Chinese Satellites Over Mideast Battlefield Put U.S. on Edge – WSJ

  1. Chinese Satellites Over Mideast Battlefield Put U.S. on Edge  WSJ
  2. Iran Reportedly Used Chinese Satellite To Target U.S. Bases—Here’s How China And Russia Could Help Iran  Forbes
  3. Iran used Chinese spy satellite to target US bases  Financial Times
  4. Chinese Satellite Role in Iranian Military Targeting: 2024 Deal Detailed - News and Statistics  IndexBox
  5. How Chinese satellites have boosted Iran’s war effort  The Economist
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Live Updates: Iran touts video of Strait of Hormuz cargo ship seizures as Trump keeps quiet on next move – CBS News

  1. Live Updates: Iran touts video of Strait of Hormuz cargo ship seizures as Trump keeps quiet on next move  CBS News
  2. Iran tightens control of Strait of Hormuz as Israel warns of strikes  Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  3. Iran war live: Iran seizes ships in Strait of Hormuz as Trump maintains ports blockade  Reuters
  4. How Iran raised Hormuz stakes by capturing ships  Al Jazeera
  5. Ships seized by Iranians 'armed to the teeth' along Strait of Hormuz have been taken toward port: report  Fox News
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Touring Africa, Pope Leo Raised His Voice, but Didn’t Like the Echo – The New York Times

  1. Touring Africa, Pope Leo Raised His Voice, but Didn’t Like the Echo  The New York Times
  2. Many African Catholics have greeted Leo’s first visit with joy. Others fear he’s lent legitimacy to strongman leaders  CNN
  3. On Africa trip, the ‘quiet pope’ adopts a confident global voice  The Washington Post
  4. Pope urges Angola to heal divisions at events drawing 130,000  Reuters
  5. Pope Leo's trip targets major obstacle to Catholicism's spread in Africa: Sorcery  National Catholic Reporter
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Slovenia to air films about Palestine instead of Eurovision song contest

Ireland and Spain will also not broadcast Eurovision after decision to boycott live event over Israel’s participation

National broadcasters in Ireland, Spain and Slovenia will not air the Eurovision song contest this year, after they decided to boycott the event over Israel’s participation.

Having announced it would not submit a national entry, the Slovenian broadcaster RTV confirmed on Thursday it would implement a broadcasting blackout of the world’s largest live music event and instead show a series of films about Palestine.

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Inside the daring 3-hour operation to rescue a group of tourists from a cliff in Australia – CBS News

  1. Inside the daring 3-hour operation to rescue a group of tourists from a cliff in Australia  CBS News
  2. First responder speaks out after family of 7 rescued from cliff  ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
  3. Emergency Crew Pulls Off Daring Cliffside Rescue of Family-of-Seven Trapped by Waves  Yahoo
  4. Family of seven clinging to cliff could’ve ‘gone’ at any moment before heart-stopping rescue  New York Post
  5. New South Wales Coastal Drama Unfolds: Urgent SES Cliff Rescue at North Head Campground After Tourists Stranded by Fierce Ocean Swells and Rising Tides on Australia’s Treacherous South Coast  Travel And Tour World
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In first, Ukrainian unmanned vessel launches interceptor to knock out Shahed drone – Defense News

  1. In first, Ukrainian unmanned vessel launches interceptor to knock out Shahed drone  Defense News
  2. Ukraine's Soviet-era 'Shahed hunter' turboprop plane is launching interceptor drones from the sky  Business Insider
  3. In a first, Ukraine’s drone force launches interceptor drone from USV to destroy Shahed  Breaking Defense
  4. Ukraine has remote-control drones that can hit targets at great distance, minister says  Reuters
  5. Ukraine’s Drone-Hunting An-28 Turboprop Is Now Launching Interceptor Drones  The War Zone
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Extended naval blockade is admission US military escalation poses even greater risk

Battle of the blockades may still have more time to run as the US and Iran try to assert control over the strait of Hormuz

Donald Trump’s decision to extend the naval blockade of Iran indefinitely may do nothing to reduce world oil prices – but it could amount to a recognition that further US military escalation in breach of the nominal ceasefire comes with greater risk against a regime disinclined to surrender.

In theory, Trump’s military options are increasing. A third US carrier strike group, the George HW Bush, is due to arrive in the Middle East within days after rounding South Africa. A second taskforce of 2,500 US marines is sailing from the Pacific and is due to arrive by the end of April.

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China hackers steal western secrets by targeting consumer gadgets – Financial Times

  1. China hackers steal western secrets by targeting consumer gadgets  Financial Times
  2. China-linked hackers using everyday devices to hide attacks, cyber agencies warn  Reuters
  3. Defending Against China-Nexus Covert Networks of Compromised Devices  CISA (.gov)
  4. Chinese hackers using everyday devices to target UK firms, warns cybersecurity agency  The Guardian
  5. International cyber agencies share fresh advice to defend against China-linked covert networks  National Cyber Security Centre
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Trump Sparks Crisis in the World’s Other Vital Strait, the Panama Canal – The Daily Beast

  1. Trump Sparks Crisis in the World’s Other Vital Strait, the Panama Canal  The Daily Beast
  2. Businesses dole out up to $4 million to cross Panama Canal during Strait of Hormuz chokehold  AP News
  3. Iran War Drives Some Ships to Pay $1 Million to Transit Panama Canal  WSJ
  4. Panama Canal says $1 million-plus auction slots reflect temporary surge in demand  Reuters
  5. Iran war drives Panama Canal lane prices to record high  Financial Times
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UK prepared to deploy RAF Typhoons to keep strait of Hormuz open after Iran war

Proposal at heart of offer made during a 30-country two-day meeting jointly organised by France

Britain is prepared to deploy a squadron of RAF Typhoons based in Qatar to patrol over the strait of Hormuz as part of a multinational mission to keep open the strategic waterway once the Iran war comes to an end.

The UK military also offered to deploy mine-hunting drones and specialist divers to help clear the strait mined by Iran – but no decision has been made on whether HMS Dragon or another warship would also be deployed.

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Indonesia suggests charging a toll to transit the Malacca Strait – The Economist

  1. Indonesia suggests charging a toll to transit the Malacca Strait  The Economist
  2. The Iran war is pushing Southeast Asia to debate the once unthinkable: Whether ships will need to pay to transit the Strait of Malacca  Yahoo
  3. Hormuz crisis throws spotlight on world's largest 'chokepoint' - the Malacca Strait  Reuters
  4. Indonesia Rules Out Tolls for Malacca Strait Ship Transits  Bloomberg.com
  5. Indonesia Floats Ship Tax in Malacca Strait as Singapore Defends Free Passage  Jakarta Globe
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On Everest, Everyone Is Waiting for a Block of Ice to Fall – Newser

  1. On Everest, Everyone Is Waiting for a Block of Ice to Fall  Newser
  2. Huge chunk of glacier blocks Everest route in peak climbing season  BBC
  3. Ice block stalls hundreds of Everest climbers at base camp  The Guardian
  4. Mount Everest Summit Route Blocked by Immovable Slab of Ice  The Inertia
  5. Everest: New Drone Service to Counter Delays in the Khumbu Icefall  Explorersweb »
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EU formally approves €90bn Ukraine loan and 20th sanctions package against Russia

Ursula von der Leyen hails ‘good news’ after Hungary’s lifting of vetoes allows leaders to sign off on agreements

EU leaders have welcomed the end of diplomatic deadlock over a long-awaited €90bn (£78bn) loan for Ukraine, after the bloc completed the agreement along with a 20th sanctions package against Russia.

After weeks of delay, the EU signed off on the loan on Thursday, in time for a summit in Cyprus that began in the evening and will include talks over a dinner with the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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The no-go zone paradox: Chornobyl’s wildlife thrives amid pro-nuclear shift – The Guardian

  1. The no-go zone paradox: Chornobyl’s wildlife thrives amid pro-nuclear shift  The Guardian
  2. PHOTO ESSAY: Chernobyl liquidators return to where they faced an invisible enemy  AP News
  3. Scientists are still learning from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster  The Economist
  4. Chornobyl first responder says few survive 40 years on  Reuters
  5. Chernobyl at 40: The lies, the loss and why we can't let go  Phys.org
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