U.S. President Donald Trump gave Iran a 48-hour ultimatum to reopen the Strait of Hormuz,Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said that Iran's nuclear enrichment was "obliterated" and that there have been no efforts to rebuild it, Israel announced the killing of Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib followingthe assassinations of top Iranian officials Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani in Israeli strikes,and Tehran reportedly fired missiles at the joint U.S.-U.K. military base at Diego Garcia, though none of them struck the target.This comes as Iran struck Israel's Haifa refinery following attacks on its South Pars natural gas field, rockets and drones were fired at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad in what sources described as "the most intense assault since the attacks began,"and a drone strike hit a fuel tank near Dubai International Airport.In related developments, Iran claimed it struck a U.S. F-35 in what would be the first known hit on the aircraft,Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released multiple videos on his social media following rumors that he had been killed in an Iranian strike,and Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly escaped death by mere seconds from the Feb. 28 joint U.S.-Israeli strike on Tehran's leadership compound.Meanwhile, Israel launched strikes on Syria in response to alleged attacks on Druze civilians, Pakistan and Afghanistan declared a temporary ceasefire ahead of Islam's Eid al-Fitr holiday,and Afghanistan accused Pakistan of targeting a Kabul hospital in a strike it claimed left over 400 dead.In other news, Nairobi and Moscow agreed to stop enlisting Kenyans to fight in the Ukraine war, a crewless Russian tanker continued to drift in the Mediterranean Sea after being damaged in a drone strike,and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán vetoed a 90 billion EU loan for Ukraine over a dispute about the Druzhba pipeline.Elsewhere, Colombia deployed troops to the border with Ecuador following an alleged cross-border bombing, U.S. intelligence concluded that China has no set timeline to invade Taiwan, speculating that it would rather avoid the use of force,and South Korea's Army halted all small-arms firing drills after a schoolgirl was reportedly struck by a stray bullet.In Africa, Botswana denied that it was hosting a U.S. military base, labeling reports to the contrary "misinformation," the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda agreed to "concrete steps" to achieve peace during talks in Washington, Nigeria's military killed 80 militants in an overnight attack on a military base near the Niger border,and at least 23 people were killed in a series of suspected suicide bombings across Nigeria.

U.S. President Donald Trump met with Japan's prime minister at the White House to discuss Iran and a nuclear energy deal, Trump delayed a scheduled visit to Beijing due to the ongoing war with Iran,and Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi denied having any contact with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff following reports that Iran was seeking to negotiate.Meanwhile, Trump said the U.S. would do "something with Cuba very soon," describing the island as a "failed nation,"former Chevron executive Ali Moshiri reportedly advised the CIA before Washington's capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro,and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu visited the U.K. in the first state trip to the country by a Nigerian leader in 37 years.In other news, Venezuela's Delcy Rodríguez overhauled the country's cabinet, consolidating power in a major shake-up,former French President Nicolas Sarkozy appeared in court to appeal his five-year sentence on conspiracy charges related to alleged illegal campaign financing,and former Belgian diplomat Étienne Davignon was ordered to stand trial on charges related to the 1961 killing of Congo's first prime minister, Patrice Lumumba.Elsewhere, the U.S. expanded its visa bond program to include 50 countries, requiring financial guarantees for certain visa applicants,U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer reportedly considered softening immigration reforms following criticism from former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner,and YouGov agreed to include national voting intention data in its future tables following a disagreement with Reform UK's Nigel Farage.

The Senate voted to debate the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote in elections,National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent quit over disagreements about the Iran war,with reports later emerging that the FBI opened a probe into him before his resignation,and Sen. Markwayne Mullin testified in his confirmation hearing to succeed Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary,with a Senate panel advancing his nomination.This comes as Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton won the Democratic primary for retiring Sen. Dick Durbin's Senate seat,Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino retired after nearly three decades with the agency,and the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in Trump's bid to end Temporary Protected Status for 350,000 Haitians.Meanwhile, Attorney General Pam Bondi was ordered to appear for a closed-door deposition on the Jeffrey Epstein probe, the Kennedy Center board voted to close the complex for two years for a $200 million renovation,and the Justice Department sued Harvard over alleged Jewish student discrimination.In other news, a judge blocked the Pentagon's press policy, finding that it violates the First and Fifth Amendment rights to free speech and due process, the U.S. Education Department began transferring federal student loans to the Treasury Department for servicing and management,and an arts panel approved the design of a 24-karat gold commemorative coin featuring Trump's image.

The U.S. lost its status as a liberal democracy in the V-Dem Institute's 2026 Democracy Report, a U.S. judge ruled against Arkansas' Ten Commandments classroom law, ruling it unconstitutional under the First Amendment's establishment clause,and a Georgia woman was charged with murder after allegedly taking misoprostol and oxycodone to end her pregnancy.Meanwhile, Canada's Alberta introduced a bill to tighten medical assistance in dying rules, limiting it to individuals over 18 whose natural death is expected within 12 months, Scotland's parliament rejected an assisted dying bill, failing to secure majority support after a debate over safeguards and ethical concerns,and Iran executed three convicted protesters and an accused Mossad spy, in a wave of capital punishments tied to alleged espionage and national security offenses.

Trump signed an executive order creating a task force to address fraud in federal benefit programs,and a suspect was killed during a shooting at a Georgia Veterans Affairs clinic in an incident that left one person injured.Meanwhile, U.K. child image offenses rose 9% last year, with Snapchat identified as the top platform used for sharing such material,and Kenya charged two individuals for allegedly smuggling thousands of live ants, in a rare wildlife trafficking case involving protected insect species.

A jury found Elon Musk liable for misleading Twitter investors during his $44 billion acquisition of the company in 2022,and over 30 states resumed an antitrust trial against Live Nation, pressing forward with allegations of monopolistic control over concert promotion and ticketing.Meanwhile, CBS News announced plans to shut down its news radio service due to "challenging economic realities," Chinese-owned JD.com launched its Joybuy platform in the U.K. to directly compete with Amazon in e-commerce,and Amazon launched 1-hour and 3-hour delivery options across the U.S., expanding ultra-fast shipping to most major metro areas.This comes as Meta announced plans to remove its end-to-end encryption in Instagram messaging, citing low user adoption as the reason behind the decision,and Uber moved to invest $1.25 billion in Rivian to accelerate the development of an electric vehicle fleet.

The U.S. national debt surpassed $39 trillion for the first time, the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, citing uncertainty over the economic impact of the Iran war,as diesel prices hit $5 per gallon — the highest level since December 2022 —and a report warned of a worsening U.K. economy due to the Iran conflict, predicting it could raise the current 5.2% unemployment rate to over 5.5%.This comes as Sri Lanka adopted a nationwide four-day workweek to conserve fuel amid ongoing shortages, a study found that U.S. families need $145,000 annually to achieve basic economic security in most regions,and Cuba reported an island-wide power outage following widespread protests over economic hardship and blackouts.

A judge blocked the Trump administration's changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, ruling they likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act,White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer, and is expected to undergo treatment while continuing her role,and Trump publicly revealed that Rep. Neal Dunn has a terminal heart condition, disclosing that he had arranged for White House doctors to treat the congressman.Meanwhile, the U.K. reported 29 meningitis cases with two deaths amid an ongoing outbreak that has been declared a "national incident,"and a study found that 72% of U.K. babies experience daily screen time, drawing on data from a 2020 study on more than 8,000 families.This comes as researchers concluded there is little evidence that cannabis effectively treats mental health conditions, questioning its therapeutic value for disorders like depression and anxiety,and a study linked GLP-1 drugs to a 42% lower risk of mental illness, suggesting potential protective effects on psychiatric outcomes.

AccuWeather warned that 200 million Americans face "dangerous" weather conditions this spring, with extreme heat, severe storms and flood risks in multiple regions,and 24 states sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its repeal of the 2009 endangerment finding for greenhouse gases.Meanwhile, Tropical Cyclone Narelle made landfall in Australia's Queensland in what was described as "the biggest system that many people have seen in living memory,"and a study projected that physical inactivity will kill up to 700,000 people annually, driven by rising heat levels across the world.

The White House unveiled a legislative framework for AI regulation, calling on Congress to create a single national standard,and Meta announced plans to deploy AI to police content on Facebook and Instagram.Meanwhile, Sony pulled 135,000 AI-generated songs from streaming platforms after discovering widespread unauthorized use of its artists' voices and likenesses, three U.S. teens filed a lawsuit against xAI over allegations that Grok generated explicit deepfakes of them without their consent,and a study found that AI writing tools make student essays more bland, producing more generic, formulaic language with reduced originality.

Scientists discovered a new double-charm quark particle four times heavier than a proton, researchers uncovered the earliest known recording of a humpback whale song from 1949, revealing previously undocumented vocal patterns from the species,and a study found babies begin deceiving others as early as eight months, showing intentional false behaviors like fake crying or hiding actions to achieve goals.

The White House registered two new domains related to extraterrestrial life amid a renewed push to declassify and release UFO-related files and records,and scientists discovered a molten exoplanet covered in a magma ocean, potentially identifying a new class of planet.

The WNBA and its players agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement featuring a $7 million salary cap per team.

A U.N. report estimated that around 4.9 million children under five died in 2024, finding that most of the deaths were preventable with proper health care.

Former FBI director Robert Mueller died aged 81,actor and martial artist Chuck Norris died at the age of 86,and Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II died at the age of 93.

Fourteen people were killed in a fire at a South Korean auto parts factory.

A Reuters investigation allegedly unmasked street artist Banksy as Robin Gunningham of England.