News of the World
6 hours ago
MIDDLE EAST WAR
Countries Not Cooperating with US in this War:
So the Iranian president now wants Americans to forget how many times the regime has called the US the Great Satan for decades and how the US should be destroyed?
What about their own ayatollah's words on this matter? (If he is still alive.)
- France
- Spain
- Italy
- Austria
Quote:More key European allies are restricting U.S. military access as the Trump administration presses ahead with its war against Iran, with both France and Spain moving to block U.S.-linked aircraft from using their airspace or bases.
France has refused overflight for planes carrying U.S. military supplies to Israel, according to President Donald Trump, marking a rare disruption to routine military coordination between Washington and key European allies.
Their refusals carry operational weight because U.S. bases in Europe are "essential" for supporting Middle East operations, acting as critical staging and transit hubs for military aircraft.
The move marks the latest sign of growing friction between the United States and European allies as President Donald Trump ramps up pressure on NATO partners to support operations tied to the war with Iran.
According to a Tuesday Reuters report, Italy denied permission for U.S. military aircraft to land at the Sigonella Air Base in Sicily before heading to the Middle East, saying Washington had not sought prior authorization from Rome.
An Italian government statement pushed back on reports of a rupture, saying: "With reference to media reports regarding the use of military bases, the government reiterates that Italy acts in full compliance with existing international agreements and with the policy guidelines set out by the government to parliament."
"Relations with the United States, in particular, are solid and based on full and loyal cooperation," the statement added.
A senior U.S. official reinforced Italy’s claim, telling Fox News Digital, "This is false. Italy is currently supportive in providing access, basing and overflight for U.S. forces."
Spain on Monday said it had closed its airspace to U.S. planes involved in strikes, going further than its earlier refusal to allow the use of jointly operated bases. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been among the most vocal critics of the U.S. and Israeli campaign.
In remarks before parliament Tuesday, Spain’s defense minister said the government had "prohibited the use of the bases of Rota and Morón" and did not grant flight authorizations "to support operations in Iran."
The minister stressed the decision was limited specifically to operations linked to Iran and did not signal a broader break with NATO or the United States.
John Hemmings, director of the National Security Centre at the Henry Jackson Society, a London-based foreign policy think tank, told Fox News Digital the decision reflects deeper tensions.
"If one looks at Spain’s refusal to allow U.S. overflight over its airspace or U.S. bases," Hemmings said, "one could argue it’s a U.S.-Spanish issue. The prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, a socialist, has no love lost for the MAGA movement. But Italy’s refusal comes after Poland’s refusal to allow a U.S. Patriot anti-missile battery to be redeployed and looks like the U.S. wheels are wobbling — if not coming off."
Quote:Austria has denied the United States permission to use its airspace for military operations related to the war with Iran, citing the country’s long‑standing policy of neutrality.
A spokesperson for Austria's defense ministry told Newsweek on Thursday: "For reasons of neutrality, Austria refuses overflights and the transit of troops if these would serve to provide military support to a party to any conflicts. If it is known that a military aircraft or military vehicle is directly or indirectly involved in a conflict, overflight or transit will be denied in consultation with the ministry of foreign affairs."
The move places Austria among a growing number of European countries restricting U.S. military access as Washington and Israel continue their campaign against Iran.
Why It Matters
Austria’s decision underscores mounting diplomatic friction between the U.S. and several European partners as the Middle East conflict deepens. While Austria is not a NATO member, its central geographic position in Europe makes its airspace strategically significant for military transit between Western Europe and the Middle East.
The refusal follows steps similar to those taken by Spain and Italy, which have also restricted U.S. military access to airspace or bases during the conflict—moves that have drawn criticism from the White House and raised questions about alliance cohesion. Spain’s decision last week to bar U.S. military aircraft from its airspace was seen as a particularly sharp break given its NATO membership.
Austria’s action further expands the list of European states limiting cooperation, reinforcing a broader pattern of hesitation among U.S. allies over involvement—direct or indirect—in the war with Iran.
What To Know
According to ORF Radio, Austria’s Defense Ministry confirmed that it has rejected U.S. requests to use Austrian airspace for military operations connected to the conflict, invoking national neutrality laws enshrined after World War II. A ministry spokesperson said there had been several requests from Washington but did not specify how many. Each request was refused because Austrian law prohibits providing military support to any party engaged in an active armed conflict, the spokesperson said.
Austria’s move comes as tensions have escalated between Washington and other European governments over airspace access. Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump publicly criticized France after it declined to allow aircraft carrying U.S. military supplies to Israel to transit French airspace.
Trump accused Paris of being “very unhelpful” and warned that the United States would “remember” the decision, framing it as part of a broader lack of European support for the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran. French officials later pushed back, saying France had not imposed a blanket closure but was reviewing military overflight requests individually in line with its long‑standing policy and international law.
Austria’s move comes as airspace access across Europe and the Middle East has become increasingly contested amid the escalating conflict, forcing military planners to seek longer, more complex transit routes for flights.
Is Austria in NATO?
Austria is not a member of NATO and has maintained a constitutionally enshrined policy of military neutrality since 1955, a status adopted after the Allied occupation following World War II ended. While Austria cooperates with NATO on limited security matters and participates in some European Union defense initiatives, it is legally barred from joining military alliances or providing direct military support to countries engaged in active conflicts.
That neutrality was central to the government’s decision to deny U.S. military overflight requests linked to the war with Iran. Austrian officials emphasized that the refusal does not amount to a blanket ban on all U.S. military flights through Austrian airspace but applies specifically to operations directly connected to active combat, in line with Austria’s neutrality law.
Quote:China has leveled fresh criticism of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran following a string of strikes on nuclear facilities, saying the attacks breach international legal norms and risk undermining the global nonproliferation regime.
"The attacks deal a heavy blow to the authority of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, undermine the international efforts to uphold the nuclear nonproliferation regime, and could bring serious consequences to regional peace, security and stability," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular briefing on Tuesday.
The comments come as U.S. and Israeli forces continue targeting Iranian military and nuclear-linked infrastructure. While the campaign has degraded parts of Iran's capabilities, it has also hit civilian infrastructure and caused significant casualties. Iran says more than 2,000 people have been killed.
Late last week saw attacks on the nuclear power facility in Bushehr, a yellowcake production site in Yazd province, and a heavy water facility in Khondab, according to statements from the International Atomic Energy Agency. The agency said only the Bushehr site involved radioactive material and that no off-site release was detected, but renewed calls for restraint to avoid a nuclear incident.
Newsweek has contacted the White House and the Israeli and Iranian foreign ministries for comment.
"Attacks against peaceful nuclear facilities under the safeguards and monitoring of the International Atomic Energy Agency violate the purpose and principles of the U.N. Charter, international law and the Statute of the IAEA," Mao said, adding, "China firmly opposes such attacks and advocates the peaceful settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue through political and diplomatic means."
Her remarks come weeks ahead of a scheduled meeting on the Non-Proliferation Treaty, where member states are set to review compliance and the broader state of the regime. Mao said China was prepared to work with all parties to pursue a diplomatic resolution to the Iran nuclear issue and safeguard the nonproliferation framework.
The conflict has also fueled debate inside Iran over its continued participation in the treaty. Ebrahim Rezaei, a spokesperson for the parliament's national security commission, wrote on X that remaining in the NPT would be "meaningless" because it hadn't benefited the country.
"The United States has withdrawn from 60 international organizations and conventions, and now if we want to exit the NPT, we will probably face surprise and opposition from the West," he added.
Quote:China and Pakistan have put forward a five-point proposal to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, now in its fifth week.
The roadmap was unveiled by China's Foreign Ministry late Tuesday following talks between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Pakistani counterpart Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing.
Pakistan maintains close ties with both Washington and Tehran and has in recent days positioned itself as an intermediary, saying it conveyed to Iran a U.S. peace plan.
China and its Pakistani ally have opposed the U.S.-Israeli strikes since they began on February 28 while also condemning Iran’s retaliatory actions in the Gulf, including attacks affecting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic has slowed sharply.
Both countries have also engaged Iran on maritime access, with a slight uptick in transits involving vessels linked to China and Pakistan in recent days, according to shipping reports.
Newsweek reached out to the U.S. State Department and Iran’s Foreign Ministry for comment.
The joint statement called for the following steps to bring the war to a close.
1. Immediate Ceasefire
All sides should halt hostilities and make “utmost efforts” to prevent further escalation. Humanitarian assistance should be allowed into affected areas.
2. Launch Negotiations
Dialogue and diplomacy are the only viable path to ending the conflict. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iran and Gulf states should be respected, and parties should refrain from the use or threat of force during talks.
3. Protect Civilian Infrastructure
All sides should cease strikes on civilian targets and critical infrastructure, including energy facilities, desalination plants and safeguarded nuclear sites, in line with international humanitarian law.
4. Ensure Maritime Security
Countries should safeguard vessels and crews in the Strait of Hormuz and restore the safe passage of commercial shipping as soon as possible.
5. Uphold the UN Framework
Any resolution should be pursued through multilateral channels and anchored in the U.N. Charter and international law to support a broader and durable settlement.
Neither the U.S. nor Iran had publicly responded to the proposal as of time of writing.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated that Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons, and said it must halt support for militant groups and curb missile development that could threaten regional neighbors.
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Quote:Iran hit a tanker off the coast of Qatar and Kuwait International Airport early Wednesday as Tehran remained unrelenting in its attacks on its Gulf Arab neighbors, while acknowledging for the first time that Washington had been in direct contact about a possible ceasefire.
Israel sounded warnings of incoming fire from both Yemen and Iran, while launching its own attacks in Lebanon that killed at least five people.
An airstrike on Tehran appeared to have hit the former US Embassy compound, which has been controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard since the 1979 hostage crisis. Witnesses said buildings outside the massive compound had their windows blown out and that it appears the strike happened inside the walled facility.
With no sign of the war abating and more than 3,000 lives already lost, US President Donald Trump suggested it could be over within two weeks even as he moved to bring thousands more troops to the region.
No signs of Iran relinquishing grip on Strait of Hormuz shipping
Trump has been under growing pressure to end the war as Iran’s grip on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and its attacks on regional energy infrastructure have sent gas prices skyrocketing to their highest level since 2022 and caused broad stock market fluctuations.
Iran throttled ship traffic through the strait, which leads from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, after it was attacked by the US and Israel on Feb. 28. In peacetime, a fifth of the world’s oil transits the strait and the spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, is up more than 40% since the start of the war, trading at more than $104 a barrel.
The US has presented Iran with a 15-point plan aimed at bringing about a ceasefire, which includes a demand for the strait to be reopened. Iran’s own five-point response includes it retaining sovereignty over the waterway, and Trump on Tuesday suggested that the war could be brought to an end even with Iran still controlling the strait.
The US “will not have anything to do with” what happens in the Strait of Hormuz, instead telling reporters that the responsibility for keeping the vital waterway open would belong with countries that rely on it.
Quote:Ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz will need secret codes and to pay up to $2 million in Chinese yuan or cryptocurrencies to avoid being attacked by Iran, according to a new report.
After Iran’s lawmakers approved a bill to impose fees on the safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz this week, new guidelines have been set for tankers and cargo ships to buy their way through with a company linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, sources familiar with the deal told Bloomberg.
Once the IRGC has the ship’s files on hand, the vessel would need to fly the flag of a non-enemy nation and transmit a secret, high frequency code to alert the Iranian navy so that it may guide the ship through the strait.
The rules effectively gives Tehran full control over the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade route that oversees the transport of 20% of the world’s oil supply.
Before ships can make the journey through the critical trade route, they must provide full information of their vessel’s ownership, flag, cargo, destination, crew and data from its Automated Identification System — which records a ship’s transit history.
The information is passed on to the IRGC’s navy for background checks to ensure the ships have no links to the US or Israel, according to Bloomberg.
If the background check is passed, the parties then negotiate the price of passage, with oil tankers seeing the starting price at around $1 per barrel of crude, which must be paid in yuan or stable cryptocurrencies.
Iranian regime launches execution spree over growing fears of another uprising: ‘Existential threat’
Quote:Iran has unleashed several new executions — with many more expected to come — over fears of another citizen-led uprising as the embattled regime fights for survival in its war against the US and Israel.
At least four members from the anti-regime organization, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, were executed in the last 48 hours, according to The National Council of Resistance of Iran.
Mohammad Mohaddessin, NCRI’s Foreign Affairs Committee chair, said the four executions were a message from the theocratic, and highly repressive, regime in an effort to “intimidate” and “exert control,” the Daily Mail reported.
“The execution of four PMOI members, amid an external war is a clear admission by the regime that it views the Iranian people and the organized Resistance as its principal enemy and an existential threat,” Mohaddessin said in a briefing Wednesday.
“Why were they executed now? Because the regime leadership is extremely concerned about the domestic situation and the possibility of another uprising,” he added.
Some of the 2,000 members of the PMOI’s Resistance Unit who were detained as part of a January uprising are also expected to be executed this week, the NCRI confirmed.
“Beyond the four already executed, the death sentences of 15 others have been confirmed by the Supreme Court and await implementation,” the NCRi chair stressed.
“Many other political prisoners are likely to receive death sentences as well.”
The warning of the imminent massacre of activists follows the slaughter of tens of thousands anti-regime protesters who took to the streets of Tehran in January over the country’s faltering economy — a movement that quickly swelled into calls for regime change.
Quote:The fanatical Iranian regime is turning children as young as 12 into cannon fodder as part of a desperate war recruitment drive, human rights groups have warned.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced the campaign, called “Homeland Defending Combatants for Iran,” as the US and Israel pummel the rogue nation, Human Rights Watch reported.
The advertising poster for the push, published by Iran’s Defa Press News Agency, features two fresh-faced children, a boy and a girl, smiling in front of a man in a military uniform.
Rahim Nadali, an official from the IRGC’s 27th Mohammad Rasulullah Division, said in a televised interview on state TV that kids want to stand up against the “global bully,” referring to the US, Agence France-Presse reported.
“For the Basij checkpoints that you see across cities now, we have had many young people and teenagers demanding to be present in them,” he said.
“Given the ages that were making demands, we have set the [minimum] age at 12. Meaning now there are kids of 12 and 13 who want to be present in this space.”
The tasks include staffing checkpoints, gathering security data and operational patrols, the AFP reported. Other tasks include cooking, providing medical care and dealing with damaged homes.
Amnesty International said it had confirmed photos showing children wielding weapons such as AK-pattern assault rifles and standing alongside IRGC and other forces at checkpoints and on patrols.
The recruitment of child soldiers is a grave violation of international law, the rights group said.
“The Iranian authorities are shamelessly encouraging children as young as 12 to join an IRGC-run military campaign, putting them in grave danger and violating international law, which prohibits the recruitment and use of children in the military,” Erika Guevara-Rosas, Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns at Amnesty International, said.
Quote:Iran’s president has sent a propaganda letter to Americans claiming his country harbors no enmity to ordinary US citizens, according to state-owned outlets.
Despite years of conflict and state-sponsored terrorism, President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted that the idea that Iran was an enemy of the American people was “neither consistent with historical reality nor with present-day observable facts.”
“The Iranian people harbor no enmity toward other nations, including the people of America, Europe or neighboring countries,” he said.
“Even in the face of repeated foreign interventions and pressures throughout their proud history, Iranians have consistently drawn a clear distinction between governments and the peoples they govern,” Pezeshkian added.
Pezeshkian’s comments appeared directly at repeated claims that Iran’s enriched uranium was weeks away from reaching weapons-grade levels, which could be used to produce a handful of atomic weapons.
He also called for the US to end its war in Iran, warning that the Islamic republic would outlast any form of American aggression.
“Today, the world stands at a crossroads. Continuing along the path of confrontation is more costly and futile than ever before,” he said.
“The choice between confrontation and engagement is both real and consequential; its outcome will shape the future for generations to come,” he added.
“Throughout its millennia of proud history, Iran has outlasted many aggressors. All that remains of them are tarnished names in history, while Iran endures — resilient, dignified, and proud.”
Pezeshkian did not make mention of President Trump’s claim that Tehran had begged him for a cease-fire on Wednesday, with the Iranian president claiming the US was dragged into the war against its will by its Israeli allies.
“Is it not also the case that America has entered this aggression as a proxy for Israel, influenced and manipulated by that regime?” Pezeshkian asked.
Pezeshkian’s message came with a patronizing tone as he backed the stance of his boss, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has yet to be seen in public since surviving the airstrikes that killed his father on Feb. 28.
So the Iranian president now wants Americans to forget how many times the regime has called the US the Great Satan for decades and how the US should be destroyed?
What about their own ayatollah's words on this matter? (If he is still alive.)Quote:Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued his latest threat vowing to support anti-American and anti-Israel terrorist cells in the Middle East — with the Islamic regime chief still ruling from the shadows.
Khamenei, who has not been since he was injured during the initial strikes of the war, rebuked one of President Trump’s war goals seeking to end Iran’s role as a sponsor of terror groups in the region.
“I firmly declare that the consistent policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in continuing the path of the late Imam and martyred leader, is based on continuing to support the resistance against the Zionist-American enemy,” Khamenei said in a statement read by state television.
The supreme leader has been submitting orders via state media anchors since he ascended to power last month.
Khamenei — the son of the longtime supreme leader, who was killed on the first day of the war — is believed to be “probably gay” and may have been badly injured in the strikes that killed his father and most of his family, according to US intelligence.
The extent of his injuries, however, is unclear.
Reports suggested that he suffered a fractured foot and numerous other minor injuries and lacerations.
But due to his lingering absence from the public, Trump and others have questioned whether he’s even alive.
Ali Bahreini, Iran’s representative to the United Nations office in Geneva, has insisted Khamenei was in “full health” and remained hidden due to security reasons.
Khamenei’s latest statement was directed at Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terror group currently fighting Israel in southern Lebanon.
Quote:ISIS has urged Muslims to set fire to churches and synagogues across the US and Europe this weekend in a sickening Easter threat.
The Islamist terror group issued the callous call, made in response to Israel’s closing of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, in the latest edition of its weekly propaganda outlet, al-Naba, released on Thursday.
“In the face of the tragedy of the closure of the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque, it is incumbent upon Muslims everywhere—those who yearn to come to the aid of the site of their Prophet’s Night Journey—to rise up and set fire to the Jewish synagogues scattered across America, Europe, Russia, India, and elsewhere,” ISIS declared, in a translation of al-Naba.
“The same applies to the synagogues in Tunisia, Morocco, the UAE, and Syria; their locations are well-known, and their details have been published,” the tirade continued.
It called for similar attacks on churches.
The twisted propaganda paper also called for attacks on “Jewish gatherings” around the world, ordering its supporters to “emulate the actions of the ‘Sydney Heroes,'” a disturbing reference to 2025’s Hannukkah terror attacks in Australia that left 16 dead, including one of the gunmen, and 40 wounded.
ISIS also claimed to have caused 60 casualties in “15 operations” over the past week.
Israeli authorities closed al-Aqsa mosque—the third-holiest site in Islam—in late February, citing the “security situation” amid the Israeli-US warn in Iran.
Authorities have also banned mass gatherings at other religious sites such as the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
Muslims call the hilltop that houses al-Aqsa the Noble Sanctuary, while Jewish people refer to it as the Temple Mount.
Palestinian authorities have hit out at the closures to Muslims, as Jewish groups have called for access to the shuttered site to hold Passover rituals in April.
Quote:President Trump warned Iran to make a deal now “before it is too late” on Thursday after US airstrikes took out Iran’s tallest bridge.
Trump shared footage of the newly built span connecting Tehran and Karaj being blown to bits and threatened “much more” destruction if Tehran doesn’t meet the US’ demands for a cease-fire.
The 446-foot tall bridge could be seen in the dramatic video collapsing in a plume of smoke following the strike.
“The biggest bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never to be used again — Much more to follow!” the president wrote on Truth Social.
“IT IS TIME FOR IRAN TO MAKE A DEAL BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE, AND THERE IS NOTHING LEFT OF WHAT STILL COULD BECOME A GREAT COUNTRY!” he added.
Quote:A coalition of 40 nations on Thursday huddled on how to meet President Trump’s demand to reclaim the Strait of Hormuz — and opened the door to military escorts if Iran eases off ambushing commercial ships.
“This meeting showed clearly the determination of the international community to secure freedom of navigation and re-open the Strait of Hormuz,” the British government said in a readout of the virtual international gathering. “Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz is a direct threat to global prosperity.”
Trump has asked European and Gulf partners to take a more immediate role in ensuring passage through the strait — even threatening to exit the NATO alliance over their lack of help. Key allies have pushed back, arguing that deeper involvement in Iran must wait until the danger subsides.
“This is not our war. We will not be drawn into the conflict,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Wednesday, stressing that the priority remains “diplomatic and political measures” to restore safe transit.
But the UK signaled a shift on Thursday, announcing it would convene military planners from various nations to hammer out ways to keep the strait secure — once the most intense fighting of the war comes to a close.
“Iran is trying to hold the global economy hostage in the Strait of Hormuz. They must not prevail,” the British government said. “To that effect, partners today called for the immediate and unconditional reopening of the Strait and respect for the fundamental principles of freedom of navigation and the law of the sea.”
The countries also discussed further sanctions on Iran to “bear down on Iran if the Strait remains closed,” as well as unspecified “joint arrangements to support greater market and operational confidence.”
“Today, we looked at diplomatic, economic, and security measures to restore safe passage, alongside working with the shipping industry,” EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas posted to X. “This waterway is a global public good. Iran cannot be allowed to charge countries a bounty to let ships pass.”
Quote:US Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George is retiring “effective immediately,” a Pentagon official announced Thursday amid reports War Secretary Pete Hegseth asked the high-ranking military officer to step down.
“The Department of War is grateful for General George’s decades of service to our nation,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote on X.
“We wish him well in his retirement,” he added.
George, 61, was nominated by former President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate for the Army chief of staff post in 2023. The Army chief of staff typically serves a four-year term.
Hegseth reportedly wanted someone in the role who would implement the vision he and President Trump have for the Army, according to CBS News.
“We are grateful for his service, but it was time for a leadership change in the Army,” a senior War Department official told the outlet.
George’s departure is the latest shakeup at the Pentagon under Hegseth.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, previously ousted Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff C.Q. Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Navy Chief of Staff Jon Harrison.
He also axed three key War Department aides — Pentagon senior adviser Dan Caldwell, former deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and former chief of staff to the deputy secretary of war Colin Carroll – earlier this year after a bureaucratic turf war, The Post previously reported.
George’s ouster also comes after Hegseth overruled the Army and lifted the suspension of two helicopter crews involved in a flyover stunt outside Kid Rock’s Tennessee home.
“No punishment. No Investigation. Carry on, patriots,” Hegseth wrote on X Tuesday, following an earlier report that several crew members had been suspended after Kid Rock’s post about the stunt went viral.
Hegseth’s decision to ask George to retire was not related to the helicopter incident, a source told CBS News.
Quote:The U.S. has deployed a new, cheap attack drone for the first time in combat—and it's a copy of the weapon Iran has used to menace American allies in the Gulf for more than a month.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) chief, Admiral Brad Cooper, has hailed the Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System—often referred to by the snappy acronym LUCAS—as "indispensable" to U.S. forces in the Middle East.
Western militaries, including the U.S., have watched on as both Ukrainian and Russian forces in Eastern Europe deploy lots of inexpensive unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), fundamentally changing how modern wars are fought.
Indeed, Ukraine has dispatched experts to the Middle East to help the U.S. and its allies take down Shaheds, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday was already showing results.
It's very difficult for traditional air defenses, which are designed to take out sophisticated threats like fast-traveling missiles with interceptors costing millions of dollars, to knock overwhelming swarms of throwaway drones from the sky.
Russia is infamous for using Iranian-designed Shahed drones, while footage of the triangle-shaped weapons zooming into Ukrainian high-rises has become a familiar sight online. Ukraine's residents quickly came to dread the low buzzing sound that heralds an approaching Shahed drone.
But until now, using lots of disposable drones has been mostly theoretical for U.S. troops. The first combat use of LUCAS, however, is a marked shift to using these new tactics in real-life missions.
What Is LUCAS?
LUCAS, made by Arizona-based SpektreWorks, is a one-way attack drone, sometimes called a loitering munition or "kamikaze" UAV.
CENTCOM has described the drone as having an "extensive range," thought to be about 650 kilometers (400 miles).
It costs in the region of $35,000, a fraction of the cost of precision missiles in the U.S.'s arsenal, such as the Tomahawk cruise missiles. Those come with an eyewatering price tag upward of $2 million apiece.
LUCAS is filled with up to 18 kilograms of explosives that detonate when the drone hits its target. It packs a lighter punch than missiles, and it is more effective against targets like power grids or government buildings, rather than heavily defended military targets. More sophisticated, costly missiles would still be needed to hit these difficult, fortified areas.
Physically, it looks very similar to the various versions Iran has produced of its Shahed drone. Its manufacturer explicitly said the drone was reverse-engineered with a wingspan matching Iran's Shahed-136.
"There are plenty of differences though, but as so often happens in drones, they are hidden under the skin, reflecting the very different environments where they are built and used," U.K.-based drone expert Steve Wright told Newsweek.
While the U.S. has a vast network of defense companies sustained by lots of funding, Iran has mastered working in isolation, cherry-picking technologies it can grab from elsewhere across the world, Wright said.
"Because of this, the LUCAS drone is constructed using mass production techniques similar to building cars and manned aircraft," and it is linked up to the rest of the U.S. military's catalog of systems and equipment, Wright said.
Quote:An American journalist was kidnapped Tuesday in Baghdad, prompting Iraqi security forces to launch a manhunt for her captors, Iraqi officials said.
The journalist was identified as freelance reporter Shelly Kittleson by Al‑Monitor, a Middle East news outlet to which she has contributed. In a statement, the publication said it was “deeply alarmed” by her abduction and called for her “safe and immediate release.”
Iraq’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that a foreign journalist had been kidnapped but did not identify the person. Two Iraqi security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly, confirmed that the victim is a woman with U.S. citizenship.
The officials said the kidnapping involved two vehicles. According to their account, the journalist was abducted from central Baghdad on Saadoun Street, a commercial area near several hotels. After the abduction, the kidnappers transferred her from the first vehicle into a second car.
Security forces pursued the kidnappers as they traveled southwest of Baghdad toward Babil province, the officials said. One of the vehicles used in the kidnapping crashed near the town of Al‑Haswa in Babil province while being chased by authorities. That vehicle was apprehended, but the journalist was no longer inside.
The Interior Ministry said security forces launched an operation to track down the kidnappers, “acting on precise intelligence and through intensive field operations,” after intercepting a vehicle linked to the abduction that overturned during the pursuit.
One suspect was arrested and one of the vehicles used in the kidnapping was seized, the ministry said, but other suspects remain at large.
The two Iraqi security officials said an alert was circulated to checkpoints across the region, enabling security forces to track and pursue the kidnappers as they fled Baghdad.
In its statement, Al‑Monitor said it stands by Kittleson’s reporting and urged Iraqi authorities to ensure her swift release.
“We call for her safe and immediate release,” the outlet said. “We stand by her vital reporting from the region and call for her swift return to continue her important work.”
Quote:The United Arab Emirates is reportedly preparing to help the US fight Iran and open the Strait of Hormuz by force after being repeatedly struck by Iranian drones and missiles since the war began, Arab officials said.
The UAE is lobbying the United Nations Security Council to pass a resolution that would authorize a military operation to end Iran’s grip on the critical trade route, officials told the Wall Street Journal.
The operation would see the UAE become the first Persian Gulf country to join the war against Iran, with Abu Dhabi calling on European and Asian military powers to join the coalition to open the strait.
Along with opening the Strait of Hormuz, the UAE is also calling for the US to occupy strategic islands near the oil-critical Strait of Hormuz, including Abu Musa, which Abu Dhabi claims but is currently held by Iran, officials said.
Bahrain, a close US ally in the region that hosts America’s Fifth Fleet, is sponsoring the UN resolutions, with a vote expected on Thursday, according to the WSJ.
Russia and China, allies of Iran who sit on the UN’s Security Council, would veto the resolution.
Nations in the Gulf, Europe and Asia have all called for the Strait of Hormuz to be opened as it serves as a key pipeline for 20% of the world’s oil supply.
Iran effectively closed the Strait to anyone it deems its enemies after the US and Israel waged war on the Islamic Republic.
Quote:French President Emmanuel Macron delivered one of Europe’s sharpest public rebukes of President Donald Trump since the Iran war began, accusing him of shifting objectives, weakening NATO, and fueling global instability. His remarks landed as markets reeled from Trump’s televised address, which offered no clear path to ending the conflict or reopening the Strait of Hormuz, now under a de facto Iranian blockade.
What To Know
- Macron said Trump’s changing positions weaken U.S. credibility and strain NATO.
- European governments are scrambling to manage the economic fallout of a war they were not consulted on.
- Britain held a virtual meeting with dozens of nations, excluding the United States, to discuss reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
- The UN Security Council is preparing to vote on a Bahrain‑drafted resolution allowing force to reopen the waterway.
- Britain will host military planners from about 30 countries next week to discuss securing the strait.
- Trump threatened to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages” but offered no exit strategy.
- Stocks recovered from early losses and oil prices eased slightly after reports of talks between Iran and Oman on monitoring marine traffic.
- Iranian officials rejected Trump’s remarks and vowed not to accept a cycle of war and temporary cease-fires.
- Iran continues launching missiles and drones, with intercepts reported by Israel and UAE forces.
- Iranian authorities detained human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, continuing a pattern of arrests.
- Death tolls continue to rise across Iran, Lebanon, Gulf nations, Israel, and the United States.
Quote:President Trump mercilessly trolled French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife on Wednesday — as he ramped up his attacks on NATO allies for not joining the war against Iran.
The commander-in-chief mocked his counterpart’s marriage to Brigitte Macron after the French first lady was caught on camera slapping her husband in now viral footage.
“I call up France, Macron – whose wife treats him extremely badly,” Trump joked during a private lunch at the White House on Wednesday as he detailed asking NATO for help.
“Still recovering from the right to the jaw,” he added, referring to the infamous shove.
“And I said, ‘Emmanuel, we’d love to have some help in the Gulf even though we’re setting records on knocking out bad people and knocking out ballistic missiles. We’d love to have some help. If you could, could you please send ships immediately’.”
Trump then mimicked a French accent as he recalled Macron’s answer, saying: “‘No no no, we cannot do that, Donald. We can do that after the war is won’.”
The president’s dig came after he insisted that he was “absolutely” considering withdrawing the US from the NATO military alliance after scores of European leaders barred the United States from using military bases for the monthlong Iran conflict and balked at requests for naval support to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
At one point, he blasted the transatlantic alliance as a “paper tiger.”
UKRAINE WAR
Quote:Action led by President Donald Trump has contributed to what "looks like Putin’s dream plan," a key NATO ally's leader has warned.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote in a post on X on Thursday: "The threat of NATO’s break-up, easing sanctions on Russia, a massive energy crisis in Europe, halting aid for Ukraine and blocking the loan for Kyiv by Orbán - it all looks like Putin’s dream plan."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has for years complained about NATO's eastward expansion, and in his explanation for invading Ukraine, named Kyiv possibly nearing membership as a major red line.
President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio both suggested this week that the U.S. will review its role in NATO after the war in Iran ends. Last month the U.S. lifted sanctions on Russian oil in a bid to curb energy price rises as a result of the war. Meanwhile Hungary leader Viktor Orbán, a Trump ally, blocked Europe sending more aid and loans to Ukraine.
Asked about Tusk's remarks and whether the sanctions would be reimposed, a U.S. State Department spokesperson referred Newsweek to Secretary Rubio's comments and said the "United States does not preview sanctions actions."
Quote:Russia views NATO as a hostile alliance, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, after President Donald Trump suggested the U.S. could end its membership.
Peskov, who was responding to questions about Trump's speech on the Iran War as well as the future of the military alliance, also said Russian President Vladimir Putin was talking to regional leaders about trying to end the Middle East conflict.
"The president is continuing these contacts, and if our services are somehow required, we are, of course, ready to make our contribution to ensuring that the military situation transitions to a peaceful course as soon as possible," he told reporters.
Why It Matters
Peskov's comments come a day after Trump suggested to British newspaper The Telegraph that he could potentially try to leave the alliance, saying removing the U.S. from the treaty was “beyond reconsideration”.
He added: "I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way.”
The interview was the latest criticism in a growing rhetoric of dissatisfaction with NATO from the Trump administration during the Iran War. Relations were already strained over the president's push to acquire Greenland at the start of the year, but have grown worse after European leaders pushed back on Trump's calls for help reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
The internationally important waterway for global oil has been effectively under blockade by Tehran during the conflict.
In a statement to Newsweek on Wednesday after Trump's threats to leave the alliance, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said, "President Trump has made his disappointment with NATO and other allies clear, and as the President has emphasized, 'the United States will remember.'"
What To Know
After Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, NATO declared Russia its “most significant and direct threat”. More recently, Russia has been accused by NATO countries of hybrid warfare following unauthorized drone incursions over critical infrastructure, such as airports, nuclear power plants and military bases.
But its standing as a united front has taken a hit in recent months after remarks from Donald Trump, and other members of his administration, over what future role the U.S. would have in NATO.
On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. may "reexamine" its role after several European countries limited U.S. military access to bases and airspace for strikes on Iran.
Spain had closed its airspace to all U.S. military flights during the war, while Italy denied U.S. bombers access to an air base and France drew Trump's criticism for closing its airspace to planes carrying weapons to Israel.
USA & NATO
Quote:Secretary of State Marco Rubio questioned the value of NATO Tuesday night after European allies blocked the US military from using their bases and airspace to launch attacks on Iran.
Rubio, who recalled that as a senator he was “one of the strongest defenders” of NATO, told Fox News host Sean Hannity that membership in the transatlantic alliance would be “reexamined” after the Iran war.
“If now we have reached a point where the NATO alliance means we can’t use those bases to defend America’s interests, then NATO is a one way street,” the top US diplomat lamented.
“If NATO is simply about us having troops in Europe to defend Europe, but when we need them to allow us to use their military bases, their answer is no – then why are we in NATO?”
Rubio said the decision over whether the US remains in NATO will ultimately be made by President Trump, a longtime critic of the alliance.
“So I think there’s no doubt, unfortunately, after this conflict is concluded, we are going to have to reexamine that relationship,” Rubio said.
During a cabinet meeting last week, Trump described the war against Tehran as a loyalty “test” and ripped Europeans for failing to step up.
“They weren’t there,” he said of the NATO allies. “So if there’s ever a big one … I don’t think they’re going to be there.”
Trump has also blasted European countries for failing to help the US reopen the Strait of Hormuz amid Iranian attacks on shipping vessels in the critical waterway.
The president has signaled that the responsibility for ensuring the safe passage of ships in the Strait of Hormuz may soon fall solely on Europe.
“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!”
Quote:WASHINGTON — President Trump said Wednesday that he’s “absolutely” considering withdrawing the United States from the NATO military alliance — and that “I’ll be discussing my disgust with NATO” during a primetime address about the Iran war.
“Oh, absolutely without question. Wouldn’t you do that if you were me?” Trump told Reuters reporter Steve Holland in an interview, when asked if he was weighing leaving the transatlantic alliance.
Trump made the remark after telling The Telegraph that NATO’s future is “beyond reconsideration” after European leaders barred US use of military bases for the monthlong Iran conflict and balked at US requests for naval support to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin knows that too, by the way,” he said.
NATO for generations has been a cornerstone of US foreign policy, committing the US, Canada and most major nations in Europe to collective defense against external threats.
In both of his terms, Trump pressured fellow NATO members to increase military spending. Last year, he shifted the responsibility of footing the bill for US weapons sent to Ukraine — which is not a NATO member — onto the allies so that Kyiv could continue resisting Russian advances.
Withdrawing the US from NATO would face significant bipartisan blowback, but unilateral presidential withdrawal from treaties has become the norm, and Trump has axed others, including pacts on climate change and arms control.
Former President Joe Biden in 2023 signed legislation coauthored by then-Sen. Marco Rubio — now Trump’s secretary of state — that bars any president from withdrawing from NATO without congressional consent. It’s conceivable Trump would argue the prohibition unconstitutionally restricts his ability to lead the military and conduct diplomacy — a case his team has made against other legislation in the past.
The Senate ratified the treaty establishing NATO in 1949 at the start of the Cold War, and the alliance has endured as a counter to Moscow’s post-Soviet reassertion of influence in Eastern Europe.
Members of NATO include the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Poland and Turkey. The alliance expanded to Russia’s frontier with the addition of Poland in 1999 and the three Baltic nations — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — in 2004.
Quote:Two senators, including Republican Mitch McConnell, issued a warning to President Donald Trump on Wednesday after he suggested the United States could withdraw from NATO.
In a joint statement, McConnell and Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, said the bloc was the most "successful military alliance in history," in an apparent rebuttal to Trump's ongoing disparagement of the organization.
“Alliance disputes are as old as the alliance itself. Americans are safer when NATO is strong and united," the senators wrote. "It is in our interest for all allies to tend this unity with care."
McConnell is the chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, while Coons is the ranking member.
Why It Matters
McConnell and Trump have long had an on-again, off-again relationship, with the senator having helped deliver key wins for the president in his first term while also being openly critical of some of Trump's actions—particularly in the wake of the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. When it comes to NATO and wider world affairs, McConnell has remained a staunch interventionist, which clashes with Trump's overall message of "America first."
What To Know
The message from McConnell and Coons came Wednesday after Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio floated the idea, once more, of the U.S. withdrawing from NATO.
“The only time NATO has gone to war has been in response to an attack on America," the pair said in the bloc's defense. "NATO troops fought and died in Afghanistan and Iraq alongside American forces. The United States must not take this sacrifice–nor our allies’ commitment to make it again–lightly."
The U.S.-Israeli bombardment of Iran, now well into its fifth week, has strained relations between Washington and its European allies in NATO, drawing criticism even from Trump's right-wing political ally, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Trump is a longtime critic of NATO, although European pledges to drastically increase defense spending and lean less on the U.S. in June 2025 appeared to ease concerns that he could pull America from the alliance.
Transatlantic relations dipped again when the U.S. insisted it would take control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous part of NATO member Denmark, despite a horrified reaction from European officials.
NATO leaders have repeatedly said the alliance is not involved in the Iran war, with many of its members distancing themselves from the conflict that began when U.S. and Israeli forces attacked Iran on February 28. Trump has said that the U.S. will remember the lack of involvement from fellow NATO members.
USA
Quote:A senior Trump administration source has denied sensational claims Pam Bondi was fired for tipping off Rep. Eric Swalwell about FBI plans to release files tied to his links to a Chinese spy.
The source told The Post that while President Trump personally likes Bondi, he had grown dissatisfied with her performance and had been weighing her removal for some time.
“The president has been considering this change for a long time,” the source said.
The denial follows a Daily Mail report that Bondi was dismissed after a series of internal clashes, including suspicions she alerted Swalwell to FBI activity involving documents related to his past association with suspected Chinese intelligence operative Christine Fang, also known as “Fang Fang.”
The outlet claimed Bondi ”begged” Trump to reconsider her dismissal.
However, Micah Beasley, a spokesperson for Swalwell’s campaign for California governor, denied that the congressman was given any insight into the release of FBI records.
“We had no heads-up by anyone in the administration. None,” Beasley wrote in an email to The Post.
“These stories would be laughable if not so outrageous. An administration that is now at 33% approval is looking to blame anyone but the right people — themselves.”
Bondi’s ouster follows months of friction within the administration. Her tenure had been under scrutiny over the Justice Department’s handling of records tied to serial pedophile and financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will serve as acting attorney general while Trump considers a permanent replacement.
The firing marks the second cabinet-level departure in recent weeks after Trump dismissed Kristi Noem, who was secretary of Homeland Security.
Last week, Noem’s husband, Byron, outed for living a double life as a cross-dresser with a fetish for grotesquely oversized breasts.
Swalwell’s past ties to Fang have been a source of concern for years, as she assisted the congressman’s 2014 congressional campaign with fundraising and helped place an intern in his office before federal authorities intervened.
Quote:Governors in Florida and Mississippi signed into law measures that require officials to verify the citizenship of voters, just as similar legislation being pushed by President Donald Trump has stalled in Congress.
The law signed Wednesday by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was immediately challenged in court by civil rights organizations that said it will make it harder for Floridians to vote.
The citizenship provision of the law goes into effect Jan. 1. It requires voters to provide a birth certificate, passport or naturalization certificate as proof of citizenship if their eligibility to vote is challenged by government officials through cross-referencing voter registration applications with motor vehicle records.
“Many eligible voters do not have these documents and cannot obtain them for a variety of reasons — including because they were born without a birth certificate in the segregated South, because their documents were destroyed in a hurricane, or because they cannot afford the hundreds of dollars it costs to replace them,” the civil rights groups said in a lawsuit filed in federal court in South Florida.
The voting legislation being pushed aggressively by Trump in Congress would mandate that people provide documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, such as a U.S. passport, citizen naturalization certificate or a combination of a birth certificate and government-issued photo identification. It passed the House but was stalled in the Senate before lawmakers took a spring recess.
Under the Florida law, credit cards, student IDs and retirement community identifications can no longer be used as IDs when voting, and the citizenship status of a driver must be reflected on driver’s licenses starting in July 2027.
DeSantis said the law improves the security and transparency of Florida’s election system.
“In Florida, we will always stand up for election integrity,” the Republican governor said.
Quote:A 13-year-old girl who vanished under suspicious circumstances in Arizona more than 30 years ago has now been found alive, authorities said.
Christina Marie Plante was only recently located after a sudden breakthrough in the case — decades after she disappeared without a trace from the tiny town of Star Valley, north-east of Phoenix, the Gila County Sheriff’s Office revealed Wednesday.
Authorities haven’t released any details on what led to her being found, but noted that advances in technology helped develop new leads.
It also wasn’t clear where she was located or when.
The blue-eyed, blonde vanished after she set off to see her horse in a stable near her home back in May 1994.
Missing person flyers blasted about town noted she was last spotted wearing a white t-shirt, multicolored shorts and black tennis shoes.
The pre-teen’s disappearance was described at the time as “suspicious” and authorities warned she was “endangered.”
“Christina was entered into national missing children databases, and missing person flyers were distributed locally, statewide and in other parts of the country,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
“Over the years, the case remained open and active, with investigators periodically re-examining evidence and pursuing new information as it became available.”
“After 32 years, Christina Marie Plante has been located alive,” the statement added.
Investigators have since confirmed Plante’s identity.
Quote:Work b**ch — But maybe not at a gas pump.
Pop icon Britney Spears, fresh off her DUI arrest, was seen at a gas station Wednesday afternoon smoking a cigarette.
In pictures obtained by The Post, Spears is seen sitting in the passenger seat of a $230K Jeep-style black SUV with her leg propped on the dashboard while smoking a cigarette, as her car is parked right in front of a pump while someone else fills up the tank.
The photos show a window rolled just slightly down, with smoke drifting inside the vehicle.
Smoking is prohibited at California gas stations near fuel pumps or tanks due to fire hazards. The California Code of Regulations prohibits smoking where flammable liquids are dispensed, with local ordinances often enforcing a 25-foot no-smoking zone. Violations are typically treated as infractions resulting in fines.
This is the second appearance for Spears following her infamous DUI arrest in Thousand Oaks last month.
The pop star, was seen in Malibu, Calif. on March 22, according to a photo posted by social media fan page BritneysVault. In the photo, Spears wears a long brown coat as she stands in line to order from Starbucks in the Malibu Country Mart.
The 44-year-old was arrested for driving under the influence in Ventura County in early March, following a series of calls to police describing the singer as a danger on the road. Spears is scheduled to appear at the Ventura County Superior Court on May 4.
Quote:Tiger Woods’ recent DUI arrest has shaken the golf world, and one of the game’s legends is calling on the 15-time major winner to make some serious changes.
Nick Faldo, the golfer-turned-broadcaster, spoke with reporters on a Thursday call, according to the Independent, and said Woods has to now take “responsibility” for the car crash in Florida last week.
“There are two sides to this right now. There’s one side, let’s care for Tiger, and then there’s got to be a responsibility and accountability side as well.,” he said.
“This is a serious thing and issue he’s done. The PGA Tour statement was so predictably weak. And you know how they show that, the Tour will look after him as they always have done.
“There has to be some accountability, forget about golf and everything.”
Woods, 50, was arrested in Jupiter Island last week after his Land Rover flipped over and clipped a Ford F-150 landscaping truck that was parked.
The golf icon, according to police bodycam footage, told officers that he ” ooked down at my phone and boom.” The video also revealed that Woods talked with President Donald Trump after the crash. He also\ told officers he was “hoping to” compete in April’s Masters, which he will not be.
Earlier this week, he pleaded not guilty to charges of driving under the influence with property damage and refusing a lawful test. Woods allegedly told officers during his arrest that he had taken “a few pills” the morning of the crash.
Hours after his plea, Woods revealed he was stepping away from golf to focus on his personal life.
“I know and understand the seriousness of the situation I find myself in today,” he wrote in a statement shared on social media Tuesday. “I am stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health. This is necessary in order for me to prioritize my well-being and work toward lasting recovery.
“I’m committed to taking the time needed to return in a healthier, stronger, and more focused place, both personally and professionally. I appreciate your understanding and support, and ask for privacy for my family, loved ones and myself at this time.”
Reality TV couple’s road-rage nightmare ends in arrest after suspect seen attacking car in Hollywood
Quote:A man accused of attacking the car of the duo behind “Gown and Out in Beverly Hills” has been arrested after the reality TV stars described the road-rage incident as one the most frightening of their lives.
The suspect, Kevin Hernandez, was taken into custody Wednesday on the 500 block of Melrose Avenue in connection with the wild confrontation, according to the LAPD. He was booked on felony vandalism charges.
The run-in occurred Sunday morning at the intersection of Melrose Avenue and Vine Street in Hollywood, where Pol Atteu and Patrik Simpson were stopped at a red light when driver abruptly pulled in front of their Mercedes-Benz and blocked their path.
Video they took of the incident shows the suspect exiting his SUV and approaching the couple’s vehicle before repeatedly striking the driver-side door and window.
“We’re grateful to law enforcement for taking swift action in this road-rage attack and for ensuring our safety by granting the order of protection,” Simpson told The Post.
“What happened that morning was extremely threatening and violent, and in the moment I truly feared for my life. No one should have to experience that kind of aggression simply driving through the streets of Hollywood.”
Atteu and Simpson said they were “trapped” and unable to escape as the suspect lashed out. They maintained they had no prior interaction with the driver and did nothing to provoke the incident. It remains unclear what set the suspect off.
Quote:The last-place Wizards can’t even do Aprils Fools’ Day right.
The team played a gag on a fan during its tilt with the 76ers on Wednesday night, and when nobody found the bit funny, Washington officials actually issued an apology on Thursday morning.
“We missed the mark,” the Wizards admitted.
The skit went down during a break in the action at Capital One Arena in D.C.
A man was blindfolded, and told by an in-arena emcee that if he drained a half-court shot, he’d win $10,000.
The guy didn’t even hit the backboard after letting the ball fly from his hands, but everyone on the court — including multiple mascots — raced in to pretend as if he sunk it.
The fan was then presented a check, but it was immediately ripped away when it was revealed he had actually missed.
People were quick to hit social media and criticize the Wizards for it all, and eventually, a mea culpa was released.
Quote:An alleged drug trafficker who amassed enough fentanyl “to kill millions” was indicted on Long Island Thursday, the district attorney announced while revealing the jaw-dropping $360,000 cache.
Phillip Gonzalez, 42, was indicted on charges including operating as a major drug trafficker and sent back to jail Thursday following a 10-day sting in late February sparked by one of his purported clients’ fatal overdoses, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Suffolk County police originally responded to reports of two overdoses at a home in East Patchogue on Feb. 17.
One victim who died at the scene had a contact for their dealer on their phone, the district attorney’s office said.
From there, they traced the phone number back to Gonzalez, a resident of Selden. An undercover detective arranged a meet-up where Gonzelez allegedly sold him “a quantity of powder cocaine,” according to the release.
The cops repeated the same process and bought another batch of cocaine from Gonzalez just four days later, prosecutors said.
The police department executed a search warrant at Gonzalez’s rental home in Selden on Feb. 26. There, they allegedly recovered 4.5 kilograms of fentanyl — enough to wipe out more than 2 million people, which is more than all of Suffolk County, the district attorney warned.
Authorities also seized 2.5 kilograms of Xylazine, more commonly known as “Tranq,” which is illegal for sale or purchase when mixed with illicit drugs.
Other parts of the illicit potluck include 1.5 kilograms of crystal meth, 223 grams of the cocktail drug Tusi, 40,820 milligrams of ketamine, 234 grams of cocaine, and five boxes containing hundreds of vials with fentanyl and more Tusi, the release said.
The vials of fentanyl and Tusi matched those recovered at the scene in East Patchogue, according to the district attorney’s office.
The entire cache had a street value of over $360,000, prosecutors estimated.
Gonzalez faces anywhere from 15 years to life in prison on more than 25 drug-related charges. He is set to appear in court on April 6.
Quote:WASHINGTON — President Trump marked the one-year anniversary of his “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariff announcement with new levies on pharmaceuticals and steel.
Trump signed orders imposing tariffs of up to 100% on foreign-made drugs and requiring steel to be tariffed at its US market value, rather than the lower cost of making it abroad, closing what officials called a loophole.
The pharmaceutical order is unlikely to affect most popular medicines because the rate drops to 0% for the 13 large companies that have already pledged to both offer federal health programs “most favored nations” pricing and to onshore production to the US.
Smaller drugmakers can reduce their tariff rate to 20% if they partner with US manufacturers and to 0% if they align pricing with rates in other western countries within 180 days.
“Basically, for smaller companies, what they do is they use contract manufacturers,” an official told reporters.
“The big contract manufacturers are building huge factories here, and so they expect to take care of the smaller companies by saying, ‘Look, we’ll build for you your smaller drug.'”
The metals-focused order seeks to both strengthen and clarify enforcement of Trump’s 50% tariff rate on steel, aluminum and copper.
Assessing steel at US market rates prevents undervaluing based on overseas production costs.
“It’s now going to be proper, and fair, as opposed to… people try to get around our tariffs and sort of short-changing us,” the official said.
“That creates a model [where] we will build blast furnaces and electric arc furnaces in America. 25-30 years ago, we had 40 blast furnaces in America. Now we’re down to 10 and we were becoming subservient to others,” he said.
“China just announced an export license regime, so they are thinking of weaponizing steel. We don’t buy consequential massive steel from China. However, the rest of the world does.”
The metals order also clarifies the tariffs on items partially made of aluminum, copper and steel, eliminating the need for complicated computations.
Products whose weight is comprised more than 15% of the metals will be subject to a 25% tariff. Items with a negligible amount won’t face the tariff.
Trump announced the new actions on the anniversary of his Rose Garden event unveiling a 10% baseline tariff on most countries as well as sky-high proposed tariffs on countries with which the US had trade deficits.
Quote:Top congressional Democrats, party campaign arms and allied groups are suing President Donald Trump and his administration over a sweeping order he signed this week that would increase federal involvement in elections.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) along with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic Governors Association and the Democratic National Committee, filed the lawsuit Thursday.
The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Washington, DC, seeks to block Trump’s executive order signed Tuesday targeting mail-in voting and voter eligibility, as Senate Republicans continue debating the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.
“The American people are fed up with Republicans’ price-spiking, health care-gutting agenda and are ready to vote them out,” Schumer, Jeffries and the committee chairs said in a joint statement. “That’s why Donald Trump is desperately trying to rig our elections by making it harder to vote for seniors, Americans with disabilities, members of the military, rural communities and other working families who rely on vote-by-mail. This move is blatantly unconstitutional, and we will fight against it.”
“We are taking action to challenge Trump’s executive order to protect the right to vote and ensure every eligible American can make their voice heard at the ballot box,” they added.
Trump has warned Republicans that if they cannot pass the SAVE America Act — which is unlikely given unified Democratic opposition in the Senate — the GOP could face major losses in the upcoming midterm elections.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson fired back, “Only Democrat politicians and operatives would be upset about lawful efforts to secure American elections and ensure only eligible American citizens are casting ballots.”
“President Trump campaigned on securing our elections and the American people sent him back to the White House to get the job done,” she said.
The executive order, signed earlier this week, reflects Trump taking matters into his own hands amid the political reality in Congress.
The order would create federal “citizenship lists” of US citizens using government databases, require those lists to be shared with states before elections, and give the US Postal Service (USPS) authority over mail-in voting logistics. It would also require voters to be enrolled with USPS to receive mail ballots.
Quote:Nassau’s fiscal watchdog is demanding County Executive Bruce Blakeman replenish nearly $14 million quietly pulled out of opioid settlement funds — and threatening to tank his next budget.
Nassau Interim Finance Authority chairman Richard Kessel blasted Blakeman and his Republican administration in a charged letter for transferring millions in interest earnings from the county’s Opioid Litigation Settlement Fund into its general fund — where it can now be spent on anything.
The intended purpose of the settlement is meant to fund opioid treatment, prevention and education.
“While sitting on the settlement funds in the face of this public health crisis is bad enough, it is unconscionable for your administration to transfer the interest in a backroom maneuver to prop up the County’s budget,” the Friday letter, obtained by The Post, read.
The transfer substantially drains the resources available for opioid treatment and recovery — especially as inflation has eroded the value of the fund, Kessel warned.
Internal finance data provided by county Dems and reviewed by NIFA showed roughly $13.7 million in interest has been transferred from the opioid fund by Blakeman, who is running for governor, to Nassau’s general account since 2024.
“You have been entrusted by the residents of the County to utilize these monies for the sole purpose of assisting efforts to provide interventions, recovery services, education, support and assistance to those who suffer from an opioid addiction and to their families,” Kessel continued.”
Quote:Disgraced San Francisco city boss Sheryl Davis arrived in court Thursday to be arraigned on a slew of bombshell corruption charges.
Pictures show Davis in a black jacket warding off cameras and holding a purse. She was accompanied by her attorney Tony Brass and two other unidentified people.
Davis, former head of the city’s Human Rights Commission, was arrested Monday alongside her boyfriend James Spingola on charges of multiple felony counts of misappropriating public funds and conflicts of interest.
They are accused of diverting millions in funds meant to uplift the black community after the death of George Floyd. She was in charge of the Dream Keeper Initiative — a $120 million plan to assist black residents.
Instead, Davis allegedly engaged in a “pervasive pattern of self-dealing,” according to prosecutors. The funds went to personal projects and parties — including upgraded flights, wine tastings for black college students, concerts and more at VIP events in Beverly Hills, Martha’s Vineyard, and New York City.
She also spent money allegedly on PR firms to promote her book and brand.
About $3 million went toward Spingola’s nonprofit despite netting low scores from city evaluators.
“Ms. Davis was funneling city money to Collective Impact, while also steering how Collective Impact spent its funds, both for HRC use and for her personal benefit,” prosecutors had said, referring to the nonprofit by name.
The relationship between the two was apparently not disclosed.
Davis has been charged with 17 felonies and two misdemeanors, while Spingola faces four felony counts.
Quote:A 66-year-old psychiatrist at the center of a series of federal raids targeting health care fraud flaunted his life of luxury online why allegedly bilking millions of dollars from taxpayers.
Gladwin Gill, and his wife, Amelou, were both arrested during operation “Never Say Die” for allegedly submitting $5.2 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for hospice services that were not medically necessary or ever provided, according to authorities.
On social media, Gill flaunted his high-end lifestyle — posting photos alongside celebrities like Mario Lopez, George Clooney, President George W. Bush and Salt Bae.
In one post, the psychiatrist can be seen posing next to sports agent and philanthropist Leigh Steinberg during a Super Bowl party in 2022, grinning ear to ear on the red carpet.
Coincidentally, that same year federal authorities were supposedly looking into Gill for alleged health care fraud and even executed a search warrant, according to First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli.
“Nothing happened with these cases,” Essayli said. “Nothing’s happened with fraud under the prior administration, and you’ll have to ask them why, but presumably, it just wasn’t a priority.”
It seems the feds weren’t the only ones suspicious of the Gills.
Multiple comments on social media called out Gill for being a “lowlife,” and even accused the doctor of stealing money.
Quote:The moped-riding goons who shot a 7-month-old Brooklyn girl to death in her stroller were aiming for her dad, law enforcement sources said.
Little Kaori Patterson’s father, Jamari Patterson, 22, was apparently targeted in the brazen Wednesday afternoon hit over a social media beef with a crew from a rival housing project, investigators now believe, the sources said.
The gunmen missed Patterson but struck the helpless tot in the head with the bullet, which then grazed her 2-year-old brother’s back before the thugs sped off and crashed their moped two blocks away.
Alleged shooter Amuri Greene, 21, ended up in the hospital, where he was identified as a person of interest in the baby’s death — with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch saying Thursday he would face murder charges.
Greene remained hospitalized Thursday and has not been charged.
Tisch said a “massive NYPD manhunt” had been launched to track down the driver of the moped, who fled the scene and is on the lam.
Quote:A Venezuelan migrant stabbed a Queens man and tried to slit his throat on a “remote” Long Island beach made infamous by alleged serial killer Rex Heuermann, prosecutors charged this week.
Ruben Guanipa Ramirez drove an acquaintance to Gilgo Beach and allegedly tried to kill him during a life-or-death struggle after the pair played pool and also stopped by Jones Beach last month, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
The same beach is where Heuermann, a Manhattan architect and Massapequa Park resident, allegedly dumped the bodies of seven sex workers after viciously murdering them over two decades. He’s expected to plead guilty to the slayings this month, according to law enforcement sources.
Suffolk District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement Tuesday that evidence recovered against Ramirez “raises serious questions about what he intended that night.”
Ramirez, 26, initially picked up the victim from his Queens home in his 2024 Lexus NX250 so the two could drive to Sport Billiard Pool Hall in Baldwin together and then swing by Jones Beach, prosecutors said.
They then went to Gilgo Beach, where Ramirez, a Venezuelan national, allegedly turned violent.
As the pair was walking back to the car, Ramirez came up behind the victim and stuffed his mouth with a black cloth while knifing him on the left side, according to the district attorney’s office.
He then tried to slit his throat and cut him across the neck, but the man fought back, prosecutors alleged.
The victim was able to wrestle the knife away from Ramirez and suffered defensive wounds to his hands in the process.
The injured man then hopped in the Lexus and zoomed off to a pal’s home in Queens, where he called 911, according to prosecutors.
Quote:Real fear is growing that Los Angeles’ once-thriving TV/film industry is taking a “Detroit-style” decline with Hollywood jobs evaporating over the last few years.
A staggering 30% drop in film and TV employment since 2022 has experts warning that the city is following the path of the Motor City where the auto industry used to boom, according to the U.S. Labor Department, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Recent stats show that as of March 2026, jobs in the motion picture and sound recording industries have dropped from where they were at their peak in July 2022 of more than 455 thousand jobs to 344,000.
At a March congressional hearing, California Democrat Sen. Adam Schiff met with others who work in the industry to gain support for a bill that would create a federal film tax incentive for movies to be made in the U.S.
During the hearing, Schiff noted that LA County has lost 42,000 entertainment jobs in the last two years.
“These are great jobs and we want to keep them here at home,” Schiff said. “It’s not rocket science how we do that. It’s largely drafted. It needs to be bipartisan. We are working to gather bipartisan support for this.”
Actor of the hit series “The Pitt,” Noah Wyle talked about the decline in jobs and how hard it has been on those working in the industry, saying the incentives are vital.
“It’s hard on families. It’s hard to fracture your industry that way,” Wyle said. “It’s vital to support these incentives. They are an investment in our city’s most precious commodity — they are an investment in its people.”
The loss of jobs has been particularly bad for crew members who work behind the scenes, according to the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).
“Since 2022, employment for below-the-line workers is down 45 million hours, according to the union. Over the same period, the U.S.’s share of global production dropped from 52 percent to 38 percent. Most major studio tentpoles — the kind that bring bucks — now shoot in the U.K.”
CANADA / ALBERTA
Quote:Alberta separatists have claimed they have enough signatures to trigger a referendum on whether the province should get independence from Canada.
Alberta, home to Canada's oil sands and a longstanding grievance over energy policies, has frequently expressed dissatisfaction with the federal government, especially over issues like carbon taxes, pipeline regulations and equalization payments.
In May 2025, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she would hold a referendum if a petition calling for one was successful. Activists were given a deadline of early May to collect 177,000 signatures to spark a referendum request under Alberta's Citizen Initiative framework.
Posting on X Tuesday, Alberta independence group Rise of Alberta said: "The 177,000 signature threshold has now been passed, officially clearing the requirement for an Alberta independence referendum on October 19th. This is a historic moment for Alberta and signature collection is still continuing."
Elections Alberta told Newsweek it was unable to confirm the signature count at this time.
Why It Matters
The petition receiving the necessary signatures to move forward is a major step for the separatist movement and indicates some support for the measure. However, overall public support for the measure remains low, according to polling, so it is unlikely to move forward.
What To Know
Smith lowered the threshold for citizens to trigger referendums last year.
"Should Ottawa, for whatever reason, continue to attack our province as they have done over the last decade, ultimately that will be for Albertans to decide," she said during a livestream address in May, adding, "I will accept their judgement."
However, the separatist movement seems unlikely to succeed. An early April 2025 poll carried out by the Angus Reid Institute found that only three in 10 Albertans would vote to leave the Canadian federation. A March poll from Leger had similar findings.
In February, Jeffrey Rath, the leader of separatist group the Alberta Prosperity Project (APP) said in an interview with Canadian Television: "the Trump administration shows Albertans far more respect than is shown to Albertans by the government in Ottawa."
While there are no plans in place to align more with the U.S., if Alberta's separatist movement is successful, some separatist leaders have indicated goodwill towards the Trump administration.
ASIA
Quote:A former Special Forces commando made millions of dollars carrying out assassinations for the United Arab Emirates, new court documents claim.
Abram Golan, a mercenary allegedly behind a botched plot to kill a member of Yemen’s House of Representatives, has been named a defendant by Anssaf Ali Mayo, who barely escaped death at Golan’s hands, the papers allege.
In August 2015, Golan, along with former Navy SEAL Issac Gilmore, started Spear Operations group in Rancho Santa Fe in San Diego.
The two pitched and reached an agreement with the UAE to carry out “targeted assassinations” on the empire’s behalf, the lawsuit claims.
In return, Spear would allegedly be paid $1.5 million a month plus bonuses for successful killings.
The deal was allegedly brokered over lunch at an Italian restaurant in the officers’ club of a UAE military base in Abu Dubai by Mohammed Dahlan, a former security chief for the Palestinian Authority.
“There was a targeted assassination program in Yemen. I was running it. We did it. It was sanctioned by the UAE within the coalition,” Golan allegedly said, according to the papers.
Once the deal with the UAE was reached, the two recruited former members of the military, a key point in their pitch to the UAE, including Dale Comstock, a former member of US Army Special Forces, who was paid $40,000 a month plus bonuses to run the killing team.
The group was assembled by the December. They allegedly loaded on to a chartered jet at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and flew to Yemen with body armor and specialized tools to prepare explosives.
They also allegedly packed a few weeks’ worth of military “meals ready to eat,” and three cases of Basil Hayden’s since it would be impossible to get any alcohol in Yemen.
Per the lawsuit, their main target was Mayo, who was at the top of the list to eliminate because he was a member of the al-Islah party, Yemen’s second-largest political group, which is linked to the UAE’s enemy the Muslim Brotherhood.
Quote:A new database of Chinese newspapers tracks the intensity of Communist Party propaganda used to support "ethnic harmony" in what critics say amounts to suppression of minority cultures.
One standout example is "铸牢中华民族共同体意识" ("forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation"), a party slogan championed by President Xi Jinping and now synonymous with assimilation efforts.
The phrase is all too familiar to Soyonbo Borjigin, a journalist from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, who recently launched a platform that tracks party propaganda efforts by scraping a database of nearly 700,000 articles from 20 provincial papers and two national ones since 2023.
Before leaving China for the United States, Borjigin and his colleagues at the Inner Mongolia Daily were put through a 30-day re-education program.
"During one session, the instructor asked us to reflect on the character 铸 ("to forge" or "to cast") and what it meant. The answer they gave us was that it was a metaphor for ethnic fusion, like molten steel being cast into a single mold," he told Newsweek. "The implication was clear: distinct ethnic identities were to be melted down and recast into one."
Later, when Borjigin traveled to the eastern city of Nanjing, he noticed the slogan was absent from day-to-day life. "That confirmed what PropagandaScope's data now shows at scale: this campaign is disproportionately concentrated in minority regions," Borjigin said.
Compared with the national People's Daily, this slogan was amplified more than 15 times by the Xinjiang Daily, the party newspaper in the far western region of Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uyghurs. The Tibet Daily and Inner Mongolia Daily saw their amplification increase by 9.5 and 8 times, respectively.
China recognizes 56 ethnic groups, including the Han, which comprise more than 90 percent of the country’s population of about 1.4 billion. For decades, many minority groups were accorded a greater degree of cultural autonomy. However, since the 2010s, Beijing has stepped up these Sinicization efforts as Xi sought greater control over ethnic policy.
Resistance has been met with crackdowns, as seen in Inner Mongolia in 2020, when thousands were detained after protesting the rollout of a Mandarin-only education policy.
On March 12, China passed the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress during the annual session of China’s rubber-stamp parliament. The law aims to “fully promote and popularize” Mandarin, the national language. Children across China are to be instructed in Mandarin from preschool through secondary education, whereas before they were permitted to study in their native tongues, such as Tibetan or Uyghur, a language widely spoken in Xinjiang.
Local governments are called on to build “inter-embedded” communities, encouraging mixed residence among ethnic groups and weaving these goals into urban planning, housing policy, employment, and social services. The law also provides for punishment for parents deemed to instill in their children ideas considered harmful to “ethnic unity,” a broadly worded term rights groups say has frequently been used against minorities who resist Chinese Communist Party policies.
Human Rights Watch Associate Asia Director Maya Wang said the law cemented existing "deeply abusive" practices and mobilized China's bureaucracy toward the goal of cultural assimilation.
Chinese officials dispute that the law is being used to suppress minorities.
Quote:China has converted scores of obsolete fighter jets into drones and positioned many at forward air bases opposite Taiwan, raising concerns they could be used to help overwhelm the island’s defenses in a conflict.
Decades-old Shenyang J-6 aircraft are visible across at least six air bases near the Taiwan Strait—five in Fujian province and one in neighboring Guangdong—according to satellite imagery published by the Washington-based aerospace think tank the Mitchell Institute.
China’s investments in drones, missile forces and fifth-generation aircraft such as the J-20 have widened the air power gap with Taiwan, prompting Taipei to increase spending on layered air defenses and longer-range strike capabilities in recent years.
The People’s Liberation Army has also stepped up pressure on Taipei through large-scale exercises and near-daily sorties across the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Taiwan’s Defense Ministry with requests for comment.
The supersonic, twin-engine J-6—derived from the Soviet MiG-19—entered service in the early 1960s. The last airframes were retired from active service in 2010, though the venerable fighter has continued to be used for training.
China is known to have begun converting these aircraft into unmanned platforms around 2013, and the fighters-turned-drones, dubbed J-6Ws, were on display during last year's Changchun Air Show in Jilin Province. Out of an estimated more than 500 converted airframes, at least 200 are now positioned at bases near the Taiwan Strait, Reuters cited Mitchell Institute analyst Michael Dahm as saying.
Less sophisticated than purpose-built unmanned systems, the J-6 drones could still pose a threat if launched en masse as part of a broader saturation attack, analysts warn.
"Large numbers of these coming across the Strait in conjunction with other strike aircraft or cruise missiles could help in overwhelming Taiwanese—and potentially U.S. and Japanese defenses," Tom Shugart, founder of Archer Strategic Consulting and adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, told Newsweek.
Satellite imagery indicates the aircraft are deployed at air bases in Fuzhou, Hui’an, Longtian, Yixu and Liancheng in Fujian province, as well as Xingning in Guangdong.
There is no obvious reason for the J-6s to be forward-deployed alongside more advanced platforms, wrote Moriki Aita, a research fellow at Japan’s National Institute for Defense Studies, in a recent report. "Rather, it suggests that they may be assigned different missions."
"Assuming that an unmanned J-6 is designed for one-way suicide attack operations, it could serve as a means of directly attacking air defense radar sites, surface-to-air missile batteries, airfield facilities, or critical infrastructure," he wrote. "This concept would impose a significant burden on air defense systems, forcing repeated engagements while enabling a portion of these platforms to penetrate even robust defenses."
Quote:The Philippines has reached an agreement with Iran on safe passage for its vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, a move the United States treaty ally says is vital to its energy supply.
In a phone call on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro reached a "positive understanding on the safety of our seafarers and the security of our energy supply,” Lazaro said on X. "Grateful for the warm spirit of cooperation."
Newsweek reached out to the U.S. State Department and the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs for comment.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-quarter of the world’s seaborne oil passes, was down 94 percent compared to peacetime, according to Kpler data, as the conflict and the threat of Iranian strikes deterred commercial shipping. Tehran has pledged safe passage only for ships from countries it deems “non-hostile.”
The disruption has unsettled energy markets and tightened supply for Asian economies heavily reliant on the route. The Philippines is particularly exposed: it sources nearly all of its oil imports via the strait, and officials say reserves cover less than two months of demand. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last week declared a national energy emergency, with the government rolling out conservation measures, including a four-day workweek for public-sector employees.
Araghchi assured Lazaro that Iran would “allow the safe, unhindered, and expeditious passage through the Strait of Hormuz of Philippine-flagged vessels, energy shipments, and all Filipino seafarers,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “These assurances will help sustain the steady flow of critical oil and fertilizer supplies to the Philippines.”
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining strong bilateral ties and pursuing “lasting peace” through diplomacy, the statement added.
Quote:A powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck offshore in the Molucca Sea near Indonesia late Wednesday, prompting a tsunami warning for parts of the region, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The quake occurred at a shallow depth and was centered west‑northwest of the city of Ternate, an area along the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the USGS said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said hazardous tsunami waves were possible along coastlines within about 620 miles of the epicenter, including parts of Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia. Authorities urged coastal residents to monitor official alerts as damage assessments continued and warned that tsunami impacts can vary widely depending on local geography.
Several population centers in eastern Indonesia lie close to the epicenter in the Molucca Sea and are monitored for strong shaking and possible tsunami impacts. The nearest major city is Ternate, the largest urban center in North Maluku province, with a population of more than 200,000 on a small island west of Halmahera.
Farther south, Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi and home to more than 400,000 people, has several low‑lying coastal districts identified by local authorities as tsunami‑prone. Regional monitoring agencies also watch coastal areas of the southern Philippines, particularly parts of Mindanao, and sections of eastern Malaysia, where shorelines could be affected by tsunami waves generated by strong offshore earthquakes, depending on their size and direction.
Quote:Hima-liars.
Mount Everest guides have allegedly been secretly lacing tourists’ food to trigger costly helicopter rescues as part of a $20 million insurance scam, according to a new investigation.
Police in Nepal have charged 32 individuals with organized crime and fraud charges related to the plot, which involves trekking company owners, helicopter operators, and hospital executives, the Kathmandu Post reported.
Guides with the trekking agencies allegedly poisoned tourists by putting baking soda in their food to trigger severe gastrointestinal distress that mimicked altitude sickness or food poisoning, investigators said.
Once ill, the visitors were allegedly pressured into agreeing to costly emergency helicopter evacuations, with operators using forged medical and flight documents to bill international travel insurers for the cost, according to authorities in the Himalayan country.
Those ill-gotten gains were then allegedly split among the guides, helicopter companies, trekking agencies, and the hospitals where the tourists were taken for fake treatments.
The investigation began in January when six executives from three prominent mountain rescue firms were arrested.
The groups allegedly fraudulently obtained at least $19.69 million in insurance payouts, according to police.
One company is accused of faking 171 of its 1,248 claimed rescues, leading to more than $10 million in illegitimate payouts.
A second company allegedly fabricated 75 of its 471 claimed rescues, fraudulently claiming $8 million, while a third is accused of making 71 false claims worth more than $1 million.
Prosecutors are seeking total fines of $11.3 million.
“The court is … giving high priority to this high-profile corruption case,” a court spokesperson said.
This is not the first tourism scandal of its kind to hit Nepal’s tourism industry, which supports over 1 million jobs, directly or indirectly, in the country.
In recent years, several major international insurers have halted coverage for trekking tourists in Nepal due to escalating fraud incidents.
In 2018, the Nepalese government claimed to have eliminated all “intermediaries” involved in arranging emergency evacuation for tourists, making operators legally responsible for their clients throughout the trip.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
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My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
