LIVE: Iran threatens world tourism sites; Trump calls NATO allies 'cowards'

Union minister Jayant Chaudhary receives death threat, complaint lodged

Union minister Jayant Chaudhary allegedly received a death threat from an unknown caller, following which a police complaint was lodged, an official said on Friday.

Chaudhary, the minister of state (Independent Charge) of skill development and entrepreneurship, received the threat call from an unidentified number on Thursday, prompting an immediate review of his security, the official said.

Police said the complaint was submitted on Chaudhary's behalf at Tughlak Road police station here and the matter is now under investigation.

Efforts are being made to trace the origin of the call and identify the caller, they said. 

War in Iran raises pressure on Ukraine while Russia prepares new offensives

With US-brokered Ukraine peace talks on hold due to the war in the Middle East, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to try to expand his military gains via new offensives against his southern neighbour that could put even more pressure on Kyiv.

Windfall revenues from surging global oil prices are filling Moscow's war coffers and US air defence assets are being drained quickly by Iranian attacks across the Gulf, raising concerns that little will be left available for Ukraine in the fifth year of Russia's full-scale invasion.

Ukraine's European allies have promised to maintain their steadfast support, but bickering over a major 90 billion euro (USD 106 billion) European Union loan to cover Kyiv's military and economic needs for two years has reflected the mounting challenges.

The refusal by NATO allies to commit naval assets to help restore tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has drawn an angry rebuke from President Donald Trump, highlighting another emerging fault line that is fraught with potential repercussions for Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sought to hold Washington's attention by offering its expertise in defending against Iranian Shahed drones, sending over 200 military experts to the Gulf. Trump, however, has shrugged off Zelenskyy's offer of help, saying the US doesn't need Kyiv's assistance.

As new signs of a rift emerge in Western alliances, Putin and his generals are pondering plans for the spring and summer campaign across more than the 1,200-kilometre (about 750-mile) front line.

Selfish interests, desire for dominance root cause of global conflicts: Bhagwat

Selfish interests and the desire for dominance were the root cause of conflicts in the world, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Friday, asserting that lasting peace can only be achieved through unity, discipline and adherence to dharma.

Addressing a gathering in Nagpur, Bhagwat said that for 2,000 years the world has experimented with various ideas to resolve conflicts with little success. Religious intolerance, forced conversions and ideas of superiority and inferiority still exist, he pointed out.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief was speaking at the gathering after laying the foundation stone for the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's office in the city.

Bhagwat said that India's ancient wisdom teaches that "all are connected and one", and called for a shift from conflict to harmony and cooperation. He further noted that even modern science is gradually moving towards this understanding.

The RSS chief noted that selfish interests and the desire for dominance were the root cause of conflicts in the world, and said lasting peace can only be achieved through unity, discipline and adherence to dharma.

Dhami expands cabinet, inducts five MLAs

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expanded his cabinet on Friday, with five MLAs taking oath as ministers at the Lok Bhavan in Dehradun.

With the induction of the new ministers -- Khazan Das, Bharat Singh Chaudhary, Madan Kaushik, Pradeep Batra, and Ram Singh Kaida -- the Uttarakhand cabinet has reached its maximum strength of 12, officials said.

According to constitutional provisions, Uttarakhand can have a maximum of 12 members in the state cabinet.

When the BJP began its second term in Uttarakhand in 2022, Dhami took the oath of office along with eight ministers.

The cabinet's strength came down to eight after the death of Social Welfare and Transport Minister Chandan Ramdas in April 2023. It further came down to seven last year after the resignation of Prem Chand Agarwal, who was in charge of Parliamentary Affairs and Finance.

UP: Four of family, driver die in car accident after temple visit in Rajasthan

Five persons, including four of a family, lost their lives, while four others sustained severe injuries, when the SUV in which they were travelling rammed into a tree in Agra, police said on Friday.

According to the police, the deceased have been identified as Kamta Prasad (70), son Devendra (35), daughter-in-law Seema (32), and his 3-year-old granddaughter, Aradhya, and the car's driver, Rishi (20).

DCP East Abhishek Agarwal said that a family hailing from Etawah district was returning in the Bolero after offering prayers at the Kaila Devi temple in Rajasthan.

En route, the vehicle rammed into a tree in the Chitrahat police station area in Agra disrict, resulting in the deaths of five individuals and serious injuries to four others. The bodies of the deceased have been sent for a post-mortem examination.

The injured have been referred to UP University of Medical Sciences, Saifai (in Etawah) for treatment, police said. 

NDA-constituent Bodoland People’s Front names candidates for 11 seats

NDA constituent Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) has announced candidates for 11 seats it will be contesting in the April 9 Assam Assembly elections, which include its lone minister in the current government, besides the wife of the party chief.

One of the three sitting MLAs of the party, Durga Das Boro, was dropped.

BPF president Hagrama Mohilary declared party nominees here late on Thursday night, after the other NDA allies in the state, BJP and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), announced their candidates earlier during the day.

Cabinet minister Charan Boro, who is a two-time MLA, will be contesting from the Mazbat constituency.

Another sitting MLA and senior party leader Rabiram Narzary will be the candidate from Dotma.

Mohilary’s wife, Sewli Mohilary, will be making her political debut, being named as the party candidate from the Kokrajhar seat.

Former MLAs in the fray are Rihon Daimary (Udalguri), Thaneswar Basumatary (Manas), Maneswar Brahma (Baksa) and Maheswar Boro (Bhergaon).

Former president of All Assam Minority Students’ Union Rezaul Karim, who had recently joined the BPF, has been named the candidate from Parbotjhora seat. Other BPF candidates are Sabharam Basumatary (Gossaigaon), Rupam Roy (Baokungri) and Paniram Brahma (Sidli Chirang).

Kuwait says its Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery again hit in Iranian drone attacks, starting fire

Kuwait said Friday its Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery again came under attack by Iranian drones, which sparked a fire at several of its units.

The refinery had been hit Thursday, sparking fires. Kuwait said firefighters on Friday were trying to control the blazes and there were no immediate injuries from the attack.

The Iranian attack came as Kuwait marked Eid al-Fitr, the celebration marking the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The attack Friday comes as Iran increasingly targets energy sites in Gulf Arab states after Israel on Wednesday bombed Iran's massive South Pars offshore natural gas field in the Persian Gulf. 

UN Security Council meets over Iran's attacks on Gulf states

The United Nations Security Council held an urgent closed meeting Thursday during which Gulf countries stressed the need for Iran to halt attacks on them, said Bahrain's U.N. Ambassador Jamal Alrowaiei, the Arab representative on the UN's most powerful body.

But Iran has showed no signs of backing down. Saudi Arabia said its SAMREF refinery in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu was hit. Saudi Arabia had begun pumping large volumes of oil west toward the Red Sea to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

Qatar, a key source of natural gas for world markets, said Iranian missiles that caused extensive damage to the Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas facility, reduced its exports by about 17 percent and will cost about $20 billion in lost revenue a year. The damage will take up to five years to repair, even though production at the facility had already been halted after earlier attacks.

Two oil refineries in Kuwait and gas operations in Abu Dhabi also were targeted by Iran, authorities said.

Underscoring the danger to ships in the region, a vessel was set ablaze Thursday off the United Arab Emirates' coast and another was damaged off Qatar. Efforts to bypass the strait were also under pressure: An Iranian drone hit a Saudi refinery on the Red Sea, which the country had hoped to use as an alternative route.

Meanwhile, the UAE said Friday it disrupted what it called “a terrorist network funded and operated by Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iran,” arresting its operatives. It accused the men of laundering money while “operating within the country under a fictitious commercial cover” that sought to carry out schemes that would threaten the country's financial stability.

Israel hits Tehran with airstrikes on Persian New Year as war jolts energy markets

Israel pounded Tehran with airstrikes Friday as Iranians marked Nowruz, or the Persian New Year, in the midst of a war that has sent shock waves through the global economy and risked drawing Iran's Arab neighbors directly into the conflict.

Activists reported hearing strikes around Iran's capital. The attacks came a day after Israel pledged to refrain from more strikes on a key Iranian gas field and Iran intensified attacks on oil and natural gas facilities around the Gulf.

Heavy explosions shook Dubai early Friday as air defenses intercepted incoming fire over the city, where people were observing Eid al-Fitr, the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramzan, and mosques made the day's first call to prayers.

Iran kept up its wave of attacks launched at Israel that have sent millions of people to shelters, with sirens sounding across a wide swath of the north, from Haifa to the Galilee to the border with Lebanon. It came after an intense day that saw more than a dozen missile launches on Thursday alone, according to Israel's military.

Global fuel supplies have been under intense pressure because of Iran's stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Thursday that, at the request of President Donald Trump, Israel will hold off any further attacks on Iran's offshore South Pars gas field. Iranian strikes in retaliation have led to already elevated global energy prices further surging and spurred Gulf allies to call for Trump to rein in Netanyahu.

Iran women's soccer team greeted with a welcome ceremony in Tehran

Members of Iran's national women's soccer team were greeted with a welcome ceremony upon their return to the Islamic Republic after several of the players sought asylum in Australia.

"First of all we are so happy to be in Iran, because Iran is our homeland," midfielder Fatemeh Shaban said.

People in the crowd waved flags while some of the players held bouquets of flowers and signed what appeared to be mini-soccer balls. Iranian media had reported that the team returned on Wednesday.

"I wasn't expecting this many people to come to welcome us, and I am happy to be the daughter of Iran," Shaban said in translated comments.

Two Iranian female players, Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh, chose to remain in Australia and have been training with the Brisbane Roar club. Others who initially sought asylum after the team was knocked out of the Women's Asian Cup later changed their minds and said they would return to Iran.

Iran's squad arrived in Australia for the tournament shortly before the Iran war began on February 28. The team initially gained global attention after some players stayed silent during Iran's national anthem before their first game in the Asian Cup. The silence was cast as an act of resistance or protest by some commentators and a show of mourning by others.