Month: March 2026
Europol spokesman Jan Op Gen Oorth said he expected to see more cyberattacks against European infrastructure and an increase in online fraud using increasingly sophisticated Artificial Intelligence and exploiting the flurry of information swirling about the conflict online, EFE reported, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
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Groups linked to Iran could seek to carry out “destabilising activities” within the EU, he added, referring to groups linked to the so-called Axis of Resistance, the network of anti-American and Israeli Shi’ite militias in countries including Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. These could include terrorist attacks, intimidation campaigns, terrorist financing and cybercrime.
“The level of terrorist threat and violent extremism in EU territory is considered high,” he told the news agency.
The terror threat could be heightened by individuals acting alone or small cells acting on their own initiative, he said.
“The rapid spread of polarising content on the internet can accelerate short-term radicalisation processes among diaspora communities within the EU and other individuals,” he said.
Europol did not immediately return a Reuters request for comment on the reported statements.
Iran and Israel on Thursday were exchanging fire on a sixth day of war after Israel and the United States launched joint air strikes on Iran on the weekend. So far the attacks have killed more than 1,000 people including Iran’s Supreme Leader, prompted Iran to attack neighbours including Qatar and UAE along with energy shipments.
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As of 09:26 p.m. Moscow time (06:26 p.m. GMT), Brent was trading up 5.26% at $85.68 per barrel. WTI surged 8.49% to $81 per barrel, hitting its highest level since July 19, 2024, News.az reports, citing TASS.
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Brent futures stood at $85.49 per barrel (+5.02%), while WTI was up 7.94%, trading at $80.59 per barrel.
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In a post on X earlier on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee urged residents of Burj al-Barajneh and Haret Hreik/Al-Hadath to evacuate via 2 main highways, News.Az reports, citing CNN.
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The statement warned residents not to head south, saying any movement in that direction could put their lives at risk, and said the military would announce when it is safe for residents to return.
The neighbourhoods are home to tens of thousands of people and are predominantly Shiite areas long regarded as Hezbollah strongholds. The scale of the warning is unprecedented in recent years, including during the 2024 confrontation.
New evacuation warning: The IDF followed that up with another evacuation warning for the Beqaa Valley and the villages of Douris, Britel and Majdaloun, instructing residents to flee to the west.
The two evacuation warnings, issued only hours apart, come after the IDF issue an large-scale evacuation order for all of southern Lebanon south of the Litani River on Wednesday in a potential sign of a major military operation or wide-scale bombardment of large areas of the country.
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US President Donald Trump has announced that he is replacing Kristi Noem, head of the powerful Department of Homeland Security (DHS), News.az reports, citing BBC.
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Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin would take over from Noem at DHS on March 31.
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Sounds heard in certain areas across Kuwait are coming from air defences intercepting missiles and drones, the army says in a translated post on X, News.Az reports, citing BBC.
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But within Iran, the mood is very different, Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall reports from Tehran, News.Az reports, citing Aljazeera.
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The mood, broadly is it that it “won’t happen again,” he said.
Vall was referring to the US-backed coup in 1953 that led to the ouster of democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh.
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In a phone call, the duo discussed joint efforts to counter Iran, the US Department of State said in a readout of the conversation, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
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Rubio also offered condolences for the deaths of two members of the Kuwaiti army.
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“Our forces paved the way to Tehran within 24 hours and destroyed 80 percent of its air defence systems,” Zamir said during a press conference, News.Az reports, citing Aljazeera.
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“The Israeli Air Force has carried out 2,500 strikes and dropped over 6,000 munitions,” said Zamir, adding: “We have destroyed 60 percent of Iran’s missile launch sites, but we have not eliminated all threats.”
Zamir also said that “the war is proceeding according to plan” and that the military was now “moving to another phase in the battle with Iran.”
This next phase “will focus on undermining the Iranian regime, and we will intensify our strikes against the regime’s facilities and military capabilities,” said Zamir.
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The United States has suspended operations at its embassy in Kuwait City, the State Department said in a statement, amid US and Israeli strikes against Iran, News.Az reports, citing Aljazeera.
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