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Mar 9, 2026 - World

China reports its exports jumped nearly 22% year-on-year in January to February, while shipments to the US fell 11%

Mar 9, 2026 - World

Ban could still be introduced in future after Commons back government bid to give extra powers to secretary of stateA proposed ban on social media for under-16s has been rejected by MPs.Parliamentarians voted 307 to 173, majority 134, against the proposed change to the children’s wellbeing and schools bill, which was brought forward by Conservative peer and former minister John Nash. Continue reading...

Mar 9, 2026 - World

Exclusive: Independent adviser says some judges in England and Wales have not heard of changes to way cases are investigatedAn overhaul of the way police investigate rape is being put at risk by a lack of awareness in courtrooms in England and Wales, the government’s independent adviser on rape has warned.Prof Katrin Hohl said legal experts were concerned progress would stall or reverse if the conviction rate for rape dropped significantly because a new approach for investigating the cases, known as Operation Soteria, was hitting outdated practices in the courts. Continue reading...

Mar 9, 2026 - World

A terrorism analyst on Monday explained how the United States-Israel war against Iran might have activated sleeper cells and has concerned law enforcement. Alex Plitsas, counterterrorism program director for the Atlantic Council, told CNN anchor Jake Tapper that recent attacks had suggested increased activity among terrorist sleeper cells. Plitsas cited the attempted attack Saturday by two men charged with using weapons of mass destruction and supporting the Islamic State after throwing a bomb near New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's Gracie Mansion, in addition to two other recent terrorism-related incidents — the attack on a nightclub in Austin, Texas, and a bombing outside the U.S. embassy in Oslo, Norway. He also described a new report that revealed an encrypted transmission was intercepted by the U.S., which has prompted concern among security experts and law enforcement.Tapper asked Plitsas how worried he was about the recent attacks. "Significantly concerned," Plitsas said. "You know, not that there's a particular plot that I'm aware of and not to be alarmist for folks who are listening, but let's we can kind of walk through some of the facts that we that have come out and come to light recently about why I would make that comment. So there's been three cells that have been arrested in Qatar, in the UK and Azerbaijan over the last week that were affiliated with the IRGC, the Quds force — that's Iran special operations folks — that have an external cell that were engaged either intelligence collection or surveillance and preparation, likely for sabotage or terrorist operations. We saw a bombing outside of the U.S. embassy in Oslo. We still don't know who was responsible for that. And then there was reporting that came out earlier today that code words appear to have been intercepted where the Iranians may have activated sleeper cells globally amongst their IRGC folks or potentially Hezbollah. And so they've been known to have folks slip in and out of the United States, intelligence officers from Iran in covert status who have been in the United States conducting surveillance on targets who have also attempted to contract hitmen in some cases you know, there was a plot against President Trump himself."He also mentioned how these operations had targeted others. "There's a very famous female dissident who lives in Brooklyn, they were attempting to assassinate her as well," Plitsas said. "They've become exceptionally bold in recent years. And this all sort of came to light during the Obama administration when it was revealed and disrupted that they were looking at actually bombing a restaurant in Washington at one point, where the Saudi ambassador was said to have been eating. So the threat is real. And as Iran gets further backed into a corner and its military capabilities are further degraded, there's a possibility it could turn to asymmetric threats." Plitsas argued there could be more attacks and that law enforcement would continue investigating. "And as we like to say in the business, you know one time is an instance, two times a coincidence, three times is hostile enemy action," Plitsas added. "We had three cells arrested this week, a bombing outside Oslo. And then potential chatter now about sleeper cells being activated. So the JTTF (Joint Terrorism Task Force) and speaking to contacts within the FBI and law enforcement community are actively monitoring and aggressively pursuing any leads that are out there right now, including with international partners. So confidence in the efforts are federal law enforcement along with their local partners, have but they only have to be right once, and we have to be right every time."

Mar 9, 2026 - World

The U.S. Department of Defense insisted that its military forces had "only just begun to fight" as President Donald Trump insisted that the war in Iran was "very complete."Trump made the statement during a phone interview with CBS correspondent Weijia Jiang on Monday."I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they've got no Air Force," the president was quoted as saying, noting that the U.S. was "very far" ahead of its plans for a 4 to 5 week war.Meanwhile, on Monday, the "Department of War Rapid Response" X account shared a meme reading "No Mercy.""We have Only Just Begun to Fight," the caption added.