Prince Andrew Arrested on Suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office

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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor – formerly Prince Andrew, Duke of York – was arrested Thursday morning on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was apprehended and placed in police custody on his 66th birthday.

The BBC notes this is the first time the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who has faced numerous allegations over his links to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has been arrested.

Andrew has consistently and strenuously denied any wrongdoing.

olice did not directly name Mountbatten-Windsor, as is normal under U.K. law. But when asked if he had been arrested, the force pointed to a statement (see below) saying they had arrested a man in his 60s.

Mountbatten-Windsor is 66 and today is his birthday.

He was apprehended after a raid on his new Sandringham home. (Read more from “Prince Andrew Arrested on Suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office” HERE)

Iran, US Agree on ‘Guiding Principles’ of Nuclear Deal, as Vance Says Dismantling Atomic Program Among ‘Red Lines’

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American and Iranian negotiators have hashed out “guiding principles” for an agreement during the second round of talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, according to Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

“We were able to reach a general agreement on a set of guiding principles, based on which we will proceed from now on and move toward drafting a potential agreement,” Araghchi told state TV earlier from Geneva, where the talks were held.

“This does not mean that we can quickly reach a final agreement, but at least the path has begun.”

A US official agreed that “progress was made, but there are still a lot of details to discuss. The Iranians said they would come back in the next two weeks with detailed proposals to address some of the open gaps in our positions.”

Vice President JD Vance told Fox News Tuesday afternoon that “in some ways” the talks went well, “but in other ways, it was very clear that the president has set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge and work through.” (Read more from “Iran, US Agree on ‘Guiding Principles’ of Nuclear Deal, as Vance Says Dismantling Atomic Program Among ‘Red Lines’” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Zelensky Warns Ukrainians Would Never ‘Forgive’ US for Ceding Major Region to Russia as Part of Peace Deal: ‘Not Fair’

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The Ukrainian public would not accept Kyiv simply handing over the country’s Donbas region to Russia in a peace deal, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday — advising US envoys against continually pushing a version of peace the war’s victims would see as an “unsuccessful story.”

“Emotionally, people will never forgive this. Never. They will not forgive … me, they will not forgive [the US],” Zelensky told Axios, speaking as US, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in Geneva. “This is part of our country, all these citizens, the flag, the land.”

The president said it was “not fair” that President Trump has called on Ukraine — and not Russia — to make concessions to reach a peace deal.

Any change to the country’s recognition of its land would require a referendum approved by the Ukrainian people, according to Kyiv’s constitution.

Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have been working to rapidly seal a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine that would see Kyiv give up even the roughly 15% to 20% of the Donbas that it still controls, turning it into a “free economic zone.” (Read more from “Zelensky Warns Ukrainians Would Never ‘Forgive’ US for Ceding Major Region to Russia as Part of Peace Deal: ‘Not Fair’” HERE)

Jews Pray on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount as Decades-Old Status Quo Begins to Shift

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Police are allowing limited Jewish prayer on Temple Mount, marking the most significant shift to the status quo since 1967 – and stirring quiet tension on one of the world’s most contested sites.

. . .Ali, who said he goes to pray every day at Al-Aqsa (so called because it was “the farthest” mosque from Mecca when the Quran was revealed), said Jewish groups visiting and even praying there doesn’t bother him.

“It does disturb some people, but it doesn’t bother me,” he said. “If they do it quietly, it’s okay. People should worship God in the way they want to.”

But other Palestinians disagreed. A group of three women from the Galilee, who said they come about once a week to pray at the mosque for their families and for those who were killed in Gaza, frowned as they watched the Jewish group.

“This place is for Islam, and Jews are supposed to pray at the Wall,” Samira said.

Indeed, that has been the case since 1967 when Israel took over Jerusalem’s Old City from Jordan during the Six Day War. For many Israelis, it was the fulfillment of a dream, with the chance to pray at the Kotel – the Western Wall. The iconic photo of three paratroopers standing at the Wall is inscribed into every Israeli’s DNA. (Read more from “Jews Pray on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount as Decades-Old Status Quo Begins to Shift” HERE)

Olympics Ban Ukrainian Athlete for Helmet Depicting Athletes Killed by Russia

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Ukrainian skeleton pilot Vladyslav Heraskevych, 27, was banned from the 2026 Winter Olympics on Thursday, just minutes before his event was due to begin, because he insisted on wearing a helmet covered with images of athletes killed by Russia’s invasion of his country.

Heraskevych said he accepted the ban as the “price of our dignity,” but he insisted his helmet did not actually violate the rules set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and he noted that other athletes have been allowed to express political opinions at the Winter Games.

“U.S. figure skater, Canadian freeskier, Israeli skeleton athlete who is also here today, they didn’t face the same things,” he said. “So suddenly, just a Ukrainian athlete in this Olympic Games will be disqualified for this helmet.”

In an interview on Thursday after the IOC announced its decision, Heraskevych said he felt “emptiness” because he was banned over “an interpretation of the rules which I do not agree with.”

“I was at many funerals when I was in Ukraine and it’s a truly terrible tragedy that young people at such a young age were killed for nothing. Because of their sacrifice, we’re able to be here today, and I want to honor them, and I want to honor their families,” he said. (Read more from “Olympics Ban Ukrainian Athlete for Helmet Depicting Athletes Killed by Russia” HERE)

Orbán Calls Ukraine an ‘Enemy’ in Speech

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has labelled Ukraine, which is under attack by Russia, an “enemy” of his own country.

“The Ukrainians must stop constantly demanding in Brussels that Hungary be cut off from cheap Russian energy,” the right-wing populist said in an election campaign speech in the western Hungarian city of Szombathely on Sunday.

“As long as Ukraine does this, it is our enemy,” he added, according to the state news agency MTI.

Orbán is considered Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in the European Union, and his country is highly dependent on Russian gas and oil supplies. Unlike the other EU countries, Hungary has not made any serious efforts under Orbán to free itself from its dependence on Russian energy.

Parliamentary elections are due to be held in Hungary on April 12. For the first time in his 16 years in office, Orbán faces a strong challenger. (Read more from “Orbán Calls Ukraine an ‘Enemy’ in Speech” HERE)

Israel Accepts Health Authorities’ Gaza Death Toll Is Broadly Accurate, Saying 70,000 Have Died

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Israel’s military has accepted the death toll compiled by health authorities in Gaza is broadly accurate, marking a U-turn after years of official attacks on the data.

A senior security official briefed Israeli journalists, saying about 70,000 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli attacks on the territory since October 2023, excluding those missing.

It is the first time Israel has publicly estimated the toll from the war in Gaza. Previously the government and military had only provided figures for militants Israel claimed to have killed.

Gaza health authorities said the direct toll from Israeli attacks had exceeded 71,660 people, with at least 10,000 presumed buried in the rubble of bombed buildings.

For more than two years, Israeli officials and media had attacked the Palestinian figures as “Hamas propaganda” and dismissed them as “not accurate”. (Read more from “Israel Accepts Health Authorities’ Gaza Death Toll Is Broadly Accurate, Saying 70,000 Have Died” HERE)

Muslim Official Says Working Too Hard Can Turn People Gay

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Zulkifli Hasan, Malaysia’s minister for religious affairs, said Tuesday that work stress can push people into homosexuality — a claim that triggered a wave of online mockery and criticism.

In a written reply submitted to Parliament of Malaysia, the minister listed “work stress” as one of several supposed drivers of LGBT behavior while answering a question from opposition lawmaker Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff, according to the South China Morning Post.

“Societal influence, sexual experiences, work stress and other personal factors come under this category [of possible causes],” Zulkifli said in the parliamentary response, the Morning Post reported. (Read more from “Muslim Official Says Working Too Hard Can Turn People Gay” HERE)_

Trump Warns Iran: Make Nuclear Deal or Face ‘Far Worse’ Attack as ‘Massive Armada’ Nears — ‘Time Is Running Out’

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President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that “a massive armada” led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is moving toward Iran and that the regime’s “time is running out” to make a nuclear deal — or face a U.S. strike far worse than the one carried out last summer.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump said the armada is “moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose,” describing it as a larger fleet than the force previously sent to Venezuela and one “ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary.”

Trump urged Tehran to “come to the table” and negotiate a deal, warning that time is “truly of the essence,” and making clear that failure to do so would bring severe consequences.

The warning explicitly referenced past military action. Trump said Iran ignored an earlier demand to make a deal, which was followed by “Operation Midnight Hammer,” adding that “the next attack will be far worse.”

Operation Midnight Hammer refers to the June 22, 2025 U.S. strikes at the end of the 12-day war, when B-2 bombers dropped 12 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators — bunker-buster bombs — on Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility, while a U.S. submarine fired 30 Tomahawk missiles at the Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. (Read more from “Trump Warns Iran: Make Nuclear Deal or Face ‘Far Worse’ Attack as ‘Massive Armada’ Nears — ‘Time Is Running Out’” HERE)

Major Christian Church Delivers Win For Liberals

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The Church of England (CoE) confirmed Sarah Mullally as its first female archbishop Wednesday.

Mullally’s appointment to the position of archbishop was first announced in October. The Anglican Communion has “tens of millions of members,” according to the CoE’s official website.

The archbishop of Canterbury “[leads] the vision and direction of the Church of England,” according to the CoE’s website.

Mullally has expressed liberal stances on certain biblical issues.

“Our eyes have been opened to the harm we have done, especially to LGBTI+ people,” Mullally said during a debate on blessings for same-sex relationships, according to The Pink News. (Read more from “Major Christian Church Delivers Win For Liberals” HERE)