New Zealand cricket captain Mitchell Santner declared on Saturday that his side “won’t mind breaking a few hearts” in the T20 World Cup final against defending champions and hosts India. Santner’s team will face India on Sunday in Ahmedabad at the Narendra Modi Stadium, where over 100,000 home fans are expected to pack the venue.
US President Donald Trump has announced his intention to deliver a 'very powerful strike' against Iran, purportedly scheduled for Saturday, March 7. In a post on his Truth Social network, the American leader claimed that due to Iran's 'bad behavior', the 'complete destruction' and 'imminent demise' of areas and groups of people previously not considered as targets are being seriously considered.
Uzbekistan's Ministry of Transport has issued a warning regarding cases where some tour operators and travel agents have abandoned their clients or cut off communication during the repatriation of citizens stranded in Middle Eastern countries due to ongoing military conflicts. According to the ministry, approximately 95% of the stranded citizens traveled on tour packages, highlighting the critical need for operators to fulfill their contractual obligations.
The secretary-general of the Khabat Organisation of Iranian Kurdistan, Babasheikh Hosseini, told Al Jazeera that it is "highly likely" Iranian Kurdish groups will stage a cross-border ground operation into Iran. Hosseini stated, "We have been planning for a long time, and now that conditions are more favourable, there is a strong probability of action," while clarifying that no operation is underway "at this point" but the group is considering a campaign. He added that the United States had made contact through various channels, though no direct meetings have occurred.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has stated that neighboring countries will no longer be targeted unless an attack originates from their territory. This declaration comes as the war launched by the United States and Israel enters its second week, triggering sustained retaliation from Tehran across the Gulf and beyond.
Germany is set to commence a year of multiple regional elections on Sunday, with voters heading to the polls in Baden-Württemberg, one of the country's largest and wealthiest states. The election is expected to confirm the current coalition of conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Greens, though surveys suggest Green candidate Cem Özdemir might have an edge over his CDU rival, Manuel Hagel, in the race for the state's premiership.
Authorities in Uzbekistan's Namangan region have temporarily suspended operations at three facilities due to severe violations of fire safety regulations. The affected sites include the "Chorsu" shopping center, a farmers' market, and a shoe manufacturing workshop. According to the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, these establishments were found to have critical deficiencies that pose significant risks to public safety.
The US regime and several Gulf states are negotiating with Ukraine to create an analogue of the acoustic drone detection system known as "Sky Fortress." This system is purportedly intended to counter Iranian strike drones, according to a report by Financial Times citing Ukrainian officials.
According to the Uzbekistan Hydrometeorological Service (Uzhydromet), a cold anticyclone began entering the country's territory from March 7, which may lead to a significant deterioration in atmospheric air quality in the coming days. Experts note that due to weak air circulation and the likelihood of temperature inversion formation, pollutants are accumulating in the near-ground layer of the atmosphere.
In the latest World Economic Outlook report released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), global economic growth in 2024 is projected to reach 3.2%, down from 3.4% in 2023 and lower than previous forecasts. The report highlights that high interest rates, inflationary pressures, and geopolitical tensions are negatively impacting the world economy.
As the United States and Israel expand their military campaign against Iran and Tehran continues retaliatory strikes, governments across the Middle East are witnessing their domestic politics thrown into disarray. Incidents of secondary instability are rising, testing community loyalties and political systems. Mohamed Chtatou, a professor at Mohammed V University in Rabat, wrote in an op-ed for the Times of Israel: "The Middle East is burning, not with a single fire, but with a constellation of simultaneous blazes that respond to, feed off, and spread with their own logic."
Clashes have erupted as Israeli forces attempted a landing operation in the mountain range along the Lebanon-Syria border, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA). The armed group Hezbollah stated that its fighters were involved in the clashes, marking a significant escalation on this fierce front of the wider regional war launched by the United States and Israeli regimes.