detoxed.news

March 1

Science and technology

Vietnam's artificial intelligence (AI) law takes effect, mandating labeling of AI-generated content and disclosure when users interact with automated systems. The law, which applies to domestic and foreign developers, providers, and deployers operating in the country, also provides for the creation of a national AI data center.
Source: The Straits Times external link

International relations

Belgium's special forces, with French Naval assistance, seize a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the North Sea.
Source: Le Monde external link

Law and crime

Hundreds of protestors attempted to storm the consulate of the United States in Karachi, Pakistan, leading to clashes with security forces which left at least 22 people dead and multiple others wounded.
Source: AP external link
Three people are killed, including the perpetrator, and 14 others are injured in a mass shooting at a bar in Austin, Texas, United States. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the attack as potential terrorism.
Source: KVUE external link

Politics and elections

Iran appoints Ayatollah Alireza Arafi to the Interim Leadership Council that assumed authority following the assassination of supreme leader Ali Khamenei, with the body set to govern alongside president Masoud Pezeshkian and chief justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i until the Assembly of Experts selects a new supreme leader.
Source: AFP via Al Arabiya external link

Business and economy

Danish shipping firm Maersk says that it is suspending all vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz until further notice due to the ongoing conflict in the Persian Gulf.
Source: Business Recorder external link

Disasters and accidents

At least 15 people are killed and 18 others are critically injured in an explosion at an explosives factory in Nagpur district, Maharashtra, India.
Source: DNA external link

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iran confirms the death of its supreme leader Ali Khamenei in a decapitation strike yesterday in Tehran by Israel and the United States. Forty days of mourning are declared.
Source: Al Jazeera external link
Key Iranian regime officials Abdolrahim Mousavi, Aziz Nasirzadeh, Mohammad Pakpour and Ali Shamkhani are confirmed killed after an airstrike during a meeting yesterday in Tehran.
Source: The Hill external link
Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is killed along with his bodyguards in an Israeli targeted killing strike on his home in Narmak. Iranian state media confirms his death.
Source: News.az external link
The Israeli Air Force launches a new wave of airstrikes across Tehran, targeting Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Basij facilities with multiple explosions reported.
Source: AA external link
A person is injured in a drone strike on Duqm port in Oman.
Source: AA external link
Iran launches two ballistic missiles towards Cyprus, not far from the British military bases on the island. They were both intercepted before reaching Cyprus.
Source: Cyprus Mail external link
A Palau-flagged tanker is struck by a missile in the Gulf of Oman, injuring four crew members.
Source: Reuters external link
An Iranian drone strikes the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Manama, Bahrain, which houses American embassy personnel. No casualties are reported.
Source: Egypt Independent external link
Nine people are killed and 49 others are wounded in an Iranian ballistic missile strike on a synagogue in Beit Shemesh, Jerusalem District, Israel.
Source: CNN external link
The IRGC says it has launched missiles at the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS in the Indian Ocean.
Source: BBC News external link
Three U.S. service members are killed and five others are seriously wounded in an Iranian missile strike, according to the United States Central Command.
Source: LBC external link
Source: The New Arab external link
Four Popular Mobilization Forces members are killed in an unidentified airstrike targeting one of their headquarters in Diyala Governorate.
Source: Al Arabiya external link
Russian forces launch artillery strikes on Kherson, Ukraine, killing three people and wounding two others.
Source: Ukrinform external link
Anti-aircraft fire is reported over Kabul, Afghanistan, as Pakistani warplanes launch strikes against Taliban targets.
Source: France 24 external link

February 28

Disasters and accidents

At least 21 people are killed and eight others are injured in an explosion at a firecracker factory in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Source: AFP via CTV News external link
Six people, including a legislator from Emurua Dikirr, are killed when an Airbus Helicopters H125 crashes in Nandi County, Kenya.
Source: Reuters external link
Five people are killed when an ammunition and missile depot belonging to the National Guard detonates in Suwayda, Sweida Governorate, Syria.
Source: in Arabic external link

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israel launches an attack on Iran, calling it a preemptive strike, killing several Iranian high-ranking officials including supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Source: NBC News external link
The United States takes part in the attack on Iran with president Trump announcing a "major U.S. combat operation" targeting Iranian missile facilities and naval assets, and calls on the Iranian military to overthrow Khamenei.
Source: Ynet external link
Explosions are reported in Tehran, Iran, as U.S.-launched Tomahawk missiles strike Iranian targets, including the supreme leader's office. Satellite imagery confirms the destruction of Khamenei's compound.
Source: BBC News external link
Iran launches ballistic missiles at a United States Navy facility in Bahrain, targeting the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, and Iranian drones strike residential areas of Manama. The Bahraini interior ministry urges citizens and residents to seek nearest safe locations.
Source: Defense Mirror external link
The Cabinet of Israel declares a state of emergency related to the strikes on Iran. Israel closes all border crossings with the Gaza Strip, citing security measures, and suspends the rotation of humanitarian personnel.
Source: The Canberra Times external link
Iran launches missiles at Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE state that they have intercepted Iranian missiles. The U.S. embassies in Bahrain and Qatar instruct their personnel to shelter in place.
Source: Wafa external link
​At least two people are killed and five more are injured when an unidentified airstrike targets the Popular Mobilization Forces headquarters in Jurf al-Nasr, Iraq.
Source: The National external link
Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, and Syria close their respective airspaces to civilian flights as a precautionary measure, while the UAE partially closes its airspace. Later, the UAE indefinitely suspends all flights from the Al Maktoum and Dubai international airports.
Source: Hindustan Times external link
Iranian Shahed drones strike Kuwait International Airport resulting in minor injures to several airport workers as well as damage to the main airport terminal.
Source: The Times Kuwait external link
Iran says it has launched a ballistic missile attack on Dubai with reports of multiple missiles striking the city. At least one hotel on the Palm Islands is hit and is ablaze, injuring at least four people. The Burj Khalifa is evacuated. An Iranian drone strikes the luxury hotel Burj Al Arab causing a fire.
Source: The Mirror external link
Source: Reuters external link
The IRGC Navy announces the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to all vessels.
Source: Reuters external link
The Iranian Red Crescent Society reports 201 people have been killed and 747 others have been injured so far in Israeli and American strikes on Iran.
Source: AP external link
An Iranian missile strikes Tel Aviv, killing a woman, and wounding at least 22 other people, including several seriously, and badly damaging several buildings. Search and rescue efforts are underway.
Source: Times of Israel external link
One person is killed and seven others are wounded in an Iranian airstrike on Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, while four are injured in a similar airstrike on Dubai International Airport.
Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer external link
Source: BBC News external link
Yemen's Houthis announce the resumption of attacks on Red Sea shipping routes and on Israel in support of Iran.
Source: AP external link

February 27

Law and crime

A court in Jakarta, Indonesia, sentences nine individuals, including two former chief executives of subsidiaries of state-owned energy company Pertamina, to prison terms ranging from nine to 15 years in a corruption case involving alleged unlawful oil terminal leasing and crude oil imports that prosecutors say caused significant state losses.
Source: Reuters external link
The Supreme Court of Israel issues an interim order suspending a government ban on 37 foreign non-governmental organizations operating in Gaza and the West Bank, allowing them to continue their operations while the court reviews a petition challenging the revocation of their legal status.
Source: AFP via France 24 external link
A Tunisian court sentences former prime minister Ali Laarayedh, who has been detained since 2022, to 24 years in prison for facilitating the travel of Tunisian nationals to Syrian conflict zones during his premiership, while seven co-defendants, including former interior ministry officials, receive prison terms ranging from three to 24 years.
Source: Reuters external link

Disasters and accidents

Twenty people are killed and 30 more are injured after the crash of a Bolivian Air Force aircraft into a busy avenue in El Alto, Bolivia.
Source: Reuters external link
Seven people are killed and 19 others are injured in a blast and fire at a café in Shchuchinsk, Kazakhstan.
Source: Reuters external link
Six people are killed and several others are injured after a sleeper bus collides with a trailer on National Highway 25 in Rajasthan, India.
Source: News18 external link
Two people are killed and 49 more injured after a tram derails in Milan, Italy, and crashes into pedestrians and a building.
Source: Rai News external link

Science and technology

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei rejects a U.S. Department of Defense request to loosen security safeguards on the Claude large language model for potential use in mass surveillance and autonomous weapons systems.
Source: SRF external link
OpenAI announces that it has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense to deploy its technology on the latter's network.
Source: Politico external link

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israeli air and drone strikes kill at least five people and injure several others in central and southern Gaza, despite an ongoing United States-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas.
Source: The Hindu external link
Clashes break out on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with Pakistan launching airstrikes on several locations in Afghanistan, including the capital of Kabul, targeting Taliban government forces directly, in what Pakistani defense minister Khawaja Asif describes as "open war".
Source: Al Jazeera external link

February 26

Disasters and accidents

The death toll from the floods across Minas Gerais, Brazil, rises to 54 people, with fourteen more still missing.
Source: AFP via France 24 external link
Seven people are killed and 25 others are injured after a gas cylinder explodes inside a house in Chaman, Pakistan.
Source: Daily Times external link

Law and crime

A Greek court sentences four individuals, including Intellexa's Israel-based founder Tal Dilian, to eight years in prison for breaching data and violating privacy laws after they deployed the Predator spyware, targeting the mobile phones of more than 90 politicians, journalists, businesspeople, and military officials in 2022.
Source: Times of Israel external link

Politics and elections

Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer wins the constituency of Gorton and Denton in Greater Manchester, England, in the party's first by-election win.
Source: The Washington Post external link
Source: AP via NBC News external link
Albanian prime minister Edi Rama dismisses deputy prime minister and infrastructure minister Belinda Balluku after anti-corruption prosecutors indicted her on suspicion of interfering in the award of two public construction contracts worth more than €200 million.
Source: Reuters external link

Armed conflicts and attacks

Afghanistan announces attacks against Pakistani military positions along their shared border in response to Pakistani air strikes launched 4 days prior. Pakistan, in turn, says its forces have responded.
Source: Al Jazeera external link