Good morning.<\/p>\n
Iran attacked and set alight a fully loaded crude oil tanker<\/a> anchored at Dubai port, causing damage to the vessel\u2019s hull, in the latest strike on merchant vessels in the Gulf and the strait of Hormuz. The fire was extinguished within hours and no injuries were reported.<\/p>\n The drone attack on the Al Salmi tanker came hours after Donald Trump warned that the US would \u201cobliterate\u201d Iran\u2019s energy plants and oil wells<\/a> if it did not open the strait of Hormuz. The US-Israel war against Iran has spread across the region, killing thousands, disrupting energy supplies and threatening economic chaos.<\/p>\n What has Trump said about the war\u2019s end? He has continued to give mixed messages, threatening to destroy Iran\u2019s energy facilities unless it agrees to peace terms \u2013 while simultaneously claiming diplomatic progress in ending the war the US started together with Israel. Iran has accused the US of using diplomacy as a smokescreen to prepare for more attacks.<\/p>\n Which countries are most vulnerable to economic shocks? The Philippines, which imports almost all of its crude oil from the Middle East<\/a>, is particularly exposed to surging prices, which have triggered protests and widespread anger.<\/p>\n US directs American embassies to wage campaign against foreign \u2018hostility\u2019 \u2013 with Musk\u2019s helpMarco Rubio, the secretary of state, with Donald Trump at the White House earlier this month. Photograph: Will Oliver\/UPI\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n The US has directed all American embassies and consulates<\/a> to launch coordinated campaigns to resist foreign propaganda and push US narratives, partly using Elon Musk\u2019s X.<\/p>\n The cable, signed by the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and obtained by the Guardian, tells embassies to pursue five broad goals: countering hostile messaging, expanding access to information, exposing adversary behavior, elevating local voices who support US interests, and promoting those \u201ctelling America\u2019s story\u201d.<\/p>\n Why now? The government of Iran<\/a>, which the US has attacked, is a prolific and sophisticated disinformation actor, while Russian and Chinese influence operations continue to target US allies globally.<\/p>\n How would the embassies do it? They have been told to use local influencers, academics and community leaders abroad to make US-funded narratives feel more organic.<\/p>\n Two-year-old held by ICE is sick and not getting adequate care, Democrat warnsThe facility in Dilley, Texas, has been criticized for not providing adequate care and food for families. Photograph: Eric Gay\/AP<\/p>\n A two-year-old boy held in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center<\/a> in Dilley, Texas, is sick and not getting adequate treatment, Joaquin Castro, a Democratic congressman from San Antonio, has said.<\/p>\n The boy, Kaleth, has a fever and is not eating the food being served at the family detention center, which Castro said detainees had complained has mold and worms in it.<\/p>\n Has anyone died in ICE centers? In 2026 so far, at least 14 people have died in ICE custody, with Jos\u00e9 Guadalupe Ramos, a Mexican immigrant, dying recently at a detention center<\/a> outside Los Angeles.<\/p>\n In other news \u2026Israel approves death penalty for Palestinians convicted of carrying out fatal attacks. Photograph: Itay Cohen\/AP<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s parliament has passed a law imposing the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of fatal attacks, in a move condemned as discriminatory by rights groups and European countries<\/a>.<\/p>\n Online threats against female Ethiopian activists have rapidly intensified, forcing some to leave the country, feminists and rights defenders have said<\/a>.<\/p>\n A US judge has called aspects of the Pentagon\u2019s new media policy \u201cweird\u201d and Kafkaesque, and expressed alarm that journalists could be penalized for asking questions of military officials<\/a>.<\/p>\n Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees received back pay on Monday after an executive order by Donald Trump, as a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security<\/a> continues.<\/p>\n Stat of the day: Chinese property prices fell 40% between 2021 and 2025Apartments are being used instead of cemetery plots in China, which recorded 11.3m deaths in 2025, up from 9.8m in 2015. Photograph: Alex Plavevski\/EPA<\/p>\n Chinese real estate prices plummeted by 40% between 2021 and 2025<\/a>, caused partly by Xi Jinping\u2019s campaign to curb excessive property speculation. While apartment prices have fallen, China has the second-highest funeral expenses in the world. It has led some to keep their relatives\u2019 ashes in empty apartments, rather than fork out for the limited cemetery plots in cities \u2013 a trend the government is clamping down on.<\/p>\n Culture pick: James McAvoy on his directorial debut, California Schemin\u2019\u2018I\u2019m getting all that first-timer stress in my 40s\u2019 \u2026 James McAvoy. Photograph: Margaret Mitchell\/The Guardian<\/p>\n He has played Professor X; the protagonist in Shyamalan\u2019s Split; Mr Tumnus in The Chronicles of Narnia; and a range of other movie and theater roles. Now, James McAvoy is releasing his directorial debut, California Schemin\u2019, the true story of two Scottish rappers who pretended to be American to snag a record deal. McAvoy \u2013 described by one of the rappers as such a genuine guy \u201cyou forget he\u2019s a Hollywood A-lister\u201d \u2013 opens up about challenging stereotypes<\/a> of his homeland through this remarkable story.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t miss this: how to start learning a new languageLearning a new language helps makes you look cool \u2026 Illustration: Carmen Casado\/The Guardian<\/p>\n The benefits of learning a new language are myriad: it\u2019s good for your brain, and it allows you to connect with new people and another culture, and enjoy a wider variety of art and media. So, if you\u2019ve found your progress stalling on Duolingo, how do you get ahead? Experts share valuable insights<\/a> into the science of language learning \u2013 and their tips for making progress.<\/p>\n Climate check: more drilling in North Sea \u2018not the answer\u2019 for UK energy security, say former military leadersAttempting to eke out remaining oil and gas from North Sea is \u2018not the answer\u2019 to challenges facing the UK, says retired R Adm Neil Morisetti. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Further drilling in the North Sea would not improve the UK\u2019s energy security<\/a>, former military leaders have said, calling on the government to instead focus on wind, solar, tidal and nuclear energy. It came as a new analysis found no fossil fuel importer is immune to bottlenecks in the global supply chain.<\/p>\n Last Thing: \u2018extremely rare\u2019 Bob Dylan draft lyrics discovered inside signed Allen Ginsberg bookI\u2019m Not There was released in 2007 and is held in high esteem among many Bob Dylan fans. It was originally written and recorded in 1967 with then-backing group The Band. Photograph: Omega Auctions<\/p>\n A draft of Bob Dylan\u2019s lyrics for I\u2019m Not There has been discovered tucked inside an Allen Ginsberg paperback. Almost 60 years after the lyrics were written<\/a>, the draft \u2013 found in a book once owned by Sally Grossman, the wife of Dylan\u2019s first manager \u2013 will be auctioned in April, where it could bring in \u00a340,000 ($52,800).<\/p>\n In yesterday\u2019s First Thing, the item on an art theft in Italy used an image of Paul C\u00e9zanne\u2019s Still Life With Cherries And Peaches, rather than Still Life with Cherries. You can see an image of the painting that was stolen here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sign up<\/p>\n Sign up for the US morning briefing<\/p>\n First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you\u2019re not already signed up, subscribe now<\/a>.<\/p>\n Get in touch<\/p>\n