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Israeli strike kills two Palestinians in a car in Gaza, medics say

CAIRO, March 8 (Reuters) - An Israeli air strike killed at least two Palestinians in Gaza City on Sunday, local health officials said, the deadliest incident in Gaza since Israel and the United States launched their war against Iran a week ago.

Medics said the two people were travelling in a car near Al-Azhar University in western Gaza City. Their identities were not immediately clear. Several other people in the area were wounded in the strike, the health officials added.

Palestinians gather to inspect the damage at the site hit by an Israeli strike, according to health officials, in Gaza City, March 8, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Trump says new Iran leader won't last long without his approval

US President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that Iran's next supreme leader would not last long without his approval, as Tehran prepared to reveal the successor to the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Nine days into the war that killed the supreme leader, three members of Iran's Assembly of Experts said the organisation had chosen a successor, but several hours after those statements no name had been revealed.

Tehran woke up to dark smoke clouds blotting out the skies after Israeli warplanes targeted oil plants around the city

Trump defends Iran war decision as oil soars above $100

Oil prices surged above $100 a barrel for the first time in nearly four years on Sunday over worries that the spiralling Middle East war could create prolonged supply disruptions.

Both crude oil benchmarks, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent, jumped by over 15 percent as markets opened Sunday evening, touching levels not seen since the early months of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Rising oil and gas prices are roiling markets as investors fear a spike in inflation and slowdown in growth

Zelenskiy says Ukraine has unique drone experience, discusses joint production with Dutch PM

KYIV, March 8 (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten discussed joint arms production during his visit to Kyiv on Sunday, and he stressed Ukraine's unique experience in defending against Iranian-made drones used by Russia.

"It is important that we are producing weapons together with the Netherlands – and we will certainly continue and expand this joint work," Zelenskiy said on X, adding they had discussed investments and possible production volumes in detail.

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visit the Wall of Remembrance to pay tribute to Ukrainian soldiers who were killed, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 8, 2026. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Iran's top diplomat says Iran, not Trump, will elect new leader

Iran's foreign minister said Sunday that the Iranian people, not Donald Trump, will elect their new leader and demanded that the US president apologize for starting the war with Iran.

"We allow nobody to interfere in our domestic affairs. This is up to the Iranian people to elect their new leader," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC's "Meet the Press."

Trump on Sunday reiterated his demand to have a say in picking Iran's next supreme leader after Ali Khamenei died in the opening salvos of the US-Israeli attack that began nine days ago.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran should choose its next leader and that the US president should apologize for starting the war

Iraq's complicated role in the Middle East war, explained

Iraq, which had recently regained some stability after decades of conflict, was immediately dragged into the Middle East war triggered when the United States and Israel attacked Iran last weekend.

Within hours, warplanes filled Iraq's airspace. Air strikes pounded bases hosting Tehran-backed groups across the country. Iran-backed groups in turn launched attacks on US interests in Iraq, while Tehran struck Kurdish militants in the north.

A man shows the remains of a drone at the airport in Iraq's Erbil

Tehran plunged into darkness by smoke from burning oil

Residents of Tehran woke up on Sunday morning to find it was still dark outside, an apocalyptic sight created by thick black smoke billowing from oil depots hit by Israeli strikes.

With the Sun blotted out, disoriented people in the Iranian capital had to turn on their lights to see through the gloom.

"I thought my alarm clock was broken," a driver in his fifties told AFP on condition of anonymity.

By 10:30 am local time (0700 GMT), cars still needed their headlights to drive along Valiasr Street, a main thoroughfare that runs north-south through the city.

Explosions were seen in Tehran during airstrikes on an oil refinery in the capital

Thousands march for women's rights and against Mideast war

Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in cities across the world Sunday to mark International Women's Day and denounce the war in the Middle East.

From Rio in Brazil, Caracas in Venezuela and cities across France, Spain, Turkey and other European countries, demonstrators marched to demand women's rights across a range of issues.

'Women, Life, Freedom': woman also marched in Istanbul and other Turkish cities

Explosion at US embassy in Oslo may have been deliberate attack, police say

By Gwladys Fouche and Nora Buli

OSLO, March 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. embassy in Oslo was hit by a loud explosion early on Sunday, causing minor damage but no injuries in what may have been a deliberate attack linked to the crisis in the Middle East, Norwegian police said.

"It's natural to see this in the context of the current security situation and that this could be an attack deliberately targeting the U.S. embassy," Frode Larsen, head of the Oslo police investigation unit told a news conference.

The U.S. embassy, after the Norwegian police said that the embassy was hit by a loud explosion, in Oslo, Norway, March 8, 2026. REUTERS/Gwladys Fouche

Pope Leo urges end to bombing, calls for dialogue amid Iran, Middle East violence

VATICAN CITY, March 8 (Reuters) - Pope Leo said on Sunday that deeply troubling news continued to arrive from Iran and across the Middle East, urging an end to the violence and renewed efforts to open space for dialogue.

Speaking at the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square, the pope said the conflict was fuelling fear and hatred and raised concerns that it could spread further, dragging other countries, including "dear Lebanon".

Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer from the window of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, March 1, 2026. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane