Watch: Netanyahu denies reports he is deadNetanyahu denies reports he is dead
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar16 March 2026 06:00
Trump may delay Beijing visit sans China support on Hormuz
Donald Trump said he was expecting China to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz before his scheduled meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Beijing at the end of this month.
However, the US president said he might postpone his trip if it did not provide assistance.”I think China should help too because China gets 90% of its oil from the Straits,” Mr Trump said.
“We may delay,” he said in reference to his visit if China did not offer support in the Gulf.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar16 March 2026 05:40
Oil prices slipped this morning, paring early gains after US president Donald Trump called on other countries to help safeguard the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global oil and gas shipments.
Brent crude futures fell 24 cents, or 0.23 per cent, to $102.90 a barrel by 0049 GMT after settling $2.68 higher on Friday.
US West Texas Intermediate crude slipped $1.07, or 1.08 per cent, to $97.64 a barrel, after gaining nearly $3 in the previous session.
Both contracts have surged more than 40 per cent this month to their highest levels since 2022 after the US-Israeli attacks on Iran prompted Tehran to halt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz – choking off a fifth of global oil supply in the biggest disruption ever.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar16 March 2026 05:20
Trump accuses Iran of using AI to spread disinformation
US president Donald Trump has accused Iran of using artificial intelligence as a “disinformation weapon” to misrepresent its wartime successes and support.
“AI can be very dangerous, we have to be very careful with it,” Mr Trump told reporters on Air Force One shortly after he made a post on his Truth Social platform where he accused Western media outlets, without evidence, of “close coordination” with Iran to spread AI-generated “fake news”.
The comments come amid renewed tensions between the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and broadcasters after Trump took aim at media coverage of the US and Israel’s war with Iran.
FCC chair Brendan Carr on Saturday threatened to pull licences of broadcasters who did not “correct course” on their coverage.
On Truth Social, Mr Trump claimed that Iran had shown “kamikaze boats” that do not exist. He further stated that Iran used AI to falsely depict a successful attack on the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, adding that publications that propagated the news should be charged with treason.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar16 March 2026 05:00
US energy chief has dire prediction about gas prices under Trump
Donald Trump’s energy secretary has warned that the Iran war could likely last for several more weeks and deflected a question about whether it was possible that oil prices could hit $200 a barrel.
Chris Wright appeared on several programs on Sunday as he presented the Trump administration’s domestic response to a war in Iran that despite the president’s proclamations seems far from over just yet.
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Wright was questioned by moderator Kristen Welker about a prediction from Iranian officials that oil would soon reach $200 per barrel.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar16 March 2026 04:40
Dubai shuts down airport road after drone attack
Dubai authorities brought under control this morning a fire caused by a drone attack near the city’s international airport that forced a temporary suspension of flights, though no injuries were reported, they said.
“A drone incident in the vicinity of Dubai International Airport affected one of the fuel tanks,” the Dubai Media Office said on X.
Traffic was temporarily halted on road and tunnel links with the airport, police said, while Emirates airline suspended flights to and from Dubai.
Some flights were diverted to Al Maktoum International Airport, the Dubai Media Office said on X.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar16 March 2026 04:20
Japan won’t send ships for Hormuz escort mission, Takaichi says
Japan has no plan to dispatch naval vessels to escort ships in the Middle East, prime minister Sanae Takaichi said, after Donald Trump called on allies to protect tankers traversing the Strait of Hormuz.
“We have not made any decisions whatsoever about dispatching escort ships. We are continuing to examine what Japan can do independently and what can be done within the legal framework,” Ms Takaichi told parliament this morning.
The US president’s call in a social media post for US allies, including Japan, to help protect oil and gas shipments through the strategic waterway puts Tokyo in a difficult position because, while it relies heavily on Middle East energy, its war-renouncing constitution limits the scope of overseas military operations it can conduct.
Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force has conducted anti-piracy operations in waters near the Middle East, but those missions were policing operations rather than combat missions against state actors.
Japan can deploy its military overseas to respond to what it determines to be an existential threat to the nation, but that would be politically difficult and a high legal threshold for Takaichi’s government to justify.
“I would like to engage in solid discussions based on Japan’s views and position regarding the need for early de-escalation,” she told lawmakers, ahead of her Washington visit.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar16 March 2026 04:00
Watch: Three arrests made amid Al Quds Day demonstration and counter-protestThree arrests made amid Al Quds Day demonstration and counter-protest
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar16 March 2026 03:40
Minister says Australia will not send warships to Strait of Hormuz
Australia will not send ships to the Strait of Hormuz, federal infrastructure minister Catherine King said this morning.
Ms King told RN Australia: “It’s clear, obviously, the longer that the war continues, the greater the impacts will be felt, not just by us, but obviously the Asia-Pacific region overall. We’ll continue to monitor those events as they occur.”
“But at this stage, all of the ships that are planned to come into Australia are coming in. The fuel supply is holding,” she added.
However, she admitted that there were local distribution issues, but the national fuel stockpile would hold Australia “in good stead”.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar16 March 2026 03:20
Dubai airport temporarily shut
Dubai international airport temporarily suspended flight operations after a fire broke out following a drone attack this morning near the airport.
The fire has been contained with no injuries, authorities said.”A drone incident in the vicinity of Dubai International Airport (DXB) affected one of the fuel tanks”, the Dubai media office said on X.
Emirates airline also announced in a post on X the temporary suspension of flights to and from Dubai.
Gulf Arab states have faced more than 2,000 missile and drone attacks since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran on 28 February, with targets including US diplomatic missions and military bases but also critical Gulf oil infrastructure, ports, airports, hotels and residential and office buildings.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar16 March 2026 03:06