Air strikes have targeted the headquarters of the Iran-aligned Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) in Iraq's capital, Baghdad, as the country becomes a two-way battlefield between armed factions and the United States during its war with Iran . The US carried out strikes against the Shia paramilitary umbrella group, also known locally as Hashed al-Shaabi, late on Sunday after attacks on a US diplomatic and logistics centre at Baghdad International Airport. The attack was carried out after Iraqi security officials said four explosions were heard near Camp Victory, a US logistics centre at the capital's main airport. Al Jazeera's Assed Baig, reporting from Baghdad, said some drones "breached air defences and caused damage, more symbolic damage than anything else". "At the same time, Iraqi security forces have set up checkpoints around Baghdad to try and stop these drone strikes because some of these factions are launching drones from the vicinity of Baghdad," he said.

The launch of "Xoli" adds to the technological efforts promoted by the federal government to turn the 2026 World Cup into an engine of development for the entire country. Xoli, the new chatbot, is named after the axolotl, a salamander with external gills. The Government of Mexico City has launched Xoli, a chatbot that will provide information on services, tourism, and cultural offerings. The platform was designed to meet the demand of the millions of visitors expected to arrive during the 2026 FIFA World Cup . However, the authorities assure that the tool will remain active once the sporting event is over, with the aim of promoting economic activities and facilitating access to public services in the capital.

British forces based in Iraq shot down two Iranian drones overnight, Defence Secretary John Healey has said. But some drones in the attack hit the coalition base in the Iraqi city of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region, and injured a number of US troops. There were no British casualties. Brigadier Guy Foden said the base and another in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad were struck a number of times on Wednesday night and British personnel are currently in Erbil helping to defend that base. Since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, US bases in Iraq have been targeted in retaliation.

Aerial footage showed the extend of floods in Spain after a series of storms hit the Iberian Peninsula. Storm Marta hit Spain on Saturday, bringing more rain to the region, as it was still recovering from Storm Leonardo. In Córdoba, drone footage showed flooded olive trees as Spanish farmers warned of the millions of euros worth of damage to crops following the torrential rains and high winds. In the country's southern region of Andalucia, over 11,000 people have been displaced. Nazar Daletskyi's relatives were told he had been killed in 2022, the first year of Russia's full-scale invasion.

Russian attacks on Ukraine energy sites'particularly depraved', UK PM Starmer says Russia's attacks on Ukraine's energy sector on Monday night - as temperatures dropped to -20C (-4F) - were barbaric and particularly depraved, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said. He made the comments after speaking to US President Donald Trump hours after Russia hit power plants and critical infrastructure in the capital, Kyiv, and elsewhere. The attacks came at the end of a week-long pause that Trump had asked Russia's President Vladimir Putin to observe as a fierce cold swept Ukraine. Trump said on Tuesday that Putin had kept his word and that he would like him to end the war. Top US envoys are meeting negotiators from Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday and Thursday.

US President Donald Trump says Russia's Vladimir Putin has agreed not to attack Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, and other cities and towns for a week due to extraordinary cold weather. Russia has not confirmed any such agreement, but Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed Trump's announcement and said he expected Russia to keep its promise. Trump did not specify when the pause would begin, but temperatures in the Ukrainian capital are due to plummet from Thursday night and reach -24C (-11F) in the next few days. Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure during the bitter winter, as it has during cold periods since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. Speaking at a televised cabinet meeting in Washington DC, the US president said: I personally asked President Putin not to fire into Kyiv and the various towns for a week, and he agreed to do that.

Dozens killed in RSF drone attack in war-torn Sudan's South Kordofan Dozens of people have been killed in a drone attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on a key town in war-torn Sudan's South Kordofan state, according to local media reports. Multiple areas of Dilling, including the headquarters of the Sudanese army's 54th Brigade and the central market, were struck by suicide drones during Wednesday's attack, the Sudan Tribune reported, citing local sources and medical groups. Dilling lies halfway between Kadugli - the besieged state capital - and el-Obeid, the capital of neighbouring North Kordofan province, which the RSF has sought to encircle. The RSF and the SAF have been waging a brutal civil war for control of Sudan since April 2023, which has killed thousands of people and displaced millions. Since the siege was lifted, Dilling has endured a wave of drone attacks that have destroyed service facilities and caused several casualties.

Could Ukraine hold a presidential election right now? Will Europe use frozen Russian assets to fund war? How can Ukraine rebuild China ties? 'Ukraine is running out of men, money and time' At least three people have been reported killed after Russian forces struck the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, Governor Ivan Fedorov announced on the Telegram messaging app. Russian strikes also destroyed several private houses and cars, and left nearly 1,500 households without electricity, the governor said.

Zelensky declares state of emergency in Ukraine's energy sector Ukraine has declared a state of emergency in the country's energy sector, with particular focus on Kyiv, as ongoing Russian strikes continue to leave thousands of residents without power. The nation is in the midst of a particularly cold winter, with overnight temperatures in Kyiv dropping to around -20C. After a special cabinet meeting, President Volodymyr Zelensky said a round-the-clock task force would be set up to deal with the damaging consequences of Russian airstrikes and worsening weather conditions. He accused Moscow of deliberately exploiting the harsh, sub-zero temperatures to target critical infrastructure, including energy distribution facilities. In recent weeks, Kyiv has been particularly affected by Russian attacks, leaving thousands of homes without regular power, heating or running water.

Two years ago, companies like Meta and OpenAI were united against military use of their tools. Now all of that has changed. At the start of 2024, Anthropic, Google, Meta, and OpenAI were united against military use of their AI tools. But over the next 12 months, something changed. In January, OpenAI quietly rescinded its ban on using AI for "military and warfare" purposes, and soon after it was reported to be working on "a number of projects" with the Pentagon. In November, in the same week that Donald Trump was reelected US president, Meta announced that the United States and select allies would be able to employ Llama for defense uses.