Iran War Live Updates: Israel Bombs Central Beirut in Expanding Attack

Israel Drops Case Against Soldiers Accused of Abusing Palestinian Detainee

After a prisoner arrived at a hospital with broken ribs and a torn rectum, Israelis were once again at odds over the issue of mistreatment and impunity.

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Iraq vents anger at strikes on former militias now under government control.

Woman kept in ‘Dickensian’ servitude for 25 years speaks out as abuser jailed

Amanda Wixon, 56, sentenced to 13 years for keeping victim imprisoned at home in Gloucestershire since 1990s‘She didn’t want me to hug her’: carer of enslaved woman describes her recoveryA woman imprisoned and forced to work for a mother of 10 for more than a quarter of a century in “Dickensian” conditions has said nothing can give her back her lost years as her abuser was sentenced to 13 years.The woman, who was held by Amanda Wixon in Tewkesbury, said: “For 25 years I lived in fear, control and abuse. I was treated as though my life, my freedom and my voice did not matter. The trauma and the nightmares are something I still carry with me every day.” Continue reading...

Google’s former Europe boss close to becoming next head of BBC, sources say

Appointment of Matt Brittin as director general would be latest sign of big tech’s power in media worldGoogle’s former Europe boss is closing in on becoming the BBC’s next director general, the Guardian has been told.Sources said that Matt Brittin, 57, is very advanced in the appointment process. Some insiders believe that, barring a last-minute development, he will succeed Tim Davie as the broadcaster’s next director general. Continue reading...

Middle East crisis live: Iran issues statement ‘from Mojtaba Khamenei’ as its attacks disrupt energy markets

Message read out by newsreader calls for national unity and says that all US bases in the region should close or face attacksMiddle East war creating ‘largest supply disruption in history of oil markets’How have you been affected by the latest Middle East events?An Iranian source is denying the country will allow India-flagged tankers to pass through the vital strait of Hormuz, Reuters is reporting.The news agency a little earlier quoted an Indian source as saying Iran would in fact allow such tankers to pass through the strait, a key artery for global oil trade. Continue reading...

ICC prosecutor opens probe into Belarus over deportations to Lithuania

The prosecutor's office said the crimes being investigated include deportation and persecution through deportation.

Senate again fails to pass homeland security funding as department shutdown nears one month – live

Democratic senator John Fetterman broke with his party in support of reopening the DHS; this is the fourth failed SenateSign up for Breaking US News emailsUS defense officials told senators on the armed services committee that the cost of the war on Iran totaled more than $11.3bn in the first six days alone, according to multiple reports.The New York Times was first to break the news about the conflict’s price tag, citing three people familiar with the closed-door briefing on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Blistering early-season heatwave threatens California and other western states

Records could be smashed in southern California as experts warn weather set to be ‘exceptional – and not in a good way’States across the US west are bracing for a brutal early-season heatwave threatening to cook several cities through the weekend and into next week. Forecasters warned temperatures will spike 20-30F above normal for several days.Daily records could be shattered in southern California this week, the National Weather Service said, with a possibility that all-time records for March will be broken as well. Following the warmest winter on record across most of the region, the intense conditions are expected to eat into low snowpack levels, deepening drought concerns. Continue reading...