WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Tizer]

It's a simple matter for me. Trumps actions are a direct contravention of International Law.

Rory Stewart said the same on the Today programme this morning and added that Trump failed to consult with the Senate etc and nor did he communicate with the UN before going ahead. He's copying Putin with his dictatorial `special operation'. Putin will probably make life more difficult for the Ukrainians now that Trump has created a big distraction in Iran.

[Stanley]

That's a very telling comparison Peter, and the more I think about it the more accurate it becomes....

[Stanley]

Midday news.... Aggressive actions are escalating in the Middle East. RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus has been evacuated because of missile strikes. Gas and Oil prices are soaring. We may get clarification in the Commons this afternoon.

[Stanley]

See THIS live update on the situation in the ME.....
An Iranian official has warned the country will "set fire" to any ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz - a crucial oil and gas route - as conflict rages in the Middle East. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says "the hardest hits" on Iran are "yet to come", adding he would not "give away details of our tactical efforts". The US embassy in Riyadh has been hit by two drones, resulting in a "limited fire and minor material damage to the building", according to the Saudi defence ministry. It follows Donald Trump saying he took the decision to launch a war against the country because it was the "last, best chance" to stop its regime. Speaking at the White House for the first time since attacking Iran, the president said the US is continuing to carry out "large-scale combat operations". The US and Israel struck Iran on Saturday, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Israeli military has since launched new strikes on Tehran.. Israel has also launched multiple strikes on what it said were Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, warning that military operations won't end until the threat is fully "removed". Lebanon's health officials say Israeli strikes have killed 52 people as hundreds of Beirut residents have been forced to evacuate to shelters as a result of the bombing. PM Keir Starmer said the UK's decision not to join the US-Israeli strikes on Iran was "deliberate", adding his government "does not believe in regime change from the skies"
That last quote from Starmer is pertinent. I have been trying to think of an instance where regime change has been effected without boots on the ground.

[Tizer]

Results of a YouGov poll...
`Do you support or oppose the military action that the United States has taken against Iran?' YouGov

[Wendyf]

This huge Lockheed Super Galaxy flew right over this afternoon, but I missed it as I had come in the house for a cuppa. Probably wouldn't have seen much anyway, but I might have heard it!

Screenshot_20260303_163711_Flightradar24.jpg

[Big Kev]

I missed it too, there have been lots of Eurofighters out training today with Qatar Air Force Hawks. Not seen any of them either but they've been showing up on Flightradar.

[Stanley]

That poll looks about right Peter....

[Stanley]

See THIS for a domestic tragedy on a sunny day......
7 hours ago
Two sisters drowned at a national park beauty spot after going for a paddle fully clothed, an inquest has heard. Hajra Zahid, 29, and her sister Haleema Zahid, 25, were pulled from the water at the Watkin Pools at Eryri National Park, in the Nant Gwynant area of Gwynedd, in June last year. Speaking at an inquest at Caernarfon Coroner's Court, mountain rescuers said it appeared the two women, who could not swim, fell or slipped and were unable to get out of the water. Hajra's husband Haessham Minhas described the mother-of-two as a woman who "inspired everyone around her" in a tribute at the hearing. The inquest heard the two women, who were originally from Pakistan, but lived in Rotherham, travelled to the national park with three male friends who were students with them at the University of Chester. The group had travelled on the Watkin Path, which is one of the main routes to the summit of Wales' highest mountain Yr Wyddfa, for 40 minutes to the cascading pools, where they decided to split up. North Wales Police investigator Gutun Lake told the inquest the sisters' friends said this was to respect the privacy of the women and for religious reasons. The two sisters, who were studying for masters degrees, headed further up the pools. But Lake said when it came time to leave, the pair did not respond to repeated calls from their friends. "They came across Hajra floating face down," he said. They managed to pull her from the pool, but were unable to locate her sister. A local resident came to help and performed CPR until emergency services arrived. Members of the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team entered the pool to retrieve Haleema, but both women were pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem examination confirmed they had both drowned.
"In the midst of life we are in death".

[Stanley]

THIS is what caught my attention....
The chair of the UK public inquiry into Covid 19 has defended the cost and length of the process on the last day of hearings. Baroness Heather Hallett said completing the hearings in under four years was "an extraordinary achievement" but critics have questioned the cost and the duration of the inquiry. Costing just over £200m, it looked at the response to the pandemic in all four UK nations, opening formally in 2022 with witness hearings starting in June 2023. Baroness Hallett said when people see the results of the inquiry's work, they will appreciate why it was set up.In a statement at the end of the proceedings on Thursday, Baroness Hallett said: "There are people who believe it is time to move on from the pandemic and they question the worth of this inquiry. "I hope that when they read about the extent of the suffering that we've heard and see the results of the inquiry's work, they will appreciate the huge scale of loss caused by Covid 19 and they will understand better why this inquiry was established." Baroness Hallett said over 600,000 documents had been received and reviewed as part of the inquiry, and more than 350 witnesses had been called to give evidence. She also said the terms of reference given to her by Boris Johnson when he was prime minister were the "broadest of any public inquiry to date". And she urged the public to push for changes she recommended ahead of any future pandemic. "If implemented, my recommendations should reduce the number of deaths, reduce the suffering and reduce the social and economic cost," she said. Baroness Hallett will publish eight further reports on topics such as the NHS, vaccines, test and trace, the pandemic's impact on children and social care. This process is set to last until the first half of next year.
My question is whether any of the recommendations will ever be acted on. Or will we be surprised when the next pandemic catches us off guard......

[Stanley]

THIS Live report on the Iran war....
Explosions have rocked one of Tehran's main commercial airports, with eyewitnesses reporting burning planes on the tarmac. Israel earlier said it was launching a new wave of strikes on Iran. resident Trump has said there will be "no deal" with Iran except "unconditional surrender". He says following any capitulation, Iran should choose a new leader acceptable to his administration. Responding to reports that Russia has aided Iran, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth tells CBS News that Trump is "well aware of who's talking to who". Tehran residents tell BBC Persian "last night was the worst night" so far and describe strikes "every few hours". Lebanon's health ministry says there have been 217 deaths since Israeli strikes began, as large explosions are seen in Beirut. The UK Foreign Office says that a second chartered flight carrying stranded British nationals back from Oman has taken off
I see no signs of anything other than escalation. God knows how this will end. The danger will come if and when people get desperate.....

[Cathy]

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY PLUGGY
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How are you ? Wishing you a Great Day.

[Stanley]

Indeed Cathy.... If Stephen is watching and it is his birthday, many happy returns. But we haven't heard anything from him for a long while.....

[Stanley]

HERE'S the latest update on the war in the ME....
Mojtaba Khamenei is named as Iran's new supreme leader, state media reports. He replaces his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at his compound in Tehran in the first wave of US and Israeli strikes. US Central Command says a seventh US service member has died from injuries sustained during Iran's initial attack across the Middle East last week. Meanwhile, the price of crude oil has risen above $100 (£75) a barrel as the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for shipments, remains effectively closed. Lebanon's death toll from Israeli strikes has risen to nearly 400, according to the government's health minister. Our reporter writes one hospital received patients and bodies early this morning after an Israeli strike on a village in the south of the country. Iranians have described scenes in Tehran after oil depots were hit by intense aerial bombardment, with one woman saying "you can smell the burning". A Saudi Arabia official says two people have been killed after a projectile hit a residential area
No signs of any lessening of US aggression. The economic effects are going to start to be felt globally.

[Whyperion]

Communal bin store last night someone had left the remains of a Toshiba laptop for disposal. I forgoed (?) picking all of it up but the charger and power cord looked OK. Plugged it in to the Toshiba Laptop I use and it fits and seems to work safely with a longer lead than any of the previous two chargers I had. Most recent had been a generic charger - however that came with detachable elbows and for some reason the little black L shape decided at Christmas that the elastic in the shortish cable was enough that it would disconect with enough velocity to send itself somewhere into mums flat probably under a surface I could not get to without moving an entire media centre or heavy sofa. I somewhat put off looking or looking for a replacement thus happy that the discarded genuine toshiba power brick seems to work. My internet browsing for 10 weeks has been confined to using a mobile phone and doing little typing and sending only essential emails , so catching up finding what happenings I might have missed. The last 8 days have seen me with a severe cough which turned to a cold (sneezes , back pain , headache) so not been out to try to take some photographs to fill in some stories of the past to be told in the future.
Can I Suggest that Cuba applies to join The Commonwealth

[Tizer]

It looks like the US military have sunk to the same depths as the Israeli military...
`US missile hit military base near Iran school, video analysis shows' LINK
A US Tomahawk missile hit a military base near a primary school in southern Iran where Iranian authorities said 168 people, including around 110 children, were killed, expert video analysis shows....

[Stanley]

I heard the report on that Peter and thought exactly the same thing. Telling everyone to evacuate and then firing a missile at the location is not 'avoiding collateral damage'.....
HERE'S the latest update on the Iran situation....
President Donald Trump says the Iran war will be over "pretty quickly", but also that US "hasn't won enough" and is aiming for "ultimate victory". Earlier, he suggested US operations against Iran could end soon, saying "I think the war is very complete, pretty much". After the president's comments, global oil prices have fallen in early trading in Asia on Tuesday - they had soared to $115 a barrel at one point on Monday. Iran has threatened to disrupt the Strait of Hormuz, prompting Trump to warn Tehran of "death, fire, and fury" if it does so. Turkey, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar all say they have intercepted Iranian missiles, while Israel says it has detected more attacks. In Australia, five members of the Iranian women's football team have been granted humanitarian visas after their elimination in the Asian Cup. UK Defence Secretary John Healey says a drone that hit a British base in Cyprus last week came from either Lebanon or Iraq
I'm glad Australia gave the footballers asylum....

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, T Blair was seeing fit to criticise the Prime Minister.... Quite how this was going to help the country is unclear. Pity he can't keep his mouth shut....

[Whyperion]

It looks like the US military have sunk to the same depths as the Israeli military...
`US missile hit military base near Iran school, video analysis shows' LINK
A US Tomahawk missile hit a military base near a primary school in southern Iran where Iranian authorities said 168 people, including around 110 children, were killed, expert video analysis shows....

How to win friends and influence people I think.


When I complained elsewhere that military bases should not be built near schools I was pointed to the likes of the US bases in East Anglia not exactly distant from the village school nearby nor of placing schools for service personnel on bases