Three more members of the Iranian women’s soccer team granted asylum by Australia last week have decided to return to Iran, according to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.
On Wednesday, Australia had granted asylum to a total of six players and a support worker. Of these, four players have now decided to reverse their decisions and travel to Iran.
by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
The effectiveness of vaccines against influenza dropped during the 2025–2026 virus season, officials said on March 12, about two months after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stopped recommending flu vaccination for all children.
Vaccine effectiveness for late 2025 and early 2026 against outpatient visits and hospitalization was pegged at 14 percent to 48 percent among children, Dr. Lisa Grohskopf, with the CDC’s Influenza Division, said at a meeting hosted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The shielding among adults was just 22 percent to 34 percent, she said, based on data from CDC networks in 16 states.
Influenza vaccine effectiveness since 2009 has dropped as low as 19 percent and risen as high as 60 percent. It was 56 percent in late 2024 and early 2025, according to the CDC.
Grohskopf said the reasons for the decline from the prior season are not yet clear. Factors could include that fewer people received vaccines and a mismatch between strains in the vaccines and the strains that ended up circulating.
Most influenza cases in recent months have been caused by influenza A viruses, particularly an H3N2 subvariant called subclade K.
Grohskopf said the data are preliminary and could end up changing.
William Gruner, representing Department of War scientists, said at the same meeting that vaccine effectiveness among department networks against influenza-like illness from Nov. 9, 2025, through Feb. 21, 2026, was 32 percent among children and 46 percent among adults.
“Still a lot more data to be collected this season, so things can certainly change,” Gruner said.
They presented to the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee during the largely virtual meeting.
Dr. Hayley Gans, a committee member, said she was concerned that the estimates were inaccurate.
“I think this data doesn’t support at least for what we see in pediatrics,” she told Grohskopf.
She also expressed a desire to see a wider population included in the CDC networks.
Gans later said to Gruner: “I just think that when people hear these rates of vaccine efficacy ... we just have to be careful how that is sort of interpreted. These are largely efficacious to at least severe disease, at least in pediatrics, the ones that we see that are hospitalized largely fall in the undervaccinated group.
“There is some efficacy that we’re not capturing in all this data that we’re presenting.”
The committee later unanimously voted to advise the FDA to have vaccine manufacturers move forward with updated influenza shots that target two influenza A viruses, including a component targeting H3N2. The composition they recommended is the same that the World Health Organization recommended in February.
Global authorities typically release updated strain recommendations once or twice a year in a bid to improve the effectiveness of flu vaccines by trying to predict which strains will be circulating in the future.
Dr. David Kaslow, director of the FDA’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review, told committee members that the FDA appreciated their recommendation and discussion as officials try to figure out how to develop more effective seasonal influenza vaccines.
The CDC had for years advised virtually all Americans to receive an annual flu vaccination, but in January, with backing from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., it stated that children should receive a flu shot only after they and their parents consult with doctors and take into account the risks and benefits of the vaccines.
“The primary purpose of the childhood influenza vaccine in children is to reduce hospitalizations and mortality in children, as well as transmission to the elderly, who are of higher risk for death, but there are no randomized controlled trials demonstrating these benefits,” the CDC’s acting director at the time, Jim O'Neill, said in a memorandum explaining the decision.
Authors of a 2018 Cochrane Collaboration review said data showed that there was moderate certainty that influenza vaccines reduce flu infections among children. They also reported an inability to assess effectiveness against hospitalization due to a lack of data.
A different review published in 2025 said that influenza vaccines shield children against hospitalization.
The CDC said on its website in early March that seasonal flu activity remains elevated nationally, causing an estimated 26 million illnesses, 340,000 hospitalizations, and 21,000 deaths. It said that vaccination “has been shown to reduce the risk of flu and its potentially serious complications,” and it noted that several antiviral drugs are available for those who do contract the flu.
Formula 1 announced that the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grand Prix events, planned to take place in April, will not be held due to the ongoing security situation in the Middle East.
"While this was a difficult decision to take, it is unfortunately the right one at this stage considering the current situation in the Middle East. I want to take this opportunity to thank the FIA as well as our incredible promoters for their support and total understanding as they were looking forward to hosting us with their usual energy and passion. We cannot wait to be back with them as soon as the circumstances allow us to do so," Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali said.
Both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have been targeted by missile and drone attacks after the beginning of the joint United States and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
https://breakingthenews.net/Article/F1-cancels-Bahrain-S.-Arabia-Grand-Prix-amid-war/65873741
Israel has notified the United States that it is "running critically low" on ballistic missile interceptors, Semafor reported on Saturday, citing anonymous US officials. One of the sources said that Washington has been aware of the situation "for months," although it is currently unknown whether the US and Israel have a plan in place to tackle the issue.
The official added that Israel is "coming up with solutions" and confirmed that the US is not in a similar situation. "We have all that we need to protect our bases and our personnel in the region and our interests," the official stressed.
https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Israel-could-be-running-out-of-missile-interceptors/65873716
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that Iran has "good cooperation" with Russia and China, including "politically, economically, even militarily," although he declined to provide further details. According to a report earlier this week, Russia may be helping Iran use drones against countries in the region.
Araghchi told MS NOW that Tehran will not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz and that it will respond if the US continues attacking its energy facilities. "[Our armed forces] will attack any energy infrastructure in the region, which belongs to an American company or an American company is a shareholder. So the reaction would be clear," he said.
For years Democrats argued that "Antifa" is not a real organization; rather, they claim it is a set of ideals with no concrete membership. This illusory definition of the movement is quite deliberate in that it is designed to protect Antifa members from being defined as terrorists or facing direct consequences for their actions.
Legal questions have been growing over the use of federal terrorism laws against leftist activists. Democrats claim they're engaging in constitutionally protected civil protest - rationale used justify attacks on ICE agents during the execution of deportations. It was also used extensively as legal grounds for violence and property destruction during the BLM riots.
Now, there's been a conviction.
On Friday, nine defendants accused of being part of a North Texas "Antifa Cell" were convicted by a federal jury in Fort Worth. The incident in question took place on July 4th, 2025, at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas - where anti-ICE protests functioned as cover for the vandalization of government property (vehicles, guard shack, security cameras), the use if exploding fireworks at the facility, and the shooting of a police officer.
The nine defendants faced a total of 65 charges that included attempted murder, aiding terrorists, and weapons charges. Those supporting the defendants have called those charges "outrageous", saying the defendants were there protesting ICE and that the government has gone overboard to send a message.
The most serious charge (attempted murder, on which group member Benjamin Song was convicted) was against an Alvarado police lieutenant (Lt. Thomas Gross), a local law enforcement officer who responded to the scene after a 911 call. He was ambushed and shot in the neck by gunfire from a wooded area as he exited his vehicle (he survived).
Shots were fired toward responding officers and possibly toward the facility/guards, but no reports confirm any ICE agents (as in deportation/enforcement officers) were directly shot or injured. Leftists on social media are already calling for violence against the jury who convicted their "comrades".
The attack is only one among a long list of Anti-ICE operations by activists over the past year, many of them involving efforts to maim or kill ICE agents.
It should be noted that the establishment media nearly buried this story and it has only gained widespread attention due to the trial. There has been a concerted effort by progressive news outlets to run cover for Antifa and Anti-ICE protest groups; often deliberately minimizing violence and blaming agents when they use force to respond.
NGO funded protesters often rely on agitation tactics, provocation and sabotage to trigger police and political opponents into using physical force. They then hold up these incidents as "proof that they are being oppressed and their rights are being violated. Often referred to as DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim & Offender), the political left strategy relies on negative public optics to disrupt otherwise lawful government policies.
The Texas case goes far beyond DARVO and into the realm of open insurgency. It is perhaps the first real attempt by the federal government to punish an Antifa group under terrorism laws. Leftists argue that the convictions will lead to federal violations of free speech rights, but these are the same people that believe violence against anyone they label "fascist" is a form of free speech.
Iran is considering allowing a "limited number" of oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on the condition that the oil cargo is traded in Chinese yuan, CNN has reported.
A senior Iranian official told the US news outlet that Tehran is working on a new plan to manage tanker traffic through the strategic waterway on Iran’s southern coast.
Iran has effectively sealed off the strait, allowing only its own and Chinese ships to pass. Before the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28, at least 20 percent of the world’s oil flowed through it.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it will attack vessels linked to “aggressor nations,” such as the Gulf states that allow the US and Israel to use their territory for attacks on the Islamic Republic. The IRGC announced that the world should prepare for oil prices "reaching $200."
For decades, most international oil has been traded in US dollars. The earnings from oil sales by Gulf countries, known as "petrodollars," were mostly reinvested into the US economy through the purchase of sovereign bonds issued by the US Treasury.
Since Washington imposed economic sanctions on Moscow in 2022 following the start of the war in Ukraine, sanctioned Russian oil has increasingly been sold in rubles.
For years, China has used a covert, barter-style financial system to help pay Iran for oil, circumventing US sanctions. The system allows Iran to ship crude oil to China, while Chinese state-owned firms carry out infrastructure projects in Iran as payment.
Two tankers carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) passed through the Strait of Hormuz early Saturday morning and are heading towards India, according to an Indian foreign ministry official speaking with CNN.
Iran’s ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, told India Today that Iran allowed Indian vessels to travel through the strait, without providing details of how they obtained permission.
India heavily depends on imported LPG and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from West Asia. The South Asian nation has experienced shortages of both fuels since the US-Israeli conflict with Iran started two weeks ago.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday, CNN noted. During the conversation, Modi reiterated that the “unhindered transit of goods and energy” remained one of India’s top priorities.
The UN has warned that restrictions on shipping through the strait could have dire effects on the world economy, including on food production.
“When ships stop moving through that Strait, the consequences travel fast,” said Tom Fletcher, the UN’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs.
“Food, medicine, fertilizer, and other supplies become harder to move and more expensive to deliver,” he added.
Along with surging oil prices, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused fertilizer costs to rise by up to a third. If the strait remains closed, reduced fertilizer use could lead to lower harvests and potential food shortages worldwide in the coming year.
