MOSCOW, March 31, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Drone attacks caused fresh damage at Russia's Baltic port of Ust-Luga, the regional governor said on Tuesday, for the third time in a week. Russian air defences shot down 38 drones overnight in northwestern Leningrad region, its governor said on social media. "There is damage at the port of Ust-Luga," Governor Alexander Drozdenko said, adding three people - including two children - were wounded in the overnight attacks. Ukraine has intensified retaliatory attacks on Russian infrastructure -- including refineries, oil depots and ports -- saying they are justified as part of the effort to cut revenues funding Russia's offensive. Russian authorities said on Wednesday and Sunday that Ukrainian drone attacks had caused fires at the port.

He added that he meant the war was more than halfway "in terms of missions, not necessarily in terms of time." President Donald Trump, who launched the war with Netanyahu on February 28, initially said the operation would last for four to six weeks. Netanyahu said the war had achieved goals including killing "thousands" of members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. But at the moment, right now, what we're doing is just degrading their military capacity, degrading their missile capacity, degrading their nuclear capacity and also weakening them from the inside," Netanyahu said. The war came weeks after Iranian authorities clamped down on major anti-government demonstrations, killing thousands of people.

JERUSALEM, March 31, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Israel's military said on Tuesday that it had launched an investigation into separate incidents that killed three UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. "The incidents are being thoroughly reviewed in order to clarify the circumstances and determine whether they resulted from Hezbollah activity or from IDF activity," the Israeli military posted on Telegram. "It should be noted these incidents occurred in an active combat area," where it was operating against Iran-backed group Hezbollah, the post added. "Therefore, it should not be assumed that incidents in which UNIFIL soldiers were harmed were caused by the IDF," it said, referring to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said two of its personnel were killed Monday in an explosion and another had died late Sunday when a projectile hit their position.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said two Indonesian peacekeepers were killed "when an explosion of unknown origin destroyed their vehicle". Also in the south, Lebanon's army said an Israeli strike killed one of its soldiers, while a security source told AFP that three Hezbollah members were killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs. Israel has responded with broad strikes across Lebanon and a ground offensive in the south. Other strikes in Beirut and south Lebanon targeted Hezbollah "command centres", the military said. The Israeli military said a soldier was killed fighting in south Lebanon, bringing the number of Israeli soldiers killed there to six this month.

The bill would make the death penalty the default punishment for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank found guilty of intentionally carrying out deadly attacks deemed "acts of terrorism" by an Israeli military court. "The law creates two parallel tracks, both designed to apply to Palestinians," the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said in a statement. "In military courts -- which have jurisdiction over West Bank Palestinians -- it establishes a near-mandatory death sentence," the rights group said. Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas said the law reflected Israel's approach based on "killing and terrorism". Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and violence there has soared since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.

PANAMA CITY, March 31, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The war in the Middle East has prompted a surge in ships utilizing the Panama Canal, an executive for the interoceanic waterway said Monday. Five percent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal, whose main users are the United States and China. The route primarily connects the east coast of the United States with the Asian giant, South Korea, and Japan. "The Panama Canal is a safe, short route, that with gas prices" still reduces costs, Espino de Marotta said. Nonetheless, the canal executive warned that the passage of 40 daily boats "isn't sustainable" given the limited space on the route.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants have been arrested across the United States as Trump looks to fulfil an election pledge to carry out the largest deportation operation ever. He was the 14th Mexican to die after contact with immigration authorities since Trump's January 2025 inauguration. He was also the 14th foreign national to die in such circumstances in the first three months of this year. "These deaths reveal systemic failures, operational deficiencies and possible negligence counter to the United States' own protocols and regulations as well as international human rights standards," Calva said. Mexico will also join a lawsuit filed by NGOs in the United States on January 26 addressing the issue of detention conditions.

WASHINGTON, United States, March 31, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Monday lambasted the World Trade Organization after high-level talks ended with a failure to extend a years-long ban on customs duties for e-commerce. As a result of the failure to agree on e-commerce duties, a WTO moratorium that since 1998 has exempted cross-border digital transmissions from duties expired Monday. It does not mean tariffs will automatically be imposed, but it deals a heavy blow to developed countries and the United States in particular. For nearly three decades, every WTO ministerial -- its biennial decision-making body -- has negotiated extending the moratorium exempting electronic transmissions from customs duties. The United States identified Brazil and Turkey as the countries that blocked the extension at the meeting in Cameroon.

My work was done at night — cleaning the cafeteria and bathrooms, vacuuming, washing windows, cleaning the water fountains, etc. I also cut the grass and maintained the grounds at that school during the summer. I gained a great deal of appreciation for custodians. But because my work was after hours, I didn’t have interaction with the kids. As you’ll see in our cover story on two longtime custodians for Hoover City Schools, custodians play an important role in helping children and teachers directly, too.

STUTTGART, Germany, March 31, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Ghana said Tuesday they have dismissed coach Otto Addo, hours after a friendly defeat to Germany and just over 70 days until the World Cup. The Black Stars were beaten 2-1 in Stuttgart on Monday, the hosts needing a last-gasp Deniz Undav goal to save their blushes. "The association wishes to thank Otto Addo sincerely for his contribution to the team and wishes him the best of luck in his future endeavours," the Ghana Football Association (GFA) said. It will "communicate the new technical direction of the Black Stars in due course". Ghana are grouped with England, Croatia and Panama at the World Cup in North America this summer.

General Daily Insight for March 31, 2026 Today’s tension serves a valuable purpose in our lives. The moody Moon in your 6th House of Effort opposes fiery Mars in your 12th House of Thoughts, stirring urgency around upcoming deadlines, outdated routines, or daily goals. Your 12th House of Rest hums as the Moon, stirring family needs, opposes action-oriented Mars in your measured 6th house. The contemplative Moon opposes Mars, pitting your status-oriented 10th house against your 4th House of Foundations. The nurturing Moon is in your tender 8th house, where it opposes ambitious Mars in your 2nd House of Materials.

BEIJING, March 31, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - China's factory activity expanded in March at its quickest pace in a year, official data showed on Tuesday, ending a two-month slump as production picked up after the annual Spring Festival holiday. NBS statistician Huo Lihui attributed March's expansion to the "resumption of work and production after the Spring Festival", which led to increased market activity. China's non-manufacturing PMI -- a gauge of activity across services and construction -- was 50.1 in March, an improvement from February's slump of 49.5. "While China has ample energy reserves to mitigate the term of trade shock, a global growth slowdown would dampen China's exports," Zhang said. The country also achieved a record trade surplus last year, offering a crucial lifeline for Beijing as domestic activity slumped.

× Expand Image courtesy of Magic City Poetry FestivalHoover Public Library will host Poetry Matters Open Mic on Tuesday, April 7, from 6-7:30 p.m. at the library. Part of the Magic City Poetry Festival, the event invites participants to read original poetry or recite favorite works while celebrating the art of verse. The program marks the festival’s third year and is open to both performers and audience members. Performer registration is required, but attendance is free and open to the public. Check out the month-long festival agenda at magiccitypoetryfestival.org.

Trump said the United States was speaking to a "more reasonable regime" in Tehran, which has denied any talks and accused him of lying about negotiations as cover while readying a ground invasion. - Netanyahu claims success -Netanyahu said Israel had achieved key objectives including by "wiping out" industrial plants in Iran and coming "close to finishing their arms industry." The war, and the spiraling price of oil, has been unpopular in the United States, where Rubio again said Monday that it would last "weeks" more and not months. Trump has claimed to be in direct contact with senior Iranian figures whom he has not identified publicly. But Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei again denied any negotiations, saying the United States had sent only a request to talk via intermediaries including Pakistan.

KUWAIT CITY, March 31, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - An Iranian attack sparked a fire on a Kuwaiti oil tanker at Dubai Port, state media reported on Tuesday, as Tehran continues its campaign in the Gulf in response to US-Israeli strikes. "The Kuwaiti giant crude oil tanker was subjected to a direct and malicious Iranian attack while in the anchorage area of Dubai Port in the UAE," official news agency KUNA reported, citing Kuwait's state-owned oil company. There were no injuries, according to the report, and Dubai authorities later said firefighters had extinguished the blaze. KUNA reported the tanker was fully laden at the time of the attack, which had caused "material damage to the ship's hull" and "the possibility of an oil spill in the surrounding waters." The oil-rich Gulf has borne the brunt of Iran's attacks in response to US-Israeli strikes that sparked the Middle East war late last month.