A fire burns on the grounds of the US Embassy in Baghdad's fortified "Green Zone" following a drone and rocket attack. Iraq has been drawn into the Middle East war after having long been a proxy battleground between the US and Iran.

US actor Sean Penn, who skipped Sunday's Oscars ceremony to visit Ukraine, has been gifted a symbolic version of the famous statuette made from the damaged metal of a train carriage hit in a Russian strike. u.afp.com/SLes

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that her country is prepared to host Iran's first-round matches at the 2026 World Cup if needed due to the conflict in the Middle East. u.afp.com/SLem

Nearly 10 months have passed since the release of KPop Demon Hunters, but many foreign tourists still visit one of its locations -- Naksan Park in Seoul. The film won two Oscars and is Netflix's most-watched original film.

🇺🇸 🇮🇱 🇮🇷 Senior US counterterrorism official Joseph Kent resigned on Tuesday to protest the US-Israeli war against Iran and said the Islamic Republic "posed no imminent threat" to the United States ➡️ u.afp.com/SLsC

🇫🇷 🌋 Lava flows reach ocean on France's Reunion Island for first time in 19 years A month after the eruption of the Piton de la Fournaise volcano began, the lava flow continues to cool and has reached the ocean. Many people have come to watch the spectacle, getting as close as possible

🇦🇫 🇵🇰 Afghan govt. says 400 killed in Pakistani strike on rehab clinic The Afghan government said about 400 people were killed in what they say was a Pakistani airstrike on a drug rehabilitation centre in the capital, Kabul. There was no immediate independent verification of the toll

🇧🇪 🇨🇩 A Brussels court on Tuesday ordered a 93-year-old former Belgian diplomat to stand trial over the 1961 killing of Congolese independence icon Patrice Lumumba ➡️ u.afp.com/SLsX

🇰🇬 The herders breeding white yaks in Kyrgyzstan's mountains In the mountains of Central Asia, a family has been breeding rare white yaks for years. The Akmatovs say the long-haired cattle's white wool is strong and easy to dye compared to the animal's usual dark-brown hair #geneu_AFP

🇺🇦 🇪🇺 EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has said the bloc will help reopen a damaged pipeline that pumps Russian oil through Ukraine to Hungary -- after Budapest accused Kyiv of stalling on repairs in an escalating row. ➡️ u.afp.com/SLsU

⚽ Iran's football federation is "negotiating" with FIFA to relocate the country's first-round matches at the World Cup to Mexico from the United States, citing the conflict in the Middle East, Iran's embassy in Mexico has said. ➡️ u.afp.com/SLsJ

🇮🇷 🇺🇸 Israel said Tuesday it had killed Iran's powerful national security chief, Ali Larijani, in what would be a huge blow to the Islamic republic as fresh strikes rocked the Middle East from Tehran to Baghdad. ➡️ u.afp.com/SLmy

🇯🇵 Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor Shigeaki Mori, who was hugged by former US president Barack Obama during his historic visit to the city a decade ago, has died at 88, local media reported Tuesday. ➡️ u.afp.com/SLmC

🇵🇰 The Afghan government said that about 400 people were killed in a Pakistani air strike on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul, in the deadliest attack in the recent violence between the two neighbours. ➡️ u.afp.com/SLmZ

🇬🇧 Cowboy boots and line dancing: country music fever grips young Britons Donning cowboy boots and hats, the UK’s biggest country music event of the year attracts 45,000 country fans - with stars flying in from across the Atlantic for the Country 2 Country music festival.

🇮🇩 Tens of millions of Indonesians are travelling by motorcycle, car, plane or boat to their hometowns in an annual exodus for the Eid holiday that begins in the world's largest Muslim-majority country. ➡️ u.afp.com/SLmz

🇺🇸 🇨🇺 US President Donald Trump has vowed to "take" Cuba as the communist island plunged into darkness under a total power blackout linked to a crippling oil embargo imposed by Washington. ➡️ u.afp.com/SLmi

Israel says it has killed Iran's powerful national security chief Ali Larijani, in what would be a huge blow to the Islamic republic, as fresh strikes rocked the Middle East from Tehran to Baghdad. 📸 AFP

🇨🇳 ❄️ Chinese firms seek to loosen West's grip on lucrative snow business The Lianhuashan ski resort has added its first Chinese snowmaker. The snow gun costs about a third less than Western brands. China's snow-related equipment sales have surged almost fourfold since 2015.

🇳🇬 Coordinated explosions staged by suspected suicide bombers tore through a busy market and other areas in Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri, killing at least 23 people and wounding more than 100 others, police said on Tuesday. ➡️ u.afp.com/SLm5

🇧🇪 🇨🇩 A Brussels court is to decide Tuesday whether a 93-year-old former Belgian diplomat should stand trial over the 1961 killing of Congolese independence icon Patrice Lumumba. ➡️ u.afp.com/SLmU

🇫🇷 🌋 Lava reaches ocean for first time in 19 years on France's Reunion island A month after the Piton de la Fournaise volcano erupted on France's Reunion island, the lava flow has reached the ocean for the first time in 19 years.

🇵🇰 The Afghan government has said that about 400 people were killed in a Pakistani airstrike on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul, in the deadliest attack in the recent violence between the two neighbours. ➡️ u.afp.com/SLmZ

🇩🇰 🗳️ Danish election candidates look for new ways to campaign Two Danish politicians from the Social Democrats party take to the sauna as they look for alternative ways to meet voters and present their case ahead of the general election on 24 March.

🇮🇷 🇺🇸 Loud explosions shook Tehran Tuesday after a night of bombing, as US President Donald Trump pressed allies to help in the war that has engulfed the Middle East and sparked global economic turmoil. ➡️ u.afp.com/SLWr

🐻 Near Kyiv, bears emerge from hibernation after 'hardest winter' since 2022 At a sanctuary near Kyiv, bears awaken from their winter hibernation. Two bears — Chada, a rare Tien Shan bear, and Synochok, a brown bear — emerge from their dens and begin moving around, marking the arrival of spring.

🇲🇽 Mexico sets Guinness World Record for world's largest soccer class Mexico City's central Zocalo square becomes the world's largest soccer field, with more than 9,500 people gathering to set the Guinness World Record for the largest soccer class.

South Korean Buddhist monks perform full bows as they march towards the US embassy in Seoul during a protest against the war on Iran 📸 Jung Yeon-je

BREAKING China says it will provide humanitarian assistance to Iran, Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries

Darkness falls in Havana as Cuba hit by total electricity blackout. The latest blackout comes as the United States pursues its oil blockade against the island

Sweden's prisons prepare to house teens as young as 13. The right-wing government, which is backed by the far-right Sweden Democrats, announced in January that it would reduce the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 13 for crimes punishable by at least four years in prison u.afp.com/SLPt

Why Iranian drones are hard to stop u.afp.com/SLPr

BREAKING Iran's Revolutionary Guards say they have arrested 10 "foreign spies" as the war with Israel and the United States continues. The Guards say four were gathering information "on sensitive sites and economic infrastructure" while others were linked to a "monarchist terrorist group"

Migrant workers bear brunt of Middle East war. In a region home to more than 35 million migrant workers, mostly from South Asia, many of those killed have been foreign labourers filling the lowest-paid roles in Gulf economies u.afp.com/SLPa

Iran says it is 'negotiating' with FIFA over moving World Cup games to Mexico u.afp.com/SLWU

Cowboy boots and line dancing: country music fever grips Britons. Country music is booming in the UK and attracting younger audiences. Donning cowboy boots and hats, the UK’s biggest country music event of the year attracted 45,000 country fans

President Donald Trump has demanded that US allies help secure the Strait of Hormuz, but European powers pushed back on a possible mission to reopen the vital waterway shut by Iran in response to US-Israeli attacks u.afp.com/SLPD

BREAKING Explosions heard in Doha and Dubai, AFP journalists report

BREAKING Tanker struck by 'unknown projectile' near Oman, reports UK maritime agency

BREAKING Iran's football federation is "negotiating" with FIFA to relocate the country's first-round matches at the World Cup to Mexico from the United States, citing the conflict in the Middle East, Iran's embassy in Mexico says

A drone and rocket attack targeted the US embassy in Baghdad early Tuesday, security officials say, pulling Iraq deeper into the war. The strikes came hours after air defences thwarted a rocket attack on the embassy and a drone sparked a fire at a luxury hotel in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone

Trump vows to 'take' Cuba as island reels from oil embargo. The communist island has plunged into darkness under a total power blackout linked to a crippling oil embargo imposed by Washington u.afp.com/SLPj

Sri Lanka announces four-day work week to conserve its scarce fuel reserves as it prepares for a prolonged war in the Middle East u.afp.com/SLPV

Chile starts building border barriers with Peru, Bolivia to curb immigration. Trenches about three meters deep (10 feet) are planned for Arica and other areas on the border with Bolivia 📸 Patricio Banda

BREAKING Drone and rocket attack targets US embassy in Baghdad, says security source

US President Donald Trump says he believes he will have "the honor of taking Cuba," without specifying exactly what he meant by it. "I mean, whether I free it, take it, I think I can do anything I want with it, if you want to know the truth. They're a very weakened nation right now"

Energetic pop music blasted from speakers at a modern climbing gym in Kyiv as Ukrainian veterans stood at the foot of the wall doing burpees and crab walks, resistance bands looped around their prosthetic legs. u.afp.com/SLPm

Netanyahu sends Nowruz wishes, Baghdad hotel attack, fire at UAE oil field: here are the latest developments in the Middle East war u.afp.com/SLPh

US President Donald Trump said Monday he had asked China to delay his summit with Xi Jinping by around a month while he deals with the war in the Middle East. u.afp.com/SLPn

Indonesian police are hunting for four people wanted for an acid attack that maimed an activist critical of the military's growing role in government, an official said Monday. u.afp.com/SLPW