A woman holds a poster depicting Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran. Majid Asgaripour/WANA via REUTERS
Iran war
President Donald Trump said he would again extend a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its energy plants, after Tehran earlier rejected a 15-point US proposal to end the fighting.
Trump has been weighing whether to use ground forces to seize Iran's strategic oil hub of Kharg Island, an operation analysts say could be achieved quickly, but leave US troops in great peril and prolong rather than shorten the war.
The United States has deployed uncrewed drone speedboats for patrols as part of its operations against Iran, the Pentagon said, the first time Washington has confirmed using such vessels in an active conflict.
The debate among Iranian hardliners over whether Tehran should seek a nuclear bomb in defiance of the escalating US-Israeli attack is getting louder, more public and more insistent, sources in the country say.
In other news
The US Senate passed legislation that would finance most of the Department of Homeland Security but withhold funds from ICE and part of Customs and Border Protection.
US paper currency will bear Trump's signature starting this summer, the first time a sitting president has signed American money.
A US judge questioned the government's justification for blocking ousted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro from using the South American country's funds to pay for his legal defense, but said he would not dismiss the case against him on that basis.
Hamas would be required to allow the destruction of its vast Gaza tunnel network as it lays down its arms in stages under a disarmament plan that was presented to the militants by Trump's 'Board of Peace', and viewed by Reuters.
The International Olympic Committee has announced new rules that will bar transgender athletes from competing in women’s events. Sports correspondent Karolos Grohmann joins the Reuters World News podcast to explain how the policy will work and who it affects.
The four astronauts selected for NASA's Artemis II mission are due to arrive in Florida, entering the final phase of preparations for the first crewed journey toward the Moon in more than five decades.
Business & Markets
The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.4%, leaving the index down nearly 11% from its record-high close on October 29 and confirming it has been in a correction since then.
Meta Platforms shares dropped 7% after two verdicts holding it liable for harm to young users sparked fears the social media giant may have to overhaul the practices that have underpinned its advertising business.
France's Pernod Ricard and Jack Daniel's owner Brown-Forman are in discussions about a possible merger, a move that would unite the world's second-largest spirits maker with the largest producer of American whiskey
Swiss drugmaker Novartis said it will buy California-based biotech company Excellergy in a deal worth up to $2 billion, the second sizeable acquisition it has announced in as many weeks.
Unilever and its recently spun-off Magnum ice cream unit were sued for defamation by Anuradha Mittal, who was ousted in December as chair of Ben & Jerry's independent board, saying the companies vilified and discredited her for supporting Palestinian rights.
Elon Musk is discussing allocating as much as 30% of SpaceX’s initial public offering to individual investors — at least three times the usual retail slice — leaning on his rabid fan base and other loyal backers to help steady the stock after its debut.
The structure of what is expected to be one of the most closely watched IPOs in years departs from the standard Wall Street playbook, and underscores Musk’s determination to shape both who owns SpaceX and how its shares trade once public.
A participant gives a presentation during a dating night in London. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
Fed up of swiping left or right on dating apps, young London singles are returning to a classic British way of meeting people - the pub - with a modern twist: a PowerPoint presentation by a close friend pitching them
