascus could learn from the experiences of other countries, like Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, endured significant diplomatic insults to protect his country's core interests.Syria and Israel stand at a historic crossroads, with the potential to reshape their relations. However, achieving progress toward peace and stability will require effort from both sides. Israel must abandon its policy of intimidation, hostility, and minority-led policy and instead build trust with Syria's Sunni majority.In return, Syria's new government must take proactive steps to ease Israel's concerns, adopting diplomatic policies that promote regional stability and engaging in direct dialogue that could lead to strategic gains for all parties involved.While it is often easier to identify the threats and not the opportunities, a move toward engagement and recognition could provide significant gains to both countries.For Syria, it could bring economic opportunities and solutions for some of its critical problems, considering Israel's infrastructure and technological edge. A successful move toward Israel could positively influence the international positioning of Syria's new government and convince other stakeholders of its ability to pursue a more pragmatic policy line.For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
However, Israel's continued hostile policies toward the Syrian people, including its military occupation of new territories and public support for minorities – mainly the Druze and Kurds – suggested a lack of interest in building bridges of trust with the new Syrian government. Instead of fostering reconciliation, Israel seemed to be taking sides in Syria's internal conflicts. New Syrian leadership must avoid escalating tensions with IsraelTO AN outside observer, it seemed that Israel would attempt to recognize the significance of the moment and seize the historic opportunity to reassess its relations with Syria's Sunni majority.Israel has long been concerned that Syria could fall under the rule of an ideologically driven Islamic government with hostile views toward it, especially with groups like Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which Israel considers a terrorist organization. The violent killings in Syria's coastal regions, although perpetrated by Assad loyalists with ties to Iran, did little to reassure Israel that the new Syrian government was either pragmatic enough to fulfill its promises or strong enough to assert control.Israel fears the formation of a Sunni alliance led by Turkey and Qatar in Syria, which could mirror the hostility of Iran's Shi'ite axis. The growing Turkish influence in Syria, along with the possibility of Turkish military bases on Syrian soil, prompted Israel to turn to the United States, urging it to maintain a Russian military presence in Syria to curb Turkish influence. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now This also prompted Israel to offer a “minority alliance” despite the distance of both the Kurds and Druze from its soil and regardless of the fact that the same minority groups have actually tied themselves to the new central government of Syria.Israel's active policy, combined with American indifference, presents significant challenges for Syria's new government as it attempts to rebuild a war-torn nation. In this context, the Syrian leadership must take proactive measures to avoid escalating tensions with Israel. Despite the provocations, Damascus must take steps to allay Israeli fears, even if these actions require painful compromises or strategic sacrifices.One immediate step for Damascus would be to open direct communication channels with Israel, bypassing intermediaries who might miss critical details. Additionally, Syria should swiftly endorse the Arab Peace Initiative, signaling a commitment to peace and aligning with the Arab moderation axis led by Saudi Arabia. Syria must also exercise caution in its public statements and appointments. Any language that could provoke Israel should be avoided, as should the appointment of controversial figures or those with explicitly anti-Israel agendas. Additionally, hosting Arab or Islamic personalities linked to groups like Hamas and the Iranian axis would further inflame tensions.View of the Israeli border fence with Syria, in northern Israel, December 8, 2024 (credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)Syria and Israel have the opportunity to reshape relationsGIVEN THE country's fragile condition, Syria must adopt a flexible, patient approach to these sensitive issues. Syria is simply not in a position to bear the cost of another war, particularly after the devastation it has already suffered. Damascus could learn from the experiences of other countries, like Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, endured significant diplomatic insults to protect his country's core interests.Syria and Israel stand at a historic crossroads, with the potential to reshape their relations. However, achieving progress toward peace and stability will require effort from both sides. Israel must abandon its policy of intimidation, hostility, and minority-led policy and instead build trust with Syria's Sunni majority.In return, Syria's new government must take proactive steps to ease Israel's concerns, adopting diplomatic policies that promote regional stability and engaging in direct dialogue that could lead to strategic gains for all parties involved.While it is often easier to identify the threats and not the opportunities, a move toward engagement and recognition could provide significant gains to both countries.For Syria, it could bring economic opportunities and solutions for some of its critical problems, considering Israel's infrastructure and technological edge. A successful move toward Israel could positively influence the international positioning of Syria's new government and convince other stakeholders of its ability to pursue a more pragmatic policy line.For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
TO AN outside observer, it seemed that Israel would attempt to recognize the significance of the moment and seize the historic opportunity to reassess its relations with Syria's Sunni majority.Israel has long been concerned that Syria could fall under the rule of an ideologically driven Islamic government with hostile views toward it, especially with groups like Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which Israel considers a terrorist organization. The violent killings in Syria's coastal regions, although perpetrated by Assad loyalists with ties to Iran, did little to reassure Israel that the new Syrian government was either pragmatic enough to fulfill its promises or strong enough to assert control.Israel fears the formation of a Sunni alliance led by Turkey and Qatar in Syria, which could mirror the hostility of Iran's Shi'ite axis. The growing Turkish influence in Syria, along with the possibility of Turkish military bases on Syrian soil, prompted Israel to turn to the United States, urging it to maintain a Russian military presence in Syria to curb Turkish influence. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now This also prompted Israel to offer a “minority alliance” despite the distance of both the Kurds and Druze from its soil and regardless of the fact that the same minority groups have actually tied themselves to the new central government of Syria.Israel's active policy, combined with American indifference, presents significant challenges for Syria's new government as it attempts to rebuild a war-torn nation. In this context, the Syrian leadership must take proactive measures to avoid escalating tensions with Israel. Despite the provocations, Damascus must take steps to allay Israeli fears, even if these actions require painful compromises or strategic sacrifices.One immediate step for Damascus would be to open direct communication channels with Israel, bypassing intermediaries who might miss critical details. Additionally, Syria should swiftly endorse the Arab Peace Initiative, signaling a commitment to peace and aligning with the Arab moderation axis led by Saudi Arabia. Syria must also exercise caution in its public statements and appointments. Any language that could provoke Israel should be avoided, as should the appointment of controversial figures or those with explicitly anti-Israel agendas. Additionally, hosting Arab or Islamic personalities linked to groups like Hamas and the Iranian axis would further inflame tensions.View of the Israeli border fence with Syria, in northern Israel, December 8, 2024 (credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)Syria and Israel have the opportunity to reshape relationsGIVEN THE country's fragile condition, Syria must adopt a flexible, patient approach to these sensitive issues. Syria is simply not in a position to bear the cost of another war, particularly after the devastation it has already suffered. Damascus could learn from the experiences of other countries, like Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, endured significant diplomatic insults to protect his country's core interests.Syria and Israel stand at a historic crossroads, with the potential to reshape their relations. However, achieving progress toward peace and stability will require effort from both sides. Israel must abandon its policy of intimidation, hostility, and minority-led policy and instead build trust with Syria's Sunni majority.In return, Syria's new government must take proactive steps to ease Israel's concerns, adopting diplomatic policies that promote regional stability and engaging in direct dialogue that could lead to strategic gains for all parties involved.While it is often easier to identify the threats and not the opportunities, a move toward engagement and recognition could provide significant gains to both countries.For Syria, it could bring economic opportunities and solutions for some of its critical problems, considering Israel's infrastructure and technological edge. A successful move toward Israel could positively influence the international positioning of Syria's new government and convince other stakeholders of its ability to pursue a more pragmatic policy line.For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
Israel has long been concerned that Syria could fall under the rule of an ideologically driven Islamic government with hostile views toward it, especially with groups like Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which Israel considers a terrorist organization. The violent killings in Syria's coastal regions, although perpetrated by Assad loyalists with ties to Iran, did little to reassure Israel that the new Syrian government was either pragmatic enough to fulfill its promises or strong enough to assert control.Israel fears the formation of a Sunni alliance led by Turkey and Qatar in Syria, which could mirror the hostility of Iran's Shi'ite axis. The growing Turkish influence in Syria, along with the possibility of Turkish military bases on Syrian soil, prompted Israel to turn to the United States, urging it to maintain a Russian military presence in Syria to curb Turkish influence. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now This also prompted Israel to offer a “minority alliance” despite the distance of both the Kurds and Druze from its soil and regardless of the fact that the same minority groups have actually tied themselves to the new central government of Syria.Israel's active policy, combined with American indifference, presents significant challenges for Syria's new government as it attempts to rebuild a war-torn nation. In this context, the Syrian leadership must take proactive measures to avoid escalating tensions with Israel. Despite the provocations, Damascus must take steps to allay Israeli fears, even if these actions require painful compromises or strategic sacrifices.One immediate step for Damascus would be to open direct communication channels with Israel, bypassing intermediaries who might miss critical details. Additionally, Syria should swiftly endorse the Arab Peace Initiative, signaling a commitment to peace and aligning with the Arab moderation axis led by Saudi Arabia. Syria must also exercise caution in its public statements and appointments. Any language that could provoke Israel should be avoided, as should the appointment of controversial figures or those with explicitly anti-Israel agendas. Additionally, hosting Arab or Islamic personalities linked to groups like Hamas and the Iranian axis would further inflame tensions.View of the Israeli border fence with Syria, in northern Israel, December 8, 2024 (credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)Syria and Israel have the opportunity to reshape relationsGIVEN THE country's fragile condition, Syria must adopt a flexible, patient approach to these sensitive issues. Syria is simply not in a position to bear the cost of another war, particularly after the devastation it has already suffered. Damascus could learn from the experiences of other countries, like Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, endured significant diplomatic insults to protect his country's core interests.Syria and Israel stand at a historic crossroads, with the potential to reshape their relations. However, achieving progress toward peace and stability will require effort from both sides. Israel must abandon its policy of intimidation, hostility, and minority-led policy and instead build trust with Syria's Sunni majority.In return, Syria's new government must take proactive steps to ease Israel's concerns, adopting diplomatic policies that promote regional stability and engaging in direct dialogue that could lead to strategic gains for all parties involved.While it is often easier to identify the threats and not the opportunities, a move toward engagement and recognition could provide significant gains to both countries.For Syria, it could bring economic opportunities and solutions for some of its critical problems, considering Israel's infrastructure and technological edge. A successful move toward Israel could positively influence the international positioning of Syria's new government and convince other stakeholders of its ability to pursue a more pragmatic policy line.For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
Israel fears the formation of a Sunni alliance led by Turkey and Qatar in Syria, which could mirror the hostility of Iran's Shi'ite axis. The growing Turkish influence in Syria, along with the possibility of Turkish military bases on Syrian soil, prompted Israel to turn to the United States, urging it to maintain a Russian military presence in Syria to curb Turkish influence. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now This also prompted Israel to offer a “minority alliance” despite the distance of both the Kurds and Druze from its soil and regardless of the fact that the same minority groups have actually tied themselves to the new central government of Syria.Israel's active policy, combined with American indifference, presents significant challenges for Syria's new government as it attempts to rebuild a war-torn nation. In this context, the Syrian leadership must take proactive measures to avoid escalating tensions with Israel. Despite the provocations, Damascus must take steps to allay Israeli fears, even if these actions require painful compromises or strategic sacrifices.One immediate step for Damascus would be to open direct communication channels with Israel, bypassing intermediaries who might miss critical details. Additionally, Syria should swiftly endorse the Arab Peace Initiative, signaling a commitment to peace and aligning with the Arab moderation axis led by Saudi Arabia. Syria must also exercise caution in its public statements and appointments. Any language that could provoke Israel should be avoided, as should the appointment of controversial figures or those with explicitly anti-Israel agendas. Additionally, hosting Arab or Islamic personalities linked to groups like Hamas and the Iranian axis would further inflame tensions.View of the Israeli border fence with Syria, in northern Israel, December 8, 2024 (credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)Syria and Israel have the opportunity to reshape relationsGIVEN THE country's fragile condition, Syria must adopt a flexible, patient approach to these sensitive issues. Syria is simply not in a position to bear the cost of another war, particularly after the devastation it has already suffered. Damascus could learn from the experiences of other countries, like Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, endured significant diplomatic insults to protect his country's core interests.Syria and Israel stand at a historic crossroads, with the potential to reshape their relations. However, achieving progress toward peace and stability will require effort from both sides. Israel must abandon its policy of intimidation, hostility, and minority-led policy and instead build trust with Syria's Sunni majority.In return, Syria's new government must take proactive steps to ease Israel's concerns, adopting diplomatic policies that promote regional stability and engaging in direct dialogue that could lead to strategic gains for all parties involved.While it is often easier to identify the threats and not the opportunities, a move toward engagement and recognition could provide significant gains to both countries.For Syria, it could bring economic opportunities and solutions for some of its critical problems, considering Israel's infrastructure and technological edge. A successful move toward Israel could positively influence the international positioning of Syria's new government and convince other stakeholders of its ability to pursue a more pragmatic policy line.For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
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This also prompted Israel to offer a “minority alliance” despite the distance of both the Kurds and Druze from its soil and regardless of the fact that the same minority groups have actually tied themselves to the new central government of Syria.Israel's active policy, combined with American indifference, presents significant challenges for Syria's new government as it attempts to rebuild a war-torn nation. In this context, the Syrian leadership must take proactive measures to avoid escalating tensions with Israel. Despite the provocations, Damascus must take steps to allay Israeli fears, even if these actions require painful compromises or strategic sacrifices.One immediate step for Damascus would be to open direct communication channels with Israel, bypassing intermediaries who might miss critical details. Additionally, Syria should swiftly endorse the Arab Peace Initiative, signaling a commitment to peace and aligning with the Arab moderation axis led by Saudi Arabia. Syria must also exercise caution in its public statements and appointments. Any language that could provoke Israel should be avoided, as should the appointment of controversial figures or those with explicitly anti-Israel agendas. Additionally, hosting Arab or Islamic personalities linked to groups like Hamas and the Iranian axis would further inflame tensions.View of the Israeli border fence with Syria, in northern Israel, December 8, 2024 (credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)Syria and Israel have the opportunity to reshape relationsGIVEN THE country's fragile condition, Syria must adopt a flexible, patient approach to these sensitive issues. Syria is simply not in a position to bear the cost of another war, particularly after the devastation it has already suffered. Damascus could learn from the experiences of other countries, like Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, endured significant diplomatic insults to protect his country's core interests.Syria and Israel stand at a historic crossroads, with the potential to reshape their relations. However, achieving progress toward peace and stability will require effort from both sides. Israel must abandon its policy of intimidation, hostility, and minority-led policy and instead build trust with Syria's Sunni majority.In return, Syria's new government must take proactive steps to ease Israel's concerns, adopting diplomatic policies that promote regional stability and engaging in direct dialogue that could lead to strategic gains for all parties involved.While it is often easier to identify the threats and not the opportunities, a move toward engagement and recognition could provide significant gains to both countries.For Syria, it could bring economic opportunities and solutions for some of its critical problems, considering Israel's infrastructure and technological edge. A successful move toward Israel could positively influence the international positioning of Syria's new government and convince other stakeholders of its ability to pursue a more pragmatic policy line.For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
Israel's active policy, combined with American indifference, presents significant challenges for Syria's new government as it attempts to rebuild a war-torn nation. In this context, the Syrian leadership must take proactive measures to avoid escalating tensions with Israel. Despite the provocations, Damascus must take steps to allay Israeli fears, even if these actions require painful compromises or strategic sacrifices.One immediate step for Damascus would be to open direct communication channels with Israel, bypassing intermediaries who might miss critical details. Additionally, Syria should swiftly endorse the Arab Peace Initiative, signaling a commitment to peace and aligning with the Arab moderation axis led by Saudi Arabia. Syria must also exercise caution in its public statements and appointments. Any language that could provoke Israel should be avoided, as should the appointment of controversial figures or those with explicitly anti-Israel agendas. Additionally, hosting Arab or Islamic personalities linked to groups like Hamas and the Iranian axis would further inflame tensions.View of the Israeli border fence with Syria, in northern Israel, December 8, 2024 (credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)Syria and Israel have the opportunity to reshape relationsGIVEN THE country's fragile condition, Syria must adopt a flexible, patient approach to these sensitive issues. Syria is simply not in a position to bear the cost of another war, particularly after the devastation it has already suffered. Damascus could learn from the experiences of other countries, like Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, endured significant diplomatic insults to protect his country's core interests.Syria and Israel stand at a historic crossroads, with the potential to reshape their relations. However, achieving progress toward peace and stability will require effort from both sides. Israel must abandon its policy of intimidation, hostility, and minority-led policy and instead build trust with Syria's Sunni majority.In return, Syria's new government must take proactive steps to ease Israel's concerns, adopting diplomatic policies that promote regional stability and engaging in direct dialogue that could lead to strategic gains for all parties involved.While it is often easier to identify the threats and not the opportunities, a move toward engagement and recognition could provide significant gains to both countries.For Syria, it could bring economic opportunities and solutions for some of its critical problems, considering Israel's infrastructure and technological edge. A successful move toward Israel could positively influence the international positioning of Syria's new government and convince other stakeholders of its ability to pursue a more pragmatic policy line.For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
One immediate step for Damascus would be to open direct communication channels with Israel, bypassing intermediaries who might miss critical details. Additionally, Syria should swiftly endorse the Arab Peace Initiative, signaling a commitment to peace and aligning with the Arab moderation axis led by Saudi Arabia. Syria must also exercise caution in its public statements and appointments. Any language that could provoke Israel should be avoided, as should the appointment of controversial figures or those with explicitly anti-Israel agendas. Additionally, hosting Arab or Islamic personalities linked to groups like Hamas and the Iranian axis would further inflame tensions.View of the Israeli border fence with Syria, in northern Israel, December 8, 2024 (credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)Syria and Israel have the opportunity to reshape relationsGIVEN THE country's fragile condition, Syria must adopt a flexible, patient approach to these sensitive issues. Syria is simply not in a position to bear the cost of another war, particularly after the devastation it has already suffered. Damascus could learn from the experiences of other countries, like Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, endured significant diplomatic insults to protect his country's core interests.Syria and Israel stand at a historic crossroads, with the potential to reshape their relations. However, achieving progress toward peace and stability will require effort from both sides. Israel must abandon its policy of intimidation, hostility, and minority-led policy and instead build trust with Syria's Sunni majority.In return, Syria's new government must take proactive steps to ease Israel's concerns, adopting diplomatic policies that promote regional stability and engaging in direct dialogue that could lead to strategic gains for all parties involved.While it is often easier to identify the threats and not the opportunities, a move toward engagement and recognition could provide significant gains to both countries.For Syria, it could bring economic opportunities and solutions for some of its critical problems, considering Israel's infrastructure and technological edge. A successful move toward Israel could positively influence the international positioning of Syria's new government and convince other stakeholders of its ability to pursue a more pragmatic policy line.For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
Syria must also exercise caution in its public statements and appointments. Any language that could provoke Israel should be avoided, as should the appointment of controversial figures or those with explicitly anti-Israel agendas. Additionally, hosting Arab or Islamic personalities linked to groups like Hamas and the Iranian axis would further inflame tensions.View of the Israeli border fence with Syria, in northern Israel, December 8, 2024 (credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)Syria and Israel have the opportunity to reshape relationsGIVEN THE country's fragile condition, Syria must adopt a flexible, patient approach to these sensitive issues. Syria is simply not in a position to bear the cost of another war, particularly after the devastation it has already suffered. Damascus could learn from the experiences of other countries, like Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, endured significant diplomatic insults to protect his country's core interests.Syria and Israel stand at a historic crossroads, with the potential to reshape their relations. However, achieving progress toward peace and stability will require effort from both sides. Israel must abandon its policy of intimidation, hostility, and minority-led policy and instead build trust with Syria's Sunni majority.In return, Syria's new government must take proactive steps to ease Israel's concerns, adopting diplomatic policies that promote regional stability and engaging in direct dialogue that could lead to strategic gains for all parties involved.While it is often easier to identify the threats and not the opportunities, a move toward engagement and recognition could provide significant gains to both countries.For Syria, it could bring economic opportunities and solutions for some of its critical problems, considering Israel's infrastructure and technological edge. A successful move toward Israel could positively influence the international positioning of Syria's new government and convince other stakeholders of its ability to pursue a more pragmatic policy line.For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
GIVEN THE country's fragile condition, Syria must adopt a flexible, patient approach to these sensitive issues. Syria is simply not in a position to bear the cost of another war, particularly after the devastation it has already suffered. Damascus could learn from the experiences of other countries, like Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, endured significant diplomatic insults to protect his country's core interests.Syria and Israel stand at a historic crossroads, with the potential to reshape their relations. However, achieving progress toward peace and stability will require effort from both sides. Israel must abandon its policy of intimidation, hostility, and minority-led policy and instead build trust with Syria's Sunni majority.In return, Syria's new government must take proactive steps to ease Israel's concerns, adopting diplomatic policies that promote regional stability and engaging in direct dialogue that could lead to strategic gains for all parties involved.While it is often easier to identify the threats and not the opportunities, a move toward engagement and recognition could provide significant gains to both countries.For Syria, it could bring economic opportunities and solutions for some of its critical problems, considering Israel's infrastructure and technological edge. A successful move toward Israel could positively influence the international positioning of Syria's new government and convince other stakeholders of its ability to pursue a more pragmatic policy line.For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
Syria and Israel stand at a historic crossroads, with the potential to reshape their relations. However, achieving progress toward peace and stability will require effort from both sides. Israel must abandon its policy of intimidation, hostility, and minority-led policy and instead build trust with Syria's Sunni majority.In return, Syria's new government must take proactive steps to ease Israel's concerns, adopting diplomatic policies that promote regional stability and engaging in direct dialogue that could lead to strategic gains for all parties involved.While it is often easier to identify the threats and not the opportunities, a move toward engagement and recognition could provide significant gains to both countries.For Syria, it could bring economic opportunities and solutions for some of its critical problems, considering Israel's infrastructure and technological edge. A successful move toward Israel could positively influence the international positioning of Syria's new government and convince other stakeholders of its ability to pursue a more pragmatic policy line.For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
In return, Syria's new government must take proactive steps to ease Israel's concerns, adopting diplomatic policies that promote regional stability and engaging in direct dialogue that could lead to strategic gains for all parties involved.While it is often easier to identify the threats and not the opportunities, a move toward engagement and recognition could provide significant gains to both countries.For Syria, it could bring economic opportunities and solutions for some of its critical problems, considering Israel's infrastructure and technological edge. A successful move toward Israel could positively influence the international positioning of Syria's new government and convince other stakeholders of its ability to pursue a more pragmatic policy line.For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
While it is often easier to identify the threats and not the opportunities, a move toward engagement and recognition could provide significant gains to both countries.For Syria, it could bring economic opportunities and solutions for some of its critical problems, considering Israel's infrastructure and technological edge. A successful move toward Israel could positively influence the international positioning of Syria's new government and convince other stakeholders of its ability to pursue a more pragmatic policy line.For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
For Syria, it could bring economic opportunities and solutions for some of its critical problems, considering Israel's infrastructure and technological edge. A successful move toward Israel could positively influence the international positioning of Syria's new government and convince other stakeholders of its ability to pursue a more pragmatic policy line.For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
For Israel, a successful reorientation of the relations could ease security concerns, further distance the Iranians from Israel's border, and pave the way for a broader normalization circle. Granted, eight decades of conflict can't change in a day. However, without pursuing this route, the two countries will again miss another important window of opportunity.As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
As Syrians begin to rebuild their country and as Israel looks toward the day after its most recent war, the time has come to consider a different future for both peoples. It is time to envision a future where Syrians and Israelis ski together on Mount Hermon rather than fight over it. It is time for a new beginning.Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
Shadi Martini is a Syrian hospital director who participated in the Syrian revolution and now manages the Multifaith Alliance, a humanitarian organization.Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and co-director of its Program for Regional Cooperation.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.
Judge James E. Boasberg, chief judge of the Federal District Court in Washington, D.C., stands for a portrait at E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington, D.C., March 16, 2023. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on Thursday ordered all parties involved in the Trump administration's leaked Signal chat to preserve disclosed messages, giving him additional time to evaluate the administration's handling of the infamous group chat.
A lawsuit filed by the left-leaning government transparency group American Oversight asks whether senior Cabinet officials violated federal recordkeeping laws by using Signal to discuss plans for a military strike on the Houthis in Yemen.
The chat became infamous after it was revealed that top U.S. officials had inadvertently included Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Golberg for several days of their discussions.
Boasberg said during a 25-minute hearing that the federal government must "preserve all Signal communications between March 11 and March 15," roughly the window of the communications about the military action in Yemen.
TRUMP REVEALS WHO WAS BEHIND SIGNAL TEXT CHAIN LINK
The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg published a piece saying he was inadvertently invited to a Trump administration text group chat discussing the White House's plans to strike Houthi militants in Yemen. (Reuters )
Boasberg, already under fire from the Trump administration for issuing a restraining order that temporarily blocked the president's use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan nationals, emphasized at the start of Thursday's hearing he was randomly assigned to the case through a docket computer system, not by choice.
His remarks came hours after President Donald Trump accused Boasberg on social media of "grabbing the 'Trump Cases' all to himself," a claim Boasberg quickly sought to refute by detailing the court's random assignment process, including the electronic card system used to distribute cases among judges.
"That's how it works, and that's how all cases continue to be assigned in this court," he said.
JUDGE TELLS GOVERNMENT WATCHDOGS FIRED BY TRUMP THERE'S NOT MUCH SHE CAN DO FOR THEM
President Donald Trump and U.S. District Judge James Boasberg (Getty Images)
Boasberg has sparred with the Trump administration over its failure to comply with the court's requests for information on its deportation flights earlier this month, which sent around 261 migrants, including Venezuelan nationals and alleged members of the gang Tren de Aragua, from the U.S. to El Salvador.
The flights appeared to have departed from Texas around the time Boasberg issued an emergency restraining order and were not returned to the U.S. despite a bench ruling explicitly ordering their immediate return.
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The Justice Department this week invoked the state secrets privilege in the ongoing court battle, a national security tool that could allow the Trump administration to withhold certain information from the courts for national security purposes.
Most recently, the Trump administration vowed to immediately appeal to the Supreme Court a ruling from the D.C. appellate court, which voted 2-1 to uphold Boasberg's ruling and allow, for now, the block on Trump's deportation flights to continue.
Fox News's William Mears contributed to this report.
Breanne Deppisch is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI, and other national news.
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Doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk was detained leaving her home in Massachusetts and moved to a holding facility in Louisiana after being accused by ICE of supporting Hamas. Her visa has been revoked.
What to Know: Tufts Student Detained
Surveillance video obtained by The Associated Press appears to show six people, their faces covered, apprehending Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national who is a doctoral student at Tufts University.
A doctoral student at Tufts University was detained by federal officers this week on her way to dinner – the latest development in the Trump administration's effort to crack down on immigrants who have expressed political views.
Turkish national Rumeysa Ozturk was stopped as she left her home in Somerville, Massachusetts, on Tuesday. She was moved to Louisiana before a judge ordered her to be kept in Massachusetts, according to U.S. government lawyers.
No charges have been filed against Ozturk, according to her lawyer. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani told the Trump administration to answer why she is being detained by Friday.
A statement from Tufts University's president, Sunil Kumar, said that the university “had no pre-knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with federal authorities prior to the event.”
“From what we have been told subsequently, the student's visa has been terminated, and we seek to confirm whether that information is true,” Kumar said. A senior Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed to The Associated Press that federal authorities have revoked her visa.
Elliott Davis Jr.March 12, 2025
Ozturk was on her way to meet friends at an Iftar dinner to break their Ramadan fast.
Video of the incident obtained by The Associated Press showed six people with their faces covered detaining Ozturk. They can be seen taking her phone and backpack and putting her in handcuffs.
“We're the police,” members of the group said. A bystander asks, “Why are you hiding your faces?”
Ozturk is now being held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Louisiana.
OPINION:
The DHS spokesperson told The Associated Press that an investigation found she had “engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans.”
Hamas is designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization.
“A visa is a privilege, not a right,” the spokesperson said. “Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is common sense security.”
No evidence backing claims of Ozturk's support for Hamas was provided by DHS.
“We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist, to tear up our university campuses,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Thursday.
Last March, Ozturk co-authored an op-ed in The Tufts Daily that criticized the university's response to student demands that it divest from companies with ties to Israel, among other things.
Following the op-ed's publication, Ozturk's name and picture were posted on Canary Mission, a website that describes itself as documenting groups and people who “promote hatred of the U.S.A., Israel and Jews on North American college campuses.”
Elliott Davis Jr.Dec. 10, 2024
Ozturk's detention is the latest example in a series of arrests of foreign nationals affiliated with prestigious universities that come as the Trump administration attempts to crack down on immigration.
Earlier this month, a Palestinian activist who helped lead protests at Columbia University was arrested outside his apartment. Mahmoud Khalil, a legal U.S. resident, faces possible deportation.
After Khalil's arrest, President Donald Trump promised more to come.
“We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity,” Trump wrote in a social media post. “We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country – never to return again.”
The Trump administration also detained a Georgetown University researcher who was studying and teaching on a student visa.
The steps mark a quick escalation that has prompted legal action from academic groups of professors and scholars.
Tags: Tufts University, immigration, terrorism, Hamas
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This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.
'The Big Weekend Show' panelists discuss the legal fight over deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members.
Eight inspectors general abruptly fired by President Donald Trump at the start of his second term appeared in federal court Thursday to challenge their dismissals — a long-shot case that nonetheless sparked fireworks during oral arguments.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes acknowledged on Thursday that it would be difficult for the court to reinstate the eight ousted inspectors generals, who were part of a broader group of 17 government watchdogs abruptly terminated by Trump in January, just four days into his second White House term.
In a lawsuit last month, the eight inspectors general challenged their firings as both "unlawful and unjustified" and asked to be reinstated — a remedy that Reyes acknowledged Thursday would be exceedingly difficult, even if she were to find that their firings were unconstitutional.
"Unless you convince me otherwise," she told the plaintiffs, "I don't see how I could reinstate the inspectors general" to their roles.
AXED GOVERNMENT WATCHDOG SAYS TRUMP HAS RIGHT TO FIRE HIM
President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Reyes suggested that the best the court could do would be to order back pay, even as she told both parties, "I don't think anyone can contest that the removal of these people — the way that they were fired — was a violation of the law."
The preliminary injunction hearing comes more than a month after the eight fired inspectors general filed a lawsuit challenging their termination as unconstitutional. Plaintiffs asked the judge to restore them to their positions, noting in the filing, "President Trump's attempt to eliminate a crucial and longstanding source of impartial, non-partisan oversight of his administration is contrary to the rule of law."
Still, the remedies are considered a long shot — and Trump supporters have argued that the president was well within his executive branch powers to make such personnel decisions under Article II of the Constitution, Supreme Court precedent and updates to federal policy.
LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP'S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS
The E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Court House in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
In 2022, Congress updated its Inspector General Act of 1978, which formerly required a president to communicate to Congress any "reasons" for terminations 30 days before any decision was made. That notice provision was amended in 2022 to require only a "substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons" for terminations.
The 30-day period was a major focus of Thursday's hearing, as the court weighed whether inspectors general can be considered "principal" or inferior officers.
The White House Director of Presidential Personnel has claimed that the firings are in line with that requirement, which were a reflection of "changing priorities" from within the administration.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, suggested earlier this year that Congress should be given more information as to the reasons for the firings, though more recently he has declined to elaborate on the matter.
Ana Reyes, nominee for district court judge in Washington, testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on June 22, 2022. (Reuters)
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Reyes, for her part, previously did not appear to be moved by the plaintiffs' bid for emergency relief.
She declined to grant their earlier request for a temporary restraining order — a tough legal test that requires plaintiffs to prove "irreparable" and immediate harm as a result of the actions — and told both parties during the hearing that, barring new or revelatory information, she is not inclined to rule in favor of plaintiffs at the larger preliminary injunction hearing.
Breanne Deppisch is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI, and other national news.
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Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee explains his vote on the funding bill, how budget negotiations are going and his viral social media persona.
Capitol Chat With Burchett
Illustration by USN&WR | Source: Getty Images
Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee
If you're plugged into the Washington, D.C. social media space, chances are you've seen Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee.
Usually clad in the same tan Carhartt jacket, Burchett's X account is littered with videos of him ranting about a vote he didn't like on a bill he hated even more. There's also a video of a longboard he made by hand, a hobby he picked up on the weekends.
First elected in 2019, Burchett has become known across Capitol Hill as one of the more approachable and unfiltered lawmakers – a designation he says he likes. It is this side of him that has made him an important figure in the Republican caucus as he sits on the newly formed House Department of Government Efficiency subcommittee this session.
U.S. News & World Report sat down with Burchett to discuss his decision to vote for the stopgap funding bill, how budget negotiations between the House and Senate are going and his viral social media personality.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
“Just the overwhelming amount of money that we send to the Pentagon. All this money we're saving in DOGE, we're not saving any of it. We just turn it over to the Pentagon and they are irresponsible with their funds.
“In the last eight audits, not only have they failed those audits, they even failed to complete them in their arrogance. And then how did we punish them? In the last National Defense Authorization Act, we gave them more money.”
Aneeta Mathur-Ashton March 24, 2025
“I think it just shows the Democrats are the rudder of a ship right now. They gave a united try, but the irony of it was that last time they were saying we were going to shut down the government, how horrible it was and they were doing the exact same thing. They were just playing politics with the whole thing.”
“I think it's going very well.
“I would hope that we could get with the Senate early on and craft something agreeable to everybody that we could all hold our noses and vote for. I would also hope that we could continue down the path of, at least, holding the government accountable and not increasing the amount of money that we give the government.”
“I do. Johnson is very capable of doing that and he keeps his word. He works very hard to reach those goals and he's got to juggle a lot, so I'm a fan of his.”
“I'd say it'd be fairly close. Honestly, we don't have enough people with enough guts to make the cuts that are really needed. I think too many people are worried about getting reelected and not saving our country for both parties. Unfortunately, Washington, D.C. today is about self-preservation and not doing what's right long-term for our country.”
Aneeta Mathur-Ashton March 13, 2025
“That's a lie. (Democrats in Congress) are just using those things (comments regarding proposed cuts) to scare people.
“Case in point is SNAP. All we're trying to do is get the soft drinks out of there. There's no reason somebody on welfare ought to get a free Coca-Cola with my hard-earned tax dollars. That's just wrong, and type 2 diabetes is rampant, especially in our minority communities, and again, we don't have the guts to call that stuff out and stop it.”
“I would make serious cuts, I would codify the things that are coming out of DOGE and I would force votes on it and not make it one big bill. Each individual cut that DOGE has come out with needs to be put into a law and individually passed.”
“Everybody made fun of me when I first started doing my videos and now people have Twitter or X teams that try to create that.
“I come off the House floor and I'm ticked off about a stupid vote about a terrible piece of legislation. So I want America to know about it.
“They make fun of the way I talk and many members behind my back will say things about me. But that's because they just don't have the guts to come out and tell America what's going on. I think more and more people are demanding that and I've developed a huge following across the country.”
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“I've always said my biggest surprise was that I wasn't surprised. It's just like junior high school with a big checkbook.
“I get disappointed in the public when we just have 12% or 15% of the public vote in a lot of elections, and the local media doesn't cover what's going on up here. America, I think, gets continuously surprised because they're too busy paying bills and taking care of their families to monitor us 24/7. So I think that's why my internet stuff's so effective – they can just catch it during the day and click on it.”
“I used to have somebody who worked for me, and they said the one thing I never have to say is ‘what Tim Burchett really means to say is….' I guess sometimes I look back and think I probably shouldn't have said that, but that's the truth. So I don't have too many regrets up here.”
Tags: Congress, federal budget, Republican Party, Democratic Party
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U.S. News StaffJan. 21, 2025
March 27, 2025, at 1:29 p.m.
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Catch up on what you need to know or might have missed with this lunchtime lowdown.
Lunch Break: Is Your Venmo Private?
Andrew Harnik|Getty Images
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., attends a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Feb. 26, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
The dust is still settling around Signalgate, with much of Washington watching to see what happens next. Thus far, Democratic lawmakers have largely reacted with shock and dismay, while Republicans are downplaying and ignoring the controversy over the Trump administration's use of an unsecured group chat to discuss war plans.
The issue won't be going away soon: Leaders of the Senate Armed Forces Committee demanded the inspector general for the Defense Department investigate the leak in a letter signed by senators of both parties, with hearings likely to follow. And reports from Wired and German outlet Der Spiegel revealed top Trump administration officials left their Venmo accounts public and their contact information easily accessible online, which probably won't help.
It also begs the question: Why is anyone making their Venmo activity public?
Elsewhere, the clock is ticking on congressional Republicans' self-imposed Easter deadline to nail down a budget proposal, President Donald Trump has a busy day at the White House and French President Emmanuel Macron convened a summit to defend Ukraine.
Here's the lunchtime lowdown, which U.S. News will be publishing each weekday to keep track of the goings-on in Washington and beyond:
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced this morning that the agency would lay off more than 10,000 employees, and that another 10,000 employees will depart via buyouts and early retirement. Kennedy said this “dramatic restructuring” will "streamline the functions" of the department he called a “sprawling bureaucracy” and save $1.8 billion. Read more.
Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, wants the inspector general of the Defense Department to investigate Signalgate, while the Senate Intelligence Committee may conduct its own investigation. And it's not just Signal – Wired reports that national security adviser Mike Waltz and others left sensitive information publicly available on Venmo and German outlet Der Spiegel found the passwords and private data of officials like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth online. Read more.
After announcing a 25% tariff on imported automobiles last night, Trump threatened to place “far larger” tariffs on the European Union and Canada if they worked together “to do economic harm to the USA.” Trump has promised to impose still more tariffs on April 2 of next week, which he has taken to calling “Liberation Day.” Read more.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France and Britain will move forward with plans to send troops to Ukraine after hosting a summit in Paris with 30 nations today to discuss Europe's role in the Russia-Ukraine war. Macron said the decision to send soldiers to Ukraine was “not unanimous” but “several European nations” will deploy troops as Europe prepares for the possibility of a reduced U.S. role in the conflict. Read more.
The Senate is holding a hearing this morning on the preliminary findings of a federal probe into the deadly midair collision between an American Airlines passenger plane and a military helicopter above Washington, D.C., nearly two months ago, which killed 67 people. National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said 40 experts are working on its investigation and that she hopes it will be completed within a year. Read more.
Tags: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., HHS, U.S. intelligence, Donald Trump, tariffs, France, Ukraine, Russia, Congress
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Watch CBS News
March 27, 2025 / 11:16 AM EDT
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Kansas health officials have confirmed 23 measles cases, marking an outbreak for the state as infections in at least 17 states have led to the most cases in the U.S. in a single year since 2019.
The Kansas outbreak is spread across 6 southwest counties, the state's Department of Health and Environment said Wednesday.
The majority of cases, 20, are individuals who were not vaccinated against the infection. Fifteen cases are in school-aged children, between ages 5 and 17, six patients are 4 years old or younger and two are over 18, officials said.
Measles, a highly contagious infectious disease, can in some cases cause severe infections in the lungs and brain that may lead to cognitive issues, deafness or death. A vaccine against the illness is safe and effective, doctors and health officials say.
While most people's symptoms improve, about 1 in 5 unvaccinated people who get measles will be hospitalized. About 1 out of every 1,000 children with measles will develop brain swelling that can lead to brain damage, and up to 3 of every 1,000 children who become infected will die, the CDC says.
So far, no cases in Kansas have led to hospitalization or death, according to the data from the state's health department.
The Kansas cases come as other states are facing rising infections too. The majority of the cases have been reported in an outbreak in Texas that has sickened more than 300 people since late January and has caused the death of a child. An adult with measles also died in New Mexico.
Earlier this month, a person with a confirmed measles infection may have exposed Amtrak passengers on a train to Washington, D.C., according to officials at the D.C. Department of Health.
Measles cases have also been reported in a number of other states, including New Jersey, Georgia, California, Rhode Island, Kentucky, Michigan, Alaska and Pennsylvania.
The measles vaccine is usually administered in childhood as part of the measles-mumps-rubella, or MMR, shot. Two doses are about 97% effective at preventing measles, and a single dose is about 93% effective, the CDC says.
Similar to the Kansas cases, the Texas outbreak largely spread in a community with very low vaccination rates, and Texas health officials said the child who died in that outbreak was unvaccinated.
Sara Moniuszko is a health and lifestyle reporter at CBSNews.com. Previously, she wrote for USA Today, where she was selected to help launch the newspaper's wellness vertical. She now covers breaking and trending news for CBS News' HealthWatch.
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Updated on: March 27, 2025 / 10:26 AM EDT
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President Trump on Wednesday said he will put a 25% tariff on vehicles and auto parts imported into the U.S., escalating his administration's use of aggressive trade measures in an effort to boost domestic manufacturers.
"This will continue to spur growth like you haven't seen before," Mr. Trump said from the Oval Office Wednesday afternoon. "We'll effectively be charging a 25% tariff. But if you build your car in the United States, there is no tariff."
Mr. Trump said the new auto tariffs will take effect on April 2 and that the U.S. would start collecting the duties the following day. The president added he believes the new import duty could raise between $600 billion and $1 trillion in revenue for the U.S. over the next two years.
"This number will be used to reduce debt greatly," Mr. Trump said. "Basically I view it as reducing taxes and reducing debt."
White House staff secretary Will Scharf, who stood next to Mr. Trump during the announcement, offered a more conservative estimate of how much the new auto tariffs would raise, predicting roughly $100 billion in new revenue.
Mr. Trump also reiterated his goal of making interest paid on auto loans tax deductible, while noting that such a deduction would apply only to cars made in the U.S.
Tax deductions are generally only employed by high-income Americans because most taxpayers take the standard deduction, which means tax-deductible auto loans wouldn't impact low- or middle-income households.
Meanwhile, car prices are "likely to rise significantly" for consumers, according to Rella Suskin, equity analyst at Morningstar in a Thursday research note. Suskin added, "Domestically produced vehicles are expected to gain market share, but very few, even from US-based manufacturers, are made with 100% U.S. content."
The latest salvo of tariffs comes after Mr. Trump earlier this month gave a one-month exemption to U.S. automakers from the round of import duties that took effect on March 4.
Because tariffs are taxes on imports that are largely passed onto U.S. consumers, they can cause households to cut back on spending and dampen economic growth, according to experts.
Shares of the Big Three U.S. automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — all sank after Mr. Trump announced the new tariffs. In Thursday morning trading, Ford's shares slipped 38 cents, or 3.7% to $9.92, while GM tumbled 7.3%. Stellantis shed 2.6%.
Tesla shares, which have slumped this year because of disappointing sales and consumer unhappiness over CEO Elon Musk's involvement with the Trump administration, rose $7.13, or 2.6%, to $279.19. Tesla manufactures its vehicles within the U.S., although Musk said on social media that the electric vehicle maker will still feel an impact. Some Tesla parts are imported from other countries.
"Important to note that Tesla is NOT unscathed here. The tariff impact on Tesla is still significant," Musk wrote on X.
In a statement Wednesday night, Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, a U.S. trade group that represents the Big Three, said that "U.S. Automakers are committed to President Trump's vision of increasing automotive production and jobs in the U.S. and will continue to work with the Administration on durable policies that help Americans."
Blunt added, "In particular, it is critical that tariffs are implemented in a way that avoids raising prices for consumers and that preserves the competitiveness of the integrated North American automotive sector that has been a key success of the President's USMCA agreement."
When reached for comment, Stellantis directed CBS News to the AAPC's statement.
Mr. Trump has long said that tariffs on auto imports would be a defining policy of his presidency, betting that the costs created by the taxes would lead both American and foreign automakers to relocate production to U.S. soil.
Automakers with U.S. plants still depend on Canada, Mexico and other nations for parts and finished vehicles. Because booting up manufacturing facilities would take time, in the medium term domestic auto prices would likely increase and car sales decline, experts say.
One analysis of Mr. Trump's tariffs estimated that auto prices could rise as much as $12,200 for some models due to the new import duties, according to a report from Anderson Economic Group, a Michigan-based economic consultancy.
"In the long-run, this could boost domestic investment and production. In the short-run, however, it will be inflationary and, assuming that domestic producers respond by substantially increasing their own prices, could make new vehicles something of a luxury item," Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist with Capital Economics, said in a report.
Targeting imported cars also could strain ties with key trading U.S. partners including Canada, Japan, Mexico and South Korea, as well as Europe.
"I deeply regret the U.S. decision to impose tariffs on EU automotive exports," Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said in a social media post. "Tariffs are taxes — bad for businesses, worse for consumers in the U.S. and the EU. The EU will continue to seek negotiated solutions, while safeguarding its economic interests."
About 50% of cars sold in the U.S. are manufactured within the country. Among imports, about half come from Mexico and Canada, with Japan, South Korea and Germany, also major suppliers.
Other groups expressed support for the new auto tariffs.
"Auto production is the bedrock of a nation's manufacturing ecosystem," Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, an industry trade group, said in a statement posted social media. "We've seen it eroded in the U.S. over the past four decades first by Asian imports then by NAFTA. A 25% tariff on auto imports isn't the only way to spur more auto plants here, but it is in my view necessary."
Shawn Fain, president of United Auto Workers, said the tariffs could bolster job growth in the U.S. "With these tariffs, thousands of good-paying blue-collar auto jobs could be brought back to working-class communities across the United States within a matter of months, simply by adding additional shifts or lines in a number of underutilized auto plants," he said.
Kathryn Watson and
The Associated Press
contributed to this report.
Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.
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President Donald Trump said at the White House on Tuesday that he would like to see PBS and NPR stop receiving taxpayer funding.
National Public Radio is helmed by Katherine Maher. Ms. Maher testified before the DOGE Subcommittee of the U.S. House Oversight Committee on Wednesday.
It did not go well for Ms. Maher, and not just because she is the CEO of a left-wing outlet. It did not go well for her because she had spent years on X when X was "Twitter," posting some very outrageous takes that members of the subcommittee had fun reading to her.
Ms. Maher did not recall some of the posts. In response to other posts she replied that her views had changed. In response to particularly risible takes on the news stories from NPR in years past, Ms. Maher's response was a simple "That was before I was CEO."
NPR, PBS CHIEFS SET TO CLASH WITH GOP LAWMAKERS DURING DOGE SUBCOMITTEE HEARING
A good dodge, that, but not responsive to the problem of deeply biased story selection and coverage. NPR is simply biased in a way that cannot be remedied.
NPR is hard left. Not center-left. Not left-leaning. Hard left. And that is an objective assessment. I don't think you could find 10% of its staff that support President Trump. I don't think you could find 5%. I suppose it is possible there is a closet Trump supporter around NPR somewhere, but let's be candid. It's an ideological machine that has a mission to make America think like it does.
Which is fine…except taxpayers put money into NPR. Fans of NPR are quick to tell you that it's not all that much money. "Less than 1% of our budget is direct from the federal treasury!" is the rejoinder. And that is true.
But just try and figure out where the money for NPR comes from. Much of it comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting…which receives most of its funding from Congress. The CPB sends money to "member stations" and "member stations" send money to NPR to pay for NPR programming. See how that works? Pretty neat.
Now NPR is also "member supported," which means listeners send in dollars. That is fine. Beg away. NPR also has corporate sponsors, which are advertisers but with a tonier name. And that's fine too.
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You see, NPR is simply radio with funding from the government and enthusiasts. Bravo to the enthusiasts. But it's time to end the federal subsidy.
The country is $36 trillion in debt. If NPR can't stand on its own feet in the marketplace of ideas, it ought to fade away. I don't think it will, but most of America is very tired of paying for the hobbies of the left, especially the radical left.
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"We cover what matters to local communities," Ms. Maher told Congress on Wednesday. I don't believe that. She claimed an audience of 43,000,000. That's a huge audience. I'm not part of that audience and I shouldn't subsidize it. Most likely readers of this column don't want to do so either. Ms. Maher made her case —I played her opening statement on my radio show— and she didn't persuade me.
It is long past time to end the ruse of "listener supported" NPR. It is "taxpayer supported" NPR, and that ought to end. If NPR is still getting even a dime from the budget after the reconciliation process, the House and Senate GOP was never serious to begin with.
Hugh Hewitt is host of "The Hugh Hewitt Show," heard weekday mornings 6am to 9am ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh wakes up America on over 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all the streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel's news roundtable hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at Chapman University's Fowler School of Law since 1996 where he teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt has frequently appeared on every major national news television network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American paper, has authored a dozen books and moderated a score of Republican candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump over his 40 years in broadcast, and this column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/ TV show today.
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Watch CBS News
Updated on: March 26, 2025 / 8:29 PM EDT
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Stocks skidded in afternoon trading after the White House signaled that President Trump on Wednesday would announce more tariffs, with the latest salvo targeting U.S. auto imports.
The S&P 500 dropped 64 points, or 1.1%, to close at 5,712, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite nosed down 2% as investors pulled back from major technology players.
After a delayed announcement, Mr. Trump said he is imposing a 25% tariff on all vehicles imported into the U.S. "This will continue to spur growth like you haven't seen before," he said from the Oval Office Wednesday afternoon. "We'll effectively be charging a 25% tariff. But if you build your car in the United States, there is no tariff."
Shares of automakers slid ahead of the announcement, with General Motors sinking 3.2% and Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram, dropping 3.5%. The Detroit automakers' manufacturing plants and supply chains are spread across North America, so additional tariffs would raise their costs and crimp profits.
Tesla shares, which have slumped this year because of disappointing sales and consumer unhappiness over CEO Elon Musk's involvement with the Trump administration, fell nearly 6% and are down 33% this year.
Consumers are also likely to feel the sting of additional import duties. New tariffs on U.S. car imports could drive up vehicle costs between $2,000 and $12,200 for some models, Anderson Economic Group has estimated.
Beyond the impact on the auto sector, investors have been rattled by President Trump's protectionist trade policies. The U.S. is scheduled to announce a raft of tariffs on April 2, including 25% duties on imports from Mexico and Canada, along with even more sweeping matching levies on a number of U.S. trading partners.
"The fact of the matter is that Trump remains firmly wedded to a Tariff First policy, his pain threshold is high and there are no voices around him counseling restraint or prudence," Adam Crisafulli, head of investment advisory firm Vital Knowledge, said Wednesday in a note to investors.
He added, "Even those who might agree with the long-term benefits of tariffs have to acknowledge there will be a multi-quarter period of substantial disruption to the economy, with softer growth and higher inflation."
The Federal Reserve earlier this month cited the likely impact of tariffs in lowering its outlook for U.S. economic growth to 1.7%, while also forecasting a pickup in inflation.
A new analysis by Oxford Economics found that U.S. tariffs could raise the cost of some products by as much as 4%, with home appliances, musical instruments, tableware and utensils, and personal care items potentially seeing the biggest price hikes.
Alain Sherter is a senior managing editor with CBS News. He covers business, economics, money and workplace issues for CBS MoneyWatch.
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Robinhood (HOOD) is going after the big banks and their ATMs for deposits.
The trading platform turned quasi-bank and wealth manager unveiled two new products that will compete for business with America's largest legacy banks, including JPMorgan (JPM), Citigroup (C), and Bank of America (BAC).
Robinhood Banking will provide access to traditional checking and savings accounts with an annual percentage yield of 4%, provided one is a member of the platform's Gold service. FDIC insurance is on offer from Robinhood's tie-up with Coastal Community Bank.
Read more: 10 best high-yield online checking accounts for March 2025 (up to 7.00% APY)
Furthermore, the company is promising to deliver "cash to your door" through an app similar to Uber's (UBER) if you are a banking customer.
Robinhood co-founder and CEO Vlad Tenev told Yahoo Finance that the company wants to be a one-stop destination for people to manage their wealth (see video above).
He added that there is demand for home cash delivery as people try to avoid various ATM crimes, "especially in San Francisco." Instead, a person's cash will show up at their house in a large nondescript envelope, Tenev said.
Tenev didn't rule out exploring a bank charter down the line. The company originally explored the idea of one in 2019 but deemed it too costly.
Robinhood Strategies will serve as a wealth management service with a 0.25% annual fee, capped at $250, for its premium Gold subscribers. Users with as little as $50 can access portfolios with exchange-traded funds (ETFs) managed by the company's investment experts, or what it calls a "private banker." For a $500 minimum, investors will unlock access to individual stocks in the portfolios.
Read more: Robinhood Gold Credit Card review: 3% cash back for investors
Tenev and Robinhood have continued their breakneck pace of new products from last year.
Earlier this month, the company debuted a prediction markets hub in its app. The contracts allow users to wager on everything from what the fed funds rate could be in May to NCAA tournament games.
In October 2024, the company launched event contracts for the presidential election. Customers of the platform were able to trade on "who will win the 2024 presidential election."
The platform provider also debuted futures and index options trading.
And it has since released Robinhood Legend, billed as a sleeker platform that targets more sophisticated traders.
Robinhood Legend allows users to open up to eight charts in a single window, and it could elevate various technical indicators such as Bollinger Bands.
Watch: How TD Ameritrade's former CEO sees AI impacting trading
Tenev said he isn't worried that Robinhood won't be able to shake its meme stock image. But he did acknowledge the company has work to do to make its new services successful.
"We believe, investors under-appreciate Robinhood's broader financial/money platform, beyond its core focus on active traders," Bernstein analyst and Robinhood bull Gautam Chhugani wrote. "Robinhood is also leaning into disruptive technologies to bring down the cost of financial access, which has historically been only available to only the elite (high net-worth thresholds) within banking."
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.
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Automaker stocks here and abroad are getting smoked following President Trump's big move to impose 25% tariffs on foreign autos and certain auto parts. But one automaker is up — Tesla.
Tesla (TSLA) pared gains but closed higher, as rivals GM (GM) tumbled over 7% and Ford (F) dropped nearly 4%.
Beyond the obvious connection between CEO Elon Musk's affinity for Trump and his leadership of the DOGE commission, there are a few other reasons why Trump's auto policies — both on tariffs and EVS — may not be a problem for Tesla.
The main reason tariffs aren't likely to affect Tesla is the company's localized manufacturing. Though the company operates gigafactories in China and Germany, none of the EVs built there are sold in the US.
Tesla's US-sold vehicles are made exclusively at the company's Fremont, Calif., location or at Giga Austin in Texas. Rivian (RIVN) and Lucid (LCID) are the only other automakers that make 100% of their vehicles in the US for US buyers. By comparison, 77% of Ford's autos are made in the US, followed by Stellantis (57%), Nissan (52%), and GM (52%).
Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump's tariffs
TD Cowen's Itay Michaeli thinks this makes Tesla a "relative winner" in the tariff wars.
"Tesla a relative beneficiary given 100% US production footprint, substantial US sourcing and with Model Y competing in a midsize crossover segment where close to ~50% of vehicles could be subject to tariffs," Michaeli wrote Thursday morning.
Trump said in his news conference last night that he didn't consult Musk about the auto tariffs because the CEO "may have a conflict."
Despite Tesla being a relative winner in the situation, some company execs are a little worried. In an unsigned letter submitted last week to US trade representative Jamieson Greer, the company warned tariffs could lead to retaliation from US export partners and higher prices for parts that can only be sourced internationally.
Musk added last night on X that Tesla is "NOT unscathed here" and that the impact of tariffs on the company is "still significant."
Investors, at least at this point, disagree with Musk's outward assertion, though the CEO did not elaborate how or why the impact would be "significant."
One area that might concern Musk and Tesla is the future of the federal EV tax credit that allows for $7,500 rebates to consumers who buy or lease pure EVs.
Tesla likely would not exist if not for that tax credit, which the company availed itself to for years during the Obama administration. The EV tax credit was extended and enhanced in President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act signed in 2022.
But now that Tesla can produce its EVs profitability — and is essentially a cost leader in the space — Musk is fine with Trump and a GOP-led Congress potentially pulling the EV tax credit benefit, to the chagrin of his competitors.
"I think it would be devastating for our competitors and for Tesla slightly. But long term probably actually helps Tesla, would be my guess," Musk said when asked about the future of the tax credits during Tesla's Q2 earnings call last year.
Most Wall Street analysts and economists believe a loss of EV tax credits would hurt Tesla sales, though it would hurt its competitors more.
But perhaps the biggest reasons Tesla and Musk support Trump are self-driving and autonomy.
The bet is that the White House and regulators will ease, at least at the federal level, the ability to deploy robotaxis and self-driving technology at scale. And Tesla bulls like Adam Jonas at Morgan Stanley and Dan Ives at Wedbush see that as the main driver of Tesla's future growth.
Musk, not surprisingly, agrees.
"The value of Tesla overwhelmingly is autonomy. These other things are, I think, no way it's relative to autonomy," Musk said during last year's Q2 call. "I recommend anyone who doesn't believe that Tesla would solve vehicle autonomy should not hold Tesla stock."
"If you believe Tesla will solve autonomy, you should buy Tesla stock. And all these other questions are in the noise."
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.
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GameStop (GME) stock slid nearly 25% on Thursday as the company announced it's attempting to raise $1.3 billion to buy bitcoin (BTC-USD).
The company will attempt to raise the funds via convertible senior notes.
The news comes after GameStop shares rose nearly 12% when the video game operator turned popular meme stock said in a release that its board "has unanimously approved an update to its investment policy to add Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset."
The planned bitcoin investment comes about a month after CNBC reported GameStop was exploring cryptocurrency investments. On Feb. 8, a social media post from GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen sparked speculation over GameStop's interest in cryptocurrency. Cohen posted a picture on X with Strategy (MSTR) CEO Michael Saylor, who has famously hitched his company to bitcoin. It now holds more than 447,000 tokens, per a February filing.
The strategy has worked out well for Saylor's company, with the stock up over 84% in the past year amid a rise in the price of bitcoin. But Wall Street strategists are hesitant to conclude that GameStop investing in bitcoin would mean the video game retailer's stock has upside.
"The company's strategy, which has changed about six times in three years, is they're going to buy cryptocurrency and be just like MicroStrategy," Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter told Yahoo Finance on Monday ahead of the earnings release.
He added, "The problem with that thinking is MicroStrategy trades at about two times their bitcoin holdings. If GameStop were to buy all bitcoin with their $4.6 billion in cash and trade at two times [their bitcoin holdings,] the stock would drop five bucks."
Also after the bell on Tuesday, GameStop reported fourth quarter earnings results. The company posted $1.28 billion in net sales for the quarter, marking a 28% decline from the year-earlier period. For the full year, GameStop reported an adjusted EBITDA of $36.1 million, down from $64.7 million seen the year prior.
Josh Schafer is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X @_joshschafer.
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Brendan Lane woke up on Thursday feeling the squeeze from United States President Donald Trump's latest tariff: a 25 per cent levy on finished vehicles, in the simplest terms, made outside his country minus the cost of parts made in the U.S.
The general manager of Windsor, Ont.-based Lanex Manufacturing Inc. oversees the production of a variety of auto parts, including strikers, which is what your car door latches onto when it closes shut.
How those parts would be affected by Trump's tariffs raises complicated questions. If the materials come from the U.S., but get formed on Lane's factory floor in Windsor, return to the U.S. to be coated in paint or plated, only to come back to Canada to be installed in a vehicle, is that part made in Canada or the U.S.?
It's a question that may only be answered over time as border officials and lawyers read the fine print and hash out a system, but the answer could affect global trade for years to come.
For now, as the Trump administration continues its pattern of announcing tariffs, pausing tariffs and modifying tariffs while hinting at still more tariffs to come, business owners such as Lane have been left scrambling to figure out their new costs, complete paperwork for exemptions, consider when it makes sense to reorganize supply chains and keep everything running.
“It's been a mess: 25 per cent (tariffs) multiple times on something now,” he said. “Obviously, automotive margins are not 25 per cent or anywhere near that.”
The result is going to be fairly predictable even for companies such as Lanex, which is a couple of steps removed from the automakers that use his company's parts.
He said the message from the automakers in recent weeks has been clear: consumers are not going to purchase vehicles if the price goes up, so find ways to keep costs stable.
He's not sure how that will be possible.
“They're going to start looking to see how they solve the problem. And it's going to squeeze us as best as they can,” he said. “I don't know. I don't have the answer at this point.”
Lane's father, Bruce, set up Lanex in 1988 after developing expertise in auto manufacturing, such as stamping and welded assemblies, while working in the sector that has existed in Windsor, just across a river from Detroit, for more than a century.
The new tariffs, which Trump has said are to help force companies to build plants in the U.S., strike at the foundation of the Windsor's economy.
“This whole community is set up for across the border. We cross the border with parts all the time,” he said. “The system has all been set up based off the rules that were in play. Nobody was breaking rules. This is what we agreed upon. This is the CUSMA agreement. So, now everything is changing.”
In Trump's White House press conference about the auto tariffs, he said investment is already pouring into the U.S.
But many economists doubt that the tariff will achieve the intended effect. Auto-manufacturing plants take years to build and cost hundreds of millions, sometimes billions, of dollars and are generally planned for years before investment decisions are made.
“One can easily see a 30 per cent downward shift in U.S. auto sales in the coming months and quarters,” economist David Rosenberg said in a newsletter on Thursday, “and the hit to output and employment will come far in advance of any potential shift in factory production to the U.S.”
He said the more immediate impact will be inflationary given that the U.S. imports nearly half of its light-duty vehicles and trucks and 60 per cent of its auto parts.
Even a 15 per cent spike in auto prices would add US$6,000 to the cost of a new vehicle, Rosenberg said.
In Canada, he predicted the tariffs could lead to 180,000 job losses.
Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. chief executive Eric Desaulniers said the flood of tariffs has already created an environment of fear and uncertainty, which is never good for investment.
Even though his project, a mine two hours north of Montreal and a processing plant in the Quebec port city of Bécancour, is theoretically unaffected by tariffs so far, no one can say for certain whether that will be the case in the future.
General Motors Co., one of Nouveau Monde Graphite's investors, plans to buy graphite from its mine, but Desaulniers said the uncertainty Trump is creating for the auto sector will make it more difficult to lock in the $1.5 billion in financing his company needs for the project.
“This uncertainty is never good for deploying this much capital in a project,” Desaulniers said.
Steven Beatty, who retired as Toyota Canada Inc.'s corporate counsel in December, said there is too much uncertainty about how the auto tariff announced on March 26 will be implemented.
On its face, he said the latest tariffs against autos produced in Canada, or Mexico for that matter, appear to violate the terms of the Canada-United-States-Mexico Agreement that Trump administration officials negotiated in his first term.
He pointed to a “side letter” to CUSMA that former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer wrote in 2018 to former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland that said in the event that section 232 tariffs are applied — as Trump has now done — they would exclude 2.6 million Canadian-made vehicles and US$32.4-billion worth of auto parts per year.
The question is whether the Trump administration will honour the terms of the free trade agreement or not.
“If the worst-case scenario is true, we're moving into an area of lawlessness; that's kind of scary,” Beatty said. “We haven't gone over the brink yet.”
He said that part of the reason U.S. automakers build plants in Canada is because it is a highly lucrative market for their products and they want to preserve duty-free access.
In 2023, U.S. automakers exported US$23.2-billion worth of vehicles to Canada, its largest export market, and more than three times as much as the next highest, Germany, where it exported US$7.5-billion worth of vehicles.
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Beatty suggested that Canada would need to put counter tariffs on U.S. vehicles if Trump intends to violate the CUSMA.
Ultimately, he said, vehicles are a necessary item for the economy to function, and if prices rise too high or too fast, it would make tariffs politically unfeasible.
“There's only so much self-inflicted pain that any administration can take before you have to say, ‘OK, well, maybe that wasn't a good idea, and we're going to take a different tack,” he said.
• Email: gfriedman@postmedia.com
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Automaker stocks here and abroad are getting smoked following President Trump's big move to impose 25% tariffs on foreign autos and certain auto parts. But one automaker is up — Tesla.
Tesla (TSLA) stock jumped 5% in early trade as rivals GM (GM) tumbled nearly 7% and Ford (F) 3%.
Beyond the obvious connection between CEO Elon Musk's affinity for Trump and his leadership of the DOGE commission, there are a few other reasons why Trump's auto policies — both on tariffs and EVS — may not be a problem for Tesla.
The main reason tariffs aren't likely to affect Tesla is the company's localized manufacturing. Though the company operates gigafactories in China and Germany, none of the EVs built there are sold in the US.
Tesla's US-sold vehicles are made exclusively at the company's Fremont, Calif., location or at Giga Austin in Texas. Rivian (RIVN) and Lucid (LCID) are the only other automakers that make 100% of their vehicles in the US for US buyers. By comparison, 77% of Ford's autos are made in the US, followed by Stellantis (57%), Nissan (52%), and GM (52%).
Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump's tariffs
TD Cowen's Itay Michaeli thinks this makes Tesla a "relative winner" in the tariff wars.
"Tesla a relative beneficiary given 100% US production footprint, substantial US sourcing and with Model Y competing in a midsize crossover segment where close to ~50% of vehicles could be subject to tariffs," Michaeli wrote Thursday morning.
Trump said in his news conference last night that he didn't consult Musk about the auto tariffs because the CEO "may have a conflict."
Despite Tesla being a relative winner in the situation, some company execs are a little worried. In an unsigned letter submitted last week to US trade representative Jamieson Greer, the company warned tariffs could lead to retaliation from US export partners and higher prices for parts that can only be sourced internationally.
Musk added last night on X that Tesla is "NOT unscathed here" and that the impact of tariffs on the company is "still significant."
Investors, at least at this point, disagree with Musk's outward assertion, though the CEO did not elaborate how or why the impact would be "significant."
One area that might concern Musk and Tesla is the future of the federal EV tax credit that allows for $7,500 rebates to consumers who buy or lease pure EVs.
Tesla likely would not exist if not for that tax credit, which the company availed itself to for years during the Obama administration. The EV tax credit was extended and enhanced in President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act signed in 2022.
But now that Tesla can produce its EVs profitability — and is essentially a cost leader in the space — Musk is fine with Trump and a GOP-led Congress potentially pulling the EV tax credit benefit, to the chagrin of his competitors.
"I think it would be devastating for our competitors and for Tesla slightly. But long term probably actually helps Tesla, would be my guess," Musk said when asked about the future of the tax credits during Tesla's Q2 earnings call last year.
Most Wall Street analysts and economists believe a loss of EV tax credits would hurt Tesla sales, though it would hurt its competitors more.
But perhaps the biggest reasons Tesla and Musk support Trump are self-driving and autonomy.
The bet is that the White House and regulators will ease, at least at the federal level, the ability to deploy robotaxis and self-driving technology at scale. And Tesla bulls like Adam Jonas at Morgan Stanley and Dan Ives at Wedbush see that as the main driver of Tesla's future growth.
Musk, not surprisingly, agrees.
"The value of Tesla overwhelmingly is autonomy. These other things are, I think, no way it's relative to autonomy," Musk said during last year's Q2 call. "I recommend anyone who doesn't believe that Tesla would solve vehicle autonomy should not hold Tesla stock."
"If you believe Tesla will solve autonomy, you should buy Tesla stock. And all these other questions are in the noise."
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.
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Wall Street keeps pushing up its already bullish calls on gold as the precious metal climbs to new highs.
Gold (GC=F) futures touched their 17th record of the year on Thursday, climbing just north of $3,060 after President Donald Trump's auto tariff announcement stoked further fears of an escalating trade war. A move lower in the US dollar (DX-Y.NYB) index also helped drive prices higher.
Earlier this week, analysts at Bank of America raised their price target on gold to $3,500 per ounce over the coming 18 months from $3,000 previously. The new target is based on the assumption that investments increase 10% through more buying from China and central banks and continued purchases of physically backed ETFs.
"Uncertainty around Trump Administration trade policies could continue to push the USD lower, further supporting gold prices near-term. In our view, a broad rebalancing of America's twin deficits could be bullish gold too," wrote the analysts.
A "confluence of factors, mostly driven by the Trump Administration's economic policy mix, have pushed investors to increase their allocations to the yellow metal," the analysts wrote.
BofA's call follows a similar forecast from Macquarie Group, which recently predicted the precious metal will touch $3,500 in the third quarter of this year.
The precious metal's more than 14% rally year-to-date has even prompted JPMorgan analysts to question whether a price of $4,000 is a possibility.
The firm's researchers noted the commodity's price move from $2,500 to $3,000 occurred in just 210 days, significantly faster than previous $500 increments, which have averaged over 1,700 days.
JPMorgan analysts asked in a client note on Wednesday, “With each $1,000 phase taking about two-thirds less time than the previous one, and considering the law of diminishing returns alongside investors' attraction for round numbers, could the $4,000 mark be just around the corner?"
The analysts said the freezing of Russian foreign assets following the Ukraine war has “triggered a structural change in the demand for gold." Last year, demand for the precious metal reached an all-time high as central bank purchases accelerated.
"Heading into 2025, gold remained our top bullish pick for a third consecutive year in a row," the analysts wrote.
Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.
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The new tariffs on imported autos President Trump announced on March 26 will have profound effects on automakers and car buyers. One of them could be the "Cubanization" of the US auto fleet: As car prices rise, buyers hold on to old cars longer, and the average age of the US fleet rises.
Cuba is famous, or maybe notorious, for the antique cars from the 1940s and 1950s that still ply the roads as taxicabs and personal vehicles. That's not a national sense of nostalgia. When Fidel Castro's regime seized power in 1959, the United States imposed sanctions that are still in place and effectively keep Western cars and car parts out of the country. So, Cubans have had to make do with what they had prior to the Castro takeover. While it might seem charming to visitors, jury-rigging gas guzzlers with homemade parts in a nation with fuel shortages is an ongoing nightmare for many Cuban car owners.
The Trump tariffs won't be quite as punishing, but if they stick, they will rattle the whole industry. Trump says that beginning April 3, all imported cars will face a 25% tariff. The current tariff on most imports is only 2.5%. A month later, major components such as engines and transmissions will face the same tariff.
Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump's tariffs
About half of the 16 million cars sold in the United States are imports, and many components come from overseas, even if the final assembly occurs in an American factory. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas estimates the tariffs would boost the average car price by about $6,000. And that would apply to domestics as well as imports, since higher prices for one set of products usually allow competitors to raise their prices by a like amount.
Higher prices would depress sales. More people would shift to the used car market, which would push those prices up too, the same as it did when new cars became scarce for a time during the COVID pandemic. Higher prices will stop some people from buying altogether and force them to hold on to older cars longer.
"A strict implementation of a 25% tariff could add further elongation of average car age (the 'Cubanization' of the US car fleet)," Jonas wrote in a March 27 analysis. "The impacts are so potentially negative that we struggle to see how such measures can truly remain a 'permanent feature' of the US automotive landscape."
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Keeping more old cars on the road longer also has implications for safety, technology adoption, and fuel prices. New cars usually come with more safety features and better crashworthiness, which help save lives as they become standard throughout the fleet. New safety technology would arrive more slowly if shoppers buy fewer new cars.
A sales slowdown could also disrupt the cash flow many automakers are using to fund development of electric vehicles and other new systems. Most big automakers are trying to manage the tricky transition from combustion vehicles to electrics or other types of powertrains. If sales of profitable gas-powered vehicles drop, that disrupts the funding model for new technology, which would likely tilt production away from innovation.
An older fleet and a lower portion of electrics could also keep oil and gasoline demand higher than expected in the future, which would put upward pressure on prices. "Even as rising fleet fuel economy and growing electric vehicle penetration crimp gasoline demand, higher purchase prices resulting from the tariffs could keep older, less-efficient cars driving longer on U.S. roads," Clearview Energy noted in a March 27 analysis.
Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
None of this takes into account trade partner retaliation, which seems likely at some level. For now, the European Union and other countries that import autos to the United States are holding their fire, perhaps because they think they can reach some kind of deal with Trump in which he lowers the tariffs in exchange for more US production or some other concession. If that doesn't happen, however, trade partners are likely to follow the familiar script of hitting key US export categories with tariffs of their own.
Investors have been playing a guessing game on Trump's tariffs — and generally guessing wrong. Overall, Trump has levied higher customs duties than investors expected when he took office in January and shown more willingness to tolerate stock market sell-offs and other adverse effects than during his first term.
That now leaves much of the global auto industry wondering if Trump's auto tariffs will stick, triggering widespread collateral damage, or fade as Trump gets enough concessions to persuade him to relent.
Don't bet the car on the outcome.
Rick Newman is a senior columnist for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Bluesky and X: @rickjnewman.
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President Trump made good on his promise to impose tariffs on foreign automakers, imposing 25% duties on all cars and light trucks not made in the United States, as well as "certain auto parts." The move sent shares of GM (GM), Ford (F), and other automakers sharply lower on Thursday.
“This will continue to spur growth that you've never seen before," Trump said from the White House on Wednesday, signing an executive order putting the tariffs in place. The 25% tariffs are set to take effect April 2 and add to existing tariffs. The White House claimed that $100 billion in annual duties will be collected.
GM shares tumbled over 8% in early trading, while Stellantis (STLA) shed nearly 4% and Ford dipped 3%. European automakers as well as Japanese and Korean brands fell on Thursday as well.
Though the new tariffs will hit mostly foreign automakers, domestic automakers, including the Big Three — Ford, GM, and Stellantis — are concerned about their impact too. GM, Ford, and Stellantis build vehicles in Canada, Mexico, and China, and they foresee higher production costs due to tariffs' effect on the auto supply chain.
Wednesday's tariffs seem to initially target only finished auto products, however the executive order and published fact sheet added parts like "engines, transmissions, powertrain parts, and electrical components" to the list of foreign goods subject to tariffs.
Trump has deemed April 2, the day on which he is slated to announce further tariffs, "Liberation Day" for the US, saying other countries have "ripped [us] off" and that any new tariffs are "reciprocal."
While the costs of the new auto tariffs on foreign imports are hard to quantify, analysis from various data firms suggest price hikes of $3,000 to as much as $12,000 for non-premium autos.
European automakers have suggested a range of options for dealing with tariffs. BMW said it will absorb the costs for a short time, while Porsche suggested it would pass on costs directly to consumers.
"In our view these initial tariffs (if they hold in their current form) would be a hurricane-like headwind to foreign (and many US) automakers and ultimately push the average price of cars up $5k to $10k depending on the make/model/price point," Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote late Wednesday night. "We continue to believe this is some form of negotiation and these tariffs could change by the week. ... We expect to learn more over the next week but for now investors will be frustrated by this announcement with few details."
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.
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Even wealthy luxury car buyers may be stopped in their tracks due to new Trump auto tariffs.
Auto stocks dropped Thursday morning, with shares of the Big Three US automakers, which build vehicles abroad, down. General Motors (GM) and Ford (F) fell 7% and 3%, respectively, while Europe-focused Stellantis (STLA) fell 3%.
Ferrari stock (RACE) was no exception, falling 1% in early trading and extending a 4% year-to-date slide.
JPMorgan autos analyst Ryan Brinkman warned in a note Thursday ahead of the opening bell that the earnings implications of this round of tariffs "are worse for Ferrari" than previous tariff threats.
"While Ferrari was not impacted by earlier proposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico, ... Italy along with all other countries are subject to the new round of tariffs as laid out in yesterday's executive order," Brinkman explained. "Ferrari critically derives upward of ~40% of its global sales from the US, which also happens to be its higher margin market."
He added, "While Ferrari demand may prove amongst the least elastic to moderate changes in price (such as the +7% price increases implemented in the UK after Brexit), Ferrari purchases are arguably amongst the most discretionary also, and so we could envision some buyers electing to delay taking delivery.
Brinkman slashed his price target on Ferrari to $460 from $525, but he kept an Overweight rating on the stock.
Ferrari shipped 13,752 cars in 2024, up 1% year over year. Net sales and operating profits rose 12% and 17%, respectively. The Americas region led the way for Ferrari last year, with shipments up 5% year over year.
Whether that momentum continues deep into 2025 is now in question.
Trump said Wednesday the US will impose 25% tariffs on imports of cars and car parts, which will take effect on April 3. The measures will apply to finished cars, trucks, and certain auto parts.
"This will continue to spur growth that you've never seen before," Trump said from the White House about the new tariffs.
Investors and Wall Street don't appear to agree, given the response in stock markets and from analysts early on Thursday.
The tariffs could raise automakers' production costs and stunt consumer demand through higher prices. About half of all vehicles sold in the US are imported.
In a statement, Ferrari said that it may raise prices by up to 10% to reflect the higher tariffs. Ferrari reaffirmed its financial outlook for 2025 but noted the risk that EBIT and EBITDA margins could face a 50 basis point reduction.
Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
Brinkman went on to cut estimates and price targets on Ford and General Motors, citing "increased potential for material earnings risk from draconian auto tariffs that now seem likelier than ever to be imposed as soon as April 3."
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.
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Boeing, Bud Light, Facebook — these are just a few of the biggest brands that at one point faced a major public relations crisis. This is where electric vehicle stalwart Tesla (TSLA) finds itself. The company's stock has been in free fall since the start of the year, with sales slipping in key regions like Europe and China and even in the US.
CEO Elon Musk's closeness to President Trump and embrace of right-wing politicians in Europe has seen Musk — and Tesla's brand — suffer. Protests both in the US and abroad at Tesla showrooms are growing, as are acts of vandalism on Tesla EVs. Another wave of Tesla protests is slated for March 29.
Yahoo Finance spoke to crisis management expert Eric Dezenhall, founder of Dezenhall Resources and veteran of many high-profile crisis responses. Though he declines to name his clients, Dezenhall has reportedly worked with large corporations like General Electric, Exxon Mobil, and Procter & Gamble. He also authored the book "Wiseguys and the White House," which is about the history of organized crime's influence on the presidency.
The following is a condensed version of a conversation with Dezenhall about his thoughts on Tesla, Musk, and what, if anything, can be done now to repair the brand damage.
Pras Subramanian: What's your take on where things stand now with Musk, Tesla, vis-à-vis the general public?
Eric Dezenhall: It's almost impossible to be a politically divisive figure while running a consumer brand. X/Twitter is one thing: You could make the argument that its purpose is political, and if you can build a consumer base on that, fine.
Tesla is something different. It's a consumer product that was marketed as an alternative to fossil fuel-burning cars. This was appealing to progressives and even some conservatives. It's lost its status as a progressive "badge" product.
Elaborate more on what "badge"-like status means for a brand, and can you think of another brand that suffered a similar fate?
Bud Light. Beers tend to be badge products as they inspire loyalty for reasons other than the product itself. "Come over for the Super Bowl. We'll have Bud Light." It's about feeling. The Dylan Mulvaney fiasco blew that up because it told loyalists, "We have no idea who you are, and we don't care."
Tesla really was and is a unique product, but now there are other EVs, so it's not as special as it once was. Other brands have a shot at the eco-friendly badge.
What do Tesla and Musk have to do to limit the damage, perceived or real, that we see right now?
A lot depends on two things: Does Musk stay in his DOGE position? If so, it will be hard to build Tesla back unless the product itself is so much more extraordinary than competitors — which it once was.
If he leaves DOGE and gets back to what made him, the public can forget the recent unpleasantness over time. If he stays with DOGE and keeps the slash-and-burn at this pace, it will be hard to balance both.
If Musk remains at DOGE, do you really think new products would be enough for Tesla to overcome his political ambitions that are alienating customers?
People can overlook a lot if they love a product. Look how many years we ignored the perils of social media because they were addicted to their phones. In the face of overwhelming evidence, we're just starting to ask tough questions about our phone addiction.
If Musk comes up with something amazing, people may revisit their sentiments, but I have no idea what that could be.
With things as they are, how would you advise Musk under these circumstances if he were your client? What are some steps he or management could take?
The problem is that you can't advise guys like this. I've had clients in this stratosphere. They view advisers as their deep inferiors because they have prospered by violating norms that would have destroyed anyone else. What goes around never comes around, so why listen?
But my advice would be simple: The aim of crisis management is to stop an attack, not improve an image. First, get back to business. Leave politics to somebody else. This isn't your thing. But that advice doesn't matter because he's at the center of global discourse. That's the main thing that has value in 2025.
Is the board asleep at the wheel here? What would you tell them given the circumstances with their CEO? Bloomberg just reported that Tesla chair Robyn Denholm refused to answer questions at an event about Musk and whether he was too distracted.
Boards at companies with charismatic founders are different from regular boards. They're about supporting the king more than anything else. They're not asleep: They know exactly what's happening but are likely tiptoeing around the king or banging their heads against a wall. There is no earthly reason why Musk would listen to anyone. Gravity has never applied to him — and may never.
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on X and on Instagram.
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Even wealthy luxury car buyers may be stopped in their tracks due to new Trump auto tariffs.
Auto stocks dropped Thursday morning, with shares of the Big Three US automakers, which build vehicles abroad, down. General Motors (GM) and Ford (F) fell 7% and 3%, respectively, while Europe-focused Stellantis (STLA) fell 3%.
Ferrari stock (RACE) was no exception, falling 1% in early trading and extending a 4% year-to-date slide.
JPMorgan autos analyst Ryan Brinkman warned in a note Thursday ahead of the opening bell that the earnings implications of this round of tariffs "are worse for Ferrari" than previous tariff threats.
"While Ferrari was not impacted by earlier proposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico, ... Italy along with all other countries are subject to the new round of tariffs as laid out in yesterday's executive order," Brinkman explained. "Ferrari critically derives upward of ~40% of its global sales from the US, which also happens to be its higher margin market."
He added, "While Ferrari demand may prove amongst the least elastic to moderate changes in price (such as the +7% price increases implemented in the UK after Brexit), Ferrari purchases are arguably amongst the most discretionary also, and so we could envision some buyers electing to delay taking delivery.
Brinkman slashed his price target on Ferrari to $460 from $525, but he kept an Overweight rating on the stock.
Ferrari shipped 13,752 cars in 2024, up 1% year over year. Net sales and operating profits rose 12% and 17%, respectively. The Americas region led the way for Ferrari last year, with shipments up 5% year over year.
Whether that momentum continues deep into 2025 is now in question.
Trump said Wednesday the US will impose 25% tariffs on imports of cars and car parts, which will take effect on April 3. The measures will apply to finished cars, trucks, and certain auto parts.
"This will continue to spur growth that you've never seen before," Trump said from the White House about the new tariffs.
Investors and Wall Street don't appear to agree, given the response in stock markets and from analysts early on Thursday.
The tariffs could raise automakers' production costs and stunt consumer demand through higher prices. About half of all vehicles sold in the US are imported.
In a statement, Ferrari said that it may raise prices by up to 10% to reflect the higher tariffs. Ferrari reaffirmed its financial outlook for 2025 but noted the risk that EBIT and EBITDA margins could face a 50 basis point reduction.
Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
Brinkman went on to cut estimates and price targets on Ford and General Motors, citing "increased potential for material earnings risk from draconian auto tariffs that now seem likelier than ever to be imposed as soon as April 3."
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.
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Listen and subscribe to Opening Bid on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
There's plenty of mixed sentiment about the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as it heads into the third month of operation, and whether people agree or disagree, some people remain optimistic.
"There is waste, fraud, and abuse in the government," IBM vice chair and former director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn told Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi during a conversation on the Opening Bid podcast (see video above or listen below). He added that getting rid of that "has to be done."
Cohn, a former top executive at Goldman Sachs, served as chief economic adviser during the first Trump administration, where he managed the economic agenda. His professional life has also taken him to plenty of locations where he was called upon to assist with tough decisions, including where to make cuts that impact the bottom line. So he said he understands what Musk is trying to do.
"There's not a business I've ever been involved in that when I walked in, I didn't try and figure out where the money was being wasted, where we couldn't streamline it, where we couldn't get rid of certain things," he said.
DOGE was a controversial proposal from the beginning.
With Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk at the helm, the department set an initial goal of cutting $1 trillion in wasteful government spending and put government entities under its harsh microscope almost immediately. These moves drew praise from some and criticism from others after layoffs and resignations rained down at agencies, only to be clawed back in some cases.
"You're not smart enough day one to take the scalpel out," Cohn said of some of these moves. "You have to take the machete out, [and] you add things back in."
Cohn had other suggestions for where DOGE can look and how to proceed. "I think we need to look holistically at the government and see how many redundant services we have," he said.
Looking at the financial services industry as an example, Cohn noted that the typical bank involved in the trading world can have up to 10 regulators overseeing it on a daily basis. Noting that European and Asian banks have two regulators, he added, "Maybe we need three or four in the United States, but we probably don't need eight."
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulates the futures market, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates the equities market, while both protect consumers, he said. "Then you've got all these consumer protection regulators," he added. "Well, isn't that the SEC's job? Isn't that the CFTC's job? Why do we have multiple regulators doing the same thing?"
He also advised against simply eliminating agencies. Ideally, "let's take a clean sheet of paper and say, look, if we were starting again, what would we look like? How many financial services regulators would we have," he said. "We'd have a lot less than we have today."
Cohn was quick to share that he is not anti-regulation but "pro smart regulation."
"Once you create those regulators, they're going to have to find things that are wrong, and they're going to have to go find people to justify their existence," he said. "I think we'd be much more efficient to do it in one place."
Three times each week, Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi fields insight-filled conversations and chats with the biggest names in business and markets on Opening Bid. You can find more episodes on our video hub or watch on your preferred streaming service.
Grace Williams is a writer for Yahoo Finance.
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A growing number of Wall Street strategists are lowering their S&P forecasts for the year.
What hasn't been a feature in many of these calls is a more bearish outlook for the "Magnificent Seven" and Big Tech more broadly. This stands out given that bullishness on tech and artificial intelligence drove S&P 500 targets higher over the past two years and has also led to the recent 10% correction in the benchmark index.
"Elevated capex is a clear and present risk amid ongoing concerns around AI monetization, but [Big Tech] valuations are the most reasonable in almost two years after the group led the recent selloff, and we think they will still deliver solid earnings growth this year," Barclays head of US equity strategy Venu Krishna wrote in a note cutting his year-end S&P 500 target to 5,900 from 6,600. Krishna, like many on Wall Street, expects that slower economic growth and higher inflation will weigh on stocks.
An unwinding of the AI hype trade has been at the forefront of the past month's sell-off. For instance, on Wednesday, as more news on tariffs shook stocks, shares of Nvidia (NVDA), Tesla (TSLA), Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), and Microsoft (MSFT) all fell more than the S&P 500's 1.3% decline. Even Apple (AAPL), which has held steadier than the rest of its Magnificent Seven cohort, fell roughly 15% off its most recent all-time high.
Big Tech has faced growing investor criticism about its ballooning AI spend and whether or not it will eventually turn into future profits. The year also included a massive drawdown in some large tech names, including Nvidia, following the release of a cheaper AI model from Chinese company DeepSeek.
But with fears of a broader economic slowdown swirling, strategists have argued that Big Tech's steady earnings growth and cash-filled balance sheets could make it a place to hide as policy uncertainty comes to the forefront during upcoming earnings reports over the next two months.
Citi US equity strategist Scott Chronert told Yahoo Finance that when comparing valuations across their 20-year average, the seven tech stocks are actually now "cheaper" than the other 493 stocks in the S&P.
"We think their fundamentals are in pretty good shape in terms of expected growth trajectories for this year," Chronert told Yahoo Finance. "We're not sure we can say that about the rest of the index as we go through tariffs and as we go through signs of economic sluggishness. So, all told, our view here is that the megacap growth cohort, led by the Mag Seven, takes on a little bit more of a growth-as-defensive bias as we go into the quarterly reporting period."
Morgan Stanley's Mike Wilson wrote in a note to clients on Sunday that the weakening US dollar — which could help US-centric companies this earnings season — and stabilizing earnings revisions for the Magnificent Seven could help bring investor flows back to US stocks.
"The most notable change here is that Mag 7 earnings revisions look to be stabilizing and potentially bottoming around 0%," Wilson wrote. "This could halt the underperformance of these mega cap stocks in the near term as we head into earnings season."
Josh Schafer is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X @_joshschafer.
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GameStop (GME) stock slid more than 6% in premarket trading Thursday as the company announced it's attempting to raise $1.3 billion to buy bitcoin (BTC-USD).
The company will attempt to raise the funds via convertible senior notes.
The news comes after GameStop shares rose more nearly 12% when the video game operator turned popular meme stock said in a release that its board "has unanimously approved an update to its investment policy to add Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset."
The planned bitcoin investment comes about a month after CNBC reported GameStop was exploring cryptocurrency investments. On Feb. 8, a social media post from GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen sparked speculation over GameStop's interest in cryptocurrency. Cohen posted a picture on X with Strategy (MSTR) CEO Michael Saylor, who has famously hitched his company to bitcoin. It now holds more than 447,000 tokens, per a February filing.
The strategy has worked out well for Saylor's company, with the stock up over 84% in the past year amid a rise in the price of bitcoin. But Wall Street strategists are hesitant to conclude that GameStop investing in bitcoin would mean the video game retailer's stock has upside.
"The company's strategy, which has changed about six times in three years, is they're going to buy cryptocurrency and be just like MicroStrategy," Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter told Yahoo Finance on Monday ahead of the earnings release.
He added, "The problem with that thinking is MicroStrategy trades at about two times their bitcoin holdings. If GameStop were to buy all bitcoin with their $4.6 billion in cash and trade at two times [their bitcoin holdings,] the stock would drop five bucks."
Also after the bell on Tuesday, GameStop reported fourth quarter earnings results. The company posted $1.28 billion in net sales for the quarter, marking a 28% decline from the year-earlier period. For the full year, GameStop reported an adjusted EBITDA of $36.1 million, down from $64.7 million seen the year prior.
Josh Schafer is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X @_joshschafer.
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The crypto industry will be listening closely when Paul Atkins, President Trump's pick to run the Securities and Exchange Commission, testifies before the Senate Thursday in his nomination hearing.
Atkins is expected to reexamine and revise a lot of what the agency did during the Biden administration, notably its approach toward regulating digital assets.
For years, Atkins has made it clear he favors clearer regulations of cryptocurrencies that don't impose unnecessary oversight — and he intends to repeat that point before Senate lawmakers Thursday.
"I have seen how ambiguous and non-existent regulations for digital assets create uncertainty in the market and inhibit innovation," he said in his prepared remarks for his testimony.
"A top priority of my chairmanship will be to work with my fellow commissioners and Congress to provide a firm regulatory foundation for digital assets through a rational, coherent, and principled approach."
Wall Street will also be listening for any signs of more favorable treatment. Atkins in the past has criticized the Dodd-Frank legislation that was enacted after the 2008 financial crisis to rein in the biggest US banks.
Trump Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has made it clear he wants to lift constraints on lenders and overhaul the current regulatory framework as a way of increasing lending activity in the US.
Atkins previously served as a Republican SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008 and in 2009 founded Washington consulting firm Patomak Global Partners, which helps companies deal with US regulators.
This week, he said he would step down and divest from his consulting firm if confirmed, giving up a stake valued at more than $25 million. He said so while releasing financial disclosures and an ethics statement on Tuesday.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is expected to press Atkins on what she sees as conflicts of interest from his work as a regulatory consultant for big banks and financial firms.
She sent Atkins a 34-page letter ahead of Thursday's Senate Banking Committee hearing pressing him on those perceived conflicts, as well as his decisions in setting regulations before the 2008 financial crisis and his involvement in the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
"This record raises questions about your judgement and your ability to serve as an effective SEC Chair if you are confirmed," Warren wrote. "I ask that you appear at your nomination hearing prepared to answer these questions and that you provide complete written answers prior to any Banking Committee vote on your nomination."
Warren's questions as outlined in the letter include his views on crypto, such as how he believes the so-called Howey test applies to digital asset tokens.
The SEC's framework for evaluating digital assets as securities has long relied on the Howey test, which has its origins in a 1946 Supreme Court case dealing with tracts of Florida orange groves sold by W.J. Howey Co. and leased back to the company.
The Supreme Court labeled these leaseback deals as investment contracts, meaning they needed to be registered with the SEC.
Gary Gensler, the last SEC chair, believed that the vast majority of cryptocurrencies were securities based on this test and, therefore, required aggressive oversight by the SEC.
The crypto world disagreed, and that split was the source of considerable tension during the Biden administration.
Gensler and the SEC sued many of the biggest crypto exchanges, accusing them of trading securities without registering with the agency. Gensler also declined to write customized rules for the crypto industry, arguing many digital assets are securities that should have to comply with rules already on the books.
“Gary Gensler's tenure was a disaster for American innovators, investors, and job creators," said Sen. Tim Scott, the Republican chair of the Senate Banking Committee.
"I will work with Paul Atkins to improve access to capital for entrepreneurs nationwide, right-size regulations for small and newly public companies, create new avenues for hardworking Americans to invest in their communities, and provide long-overdue clarity for digital assets."
Even before Atkins's confirmation hearing, the SEC has already started to back away from the aggressive approach of the last administration and unwind certain actions.
The SEC has dropped more than 10 enforcement cases against high-profile crypto firms, including US exchange Coinbase (COIN), while also declaring many meme coins to be exempt from securities laws and reversing an accounting bulletin that made it difficult for banks to custody crypto.
It also launched a task force led by SEC commissioner Hester Peirce to study a new regulatory framework governing the industry.
"I'm hoping that we can get to a place," Peirce told Yahoo Finance in an interview last month, "where we have greater clarity around [a legal framework]that is workable, that is consistent with the statute, but also enables people to figure out what something is categorized ... without hiring lots of lawyers and having the fear of litigation hanging over them."
Trump himself has already signed executive orders that benefit the industry, including the creation of a strategic bitcoin (BTC-USD) reserve, and has pledged to help push through legislation that the industry favors.
At the same time, he has existing interests in other crypto ventures that benefit if the value of digital assets rise.
Just before Trump's inauguration, his team launched an official meme coin for the 47th president (TRUMP) and one for First Lady Melania Trump (MELANIA) on the Solana blockchain.
His namesake Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) announced Monday that it would partner with trading platform Crypto.com to launch exchange-traded funds that will include a "unique ETF basket of cryptocurrencies."
World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture Trump helped launch last year, also announced Tuesday that it plans to launch USD1, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar.
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Amber Murray
Retail Reporter
Naked Wines has released details of its new strategic growth plan as it promises to “recalibrate” the businesses to drive growth.
The wine seller also announced that its trading performance “continues to track in line with expectations” ahead of full-year results later this year.
Its share price rose more than 11 per cent in early trades.
Naked Wines said it has three new priorities: achieving £75m in cash, reaching £10m-£15m annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EDITDA) and achieving sustainable underlying revenue growth.
It expects revenue to stabilise by 2029 at £200-£225m, and that underlying EBITDA will progressively build to £10m-£15m in the medium term.
The company plans to “recalibrate around a profitable core” of members, save costs to free up cash, and restore customer retention back to 2019 levels.
After struggling post-pandemic with a sharp downturn in demand, Naked Wines started to reduce its losses last year after hiring Maze as CEO.
“Investors need to pay attention – Naked Wines has turned a corner and there is a plan to achieve three things: significantly build cash… return the business to 5-10 per cent revenue growth… while underpinning EBITDA at circa £10m in the near-term, and commit to distributing this cash to shareholders,” Panmure Liberum analysts said.
Panmure raised its target price up to 150p from 50p. The stock is currently trading at 63p, having risen 38 per cent in the year to date.
“A year ago, I made a commitment to deliver real value to all our stakeholders. We now have a powerful plan that fulfills that promise, as we deliver on FY25 guidance even in the face of challenging market conditions,” CEO Rodrigo Maza said.
“We will look to commence distributions, unlock capital from surplus inventory, double down on serving our most valuable members, and transform how we attract and retain new customers.
“I am deeply grateful to the team for their commitment and relentless hard work. Together, we are turning challenges into opportunities and paving the way for a bright future,” Maze said.
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There is suddenly a new word that appears again and again in remarks from the Federal Reserve's top officials: "uncertainty."
It started last week with Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who used the word 22 times during March 19 remarks to reporters following the central bank's decision to leave rates unchanged.
Read more: How the Fed rate decision affects your bank accounts, loans, credit cards, and investments
"Uncertainty is remarkably high," Powell said of the US economic outlook.
His colleagues have since spoken from the same script. New York Fed president John Williams last Friday used the word 12 times while delivering a speech titled "Certain Uncertainty."
This week, Fed governor Adriana Kugler cited a "heightened level of uncertainty,” while St. Louis Fed president Alberto Musalem warned about "considerable uncertainty” in determining the effect President Trump's tariffs will have on inflation.
The certainty of this widespread uncertainty for central bank policymakers was also on full display in the Fed's quarterly Summary of Economic Projections released last Wednesday — even as officials maintained a prior prediction for two rate cuts at some point this year.
What Fed officials changed in those projections was their outlook on inflation (higher) and economic growth (lower), with Powell telling reporters that a driving reason for the change was uncertainty stemming from Trump's plans for an aggressive slate of new tariffs.
"It's hard to know with any precision how the economy will evolve," Williams said last Friday, acknowledging "there is certain uncertainty in monetary policy."
Another sign of uncertainty in the Summary of Economic Projections: Nearly all Fed officials said that risks to their unemployment forecasts were weighted to the upside and risks to their inflation forecasts were weighted to the downside.
In other words, most believe inflation could go higher and employment could go lower.
"The Fed is worried that the ongoing stagflation shock is going to intensify further," Torsten Sløk, chief economist for Apollo, said in a March 25 note that cited the Summary of Economic Projections data. (Disclosure: Yahoo Finance is owned by Apollo Global Management.)
Fed policymakers are not the only ones going to the word "uncertainty" to describe their current predicament. The same is true in the business world, where companies have started using it when warning about lower profit and revenue forecasts.
FedEx (FDX) did so last week, with its CFO saying its "revised earnings outlook reflects continued weakness and uncertainty in the U.S. industrial economy.”
Another was Delta Air Lines (DAL), which said earlier this month that lower first quarter revenue and profit forecasts were the result of "increased macro uncertainty."
American consumers also say they are experiencing increased uncertainty. The latest consumer confidence index reading from the Conference Board clocked in at the lowest level in more than four years amid uncertainty around President Trump's policies.
Expectations were particularly dour when it came to inflation, with expectations rising to 6.2% in March, up from 5.8% in February.
The hope from the business world and Wall Street is that next week could provide some clarity when on April 2 Trump releases a promised set of "reciprocal tariffs" on other countries.
There is even some optimism those tariffs may turn out to be more limited than once expected.
But for Fed policymakers, that may only lead to another period of uncertainty as they try to figure out how much of any additional inflation they expect to see is a one-off effect that will prove to be temporary.
Powell, for example, said last week that it was his "base case" that any price increases could prove to be "transitory."
But the St. Louis Fed president, Musalem, said Wednesday that new tariffs could have a more persistent impact on inflation.
"I would be wary of assuming that the impact of tariff increases on inflation will be entirely temporary," Musalem said during a speech in Kentucky.
"The direct price-level effects [of tariffs] are expected to have only a brief and limited impact on inflation, but the indirect effects could have a more persistent impact on inflation," he added.
Musalem offered the example of beer from Canada. If it is subject to a 25% tariff, US consumers could shift out of Canadian beer to American-made Budweiser and then Budweiser could increase its prices as people look for locally produced goods.
"Distinguishing, especially in real-time, between direct, indirect, and second-round effects entails considerable uncertainty," he added.
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Marc Filippino, Owen Walker and Sylvia Pfeifer
PublishedMarch 27 2025
This is an audio transcript of the FT News Briefing podcast episode: ‘Rolls-Royce flies high'
Marc Filippino Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Thursday, March 27th, and this is your FT News Briefing.
US President Donald Trump escalated his trade war yesterday. And we have two CEO comeback stories for you: how Rolls-Royce revved up and how the outgoing CEO of Singapore's largest bank turned things around.
Owen Walker Rather than thinking, what would Jamie Dimon do, it was instead, what would Jeff Bezos do. And so it was really changing that mindset within the business to think more like a tech company.
Marc Filippino I'm Marc Filippino and here's the news you need to start your day.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
The US is gonna impose 25 per cent tariffs on automotive imports. Donald Trump announced the move yesterday. The US president said it would lead to, quote, tremendous growth in the American car industry. Carmakers, however, have said tariffs would upend their supply chains and increase the cost of cars in the US. Shares in General Motors, Chrysler's parent company Stellantis, and Ford fell in after-hours trading after the announcement. The move follows a series of new tariffs from the president. They include an additional 20 per cent tax on goods from China and 25 per cent levies on all imports of steel and aluminium. The automotive tariff will begin next Wednesday.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Piyush Gupta will step down tomorrow after 16 years as the head of Singapore's biggest bank, DBS. He joined in 2009 to steer the company out of the recession and help build it into the regional champion it is today. But he's warned that there are challenges ahead for the incoming CEO and that taking the reins won't be easy. The FT's Singapore correspondent Owen Walker is here with me to talk about it. Hey, Owen.
Owen Walker Hey, how's it going?
Marc Filippino Doing well. So first off, tell me about how DBS has done under Gupta. What's his legacy in financial terms?
Owen Walker So, as you mentioned, Gupta took over, in his words, he inherited a bloated, pretty bureaucratic organisation. And he's really transformed that over 16 years. To put it into numbers, shares have gone up 300 per cent, profits have increased fivefold, numbers of customers have gone from 5mn to 18.5mn. That's come as he's really kind of positioned the bank to be a leading player in wealth management, in transaction services and really in tech, and digitised the bank. So that's really been what his legacy has been.
Marc Filippino That is wildly impressive, Owen. What were some of the approaches that Gupta took to get DBS to where it is today?
Owen Walker Yeah. He wanted to modernise it. He wanted to bring in a more kind of meritocratic system, change the culture, make it more entrepreneurial. That's what he set about doing in his first three years, you know, really trying to encourage its sales teams to sell more products to clients, not just relying on its kind of historic client base and what they were using the bank for.
And then in 2014, it was a meeting with Jack Ma, the Alibaba founder, and Ma opened up about what he was planning to do with Alipay, which is the payments arm of Alibaba. And Gupta just kind of looked at him and thought, well, you as an ecommerce business are gonna completely come in and take our lunch. And Gupta thought, well, the only way we can confront them is to think like a tech company ourselves. And then he started this whole mantra of, you know, rather than thinking, what would Jamie Dimon do, the long-term CEO of JPMorgan, it was instead, what would Jeff Bezos do, the Amazon founder. And so it was really changing that mindset within the business to think more like a tech company than a traditional bank.
Marc Filippino So Owen, Gupta's replacement is Tan Su Shan. She has been with the company for 15 years and takes over tomorrow. What kind of challenges is she going to face?
Owen Walker I mean, this is a really big time to be handing over leadership for any bank, really, but DBS has got a very Asian-centric client base. Now, this is a region which is gonna be really affected by a lot of the tariffs that Donald Trump is threatening, and in fact, that could affect global trade and a lot of these businesses in the region could really be affected by that. So that's one point of disruption.
Another is that we are entering a period of falling interest rates globally and that really undermines profits for a bank. And then finally, you know, we are entering the age of artificial intelligence. And if the threat from fintech companies to traditional lenders wasn't strong enough, I think, you know, what we're gonna start seeing with the advances in AI that's really going to ramp up. So there's gonna be pressure on banks to really, you know, keep pace with the tech companies who are expanding in their field.
Marc Filippino Owen Walker is the FT's Singapore correspondent. Thanks so much.
Owen Walker Great, thanks very much.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Marc Filippino UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced cuts to welfare programmes and day-to-day departmental spending yesterday. It was part of her Spring Statement. The cuts were meant to fill a budgetary hole in public finances. The moves will push about a quarter of a million people into relative poverty, that's according to a government impact assessment, and even then, the cuts might not be enough to offset tax increases later in the year. It was rough stuff from Downing Street, but there was one ray of sunshine yesterday. UK inflation came in lower than expected. The annual increase in prices was only 2.8 per cent in February, and that decline was majorly driven by the cost of clothing.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
When you think of Rolls-Royce, you might think of a car, but the name has also become synonymous with the aerospace and defence industries. That doesn't mean it hasn't had its issues, though. Rolls-Royce was in big trouble just a few years ago until a new CEO stepped in, Tufan Erginbilgiç. My colleague Sylvia Pfeifer recently spoke to Erginbilgiç, and she's here to tell me about his Rolls-Royce revival. Hi, Sylvia.
Sylvia Pfeifer Hi there.
Marc Filippino OK, so just how badly was Rolls-Royce doing before Erginbilgiç became CEO in early 2023?
Sylvia Pfeifer I think it is fair to say that its recent history was marked by profit warnings, restructurings and changes in leadership. The company was dealing with the fallout from a bribery investigation. There were a series of failings with its Trent 1000 engines, which power Boeing's 787 Dreamliner aircraft, for example. And then Covid hit, and the pandemic all but stopped commercial flying, if you remember. And Rolls-Royce earns most of its revenues certainly in its civil aerospace business when its engines are flying. So a lot going on in recent history.
Marc Filippino And how dramatic has the turnaround been since then?
Sylvia Pfeifer I think a couple of things to point out here. If you look at the share price, so in late December 2022, the shares were a penny stock. And then Tufan took over in January 2023 and over that period, the share price has risen more than eightfold. Now just to add here, so, there are lots of people who have views on Rolls-Royce, given its heritage in the UK. So a lot of them have sort of said, the big increase in the share price and everything is because international flying has restarted. But if you talk to Tufan he sort of says this has nothing to do with the external environment. He makes the point that he's trying to fundamentally change the company and has already managed to do some of this. He points out operating profits and cash flow are substantially higher. So he makes the point, look at what I've delivered already just in two years, and the increase in performance and cash flow, operating profits and margins is much, much better than the external environment.
Marc Filippino OK, so the turnaround is evident. What does Erginbilgiç see as his keys to success?
Sylvia Pfeifer Yes, so he makes a big thing about the fact that he's not just being brought in to do another restructuring. He says that he is interested in doing a wholesale transformation, then he references four sort of key pillars. And the first one is he describes it as holding up a mirror to the company and to its employees to underline the reality of the entire company's position. His second one is to sort of set a clear, granular strategy that engages employees. So he makes the point you can't just do strategy from the top and then hope people at the bottom will just pick up on it and deliver it. His third pillar, he describes as performance management, which is how you then manage the company or the business and you set very clear targets. And then the fourth pillar is to do all of these three with what he describes as pace and intensity. You have to, you know, demonstrate quite quickly to those people in the organisation that aren't convinced by what you're doing or the vision that you've put out there, you've got to present results quite quickly to get them on board.
Marc Filippino Are there any challenges Erginbilgiç is dealing with, Sylvia?
Sylvia Pfeifer Back of my mind, there's always this sort of little voice that says, remember, this is Rolls-Royce, remember all those restructurings and those sudden profit warnings, so never rule anything out. There's the external environment to flag. So we have the threat of tariffs by the US administration. There could be some more engine problems. One of the company's engines has already drawn the eye of some airline customers. And then the other bigger question is, what does he do strategically? The company at the moment, its engines only power, large, wide-body planes, And the key growth in the market over the past few years has been in the narrow-body segment. Does the company have an engine for this bit of the market? And can he persuade Airbus and Boeing to offer Rolls-Royce a position on the next single-aisle or narrow-body plane when they do launch the next model?
Marc Filippino Sylvia Pfeifer is the FT's industry correspondent. Thanks, Sylvia.
Sylvia Pfeifer Thank you.
Marc Filippino You can read more on all these stories for free when you click the links in our show notes. This has been your daily FT News Briefing. Check back tomorrow for the latest business news.
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An ancient and enormous organism called Prototaxites, initially found to be a type of fungus, may actually be an unknown branch of life, researchers say.
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A bizarre ancient life-form, considered to be the first giant organism to live on land, may belong to a totally unknown branch of the tree of life, scientists say.
These organisms, named Prototaxites, lived around 420 million to 375 million years ago during the Devonian period and resembled branchless, cylindrical tree trunks. These organisms would have been massive, with some species growing up to 26 feet (8 meters) tall and 3 feet (1 meter) wide.
Since the first Prototaxites fossil was discovered in 1843, scientists haven't been sure whether they were a plant, fungus or even a type of algae. However, chemical analyses of Prototaxites fossils in 2007 suggested they were likely a giant ancient fungus.
Now, according to a paper published March 17 on the preprint server bioRxiv, Prototaxites might not have been a humongous fungus after all — rather, it may have been an entirely different and previously unknown life-form. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed.
All life on Earth is classified within three domains — bacteria, archaea and eukarya — with eukarya containing all multicellular organisms within the four kingdoms of fungi, animals, plants and protists. Bacteria and archaea contain only single-celled organisms.
Previous chemical analysis of Prototaxites fossils indicated that they likely fed off decaying organisms, just like many fungi do today, rather than making their food from carbon dioxide in the air like plants.
However, according to this new research, Prototaxites may actually have been part of a totally different kingdom of life, separate from fungi, plants, animals and protists.
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The researchers studied the fossilized remains of one Prototaxites species named Prototaxites taiti, found preserved in the Rhynie chert, a sedimentary deposit of exceptionally well-preserved fossils of early land plants and animals in Scotland. This species was much smaller than many other species of Prototaxites, only growing up to a few inches tall, but it is still the largest Prototaxites specimen found in this region.
Upon examining the internal structure of the fossilized Prototaxites, the researchers found that its interior was made up of a series of tubes, similar to those within a fungus. But these tubes branched off and reconnected in ways very unlike those seen in modern fungi.
"We report that Prototaxites taiti was the largest organism in the Rhynie ecosystem and its anatomy was fundamentally distinct from all known extant or extinct fungi," the researchers wrote in the paper. "We therefore conclude that Prototaxites was not a fungus, and instead propose it is best assigned to a now entirely extinct terrestrial lineage."
True fungi from the same period have also been preserved in the Rhynie chert, enabling the researchers to chemically compare them to Prototaxites. In addition to their unique structural characteristics, the team found that the Prototaxites fossils left completely different chemical signatures to the fungi fossils, indicating that the Prototaxites did not contain chitin, a major building block of fungal cell walls and a hallmark of the fungal kingdom. The Prototaxites fossils instead appeared to contain chemicals similar to lignin, which is found in the wood and bark of plants.
"We conclude that the morphology and molecular fingerprint of P. taiti is clearly distinct from that of the fungi and other organism preserved alongside it in the Rhynie chert, and we suggest that it is best considered a member of a previously undescribed, entirely extinct group of eukaryotes," the researchers wrote.
Kevin Boyce, a professor at Stanford University, led the 2007 study that posited Prototaxites is a giant fungus and was not involved in this new research. However, he told the New Scientist that he agreed with the study's findings.
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"Given the phylogenetic information we have now, there is no good place to put Prototaxites in the fungal phylogeny," Boyce said. "So maybe it is a fungus, but whether a fungus or something else entirely, it represents a novel experiment with complex multicellularity that is now extinct and does not share a multicellular common ancestor with anything alive today."
More research into Prototaxites fossils needs to be done to determine if they were fungi or a completely different type of life, and what caused them to go extinct millions of years ago.
"The conclusion that it is a completely unknown eukaryote certainly creates an air of mystery and intrigue around it — probably not likely to be solved until more fossils are discovered or new analytical techniques developed," Brett Summerell, a plant pathologist and fungi expert at the Botanic Gardens of Sydney, Australia, who not involved in this new study, told the New Scientist.
Jess Thomson is a freelance journalist. She previously worked as a science reporter for Newsweek, and has also written for publications including VICE, The Guardian, The Cut, and Inverse. Jess holds a Biological Sciences degree from the University of Oxford, where she specialised in animal behavior and ecology.
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The strange sight is actually two galaxies, with the light of the second warped around the one at the front as a result of its massive gravity.
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The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured a stunning image of a bizarre astronomical optical illusion.
This "rare cosmic phenomenon", called an Einstein ring, appears as a single eye-like orb in the darkness of space, but is actually a distorted view of two distant galaxies in the constellation Hydrus.
In the bright center of this cosmic spectacle is one galaxy, while the stretched orange and blue color surrounding it is the light from another galaxy located behind it. The light from the more distant galaxy looks like a ring because it has been distorted by gravitational lensing.
Gravitational lensing occurs when the gravity of a massive object — like a galaxy or a black hole — bends the light from a more distant object. This effect is a direct consequence of Einstein's theory of relativity, which states that mass warps the fabric of space-time, causing light to follow curved paths, like a ball rolling down a curved slope.
"This effect is much too subtle to be observed on a local level, but it sometimes becomes clearly observable when dealing with curvatures of light on enormous, astronomical scales," ESA representatives wrote in a statement.
This latest image was released by ESA and the Canadian Space Agency today (March 27) as their March picture of the month. It was captured by JWST's Near-InfraRed Camera instrument and also includes data from the Wide Field Camera 3 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope.
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Einstein rings like these are created when the distant light source, the massive lensing object, and the observer are perfectly aligned, resulting in the light appearing as a complete ring wrapped around the lensing object. As a result, they are rare.
In this case, the elliptical galaxy in the foreground — which is part of a galaxy cluster named SMACSJ0028.2-7537 — is so massive that it is bending the light of the spiral galaxy situated far behind it.
"Even though its image has been warped as its light travelled around the galaxy in its path, individual star clusters and gas structures are clearly visible," according to the statement
The fascinating phenomenon of gravitational lensing also allows astronomers to better understand the universe.
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Light emitted from distant galaxies, which existed long ago in the past, is often too faint to be observed directly from Earth. Strong gravitational lensing magnifies these galaxies, making them appear larger and brighter, and allowing astronomers to study some of the first galaxies formed after the Big Bang.
"Objects like these are the ideal laboratory in which to research galaxies too faint and distant to otherwise see," the ESA statement noted.
Additionally, because black holes and dark matter don't emit light, scientists can use gravitational lensing to detect and study these phenomena by measuring how they bend and magnify background stars.
Jess Thomson is a freelance journalist. She previously worked as a science reporter for Newsweek, and has also written for publications including VICE, The Guardian, The Cut, and Inverse. Jess holds a Biological Sciences degree from the University of Oxford, where she specialised in animal behavior and ecology.
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The evidence for Majorana qubits didn't win over many skeptics at the Global Physics Summit
Microsoft's topological quantum chip, the Majorana 1 (pictured), could be a boon to quantum computing, but some physicists are skeptical that the chip does what's claimed.
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By Emily Conover
4 hours ago
ANAHEIM, CALIF. — At the world's largest gathering of physicists, a talk about Microsoft's claimed new type of quantum computing chip was perhaps the main attraction.
Microsoft's February announcement of a chip containing the first topological quantum bits, or qubits, has ignited heated blowback in the physics community. The discovery was announced by press release, without publicly shared data backing it up. A concurrent paper in Nature fell short of demonstrating a topological qubit. Microsoft researcher Chetan Nayak, a coauthor on that paper, promised to provide solid evidence during his March 18 talk at the American Physical Society's Global Physics Summit.
Before the talk, the chair of the session made an announcement: Follow the code of conduct; treat others with respect. The room, jam-packed with hundreds of eager physicists filling the seats and standing along the walls, chuckled knowingly at the implication that decorum might be lost.
Topological quantum computing has had a dark shadow cast upon it by a series of retracted claims. Nevertheless, the concept holds great promise. The qubits that make up quantum computers are notoriously fragile and error-prone. Qubits that harness the concepts of topology, the mathematical discipline that describes structures with holes or loops, might improve on this. With topological quantum computing, “you can have very low error rates,” Nayak, of Microsoft's Station Q in Santa Barbara, Calif., said during his talk.
Scientists were not wowed by the data he presented.
A key plot looked like random jitter, rather than an identifiable signal. Nayak claimed that an analysis of that apparent randomness revealed a pattern underlying the noise, suggesting a working qubit. That argument wasn't enough to flip the harshest critics.
“The data was incredibly unconvincing. It is as if Microsoft Quantum was attempting a simultaneous Rorschach test on hundreds of people,” says physicist Henry Legg of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, one of the fiercest critics of Microsoft's work.
Still, others were optimistic that, with additional effort, Microsoft could improve their device to produce a clearer signal. “I felt like it was maybe a bit premature to call it a qubit,” says physicist Kartiek Agarwal of Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Ill. But “there's very many positive signs.”
Quantum computers promise to unlock new types of calculations, but only if they can be made reliable. The idea of building a qubit that is intrinsically less error-prone has excited scientists. “It's one of the more creative, more original approaches to quantum computing, and in this sense, I've really been rooting for it,” says physicist Ivar Martin of Argonne National Laboratory.
But the idea has struggled to get off the ground, trailing decades behind more conventional qubit technologies.
Creating a topological qubit requires provoking electrons in a material to dance just-so. The electron collective behaves like a hypothetical, particle-ish thing: a quasiparticle known as a Majorana. But creating Majoranas, and proving they exist, has been extremely challenging.
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Microsoft has made impressive strides, Martin notes. But “as far as demonstrating things which people at this meeting would care about the most — really convincingly showing physics of Majoranas — it's underwhelming to many.”
If it's possible to be less-than-underwhelmed, that would describe Legg, who gave a talk the day before Nayak's. He expressed doubts about the very foundation of Microsoft's method in a room filled to bursting — albeit a significantly smaller room than Nayak's headliner venue.
In his talk, squeezed into the meeting's schedule at the last minute, Legg listed a litany of criticisms. The critique centered on the method used to demonstrate that the device is topological in the first place — the “topological gap protocol,” laid out in a 2023 Microsoft paper in Physical Review B. That protocol was flawed, he argued in his talk and in a paper submitted March 11 to arXiv.org. For example, Legg argued, the protocol gives different results for the same data, depending on the range of the parameters included, such as the spread of magnetic field or voltage values.
“Any company claiming to have a topological qubit in 2025 is essentially selling a fairytale, and I think it's a dangerous fairytale,” Legg said. “It undermines the field of quantum computation and, in general, I think it undermines, actually, the public's confidence in science.”
During a Q&A immediately after Legg's talk, Microsoft researcher Roman Lutchyn rose with a forceful rebuttal: “A lot of statements here are just simply incorrect,” he said, ticking through several of Legg's claims, which he also addressed in a LinkedIn post. “We stand behind the results in these papers.”
At their most basic level, Microsoft's devices consist of aluminum nanowires, just 60 nanometers wide, laid atop a semiconductor. When cooled, this aluminum becomes superconducting, allowing it to transmit electricity without resistance. This induces superconductivity in the semiconductor, creating ideal conditions for Majoranas. Once the device is tuned to particular values of magnetic field and voltage, Majoranas should theoretically appear at each end of the nanowires.
Disorder in these devices is a big problem for topological qubits. Surface roughness or material defects can result in spurious signals or ambiguous results. In recent years, Microsoft's devices have improved enormously in that regard, says physicist Sankar Das Sarma of the University of Maryland in College Park. But, he says, “some more improvement is needed.… I think disorder still needs to go down by another factor of two.”
When the aluminum threads are arranged in an H shape, they create a qubit with Majoranas at each of its four ends. To claim a working qubit, Microsoft needed to show that they could perform measurements on it. This involves probing quantum dots, hot dog–shaped nanoparticles laid out near the nanowires. Two types of measurements, known as X and Z, are necessary.
Microsoft's new qubit looks like a H on its side. It's made of two nanowires (green, in this rendering) connected by a third (gray). Two quantum dots (hot dog shapes) allow two different types of measurements, X and Z (indicated by dotted lines). The qubit is based on quasiparticles called Majoranas which should reside at the wires' ends (red).
In the February Nature paper, Microsoft demonstrated a Z measurement, which involves probing the quantum dot associated with a single wire. Repeated Z measurements revealed the qubit switching between two possible states, the expected outcome for a topological qubit. These transitions purportedly indicated flips in parity, essentially reflecting whether there were an even or odd number of electrons within a wire.
During Nayak's talk, he unveiled their X measurement, which probes a quantum dot adjacent to two nanowires. The plot of these data looked random, lacking the same obvious flip-flopping between two values.
The audience did not seem particularly impressed. During the Q&A, Cornell University physicist Eun-Ah Kim said, “I would have loved this to just come out screaming at me that there's only two, but I don't think that's what I see.”
Nayak said that a statistical analysis of the random-looking data revealed a hidden pattern. But, in an email, Kim questioned the validity of Nayak's method for teasing out this pattern.
Even regarding the clearer Z measurement, scientists still don't agree whether this flipping constitutes evidence for Majoranas. “I'm persuaded,” Das Sarma says, “but people of goodwill could disagree.”
During the talk, attendees raised smartphones high to snap photos of Nayak's slides, which rocketed around the physics community. Just after the presentation, physicist Sergey Frolov of the University of Pittsburgh, who was not at the meeting, posted a detailed rebuttal on the social media platform BlueSky.
“[T]he data shown are … just noise. They are simply disappointing,” wrote Frolov. This, he suggested, doesn't bode well for the chip containing eight qubits that Microsoft announced in February: “That chip cannot possibly work, given what we saw today.”
Not all scientists are quite as critical as Legg and Frolov. Agarwal, for example, thinks Microsoft's topological gap protocol, the foundation of their current work, is sound. But, he notes, the device Nayak presented is impractical, given that its values appear essentially random. “It certainly can't be used as a qubit in its present state. That's also clearly obvious,” Agarwal says.
Nayak is confident that his team will improve their devices further, until skeptics are convinced. Frolov, for one, is confident that more paper retractions are coming.
Questions or comments on this article? E-mail us at feedback@sciencenews.org | Reprints FAQ
C. Nayak. Towards topological quantum computing using InAs-Al hybrid devices. Global Physics Summit, Anaheim, Calif., March 18, 2025.
H.F. Legg. Can we build a topological qubit in 2025? Global Physics Summit, Anaheim, Calif., March 17, 2025.
H.F. Legg. Comment on "Interferometric single-shot parity measurement in InAs-Al hybrid devices", Microsoft Quantum, Nature 638, 651-655 (2025). arXiv:2503.08944. Submitted March 11, 2025.
Microsoft Azure Quantum. Interferometric single-shot parity measurement in InAs–Al hybrid devices. Nature. Vol. 638, February 20, 2025, p. 651. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08445-2.
Microsoft Quantum. InAs-Al hybrid devices passing the topological gap protocol. Physical Review B. Vol. 107, June 21, 2023, 245423. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevB.107.245423.
Physics writer Emily Conover has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago. She is a two-time winner of the D.C. Science Writers' Association Newsbrief award.
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A new study suggests that never-seen-before stem cells in the human retina can restore vision in mice with a common eye disorder. But more work is needed to translate the treatment to people.
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Scientists have identified never-before-seen cells in the human eye that could potentially help reverse vision loss caused by common diseases, such as macular degeneration.
The researchers discovered the cells in the retina, a light-sensitive structure at the back of the eye that is vital for vision. The cells were found in donated samples of fetal tissue.
The scientists also identified the same cells in lab-grown models of the human retina — and when they tried transplanting those models into mice with a common eye disorder, it restored the rodents' vision.
"This research not only deepens our understanding of retinal biology but also holds immense potential for advancing therapeutic interventions in RD [retinal degeneration] diseases," the researchers wrote in a paper describing the findings, which was published March 26 in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Related: Scientists restore monkey's vision with a patch made from human stem cells
The retina detects light and converts it into signals that the brain can then interpret to determine what we're seeing. Deterioration of the retina is a leading cause of blindness worldwide. It can be triggered by many things, including aging, diabetes and physical injury, and the degeneration can lead to common eye diseases, such as macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.
Current treatments for these conditions focus mainly on reducing the rate at which retinal cells deteriorate, and protecting those that are still healthy. However, there are currently no effective therapies that promote repair of the retina, which would effectively reverse the deterioration.
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A potential solution is to replace deteriorated cells with stem cells — cells that can mature to become any type of cell in the body under the right conditions. Yet, until now, scientists haven't found suitable stem cells in the human retina to achieve this, the authors of the new study wrote.
In the new research, the team analyzed the activity of cells in the fetal retinal samples in the lab. The scientists discovered two types of retinal stem cells with promising regenerative properties: human neural retinal stem-like cells (hNRSCs) and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) stem-like cells.
The researchers found that both types of cells, which were located in the outer edge of the retina, could clone themselves. However, only hNRSCs could turn into other types of retinal cells under the right conditions.
In a separate experiment, the researchers grew miniature replicas of the human retina in petri dishes. These 3D tissue models, known as organoids, better mimic the unique complexities of human organs than traditional animal models do.
An analysis of the cells within these organoids revealed that they contained hNRSCs similar to those found in the fetal tissue samples. The team also identified specific molecular chains of events that turned the stem cells into other retinal cells and regulated the repair process.
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When transplanted into the retina of mice with a disease similar to retinitis pigmentosa, the stem cells from the organoids turned into the retinal cells needed to detect and process light signals. These new retinal cells ultimately improved the vision of the mice, compared with rodents that didn't receive any transplanted cells. This effect was seen for the duration of the experiment, up to 24 weeks.
Taken together, these early findings suggest that hNRSCs could be used to develop new treatments for retinal eye disorders in humans. But more research will be needed to confirm the potential of these cells for restoring the vision of human beings.
Emily is a health news writer based in London, United Kingdom. She holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Durham University and a master's degree in clinical and therapeutic neuroscience from Oxford University. She has worked in science communication, medical writing and as a local news reporter while undertaking NCTJ journalism training with News Associates. In 2018, she was named one of MHP Communications' 30 journalists to watch under 30. (emily.cooke@futurenet.com)
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Human sacrifices found in a Bronze Age tomb in Turkey were mostly teenage girls
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Archaeologists are unsure why unrelated teenagers were buried in an elaborate Bronze Age tomb but think their age may be a clue.
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Five millennia ago, Bronze Age people in Mesopotamia built elaborate stone tombs full of spectacular grave goods and human sacrifices. Researchers are unsure of the meaning of this ritual, but a new study of the skeletons points to a clue: the age at which people were sacrificed and their biological sex.
"The fact that they are mostly adolescents is fascinating and surprising," David Wengrow, a professor of comparative archaeology at University College London, told Live Science. "It highlights how little thought scientists and historians have really given to the importance of adolescence as a crucial stage in the human life cycle."
The finding may also upend assumptions about the type of government this culture practiced. Previously, it was thought to be a king-led hierarchical society, but these burials hint at a more egalitarian organization.
Wengrow and colleagues have studied a series of skeletons found at the archaeological site of Başur Höyük on the Upper Tigris River in southeastern Turkey. Once part of ancient Mesopotamia, Başur Höyük is dated to between 3100 and 2800 B.C. Several stone tombs were discovered there a decade ago, full of hundreds of copper artifacts, textiles and beads.
In a previous study, researchers identified a burial of two 12-year-old children flanked by eight violently killed people and suggested the funeral ritual indicated the rise of an early state that included "royal" tombs with "retainer sacrifice."
But in a new study, published March 17 in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal, the researchers conducted ancient DNA analysis on a separate set of skeletons and presented a more nuanced view of the cemetery, focusing on the idea of adolescence as an important life stage in this society.
Related: Massive Mesopotamian canal network unearthed in Iraq
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Ancient DNA analysis of nine skeletons from Başur Höyük showed that the people were not biologically related to one another. The DNA also showed that most of the people the researchers tested were female.
"So we are dealing with adolescents brought together, or coming together voluntarily, from biologically unrelated groups to carry out a very extreme form of ritual," Wengrow said. The meaning of the ritual, however, is still unclear.
Previously, researchers thought that the main burials represented young royals with their sacrificed attendants. But this interpretation was based on the idea that early Bronze Age societies had evolved into large-scale states with a king at the top of the social hierarchy.
There is now more archaeological evidence that Bronze Age political systems were more flexible. Societies in Mesopotamia could have regularly switched between hierarchical, king-based rule and a more egalitarian social organization where people collectively make decisions.
"The idea that humans evolved to live in just one form of society almost all the time is almost certainly wrong," Wengrow said. If Başur Höyük was one of these more fluid societies, the "royal" burial may be better explained as a complex and potentially age-related funeral tradition.
"Much more likely, what we see in the cemetery is a subset of a larger group, other members of which survived the ritual process and went on to full adulthood," Wengrow said. This larger group can be called an "age set," according to the study.
In general, in egalitarian societies, leadership is earned instead of inherited, but "age sets" and gender can also come into play. For instance, elders may be valued for their wisdom and experience, while adolescents may be valued for their hunting skills. In the case of the Bronze Age burials in Turkey, this "age set" of adolescents could represent initiates into an ancient cult or victims of inter-group competition or violence, the researchers note in their study.
—Origins of world's earliest writing point to symbols on 'seals' used in Mesopotamian trade
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—People have been dumping corpses into the Thames since at least the Bronze Age, study finds
Few researchers focus on adolescence in ancient societies, the researchers noted in their study, so the Başur Höyük burials suggest that it is important to investigate age sets in early Bronze Age states rather than assuming the society was led by kings and other royals at the top of a political hierarchy.
Further research on the skeletons is forthcoming, Wengrow said, in terms of stable isotope analysis to figure out the origins of the people buried at Başur Höyük.
"For now, all we can say is that many of the teenagers buried in the tombs were not local to the area of the cemetery," he said.
Kristina Killgrove is a staff writer at Live Science with a focus on archaeology and paleoanthropology news. Her articles have also appeared in venues such as Forbes, Smithsonian, and Mental Floss. Killgrove holds postgraduate degrees in anthropology and classical archaeology and was formerly a university professor and researcher. She has received awards from the Society for American Archaeology and the American Anthropological Association for her science writing.
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Mice given fecal transplants from elite cyclists and soccer players had increased energy stores
Cyclists sprint to the finish line at the European Championship 2024. Fecal transplants from a group of elite athletes boosted levels of a particular energy-storing molecule in mice.
DIRK WAEM/BELGA MAG/AFP/Getty Images
By Alex Viveros
2 hours ago
One of the keys to performing like an elite athlete — or at least having the metabolism of one — may be pooping like one. Transplanting feces from certain top-level cyclists and soccer players into mice boosted levels of a molecule that fuels intense workouts, researchers report March 27 in Cell Reports.
Our gut microbiota — the collection of bacteria and other microorganisms living in our digestive tract — play a crucial role in helping us digest food. When digestion goes terribly awry, a refresh of these gut bacteria may provide relief. Fecal microbiota transplants, in which a donor's poop is transplanted into another person's gut, have been used to treat inflammatory bowel disease and other conditions.
Frédéric Derbré, a physiologist at Rennes 2 University in France, and his colleagues wanted to analyze the gut microbiota of top-level athletes and see how mice fared when they received fecal transplants from these athletes. The team focused on both athletes and nonathletes who maintained healthy diets to rule out gut microbiota differences caused by varying eating habits.
Analysis of the cohort's poop revealed that athletes with the highest exercise capacities had less diverse gut microbiota and lower overall amounts of gut bacteria compared to other study participants. Despite that, they also had higher levels of metabolites called short-chain fatty acids, produced by gut bacteria and used as energy sources. Derbré says the bacteria in these athletes' guts may extract nutrients from food more efficiently — a hypothesis that requires further study.
Mice given fecal transplants from athletes with very high exercise capacity were more sensitive to insulin and had increased stores of a molecule called glycogen, an important energy source, compared to other transplanted mice.
Still, the mice didn't show increased running endurance, suggesting that more than a fecal transplant is needed to act like an elite athlete.
Nonetheless, the possible metabolic benefits suggest that a person's exercise capacity should be considered when selecting donors for fecal microbiota transplantation, Derbré says.
“It's a long-winded way of just showing that being more physically active and having a healthy diet is very good for you,” says Edward Chambers, a physiologist at Imperial College London who was not involved in the research. As for how the treatment might translate to humans, Chambers says that supplementing a diet with short-chain fatty acids might be less invasive and expensive than fecal microbiota transplantation.
Questions or comments on this article? E-mail us at feedback@sciencenews.org | Reprints FAQ
D. Martin et al. Atypical gut microbial ecosystem from athletes with very high aerobic exercise capacity improves insulin sensitivity and muscle glycogen store in mice. Cell Reports. Published online March 27, 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2025.115448.
Alex Viveros is a Spring 2025 science writing intern at Science News. He holds a bachelor's degree in Biology and Community Health from Tufts University and a master's degree in science writing from MIT.
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Outstanding autofocus, beautifully detailed 61MP resolution and out-of-this-world images for professionals who want the best. One of the best cameras we've ever used, but its Achilles heel limits it for wildlife photography.
Accurate AI-powered autofocus with Deep Learning
Stunningly detailed 61MP resolution
8K video
Can't shoot 8K in S&Q mode
Large files need faster cards
10FPS burst rate is underwhelming
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Sensor: 61MP full frame BSI CMOSEVF resolution: 9.44M dotsMonitor: 3.2-inch touchscreen, 2.09M dotsImage stabilization: Five-axis, eight stopsWeather-sealed: YesAutofocus detection range: -4 to +20EVISO Range: 100–32,000 (expandable to 50–102,400)Minimum shutter speed: 30 secondsBurst rate: Up to 10 FPS*RAW buffer: Up to 583 RAW files*Video: Up to 8K 25p*Battery life: 440 shots (EVF) / 530 shots (LCD)Storage: 2 slots (both SD and CFexpress A compatible)Dimensions (in): 5.16 x 3.82 x 3.23Dimensions (cm): 13.1 x 9.7 x 8.2Weight: 1 lb 10oz (723g) with battery & card
The Sony A7R V was revolutionary when it was released back in October 2022, but is it still worth buying in 2025? We've put it to the test for astrophotography, wildlife photography and everything in-between to see whether it's still worth its price tag.
Its still unbeaten in terms of resolution — the whopping 61MP sensor is still at the top of the pyramid, but with Sony's new generation A1 Mark II now capable of faster burst rates and boasting a pre-capture buffer, the A7R V perhaps might not be the weapon of choice for wildlife photography any longer.
A successor hasn't been confirmed by Sony yet, but rumors are circulating that an 80MP beast could be announced in 2025. If this turns out to be true, the Sony A7R VI could blow the V out of the water, especially if it has a higher burst rate.
The design of the Sony A7R V is generally what we expect from Sony at this price point. In terms of button layout, it's identical to the A7 IV, but it has some welcome improvements over its predecessor, the A7R IV. There's a separate sub-dial to choose between photo, video and S&Q (Slow & Quick – AKA slow motion and timelapse) modes, and the placement of the video record button is a thousand times better and easier to press on the A7R V.
If we were to change anything, we'd like the option to turn the main dial lock on and off, as you can with the exposure compensation dial. It can get a little annoying and fiddly having to press and hold the button in order to move the dial to change modes.
It is one of the heavier Sony models, at 1 lb 10oz (723g) with the battery and a card, but we thought it fit nicely in the hand. The grip, finger and thumb placement line up perfectly to allow you to hold the camera easily in one hand, and it only felt heavy when we paired it with a long telephoto lens to photograph some wildlife.
As expected, the camera is weather-sealed so you should be good to use it in light to medium rain, and the anti-dust system should protect you against sand and dirt out in the field. We took it to a beach to shoot animal photography without any problems whatsoever. The ports are well-located and both card slots are SD- and CFexpress A-compatible.
The menu system is perfectly fine if you're used to Sony cameras, but taking a leaf out of OM System's book and providing a short explanation with each option/setting would be a welcome move — this is something we loved about the OM-1 Mark II when we reviewed it. This would make life easier for those who aren't so technically minded.
The EVF boasts a stunning 9.44M dot resolution, the same as the A1, with 0.9x magnification. The refresh rate is up to 120 FPS, so a downside of the A7R V is that it doesn't offer blackout-free shooting. That said, it's not designed for speed, nor can it even shoot that fast, so this won't hamper your shooting as much as it would on a faster camera. On the plus side, we didn't see any rolling shutter when looking through the viewfinder.
But one of the more practical tricks this camera has up its sleeves is the gymnast-like flexibility of the LCD screen. The four-axis screen can tilt up and down, as well as flip out and fully articulate independently, meaning you can view the screen at quite literally any angle you like. As some photographers prefer tilt screens and others favor flip-out, this camera will cater to everyone in this regard. The 3.2-inch LCD screen is also the joint-largest alongside the new A1 II, and it has the highest resolution (albeit only just) at 2.1M dots.
While image quality is partly determined by the quality of the lens, we have never been disappointed by the images we've taken on the Sony A7R V. The images are sharp, with rich color and astounding detail.
Even in low light, we were easily able to retain detail in the shadows and bring back details from the highlights in our images.
We took the Sony A7R V to shoot the colorful buildings of Copenhagen, and even on a dull, overcast day it captured the colors and detail exceptionally well. At dusk, the balance between the highlights and shadows was effortlessly rendered and brilliantly balanced throughout the image.
This was also the case when we tested it on a sunny July afternoon in the Lake District — the harsh shadows from the trees were no match for the A7R V.
The Sony A7R V has seven subject detection modes — Human, Animal/Bird, Animal, Bird, Insect, Car/Train and Airplane. Insect mode is a great addition for macro photography, plus having both combined and separate animal and bird modes is useful for accuracy when photographing wildlife.
Due to its slower 10 FPS burst rate (more on that later), it's not suited for really fast-moving animals, which is a shame because the AI-powered autofocus and Deep Learning technology would really be able to spread its wings when coupled with a fast camera, like the 30 FPS burst rate in the new A1 II. We thought the autofocus earned the A7R V a position as one of the best cameras for wildlife photography, but the burst rate lets it down in comparison to its competitors.
We took the Sony A7R V to a nature reserve to photograph wildlife, and we were very impressed with the subject detection and tracking, particularly in Animal/Bird mode. It did struggle to lock onto a camouflaged heron in the distance, but it tracked a bird in flight around 100 feet (30 meters) above us easily and the eye detection worked really well on a particularly camera-friendly Robin. The eyes were pin-sharp, and the 61MP sensor produced unreal detail — we could even see the robin's pupils.
We weren't expecting much from this camera when it came to astrophotography, due to the 61MP sensor. But color us incredibly surprised, as the amount of detail we managed to capture took our breath away.
Yes, there obviously was more noise than there was when we compared the images to the ones we took on the less-detailed Sony A7 IV, but overall we were expecting the A7R V to be a lot less capable for astrophotography than it actually was. If you shoot primarily astro, then you'll want to shoot with less resolution to avoid the need to use a denoise tool on every single shot when editing, but for those of you who only shoot astro occasionally, the Sony A7R V is fantastic.
We took the Sony A7R V to the dark skies of the Brecon Beacons in South Wales to shoot the aurora borealis during the week of the new moon. We'd have liked some dedicated astro features like illuminated buttons or night vision mode to make astroshooting a bit easier. We used Bright Monitoring, which helps if you're in a more light-polluted areas and want to better fine-tune your composition on the screen.
Due to its high (and noisy) 61MP resolution we wouldn't necessarily call it one of the best astrophotography cameras, but it's certainly very capable for occasional astro shooting.
For low-light photography, however, it's much more capable. The above images were taken at ISO 12,800 and although the noise is visible, it doesn't ruin the photo completely. Plus, the eight stops of image stabilization mean you can shoot handheld at slower shutter speeds — we were able to shoot light trails from cars handheld at 1 second while leaning against a wall for support.
For general low-light photography, such as wildlife photography during dusk and dawn hours, this image stabilization could prove invaluable.
On paper, Sony claims the A7R V can shoot 440 shots using the electronic viewfinder or 530 shots using the LCD screen. During the course of a two-day shoot, we took over 1,200 images using a mixture of the EVF and LCD, without needing to charge or change batteries whatsoever.
We had mixed experiences regarding the buffer capacity depending on what kind of card we were using. Sony states the buffer capacity of the A7R V is 1,000 JPEGs, 583 compressed RAWs or 547 lossless RAWs. Unsurprisingly, the buffer took a lot longer to clear when we used a SanDisk Ultra with speeds of up to 140MB/s then it did when we used a more expensive Lexar card with a write speed of up to 210MB/s. With the Lexar, we found that we never had to stop shooting due to the buffer, whereas that was a common occurence with the SanDisk. It's also compatible with faster CFexpress cards, a huge plus for professional photographers.
But on to the Achilles heel of the Sony A7R V — the burst rate. In higher quality RAW modes this maxes out at a pitiful 7 FPS, and only increases to 10 FPS if your'e using JPEG — and why would you? For a camera of this calibre, we find this disappointing, though we do have to cut it a little slack due to the particularly big file sizes.
But that said, we don't find this to be a dealbreaker for wildlife photography unless you're photographing super fast-moving subjects. The autofocus is so good that it kind of makes up for the low burst rate, because you're still just as likely to nail your shot — there will just be less shots to choose from.
Sony seems to have put a lot of thought into its lens lineup, providing an appropriate lens for every type of user, for any type of photography, making the A7R V an easy camera to recommend. With updated versions of all three "holy trinity" lenses, the company is constantly improving its catalog and we've been astounded by every lens we've used.
Astro shooters will love the Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM and Sony FE 12-24 f/2.8 GM, and wildlife wizards will get some killer shots with the Sony FE 200-600 f/5.6-6.3 G or the Sony FE 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 GM lens. There's a really good mix of primes and zoom lenses, plus a focal length to cover all bases. Even the APS-C range is impressive.
One downside is that there are limited third-party lenses available, which means to get the best lenses, you'll have to spend a lot of cash.
With just a $400 price difference, anyone thinking of going for the previous model, the Sony A7R IV, would do well to consider upgrading to the V.
Some of the biggest differences between the two are:
- The A7R V features a new BIONZ XR processor (as opposed to the IV's BIONZ X) that allows the camera to fully use the sensor's capabilities in a way that the IV couldn't. Sony claims it has up to eight times the processing power.
- The A7R V now supports lossless RAW format, and the IV only supports compressed RAW, uncompressed RAW or JPEG.
- The IV has 5.5 stops of image stabilization, whereas the V has eight.
- Perhaps the biggest change is the addition of AI-powered autofocus, Real-Time recognition and Deep Learning in the A7R V.
- The A7R V is the first Sony camera to have focus bracketing built-in.
- You can shoot in 8K 24p/25p on the A7R V, as opposed to 4K 30p on the IV.
- The EVF resolution on the V is now 9.44 million dots, whereas the resolution on the IV's EVF is 5.76 million dots. The fully articulating screen is also a huge improvement over the IV.
✅ You want excellent subject recognition for portraits: With its lower burst rate, the A7R V would be well-suited for portraits of people with its AI autofocus, subject and face recognition settings.✅ You want lots of detail: The 61MP sensor captures an abundance of detail.
❌ You want a lightweight camera: This is one of Sony's heavier cameras, so if you favor a small, lightweight camera, you might want to consider more travel-friendly models, like the Sony A7C II or even a crop sensor. ❌ You primarily shoot astro: Although we were pleasantly surprised by its astro images, you'll want a camera with less resolution for dedicated astrophotography.
This camera isn't perfect, but boy, it's not far off! There are no major faults that would stop us from buying it, although photographers who are deeply invested in a particular niche will need to determine if it's right for them. It's good at astro — although the images are noisy, and it's great for wildlife — although the burst rate could be better. While calling it a "jack of all trades, master of none" seems a little harsh, it can do most photographic styles exceptionally well, but sometimes it falls a little short of being perfect.
Our reviewer, Kimberley Lane, said "My heart really wants to give it 5 stars because it truly is an incredible camera, and I loved it so much I even bought one for myself after reviewing it on Space.com back in 2023. But my rule is that if I can find something wrong with it other than 'it's heavy' or 'it's expensive', then I can't give it full marks. So perhaps this camera earns a 4.9/5 from me".
While we'd recommend the Sony A7R V for most photographers, we wouldn't recommend it for everyone. Here are some alternative options to consider if the A7R V didn't quite hit the mark.
Sony A1 II
If you're a professional photographer who makes money in the industry, you can't do much better than the Sony A1 II right now — if you can get your hands on it (it's currently on backorder). With a stacked sensor, 30FPS burst rate and pre-shooting buffer (hello best wildlife cameras), this thing will be able to handle pretty much anything you throw at it.
Sony A7 IVIf you want a better high ISO performance, the Sony A7 IV is the one to get. Its 33MP sensor produces much less noise than the 61MP on the A7R V, and it's one of the best astrophotography cameras we've ever used, as we stated in our full Sony A7 IV review. Plus, it's a lot cheaper than the A7R V.
Canon EOS R5 IIIf you don't want a Sony, the Canon EOS R5 II would be an incredible alternative. It is more expensive, but it's an absolute wildlife wonder and even has eye control autofocus, something we've only seen in the EOS R3 before.
After reviewing the Sony A7R V for our sister site Space.com, our reviewer, Kimberley Lane, loved it so much she actually bought one for herself the following year.
Best cameras for wildlife photographyBest astrophotography camerasBest telescopesBest binocularsBest binoculars for stargazingBest binoculars for kidsBest star projectors
We took the A7R V everywhere from the dark skies of the Brecon Beacons (to shoot astro) and coastal Wales (to shoot landscapes) to nature reserves (to photograph wildlife). We tested different autofocus subject detection modes and shot in various lighting conditions to get a feel for how the camera handles different shooting situations.
We also tested the camera with a variety of lenses, including the Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II, Sony FE 35mm f/1.8 and Sony FE 85mm f/1.8.
Kimberley Lane, E-commerce writer for Live Science, has tested a wide range of optics equipment reviewing cameras, lenses and tripods, and getting hands-on observations with binoculars and more. Also a landscape & seascape photographer living in South Wales, she aims to portray a feeling of calm and peaceful moments through her images. Her work has also been featured in a number of national photography magazines and she regularly contributes to our sister site Space.com.
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James Webb telescope captures auroras on Neptune for first time ever
Current AI models a 'dead end' for human-level intelligence, scientists agree
'We will fight for him': Author John Green meets Henry Reider, a young tuberculosis patient with drug-resistant disease
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The James Webb Space Telescope has successfully detected auroras on Neptune for the first time ever, finishing a job that NASA's Voyager 2 probe began decades ago.
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New James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) images have captured auroras on Neptune for the first time.
The telescope spotted infrared auroras that create exotic molecules known as trihydrogen cations, according to a study published March 26 in Nature. Scientists identified auroras on Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus more than 30 years ago, but Neptune's auroras staunchly evaded detection until now.
Auroras form when energetic, charged particles from the sun get caught up in a planet's magnetic field. The field funnels the particles toward the planet's magnetic poles, where they collide with — and ionize — atmospheric molecules along the way, causing them to glow.
Unlike auroras on Earth, which occur at extreme northern and southern latitudes near our planet's North and South Pole, Neptune's auroras appear near the planet's mid-latitudes. That's because Neptune's magnetic field is tilted 47 degrees off its rotational axis, so the planet's magnetic poles lie between the geographic poles and the equator — around where South America would be located on Earth.
And unlike the Northern Lights, Neptune's auroras aren't visible to the naked eye.
"Turns out, actually imaging the auroral activity on Neptune was only possible with Webb's near-infrared sensitivity," Henrik Melin, a planetary scientist at Northumbria University in the U.K., said in a statement. "It was so stunning to not just see the auroras, but the detail and clarity of the signature really shocked me."
In June 2023, researchers used JWST's Near-Infrared Spectrograph to look for the trihydrogen cation (H3+), a hallmark of auroral activity in the hydrogen-rich atmospheres of the solar system's gas giants. NASA's Voyager 2 probe flew by Neptune in 1989, but it didn't have the right equipment to detect the cation. Since then, scientists at ground-based facilities, such as Hawaii's Keck telescope and NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, have looked for this molecule in Neptune's atmosphere without success, despite predictions that it should be present.
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Related: 'Hidden' rings of Uranus revealed in dazzling new James Webb telescope images
This time, JWST detected H3+, but researchers also noted unexpected changes in Neptune's atmosphere. "I was astonished — Neptune's upper atmosphere has cooled by several hundreds of degrees [since the Voyager flyby]," Melin said in the statement. "In fact, the temperature in 2023 was just over half of that in 1989."
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These cold temperatures could be why scientists haven't detected H3+ on Neptune until now. The auroras appear much fainter at cold temperatures, and light reflecting off Neptune's clouds may have drowned them out, the researchers said.
"As we look ahead and dream of future missions to Uranus and Neptune, we now know how important it will be to have instruments tuned to the wavelengths of infrared light to continue to study the auroras," study coauthor Leigh Fletcher, a planetary scientist at Leicester University in the U.K., said in the statement. "This observatory has finally opened the window onto this last, previously hidden ionosphere of the giant planets."
Skyler Ware is a freelance science journalist covering chemistry, biology, paleontology and Earth science. She was a 2023 AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellow at Science News. Her work has also appeared in Science News Explores, ZME Science and Chembites, among others. Skyler has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Caltech.
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In a new survey, 76% of scientists said that scaling large language models was "unlikely" or "very unlikely" to achieve AGI.
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Current approaches to artificial intelligence (AI) are unlikely to create models that can match human intelligence, according to a recent survey of industry experts.
Out of the 475 AI researchers queried for the survey, 76% said the scaling up of large language models (LLMs) was "unlikely" or "very unlikely" to achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI), the hypothetical milestone where machine learning systems can learn as effectively, or better, than humans.
This is a noteworthy dismissal of tech industry predictions that, since the generative AI boom of 2022, has maintained that the current state-of-the-art AI models only need more data, hardware, energy and money to eclipse human intelligence.
Now, as recent model releases appear to stagnate, most of the researchers polled by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence believe tech companies have arrived at a dead end — and money won't get them out of it.
"I think it's been apparent since soon after the release of GPT-4, the gains from scaling have been incremental and expensive," Stuart Russell, a computer scientist at the University of California, Berkeley who helped organize the report, told Live Science. "[AI companies] have invested too much already and cannot afford to admit they made a mistake [and] be out of the market for several years when they have to repay the investors who have put in hundreds of billions of dollars. So all they can do is double down."
The startling improvements to LLMs in recent years is partly owed to their underlying transformer architecture. This is a type of deep learning architecture, first created in 2017 by Google scientists, that grows and learns by absorbing training data from human input.
This enables models to generate probabilistic patterns from their neural networks (collections of machine learning algorithms arranged to mimic the way the human brain learns) by feeding them forward when given a prompt, with their answers improving in accuracy with more data.
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Related: Scientists design new 'AGI benchmark' that indicates whether any future AI model could cause 'catastrophic harm'
But continued scaling of these models requires eye-watering quantities of money and energy. The generative AI industry raised $56 billion in venture capital globally in 2024 alone, with much of this going into building enormous data center complexes, the carbon emissions of which have tripled since 2018.
Projections also show the finite human-generated data essential for further growth will most likely be exhausted by the end of this decade. Once this has happened, the alternatives will be to begin harvesting private data from users or to feed AI-generated "synthetic" data back into models that could put them at risk of collapsing from errors created after they swallow their own input.
But the limitations of current models are likely not just because they're resource hungry, the survey experts say, but because of fundamental limitations in their architecture.
"I think the basic problem with current approaches is that they all involve training large feedforward circuits," Russell said. "Circuits have fundamental limitations as a way to represent concepts. This implies that circuits have to be enormous to represent such concepts even approximately — essentially as a glorified lookup table — which leads to vast data requirements and piecemeal representation with gaps. Which is why, for example, ordinary human players can easily beat the "superhuman" Go programs."
All of these bottlenecks have presented major challenges to companies working to boost AI's performance, causing scores on evaluation benchmarks to plateau and OpenAI's rumored GPT-5 model to never appear, some of the survey respondents said.
Assumptions that improvements could always be made through scaling were also undercut this year by the Chinese company DeepSeek, which matched the performance of Silicon Valley's expensive models at a fraction of the cost and power. For these reasons, 79% of the survey's respondents said perceptions of AI capabilities don't match reality.
"There are many experts who think this is a bubble," Russell said. "Particularly when reasonably high-performance models are being given away for free."
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Yet that doesn't mean progress in AI is dead. Reasoning models — specialized models that dedicate more time and computing power to queries — have been shown to produce more accurate responses than their traditional predecessors.
The pairing of these models with other machine learning systems, especially after they're distilled down to specialized scales, is an exciting path forward, according to respondents. And DeepSeek's success points to plenty more room for engineering innovation in how AI systems are designed. The experts also point to probabilistic programming having the potential to build closer to AGI than the current circuit models.
"Industry is placing a big bet that there will be high-value applications of generative AI," Thomas Dietterich, a professor emeritus of computer science at Oregon State University who contributed to the report, told Live Science. "In the past, big technological advances have required 10 to 20 years to show big returns."
"Often the first batch of companies fail, so I would not be surprised to see many of today's GenAI startups failing," he added. "But it seems likely that some will be wildly successful. I wish I knew which ones."
Ben Turner is a U.K. based staff writer at Live Science. He covers physics and astronomy, among other topics like tech and climate change. He graduated from University College London with a degree in particle physics before training as a journalist. When he's not writing, Ben enjoys reading literature, playing the guitar and embarrassing himself with chess.
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New AI is better at weather prediction than supercomputers — and it consumes 1000s of times less energy
Punishing AI doesn't stop it from lying and cheating — it just makes it hide better, study shows
Human sacrifices found in a Bronze Age tomb in Turkey were mostly teenage girls
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A U.S. return to underground detonations would have wide-ranging implications
In 1946, the United States conducted this nuclear test at Bikini Atoll. Tests moved underground in the 1960s to limit nuclear fallout. After decades of hiatus, the United States may resume underground tests, some experts say.
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By Emily Conover
4 hours ago
When the countdown hit zero on September 23, 1992, the desert surface puffed up into the air, as if a giant balloon had inflated it from below.
It wasn't a balloon. Scientists had exploded a nuclear device hundreds of meters below the Nevada desert, equivalent to thousands of tons of TNT. The ensuing fireball reached pressures and temperatures well beyond those in Earth's core. Within milliseconds of the detonation, shock waves rammed outward. The rock melted, vaporized and fractured, leaving behind a cavity oozing with liquid radioactive rock that puddled on the cavity's floor.
As the temperature and pressure abated, rocks collapsed into the cavity. The desert surface slumped, forming a subsidence crater about 3 meters deep and wider than the length of a football field. Unknown to the scientists working on this test, named Divider, it would be the end of the line. Soon after, the United States halted nuclear testing.
Beginning with the first explosive test, known as Trinity, in 1945, more than 2,000 atomic blasts have rattled the globe. Today, that nuclear din has been largely silenced, thanks to the norms set by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, or CTBT, negotiated in the mid-1990s.
Only one nation — North Korea — has conducted a nuclear test this century. But researchers and policy makers are increasingly grappling with the possibility that the fragile quiet will soon be shattered.
Some in the United States have called for resuming testing, including a former national security adviser to President Donald Trump. Officials in the previous Trump administration considered testing, according to a 2020 Washington Post article. And there may be temptation in coming years. The United States is in the midst of a sweeping, decades-long overhaul of its aging nuclear arsenal. Tests could confirm that old weapons still work, check that updated weapons perform as expected or help develop new types of weapons.
Meanwhile, the two major nuclear powers, the United States and Russia, remain ready to obliterate one another at a moment's notice. If tensions escalate, a test could serve as a signal of willingness to use the weapons.
Testing “has tremendous symbolic importance,” says Frank von Hippel, a physicist at Princeton University. “During the Cold War, when we were shooting these things off all the time, it was like war drums: ‘We have nuclear weapons and they work. Better watch out.' ” The cessation of testing, he says, was an acknowledgment that “these [weapons] are so unusable that we don't even test them.”
Many scientists maintain that tests are unnecessary. “What we've been saying consistently now for decades is there's no scientific reason that we need to test,” says Jill Hruby, who was the administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, or NNSA, during the Biden administration.
That's because the Nevada site, where nuclear explosions once thundered regularly, hasn't been mothballed entirely. There, in an underground lab, scientists are performing nuclear experiments that are subcritical, meaning they don't kick off the self-sustaining chains of reactions that define a nuclear blast.
Many scientists argue that subcritical experiments, coupled with computer simulations using the most powerful supercomputers on the planet, provide all the information needed to assess and modernize the weapons. Subcritical experiments, some argue, are even superior to traditional testing for investigating some lingering scientific puzzles about the weapons, such as how they age.
Others think that subcritical experiments and simulations, no matter how sophisticated, can't replace the real thing indefinitely. But so far, the experiments and detailed assessments of the stockpile have backed up the capabilities of the nuclear arsenal. And those experiments avoid the big drawbacks of tests.
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“A single United States test could trigger a global chain reaction,” says geologist Sulgiye Park of the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit advocacy group. Other nuclear powers would likely follow by setting off their own test blasts. Countries without nuclear weapons might be spurred to develop and test them. One test could kick off a free-for-all.
“It's like striking a match in a roomful of dynamite,” Park says.
The logic behind nuclear weapons involves mental gymnastics. The weapons can annihilate entire cities with one strike, yet their existence is touted as a force for peace. The thinking is that nuclear weapons act as a deterrent — other countries will resist using a nuclear weapon, or making any major attack, in fear of retaliation. The idea is so embedded in U.S. military circles that a type of intercontinental ballistic missile developed during the Cold War was dubbed Peacekeeper.
Since the end of testing, the world seems to have taken a slow, calming exhale. Global nuclear weapons tallies shrunk from more than 70,000 in the mid-1980s to just over 12,000 today. That pullback was due to a series of treaties between the United States and Russia (previously the Soviet Union). Nuclear weapons largely fell from the forefront of public consciousness.
Since the first nuclear weapons test in 1945, there have been more than 2,000 tests. In the 1960s, countries began performing tests underground over fears of radioactive fallout. In the 1990s, nuclear testing largely ended with the arrival of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. The only country to test nuclear weapons in the 21st century is North Korea. Its last known test was in 2017.
But now there's been a sharp inhale. The last remaining arms-control treaty between the United States and Russia, New START, is set to expire in 2026, giving the countries free rein on numbers of deployed weapons. Russia already suspended its participation in New START in 2023 and revoked its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty to mirror the United States and a handful of other countries that signed but never ratified the treaty. (The holdouts prevented the treaty from officially coming into force, but nations have abided by it anyway.)
Nuclear threats by Russia have been a regular occurrence during the ongoing war in Ukraine. And China, with the third-largest stockpile, is rapidly expanding its cache, highlighting a potential future in which there are three main nuclear powers, not just two.
“There is this increasing perception that this is a uniquely dangerous moment.… We're in this regime where all the controls are coming off and things are very unstable,” says Daniel Holz, a physicist at the University of Chicago and chair of the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a nonprofit that aims to raise awareness of the peril of nuclear weapons and other threats. In January, the group set its metaphorical Doomsday Clock at 89 seconds to midnight — the closest it has ever been.
Some see the ability to test as a necessity for a world in which nuclear weapons are a rising threat. “We are seeing an environment in which the autocrats are increasingly relying on nuclear weapons to threaten and coerce their adversaries,” says Robert Peters, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. “If you're in an acute crisis or conflict in which your adversary is threatening to employ nuclear weapons, you don't want to limit the options of the president to get you out of that crisis.” Testing, and the signal it sends to an adversary, he argues, should be such an option.
Peters advocates for shortening the time window for test preparations — currently estimated at two or three years — to three to six months. The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 calls for “immediate test readiness.”
The United States regularly considers the possibility of testing nuclear weapons. “It's a question that actually gets asked every year,” says Thom Mason, director of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Los Alamos is one of the three U.S. nuclear weapons labs, alongside Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque. Each year, the directors of the three labs coordinate detailed assessments of the stockpile's status, including whether tests are needed.
“Up until this point, the answer has been ‘no,' ” Mason says. But if scientific concerns arose that couldn't be resolved otherwise or if weapons began unexpectedly deteriorating, that assessment could change.
If a test were deemed necessary, exactly how long it would take to prepare would depend on the reasons for it. “If you're trying to answer a scientific question, then you probably need lots of instrumentation and that could take time,” Mason says. “If you're just trying to send a signal, then maybe you don't need as much of that; you're just trying to make the ground shake.”
The area of the Nevada desert encompassing the test site is speckled with otherworldly Joshua trees and the saucer-shaped craters of past tests. In addition to 828 underground tests, 100 atmospheric tests were performed there, part of what's now known as the Nevada National Security Sites. Carved out of Western Shoshone lands, it sits 120 kilometers from Las Vegas. Radioactive fallout from atmospheric tests, which ceased in 1962, reached nearby Indian reservations and other communities — a matter that is still the subject of litigation.
By moving tests underground, officials aimed to contain the nuclear fallout and limit its impact on human health. Before an underground test, workers outfitted a nuclear device with scientific instruments and lowered it into a hole drilled a few hundred meters into the earth. The hole was then filled with sand, gravel and other materials.
As personnel watched a video feed from the safety of a bunker, the device was detonated. “You see the ground pop, and you see the dust come up and then slowly settle back down. And then eventually you see the subsidence crater form. It just falls in on itself,” says Marvin Adams, a nuclear engineer who was deputy administrator for NNSA's Defense Programs during the Biden administration. “There was always a betting pool on how long that would take before the crater formed. And it could be seconds, or it could be days.”
Kilometers' worth of cables fed information from the equipment to trailers where data were recorded. Meanwhile, stations monitored seismic signals and radioactivity. Later, another hole would be drilled down into the cavity and rock samples taken to determine the explosion's yield.
Today, such scenes have gone the way of the '90s hairstyles worn in photos of underground test preparation. They've been replaced by subcritical experiments, which use chemical explosives to implode or shock plutonium, the fuel at the heart of U.S. weapons, in a facility called the Principal Underground Laboratory for Subcritical Experimentation, PULSE.
The experiments mimic what goes on in a real weapon but with one big difference. Weapons are supercritical: The plutonium is compressed enough to sustain chains of nuclear fission reactions, the splitting of atomic nuclei. The chain reactions occur because fission spits out neutrons that, in a supercritical configuration, can initiate further fissions, which release more neutrons, and so on. A subcritical experiment doesn't smoosh the plutonium enough to beget those fissions upon fissions that lead to a nuclear explosion.
The PULSE facility consists of 2.3 kilometers of tunnels nearly 300 meters below the surface. There, a machine called Cygnus takes X-ray images of the roiling plutonium when it's blasted with chemical explosives in subcritical experiments. X-rays pass through the plutonium and are detected on the other side. Just as a dentist uses an X-ray machine to see inside your mouth, the X-rays illuminate what's happening inside the experiment.
Glimpses of such experiments are rare. A video of a 2012 subcritical experiment shows a dimly lit close-up of the confinement vessel that encloses the experiment over audio of a countdown and a piercing beeping noise, irritating enough that it must be signifying something important is about to happen. When the countdown ends, there's a bang, and the beeping stops. That's it. It's a far cry from the mushroom clouds of yesteryear.
The experiments are a component of the U.S. stockpile stewardship program, which ensures the weapons' status via a variety of assessments, experiments and computer simulations. PULSE is now being expanded to beef up its capabilities. A new machine called Scorpius is planned to begin operating in 2033. It will feature a 125-meter-long particle accelerator that will blast electrons into a target to generate X-rays that are more intense and energetic than Cygnus', which will allow scientists to take images later in the implosion. What's more, Scorpius will produce four snapshots at different times, revealing how the plutonium changes throughout the experiment.
And the upcoming ZEUS, the Z-Pinched Experimental Underground System, will blast subcritical experiments with neutrons and measure the release of gamma rays, a type of high-energy radiation. ZEUS will be the first experiment of its kind to study plutonium.
Subcritical experiments help validate computer simulations of nuclear weapons. Those simulations then inform the maintenance and development of the real thing. The El Capitan computer, installed for this purpose at Lawrence Livermore in 2024, is the fastest supercomputer ever reported.
That synergy between powerful computing and advanced experiments is necessary to grapple with the full complexity of modern nuclear weapons, in which materials are subject to some of the most extreme conditions known on Earth and evolve dramatically over mere instants.
To maximize the energy released, modern weapons don't stop with fission. They employ a complex interplay between fission and fusion, the merging of atomic nuclei. First, explosives implode the plutonium, which is contained in a hollow sphere called a “pit.” This allows fission reactions to proliferate. The extreme temperatures and pressures generated by fission kick off fusion reactions in hydrogen contained inside the pit, blasting out neutrons that initiate additional fission. X-rays released by that first stage compress a second stage, generating additional fission and fusion reactions that likewise feed off one another. These principles have produced weapons 1,000 times as powerful as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
To mesh simulations and experiments, scientists must understand their measurements in detail and carefully quantify the uncertainties involved. This kind of deep understanding wasn't as necessary, or even possible, in the days of explosive nuclear weapons test, says geophysicist Raymond Jeanloz of the University of California, Berkeley. “It's actually very hard to use nuclear explosion testing to falsify hypotheses. They're designed mostly to reassure everyone that, after you put everything together and do it, that it works.”
Laboratory experiments can be done repeatedly, with parameters slightly changed. They can be designed to fail, helping delineate the border between success and failure. Nuclear explosive tests, because they were expensive, laborious one-offs, were designed to succeed.
Stockpile stewardship has allowed scientists to learn the ins and outs of the physics behind the weapons. “We pay attention to every last detail,” Hruby says. “Through the science program, we now better understand nuclear weapons than we ever understood them before.”
For example, Jeanloz says, in the era of testing, a quantity called the energy balance wasn't fully understood. It describes how much energy gets transferred from the primary to the secondary component in a weapon. In the past, that lack of understanding could be swept aside, because a test could confirm that the weapons worked. But with subcritical experiments and simulations, fudge factors must be eliminated to be certain a weapon will function. Quantifying that energy balance and determining the uncertainty was a victory of stockpile stewardship.
This type of work, Jeanloz says, brought “the heart and soul, the guts of the scientific process into the [nuclear] enterprise.”
Subcritical experiments are focused in particular on the quandary over how plutonium ages. Since 1989, the United States hasn't fabricated significant numbers of plutonium pits. That means the pits in the U.S. arsenal are decades old, raising questions about whether weapons will still work.
An aging pit, some scientists worry, might cause the multistep process in a nuclear warhead to fizzle. For example, if the implosion in the first stage doesn't proceed properly, the second stage might not go off at all.
Plutonium ages not only from the outside in — akin to rusting iron — but also from the inside out, says Siegfried Hecker, who was director of Los Alamos from 1986 to 1997. “It's constantly bombarding itself by radioactive decay. And that destroys the metallic lattice, the crystal structure of plutonium.”
The decay leaves behind a helium nucleus, which over time may result in tiny bubbles of helium throughout the lattice of plutonium atoms. Each decay also produces a uranium atom that zings through the material and “beats the daylights out of the lattice,” Hecker says. “We don't quite know how much the damage is … and how that damaged material will behave under the shock and temperature conditions of a nuclear weapon. That's the tricky part.”
One way to circumvent this issue is to produce new pits. A major effort under way will ramp up production. In 2024, the NNSA “diamond stamped” the first of these pits, meaning that the pit was certified for use in a weapon. The aim is for the United States to make 80 pits per year by 2030. But questions remain about new plutonium pits as well, Hecker says, as they rely on an updated manufacturing process.
Hecker, whose tenure at Los Alamos straddled the testing and post-testing eras, thinks nuclear tests could help answer some of those questions. “Those people who say, ‘There is no scientific or technical reason to test. We can do it all with computers,' I disagree strongly.”
But, he says, the benefits of performing a test would be outweighed by the big drawback: Other countries would likely return to testing. And those countries would have more to learn than the United States. China, for instance, has performed only 45 tests, while the United States has performed over 1,000. “We have to find other ways that we can reassure ourselves,” Hecker says.
Other experts similarly thread the needle. Nuclear tests of the past produced plenty of surprises, such as yields that were higher or lower than predicted, physicist Michael Frankel, an independent scientific consultant, and colleagues argued in a 2021 report. While the researchers advise against resuming testing in the current situation, they expect that stockpile stewardship will not be sufficient indefinitely. “Too many things have gone too wrong too often to trust Lucy with the football one more time,” Frankel and colleagues wrote, referring to Charles Schulz's comic strip Peanuts. If we rely too much on computer simulations to conclude an untested nuclear weapon will work, we might find ourselves like Charlie Brown — flat on our backs.
But other scientists have full faith in subcritical experiments and stockpile stewardship. “We have always found that there are better ways to answer these questions than to return to nuclear explosive testing,” Adams says.
For many scientists, subcritical experiments are preferable, especially given the political ramifications of full-fledged tests. But the line between a nuclear test prohibited by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and an experiment that is allowed is not always clear.
The CTBT is a “zero yield” treaty; experiments can release no energy beyond that produced by the chemical explosives. But, Adams says, “there's no such thing as zero yield.” Even in an idle, isolated hunk of plutonium, some nuclear fission happens spontaneously. That's a nonzero but tiny nuclear yield. “It's a ridiculous term,” he says. “I hate it. I wish no one had ever said it.”
The United States has taken zero yield to mean that self-sustaining chain reactions are prohibited. U.S. government reports claim that Russia has performed nuclear experiments that surpass this definition of the zero yield benchmark and raise concerns about China's adherence to the standard. The confusion has caused finger-pointing and increased tensions.
But countries might honestly disagree on the definition of a nuclear test, Adams says. For example, a country might allow “hydronuclear” experiments, which are supercritical but the amount of fission energy released is dwarfed by the energy from the chemical explosive. Such experiments would violate U.S. standards, but perhaps not those of Russia or another country.
Even if everyone could agree on a definition, monitoring would be challenging. The CTBT provides for seismic and other monitoring, but detecting very-low-yield tests would demand new inspection techniques, such as measuring the radiation emanating from a confinement vessel used in an experiment.
Tests that clearly break the rules, however, can be swiftly detected. The CTBT monitoring system can spot underground explosions as small as 0.1 kilotons, less than a hundredth that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. That includes the most recent nuclear explosive test, performed by North Korea in 2017.
Despite being invisible, underground nuclear explosive tests have an impact. While an underground test is generally much safer than an open-air nuclear test, “it's not not risky,” Park says.
The containment provided by an underground test isn't assured. In the 1970 Baneberry test in Nevada, a misunderstanding of the site's geology led to a radioactive plume escaping in a blowout that exposed workers on the site.
While U.S. scientists learned from that mistake and haven't had such a major containment failure since, the incident suggests that performing an underground test in a rushed manner could increase the risks for an accident, Park says.
Hecker is not too concerned about that possibility. “For the most part, I have good confidence that we could do underground nuclear testing without a significant insult to the environment,” he says. “It's not an automatic given.… Obviously there's radioactive debris that stays down there. But I think enough work has been done to understand the geology that we don't think there will be a major environmental problem.”
While the United States knows its test sites well and has practice with underground testing, “other countries might not be as knowledgeable,” Hruby says. So if the United States starts testing and others follow, “the chance of a non-containment, a leak of some kind, certainly goes up.” A U.S. test, she says, is “a very bad idea.”
Even if the initial containment is successful, radioactive materials could travel via groundwater. Although tests are designed to avoid groundwater, scientists have detected traces of plutonium in groundwater from the Nevada site. The plutonium traveled a little more than a kilometer in 30 years. “To a lot of people, that's not very far,” Park says. But “from a geology time scale, that's really fast.” Although not at a level where it would cause health effects, the plutonium had been expected to stay put.
The craters left in the Nevada desert are a mark of each test's impact on structures deep below the surface. “There was a time when detonating either above ground or underground in the desert seemed like — well, that's just wasteland,” Jeanloz says. “Many would view it very differently now, and say, ‘No, these are very fragile ecosystems, so perturbing the water table, putting radioactive debris, has serious consequences.' ”
The weight of public opinion is another hurdle. In the days of nuclear testing, protests at the site were a regular occurrence. That opposition persisted to the very end. On the day of the Divider test in 1992, four protesters made it to within about six kilometers of ground zero before being arrested.
The disarmament movement continues despite the lack of testing. At a recent meeting of nuclear experts, the Nuclear Deterrence Summit in Arlington, Va., a few protesters gathered outside in the January cold, demanding that the United States and Russia swear off nuclear weapons for good. But that option was not on the meeting's agenda. During a break between sessions, the song that played — presumably unintentionally — was “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
Questions or comments on this article? E-mail us at feedback@sciencenews.org | Reprints FAQ
S. Park and R.C. Ewing. Environmental impacts of underground nuclear weapons testing. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Published online March 7, 2024. doi: 10.1080/00963402.2024.2314439.
U.S. Government Accountability Office. Nuclear weapons: Program management improvements would benefit U.S. efforts to build new experimental capabilities. Published online August 30, 2023.
J. Scouras, G. Ullrich and M. Frankel. Tickling the sleeping dragon's tail: Should We Resume Nuclear Testing? Defense Technical Information Center. Published online May 10, 2021. Accession Number: AD1132778.
Physics writer Emily Conover has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago. She is a two-time winner of the D.C. Science Writers' Association Newsbrief award.
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Patients with trimethylaminuria, or "fish odor syndrome," make too much of a chemical with a strong fishy smell.
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Disease name: Trimethylaminuria (TMAU), also known as "fish odor syndrome"
Affected populations: TMAU is a rare metabolic condition that causes a person to smell like rotten fish. The condition is more common in women than in men, and there's evidence that female sex hormones, such as progesterone, can exacerbate patients' symptoms.
The exact prevalence of TMAU is unknown, and estimates of global cases vary greatly, ranging from 1 in a million to 1 in 200,000 people.
Causes: Patients with TMAU smell like fish due to a buildup of a chemical called trimethylamine in their body. Trimethylamine is produced by bacteria in the gut as a byproduct of the digestion of certain foods, including eggs, liver, legumes and specific kinds of seafood, such as fish, squid and crabs.
Related: Why can't we smell ourselves as well as we smell others?
Normally, an enzyme in the body breaks down trimethylamine into an odorless chemical, known as trimethylamine N-oxide, which is then excreted via urine. This enzyme is encoded by a gene called FMO3.
In patients with TMAU, though, this enzymatic process doesn't occur, so trimethylamine accumulates in the body and ends up being released in excess quantities in patients' sweat, urine and breath. This makes them smell like rotten fish.
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Most cases of TMAU are caused by mutations in the FMO3 gene that prevent the enzyme it encodes from working properly. In these instances, patients inherit the disease in an autosomal recessive manner, meaning they must inherit two copies of the mutated FMO3 gene — one from each parent — to develop the condition.
More rarely, TMAU can be caused by consuming a large quantity of foods that lead to trimethylamine production. It can also result from liver failure and certain medical treatments, such as testosterone replacement therapy, which impact the processing and production of trimethylamine, respectively. Hormonal changes brought about by the menstrual cycle can also cause a transient form of TMAU.
Symptoms: Symptoms of TMAU may be present from birth or arise later in life, normally near the start of puberty (roughly around age 8 to 13 in females and 9 to 14 in males), when many hormonal changes happen.
Some patients with TMAU have a strong fishy odor all the time, while the smell may come and go for others with the condition. A patient's stress levels and diet can worsen their symptoms by increasing their sweat production and levels of trimethylamine, respectively.
TMAU is not deadly, but the condition can have devastating effects on patients' quality of life, by impeding their relationships with others and their career, for instance. These impacts can considerably impede their mental health and may lead to symptoms of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts in some.
Treatments: There is no cure for TMAU. However, health care providers may recommend that patients avoid foods that contain trimethylamine or substances that can be broken down into the chemical. These include milk from wheat-fed cows, as well as eggs, liver, kidney, seafood and peas.
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Patients may also be advised to wash their skin with a slightly acidic soap or shampoo, to avoid strenuous exercise that causes sweating, to wash their clothes frequently and to use antiperspirant. They may also be advised to take measures to reduce their stress levels.
Additionally, doctors can prescribe low doses of antibiotics to reduce the amount of bacteria in the gut that metabolize trimethylamine. They may also prescribe activated charcoal, which binds to and reduces the amount of trimethylamine that can be absorbed from the gut. (Activated charcoal can interact with many medications, though, so it should be used with caution.)
This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to offer medical advice.
Emily is a health news writer based in London, United Kingdom. She holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Durham University and a master's degree in clinical and therapeutic neuroscience from Oxford University. She has worked in science communication, medical writing and as a local news reporter while undertaking NCTJ journalism training with News Associates. In 2018, she was named one of MHP Communications' 30 journalists to watch under 30. (emily.cooke@futurenet.com)
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Why modern humans have smaller faces than Neanderthals and chimpanzees
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We have smaller faces than Neanderthals and even chimps. A new study may explain how this came to be.
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Modern humans have uniquely small and flat faces, especially compared with our Neanderthal cousins' notoriously robust faces and large noses, but the reason for this difference has eluded paleoanthropologists. Now, researchers have determined that human faces grow slowly and stop growing during early adolescence, whereas Neanderthals' faces kept growing into early adulthood.
"These two human species followed different developmental trajectories for their facial bones," Alexandra Schuh, a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, told Live Science.
In a study published Monday (March 24) in the Journal of Human Evolution, Schuh and colleagues analyzed the midface region of 174 skulls of Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and chimpanzees. By including skulls from individuals throughout childhood and into adulthood, the researchers were able to investigate facial ontogeny — how the facial bones of the skull develop and grow.
The researchers used two techniques to closely examine the skulls. First, they created virtual 3D models of the skulls and digitized over 200 landmarks on the upper jawbone to look at patterns of growth and development. Then, they undertook microscopic analysis to look for bone formation and bone resorption, a normal process in bone remodeling that helps the tissue retain its structure and strength.
Related: 28,000-year-old Neanderthal-and-human 'Lapedo child' lived tens of thousands of years after our closest relatives went extinct
"We found that bone formation is predominant in Neanderthals — from birth on — who develop larger and more projecting faces," Schuh said. "In contrast, present-day humans exhibit significantly higher levels of bone resorption."
The new research showed that both chimpanzees and Neanderthals had larger, faster-growing faces, while modern humans have smaller faces that stop growing sometime during adolescence.
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"Earlier growth cessation is a distinctive feature of our species," Schuh said. "We have identified a unique developmental pattern seen exclusively in Homo sapiens."
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Experts have put forth numerous explanations for why Neanderthals had such large faces and noses, including adaptation to a cold climate, higher energy needs, the chewing of tough foods, and the use of their teeth as tools. Explanations for humans' small faces, on the other hand, include the invention of cooking and increases in brain size.
But the reason humans evolved these uniquely small faces is a particularly complex question in paleoanthropology that has not yet been solved. "However, our study addresses aspects of the 'how,'" Schuh said, "providing an important first step toward understanding these processes."
Kristina Killgrove is a staff writer at Live Science with a focus on archaeology and paleoanthropology news. Her articles have also appeared in venues such as Forbes, Smithsonian, and Mental Floss. Killgrove holds postgraduate degrees in anthropology and classical archaeology and was formerly a university professor and researcher. She has received awards from the Society for American Archaeology and the American Anthropological Association for her science writing.
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King Charles III was briefly hospitalized Thursday amid ongoing medical treatment for cancer, according to Buckingham Palace.
Charles' hospitalization was a result of "temporary side effects" he experienced after undergoing what the palace described as "scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer" on Thursday morning.
After a "short period of observation" in the hospital, the 76-year-old king returned to Clarence House, his royal residence in London, according to the palace.
As a result of the hospitalization, Charles's engagements on Thursday afternoon and Friday were postponed.
"His Majesty would like to send his apologies to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result," the palace said in a statement Thursday evening.
King Charles visits cancer center in 1st return to public duties since cancer diagnosis
Charles's cancer diagnosis was announced by Buckingham Palace in February 2024, shortly after he underwent treatment for benign prostate enlargement.
In announcing Charles' diagnosis, the palace did not specify the type of cancer, the stage of cancer or the type of treatment he is undergoing or planning to undergo.
After spending several weeks largely out of the public eye, Charles visited a cancer treatment center on April 30, 2024, in his first public royal engagement since his own diagnosis.
King Charles III seen in new photos after cancer diagnosis
Since then, Charles has resumed a more regular schedule of public duties.
On Wednesday, he visited an exhibition at Somerset House in London and later that evening attended a reception at Buckingham Palace.
King Charles briefly hospitalized amid cancer treatment, Buckingham Palace says originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner
Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News' weekly health policy news podcast, "What the Health?" A noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically praised reference book "Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z," now in its third edition.
As had been rumored for weeks, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unveiled a plan to reorganize the department. It involves the downsizing of its workforce, which formerly was roughly 80,000 people, by a quarter and consolidating dozens of agencies that were created and authorized by Congress.
Meanwhile, in just the past week, HHS abruptly cut off billions in funding to state and local public health departments, and canceled all research studies into covid-19, as well as diseases that could develop into the next pandemic.
This week's panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Maya Goldman of Axios News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.
Among the takeaways from this week's episode:
Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF senior vice president Larry Levitt about the 15th anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act and the threats the health law continues to face.
Plus, for "extra credit," the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:
Julie Rovner: CNN's "State Lawmakers Are Looking To Ban Non-Existent 'Chemtrails.' It Could Have Real-Life Side Effects," by Ramishah Maruf and Brandon Miller.
Alice Miranda Ollstein: The New York Times Wirecutter's "23andMe Just Filed for Bankruptcy. You Should Delete Your Data Now," by Max Eddy.
Maya Goldman: KFF Health News' "'I Am Going Through Hell': Job Loss, Mental Health, and the Fate of Federal Workers," by Rachana Pradhan and Aneri Pattani.
Joanne Kenen: The Atlantic's "America Is Done Pretending About Meat," by Yasmin Tayag.
Also mentioned in this week's podcast:
This article was reprinted from khn.org, a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF - the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.
KFF Health News
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Conversations on AFM: Exploring the nanomechanics of living cells
In this interview Prof. Dr. Kristina Kusche-Vihrog speaks about the nanomechanics of living cells and their implications for cardiovascular disease.
Olivier Negre
In this interview, News Medical speaks with Olivier Negre, Chief Scientific Officer at Smart Immune, about how immunotherapy is being revolutionized.
Angeline Lim
Molecular Devices' CellXpress AI streamlines cell culture processes, reducing human error and improving efficiency in drug discovery with advanced automation.
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Dartmouth researchers conducted the first clinical trial of a therapy chatbot powered by generative AI and found that the software resulted in significant improvements in participants' symptoms, according to results published March 27 in the New England Journal of Medicine AI.
People in the study also reported they could trust and communicate with the system, known as Therabot, to a degree that is comparable to working with a mental-health professional.
The trial consisted of 106 people from across the United States diagnosed with major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or an eating disorder. Participants interacted with Therabot through a smartphone app by typing out responses to prompts about how they were feeling or initiating conversations when they needed to talk.
People diagnosed with depression experienced a 51% average reduction in symptoms, leading to clinically significant improvements in mood and overall well-being, the researchers report. Participants with generalized anxiety reported an average reduction in symptoms of 31%, with many shifting from moderate to mild anxiety, or from mild anxiety to below the clinical threshold for diagnosis.
Among those at risk for eating disorders-who are traditionally more challenging to treat-Therabot users showed a 19% average reduction in concerns about body image and weight, which significantly outpaced a control group that also was part of the trial.
The researchers conclude that while AI-powered therapy is still in critical need of clinician oversight, it has the potential to provide real-time support for the many people who lack regular or immediate access to a mental-health professional.
The improvements in symptoms we observed were comparable to what is reported for traditional outpatient therapy, suggesting this AI-assisted approach may offer clinically meaningful benefits."
Nicholas Jacobson, study's senior author and associate professor of biomedical data science and psychiatry in Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine
"There is no replacement for in-person care, but there are nowhere near enough providers to go around," Jacobson says. For every available provider in the United States, there's an average of 1,600 patients with depression or anxiety alone, he says.
"We would like to see generative AI help provide mental health support to the huge number of people outside the in-person care system. I see the potential for person-to-person and software-based therapy to work together," says Jacobson, who is the director of the treatment development and evaluation core at Dartmouth's Center for Technology and Behavioral Health.
Michael Heinz, the study's first author and an assistant professor of psychiatry at Dartmouth, says the trial results also underscore the critical work ahead before generative AI can be used to treat people safely and effectively.
"While these results are very promising, no generative AI agent is ready to operate fully autonomously in mental health where there is a very wide range of high-risk scenarios it might encounter," says Heinz, who also is an attending psychiatrist at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. "We still need to better understand and quantify the risks associated with generative AI used in mental health contexts."
Therabot has been in development in Jacobson's AI and Mental Health Lab at Dartmouth since 2019. The process included continuous consultation with psychologists and psychiatrists affiliated with Dartmouth and Dartmouth Health.
When people initiate a conversation with the app, Therabot answers with natural, open-ended text dialog based on an original training set the researchers developed from current, evidence-based best practices for psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, Heinz says.
For example, if a person with anxiety tells Therabot they have been feeling very nervous and overwhelmed lately, it might respond, "Let's take a step back and ask why you feel that way." If Therabot detects high-risk content such as suicidal ideation during a conversation with a user, it will provide a prompt to call 911, or contact a suicide prevention or crisis hotline, with the press of an onscreen button.
The clinical trial provided the participants randomly selected to use Therabot with four weeks of unlimited access. The researchers also tracked the control group of 104 people with the same diagnosed conditions who had no access to Therabot.
Almost 75% of the Therabot group were not under pharmaceutical or other therapeutic treatment at the time. The app asked about people's well-being, personalizing its questions and responses based on what it learned during its conversations with participants. The researchers evaluated conversations to ensure that the software was responding within best therapeutic practices.
After four weeks, the researchers gauged a person's progress through standardized questionnaires clinicians use to detect and monitor each condition. The team did a second assessment after another four weeks when participants could initiate conversations with Therabot but no longer received prompts.
After eight weeks, all participants using Therabot experienced a marked reduction in symptoms that exceed what clinicians consider statistically significant, Jacobson says.
These differences represent robust, real-world improvements that patients would likely notice in their daily lives, Jacobson says. Users engaged with Therabot for an average of six hours throughout the trial, or the equivalent of about eight therapy sessions, he says.
"Our results are comparable to what we would see for people with access to gold-standard cognitive therapy with outpatient providers," Jacobson says. "We're talking about potentially giving people the equivalent of the best treatment you can get in the care system over shorter periods of time."
Critically, people reported a degree of "therapeutic alliance" in line with what patients report for in-person providers, the study found. Therapeutic alliance relates to the level of trust and collaboration between a patient and their caregiver and is considered essential to successful therapy.
One indication of this bond is that people not only provided detailed responses to Therabot's prompts-they frequently initiated conversations, Jacobson says. Interactions with the software also showed upticks at times associated with unwellness, such as in the middle of the night.
"We did not expect that people would almost treat the software like a friend. It says to me that they were actually forming relationships with Therabot," Jacobson says. "My sense is that people also felt comfortable talking to a bot because it won't judge them."
The Therabot trial shows that generative AI has the potential to increase a patient's engagement and, importantly, continued use of the software, Heinz says.
"Therabot is not limited to an office and can go anywhere a patient goes. It was available around the clock for challenges that arose in daily life and could walk users through strategies to handle them in real time," Heinz says. "But the feature that allows AI to be so effective is also what confers its risk-patients can say anything to it, and it can say anything back."
The development and clinical testing of these systems need to have rigorous benchmarks for safety, efficacy, and the tone of engagement, and need to include the close supervision and involvement of mental-health experts, Heinz says.
"This trial brought into focus that the study team has to be equipped to intervene-possibly right away-if a patient expresses an acute safety concern such as suicidal ideation, or if the software responds in a way that is not in line with best practices," he says. "Thankfully, we did not see this often with Therabot, but that is always a risk with generative AI, and our study team was ready."
In evaluations of earlier versions of Therabot more than two years ago, more than 90% of responses were consistent with therapeutic best-practices, Jacobson says. That gave the team the confidence to move forward with the clinical trial.
"There are a lot of folks rushing into this space since the release of ChatGPT, and it's easy to put out a proof of concept that looks great at first glance, but the safety and efficacy is not well established," Jacobson says. "This is one of those cases where diligent oversight is needed, and providing that really sets us apart in this space."
Dartmouth College
Heinz, M. V., et al. (2025). Randomized Trial of a Generative AI Chatbot for Mental Health Treatment. NEJM AI. doi.org/10.1056/aioa2400802.
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Conversations on AFM: Exploring the nanomechanics of living cells
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Olivier Negre
In this interview, News Medical speaks with Olivier Negre, Chief Scientific Officer at Smart Immune, about how immunotherapy is being revolutionized.
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The Department of Health and Human Services will be firing 10,000 employees—nearly a quarter of the workforce.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is cutting employees in the disease outbreak, drug approval, and insurance departments. These firings, combined with the 10,000 employees who've already quit, leaves the critical public health department with just 62,000 employees. The department will also lose half of its regional offices.
“We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy said.
According to the Journal, the cuts will include:
- 3,500 full-time employees from the Food and Drug Administration—or about 19% of the agency's workforce.
- 2,400 employees from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—or about 18% of its workforce.
- 1,200 employees from the National Institutes of Health—or about 6% of its workforce
- 300 employees from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services—or about 4% of its workforce.
HHS has been a target for Elon Musk and DOGE since Trump reentered the Oval Office, and has received much ire from the right for its Covid-19 policies.
This story has been updated.
Recognizing the importance of nutrition in a patient's recovery, NYU Langone Health has integrated meal delivery into patients' discharge planning at its Manhattan and Brooklyn campuses through a self-funded partnership with God's Love We Deliver, providing customizable meal deliveries based on a patient's dietary needs and preferences to those in need at home after they leave the hospital.
Bridging hospital care and home recovery through nutrition is the driving mantra behind the partnership between NYU Langone Health and God's Love We Deliver, the only medically tailored meal provider in the New York metropolitan area.
For Nancy Bourges, a Coney Island resident caring for her daughter following a transplant at NYU Langone, the meal delivery service came as an unexpected blessing.
"She gets happy when they come," Bourges said. "She takes out each item and organizes them. When we don't have certain things at the house, she uses the bread they bring, puts it in the toaster, and makes peanut butter and jelly."
The partnership, launched in February 2024, strengthens how patients transition from hospital to home. Instead of being handed a list of community resources and hoping for the best, eligible patients connect with God's Love We Deliver before even leaving the hospital.
Kwan Hong Kim, a social worker at NYU Langone, understands the real-world challenges awaiting patients after discharge, such as managing medications and securing basic nutrition—factors that can make the difference between recovery and readmission.
Being in a hospital is not exactly the most stress-free setting. Some families are very anxious. They have a loved one in the hospital. They're dealing with all these other things going on. Coordinating a meal plan is an added component of patient care involving multiple moving parts that social work is responsible for."
Kwan Hong Kim, social worker at NYU Langone
"What I like about how the program is set up is that the providers from God's Love have access to relevant information about the participating patient's medical conditions and nutritional needs," Kim added. This seamless integration ensures patients receive nutritional support precisely tailored to their medical conditions.
For Allyson Schiff, director of business development at God's Love We Deliver, this represents a shift in healthcare delivery. "We are constantly demonstrating how medically tailored meals are part of a healthcare delivery system in a world that tends to think of healthcare as doctors' offices, prescriptions, and surgeries," Schiff explained. "We build flavor from things like garlic and ginger and carrots and onions. All our meals are low sodium and heart healthy. That's the foundation of a medically tailored meal."
The reliability and compassion of the delivery service have made a significant impact on families like Bourges's. "The delivery people are very polite with my daughter, very friendly," she said. "It's usually the same guy, and he knows her already. He's so nice and patient with her because she talks to him. I'll say, 'She's got to let you go,' and he'll say, 'No, no, it's all right.'"
This approach reflects mounting evidence that factors outside hospital walls — what healthcare professionals call "health-related social needs"—account for over 80 percent of overall health outcomes. Additionally, research has shown that medically tailored meals can reduce the rate of hospital readmission by up to 13 percent.
"Our goal is to facilitate the transition from the hospital back into their community or home," said Jasmine Bar, MPH, administrative fellow of hospital operations, NYU Langone. "The program and its infrastructure give us insight into the challenges and opportunities that exist for patients and families to get connected to social care resources."
The partnership's structure reveals patterns in how patients engage with support services. "When we rolled it out, the idea was if we offer people free meals, the majority of them would take the resource because it's free. But what we're seeing is there are multiple phases at which they might drop off," Bar said. "For patients who don't enroll in the program or don't want to accept the meals, we have a structure in place for social workers to document why, which can then inform additional interventions."
Bourges initially was hesitant about the service when it was first offered. "I felt that maybe, being that my daughter is a picky eater, I don't want to waste food," she said. "I don't want to take away from somebody that could use it, or it could help them. But when they did deliver it, there was stuff that she did like, and oh my God, she was so happy."
By documenting these experiences, the team can better tailor both their outreach and the meals themselves to meet patient needs.
This attention to patient experience comes naturally to Kim, whose path to social work emerged through personal experience as a caregiver for a parent. "The social workers made me feel like a human being and not just an MRN," Kim said, referring to patients' medical record numbers. That experience now shapes Kim's dedicated approach to patient care, building trusted bonds with patients and families that open the doors for valuable client feedback.
"Some of our patients are used to being the primary cook in their household, so having someone else prepare the meals is a huge logistical and financial weight off of them," Kim said.
While early data shows promise, the team maintains rigorous standards. "Our standards for data evaluation are really high," said Bar. "There are many confounding factors as to why someone might be readmitted to a hospital shortly after they've been discharged. However, we can see the value the program is currently bringing to people's discharge experience and the learnings we will be able to integrate for better care."
For many patients, the transition home is the most difficult part of their recovery. Through a careful approach to both patient care and program evaluation, hospitals can reshape what comprehensive healthcare looks like.
NYU Langone
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Conversations on AFM: Exploring the nanomechanics of living cells
In this interview Prof. Dr. Kristina Kusche-Vihrog speaks about the nanomechanics of living cells and their implications for cardiovascular disease.
Olivier Negre
In this interview, News Medical speaks with Olivier Negre, Chief Scientific Officer at Smart Immune, about how immunotherapy is being revolutionized.
Angeline Lim
Molecular Devices' CellXpress AI streamlines cell culture processes, reducing human error and improving efficiency in drug discovery with advanced automation.
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In the wooded highlands of northern Arkansas, where small towns have few dentists, water officials who serve more than 20,000 people have for more than a decade openly defied state law by refusing to add fluoride to the drinking water.
For its refusal, the Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority has received hundreds of state fines amounting to about $130,000, which are stuffed in a cardboard box and left unpaid, said Andy Anderson, who is opposed to fluoridation and has led the water system for nearly two decades.
This Ozark region is among hundreds of rural American communities that face a one-two punch to oral health: a dire shortage of dentists and a lack of fluoridated drinking water, which is widely viewed among dentists as one of the most effective tools to prevent tooth decay. But as the anti-fluoride movement builds unprecedented momentum, it may turn out that the Ozarks were not behind the times after all.
"We will eventually win," Anderson said. "We will be vindicated."
Fluoride, a naturally occurring mineral, keeps teeth strong when added to drinking water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Dental Association. But the anti-fluoride movement has been energized since a government report last summer found a possible link between lower IQ in children and consuming amounts of fluoride that are higher than what is recommended in American drinking water. Dozens of communities have decided to stop fluoridating in recent months, and state officials in Florida and Texas have urged their water systems to do the same. Utah is poised to become the first state to ban it in tap water.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long espoused fringe health theories, has called fluoride an "industrial waste" and "dangerous neurotoxin" and said the Trump administration will recommend it be removed from all public drinking water.
Separately, Republican efforts to extend tax cuts and shrink federal spending may squeeze Medicaid, which could deepen existing shortages of dentists in rural areas where many residents depend on the federal insurance program for whatever dental care they can find.
Dental experts warn that the simultaneous erosion of Medicaid and fluoridation could exacerbate a crisis of rural oral health and reverse decades of progress against tooth decay, particularly for children and those who rarely see a dentist.
"If you have folks with little access to professional care and no access to water fluoridation," said Steven Levy, a dentist and leading fluoride researcher at the University of Iowa, "then they are missing two of the big pillars of how to keep healthy for a lifetime."
Many already are.
Nearly 25 million Americans live in areas without enough dentists — more than twice as many as prior estimates by the federal government — according to a recent study from Harvard University that measured U.S. "dental deserts" with more depth and precision than before.
Hawazin Elani, a Harvard dentist and epidemiologist who co-authored the study, found that many shortage areas are rural and poor, and depend heavily on Medicaid. But many dentists do not accept Medicaid because payments can be low, Elani said.
The ADA has estimated that only a third of dentists treat patients on Medicaid.
"I suspect this situation is much worse for Medicaid beneficiaries," Elani said. "If you have Medicaid and your nearest dentists do not accept it, then you will likely have to go to the third, or fourth, or the fifth."
The Harvard study identified over 780 counties where more than half of the residents live in a shortage area. Of those counties, at least 230 also have mostly or completely unfluoridated public drinking water, according to a KFF analysis of fluoride data published by the CDC. That means people in these areas who can't find a dentist also do not get protection for their teeth from their tap water.
The KFF Health News analysis does not cover the entire nation because it does not include private wells and 13 states do not submit fluoride data to the CDC. But among those that do, most counties with a shortage of dentists and unfluoridated water are in the south-central U.S., in a cluster that stretches from Texas to the Florida Panhandle and up into Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
In the center of that cluster is the Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority, which serves the Arkansas counties of Boone, Marion, Newton, and Searcy. It has refused to add fluoride ever since Arkansas enacted a statewide mandate in 2011. After weekly fines began in 2016, the water system unsuccessfully challenged the fluoride mandate in state court, then lost again on appeal.
Anderson, who has chaired the water system's board since 2007, said he would like to challenge the fluoride mandate in court again and would argue the case himself if necessary. In a phone interview, Anderson said he believes that fluoride can hamper the brain and body to the point of making people "get fat and lazy."
"So if you go out in the streets these days, walk down the streets, you'll see lots of fat people wearing their pajamas out in public," he said.
Nearby in the tiny, no-stoplight community of Leslie, Arkansas, which gets water from the Ozark system, the only dentist in town operates out of a one-man clinic tucked in the back of an antique store. Hand-painted lettering on the store window advertises a "pretty good dentist."
James Flanagin, a third-generation dentist who opened this clinic three years ago, said he was drawn to Leslie by the quaint charms and friendly smiles of small-town life. But those same smiles also reveal the unmistakable consequences of refusing to fluoridate, he said.
"There is no doubt that there is more dental decay here than there would otherwise be," he said. "You are going to have more decay if your water is not fluoridated. That's just a fact."
Fluoride was first added to public water in an American city in 1945 and spread to half of the U.S. population by 1980, according to the CDC. Because of "the dramatic decline" in cavities that followed, in 1999 the CDC dubbed fluoridation as one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century.
Currently more than 70% of the U.S. population on public water systems get fluoridated water, with a recommended concentration of 0.7 milligrams per liter, or about three drops in a 55-gallon barrel, according to the CDC.
Fluoride is also present in modern toothpaste, mouthwash, dental varnish, and some food and drinks — like raisins, potatoes, oatmeal, coffee, and black tea. But several dental experts said these products do not reliably reach as many low-income families as drinking water, which has an additional benefit over toothpaste of strengthening children's teeth from within as they grow.
Two recent polls have found that the largest share of Americans support fluoridation, but a sizable minority does not. Polls from Axios/Ipsos and AP-NORC found that 48% and 40% of respondents wanted to keep fluoride in public water supplies, while 29% and 26% supported its removal.
Chelsea Fosse, an expert on oral health policy at the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, said she worried that misguided fears of fluoride would cause many people to stop using fluoridated toothpaste and varnish just as Medicaid cuts made it harder to see a dentist.
The combination, she said, could be "devastating."
"It will be visibly apparent what this does to the prevalence of tooth decay," Fosse said. "If we get rid of water fluoridation, if we make Medicaid cuts, and if we don't support providers in locating and serving the highest-need populations, I truly don't know what we will do."
Multiple peer-reviewed studies have shown what ending water fluoridation could look like. In the past few years, studies of cities in Alaska and Canada have shown that communities that stopped fluoridation saw significant increases in children's cavities when compared with similar cities that did not. A 2024 study from Israel reported a "two-fold increase" in dental treatments for kids within five years after the country stopped fluoridating in 2014.
Despite the benefits of fluoridation, it has been fiercely opposed by some since its inception, said Catherine Hayes, a Harvard dental expert who advises the American Dental Association on fluoride and has studied its use for three decades.
Fluoridation was initially smeared as a communist plot against America, Hayes said, and then later fears arose of possible links to cancer, which were refuted through extensive scientific research. In the '80s, hysteria fueled fears of fluoride causing AIDS, which was "ludicrous," Hayes said.
More recently, the anti-fluoride movement seized on international research that suggests high levels of fluoride can hinder children's brain development and has been boosted by high-profile legal and political victories.
Last August, a hotly debated report from the National Institutes of Health's National Toxicology Program found "with moderate confidence" that exposure to levels of fluoride that are higher than what is present in American drinking water is associated with lower IQ in children. The report was based on an analysis of 74 studies conducted in other countries, most of which were considered "low quality" and involved exposure of at least 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water — or more than twice the U.S. recommendation — according to the program.
The following month, in a long-simmering lawsuit filed by fluoride opponents, a federal judge in California said the possible link between fluoride and lowered IQ was too risky to ignore, then ordered the federal Environmental Protection Agency to take nonspecified steps to lower that risk. The EPA started to appeal this ruling in the final days of the Biden administration, but the Trump administration could reverse course.
The EPA and Department of Justice declined to comment. The White House and Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to questions about fluoride.
Despite the National Toxicology Program's report, Hayes said, no association has been shown to date between lowered IQ and the amount of fluoride actually present in most Americans' water. The court ruling may prompt additional research conducted in the U.S., Hayes said, which she hoped would finally put the campaign against fluoride to rest.
"It's one of the great mysteries of my career, what sustains it," Hayes said. "What concerns me is that there's some belief amongst some members of the public — and some of our policymakers — that there is some truth to this."
Not all experts were so dismissive of the toxicology program's report. Bruce Lanphear, a children's health researcher at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, published an editorial in January that said the findings should prompt health organizations "to reassess the risks and benefits of fluoride, particularly for pregnant women and infants."
"The people who are proposing fluoridation need to now prove it's safe," Lanphear told NPR in January. “What the study does, or should do, is shift the burden of proof."
At least 14 states so far this year have considered or are considering bills that would lift fluoride mandates or prohibit fluoride in drinking water altogether. In February, Utah lawmakers passed the nation's first ban, which Republican Gov. Spencer Cox told ABC4 Utah he intends to sign. And both Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller have called for their respective states to end fluoridation.
"I don't want Big Brother telling me what to do," Miller told The Dallas Morning News in February. "Government has forced this on us for too long."
Additionally, dozens of cities and counties have decided to stop fluoridation in the past six months — including at least 16 communities in Florida with a combined population of more than 1.6 million — according to news reports and the Fluoride Action Network, an anti-fluoride group.
Stuart Cooper, executive director of that group, said the movement's unprecedented momentum would be further supercharged if Kennedy and the Trump administration follow through on a recommendation against fluoride.
Cooper predicted that most U.S. communities will have stopped fluoridating within years.
"I think what you are seeing in Florida, where every community is falling like dominoes, is going to now happen in the United States," he said. "I think we're seeing the absolute end of it."
If Cooper's prediction is right, Hayes said, widespread decay would be visible within years. Kids' teeth will rot in their mouths, she said, even though "we know how to completely prevent it."
"It's unnecessary pain and suffering," Hayes said. "If you go into any children's hospital across this country, you'll see a waiting list of kids to get into the operating room to get their teeth fixed because they have severe decay because they haven't had access to either fluoridated water or other types of fluoride. Unfortunately, that's just going to get worse."
This KFF Health News article identifies communities with an elevated risk of tooth decay by combining data on areas with dentist shortages and unfluoridated drinking water. Our analysis merged Harvard University research on dentist-shortage areas with large datasets on public water systems published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Harvard research determined that nearly 25 million Americans live in dentist-shortage areas that span much of rural America. The CDC data details the populations served and fluoridation status of more than 38,000 public water systems in 37 states. We classified counties as having elevated risk of tooth decay if they met three criteria:
More than half of the residents live in a dentist-shortage area identified by Harvard.
The number of people receiving unfluoridated water from water systems based in that county amounts to more than half of the county's population.
The number of people receiving unfluoridated water from water systems based in that county amounts to at least half of the total population of all water systems based in that county, even if those systems reached beyond the county borders, which many do.
Our analysis identified approximately 230 counties that meet these criteria, meaning they have both a dire shortage of dentists and largely unfluoridated drinking water.
But this total is certainly an undercount. Thirteen states do not report water system data to the CDC, and the agency data does not include private wells, most of which are unfluoridated.
This article was reprinted from khn.org, a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF - the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.
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President Donald Trump is vowing a new approach to getting homeless people off the streets by forcibly moving those living outside into large camps while mandating mental health and addiction treatment — an aggressive departure from the nation's leading homelessness policy, which for decades has prioritized housing as the most effective way to combat the crisis.
"Our once-great cities have become unlivable, unsanitary nightmares," Trump said in a presidential campaign video. "For those who are severely mentally ill and deeply disturbed, we will bring them to mental institutions, where they belong, with the goal of reintegrating them back into society once they are well enough to manage."
Now that he's in office, the assault on "Housing First" has begun.
White House officials haven't announced a formal policy but are opening the door to a treatment-first agenda, while engineering a major overhaul of the housing and social service programs that form the backbone of the homelessness response system that cities and counties across the nation depend on. Nearly $4 billion was earmarked last year alone. But now, Scott Turner, who heads Trump's Department of Housing and Urban Development — the agency responsible for administering housing and homelessness funding — has outlined massive funding cuts and called for a review of taxpayer spending.
"Thanks to President Trump's leadership, we are no longer in a business-as-usual posture and the DOGE task force will play a critical role in helping to identify and eliminate waste, fraud and abuse and ultimately better serve the American people," Turner said in a statement.
Staffing cuts already proposed would hit the part of the agency overseeing homelessness spending and Housing First initiatives particularly hard. Trump outlined his vision during his campaign, calling for new treatment facilities to be opened on large parcels of government land — "tent cities where the homeless can be relocated and their problems identified." They could receive treatment and rehabilitation or face arrest. Now in office, he has begun to turn his attention to street homelessness, in March ordering Washington, D.C., to sweep encampments, potentially separating homeless people from their case managers and social service providers, derailing their path to housing.
The administration is discouraging local governments from following the federal policy, telling them it will not enforce homelessness contracts "to the extent that they require the project to use a housing first program model." And, in a recent order "reducing the scope of the federal bureaucracy," Trump slashed the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, shrinking the agency responsible for coordinating funding and initiatives between the federal government, states, and local agencies, known as Continuums of Care.
"Make no mistake that Trump's reckless attacks across the federal government will supercharge the housing and homelessness crisis in communities across the country," Democratic U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters of Los Angeles said in response to the order.
Housing First was implemented nationally in 2004 under the George W. Bush administration to combat chronic homelessness, defined as having lived on the streets with a disabling condition for a long period of time. It was expanded under President Barack Obama as America's plan of attack on homelessness and broadened by President Joe Biden, who argued that housing was a basic need, critical to health.
The policy aims to stabilize homeless people in permanent housing and provide them with case management support and social services without forcing treatment, imposing job requirements, or demanding sobriety. Once housed, the theory goes, homeless people escape the chaos of the streets and can then work on finding a job, taking care of chronic health conditions, or getting sober.
"When you're on the streets, all you're doing every day is figuring out how to survive," said Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. "Housing is the most important intervention that brings a sense of safety and stability, where you're not just constantly trying to find food or a safe place to sleep."
But Trump wants to gut taxpayer-subsidized housing initiatives. He is pushing for a punitive approach that would impose fines and potentially jail time on homeless people. And he wants to mandate sobriety and mental health treatment as the primary homelessness intervention — a stark reversal from Housing First.
The shift has ignited fear and panic among homelessness experts and front-line service providers, who argue that forcing treatment and criminalizing homeless people through fines and jail time simply doesn't work.
"It's only going to make things much worse," said Donald Whitehead Jr., executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. "Throwing everybody into treatment programs just isn't an effective strategy. The real problem is we just don't have enough affordable housing."
Trump got close to ending Housing First during his first term when he tapped Robert Marbut to lead the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness in 2019. Marbut pushed for mandating treatment and reducing reliance on social services, while curtailing taxpayer-subsidized housing. He argued that forcing homeless people to get sober and enter treatment would help them achieve self-sufficiency and end their homelessness. But covid-19 stalled those plans.
Now, Marbut said, he believes the president will finish the job.
"Trump knows that what we need to do is get funding back to treatment and recovery," Marbut said. "The Trump administration is laser-focused on ending Housing First. They realized it was wrong the first time and that's why I was selected to change it. They still realize it's wrong."
Trump and administration officials did not respond to questions from KFF Health News. A request to interview Turner was not granted. Project 2025's "Mandate for Leadership," a conservative policy blueprint from some of Trump's closest advisers, explicitly calls for an end to Housing First.
Housing First is under attack not only from Republicans who have long criticized taxpayer-subsidized housing for homeless people, but also from Democrats responding to public frustration over homeless encampments multiplying around the nation. Last year, the federal government estimated that more than 770,000 people in the U.S. were homeless, a record high. That was up 18% from 2023. And while housing grows increasingly unaffordable, homeless camps have exploded, spilling into city parks, crowding sidewalks, and polluting sensitive waterways, despite unprecedented public spending.
Already, cities and states, liberal and conservative, are cracking down on street homelessness and targeting the mental health and addiction crisis. This is true even in deep-blue states like California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom has created a "CARE Court" initiative that can mandate treatment even though housing isn't always available and threatened to withhold funding from cities and counties that don't aggressively clear encampments.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has proposed ending harm reduction for drug users. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is prioritizing encampment sweeps even though the promise of housing or shelter is elusive. And San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan won initial City Council support for plans to arrest people who refuse shelter three times in 18 months and to divert permanent housing funding to pay for an expansion of homeless shelters.
Mahan believes liberals and advocates have been too "purist" because housing isn't being built fast enough, while investments in shelter and treatment have been inadequate. "It can't only be about Housing First," he said.
Homelessness crackdowns have exploded since the U.S. Supreme Court made it easier for elected officials and law enforcement agencies to fine and arrest people for living outside. Since June, roughly 150 laws imposing fines or jail time have been passed, with about 45 in California alone, said Jesse Rabinowitz, campaign and communications director for the National Homelessness Law Center.
Rabinowitz and other experts say both Republicans and Democrats are undermining Housing First by criminalizing homelessness and conducting encampment sweeps that hinder the ability of front-line workers to get people into housing and services.
However, there's disagreement on whether to entirely dismantle the policy. Liberal leaders want to maintain existing streams of housing and homelessness funding while expanding shelters and moving people off the streets. Conservatives blame Housing First for the rise in homelessness and are instead pushing for mandatory treatment and cutting housing subsidies.
"I used to think it was just a waste of taxpayer money because it wasn't treatment-based, but now I think it actually enables people to remain homeless and addicted," Marbut said of the Housing First approach. He favors requiring behavioral health treatment as a prerequisite to housing.
Evidence shows Housing First has been successful in moving vulnerable, chronically homeless people into permanent housing. For instance, a systematic review of 26 studies indicated that, compared with treatment-first, "Housing First programs decreased homelessness by 88%."And the approach has shown remarkable improvements in health, reducing costly hospital and emergency room care.
Experts say Housing First has been severely underfunded and implemented unevenly, with some homelessness agencies taking federal money but not providing appropriate services or housing placements.
"Making it the broad policy to all homelessness leaves it vulnerable to being attacked the way it's currently being attacked," said Philip Mangano, a Republican who spearheaded the development of Housing First as the lead homelessness adviser to George W. Bush. "The truth is it's a mixed bag. For some people like those who are using substances, the evidence just isn't there yet."
Others say it has been ineffective in some places because of rampant misspending, abuse, and a lack of accountability.
"This works when it's done right," said Marc Dones, a policy director for homelessness initiatives at the University of California-San Francisco, arguing that housing can save lives and lower spending on costly health care. "But I think we have been too polite and too nice for too long about some real incompetence."
Jeff Olivet, who succeeded Marbut at the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness under Biden, said Marbut and Trump's positions are misguided. He argues that Housing First has worked for those who have gotten indoors, yet the number of people falling into homelessness outpaces those getting housing. And he says there was never enough money to provide housing and supportive services for everyone in need.
"Housing First is not just about sticking somebody in an apartment and hoping for the best," Olivet said. "It's really about providing stable housing and access to health care, mental health and substance use treatment, and to support people, but not forcing it on people."
This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.
This article was reprinted from khn.org, a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF - the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.
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Conversations on AFM: Exploring the nanomechanics of living cells
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Wearable mobile health technology could help people with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) to stick to exercise regimes that help them to keep the condition under control, a new study reveals.
Researchers studied the behaviour of recently-diagnosed T2D patients in Canada and the UK as they followed a home-based physical activity programme – some of whom wore a smartwatch paired with a health app on their smartphone.
They discovered that MOTIVATE-T2D participants were more likely to start and maintain purposeful exercise at if they had the support of wearable technology- the study successfully recruited 125 participants with an 82% retention rate after 12 months.
Publishing their findings in BMJ Open today (27 Mar), an international group of researchers reveal a range of potential clinical benefits among participants including improvements in blood sugar levels and systolic blood pressure.
Our findings support the feasibility of the MOTIVATE-T2D intervention – paving the way for a full-scale randomized controlled trial to further investigate its clinical and cost-effectiveness.
We found that using biometrics from wearable technologies offered great promise for encouraging people with newly diagnosed T2D to maintain a home-delivered, personalised exercise programme with all the associated health benefits."
Dr. Katie Hesketh, Co-Author, University of Birmingham
Researchers found that, as well as the encouraging data for blood sugar and systolic blood pressure, the programme could help to lower cholesterol and improve quality of life.
The programme saw participants gradually increasing purposeful exercise of moderate-to-vigorous intensity – aiming for a target of 150 minutes per week by the end of 6 months and supported by an exercise specialist-led behavioural counselling service delivered virtually.
MOTIVATE-T2D used biofeedback and data sharing to support the development of personalised physical activity programmes. Wearable technologies included a smartwatch, featuring a 3D accelerometer and optical heart rate monitor, synced with an online coaching platform for the exercise specialist and web/smartphone app for participants.
"The programme offered a variety of workouts, including cardio and strength training, that could be done without the need for a gym," added Dr. Hesketh. "Its goal is to make exercise a sustainable part of daily life for people with Type 2 Diabetes, ultimately improving their physical and mental health."
The feasibility trial recruited participants aged 40-75 years, diagnosed with T2D within the previous 5-24 months and managing their condition through lifestyle modification alone or Metformin.
University of Birmingham
Hesketh, K., et al. (2021). Mobile Health Biometrics to Enhance Exercise and Physical Activity Adherence in Type 2 Diabetes (MOTIVATE-T2D): protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open. doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052563
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Conversations on AFM: Exploring the nanomechanics of living cells
In this interview Prof. Dr. Kristina Kusche-Vihrog speaks about the nanomechanics of living cells and their implications for cardiovascular disease.
Olivier Negre
In this interview, News Medical speaks with Olivier Negre, Chief Scientific Officer at Smart Immune, about how immunotherapy is being revolutionized.
Angeline Lim
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NEW YORK -- For the first time in franchise history, the New York Yankees batted a catcher in the leadoff spot Thursday, and it did not take Austin Wells long to make an impact on Opening Day. Wells sent Freddy Peralta's third pitch into Yankee Stadium's short right field porch for a leadoff homer a quick 1-0 lead over the Milwaukee Brewers.
"It was awesome, it was a really cool experience for myself not doing it ever," Wells said after New York's win (NY 4, MIL 2). "It was cool to hear the fans and just be the first batter of the season."
Here is the Wells homer that opened the new season for the Yankees. This is, if you can believe it, the first leadoff home run on Opening Day in Yankees history:
Well(s) that was quick 💥The first #OpeningDay home run comes off the bat of Austin Wells 💪 pic.twitter.com/0HZ3tGk6cj
Wells is the first catcher to hit leadoff for the Yankees at any point in the season, not just on Opening Day. In fact, prior to Thursday, the Yankees were the only team in baseball to never have a catcher hit leadoff at least once in their history.
"I thought he did a good job setting the tone," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "Obviously to go deep first AB -- I heard it was the first catcher ever (to hit a leadoff homer on Opening Day). Wow, we've been doing this a long time. That's pretty neat."
Needless to say, catchers don't hit leadoff very often. They're typically slow and not the best hitters, and usually find themselves at the bottom of the order. Jason Kendall started 453 games at leadoff in his career, far and away the most by a catcher. Roger Bresnahan is a distant second with 66 career starts at leadoff. Wells could pass him this season.
Wells, 25, slugged 13 home runs and finished third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting last season. The Yankees lack an obvious leadoff candidate and Wells is one of their top on-base threats against right-handed pitchers. They may bat someone else leadoff against lefties, but, against righties, it will be Wells' job.
The Yankees went 94-68 last season and lost the World Series to their Los Angeles Dodgers. Shortstop Anthony Volpe hit leadoff most of the season before Gleyber Torres, now with the Detroit Tigers, took over in August and carried the job through October.
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NFL teams have been waiting to see one of this year's top prospects, Abdul Carter, work out and their waiting will continue a little longer. The edge rusher will not participate in Penn State's Pro Day on Friday, per CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones.
Carter is continuing to recover from a shoulder injury and while he may work out for teams down the line, Rosenhaus said he is focusing on rehabbing the injury for now.
"He is still finishing up rehab on the shoulder injury he had from the Boise State game," Rosenhaus told ESPN. "He may still do a workout for teams sometime in mid-April."
Carter did not work out during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis either, but did participate in physical exams and interviews with teams.
He managed to play through the injury during Penn State's Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame, but during medical testing at the combine, a stress reaction in his right foot was revealed. He opted out of surgery for the foot injury and Carter was recently cleared to resume training.
The week of the combine Rosenhaus told ESPN, "We fully expect Abdul to be recovered in time to work out at his pro day at Penn State and he will perform at a very high level," but Carter's timeline has changed.
The 21-year-old is expected to be a top five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and many CBS Sports mock drafts have Carter going at No. 2 to the Cleveland Browns. Carter believes he is the "best player in the country" and says "the best player should be selected No. 1."
The Tennessee Titans currently hold the No. 1 overall pick and many predict they will select a quarterback, with Cam Ward high on many lists.
Carter is ignoring the QB talk and posted on social media, "Don't let all this QB need talk fool y'all. It's already known who's the Best, and no QB is in that discussion! like I said, the Best PLAYER goes number 1."
Carter was named the Big Ten defensive player of the year last season, thanks to his 12.0 sacks, 24 tackles for a loss four passes defended and two forced fumbles iin 16 games.
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The NBA and FIBA are exploring the possibility of launching a new European professional basketball league, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis said at a press conference Thursday. The specifics of such a league, should it come to be, are still very much being figured out. "It's early days," Silver said. "So literally nothing has been agreed upon yet. We're still in the modeling, exploratory stage."
Silver did, however, offer some initial possibilities. The early plan would call for 16 teams across several countries. Some of those teams could be existing EuroLeague teams, with The Athletic reporting that Real Madrid, Barca Barcelona, ASVEL Basket of Villeurbanne and Fenerbahçe Istanbul are possibilities. Others would be new teams built from scratch, likely in major markets that do not currently house major basketball teams.
In addition to permanent members -- likely 12 --there would also be slots available to be earned through performance in either various national leagues or FIBA's Basketball Champions League. Silver joked about relegation several times during the press conference as it related to tanking within the NBA, but given this potential model, it could exist in this league.
Silver also acknowledged the differences in playing style between the NBA and FIBA. NBA games are 48 minutes whereas FIBA games are 40, and there are a number of differences within their respective rulebooks. He indicated that the plan would be to lean toward FIBA's standard, saying "we want to honor the tradition of European sport."
While the exact ownership structure of teams in such a league is still being determined, Silver noted that the plan would be for NBA owners to participate as a collective in league management, but not own teams in this league individually. There is not a timeline in place for when such a league could launch.
The NBA has grown increasingly popular in Europe over the past several decades, and the continent produces quite a bit of NBA talent. European basketball operates very differently than American basketball does, with the best teams scattered across several national leagues while simultaneously competing against one another in EuroLeague. Those disparate structures would still continue to exist, and given the size of this proposed league, may not be overly disturbed. But by setting up its own presence in Europe, the NBA could both continue its push to win over foreign fans while setting up a foothold to further develop international prospects that could eventually jump to the United States.
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The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that former NFL running back LeShon Johnson is facing federal charges of allegedly running a massive dog-fighting operation that led to law enforcement seizing nearly 200 dogs last October under the Animal Welfare Act. Johnson, who spent five seasons in the NFL mostly with the Arizona Cardinals, is accused of having nearly 200 "pit bull-type" dogs that he had been selling, transporting and delivering in a dog-fighting venture.
Through an operation called "Mal Kant Kennels," Johnson allegedly run at least two dog-fighting operations in a pair of Oklahoma towns, selectively breeding "champion" and "grand champion" dogs from those who had won multiple fights in order to create offspring for the purpose of fighting. He is also accused of selling stud rights and the offspring of winning dogs to other dog-fighting operations.
The operation was rebuked at the highest levels of U.S. law enforcement, with Attorney General Pam Bondi calling the abuse "cruel" and "depraved" while FBI Director Kash Patel referred to the practice of dog-fighting as a "twisted form of entertainment."
"Dog fighting is a cruel, blood-thirsty venture, not a legitimate business or sporting activity," Christopher Wilson, the U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Oklahoma, said in a statement. "I applaud the investigative work of the FBI and the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division in detecting and dismantling breeding operations which only serve to propagate this deplorable conduct."
A unanimous All-American at Northern Illinois in 1993, Johnson was chosen by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 1994 NFL Draft before playing for the Cardinals from 1995 to 1997. After a lymphoma diagnosis prevented him from playing in 1998, Johnson returned to football with the New York Giants in 1999 before finishing his career with the Chicago Enforcers of the XFL.
Johnson had previously pled guilty to animal fighting charges at the state level in 2004 for operating "Krazyside Kennels," receiving a five-year deferred sentence in Oklahoma. Johnson now faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count he is charged with.
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The fourth-seeded Maryland Terrapins battle the top-seeded Florida Gators in their West Region Sweet 16 matchup in the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Thursday. Maryland is coming off a heart-stopping 72-71 win over Colorado State, while Florida went down to the wire to defeat two-time defending national champion UConn 77-75 on Sunday. The Terrapins (27-8), who are 46-29 in 31 NCAA Tournament appearances, are in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2016. The Gators (32-4), who are 50-22 in 25 tournament appearances, are in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017. Sam Alexis (ankle) is listed as a game-time decision for Florida.
Tipoff from Chase Center in San Francisco is set for 7:39 p.m. ET. Florida is a 6.5-point favorite in the latest Maryland vs. Florida odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 157.5. The Gators are -303 money-line favorites, while the Terrapins are +243 underdogs. Before making any Florida vs. Maryland picks, be sure to check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The model simulates every Division 1 college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters the Sweet 16 round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on a 228-168 roll (+1815) on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to 2023. This model has also produced brackets that have beaten over 91% of CBS Sports entries in four of the last six tournaments and has nailed 25 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds. Anyone following could have seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Maryland vs. Florida and just locked in its March Madness predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Here are the college basketball odds and lines for Florida vs. Maryland:
Senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. has been on a tear of late, reaching 22 or more points in each of the last four games. In Sunday's win over UConn, he finished with 23 points and three rebounds to rally the Gators back from a second-half deficit. He had 23 points, five rebounds and two assists in the 95-69 win over Norfolk State in the first round. In 35 games, all starts, he is averaging 17.9 points, 4.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 32.4 minutes.
Also powering the Florida attack is senior guard Alijah Martin. The transfer from Florida Atlantic has been instrumental in the Gators' tournament success, pouring in 18 points, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists in Sunday's win over UConn. He had 17 points, two assists and two rebounds in the win over Norfolk State. In 34 games this season, including 32 starts, he is averaging 14.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 30 minutes. See which team to pick here.
Freshman center Derik Queen, whose buzzer-beater sent the Terrapins to the Sweet 16, helps power the offense. In 35 games, all starts, he is averaging 16.2 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 steals in 30.3 minutes. He poured in 17 points with six rebounds and two blocks in Sunday's win over Colorado State. He scored 12 points and grabbed 15 boards in the 81-49 first-round win over Grand Canyon on Friday.
Junior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie has reached double-digit scoring in each of the past five games. In an 81-80 Big Ten Tournament semifinal loss to Michigan, he registered a near double-double with 10 points, nine assists and two rebounds. He had 16 points in the first round against Grand Canyon. In 35 games, all starts, the Belmont transfer is averaging 14.6 points, five assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 steals in 31.6 minutes. See which team to pick here.
SportsLine's model is leaning Under on the total, projecting 152 combined points. It has also generated an against-the-spread pick that hits in nearly 60% of simulations. You can only get the model's picks at SportsLine.
So who wins Florida vs. Maryland, and which side of the spread hits in nearly 60% of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Maryland vs. Florida spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that has returned nearly $1,900 on its top-rated college basketball picks, and find out.
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South Carolina has won six straight games, and one of the catalysts has been the improved free-throw shooting of Nick Pringle.,When South Carolina (9-3) faces Presbyterian (7-7) in the final nonconference game for both teams on Monday in Columbia, S.C., the Gamecocks won't have to hold their breath ...
The Philadelphia 76ers will continue a Western Conference swing with a meeting with the host Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night as they attempt to keep finding their form. ,After a slow start to the campaign, the Sixers are on a season-best three-game winning streak that includes a 114-111 victo...
Former Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson returns to San Francisco on Monday, leading the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers, owners of the NBA's best record, into a showdown with the host Warriors.,Atkinson, in his first season at the helm for Cleveland, spent three seasons working alongside Golden Sta...
Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff is retiring from football with one season of eligibility left, the Lexington-Herald Leader reported Sunday.,The publication said the school confirmed Vandagriff's retirement.,Vandagriff didn't play in the Wildcats' season finale against Louisville. He passed for...
Indianapolis Colts coach Shane Steichen seemed to sense the question might arise after his club was eliminated from playoff consideration Sunday with a ghastly 45-33 loss to the host New York Giants in East Rutheford, N.J.,The Giants were 2-13 and had lost a franchise-record 10 straight games enteri...
Trailing by three goals with less than five minutes remaining on Saturday in Vancouver, the Seattle Kraken were about to match a franchise record with their sixth consecutive defeat.,Instead, they crafted one of the best comebacks in NHL history.,The Kraken became just the third team ever to rally f...
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards was fined a third time this month, this one costing him $100,000 for using profanity during a postgame interview, the NBA announced Sunday.,Edwards' latest fine came in wake of his on-court interview following Minnesota's 113-112 win at Houston on Friday....
If there was one thing No. 14 Gonzaga failed to do in nonconference play, it was learn how to finish.,And the Bulldogs may not get many chances to play close games in West Coast Conference play, which they'll open Monday against Pepperdine in Malibu, Calif.,Sure, the Bulldogs (9-4) trounced then-No....
For Iowa, it's a chance to tune up going into the bulk of its Big Ten Conference schedule. For New Hampshire, it's an opportunity to collect a nice paycheck and perhaps even pull off a memorable upset.,The Hawkeyes and Wildcats will finish their nonconference schedules Monday night when they meet in...
The Utah Jazz have gone from contender to rebuilding in just four seasons, but there is hope for the young team trying to find its footing. The Denver Nuggets, on the other hand, won the title two seasons ago and are still in their championship window.,The two rivals meet for the third time this sea...
Perhaps it was the late-night flight from Orlando, but the New York Knicks admitted they were a step slow Saturday night before Jalen Brunson engineered an overtime victory over the host Washington Wizards.,With a day of rest in between, the Knicks attempt to get off to a better start and stretch th...
The Chicago Bulls have shown the ability to bounce back following a rough patch. Their opponent on Monday, the host Charlotte Hornets, will try to respond from an even bigger slump.,The Bulls notched a 116-111 home victory against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, with Nikola Vucevic and Josh Giddey ...
Kawhi Leonard is close to returning for the Los Angeles Clippers.,Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are further away from returning to the New Orleans Pelicans.,Both teams will continue without key players when they meet Monday night in New Orleans.,Leonard hasn't played this season because of knee...
The Winnipeg Jets, owners of the highest point total (53) and the most wins (26) in the NHL, will host the struggling Nashville Predators on Monday.,Winners of three straight, the Jets trailed the visiting Ottawa Senators 2-0 early in the second period on Saturday night before scoring four straight ...
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In a season of raised expectations due to the arrivals of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, Rutgers is experiencing some underwhelming moments.,Off to a mediocre start through 12 games, Rutgers faces a tough test in its final nonconference game Monday night when it hosts Columbia in Piscataway, N.J.,Rutg...
The Los Angeles Lakers traded guard D'Angelo Russell, forward Maxwell Lewis and three second-round draft picks to the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday in exchange for forward Dorian Finney-Smith and guard Shake Milton.,The Lakers will send their second-round picks in 2027, 2030 and 2031 to Brooklyn in the de...
Jalon Moore led No. 12 Oklahoma with 22 points in an 89-67 home win against pesky Prairie View A&M in Norman on Sunday.,Jeremiah Fears scored 19 points and Duke Miles added 17 for the Sooners, who are 13-0 for the fourth time in program history and the first time since the 1987-88 season.,Tanahj Pet...
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Former Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on Thursday claiming that the association "conspired" with the University of Tennessee and other parties to make Pruitt a "sacrificial lamb" in an investigation into recruiting violations, according to a DeKalb County, Alabama, court filing obtained by Yahoo Sports. Pruitt is claiming $100 million in lost wages as a result of the process.
"With a direct financial stake in the outcome, and in the face of a glaring conflict of interest, the NCAA empowered the University of Tennessee to use its own attorneys to investigate the University, including Pruitt, and to determine the scope of the investigation into alleged rules violations during Coach Pruitt's tenure as head coach," the filing reads. "UT had a vested interest in the pre-determined outcome of the one-sided 'investigation,' so that it could justify its failure to pay Jeremy the millions of dollars due under his buyout and other incentives stipulated in his contract."
The filing asserts that the NCAA did not give Pruitt proper due process during its investigation and subsequent hearing. It also claims that, in 2023, the NCAA applied rules against Pruitt that were made null by a 2021 United States Supreme Court ruling that allows players to profit off of their name, image and likeness.
Pruitt was fired in January 2021 after an internal investigation found evidence of recruiting violations committed by Pruitt and his coaching staff. In July 2023, the NCAA Committee on Infractions found the program responsible for more than 200 individual violations, including 18 Level I in nature.
Pruitt was hit with a six-year show cause order while Tennessee avoided a postseason ban -- largely due to its willingness to comply with the NCAA investigation. The university was placed on probation, forced to vacate wins and slapped with a scholarship reduction.
The NCAA's investigation found that two players who later enrolled at Tennessee received direct payment from either Pruitt or his wife. One player's family received $7,600 to pay for down payments on a car and rental property, along with $500 a month for a car payment on at least 25 occasions. Another player's mother told Pruitt that she could not pay for a necessary medical procedure due to existing medical debt. Pruitt gave her $3,000 to use on medical bills and $300 additionally to help pay for gas. Notably, this is still a violation of current NCAA recruiting regulations.
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The 19-year old leader of Sweet 16-bound Texas Tech has a favorite basketball player and it may surprise you.
JT Toppin, the Big 12 Player of the Year and a big reason the Red Raiders are still dancing in March, is a huge fan of a key member of those title-winning Chicago Bulls teams in the 1990s.
No, it's not Michael Jordan or Scottie Pippen.
Toppin was born five years after Dennis Rodman's last season in the NBA in 2000 but the passion for the "Worm" is real. Both played high school basketball in Dallas and both appreciate the lost art of rebounding. Toppin might be the only person in college basketball who would genuinely pick Rodman as his favorite player.
"JT would rather have 20 rebounds than 20 points any day of the week," said former NBA player Ramon Sessions, who is Toppin's agent and the CEO of On Time Agency. "You'll see JT on a regular basis with a Dennis Rodman shirt. He wears his hoodies. Their games are very relatable from an energy standpoint.
"He watches film on Dennis Rodman. Like, it's crazy."
Toppin's love of rebounding and his growing offensive prowess has been critical for Texas Tech this season, setting up a Thursday Sweet 16 game against 10-seed Arkansas. The 6-foot-9 forward is averaging a double-double through two NCAA Tournament games, playing a critical role in the Red Raiders' second-round win over 11-seed Drake. Toppin went for 25 points and 12 rebounds, with 19 of those points (on 9 of 10 from the field) coming in the first half.
This is why Texas Tech had to have Toppin, who spent a year at New Mexico and was the Mountain West Freshman of the Year before entering the transfer portal. And perhaps at least partially why Texas is already out of the NCAA Tournament and its coach, Rodney Terry, out of a job.
Toppin was invited to the NBA Draft combine after his standout freshman year, but also entered the transfer portal to keep his options open. He loved his time at New Mexico but liked the idea of the national spotlight that came with playing in a bigger conference. The interest in a bouncy, athletic big man who played hard and came with little ego was understandably big.
"Value wise, he was the hottest one on the market," said Sessions, who played 11 years in the NBA before becoming an agent. "People can speculate what that looks like, but he was the hottest name on the market. From a NIL standpoint, he was in a good place."
Texas quickly emerged as the reported favorite to land Toppin. The school was actively working a relationship with Toppin's high school coach, Brandon Thomas, to help make it happen, according to sources familiar with the situation. Texas wanted Toppin and it's easy to imagine the Longhorns faring much better than a First Four exit that ultimately resulted in Terry's dismissal after three seasons.
Texas boosters, which went all-in on NIL last season with the football program, didn't seem as willing to open up for Terry. It was an open secret in college basketball circles that Texas AD Chris Del Conte had his eye on other coaches before feeling like he had to promote Terry following an Elite Eight run as the interim coach in 2023. Coming into this season, it was known that Terry would likely have to make another NCAA Tournament run to hold on to his job, but the money didn't seem to pour in to help make that happen. Texas fired Terry last week and is expected to commit more resources to new coach Sean Miller.
There is a newish phenomenon within this current era of college athletics where supporters can help nudge a coach out by turning off the NIL cash faucet. It famously happened to former Auburn football coach Bryan Harsin, according to sources, who didn't connect with the school's top boosters and felt the impact of not being able to compete for top players. His replacement, Hugh Freeze, smartly rectified that issue and has the money flowing to help sign what was just the nation's 8th-rated transfer portal class.
Texas basketball sources say an asking price upwards of seven-figures ultimately proved too expensive for the Longhorns. Sessions didn't want to get into specifics on Toppin's NIL compensation, but if Texas was claiming it wasn't willing to spend that much, there were plenty others who were.
"There was way more money thrown on the table for him. Way more," he said. "But what does that do when you're sitting home in March? When you're in the Sweet 16 now, you're getting this, you're getting all this other different stuff that comes with it and you're getting to showcase who you are."
A big reason Texas Tech won the Toppin sweepstakes? General manager Kellen Buffington, who is well-known in Dallas circles after running camps and operating TheTB5Reports scouting. Buffington was a big fan of Toppin's long before he was a top transfer portal target for a bevy of Power Four programs. That belief in Toppin and the accompanying relationship led to a mutual trust between all parties. Toppin wanted the freedom to grow as a basketball player, to be able to show off he could be more than just a Rodman-esque rebounder, and believed Buffington and Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland when they said he could do that in Lubbock.
That belief paid off for everyone on a terrific season that isn't over yet. Texas Tech, an advanced metrics darling, has all the makings of a team that can make a Final Four run and beyond if it can keep playing like it has. The ability to go all-in for Toppin when when others couldn't is a big reason why.
"He just has a knack for winning," Sessions said. "You put JT with Texas, you put JT with Kansas State, you put JT with whoever, JT is gonna come out on top and he's gonna impact winning."
Texas Tech knows that well.
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The drama around Maryland's head coach during March Madness isn't going away.
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The Sweet Sixteen is finally here, as the No. 4 seed Maryland Terrapins are taking on the No. 1 seed Florida Gators at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Thursday night, looking to reach their first Elite Eight since their National Championship in 2002.
It's been a great season for the Terrapins, who have built one of the strongest starting fives in the country with Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice, Selton Miguel, Julian Reese and Derik Queen. They finished second in the Big Ten during the regular season, and have now kicked off their NCAA tournament with wins over Grand Canyon and Colorado State, with the latter coming off a Queen game-winner at the buzzer.
That has led the Terrapins to their first Sweet Sixteen in nearly a decade and their second in the last 22 years. But, heading into Thursday's crucial game, none of the media focus has been on what will be their toughest challenge of this season.
Instead, all the headlines have been on head coach Kevin Willard, who has publicly flirted with the idea of leaving the Terrapins for the vacant Villanova opening in the media over the past few weeks.
Willard first aired out his dirty laundry with former Athletic Director Damon Evans ahead of Maryland's first-round game against Grand Canyon, citing the need to make infrastructure changes within the program.
Not only did he make his frustrations public, but Willard also name-dropped Evans's ties to SMU before an announcement was official, which was unorthodox.
“Damon and I talked on Sunday night right before Selection Sunday. He gave me a term sheet right before Selection Sunday. I really wasn't focused on it. Been focused on this team, Willard said. “Damon's talked to my agent. I talked to Damon this morning at length about where we are,” Willard said ahead of the Grand Canyon game. “Obviously it's difficult right now because I think we know his situation.”
He's probably going to SMU. So it's kind of tough to negotiate with somebody that's maybe not here, but I need to make fundamental changes to the program. That's what I'm focused on right now. That's why, probably, a deal hasn't got done. Because I want to see, I need to see fundamental changes. I want this program to be great. I want to be the best in the country. I want to win a national championship.”
I don't know how we can be a top-tier program, and I can't spend one extra night in New York because it's too expensive,” Willard continued. “So there's fundamental things I'm fighting for for my team and my program.”
Willard primarily focused on the lack of NIL resources for the basketball program, seemingly putting Maryland in a difficult position as he navigates his next coaching decision.
“There's things that need to change,” Willard said. “When you're at a place for three years and you put your heart and soul into it, you kind of say it to sit there and say, Okay, wait a second for us to be really successful, ‘ X, Y, and Z needs to change.' And first and foremost, I need to make sure that we are where we are with NIL and rev-share is not where we've been with NIL...The past two years, we've been one of the worst, if not lowest, in NIL in the last two years. So that's first and foremost. I also have to make a fundamental change where I can do the things that I want to do with my program.”
But then, after Maryland's 25-point win over Grand Canyon last weekend, Willard fired back at reporters when asked about his contract situation.
“There's no situation,” Willard said. “The only situation is you guys and Twitter. I can't control you guys, and I can't control Twitter. I've talked to these guys. These guys know exactly what's going on. I've been open with them, I've been honest with them. They know exactly what's going on. I can't control you guys. Whatever I say, you're going to write whatever you want to say anyway. That's why this is a waste of my time.
“I mean, we have a website that's like, it might as well be TMZ. So, I can't do anything about it. I can't do anything about Twitter, I can't do anything about what's going on. I can handle what I can handle. We were focused, I'm excited to be here, I'm excited to be with these guys. There's nothing else to talk about. You guys just write whatever the hell you want to write, I don't give a sh**. I really don't.”
If you thought the situation was coming to an end anytime soon, think again. Because things continued to be awkward during Willard's press conference on Wednesday ahead of Maryland's Sweet Sixteen matchup versus Florida.
First, the head coach went on The Kevin Sheehan Show on Tuesday, where he outlined where he currently stands with the athletic department, even sharing that he's staying ‘as of now.'
“Maryland's been great. We're in perfect shape,” Willard said. “Everything that my concerns have been about the job, and that was my whole point at the press conference. Maybe my Jersey came out of me, not in the greatest way, was I want to make this program the best, and I think when you have an opportunity to do it, you have to take advantage of the opportunity.”
Obviously, losing the Athletic Director, [it's] been a little hard to be honest with you. It's because I wasn't expecting Damon [Evans] to leave and go to SMU. But, I've been working with [Deputy Athletic Director] Brian Ullman and everyone in the athletic department, and they've been great and they understood my concerns and what I want. And again, I don't want monumental things. I just want this program to be the best it can be, and I'm not asking for that much. As of right now, I'm staying.”
But then, on Wednesday at his press conference ahead of Thursday's game, Willard was asked about Maryland football head coach Mike Locksley's comments on the desire to keep things in-house. In response, the head coach completely side-stepped the question in a non-discreet way.
“The biggest thing is we've got to stop [Walter] Clayton,” Willard said in response. “He's really good. He shoots the basketball going left 48 percent. He shoots it right going at, like, 38 percent. So really, the last couple of days trying to come up with a game plan to stop Clayton because I think he's one of the best guards in the country that we've seen. And really obviously trying to fix our rebounding woes have been at the top of my mind, too. It's a big problem.”
Might as well pencil in Kevin Willard into the Villanova job…can NOT believe he said this before an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 matchup. pic.twitter.com/nt6o7CZAEF
Then, when later asked about his radio show comments about working with the athletic department, Willard, once again, side-stepped the question and focused on Florida.
“Yeah, we're playing Florida. We're playing Florida. It's a big match-up for us,” Willard said in response. “This is all about the Sweet 16 and these guys enjoying it as much as possible. I've enjoy it tremendously. I do love this town. It's a great town. Great food. Got to have dinner with P.J. Carlesimo last night, which is always a lot of fun, the stories we get to tell about Seton Hall. And Chris Mullin and Coach Van Gundy joined us. We had a great time last night.”
I can't recall a recent situation where a team made it to the Sweet Sixteen and the focus was on a coach potentially leaving for a new opportunity. Now, regardless of how Willard handles himself throughout the rest of Maryland's season, there will be this bubble of speculation around the head coach, who isn't doing much to quell the rumors.
Now, Maryland has seemingly done well to block out the noise with two wins in the NCAA tournament so far. They'll need to do that again on Thursday when they face their toughest challenge of the season.
But, even with a game of such magnitude coming up, Willard's future remains the biggest question mark for Maryland, and it's unclear when a resolve will come.
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MLB Opening Day 2025 is here as the Baltimore Orioles travel to play the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday. Last season, the Orioles went 91-71 and made it to the playoffs. Meanwhile, Toronto logged a 74-88 record and finished in last place in the division. Zach Eflin (0-1, 5.40 ERA) gets the start for Baltimore. Jose Berrios (2-0, 2.18 ERA) is on the mound for Toronto.
First pitch from the Rogers Centre is set for 3:07 p.m. ET. Toronto is a -116 favorite on the money line (risk $116 to win $100) in the latest Orioles vs. Blue Jays odds from SportsLine consensus, while the total number of runs Vegas thinks will be scored, or the over/under, is 8.5. Toronto's over/under for total team runs in the first five innings is 1.5. Before making any Blue Jays vs. Orioles picks, be sure to see the MLB predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's proven computer model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every MLB game 10,000 times. It enters the 2025 MLB season on a 32-17 roll on top-rated run-line betting picks (+699) that dates back to 2023. Anybody following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen strong returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Orioles vs. Blue Jays and just locked in its picks and MLB predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Now, here are several MLB odds and betting lines for Orioles vs. Blue Jays:
Left fielder Colton Cowser is a sound batter with nice pop in his swing. Last season, he recorded 24 home runs, 69 RBI, 24 doubles and 77 runs scored. In 13 career games against the Blue Jays, Cowser has 13 hits, three homers and nine RBI. The 25-year-old looked ready to roll in spring training, logging a .364 batting average with a 1.030 OPS.
Catcher Adley Rutschman is a great two-way player. He does a sound job framing pitches while owning a reliable bat. Last season, Rutschman had a .250 batting average, 19 home runs and 79 RBI. In addition, he's generated 143 total hits and 21 doubles. See which team to back at SportsLine.
First baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is an elite hitter with outstanding plate coverage and power. In 2024, Guerrero Jr. posted career highs in batting average (.323), hits (199), and doubles (44). He also finished with 30 home runs and 103 RBI. The four-time All-Star has compiled 55 hits, 18 home runs, and 39 RBI in 47 career games against the Orioles.
Right fielder Anthony Santander left Baltimore and joined the Blue Jays this offseason. He has home run power and the ability to push the ball into the gaps. Santander is coming off a campaign where he posted career bests in home runs (44), RBI (102), and runs scored (91). See which team to back at SportsLine.
SportsLine's model is leaning Over on the total, and it says one side of the money line has all the value. You can head to SportsLine to see the model's MLB picks.
So who wins Orioles vs. Blue Jays on MLB Opening Day, and which side of the money line has all the value? Visit SportsLine now to see which side you need to jump on, all from the model that has crushed its MLB picks, and find out.
Here are some of the sportsbooks to bet on MLB games today, along with the various MLB sportsbook promos they currently offer.
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There's no shortage of motivation for No. 14 Ole Miss in the Gator Bowl.,The incentive for Duke might be a bit different, but the Blue Devils will be out to prove something as well Thursday night in Jacksonville, Fla.,Both teams hold 9-3 records but arrived at this point in different ways.,Ole Miss ...
Los Angeles will be the home of the 2025 NHL Draft in June, The Fourth Period and ESPN reported Monday.,But that doesn't mean all 32 franchises will set up shop in the City of Angels for the week.,The NHL will join the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball in moving to a decentralized draft format for ...
The Washington Nationals are bringing back right-hander Trevor Williams on a two-year, $14 million deal, multiple outlets reported Monday.,The agreement is pending a physical exam for the 32-year-old veteran, who has spent the past two seasons in the nation's capital.,Williams spent more than three ...
The NHL issued fines to Philadelphia's Matvei Michkov and Chicago's Patrick Maroon on Monday.,Michkov's wallet is $2,473.96 lighter after high-sticking Los Angeles forward Quinton Byfield in the Kings' 5-4 win over the Flyers on Sunday.,Maroon was docked $3,385.42 for elbowing Dallas forward Mavrik ...
After four consecutive losses -- including two straight by four goals -- the Chicago Blackhawks might appreciate some fresh air.,Tuesday's NHL Winter Classic against the St. Louis Blues at Wrigley Field in Chicago offers the opportunity for a refresh, in more ways than one.,"Maybe something differen...
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No. 8 Marquette will strive to finish the calendar year with another Big East win when it visits Providence in a Tuesday matchup of two teams coming off extended holiday breaks.,The Golden Eagles (11-2, 2-0) have not started the conference season with three straight victories since 2012-13, but that...
The week between Big East games was productive for St. John's, whose final non-conference clash served as a reminder of the type of effort the Red Storm will need to bring in league play.,Creighton is eager to see how much progress freshman Fedor Zugic made in the nine days following his long-awaite...
There's plenty of optimism around No. 4 Duke thanks to a six-game winning streak and the offensive improvement that came with it. The next stop is back home for Tuesday's Atlantic Coast Conference clash with Virginia Tech in Durham, N.C.,Duke (10-2, 2-0 ACC) will hold its conference home opener, whi...
Arizona State enters its Big 12 Conference debut with confidence when it visits BYU for a matchup of 9-2 teams on Tuesday in Provo, Utah.,The Sun Devils have won seven of their last eight games. Their only losses so far were to top-10 teams Gonzaga and Florida.,"I think we're excited," Arizona State...
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The Vegas Golden Knights will try and put the finishing touches on what so far has been a December to remember when they host the Montreal Canadiens in a New Year's Eve matinee on Tuesday in Las Vegas.,The Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights, who are an NHL best 15-3-0 at home, are 10-1-0 in Dec...
Coming off back-to-back games against the reigning champion Boston Celtics, the Indiana Pacers welcome in the visiting Milwaukee Bucks for an afternoon battle on New Year's Eve.,After Boston dominated the front end 142-105, Indiana bounced back and won 123-114 at TD Garden on Sunday night.,Tyrese Ha...
The Toronto Raptors will attempt to end a 10-game losing streak when they visit the Boston Celtics on Tuesday afternoon.,Among Eastern Conference teams only Washington has a worse record than Toronto, which is 1-14 in road games this season. The Raptors committed a season-high 31 turnovers in Sunday...
The top 13 teams remained unchanged while UCLA made a big jump and Gonzaga and Ole Miss took major tumbles in the latest Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll, released Monday.,With 41 first-place votes, Tennessee (12-0) stayed on top thanks to an 82-64 win over Middle Tennessee, whi...
Notre Dame and Georgia Tech will try to carry over momentum from nonconference blowout wins when they return to Atlantic Coast Conference competition on Tuesday in Atlanta.,Notre Dame (7-5, 1-0 ACC) is coming off a 91-62 victory over Le Moyne on Dec. 22. Georgia Tech (6-7, 0-2) routed Alabama A&M 92...
UCF and host Texas Tech launch league play on Tuesday in a matchup of teams off to strong starts and looking to carve out a spot among the upper echelon in the rugged Big 12 Conference.,The Knights (9-2) play their first true road game of the season in what has become one of the league's toughest ve...
Xavier and Seton Hall are two of four winless teams in Big East Conference action. One of them will finally get a win on the board when the Pirates visit the Musketeers on Tuesday in Cincinnati.,Xavier (8-5, 0-2 Big East) has been sliding ever since opening the season 6-0. Its current three-game ski...
Utah will play its first-ever Big 12 Conference game when it visits No. 25 Baylor on Tuesday in Waco, Texas.,Despite that -- and the fact the Utes (8-3) and Bears (8-3) haven't met since 1960 -- there will be a bit of familiarity between the two programs. Utah relies on two ex-Baylor athletes in poi...
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The sixth-seeded BYU Cougars will look to continue their march toward their first-ever Final Four appearance when they battle the second-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide in their East Region Sweet 16 matchup in the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Thursday. BYU held off third-seeded Wisconsin 91-89 on Saturday, while Alabama defeated seventh-seeded Saint Mary's 80-66 on Sunday. The Cougars (26-9), who are 17-31 in 32 NCAA Tournament appearances, last advanced past the first round in 2012. The Crimson Tide (27-8), who are 31-25 in 26 tournament appearances, reached the Final Four for the first time in program history last year.
Tipoff from Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., is set for 7:09 p.m. ET. Alabama holds a 2-0 edge in the all-time series, with the Crimson Tide earning a 71-59 win in their last meeting in 2018. Alabama is a 4.5-point favorite in the latest Alabama vs. BYU odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 175.5, up two from the opening line. BYU's over/under for total team points is 85.5. Before making any BYU vs. Alabama picks, be sure to check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The model simulates every Division 1 college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters the Sweet 16 round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on a 228-168 roll (+1815) on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to 2023. This model has also produced brackets that have beaten over 91% of CBS Sports entries in four of the last six tournaments and has nailed 25 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds. Anyone following could have seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on BYU vs. Alabama and just locked in its March Madness predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Here are the college basketball odds and lines for Alabama vs. BYU:
Senior guard Mark Sears has had a solid tournament so far. In the first round 90-81 win over Robert Morris, he registered a double-double with 22 points, 10 assists and five rebounds. He followed that up with a 12-point and three-assist effort in Sunday's win over Saint Mary's. In 35 games this season, all starts, he is averaging 18.6 points, five assists and three rebounds in 32.3 minutes.
Also helping power the Crimson Tide is senior forward Grant Nelson. He posted a near double-double with 12 points, eight rebounds and two assists in the win over Saint Mary's. He had 23 points and eight rebounds in a 93-91 overtime win over Auburn on March 8. In 35 games, including 32 starts, he is averaging 11.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 blocks in 25.3 minutes. See which team to pick here.
Junior forward Richie Saunders is off to a solid start to the NCAA Tournament. He scored 25 points, including three of four from 3-point range, and added seven rebounds in Saturday's win over Wisconsin. He had 16 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals in an 80-71 win over VCU in the opening round. In 34 games, all starts, he is averaging 16.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals in 29.3 minutes.
The Cougars are also led by freshman guard Egor Demin. He nearly registered a triple-double against the Badgers on Saturday, posting 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists with one steal. He scored 15 points, while adding four rebounds and two assists in the first-round win over VCU. In 32 games, all starts, he is averaging 10.5 points, 5.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 27.5 minutes. See which team to pick here.
SportsLine's model is leaning Under on the total, projecting 168 combined points. It has also generated an against-the-spread pick that hits in 60% of simulations. You can only get the model's picks at SportsLine.
So who wins Alabama vs. BYU, and which side of the spread hits in 60% of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the BYU vs. Alabama spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that has returned more than $1,800 on its top-rated college basketball picks, and find out.
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The Los Angeles Lakers are converting the two-way contract of reserve guard Jordan Goodwin into a standard NBA deal, according to ESPN. To create the roster space to do so, they are waiving forward Cam Reddish. The move is critical as two-way players are not eligible to participate in the postseason. Now on a standard deal, Goodwin will be able to play for the Lakers this postseason.
The Lakers have long excelled at developing under-the-radar prospects, with Alex Caruso and Austin Reaves standing out as the prime examples. Goodwin is the scouting department's latest find. An undrafted free agent in 2021, Goodwin spent his first three seasons with the Wizards, Suns and Grizzlies. He signed a G-League deal with the Lakers in October, and in February, the Lakers gave him a chance at the NBA level on a two-way deal.
He has taken that chance and run with it. In 19 appearances, Goodwin has averaged 20.5 minutes per game and has stood out as a key bench player thanks to his energy and defense. His 3-point shooting had been an issue in the past, but, in an admittedly small sample, he is shooting above 41% from deep as a Laker.
The Lakers have likely planned to convert Goodwin for some time, but they've had an obstacle in their path in the form of their second-apron hard cap. With very little space below that line, the Lakers have had to be judicious when it comes to managing money. Minimum-salary contracts are pro-rated based on the amount of time left in the season, though, so by waiting, the Lakers were able to sign Goodwin at a number that counts for less from an apron perspective, potentially giving them flexibility to convert one of their other two-way players, Trey Jemison or Christian Koloko, before the regular season ends.
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Last season proved the Big 12 is the most upwardly mobile power conference in college football. Arizona State, picked to finish last in the Big 12, won the league and reached the College Football Playoff. Furthermore, the Big 12 produced a new championship game participant for the seventh time in eight years.
We are keeping all that in mind as we take an early look at the Vegas win totals of every Big 12 team heading into the 2025 season. Granted, things can change during spring practice, and the post-spring transfer portal can still bring surprises. However, the most impactful players are already on campus.
Thanks to the chaos in the first year of the 16-team Big 12, our picks were nearly disastrous last season. We went 3-12-1 on over/under picks, notably whiffing on first-place Arizona State (under 4.5) and last-place Oklahoma State (over 8). That's a reminder to Big 12 fans: This might be your year.
Here's our predictions for Big 12 teams against their Vegas win totals heading into 2025. Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
Over/under 5.5 wins
Wins: Hawaii, Weber State, Oklahoma StateLosses: Kansas State, at Iowa State, BYU, at Houston, at Colorado, Kansas, at Cincinnati, Baylor, at Arizona State
Analysis: The Wildcats are completely retooling in Brent Brennan's second year after losing the vast majority of playmakers, including star wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. Arizona lost seven of its last eight games and three of its last four by more than three touchdowns. Getting the majority of winnable games on the road makes matters even worse. Pick: Under 5.5 (-122)
Over/under 8.5 wins
Wins: NAU, at Mississippi State, Texas State, TCU, Texas Tech, Houston, West Virginia, at Colorado, ArizonaLosses: at Baylor, at Utah, at Iowa State
Analysis: In many ways, Arizona State's emergence as a CFP team came faster than expected. The Sun Devils went from picked last place in the Big 12 to winning the league, the first time that's happened since the conference was founded in 1996. Thanks to the quickened timeframe, most of the roster is back in 2025, including quarterback Sam Leavitt. ASU won't necessarily get all the same bounces this year, but nine wins is well within reach. Pick: Over 8.5 (-144)
Over/under 7.5 wins
Wins: Auburn, at SMU, Samford, Arizona State, Oklahoma State, at Cincinnati, UCF, Utah, at Arizona, HoustonLosses: Kansas State, at TCU
Analysis: The Bears ended the year on a six-game winning streak and should ride into 2025 as a preseason Big 12 favorite. Despite the encouraging signs, Baylor was not one one of the three Big 12 teams with an 8.5-win total. Baylor faces pivotal nonconference matchups early against Auburn and SMU that could ultimately swing its CFP case. Survive the early tests and the Bears are home free with three home games in the decisive final month. Pick: Over 7.5 (+110)
Over/under 7.5 wins
Wins: Portland State, Stanford, at East Carolina, at Colorado, West Virginia, at Arizona, Utah, TCU, at Cincinnati, UCFLosses: at Iowa State, at Texas Tech
Analysis: The Cougars were the most underrated team in college football in 2024, and it seems that trend will continue into 2025. Despite coming off an 11-win season and returning the vast majority of production on both sides of the ball, BYU only needs eight wins to clear the over. The Cougars could be 6-0 heading into a home rivalry game against Utah and should be in the thick of the Big 12 title race late in the year. Pick: Over 7.5 (-158)
Over/under 6.5 wins
Wins: Jacksonville State, North Carolina A&T, West Virginia, Houston, Oklahoma StateLosses: North Carolina, at Kansas State, Kansas, at Cincinnati, at Baylor, at Texas Tech, at BYU
Analysis: Scott Frost returns to take over a Knights squad that missed a bowl game for the first time since 2015 -- ironically the season preceding his last tenure with the program. While he jump-started the Knights from 0-12 to 6-7 in the AAC the first time around, the Big 12 presents a different challenge. Not to mention, the Knights could be starting upwards of 15 transfers in his first year. The rest of the league is just too experienced. Pick: Under 6.5 (-144)
Over/under 6.5 wins
Wins: Bowling Green, Northwestern State, UCF, ArizonaLosses: Nebraska, at Kansas, Iowa State, at Oklahoma State, Baylor, at Utah, BYU, at TCU
Analysis: The Bearcats improved from three to five wins last season but lost their final five games to miss a bowl game. The early schedule does them no favors as Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa State are all potential losses in the first five games. Quarterback Brendan Sorsby inspires some optimism, but the Bearcats must improve on defense to have any chance of even replicating last season's win total. Pick: Under 6.5 (-134)
Over/under 6.5 wins
Wins: Georgia Tech, Delaware, at Houston, Wyoming, Iowa State, ArizonaLosses: BYU, at TCU, at Utah, at West Virginia, Arizona State, at Kansas State
Analysis: The second phase of the Coach Prime experiment gets underway in 2025. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Heisman winner Travis Hunter are gone to the NFL. Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter and star freshman Julian Lewis will give the Buffs some juice at quarterback, but CU will likely have to ride its defense to contention. Colorado will get back to bowl eligibility, but there's just too much turnover across the roster without the obvious star skill talent to replace it. Pick: Under 6.5 (+104)
Over/under 5.5 wins
Wins: Stephen F. Austin, at Rice, at Oregon State, Arizona, West Virginia, TCULosses: Colorado, Texas Tech, at Oklahoma State, at Arizona State, at UCF, Baylor
Analysis: The Cougars shook off a slow nonconference showing to win three Big 12 games in Willie Fritz's first year. They also put scares into Baylor, Oklahoma and BYU. With three potential out-of-league wins this year and the arrival of former five-star quarterback Conner Weigman, Houston has a chance to get back to bowl eligibility. A road trip to Oregon State in Week 4 will set the tone. Pick: Over 5.5 (-170)
Over/under 7.5 wins
Wins: South Dakota, Iowa, at Arkansas State, Arizona, at Cincinnati, BYU, Arizona State, KansasLosses: Kansas State, at Colorado, at TCU, at Oklahoma State
Analysis: The Cyclones are fresh off the best season in school history, hitting 11 wins and reaching the Big 12 Championship Game. With star wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel off to the NFL, maintaining that level of success will be difficult. A game against rival Kansas State in Ireland will define the Big 12 title race, but handling business on the road against Colorado, Oklahoma State and Cincinnati will decide the over/under. Pick: Over 7.5 (+104)
Over/under 7.5 wins
Wins: Fresno State, Wagner, at Missouri, West Virginia, Cincinnati, at UCF, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, at ArizonaLosses: at Texas Tech, at Iowa State, Utah
Analysis: KU's win total is higher than I expected after missing a bowl game last season, but Vegas is onto something. The Jayhawks lose much of their offensive skill talent, but the return of quarterback Jalon Daniels and a number of key linemen will keep them afloat. Kansas has among the highest number of 50/50 games, headlined by a major battle against reloading rival Missouri in nonconference play. A win would be a program-changing moment. Pick: Over 7.5 (-144)
Over/under 8.5 wins
Wins: Iowa State, North Dakota, Army, at Arizona, UCF, at Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech, at Oklahoma State, ColoradoLosses: at Kansas, at Utah
Analysis: The Wildcats are a perennial Big 12 contender, and the program should return to form after an inconsistent first year for quarterback Avery Johnson. To help, KSU brought in plenty of receiver help next to Jayce Brown, including Jerand Bradley and Caleb Medford. The defense has been consistent under Chris Klieman. Like ISU, KSU's season hinges on the early season matchup in Ireland. We're leaning 'Cats. Pick: Over 8.5 (+128)
Over/under 5.5 wins
Wins: UTM, Tulsa, Houston, Cincinnati, Iowa StateLosses: at Oregon, Baylor, at Arizona, at Texas Tech, at Kansas, Kansas State, at UCF
Analysis: The old adage says that when Mike Gundy's teams have no expectations, they overperform, but things have never looked more bleak under Gundy in Stillwater. OSU got blanked in conference play and then lost nearly every impact player on both sides of the ball. Replacing both coordinators is tough enough, but right now it's unclear what players on OSU's roster can even emerge as above average Big 12 starters. Pick: Under 5.5 (-188)
Over/under 6.5 wins
Wins: at North Carolina, Abilene Christian, SMU, Colorado, Baylor, at West Virginia, Iowa State, CincinnatiLosses: at Arizona State, at Kansas State, at BYU, at Houston
Analysis: The Horned Frogs had a strange season, reaching an impressive nine wins but losing to rivals Baylor and SMU. With quarterback Josh Hoover and an improving defense, the Horned Frogs are poised to take another step. A nonconference slate featuring North Carolina and SMU will set the tone. Pick: Over 6.5 (-12)
Over/under 8.5 wins
Wins: UAPB, Kent State, Oregon State, at Utah, at Houston, Kansas, Oklahoma State, BYU, UCF, at West VirginiaLosses: at Arizona State, at Kansas State
Analysis: Few teams have invested more into the 2025 season than Texas Tech, which reeled in a top-three transfer class with several impact players in the trenches. The Red Raiders have three straight winning conference records for the first time since Spike Dykes in 1997 but have yet to break through on the national stage. Texas Tech's Big 12 schedule features only three games against opponents that finished 2024 with a winning record. Pick: Over 8.5 (+134)
Over/under 7.5 wins
Wins: at UCLA, Cal Poly, at Wyoming, at West Virginia, Arizona State, Colorado, Cincinnati, Kansas StateLosses: Texas Tech, at BYU, at Baylor, at Kansas
Analysis: The Utes are in a fascinating spot heading into 2025. They have been picked to win their league in back-to-back seasons but responded with a combined 13-12 record. Coach Kyle Whittingham took a swing by importing QB/OC combo Devon Dampier and Jason Beck from New Mexico. If Beck can replicate his success, Utah has the ingredients for a quick turnaround with marquee home games against ASU and Kansas State. Pick: Over 7.5 (+118)
Over/under 5.5 wins
Analysis: The Mountaineers are incredibly hard to project heading into Rich Rodriguez's first season back with the program. Rodriguez has won at nearly every stop, but he inherits an incomplete roster after a third losing season in four years cost Neal Brown his job. A tough schedule complicates the picture further as the home slate includes Big 12 contenders Utah, TCU and Texas Tech. Pick: Under 5.5 (-132)
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Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
The 2025 NFL Draft will be kicking off four weeks from tonight, which means we have officially entered smokescreen season, which is a time when even smokescreens can be smokescreens. What I think I'm trying to say here is that you shouldn't believe any draft rumor that you read over the next four weeks unless you wrote it yourself, and even then, you should still be skeptical.
With draft season in full swing, we'll be covering several draft-related topics today, including what the Giants should do with the third overall pick. We'll also be breaking down the proposed rule changes that the competition committee is making for the 2025 season.
As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here.
The NFL rulebook usually undergoes a few changes every offseason and it looks like there could be some big ones heading into 2025. The competition committee has unveiled several proposals that will be voted on at the NFL's annual league meeting next week.
Here's a look at the most notable proposals from the committee, starting with the new kickoff:
In non-kickoff news, the competition committee also had one other big proposal:
As for whether we'll see any changes, each rule would have to be approved by 24 of the 32 owners before it can officially be added to the rule book for the 2025 season. Each of these rules will be voted on at the next league meeting, which runs March 30 to April 2 in Palm Beach, Florida. We also saw several teams offer a few rule proposals last week and if you need a quick refresher on those, you can check them out here.
Less than a week ago, the Giants only had one quarterback on their roster and that was Tommy DeVito. At that point, it looked like a near certainty that New York would end up taking a quarterback with the third overall pick in the draft. However, that might not be the case anymore after the Giants went out and signed Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston in a span of five days.
With Winston and Wilson now on the roster, the Giants definitely don't have to take a quarterback with their first-round pick. So what are their best options? Jordan Dajani broke down what the Giants should do at third overall and here are their two best options, according to Jordan.
So, who else would make sense for the Giants? You can check out Dajani's full list here.
The Vikings took themselves out of the Aaron Rodgers sweepstakes last week and if you're wondering why, we finally got some answers. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah met with the media on Wednesday and he shared some interesting information.
Here are a few of the biggest nuggets:
You can check out our full story on the Vikings here. As for Rodgers, it seems like he's down to two options: Sign with the Steelers or retire.
It's not often that we see a running back get taken in the top 10 of the NFL Draft. Although it happened four straight times from 2015 through 2018, NFL teams don't seem to view the position with as much value anymore, and because of that, we've only seen one running back selected in the top 10 over the past six drafts (Bijan Robinson went eighth overall to the Falcons in 2023).
If there's a year where we're going to see a running back go in the top 10, this would seem to be it. Jeanty is coming off one of the greatest seasons in college football history, a season where he rushed for 2,601 yards, which was the second-highest total in NCAA history. The most impressive part about Jeanty's season is that he ran for 1,970 yards AFTER contact.
So will he get taken in the top 10? Doug Clawson came up with some possible landing spots for Jeanty and two of those teams will be picking in the top 10.
If you want to read more about Jeanty, you can check out Doug's full story here.
After two years as a studio analyst on "The NFL Today," JJ Watt is making the move to the announcer's booth.
Here's what you need to know about the changes that will be going down starting with the upcoming NFL season:
If you follow Watt on social media (or watch him on CBS), then you know that he's one of the most entertaining guys on television. The man is as good on TV as he was on the football field, which is saying a lot, considering he's a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
You can read our full story on Watt's move here.
It's been a busy 24 hours the NFL, and since it's nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you.
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The 2025 MLB season has arrived, and we're making plenty of season predictions. Earlier this week, we laid out our predictions for how each of the six divisions would finish, 1-5, and picked our three wild-card teams in each league. We also have prognosticated about who will win the major individual awards in 2025.
Below, we'll take the next step and lay out who we think will still be standing at the end of the season. We're picking our pennant winners in both leagues plus our 2025 World Series champion.
Let's rock.
R.J. Anderson: There are two main approaches worth taking to preseason World Series picks: either you go with the best teams on paper, or you embrace chaos by choosing a couple viable dark horse clubs. With due respect to the Dodgers, in my estimation the team with the best individual chance of winning this year's World Series, I went with the chaos as an acknowledgement that Stuff Happens during the playoffs. Despite picking the Phillies to finish second in the NL East, I think we can all agree that their rotation catching fire at the right time could see them go from the wild card to World Series champions. The Orioles, meanwhile, continue to hold a lot of promise. This might be their year.
Mike Axisa: The Dodgers have the best roster among defending World Series champions since at least the 2018 Astros, and maybe since the late 1990s Yankees. It's a boring pick, I know, but they are the best team on paper, and I see no reason to pick against them. They can beat you with pitching, with offense, with whatever. The Rangers strike me as a team built better for the short postseason series than the regular season, especially if Jacob deGrom is healthy in October.
Kate Feldman: Welcome back to 1986. I said elsewhere that I'm not sure we should take the field over the Dodgers for World Series champion but whatever. Juan Soto's going to have the best season of his career and take the Mets to glory for the first time in almost 40 years. An added hot take? It won't be the only time this decade either.
Julian McWilliams: If healthy, the Red Sox could make their first World Series appearance since 2018. While their roster has plenty of question marks, they boast one of the best offenses in the AL. Their pitching staff, anchored by Garrett Crochet, has depth, and Alex Cora remains one of the game's top managers, thriving in high-stakes matchups. The easy pick in the NL is the Dodgers, but let's make this more interesting. The Braves will find a way to win the World Series this year with the returns of Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. Atlanta has somewhat become an afterthought, but they still have some of the best homegrown talent in the sport.
Dayn Perry: The Dodgers are the defending champs, and they have the best and deepest roster. Any number of teams can win the weakened AL, but I'll lean Tigers by a hair over, well, lots of other teams. Always take the field over any one team, but the 2025 Dodgers challenge that notion.
Matt Snyder: The most likely team to win the World Series is the Dodgers and it's not even that close, but there's still a 75% chance it's someone else. Picking a repeat champ just felt too boring for me anyway. I wanted to look elsewhere. Both the Rangers and Phillies have rosters built for a strong postseason, as long as everyone gets hot at the right time. It would be a fun series with a lot of big home runs. Let's do it.
(As of March 25 via Caesars Sportsbook)
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UConn coach Dan Hurley expressed some regret for comments he made "in the heat of the moment" following the Huskies' second-round loss to Florida in the NCAA Tournament. While Hurley owned his tendency to push too far, he isn't willing to sand all the edges of his coaching personality.
As he was walking off the court on Sunday afternoon, Hurley was caught on camera criticizing the officials. "I hope they don't f--- you like they f---ed us. I hope they don't do that to you, Baylor," Hurley shouted.
On Wednesday, Hurley spoke with reporters in Connecticut and explained the incident. While the Huskies coach did admit it was an emotional outburst -- and that Florida deserved the win -- he also claimed that that area of the arena is no place for media.
"We missed the shots, and they made the shots," Hurley said. "Those are three great officials on that game. I said something in the heat of the moment in an area of the arena that pretty much every game I've ever coached in college has been media-free.
"Past the tunnel by the locker rooms where the coaches go. That's for the combatants. That's for the competitors. That's not for cameraphones. Just relative to that, those are three great refs, and Florida earned it."
The journalist who recorded the video, Joey Ellis of Queen City News, claimed that UConn men's basketball director of communications Bobby Mullens told him to delete the video and made threatening comments. Ellis said Mullens has since apologized, and Hurley addressed Mullens' part in the incident.
"Bobby regrets, just like I regret the moments I've had," Hurley said. "Obviously, it's all my fault that he got pulled into it. I set the whole thing in motion. I feel horrible. He could have handled the media person with the phone who took the video, he could have obviously just let it go. He should have been better trained for a situation like this. We've been in them all year.
"Bobby's a soldier. We all fight like that for each other and our program, and sometimes we go a little too far."
Ultimately, Hurley said he won't be changing how he coaches or his "competitive fire." The UConn coach, who led the team to back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024, said he hasn't ever tried to hide that side of him.
"This is what UConn knew they were getting," Hurley said. "This is how I've coached my entire career, and I'm not bragging about that. I'm just surprised that people just discovered that if they're college basketball experts. They could have been breaking me down five years ago, or even just the last couple years."
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Five-star forward Koa Peat committed to Arizona on Thursday, announcing his decision on the Pat McAfee Show. Peat's pledge comes on the same day as the Wildcats' matchup with No. 1 seed Duke in the Sweet 16. Arizona now has three commitments in its 2025 recruiting cycle: Peat, four-star forward Dwayne Aristode and three-star guard Bryce James, the son of NBA superstar LeBron James.
The Gilbert, Arizona, native out of Perry High School elected to stay home and committed to the Wildcats over Houston, Arizona State and Texas. The Wildcats jumped to the No. 16-ranked recruiting class in the 2025 cycle with Peat's commitment.
Here is part of 247Sports Director of Scouting Adam Finkelstein's scouting report about Peat.
"Peat is a constant double-double threat who has good hands, instincts, touch, and a very polished ability to get to his spots inside of 15-18 feet. He thrives in the mid-post, has a high release to get his shot off in the mid-range area, is a good ball-handler for his size, and can attack both sides. He rarely blows right by his defender, but he's physical, uses his body effectively, has a terrific left hand, and knows how to get to the free-throw line."
Peat, the No. 8-ranked player in the 2025 recruiting cycle by 247Sports, was the second-highest-ranked uncommitted player in his class. Five-stars Brayden Burries (No. 11) and Nate Ament (No. 4) are the only uncommitted top-25 players in the 2025 recruiting cycle.
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The 19-year old leader of Sweet 16-bound Texas Tech has a favorite basketball player and it may surprise you.
JT Toppin, the Big 12 Player of the Year and a big reason the Red Raiders are still dancing in March, is a huge fan of a key member of those title-winning Chicago Bulls teams in the 1990s.
No, it's not Michael Jordan or Scottie Pippen.
Toppin was born five years after Dennis Rodman's last season in the NBA in 2000 but the passion for the "Worm" is real. Both played high school basketball in Dallas and both appreciate the lost art of rebounding. Toppin might be the only person in college basketball who would genuinely pick Rodman as his favorite player.
"JT would rather have 20 rebounds than 20 points any day of the week," said former NBA player Ramon Sessions, who is Toppin's agent and the CEO of On Time Agency. "You'll see JT on a regular basis with a Dennis Rodman shirt. He wears his hoodies. Their games are very relatable from an energy standpoint.
"He watches film on Dennis Rodman. Like, it's crazy."
Toppin's love of rebounding and his growing offensive prowess has been critical for Texas Tech this season, setting up a Thursday Sweet 16 game against 10-seed Arkansas. The 6-foot-9 forward is averaging a double-double through two NCAA Tournament games, playing a critical role in the Red Raiders' second-round win over 11-seed Drake. Toppin went for 25 points and 12 rebounds, with 19 of those points (on 9 of 10 from the field) coming in the first half.
This is why Texas Tech had to have Toppin, who spent a year at New Mexico and was the Mountain West Freshman of the Year before entering the transfer portal. And perhaps at least partially why Texas is already out of the NCAA Tournament and its coach, Rodney Terry, out of a job.
Toppin was invited to the NBA Draft combine after his standout freshman year, but also entered the transfer portal to keep his options open. He loved his time at New Mexico but liked the idea of the national spotlight that came with playing in a bigger conference. The interest in a bouncy, athletic big man who played hard and came with little ego was understandably big.
"Value wise, he was the hottest one on the market," said Sessions, who played 11 years in the NBA before becoming an agent. "People can speculate what that looks like, but he was the hottest name on the market. From a NIL standpoint, he was in a good place."
Texas quickly emerged as the reported favorite to land Toppin. The school was actively working a relationship with Toppin's high school coach, Brandon Thomas, to help make it happen, according to sources familiar with the situation. Texas wanted Toppin and it's easy to imagine the Longhorns faring much better than a First Four exit that ultimately resulted in Terry's dismissal after three seasons.
Texas boosters, which went all-in on NIL last season with the football program, didn't seem as willing to open up for Terry. It was an open secret in college basketball circles that Texas AD Chris Del Conte had his eye on other coaches before feeling like he had to promote Terry following an Elite Eight run as the interim coach in 2023. Coming into this season, it was known that Terry would likely have to make another NCAA Tournament run to hold on to his job, but the money didn't seem to pour in to help make that happen. Texas fired Terry last week and is expected to commit more resources to new coach Sean Miller.
There is a newish phenomenon within this current era of college athletics where supporters can help nudge a coach out by turning off the NIL cash faucet. It famously happened to former Auburn football coach Bryan Harsin, according to sources, who didn't connect with the school's top boosters and felt the impact of not being able to compete for top players. His replacement, Hugh Freeze, smartly rectified that issue and has the money flowing to help sign what was just the nation's 8th-rated transfer portal class.
Texas basketball sources say an asking price upwards of seven-figures ultimately proved too expensive for the Longhorns. Sessions didn't want to get into specifics on Toppin's NIL compensation, but if Texas was claiming it wasn't willing to spend that much, there were plenty others who were.
"There was way more money thrown on the table for him. Way more," he said. "But what does that do when you're sitting home in March? When you're in the Sweet 16 now, you're getting this, you're getting all this other different stuff that comes with it and you're getting to showcase who you are."
A big reason Texas Tech won the Toppin sweepstakes? General manager Kellen Buffington, who is well-known in Dallas circles after running camps and operating TheTB5Reports scouting. Buffington was a big fan of Toppin's long before he was a top transfer portal target for a bevy of Power Four programs. That belief in Toppin and the accompanying relationship led to a mutual trust between all parties. Toppin wanted the freedom to grow as a basketball player, to be able to show off he could be more than just a Rodman-esque rebounder, and believed Buffington and Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland when they said he could do that in Lubbock.
That belief paid off for everyone on a terrific season that isn't over yet. Texas Tech, an advanced metrics darling, has all the makings of a team that can make a Final Four run and beyond if it can keep playing like it has. The ability to go all-in for Toppin when when others couldn't is a big reason why.
"He just has a knack for winning," Sessions said. "You put JT with Texas, you put JT with Kansas State, you put JT with whoever, JT is gonna come out on top and he's gonna impact winning."
Texas Tech knows that well.
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Yuki Tsunoda is in, and Liam Lawson is out, at Red Bull. Helmut Marko gave insight into the team's decision
The matter of paddock “speculation” at Red Bull has become official.
The team announced ahead of the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix that Liam Lawson would be demoted after just two races, moving to Visa Cash App Racing Bulls in a switch with Yuki Tsunoda. The veteran driver will realize his long-desired promotion to Red Bull, just in time for his home race.
Speaking with Austrian outlet OE24 before the official announcement, Red Bull senior advisor Dr. Helmut Marko addressed the young driver's slow start as well as the team's struggles with the RB21, Red Bull's challenger for the 2025 season.
“Things have been better. Although our result was worse than our performance,” said Marko regarding the Chinese Grand Prix. “Max was too cautious with the medium tires; with the hard ones, he was able to keep up with the McLarens anyway.”
The discussion quickly turned to Lawson, and Marko conceded that the driver was contributing “too little” for Red Bull to achieve their goals as a team, and to assist with team tactics.
“In Australia, he had a turbo failure in the third practice session. The kilometers he lost as a result are taking their toll on him,” described Marko. “What he's done so far has obviously been too little. We need a strong second driver, if only for the team's tactics.”
Regarding Red Bull's initial decision to promote Lawson over Tsunoda, Marko pointed to the veteran driver's inconsistency as a reason the team “unanimously” picked Lawson.
“Yuki was too inconsistent. That's why we unanimously decided on Lawson. But under the increased pressure, he couldn't deliver, right from the first day in Australia,” said Marko. “Then he went into a downward spiral. It's like a battered boxer; it's very difficult to get out of it. In that sense, it was a mistake [to promote Lawson].”
The Red Bull senior figure then outlined the struggles the team has seen with the RB21 this season.
“It's true that the RB21 is difficult to drive,” said Marko. “The Racing Bull is easier to handle and very fast on a qualifying lap. But in the race, it lags significantly behind the Red Bull Racing car.”
Marko's comments are all well and good but for many, they crystalize the ongoing frustration with the second seat at Red Bull. As has been covered here and elsewhere Tsunoda will be the sixth teammate of Verstappen's since 2016, as the team has cycled through option after option alongside the four-time champion.
While some drivers, such as Sergio Pérez, were afforded significant time to settle into the seat others were not afforded such grace. Lawson leaving after just two races represented the quickest decision by Red Bull to part with one of Verstappen's teammates, ahead of Pierre Gasly (12 races) and Alex Albon (26).
Another layer of frustration with this move stems from the larger context around Lawson's start to the season. As you can see here, Lawson ran the second-fewest laps during pre-season testing, due to an engine issue on the second day. Only Lance Stroll — who missed part of testing due to an illness —completed fewer laps:
Then consider the circumstances of the first two race weekends. Lawson arrived in Melbourne — a track where he had never raced before — and after missing time in the third practice as well as enduring a tough qualifying session, was forced to race in wet conditions that proved treacherous for several drivers, including veterans such as Carlos Sainz Jr.
Then it was on to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix — another track where he had never raced before — for an F1 Sprint race weekend. That gave Lawson just one hour of practice in the RB21, a car Marko concedes is “difficult” to drive, before the first qualifying session of the weekend.
Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner noted that Lawson would be headed to some circuits where he had experience in the upcoming weeks following the Chinese Grand Prix.
“It was a tough day for him because losing [final practice] at a track that he's never raced at – he's the only driver on the grid not to have raced here – immediately put him on the back foot,” Horner told the official F1 channel after qualifying in Melbourne.
“He's had a really difficult run so far. Let's see about the race tomorrow, and then of course, as we get to tracks that he starts to know, I think he'll start to come alive.”
Lawson will indeed get that chance to “come alive.”
But at VCARB, and not Red Bull.
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The 2025 MLB season is upon us, and that means beautiful days and nights at the ballpark featuring delicious eats. While it's hard to beat the classics, this season will feature some wild snacks that fans can really sink their teeth into.
MLB teams are always trying to give fans more reasons to come out to the park and spend their hard-earned money at the concession stand. This year is no different with many teams introducing some fun, unique and weird menu items.
In many cases, teams have taken those classic ballpark foods like hot dogs, fries and burgers and put a fresh spin on them, for better or worse. How about a footlong hotdog smothered in mac and cheese? Maybe a dessert quesadilla will catch your eye on the concourse. Whether you prefer sweet or savory flavors, there are foods on this list for you.
Before the first pitches are thrown, let's look at the 10 wildest new menu items at MLB ballparks in 2025.
The Diamondbacks decided to throw a bunch of random ingredients on cajun fries, and there have been worse culinary ideas. Between the white cheddar mac and cheese, the pork belly bacon and the crispy onions, there is a lot to like about this very chaotic dish. Plus, any D-backs fan who shows up hungry won't need to eat for a week after taking these down.
An homage to its Polish Hill community, the Pirates are offering some unique local flair at PNC Park. Pirates fans can enjoy these fried balls full of egg noodles, kielbasa, cabbage, bacon and cheddar cheese. These sound delicious, and they're a nice handheld snack to eat at your seat.
This one is like a "Man vs. Food" challenge, except you can eat it while watching one of the most exciting teams in baseball. Fans better bring their appetite for this burger, which features two beef patties, queso and fried onions all in the same bite. Oh, and did I mention the pretzel bun? Anyone who gets this down in nine innings deserves an award.
New massive White Sox milkshake just dropped 👀Introducing the Celebration Cake Shake 🎂Made with Birthday Cake ice cream, confetti cake, a pinwheel cookie and a maraschino cherry(via @whitesox) pic.twitter.com/zkGE271Mxf
The White Sox are celebrating their 125th anniversary this year, and that might be all the celebrating that happens at Rate Field this season. In honor of their birthday, the White Sox are selling some birthday cake and ice cream -- just blended up and served in a cup with cake chunks and a cookie. This is one of the more indulgent items on the list, and it has my interest.
This footlong ballpark dog is topped with a few different appetizers one might order at your local BBQ joint. The Daddy Mac Dog also features brisket, mac and cheese and fried pickles. Eating this hotdog is probably a two- or three-person mission.
A whoopie pie is a classic treat, and the Royals have put their own spin on it this year. There will be no missing these when fans are snacking on these in the stands. No word yet on whether Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern were involved in creating this odd ballpark dessert.
The Yankees will have tiramisu helmets at games this year 🤤Made with espresso mascarpone cream, lady finger cookies, cocoa powder pic.twitter.com/ikvquRbfYZ
If you've ever been eating ice cream out of a novelty helmet on a hot summer day, you know that it can sometimes turn to soup before you even get it back to your seat. Well, the Yankees have solved that problem with Helmet Tiramisu. Fans still get their souvenir helmet, but they don't have to worry about dessert turning to liquid in 60 seconds.
Have you ever wanted to make s'mores at a baseball game but local regulations banned open flames at the ballpark? The Phillies have found a loophole with their new S'mores Quesadillas, which are actually pretty brilliant. You can get all that delicious s'mores flavor without worrying about a melted chocolate bar dripping onto your new Bryce Harper jersey.
Sometimes corndogs just look a little too appealing, you know? The Mariners have invented a corndog that will make hungry fans think twice, but once you get past the color, it does sound rather appealing. This corndog of a different color is honey-battered and covered in a spicy, crunchy coating.
Who's up for cotton candy fries at #BlueJays games this year? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/BTQqPvEcI9
Sweet and savory almost always go together, but the Blue Jays will be pushing those limits at Rogers Centre in 2025. These Cotton Candy Fries combine a pair of stadium classics and cover them in a blue sauce. If nothing else, these will be quite popular with the morbidly curious. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued.
You've seen the model's MLB prop picks for the 2025 season. Now, get MLB Opening Day picks for every game from the model, which simulates every game 10,000 times. Plus, get exclusive access to the best plays from all major sports from the Data Scientists behind the model in SportsLine's member-only Discord.
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The New England Patriots have seen some great wide receivers walk through their door, but lately, it's been a position of weakness for the team. To find a New England wideout who put up 1,000 yards in the regular season, you have to go back to 2019 when a Patriots great and Super Bowl MVP hit that mark.
Julian Edelman was the last Patriots wide receiver to record over 1,000 yards and average 60 yards per game, doing so with Tom Brady under center. Many quarterbacks have cycled through New England since then, from Cam Newton to Mac Jones to Jacoby Brissett, all struggling to create any sort of production on the offense.
The Patriots now have hope at the quarterback position, thanks to last year's No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye, but his potential was limited due to the lack of support around him on offense. New head coach Mike Vrabel has aimed to change that this offseason, bringing in veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs as well as luring Josh McDaniels back to call plays for New England's offense.
While Diggs is turning 32 in November and coming off a torn ACL, he is finally a big-name star player the team has needed. If he can stay healthy, Diggs, who has six 1,000-plus yard seasons, may end the five-year streak of no 1,000-yard Patriots receivers.
The player who last hit that mark likes the move made by his former team. On his "Dudes on Dudes" podcast with former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, Edelman said he thinks the four-time Pro Bowler will bring a much-needed energy to the locker room.
"I like Stefon Diggs in New England, that situation because Stefon Diggs is still pissed off at the Bills," Edelman said. "So, there's going to be hunger, and there's going to be urgency, and there's going to be a fire under his ass in the meeting room when he's in New England at practice, which they could use. They could use a little fire under their ass in that receiver room."
Diggs does have some minor blemishes in an otherwise great NFL career after past rumored drama between him and the Buffalo Bills, including missed practices and sideline outbursts, but Edelman brushed off any concerns.
"No one ever second-guesses how hard he works and the amount of work that he puts into his craft," Edelmen said. "So, if you're getting a motivated Stefon Diggs, that could be really beneficial to the young football players in that young football room that they call the receiver room in New England."
Diggs has the experience many of the young players on the team don't possess, and the veteran presence is something Edelman believes the entire team can benefit from.
"They have a lot of young football players there," he said. "It'd be really good for these younger guys to be able to see how a professional works daily. How a professional prepares daily. How a professional takes care of his body. And if Stefon Diggs is doing that, you gotta bring him in. Because they need a little veteran leadership in that room."
Diggs was a fifth-round draft pick in 2015, taken by the Minnesota Vikings, where he stayed until 2019. He then played for Buffalo from 2020 to 2023 before joining the Houston Texans for one year in 2024.
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Penn is hiring former Iowa coach Fran McCaffery as its next basketball coach, the school announced Thursday. McCaffery, 65, graduated from Penn in 1982 and began his coaching career there as an assistant.
He will replace Steve Donahue, who was fired after finishing with an 8-19 record in his ninth season. McCaffery was fired from Iowa this month after wrapping up his 15th season at the school with a 297-207 record.
"I am excited and honored to return to my alma mater and the city of Philadelphia to lead the Penn men's basketball program," McCaffery said. "It is a program that I have fond memories of from my previous time there as a student-athlete and assistant coach. My vision is to return Penn to prominence in the Ivy League and beyond and bring an exciting style of play to The Palestra."
The Quakers have made just one NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007 but have a strong history. The program reached the NCAA Tournament 22 times between 1970 and 2007 and even earned a berth in the 1979 Final Four. McCaffery was part of that team as a redshirt; he sat out a season after transferring in from Wake Forest.
McCaffery then contributed to Penn's NCAA Tournament teams in 1980 and 1982 as a guard under coach Bob Weinhauer. Prior to his long run at Iowa, McCaffery was the head coach at Lehigh, UNC Greensboro and Siena, making NCAA Tournament appearances at each stop.
"I am thrilled to bring Fran back to Penn and Philadelphia as our next head men's basketball coach," Penn athletic director Alanna Wren said. "Fran has had success at every level of Division I and is passionate about restoring our program to glory. His energy and enthusiasm for leading young men was apparent throughout the process and he has proven to be committed to player development and relationship-building with his student-athletes throughout his storied career."
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It looks like CeeDee Lamb is going to need a new celebration. The NFL sent out a full 2025 rules report to each team this week and that report included one major update in the section about what constitutes an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
The NFL has been trying to take violent celebrations out of the game over the past few years, which is a big reason why no one is allowed to celebrate a big play or a touchdown with a throat slash anymore. This year, the league also added the 'nose wipe' to the list of banned celebrations.
Here's a look at Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1(d) from the rules report (via Benjamin Solak):
"Any violent gesture, which shall include but not be limited to a throat slash, simulating firing or brandishing a gun, or using the 'nose wipe' gesture, or an act that is sexually suggestive or offensive."
If you're wondering that the nose wipe celebration looks like, former Cowboys star Dez Bryant was kind enough to share a GIF of Lamb doing it in a game.
.@_CeeDeeThree 4eva! 88 pic.twitter.com/XUHKLcPEu9
If you're wondering why that celebration is considered a 'violent gesture,' it mostly has to do with the fact that it's a sign that's associated with gangs, according to Urban Dictionary. That's right, we broke out the Urban Dictionary.
The sign is generally used to "scare off unwanted company or to keep sight of someone. It doesn't always necessarily mean murder. Usually someone is being robbed or targeted for some act of violence."
Lamb caught wind of the rule change on Wednesday night and based on his reaction, it sounds like the Cowboys Pro Bowl receiver is not thrilled with the decision.
smh, i have plenty in mind😒. https://t.co/rn0OliWbb4
The good news for Lamb is that he appears to have a new celebration in mind to take the place of his nose wipe.
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The Falcons can't make a decision on Kirk Cousins, and it's going to hurt them.
The Atlanta Falcons screwed this up royally. A year ago the organization decided to go all-in with Kirk Cousins, operating under the misguided belief that the team was simply a quarterback away from contending for a Super Bowl. Now they boast the league's most-expensive backup, and it's unclear if they really have a plan for the future.
If the Falcons decide it's best to move on from the QB then the best they can hope for is a team (more specifically the Cleveland Browns), coming in and taking Cousins off their hands for a late-round pick swap. This would take money off their books, while also removing Cousins' shadow from behind Michael Penix Jr.
The problem with a trade is that because the Falcons did Cousins dirty in the NFL Draft right after signing him, now he's throwing his weight around with his no-trade clause, refusing to accept any deal until after the draft. This is because the former Pro Bowl QB wants to know that history won't repeat itself, and that he won't be dealt to a team only to see them draft a QB who will replace him.
This assumes the Falcons actually want to trade Cousins, and it's here this all gets messy. Publicly the organization has been quiet on whether or not it actually intends to hear offers for Cousins, or whether they plan to pay a backup $27.5M this season.
Ultimately this all comes down to one core problem: The Falcons were bullish enough on Michael Penix Jr. to select him with a top-10 pick a year ago, upsetting Cousins in the process — but after seeing him play they're concerned he's not the answer and want to have a contingency plan.
It's very difficult to know what Penix Jr. is as an NFL quarterback at this point. Statistically he was mediocre, but he did look better on tape than the numbers suggest. Two of his three interceptions came off bobbled passes, and at the very least he showed off a big arm and confidence to try and make impactful throws. The flipside to this is that he should have looked fantastic considering the opposition he faced in those three games. Two of this three opponents were the Giants and Panthers, who ranked 24th and 32nd in defense respectively — and while there were flashes, Penix also completed less than 60 percent of his passes, his only win coming against New York.
While the Falcons might try to spin this as wanting to have “options” or “a veteran QB who can mentor Penix,” the core issue is that Atlanta is sending mixed messages at every turn. They believe in Penix, but not enough to trade Cousins. Just as they believed Cousins would get them over the hump, but not enough to draft much-needed defense or offensive line help in 2024, instead taking a QB.
This is an organization that doesn't have an identity under Raheem Morris. The coach stepped in a year ago, was saddled with the mandate that the team wanted to win with Cousins, and has appeared to be rudderless. We don't know whether or not the Falcons want to focus on running the ball with Bijan Robinson as its centerpiece, or if they want to go all-in on Penix and the passing game.
This is a fundamental problem that needs to be addressed. Atlanta cannot move forward without having a clear plan, and they can't have a clear plan with an ongoing quarterback controversy. It's time Atlanta to just publicly announce they are trying to find a trade partner for Kirk Cousins, take their lumps with Penix, and have a vision for their football team. As it stands they're fence-sitting, and that's only going to drag out the process.
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Thanks to a partnership between Voice in Sports and the WNBA Changemakers, 100,000 girls between the ages of 13 and 23 will have access to mentorship over the next two years.
Last year, the WNBA announced its inaugural partnership with Voice In Sport (VIS), an online platform that provides mentorship and support to thousands of young female athletes all over the world.
The premise was simple: studies identified that when the average girl turns 14, she is twice as likely to quit playing sports as a boy her age in the same position. And, studies have also shown that 94 percent of women CEOs previously played sports, while 52 percent of them played sports in college.
The WNBA, one of the fastest-growing women's sports leagues in the world, wanted to help tackle the rising sports dropout rates among women by providing mentorship opportunities.
So, the league partnered with Stef Strack's company, which created an accessible website through which girls could directly connect with mentors, whether that be nutritionists, sports psychologists, or professional athletes themselves. In Year 1, 50,000 girls were able to participate for free.
Now, thanks to a partnership with the WNBA Changemakers, 100,000 girls between the ages of 13 and 23 will have access to mentorship over the next two years. Female athletes across that age range regularly meet with WNBA athletes and pick their brains about a wide range of topics. including mental health, body image, nutrition, confidence, and finding your identity outside of sport, among others.
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“The goal of the Voice in Sports platform, and the new app, is really to democratize access, so that any young girl, no matter where you live, can access the best role models,” Strack told SB Nation earlier this month.
“We've only been doing this for a year together, but over the course of the next several years, we really believe that we'll be able to decrease the amount of young girls that are dropping out of sports. And, ultimately, also ensure that they stay in sport to get into leadership positions. As we know, there's a really strong tie between both of those things.”
Every WNBA team, including the WNBA's newest-addition team, the Golden State Valkyries, will have at least one mentor.
The returning mentors include Aliyah Boston (Indiana Fever), Satou Sabally (Phoenix Mercury), Haley Jones (Atlanta Dream), Ariel Atkins (Chicago Sky), Isabelle Harrison (New York Liberty), Alysha Clark (Seattle Storm), and Kayla McBride (Minnesota Lynx).
First-time mentors include Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream), Jewell Lloyd (Las Vegas Aces), Monique Billings (Golden State Valkyries), Rickea Jackson (Los Angeles Sparks), and Shakira Austin (Washington Mystics).
“The lineup of mentors is incredible, and there's been so much interest from the players to really give back to younger girls in sports,” Strack said. “And, the number one thing we hear from the mentors is that they wish they had this when they were younger.
Seattle Storm forward Alysha Clark is a three-time WNBA champion, a former Sixth Player of the Year recipient, and a two-time All-Defense team member.
Still, she ranks her participation in the Voice in Sports program as among her proudest career accomplishments.
“Just because this is something that's helping me leave the game essentially better than I found it,” Clark told SB Nation. “To be able to create lanes for other young girls, who either want to be professional athletes or want to work in professional sports... and just being visible and accessible to them, to be able to pour into them the way that, I've been fortunate enough through sport and through my journey as a professional that I've had you know, vets do to me.”
When she was first approached about participating in the program, Clark didn't hesitate about the opportunity to be a mentor: “It was a no-brainer for me.”
Over the past year, her sessions were focused on loving and fueling your body, finding your identity outside of sports, and navigating through grief. A big theme in her mentorship has been how much outside life factors — like stress — can impact one's body and performance.
“That's why I love being a mentor,” Clark said. “Because I guess to share these tips with these girls and these young players and young athletes in the beginning of their careers, to help where they are later, and give them a leg up.”
Mattie Schimenz, a women's basketball player at Winona State University, first got connected with Voice in Sports when her coach signed the entire team up for an initial mentorship meeting. The experience ended up being so impactful that she stayed on as a mentee past that initial commitment and is now beginning a marketing internship with the company.
“I wish more people knew about it,” Schimenz told SB Nation. “The mentoring sessions feel very personal. It's a small group of girls. You get to talk to the mentors, which, in my case, were WNBA players, and just hear about their specific journeys in sport — and you can relate to them in a lot of ways, and gain knowledge from them. I just really loved it.”
One of Schimenz' mentors was Alysha Clark, a player she had long watched compete in the WNBA. Right away, she was struck by how relatable Clark was.
“You see these celebrities and professional athletes, and you forget that they're just normal humans too... it's just kind of like you're talking to your bigger your big sister, one of your teammates,” Shimenz said.
When she learned that Clark was organizing a toy drive, it spurred her to think about how she could impact her community.
“It opens up your eyes to how much of an impact you as an athlete can have on your community,” she said. “It doesn't matter what level you play, even if you're at a small university in a small town, you can have just as big of an impact.”
Kamy Peppler, a women's basketball player at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, was similarly struck by just how normal Clark was.
“She was very personable and down to earth and genuine,” Peppler told SB Nation. “We literally met her dog, and she was encouraging us to have a conversation.”
Peppler said that her conversations with Clark highlighted they shared a lot of similar experiences, both having played in high school and college.
“You hold professional athletes on such a high level, you never would think you'd be able to just speak to them about certain things,” Peppler said.
But, they were able to converse, and in turn, Peppler learned to ensure that her self-worth wasn't tied to basketball. Clark emphasized to her mentees that she cooks and plays with her dog.
“After that, I really started focusing on, what do I like to do outside of basketball,” Peppler said. “What other things can I focus on?”
Strack understands just how impactful the program can be.
“A lot of them, when you think about even just a couple years ago or five, ten years ago, it was taboo to talk about things like menstruation and sport, or mental health and sport,” she said. “So really, the mentors are really fundamentally changing the narrative for these young girls, creating open spaces and a safe space for them to have these conversations.”
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Throughout the season, the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last week we debated Sandy Alcantara's future. This week we're going to tackle the length of the regular season.
Matt Snyder: No, I like our marathon of a regular season, given that this is the sport that lends itself to the most fluky possible game results in short or even medium samples. The best way to determine teams worthy of the playoff field is to play a large number of games. I love that baseball is an everyday sport. I love that people who don't want to watch it every single night don't have to, while those who do want to watch it every day have that option.
Plus, and I suspect this carries a ton of weight inside my brain, possibly to the point of bias: The stats mean a lot to baseball history, especially in terms of the Hall of Fame and record books. If we shortened the season back to 154 games, I suppose that could work decently -- that's how many games there were in the NL before 1962 and AL before 1961 -- but anything shorter than that is a non-starter.
R.J. Anderson: I have to concede that the regular season has been cheapened (for me anyway) by the bloated playoff field. I understand why MLB has added teams to October; it's such an easy way to make money that, realistically, the league was never going to stick with one wild card per side for too long. Still, it does feel silly to have nearly half the league make the tournament after playing every day for six months. Even so, I'm not sure I would actually want the regular season reduced. Nevertheless, I do wonder if a move to 150, 154 games would make sense -- though, of course, that doesn't mean it's likely given the obvious and tricky financial implications that would come into play.
Dayn Perry: I really hate playoff expansion and the probable reality that it's going to expand further. The long regular season, the everyday-ness of baseball is one of its defining characteristics, and I don't want to see it compromised, especially in the name of letting the postseason field grow even more out of control. That said, there's of course modern historical precedent for a 154-game season, so why not. At some point, you have to make room for, oh, half the league getting into the playoffs, I suppose.
Mike Axisa: I do not want a shorter season but at some point it will become necessary if the postseason keeps expanding, which of course it will (that's where the money is). You can't keep adding playoff games and playoff rounds to the 162-game regular season and expect injury rates to stay the same. You're letting more teams and more players into the postseason each year, so it's more players playing more games, and it will equal more injuries. MLB had a 154-game season from 1904-60 and can go back to that. It'll screw up single-season record chases, but that's nothing the league hasn't dealt with before, and the inevitable expansion of the postseason means everyone will still come out ahead financially. I don't want a shorter season. The more baseball, the better, but I do think it will be necessary sooner rather than later.
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The Dodgers look like the cream of the crop but there are several teams that could challenge for their crown.
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Every Major League Baseball team begins a brand new baseball season with hope.
In the spring of 1993, as a fresh-faced 16-year-old Phillies fan living in suburban bliss, I had no right to believe that summer was going to be anything special.
From 1987-1992, the Phils finished in last place three times, including the ‘92 season when they went 70-92 and ended a whopping 26 games out of first place. Only the most deluded Phillies fan picked them to do anything in 1993, but somewhere in recesses of my brain, I just knew they were going to finish in first that year.
To be honest, there were signs. The offense, despite winning just 70 games, was one of the better units in the league. Darren Daulton and Dave Hollins emerged as really good players, John Kruk was a .300 hitter and Lenny Dykstra always played well when he wasn't hurt. The pitching staff had some really good arms in Terry Mulholland and Tommy Greene, both of whom had thrown no hitters in recent seasons but everyone got hurt.
They didn't add any major pieces in the off-season, but I believed. That belief was rewarded with a magical 97-win season, a historic six-game victory over the Braves in the NLCS, and a crushing loss at the hands of the Blue Jays and Joe Carter.
Every season begins with teams we expect to contend, teams that are on the upswing, teams a few years away with some hope, and teams that seemingly have no hope whatsoever.
No matter what tier you find your team on, it's understandable, albeit perhaps delusional, to believe they have at least a shot. Which tier is your team on?
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
No one questions which team has the most talented roster. Shohei Ohtani. Mookie Betts. Freddie Freeman. Blake Snell. Roki Sasaki. Yoshinobu Yamamoto. A dominant bullpen. The Dodgers could very well break the all-time wins record of 116, set by the 1906 Cubs and 2001 Mariners. And yet…
No team has repeated as World Series champion since the Yankees three-peated from 1998-2000. Teams now must win at least three postseason rounds in order to host a parade and, in the case of all but the top two seeds in each league, four. Even if you've got the best roster in the sport, anything can happen in the postseason. In 2023, the Dodgers, Orioles and Braves all won more than 100 games. None even made it to the World Series. In ‘22, 106-win Astros won it all, but the 111-win Dodgers got bounced in the opening round, as did the 101-win Braves and Mets. Since 2000, 36 teams have won 100 or more games. Five have won the World Series, and only five others even got there. And one ominous item to begin the season, a mystery illness to Mookie Betts that has sidelined him this spring and caused him to lose 15-20 pounds, now down to 150 pounds. The Dodgers are the oldest team in baseball, with every member of their starting lineup age 30 or older.
Not saying the Dodgers shouldn't be the favorites to win it all. They should. They're going to be excellent. But as great as they are, nothing is guaranteed.
2. Philadelphia Phillies
The four best teams outside of Los Angeles all reside in the National League, three of them in the NL East. The defending division champion Phillies are still smarting from a first-round playoff ouster to the Mets last October. New York now has future Hall of Famer Juan Soto anchoring the middle of a lineup that should be one of the most potent in baseball. Atlanta is coming off an injury-riddled season that still saw them somehow make the playoffs.
For the Phils, they're another year older and, hopefully for them, another year wiser. The 30+ core of Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos all appear to still be in their primes, but the window for this particular group is closing. They boast perhaps the best pitching staff in baseball, but this team could win 100 games this year and no one in Philadelphia is going to believe any of it's for real unless it results in a World Series title. The team, and fanbase, are on a mission. Is this the year it finally happens?
3. Atlanta Braves
I understand why some would put Atlanta ahead of the Phillies in any set of rankings, and honestly, the teams are extremely close. The Phils get the nod from me because they have beaten Atlanta head-to-head in the 2022 and ‘23 postseasons and then won six more games than them a season ago. But even with the loss of Max Fried in free agency, the Braves' roster is loaded. Spencer Strider looked great this spring returning from Tommy John surgery, and he'll join a rotation of Cy Young winner Chris Sale, emerging star Spencer Schwellenbach and veteran Reynaldo Lopez. Ronald Acuna, Jr. hopes to return in April, and the rest of the lineup can't possibly be as injured as they were a season ago, when they still managed to make the postseason.
4. New York Mets
Was the Mets' magical ride to the NLCS last season simply that? Magic? Or was it the beginning of something sustainable? Their starting rotation to begin the season looks a tad suspect for a team in this tier. Clay Holmes, a converted reliever who has looked good in the spring, gets the Opening Day nod, followed by Tylor Megill, Griffin Canning, David Peterson and Kodai Senga. Iffy, to say the least. But the offense will mash the ball, led of course by Soto, but ably assisted by Pete Alonso and emerging young star Mark Vientos. With Edwin Diaz closing games, they're going to be a tough team to beat.
5. Arizona Diamondbacks
Don't sleep on Arizona, looking to return to the Fall Classic after shocking Philadelphia in 2023. Corbin Carroll is a sleeper MVP candidate, Josh Naylor, Ketel Marte, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. make a potent middle of the lineup, and a rotation that added Corbin Burnes to top-of-the-rotation arms Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly could make them a real threat to L.A. in the West.
Any one of these four teams could take down the Dodgers in a short series and win it all.
6. New York Yankees
I'll bet if you asked a group of baseball analysts and front office personnel which team in the American League was the best, you'd get four or five different answers. But the Yankees are undoubtedly near the top of any of those lists.
After a busy off-season in which they lost their best player (Soto), the Yankees went out and added a bunch of talent to help replace him. They signed Fried to a massive contract, traded for outfielder Cody Bellinger and closer Devin Williams, and signed Paul Goldschmidt to a free agent contract. Unfortunately, they've also been deluged by significant injuries this spring. Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu will start the season on the IL, and both could be out a long while. Gerrit Cole is lost for the season to TJ surgery, and Luis Gil is gone for a couple months, too. They are still regarded as the favorites to repeat as AL champs, but it'll be more challenging than expected.
7. Baltimore Orioles
Like the NL East, the American League version should also be a three-team race, with the Orioles and Red Sox breathing down their necks. Just two years ago, Baltimore was the talk of baseball following a 101-win season, but a 91-win campaign and quick exit in the AL Wild Card round wasn't what fans had in mind. They lost their ace, Corbin Burnes, to Arizona this off-season and signed Charlie Morton as his replacement. That's a downgrade, folks. The offense should still be solid, led by young stars Colton Cowser, Adley Rutschman, Jordan Westburg, Ryan Mountcastle and Jackson Holliday, and the addition of Tyler O'Neill gives them a high on-base, power bat in the middle of the lineup.
8. Texas Rangers
The Rangers won it all just two years ago and look ready to reload with an explosive lineup. Corey Seager is one of the 5-10 best players in the game, Marcus Semien continues playing at a high level at age 34, and 2023 first round pick Wyatt Langford looks to build on an outstanding rookie season a year ago. The lynchpin to the season is perhaps Jacob deGrom, the best pitcher in baseball when he's healthy. But nearing his 37th birthday, can he stay on the mound and dominant for a full season? If he does, the Rangers may just be the best team in the AL.
9. Boston Red Sox
Boston was one of the winners of the off-season, inking one of the biggest free agents on the market in third baseman Alex Bregman. Trevor Story is hoping for a comeback year, and their young trio of Jarren Duran, Rafael Devers and Triston Casas means the Red Sox are going to score runs. The biggest move was trading for former White Sox ace Garrett Crochet, one of the three best pitchers in baseball right now. He gives Boston a legitimate top of the rotation with Tanner Houck and Walker Buehler. Aroldis Chapman in the closer's role is a choice, but at 37, he still throws pretty hard, and will share the duties with Liam Hendricks.
10. San Diego Padres
San Diego made it all the way to the NLCS back in 2022, but haven't been able to replicate that success despite a number of investments in the starting lineup. Those bills, however, are coming due, and if the Padres are going to mount one last challenge, this is the year it needs to happen. There are few batting orders better than what the Padres can run out every day, and they have a strong top-two in the rotation in Dylan Cease and Michael King. In a short series, the Padres could be very dangerous, but they need to manage their 162-game season well to get there.
11. Kansas City Royals
The Royals were my AL pick to surprise a season ago and, while they didn't win the division, they came through with a magical season. Bobby Witt, Jr. is the best player in the American League. It's that simple. Vinnie Pasquantino has emerged as a star, Sal Perez remains ageless, and the addition of Jonathan India gives them a solid leadoff hitter. They also feature a top-two in the rotation in Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo that are Cy Young contenders, and their bullpen, led by new closer Carlos Estevez, is solid as well. They're the best team in the AL Central, although the separation between the top four teams is minimal.
12. Houston Astros
Gone are the halcyon days of Bregman, Kyle Tucker, and Justin Verlander leading the always dominant Astros back to yet another ALCS and/or World Series. This isn't your slightly older brother's Astros anymore, so it's reasonable to believe the “Homer Simpson fading backwards into the hedges” portion of their timeline has begun. But this is still a team with enough talent to take home a wild card. Yordan Alvaraez remains one of the AL's feared sluggers, Jose Altuve can still bring it, and Jeremy Pena is still a young shortstop with tons of upside. The rotation has a strong 1-2 but not much after Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown. There are good pieces here, but not a complete team like we're used to seeing.
13. Seattle Mariners
I do believe Houston is better than the Mariners who, simply put, can't hit. But boy, can they pitch. Outside of the Dodgers and Phillies, the M's own baseball's best rotation, with three of the top-35 starters in Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, and Luis Castillo. Bryan Woo is a more than capable No. 4. However, outside of MVP candidate Julio Rodriguez, it's a struggle to see where the run production is coming from. Maybe Randy Arozarena can use a solid second half of 2024 to propel him to a full season of productive play, and catcher Cal Raleigh is a potential All Star. Other than that, it's looking like Seattle is going to win or lose a bunch of 3-2 games.
14. Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto's offense should be one of the best in the league. As long as they're in the wild card race, Vlad Guerrero, Jr. will be in the middle of everything, and they hope Bo Bichette will have a better season. Anthony Santander, Andres Gimenez, Alejandro Kirk and George Springer are a solid top-six. The big wild card is Max Scherzer. Can he provide some upside with a solid but unspectacular rotation of Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt? Is Jeff Hoffman the answer at closer? Lots of question marks in a do-or-die season north of the border.
15. Tampa Bay Rays
Quick, name four Rays players. Any four. It's a mostly nondescript group of ballplayers facing a difficult situation this year, with a tattered Tropicana Field unplayable and the team playing its games George M. Steinbrenner field, the Yankees' spring training home. Yandy Diaz, Josh Lowe, Brandon Lowe and Junio Caminero are not the scariest top of a batting order, but the rotation has a lot of names that, if healthy, can propel them into the AL wild card picture. Shane McLanahan's recovery from Tommy John surgery will be closely watched, with Drew Rasmussen, Shane Baz, Taj Bradley and Ryan Pepiot giving the Rays a rotation that can match those of the Dodgers, Phils and Mariners. If they can stay healthy.
16. Chicago Cubs
Outside of the Royals, I'm not convinced all the contending teams in the central divisions of both the NL and AL aren't just clones of one another. The Cubs traded for the most impactful bat on the market, rental outfielder Kyle Tucker. Seiya Suzuki slides to the DH spot. It's a solid group, with Ian Happ, Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner giving them the best lineup in the NL Central. Can Shota Imanaga follow up his outstanding rookie season with an encore?
17. Cleveland Guardians
Last year's AL Central champs still feature All Star third baseman Jose Ramirez but enter without their best power hitter, Josh Naylor, who was traded to Arizona over the winter. They'll miss his 31 HRs and 108 RBIs, and Carlos Santana is not an apples-to-apples replacement. Kyle Manzardo's emergence as the team's DH will be key to this offense taking flight. Tanner Bibee assumes the role of ace until Shane Bieber returns from Tommy John surgery.
18. Detroit Tigers
Their magical late-season run to the postseason and wild card round victory were an absolute shock. Can they build on that in 2025? Tarik Skubal and Jack Flaherty give them a great shot at it, and they play in a wide open division. The bats feel a bit hollow after Riley Greene and Gleyber Torres, and they'll sorely miss center fielder Parker Meadows, placed on the 60-day IL with a shoulder injury.
19. Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers have won the NL Central four times in the last seven seasons and won a wild card in another. And yet, the closest they've gotten to a World Series was a seven-game loss to the Dodgers in the 2018 NLCS. The player to watch is Jackson Chourio, a 21-year-old super phenom who put together a 20/20 season as a rookie last year, hitting .455 with two home runs in their wild card series loss to the Mets. Catcher William Contreras, just 27, provides Milwaukee with a wildly fun duo to watch play every day.
20. Minnesota Twins
If the Twins get back to the playoffs, it'll be on the backs of its rotation, headed by Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober. Carlos Correa is still around and, when he can stay on the field, Byron Buxton remains one of the game's most exciting players, even at 31 years old. The lineup is going to look different every day, and there don't appear to be any other potential All Stars among this group, limiting their upside.
21. St. Louis Cardinals
The big question surrounding the Cardinals this year is how long Nolan Arenado will be there. If St. Louis surprises, it's likely he isn't dealt at the trade deadline. There are some interesting pieces here – Lars Nootbaar, Willson Contreras, and Brendan Donovan are potentially solid-to-good. But the rotation after Sonny Gray lacks upside, and this just feels like a very “meh” squad on its way to a full rebuild. My bet is, Arenado is on a true contender come August.
22. Cincinnati Reds
This next tier of teams appears to have less of a chance of making the playoffs, but there is a bunch of upside that makes them a lot of fun to get behind, as I wrote about recently for this very site. Terry Francona elevates the floor of this group, with an MVP candidate in Elly De La Cruz ready to officially take MLB by storm. Hunter Greene, Brady Singer, Nick Lodolo and Nick Martinez form a solid rotation, too. Don't be surprised if they end up winning this division.
23. San Francisco Giants
Shortstop Willy Adames is the big off-season addition, providing a solid glove and run-producing bat in the middle of the lineup. Matt Chapman joins him at third and catcher Patrick Bailey may end up starting the All Star Game at catcher in 2025. Logan Webb is one of the NL's best starters, and the success of this group will depend largely on Justin Verlander giving them one last hurrah at age 42, and Robbie Ray's ability to stay healthy and effective. Jordan Hicks is another question mark.
24. Sacramento Athletics
They went 32-32 after the All Star break last year. Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler are a dynamic power duo, and JJ Bleday is an emerging star in center. They hit 196 home runs a season ago, 8th-most in baseball. The rotation isn't great, so if you're into shootouts and a lot of 11-8 games, the A's are the squad for you. Could they sneak up on everyone and win a wild card? Yes, I absolutely believe they could.
25. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates have the pre-season favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award in sophomore super starter Paul Skenes, but he's not alone. Mitch Keller and Jared Jones form a dynamic pairing behind him, although Jones will miss six weeks due to an elbow injury. Fortunately for Pittsburgh, he will not require surgery. Prospects Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler are ready to contribute to the rotation as well. Offensively, Oneil Cruz has Elly De La Cruz potential, but hasn't quite put it all together yet. Perhaps moving to center field will allow him to do that.
26. Washington Nationals
Had the Nats been a bit more aggressive this season, I would have at least considered the possibility they could have challenged for a wild card. But Washington is still in young asset acquisition mode, which is why Josh Bell was the biggest free agent acquisition. Still, there is a lot of young talent to dream on here. CJ Abrams had a rough finish to the ‘24 season, but is super talented. Dylan Crews, James Wood and Luis Garcia, Jr. could be one of the best young cores in baseball and the Nats hope Keibert Ruiz will eventually become one of the NL's best catchers. There's just not much pitching here outside of MacKenzie Gore.
27. Los Angeles Angels
Mike Trout is back! For how long is always the question. They have some interesting names in the lineup, specifically catcher Logan O'Hoppe, second baseman Luis Rengifo and center fielder Jo Adell. Look for veterans like Taylor Ward, Jorge Soler, Travis d'Arnaud and Yoan Moncada to be dealt at the trade deadline. They appear to think they have a chance to compete in the AL West, given the Yusei Kikuchi, Kyle Hendricks and Kenley Jansen signings. What a weird team.
28. Colorado Rockies
For a team that has historically played in a stadium that bled runs, this Rockies team may finish with the second-fewest runs in the National League this season. Brenton Doyle, Ryan McMahon and Ezequiel Tovar are solid, but that's it. Kris Bryant still plays here, but he's essentially become a ghost. I don't know what there is to get excited about in Colorado. It's a full-on rebuild, and they only have two top-100 prospects according to MLB Pipeline. At least there's lots of skiing.
29. Miami Marlins
Enjoy Sandy Alcantara while you can, Marlins fans. He won't be there long. Miami will certainly deal him to a contender in July, turning a team that is already the worst in the NL potentially the worst in baseball. There's nothing on the shelves. Nothing. This is a 100-loss team, and that may be the best case scenario.
30. Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox lost more games (121) last season than any team in baseball history. As a fan of a team with more losses than any other in baseball history (Phillies), that's quite an accomplishment. While Chicago almost has to be better in ‘25, the sports books have set their regular season win total at 54.5, one of the worst starting points of any team in 35 years. They no longer have Garrett Crochet, seemingly weakening them even further. Can Luis Robert, Jr. play well enough to at least allow them to trade him and get them more pieces back? That's the only thing to watch on the South Side in 2025.
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Over the last 101 seasons of Indiana men's basketball, there have only been 11 head coaches. However, with Mike Woodson announcing his departure, the Hoosiers spent months searching for their next men's basketball search and eventually landed on West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries. The latter went 19-13 in his only season at West Virginia and narrowly missed the 2025 NCAA Tournament, but he did make three March Madness appearances in six years at Drake and won two MVC Tournament championships.
Now, DeVries will be tasked with leading a program that has made the Final Four eight times and won five national championships. His first task will be building a new Indiana basketball roster from the ground up. Success in the college basketball transfer portal could be one way to making the Hoosiers relevant again. If you love the Hoosiers, or want the latest roster updates and college basketball transfer portal news, be sure to see what the proven team of insiders are saying at Peegs.com, the 247Sports affiliate that covers the Hoosiers.
Peegs.com's insiders are providing on-the-ground updates on every development surrounding Woodson's exit and the future of the Indiana basketball program, including insights from Trevor Andershock, Jared Kelly and Jeff Rabjohns, all of whom have deep-rooted ties inside the Indiana program. Get all the inside scoop on the basketball program, plus and VIP intel on Indiana football, recruiting and more, as well as access to Peegs.com's VIPs forums, where you can connect with other Indiana fans and insiders.
And right now, Peegs.com is offering 50% off annual subscriptions*, so now is the time to sign up. The team at Peegs.com already has news out on who is coming and going on the Indiana basketball roster. Head to Peegs.com now to see the latest updates.
With Woodson leaving, Indiana has five players that have entered the college basketball transfer portal but two players with remaining eligibility are yet to enter. Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako, two of Indiana's three leading scorers, have entered the transfer portal but DeVries has met with Reneau and there's at least some hope that Mgbako could return after testing his NBA draft stock. Myles Rice also entered the portal on Wednesday after one season in Bloomington where he averaged 10.1 points per game.
However, DeVries built West Virginia into an NCAA Tournament contender in just a season by working the college basketball transfer portal, with four of the top five scorers for the Mountaineers coming in as transfers (the fifth was true freshman). One name to keep an eye on is DeVries' son, Tucker DeVries, who could be eligible for a medical redshirt after playing only eight games this year before undergoing shoulder surgery. DeVries has already stated his intention to follow his father to Indiana if he gets his waiver and he's piled up 1,986 career points over three seasons at Drake and eight games with the Mountaineers. Get the latest Indiana basketball roster news at Peegs.com.
DeVries is expected to go after some big names in the transfer portal, and the Peegs.com staff has all the latest news involving incoming and outgoing transfers. You can only see the latest updates at Peegs.com.
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The Philadelphia Flyers have fired coach John Tortorella as the team sits in second-to-last place in the Eastern Conference. The team also announced associate coach Brad Shaw will take the reins as Philadelphia's interim head coach.
"Today I made the very difficult decision to move on from John as our head coach," Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said in a statement. "John played a vital role in our rebuild. He set a standard of play and re-established what it means to be a Philadelphia Flyer. ... As we move into the next chapter of this rebuild, I felt this was the best for our team to move forward."
Tortorella spent the last three seasons as the Flyers' coach and led the team to a 97-107-33 record during that span. The Flyers are currently in a rebuilding phase and are on a six-game losing streak, including losing 11 of their last 12 contests.
Most recently, the Flyers suffered a 7-2 loss at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, bringing Philadelphia's record to 28-36-9 (65 points) on the year.
Shaw has been a member of Philadelphia's coaching staff since July 2022 and previously served as an interim coach with the New York Islanders during the 2005-06, accumulating a 18-18-4 record.
Tortorella was originally hired by the Flyers during the 2022 offseason and was tasked with coaching a young Flyers team. The Flyers failed to make the playoffs in any of Tortorella's three seasons at the helm.
The Flyers have the fifth-fewest points across the NHL and likely will land a top-five pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Philadelphia owns 13 picks in the 2025 NHL Draft, including three first-round selections Briere has amassed in trades over recent seasons.
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The opening was as big as West Texas. And when a tight group of Texas Tech power brokers saw it last summer, their football and financial instincts kicked in. They ran to daylight.
Included in what turned out to be a football summit like no other was Gary Petersen, founder of EnCap Investments, Cody Campbell, a board of regents member, and his partner in Double Eagle Energy Holdings, John Sellers. Eventually, football coach Joey McGuire and his No. 2, general manager James Blanchard, were folded in. Throw in a couple of attorneys and you've got yourself the hatching of an idea to remake a world.
Or at least a world as it extended to the imaginations of these Red Raider dreamers.
"Let's break down the House [v. NCAA] settlement," Campbell said at the time. "What do we think is going to happen?"
What was going to happen was a bit of mayhem and opportunity for a football program that last won an outright conference championship 70 years ago.
What has occurred since that meeting is a study in American capitalism and Texas Tech opportunism. Beginning July 1 when the $20.5 million House v. NCAA revenue share piece could become available, schools will essentially have to justify paying players anything over $600. A fair market value component has been added to revenue sharing oversight. Those two elements themselves suggest at least some sort of cap on what players can earn.
Until then? That's what that meeting was about.
It was about how to identify the best available players in the transfer portal in the most efficient way possible. Money, it was essentially decided, was no object. "All in" was the motto.
"It speaks to our ambitions and our expectations," Campbell said. "We're not planning on being left behind."
Momentum is building in West Texas like a windstorm. McGuire's Red Raiders have won six conference games for the first time since 2008. Tech basketball is in the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in eight seasons, this time under Grant McCasland. But maybe most importantly, Patrick Mahomes is making Texas Tech a national program -- at least in terms of apparel hype -- with his overwhelming celebrity and a $5 million donation last year.
As for that meeting last year? Tech has landed the No. 3 portal class, according to 247Sports. The ambition is evident and it is bold.
"We should be the most talented team in the Big 12 this year," said Campbell, a billionaire who is head of Tech's Matador Club collective. "As I tell people, the ball is shaped funny … we may not win every game. [But] we'll be physically able to win every game."
With their recruiting, research and dollars, the Red Raiders have snagged No. 3 transfer offensive lineman, the No. 6 defensive lineman, the No. 6 tight end, the No. 7 running back as well as No. 4 kicker.
ESPN reported the cash outlay for the class at $10 million. In "each position of need," Campbell said Tech got the No. 1 player on its board.
"We went out and did it," he added. "It worked even better than I thought it would. The three of us [plus Petersen and Sellers] agreed to backstop what it took to do it."
A capital campaign has raised $400 million. Mahomes' donation went toward the new $242 million Dusty Womble Football Center in the south end zone. There have been several stadium renovations in the last eight years.
No less of an authority than Josh Pate, who just returned from a visit to the football program at Tech, spoke to the quality of the upgrades.
"Texas Tech's new facilities are on par with the best I've seen in all of college football," Pate said. "Incredible."
Enrollment is up 9%. More important to this conversation: Arizona State, picked to finish at the bottom of last year's preseason media poll, showed the world that anyone can win the Big 12. Suddenly, Texas Tech is positioned be next -- financially, athletically, even geographically to take the next step in this historic investment.
You already know Texas Tech isn't the only school going all in. Last fall, Michigan went from a conservative portal approach to reportedly spending $10 million on the nation's No. 1 recruit, flipping QB Bryce Underwood from LSU.
Ohio State famously spent $20 million on last year's roster. When it won the national championship, that was a proof of concept like no other. But it was also before the reality of July 1 had set in.
Deals struck now with players will be grandfathered to their conclusion without being impacted by that $20.5 million cap, the clearinghouse or fair market value scrutiny.
"We set it up to where there was no funny business," Campbell said. "There was complete transparency on what they were going to be paid. There were documents. Our attorneys helped us develop those."
Before anything related to July 1 hits, we still live in a capitalistic world where you're worth what someone will pay you. You think $10 million is too much for a transfer class? Bill Belichick is making $10 million per year himself at North Carolina having never coached a snap in college football. Yeah, yeah, yeah ... the Super Bowls. But Tech's gambit at least focuses on the players as the foundation.
"8-5 is not the same as a national championship, but you see the progress and progression," Texas Tech president Lawrence Schovanec said. "Now you're seeing the impact of that investment. The winning will come. The coaches know it must."
McCasland is among those coaches. He is the second Red Raiders coach since Chris Beard took the Red Raiders to the 2019 Final Four, and he is armed with his own band of transfers. Forwards Darrion Williams and JT Toppin are both former Mountain West Freshmen of the Year. Super senior guard Kerwin Walton came from North Carolina.
"When you come from a blueblood, you don't expect the fans base to be any better," Walton said. "When it comes to Texas Tech, it's just as good, if not better."
Williams and teammate Chance McMillian are going home to San Francisco for Thursday night's Sweet 16 game against Arkansas. Williams grew up in nearby Vallejo, California, while McMillian grew up 90 miles away in Sacramento.
The pair spent Christmas watching the Warriors host the Lakers at the Chase Center. Williams with his Lebron James jersey and McMillian with his Steph Curry jersey.
"I think it's a culture around us and football," Williams said. "You can throw as much money around was you want around, but it doesn't mean you're going to go win games. In here, we don't talk about money. We just want to go win."
When McCasland arrived in 2023 from North Texas, the Tech roster was in limbo. Previous coach Mark Adams was suspended March 6 of that year for making racially sensitive remarks. He resigned three days later. North Texas, with McCasland, didn't end the season until winning the NIT on March 30.
"Those guys wanted to stay," the coach said of the remaining Red Raiders. "To have that long, to have that many people that can mess with you, to have that much time to get options. They wanted to figure out how they can stay."
"There is a real love and passion that our guys feel. I think that's unique in Texas for basketball. Everybody loves football. But to be in a place that loves basketball in Texas …"
It shows. Until Texas recently opened the Moody Center, Tech's United Supermarkets Arena (15,300) was the largest college basketball arena in the Lone Star State. If Tech continues to win, it won't be an offshoot of "all in" -- it will be yet another example.
"God forbid we get to San Antonio," Dusty Womble said of a possible Final Four. "I'm not sure the River Walk is prepared for what might happen there."
Womble is another pillar in this effort. Another regent member, Womble started Interactive Computer Designs while still a Tech student in 1980. In 1998, he sold the company to Tyler Technologies. Tyler grew to a market cap of $9 billion with more than 5,000 employees.
Consider him one of the faces that is going to now lead college sports into the future.
"From Ohio State to Texas to Texas A&M to us to SMU, all the [schools] are looking at each other saying, 'This doesn't work,'" Womble said. "There's a better way to do it that takes care of the athletes, that takes care of Title IX issue. We need some leadership out there. I don't think the conference commissioners are currently charged with figuring that out."
There were indications Tech was doing something right. Notre Dame came hard after Blanchard, considered one of the best GMs in the game. He stayed with his contract being bumped up to $1.5 million per year.
Former Red Raiders coach Mike Leach's approach to coaching football left bread crumbs for the current administration to sharpen Texas Tech's aim in this financial endeavor.
"His ability to say, 'We don't have better athletes than you have, we can have a better scheme than you have. We're going to change the way the game is played," Womble summed up. "Not many coaches can go back and say, 'We changed the way the game was played.'"
Texas Tech's modern-day initiative is similar, along with a little bit of German. That's one of the marketing schemes that came to the mind of Matt Dewey. Texas Tech's head of marketing and communications had been at his current position for six months in 2020 when he noticed a Kansas City Chiefs promotional film of Patrick Mahomes.
"They kind of skipped Texas Tech," Dewey recalled.
That gave him an idea. Using Mahomes as a fulcrum, why not forge a partnership between the school, the quarterback and the Chiefs? Today, you'll see the Texas Tech logo on the Chiefs' main scoreboard. There is Tech advertising on the ribbon scoreboards. A social media post sent at kickoff of each Chiefs game features Mahomes and Texas Tech.
It helps that Tech regent Michael Lewis lives near Chiefs owner Clark Hunt in Dallas. The partnership is so tight now that Texas Tech instructors from the school's language department helped teach a crash course in German to Chiefs staff and administration before the team played in Frankfurt in 2023.
The school's $1 million investment in the Chiefs advertising is recouped by the 30-40 Kansas City area students who now paid out-of-state tuition to attend Tech, according to Schovanec.
"The return on investment is worth it," he said.
How can it not be? Mahomes is invested in his alma mater unlike no other Power Five athlete since perhaps Michael Jordan at North Carolina.
The quarterback's 10-year contract with Adidas features an official shoe, uniform and other apparel branded with the Mahomes "Gladiator" logo.
After sinking a 94-foot putt in a halftime promotion at a Tech basketball game, senior Blake Porter got another surprise. Mahomes announced he would cover Porter's tuition next fall.
"When there is even a rumor he is going to be back in town for a game, people start to go crazy" Dewey said. "I've never been around anything quite like it."
Part of how Tech got to this moment is buried deep in the ground. Lubbock is located just north of the Permian Basin, the highest-producing oil field in the world.
"It is the driving factor behind our ability to raise money," Campbell said.
College athletics in the state of Texas and oil have been linked forever. Texas A&M used an uptick in the oil market and the momentum created by Johnny Manziel's Heisman in 2012 to pour $500 million into the renovation of Kyle Field. After years of mediocrity, Texas is finally repositioning itself as a college football power. TCU played for a national championship two years ago.
Houston infused its athletics with enough money that it was attractive when the Big 12 expanded. Since 2015, the Cougars have been to a New Year's Six bowl and is playing in its sixth straight Sweet 16.
No surprise, then, that Tech is not shy about its current ambitions.
"We're resetting college athletics … We really are in a transformational time. This is a unique opportunity for us," Dewey said. "To not take advantage would be a big miss."
"Not everybody knows where Lubbock is on a map," he added. "They know who Patrick Mahomes is."
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The Dallas Cowboys teased the idea of accountability regarding their typical dismissive approach toward free agency this year.
At new head coach Brian Schottenheimer's introductory press conference, Cowboys EVP and COO Stephen Jones said the front office was "going to take a long hard look at how we've looked at free agency. And if we need to change some things there, we will."
To owner Jerry Jones' and his son Stephen Jones' credit, they did become more active than a year ago when they spent an NFL-low $20.47 million in free agency, per OverTheCap.com. They signed a number of veteran free agents, many of whom were former first- or second-round picks. However, many of the acquisitions could be labeled more as quantity moves instead of quality moves.
Dallas needed running backs, linebackers, cornerbacks, wide receivers and edge rushers following the departures of cornerback Jourdan Lewis (three-year, $30 million deal with $20 million guaranteed with the Jacksonville Jaguars), running back Rico Dowdle (one-year deal worth up to $6.25 million with the Carolina Panthers) and edge rusher Chauncey Golston (three-year, $19.5 million deal) all left the Cowboys. The highlight of their external free agency moves was signing edge rusher Dante Fowler, who played for the Cowboys in 2023, after leading the Commanders with 10.5 sacks last season.
Signed
Traded for
Retained
Those moves were mainly backfilling their depth chart, thus still leaving holes at their No. 2 wide receiver spot opposite All-Pro CeeDee Lamb, starting running back spot, plus No. 2 cornerback and nickel cornerback spots to name a few.
So what could the Cowboys do with the 12th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft next month? Let's take a look at five potential choices, including a trade down.
The Arizona Wildcats All-American is arguably the top wide receiver prospect in this class, depending on what your take is on 2024 Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter's future NFL position. McMillan is absolutely massive, standing at 6-foot-4 while weighing 219 pounds. He would be an outstanding complement to Lamb as an elite jump-ball receiver downfield.
All McMillan did in college was ball out: He led college football in receiving yards (3,423, an Arizona program record) and catches of 20 or more air yards (35) during his three-year Arizona career. This pick could extend the primes of both Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott.
Receptions
213
5th
Receptions of 20+ air yards
35
1st
Receiving yards
3,423*
1st
Receiving TD
26
T-3rd
* Arizona program record
Should McMillan not be on the board at pick No. 12, Texas Longhorns wide receiver Matthew Golden could be a nice consolation prize. He led the a Texas squad that reached the College Football Playoff's final four in both receiving yards (987) and receiving touchdowns (nine), the latter of which co-led the entire SEC in 2024.
Golden heavily boosted his stock at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine where he ran 4.29-second 40-yard dash, the fastest of all wide receivers. He's also shown he's a clutch performer in the big moments, catching eight passes for 162 yards receiving in the SEC Championship game vs. Georgia and totaling seven catches for 149 yards receiving and one touchdown in the Longhorns' double-overtime Peach Bowl victory vs. Arizona State in the CFP. Golden has top-tier agility, being able to start and stop on a dime, and he makes big plays in big games. Sounds like a nice WR2 to work in Schottenheimer's offense alongside Prescott and Lamb.
All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs will likely miss the start of the 2025 season after suffering a season-ending knee injury in December of the 2024 season, one that required a surgical procedure. Do-it-all veteran corner Jourdan Lewis is a Jacksonville Jaguar as mentioned above. All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland, the 2023 NFL interceptions leader, is the only experienced starting cornerback standing in Dallas.
Michigan Wolverines cornerback Will Johnson, who only allowed two touchdowns while hauling in nine interceptions in three seasons, is the 2025 draft's top cornerback prospect, depending on what you perceive Travis Hunter's future NFL position to be. Johnson's 31.0 passer rating allowed since 2022 is the second best in the nation, minimum 100 targets, per CBS Sports Research, and he's the only Big Ten player with multiple interceptions in each of the last three seasons. At his size, 6-2 and weighing 194 pounds, Johnson could easily be starting outside corner for a long time. He could also be Dallas' eventual Diggs replacement while forming a tandem with Bland for years to come.
Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka might have the most polished route tree of any wide receiver prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft class. The Buckeyes' all-time leader in catches (205) also has dependable hands, and he certainly won't be a diva about being the No. 2 wide receiver to Lamb.
He wasn't the top wide receiver at any point as Ohio State as a former teammate of the following NFL first-round picks: Garrett Wilson (10th overall to the New York Jets in the 2022 NFL Draft), Chris Olave (11th overall pick to the New Orleans Saints in the 2022 NFL Draft), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (20th overall pick to the Seattle Seahawks in the 2023 NFL Draft) and Marvin Harrison Jr. (fourth overall pick to the Arizona Cardinals in the 2024 NFL Draft). During Ohio State's national championship run this past season, Egbuka was the No. 2 to future first-round pick wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, a freshman.
Yes, Egbuka does much of his work from the slot, where Lamb has thrived of late, but the Cowboys WR1 is versatile enough to ball out on the outside while Egbuka works primarily over the middle of the field. Lamb, of course, can still also line up in the slot as Egbuka grows in his ability to work from the outside as well.
Should all four of the aforementioned players be off the board by the time the Cowboys are on the clock, Dallas might as well trade down and stockpile picks for Day 2 and 3 of the draft. Then when the Cowboys do come on the clock in the first round, just pick the highest-graded prospect on their draft board, regardless of position need.
Many people believe after the first 10 or so picks, the rest of the 2025 first-round players will have very similar grades -- making it not much of a difference whether a team is picking in the top 15 or near the end of the first round. The last two Cowboys first-round picks, defensive tackle Mazi Smith (26th overall in 2023) and offensive tackle Tyler Guyton (29th overall in 2024), were certainly needs-based selections.
Smith hasn't helped much, underwhelming two through seasons while Dallas still struggles against the run, and Guyton had a rough first season as a rookie in 2024. Dallas converted him from right tackle, where he played almost exclusively at the University of Oklahoma, to left tackle because of Tyron Smith's free agency departure for the New York Jets. Guyton's transition to left tackle was the opposite of seamless: he was called for 14 penalties in 2024, tied for the second-most in the league behind only new Washington Commanders offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil's 17, who suited up for the Houston Texans last season.
In this scenario, Dallas needs to just pick the best option on the draft board if a trade down is executed, regardless of position.
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Even when the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers were crushing everyone midway through the season, it was nearly impossible to supplant the Boston Celtics as the championship favorites. Eventually the Thunder did, but recently the Celtics have made people wonder if sportsbooks had it right all along.
Winners of 12 of 13 games, the Celtics are doing, basically, what we all expected. They didn't overexert themselves for most of the season, making sure players got rest when they needed to, and now -- with a little over two weeks left before the playoffs -- they're hitting another level. It's not enough to pass OKC and Cleveland in this week's NBA Power Rankings, but Boston is certainly putting the league on notice.
Not quite making as much noise but performing similarly well are the Los Angeles Clippers and Indiana Pacers, as both have put together tremendous stretches of basketball to improve their playoff standing. As a result, both enter the top 10 in this week's Power Rankings behind strong play from their stars: Kawhi Leonard and James Harden for the Clippers, Tyrese Haliburton for the Pacers.
And we can't mention superstars without talking about Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, who have finally turned around the Phoenix Suns (at least for now), as they avoid being on the outside looking in at the Play-In Tournament field.
Races in both conferences are going to be heated as the postseason rapidly approaches, so here's a look at the latest NBA Power Rankings as we watch things unfold.
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There are zero more days until Opening Day. We're here. All the planning, the ranking, the arguing, and the drafting, it has all been leading to this.
Of course, it hasn't really been leading to this. Because this is just the start of it. We've got six months of baseball before we know if all that planning, ranking, arguing, and drafting was leading to a championship or just another long, cold, lonely offseason as a loser.
But it all starts today, and while we won't be able to make any definitive statements about what we were right or wrong about based on one day, there's still plenty to look out for. So, before we get to our bold predictions and official picks for the 2025 MLB season, here's a brief list of 10 questions I'll be looking for answers to on Opening Day and in the first series of the season:
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The content on this site is for entertainment purposes only and CBS Sports makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information given or the outcome of any game or event. There is no gambling offered on this site. This site contains commercial content and CBS Sports may be compensated for the links provided on this site.
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Stanford legend Andrew Luck is once again at the center of the program he helped elevate more than a decade ago. This time, it's not as a quarterback — but as the general manager, where he's now leading a new era for Cardinal football.
On Tuesday, Luck made his most consequential move yet, firing head coach Troy Taylor. The decision, which he made in concert with University leadership but ultimately was his, came just days after ESPN reported Taylor was under investigation for employee abuse — a probe that had not been publicly known prior to the story's publication.
The news of the investigation caught much of the staff off guard. But it was Luck's swift action to remove Taylor — particularly while the staff was away from the office while Stanford was on spring break — that truly blindsided many, sources close to the program told CBS Sports. The staff, many of them new, had been preparing for spring football.
Stanford's org chart was already the only one in college football that had the coach reporting to the general manager. Now Stanford finds itself in further uncharted territory.
There is no interim head coach named. Spring football was about to begin. Several assistants had just relocated to Palo Alto this offseason, anticipating Taylor's third year at the helm. They now report directly to the 35-year-old Luck, who's mostly on his own in hiring a new coach as his boss, athletics director Bernard Muir, is retiring at the end of the semester. Conversations with multiple sources in and around the Stanford football program paint a true choose-your-own-adventure path for Luck in the next few weeks.
All eyes are on Luck, who is reportedly taking full control of the next steps. The most immediate question: Will Stanford promote from within on an interim basis or pursue a longer-term hire?
Among internal candidates, safeties coach Bob Gregory has interim experience — he led Washington in 2021 after Jimmy Lake was fired midseason. Co-defensive coordinator Andy Thompson also has head coaching experience, having succeeded Taylor at Sacramento State before rejoining him at Stanford.
Given the timing — post-spring break, with the transfer portal window approaching in April — a one-year interim coach could make sense, mirroring the path Northwestern took in 2023 when David Braun was elevated after Pat Fitzgerald's dismissal and eventually earned the full-time role, or even going out of house, like when Baylor put Jim Grobe in charge of a toxic program after scrubbing away the Art Briles era before hiring Matt Rhule at the end of the season.
But Luck could also opt to begin a full national search immediately. Sources say Stanford has entertained the idea of enlisting a search firm to do so. If that's the route, does Stanford make a hire this spring, or wait until the end of the 2025 season, when more sitting head coaches might be available without having to leave their programs mid-year?
There is precedent for a spring hiring. Kansas landed Lance Leipold from Buffalo in April 2021 under similar circumstances. But Stanford's job is uniquely challenging in the modern landscape: strict academic standards, limited NIL infrastructure, and now a cross-country reality in the ACC. It is not nearly as desirable as when David Shaw stepped down at the end of the 2022 campaign, though names on an early Stanford coaching hot board include potential home-run types like Boise State's Spencer Danielson and Tulane's Jon Sumrall.
Though Stanford's academic reputation has traditionally helped retain players, the coaching change opens the door for potential attrition — especially among top talent. Star defensive lineman David Bailey, a coveted portal target in past cycles, has stayed loyal so far and not for a lack of interest. Tons of schools have hoped the last couple offseasons Bailey would enter. He never strayed, but with graduation on the horizon, this could be the moment that pushes him toward a transfer.
Stanford's 2026 recruiting class could take a hit. In-state prospects like linebacker Chase Cahoon and receiver Langdon Horace committed with Taylor at the helm, and linebacker Wassie Lugolobi recently flipped from Washington for Stanford's academic appeal. Their status will be worth monitoring.
Stanford hasn't reached a bowl game since 2018. After a decade of success under Jim Harbaugh and Shaw, the program has struggled to find its footing in the modern era of college football. Having to fire a coach in March only raises more questions and creates a rockier landscape for the Cardinal. Luck has made Stanford matter before, and he's going to have to do it again.
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Since the ratings for "Quite Frankly With Stephen A. Smith" — currently lighting it up with a 0.1 rating — have been so bad, and now that head overlord Mark Shapiro is leaving, people are wondering if Smith's show is still safe without Shapiro's protective cover. We're still confused about how Smi...
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At this point in Nikola Jokic's career, it's hard for him to generate much excitement with one singular play, so when the internet started buzzing over the no-look pass he threw in the third quarter of the Denver Nuggets' 127-117 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, you knew it had to be special.
And was it ever.
Shortly after halftime, Jokić was operating at the top of the key against Kyle Kuzma and started to drive to the basket. As Jokić hit the elbow, all five Bucks defenders were staring at him, which allowed Aaron Gordon to sneak free along the baseline. Jokić spotted him and flipped a no-look pass right past a clueless Brook Lopez's head that led to an easy dunk.
HOW DOES NIKOLA DO THAT???? pic.twitter.com/93ytKNVHLU
As impressive as the pass looked from the main camera, the baseline view is even better.
This Jokic angle is WILD pic.twitter.com/ALSHxrBcxw
Jokić had missed the Nuggets' last five games with an ankle injury -- his longest stretch on the sidelines since 2017 -- but did not miss a beat in his return. He shot 16 of 25 from the field en route to a monster triple-double: 39 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. All told, he either scored or assisted on 61 of the Nuggets' 127 points en route to his 30th triple-double of the season.
Only three other players in NBA history have had 30 triple-doubles in a season. Russell Westbrook, Jokić's Denver teammate, has done it three times. The others are Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain.
The Nuggets had gone 2-3 with Jokić out and were certainly glad to have him back. Perhaps no player in the league is more responsible for his team's success than the three-time MVP. Denver has a plus-10 net rating with Jokić on the court this season and a minus-8.6 net rating when he is not out there.
"I'm feeling good, you know, I didn't play for a long time," Jokić said. "But I'm feeling good now and I'm just happy we won the game."
Thanks to Wednesday's win, the Nuggets improved to 46-28, and stayed on track for their third consecutive 50-win season -- something they have only done three times in franchise history.
The Nuggets are all alone in third place in the Western Conference for the time being, but that could change quickly. With a few weeks to play they are 1.5 games behind the Houston Rockets for second, and one game up on both the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies, who occupy fourth and fifth, respectively.
Now that Jokić is back in action, the Nuggets will feel much better about their chances of securing a top-four seed and earning homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
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NOTE: This story mentions suicidal ideation.
The Duke vs. North Carolina rivalry is arguably the best in college sports. Two shades of blue dominate the college hoops hotbed that is the state of North Carolina, and their men's basketball teams have battled it out every year since 1920.
One-hundred and five years later, the Blue Devils and the Tar Heels feature prominently in the third season of HBO's hit show "The White Lotus" via two of the main characters. Timothy Ratliff (played by Jason Isaacs) went to Duke, and his wife, Victoria Ratliff (Parker Posey), is a North Carolina alumna. [Spoiler alert: The next paragraph includes a description of content from multiple episodes.]
However, Duke is none too happy with its inclusion due to some specific scenes involving Timothy, according to a report from Bloomberg. In the fifth and sixth episodes, Timothy, donning a Duke shirt, contemplates suicide and murder-suicide and even holds a gun to his head.
"The White Lotus not only uses our brand without permission, but in our view uses it on imagery that is troubling, does not reflect our values or who we are, and simply goes too far," Frank Tramble, Duke's vice president for communications, marketing and public affairs, said as part of a statement. "Suicide is the second-leading cause of death on college campuses. As imagery from the show is being shared widely across social media, we are using our brand to promote mental health awareness and remind people that help is available."
Still images from the scene have emerged across social media recently as the Blue Devils men's and women's teams are in the NCAA Tournament. In Sweet 16 action, the men, a No. 1 seed, face (4) Arizona on Thursday night, and the women, a No. 2 seed, coincidentally face (3) North Carolina on Friday.
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LeBron James entered the fourth quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers' road game against the Indiana Pacers without a made field goal. It was the first time in his career that he had played the first three quarters of a game and failed to make a shot, and he was in danger of going make-less for the first time since Dec. 29, 2004, when he left a game early with an injury after going 0 of 5 from the field.
Forty-nine seconds into the final frame, James made sure that wouldn't happen as he got on the board with a layup. And that was only the start of a memorable fourth quarter for James, who saved his best for last.
Just before the final buzzer sounded at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, James tipped in a Luka Doncic miss to give the Lakers a dramatic and much-needed 120-119 win to snap a three-game losing streak.
"Certainly there was a level of frustration from starting 0 of 6 or whatever it was," Lakers coach JJ Redick said. "But never have I questioned that guy's commitment to winning."
After getting a key defensive stop with the Pacers leading 119-118 with 10 seconds to play, the Lakers decided not to call a timeout and rushed the ball up the floor. James had it in the corner and could have forced up a shot, but saw a double team coming and kicked it out to Doncic, who drove and got a great look. His floater rolled off the rim, but did so softly enough that James was able to tip it back in just before time expired.
🚨 LEBRON FOR THE WIN 🚨@KingJames tips in the #TissotBuzzerBeater!#YourTimeDefinesYourGreatness pic.twitter.com/OBpFFuaAPy
"To be honest I don't know how it felt because I was trying to look at the jumbotron to see if I got it off," James said in his postgame interview with ESPN.
James, whose historic double-digit scoring streak appeared to be in jeopardy entering the fourth quarter, finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. He shot just 4 of 12 from the field, but was 4 of 6 in the fourth quarter to help ensure that the Lakers did not blow a 17-point lead.
Thanks to his big fourth quarter, James has now scored in double figures in 1,283 consecutive games, which is 417 more than Michael Jordan, who is in second place on that list. (This streak only counts regular season games. James infamously scored eight points in the Miami Heat's Game 4 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals.)
Speaking of Jordan, he is now the only player with more career buzzer beaters than James, who registered his eighth on Wednesday. Three of them have come against the Pacers.
Coincidentally, James had discussed his relationship with Jordan earlier on Wednesday during an interview with Pat McAfee, and said the two are "in a good spot," but don't talk because he's still playing.
"MJ, we all know MJ. Even if you don't know him personally, he's one of the most ruthless competitors there is," James said. "Until I'm done and he doesn't have to look at me run up and down wearing the number 23 and every time my name is mentioned, it's mentioned with his, he's like, 'I don't want to f---ing talk to you.'"
The win over the Pacers was James' third game back from a groin sprain that kept him on the sideline for two weeks and was the start of a downward spiral for the Lakers. Entering Wednesday, the Lakers had lost seven of their last 10 games to fall from second place in the Western Conference to fifth.
Beating the Pacers pushed them back up to fourth in a crowded middle of the pack. At 44-28, they are 2.5 games behind the second-place Houston Rockets and three games ahead of the seventh-place Golden State Warriors in the race for a guaranteed playoff spot. There are only a few weeks remaining in the regular season, but a lot can still change for the Lakers in terms of seeding and first-round matchups.
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SAN FRANCISCO -- On the eve of the most consequential Maryland basketball game in nearly a decade, coach Kevin Willard spent part of it side stepping questions about the widespread rumors regarding his candidacy for the vacant coaching position at Villanova.
The last two weeks have been a whirlwind for the Maryland athletic department. SMU poached Maryland athletic director Damon Evans away from the school to serve in the same role. Willard went on a postgame rant following his team's 81-49 first-round win over Grand Canyon about his frustration with the administration over NIL funds.
When asked about the state of Maryland's athletic department, believed to be one of the key factors on why he would lave for Villanova, Willard's answer was about stopping Florida All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr. and previewing Thursday's Sweet 16 matchup against the Gators, the No. 1 seed in the West Region. Those comments came just over 24 hours after he said in a radio appearance with "The Team 980" that he's staying at Maryland "as of now."
Willard's demeanor comes amid the chaos that comes with being two wins away from the Final Four, but that pressure didn't appear to phase his players. The scene inside Maryland's locker room down the hall from the Golden State Warriors practice facility was full of joy, laughter and players smiling ear-to-ear — a stark contrast to Willard's mood at his press conference.
Maryland star Derik Queen cracked jokes about how fellow frontcourt teammate Julian Reese always takes "his rebounds" and was open about his close relationship with Willard and the situation unfolding in front of his teammates.
"First, he wants to win," Queen told CBS Sports when asked about the rumors. "Whatever happens after the season, happens. ... Maryland had some difficulties within the last three or four years that coach (Willard) has changed. Now I feel like everybody is going to want to come here. After this year, we are going to be back on our feet and winning and stuff."
Queen, the second-highest-rated signee in program history in the modern recruiting era by 247Sports, is days removed from hitting a shot that will go down in NCAA Tournament history. Queen's fadeaway bucket at the buzzer in a 72-71 victory vs. Colorado State put Maryland in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2016.
Queen and Reese are the only duo in Division l basketball averaging at least nine rebounds per game. They're the first duo of Big Ten teammates with at least 400 points and 300 rebounds each since Dick and Tom Van Arsdale accomplished the feat at Indiana in the early 1960s.
Reese, the brother of WNBA star Angel Reese, has been the team's unquestioned leader throughout the season. Reese has been around for the entirety of the Willard era as a three-year starter. That includes a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2023, a 16-17 record season last year and 27 wins in counting during the 2024-25 campaign.
Reese was recruited out of high school by former Maryland coach Mark Turgeon in 2021 but stayed loyal to the program when Willard arrived. Instead of entering the transfer portal after missing the NCAA Tournament in 2024, Reese returned and helped lead Maryland to its best season in nearly a decade.
"He's a real guy," Reese said when asked why people might gravitate toward Willard. "He's not going to really lie to you. Great coach. (He) let's players play freely and doesn't really put a lot of pressure on players. Great at player development."
Reese could've left the program when things got difficult but stayed. Queen had options on where to play his first and likely only college season before declaring for the NBA Draft this summer.
He chose Willard and Maryland.
"Love coach Willard," Queen said. "That's my guy. Glad I came here."
The question now becomes, will Willard choose to return to Maryland? And the only person who knows the answer to that question wasn't talking about that subject Thursday.
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The content on this site is for entertainment purposes only and CBS Sports makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information given or the outcome of any game or event. There is no gambling offered on this site. This site contains commercial content and CBS Sports may be compensated for the links provided on this site.
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Novak Djokovic has won the title in Miami seven times
Novak Djokovic overcame American Sebastian Korda in their rescheduled match to reach the semi-finals of the Miami Open.
The world number five rallied in the second set from a break down to close out a 6-3 7-6 (7-4) victory.
The 37-year-old is the oldest player to reach the last four of an ATP Masters 1,000 event and is going for a seventh title in Miami.
The match was due to be played on Wednesday but was postponed to Thursday at short notice after Emma Raducanu's quarter-final match did not finish until after 23:00, past the ATP's cut-off point.
"You wait an entire day and if it's for the rain I guess you accept it, but this was scheduled and then the matches and everything just extended so much," Djokovic told Sky Sports.
"The match was postponed for today and it wasn't too early so it was OK to get some sleep. I didn't go to bed until 2.30am so it disrupts your body rhythm - so I'm just happy to come through."
Djokovic will face Bulgarian 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the semi-finals on Friday as he continues his pursuit of a 100th ATP title.
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It is a first semi-final appearance for Djokovic at this tournament since 2016 and, with Carlos Alcaraz, Jack Draper and Daniil Medvedev among a host of top-10 seeds already out, the draw has opened up for the Serb to add another Miami title.
Djokovic efficiently took the opening set on Thursday, breaking his opponent's serve in the eighth game.
But the 24-time Grand Slam champion had to dig deep in the second, with some impressive serving allowing him to recover from 5-2 down to force a tie-break and clinch the win.
"Best serving performance for me so far," Djokovic said. "I was quite nervous because you never know what comes from Korda - he's so aggressive and talented.
"I was on my back foot, waiting for his error rather than dictating from the back of the court. When I needed a first serve I got it but a tense match and great performance."
Earlier on Thursday, unseeded Czech Jakub Mensik beat 17th seed Arthur Fils 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 to book a semi-final against either Italian 29th seed Matteo Berrettini or American Taylor Fritz.
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Former Barcelona and Manchester United centre-back Gerard Pique is the founder and president of Kosmos
The International Tennis Federation has settled its dispute with Gerard Pique's investment company after their multi-billion dollar deal to organise the Davis Cup ended abruptly in 2023.
Kosmos, founded by the former Barcelona defender, and the ITF announced a 25-year, $3bn (£2.25bn) partnership in 2018 in a bid to revamp the men's national team tournament.
The ITF said at the time of the deal that it would safeguard the historic Davis Cup and provide an extra $25m a year for the global development of the sport.
The partnership with the 2010 World Cup winner's company also saw the format of the 123-year-old tournament change to an end-of-season 'World Cup-style' event, a change that proved controversial among players.
But the partnership was terminated in 2023 when Kosmos sought to renegotiate the deal, with the ITF saying it had "ensured financial contingencies are in place" for the competition which began in 1900.
Kosmos then filed a lawsuit at the Court of Arbitration for Sport accusing the ITF of an 'unjustified termination' of the contract and claiming damages.
However, resolution has been achieved, with the ITF stating: "Kosmos and the ITF have reached an amicable resolution regarding their previous contractual disagreements related to the organisation of the Davis Cup.
"Both organisations wish each other success in their future projects."
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Her Miami Open hopes may be over, but Danielle Collins leaves Florida this week with a friend for life.
Collins, the world number 15, was beaten by Aryna Sabalenka on Monday as the American's hopes of retaining her Miami Open title came to an end.
But the 31-year-old's mind may have been elsewhere after she found an injured dog two days earlier on her way out of the Hard Rock Stadium.
Collins found the dog curled up in the middle of the road after it had been hit by a car and took him to a nearby veterinary hospital.
The former world number seven, who asked fans to pray for the dog, has now revealed that she has adopted him and named him Crash.
"Crash is recovering and finally out of the hospital after five days on oxygen support," Collins said on Instagram.
"His breathing is back to normal, his wounds are healing, and he's definitely enjoying all the love he's receiving. He's curious, affectionate and grateful for a second chance at life.
"It was so incredibly painful to witness a dog in so much pain after being hit by a car and left in the middle of the road with so many people driving by his curled up body.
"I'm just grateful I was able to be there and get him the care he needed.
"I've officially adopted him. Once he finishes recovering he'll be attending school."
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Danielle Collins found the injured dog on Saturday night
Her Miami Open hopes may be over, but Danielle Collins leaves Florida this week with a friend for life.
Collins, the world number 15, was beaten by Aryna Sabalenka on Monday as the American's hopes of retaining her Miami Open title came to an end.
But the 31-year-old's mind may have been elsewhere after she found an injured dog two days earlier on her way out of the Hard Rock Stadium.
Collins found the dog curled up in the middle of the road after it had been hit by a car and took him to a nearby veterinary hospital.
The former world number seven, who asked fans to pray for the dog, has now revealed that she has adopted him and named him Crash.
"Crash is recovering and finally out of the hospital after five days on oxygen support," Collins said on Instagram.
"His breathing is back to normal, his wounds are healing, and he's definitely enjoying all the love he's receiving. He's curious, affectionate and grateful for a second chance at life.
"It was so incredibly painful to witness a dog in so much pain after being hit by a car and left in the middle of the road with so many people driving by his curled up body.
"I'm just grateful I was able to be there and get him the care he needed.
"I've officially adopted him. Once he finishes recovering he'll be attending school."
Live scores, results and order of play
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Get ready to celebrate country music with the 60th Academy of Country Music Awards on Thursday, May 8.
The 2025 ACM Awards, hosted for the 19th year in a row by Reba McEntire, will stream live via Prime Video from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
On Monday, March 24, the ACM Awards announced their first set of performers which include Blake Shelton, Eric Church and Lainey Wilson.
Last year, Wilson, who just released her fifth studio album Whirlwind in August 2024, won ACM's top honor of the night, Entertainer of the Year.
“I've been in Nashville for 13 years doing this,” Wilson, 32, shared in her acceptance speech in May 2024. “Everybody in this category has loved on me and believed on me. And I love y'all for that.”
Wilson also took home the awards for Female Artist of the Year and Music Event of the Year for her performance of “Save Me” with Jelly Roll.
Keep scrolling to learn more about the 2025 ACM Awards:
The 2025 ACM Awards will take place on Thursday, May 8, at 8 p.m. ET. It will stream live on Prime Video.
The 2025 ACM Awards will be held at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
McEntire, who has won 16 ACM Awards overall, will be hosting the event for the 19th year in a row.
“Hosting the ACM Awards grounds me by reminding me of how competitive country music (remains) but also acts like a family reunion where I can see my buddies and meet (my metaphorical) relatives and the babies that have been born since the last time the family got together,” she told The Tennessean in a May 2024 interview.
On March 24, the ACM announced the first round of performers for their 60th award ceremony which includes Shelton, Church and Wilson. They shared that more performers and presenters would be revealed in the coming weeks.
Nominations for the awards show were announced on March 27, with Ella Langley leads the pack with eight nods. Cody Johnson, Morgan Wallen and Lainey Wilson follow close behind with seven nominations. Riley Green and Post Malone are also among some of the most highly-recognized artists.
Beyoncé, meanwhile, was passed over for any of this year's categories despite her Cowboy Carter record winning Album of the Year at the Grammys in February.
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Academy of Country Music Awards CEO Damon Whiteside addressed the snub in a statement on March 27, telling Billboard, “Were we hoping she'd be nominated? Absolutely. We love that Beyoncé is in the country genre. That's fantastic for all the country artists out there. It's fantastic for the fans. The more successful she is, the more we're bringing more mainstream people into the genre which we want.”
He speculated that the “Texas Hold ‘Em” artist wasn't nominated because “I think, more likely, they're going to be voting for artists that they've got relationships with and work with on a regular basis and that are in the country music business 365.”
Despite not being recognized this year, Whiteside claimed that the ACM would “love” to have Beyoncé come join them. “She has an open invitation to be on the ACM stage anytime she ever wants to,” he stated.
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Eva Longoria is stepping out for the premiere of her new movie!
The 50-year-old actress looked pretty in a strapless olive-green dress at the premiere of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip on Wednesday (March 26) in Los Angeles.
Fellow cast members in attendance included Thom Nemer, Jesse Garcia, Rose Portillo, Paulina Chavez, Cristo Fernández, Harvey Guillén, and Cheech Marin along with director Marvin Lemus.
Here's a synopsis: Alexander Garcia has always believed he has the worst luck in the world, so when his mom Val (Longoria) devises a plan to bring her seemingly disconnected family on a fancy vacation to Mexico City aboard a luxury RV as part of her travel writing job, he is sure it will end in disaster. Despite his fears, the family – including dad Frank (Garcia), teen sister Mia, Grandma Lidia, and Grandpa Gil – set out, only to find absolutely everything is going terribly wrong. When the family discovers an ancient, cursed idol may be to blame, they must work together to return it to where it belongs.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip will be available for streaming on Disney+ starting on Friday, March 28. Watch the trailer here!
FYI: Eva is wearing a Marmar Halim dress.
Click through the gallery for 30+ pictures of the stars at the premiere...
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The sudden death of 14-year-old Miller Gardner in Costa Rica should not impact potential travelers from visiting the country, says the nation's Chamber of Tourism.
Miller, the son of former Yankees star Brett Gardner, died while vacationing with his family in the tourist region of Manuel Antonio on Friday, March 21.
“We express our deepest sympathy to the family of the young man who passed away,” Shirley Calvo, executive director of Costa Rica's National Chamber of Tourism, said in a statement to Us Weekly on Thursday, March 27. “We are truly saddened by this situation.”
The statement continued, “So far, no cancellations or impacts on tourism activity have been reported as a result of this unfortunate event. While various speculations have circulated regarding the possible causes of death, we believe this is an isolated and uncommon case in our country.”
Costa Rica has “established itself as a tourist destination known for the quality and safety of its offerings,” the Chamber of Tourism said, and vowed, “it is wise to wait for the official results of the investigation before making further assessments.”
“In the meantime, we call on the sector to reinforce controls and best practices at all levels of interaction with tourists, with the clear goal of continuing to provide safe, trustworthy, and satisfying experiences to those who choose us as a destination,” the statement concluded.
The Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels also issued a statement to Us Weekly on Thursday, saying the organization “deeply regrets the situation that occurred.”
“At the same time, since we still do not have the biopsy results that will indicate the cause of this young man's death, we cannot give a direct opinion on what led to the situation or why it happened in the area,” said Flora Ayub, the group's executive director. “However, we once again emphasize that we deeply regret this and express our solidarity with the family.”
Miller and his family were staying at the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort when they all became severely ill on the evening of Thursday, March 20. The Gardner family were all given medication by a doctor on the resort's premises.
The next morning, Miller was found dead in his hotel room. His cause of death remains unknown.
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Authorities expect Miller's toxicology and autopsy reports to take two to three months due to increased gang violence in Costa Rica, leading to a backlog of cases.
Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort has attempted to distance themselves from Miller's death, telling TMZ Sports on Tuesday, March 25 that the Gardner family did not eat at their restaurants for lunch or dinner the day before Miller died.
“We are deeply saddened by this loss, and our hearts go out to the family during this incredibly difficult time,” the hotel said in a statement to Us Weekly on Tuesday. “The factors that led to this tragic incident are unknown, and we are fully cooperating with authorities as they investigate.”
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Megan Fox Gives Birth to Fourth Child, Her First with Machine Gun Kelly
Jeff Bezos & Lauren Sanchez's Wedding Guest List: Every Celebrity Invited, So Far
Surprise! Elisabeth Moss Confirms She Gave Birth to Her First Child!
Dua Lipa Enjoys Fun Beach Day with Friends in Sydney
Megan Fox has given birth!
On Thursday (March 27), Machine Gun Kelly announced that he and the 38-year-old Jennifer's Body actress welcomed their first child together, a baby girl.
“she's finally here!! our little celestial seed 🥹💓♈️♓️♊️ 3/27/25,” the 34-year-old “Emo Girl” singer wrote on Instagram along with a video of himself holding the newborn's hands.
Keep reading to find out more…As of right now, Megan and MGK have not revealed the baby's name.
The pair got engaged in January 2022, called it quits at the end of November 2024, not long after announcing their baby on the way.
Megan is also mom to sons Noah Shannon, 12, Bodhi Ransom, 10, and Journey River, 8, with ex-husband Brian Austin Green while MGK is dad to 15-year-old daughter Casie.
Congrats! See all of the other stars that also recently welcomed babies.
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Megan Fox Gives Birth to Fourth Child, Her First with Machine Gun Kelly
Jeff Bezos & Lauren Sanchez's Wedding Guest List: Every Celebrity Invited, So Far
Surprise! Elisabeth Moss Confirms She Gave Birth to Her First Child!
Dua Lipa Enjoys Fun Beach Day with Friends in Sydney
Continue »
Reports have emerged that Amazon's billionaire founder Jeff Bezos and his fiancee Lauren Sanchez have sent out their wedding invitations, and a list of celebrities who reportedly scored an invite have been revealed!
The wedding is said to be taking place sometime this summer in Italy.
Keep reading to see which celebrities were reportedly invited…
Continue »
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It turns out that producers of Boy Meets World had ulterior motives when it came to featuring so many food fights on the hit ‘90s series.
“We had a producer on the show that had a very strange food fetish,” Will Friedle, who played Eric Matthews on the ABC sitcom, claimed on the Wednesday, March 26, episode of his “Pod Meets World” recap podcast. “It was almost, like, a sexuality when it came to food. So, that's where he was going with this.”
Friedle, 48, and cohosts Rider Strong and Danielle Fishel were discussing the season 6 episode “Hogs and Kisses,” where Rachel (Maitland Ward) instigated a food fight with roommates Eric (Friedle) and Jack (Matthew Lawrence) after they tried to change their behavior to be more prim and proper to impress her. Rachel started the messy brawl as a way to prove that she shouldn't be treated differently because she's a woman.
“And then the feet in the marinara on my face, [that] was all a sexual thing,” Friedle further alleged.
While Strong, 45, didn't remember the producer's apparent foodie request, Fishel, 43, did.
“Cory and Topanga have one, too,” Fishel recalled of her TV husband Ben Savage's character. “I think there is a movie called Nine and a Half Weeks, where they have sex in a food fight. That movie was mentioned to me during that episode about 75 times.”
Strong, meanwhile, pointed out that “the food fight thing” was a standard trope on kids' shows — outside of any potential fetish.
“Nothing about this episode said, ‘We are still a kids' show,'” Fishel asserted, to which Friedle concurred about the college setting that BMW transitioned to for seasons 6 and 7.
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“I don't even care what the story is anymore,” Friedle quipped. “I'm over it for the B-story, but if I have to see Jack and Eric and Rachel just in the apartment for another episode, I'm gonna lose it. It's, like, ‘Are you kidding me? Now we're just the three of us in that one little space trying to woo this girl still.'”
While Friedle was over the Eric-Jack-Rachel love triangle, he was more into the main story of the episode when Cory (Savage) got jealous about the prospect of Shawn (Strong) kissing Topanga (Fishel).
“I could watch that [version of] Ben all the time. He was so funny [and] it might be my favorite Ben Savage performance I've ever seen,” Friedle added. “He's just so good. He also looks shredded when he comes in and then he rips off his shirt and, like, ‘Damn.'”
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Jeff Bezos & Lauren Sanchez's Wedding Guest List: Every Celebrity Invited, So Far
Surprise! Elisabeth Moss Confirms She Gave Birth to Her First Child!
'Survivor' Contestants Share Powerful & Emotional Moment That Causes Jeff Probst to Cry for the First Time in 48 Seasons (Video)
Dua Lipa Enjoys Fun Beach Day with Friends in Sydney
Brian Austin Green is hitting back at Machine Gun Kelly.
The 51-year-old actor shared a screenshot of his DMs with the 34-year-old entertainer on his Instagram Story after MGK chastised Brian for asking when his baby with Megan Fox is due.
If you didn't know, MGK is expecting his first child with Megan. He already has a daughter Casie, 15. Brian has three children with Megan: Noah Shannon, 12, Bodhi Ransom, 10, and Journey River, 8.
Keep reading to find out more…
“Stop asking when our child is gonna be born. you the FEDS 🐀👮♂️,” MGK wrote to Brian.
“Quit calling TMZ and focus on that apology you owe me for speaking my name in public.”
“You chose the wrong one to f— with mr child actor. go back to cereal commercials,” he added.
Underneath the photo, Brian wrote, “😂😂😂😂 I didn't know ‘child actor' was something bad.”
“Leo, careful,” he continued, seemingly referencing Leonardo DiCaprio. “He may be coming for you next 🤣🤣🤣🤣.”
Back in February, Brian opened up about posting a screenshot of MGK calling out an article about his previous relationship with Megan.
“Bro. Just be honest for once in your life. Stop caring so much about how you're perceived that you will try and drag other people,” he wrote at the time.
“That's not something that I normally do, but it just really at the time, really got under my skin to read about his sort of take on it,” he said to People of sharing the post. “So I spoke my mind, but then I've since come to terms with the fact that I won't do that anymore. I'm going to shut up and just sit back.”
Find out what else Brian said about the news of the couple expecting.
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Survivor fans won't soon forget the Wednesday, March 26, episode of Survivor 48.
In maybe the most emotional moment in the show's 25-year history, contestant Eva Erickson, who has autism, persevered through the end of a challenge to win immunity for her Lagi tribe. As she continued to struggle to land a ball in a hole at the end of a table maze, her frustration was becoming clear in her expression and body language. When she finally succeeded, she broke down in tears and began to struggle to rein in her emotions.
“I was certainly aware that this was the kind of pressure that could trigger Eva, so I was definitely paying attention to her while also being very mindful to not interfere with her moment,” host Jeff Probst recalled in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, published on Thursday. “This is the kind of test that Eva not only anticipated, but on some level wanted when she applied to be on Survivor.”
Joe Hunter, now a member of the Vula tribe, started the game with Lagi. He was the one person who Eva, 24, confided in during the game's first couple days. She explained to him the situations in which she struggles and how he can help her in those moments.
Probst, 63, watched Eva struggle after the challenge and gave Joe, 45, the go-ahead to walk over and give her a hug — even though tribes usually stay separated during challenges. Over the next few minutes, Joe knew what to say and do to help calm his friend.
“My decision to ask Joe if he wanted to go over and give Eva comfort wasn't really a decision at all — it was instinct,” Probst continued. “I'm sure somewhere in the back of my mind I ran through a quick mental checklist to make sure I wasn't compromising the integrity of the game. But the truth is, moments like this transcend anything else that is happening. It's not about logic or rules, it's about being human.”
After settling down, Eva told her full story to all three tribes, explaining how doctors told her parents that she would never be able to live independently or hold down a job because of her autism. Instead, her parents believed in her and helped get her the treatment necessary so she could “be mainstream” in school and beyond.
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The story even caused Probst, who has never cried on air before, to tear up when he explained that her actions could help inspire someone with autism watching at home.
“When I said the words ‘mom and dad,' it triggered the parent in me and something cracked open,” the longtime host admitted. “It wasn't just about Eva anymore — it was about every young person searching for the words to express who they are, and every parent trying to understand, support, and protect their child through it.”
Survivor airs Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
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Leonardo DiCaprio has officially joined YouTube to debut the trailer for One Battle After Another, the new Paul Thomas Anderson movie.
Regina Hall, Sean Penn, Alana Haim, Teyana Taylor, Wood Harris, Chase Infiniti and Benicio del Toro also star.
Keep reading to find out more...
It is said that the film might be based off of Thomas Pynchon's 1997 novel “Vineland," according to IndieWire.
Here's the novel's plot: “Here, in an Orwellian 1984, Zoyd Wheeler and his daughter Prairie search for Prairie's long-lost mother, a Sixties radical who ran off with a narc. ‘Vineland' is vintage Pynchon, full of quasi-allegorical characters, elaborate unresolved subplots, corny songs (“Floozy with an Uzi”), movie spoofs (Pee-wee Herman in The Robert Musil Story), and illicit sex (including a macho variation on the infamous sportscar scene in V.).” It is known, though, that Anderson's “One Battle After Another” is set in the present day.
The film was recently delayed a few weeks and now will be released on September 26.
If you didn't see, Leo's girlfriend Vittoria Ceretti shared some very rare insight into their relationship, including where they met and why she finds it "extremely annoying" to be labeled as his girlfriend.
Megan Fox Gives Birth to Fourth Child, Her First with Machine Gun Kelly
Jeff Bezos & Lauren Sanchez's Wedding Guest List: Every Celebrity Invited, So Far
Surprise! Elisabeth Moss Confirms She Gave Birth to Her First Child!
Dua Lipa Enjoys Fun Beach Day with Friends in Sydney
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To prepare for his Today cohosting gig, Jenna Bush Hager's husband, Henry Hager, recruited help from a familiar face.
Hager, 46, visited his wife's 30 Rock colleagues to “get some tips from some pros” in a video package during the Thursday, March 27, episode of Today With Jenna & Friends. After getting a “great crash course” from NBC's biggest personalities, Hager went to “the one person who knows [Jenna] best” — Hoda Kotb.
“I've got some good advice. No. 1, never point out any of her stains because she's gonna have one here, one here and one here,” Kotb, 60, told Hager while pointing to various spots on his shirt. “Have a blow dryer at the ready. Do you know why? Armpit stains.”
For her last and “most important” words of wisdom, Kotb told Hager, “You have the best seat in the house.” He agreed, stating, “I do.”
The surprise interaction brought Bush Hager, 43, to tears. “What is happening? That's so sweet. Thank you for doing that,” she said after the package's conclusion. “And you also opened my heart, so thank you. That was so sweet. I miss Hoda. She's the best.”
Bush Hager took over Kathie Lee Gifford's role as Kotb's fourth hour of Today cohost in 2019. After nearly 20 years on the NBC morning show, Kotb had her final episode of Today on January 10.
Kotb has not appeared live on the show since her exit but has appeared in a handful of video messages, including one to announce her new book, Jump and Find Joy, earlier this month. She also surprised Bush Hager backstage at Jenna & Friends while she was cohosting with former NBA star Dwyane Wade.
“What is happening?” Bush Hager excitedly exclaimed before embracing Kotb in a clip shared via the show's Instagram page on March 11. “I had to come in for a second,” Kotb stated before telling Wade, 43, he was “crushing it” as that week's guest host.
Hager chatted with Wade about hosting in his Thursday video package. “It's going great,” the athlete said before joking, “I kind of got a little feel of what it's like being married to Jenna. Yeah, I've learned to let her talk.”
During his 30 Rock visit, Savannah Guthrie encouraged Henry to channel his past self on air. “Be that cute Henry that worked in her father's campaign in the old days,” she quipped. “Be a little snazzy, the one that snuck out of the White House in the wee hours. That guy.”
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Guthrie, 53, also recommended that Hager “tell some tales on Jenna,” adding, “She can dish it. Can she take it?”
Hager gushed over his wife at the top of Thursday's episode, stating, “I love you. I would do anything for you, and I'm so proud of you. … You brighten my day and my life all the time, and so, let's just do this and see how it goes.”
Bush Hager, for her part, returned the love by surprising him with a “good luck” video message from their three kids — Mila, 11, Poppy, 9, and Hal, 5.
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The Yellowstone spinoffs just keep coming — but who might be getting their own show next?
Variety reported on Wednesday, March 26, that CBS is in early discussions on a procedural series that would have Luke Grimes reprising his role as Kayce Dutton. Plot details are under wraps as no official deals are in place, per the outlet.
Yellowstone, which premiered on Paramount in 2018, followed the fictional Dutton family, who own the largest ranch in Montana. Kevin Costner's portrayal of family patriarch John Dutton reeled in viewers, but other leads including Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Gil Birmingham, Cole Hauser and Kelsey Asbille kept them tuning in for five seasons — as did the offscreen drama.
The show's final season was plagued with delays and rumors about Costner's exit after news broke in 2023 that he would not be returning. In the season 5B premiere, John was killed off, which turned out to be a set-up by Jamie (Bentley) and Sarah (Dawn Olivieri).
Costner, 70, previously denied that he left Yellowstone due to a feud with creator Taylor Sheridan. “I have taken a beating from those f—– guys and I know a lot of times where it's coming from,” he told Deadline in May 2024. “I just elected not to get into that. But if you know me well enough, I made Yellowstone the first priority, and to insinuate anything else would be wrong. I did not initiate any of those things. They did.”
Costner continued, “I left exactly when they wanted, and it made it hard on me. It turns out they didn't have the scripts for 5B. They needed four more days just to complete the first eight episodes. I left early to give them what they needed to have a complete eight, and I felt bad that the audience didn't get 10.”
While Costner has moved on from the Yellowstone universe, some of his costars are interested in continuing to play their respective characters. Reilly, 47, and Hauser, 50, have been tapped for a spinoff series following Beth and Rip's story.
“I loved this season. There were some really different territories to explore, so I'm not clinging to her,” Reilly told Town and Country in November 2024. “I'm happy to put her back in her padlocked box.”
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Reilly admitted she wouldn't mind getting to spend more time with the role, adding, “I am definitely interested in Beth, and who she is after some things have happened. Who is she in peace? As an actor you're like, ‘Ooh, let me at that.' Wouldn't it be fun to watch Beth go to therapy?”
Before Yellowstone came to an end, ViacomCBS president Chris McCarthy confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that another spinoff starring Matthew McConaughey was in the works. One year later, however, the McConaughey project appeared to be dead and replaced by a different spinoff titled The Madison.
Michelle Pfeiffer stars in the upcoming series alongside Patrick J. Adams, Kurt Russell and Beau Garrett. The Madison is the first spinoff in the Yellowstone franchise set in the present day alongside prequels 1923 and 1883.
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The Costa Rica resort town where Miller Gardner died last week is on edge as questions linger about the 14-year-old's death.
“It's a hard topic,” a hotel bartender in the tourist region of Manuel Antonio told the New York Post on Wednesday, March 26. “Everyone is worried because someone — a chef or someone who made the food — could go to jail. People are talking about it.”
The bartender added, “Everyone in town is nervous.”
Miller and his family — including his father, Brett Gardner, a former star for the New York Yankees, his mother, Jessica Gardner, and his older brother, Hunter, 16 — were staying at the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort, which is where he was found dead in his hotel room on Friday, March 21.
Since his untimely death, the resort has distanced themselves from the incident, telling TMZ Sports on Tuesday, March 25, that the Gardner family did not eat at any of their restaurants for lunch or dinner the day before Miller died.
In a statement to Us Weekly on Tuesday, the resort said it was “deeply saddened” by Miller's death.
“The factors that led to this tragic incident are unknown, and we are fully cooperating with authorities as they investigate,” the hotel added.
Another resort in town, Hotel La Mariposa, also spoke out after it was revealed that the Gardner family had eaten at one of their restaurants, Le Papillon, shortly before Miller's death.
“Due to misinformation circulating on social media, we would like to clarify that the Gardner family dined at our restaurant, Le Papillon, on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 18, 2025 — three days before Miller's tragic passing,” the hotel posted via Facebook on Monday, March 24. “Any claims suggesting a link between our restaurant and this heartbreaking event are entirely false and unfounded.”
The statement continued, “Any news, statements, or claims to the contrary do not reflect the reality of the situation. Furthermore, we do not have any additional information, as the Gardner family did not stay at our hotel.”
Miller's cause of death remains unknown. Authorities listed his preliminary cause of death as asphyxia “after a possible intoxication after apparently ingesting some food.”
A representative from Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) told CNN on Tuesday that Miller's cause of death was “asphyxiation due to intoxication related to food poisoning.”
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However, a journalist affiliated with OIJ told Us Weekly that asphyxia had been entirely ruled out as the cause.
The night before he died, Miller's entire family reportedly became sick with “severe” symptoms and were all treated with medication on their resort's premises. Miller was found dead the following morning.
Miller's toxicology and autopsy results are expected to take “at least two to three months” due to an outbreak of violent crime among drug gangs in Costa Rica, the OIJ said on Wednesday.
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Bon Iver's Justin Vernon has become the king of collaborations — and two of his most frequent duet partners have long-standing beef.
During his appearance on The New York Times‘ “Popcast” on Wednesday, March 26, Vernon, 43, was asked about how he “seamlessly” moves between his “isolated” Bon Iver persona and his status as a sought-after collaborator for artists like Taylor Swift and Kanye West.
“You might be one of the very few people who's worked with both of them,” the interviewer remarked, also citing Vernon's work with Zach Bryan and Charli XCX.
Vernon opened up about his collab process, revealing, “It all came to me. And I think I'm really lucky and humbled by that, you know, but I never was like, ‘Get me on a song.' It all came to me. Kanye seeks me out. Taylor seeks me out. … And then there's all the dozens of collaborations I've just done with homies or the people in Minneapolis or Eau Claire [Wisconsin] that I just also do it 'cause it's good and it's fun and it's what I want to do.”
Vernon and West's history dates back to the rapper's 2010 album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, with songs like “Monster” and “Lost in the World.” They last teamed up on the 2019 song “Take Me to the Light” by Francis and the Lights.
“I learned so much from Kanye,” Vernon said on the podcast, adding that he's “been deeply saddened” by recent headlines about West, 47. “But I have other people in my life that remind me of him that I'm constantly learning from.”
When it comes to his relationship with Swift, 35, Vernon first appeared on the song “Exile” from her 2020 album Folklore.
“I love the Taylor song a lot,” Vernon said. “And it was also a rare time where, like, they wrote the song — her and Joe [Alwyn] and Aaron [Dessner] wrote the song — and were like, ‘We want you to sing this part.'”
For Vernon, it was “kind of awesome” to be given a specific vision. “I added my little bits here and there,” he recalled. “But it was just so enjoyable. I did it on my own in COVID and I was sort of just looking out the window. Like, a bird was watching me do it.”
He continued to heap praise onto Swift, saying that the song turned out to be “one of my favorite collaborations.”
Vernon worked with Swift again on Folklore‘s sister album, Evermore, also released in 2020. He sings on the title track.
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Apart from their shared connection to Vernon, Swift and West have a history of their own. Their drama began in 2009 when West crashed a then 19-year-old Swift's acceptance speech for Best Female Video during the MTV Video Music Awards, claiming Beyoncé was the rightful winner. West subsequently apologized, but the duo have been subtly — or sometimes blatantly — referencing each other in their work ever since.
In a candid 2023 interview for her TIME Person of the Year cover story, Swift reflected on what she's learned from public feuds with people like West.
“My response to anything that happens, good or bad, is to keep making things. Keep making art,” she explained. “But I've also learned there's no point in actively trying to quote-unquote defeat your enemies. Trash takes itself out every single time.”
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There's finally news about Downton Abbey 3, the new movie in the franchise!
Focus Features has revealed the title of the film - Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale - as well as released a new poster. You can see a full size version of the poster in the gallery below.
Head inside for all the remaining news about this announcement...
The title of the film also confirms some upsetting news we already sort of knew: it appears as if this is our final goodbye to Downton. The inclusion of "Grand Finale" in the title seems to indicate that this will, in fact, be the final project in the franchise.
The film is currently set for release on September 12, 2025.
If you didn't see, there's a cast member who won't return for the third film.
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Chris Evans‘ name was left off of Marvel's Avengers: Doomsday cast list, and fans were really hoping he'd be returning as Captain America/Steve Rogers for the 2026 movie.
There are 27 Marvel stars who WILL be returning, so why isn't Chris one of them? Well, he did previously explain why it would take a lot for him to be an “eager yes” to return.
Keep reading to find out more…
In 2019, Chris sat down with his Marvel co-star Scarlett Johansson and explained further.
He shared, “You never say never. I love the character. I don't know [...] It's not a hard no, but it's not an eager yes either. There are other things that I'm working on right now. I think Cap[tain America] had such a tricky act to stick the landing, and I think they did a really nice job letting him complete his journey. If you're going to revisit it, it can't be a cash grab. It can't be just because the audience wants to be excited. What are we revealing? What are we adding to the story? A lot of things would have to come together.”
Scarlett then said, “It was such a beautiful cathartic ending, and I loved that for Steve. I think he deserved that. It was all his happiness.”
“It'd be a shame to sour that. I'm very protective of it. It was such a precious time, and jumping onto the movie was a terrifying prospect to me. I said no a bunch of times, and there's a million and one ways it could have gone wrong. It almost feels like maybe we should let this one sit,” Chris added.
See which Marvel actors will be back for Doomsday.
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Brett Gardner and his family enjoyed quality time in paradise before the death of his 14-year-old son, Miller.
The former New York Yankees player and his wife, Jessica Clendenin, announced in a Sunday, March 23, statement released by the MLB team that their youngest son died after “falling ill along with several other family members while on vacation.” Miller “passed away peacefully in his sleep” at the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort in Costa Rica on Friday, March 21.
“We are deeply saddened by this loss, and our hearts go out to the family during this incredibly difficult time,” the resort said in a statement to Us Weekly on Tuesday, March 25. “The factors that led to this tragic incident are unknown, and we are fully cooperating with authorities as they investigate. We remain committed to supporting our guests and staff, prioritizing their well-being and safety, while respecting the privacy of those affected.”
That same day, an official from Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Police confirmed to CNN that Miller's preliminary cause of death was determined to be “asphyxiation due to intoxication related to food poisoning.”
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The Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort claimed to TMZ Sports on Tuesday that Miller and the Gardner family did not eat at any of the property's restaurants the day before his death. Food from a local restaurant the family reportedly dined at has been taken for testing and analysis, the Daily Mail reported on Wednesday, March 26.
Scroll down to get a look inside the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort:
Credit: Courtesy of Hunter Gardner/Instagram
Brett Gardner and his family enjoyed quality time in paradise before the death of his 14-year-old son, Miller.
The former New York Yankees player and his wife, Jessica Clendenin, announced in a Sunday, March 23, statement released by the MLB team that their youngest son died after “falling ill along with several other family members while on vacation.” Miller “passed away peacefully in his sleep” at the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort in Costa Rica on Friday, March 21.
“We are deeply saddened by this loss, and our hearts go out to the family during this incredibly difficult time,” the resort said in a statement to Us Weekly on Tuesday, March 25. “The factors that led to this tragic incident are unknown, and we are fully cooperating with authorities as they investigate. We remain committed to supporting our guests and staff, prioritizing their well-being and safety, while respecting the privacy of those affected.”
That same day, an official from Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Police confirmed to CNN that Miller's preliminary cause of death was determined to be “asphyxiation due to intoxication related to food poisoning.”
The Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort claimed to TMZ Sports on Tuesday that Miller and the Gardner family did not eat at any of the property's restaurants the day before his death. Food from a local restaurant the family reportedly dined at has been taken for testing and analysis, the Daily Mail reported on Wednesday, March 26.
Scroll down to get a look inside the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort:
Credit: Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort
The resort offers a variety of luxury room options, some of which feature stunning views of the Pacific Ocean.
The resort offers a variety of luxury room options, some of which feature stunning views of the Pacific Ocean.
Credit: Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort
Guests' rooms are just a short walk away from a picturesque beach.
Guests' rooms are just a short walk away from a picturesque beach.
Credit: Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort
The resort's direct beach access features popular surfing spots and areas to lounge and grab a drink or cocktail.
The resort's direct beach access features popular surfing spots and areas to lounge and grab a drink or cocktail.
Credit: Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort
The wood and wicker lobby furniture perfectly compliments the resort's rainforest location.
The wood and wicker lobby furniture perfectly compliments the resort's rainforest location.
Credit: Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort
In addition to a souvenir store, guests can grab beverages in the resort's entry space.
In addition to a souvenir store, guests can grab beverages in the resort's entry space.
Credit: Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort
More of the luxury suites place guests right in the rainforest and offer views of Manuel Antonio National Park.
More of the luxury suites place guests right in the rainforest and offer views of Manuel Antonio National Park.
Credit: Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort
Walking paths on the property connect guests from their rooms to the beach and more.
Walking paths on the property connect guests from their rooms to the beach and more.
Credit: Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort
Guests can access the town of Manuel Antonio from the resort's long stretch of beach.
Guests can access the town of Manuel Antonio from the resort's long stretch of beach.
Credit: Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort
The resort offers activities for those looking for relaxation and excitement, from rainforest excursions to ziplining to surf lessons and more.
The resort offers activities for those looking for relaxation and excitement, from rainforest excursions to ziplining to surf lessons and more.
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After celebrating 100 days of sobriety, Jax Taylor took Us through what a typical day in rehab looked like.
“The place was really, really nice. It was fully catered. The therapists there are amazing,” Taylor, 45, exclusively shared in Us Weekly‘s cover story about Psyclarity Health Los Angeles. “I would get up in the morning. I would have my breakfast and I would do yoga outside.”
Taylor would complete two one-hour therapy sessions before a break.. “I would then have a snack or something to eat for lunch. Then we'd go back into another session,” he said.“I would meet a doctor before going to the gym [in the afternoon].”
The reality star recalled getting frustrated with some of the guidelines. “I'd have to have a nurse follow me to the gym, which is f—ing embarrassing,” he admitted. “She would literally walk around the gym with me while I was working out.”
“Then I would come back [to my room], take a shower, go to therapy again and go meet the doctors to make sure my medication was working,” he continued. “I would go have dinner, watch a movie and then I would stay in my room most of the time. I had my own room and I would just watch TV, read books and that was basically my day.”
The priority in the facility was introducing a routine.
“That was every single day. So Monday through Sunday, we would have no days off,” Taylor told Us about the “hard” therapy sessions. “There's just a lot of bad habits I got into in this industry. I created so many bad habits. I adapted so many bad habits. Living here, I was just not a very good person. … I would just lie to get myself out of situations. I didn't care what I told anybody. I was just so selfish. This was in the beginning and then I just went back into it again.”
Taylor checked himself into a mental health facility in 2024. He recently revealed that he has been battling substance abuse issues, including abusing cocaine, for more than two decades.
“I've been in and out of using cocaine for awhile. I wouldn't use it every single day. There would be months I would take off,” he explained to Us. “And then I would do it like a week here, maybe two times a month or three times a month. It got really bad though. When the divorce started [with my estranged wife Brittany Cartwright], I felt like I was doing it recreationally.”
Taylor is still working on himself every day. “I had all these other issues because I'm masking loneliness,” he said. “I'm masking the texting women by doing drugs and drinking alcohol. I have all these other issues. So it's a slow process, which is hard for me because I always look for the quick fix. This is one of those things in life that it's not a quick fix. You have to work at it. I'm not used to that.”
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He concluded: “This is not gonna work that way. That's not how addiction, sickness and mental health works. People are like, ‘Jax, you've done a lot of freaking damage. Like a lot. And this is just not going to go away anymore. People have had enough.”
For more on Taylor's journey to recovery, watch the exclusive video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly — on newsstands now.
With reporting by Amanda Williams
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Hallmark is teaming up with the Buffalo Bills to expand their Holiday Touchdown franchise — just months after quarterback Josh Allen's engagement to Hailee Steinfeld.
Fresh off the success of 2024's Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story, the network announced that A Bills Love Story will premiere as part of Hallmark's 16th annual Countdown to Christmas later this year. The news was revealed during a Wednesday, March 26, video featuring Bills safety Damar Hamlin.
“The incredible success of last year's partnership with the NFL and the Kansas City Chiefs far exceeded our expectations,” Darren Abbott, Chief Brand Officer of Hallmark, said in a Wednesday statement. “We are thrilled to team up with the Bills this year for a new holiday movie filled with heart, family and the classic Hallmark storytelling that our fans know and love, all set against the special community the Bills franchise has nurtured throughout its storied history.”
Production will begin in the coming months and will film entirely at locations in and around Buffalo, New York, including iconic Highmark Stadium, which is making its last stand as the Bills home field in the upcoming 2025 NFL season. Casting for the holiday romance will be announced at a later date.
“We were honored to be approached by Skydance Sports to participate in this amazing project that will showcase two powerful brands – Hallmark and the Buffalo Bills,” Pete Guelli, Chief Operating Officer of the Buffalo Bills said in his own statement. “This is just another example of how the Bills brand and our amazing fan base continues to grow across the sports and entertainment landscape. This is an incredible opportunity to feature Western New York and Bills Mafia on the Hallmark platform. It is a privilege to be part of this project, and we hope this film will be a hit during the holiday season!”
Hallmark rolled out its first Holiday Touchdown film last year in partnership with the Kansas City Chiefs. The film, which starred Hallmark Channel staples Tyler Hynes and Hunter King, featured a handful of star-studded cameos from the likes of Jenna Bush Hager, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, Donna Kelce and various Chiefs players.
While A Chiefs Love Story made a few subtle nods to tight end Travis Kelce's high-profile romance with Taylor Swift — they were first linked in summer 2023 — news of A Bills Love Story comes on the heels of Allen's recent engagement to Steinfeld.
Allen and Steinfeld, both 28, were first linked when they were spotted together in New York City in May 2023, shortly after Allen ended his eight-year relationship with girlfriend Brittany Williams.
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The couple announced their engagement in November 2024. The Instagram post — captioned “♾️ 11•22•24 ♾️” — featured a glimpse of Allen's proposal, which took place in front of a picturesque beach sunset surrounded by candles.
Allen later admitted in a December 2024 edition of Steinfeld's “Beau Society” newsletter that he was “very nervous” to get down on one knee. “It was hard to keep secrets from you and have other people in your life keep secrets from you,” he told his fiancée. “Then, multiple times throughout the day a song would come on and I would tear up thinking about how special our day was going to be.”
Two months after their engagement, a Buffalo billboard congratulated the duo on their happy news by declaring the duo the city's royalty. “The Queen City has a new queen,” the billboard read, according to an X photo shared by CBS Sports' Tracy Wolfson. “Congratulations, Josh and Hailee.”
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Former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna is revealing where she stands with Lisa Vanderpump.
Rinna, 61, shared on the Thursday, March 27, episode of the “Therapuss” podcast that she and Vanderpump, 64, remain cold with one another after Vanderpump's dramatic exit at the end of RHOBH season 9. (Rinna herself exited RHOBH after season 12.)
During the ninth season of the Bravo reality show, which aired in 2019, Vanderpump clashed with Rinna, Kyle Richards and Dorit Kemsley over the famous “Puppygate” incident.
Six years on and it seems that Rinna and Vanderpump have yet to clear the air.
“We end up at the same sushi restaurant up the [Beverly] Glen quite a bit. And nope, no words have been spoken,” Rinna said after host Jake Shane quizzed her on whether she has spoken to Vanderpump since season 9.
Shane then asked, “But is it cold energy?” to which Rinna responded, “Oh, we just pretend that we're not there. She doesn't see me. I don't see her. It's hilarious because we both know we're there. I know she's there. She knows I'm there. It's hilarious.”
During her time on the show, Vanderpump was accused by her costars of contriving drama to instigate arguments for the cameras.
“I think Lisa was a producer in her own right,” Shane shared with Rinna. The Days of Our Lives alum responded, “You said it, not me. You just said it, not me.”
Vanderpump exited RHOBH after a dramatic showdown with Richards, 56, at her Beverly Hills mansion, which ended with Vanderpump's husband, Ken Todd, kicking Richards out of the house and declaring, “Goodbye, Kyle!”
In November 2023, the Vanderpump Rules star gave an update on her relationship with Richards while speaking exclusively to Us Weekly at BravoCon. At the time, she said she had “empathy” for Richards amid her separation from husband Mauricio Umansky.
“With Kyle and Mauricio, I mean, I don't have a great relationship with her, I've been honest about that,” Vanderpump said. “When somebody calls you a liar, it's hard to come back from that when they don't take it back. But I have empathy. Empathy for it. They've got a family and beautiful girls.”
Last year, however, the former BFFs took swipes at each other. During an appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast in May 2024, host Alex Cooper asked Vanderpump if she had “ever known a castmate's partner was cheating.” Vanderpump responded with yes.
“They're on a reality show, and they're living their lives. Of course, all marriages have problems. Anybody that says, ‘He is perfect, my love, and they're my king.' … I mean, f— off. It's your husband, get real,” Vanderpump continued. “Then suddenly, they get divorced, but they've been saying, ‘Oh, love bean or my king.' … Life's not like that. You've got two imperfect people living together that it's not, you know, and that's bulls—.”
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She added, “How many times have you seen this, especially on that show that I used to be on? … Everything's just going just fine. And then, oh, we are getting a divorce, or oh, we've just separated.”
Richards fired back during an Amazon Live livestream, saying Vanderpump's remarks were “so classic her” and that she “never changes or grows or learns.”
“[She was] trying to imply that when I was, you know, showing myself being happy, that I actually wasn't — which is an absolute lie, and she knows that,” Richards said. “She just does that to be really mean. And then she goes on to say, ‘I'm not saying who I'm talking about. I would never do such a thing.' This is always what she does.”
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Author Taylor Jenkins Reid published her novel The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in June 2017, and fans have been itching for a film adaptation ever since.
It seemed Netflix had come to the rescue in March 2022 when the streaming service acquired the rights to the movie — but no news on production. Few details have been released over the years and fans (especially the ones on BookTok) want answers about the film.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo follows the story of iconic 1950s Hollywood actress Evelyn Hugo, who is now living as a recluse. The former actress taps journalist Monique Grant to write her biography — a story detailing her seven marriages. The novel explores what a same-sex relationship looked like during the golden age of Hollywood and even ends with a major twist, explaining why Evelyn chose this particular writer to tell her story.
Keep scrolling for everything to know about the movie so far:
In June 2023, Netflix announced that Headland was set to direct the film. However, she's since stepped away.
“I am no longer working on that project. I remain a huge, huge fan of the book and of the people working on it. It's one of those things where you know it's going to be a huge success,” she told Variety in January 2025. “I thought, ‘Damn it. It's not going to work out with me involved in it, but it is going to be wildly successful.' It is the type of book that if I'd read it in my twenties, I would have had a completely different life. It's so beautifully done.”
It was previously reported that Little Fires Everywhere creator and showrunner Liz Tigelaar was on board to write the project with author Reid set to produce.
No casting announcements have been made just yet. However, fans have hoped that Ana de Armas and Jessica Chastain (more on that in a bit) would take on the roles of Evelyn Hugo and Celia St. James, respectively.
Eiza González told E! News that she's a “huge fan” and would “love” to be in the film. “I don't know if I'll ever get it. I don't even know what's happening with that project,” she said, adding that it's the “biggest honor to be named.”
“Once I was on set [of Fountain of Youth] and Natalie Portman was like, ‘You know I just can't think of anyone else to do Evelyn Hugo,'” she recalled. “I was like, ‘Natalie Portman is saying that to me! That's really fire.'”
Chastain confirmed in December 2023, that despite fan speculation, there is “zero possibility” she will play Celia St. James.
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“But I love how excited the fans are,” the actress told E! News at the time. “When I was working on Broadway, every single day, they'd be outside, when I was signing, with the books. I just love how wonderful that fan base is.”
She added, “I look forward to watching it and I'm sorry to disappoint everyone out there!”
Reid's 2016 novel One True Loves was adapted into a 2023 film starring Phillipa Soo, Simu Liu and Luke Bracey. The author also wrote Daisy Jones & The Six, which became a TV series in 2023, starring Riley Keough and Sam Claflin.
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The Harry Potter movies aren't just full of magic and adventures - they're also full of celebrity cameos!
Over the years, stars including Julianne Hough and Rege-Jean Page have talked about their small, and uncredited, roles in the blockbuster movie franchise.
Julianne recently detailed an interaction with Emma Watson (aka Hermione) years after they shared the screen in the first movie.
We are now taking a look at the 17 celebs that make surprising cameos in the Harry Potter movies - and we bet there are ton on this list that you never knew about!
Click through the slideshow to find out the 17 celebrities that made surprising cameos in the Harry Potter movies...
CONTINUE »
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Ellen Pompeo is stepping out in London to promote her new Hulu series!
The 55-year-old actress joined co-stars Mark Duplass and Imogen Faith Reid at a special screening of their new series Good American Family on Wednesday (March 26) held at BAFTA in London, England.
For the screening, Ellen looked cool in a tan furry coat paired with tan pants.
The new show tells the story of Natalia Grace, played by Imogen, a girl with a rare form of dwarfism who was adopted by a Midwestern couple and later accused of being an adult women.
Ellen and Mark play Kristine and Michael Barnett, the adoptive parents.
New episodes of Good American Family are released on Hulu on Wednesdays. Watch the trailer here!
Click through the gallery inside for 10+ pictures of the stars at the screening...
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The Masked Singer is back!
A new episode of season 13 of the hit FOX singing competition series aired on Wednesday night (March 26).
The show, which began in South Korea, features celebrities singing songs while wearing costumes and face masks concealing their identities until they're eliminated. Throughout the season, the contestants provide clues to try and help the judges and fans figure out who is under the mask.
This season includes the new costumed character Detective Lucky Duck, who will help panelists "uncover who's behind each mask."
During the episode, Group C contestants Cherry Blossom, Mad Scientist Monster, Nessy, Stud Muffin, and Yorkie hit the stage for their first performances of the season.
While on stage, Nessy performed "Roxanne" by The Police.
Keep reading to see all of the clues and guesses...Keep scrolling to check out the clues and guesses...
FIRST PERFORMANCE CLUES:
- Says he's a "gentle giant"
- Has been called a "legend"
- Holds up a card with kiss print on it"
- Plane shown on a newspaper front page
- Says he's been able to keep his star-status on the download
- Holds up a radio, appears to be a radio star
- Holds a lucky horseshoe
- "Took a lot of time off" to spend time with his family
PANEL GUESSES: Gene Simmons, Dan Reynolds, & Daryl Hall
OUR GUESS: Daryl Hall
In his clue package, Nessy talked a lot about being a "private guy," which could be a reference to Daryl's 1981 album Private Eyes. The radio clue could be a reference to Daryl's podcast Live from Daryl's House, in which he performs with other artists from the comfort of his own home. Some of Daryl's singles fit the clues, including "Private Eyes" (the private jet), "Kiss on My List" (the red lips), and "Portable Radio" (the radio). The "exposed" clue could be a reference to the time Daryl collaborated on Robert Fripp's album Exposure.
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Alec Baldwin apparently has a fan in Melania Trump.
While making an appearance at 92nd Street Y event earlier this week, the 66-year-old Emmy-winning actor claimed that former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer once said that the 54-year-old First Lady "loved" his Saturday Night Live impersonation of Donald Trump.
Keep reading to find out more...“Spicer — maybe he had a couple drinks, I don't know; I wasn't there," Alec told the crowd, according to Page Six. "He says to the people at SNL, ‘Melania watches the show every Saturday night. And she points at the TV and says “That's what he's like! That is what he's like! Exactly! Alec Baldwin is exactly like Donald!"'"
“We're gagging laughing, but it made sense!" Alec continued. “She loves when they give it to him, you know what I mean?”
Alec impersonated the 78-year-old President on SNL from October 2016 to November 2020 and won an Emmy for the role in 2017.
While Melania is apparently a fan of Alec's impression, Trump has made it very clear over the years that he hates it.
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The models are stepping out for Vogue World's big press announcement!
Kendall Jenner, Cara Delevingne, Hailey Bieber, and Adwoa Aboah posed for photos together as they attended the press event to announce Vogue World: Hollywood on Wednesday (March 26) held at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles.
During the press conference, Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour teased that the Hollywood setting will set “great film costumes next to brilliant fashion collections.”
Keep reading to find out more...“By mixing fashion and the arts and culture in the center of a city, and by raising money for a cause, Vogue World has become a runway show-as-rallying cry, a way to fix the attention of a huge global audience, to bring awareness, and sound an unmistakable note of positivity, creativity, and hope," Anna said, according to E! News.
Other stars in attendance at the press event included Taylor Russell, Natalia Bryant, Victoria Monet, and California Governor Gavin Newsom along with fashion designer Jeremy Scott and Nicolas Ghesquière.
Vogue World's inaugural event took place back in 2022 in New York City. The annual runway show then took place in London in 2023 and in Paris the following year.
As for Vogue World: Hollywood, the event will be held at the Paramount Picture Studios Lot on October 26.
Kendall was just recently in Paris for a new campaign with this Bridgerton star!
FYI: Hailey is wearing a Schiaparelli dress.
Click through the gallery for 25+ pictures of the stars at the event...
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Justin Theroux and Nicole Brydon Bloom are stepping out for the first time as husband and wife!
The newlyweds held hands as they ran a few errands together with his beloved dog Kuma on Wednesday afternoon (March 26) in New York City.
For their outing, the 53-year-old Running Point actor sported a tan and green coat with gray jeans and a black baseball hat while the 31-year-old Paradise actress wore a gray jacket, black sweater, and jeans.
Earlier this month, Justin and Nicole married at a beach resort in Mexico with tons of their famous friends in attendance!
If you didn't know, Justin and Nicole were introduced back in 2022 by one of Nicole's Gilded Age co-stars.
Click through the gallery inside for 25+ pictures of Justin Theroux and Nicole Brydon Bloom stepping out in NYC...
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It's official - Mariah Carey and Anderson .Paak are dating!
After months of speculation, sources have confirmed that the 55-year-old "Touch My Body" singer and the 39-year-old Silk Sonic entertainer are "full on dating" days after they were spotted holding hands on a dinner date.
Keep reading to find out more..."Mariah and Anderson are dating, they met working last summer and he has always been a huge fan and looked up to her,” a source told Us Weekly. “Their dates have been very far apart because of schedules, but it's been going on a few months.”
The insider went on to say that Anderson, whose real name is Brandon Paak Anderson, "is very smitten" with Mariah, who thinks “he's very sweet” and “loves how musically inclined” he is.
Another source told the outlet that Mariah “hasn't seriously dated anyone in years” and that Anderson is the “first person she has truly been interested in.”
“He has really been keeping her attention and they are full on dating,” the source shared. “Their relationship started in the studio as they were working on new music together and it quickly turned romantic.”
The source went on to say that Mariah and Anderson have a lot in common and it's going really well,” noting that they both have children that are teenagers and have “bonded over parenthood and raising kids in today's day and age.”
Mariah and ex-husband Nick Cannon share 13-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe while Anderson is dad to sons Soul Rasheed and Shine Tariq with estranged wife Jaylyn Chang.
If you missed it, Mariah recently received a major honor!
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Indya Moore is getting married!
On Wednesday (March 26), the 30-year-old Pose star and model announced their engagement to Elias Acevedo with a sweet selfie on Instagram.
"My beloved said yes. 💍 Alhamdulillah. This man lifted me up, and brought me closer to God. Im so grateful. Beyond words," Indya wrote.
Keep reading to find out more..."Mashallah, he saved me in ways Im so grateful to not even know the full extent of," Indya continued. "Thank you my beloved."
Along with the engagement announcement, Indya included a selfie with Elias of them smiling in front of a waterfall.
Find out where you can stream all three seasons of Pose now.
Congrats to the happy couple! See all of the other stars that also recently announced their engagements.
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Nicholas Braun is finally going Instagram official with his girlfriend!
On Wednesday (March 26), the 36-year-old Succession actor took to Instagram to share the first photos of his girlfriend Hyunji Ward in honor of her birthday.
“HBD to my sweet sweet DARLING of a girlfriend!!!” Nicholas wrote. “You are the absolute joy of my life. You make me my best self!! Like when you said that I could pull off this shirt full of forks. You were right. Love you dearly ❤️”
Keep reading to find out more…Along with his sweet message, Nicholas shared several photos of Hyunji, including photos of them on vacation, posing with their dog, and a selfie while enjoying a BBQ together.
Nicholas and Hyunji keep their relationship out of the spotlight, so it's unclear how long they've been together.
Back in January 2024, the pair attended the HBO & Max Post Emmys party together.
If you missed it, Nicholas was one of many stars that appeared in Doja Cat and Jack Harlow‘s new “Just Us” music video.
A post shared by Nicholas Braun (@nicholasbraun)
Jake Paul and Jutta Leerdam hit the red carpet together at the premiere of their new reality show Paul American held on Wednesday (March 26) in New York City.
This marks the couple's first red carpet appearance together and comes mere days after they announced their engagement after two years of dating.
Also in attendance at the premiere were Jake's older brother Logan Paul and his fiancée Nina Agdal, as well as their parents, Pam Stepnick and Greg Paul, with girlfriend Hawkwind Kelly.
Paul American is a new reality series centering on the Paul brothers and their family, and the first episode debuted a day early on Max, after originally being set for Thursday (March 27).
Here's a synopsis: After growing up in front of the world as some of the earliest content creators, global internet sensations Jake and Logan Paul are venturing into a brand-new arena: reality TV. Two of the biggest athletes in sports entertainment, the Pauls' burgeoning empire includes over 150 million followers, a game-changing fight promotion company, a fast-growing sports drink brand, a disruptive sports gaming and media company, a record-breaking men's personal care line, and WWE championships. For two decades, the Pauls' lives have been incredibly public yet highly curated through an internet lens. Now, with unparalleled access to the Paul family and their inner circle, Paul American peels back the curtain on the most raw, honest, and intimate moments in the brothers' over-the-top, high-octane lives.
Check out the trailer here!
Browse through the gallery to see more photos from the premiere of Paul American...
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