“The US Coast Guard and local first responders worked together to rescue a snowmobile operator who became stranded on ice near Mackinac Island, Michigan. An aerial rescue was first attempted but blizzard conditions prevented local or Coast Guard helicopter teams from taking flight. Timelapse video shows the Coast Guard instead cautiously manoeuvring a vessel to the edge of the ice and safely deploying a rescue team. The snowmobiler was experiencing mild hypothermia at the time of the rescue, but was reported to be in stable condition. Officials said the operator had previously been advised by the fire department not to go out due to conditions described as ‘worse than a whiteout.'” (03/17/26)
“At least 23 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in suspected suicide bombings Monday night that targeted Maiduguri city in northeastern Nigeria, police said Tuesday. It was one of the deadliest attacks in the conflict-battered city in recent history. Residents and emergency services earlier told The Associated Press that three explosions were reported in crowded places in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, including in a major market and at the entrance of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.” (03/17/26)
“Large parts of Cuba were without power on Tuesday after its third blackout in four months underscored the island’s deepening energy and economic crises and rising political tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump. Electricity was slowly being restored to hospitals and some of the island’s 11 million residents, but officials warned that its crumbling power network could fail again. Cuba’s aging grid has drastically eroded in recent years, leading to daily outages and an increase in significant blackouts. The government blames its woes on a U.S. energy blockade after Trump in January warned of tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba. Trump was asked during a meeting Tuesday in the Oval Office with the prime minister of Ireland about the U.S. seeking regime change in Cuba but deferred to his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.” (03/17/26)
“Paul R. Ehrlich, an eminent ecologist and population scientist whose best-selling book, ‘The Population Bomb,’ was celebrated as a prescient warning of a coming age of food shortages and famine … died on Friday in Palo Alto, Calif. He was 93. … In 1980, Julian Simon, an economist at the University of Maryland, challenged Dr. Ehrlich and two of his colleagues with what Stewart Brand, a founder of the Whole Earth Catalog, called ‘one of the great revelatory bets.’ Convinced that the growing population would make natural resources ever more scarce and thus drive up costs, Dr. Ehrlich accepted Mr. Simon’s challenge, betting that the prices of five key metals would rise in the 1980s. Mr. Simon believed that innovation would drive prices down. In 1990, Dr. Ehrlich and his colleagues conceded defeat and sent Mr. Simon a check for $576.07 — an amount that represented the decline in the metals’ prices after accounting for inflation.” (03/16/26)
“Hundreds were feared dead after a strike on a hospital treating drug users in the Afghan capital of Kabul, which officials from Afghanistan blamed on the Pakistani military. Afghanistan’s deputy government spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said the death toll had ‘so far’ reached 400 people, while about 250 people had been reported injured. He said most of those killed and wounded were patients undergoing treatment at the facility. Pakistan rejected the claim as false and misleading and said it ‘precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure’ on Monday night, dismissing allegations it had hit a civilian target.” (03/17/26)
“The US Embassy in Baghdad was targeted by rockets and drones early Tuesday, Iraqi security sources said. While Iraq’s air defenses intercepted multiple drones and rockets, with no reported injuries, the officials said, shrapnel did hit the embassy compound, triggering an explosion and sending a plume of smoke into the sky. Meanwhile, a separate strike hit a house inside the fortified Presidential Compound in Baghdad’s al-Jadriya area. … Beijing has announced that it will provide emergency humanitarian assistance to four Middle East nations impacted by the war in the region: Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. … Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi has said the war ‘should never have happened.'” (03/17/26)
“The BBC said on Monday it had asked a US federal court in Florida to dismiss a US$10 billion lawsuit brought by US President Donald Trump against the British broadcaster. Trump launched a lawsuit last year over a BBC documentary that edited his 2021 speech ahead of the US Capitol riot. The documentary was ‘never aired in Florida – or the US’ or available to stream there on any platform, a representative for the British Broadcasting Corporation said in a comment sent to Agence France-Presse. It also argued that Trump could not show that it intended to misrepresent him.” (03/16/26)
“Officials in Cuba reported an island-wide blackout Monday in the country of some 11 million people as its energy and economic crises deepen. Cuba has blamed its woes on a U.S. energy blockade after President Donald Trump in January warned of tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to it. The Ministry of Energy and Mines on X noted a “complete disconnection” of the country’s electrical system and said it was investigating. President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Friday said the island had not received oil shipments in more than three months and was operating on solar power, natural gas and thermoelectric plants, and the government has had to postpone surgeries for tens of thousands of people. A massive outage over a week ago affected the island’s west, leaving millions without power.” (03/16/26)
“Aluminum advanced after one of the world’s biggest smelters of the metal closed almost a fifth of its capacity, deepening the risk of shortages as the Iran war chokes supplies from the Middle East. Aluminium Bahrain BSC has started a phased shutdown of three production lines, together accounting for 19% of its total output capacity, the firm said on Sunday. Alba, as the company is known, is aiming to conserve raw materials while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz faces disruptions. … The Middle East accounts for some 9% of the world’s aluminum output, and Alba’s cuts add to other reductions that have stoked supply fears and prompted warnings of deepening shortages for manufacturers.” (03/16/26)
“Authorities say they have arrested Haitian legislator Arnel Belizaire, who faces charges including financing terrorism and conspiracy against state security. … Haiti’s National Police made the announcement late Sunday, ending a hunt for the well-known lawmaker, who was first accused around two months ago. Belizaire previously characterized the arrest warrant against him as political intimidation. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney. Belizaire had registered his new political party late last week for the upcoming general election.” (03/16/26)
