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Iranians follow a truck carrying the coffins of Iran's intelligence minister Esmail Khatib and, according to Iranian officials, his wife and daughter, during a funeral procession in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)2026-03-21T05:18:54Z DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) U.S. President Donald Trump said he was considering winding down military operations in the Middle East even as the United States is sending three more amphibious assault ships and roughly 2,500 additional Marines to the region. Trumps post Friday on social media followed an Iranian threat to attack recreational and tourist sites worldwide and another day of the airstrikes and drone and missile attacks that have engulfed the region.The mixed messages from the United States came after another climb in oil prices plunged the U.S. stock market, and was followed by a Trump administration announcement it was lifting sanctions on Iranian oil already loaded on ships, a move aimed at wrangling soaring fuel prices.The 3-week-old war has shown no signs of abating, with Israel saying Iran continued to fire missiles at it early Saturday, while Saudi Arabia said it downed 20 drones in just a couple of hours in the countrys eastern region, which is home to major oil installations. The attacks came a day after Israeli airstrikes hit in Tehran as Iranians celebrated the Persian New Year, known as Nowruz, a normally festive holiday that has been muted by the war. Trump says US near completion of its goalsThe U.S. and Israel have offered shifting rationales for the war, from hoping to foment an uprising that topples Irans leadership to eliminating its nuclear and missile programs. There have been no public signs of any such uprising and no end to the war in sight.On social media, Trump said, We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East.That seemed at odds with his administrations move to bolster its firepower in the region and request another $200 billion from Congress to fund the war. The United States is deploying three more amphibious assault ships and roughly 2,500 additional Marines to the Middle East, an official told The Associated Press. Two other U.S. officials confirmed that ships were deploying, without saying where they were headed. All three spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations. Days earlier the U.S. redirected another group of amphibious assault ships carrying another 2,500 Marines from the Pacific to the Middle East. The Marines will join more than 50,000 U.S. troops already in the region.Trump has said he has no plans to send ground forces into Iran but also has asserted that he retains all options. Iran threatens attacks beyond the Middle EastIrans top military spokesperson, Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, warned Friday that parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations worldwide will not be safe for the countrys enemies. The threat renewed concerns that Tehran may revert to using militant attacks beyond the Middle East as a pressure tactic.Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei praised Iranians steadfastness in the face of war in a written statement read on Iranian television to mark Nowruz. Khamenei has not been seen in public since he became supreme leader following Israeli strikes that killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and reportedly wounded him. With little information coming out of Iran, it was not clear how much damage its arms, nuclear or energy facilities have sustained in the punishing U.S. and Israeli strikes, which began Feb. 28 or even who was truly in charge of the country. But Irans attacks are still choking off oil supplies and raising food and fuel prices far beyond the Middle East.Israel continues wave of strikes against Hezbollah militantsThe Israeli military said early Saturday that it began a wave of strikes targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Beiruts southern suburbs. Smoke was seen rising, fires broke out and loud explosions were heard across parts of central Beirut, hours after the Israeli army renewed evacuation warnings for seven neighborhoods.Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced more than 1 million, according to the Lebanese government.More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran during the war. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian missiles and four others have died in the occupied West Bank. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed. US pauses sanctions on Iranian oilBrent crude oil, the international standard, has soared during the fighting and was around $106 per barrel, up from roughly $70 before the war. The newly announced U.S. pause in sanctions applies to Iranian oil loaded on ships as of Friday and is set to end April 19. The new move does not increase the flow of production, a central factor in the surging prices. Iran has managed to evade U.S. sanctions for years, suggesting that much of what it exports already reaches buyers.Looking for ways to boost global oil supplies during the Iran war, the Trump administration has previously paused sanctions on certain Russian oil shipments for 30 days, which critics said rewarded Moscow while having only a modest effect on markets. ___Price reported from Washington, and Watson from San Diego. AP journalists Collin Binkley in West Palm Beach, Florida and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed. JON GAMBRELL Gambrell is the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press. He has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the world since joining the AP in 2006. twitter instagram mailto MICHELLE L. PRICE Price covers the White House. She previously covered the 2024 presidential campaign and politics, government and other news in New York, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. She is based in Washington. twitter mailto JULIE WATSON Watson covers immigration, US-Mexico border issues and the environment, and helps direct coverage of California and Nevada for The Associated Press. Shes reported from Mexico, Central and South America, and was a 2019 Pulitzer Prize finalist. twitter

Fooding covers a residential neighborhood in Waialua, Hawaii, Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin)2026-03-21T06:21:31Z HONOLULU (AP) Hawaii suffered its worst flooding in more than 20 years as heavy rains fell on soil already saturated by downpours from a winter storm a week ago, officials said Friday while warning that still more rain was expected during the weekend. Muddy floodwaters smothered vast stretches of Oahus North Shore, a community world-renowned for its big-wave surfing. Raging waters lifted homes and cars and prompted evacuation orders for 5,500 people north of Honolulu. Authorities cautioned that a 120-year-old dam could fail. Gov. Josh Green said the cost of the storm could top $1 billion, including damage to airports, schools, roads, peoples homes and a Maui hospital in Kula.This is going to have a very serious consequence for us as a state, Green said at a news conference. Most of the state was under a flood watch, with Haleiwa and Waialua in northern Oahu under a flash flood warning, according to the National Weather Service.Green said his chief of staff spoke to the White House and received assurances the islands would have federal support. Most serious flooding since 2004No deaths were reported and no one was unaccounted for. About 10 people were taken to a hospital with hypothermia, he said.Crews searched by air and by water for people who had been stranded efforts that were hampered by people flying personal drones to get images of the flooding, said Ian Scheuring, a spokesperson for Honolulu. The National Guard and Honolulu Fire Department airlifted 72 children and adults who had been attending a spring break youth camp at a retreat on Oahus west coast called Our Lady of Keaau, according to city and camp officials. The camp is on high ground but authorities didnt want to leave them there, the mayor said. Green said the flooding was the states most serious since 2004 floods in Manoa inundated homes and a University of Hawaii library. Dozens if not hundreds of homes were damaged Friday but officials havent been able to fully assess the destruction, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said. Some 5,500 people were under evacuation orders. Theres no question that the damage done thus far has been catastrophic, he said.Officials blamed some of the devastation on the sheer amount of rain that fell in a short amount of time on saturated land. Parts of Oahu received 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) of rain overnight. Kaala, the islands highest peak, got nearly 16 inches (40 cm) in the past day, the National Weather Service said.More rain was expected: Blangiardi said 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) of rain was forecast to fall on Oahu in the next two to three days. Winter storm systems known as Kona lows, which feature southerly or southwesterly winds that bring in moisture-laden air, were responsible for the deluges in the past two weeks. The intensity and frequency of heavy rains in Hawaii have increased amid human-caused global warming, experts say. Eyes on an aging damOfficials have been closely watching the Wahiawa dam, which has been vulnerable for decades, saying it was at risk of imminent failure. Water levels in the dam receded by late Friday but that could change if more rain falls. Overnight into Friday, the dam went from 79 feet to 84 feet (24 to 25.6 meters) just 6 feet (1.8 meters) shy of what it can handle, authorities said.As she prepared to evacuate to a friends home on higher ground, Waialua resident Kathleen Pahinui told The Associated Press in a phone interview that the aging dam is a concern every time it rains.Just pray for us, she said. We understand theres more rain coming.The state has said Wahiawa dam has high hazard potential, and that a failure will result in probable loss of human life.The earthen dam was built in 1906 to increase sugar production for the Waialua Agricultural Company, which eventually became a subsidiary of Dole Food Company. It was reconstructed following a collapse in 1921.The state has sent Dole four notices of deficiency about the dam since 2009 and five years ago fined the company $20,000 for failing to address safety deficiencies on time, according to records. Afterward, Dole proposed to donate the dam, reservoir and ditch system to the state in exchange for the states agreement to repair the spillway to meet and maintain dam safety standards.The state passed legislation in 2023 authorizing the dams acquisition. It also provided $5 million to buy the spillway and $21 million to repair and expand it to comply with dam safety requirements. But the transfer has not been completed. A state board is due to vote on the acquisition next week.The dam continues to operate as designed with no indications of damage, Dole said in an emailed statement.The state regulates 132 dams across Hawaii, most of them built as part of irrigation systems for the sugar cane industry, according to a 2019 infrastructure report by the American Society of Civil Engineers. ___Associated Press writer Hallie Golden contributed to this report from Seattle. AUDREY McAVOY McAvoy is a Honolulu-based reporter who covers news in Hawaii and beyond. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

In this image from video circulating on social media, protesters dance and cheer around a bonfire as they take to the streets of Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP, File)2026-03-21T05:08:51Z BEIRUT (AP) A 19-year-old star wrestler and two other young men were hanged in Iran this week, raising alarm among rights groups that a wave of executions may be underway as authorities facing relentless attacks from the U.S. and Israel seek to squelch public dissent.The three men are the first to be executed from among the tens of thousands who were arrested during a January crackdown on nationwide protests. Rights groups say more than 100 others could face death sentences.The wrestler, Saleh Mohammadi, was hanged early Thursday morning along with Mehdi Qasemi and Saeed Davoudi in Qom, just south of the capital, Tehran, according to state media. They had been sentenced on charges of moharabeh, or waging war against God, for allegedly killing two police officers during protests in the city.Amnesty International said the convictions of the three, and of others arrested during the protests, came in grossly unfair trials that used confessions extracted by torture. The executions were intended to instill fear in society and deter new protests amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of Iran Human Rights, an Oslo-based group that has documented detentions.Amiry-Moghaddam said he worries many more executions of protesters and political prisoners may be imminent. At least 27 arrested during protests face death sentencesAmiry-Moghaddam said his group has documented at least 27 death sentences that have been issued against people arrested during the protests. Another 100 face charges that carry the death penalty, and Iranian state media have aired hundreds of forced confessions to crimes punishable by death, he said.Nationwide protests that began in late December peaked in the first week of January, prompting the deadliest crackdown by Iranian security forces since the Islamic Republic took power in 1979. A complete death toll has been hard to gauge because of internet restrictions by authorities. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists New Agency, which relies on a network of contacts inside Iran, said it confirmed that more than 7,000 were killed and that it was investigating thousands more. It said over 50,000 were arrested in just over six weeks. The government acknowledged more than 3,000 were killed. At the height of the protests, Iranian authorities signaled that fast trials and executions lay ahead. At the time, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested military action might be an option to stop the deadly crackdown. But he soon announced that he learned that plans for executions were halted, signaling that a military operation was no longer on the table.Just a month later, Israel and the U.S. launched an intense airstrike campaign against Iran, pounding military installations and targeting the top political and security leadership of Iran. The security agencies believed to be responsible for the deadly crackdown on protesters are also being targeted. War has not stopped Irans crackdown on dissent Despite the war, Iranian authorities have kept up the crackdown on dissent. Authorities say scores have been detained since the war began on Feb. 28, including some who took part in the January protests. Because of Irans internet blackout, there have been scant details about the three men executed Thursday. Amiry-Moghaddam said Davoudi was born on March 20, 2004, meaning he was executed a day before his 22nd birthday. Qasemis age was not known, he said.Mohammadi appeared to be a standout in wrestling, a sport that is wildly popular in Iran. In 2024, he won a bronze medal at an international youth freestyle wrestling tournament in the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk.On his Instagram account, Mohammadi posted photos and videos of his matches and his workouts, along with inspirational no-pain-no-gain messages. In his last post in late December, he posted a video of himself in the gym and wrote: We endured beyond our imagination. Back again #bodybuilding #training #wrestling.He was full of energy, said Shiva Amelirad, an Iranian teacher living in Toronto who spoke with Mohammadi in 2022 while he was still in high school. Amelirad said Mohammadi had participated in anti-government protests that erupted earlier that year when Mahsa Amini died in police custody after being detained for not wearing her headscarf properly. Those demonstrations were also met with a heavy crackdown by authorities.She said Mohammadi told her that workouts and eating ice cream were his only ways to forget all this catastrophe that we are facing. He always tried to show that he was happy, said Amelirad. Rights groups say theocracy has forced confessions from protestersMohammadi, Qasemi and Davoudi were arrested in Qom on Jan. 15, according to multiple human rights groups. The circumstances of their arrests are not known, and it is not clear if they knew each other beforehand.They were charged in the killing of a police officer on Jan. 8 and convicted in early February, according to Amnesty and Iran Human Rights.During his detention, Mohammadi was beaten and one of his hands broken, Amnesty said in a Feb. 19 open letter to Irans judiciary criticizing the prosecution of dozens of arrested protesters. Amnesty said Mohammadi denied the charges and retracted his confessions in court, saying they were extracted under torture.Authorities have systematically subjected those arrested in connection to the protests to enforced disappearance, incommunicado detention, torture to extract forced confessions, Amnesty said in the letter.Mizan, the Iranian judiciarys official news agency, announced the execution of the three on Thursday, showing video of them sitting in prison uniforms in court. It said they had confessed to killing two police officers with knives and swords, and showed video of them allegedly reenacting the killings for judicial officials.Amiry-Moghaddam, of Iran Human Rights, said the Islamic Republic is struggling for its survival and is well aware that the main threat to its existence comes not from external actors, but from the Iranian people demanding fundamental change.______Keath reported from Cairo. Frankel from Jerusalem. LEE KEATH Keath is the chief editor for feature stories in the Middle East for The Associated Press. He has reported from Cairo since 2005. twitter mailto JULIA FRANKEL Frankel, based in Jerusalem, has reported from across Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Her reporting focuses on war, human rights, displacement and criminal justice. twitter mailto SARAH EL DEEB El Deeb is part of the APs Global Investigative team. She is based in the Middle East, a region she covered for two decades twitter mailto

Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes that struck a building housing Al-Manar channel studios in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)2026-03-21T04:05:07Z BEIRUT (AP) An Israeli strike on a health center in southern Lebanon instantly killed 12 medical workers, seriously wounded one and left four missing under the rubble for hours.The March 13 strike in the village of Burj Qalaouiyah, one of the single deadliest strikes in Lebanon since the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began on March 2, targeted a center run by Hezbollahs health arm, the Islamic Health Society, which has so far lost 24 members over the past two weeks.Since the latest war began, Israels military has not only been targeting the groups military assets but also its civilian institutions in an apparent attempt to weaken the Iran-backed group further and try to push its supporters away from it.Hezbollah is a political party as well as an armed group, and its health and social service institutions have helped strengthen its base of support over the years. In addition to health centers, Israel has destroyed more than a dozen branches of Hezbollahs financial arm, al-Qard al-Hasan. Other strikes heavily damaged Hezbollahs Al-Manar TV headquarters and its Al-Nour radio stations. The strikes also have targeted the groups Amana gas stations and discount shops known as Sajjad, where low-income people can buy highly subsidized products. On Wednesday, an Israeli airstrike on an apartment in central Beirut killed Mohammed Sherri, the head of political programs at Hezbollahs Al-Manar TV, along with his wife. Israel has accused Hezbollah of using health facilities for military purposes and has said al-Qard al-Hasan officially a charitable organization that provides interest-free loans finances the groups military activities. Lebanons Health Ministry denies the Israeli claims about Hezbollahs health facilities being used for military purposes. This is a different war that will not end with a ceasefire, said Hilal Khashan, a political scientist at American University of Beirut. This war will not end before Israel achieves its full objective - that is, the elimination of Hezbollah not only as a military movement, but also the ultimate objective is to erase Hezbollah from the Lebanese political picture. Hezbollah is under internal and external pressure to disarm and knows this latest fight is crucial. Intense clashes along Lebanons southern border between Hezbollah fighters and advancing Israeli troops have left dozens of Lebanese gunmen dead. During a visit to the northern front Monday, Israels army chief Gen. Eyal Zamir said that Hezbollah is now fighting a war for its very existence and is paying a heavy price for entering this battle. He added that pressures exerted by Israels military will only increase more and more. Hezbollah vows to keep fightingThis is an existential battle. It is not a limited or simple battle, Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said in a televised speech over the weekend. Kassem vowed that his group would fight to the end and never surrender.Israel says that Lebanon has failed to disarm the group in accordance with the Lebanese governments own plans, and that therefore Israel will carry out the mission itself.Unlike previous conflicts with Israel, the current one comes as the Lebanese government has called Hezbollahs military activities illegal and authorities have detained several members of the group for carrying weapons without a license.Like previous wars, Hezbollah is being criticized by its opponents in Lebanon who blame the Iran-backed group for triggering this war by firing rockets into Israel. Hezbollah fired the rockets to avenge the killing of Irans Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, less than two days after the U.S. and Israel began their attacks on Iran, triggering a war in the Middle East.Israel retaliated with a campaign of airstrikes on parts of Lebanon that has so far left more than 1,000 people dead and over 1 million displaced from their homes in southern and eastern Lebanon as well as in Beiruts southern suburbs.Hezbollah took a suicidal initiative that will not change the equation, said legislator Samy Gemayel, who heads the nationalist Kataeb Party, adding that Tehran is using Lebanon as a platform to defend Iran. A previous 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 ended with a draw. A 14-month conflict that started in October 2023 when Hezbollah fired rockets in support of Palestinians a day after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel killed much of Hezbollahs political and military command and left the group severely weakened but not destroyed. Strikes followed by backlashAfter airstrikes hit Hezbollahs institutions even in central Beirut, residents protested and forced the group to close a branch of al-Qard al-Hasan in the heart of the capital. Bowing to the pressure, workers removed the financial institutions sign and dismantled ATMs, marking the end of its presence in central Beirut.Amnesty International has said that the al-Qard al-Hasan branches are not legitimate military targets under international humanitarian law and that the strikes should be investigated as war crimes.The Israeli military has appeared to assume that labelling something as Hezbollah-affiliated, be that healthcare workers, homes in border villages, or financial institutions, makes it targetable. Thats wrong, said Heba Morayef, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.Mahmoud Karaki of Hezbollahs Islamic Health Society said that during the last war in 2024, his group lost 153 members in Israeli attacks. But he vowed that the group would continue its work as it has done in previous wars.By targeting us, they are targeting the safety network for the people and their steadfastness in areas under attack, Karaki saidThe Israeli militarys Arabic spokesperson alleged that Hezbollah is using ambulances to transport weapons and fighters, a charge that the paramedic group strongly denies.Hezbollah and Iranian officials have said that any halt in U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran should also include a stop to Israeli attacks in Lebanon. Senior Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qamati told Lebanons Al-Jadeed TV on Monday that Iran will not leave Lebanon nor the resistance, nor will it allow that Lebanon remains vulnerable, adding that Lebanon will be part of this victory and will not be left alone.When Irans Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was asked if Tehran could accept a ceasefire to stop strikes on Iran while they continue in Lebanon, he said: I dont think so. We do not believe in a ceasefire; we believe in ending the war. And ending the war means exactly that ending the war on all fronts, Araghchi told Al Jazeera English, adding that this includes Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Iran and other countries of the region.

CODEPINK activists hold signs in front of boxes of aid they brought as part of the "Nuestra America," or Our America Convoy, after landing at the airport in Havana, Cuba, Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)2026-03-20T23:02:05Z HAVANA (AP) Some 650 delegates from 33 countries and 120 organizations began arriving in Cuba on Friday as part of a solidarity caravan transporting some 20 tons of humanitarian aid as the island grapples with a severe energy crisis.Members of Our America Convoy to Cuba arrived by air from Italy, France, Spain, the United States and several Latin American countries, and more are scheduled to arrive by sea on Saturday in a flotilla of three vessels from Mexico, organizers reported.A group of activists arrived in Havana on Wednesday in advance and delivered donations to hospitals.The visit comes amid heightened tensions between Cuba and the United States, whose governments have acknowledged holding talks after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed an oil embargo. Earlier this week, Trump said he expected to have the honor of taking Cuba in some form, adding: I can do anything I want. Solar panels, food and medicine to treat cancer are among the products donated to the island, which has been brought to a near standstill since Trump imposed an energy embargo in January, exacerbating a five-year economic crisis as his administration pressures for a change in the political system. In the end, we are dozens and dozens of delegates, and we represent millions of people in this convoy, said David Adler, a U.S. citizen and coordinator of Progressive International, one of the caravans organizers. We cannot allow this collective punishment. We cannot normalize it. Meanwhile, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernndez de Cosso on Friday refuted comments about a change in the political system or the potential departure of Cuban President Miguel Daz-Canel as part of the ongoing talks between the two sides.The Cuban political system is not up for negotiation, nor is the president, nor the position of any official in Cuba, subject to negotiation with the United States or with the government of any other country, said Fernndez de Cosso. He noted there are many areas of common interest on which dialogue with Washington is possible, as has been done in the past.Manolo de los Santos, of The Peoples Forum another of the caravans organizers said that going to Cuba at this time is not only defying the U.S. blockade, but also preventing another Gaza in the Americas.Several analysts and regional leaders, including Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, have warned of a possible humanitarian crisis in Cuba.Adler said that both the flotilla that traveled to Gaza and the one heading to Cuba share several supporters. In the case of Cuba, in addition to social activists, unions, prominent figures and political parties are represented, including Morena from Mexico, the Workers Party of Brazil and the Broad Front of Uruguay.Some of the figures include British Parliamentarian Jeremy Corbyn; Colombian Senator Clara Lpez; former Spanish politician Pablo Iglesias; U.S. labor leader Chris Smalls; and Brazilian humanitarian activist Thiago vila.After several weeks in which the only aid received by Cuba came from Mexico, which sent food and hygiene products on three occasions, activists and leaders in other countries began establishing support groups and collecting donations. Daz-Canel expressed his gratitude on social media.They bring shipments of aid to combat the attempt to suffocate us. Welcome once again to the compassion of the people. Solidarity always returns to those who practice it with no other interest than human well-being, the president stated.For its part, Brazil announced it would send 20,000 tons of food, primarily rice, beans and powdered milk. A group of Chilean parliamentarians also arrived with aid on Thursday, and China reported through its embassy that a ship carrying 60,000 tons of rice set sail for Cuba.___Follow APs Latin America coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Women look at their smartphones while riding a bus in Moscow, on March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)2026-03-21T05:31:27Z In one Russian city, officials blocked a rally due to a tree inspection. Elsewhere, they blamed snow removal problems or still-existing COVID-19 restrictions. And in one location, administrators argued that the reason for the protest didnt exist.Authorities in nearly a dozen Russian regions in recent weeks cited various excuses to prevent demonstrations against internet censorship and the blocking of the popular messaging app Telegram.In most cases, they succeeded. Mindful of a crackdown on dissent since the 4-year-old invasion of Ukraine, activists decided not to risk holding unauthorized rallies, even if they werent about the war. Some went to court to challenge government refusals to authorize pickets, while others scaled them back to smaller indoor gatherings.But the disapproval persists across the political spectrum over moves against Russias second-most popular messaging app, adding to frustrations over a growing list of various issues that plague the country. Clearly the situation has changed, the laws have become stricter, but the protest hasnt gone anywhere, said Alexander Sustov, a legislator in Russias far eastern Primorye region where a pro-Telegram rally was blocked last month.Discontent remains. And any ban only fuels that discontent, he said. Online controlRestricting Telegram is Russias latest move to put the internet under government control. Thousands of websites and platforms are blocked, as are multiple virtual private networks that allow users to circumvent censorship. Widespread cellphone internet shutdowns leave only a handful of government-approved websites available.Telegram trails only WhatsApp also severely restricted in popularity among Russians, and is widely used by government agencies for their official social media presence, as well as by pro-Kremlin commentators and military bloggers with hundreds of thousands of followers.Authorities encourage users to switch to MAX, a government-backed messaging app that critics say is a state surveillance tool. Military bloggers criticize the moves against Telegram, arguing it is an indispensable communications tool for Russian troops in Ukraine and for activists running crowdfunding campaigns to help Moscows forces. The government initially promised not to restrict Telegram on the battlefield, but a different signal later came from the Kremlin.At a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin for International Womens Day, a servicewoman called Telegram an adversarial communications tool and agreed with him when he said that the use of communications systems that are not ours, not under our control, poses a danger to personnel in battle.Unconfirmed media reports predict the coming weeks will see a complete blocking of the app, which in December 2025 had 93.6 million monthly users in Russia, or 76% of the population, according to monitoring group Mediascope. Protests stifled from Moscow to SiberiaBlocking Telegram prompted various political forces including those who support the war or the Kremlin in general to act. Widespread dismay and the lack of a black-and-white narrative to justify the restrictions made people feel like they can afford to protest here, said political analyst Abbas Gallyamov.Last month, members of Other Russia, an ultranationalist, pro-war group, blocked the entrance to the Moscow office of state media and internet regulator Roskomnadzor with a bicycle cable and displayed a banner saying: Give us an internet without supervision, (and) Russia without Roskom-disgrace.In December, the group hung a banner at the agencys St. Petersburg office, saying, Roskomnadzor, ban this banner.All were arrested, with the Moscow activists facing criminal charges.Regional branches of the Communist Party, which generally supports the Kremlin, tried to organize rallies in several places. In Siberias Altai region, they were turned down after local officials said claims of an internet clampdown were at odds with reality. In southern Krasnodar, a rally for later in March has been authorized on the outskirts of the city. In the northern cities of Naryan-Mar and Syktyvkar, Communist Party activists managed to hold pickets, with placards saying, It is not up to officials to decide what we read, and The internet is not a prison.But those were exceptions, with authorities elsewhere refusing to allow rallies or blocking them at the last minute.Organizers in the Ural Mountains city of Perm secured a permit for a March 15 demonstration, but two hours before its start, activists were told of a potential emergency situation at the rally site that made it unsuitable for a gathering. Some still showed up. Viktor Gilin, 80, unfurled a banner that read, Vladimir Putin! I demand that you bring back freedom of thought and speech the internet! He was swiftly detained and fined. In the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, 16 people were detained this month at the site of a planned pro-Telegram rally. Although authorization for the protest at that square wasnt needed, participants arrived to find the site marked off with tape for a purported tree inspection, said activist Roman Malozyomov. Malozyomov and other activists, journalists and some passersby were detained but let go after a few hours. He went straight to the Lenin Square for a one-man picket with a sign proclaiming he wanted to stay connected, with the Roskomnadzor logo crossed out.This week, activists in several regions filed for authorization of more rallies on March 29. Some were swiftly rejected.Protesting other issues cautiouslyRallies have been rare since anti-war protests were brutally suppressed in 2022, with political prosecutions skyrocketing and laws restricting dissent multiplying.Smaller demonstrations persisted in spots, including unauthorized ones. Wives of soldiers picketed at the Kremlin and the Defense Ministry in 2024, and over 1,000 people gathered that same year in the Bashkortostan region to protest the jailing of a local activist, resulting in mass arrests.Farmers in Siberia protested this month over cattle culling they deem unwarranted. In northern Komi, workers at a woodworking plant rallied to demand back pay.Hundreds joined an authorized rally in October in Vladivostok to protest increased car registration fees, one of the largest gatherings in the Pacific coast city in years.In Siberias Tomsk, activist Anton Isakov recently managed to organize an authorized demonstration against the blocking of popular online game platform Roblox and another against animal cruelty.If authorities allow protests, there are ready participants because of the many issues that people want to speak out about, he said. His attempts to get a permit for a pro-Telegram rally have been refused so far.Malozyomov, the Novosibirsk activist, said small, authorized rallies on issues such as high utility costs are often allowed there because the authorities are trying to give people an opportunity to vent, so that the tension doesnt build up. Some are trying measures other than rallies.Konstantin Larionov in Kaluga, southwest of Moscow, and 41 others filed a lawsuit against Roskomnadzor and other government officials last year, arguing that restrictions on Telegram and WhatsApp violate their free speech and privacy rights.Larionov urged others to join by petitioning the court via email, and the number of plaintiffs swelled to 105. He said it was encouraging to see people from different parts of the country willing to take part.The court sided with the authorities. Larionov appealed and lost but plans to go all the way up to the Supreme Court.He admits the ability to protest in Russia has shrunk but believes its important to keep trying.We are, maybe, retreating a little bit, but were not giving up, he said.Analyst Gallyamov says the Telegram protests are more about signaling popular discontent than fighting the regime.But it is another crack in the foundation of Putins rule, he said. DASHA LITVINOVA Litvinova is an Associated Press correspondent covering Russia, Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus. She is part of the team that covers the Russia-Ukraine war. She has covered Russia and the region for over a decade. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

FILE This is the Voice of America building in Washington D.C., on May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)2026-03-21T04:01:47Z NEW YORK (AP) In a strongly worded decision this week, a federal judge ordered that the Voice of America its mission to provide news for countries around the world largely shut down for the past year by the Trump administration come roaring back to life.Whether or not that actually happens is anybodys guess.The government filed notice Thursday to appeal U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberths order two days earlier to put hundreds of VOA employees who have been on paid leave the past year back to work. Lamberth had ruled on March 7 that Kari Lake, who was President Donald Trumps choice to oversee the bureaucratic parent U.S. Agency for Global Media, didnt have the authority to reduce VOA to a skeleton.The Voice of America was established as a news source in World War II, beaming reports to many countries that had no tradition of a free press. Before Trump took office again last year, Voice of America was operating in 49 different languages, heard by an estimated 362 million people. Trumps team contended that government-run news sources, which also include Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, were an example of bloated government and that they wanted news reporting more favorable to the current administration. With a greatly reduced staff, it currently operates in Iran, Afghanistan, China, North Korea and in countries with a large population of Kurds.Lamberth, in his decision, said Lake had repeatedly thumbed her nose at laws mandating VOAs operation. Time to turn the page at VOA?VOA director Michael Abramowitz said legislators in both parties understand the need for a strong operation and have set aside enough funding for the job to be done. It is time for all parties to come together and work to rebuild and strengthen the agency, he said.Dont expect that to happen soon. President Trump was elected to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse across the administration, including the Voice of America and efforts to improve efficiency at USAGM have been a tremendous success, said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly. This will not be the final say on the matter. Patsy Widakuswara, VOAs White House bureau chief and a plaintiff in the lawsuit to bring it back, said that restoring the physical infrastructure is going to take a lot of money and some time but it can be done. What is more difficult is recovering from the trauma that our newsroom has gone through. Its an open question whether the administration wants a real news organization or a mouthpiece, said David Ensor, a former Voice of America director between 2010 and 2014. We dont know maybe no one does at the moment what the future holds, he said.The administrations efforts over the past year to bolster friendly outlets and fight coverage that displeases them offer a clue, even though Congress has required that Voice of America be an objective and unbiased news source. This week it was announced that Christopher Wallace, an executive at the conservative network Newsmax who had previously spent 15 years at Fox News Channel, will be the new deputy director at VOA. Abramowitz didnt know he was getting a new deputy until it was announced. Widakuswara wouldnt comment on what Wallaces appointment might mean. Im not going to pass judgment before seeing his work, she said.While Lamberth ordered more than a thousand employees on leave to go back to work, its not clear how many of them moved on to other jobs or retired in the past year. The judge also said he did not have the authority to bring back hundreds of independent contractors who were terminated.One employee who left is Steve Herman, a former White House bureau chief and national correspondent at VOA and now executive director of the Jordan Center for Journalism Advocacy and Innovation at the University of Mississippi. Despite the court decisions, he questions whether the Trump administration would oversee a return to what the organization used to be.Im a bit of a pessimist, Herman said. I think its going to be very difficult. An administration loath to admit defeatBesides fighting to shut it down, Trump is loath to admit defeat. Last week, the White House nominated Sarah Rogers, the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, to run the U.S. Agency for Global Media, putting it more firmly within the administrations control. Her nomination requires Senate approval.Is Marco Rubios State Department going to allow objective journalism in 49 languages? Herman asked. I dont think so. I would want that to happen, but thats a fairy tale.In the budget bill passed in February, Congress set aside $200 million for Voice of Americas operation. While that represents about a 25% cut in the agencys previous appropriation, it sent a bipartisan message of support, said Kate Neeper, VOAs director of strategy and performance evaluation. Besides being a plaintiff with Widakuswara in the lawsuit to restore the agency, she has helped some of her colleagues deal with some of their own problems over the past year, including immigration issues. There is a lot of enthusiasm for going back to work, she said. People are eager to show up on Monday.The hunger for information from Voice of America in Iran when he was director was a clear example of what the organization meant, Ensor said. Surveys showed that between a quarter and a third of Irans households tuned in to VOA once a week, primarily on satellite television. Occasionally the government would crack down and confiscate satellite dishes, but Iranians could usually quickly find replacements, he said.I believe in Voice of America as a news organization and as a voice of America, Ensor said. It was important, and it can be again.___David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social. DAVID BAUDER Bauder is the APs national media writer, covering the intersection of news, politics and entertainment. He is based in New York. twitter mailto

Air travelers endure long lines and two-hour wait times at the TSA security check point at Terminal E at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport Friday, March 20, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)2026-03-20T19:20:30Z Eviction notices. Vehicle repossessions. Empty refrigerators and overdrawn bank accounts.Union leaders and federal officials say these are just some of the financial pressures Transportation Security Administration agents are facing during an ongoing government funding lapse the third shutdown in less than six months that has forced the officers who screen airport passengers and luggage to keep working without pay.The public is experiencing the consequences in long wait times at some airports as more TSA officers take time off to earn money on the side or cut back on expenses. At least 376 have quit their jobs altogether since the shutdown began on Valentines Day, according to the Department of Homeland Security, exacerbating staff turnover at an agency that historically has had some of the U.S. governments highest attrition and lowest employee morale. Its just exhausting. Every day it just feels like this weight gets heavier and heavier on us, Cameron Cochems, a local TSA union leader in Boise, Idaho, told The Associated Press.Airport screeners have spent nearly half of the past 170 days with their paychecks held up by politics 43 days last fall during the longest government shutdown in history, four days earlier this year during a brief funding lapse, and now 35 days and counting during the current shutdown, which affects only the Department of Homeland Security. They are considered essential so have to keep showing up for work whether they get paid or not. Cochems, who has worked as a TSA agent for more than four years and is vice president of his regional American Federation of Government Employees chapter, said the number of resignations likely doesnt fully capture the extent of the agencys personnel challenges. He thinks many more officers would already have walked away in a stronger job market. I think more people are staying with the TSA that dont want to be here, Cochems said. The House Committee on Homeland Security has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday to review the partial shutdowns impact on the TSA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies within DHS. A 2024 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that TSAs workforce has long struggled with some of the lowest morale in the federal government, driven in part by years of comparatively low pay and persistent workplace frustrations. While recent raises have helped, the report said dissatisfaction remained widespread, with officers citing inconsistent management, limited recognition and poor work-life balance.The starting pay for TSA agents is about $34,500, and the average salary is $46,000 to $55,000, according to the agencys careers website.The GAO warned that unless those underlying issues were addressed, the risk of officers leaving the workforce was likely to persist.For Cochems, the recent shutdowns have upended the sense of stability that drew him to federal service in the first place. He said he already works a seasonal side job screening college sports teams at airports to supplement his income. Now, with his TSA paychecks halted, even that isnt enough to keep up with basic expenses. The financial pressure on his family intensified after his wife was unexpectedly laid off from her job two weeks ago.Every day I come to the airport and I look at the food drive, see what things I can get for my family, he said, referring to the donations that his airport, like many others, are soliciting to help TSA workers. Its unclear how long airport screeners will have to keep working unpaid. Both chambers of Congress are scheduled to be out of Washington the first two weeks of April. And Democrats have said the department wont get funded until new restrictions are placed on federal immigration operations following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this year.For travelers, the strain in TSA staffing has made airport conditions increasingly unpredictable. Wait times have stretched into multiple hours at some airports, with passengers in cities like Houston, Atlanta and New Orleans reporting delays long enough to miss flights. TSA officers missed their first full paycheck last weekend, and absences are climbing nationwide, according to Homeland Security. More than half of scheduled staff were absent Sunday at an airport in Houston. At Atlantas Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, 38% of officers missed work on Wednesday and 32% on Thursday.Ive heard from officers who cannot afford copayments for cancer treatments or office visits for their sick children, Aaron Barker, a local TSA union leader in Atlanta, said at a news conference outside the airport this week. Homeland Security has said roughly 50,000 TSA employees would work during the shutdown. Nationwide on Thursday, about 10% of TSA agents missed work, the department reported. The absentee rate was two or three times higher in some places: 33% at Houstons George Bush Intercontinental Airport, 29% at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, 27% at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, and 23% at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. The staffing shortages have also forced some airports to close checkpoints, with wait times swinging dramatically throughout the day in some cases. Early Friday, Hartsfield-Jackson had two-hour waits before easing to less than five minutes by early afternoon, and then jumping back up to 90 minutes.Security line wait times at Houstons main airport exceeded two hours on Friday afternoon. Videos posted to social media showed lines snaking around the airport and down an escalator, spilling into the baggage claim area.In a Fox News interview this week, Acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl warned that the latest shutdown could have lasting consequences for staffing, saying attrition and recruitment would likely suffer. Staff depatures increased after the record one last fall, Stahl said. We saw an uptick of 25% attrition after the last shutdown, and so this is going to continue and worsen not get better, get worse if we dont get a resumption of normal operations, DHS funded and money back into our TSA officers pockets, he said, adding that the agency has exhausted its options, including deploying emergency manpower, to keep airport security checkpoints adequately staffed.Former TSA Administrator John Pistole has said that about 1,100 officers quit during last years shutdown that ended in November. RIO YAMAT Yamat is a national business reporter for The Associated Press. Based in Las Vegas, she covers airlines, travel and tourism. twitter mailto

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