LONDON — The war in the Middle East is creating the biggest oil supply disruption in the history of the global market, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday (March 12), a day after the agency agreed to release a record volume of oil from strategic stockpiles.
Middle East Gulf countries have cut total oil production by at least 10 million bpd — a volume equal to almost 10 per cent of world demand — as a result of the conflict, the agency said in its latest monthly oil market report. Without a rapid restart of shipping flows, these losses are set to increase, IEA said. https://www.asiaone.com/world/world-faces-largest-ever-oil-supply-disruption-middle-east-war-iea-says
Three people were killed and another injured on Thursday in a new Israeli airstrike on Mount Lebanon Governorate, south of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.The Lebanese Public Health Emergency Operations Center stated in a press release that the Israeli airstrikes on the town of Aramoun resulted, according to initial reports, in the death of three people and injury of a child.Meanwhile, in a related development, the center announced that the death toll from the Israeli airstrike on the Ramlet Al Bayda area of Beirut in the early hours of Thursday has risen to 8 killed and 31 wounded.The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health announced Wednesday that the total number of casualties from the Israeli aggression against Lebanon since March 2 had risen to 634 dead and 1,586 injured. https://www.gulf-times.com/article/722292/region/three-people-killed-one-injured-in-ongoing-israeli-aggression-on-lebanon
Bangladesh’s parliament has convened for the first time since a deadly 2024 uprising plunged the country into political turmoil and triggered landmark elections last month.
“After more than a decade and a half of fascist and subservient rule, the activities of parliament are beginning today with representatives elected by the people,” the newly elected Prime Minister Tarique Rahman told parliament on Thursday.
Rahman, the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and son of the late leader Khaleda Zia, took over after February 12 elections from the interim administration that had led the country of 170 million people since August 2024.
“The BNP wants to build a prosperous, safe and democratic country,” the party’s leader said, calling on all politicians, whatever their political opinions, to work together.
Rahman blamed the toppled government of Sheikh Hasina, who has been sentenced to death in absentia for the crackdown that killed hundreds, and her Awami League party, for undermining the previous parliament.
About 1,400 people were killed and more than 20,000 injured in the uprising, according to the United Nations.
Hasina, 78 is currently in self-imposed exile in India.
“The fallen dictatorship made parliament dysfunctional, instead of making it the centre of all national activities,” Rahman said, promising it would change under his watch.
“We will make parliament the centre of all debates and arguments aimed at resolving the country’s problems.”
Those urgent problems include tackling a sluggish economy, restoring stability and reviving growth after months of turmoil that rattled investor confidence and strained state finances.
Bangladesh has closed universities and launched fuel rationing amid a worsening energy crisis linked to reverberations from the conflict in the Middle East and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes across the region.
Rahman’s appeal for unity is a bid to heal rifts in a country polarised by years of bitter rivalry.
A new speaker, Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, and his deputy, Kayser Kamal, were elected to office. Both are members of the BNP.
The parliament building was looted during the August 2024 uprising against Hasina, but has since been repaired.
The BNP-led alliance secured 212 seats, while the BNP alone won 209 seats of the 350-seat parliament.
The FBI has warned police departments in California that Iran may have considered launching a surprise drone attack on the US West Coast from an unidentified vessel offshore.
“We recently acquired information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United States homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran.”
The bulletin added: “We have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack.”
The warning was circulated at the end of February, shortly before the Trump administration launched strikes against Iran. Tehran has since retaliated with drone attacks against targets across the Middle East.
According to a senior law enforcement official cited by ABC News, the intelligence about Iran’s potential plans predates the US and Israeli strikes on the country.
The official said the subsequent 12-day bombardment is believed to have significantly degraded Iran’s ability to carry out such an attack.
A spokesperson for the FBI’s Los Angeles office declined to comment, while the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
US intelligence officials have also grown increasingly concerned about the spread of drone technology among Mexican drug cartels and the possibility it could be used against American personnel near the southern border. https://www.kyivpost.com/post/71748
Nick Schmaltz was always going to get paid after the year he’s had. It was just a matter of who was willing to foot the bill.
Utah Mammoth owner Ryan Smith decided to backstop the deal on Wednesday, handing the Madison, Wisconsin, native and eight-year member of the Arizona/Utah franchise an eight-year, $64 million extension.
“There was never a doubt that Utah is where I want to play the rest of my career,” Schmaltz said. “We have a very bright future, and I am thankful to Ryan and Ashley Smith for wanting me to be a part of the group that will one day bring a Stanley Cup to Utah.”
The 2014 first-round draft pick by the Chicago Blackhawks and 2016 NCAA champion with North Dakota spoke to the media after the signing announcement and said he knew Utah was special from the moment he first stepped off the airplane in April 2024.
“Seeing hundreds of kids lined up, excited to have an NHL team,” Schmaltz said. “Then going to the Delta Center that night with a sold-out crowd just to see us walk on the stage. It was eye-opening.”
From Phoenix to Salt Lake City
Clayton Keller was the early face of the team and continues to be its captain, but Schmaltz is the Robin to Keller’s Batman, forming a special synergy on the ice that players and coaches say is rare in the NHL.
The two forwards have played together for over seven years, and Schmaltz specifically named Keller and Lawson Crouse as his “Day 1” buddies from Arizona.
“We’ve got a special bond,” Schmaltz said. “I think me and Keller have a special chemistry that you can’t really find around the league. He’s definitely a guy that I want to play with for the rest of my career. He makes my job a lot easier and we read off each other super well.”
Schmaltz was in the last few months of a seven-year, $40.95 million contract he signed in March 2019 with the Coyotes, and seemed set for a major pay raise this summer after hitting a new career best with 24 goals so far this season.
The center/winger hybrid forward has two hat tricks this season — including the first in Delta Center history — for a Mammoth team looking to make its Stanley Cup playoff debut after earning just one in his eight prior NHL campaigns.
He ranks second on the team in goals, assists and points through 65 games for Utah, who currently sits with a 6-point advantage in the first Western Conference wild card spot.
“When you go through a rebuild, you understand the character of people,” general manager Bill Armstrong said of his years with Schmaltz. “You have people bail on you or not want to play hard. Nick bought into it and drove through it.”
Many sleepless nights
Armstrong said the deal had been done for a while before Wednesday’s announcement, but was preceded by many sleepless nights over Schmaltz’s impending free agency.
“The thought of losing Nick left me sleepless night after night after night, thinking about what he would get in free agency,” Armstrong said. “We didn’t want to lose him.”
NHL player salaries have skyrocketed in recent years, with the league’s top forwards all making north of $12 million per year, and Utah’s own Logan Cooley signing an eight-year, $80 million contract earlier this season.
Schmaltz joins Cooley as the second Mammoth player to sign an eight-year contract in the final year that NHL players can do so under the new collective bargaining agreement.
“We are thrilled that Nick chose Utah and wants to remain with the team for the next eight years,” Armstrong said. “Nick is a tremendous player and person who is very deserving of this contract. We expect him to continue producing on the ice and leading our young, skilled forwards for years to come. This is another great day for Mammoth fans and our organization.”
Armstrong highlighted Schmaltz’s versatility across multiple positions and calmness under pressure, saying, “He can play if you’re up a goal or down a goal in the last minute.”
Schmaltz is the seventh Mammoth player to sign a contract lasting four or more years to remain in Utah, and the eighth if you include recent trade acquisition MacKenzie Weegar waiving his no-trade clause to spend the rest of his five-year deal in Salt Lake City.
“Getting guys locked in long-term just shows the commitment to winning here,” Schmaltz said. “I think we’re right on the edge of being a really great team. We’ve got all the pieces in place and I know we’re only going to get better. I’m just super excited to be here and live up to the commitment that (the team) made to me.” https://www.sltrib.com/sports/utah-hockey-club/2026/03/11/utah-mammoth-sign-nick-schmaltz/
A Las Vegas man involved in a multi-vehicle crash in January died from injuries he sustained, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Luis Flores, 68, was driving a 2003 Ford Explorer eastbound on East Pebble Road toward Pollock Drive on Jan. 24 around 11:30 a.m. Flores’ truck ran a red traffic light and struck a 2012 Dodge Challenger traveling northbound, according to evidence, witness statements and traffic footage gathered by Metro. His truck entered the westbound lane on East Pebble Road and hit a 2013 Chevrolet Traverse before striking a tree and light pole on the sidewalk, police said. Flores was transported to Sunrise Hospital, while the other two drivers suffered minor injuries.
A Swiss man with ties to Las Vegas pleaded guilty to securities fraud Tuesday after he and several others defrauded victims out of close to $6 million as part of a vast scheme, federal officials said.
Martin Schlaepfer, 67, is scheduled to be sentenced in June, according to a news release from the United States Department of Justice. He faces up to 20 years in a federal prison, according to the DOJ.
Schlaepfer was indicted in 2013 but lived overseas before he was arrested in Italy in September 2024 pursuant to an Interpol Red Notice and extradited to the United States last year, the department said.
Three of Schlaepfer’s co-conspirators — Anthony Brandel, James Warras and Sean Finn — were found guilty of conspiracy and multiple counts of wire fraud and securities fraud following separate jury trials in 2015 and 2020. Each were sentenced to over seven years in prison.
A fourth defendant, Joseph Micelli, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud in 2015 and was sentenced to five years in prison. A fifth defendant, Hans-Jurg Lips, remains at large outside the U.S.
The Justice Department’s Fraud Section alleged that investors were lured by promises of astronomical returns into contributing $100,000 to $1.2 million to a phony Swiss company called the Malom Group.
Securities & Exchange Commission court filings said the Malom Group, an acronym for “make a lot of money,” bilked 30 investors out of more than $11 million between 2009 and 2011. Schlaepfer, the justice department said, identified himself to victims as the chief executive officer of the Malom Group.
Beginning as early as October 2009, Schlaepfer and his co-conspirators in Switzerland and Las Vegas orchestrated a scheme in which they sold investments they knew to be fictitious, the department said.
Schlaepfer and the others told victims that, for an up-front payment, Malom would provide access to investment opportunities and substantial cash loans. Victims were given fabricated bank documents purporting to show that Malom held hundreds of millions of dollars in overseas bank accounts, officials said.
When victims wired their money into an escrow account controlled by the co-conspirators, however, the money was released and disbursed to, among others, Schlaepfer for his own personal use, federal officials said.
Uber has partnered with Zoox to add robotaxi rides bookable on the ride-hailing giant’s smartphone application.
The partnership will launch this summer in Las Vegas, allowing riders to book rides in Zoox’s purpose-built robotaxis using Uber’s app, the two companies announced Wednesday. Rides can still be booked using Zoox’s app.
“We are excited to partner with Uber, a company that shares our vision for transforming mobility,” Zoox CEO Aicha Evans said in a statement. “This partnership is an opportunity to continue advancing the use of autonomous mobility in daily life. Through our collaboration, Zoox will provide a differentiated rider experience to those who already know and love the convenience of riding with Uber.”
Amazon-owned Zoox has been operating a free robotaxi service in Las Vegas since last fall, offering free rides to and from Resorts World, Topgolf, New York-New York and Area 15. The rides bookable on the Uber app will also be limited to Zoox’s approved sites.
Zoox plans to expand its site list this year while implementing a fee to ride the service. Zoox has deals in place with T-Mobile Arena and Sphere to add dedicated ride zones at both properties. Zoox and Uber also plan to expand their partnership, adding shared rides in Los Angeles by the middle of next year.
The partnership with Uber marks the first time Zoox has struck a deal with a third-party ride-hailing platform.
Since 2019, Zoox has been operating in Southern Nevada and are based out a 190,000-square-foot headquarters located in the southwest valley.
Zoox robotaxis are four-seater pods, with two seats on each side facing each other, with no steering wheel or pedals and have the ability to move forward and backward at 75 mph. Riders can charge their phones inside the vehicles and they can control the temperature and music from screens located within the robotaxi.
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