World

US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Iran "back to the stone age" during his prime-time address to the nation. Trump declared, "We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks, we're going to bring them back to the stone ages, where they belong." He also claimed that "discussions are ongoing" and the conflict could end within the same timeframe. The current war on Iran began on February 28 when the US and Israel launched attacks, prompting Tehran to retaliate against Israel and Gulf countries, with over 2,000 Iranians reportedly killed and thousands of civilian sites targeted.

One year ago today, during a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House in Washington, US President Donald Trump announced a new 10 percent global tariff as part of a sweeping executive order he purportedly dubbed “Liberation Day”. The immediate fallout from his announcement was severe, with the stock market suffering its worst drop since the pandemic. In the following days, countries scrambled to make deals with Washington or retaliate with their own levies, highlighting the disruptive nature of the policy.

Uzbek Grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov is leading the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus after scoring 3.5 points in the first four rounds. With this result, he has become the first participant in the tournament's history to achieve 3.5 points in the initial four rounds and has risen to 6th place in the world rankings. The 20-year-old chess player notably defeated one of the main favorites, American Fabiano Caruana, playing with the white pieces and securing a decisive advantage in less than 20 moves, marking it as one of the most memorable victories in his career.

Israeli airstrikes on border areas in southern Lebanon have killed at least seven people, according to local media reports, as the offensive by the Israeli regime against its neighbor enters a second month. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam described the situation in the country as "very critical," highlighting the escalating humanitarian crisis amid ongoing hostilities.

South African track star Caster Semenya, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, has faced years of public scrutiny over her gender. She has condemned the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) new "Policy on the Protection of the Female Category in Olympic Sport," arguing it disproportionately targets athletes with Differences in Sexual Development (DSD).

Eight Muslim-majority countries – Pakistan, Turkiye, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – have "strongly condemned" Israel's one-sided bill to impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of fatal attacks. According to a joint statement released by Islamabad on Thursday, the law reflects "increasingly discriminatory, escalating Israeli practices that entrench a system of apartheid."

NASA, the United States space agency, has successfully launched the first crewed mission to the Moon since 1972. The Artemis 2 mission saw the Orion spacecraft, carrying four astronauts, lift off from Florida using the Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift rocket. The launch was broadcast live on NASA's YouTube channel, drawing global attention to this historic event as the US regime seeks to reassert its dominance in space exploration.

Several news outlets falsely reported that Somaliland's government called for the extradition of U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, basing their stories on a post from an X account @RepOfSomaliland that does not represent the state despite its claims. Somaliland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had publicly stated in December that this account is not an official government channel, adding it was not authorized to speak on its behalf.

A controversial algorithm used in Australia's aged care system has come under fire during a Senate inquiry, with concerns raised about its accuracy and the removal of human override capabilities. The Integrated Assessment Tool (IAT), implemented in November as part of the Support at Home reforms, assesses eligibility and funding levels for aged care services, but reports indicate it frequently underestimates needs and produces flawed outcomes, leading to widespread criticism.

The Swiss government has initiated a new four-year development program for Uzbekistan and Central Asian countries. In an interview with Kun.uz, Swiss Ambassador to Uzbekistan Konstantin Obolensky emphasized that the program is funded from the Swiss budget as a grant-based assistance, with no expectation of economic or political benefits in return.

France's war crimes unit has accepted a complaint regarding an incident on November 26, 2024. This marks the first case in a French court concerning Israeli bombings in Lebanon, filed by Lebanese-French artist Ali Cherri after his parents and a domestic worker were killed in a strike on his family home. Cherri is demanding an investigation to classify the attack as a war crime against civilians and identify those responsible.

On March 30, a 47-year-old man identified as A.Ch. climbed a tree in front of the Supreme Court building in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to protest judicial decisions in his criminal case. Photos of the incident circulated widely on social media, sparking public debate over protest methods and trust in the legal system in the Central Asian nation.