Category: Sport

'Iran is talking': Trump, claims 'defeated' regime facing internal 'disaster'Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has announced that the Strait of Hormuz is closed and any transit through the waterway will face “harsh measures”, according to state media.
It added that shipping “to and from ports of allies and supporters of the Israeli-American enemies” is prohibited through any corridor or to any destination.
Three container ships of mixed nationalities were forced to turn back after warnings.
The passage, through which one fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes, has remained largely closed since the outbreak of hostilities.
It comes as Donald Trump is considering sending another 10,000 troops to the Middle East, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The forces would likely be sent within striking distance of Iran and Kharg Island, a key oil export hub off in the Persian Gulf.
Despite the escalation, Germany’s foreign minister on Friday said..

Washington’s ambassador to the UK has warned that it would be “a mistake” to cancel King Charles’s planned state visit to the US.
Asked about calls to postpone the historic royal trip because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Warren Stephens said it would be wrong for it to be scrapped or delayed and insisted the trip should go ahead.
In a question-and-answer session after his speech to the British Chambers of Commerce conference in London on Thursday, Mr Stephens refused to confirm the visit – which has not been officially announced – but added: “I think he will go and I think it will be a very meaningful trip for him.”
The diplomat said US House Speaker Mike Johnson had made an offer for Charles to address both Houses of Congress while he was there.
King Charles is set to reciprocate his state visit by travelling to the US at the end of April (Getty)It comes as The Independent has been told that Congressional and Senate leaders have been told to prepare for a joint meeting ..

With war raging in the Middle East, many, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, warned the conflict could hand Vladimir Putin a window of opportunity to accelerate his aggression against Ukraine.
Now, it appears those fears have come true with Russia launching its most brutal attack on the country since the war began on Tuesday, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
A barrage of nearly 1,000 drones were launched over a 24-hour period, killing at least six people. Russia launched 23 cruise missiles, seven ballistic missiles, hitting at least 10 locations, including a Unesco World Heritage site, according to Ukraine’s air force.
The onslaught affected 11 regions and seven cities were hit, marking it out as the largest aerial attack in a single day so far.
open image in gallerySmoke rises after a Russian drone hits an apartment building during a rare daylight attack in Lviv, Ukraine. Moscow has ramped up its airstrikes on the country in recent days (Reuters)While Russia’s..

Iran imposed a “de facto toll booth regime” in the Strait of Hormuz even before its parliament unveiled plans to formally charge ships transiting the critical maritime route, Lloyd's List said.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) already required ships to submit full documentation, obtain clearance codes, and accept escorted passage through a controlled corridor of the strait, it said.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most critical energy chokepoints as a fifth of the global oil supply typically passes through it.
Iran’s parliament is pursuing legislation to “formally codify Iran’s sovereignty, control and oversight over the Strait of Hormuz, while also creating a source of revenue through the collection of fees”, lawmaker Mohammadreza Rezaei Kouchi said, according to Fars and Tasnim news agencies. The arrangement was “entirely natural”, he said.
“We provide its security and it is natural that ships and oil tankers should pay such fees,” Mr Kouchi added.
S..

A woman charged with trying to murder Rihanna and more than a dozen other felonies is set to appear in court to enter a plea Wednesday.
The singing superstar, her hip-hop star partner A$AP Rocky, their three young children and many others were at their home in the Beverly Hills area when Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, 35, of Orlando, Florida, opened fire on the property on March 8, prosecutors said.
Ortiz is charged with 10 counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and three counts of shooting at an occupied vehicle or dwelling.
At her first appearance in Los Angeles Superior Court on March 11, Ortiz's lawyer entered a plea of not guilty on her behalf, but then withdrew it in favor of postponing the arraignment.
Rihanna's Los Angeles home in Beverly Hills, California (AP)Public records show Ortiz has been a licensed speech pathologist for more than a decade. Now jailed on $1.8 million bail, she could get life in prison if convicted on all charges.
The Public Defender's Of..

Today show host Savannah Guthrie broke down in tears over the “agony” her family is experiencing in her first sit-down interview since her 84-year-old mother, Nancy, was kidnapped from her Arizona home nearly two months ago.
In a preview of the interview, the 54-year-old NBC anchor became emotional as she spoke with her former morning-show co-host, Hoda Kotb.
“Someone needs to do the right thing,” she said through tears. “We are in agony. It is unbearable. And to think of what she went through.”
“I wake up every night in the middle of the night, every night,” she continued. “And in the darkness, I imagine her terror. And it is unthinkable, but those thoughts demand to be thought. And I will not hide my face.”
“But she needs to come home now,” she added.
open image in galleryAn emotional Savannah Guthrie gave her first interview since her mother disappeared with her former co-anchor, Hoda Kotb (NBC News)open image in galleryNancy Guthrie disappeared from her home in the Catalina Foo..

Norway's huge $2.1 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, plans to eventually allow artificial intelligence to make some investment decisions, but only under human supervision. Officials confirmed this remains a future step, citing the technology's current error rate.
Around half of the 700 employees at Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) already code their own AI tools, primarily using Anthropic's Claude large language model. These systems gather information, assisting staff in decision-making, according to Stian Kirkeberg, the fund's head of machine learning and AI.
Applications range from monitoring 7,000 companies for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and financial risk, to simulating contract negotiations or preparing for meetings. Mr Kirkeberg stated that, in time, some AI agents will be permitted to make limited autonomous decisions.
“The principle is that we make better human decisions by getting AI to analyse it for us,” he..

President Donald Trump appeared to try to pin the blame for the Iran conflict on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Monday.
Speaking at a roundtable event for national military and law enforcement leaders in Memphis, Tennessee, the president said of the circumstances leading up to the launch of Operation Epic Fury on February 28: “I called Pete, I called General [Dan] Caine, I called a lot of our great people – we have a lot of great people – and I said, ‘Let’s talk.’
“‘We’ve got a problem in the Middle East. We have a country, known as Iran, that has for 47 years been just a purveyor of terror and they’re very close to having a nuclear weapon.
“‘We can keep going and get that 50,000 up to 55 and 60 with no end, or we can take a stop and make a little journey into the Middle East and eliminate a big problem.’
open image in galleryPresident Donald Trump delivers remarks on the Iran conflict at Memphis Air National Guard Base in Memphis, Tennessee, Monday March 23, 2026 (Reuters)“And Pete, ..

Pilot pays tribute to US service members killed in Iran with flight path artworkIran’s foreign ministry has rubbished Donald Trump’s claim of “productive” talks to end the war in Iran, suggesting the president is only trying to reassure inflamed energy markets and buy time for his military plans.
Donald Trump said on Monday morning that Washington and Tehran had had “VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE” conversations over the past two days about a “COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST”.
He wrote on social media that he had instructed the US defence department to postpone strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure, just hours before the expiry of his ultimatum to Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or be “obliterated”.
Iran’s foreign ministry promptly denied that there are any direct talks with the US. The ministry said that while there are initiatives from regional countries to de-escalate, all requests should be directed towards the US “as we did not initiate the war”…

France is mourning the loss of Lionel Jospin, the former prime minister credited with introducing the nation's 35-hour working week, who has died at the age of 88. Mr Jospin, who famously stepped away from politics after his tenure, passed away on Sunday, his family confirmed to Agence France-Presse.
Sebastien Lecornu, the current prime minister, paid tribute on X, stating that Mr Jospin “served France with constancy, rigour and a sense of responsibility”. Mr Lecornu added that “his actions, guided by a certain vision of social progress and republican values, leave a lasting mark and a model of commitment”.
Before his unexpected ascent to lead the Socialist Party in 1981, appointed by then-newly elected President Francois Mitterrand, Mr Jospin was an economics professor. His distinctive appearance, marked by a tousle of white curls and thick-rimmed glasses, often reflected his academic background.
Untarnished by allegations of corruption, Mr Jospin re-established credibility for t..