World

Pakistani military aircraft conducted an airstrike on a drug addiction treatment center in the Afghan capital, Kabul. According to sources cited by the BBC, the attack resulted in the deaths of more than 100 people. Sources at the Kabul Forensic Medicine department reported that some bodies were injured beyond recognition. Taliban officials have claimed casualty figures as high as 400, though these numbers have not been independently verified.

Chile's President José Antonio Kast has initiated work on a border barrier just five days after being sworn into office, visiting a site along the northern border with Peru on Monday. Kast inspected the trench in the arid Atacama desert, chatted with construction workers, and hailed it as the first step toward fulfilling his campaign promise to stem illegal immigration. So far, only a small portion of the planned barrier—a ditch a few feet wide and deep—has been excavated.

As war in the Middle East drives up oil prices and households brace for higher bills, the tiny German village of Feldheim has spent three decades insulating itself from such shocks. Residents barely glance at electricity bills, paying rates less than half the national average, thanks to a self-sufficient renewable energy system that has kept costs stable even during Europe's recent energy crisis.

In the devastated Gaza Strip, where over two million Palestinians remain crammed under Israeli military occupation and bombardment, daily survival hinges on a fragile October "ceasefire." This truce now faces a breaking point as Israeli and US strikes target Iran and Tehran retaliates across the region, prompting an unprecedented diplomatic move: direct talks between envoys from US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" and Hamas representatives.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz stated on Tuesday that Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani, the commander of Iran's most powerful internal security forces, the Basij, and Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, were killed in an overnight strike. These claims have not been confirmed or denied by Tehran, but if verified, they would represent a significant blow to the Iranian government, potentially destabilizing its security apparatus.

A Brussels court has ruled that 93-year-old former diplomat Étienne Davignon should stand trial for alleged complicity in the 1961 murder of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of what was then the newly independent Congo. Davignon, a former vice-president of the European Commission, is charged with participation in war crimes, and the decision can be appealed.

The United States–Israeli war against Iran is being interpreted not merely as a collision of strategic interests, but as a profound clash of competing religious ideologies. At a recent Pentagon press briefing, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth declared that “crazy regimes like Iran hell-bent on prophetic Islamist delusions cannot have nuclear weapons.” Separately, Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Iran’s rulers as “religious fanatic lunatics.” These remarks underscore that the conflict cannot be fully understood through a purely secular realist lens, revealing deep theological undercurrents.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the United States and Israel of causing severe disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global chokepoint through which one-fifth of the world’s oil shipments transit. In a phone call with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday, Araghchi reportedly stated that every country and international institution concerned with peace and security must condemn the US and Israel and demand an end to their military aggression against Iran, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency. This accusation comes amid escalating regional tensions and a sharp spike in global oil prices.

On March 16, Cuba experienced a nationwide power grid failure, leaving nearly the entire population – approximately 10 million people – without electricity. According to Reuters, this is one of the largest energy disruptions to hit the island. The Cuban electricity grid operator UNE stated that the exact causes of the blackout are currently under investigation.

Law enforcement agencies in the Andijan region of Uzbekistan have dismantled a major channel involved in the illegal trade of potent medicinal drugs, including "Tropicamide" and "Regapen". As a result of operational measures, approximately 6,500 units of these drugs, which were intended for sale on the black market, were removed from circulation. These actions were carried out as part of the first phase of the large-scale operational and preventive campaign "Safe and Healthy Country".

Iran's Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts has sounded an alarm about extensive damage to at least 56 museums, historical monuments, and cultural sites across the country as a result of the United States-Israel war on Iran. In a statement issued on Saturday, the ministry reported that the most severe damage occurred in Tehran, where 19 locations were affected, including the Qajar-era Golestan Palace, the Grand Bazaar, and the former Senate building.

The Israeli military has initiated new waves of air raids across southern Lebanon following the announcement on Monday of "limited and targeted ground operations" against Hezbollah positions. These actions have opened a new front in the expanding regional conflict, with Israel intensifying its military operations throughout Lebanon, marking a significant escalation in hostilities.