What we know so far: Supreme Leader Khamenei killed, as Iran launches retaliatory strikes

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What we know so far: Supreme Leader Khamenei killed, as Iran launches retaliatory strikes47 minutes agoShareSaveHafsa KhalilandDavid GrittenShareSaveAirbus DS 2026Satellite image showing damage to the compound of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in TehranIran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed after Israel and the US launched a “massive” and ongoing attack against Iran's leadership and military.
US President Donald Trump has urged Iranian forces to lay down their arms, and for Iran's people to rise up against its government.
Iran has responded by firing ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, targeting Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
On Sunday, Israel said it had launched fresh attacks on “the heart of Tehran”, as Iranian attacks across the region also continued.
Here's what we know.
Videos shared online show aftermath of strikesWhy have the US and Israel att..

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Ayatollah Khamenei’s iron grip on power in Iran comes to an end

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Ayatollah Khamenei's iron grip on power in Iran comes to an end9 hours agoShareSaveSam WoodhouseShareSaveAFP via Getty ImagesAyatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed on the first day of massive US and Israeli air strikes on Iran, US President Donald Trump has announced.
The death of the 86-year-old ruler of the past three decades – one of the longest in the world – was later confirmed on Iranian state TV.
Iran has had only two supreme leaders since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
It's an all-powerful office – the supreme leader is head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, including the elite Revolutionary Guards.
Khamenei is not quite a dictator, positioned in the middle of a complex web of competing power centres, able to veto any matter of public policy and hand pick candidates for public office.
Young Iranians have never experienced life without him in charge.
State television has covered Khamenei's every move. His image is plastered on billboards in pub..

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Mapped: Which countries have been targeted in Middle East as Iran retaliates to US-Israeli strikes

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The United States and Israel have launched a wide-scale military attack on Iran, plunging the Middle Eastern region into turmoil as Tehran retaliates.
Several nations, including Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Jordan, have since been targeted following the attacks ordered by Donald Trump and Israel on Saturday morning.
It has prompted the closure of airspaces within the region, with global airlines cancelling flights throughout the Middle East and Dubai International Airport, the biggest global aviation hub, suspending all travel.
Confirming the attacks, Donald Trump said the US had launched “major combat operations”, aimed at “eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime”, including to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
The US President called the regime “a vicious group of very hard, terrible people”, adding that “its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world..

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Iran latest: US and Israel launch strikes on Tehran as Trump confirms ‘major combat operation’

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Smoke seen rising from area of southern Tehran following Israeli attackThe US and Israel have launched co-ordinated strikes across Iran, including Tehran, on Saturday, in a “preventative attack”.
Iran have retaliated with the Israel Defence Forces confirming that they had identified missiles launched towards them, and were intercepting the threat. Reports of explosions have also been made in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, which house US military bases.
President Donald Trump confirmed a “major combat operation” in an eight-minute speech, stating Iran could never have a nuclear weapon and adding: “It's been mass terror, and we're not going to take it any longer.”
Witnesses said they heard the blasts in the Iranian capital, while footage appears to show columns of smoke rising above the city.
Iran and Israel have closed their airspace, while officials in Tehran said their supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been transferred to a secure location.
The development comes amid hei..

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Flights cancelled and routes suspended after US and Israel launch strikes on Iran

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Flights between Western Europe and the Middle East have been severely disrupted after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and many other airlines are cancelling flights.
The “major combat operation” confirmed by Donald Trump on Saturday morning has had a major impact on flights in the region, as Iran and Iraq’s airspaces were closed due to the escalating action.
With missiles being launched from Israel against Iran, and retaliatory strikes from Iran, flights that would normally cross those countries are being forced to divert.
A video from the flight tracking service Flightradar24 shows the overnight stream of aircraft from the Gulf crossing northeast Iraq. But from around 6 am GMT, the pattern ends with aircraft instead flying west over Saudi Arabia.
British Airways has cancelled its flights linking London Heathrow with Bahrain and Tel Aviv until 3 March. Saturday’s link to Amman is also grounded.
A spokesperson told The Independent: “We are c..

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Aspiring taxi drivers taking tests each month up 30% after simplified assessment

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AdvertisementHong Kong transportHong KongTransportAspiring taxi drivers taking tests each month up 30% after simplified assessment‘The average monthly number of candidates has now risen to around 1,800,’ transport chief Mable Chan says
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPAmbrose LiPublished: 6:06pm, 28 Feb 2026Updated: 6:23pm, 28 Feb 2026The average number of aspiring Hong Kong taxi drivers taking a crucial industry test each month has increased by nearly 30 per cent following the launch of a simplified version of the assessment last year, the transport minister has said.
Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan also said on Saturday that the government was increasing the number of dedicated meeting spaces for the city’s five premium taxi fleets at cultural and business landmarks.
“We streamlined the written test arrangements for taxi drivers last year. The average monthly number of candidates has now risen to around 1,800, representing an increase of nearly 30 per cent..

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Why won’t Chile let China’s Silk Road Ark military hospital ship give medical aid?

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AdvertisementChina-Latin America relationsChinaDiplomacyWhy won’t Chile let China’s Silk Road Ark military hospital ship give medical aid?The vessel has sailed into Valparaiso’s waters as the geopolitical winds shift in the western hemisphere
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMP1Laura ZhouPublished: 6:00pm, 28 Feb 2026The Chilean government has turned down a request from a Chinese military hospital ship to treat Chilean residents on board the vessel.The decision reflects Santiago’s tilt towards Washington and US efforts to exert more influence in the western hemisphere, according to a Chinese academic.The Chilean Ministry of Health said on Friday that it had reviewed the Silk Road Ark’s request and decided not to grant it, citing a health code that restricts such services to professionals accredited ‌in the country, Reuters reported.
Advertisement“We ⁠determined that ⁠it is not appropriate to authorise this health operation to function on the ship’s facilities,” ‌the ministry s..

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Bill Clinton asked about hot tub photo and testifies he knew ‘nothing’ of Epstein crimes

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Bill Clinton asked about hot tub photo and testifies he knew 'nothing' of Epstein crimes7 hours agoShareSaveAna FaguyandNada Tawfik and Cai Pigliucci,in Chappaqua, New YorkShareSaveWatch: Hot tub, flight logs, and other key moments from Bill Clinton's depositionFormer President Bill Clinton told a congressional panel he “saw nothing,” and “did nothing wrong” in relation to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The all-day hearing behind closed doors in New York featured the former president being asked about his inclusion in newly released files related to the financier, including in a photo with an unidentified person in a hot tub.
His testimony came one day after his wife, ex-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, told the committee she also “had no idea” of Epstein's crimes.
Appearing in the files is not an indication of wrongdoing, and neither Clinton has been accused of misconduct by Epstein survivors who have come forward so far.
Clinton said that he would h..

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Pakistan–Afghanistan war: Kabul launches drone strikes; Islamabad claims no casualties

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. Afghanistan said on Friday it carried out drone strikes on Pakistani military establishments as fighting between the two neighbours continued. Pakistan, meanwhile, said it shot down the drones using its anti-drone systems and reported no casualties.Afghanistan's military launched attacks late Thursday along the border in six provinces. It described the action as retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes carried out on Sunday in Afghan border areas, claiming “irrefutable evidence” that militants in Afghanistan were behind a recent wave of attacks and suicide bombings in Pakistan.Afghan authorities in Nangarhar province said fighting was ongoing in the Torkham border area on Friday morning.They also claimed Pakistani mortar fire hit civilian areas, including a refugee camp that had been evacuated overnight, as Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawaja Mohammad Asif, said the country now considered itself in an “open war” with Afghanistan. Both sides gave different casualty figures. Afghanis..

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