​ US names six crew killed in refuelling plane crash in Iraq. 39 minutes ago. Jaroslav Lukiv. EPA. The US military has named all six crew members who were killed when their refuelling aircraft crashed in Iraq.. The Pentagon said the airmen on board the KC-135 plane were: John Klinner, 33, from Alabama; Ariana Savino, 31, from Washington; Ashley Pruitt, 34, from Kentucky; Seth Koval, 38, from Indiana; Curtis Angst, 30, from Ohio; and Tyler Simmons, 28, also from Ohio.. The first three were Air Force personnel, and the latter three served in the National Guard.. The US military previously said neither hostile nor friendly fire were involved in the loss of the plane in western Iraq on Thursday.. The aircraft was on a combat mission as part of ongoing US operations against Iran and was one of two planes involved in the incident. The second landed safely.. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hailed the aircraft’s crew members as “American heroes”.. Iran war: Follow live updates. US officials told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, the incident may have involved a midair collision, but added that they were still investigating.. Centcom earlier described the crash as happening over friendly airspace.. An Iraqi intelligence source told CBS the first plane went down near Turaibil, located on the Iraqi-Jordanian border.. Pro-Iranian militias operate in western Iraq. Iran’s military claimed on state TV that an allied group had targeted the plane with a missile.. Thursday’s crash brings the official US military death toll in the US-Israel war with Iran, which began a fortnight ago, to 13. Six more soldiers were killed in Kuwait and one other in Saudi Arabia.. To date, the US military has lost at least four aircraft during the war, which started with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February.. In early March, three F-15 fighter jets were shot down in “an apparent friendly fire incident” over Kuwait, officials said. All six crew members were able to safely eject.. Boeing manufactured the KC-135 Stratotanker for the US military in the 1950s and early 1960s.. It has been a backbone to the US military’s air refuelling fleet, and allows combat aircraft to carry out longer missions without needing to land.. BBC visits aftermath of Israeli strike on Lebanon that killed family as IDF targets Hezbollah. ‘Gruesome’ war bets fuel calls for crackdown on prediction markets. Middle East. Aviation accidents and incidents. Iran. Iraq. United States. Iran war  

​ ‘Gruesome’ war bets fuel calls for crackdown on prediction markets. 9 hours ago. Natalie ShermanBusiness reporter. Bloomberg via Getty Images. Stew, a 35-year-old from Montana, has enjoyed dabbling in sports bets since he downloaded the Kalshi app about 18 months ago.. But just a few weeks ago, after spotting reports of elevated pizza deliveries around the Pentagon during some late-night scrolling, he made a different kind of bet – wagering $10 (£7.50) on the odds that Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be “out” by 1 March.. It was a trade that tested the limits of the kinds of bets Americans are allowed to make.. So-called predictions markets- overseen by firms such as Kalshi – have exploded in popularity over the last year, hosting more than $44bn in trades.. They are rapidly transforming the betting landscape in the US, where sports betting was largely illegal until 2018 and gambling on elections had been off-limits for years until 2024.. While much of the activity on the platforms revolves around sporting matches, users can speculate on any number of questions, including local elections, whether the US central bank will cut interest rates and the year of Jesus Christ’s return.. The apps caught fire during America’s 2024 presidential campaign, after a legal victory cleared the way for them to accept election bets and they showed the odds tilting toward Donald Trump.. But it is more grisly wagers tied to military action involving Iran, Venezuela and Israel that have drawn attention lately.. In theory, such bets run afoul of US financial rules, which bar trading on contracts involving war, terrorism, assassination, gaming or other illegal activities.. But that hasn’t stopped firms from taking in millions of trades.. Critics have seized on the activity, calling for a crackdown on the apps, which they say are facilitating unseemly, and potentially illegal, war profiteering, generating national security risks and enabling opportunities for insider trading and corruption.. “You have now opened up gambling basically on almost anything and it has turned into this very, very gruesome type of thing on the death of a head of state,” said Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist at the Public Citizen advocacy group, which recently filed a complaint this week over the bets.. Polymarket alone has hosted what Bloomberg estimated as more than $500m in bets related to the Iran war, at one point offering an opportunity to play the odds on the chance of nuclear detonation.. The company, which is headquartered in New York but operates on a limited basis in the US, eventually removed that market after it drew scrutiny on social media but users can still submit bets on questions like when US forces will enter Iran. It did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.. Kalshi also ended up cancelling the Khamenei market, which had drawn $54m in trades, noting that US-regulated entities are barred from “having a market directly settling on someone’s death”.. The c  

​ Image source, Getty Images. 9 hours ago. Iraq will travel to Mexico by private plane for their World Cup play-off despite calls from coach Graham Arnold to postpone the match amid the US-Israeli war with Iran, the Iraqi Football Association’s president says.. Iraq are due to face either Bolivia or Suriname in Monterrey on 31 March, with the winner of the inter-continental play-off booking their place at the 2026 World Cup.. Airspace in the Middle East has been closed since 28 February when US-Israeli strikes began and Iran responded by firing missiles and drones at Israel, Gulf states and other nearby countries.. But in a video statement carried by the Iraqi News Agency, Iraq FA chief Adnan Dirjal said he had written to Fifa to explain the “difficulty of the journey” and world football’s governing body had been “co-operative”.. “[Fifa president Gianni] Infantino directed [Fifa secretary general] Mattias Grafstrom… to follow up and help overcome all difficulties to facilitate the departure of our national team to Mexico.. “The national team will depart at the end of the week to Mexico via a private plane.”. Iran, the US, and a World Cup that starts in three months. 1 March. Trump ‘does not care’ if Iran play at World Cup. 3 March. Mexico to deploy 100,000 security personnel for World Cup. 6 March. Iraq beat the United Arab Emirates 3-2 on aggregate in the fifth round of the World Cup qualifiers in Asia last November to book their place in the inter-continental play-off.. They are bidding to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986. This year’s tournament will be held in the USA, Mexico and Canada from 11 June.. Dirjal also confirmed Iraq had secured entry visas to Mexico with Europe-based players joining separately.. “My message to everyone: only 17 days remain, and we must focus and prepare for the match. We have one goal, which is qualifying for the World Cup,” Dirjal said.. “Therefore, our focus in the Iraqi Football Association and the coaching staff is on providing all the appropriate conditions for the players to focus on this match and achieve the dream of the Iraqi fans.”. Related topics. Football. FIFA World Cup. More on this story. Follow your club with BBC Sport. 2 days ago. Listen to the latest Football Daily podcast. Get football news sent straight to your phone. 16 August 2025  

​ BBC visits aftermath of Israeli strike on Lebanon that killed family as IDF targets Hezbollah. 9 hours ago. Alice CuddyYounine, northeastern Lebanon. BBC. Warning – this article contains a graphic description of the aftermath of an explosion.. As Israel continues to attack targets connected to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the BBC visited the remains of a home where eight members of a family, including three children, were killed in a strike.. The yellow flag of the Iran-backed armed group was hanging on top of a pile of rubble in the northeastern town of Younine. There were children’s toys and packets of sweets among the debris.. The Israeli military told the BBC it had targeted “Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure while Hezbollah operatives were present”.. Neighbours and relatives at the scene said they had no knowledge of this.. The strike hit a home and shop on Wednesday evening as an extended family, including three children – aged five, nine and 14 – were gathering to break the Ramadan fast, locals said.. It is one of hundreds of strikes the Israeli military has carried out in Lebanon since the war with Hezbollah resumed almost two weeks ago.. Most have focused on southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley, and the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, known as the Dahieh – the heartlands of Hezbollah and of Lebanon’s Shia Muslim community. Some have also hit the centre of Beirut.. More than 800 people have been killed in Israel’s military action, according to figures from the Lebanese health ministry. They include 12 healthcare workers Lebanon’s public health ministry says were killed in a strike on a medical centre in on Friday night. The IDF said it was aware of reports of a strike and the incident was under review.. Hundreds of thousands more people have been forced from their homes by sweeping Israeli evacuation orders.. Israel accuses Hezbollah of embedding its military infrastructure in civilian areas.. In Younine on Saturday, locals recalled the moment of the strike, which they said came without any warning.. A local shepherd told the BBC he was at the shop about 30 minutes beforehand, offering to supply the family with yoghurt.. After hearing the explosion, he rushed from his home to see the building had collapsed and there were body parts scattered along the road. He collected them and passed them to first responders when they arrived on the scene.. “My kids and I were all terrified. The whole area was… I have no words to explain what I saw,” he said.. He said his daughter was friends with one of the children killed in the strike and hadn’t been properly eating or drinking since then.. A Syrian woman living in a tent nearby said she would see the family every day and relied on them extending credit to her at their shop, which she had hoped to pay back after the war. She said she was still in shock.. “It all happened so suddenly and all I know is that they are decent and religious but I have no idea why they would be targeted. We are Sy  

​ By. Mike Henson. BBC Sport rugby union news reporter at Stade de France. 14 March 2026. 1813 Comments. France (24) 48. Tries: Bielle-Biarrey 4, Attisogbe, Penalty Try Cons: Ramos 5 Pens: Ramos 2. England (27) 46. Tries: Roebuck, Murley, Chessum 2, Coles, M Smith, Freeman Cons: F Smith 2, M Smith 2 Pens: F Smith. England came thrillingly close to derailing France’s Six Nations party in Paris, only for Thomas Ramos to land a long-range penalty with the clock in the red to clinch an extraordinary 48-46 win and the title.. Ireland, winners against Scotland earlier in the day, watched on in Dublin, seeing the title wrenched out of their grasp in the final act of an enthralling edition of the sport’s oldest international championship.. Tommy Freeman’s 77th-minute try appeared to have secured an upset win for England – and he and Northampton team-mate Henry Pollock both celebrated in front of France’s fans.. However, Les Bleus regained possession off the restart and – just as in this fixture in Lyon two years ago – Ramos had the final say.. England came into the game after listless losses against Scotland, Ireland and Italy, but were revived, performing with energy and invention that had gone missing for much of their campaign.. A gut-punch defeat, extending their losing run to four matches, was scarce reward, but their magnificent display represents the players’ own vote of confidence in coach Steve Borthwick.. However, there will be no avoiding a post-tournament inquest.. As France celebrated their third Six Nations triumph in the past five years, England’s players looked on in the knowledge their own title aspirations were over long ago.. Defeat completes England’s worst ever Six Nations campaign, with just one win from five matches. Even before the championship’s expansion in 2000, England had only lost four matches in a single edition twice previously – in 1972 and 1976.. Borthwick’s side finished fifth in the 2026 table, matching the historic lows of 2018 and 2021.. However, this performance – against one of the world’s most gifted teams – will be the first piece of evidence Borthwick cites in his discussions with his Rugby Football Union bosses.. A summer block of fixtures that could ultimately decide his future begins against world champions South Africa on 4 July, with games against Fiji and Argentina following on subsequent weeks.. France claim title with last kick. Rugby Union Weekly. Listen on Sounds. Stellar showing and ultimate defeat increases intrigue around England. 8 hours ago. A finale worthy of the greatest Six Nations ever. 8 hours ago. A classic fitting for a century-plus rivalry. After an elaborate pre-match ceremony, featuring riders on horseback, pyro and laser projections, the two teams served up a superb, see-sawing game which would have graced any era of their 120-year rivalry.. Louis Bielle-Biarrey, France’s warp-speed wing, burned England twice in the opening 12 minutes with trademark tries.. The 22-year-old, whose has now