Bahrain says Iran hit a desalination plant, stoking fears of attacks on civilian sites

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Bahrain on Sunday accused Iran of striking one of its desalination plants, signaling a worrying expansion of the Iran–Israel–U.S. conflict into critical civilian infrastructure. The allegation came as Israeli strikes set oil depots ablaze in Tehran and Iranian leaders vowed broader operations against U.S. targets across the region on the ninth day of the war. … Read more

Space storms could scramble alien radio messages, SETI study suggests

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Lead: Researchers at the SETI Institute say turbulent space weather around other stars can broaden and weaken otherwise ultra-narrow radio transmissions, making them harder to detect from Earth. The paper, co-authored by SETI astronomer Vishal Gajjar and research assistant Grayce C. Brown and published in the Astrophysical Journal in March 2026, argues that stellar plasma … Read more

Iranian projectiles continue to strike Gulf countries; Tehran names new leader

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March 8, 2026 — Over the weekend Gulf states reported fresh damage to infrastructure as Iranian missiles and drones struck regional sites, and Iranian state media announced a replacement for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the war. Authorities in the United Arab Emirates said air defenses were engaging … Read more

Antarctica’s Gravity ‘Hole’ Traced to Deep Mantle Flow

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Lead: A new study in Scientific Reports reports that the region of weakest gravity on Earth lies beneath Antarctica and that extremely slow rock motions deep in the planet’s mantle largely produced this “gravity hole.” Researchers led by Alessandro Forte and Petar Glišović used global earthquake recordings and physics-based models to map the anomaly and … Read more

What Is Trump’s True Objective in the Iran War? U.S. Targets Offer a Clue

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Lead Last week in Washington, the U.S. Defense Department summarized the military aims of President Trump’s campaign against Iran as focused on preventing Tehran from projecting power beyond its borders. Publicly, strikes have hit ballistic missile, drone, nuclear and naval programs; publicly available analyses show a rising share of targets tied to internal security forces … Read more

China warns ‘flames of war’ spreading and calls on US to help manage differences ahead of Xi-Trump meeting – CNN

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Lead China’s top diplomat framed Beijing as a stabilizing force on March 7, 2026, urging an immediate ceasefire as the Middle East war around Iran continues to escalate. Speaking on the sidelines of the annual session of China’s legislature in Beijing, Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for parties to return to the negotiating table to … Read more

Dan Crenshaw blames primary loss on clickbait misinformation – The Texas Tribune

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Lead Representative Dan Crenshaw said viral misinformation and a culture of online clickbait were decisive factors in his March 2026 primary loss to state Rep. Steve Toth, arguing that baseless attacks drowned out his record and explanations. Crenshaw, a fourth-term congressman from Atascosita, was defeated by a roughly 15-point margin in a district that spans … Read more

S.N.L. Sketch: Colin Jost’s Pete Hegseth Calls Iran a ‘Situationship’

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On March 8, 2026, Saturday Night Live opened with a C-SPAN–style press briefing in which Colin Jost appeared as a fictionalized defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, lampooning the escalating U.S.-Iran confrontation. The sketch, hosted by Ryan Gosling with musical guest Gorillaz, turned tense geopolitical headlines into broad physical and verbal parody, including a gag in which … Read more

Jon Rahm claims LIV Golf title in Hong Kong

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Lead Jon Rahm produced a closing-round 64 to win the LIV Golf event in Hong Kong, defeating Thomas Detry in the final standings. The 64 included eight birdies and two bogeys and secured Rahm his third LIV Golf victory and his first in the series since 2024. Detry finished second after a 67 in the … Read more

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards: The Spine of a Militarized State

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Lead — On March 8, 2026, hours after Israeli and American airstrikes struck targets in Iran, members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (I.R.G.C.) moved into neighborhoods across Tehran and other cities. Eyewitness reports and short videos showed plainclothes militiamen armed with Kalashnikovs manning checkpoints, searching cars and mobile phones, and deploying anti‑riot vehicles in … Read more

It’s a staggering 300 metres underground, features amazing 11-metre-tall crystals – and has a deadly 90% humidity level – BBC Wildlife Magazine

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Published: March 8, 2026 at 10:04 am The Cave of Crystals in Chihuahua, Mexico, lies roughly 300 metres below the surface and contains gypsum crystals up to 11 metres long. The chamber has been nicknamed the “Sistine Chapel of crystals” for its overwhelming scale and beauty. Geological conditions that produced the formations also created extreme … Read more

Trump’s ‘roaring’ economy falters at start of 2026

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Lead: In Washington, President Donald Trump entered 2026 promising a ‘‘roaring’’ economy, but new data through February show job losses, a sharp rise in gasoline prices and weaker markets that undercut that claim. Official reports show a gain of 130,000 jobs in January followed by a loss of 92,000 in February and a December revision … Read more