Ras Laffan: How Qatar gas hub attack is hitting Asia and beyond Ras Laffan, the Qatari hub responsible for a fifth of the world's liquefied natural gas (LNG), is under Iranian attack. On Wednesday, Qatari officials said that Iranian missile strikes caused “significant damage” at Ras Laffan Industrial City, located 80km from the capital, Doha. The site was already the subject of an attack on 2 March, which suspended production .
Exclusive: How Hezbollah rebuilt while its enemies declared its death Submitted by Adam Chamseddine on Thu, 03/19/2026 - 16:30 The heavy blows Israel inflicted in 2024 prompted a return to the 'Mughniyeh spirit', sources say, creating a more agile and impenetrable fighting force A Hezbollah member at the public funeral ceremony for late Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine in Beirut, on 23 February 2025 (Reuters/Emilie Madi) On For over a year, Israel , Washington and even Lebanon’s government have been speaking as if Hezbollah has been broken for good. Yet the Lebanese armed movement is once again at war with Israel, striking its enemy in response to the US-Israeli war on Iran . Its performance on the battlefield and ability to strike deep into Israeli territory shows that Hezbollah treated its 15 months of ceasefire with Israel not as an end to war, but as a narrow and urgent window to rebuild, reorganise and prepare for what it believed would inevitably come next.
Exclusive: How Hezbollah rebuilt while its enemies declared it dead Submitted by Adam Chamseddine on Thu, 03/19/2026 - 16:30 The heavy blows Israel inflicted in 2024 prompted a return to the 'Mughniyeh spirit', sources say, creating a more agile and impenetrable fighting force A Hezbollah member at the public funeral ceremony for late Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine in Beirut, on 23 February 2025 (Reuters/Emilie Madi) On For over a year, Israel , Washington and even Lebanon’s government have been speaking as if Hezbollah has been broken for good. Yet the Lebanese armed movement is once again at war with Israel, striking its enemy in response to the US-Israeli war on Iran . Its performance on the battlefield and ability to strike deep into Israeli territory shows that Hezbollah treated its 15 months of ceasefire with Israel not as an end to war, but as a narrow and urgent window to rebuild, reorganise and prepare for what it believed would inevitably come next.
Trump: US is not putting troops in Middle East region US President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested he was not looking at deploying soldiers to the Middle East. "I'm not putting troops anywhere," Trump said in response to a reporter who asked whether he was planning to send more service members to the region. "If I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you.
Ras Laffan: How Qatar gas hub attack is hitting Asia and beyond Submitted by Rayhan Uddin on Thu, 03/19/2026 - 15:57 Iranian missiles halt supply of a fifth of world’s LNG, wiping billions from Qatari revenue and sending prices soaring QatarEnergy's liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar on 2 March 2026 (Reuters/Stringer) Off Ras Laffan, the Qatari hub responsible for a fifth of the world's liquefied natural gas (LNG), is under Iranian attack. On Wednesday, Qatari officials said that Iranian missile strikes caused “significant damage” at Ras Laffan Industrial City, located 80km from the capital, Doha. The site was already the subject of an attack on 2 March, which suspended production .
US approves $23 billion in arms sales to Arab allies In notices sent to Congress on Thursday, the State Department said the US would sell more than $8 billion in air defense systems and related materiel, including drones, air-to-air missiles and F-16 fighter jet munitions to the UAE, $8 billion in missile defense and radar systems to Kuwait and $70. 5 million of aircraft and munitions support to Jordan. Another $6 billion in sales to the three countries was approved but did not require congressional notification because they involved adjustments to previously approved packages or purely commercial sales, a State Department official said, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Starmer: UK continues to stand with Qatar and allies UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani the United Kingdom will “continue to stand with Qatar and all our allies in the Gulf” during a call on Thursday, Al Jazeera is reporting. “Reckless attacks on critical infrastructure risk pushing the region further into crisis and worsening the severe economic impacts being felt globally, including in the UK,” Starmer also said.
Israeli strike that wounded TV crew in Lebanon not ‘accidental’, Russia says Russia has condemned an Israeli air strike that injured a TV crew from state-run RT in Lebanon as not “accidental”. Video agency Ruptly - a subsidiary of RT - posted footage showing an explosion and plumes of smoke rising metres behind RT’s reporter Steve Sweeney, who was wearing a bulletproof vest with a sign “Press” on it, as he delivered an on-air report. Sweeney and his cameraman “were injured in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon while they were reporting”, Ruptly said on Telegram, adding both were “conscious and receiving medical attention”.
Iran's internet shutdown now longest in history: monitor Submitted by Alex MacDonald on Thu, 03/19/2026 - 14:50 Internet access has been restricted in Iran since Israel and the US began their ongoing assault on the country A girl watches a televised statement by Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei on a mobile phone on March 12, 2026 (AFP) Off The shutdown of the internet in Iran is now the longest in its history, according to a monitor. Internet freedom watchdog NetBlocks said that the blackout, imposed by the state following the beginning of the US-Israel attack on the country, reached its 20th day on Thursday. "The ongoing disruption in Iran is among the longest three internet shutdowns in our records.
US F-35 fighter jet hit by Iranian fire, forced to make emergency landing A US fighter jet had to make an emergency landing after being struck by Iranian fire, sources have informed CNN. Iran’s revolutionary guards claimed responsibility for the attack, which caused damage to the US aircraft on Thursday. This is the first time Iran has hit a US aircraft since the war began.
Qatar calls for 'immediate' end to war on Iran after attack on gas facility Submitted by Sean Mathews on Thu, 03/19/2026 - 15:49 Qatar is the first major Gulf energy producer to call for an immediate end to the conflict without conditions Qatari Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani speaks during the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on 20 January 2026 (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP) Off Qatar called for an “immediate” end to the US-Israeli war on Iran , becoming the first major Gulf energy producer to explicitly call for a halt to the conflict without conditions. “This war needs to stop immediately. The aggression needs to stop immediately,” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said on Thursday, alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Pakistan responds to US statement on the ‘threat’ posed by its missile capabilities A spokesperson for Pakistan has responded to allegations from the US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that Pakistani missiles could pose a future threat to the US. In a statement posted to X , a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that “Pakistan’s strategic capabilities are exclusively defensive in nature” and “well below intercontinental range”. Gabbard placed Pakistan alongside Russia, China, North Korea and Iran as countries developing nuclear capabilities which could “put our homeland within range” in statements to the Senate on Wednesday.
Why Turkey is unlikely to face a gas crisis if Iran cuts supplies Submitted by Ragip Soylu on Thu, 03/19/2026 - 14:05 Iran war deepened concerns regarding the gas market, but Ankara's diversified resources put it in a safe position Turkey's first floating natural gas production platform, the Osman Gazi, passes through the Bosphorus in Istanbul on 29 May 2025 (Yasin Akgul/AFP) Off A sharp drop in Iranian gas flows to Turkey following Israel 's strike on the South Pars gas field and Tehran's retaliatory attacks across the Gulf has raised energy security concerns. But analysts say Ankara will likely be able to cushion the blow. The South Pars, which Iran shares with Qatar , is the largest gas field in the world.
Pregnant woman among four Palestinians killed following Iranian missile attack Submitted by MEE staff on Thu, 03/19/2026 - 15:01 Four Palestinian women in the occupied West Bank die after missile fragments hit a hair salon A woman comforts an injured girl as they mourn the deaths of the Palestinian women killed following an Iranian missile attacks, 19 March 2026 (Hazem Bader/AFP) Off A pregnant woman is the fourth Palestinian to have died from shrapnel wounds sustained after an Iranian missile attack on Wednesday night. Asil Samir Masalmeh died on Thursday after missile fragments tore through a hair salon in the occupied West Bank town of Beit Awa, near the city of Hebron, the Palestinian health ministry said. The 32-year-old was six months pregnant.
Israeli media reports damage to Haifa oil refinery in Iran attack There are reports of fire and falling debris in Haifa following a strike by an Iranian missile on an oil refinery, according to Israeli media. Israel's Energy Minister Eli Cohen said that the damage was “not significant” and no casualties have been reported.
Qatari PM says Iran attacks are ‘a very dangerous escalation’, but war was ‘started by Israel’ Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed has urged for an immediate cessation of hostilities in the region and said “trust must be restored” in a press conference alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. He said this is a war “started by Israel, and Iran chose to attack their neighbours” in retaliation. Turkey also called Tehran’s attacks on regional countries “unacceptable”.
Lebanon death toll surpasses 1,000 Israeli attacks have killed 1,001 people in Lebanon since the latest escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah began on 2 March, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. A statement reported that among the dead were 79 women, 118 children and 40 healthcare workers, with 2,584 wounded by Israeli attacks.
UK and allies condemn Iran attacks and are ready to help secure Strait of Hormuz The UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan have issued a joint statement to condemn Iran’s attacks on the Gulf and say they are ready to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz to stabilise energy markets. “We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait,” the statement says. The nations urge Iran to comply with international law and express “deep concern about the escalating conflict”, but do not mention or condemn the Israeli attack on the Iranian gas field on Wednesday that sparked Iran's retaliatory attacks on the region.
Damage from Iran attack on Qatar gas facility may reduce capacity for three to five years, says QatarEnergy CEO QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi told Reuters that the damage caused by Iran’s attack has wiped out 17 percent of their operating capacity. As a result, the company may need to waive liability on long-term contracts for natural gas supplies with Italy, Belgium, Korea and China for up to five years while they are repaired. It will cost around $26 billion to rebuild the damaged infrastructure, al-Kaabi said.
UK MPs raise concerns over new Israeli ambassador to UK embroiled in domestic scandal Submitted by Imran Mulla on Thu, 03/19/2026 - 12:49 Israeli civil service body reportedly recommended suspending Tzachi Braverman over document leaking Tzachi Braverman (R) speaks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they attend the weekly cabinet meeting at Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem on July 15, 2018. (AFP) Off British MPs have raised concerns over Israel 's new ambassador to the UK after he was accused of obstructing an investigation into leaks of classified information during the war on Gaza. It emerged last month that the discipline division of the civil service in Israel recommended suspending Tzachi Braverman, who is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's chief of staff, for half a year.
