​ ‘A new norm’: BBC visits Doha market starting to fill up again two weeks into Iran war. At the beginning of the conflict between Israel and the US, and Iran on 28 February, Doha’s Souq Waqif market was almost empty, with those in the usually safe and stable capital shocked by the attacks in the region.. Qatar’s neighbouring countries have felt the impact of Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, with at least 18 people killed across the Gulf states so far.. Meanwhile, most of the strikes aimed at Qatar – some targeting US military bases – have been intercepted by air defences, with little damage done on the ground and no deaths reported in the country.. As the conflict in the Middle East enters its third week, Doha’s best-known market is starting to look busy again – and the BBC’s Barbara Plett Usher has visited to ask people there how they are feeling.. Follow the latest developments on our live page. 2 hours ago. Middle East. Israel. Doha. Iran. Qatar. United States. Iran war. Oscar buzz for Ray and his Retirement Plan. Voiced by Domhnall Gleeson and directed by John Kelly, Retirement Plan is nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 98th Academy Awards.. World. Watch: Why the Iran war is pushing up oil prices. As turmoil continues in the Middle East, the price of crude oil rose to more than $100 a barrel on Monday.. World. Watch: Ukrainian anti-drone ‘bullet’ that could help defend Gulf. The BBC’s Diplomatic Correspondent, James Landale, is in Ukraine to see the latest anti-drone technology the country has to offer.. World. ‘This is a moment of grave peril’ – UN humanitarian chief. UN Humanitarian Affairs Lead Tom Fletcher speaks to the BBC about the conflict in the Middle East.. World. After Iran, will Trump turn his eyes to Cuba?. During a White House event with the Inter Miami CF soccer team, the US president said the island was “ready to fall”.. World. Inside Venezuela’s political transition two months after Maduro’s ousting. The BBC’s Ione Wells reports from the country and speaks to recently freed opposition politicians about the government’s future and relations with the US.. World. Frozen in time: The once-glamorous Iranian embassy in the US sits empty. The BBC’s Helena Humphrey explains the steps required to reopen both embassies, which have remained closed for decades.. World. ‘We got home’: Passengers on Dubai-Dublin flight celebrate return. The Emirates flight was the first in a number of days after the United States-Israeli attacks on Iran led to the closure of nearly all airspace in the Middle East.. World. Timelapse shows change in the flow of ships in the Strait of Hormuz. A timelapse of marine traffic shows the flow of ships has decreased in the Strait of Hormuz.. World. Video of US torpedo hitting Iranian warship released by Pentagon. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the US military has sunk “an Iranian warship” in the Indian Ocean with a torpedo.. World. Ros Atkins on…how has President Trump’s message on war change  

​ Oscars 2026: Here are all the moments you didn’t see on TV. 4 hours ago. Nardine Saadat the 98th Academy Awards in Hollywood. Getty Images. It’s Hollywood’s biggest night. The 98th Academy Awards featured emotional speeches, comical relief and a bevy of backstage fun.. While movie magic plays a role in the show itself (the ceremony, after all, is actually hosted at the Dolby Theatre in a shopping centre), there is a lot you don’t see on TV.. Frankenstein production designer addressed the media with his Oscar statuette in one hand and what appeared to be a beer in the other and Mr Nobody Against Putin filmmaker Pasha Talankin re-lived his Oscars win by re-reading the envelope that announced that his movie won the award for documentary feature film.. We saw some of the tightest security in recent years and witnessed the frenzied panic after one Oscar award became two when those vying for best short action film was announced as a historic tie.. Here’s what it’s like on the scene during Hollywood’s biggest night and everything you did not see on TV.. Oscars red carpet: Stars and fashion in pictures. Oscars 2026: Winners list in full. One Battle After Another wins six Oscars, including best picture. Security was very tight this year. Getty Images. Authorities in Los Angeles enhanced this year’s security due to the US and Israel’s war in Iran.. Preparations included layered security perimeters, traffic management plans, and a highly visible police presence throughout the Hollywood area. There were what appeared to be SWAT vehicles and fencing lining most of the streets surrounding the typically bustling Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.. I saw that security presence first-hand on my way into the Loews Hotel, where media covering the event are stationed. It’s just across the street from the Dolby Theatre.. Security seemed to be posted every 100 feet (33 metres) or so and I had to go through two sets of metal detectors and have my bags sniffed by police dogs before settling into my position in the interview room, where stars go after they win an Oscar.. Street closures have snarled the area over the past week to make room for the lengthy red carpet and metal detectors are set up in designated ceremony entry areas at Ovation Hollywood – the large shopping centre that houses the Dolby in the heart of Hollywood.. The whole setup evokes a bit of movie magic, with large curtains covering the local shops and eateries to make way for the red carpet and a path to enter the Dolby features tall poles that include the name of each best picture winner from years past.. An Oscars tie sends reporters scrambling. The Academy Awards are nearly 100 years old but there are only a handful of times in that storied history has there been a tie for an award. This year marked the latest time with best short action film, which was awarded to both The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva.. In the winners room here at the Oscars, the Academy brings in librarians to help f  

​ Iran taking steps to prevent anti-establishment protests, Tehran residents tell BBC. 1 hour ago. Ghoncheh HabibiazadSenior reporter, BBC Persian. Supplied. Iran is taking steps to prevent anti-establishment protests, with checkpoints appearing across the streets of the capital, internet access restricted, and mass text warnings sent to residents.. In Tehran, people have been telling the BBC about new security checkpoints around the city, where they say residents are stopped and searched.. They have told BBC Persian that some checkpoints are positioned under footbridges and inside road tunnels, after reports that several checkpoints in the middle of roads had been targeted by drone strikes.. A number of Iranian security personnel were killed in Israeli strikes on four checkpoints across Tehran, the hardline Fars News Agency reported on 11 March.. Fars said unofficial counts indicated that around 10 members of the security forces were killed in strikes in four districts of the capital.. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana) said it had confirmed the killing of at least 7,000 civilians during the protests.. Speaking to the BBC, a man in his twenties explained his strategy for getting through a checkpoint, where he said he was once stopped and his car was searched.. “I started saying things like, ‘Thanks for your hard work,’ as if they were genuinely putting in a lot of effort and I appreciated it,” he said.. US-Israel war with Iran: Follow live updates. Security forces let him go after the search.. “I always wear colourful clothes. But now I don’t,” said a woman, also in her twenties. “I’m scared of their patrols, worried that if I wear something too bright it might annoy them.”. Restricted internet hinders co-ordination. Another man, also in his twenties, sells secure internet connections to some people, allowing them to bypass the government-imposed nationwide blackout.. It is still very difficult to contact those inside Iran during the internet outage that has been in place since the start of the war, but tech-savvy residents have been using SpaceX’s Starlink devices and sharing their connection with others.. Restricting internet access not only restricts communication with the outside world, but also limits protesters’ ability to mobilise, plan and communicate among each other. Encrypted messaging apps and platforms often function as tools for organising rallies, sharing protest locations, and circulating calls to action.. When these platforms are unavailable, coordination becomes far more difficult.. The man selling internet connections tells the BBC of his fear when a taxi he was travelling in passed through a checkpoint in a tunnel in Tehran.. “What I do as a job is considered a crime in the Islamic Republic,” he explains. “I was really worried, because I had my laptop and phone with me.”. “Luckily, they didn’t search the taxi,” he says.. Iranian police have arrested a person in southern Fars Province over allegedly setting  

​ Ukraine’s urgent fight on the financial frontline. 7 hours ago. Jonathan JosephsBusiness Reporter, BBC News. EPA. For Ukraine the financial frontline is perhaps the unseen battlefield in the war with Russia.. Keeping the economy on a level footing isn’t just about today, but central to the future that they’ve spent four years fighting for.. “We don’t want to be just a poor neighbour [to the EU],” says Ukraine’s Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko.. “We want to provide for Europe, something which they lack,” he explains, in reference to the military expertise that the country has reluctantly gained since February 2022.. Marchenko adds that the “very painful” experience his country has gained could help the rest of the continent defend itself.. Membership of the EU is a top priority for Kyiv, so there is a lot of gratitude for the bloc’s financial support, which is bringing the two closer together, and aiming to give Ukraine the advantage over Russia.. A new €90bn ($105bn; £79bn) loan from the EU will help cover the shortfall in Ukraine’s budget over the next two years. It’s been approved by the European Parliament, and the first payment could be made in April.. Why did Putin’s Russia invade Ukraine?. Ukraine remembers its dead as war enters a fifth year. That loan is the biggest share of a $136.5bn (£101bn) international support package, without which Marchenko says his country cannot survive after everything it’s been through.. “Our strong army depends on our strong economy, because all of our resources, which we mobilize internally, we channel… to defend our nation,” he says.. “We are grateful for the support of other nations to help us, but definitely Ukraine’s taxpayers are doing the best help for our army.”. In December 2024, taxes in Ukraine were increased for the first time since the war began, including on personal incomes, small businesses and financial institutions.. That’s part of the reason why domestic sources are expected to bring $67.5bn into government coffers this year, a 15% increase from a year earlier.. However, the government’s budget for 2026 includes spending plans worth about $112bn, with about 60% of that going towards the army. That leaves a shortfall of around $45bn.. To bridge the gap the government is trying to get contentious new tax increases through parliament before the end of this month.. As part of the terms of a new $8.1bn loan that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently approved, digital platforms in Ukraine will have to pay more tax, and exemptions to value added tax will be reduced.. Kyiv received the first $1.5bn from the IMF at the start of this month. Ahead of that the IMF’s mission chief for Ukraine, Gavin Grey, said that with its spending needs “expected to remain very high” the country needed to live within its means.. In addition to outside help, “Ukraine will also need to do more to tackle tax evasion and avoidance, and mobilizing domestic revenue in the near-term”, he said.. The IMF suppo  

​ Iran captain latest footballer to drop asylum bid, Iranian state media says. 11 hours ago. Jessica Rawnsleyand. Simon Atkinson,Sydney. Reuters. The captain of the Iranian women’s football team has withdrawn her bid for Australian asylum, Iran’s state media says, making her the fifth member of the delegation to change her mind.. Zahra Ghanbari will fly from Malaysia back to Iran, news agency IRNA reported on Sunday.. Australian officials confirmed another member had dropped their asylum application but did not identify them. It comes a day after authorities reported three other women had withdrawn their claims.. The footballers hadoriginally sought sanctuary after concerns the team would face repercussions for staying silent during the country’s anthem at their opening Asian Cup match.. Member of Iranian football delegation granted Australian asylum changes her mind. Five Iranian footballers granted Australian visas after anthem protest. The latest withdrawal means that, of the seven to initially accept Australia’s offer of humanitarian visas, only two now remain in the country as defectors.. Human rights activists have said the women may have been pressured to reverse their decisions through threats against their families.. Shiva Amini, an exiled former Iranian national futsal player, said she had received information that Iran’s Football Federation, working with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), had “placed intense and systemic pressure on the players’ families in Iran”.. “Several of the players decided to go back because the threats against their families became unbearable and the intimidation was relentless,” she wrote on X on Sunday.. Iranian media reports hailed Ghanbari’s decision, with IRNA saying she was “returning to the embrace of the homeland”, while the semi-official Mehr news agency called it a “patriotic decision”.. On Saturday, three other members withdrew their bids for asylum, named by human rights activists in the Iranian diaspora as Zahra Soltan Meshkehkar, Mona Hamoudi and Zahra Sarbali.. Confirming theirdecisions, Australia’s home affairs minister said his government had done everything it could to ensure the women were given the chance to have a safe future in the country.. “Australians should be proud that it was in our country that these women experienced a nation presenting them with genuine choices and interacted with authorities seeking to help them,” Tony Burke said in a statement.. “While the Australian government can ensure that opportunities are provided and communicated, we cannot remove the context in which the players are making these incredibly difficult decisions.”. Iran’s sports ministry said in a statement that “the national spirit and patriotism of the Iranian women’s national football team defeated the enemy’s plans against this team”, adding that Australia’s government was “playing in Trump’s field”.. IRGC-affiliated news agency Tasnim said the three were on their way to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysi