Politics
What we know about the US attacks on Venezuela?

After months of threats and pressure tactics, the United States on Saturday bombed Venezuela and toppled authoritarian left-wing leader Nicolas Maduro, who was seized to face trial in New York.
How did it start?
The first explosions were heard in the capital Caracas and surrounding areas shortly before 2:00 am (0600 GMT), continuing until around 3:15 am.
Images on social media showed helicopters silhouetted against the night sky and missiles slamming into targets, creating fireballs and huge plumes of smoke.
Trump said at 0921 GMT on his Truth Social platform that the United States had “successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela” and that Maduro and his wife had been “captured and flown out of the Country.”
Top US General Dan Caine said the goal of “Operation Absolute Resolve” was purely to seize Maduro, with airstrikes clearing the way for helicopters used in the capture raid.
Caine said the operation, involving more than 150 aircraft, followed months of preparation.
What was hit?
Fort Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, was among the targets.
The vast base in southern Caracas is home to the defence ministry, a military academy and housing units for thousands of troops and their families.
AFP reporters saw flames and huge plumes of smoke rising from the complex.
At one of the entrances, which was still guarded, an armoured vehicle and a truck were pocked with bullet marks.
La Carlota airbase east of Caracas was also targeted. AFP reporters saw an armoured vehicle at the base in flames and a burned bus.
Explosions were also reported in La Guaira, north of Caracas, home to a port and an international airport; the north-central city of Maracay; and Higuerote on the Caribbean coast — all within 100 kilometres (60 miles) of Caracas.
Are there casualties?
Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez accused US forces of firing missiles and rockets at residential areas.
As of Saturday night, Venezuelan authorities had yet to release casualty figures.
Trump, speaking on Fox News programme “Fox and Friends,” boasted that no US soldiers had been killed. He later told the New York Post that “many Cubans” who were protecting Maduro had died, the first indication of casualties from the US strikes.
What has become of Maduro?
The operation brought the curtain down on 12 years of increasingly authoritarian rule by Maduro, who had a $50 million US bounty on his head.
Trump posted a picture on Truth Social of the Venezuelan leader handcuffed and blindfolded aboard a US naval ship in the Caribbean.
From there he and his wife Cilia Flores were flown to New York to face drugs and weapons charges.
Trump said he followed the operation to capture Maduro live at his Mar-a-Lago estate “like I was watching a television show.”
“He was in a very highly guarded… like a fortress actually,” he said.
He said Maduro tried in vain to escape to a safe space.
Caine said intelligence agents had spent months studying how Maduro “moved, where he lived, where he travelled, what he ate, what he wore, what were his pets.”
He said the 63-year-old Socialist and his wife surrendered without resistance.
What next for Venezuela?
Trump stunned US allies and foes alike by saying the United States would “run” Venezuela during an undetermined transitional period.
He indicated that it could involve deploying US troops on the ground.
Venezuela’s opposition leader, Nobel peace laureate Maria Corina Machado, took to social media to proclaim her country’s “hour of freedom has arrived.”
Machado, seen as a hero by many Venezuelans for her dogged resistance to Maduro, called for the opposition’s candidate in the 2024 election to “immediately” assume the presidency.
Trump brushed aside any expectations Machado herself would emerge as leader, claiming she did not have “support or respect” in Venezuela.
Politics
IRGC targets US intelligence centers, military depots in 11th wave of attacks

The Iranian armed forces have started a new wave of extensive drone and missile attacks on targets in the Israeli-occupied territories and US assets in regional countries.
A late Monday statement from the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said that the 11th wave of offensive attacks under Operation True Promise 4 had been launched by the naval and aerospace units of the elite force.
The statement said the “extensive and high-density operation” had targeted American intelligence centers and military support warehouses in the Persian Gulf region, the Israeli communications industries complex in the occupied city of Beersheba, as well as 20 locations in the occupied regions of Tel Aviv, West al-Quds, and Galilee.
It said the “brave sons of Iran’s armed forces” had used more than 700 drones and hundreds of missiles to hit 60 strategic targets and 500 military locations linked to the United States and the Israeli regime since the start of the US-Israeli aggression on Iran on Saturday.
The statement said the number of missiles and drones and the success rate of the attacks had far outpaced records seen during the 12-day war with Israel and the US in June 2025.
The IRGC said recent “brutal and terrorist” attacks on Iran that targeted citizens in hospitals, schools, and offices of the national media service (IRIB) had further strengthened their resolve and determination to pursue an all-out war against the enemies.
The IRGC has been carrying out retaliatory attacks on US military assets across the region and on targets in the Israeli-occupied territories since Saturday, when the US and Israel started the unprovoked war of aggression against Iran and assassinated Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
Politics
Dubai Airports announces resuming ‘limited’ flights after three-day closure

- Emirates, flydubai to restart limited flights from today.
- Etihad Airways announces resuming flights on Tuesday.
- Iran strikes targeted Gulf airports, airspace remains restricted.
Dubai Airports said “limited” flights would resume on Monday evening, three days after they were cancelled as Iran began striking targets in the Gulf, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports.
Global air travel remained in severe disarray since Sunday as sustained air strikes forced the closure of major Middle Eastern airports, including Dubai — the world’s busiest international transit hub — in one of the most significant aviation disruptions in recent years.
Transit gateways such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, as well as Doha in Qatar, were either shut down or operating under heavy restrictions, with large sections of regional airspace closed.
The disruption followed US and Israeli strikes that reportedly killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, plunging the Gulf into heightened uncertainty.

A fresh wave of attacks extended into a third consecutive day, deepening concerns over regional stability and prolonging the paralysis of air traffic.
“Dubai Airports announces a limited resumption of flights from Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) starting this evening, Monday, March 2, 2026,” it said in a statement.
Emirates and low-cost carrier flydubai both said they would resume some flights on Monday evening.
In a post on X, Emirates, one of the UAE’s flag carriers, said it would prioritise passengers with existing bookings. Travellers rebooked on the limited services will be contacted directly by Emirates.
All other flights remain suspended until further notice, the airline said, urging passengers not to travel to the airport unless formally notified. It added that operations will be adjusted in line with developments on the ground.
Eihad Airways, which operates flights from Abu Dhabi, said it would resume flights on Tuesday.
Iran’s unprecedented bombardment in the Gulf states has hit military bases but also civilian infrastructure such as residential buildings, hotels, airports and sea ports, rattling a region long seen as a refuge from Middle East conflict.
Since Iran launched its campaign on Saturday, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Manama airports were targeted.
Authorities reported one death in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi in the “incident” at the facility.
On Saturday, the UAE announced it had closed its airspace “temporarily and partially” as an exceptional precautionary measure.
Dubai’s main airport (DXB) ranks as the second-busiest worldwide, behind Atlanta in the United States, according to Airports Council International.
The airspace closures hit a vital sector for the city, with Dubai’s air industry accounting for about a third of the emirate’s economy.
Politics
Jemima Goldsmith convicted in speed limit breach case

LONDON: TV producer and journalist Jemima Goldsmith blamed her builders as she was convicted and fined £1,000 over a run-in with the Metropolitan Police over a case related to breaking the speed limit.
The 52-year-old, the former wife of PTI founder and leader Imran Khan, failed to respond to police letters after a Mini Clubman vehicle registered in her name was caught breaking the speed limit in north London.
Jemima Goldsmith eventually offered up the name of the guilty driver who had been using her car, but by then she had missed the deadline to respond to avoid court proceedings.
Explaining the blunder, Goldsmith blamed major renovation work on her £10 million Kensington home.
“Due to ongoing construction works at the property where my car is registered, which made access tricky, the original letter was mislaid by builders and I was unaware of its existence until October,” she wrote, in a note to Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
“As soon as it was received, I completed and returned the form immediately.”
Court papers show Goldsmith named a man called Anthony Reilly, who lives in Switzerland, as the person who had been driving the Mini when it was caught doing 46mph on a 40mph stretch of the A1 in Hampstead on August 28 last year.
But her response was dated November 4 – six days after the final police deadline and two months after the first notification of a speeding ticket.
In a letter to the court, Goldsmith also referenced the death of her mother, Lady Annabel Goldsmith, in October last year at the age of 91.
“My PA, who collects the post, had been on annual leave in October and my mother died on the 18th that month, so I was less on top of things than I am normally. I am very sorry for the delay and inconvenience caused. I fully accept that a fine is due.”
Goldsmith was convicted by magistrate Gladys Famoriyo of failing to give information relating to the identification of the driver of a vehicle when required.
The magistrate imposed a £1,000 fine, six penalty points for her licence, and also ordered Goldsmith to pay £130 in costs and a £400 victim surcharge.
Goldsmith, who is known professionally as Jemima Khan, is the founder of a TV production company and has worked as a screenwriter and magazine editor.
She married former cricketer Imran Khan in 1995, and they have two children together.
Documents filed with Kensington and Chelsea Council show Goldsmith successfully applied last year for permission to carry out major renovations on her home, including the demolition and “grand” rebuild of one of the wings of the luxury property.
She was prosecuted over her failure to identify the speeding driver in the Single Justice Procedure, a fast-track court process which spares defendants the need to come to court and allows magistrates to make decisions on convictions and sentences in closed-door hearings.
Goldsmith was among 1,905 defendants who were convicted and sentenced last week for failing to identify the driver of a vehicle when contacted by police.
More than 330 of those defendants lost their licence as a result of the conviction.
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