Page 20 – Xenix News

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7 min read

Trump tries to conjure a new reality as Iran war hits one-month fork in road

Hazel Oliva March 30, 2026

Trump Iran war tension global crisis

Hazel oliva

Journalists work at the site of a car repair shop and dealership damaged by a strike amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, on March 28. Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency/Reuters

As his Iran war reaches a one-month crossroads, President Donald Trump argues he’s fashioning a way out — even if there’s no proof one exists.

The president claims the US is having “serious discussions” with a “new and more reasonable regime in Tehran.”

Iran’s remnant government, however, insists no direct talks are happening and Monday described US proposals to end the war as “excessive, unrealistic, and unreasonable demands.”

The back and forth and Trump’s whiplash rhetoric shows the war has hit a fork in the road.

Down one path is a fast-escalating conflict that could widen further with the injection of US ground troops and cause a worsening worldwide economic conflagration.

But the high costs of the showdown for the United States and the Islamic Republic also give reason to hope the war could be reined in before it gets even worse.

Pakistan took the initiative on Sunday by leading a nascent third-party attempt with Middle Eastern powers to look for a way out. The effort has a daunting mandate: bridging antithetical endgame demands of an erratic US president and an Iranian regime defined by hatred of America.

This war has already shown the US and Israel have devastated Iran’s air forces, navy and much of its ability to pose existential external threats. But they’ve so far failed to eradicate the revolutionary regime that has haunted both countries for decades. At issue now is whether anyone can build an off-ramp that might deprive either side of a knockout but offer political and strategic carrots for each to claim vindication.

US Navy sailors stand watch on the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford as it transits the Suez Canal, en route to support the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran on March 5. US Navy/Handout/Reuters

On Sunday night, Trump appeared to be building a misleading template for a total US victory, arguing that the killing of senior Iranian leaders including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei equaled “regime change,” even if there’d been no letup of vicious repression of civilians whom he’d previously pledged to protect.

“We’ve had regime change, if you look already, because the one regime was decimated, destroyed, they’re all dead,” the president told reporters aboard Air Force One. “The next regime is mostly dead, and the third regime, we’re dealing with different people than anybody’s dealt with before.”

The best estimate of many Iran experts is that while many top clerical and military leaders have perished, the regime previously decentralized power to ensure it could survive high-profile assassinations and still appears to be controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Trump’s blend of hyperbole and misdirection makes it hard to know whether he’s trying to create a diplomatic breakthrough or a justification for more intense military action.

He wrote on Truth Social Monday morning that if a deal is not soon reached and the Strait of Hormuz remains shut he will conclude America’s “lovely ‘stay’” in Iran by “blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!).”

Such a move would be sure to incite a fearsome Iranian response and send the global economy into meltdown.

But the threat hinted at Trump’s apparent desire to end the war quickly — even if Tehran is showing no public sign that its desperate for a “deal,” as he claims.

Trump’s initial timeline is under pressure

Iran’s regime saved itself with classically Trumpian move: It weaponized a point of unique leverage for economic and geopolitical gain by closing the Strait of Hormuz — an oil exporting choke point. Economic reverberations are piling pressure on Trump inside and outside the US, as Iran becomes the latest adversary to counter America’s military superiority with an asymmetric response.

The war has already surpassed the lower marker of the “four to six weeks” timeline initially sketched by the administration. Trump’s still-hazy rationale for waging war is matched by his inability to point to an off-ramp. The closure of the strait and Iran’s stocks of highly enriched uranium, meanwhile, make it hard for him to use a characteristic device — a unilateral declaration of victory. He’s therefore facing a bleak decision with tragic echoes in modern American warfare: whether or not to escalate the war in search of a way out.

An aerial view of the Iranian shores and the island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz on December 10, 2023. Nicolas Economou/Reuters

Still, the pain that both sides would endure if the war went on means there are plausible reasons to talk.

Iran is isolated; has become a pariah in its own region; and has absorbed cataclysmic damage to its military capacity. While it has shown a continued ability to hit Israel, US military installations and American-allied Gulf states with missiles and drones, its resources are finite and it badly needs sanctions relief to rescue a shattered economy.

A halt to fighting might allow Iran to lock in its goal of regime survival. And by demonstrating that it can close strait, it might have created a deterrent effect if either the US or Israel wanted to restart the war.

Trump has good reasons to end the war too. His approval ratings are diving, stocks are plunging and economic distress is mounting among midterm election voters already struggling to pay for food and housing. The conflict jars with a dominant principle of his “America First” movement — no more foreign wars. And his second term and presidential legacy risk being consumed.

Conditions for a way out do exist — at a pinch. The question is whether a US president who has hardly lived up to his claim to be the world’s greatest negotiator and a remnant Iranian regime that has seen its top leaders wiped out can show the skill and will to provide each other a face-saving exit.

President Donald Trump salutes during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base on March 7. Nathan Howard/Reuters

The war is expanding — not dying down

The need for fighting to stop was laid bare as the war expanded at the weekend.

Yemen’s Houthis — an Iran-backed militia — launched a missile attack against Israel in their first major move of the conflict. There were no casualties, but the move raised concerns that another key shipping route could be under threat.

“I think the Houthis starting to strike, if you will, that’s going to become the Western Front of this war,” retired Adm. James Stavridis, a former NATO supreme allied commander, told Xenix news Michael Smerconish. He said the Houthis’ ability to control maritime traffic headed for the Suez Canal while the strait is closed was “an enormous gun pointed at the head of the global economy.”

Houthi supporters demonstrate in solidarity with Iran in Sanaa, Yemen, on Friday. Khaled Abdullah/Reuters

This could exacerbate economic impacts already being felt, and that are likely to worsen as the last ships that left the Persian Gulf before the war reach their destinations. In one sign of the global impact of the war, the Philippines has declared a national energy emergency amid rising political unrest.

In other signs of escalation, at least 10 US service members were injured in an attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Iran vowed to target US and Israeli universities, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israel Defense Forces to carve out an expanded security buffer zone in Lebanon.

Against this dire backdrop, the most concrete diplomatic initiative so far played out in Islamabad. Pakistan hosted talks involving Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt. It’s a rare nation with strong relations with Washington and Tehran. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said in a statement that his country “will be honored to host and facilitate meaningful talks between the two sides in coming days.” Two Trump administration officials told Xenix news last week that discussions in Pakistan were possible. But there’s no confirmation that they are imminent.

Foreign Ministers Badr Abdelatty of Egypt, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Ishaq Dar of Pakistan and Hakan Fidan of Turkey meet to discuss regional de-escalation in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Sunday. Turkish Foreign Ministry/Handout/Reuters

The possibility that fighting will intensify seems to be rising

The USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship carrying Marines, has arrived in the region. Another Marine Expeditionary Unit is en route from the US West Coast. More than 1,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne have been ordered to deploy.

The buildup is far short of an invasion force. But analysts talk of a possible assault on Kharg Island — the epicenter of Iran’s oil industry in the northern Persian Gulf — or other strategic islands critical to cross-strait navigation. Another ultra-high-risk US mission could aim to snatch Iran’s stocks of highly enriched uranium that might allow it to reconstitute its nuclear program.

But the possibility of heavy US casualties in any ground battles is sharpening debate over the war back home, where even some lawmakers loyal to Trump are worried. Democrats are meanwhile warning against an escalation.

“There’s a reason why Donald Trump is not coming before the American people for approval for this war. It’s because he knows what the American people feel, which is that they don’t want this, that they want a government that is focused on them, lowering costs,” Democratic Sen. Andy Kim said on Xenix news “State of the Union.”

Demonstrators take part in a “No Kings” protest against President Donald Trump’s administration policies in New York City on Saturday. Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

Those potential costs on the battlefield and at home only underscore the president’s unappetizing options and the gamble he took by deciding to go to war in the first place.

History shows most modern wars end more messily than presidents predict when they launch them. Even if Trump now opts for diplomacy over escalation, this one now threatens to undercut his bullish claims about the invulnerability of US power and his own global dominance.

This story and headline have been updated with new reporting.

5 min read

Israel reverses course after barring Palm Sunday Mass in Jerusalem

Hazel Oliva March 30, 2026

Palm Sunday Mass Jerusalem crowd

Hazel oliva

Christian worshippers mark Palm Sunday, following the cancellation of the traditional Palm Sunday procession at the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem in Jerusalem’s Old City. Ammar Awad/Reuters

Following a widespread backlash, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had asked “relevant authorities” to allow Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch, to hold services at Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre “as he wishes.”

On Sunday, the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem said Israeli police prevented the church’s senior leaders from entering to celebrate Mass, citing security concerns.

“For the first time in centuries, the Heads of the Church were prevented from celebrating the Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” the Patriarchate said in a statement. “This incident is a grave precedent and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem.”

Palm Sunday marks the start of Holy Week, the most sacred period in the Christian calendar, with Sunday’s liturgy commemorating Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. The church is believed to be the site of Jesus’ burial and resurrection.

The move comes as Israeli authorities restrict access to religious sites in East Jerusalem amid the war with Iran, including Al Aqsa Mosque and the Western Wall. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 war, and has fought multiple wars since, but sweeping restrictions on access to holy sites – particularly during major religious periods – have been rare.

In his statement on X, Netanyahu said that “Iran has repeatedly targeted the holy sites of all three monotheistic religions in Jerusalem with ballistic missiles” over the past days. He added that one strike crashed just “meters from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.”

Israeli police issued a statement confirming they have approved a limited prayer arrangement at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in coordination with a representative of the Latin Patriarch, following a situational assessment led by Jerusalem District Commander Deputy Commissioner Avshalom Peled and other senior officers. Authorities added that other major religious sites, including the Western Wall Plaza and the Temple Mount compound, remain closed to worshippers over public safety concerns.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog welcomed the discussions between church leaders and local authorities to settle arrangement for Easter prayers this week. “I reiterate the unwavering commitment of the State of Israel to the freedom of worship for people of all faiths and the importance of upholding the status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem,” he said on social media.

The Italian government had criticized the police decision to bar access to the church and planned to summon the Israeli ambassador in Rome on Monday. The Patriarchate had already canceled the traditional Palm Sunday procession in Jerusalem due to the conflict, which has seen Iran fire thousands of projectiles toward Israel.

The two senior Church officials, including Cardinal Pizzaballa, “were stopped en route, while proceeding privately and without any characteristics of a procession or ceremonial act, and were compelled to turn back,” the Patriarchate said.

Altar servers start the Palm Sunday Mass Procession, commemorating Jesus Christ's entry into Jerusalem, at the Catholic Franciscan Monastery of Saint Saviour in the old city of Jerusalem on March 29.

Altar servers start the Palm Sunday Mass Procession, commemorating Jesus Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, at the Catholic Franciscan Monastery of Saint Saviour in the old city of Jerusalem on March 29. John Wessels/AFP/Getty Images

Preventing their entry “constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure,” it added.

The Patriarchate also accused the Israeli authorities of a “hasty and fundamentally flawed decision, tainted by improper considerations.”

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was “no malicious intent whatsoever” in the ban, only concern for the safety of the celebrants.

“However, given the holiness of the week leading up to Easter for the world’s Christians, Israel’s security arms are putting together a plan to enable church leaders to worship at the holy site in the coming days,” Netanyahu’s office added.

Israeli Police said that all holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem had been “closed to worshippers, particularly locations that do not have standard protected spaces, in order to safeguard public safety and security.”

“The Old City and the holy sites constitute a complex area that does not allow access for large emergency and rescue vehicles,” the police said in a statement.

The number of Jews allowed to pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem has been limited to 50 a day, while Muslims have been completely barred from accessing Al Aqsa Mosque since the war started in late February, including the entire holy month of Ramadan.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a known Israel supporter, released a statement on X criticizing the Israeli decision, calling it “an unfortunate overreach already having major repercussions around the world.” He noted that churches, synagogues, and mosques throughout Jerusalem “have met with the restrictions of 50 or less” for safety reasons. “For the Patriarch to be barred from entry to the Church on Palm Sunday for a private ceremony is difficult to understand or justify,” he said.

Italy decries ‘insult’ to religious freedom

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her government stood with Cardinal Pizzaballa and other religious leaders.

“The Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is a sacred place of Christianity, and as such must be preserved and protected,” Meloni added. Preventing church leaders from entering the church “constitutes an insult not only to believers, but to every community that recognizes religious freedom,” Meloni said.

Cardinal Pizzaballa leads a prayer service to mark Palm Sunday in Jerusalem, following the cancellation of the traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives amid restrictions on gathering in large groups and the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Cardinal Pizzaballa leads a prayer service to mark Palm Sunday in Jerusalem, following the cancellation of the traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives amid restrictions on gathering in large groups and the US-Israeli war on Iran. Ammar Awad/AFP/Getty Images

During Mass at the Vatican Sunday, Pope Leo said that God rejects the prayers of leaders who start wars and have “hands full of blood.” He also said that his prayers are “more than ever with the Christians of the Middle East, who are suffering the consequences of a brutal conflict and, in many cases, are unable to observe fully the liturgies of these holy days.”

Addressing tens of thousands in St. Peter’s Square on Palm Sunday, the celebration that opens the holy week leading up to Easter for the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, the pontiff called the conflict “atrocious” and said Jesus cannot be ⁠used to justify any wars.

Pope Leo condemns ‘those who wage war’

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey condemned Israel’s continued closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem to Muslim worshippers.

The eight Muslim states said that discriminatory and arbitrary limits on access to places of worship amounted to a “flagrant violation” of international law.

6 min read

How Pope Leo was elected: New details of dramatic conclave battle revealed

Hazel Oliva March 1, 2026

By Hazel Oliva

Pope Leo XIV waves from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica shortly after his election as pontiff at the Vatican on May 8, 2025. Francesco Sforza/Vatican Media/Reuters

“Conclave” the movie provides a gripping, if fictional, behind-the-scenes look inside the secretive election of a new pope. But last year’s real-life conclave was just as dramatic, with plenty of plot twists, political battles among cardinals and a surprise outcome.

A new book lifts a lid on how, in May 2025, Pope Leo XIV was elected as the first US-born pope in the Catholic Church’s 2,000-year history. Its authors tell in previously unheard detail how Cardinal Robert Prevost, a low-key Augustinian friar from Chicago, had quietly garnered support from fellow cardinals as the conclave got underway but remained under the radar of wider attention as a serious candidate.

Gerard O’Connell, the Vatican correspondent for “America,” a Catholic magazine based in New York, and Elisabetta Piqué, a correspondent for Argentina’s “La Nacion” newspaper and a CNN contributor at the 2025 conclave, describe how an Italian frontrunner faded from contention while providing a breakdown of the voting inside the Sistine Chapel. They also report how the election of Prevost caught many by surprise, including senior figures in the Vatican. For years, the prospect of an American pope had seemed impossible because of the “military, economic and cultural power” of the US, one cardinal told them.

Pope Leo XIV arrives in the Popemobile ahead of his inauguration Mass in St. Peter’s Square on May 18. David Ramos/Getty Images

O’Connell and Piqué, a husband-and-wife reporting team, were longtime friends of Pope Francis, who had baptized their two children in Argentina while still a cardinal there and later also married the couple.

The book, “The Election of Pope Leo XIV: The Last Surprise of Pope Francis,” draws on interviews with numerous cardinals.

Using those sources, the authors describe how in the tense days leading up to the conclave, inside the College of Cardinals: Should they vote for a pope to continue the legacy and reforms of Francis, or make a course correction? As O’Connell and Piqué set out, with each contributing their own diary-style entries to the book, efforts to elect a pope who would go in a different direction to Francis were thwarted. Leo, while distinct in style from his predecessor and still somewhat inscrutable, could broadly be described as Francis’ choice.

Here are some of the takeaways from the new book.

A conservative won round one but then Leo emerged

The first ballot, O’Connell reports, saw Cardinal Péter Erdö, a Hungarian, gain the greatest number of votes. Erdö is a distinguished church lawyer and was the conservatives’ choice. While support for him was well-organized, it wasn’t necessarily widespread, O’Connell says. In that opening round, “more than 30 candidates got votes but only three received between 20 and 30,” he writes, with the other two contenders being Cardinals Robert Prevost and Pietro Parolin, the Holy See Secretary of State and leading Italian candidate. The next two ballots, however, saw support move swiftly to Prevost while Erdö’s dropped away. The first American pope was elected on the fourth ballot with 108 votes, with Parolin as runner-up, O’Connell says. The book also reveals the fourth ballot had to be repeated as one cardinal accidentally stuck two ballot papers together. (The same thing happened in the 2013 conclave).

Solemn, secret… but also human

The conclave is a serious, spiritual process in which the cardinals are cut off from the world – surrendering all electronic devices – before they cast their vote in front of the awesome fresco of Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgment.” But the book suggests not everything always went to plan. Voting on the first day was delayed when security officials picked up a cell phone signal inside the Sistine Chapel, O’Connell writes. One of the “older cardinals” realized he had a cell phone in his pocket which he then handed over, a reported scene O’Connell describes as “unimaginable, even for a film.” Then another problem emerged, the book says. With no phones to use as alarms, some cardinals almost overslept in their rooms in the Casa Santa Marta, the guesthouse where they stay for the duration of conclave. The Vatican handed complimentary alarm clocks to each one to make sure they would wake up and get to the Sistine Chapel on time. Some cardinals also complained about the lack of bathroom in the chapel which meant they had to be escorted to an external restroom by a junior cardinal deacon. “It’s like going back to kindergarten,” one told the authors.

An image of the late Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV at the bishop’s palace in Chiclayo, northern Peru. Ernesto Benavides/AFP/Getty Images

As the election drew closer, the frontrunners fell away

In the run-up to the conclave, following Francis’ death, two cardinals were talked of as frontrunners: Parolin, the Vatican’s chief diplomat, and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, leader of the Vatican’s evangelization office. Parolin was being pushed as a moderate, diplomatic figure who would restore “order” after the turbulent years of Francis, Piqué and O’Connell report. But he lacked grassroots experience in Catholic communities. While Parolin worked closely with Francis, one of his supporters, Cardinal Beniamino Stella, stunned fellow cardinals with a speech at a meeting where he attacked a major Francis reform. The authors reported on the speech in the run-up to the conclave and this, they say, had a negative effect on Parolin’s candidacy. This was compounded by a poor performance at a Mass with large numbers of young people, where Parolin was described as lacking “charisma” and as having “no connection” with the youthful congregation. Tagle, while charismatic and from the Philippines, with one of the largest Catholic populations in the world, was considered not to be a strong enough administrator, the book says. He also suffered harsh social media attacks which damaged his candidacy.

Leo, the dark horse who defied the assumption “no American pope”

The authors claim that “more than twenty” cardinals had quietly identified Cardinal Prevost as the most qualified candidate to be pope. They were impressed by his humble, low-profile style and felt he would be the one best placed to continue Francis’ legacy, they write. His missionary experience in Peru, and international experience more broadly, was crucial.

A Polish woman, center, who lives in the United States celebrates with her friends after the newly elected Pope Leo XIV spoke for the first time from the Vatican balcony on May 8, 2025. Mario Tama/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images

Previously, because of the US’ global political and economic power, it was widely accepted the cardinals would not choose an American pope. But Prevost was seen as “the least American of the Americans” and the cardinals from Latin America, Piqué reports, felt that “although a ‘gringo,’ (he) is one of us.”

Pope Francis ensured Leo was a candidate

Francis quietly promoted the man who would become his successor and ensured he was a contender. “Clearly Pope Francis had his sights set on him,” Piqué writes. It was the late pope – the first from Latin America – who laid the ground for Prevost to become a candidate by first appointing him a bishop in Chiclayo, Peru, and then bringing him to Rome to run one of the most important Vatican departments, responsible for appointing bishops. In this high-ranking role, Leo worked closely with cardinals from across the world and it was a sign of the trust Francis had placed in him. The pair had regular one-to-one meetings during which, Piqué says, “surely the two men discussed Church leadership issues beyond the immediate topic at hand (upcoming bishop appointments),” while keen-eyed observers noted that Prevost accompanied Francis on his last two trips abroad.

Pope Leo XIV stands in the Sistine Chapel among cardinals after being elected. Francesco Sforza/Vatican Media/Reuters

Despite being an ancient election process steeped in ritual and tradition, and still communicating its results through smoke signals, the conclave was able decisively and swiftly to produce a result. As O’Connell and Piqué show, it also retains the ability to surprise.

“The Election of Pope Leo XIV: The Last Surprise of Pope Francis,” will be published in English by Orbis Books on March 25, 2026.

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3 min read

Africa

Israel renews attacks on Tehran as Iran vows to avenge supreme leader’s death

Hazel Oliva March 1, 2026

Tehran launches fresh retaliatory attacks as it confirms death of decades-long leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes

Smoke rises following an explosion, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026.

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Where things stand

• Supreme leader killed: Iran says it views revenge for Saturday’s US-Israeli attacks as its “legitimate right and duty” after the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. US President Donald Trump indicated the strikes would continue through the week. Iran says one attack killed over 100 girls at an elementary school near a military base.
• Retaliatory strikes: Israel says it has carried out a new wave of strikes “in the heart of Tehran,” as Iran unleashes fresh attacks after Khamenei’s killing. Iran has already attacked US military bases, Israel and targets across the region. The conflict has damaged air hubs, rocked densely populated areas and disrupted oil shipments.
• Celebration and condemnation: The contrast of celebrations and mourning highlights deep divides in Iran. Across the US, people took to the streets, with some celebrating and others protesting the strikes on Iran.AllCatch UpAnalysis

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Putin calls Khamenei’s killing a “cynical murder” that violates international law

By Hazel Oliva

In his first official comments since US-Israeli strikes on Iran and ensuing retaliatory strikes, Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the targeted killing of Iran’s supreme leader a “cynical murder,” Russian state media agency TASS reported.

The Russian leader described Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death as a murder that violated “all norms of human morality and international law,” according to TASS.

Putin said Khamenei would be remembered in Russia as an “outstanding statesman.”

Moscow and Tehran have long been key allies, with Iran providing Russia with military support including drones and ballistic missiles, and helping Moscow build a drone-manufacturing facility, amid its war on Ukraine.

It comes after Russia’s foreign ministery yesterday condemned the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, calling them a “reckless step” and an “unprovoked act of armed aggression.”

British defense secretary says Iran lashing out “indiscriminately” across Middle East

By Hazel Oliva

Defence Secretary John Healey speaks to the media outside BBC Broadcasting House in London on Sunday. Jonathan Brady/PA Images/Alamy/SIPA

Britain’s defense secretary said the Iranian regime is responding to the US-Israeli strikes with “indiscriminate” attacks across the Middle East, including by targeting British military assets in the region.

“The concern now is that this regime is lashing out, it’s lashing out in an increasingly indiscriminate and widespread way,” John Healey told Sky News on Sunday.

Healey said there were 300 personnel at Britain’s base in Bahrain, which was targeted Saturday by Iranian missiles and drones. Some of the personnel were “within a few hundred yards” of where the missiles and drones landed, he said.

Also on Saturday, two missiles were “fired in the direction of Cyprus,” he said.

“We don’t think they were targeted at Cyprus,” he clarified. “But nevertheless it’s an example of how there is a very real and rising threat from a regime that is lashing out widely across the region, and that requires us to act … defensively.”

The defense secretary also said the Iranian regime was a “source of evil” in the region, listing a string of ways in which it has “menaced” countries abroad and cracked down on its citizens at home.

“Twenty terror plots directed at Britain, sponsored by Iran; tens of thousands of young people, protesters, murdered on the streets in the last few months in Iran; 57,000 Iranian drones fired by Russia into Ukraine; proxy groups that destabilize countries right across the region,” Healey said.

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6 min read

politics

Trump administration news: Maxwell can clear president’s name in exchange for clemency, attorney says

Hazel Oliva February 9, 2026

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What we’re covering

• Epstein files: Ghislaine Maxwell, jailed for 20 years for conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to abuse minors, sent a clear message to Donald Trump today that if the president were to grant her clemency, she would clear his name of any wrongdoing as it pertains to Epstein. Separately, members of Congress can review unredacted versions of the Epstein files at the Department of Justice today.

• DHS funding: Lawmakers are returning to Washington with just days to find a funding solution on the Department of Homeland Security or see an agency shutdown. Democrats are demanding reforms to federal immigration enforcement.

• Super Bowl reaction: Trump — who skipped the Super Bowl and attended a watch party in Florida — called last night’s Bad Bunny’s halftime performance “a slap in the face” and claimed “nobody understands a word” said by the Puerto Rican music star.AllCatch upEpstein files

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DHS negotiations remain stuck on Capitol Hill

The deadline for funding the Department of Homeland Security is Friday at midnight, but Republican and Democratic negotiators have yet to make significant progress, sources tell Xenix News

The lack of serious progress over the weekend raises the stakes that funding for the department could lapse in just a matter of days as Democrats have sought to make major reforms to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection practices as part of these talks.

Democrats sent some legislative text to Republicans over the weekend that crystalized their list of demands, a source briefed on the matter told Xenix News. Yet, there hasn’t been a sustained back-and-forth. One source characterized it as a car stuck in neutral but sort of rolling down a hill – so not totally stalled out.

Last week, Democrats and Republicans were engaged in a public fight over who was stalling the talks, a sign that the negotiations aren’t yet at a serious point.

It’s possible that Senate Majority Leader John Thune may need to begin the process of filing cloture on another short-term funding stopgap, known as a continuing resolution, but again, it’s not clear that Democrats would back that plan barring significant progress on Republicans meeting their demands on ICE reforms.Read more

Catch up on the latest on the Epstein files, including Ghislaine Maxwell’s reaction to House deposition

This photo provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry shows Jeffrey Epstein on March 28, 2017. New York State Sex Offender Registry/AP/File

The fallout from the release by the Department of Justice of millions of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continued unabated today, here and abroad.

His jailed associate Ghislaine Maxwell invoked the Fifth Amendment during a virtual deposition as her attorney made an extraordinary overture. She is currently serving time at a minimum security prison in Bryan, Texas.

If you’re just joining us, here’s the latest:

Maxwell deposition:

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer called the Maxwell’s decision to invoke the Fifth “very disappointing” and said lawmakers “had many questions to ask about the crime she and Epstein committed, as well as questions about potential co-conspiracy.”

Maxwell sent a clear message to Donald Trump: If the president were to grant her clemency, she would clear his name of any wrongdoing as it pertains to Epstein. The extraordinary overture came via a statement from Maxwell’s lawyer.

Epstein survivors urged members of the House Oversight Committee to treat Maxwell “with the utmost skepticism, to rigorously scrutinize any claims she makes,” according to a letter entered into evidence during the deposition.

International fallout:

British police are assessing a report that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor allegedly shared confidential reports with Epstein during the former prince’s role as UK trade envoy. Mountbatten-Windsor has previously repeatedly denied any wrongdoing over his ties to Epstein. He has not publicly responded to the latest allegations.

Separately, the Prince and Princess of Wales said they were “deeply concerned” by revelations from the Epstein files, a spokesperson told journalists in Riyadh ahead of Prince William’s visit to Saudi Arabia.

In Norway, former ambassador Mona Juul has been charged with “gross corruption” due to her relationship Epstein, Norway’s crime agency Økokrim said. Her husband, Terje Rød-Larsen, was also charged with complicity in gross corruption.

Prince and Princess of Wales “concerned” over Epstein revelations

Vance hails US-Armenia partnership in first ever vice presidential visit

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan welcomes US Vice President JD Vance at the President’s Residence, in Yerevan, on Monday. Kevin Lamarque/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

Vice President JD Vance on Monday became the first sitting US vice president (or president) to visit Armenia, where he touted partnerships between the two nations — including US drone technology sales and a civil nuclear cooperation agreement.

“Tonight marks a new beginning for Armenia and the United States and the partnership that our country can have together,” Vance said, standing beside Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, whom he endorsed ahead of upcoming elections.

Vance credited President Donald Trump and Pashinyan for advancing a forward-looking vision for peace in the region. Trump hosted the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan at the White House in August, where they finalized a peace agreement that would grant the US exclusive development access to a critical transit corridor in the South Caucasus.

Vance praised that Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, saying it’ll ensure “private capital is going to flow into building railroads, into building pipelines, again, to building the interconnectedness that would create real prosperity for the region, but also allow the peace agreement to stick.”

Pashinyan, for his part, said he hopes Trump will win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2026 and discussed his role on the Board of Peace, confirming he plans to attend an upcoming meeting.Read more

Maxwell can clear Trump’s name in Epstein probe in exchange for clemency, attorney says

House Oversight Chairman James Comer arrives to speak to reporters after Ghislaine Maxwell’s deposition on Capitol Hill Monday. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced to prison for 20 years for conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to abuse minors, sent a clear message to Donald Trump on Monday that if the president were to grant her clemency, she would clear his name of any wrongdoing as it pertains to Epstein.

The extraordinary overture, stated by Maxwell’s lawyer Monday morning during her virtual deposition before the House Oversight Committee, ensures the Epstein saga will continue to remain a political hotspot.

“Ms. Maxwell is prepared to speak fully and honestly if granted clemency by President Trump,” attorney David Oscar Markus said in a statement during the deposition, which he later posted on X. “Only she can provide the complete account. Some may not like what they hear, but the truth matters. For example, both President Trump and President Clinton are innocent of any wrongdoing.”

Markus also said that: “Ms. Maxwell alone can explain why, and the public is entitled to that explanation.”

Trump has not ruled out the possibility of offering Maxwell a pardon or commutation.

Trump and Clinton, who appear throughout the files released by DOJ, have denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein.

House Oversight Chair James Comer called Maxwell’s decision to plead the Fifth “very disappointing” and said lawmakers “had many questions to ask about the crime she and Epstein committed, as well as questions about potential co-conspiracy.”

Democrats on the committee accused Maxwell of trying to buy her clemency by refusing to testify. “We will not allow this silence to stand,” Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury said.

When asked if he would subpoena Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as part of the probe, Comer said he was going to focus on five depositions he has coming up.

The Clintons are expected to appear behind closed doors later this month for depositions.

2 min read

Africa

Gaza-Egypt border reopens nearly two years after Israel closed it, official says

Hazel Oliva February 2, 2026

Ambulances wait in line at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza on Monday. AFP/Getty ImagesJerusalem —

Gaza’s only border crossing with Egypt reopened partially on Monday morning after Israel closed it nearly two years ago, according to an Israeli security official, allowing a small number of Palestinians to enter and leave the war-torn enclave.

The European Union is operating the Rafah crossing as the final step of the first phase of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement in Gaza that went into effect in mid-October.

The crucial crossing, which has been largely closed since Israel seized it in May 2024, underwent a series of preparations on Sunday from the European Union, Egypt and other parties that will be involved in running the border crossing.

During the first few days of operation, only 50 people per day will be allowed to cross both ways, Egypt’s state-affiliates AlQahera News reported on Monday, citing an unidentified source.

Xenix News previously reported that a total of 150 Palestinians would be allowed to leave Gaza through the crossing each day, but only 50 would be allowed to enter.

At Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, Ibrahim Al-Batran packed his bag on Sunday when he heard the crossing would open. A kidney dialysis patient, he said the hospital can only provide minimal care.

“Many people have died while waiting for treatment, and I may die today, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow while I’m waiting for treatment,” he told CNN. “Until now, not a single patient has been allowed to leave.”

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 20,000 patients in Gaza are awaiting permission to travel abroad for treatment, including at least 440 cases that are considered life-threatening. Nearly 1,300 people have died after being forced to wait to leave Gaza for treatment, the ministry said.

The steep price of passing through the crossing coupled with lengthy bureaucratic and security processes mean few Palestinians can realistically expect to leave. Before Israel shut the crossing, some Palestinians had reported paying thousands of dollars when it was open, which few can afford.

The full reopening of the Rafah crossing was part of the first phase of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement that went into effect in mid-October. But Israel refused to open the crossing until the return of all living and deceased hostages. The final deceased hostage, Ran Gvili, was returned to Israel last week.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the opening would be “limited” with no passage of humanitarian aid or commercial goods.

The return of Gvili and the reopening of Rafah brings to a conclusion the first phase of the 20-point ceasefire agreement. The US announced the start of the second phase of the agreement two weeks ago when President Donald Trump officially launched his Board of Peace in Davos.

During the event, Ali Shaath, who leads the Palestinian technocratic committee expected to run Gaza, said the crossing would reopen, calling it “a lifeline and symbol of opportunity.”

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4 min read

Business

Trump names Kevin Warsh as his pick to replace Jerome Powell at the Federal Reserve

Hazel Oliva January 30, 2026

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What we’re covering here

• President Donald Trump said Friday he is nominating Kevin Warsh to be the next Federal Reserve chair. Warsh will take over from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whose term as chair ends in May. The role requires Senate confirmation.

• The announcement caps an extensive search that started in September and was spearheaded by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who whittled down a list of half a dozen candidates and presented four finalists to the president.

• Trump has castigated Powell for months, calling him a “numbskull,” a “moron” and a “jerk” for not lowering interest rates more quickly. His administration also launched a criminal investigation of Powell and the Fed earlier this month, which led Powell to issue an extraordinary rebuke of Trump’s efforts to politicize the independent central bank.

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It’s about to officially become Trump’s economy

President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he walks to Marine One prior to departure from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 27. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Once President Donald Trump’s handpicked Federal Reserve chair takes up his position at the head of the US economy, the president will have run out of excuses: This will officially become the Trump economy, for better or worse.

Throughout the first year of his second term, Trump has mostly blamed America’s affordability problems on two men: Former President Joe Biden and Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom he accuses of mismanaging the economy and allowing prices to rise out of control.

But those excuses have fallen flat, with poll after poll showing that voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy.

Once the Fed chair nominee is Senate confirmed, Trump will have claimed the economy for himself. That could be a politically precarious proposition, since the president has almost certainly overpromised on what the new Fed chair will be able to accomplish.

Here’s why.

Trump wants lower mortgage rates. A new Fed chair may not help with that

From Xenix News

President Donald Trump has often said that he wants lower interest rates in order to improve home affordability.

However, the Federal Reserve doesn’t directly set mortgage rates. Those rates largely track the 10-year Treasury yield, which rises and falls for a host of economic reasons.

“The mortgage market is very complex,” said Charlie Dougherty, a senior economist at Wells Fargo. “Yes, the Fed plays a role, but the root cause of mortgage rates being elevated is about inflation, it’s about prospects for growth and fiscal pressures.”

Average mortgage rates have stayed stubbornly just above 6% for the last several months, even after the Fed cut interest rates three consecutive times at the end of 2025.

Trump’s nominee for Fed chair, Kevin Warsh, is known as a “hawk” who supported higher rates during his previous tenure at the Fed. However, even if Warsh cuts the Fed’s benchmark interest rate more than expected, mortgage rates may not move lower.

Wells Fargo expects the 10-year Treasury yield to fall early this year before climbing again in 2027 — a shift that could push mortgage rates higher down the road. Dougherty said Warsh’s nomination doesn’t change the bank’s outlook.Read more

Trump: “We talk about it” but I didn’t ask Warsh to cut rates

US President Donald Trump speaks before signing executive orders in the Oval Office in the White House on Friday. Annabelle Gordon/AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump on Friday in the Oval Office denied that he directly asked his pick for Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, to cut interest rates.

“We talk about it, and I’ve been following him, and I don’t want to ask him that question. I think it’s inappropriate, probably,” Trump said. “Probably would be allowed, but I want to keep it nice and pure. But he certainly wants to cut rates. I’ve been watching him for a long time.”

Trump has been publicly shaming current Fed Chair Jerome Powell because the central bank hasn’t lowered rates as quickly or dramatically as the president would like. That’s why some economists have questioned Trump’s pick of Warsh, who has publicly agreed with the president in recent months but has a long record from his prior time at the Fed of pushing for higher interest rates.

Trump said he wasn’t concerned about Warsh’s reputation as an inflation hawk, acknowledging that there have been times when the Fed needed to raise rates.

“Yeah, I’ve had times when I think you’ve had to really have rate hikes too,” Trump said. “But he’s very smart, very good, strong, young – pretty young – and he’s gonna do a good (job).”

4 min read

Business

Fed to deliver first interest rate decision of the year as pressure from Trump mounts

Hazel Oliva January 28, 2026

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What we’re covering here

• The Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold its benchmark interest rate steady Wednesday after its first policy meeting of 2026, as the labor market and inflation come into better balance.

• The central bank cut rates three times last year as it monitored the economic effects of President Donald Trump’s aggressive policies. Unemployment ticked up last year and inflation moved slightly lower.

• It’s also the first time we’ll hear from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after his extraordinary rebuke of the Trump administration. He announced earlier this month that he is under federal investigation, saying the criminal probe is a “pretext” meant to intimidate the central bank into cutting rates to the president’s liking.

• Trump has said his pick for a new Fed chair to replace Powell, whose term ends in May, will slash rates. However, the chair is just one vote on a committee of 12 officials who make policy adjustments based on economic evidence, not political pressure.

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Fed holds interest rates steady as its independence comes under threat

From Xenix News

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during a news conference on September 17, 2025 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept interest rates unchanged as the US central bank fights to maintain its ability to set interest rates without political interference.

Officials kept their benchmark lending rate at a range of 3.5-3.75%, following three consecutive rate cuts late last year. Several policymakers have said in recent public speeches they want to see the effects of those rate cuts before considering any further reductions, suggesting a pause could last for a few months.

The Fed’s latest rate decision comes at a pivotal moment in the central bank’s 112-year history, as the Supreme Court reviews a case with significant implications for the Fed’s independence. Chair Jerome Powell himself pushed back against the Trump administration’s threats against the Fed’s independence earlier this month in a stunning video.

Yes, the labor market has weakened. No, that doesn’t guarantee a rate cut

From Xenix News

A job seeker waits to talk to a recruiter at a job fair on August 28, 2025, in Sunrise, Florida. Marta Lavandier/AP

Outside of recessions, last year was one of the weakest labor markets in decades. Additionally, the latest jobs report from December showed employers hired just 50,000 new workers — the most tepid job growth since December 2020, when employers laid off a net 183,000 workers.

On the surface, that, on top of other recent lackluster labor market data, would appear to make rate cuts a surefire thing for the Federal Reserve, given that it is tasked with setting rates at levels to promote maximum employment. (Generally speaking, lower rates can help boost the labor market by reducing employers’ borrowing costs, thereby freeing up funds to hire more workers.)

But the labor market is only half of the Fed’s responsibility; the other half is price stability (i.e. preventing higher inflation.) Cutting rates too quickly or by too much can help fuel higher inflation, especially at a time when higher tariffs and other factors are driving businesses to raise prices.

With both sides of the equation in mind, economists at Morgan Stanley anticipate the Fed will hold rates steady for longer than they previously forecast.

“Labor demand sill remains soft – with private payrolls rising by only 37k in December and 29k on a three-month moving average – but we think the Fed can live with slower employment growth so long as the unemployment rate is stable (or falling),” they said in a note earlier this month. Their expectation now is that the next rate cut will come in June.

Consumer confidence crisis?

From Xenix News

A customer shops in a supermarket in New York on January 22. Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images

America’s economic mood deteriorated in January to its lowest level in more than a decade as consumers fretted about geopolitical tensions, affordability and President Donald Trump’s unrelenting trade war.

Americans haven’t been in this bad of a mood about the economy since 2014, according to the closely watched Consumer Confidence Index. This month, the index fell 9.7 points to its lowest reading in nearly 12 years.

Put another way: Even in the depths of the 2020 pandemic, consumers were more confident about the economy than they are now, according to the index, which is published by the nonprofit think tank The Conference Board.

To be sure, these sentiment surveys tend to tell us more about what Americans believe than about how they truly are. In recent years, especially, the gap between what consumers say they’re feeling and how they’re actually spending their money has been widening.

So this sour January mood might not translate into less spending. A separate survey from the University of Michigan that emphasizes folks’ views about their personal finances hit a five-month high in January.

That might be why Wall Street was so unbothered by the confidence reading Tuesday. US stocks hit record highs thanks to plenty of optimism about corporate earnings.

4 min read

politics

Latest in Minnesota: Trump-Noem meeting, Bovino leaving Minneapolis, acting ICE director ordered to court

Hazel Oliva January 27, 2026

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Where things stand

• Leader sidelined: Top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino and some of his agents are expected to leave Minneapolis today, sources said, as President Donald Trump is sending border czar Tom Homan to manage the immigration crackdown in the state. Trump also met with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for nearly two hours last night, according to sources.

• President shifts tone: Trump said he had “great conversations” with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey yesterday, indicating that a compromise could be reached. Meanwhile, first lady Melania Trump called on Americans to “unify” in the wake of the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good and the subsequent protests.

• Judge’s order: Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons has been ordered to appear in federal court on Friday by a Minnesota judge to explain why he should not be held in contempt for violating an order in the case of a man challenging his detention.

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Trump says he does not believe Alex Pretti was an ‘assassin,’ contradicting top aide

From Xenix News

President Donald Trump said today that he does not believe Alex Pretti was acting as an “assassin” in Minneapolis, the most direct contradiction he’s made yet of how some members of his administration described Pretti in the immediate aftermath of his killing.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump was asked about the “assassin” description, which was used on Saturday by deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.

“No,” Trump said, “not as an — no.”

He turned back after a moment to offer an addendum to his answer.

“With that being said, you can’t have guns. You can’t walk in with guns. You just can’t. You can’t walk in with guns, you can’t do that. But it’s a very unfortunate incident,” he said.

After Pretti was shot to death on Saturday, Miller referred to him as “a would-be assassin” who “tried to murder federal agents,” a claim Vice President JD Vance reposted on social media.

At the White House on Monday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt sought to put distance between those comments and Trump’s feelings. She said she hadn’t heard Trump “characterize Mr. Pretti in that way.”

Trump says he’s “going to be watching over” investigation into Pretti shooting

From Xenix News

President Donald Trump on Tuesday called for an “honorable and honest” investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti and said he’d be “watching over it.”

Asked Tuesday whether he believed Pretti’s death was justified, the president indicated that he would be involved with the investigation.

“Well you know, we’re doing a big investigation. I want to see the investigation. I’m going to be watching over it. I want a very honorable and honest investigation. I have to see it myself,” he told reporters while departing the White House for a trip to Iowa.

The president struck a more moderate tone than many of his top lieutenants, some of whom have cast Pretti as a “domestic terrorist.” There has been a shift in tone and strategy from the White House over the past day, with Trump announcing on Monday that he was sending border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to replace Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino on the ground.

Walz meets with White House border czar Tom Homan as two agree to “ongoing dialogue”

From Xenix News

White House Border Czar Tom Homan, left, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. AP

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s office said he met with White House border czar Tom Homan today and the two “agreed on the need for an ongoing dialogue.”

The Democratic governor said he reiterated Minnesota’s priorities, including “impartial investigations into the Minneapolis shootings involving federal agents, a swift, significant reduction in the number of federal forces in Minnesota, and an end to the campaign of retribution against Minnesota.”

Walz and Homan “will continue working toward those goals, which the President also agreed to yesterday,” the governor’s office said.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety will be the primary liaison with Homan in ensuring those goals are met, Walz’s office noted.

Some background: President Donald Trump and Walz spoke by phone yesterday in what they both described as a productive conversation. “It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, striking a notably conciliatory tone.

In a separate statement, Walz said Trump agreed to consider reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota and pledged to talk to his Department of Homeland Security about ensuring that state officials can investigate Saturday’s fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.

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_____________________________________Where things stand

Putin calls Khamenei’s killing a “cynical murder” that violates international law

British defense secretary says Iran lashing out “indiscriminately” across Middle East

What we’re covering

Catch up on the latest on the Epstein files, including Ghislaine Maxwell’s reaction to House deposition

Vance hails US-Armenia partnership in first ever vice presidential visit

Maxwell can clear Trump’s name in Epstein probe in exchange for clemency, attorney says

What we’re covering here

It’s about to officially become Trump’s economy

Trump wants lower mortgage rates. A new Fed chair may not help with that

Trump: “We talk about it” but I didn’t ask Warsh to cut rates

What we’re covering here

Fed holds interest rates steady as its independence comes under threat

Yes, the labor market has weakened. No, that doesn’t guarantee a rate cut

Consumer confidence crisis?

Where things stand

Trump says he does not believe Alex Pretti was an ‘assassin,’ contradicting top aide

Trump says he’s “going to be watching over” investigation into Pretti shooting

Walz meets with White House border czar Tom Homan as two agree to “ongoing dialogue”

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Where things stand