Hegseth prays at Pentagon service for ‘overwhelming violence’ against enemies

• White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated on March 25, 2026, that President Trump will hit Iran harder if Tehran does not accept military defeat. • The US is closely tracking efforts to secure oil tanker passage through the Strait of Hormuz amid Iranian threats. • This escalation threat underscores Trump's strategy to force Iran into capitulation, potentially prolonging the conflict without regime change.

• Iranian strikes on US bases in the Middle East prompted thousands of American troops to relocate to hotels and office spaces throughout the region on March 26, 2026. • The attacks represent an existential threat to Gulf states, which urged the UN to intervene amid escalating regional tensions. • This displacement highlights vulnerabilities in US forward bases, forcing operational shifts and increased reliance on civilian infrastructure during ongoing conflict.

Air superiority is supposed to deliver a quick triumph. But history has shown that promise to be written on the windMiddle East crisis – live updatesTo explore the roots of Donald Trump’s Iran military strategy and the pugilistic rhetoric of his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, means looking back 105 years. In 1921, a year before Benito Mussolini and his blackshirts marched on Rome to launch the Fascist era, an Italian general named Giulio Douhet published The Command of the Air, proposing a revolution in warfare.Victory in the future, he said, would no longer come from the grinding trench combat of the Great War. Instead it meant large-scale aerial bombardments, targeting not just combatants but civilians and civilian infrastructure and logistics. Continue reading...

Balendra Shah, 35, is a symbol of change in country whose government was toppled last year in youth-led uprisingNepal’s rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, who is about to be sworn in as the new prime minister, has issued his first post-election message via rap, urging unity.Hours before the release he swore an oath as a newly elected lawmaker and is due to become the Himalayan republic’s new prime minister on Friday. Continue reading...

European parliament votes in favour of sending refused asylum seekers to offshore hubs, in ‘historic setback for refugee rights’People with no right to stay in the EU could be detained for up to two years or sent to offshore centres described by experts as possible “human rights black holes” under plans voted for by the European parliament on Thursday.An alliance of mostly centre-right and far-right lawmakers voted for a proposal to increase returns of undocumented migrants to their home countries, in a further sign of strain on the grand coalition of centrist political forces that has traditionally driven EU lawmaking. Continue reading...

Christian Democrat Päivi Räsänen, who was fined €1,800, was supported by conservative US group Alliance Defending FreedomA Finnish member of parliament has been found guilty by the supreme court of inciting hatred after claiming that homosexuality is a “developmental disorder”, in a conviction that prompted criticism from far-right government ministers.Päivi Räsänen, of the Christian Democrats, made the claims in a pamphlet first published in 2004 and reproduced on the website of the Luther Foundation Finland and the Finnish Evangelical Mission Diocese in 2007. Continue reading...

Some people are opting not to travel at all amid what they call ‘a manufactured crisis by the Trump administration’Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxPassengers across the US have had their travel plans upended by the latest Department of Homeland Security shutdown, which has triggered widespread staffing shortages at airports as security employees go weeks without pay.“We are returning from St Thomas, US Virgin Islands to Boston today and it took fully three hours to get through US customs. Absolutely insane,” Boston-based passenger John Hildebrandt told the Guardian. Continue reading...

Police and animal rights activists say trail hunting is frequently used as a ‘smokescreen’ for illegal foxhuntingThe government has said it will ban trail hunting, the rural sport that police and animal rights activists have long accused of being a “smokescreen” for illegal foxhunting.“We pledged to ban trail hunting in our manifesto and that is exactly what we intend to do,” said Sue Hayman, the animal welfare minister. “The nature of trail hunting makes it difficult to ensure wild and domestic animals are not put at risk of being killed or injured – that is clearly unacceptable.” Continue reading...

Trump has yet to nominate a permanent CDC director and the Senate confirmation of his pick for top doctor is in limboSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe Trump administration’s “Make America healthy again” (Maha) agenda appears to be stalled as two of the government’s most influential public health positions sit empty.The president has yet to nominate a permanent director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), leaving a leaderless agency that has been plagued by turmoil for the past year. At the same time, Trump’s controversial pick for surgeon general, Casey Means, remains in limbo as her nomination stalls in the Senate. Continue reading...

Noelia Castillo, 25, has struggled with psychiatric illness since she was young and tried to kill herself in October 2022A Spanish woman who spent months fighting her father for the right to euthanasia after being sexually assaulted and becoming paraplegic is expected to end to her life on Thursday.Noelia Castillo, 25, has struggled with psychiatric illness since she was a teenager and tried to kill herself in October 2022 after being sexually assaulted. The attempt left her in constant pain and using a wheelchair. Eighteen months later, she used Spain’s euthanasia law – which was introduced in 2021 – to secure permission to end her life.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email [email protected] or [email protected]. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Change is on offer across the political spectrum, but no one knows whether apathy or tactical voting will prevailUK politics live – latest updatesHope, change, progressive change, change with fairness at its heart – from a harbour north of Edinburgh to a hipster arts venue in Glasgow’s Barras Market, Scotland’s political parties spent the first official day of the Holyrood election campaign reaching for the phrase that best encapsulates what people will get if they vote for them on 7 May.Only one of the main parties did not hold an event to set out their stall on Thursday: possibly Reform UK was too busy firefighting after another of their Scottish parliament candidates quit, bringing to four the number who have stepped down or been suspended since they stood with party leader Nigel Farage under a storm of turquoise confetti last week. Continue reading...

Today show host calls 84-year-old mother’s disappearance ‘unbearable’ in first interview since possible kidnappingSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxSavannah Guthrie says she fears her own fame could have been the reason for her mother Nancy’s disappearance, which she has called “unbearable” in her first interview since the possible kidnapping.Guthrie, a main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show Today, discussed the possible reasons for the disappearance of Nancy, who is 84 years old and was reported missing on 1 February from her home near Tucson, Arizona, in an interview with Guthrie’s colleague Hoda Kotb. Continue reading...