Archive March 5, 2026

Trump voices support for possible Kurdish offensive in Iran

Donald Trump has expressed public support for a possible Kurdish offensive against Iran as the United States pushes to destabilise the Iranian governing system internally.

“I think it’s wonderful that they want to do that, I’d be all for it,” the US president told the Reuters news agency on Thursday when asked about the prospects of a Kurdish rebellion in Iran.

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Several US media outlets have reported that Trump called leaders in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq to enable Iranian Kurdish groups launch a ground offensive inside Iran.

In his comments on Thursday, Trump declined to say whether the US would provide air support for Kurdish rebels.

The White House had confirmed that the US president contacted Kurdish leaders in Iraq but denied that Trump agreed to a plan to push for an armed uprising by the Kurds in Iran.

“The president has held many calls with partners, allies and leaders in the region, in the Middle East,” Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday.

“He did speak to Kurdish leaders with respect to our base that we have in northern Iraq.”

US assets in Erbil in the Kurdish region of Iraq have come under repeated Iranian drone and missile attacks since the war started.

Iran is home to millions of Kurds, mostly living in the west of the country.

Kurds represent a sizable ethnic minority in Iraq, Syria and Turkiye, as well.

Earlier this week, Mustafa Hijri, head of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), a prominent Kurdish opposition group, called for desertion from the Iranian army and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

“I call upon all aware and freedom-seeking soldiers and personnel across Iran, and especially in Kurdistan, to abandon the barracks and military centres of the IRGC, the army, and other military forces of the regime, to refuse their assigned duties, and to return to the embrace of their families,” Hijri wrote on X.

“This action is important both for preserving their lives in the face of these attacks and as a sign of turning their backs on the regime’s military and repressive forces.”

On several occasions in recent decades, Washington has urged Kurdish groups seeking autonomy to rebel against governments it viewed as hostile in the region, only to cut off support to them or fail to come to their aid when the political situation changes.

Some critics have warned that stoking ethnic tensions in Iran could lead to a civil war that could further destabilise the entire region.

On Wednesday, Iran’s Press TV reported that the IRGC launched missiles and drones at the headquarters of “anti-Iran terrorist groups in the Iraqi Kurdistan region”.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq has condemned the Iranian attacks on the region while also “categorically denying reports of playing a role in an offensive against Iran.

“At the same time, the Kurdistan Regional Government and the political parties within it are not part of any campaign to expand the war and tensions in the region,” the KRG said in a statement. “On the contrary, we call for peace and stability in the region.”

But with government troops showing no signs of defection despite thousands of US and Israeli strikes, the Trump administration has struggled to find a prominent friendly force on the ground in Iran.

Israel cancels Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque amid Iran conflict

Israel’s Civil Administration has cancelled Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem, the latest in a series of Israeli restrictions imposed at Islam’s third-holiest site since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Civil Administration Chief Brigadier General Hisham Ibrahim said on Thursday via the Israeli army’s Al Munasiq platform that the decision was taken in light of Iran launching retaliatory strikes at “Israel and the entire region”.

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Israel and its close ally, the United States, launched a military offensive on Iran on Saturday, as the mediator of talks between the countries, Oman, said a deal was “within reach” after Tehran had agreed to never stockpile the enriched uranium required to make a nuclear bomb.

“All holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Western Wall, the Temple Mount and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, will remain closed tomorrow, and worshippers and visitors of all religions will not be allowed to enter,” said the head of Israel’s governing body in the occupied West Bank.

Retaliatory Iranian missile strikes have so far killed 10 people in Israel, while at least 1,230 people have been killed in Israeli and US attacks.

Since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran, Israeli authorities have barred access to the Old City for anyone other than residents or shop owners.

Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, a senior imam at Al-Aqsa, has slammed Israel’s continued closure of Islam’s third-holiest site.

“The occupation authorities are exploiting any occasion to close Al-Aqsa, and this is completely unjustified,” he told Al Jazeera on Sunday.

Nevertheless, the imposition of Israeli restrictions predates the beginning of the war.

Last month, Israeli authorities announced that no more than 10,000 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank would be permitted to enter the mosque compound for the first Ramadan prayer – only a fraction of the numbers that have traditionally gathered there in previous years. Al-Aqsa can hold up to half a million people.

The Old City is located in occupied East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied in 1967 and later annexed, a move against international law.

Moreover, the site has become a regular target of visits by right-wing Israeli politicians and Israeli settlers, who have stormed the compound on an almost weekly basis and performed religious rituals under the protection of Israeli forces.

Palestinians fear Israeli encroachment upon the holy site has increased, with senior ministers offering prayers at the site.

The Al-Aqsa compound is administered by Jordan, but access to the site itself is controlled by Israeli security forces.

Under the decades-old status quo maintained by Israeli authorities, Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound in occupied East Jerusalem during specified hours, but they are not permitted to pray there or display religious symbols.

GB wheelchair curlers beat Latvia for first Games win

Elizabeth Hudson

BBC Sport journalist

Great Britain defeated Latvia 6-5 to claim their first win in the wheelchair curling mixed doubles event at the Winter Paralympics in Milan-Cortina.

Having been beaten 10-7 by Estonia in Wednesday’s opening game before losing 14-3 in just seven ends to world number ones South Korea on Thursday morning, GB needed a better performance in their second match of the day.

And against the Latvians, who had also lost their first two matches, Jo Butterfield and Jason Kean rallied after their opponents stole one in the opening end.

Butterfield, who is aiming to become the first Briton to win Winter and Summer Paralympic golds – having finished first in the club throw event at Rio 2016 – played a key role with two superb shots either side of the break.

Her last stone of the fourth end enabled a score of two to take a 5-2 lead into the interval, while her final stone of the fifth end resulted in a steal for a 6-2 advantage.

“We enjoyed that one. It is great to get our first win and hopefully we can build some momentum from that,” said Butterfield.

“We played so much better. It was a performance, especially in the first half, that we know we can play. That’s the team we know we can be.

“We actually played better this morning than we did last night, although the scoreline didn’t reflect it. We have been building in every game we have played so far. Tonight we came out even better.”

The Britons had struggled against the Koreans in the earlier match, which fell away in the fourth end with Hyejin Baek and Yongsuk Lee 3-2 up in the match and scoring four with one stone each to play.

Butterfield missed a takeout attempt and Baek sent her final stone into the house to secure a score of five to put them 8-2 ahead.

GB opted to use the powerplay in the fifth end but once again South Korea controlled the end and were able to steal two to leave them 10-2 up and firmly in control.

Although GB pulled one back in the sixth end, the Koreans maintained their dominance with another strong seventh end to add another four and the match was brought to an early conclusion before the scheduled final end.

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US House of Representatives to vote on latest effort to halt Iran war

The United States House of Representatives is set to vote on a resolution to halt the administration of US President Donald Trump’s military actions against Iran, in the latest test of lawmakers’ positions on the war.

The vote on Thursday comes a day after a vote on a parallel war powers resolution, which failed in the US Senate 47-53, mostly along partisan lines.

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As in the Senate, Republicans control a slim majority in the House, and any vote to rein in Trump’s actions is all but assured to face an uphill battle.

Still, Thursday’s vote will be significant. The House of Representatives, with 435 seats, was envisioned by the US Constitution as the legislative branch closest to the US public. It is often referred to as the People’s House.

With polls continually showing dismal approval from Trump’s bombing campaign, and figures in Trump’s own “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) base questioning the war’s motivation, a vote will force lawmakers to go on record with their positions, according to Thomas Massie, a Republican sponsoring the resolution.

“They don’t want their name associated with this when it doesn’t turn out well,” Massie said from the House floor during a debate period on Wednesday.

He has joined with mostly Democrats in condemning Trump’s actions as unconstitutional.

Under the US Constitution, only Congress can declare war. Presidents can unilaterally conduct some military actions, but legal scholars have long argued that, under the founding US document, that authority only applies in instances of immediate self-defence of the country.

Lawmakers critical of Trump’s actions have decried the operation launched on Saturday alongside Israel as a “war of choice”, charging the administration has not offered any evidence of an immediate threat.

To be sure, the administration has presented a kaleidoscope of rationales, many that run counter to available evidence.

The administration has pointed to both Iran’s nuclear programme, which Trump has said was “obliterated” in strikes last year, as well as claims Iran sought to develop a ballistic missile programme capable of hitting the US. If Iran did seek to develop such a missile, experts have noted, US intelligence has assessed it would take them until 2035 to achieve that goal.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, said earlier this week that Washington’s close ally Israel was planning to strike Iran, which they expected to prompt an Iranian attack on US assets in the Middle East. Trump subsequently said Iran was the one planning to strike Israel.

Across the claims, the administration has said the totality of the Iranian government’s actions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution represented an immediate threat that previous US administrations had failed to address.

‘Constitutional right to exercise its authority’

Speaking ahead of the failed vote in the Senate on Friday, Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer said following classified briefings and public statements, he increasingly feared the prospect of the US putting boots on the ground.

“He picks one plan one day, then he picks the total opposite the next. He doesn’t think it through, he doesn’t check the facts,” Schumer said, referring to Trump.

“He is surrounded by ‘yes’ men; this is dangerous,” he said.

As of Thursday, fighting continued across the Middle East, with the US and Israel repeatedly striking Iran, and Iran launching its latest wave of attacks across the Gulf. Recent strikes have extended as far as Turkiye and Azerbaijan.

At least 1,230 people have been killed in Iran since Saturday, while 11 were killed in Israel and nine in Gulf states. Six US soldiers were also killed.

As underscored in Wednesday’s Senate vote, Republicans have largely rallied behind Trump’s campaign or offered tacit support, including praise for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, the top Republican in the chamber, has warned it would be “dangerous” to force an end to the military campaign.

On Wednesday, he pointed to Congress’s “constitutional right to exercise its oversight authority”.

“But we also have a duty and obligation not to undercut our own national security,” he said.

Several Republicans have expressed confidence that Trump will swiftly end the war and, in turn, help reduce political fallout over contradictions with Trump’s anti-interventionist campaign pledges.

Under the 1973 War Powers Act, presidents have 60 days, with a possible 90-day extension, to obtain congressional approval to continue military actions, regardless of their initial justification.

Vote expected to be close

Republicans currently control 218 seats in the House to Democrats 214, with three seats remaining vacant.

The vote is expected to be close, with the top Democrat in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, predicting wide support across the party.

However, a handful of Democrats have indicated they could oppose the resolution, including Representative Josh Gottheimer, a top defender of Israel.

Beyond Massie, at least one Republican, Representative Warren Davidson, has committed to voting in favour of reining in Trump.

If the resolution passes with a simple majority, it would need to be brought to another vote in the Senate before it is sent to Trump’s desk. He could then veto it, and both chambers of Congress would need a two-thirds majority to override it.

A small group of Democrats has separately proposed a different war powers resolution that would allow the president to continue the war for 30 days before seeking congressional approval.

‘Brave and brilliant, Russell has compelling case as Scotland’s greatest’

Tom English

BBC Scotland’s chief sports writer

It’s spring 2015 and Finn Russell is 22 years old, a rookie with five caps to his name with just two of them away from home, one at the BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, the other at BMO Field in Toronto.

Now he’s in Paris in his first Six Nations game. Houston and Toronto, it is not. Twenty-eight minutes gone at the Stade de France and Scotland are piling on the pressure in the home 22.

It’s 6-3 to Thierry Dusautoir’s side. Russell drops into the pocket, ready for an easy three in front of the posts. He lines up the drop-goal – and shanks it. The stadium empties derision on his head. Russell has arrived in Test match rugby.

On Saturday, he will play France for the 14th time – won four, lost nine. It will be his 93rd cap. All going well, he will make it a century come the autumn.

One of Scotland’s greatest players, unquestionably. The greatest ever, very possibly. The one who has thrilled fans more than any other? If it was put to a vote it would be a surprise if he didn’t top it.

Saturday is huge. Win an unlikely victory against an outrageously talented French side and Russell has, at last, a shot at winning the title in the final game, in Dublin. Lose, and it’s a chance gone.

Finn Russell plays against France in 2017SNS

Playing France? Well, it’s been an adventure since the start and even more so during, and after, his years with Racing, when his adopted nation came to marvel at his natural ability. No trophies with Racing, but a whole lot of memories – Russell doing Russell things.

In cataloguing Finn versus France, there are highs and lows. That shanked drop-goal as a relative kid, the injury that took him out of the game early a year later, made all the more painful because Scotland won.

The sumptuous moments in 2016 and 2018 when the Scots won back-to-back Tests at Murrayfield, the history made when winning in Paris in 2021 for the first time in 18 years, a day made complex because Russell was red-carded for a forearm to the neck of Brice Dulin and was off the field when Duhan van der Merwe struck gold at the death.

‘Everything he does is about winning and enjoying it’

So what do those who know him best say about him?

“Nothing ever flusters Finn,” says Scotland team-mate Kyle Steyn. “More than any player I’ve played with, he just has time on the ball. Something I’ve been really jealous of is his ability to flush something and be absolutely focused on the present. Whatever he’s done before, whatever he’s going to do next, that doesn’t affect the way he’s thinking now.”

Everybody says that about Russell. He never dwells on errors, he just kicks on. “Not many people shake it off like Finn does,” says Duncan Weir, the former 10 who won a Pro12 title with Russell in 2015.

Fraser Brown, who played alongside Russell for nine seasons with Glasgow and Scotland added: “His passing range, his speed of pass, his kicking short and long and now off the tee, some of it is natural but there are other elements he’s worked incredibly hard at.

“(The reality) dispels the lazy narrative that he’s just flash and carefree. ⁠He’s very intelligent. He has great vision but more than that, he has a very clear idea of what he’s looking for. He’s less off the cuff now.

Scotland Rugby Podcast: France ‘biggest test in world rugby’

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When Russell plays, the try count rises

Scotland's Finn Russell scores a try against FranceSNS

What was life like for Scotland pre-Russell, pre the outrageous skill with hand and boot, pre the vision and the execution, the confidence and the personality that gets you off your seat and, yes, the risk-taking that can make you hide behind it at times when it goes wrong?

Scotland’s attack was largely barren in the Six Nations from 2000 to 2015, when Russell turned up in earnest. In 16 consecutive seasons Scotland never made double figures in tries scored in a five-game championship.

They averaged fewer than six tries per tournament. Crossing the line was a Herculean task.

Then, Russell. In his second Six Nations, Scotland scored 11 tries, then 14, then 11, then 14 again. That number slumped to seven in 2000 – the year Russell and his coach, Gregor Townsend, were estranged. The following year, with Russell restored, the try count rose to 18. They average around 14.5 per Six Nations nowadays.

They have 10 in their first three games this time around. This is not all on Russell. He’s had Darcy Graham, Van der Merwe and Steyn out wide, he’s had Huw Jones and Sione Tuipulotu in the midfield. He’s had Blair Kinghorn at full-back and Ben White and George Horne at scrum-half.

Scotland international Finn RussellSNS

After the debacle in Rome, Scotland have come good. Two brutally hard games to go, but they’re in a healthy spot for now. Russell’s leadership behind the scenes post-Italy has been mentioned before. What he’s done on the pitch since then has been there for all to see.

His flick on to Jones for his first score against England, this his impromptu burst down the short side, his footwork and his chip ahead for the Ben White try. Just magical.

‘When he’s dialled in, it’s almost like time slows down’

Chris Paterson won 109 caps for Scotland and has studied Russell for the entirety of his career.

“Some players have a lot of knowledge but not a great understanding of what it means and how to apply it,” he says.

“What makes Finn different is that he likes to make out that it all comes easily to him. Don’t be fooled. He does the work. One of his best attributes is his bravery in trusting his instincts.”

Pete Horne is now one of Townsend’s assistants but back in the day he was Russell’s Glasgow and Scotland team-mate.

“As a player, I was always fully aware of how talented he was and knew that behind the scenes, even though it didn’t match the kind of young, cool and free image, there was a lot of hard work going on,” Horne explains. “He was on the laptops a lot.

“The conversations that he’d be having, you could tell he thought really deeply about the game. That’s the thing with really high-skilled players. When they’re absolutely dialled in, it’s almost like time slows down a little bit for them. They’re just in that flow state.”

Whether Russell can achieve such karma against the mighty France is a moot point, but if he does then Scotland must have a fighting chance. The day will need him at his gobsmacking best; poking and prodding, controlling and surprising, putting men into gaps and sticking points on the board.

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Trump to replace Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem with Markwayne Mullin

United States President Donald Trump has announced that he will replace Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin.

In a social media post on Thursday, Trump explained that he had reassigned Noem to be a special envoy for a new security initiative focused on the Western Hemisphere, dubbed the “Shield of the Americas”.

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The staffing change, he added, will take effect starting March 31. It marks the first major cabinet-level shake-up of Trump’s second term so far.

Trump praised Noem upon her departure from the cabinet-level post, writing that she “has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!)”

But Noem has played a prominent role in some of the administration’s most controversial immigration policies, and her tenure at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has spurred questions about government spending and conflicts of interest.

The announcement that she would be leaving her post comes a day after she faced a grilling from Democrats during congressional hearings this week, with several politicians called for her resignation.

“DHS is supposed to be protecting our residents and upholding constitutional protections. But you’ve turned that on the head. You have actually turned the United States government against its own residents,” Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat, said during Wednesday’s hearing.

“Yours is a case of failed leadership. Secretary, you need to resign, be fired or be impeached because you don’t have the right to lead this agency.”

The announcement of Noem’s removal also comes as DHS continues to weather a partial government shutdown.

Democrats have opposed approving new funding for the department in response to deadly shootings involving immigration agents under Noem’s leadership.

Those shootings were brought up again this week during Noem’s appearances before judiciary committees in the Senate and House of Representatives.

Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin, for instance, repeatedly accused Noem of launching a “smear campaign” against two US citizens shot dead during interactions with immigration agents: Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

“There have been three homicides in Minneapolis in 2026, and your agents committed two of them,” Raskin told Noem.

He also highlighted comments Noem made calling Good and Pretti “domestic terrorists“, despite evidence undercutting the administration’s depiction of the events leading to their deaths.

“Rather than work with state and local authorities to solve these homicides, you barred Minnesota’s investigators from the crime scenes,” Raskin said.

“It smells like a coverup, and it makes me wonder who the real domestic terrorists are.”

Noem, formerly the Republican governor of South Dakota, has also been scrutinised for a $220m advertising campaign promoting border security.

The advertising campaign shows Noem riding a horse near Mount Rushmore, a well-known national memorial in her home state.

The news outlet ProPublica previously reported that a government contract for the campaign went to a Republican consulting firm with ties to senior DHS officials.

Noem has denied any wrongdoing, stating that the bidding process was “competitive” and that the contract was “all done correctly, all done legally”.

On Thursday, before announcing the staffing change, Trump denied any connection to the advertising campaign, telling the news service Reuters that he “never knew anything about it”.

Noem played a key role in the administration’s mass deportation push, and she has frequently used rhetoric that vilified immigrants as dangerous and violent.

Though DHS’s mandate focuses on domestic security, Noem has made several international trips over the last year, including visits to Ecuador in July and November.

Trump has called a “Shield of the Americas” summit at his Mar-a-Lago estate this weekend, inviting world leaders from multiple countries to discuss regional security and combatting Chinese influence in Latin America.

Noem’s replacement as DHS head, Mullin, has served as a US senator since 2023. He was a representative in the House for a decade before that, representing Oklahoma.

Trump highlighted his membership in the Cherokee Nation, writing that Mullin would be a “fantastic advocate for our incredible Tribal Communities” as DHS leader.