What are Russia's gains from the Iran war? 'We are not losers; we are winners' The group had reportedly been starving on the front line after up to 17 days without food deliveries and months without rotation. The fighters were holed up on the left, eastern bank of the Oskil River in the southeastern Donetsk region after Russian bombs destroyed the bridges connecting them to their brigade on the right bank. "They weren't listened to on the radio, or perhaps no one wanted to listen to them. My husband shouted and begged, saying there was no food and water," Silchuk wrote. She did not respond to Al Jazeera's request for an interview.

Roughly 500 labour groups across the United States have organised a widespread economic blackout calling for "no school, no work, no shopping" to mark May Day, also known as International Workers' Day. The events, organised as part of an initiative called May Day Strong, were inspired by economic boycotts following ramped-up immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the deaths of US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in January. May Day Strong has a broad set of demands, including "tax the rich" and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) -- a call that comes as Republicans voted on Wednesday on a budgetary measure that would fund the agency under the Department of Homeland Security. It also calls for ending war and "expanding democracy", according to a statement from the group. While the tent is broad in nature, organisers stressed that it is a result of a wide set of challenges facing the US worker.

Do Taliban's drone attacks expose a chink in Pakistan's armour? On the evening of March 13, drones struck three locations across Pakistan. Two children were wounded in Quetta. Civilians were also injured in Kohat and in Rawalpindi, the garrison city that houses the headquarters of Pakistan's armed forces and neighbours the capital, Islamabad. Pakistan's military said the drones were intercepted before reaching their targets.

Ties between the US tech giant Palantir and the United Kingdom government are coming under increased scrutiny following the arrest of former UK ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson over his links to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Despite its public criticism of both Palantir and Mandelson, the UK government has entered into extensive contracts with the US tech giant, signing a defence contract worth 240 million pounds ($323m) in January. The contract was awarded to Palantir directly, while another, worth 330 million pounds ($444m) and involving the UK's Ministry of Health, was awarded in November 2023 following a bidding process. The latter contract's contents, campaigners say, remain heavily redacted . In addition to its role supporting US President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, which has resulted in killings and unlawful deportations, Palantir has partnered extensively with the Israeli military and its operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Why was El Paso airspace shut down? US president's son Eric Trump invests in drone maker with gov't contracts United States President Donald Trump's son Eric is investing in an Israeli drone manufacturer, prompting renewed conflict-of-interest concerns as the Trump family expands its business holdings during its patriarch's second term as president. Eric Trump is investing in a $1.5bn merger between Israeli drone maker Xtend and Florida-based JFB Construction Holdings, a small construction company, in a deal aimed at taking Xtend public this year, JFB said in a news release on Tuesday. Drone maker Unusual Machines, which tapped Eric's brother Donald Trump Jr in November 2024 as an adviser, is also investing in the merger, JFB said. JFB builds commercial and residential properties, including multifamily communities and shopping centres.

Why are experts sounding the alarm on AI risks? In recent months, artificial intelligence has been in the news for the wrong reasons: use of deepfakes to scam people, AI systems used to manipulate cyberattacks, and chatbots encouraging suicides, among others. Experts are already warning against technology going out of control. Researchers with some of the most prominent AI companies have quit their jobs in recent weeks and publicly sounded the alarm about fast-paced technological development posing risks to society. But the recent slew of public resignations by those tasked with ensuring AI remains safe for humanity is making conversations around how to regulate the technology and slow its development more urgent, even as billions are being generated in AI investments.

During Sudan's civil war, which erupted in April 2023, both sides have increasingly relied on drones, and civilians have borne the brunt of the carnage. The conflict between the Sudanese armed forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group is an example of war transformed by commercially available, easily concealable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones. Modular, well-adapted to sanctions evasions and devastatingly effective, drones have killed scores of civilians, crippled infrastructure and plunged Sudanese cities into darkness. In this visual investigation, Al Jazeera examines the history of drone warfare in Sudan, the types of drones used by the warring sides, how they are sourced, where the attacks have occurred and the human toll. The RSF traces its origins to what at the time was a government-linked militia known as the Janjaweed.

How much is US support for Israel costing Trump? What is a Palestinian without olives? Why are Gaza's homes collapsing in winter? UK police to use AI facial recognition tech linked to Israel's war on Gaza The United Kingdom's controversial rollout of facial recognition technology will rely on software that appears to have already been deployed in Gaza, where it is used by the Israeli army to track, trace, and abduct thousands of Palestinian civilians passing through checkpoints. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced on Monday that British police would massively increase the use of facial recognition technology used for surveillance purposes.

Are ICE agents trained to use'deadly force' and evade lawsuits? In the weeks since United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota, another ICE agent shot a Latino man in the leg, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Good's killing and the subsequent shooting have ignited a wave of calls and queries about whether ICE officers can be prosecuted. But the shootings in Minnesota are not outliers, and the history of ICE shootings shows that holding officers to account has been next to impossible. I know, because I investigated the agency's practices, obtaining documents that reveal how it operates and how its officers are trained to shield themselves from scrutiny and lawsuits.

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' The Crimean Tatar movement trying to ruin Russia's army from within On the weekend, a power cut shut down a train line carrying Russian weapons and supplies to the front line through the region of Bryansk in western Russia near the Ukrainian border. But this was no ordinary blackout.