In tonight's edition: ECOWAS eyes up forming a regional force to combat rising jihadist violence. Also, Ghanaian authorities are set to begin issuing licenses for the cultivation of cannabis. Plus South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa announces the army will be deployed to support police in the »»»

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un spent two days inspecting his latest 5,000‑ton destroyer and observing cruise missile tests, signalling a major push to expand his navy’s nuclear capabilities. The move comes as Pyongyang continues building additional warships and emphasises maritime power alongside »»»

Baku has vowed to retaliate against what it described as "a terrorist act" allegedly carried out by Tehran after two drones hit an airport and narrowly missed a school building in Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave on the border with Iran. The Islamic Republic has denied carrying out the attack. »»»

Israel launched a series of strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut Thursday after ordering all residents of the densely populated area to evacuate. At least five airstrikes targeted the area around midnight. The areas hit were Haret Hreik, al-Jamous and Msharrafieh. Traffic was gridlocked in Bei»»»

Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands will send naval assets to Cyprus after an Iranian-made drone struck a British base there, Italy's defence minister said Thursday. France also said it would allow US aircraft to access some of its bases in the Middle East during the conflict with Iran. Italy,»»»

A ballistic missile fired from Iran and en route towards Turkish airspace was intercepted and destroyed by NATO air defence systems, Turkish officials said Wednesday, in an incident that underscored fears of a widening regional war. A ballistic missile launched from Iran and heading towards Turkish»»»

The United States asked Ukraine for help to fend off Iranian drone attacks in the Middle East, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday, adding that he had ordered expert support to be given. FRANCE 24's Mark Owen speaks with Peter Zalmayev, Director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative.»»»

Oil prices have steadied for the first time since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran. But concerns about energy security and prices are weighing on consumers. In France, long queues have formed at petrol stations, despite the energy minister's assertion that the public shouldn't worry about»»»

Sooner or later, advisers in President Donald Trump's orbit all come to learn the same unwritten rule: no one can outshine the boss. Kristi Noem, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, became the latest reminder of that on Thursday when Trump announced he was removing her from her po»»»

PAMedia/DPA London George Russell said his pre-season tag as a potential world championship favourite “does not change anything for me” ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. The 28-year-old Brit heads into the season-opening round in Melbourne on Sunday as the bookmakers’ favourite, wi»»»

QNA Doha Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani participated on Thursday in an emergency Gulf-European ministerial virtual meeting bringing together the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and the European Uni»»»

Ashraf Siddiqui Doha France has condemned the Iranian attacks on Qatar in the “strongest possible terms” and expressed its solidarity with the country. “France condemns unreservedly, and in the strongest possible terms, the Iranian attacks on Qatar,” the Embassy of Republic of France in Doha said i»»»

QNA Doha The Amir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received a phone call from President of Finland Alexander Stubb on Thursday. During the call, the Finnish president checked on the conditions of Qatar following the blatant Iranian aggression. He expressed his country’s condemnation of »»»

Tribune News Network Doha Qatar University (QU) held a meeting of the Executive Management Committee, chaired by Dr. Omar Al-Ansari, president of QU, to discuss measures to ensure the continuity of educational and research activities in light of the current circumstances. The committee reviewed ope»»»

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (shown), D-Md., on Thursday told Troy Edgar, the nominee for ambassador to El Salvador, “Unfortunately, you’ve been part of an administration that's taking away Americans' rights to freedom here at home, due process rights as well as First Amendment rights." File Photo by Bonn»»»

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday announced an initiative to increase the number of nutrition-related credit hours that doctors are required to have in medical school, along with 53 schools that have already agreed to participate. Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI»»»

The US House of Representatives has rejected an effort to curb President Donald Trump's ability to wage war in Iran, a day after a similar bid collapsed in the Senate. The war powers resolution - rejected in a 219-212 vote along party lines - was largely ceremonial and was unlikely to survive an ex»»»

The US has officially deemed artificial intelligence (AI) firm Anthropic a supply chain risk — the first time the government has given that label to a US firm. The Pentagon's designation is the latest escalation in a clash over Anthropic's refusal to give the government unfettered access to its AI »»»

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., late last month introduced the “End Sanctuary Policies Act,” which would restrict federal funding for jurisdictions that do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo WASHINGTON, March 5 (UPI) -- The House Judiciary Co»»»

French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday "everything" must be done to prevent Lebanon "from once again being drawn into war", urging both Israel and Hezbollah to halt military operations. "It is to halt the war and prevent the worst that, following my exchanges with (U.S.) President (Donald) »»»

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has issued an apparent military threat to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over the ongoing refusal by Budapest to lift a veto on billions in loans underwritten by EU members for Kiev. Orban last month blocked a planned €90 billion ($106 billion) emergency loan rais»»»

1 of 2 | Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., speaks to the press outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. President Donald Trump announced Mullin would replace Kristi Noem as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo March 5 (UPI) -- Pr»»»

Oil prices held near multi-month highs on Thursday as attacks on tankers and the escalating conflict in the Middle East disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints. The US–Israeli war with Iran entered its sixth day, with Washington and its a»»»

New York: The State of Qatar has sent a fourth identical letter to Secretary-General of the United Nations HE Antonio Guterres, and Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations and President of the Security Council for the month of March HE Michael Waltz, regarding»»»

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Thursday promoted his new book, 'Në Sofrën e Hënës', a collection of speeches delivered during Ramadan iftar dinners he has hosted over the years. Speaking at the presentation, Rama said the idea for the book came partly from Muslim friends and from his own exper»»»

US President Donald Trump has announced Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin will be the new Homeland Security secretary, replacing the agency's embattled head Kristi Noem. The first-term senator, a former mixed martial arts fighter, has been a supporter of Trump and his policies since coming to Washi»»»

Two dozen states in the US have sued the Trump administration, seeking to block the latest tariffs announced by the White House. The lawsuit, filed on Thursday, adds to the uncertainties surrounding trade policy, after the Supreme Court ruled that many of the duties Trump had announced last year we»»»

Two investors have filed suit against President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi over the sale of TikTok to allies of the president. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo March 5 (UPI) -- Two investors have filed suit against President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bon»»»

A sense of normality is slowly returning to Israel, even as large-scale Israeli-American attacks on Iran show no sign of abating, and as Israel expands its offensive in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah. Six days on, as the intensity of the Iranian retaliation has diminished, mea»»»

Damascus, Mar.5 (SANA) President Ahmad al-Sharaa made on Thursday a telephone conversation with King Abdullah II bin al-Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on the latest escalation developments in the region and its repercussions on its security and stability. The two leaders stressed the im»»»

One of the top officials overseeing President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, will leave her role, US President Donald Trump said on Thursday, a major staffing move that raises questions about the direction of the Republican president's immigration »»»

US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he was replacing Kristi Noem, head of the powerful Department of Homeland Security. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullen would take over from Noem at DHS on March 31. Related Topics:US-Israel-Iran war»»»

The European Central Bank has no pre-set stance as regards to geopolitical tensions from the conflict in the Middle East and will decide monetary policy on a "meeting-by-meeting" basis, President Christine Lagarde said on Thursday. The ECB will take its decisions "in view of all the ⁠data that we c»»»

The Israeli military has ordered hundreds of thousands of people to leave Beirut's southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hezbollah, as it steps up strikes targeting the Iran-backed armed group across Lebanon. "Save your lives, evacuate your homes immediately," the military's Arabic spokesperson wrote o»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Amir, HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, received a phone call Thursday from the President of the Czech Republic, HE Petr Pavel. During the call, HE the Czech President expressed his country’s solidarity with the State of Qatar following the Iranian aggression, and condemned these»»»

In Iran, under ongoing US-Israeli attacks, a mass funeral took place today for 168 Iranian schoolgirls aged 7-12, killed by an Israeli airstrike on February 28. The strike hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ primary school in Minab, southern Iran, in broad daylight, when the children were at school. F»»»

US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have offered conflicting justifications for the American war with Iran, as the White House scrambles to contain a growing political firestorm over contradicting narratives about what necessitated the operation against Tehran. The Pentagon»»»

Three British men were released on bail after being arrested for allegedly spying for China. File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo March 5 (UPI) -- Three British men arrested on Wednesday for allegedly spying for China have been released on bail, and the wife of one is being investigated »»»

US President Donald Trump on Thursday called again on Israel's president to grant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a pardon for corruption charges, saying the premier should have nothing on his mind but the war with Iran. Trump, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname, said in an interview with Isr»»»

A vote on President Donald Trump's proposed White House ballroom has been postponed after a commission overseeing changes received more than 32,000 comments, mostly in opposition, from the public. They included accusations Trump is seeking a "gaudy, personalized palace", undertaking "personal vanit»»»

Iran launched a new wave of attacks Thursday morning at Israeli and American bases and threatened that the United States would "bitterly regret" torpedoing an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean and a religious leader called for "Trump's blood," while Israel said it had begun a "large-scale" attack»»»

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday insisted he should have a role in picking Iran’s next supreme leader after the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose son he said he found unacceptable. "Khamenei's son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy," Trump told»»»

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday insisted he should have a role in picking Iran’s next supreme leader after the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose son he said he found unacceptable. "Khamenei's son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy," Trump told»»»

Argentinian President Javier Milei speaks during the opening of the 144th Ordinary Session of the National Congress in Buenos Aires on Sunday. Milei addressed the nation on key initiatives for his administration. Photo by Ignacio Roncoroni/EPA March 5 (UPI) -- Argentina's main business organization»»»

An expanded extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly of the Druze Religious Council was held Thursday at the Druze Community Center in Beirut, at the invitation of Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Akl Sami Abi al-Muna, and in the presence of former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat»»»

The US has asked Ukraine for help defending Gulf allies against Iranian drones, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. He said Ukraine's partners had been reaching out and there had been "requests from the American side". The Pentagon declined to comment. Zelensky made clear Ukraine would help »»»

1 of 4 | Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., attends a dinner in the East Room of the White House in November. He announced Wednesday that he won't seek re-election. File Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo March 5 (UPI) -- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., announced Wednesday that he won't seek re-elect»»»

In our ongoing weekly digest, we sum up and explain the most important public affairs events of the week from Hungary. We guide readers on the road to the key April 2026 election — a poll without precedent in the region over the past 15 years. This week, we cover: Why Viktor Orbán does not rule out»»»

A phone call took place Thursday between French President Emmanuel Macron and Speaker Nabih Berri, during which they discussed "the dire situation resulting from the Israeli aggression against Lebanon and the recent developments in Beirut's southern suburbs, including the displacement of its reside»»»

The US campaign to hunt down and destroy boats allegedly bringing drugs from South America has been so successful it is now hard to find targets, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said Thursday. The United States began targeting these alleged smuggling speedboats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific in e»»»