Photo: CollectedGENEVA, March 3, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The warming El Nino weather phenomenon could return later this year as its cooling opposite La Nina fades away, the United Nations said Tuesday. The UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said the recent, weak La Nina was expected to give way to neutral conditions, which could then swing into El Nino before the end of 2026. In May-July, the chance of neutral conditions drops back to 60 percent, with the chances of El Nino at 40 percent. El Nino contributed to making 2023 the second-hottest year on record and 2024 the all-time high. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says there is a 50- to 60-percent chance of El Nino developing during the July-September period and beyond.

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, March 3, 2026 (AFP) - A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Tuesday, according to the US Geological Survey, rattling residents but causing no serious damage. The quake originated offshore from Sumatra's northeastern tip, authorities said, prompting people to flee outdoors in a region that frequently experiences devastating tremors. Rahmat Triyono, head of Indonesia's BMKG earthquake and tsunami centre, said people on Simeulue island and east-coast areas of Aceh would have experienced a strong tremor, with windows and doors rattling, walls creaking and possibly some broken glassware. Weaker shaking was also felt in Sumatra's northeast. In 2004, a magnitude-9.1 quake struck Aceh province, causing a tsunami and killing more than 170,000 people in Indonesia.

WASHINGTON, United States, March 3, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The US State Department said Tuesday it has ordered non-emergency personnel and their families to leave Bahrain and Jordan, as well as announcing it had ordered staff in Iraq to leave a day earlier, as Iran retaliates to US-Israeli strikes. The department, in a post on X, said it had updated travel advisories for Bahrain and Jordan "to reflect the ordered departure of non-emergency US government personnel and family members of government personnel." In an updated Iraq travel advisory, the department said it had on Monday "ordered non-emergency US government employees to leave Iraq due to security concerns."

By the time the sun fully rose, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was gone, killed alongside his daughter, his grandson, his top military advisors, and the defense minister. The assassination of Khamenei was meant to be the ultimate act of narrative control -- the removal of the central figure, the decapitation that ends the story. The assassination of Ali Khamenei during Ramadan, near the anniversary of Imam Ali's martyrdom, has activated a template 14 centuries old. Iran has long prepared for this moment; candidates such as Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, Hojjat-ol-Eslam Mohsen Qomi, and Ayatollah Mohsen Araki have been whispered as potential successors. The assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is now part of that story.

Photo : PMODHAKA, March 3, 2026 (BSS) - Highly appreciating the patriotism and professionalism of the Bangladesh Coast Guard, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today called upon the force to remain fully prepared to safeguard the country's sovereignty. He said Tarique Rahman expressed hope that through professionalism, the Coast Guard would further consolidate its position as the vigilant guardian of the nation's maritime boundaries. At the outset of the meeting, Ruman said, the Prime Minister and the Coast Guard DG exchanged greetings. Besides, the Coast Guard DG briefed the Prime Minister on various ongoing development activities of the force. Expressing satisfaction with the Coast Guard's development progress, Tarique Rahman assured that the force's modernization and advancement would continue.

But South Africa are unbeaten and are a team on the up after decades of gaining a reputation for "choking" on the big stage. Chasing 177 in Barbados, South Africa had one hand on the trophy with 26 needed from the last four overs with six wickets in hand. But a dramatic mini-collapse saw them finish on 169-8 as India won by seven runs. After losing against South Africa in the first match of the Super Eights, India have played their best cricket with their backs to the wall. South Africa are hot favourites to be the first team into Sunday's final in Ahmedabad, but England will be out to break a billion Indian hearts.

File photoDHAKA, March 3, 2026 (BSS) - A total of 38 flights were cancelled at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) today due to ongoing airspace closures in several Middle Eastern countries amid heightened security concerns. The cancelled flights on Tuesday included four by Qatar Airways, four by Emirates, four by Gulf Air (Bahrain), four by Flydubai, two by Kuwait Airways, four by Jazeera Airways (Kuwait), four by US-Bangla Airlines and 12 by Air Arabia, according to airport sources. Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan temporarily shut their airspace from the afternoon of February 28, directly affecting flight operations in Dhaka. Due to the airspace restrictions amid the war situation, 23 flights were cancelled on February 28, 40 on March 1, 46 on March 2 and 38 flights today, raising the total number of cancellations to 147, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Assistant Director (Public Relations) Muhammad Kawsar Mahmud told BSS today. Flight operations have resumed on other routes, except those to Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai, he added.

DHAKA, March 3, 2026 (BSS) - Qatar's Ministry of Interior has announced a one-month extension of all types of entry visas that have expired or are nearing expiry, effective February 28, 2026, with the possibility of further extension depending on developments of the ongoing situation. The Ministry clarified that holders of entry visas who incurred violations prior to February 28 must first pay the applicable settlement amount covering the violation period. Following settlement, the extension and fee exemption will apply from the stated date. The decision covers all categories of entry visas and aims to ensure the stability of the legal status of residents and visitors amid evolving circumstances. The Ministry of Interior said it will continue to monitor developments and take necessary measures as required.

MANILA, March 3, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A Malaysian national and a Filipino were killed Tuesday when a helicopter crashed in a vacant lot about two hours southeast of Manila. Rizal provincial police officer Ramjae Pangga told AFP that two passengers, a Malaysian and a Filipino, were killed in the crash. The pilot, meanwhile, had been critically injured, said Pililla town mayor John Masinsin. "The three survivors are ... still in shock, especially the pilot," he told AFP. An investigation by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines is underway.

Netanyahu claims Iran nuclear program would have been beyond attack in monthsWASHINGTON, United States, March 3, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Iran had been building new nuclear weapon sites that would have been impossible to attack within months, creating urgency for strikes on the country. "They started building new sites, new places, underground bunkers, that would make their ballistic missile programs and their atomic bomb programs immune within months," Netanyahu told Fox News. "If no action was taken now, no action could be taken in the future."

Anthropic insisted it needed guarantees against AI use for surveillance as well as autonomous weapons, and Altman said the Defense Department had agreed to "technical safeguards" for those areas. But in response to growing skepticism about the value of such safeguards, Altman posted Monday that "to make our principles very clear...we are going to amend our deal." In addition to surveillance, he said the Pentagon agreed that OpenAI models would not be used by its intelligence agencies, including the National Security Agency. "There are many things the technology just isn't ready for, and many areas we don't yet understand the tradeoffs required for safety." Anthropic has vowed to fight the order in court, calling it a "dangerous precedent for any American company that negotiates with the government."

NEW DELHI, March 3, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Indian airlines said Tuesday that they were resuming limited commercial services to the Middle East in a bid to collect thousands of passengers stranded by war. Millions of South Asian citizens live and work across the Middle East. IndiGo said it would operate four return flights to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia as part of efforts to "progressively normalise" operations between the countries. But services to and from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates remain suspended, the airlines said in a statement. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to multiple Middle East leaders, including the leaders of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, in which he thanked them for "taking care of the Indian community", in posts on social media.

SYDNEY, March 3, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Myong Yu Jong bagged a first-half hat-trick as three-time champions North Korea marked their first Women's Asian Cup game since 2010 with a slick 3-0 win over Uzbekistan on Tuesday. The second half was again played almost exclusively in the Uzbek half, but they at least limited the damage with some solid defence keeping the scoreline in check. One of Asia's most successful women's sides, North Korea are looking to replicate their titles from 2001, 2003 and 2008. Ranked nine in the world, they are in Australia on the back of remarkable success with the U20 and U17 women's national teams. They defended their U17 World Cup title in Morocco last year, having also triumphed at the U20 World Cup in Colombia in 2024.

JERUSALEM, March 3, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders for dozens of locations in Lebanon on Tuesday, including warning residents in two southern Beirut neighbourhoods to stay away from several buildings ahead of an imminent operation. Most of the locations were across the south of Lebanon, which Israel regularly targets with the aim of hitting Hezbollah infrastructure. He told the residents of southern Beirut neighbourhoods Ghobeiry and Haret Hreik in another evacuation warning to avoid two buildings. In a later warning, he told "those in the southern suburbs of Beirut, especially in the Hadath neighbourhood" to avoid a third building. Israel bombarded Beirut's southern suburbs and dozens of villages in south Lebanon on Monday in response.

DOHA, March 3, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Qatar's military intercepted two ballistic missiles early Tuesday morning, the country's defence ministry said in a statement, after AFP reporters heard loud explosions across Doha. Qatar was able to "intercept and neutralise two ballistic missiles that targeted several areas within the country," the ministry said in a statement adding the "threat was dealt with immediately upon detection".