World

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is developing a system to process refunds for billions of dollars in illegally collected tariffs within 45 days without requiring importers to file lawsuits, as revealed in a court filing. Brandon Lord, a senior CBP official, stated in a declaration to the US Court of International Trade on Friday that the total amount held for such tariffs is estimated to be approximately $166 billion. This announcement came as government lawyers met with a federal trade judge to establish a process for returning funds to about 330,000 importers.

Demands are intensifying for an independent investigation into an attack on a girls' school in southern Iran that killed 165 young pupils this week, with United Nations experts denouncing the deadly bombing as "a grave assault on children." In a statement on Friday, a group of UN experts said girls between the ages of seven and 12 were the main victims of the attack on the primary school in Minab on Saturday.

In the dusty lanes of Damak, Nepal, an unprecedented political showdown is unfolding, pitting a veteran political heavyweight against a rapper-turned-politician in a contest that could reshape the country's politics. As Nepal heads into a gripping election, Balendra Shah, known as Balen, a 35-year-old former rapper who won the Kathmandu mayoral race in May 2022, has emerged as a unifying figure, particularly among youth enraged by a system they view as broken and corrupt.

Conservative peer Peter Gummer, known as Lord Chadlington, has announced he will leave the House of Lords after an investigation found he committed five breaches of standards related to COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) deals and failing to cooperate with previous inquiries. The Lords standards commissioner, Martin Jelley, determined that Chadlington breached the code of conduct for peers three times by: introducing a company in which he had a financial interest to the government in April 2020 as a potential PPE supplier for the NHS; having contact with the then health secretary, Matt Hancock; and providing further advice to the company.

UK supermarkets are experiencing a significant decline in bacon sales, driven by consumer fears that chemicals used to preserve the product increase cancer risks. New data released by the Coalition Against Nitrites reveals that the value of nitrite-cured bacon sales fell by 7.3% during the 12 weeks to January 25 compared to the same period last year. In the most recent period, such sales amounted to £238.4 million, down £18.7 million from the £257 million recorded a year earlier.

Conservative peer Peter Gummer, known as Lord Chadlington, has announced he will retire from the House of Lords following an investigation by the standards commissioner Martin Jelley. The probe found that Chadlington committed five breaches of the code of conduct for peers, including introducing a company in which he had a financial interest, SG Recruitment, to the government in April 2020 as a potential supplier of personal protective equipment (PPE) for the NHS, contacting then Health Secretary Matt Hancock, and providing further advice to the company.

A federal panel reviewing Donald Trump's planned $400 million ballroom addition to the White House has postponed an expected vote on the project until next month, citing thousands of negative public comments. The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) was scheduled to cast a final vote on Thursday, but the commission's chair, Will Scharf, announced at the meeting's outset that the vote would now be held on April 2, due to the "large amount of public input" received during the comment period.

The Sri Lankan government evacuated 208 crew members from an Iranian naval support ship, IRIS Bushehr, just one day after a US submarine torpedo sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, killing over 80 personnel. The evacuation highlights the escalating tensions in the region following the alleged US-Israeli assault on Iran.

A US submarine fired a torpedo that sank an Iranian warship off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, marking a significant escalation in hostilities as the Trump administration purportedly follows through on its threats to eliminate Tehran's military and political leadership. The attack has raised immediate questions about potential breaches of international law, with former US officials criticizing the move as military overreach.

According to Microsoft, North Korean state-backed fraudsters are utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, including voice-changing tools, to trick Western companies into hiring them as remote IT workers. This scam typically involves state-funded individuals applying for remote IT positions at Western firms using stolen personal data, with wages being funneled back to the Kim Jong-un-led state, and in some cases, threats to release sensitive company data after termination.

Renowned Portuguese novelist António Lobo Antunes has died at the age of 83. His dark, polyphonic fiction confronted the traumas of dictatorship, war, and Portuguese society. His death was confirmed by the publisher Dom Quixote.

The ping of half a million phones, a pause, and a collective gasp: in an instant, more than 500,000 people were made homeless. Shooting in the air, panicked phone calls, and honking filled the streets of Beirut as people began to flee. Thousands abandoned their cars and began a slow march to the sea, desperate to escape Israeli bombs they knew would soon fall on their homes, whether they were in them or not.