Category: World

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.
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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, ..