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War Diary Day 27: Multifront escalation appears imminent as Trump’s 5-day pause expires

On 27th day of the US-Israeli war on Iran, the conflict has continued to be fully kinetic with no sign of de-escalation, even as US President Donald Trump’s five-day pause expires on Friday. Meanwhile, the overall trajectory of the conflict points towards an imminent widening of hostilities across multiple theatres. Over the past 24 hours, direct strikes inside Iran intensified. Multiple explosions were reported across central, southern and eastern Tehran, with air defence systems activated across the capital, while additional strikes hit Khorramabad, triggering blackouts and being followed by rescue operations. Reports also indicated damage in areas where residences and infrastructure are located in Mashhad. Iran’s response, both directly and through its regional network of allies, showed a marked escalation in tempo and scale. Missile and drone strikes continued against Israeli targets, with reports suggesting improved penetration rates against air defences and expanded targetin...
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US judge questions block on Maduro’s use of Venezuelan funds for defence

A US judge questioned on Thursday whether the US can bar Venezuela from funding Nicolas Maduro’s legal defence without violating his US constitutional rights, but stopped short of dismissing drug-trafficking charges against the ousted Venezuelan president facing trial in New York. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, wore beige prison garb to the hearing in Manhattan federal court over two months after US military forces captured them in a surprise raid on Caracas and ferried them to American soil. Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, have pleaded not guilty to charges including narcoterrorism conspiracy and have been jailed in Brooklyn pending trial. They had asked US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to dismiss the charges, saying their inability to rely on Venezuelan public funds due to US sanctions on Venezuela was interfering with their right to have a lawyer of their choosing under the Sixth Amendment of the US Constitution. All criminal defendants in the US have constitutional rights ...
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Zelensky to ink air security deal with Saudi Arabia on surprise visit, says source

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday for an unannounced visit, as the war in Iran spurs interest among Gulf countries in Ukrainian arms technology. The two countries are set to sign an agreement on “security cooperation — in particular, the protection of the skies”, later on Thursday, a senior official told AFP , speaking on condition of anonymity. They did not provide further details of what was set to be in the accord. Kyiv has sought to leverage its expertise in downing Russian drones to help Gulf nations, which are being attacked with the same Iranian-designed Shahed drones that Russia fires on Ukraine. Zelensky has said that more than 200 Ukrainian anti-drone experts have been deployed to several countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, since the US-Israel strikes on Iran spurred retaliatory drone and missile attacks targetting US assets and bases from Tehran. While Tehran accepts responsibility for some of the attacks, it d...
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Lebanon must not become next Gaza, says UN chief

• Guterres warns war in Middle East is ‘out of control’; calls for immediate halt to hostilities between Israel, Hezbollah • Israeli strikes kill nine more in Beirut, southern areas • Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez condemns US-Israeli actions UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that fighting between Israel and Hezbollah must not condemn Lebanon to the same fate as Gaza, the Palestinian territory decimated by years of conflict. “The Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon,” Guterres told reporters, also saying the wider war in the Middle East is “out of control”, as the United States, Israel and Iran have carried out strikes for more than three weeks. “Across the region, and far beyond, civilians are enduring serious harm and living under profound insecurity. I witnessed some of these consequences firsthand during my recent visit to Lebanon,” he said. “There, too, the war must stop. Hezbollah must stop launching attacks into Israel. And Israel mu...
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Petroleum dealers postpone strike in light of Middle East conflict

KARACHI: Petroleum dealers announced on Wednesday that they were postponing a strike they planned to begin on March 26, keeping in view the situation resulting from the ongoing Middle East conflict, which has given rise to a global fuel crunch and supply uncertainties. Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) Chairperson Abdul Sami Khan told Dawn that “we have postponed the strike, keeping in view the hardships consumers will face if the war escalates and leads to a supply chain crisis of petroleum products”. Asked if the PPDA would call a strike in the near future, he said, “I cannot confirm right now as the situation is highly volatile.” The association had announced the strike on March 13 and given the government until March 26 to revise the petroleum dealers’ margin from 2.59 per cent to 8pc in the wake of a Rs55 per litre hike in diesel and petrol rates. The decision to raise the prices was announced on March 6 as Pakistan felt the first direct economic impacts of the...
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US-Israel war on Iran may increase food prices worldwide: UN

ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has said that the prolonged disruption to trade through the Strait of Hormuz triggered by US/Israeli attack on Iran could create cascading impacts across energy markets, fertiliser supply chains and global agrifood systems, raising production costs, tightening agri­­cultural supply and increasing food prices worldwide. While global food markets remain more stable than during previous crises, the current war underscores the vulnerability of interconnected energy and agrifood systems and the importance of coordinated international action to stabilise markets, maintain open trade routes, and protect vulnerable populations from rising food insecurity, the FAO said in its report titled, Global Agrifood Implications of the 2026 Conflict in the Middle East. A coordinated policy response is urgently needed to mitigate these risks and build resilience. In the short term, alternative trade routes, market monitoring, targ...
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Govt may have to ‘unfreeze’ fuel prices amid global surge

• Targeted subsidy for two-, three-wheelers on the anvil • Jet fuel, kerosene prices rise quietly, but dramatically • Rising jet fuel costs push up domestic, international fares by 30-40pc • Passenger volumes on Gulf routes drop; Europe-bound travellers face limited routes, exorbitant prices • Exporters sound alarm over rising air cargo rates ISLAMABAD: Amid a sharp rise in jet fuel and kerosene prices, the government is considering unfreezing prices of other petroleum products to reflect global trends, while introducing targeted subsidies for two- and three-wheelers. While petrol and high-speed diesel prices have been kept unchanged in recent weeks, the rates of jet fuel (JP-1) and kerosene have been increased without formal announcement. Official rates seen by Dawn suggest JP-1 prices were raised by Rs84 per litre, or 21.65 per cent, to Rs472 from Rs388 per litre with effect from March 21. Since March 1, the price has surged by nearly 150pc from Rs190 per litre. Similarly, ...
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