Maldivian resumes Male-Dhaka flights. The inaugural flight landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at 5:20am, operated by an Airbus A320 carrying a full passenger load and departed at 6:20 am this morning. The launch ceremony was attended by Maldives Ambassador to Bangladesh Shiuneen Rasheed, Maldivian Director of Ground Operations Ahmed Ibrahim, and General Manager (International Commercial) Mohamed Safah. The timing of the launch also coincides with the Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr travel season, facilitating movement of both Bangladeshi expatriates returning home and Maldivian travellers heading abroad. Maldivian currently operates a fleet of 26 aircraft, including an Airbus A330 wide-body, Airbus A320, ATR aircraft, Dash 8 turboprops and Twin Otter aircraft, serving a range of domestic and international destinations.

WASHINGTON, United States, March 12, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - One in three Americans said they made some sacrifice last year -- like skipping a meal or rationing medicine -- to cover health care costs, according to a survey released Thursday. High health care costs, especially compared to peer nations, represent a significant portion of many Americans' strained budgets, prompting some to choose to drive less to save on gas, cut back on electricity and borrow money to make ends meet. Another survey of 5,660 Americans at the end of 2025 from West Health found many Americans are delaying medical treatments and surgical procedures because of exorbitant healthcare costs. The public health program aimed at aiding low-income households was shielding millions from higher health insurance costs. The United States does not have a universal public health insurance system comparable to France and other developed countries.

Air New Zealand chief executive Nikhil Ravishankar said around five percent of its flights will be cancelled, affecting 44,000 passengers. The cancelled flights are mostly on domestic routes within New Zealand but will also include some international flights, he said. Flights between New Zealand and the United States would not be impacted due to increased demand for alternative routes to Europe, Ravishankar added. Ravishankar said jet fuel typically cost about US$85 a barrel, but prices were now double that. On Tuesday, Air New Zealand raised ticket prices on all routes.

WASHINGTON, United States, March 12, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's envoy met US negotiators in Florida on Wednesday, the United States said, in their first talks since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran. "The teams discussed a variety of topics and agreed to stay in touch," Trump's roving global envoy Steve Witkoff said in a statement on X after the talks with Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev. The talks come after the US earlier this week lifted some sanctions on Russian oil -- imposed because of Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine -- to ease prices amid the Iran war. Trump said this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he spoke to on Monday, wanted to be "helpful" in relation to the Middle East war.

Iran threatens prolonged war as Trump says it is near defeatTEHRAN, March 12, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Iran warned it could wage a prolonged war with the United States and Israel that would "destroy" the world economy, even as US President Donald Trump said late Wednesday the Islamic republic was facing imminent defeat. Oil prices have surged since February 28, when the United States and Israel launched air strikes on Iran that killed its supreme leader and plunged the Middle East into conflict. The president had earlier said the United States must "finish the job" in Iran, adding that US forces had struck 28 Iranian mine-laying vessels. Lebanon was pulled into the war last week when Hezbollah attacked Israel following the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran's health ministry said on March 8 that more than 1,200 people had been killed in US and Israeli strikes.

MOSCOW, March 12, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A Russian court will on Thursday sentence the gunmen of a Moscow concert hall attack that killed 150 people two years ago -- the country's deadliest in 20 years -- with 15 men facing possible life terms. The attack came two years into Moscow's war in Ukraine, with Russia -- bogged down by the offensive -- dismissing US warnings of an imminent attack. - Deadliest attack since Beslan -The four attackers -- aged 20 to 31 at the time -- were working as a taxi driver, factory worker and in construction. Hours after the attack, Russia brought them to court with signs of torture -- including one barely conscious in a wheelchair. The Crocus attack was the deadliest in Russia since the 2004 Beslan school siege, which claimed the lives of 334 people, mostly children.

MEXICO CITY, March 12, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Mexico is considering implementing an Australia-style social media restriction for minors, Public Education Secretary Mario Delgado told AFP. Several nations are toughening up age restrictions on social media platforms as concerns grow over excessive screen time for children and their exposure to harmful content online. Australia has since December required TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and other top social media services to remove accounts held by under-16s, or face heavy fines. French lawmakers in January approved a social media ban for under-15s, although it still needs to be ratified by the Senate. And that's where we should think about setting certain limits," Delgado told AFP.

TOKYO, March 12, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Oil rose in Asia on Thursday even after announcements of huge releases of crude from strategic reserves in an attempt to bring down prices in the wake of the Iran war. The United States Department of Energy said Wednesday it will release 172 million barrels from the strategic petroleum reserve "beginning next week". The release would "take approximately 120 days to deliver based on planned discharge rates," the agency said in a post to X. On Wednesday the International Energy Agency had announced that its members had agreed to unlock 400 million barrels of oil from their reserves -- their largest release ever. Japan said it would release oil reserves as early as Monday, while Germany said it planned to do the same, without specifying a date.

One killed in attack on oil tankers off Iraq, rescue operation ongoing: authoritiesBAGHDAD, March 12, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - An attack on two oil tankers near Iraq killed at least one crew member, authorities said on Thursday, as Iran carries out a campaign to disrupt global energy markets. Farhan Al-Fartousi, from Iraq's General Company for Ports, told state television that one crew member had been killed and 38 rescued while the "search continues for the missing." Images of a ship at sea with plumes of smoke rising from a huge fire, were broadcast by state television channel al-Ikhbariya. An employee at Iraq's Basra oil terminal told AFP that it was unclear "whether it was a drone attack or explosive-laded boats". The attack in Iraq comes just hours after the US embassy in Baghdad warned that Iran and Tehran-backed Iraqi armed groups might target US-owned oil facilities in Iraq.

The first phase of the program, Artemis I, occurred in November 2022 and demonstrated that NASA’s new technology can operate in space. The first phase of the Artemis program already demonstrated that NASA’s new systems could safely operate beyond Earth. Beyond enabling future telescopes and missions, Artemis is expected to transform how scientists study the Moon itself. Unlike Earth, where erosion and plate tectonics have erased much of the planet’s early history, the lunar surface preserves a record of the early solar system, Teece said. With two phases of the program remaining, Artemis is also shaping opportunities for the next generation of scientists and engineers.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, March 12, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Israel pounded Beirut's southern suburbs late Wednesday night, while militant group Hezbollah fired rockets and missiles at northern Israel in a new operation, as the death toll in Lebanon climbed past 630. The Israeli military said late Wednesday that it had launched a new wave of strikes on Hezbollah targets in south Beirut -- a stronghold of the Iran-backed group -- vowing to act with "great force" there after the military reported rocket fire from Hezbollah towards Israel. - 'Rapid security developments' -Israeli air raids also pounded southern and eastern Lebanon on Wednesday, with the NNA reporting strikes in several areas. In New York, senior UN officials and member states called for an end to fighting in Lebanon at a Security Council meeting. Israel's UN envoy Danny Danon said Israeli forces would continue to operate in Lebanon "as long (as) there will be a threat against us".

PSG hit five to stun Chelsea in Champions League last 16, first legPARIS, France, March 12, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A gift by Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen and two late goals by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia gave title holders Paris Saint-Germain a stunning 5-2 win over the English side in a thrilling Champions League last 16, first leg on Wednesday. They also have a different coach now, of course, with Liam Rosenior having succeeded Enzo Maresca in the dugout in January. The Russian redeemed himself on 39 minutes by parrying a Cole Palmer shot, 14 seconds before Dembele made it 2-1. His 12th goal of the season separated the teams at half-time, but again Chelsea hit back to equalise as the hour approached. Pedro Neto flew down the left and cut the ball back for the unmarked Fernandez to fire in first-time.

MADRID, March 12, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Federico Valverde's superb first-half hat-trick helped Real Madrid demolish Manchester City 3-0 in a surprise Champions League last 16 first leg rout on Wednesday. Los Blancos were missing several key players including Kylian Mbappe but Uruguayan midfielder Valverde's stunning treble, netted inside a 22-minute spell, crushed Pep Guardiola's team at the Santiago Bernabeu. City, who won the competition for the first and only time in 2023, even beat Madrid in the league phase and have strengthened since then. Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi made their Champions League debuts and for an all-too-brief period City seemed to be settling in at the Bernabeu. Nico O'Reilly misjudged it and the Madrid midfielder blazed through on goal.

Hungary sends team to Ukraine, Kyiv says they were not invitedBUDAPEST, March 12, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A row between Ukraine and Hungary over a pipeline carrying Russian oil appeared to deepen Wednesday when Budapest said it had dispatched a delegation for talks, only for Kyiv to deny the group had any official status. Hungary and neighbouring Slovakia accuse Kyiv of deliberately delaying reopening the Druzhba pipeline pumping Russian oil to the two landlocked states. Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Budapest had notified Ukraine of the visit in advance via an "official diplomatic note". Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has urged the European Union to suspend sanctions on Russian oil and gas to counter rising prices since the Middle East war erupted. Ukraine accused Hungary of kidnapping them and threatened to hit back with sanctions.

GENEVA, March 12, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The war in the Middle East is likely to result in worsening institutionalised repression of Iranian citizens, UN-mandated investigators probing rights abuses in Iran said Wednesday. Iran's deepening human rights crisis "is likely to worsen in the wake of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran and Iran's retaliatory strikes across the region", the mission said in a statement. The three-person mission is tasked with gathering and preserving evidence of rights violations in Iran. "The human rights situation in Iran has been severely exacerbated by the US-Israeli air strikes since February 28," the report said. It also found that "many gross human rights violations by Iran amount to the crimes against humanity of murder, imprisonment, torture, sexual violence, gender persecution, enforced disappearance and other inhumane acts".