Belgian court sends ex-diplomat, 93, to trial over 1961 murder of Congo leader

• Israel announces ground operations targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, escalating the multi-front conflict. • Iran launches a new wave of drone and missile strikes across the Gulf, including damage to Iraq's Al-Rasheed Hotel and attacks on Kuwait and Qatar. • U.S. President Trump receives regular options to end the Iran war, per sources, amid concerns of wider regional involvement.

• Cuba's national electricity grid failed Monday, leaving millions without power in the third major blackout in four months due to U.S.-imposed energy blockade under President Trump. • Trump stated to reporters, 'I do believe I’ll be the honor of — having the honor of taking Cuba... think I could do anything I want with it,' amid reports of U.S. pressure for President Miguel Díaz-Canel to resign. • The crisis exacerbates humanitarian conditions on the island, tying into broader U.S. foreign policy shifts.

• Amnesty International investigation concludes the U.S. conducted an airstrike on an Iranian school, killing about 170 people, mostly children, amid escalating U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran. • The report highlights the attack as part of broader military actions that have injured at least 200 U.S. troops and killed 13 service members since the conflict began over two weeks ago. • Pentagon deploys thousands more U.S. Marines and warships to the Middle East, signaling intensified U.S. involvement in the region.

As outbreak in Kent claims the lives of two young people, experts advise against rushing to get a vaccinePharmacies in England are reporting a surge in demand for meningitis vaccines after an outbreak in Kent claimed the lives of two young people and left others in hospital.However experts have advised against rushing to get a jab, stressing public health authorities are best placed to determine if vaccinations are required – and for whom. Continue reading...

Woman known only as Beth says abuser claimed status made him untouchable, which terrorised her into silenceMI5 has apologised and paid compensation to a woman who alleged the Security Service was to blame for her being attacked with a machete and abused by one of its agents.The woman, known only as Beth, was in a relationship with a man she says used his status as an MI5 agent to perpetrate abuse and terrorise her into silence. Continue reading...

Pakistani strike on Afghan capital kills 400 people, who burned in their beds or were crushed by collapsing wallsWitnesses and survivors have described the horrific scenes of a Pakistani air raid that hit a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul, killing more than 400 people, who burned in their beds or were crushed by the collapsing building.Afghan rescue crews were still digging bodies out of the rubble on Tuesday after the strike, the deadliest single attack so far in a three-week war between the two countries. Continue reading...

The Writers Guild of America East said management has failed to offer fair wages and basic job protectionsSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxWorkers at CBS News walked out for 24 hours on Tuesday after a new contract agreement was not reached following the expiration of the contract last week.Some 60 workers at streaming service CBS News 24/7 are represented by the Writers Guild of America East. The union is holding rallies and walkouts at the CBS News broadcast center in Manhattan, New York and at KPIX-TV CBS News Bay Area in San Francisco, California. Continue reading...

Sweeping bill would require proof of US citizenship for new voters passed by House but faces steep odds in SenateUS politics live – latest updatesSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailA sweeping restrictive voting bill that would require proof of US citizenship for new voters, among other measures, could be debated in the Senate as early as Tuesday.The Save America Act is a rebranded version of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility act, or the Save Act, a bill that has been circulating through Congress in some iteration for more than two years. Continue reading...

Party’s former leader, who is being sued for symbolic damages, says opponents have repeatedly tried to conflate Sinn Féin and IRAGerry Adams has told the high court that opponents of Sinn Féin have repeatedly sought to conflate the political party he led with the IRA, as he denied ever being a member of the Irish Republican Army.Giving evidence in London watched by victims of IRA bombings, the 77-year-old, credited with helping to bring about the peace process that ended the Troubles, said he had “never been a senior, let alone most senior, figure in the IRA”. Continue reading...

Chancellor seeks to tackle centralised and ‘geographically unequal’ country in ‘a genuine break with the past’Business live – latest updatesRachel Reeves has announced that the Treasury will draw up plans to give regional leaders a share of national tax revenues as part of a radical plan to rebalance the economy of England.Setting out her intention of creating “investment-led growth”, the chancellor promised “a genuine break with the past” that would shift spending power away from Westminster. Continue reading...

Joe Kent resigned as national counter-terrorism center director, saying Iran posed no imminent threat to the USSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxJoe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center and a far-right political figure and supporter of Donald Trump, resigned from his position on Tuesday in protest of the war in Iran.“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote in a resignation letter posted to X. “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” Continue reading...

The cases recorded so far have all been linked to a nightclub popular with students in Canterbury on 5-7 MarchTwo young people have died in an outbreak of meningitis in Kent as private supplies of vaccines run out. Here’s what we know about how the disease spread and what the authorities did to tackle it. Continue reading...