Territory

Mark Rutte says Moscow’s ‘reckless behaviour is a danger to us all’ after drone hit apartments during attack on Ukraine. Plus, Paul McCartney on how old bandmates – and Oasis – inspired his nostalgic new albumGood morning.The Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, has said the alliance is “ready to defend every inch” of its territory after a Russian drone hit an apartment building in Romania, a member state, during an overnight attack on neighbouring Ukraine.What else is happening? Sweden will donate 16 of its existing Gripen fighter jets by next year to Ukraine, which will go on to buy an initial 20 of the latest model, they announced on Thursday, as Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited an airbase in Uppsala, 70km (45 miles) north of Stockholm.What did Netanyahu say? The Israeli prime minister, who is struggling for his political survival before elections in the next few months, said: “We are currently squeezing Hamas. We now control 60% of the territory in the strip. You know, we were at 50, we moved to 60. My directive is to move to … 70%.” Continue reading...

Kawsar Ahmad, 53, also known as Abbas, and her daughter Zeinab Ahmad, 31, did not apply during brief hearingFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTwo Australian women charged with slavery offences that allegedly occurred while they lived under Islamic State rule in Syria have faced a Melbourne court.Kawsar Ahmad, 53, also known as Abbas, and her daughter, Zeinab Ahmad, 31, were arrested by officers from the Victorian joint counter-terrorism team at Melbourne airport on Thursday. Continue reading...

• Iran shot down a US F-15E fighter jet over Iranian territory, representing a major battlefield setback in escalating tensions. • President Trump reacted with hours of intense exchanges with aides, reported by The Wall Street Journal as a full meltdown. • The incident underscores growing military confrontations amid collapsing ceasefire and stalled US-Iran diplomacy.

Several shots – including flu and Covid – lost their CDC recommendations under overhauls from the White HouseSeveral shots lost their recommendation from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after a judge’s stay against changes wrought by the Trump administration – which may affect access to the shots in some states. And no new vaccine recommendations may be made as long as the vaccines committee is halted.Access to existing vaccines – and the future development of new vaccines – has been increasingly called into question under the second Trump administration, as the now-halted Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) made controversial recommendations and health officials made unilateral changes to routine vaccines, with long-term and global implications. Continue reading...

• US stock markets experienced sharp volatility in March 2026, with equities approaching correction territory before a month-end rally as oil prices surged significantly, driven by geopolitical events shaping the economic outlook. • Energy emerged as the strongest-performing sector, driving value stocks to materially outperform growth peers, while bond markets showed less stability than expected as inflation concerns contributed to higher rate volatility. • Despite market weakness and narrowing leadership, corporate profit expectations remained resilient with consensus earnings forecasts pointing to healthy growth in 2026, suggesting the selloff was driven by valuation reassessment rather than earnings deterioration.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite have officially entered correction territory, each falling more than 10% from their recent peaks, signaling sustained market weakness across major indices. • The S&P 500 declined 25.13 points to close at 6,343.72, down 0.4%, while deepening losses to 9.1% below its record set in early 2026; the Nasdaq composite fell 0.7% to 20,794.64. • Wall Street has recorded its fifth consecutive week of losses, driven by rising geopolitical tensions from the US-Iran conflict combined with aggressive Trump administration tariff measures heightening market uncertainty.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average confirmed correction status on March 28, 2026, falling over 10% from its February 10 record close to 45,166.64. • Twenty-four of 30 Dow components closed negative on Friday, with Nasdaq down 2.2% to 20,948.36 and S&P 500 off 1.7% to 6,368.85. • Geopolitical tensions, surging oil, and inflation fears drove the risk-off sentiment, with sectors like Consumer Discretionary down 3.1%.