Israel has claimed responsibility for an assassination attempt, which killed at least four people, at a busy Beirut hotel. The Israeli military claims it targeted members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at the Ramada Plaza. Al Jazeera’s Heidi Pett spoke to hotel guests who experienced the blast.
Preliminary and partial results released show a new political party led by an ex-rapper is in front in Nepal’s parliamentary election, the country’s first since last year’s youth-led revolt.
The Rastriya Swatantra (RSP) already won 60 of 165 directly elected seats and is leading in 61 other constituencies in the results published by Nepal’s Election Commission on Saturday.
list of 2 itemsend of list
Its prime ministerial candidate is rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, 35, who won the 2022 Kathmandu mayoral race and emerged as a leading figure in the 2025 uprising that ousted former Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli.
He highlighted health and education for poor Nepalis as a key focus of his campaign, which rode a wave of public anger towards traditional political parties.
Shah, running directly against Oli in a southeastern district, won the seat with a wide margin, securing almost four times as many votes as the former prime minister.
He said the vote reflected his refusal to take “the easy way out” and signalled a reckoning with the “problems and betrayals that have affected the country”.
Oil congratulated Shah in a post on X, wishing him a “smooth and successful” term.
[Translation: Balenu Babu, Congratulations to you for the victory! May your five-year tenure be smooth and successful—heartfelt best wishes!]Shah, widely known simply as “Balen”, trained as a civil engineer before breaking through as one of Nepal’s most prominent rappers, releasing conscious music targeting corruption and inequality that later became anthems of the September protests.
His 2022 election as Kathmandu’s first independent mayor was also a major upset for the political establishment at the time. The RSP, his party, founded the same year, was built on a similar anti-establishment platform.
Its campaign before Thursday’s vote was highly organised, with a more-than-660-person social media operation and significant funding from the Nepali diaspora, particularly in the United States.
“The nation was fed up with the old corrupt leaders,” said Birendra Kumar Mehta, a member of RSP’s central committee.
The September protests, initially triggered by a government ban on social media platforms, rapidly escalated into a mass movement against corruption and economic stagnation. At least 77 people were killed.
Shah emerged as a figurehead of the protests, and his song Nepal Haseko, Nepal Smiling, accumulated more than 10 million YouTube views during the unrest. His victory reflects a growing generational divide in the country.
More than 40 percent of Nepal’s nearly 30 million people are under 35, yet the leadership of its established parties has remained in its 70s.
Flames engulfed Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security high-rise headquarters after it was hit by a suspected drone amid a wave of Iranian aerial strikes on the country.
For the start of a new era, there was a familiar look about Wales as they kicked off their bid to reach the 2027 Women’s World Cup in the Czech Republic.
With Jess Fishlock gone, and so too Kayleigh Barton, Rhian Wilkinson had suggested before this campaign began that Wales’ bid to land a place in Brazil would coincide with a period of transition.
Even so, Wilkinson’s starting side last Tuesday featured no fewer than eight players with at least 50 Wales caps.
Not only that, but the trio who were short of a half-century – Olivia Clark, Lily Woodham and Hannah Cain – could hardly be described as international novices.
Yet it was Wales’ “finishers” – the younger, less experienced players who came off the bench – who drew most praise from Rhian Wilkinson in the wake of the 2-2 draw in Uherske Hradiste.
Safia Middleton-Patel, Mia Ross, Mared Griffiths and Carrie Jones – who is still only 22 – were the four players drafted into the side in Llanelli this weekend, with Olivia Clark, Gemma Evans, Angharad James and Ffion Morgan making way.
While goalkeeper Middleton-Patel and Ross – who was deployed as one of three centre-backs – were part of a defensive unit who did not have that much work to do, Jones impressed in a central midfield role.
But it was Griffiths, the Manchester United youngster who is currently on loan at Sunderland, who took most of the plaudits.
“She’s got it all,” Wilkinson said after Montenegro were hammered 6-1 in Llanelli.
“And she’s far from the finished product, which is very exciting for all Welsh people I’d imagine.”
Griffiths, sporting the number 10 shirt which was worn so often by Fishlock, scored Wales’ third goal, which was handed to her on a plate following an error by Montenegro keeper Ajsa Kala.
But there was nothing gift-wrapped about Griffiths’ second of the afternoon, which was Wales’ only goal during a second half in which Montenegro sat deep and defended with much more conviction than they had in the first period.
That made it three goals in only six senior appearances for Griffiths, the Trawsfynydd-born attacking midfielder who turned 19 on the day of the Czech Republic game.
Montenegro was Griffiths’ first competitive start for Wales, yet she played with a blend of calmness and quality which offers considerable hope for the many international appearances which surely lie ahead.
“I think it’s a testament to the team that when a young player like Mared comes through our pathway, she feels comfortable to play with the freedom which you see,” Wilkinson said.
“She plays with a creativity that you don’t see that often with young players coming up to the senior team because they’re too nervous to express themselves. It’s really nice to see.”
The good news for Wales is that according to Wilkinson, Griffiths is not the only youngster ready to make a mark in the senior side.
“We’ve been excited about Mared for a while now and we have a couple of young players coming through who are real talents,” the Wales boss added.
“I think it’s a testament to our youth coaches, but also our academies in the north and the south and what they’re producing.
FAWGriffiths is not the only player in fine goalscoring form for Wales.
Cain’s double against Montenegro means the Leicester City forward has four goals in Wales’ past three internationals, while Sophie Ingle – a player not known for her strike-rate during her long international career – has three in four.
Such returns are welcome for a Wales side still adjusting to the loss of Fishlock, their all-time leading scorer.
There are far tougher tests ahead, of course, but Wilkinson’s players head back to their clubs after a positive spell on international duty.
Top of Group B1 after two games, Wales will aim to maintain that position after next month’s double-header against Albania before return fixtures against Montenegro and the Czechs in June.
Their target is four more wins, which would mean a more favourable path come the World Cup qualifying play-offs later this year.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is facing a two-game touchline ban after being booked for the sixth time this season during Saturday’s FA Cup win at Newcastle.
Guardiola was shown a yellow card after confronting fourth official Lewis Smith on the touchline at St James’ Park after Kieran Trippier had fouled City’s Jeremy Doku.
New regulations introduced this season mean Premier League managers are suspended for one game once they have received three yellow cards, while six cautions will result in a two-match ban.
The ban applies to league and FA Cup games but not European games or domestic cup finals, meaning Guardiola will be on the touchline for the Carabao Cup final with Arsenal on 22 March.
However, the Spaniard will have to sit out next Saturday’s Premier League fixture with West Ham and City’s FA Cup quarter-final clash on the weekend of 4-5 April, with the draw yet to be made for that round.
After the win at Newcastle, Guardiola said of his angry reaction that led to his booking: “I will tell you something – we have all the records in this country, all of them, despite everything.
“We have the record of the manager with the most yellow cards. I want all records and now I have it, two-game ban now and I will go on holidays the next two games.
United States President Donald Trump has posted on social media that he does not need the United Kingdom to deploy aircraft carriers to the Middle East, amid the ongoing war with Iran.
Saturday’s post on Truth Social follows a statement from the UK’s Ministry of Defence that one of its two flagship aircraft carriers, the HMS Prince of Wales, has been placed on “high readiness”.
list of 3 itemsend of list
“The United Kingdom, our once Great Ally, maybe the Greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East,” Trump wrote.
“That’s OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them any longer — But we will remember. We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!”
The post, with its reference to the UK as a “once great ally”, signals a deepening rift between the two countries that has emerged since Trump returned to office last year.
The divide appears to have deepened over the past week, as the US and Israel continue to hammer Iran as part of a war they launched on February 28.
The conflict has sparked fears across the Middle East, as retaliatory strikes from Tehran target US allies across the region.
Already, an estimated 1,332 people have been killed in Iran, and the US has confirmed the deaths of six of its service members. More deaths have been reported in countries like Lebanon, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq.
The UK government has increased its involvement in the war on Iran, widely considered illegal under international law.
The UK Defence Ministry, for instance, said on Saturday that the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer had allowed the US to use its military bases for what it termed “limited defensive purposes”.
The bases include RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and the Diego Garcia site in the Chagos Islands, located in the Indian Ocean. Initially, there had been reports that Starmer had blocked the US use of the bases.
In the immediate aftermath of the initial US-Israeli strike, Starmer appeared to blanche at the prospect of joining the war.
He and the leaders of France and Germany issued a joint statement, underscoring that any actions they might take would be defensive in nature.
“We will take steps to defend our interests and those of our allies in the region, potentially through enabling necessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones at their source,” the joint statement said.
“We have agreed to work together with the US and allies in the region on this matter.”
But Starmer has had to push back on domestic criticism both for and against joining the war.
On Monday, he told the UK Parliament, “We are not joining the US and Israeli offensive strikes”, citing the need to protect “Britain’s national interest” and “British lives”.
The war in Iran remains largely unpopular in the UK. The polling firm Survation conducted a survey over the last week of 1,045 British adults, in which 43 percent of respondents called the war not justifiable.
When asked if they supported Starmer’s initial decision not to allow the US to use UK bases, 56 percent of respondents approved. Only 27 percent said it was the wrong choice.
Thousands of protesters gathered outside the US Embassy in London on Saturday to call for an end to the ballooning conflict.
The US president, meanwhile, has upped his criticism of Starmer over the past week, further fraying relations with the UK government.
On March 3, for instance, Trump held an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in which he said repeatedly he was “not happy with the UK”.
Of Starmer, Trump said, “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.”
Trump has long admired Churchill, and last year installed a bust of the late UK wartime leader in the Oval Office, just as he had during his first term.
By contrast, Trump has issued a flood of criticism against Starmer, particularly for his 2024 decision to transfer control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
The transfer came after the International Court of Justice found the UK acted unlawfully in 1965 by separating the islands from Mauritius to create a separate colony.
The deal with Mauritius allows the US and the UK to maintain a military base on Diego Garcia, part of the archipelago.
However, Trump has repeatedly slammed the transfer, writing on social media that “giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY”.
Tensions between the US and UK also rose in January after Trump told Fox News that NATO allies had “stayed a little off the front lines” during the US war in Afghanistan.
Starmer had responded that he found Trump’s comments “to be insulting and frankly appalling”.
The Trump administration has signalled it is pivoting away from its traditional European allies in favour of more politically aligned countries.
At a summit on Saturday with right-wing Latin American leaders, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to praise the attendees while casting shade on other allies.