I remember my commander, one day before my first strike, talking to us about how they expect us to lose half of the airplanes. He was our boss. He was the commander of the squadron. He was only 39 years old at the time. I remember when he turned 40. He was such a great guy, a great leader, and he was under so much pressure. And he wasn't even the guy that made the decision to send us there. But you could just feel, just in his core, that he understood, you know, how significant of an issue this was that some of us might die.
Iraqi forces have shot down a drone that attempted to target a United States military base near Baghdad International Airport, local media have reported, as Iran continues to strike US assets in Arab countries, with the region plunging deeper into war after six days. The drone attempted to target Victoria airbase overnight on Wednesday and was intercepted before it reached its target.
We were told it would leave several times shortly, but nothing happened. People were exhausted and worried about what was going on. The aircraft never left the runway, and passengers were eventually disembarked after hours of waiting.
The scale of what is at stake cannot be overstated. Oil companies can likely absorb a one- to two-week slowdown. A full or near-full closure lasting a month or more would require demand destruction at levels that could push crude well into triple digits and European natural gas prices toward or above the crisis levels seen in 2022.
The US decision to cut the UK out of the official loop on the airstrikes came alongside Keir Starmer's decision to decline permission for the US to use British military bases for the operation. Since then, Donald Trump has attacked Starmer for his refusal to let America use the military sites, saying the special relationship is not what it was and calling him no Churchill.
Youth-led protests under a loose gen-Z banner began as a demonstration against a brief social media ban, but were fed by wider grievances at corruption and a woeful economy. Nearly 19 million voters will choose who replaces the interim government in place since the September 2025 uprising, in which at least 77 people were killed, and parliament and scores of government buildings were torched.
Citizens can voluntarily surrender illegal weapons without penalty in exchange for cash payments under the buyback scheme, Pundari said. The government did not specify how much it will pay for illegal weapons but said it will vary from province to province. In some cases, it may include cash incentives and support provided to people who wish to start agriculture businesses.
India and Finland, both, believe in the rule of law, dialogue and diplomacy. We are in agreement that no issue can be resolved through military conflict alone. Be it Ukraine or West Asia, we will continue to support the swift end of conflicts and every effort towards peace.
While recognizing our achievements, we are also clear-eyed about the difficulties and challenges we face. The government is striving to balance two goals: reviving the flagging economy by boosting domestic spending while also furthering top leader Xi Jinping's ambitions to build China into a global power in AI, robotics and other advanced technologies and one that is not dependent on the U.S. or others for high-end semiconductors and other components.
Cuban state media outlet Cubadebate said the blackout was caused by a fault at the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, located about 100km (62 miles) east of Havana, which cut electricity from Pinar del Rio in the far west of the country to the eastern Las Tunas province. In all, two-thirds of the country, including Havana, were left without power, according to the national electric company UNE, which said it was working to restore services.
We reviewed the intelligence, prevention, and operational deployment protocols that will be implemented during this international event," Federal Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said on his social media accounts, addressing the security measures being put in place for the World Cup matches scheduled across Mexico.
A landslide triggered by heavy rains has killed more than 200 people at the Rubaya coltan mine in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, authorities said. DRC's Ministry of Mines said on Wednesday that about 70 children were among the victims, and others who were injured were evacuated to medical facilities in the city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.
