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  • Donald Trump and His Team Sold a Large Amount of the TRUMP Memecoin

    Donald Trump and His Team Sold a Large Amount of the TRUMP Memecoin

    Allegations of selling the $TRUMP token, believed to be linked to US President Donald Trump, increased downward pressure on the market. According to on-chain analysis, a significant amount of token movement occurred from addresses alleged to belong to the Trump team.

    According to the data, it is estimated that the Trump team sold over $16.06 million worth of $TRUMP tokens in total. Analysis shows that in the last two hours, 5.48 million $TRUMP tokens were deposited into the OKX exchange from a BitGo escrow address. This represents approximately a $15 million token transfer.

    Upon investigation of the funds’ source, it was determined that these assets originated approximately two months ago from an address associated with team shares known as the “Trump Team Allocation.” It is stated that this address transferred 18.14 million tokens to the exchange at that time, an amount worth approximately $81.64 million.

    Related News Jordi Visser, a 30-Year Veteran Analyst: “Bitcoin Will Set a New Record This Year, But the Situation Is Different for Altcoins”

    These market developments appear to have put pressure on the $TRUMP token price. The token is currently trading at $2.86, having lost 9.4% of its value on a weekly basis. With a market capitalization of approximately $666.7 million, the token has also shown a downward trend in the last 24 hours.

    *This is not investment advice.

  • Box Office: ‘Hail Mary’ Rockets Past $300M Globally to Become Year’s Top Hollywood Title, ‘They Will Kill You’ DOA at $5M

    Box Office: ‘Hail Mary’ Rockets Past $300M Globally to Become Year’s Top Hollywood Title, ‘They Will Kill You’ DOA at $5M

    Project Hail Mary continues its out-of-this-world performance after rocketing past the $300 million mark at the global box office to rank as the top Hollywood title of 2026 to date, a feat it accomplished in only its second weekend.

    In North America, the Ryan Gosling-led movie adaptation of Andy Weir’s sci-fi pic fell a scant 32 percent to $54.5 million to boast the best hold in recent memory for movies opening in the same range, including Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer in 2023 and 2024’s Dune: Part 2. Nolan’s pic dropped 54 percent to $46.2 in its sophomore outing, while Dune dipped 44 percent to $46.7 million.

    That puts Project Hail Mary‘s 10-day domestic cume at an astonishing $164.3 million. Overseas, its total gross rose to $136.2 million for a worldwide total of $300.8 million in a huge win for Amazon MGM Studios. The movie has become the highest-grossing pic since the e-commerce giant took over the once-storied studio after passing up Creed III‘s lifetime run of $156.2 million domestically and north of $276 million globally.

    Opening well ahead of expectations last weekend, the Phil Lord and Christopher Miller-directed Project Hail Mary blasted off with a domestic launch of $80.6 million, the best showing of the year to date and the second-best in a decade for a non-sequel or franchise title behind Oppenheimer ($52.5 million). Gosling’s top-grossing film of all time, of course, is Barbie, but Project Hail Mary is his biggest domestic opening featuring the actor in a leading role, not adjusted for inflation. It is also a domestic best for Lord and Miller.

    Hail Mary is also performing ahead of expectations overseas, where sci-fi is a notoriously tough genre to sell in certain European countries, as well as key regions in Latin America and Asia. The film launched to $60.4 million from 80 markets at the foreign box office for a global launch of roughly $141 million, also the best start of 2026 so far for a Hollywood title.

    And just as in the U.S., Project Hail Mary‘s wit and heartwarming undercurrents are leading to the sort of unanticipated, collective word-of-mouth that comes along once in a blue moon for theater owners and studios. On Friday, for example, the film grossed $11.7 million overseas, up four percent from the previous Friday despite adding more territories, for an international tally of $98.7 million in 86 markets.

    The sci-fi epic stars Gosling as an ostracized biologist now teaching high school who is tapped by the head of an international consortium (Sandra Hüller) to help stop the sun from dimming and usher in another ice age. Gosling’s character doesn’t remember any of this upon awaking to find himself alone on a ship hurtling through space. The rest of the crew has died, but he proceeds and discovers an alien life form that is trying to solve the same problem. The craggy-looking alien, who is given the nickname “Rocky,” learns how to use English as their means of communication and the two, working step by step, use their growing bond to solve the problem (the merchandising possibilities are tantalizing, to say the least, should Hail Mary transform into a franchise).

    Multiple sources say a franchise is a possibility. Weir has said he has ideas for a sequel to his best-selling novel, but to date, there are no official conversations between the author— who is in the driver’s seat in terms of all things related to Hail Mary — but insiders say a sequel is far from out of the question.

    The movie arrives at a defining moment for Amazon MGM, which is on the verge of becoming a major Hollywood studio, just as David Ellison‘s Skydance, which became the new owner of Paramount in August 2025, prepares to add Warner Bros. Discovery to the portfolio. While he says he will keep the two studios separate, no one is sure how that will work. By all accounts, a vertical merger of this size would be heavily scrutinized by Washington regulators, but President Donald Trump is a close ally with Oracle founder and mega-billionaire Larry Ellison, David Ellison’s father. Trump has also praised the younger Ellison and supported the Paramount-Skydance marriage after sweeping changes were made at CBS News. Trump is widely expected to exact changes at CNN as well if Ellison succeeds in buying WBD, the owner of the cable channel.

    Hail Mary wasn’t the only winning pass driving up year-over-year revenue. In its fourth weekend, Pixar and Disney’s Hoppers became the second-biggest Hollywood offering of 2026 at the global box office with $297 million in ticket sales (Chinese sports comedy Pegasus 3 ranks No. 1 overall at $609 million). Domestically, fell only 31 percent to $12.2 million for a domestic tally of $138.6 million as it continues to redeem Pixar’s ability to turn out original fare (Elio‘s entire domestic cume was $72.9 million). Overseas, it earned another $24.8 million for a foreign tally of $159 million

    Duking it out for third place are They Will Kill You and two holdovers: Dhurandhar: ThRevenge, the latest installment in the Indian action-thriller starring Ranveer Singh; and Universal’s movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s Reminders of Him.

    The Warners-owned New Line and Skydance’s genre label partnered on They Will Kill You long before talks of a merger, and is reporting an estimated $5 million opening domestically and $9 million globally (rival studios show it coming in lower, so nothing is official until Monday when weekend actuals are tallied).

    The new action-horror-comedy follows Satan-worshipping tenants living in a luxury New York City building who perform ritualistic killings on their mostly poor and marginalized staff. Filmmaker Kirill Sokolov (Why Don’t You Just Die!) directed from a script he co-wrote with Alex Litvak. The film has a decent 79 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, while the 65 percent critics’ score is also in the fresh zone (The critics’ score has been fluctuating, and was in the low 70s several days ago). While solid, PostTrak exits aren’t spectacular either.

    From Universal, Reminders of Him took in an estimated $4.7 million domestically and $4.9 million overseas for an early worldwide tally of $69.5 million. Like Hail Mail and Hoppers, the female-fueled pic also enjoyed a great hold of 41 percent.

    More to come.

    This story was originally published March 28 at 12:59 p.m.

  • Starting 5: Philly’s winning combo, Spurs’ stat-stuffers, Brunson vs. Shai today

    Starting 5: Philly’s winning combo, Spurs’ stat-stuffers, Brunson vs. Shai today

    Slamming down a statement win in Charlotte.

    Suddenly whole again, the Sixers look ready for the final run.

    Tyrese Maxey dunk


    5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀

    March 29, 2026

    Total Team Efforts: Winning moments for Maxey, PG & Embiid, Wemby & Castle cruise, Detroit’s depth shines

    Roundup: Hot-shooting Hawks survive late, Booker & Green power Suns, Coward guides Grizz

    Clutch Collision: SGA & Brunson set to bring late-game heroics to Sunday Night Basketball

    Also On SNB: Denver’s duo of Joker & Murray is producing the best stretch run of their shared careers

    On NBA TV: Kawhi’s matching increased scoring with elevated leadership in LA’s historic turnaround


    BUT FIRST … ⏰

    Another all-day slate of hoops

    Scores & Schedule

    A 9-game Sunday starts on NBA TV with Clippers visiting the Bucks (3:30 ET | Tap To Watch), and concludes with a Sunday Night Basketball doubleheader: the Thunder host the Knicks (7:30 ET | Tap To Watch) followed by the Nuggets welcoming the Warriors (10 ET | Tap To Watch).


    1. TOTAL TEAM EFFORTS: SIXERS ASSEMBLE, SPURS CLINCH, PISTONS ROLL

    Full-strength Philly and a hot Hornets squad gave us a possible Play-In preview Saturday – with all the energy of a seven-game series.

    Sixers 118, Hornets 114: Playing together for the first time since Jan. 29, Joel Embiid (29 pts, 6 reb), Paul George (26 pts, 13 reb, 4 stl) and Tyrese Maxey (26 pts, 7 reb, 8 ast) formed a 25+ point trio to rally Philly to a 15-point comeback W, its fourth in five games. | Recap

    • 48-Min Process: Despite 21 points from Embiid and 17 from Maxey before halftime, Philly trailed until the 4th quarter, with Brandon Miller (29 pts, 8 reb, 5 3s) leading Charlotte
    • “Southpaw Stuff”: Maxey (finger), playing in his first game since March 7, punctuated the Sixers comeback with a fastbreak poster, tying the game at 97-all with 10:03 left
    • “I try to be a warrior for this team,” Maxey said. “Sitting out those weeks was tough for me, but my guys really hooped, they held it down… and now it’s time to go make this run.”
    • Maxey’s slam triggered nine lead changes in the final 9 minutes, before a PG inbound triple put Philly ahead for good, thanks to Embiid’s game-saving block
    • Points Parties: This was the first game Embiid, George and Maxey all scored 25+, totaling 81 points together.

    7th-place Philly ends Charlotte’s five-game win streak, creating a two-game gap between the two and sending the Hornets back to 10th due to a tiebreaker with the Heat.

    The Southwest belongs to the silver & black.

    Spurs 127, Bucks 95: San Antonio broke away with a 37-point 1st quarter and never looked back for an eighth straight win, with a triple-double from Stephon Castle (22 pts, 10 reb, 10 ast) and an Alien-sized double-double from Victor Wembanyama (23 pts, 15 reb, 6 ast). | Recap

    • “It shows a lot of progress. I love it,” Wemby said of the Spurs’ 8-game win streak with a +17.9 point differential. “I’ve got 100% trust in my teammates.”
    • This was Wemby’s 75th career 20+/10+ double-double, becoming the 4th-youngest player ever to reach that mark, behind Shaq, KAT and Dwight Howard
    • Future Of Fiesta: Wemby racked up the highlights, like this behind-the-back dime for a Castle slam, who tied Vic for the franchise lead with his 4th triple-double before age 22

    San Antonio clinched the Southwest Division with the win and is back within 2 games of 1st-place OKC.

    Ausar Thompson

    Without All-Star guards Cade Cunningham (lung) and Anthony Edwards (knee), this showcase of depth went Detroit’s way.

    Pistons 109, Wolves 87: Tobias Harris (18 pts) led seven Pistons in double figures, who took control from Donte DiVincenzo (22 pts, 5 3s) and the Wolves for good midway through the 1st quarter, holding Minnesota to a season-low 31.8 FG% (27-85). | Recap

    • Paint Power: Outscoring all teams in paint points while surrendering the 3rd-fewest, Detroit took advantage of the Wolves for a 60-32 PITP edge
    • Detroit adds a half-game to its 4.5-game lead over 2nd-place Boston, while Minnesota holds on to 5th in the West, a half-game ahead of Houston

    2. ROUNDUP: HAWKS CATCH FIRE, SUNS DUO SHINES, GRIZZ OUTLAST BULLS

    Nickeil Alexander-Walker

    Coming off just their second loss since Feb. 22, the hot-shooting Hawks got back in the win column.

    Hawks 123, Kings 113: Nickeil Alexander-Walker (27 pts, 5 reb, 8 ast, 4 stl) helped Atlanta survive DeMar DeRozan (22 pts) and seven Kings in double figures, as the Hawks hit eight of their 16 triples in the 4th to shut down Sacramento’s 16-point 2nd-half comeback. | Recap

    • Downtown ATL: Alexander-Walker reached 225 triples on the season, passing Kyle Korver and Mookie Blaylock (221) for 4th-most in a season in Hawks history
    • Career-Year: NAW’s previous season-high for 3s made was 141 last season. His long-range explosion fits in with career-highs in points (20.5), boards, assists and steals
    • Jalen Johnson (26 pts, 5 reb, 10 ast) and CJ McCollum (22 pts, 5 ast) joined Alexander-Walker as 20+ point scorers in Atlanta’s 15th win in 17 games

    The 6th-place Hawks are now just .002 win percentage points behind the 5-seed Raptors, with the Sixers just a half-game behind them.

    Jalen Green

    Suns 134, Jazz 109: 7-seed Phoenix’s 39-point 1st quarter powered a runaway win, as Jalen Green (31 pts, 6 reb, 5 3s) and Devin Booker (26 pts, 8 ast) outdueled 26 points apiece from Kyle Filipowski (9 reb) and Brice Sensabaugh. | Recap

    Suns 134, Jazz 109: 7-seed Phoenix’s 39-point 1st quarter powered a runaway win, as Jalen Green (31 pts, 6 reb, 5 3s) and Devin Booker (26 pts, 8 ast) outdueled 26 points apiece from Kyle Filipowski (9 reb) and Brice Sensabaugh. | Recap

    Walter Clayton Jr.

    Grizzlies 125, Bulls 124: Cedric Coward (24 pts, 9 reb, 4 stl) guided the Grizz through a game of 18 ties and 13 lead changes, as seven double-digit Memphis scorers overpowered 29 points from Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey’s 13th triple-double (18 pts, 13 reb, 10 ast). | Recap

    Standings


    3. CLUTCH KINGS: SHAI & BRUNSON MEET ON SNB

    Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Brunson

    Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

    A crash course in clutch could be in session tonight from two of the game’s best.

    Jalen “Captain Clutch” Brunson and the Knicks open Sunday Night Basketball’s doubleheader against the Thunder (7:30 ET, NBC & Peacock) and their reigning Kia NBA & Finals MVP-caliber closer, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

    Here’s how Shai and Jalen’s late-game takeovers compare this year:

    • He’s Got Hardware: The reigning Kia Clutch Player of the Year, Brunson ranks 11th in total clutch points this season, with 97
    • Seizing Opportunity: Shai is tied for the most total clutch points with 156 despite only playing in 25 clutch games this season, having missed 12 contests for the team that leads the league in point differential (+11.1)
    • Alone At The End: That’s good for a league-best 6.2 clutch ppg, as the only qualifying player averaging 6.0 or more
    • New York (19-12) ranks 7th among this season’s best clutch marks, while only the Lakers have dropped fewer clutch games this season than OKC (22-10), which owns the 2nd-best clutch record

    But there’s more than one way to close a clutch W, and SGA and Brunson do their winning work differently, as shown below:

    Island Time: Both Shai and Brunson thrive in isolation, each ranking within the top-11 in iso ppg this season

    From Iso To Everybody: Brunson’s no stranger to closing in the paint, ranking top-10 in drives per game (14.9) and top-5 in ppg on drives (10.7) this season

    Brake Check: 43+ minutes into a game, Shai likes to see what’s left in the defense’s legs with his quick-stop pull-up game, which nets the 2nd-most ppg off pull-ups (12.7) this season

    Whose winning ways will take the clutch crown tonight? Top-seeded OKC looks to add to its 2-game advantage over the Spurs, while New York shoots to get back within a game of 2nd-place Boston.


    4. ALSO ON SNB: JOKER & MURRAY LEVELING UP FOR LATE-SEASON PUSH

    Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokić

    Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images

    April showers, taxes and Denver’s star duo leading a postseason push.

    You can count on Spring for many things, including inspired play from Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray.

    Denver’s duo is elevating their play in a fourth straight stretch run together, knowing exactly what it takes to bring home a championship.

    • Playoffs Looming: Joker and Jamal are leveling up at the right time, amid a 5-game win streak that’s moved the Nuggets up to 4th place in the wild West
    • Murray’s Flurry: Jamal is averaging 31.6 ppg during the streak, up 6.1 ppg from his career-best season average, along with 7.4
 apg and 4.6 3s on 47.9 3p%
    • Not Joking Around: Jokić (24.6 ppg) has raised his rebounding (15.0 rpg) and assisting (14.2 apg) in the streak, two categories he already leads the league in
    • Heater Within A Streak: Joker’s had a triple-double in each of the last 4 games, averaging an even greater 25.3 ppg, 16.8 rpg and 15.5
 apg
    • Twin 30/10s: Friday’s win marked the 2nd time Murray and Jokić each recorded at least 30 pts and 10 ast in the same game, joining Elgin Baylor and Jerry West as the only duos with multiple such outings

    This heightened play from the 2023 NBA Finals tandem has Denver off to its best final 15-game stretch run in Jokić and Murray’s 10 years on the court together.

    • Closing Time: Eight games into the final 15, Denver is 6-2 (.750 win%) with seven games left. Joker and Jamal’s previous best was a 10-5 finish (.667 win%) in their title defense year of 2024
    • Buckets Up: When Jokić and Murray share the floor, Denver is averaging 7.8 more ppg over its last eight games compared to its season average, which would be the team’s largest final 15-game scoring boost in the Jokić/Murray era
    • “This is just like a reward this year,” Jokić said of Murray’s career-year lifting the team. “I think he’s playing [at a] really, really high level the last two or three years.”
    Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray

    Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images

    Tonight (10 ET, NBC & Peacock), Jokić and Murray close Sunday Night Basketball’s doubleheader against a Western foe who also knows how to finish strong.

    Fighting for Play-In positioning, 10th-place Golden State has won 3 straight games. Here’s how 4-time championship coach Steve Kerr’s Dubs squads have finished their last three regular-seasons:

    • 2024-25: 7-3, won Play-In game and First Round Playoff series
    • 2023-24: 8-2
    • 2022-23: 8-2, won First Round Playoff series

    5. ON NBA TV: ‘QUIET’ KAWHI IS A VOCAL LEADER IN CLIPS’ HISTORIC TURNAROUND

    Kawhi Leonard

    Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images

    Scoring: 28.3 ppg, career-high.

    Usage rate: 33.0%, career-high.

    A career year of buckets for Kawhi and the Clippers’ historic turnaround has come with Leonard’s increased involvement on offense.

    And as The Athletic’s Law Murray writes, that’s not the only area where the Klaw’s been more involved:

    “Toward the end of a game at Intuit Dome, with the visiting Orlando Magic leading by two points, the ball found its way into Kawhi Leonard’s hands.

    The LA Clippers All-Star felt the defense doubling him with the clock winding down, and instead of forcing a shot, he found recent trade acquisition Bennedict Mathurin.

    It was the right play, and Leonard raised his arm in pre-celebration, but Mathurin’s 3-point shot was too long. As Mathurin got to his feet, Leonard was there to greet him, smiling.

    The gesture wasn’t lost on Leonard’s teammates…” | Read More

    Kawhi’s 8th-place Clippers start Sunday’s action with the second Milwaukee matinée of the weekend, going for a 5th straight win against the Bucks at 3:30 ET.

    Elsewhere in the East on Sunday, the Hornets look to bounce back, hosting the Celtics (6 ET), plus the Magic and Raptors clash with postseason standings on the line (6 ET).

    • Heat at Pacers (5 ET)
    • Kings at Nets (6 ET)
    • Wizards at Blazers (6 ET)
    • Rockets at Pelicans (7 ET)
  • Houthis open new front in Iran war: Will Yemeni group block Bab al-Mandeb?

    Houthis open new front in Iran war: Will Yemeni group block Bab al-Mandeb?

    Yemen’s Houthis have entered the Iran war by launching strikes on Israel, and some analysts have warned their arrival could open another front in the conflict – the potential blockade of Bab al-Mandeb, a strait that presents another chokepoint in the global commodities trade.

    Brigadier-General Yahya Saree, a military spokesperson for the Houthis, announced on Saturday the Iranian-backed group’s first attack on Israel. On Sunday, he said the Houthis had carried out a “second military operation” against Israel using cruise missiles and drones and said the Houthis would continue carrying out military operations in the coming days until Israel “ceases its attacks and aggression”.

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    Does the Houthis’ warning raise the prospect of a broader regional war, particularly given the group’s ability to block Bab al-Mandeb and strike targets far beyond Yemen?

    Here’s what we know:

    INTERACTIVE - Bab al-Mandeb strait red sea map route shipping map-1774773769
    (Al Jazeera)

    Why have the Houthis joined the war?

    So far, unlike Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iraqi armed groups, the Houthis have not made any formal announcement of joining the war.

    While Iran champions the Houthis as part of its “axis of resistance”, Houthi religious doctrine does not adhere to Iran’s supreme leader in the same ⁠way Hezbollah’s and the Iraqi groups’ do. Iran has built the “axis of resistance” of like-minded factions to oppose Israel and the United States across the region.

    Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran, said the Houthis joining the war will be welcomed by Iran.

    “Speaking of the broader context, we have to keep in mind that over the past months and years, officials in Tehran have said the Houthis in Yemen are close allies. But their decision-making and actions are largely independent,” he said.

    “Still, geopolitically, Iran is likely to see this as a significant development,” he added.

    Negar Mortazavi, a senior nonresident fellow at the Center for International Policy, told Al Jazeera that the entrance of the Houthis into the fighting is “no surprise”, noting that Iranian actions have been in accordance with their statements.

    “Every step has really been what they have telegraphed, what they have threatened even before the war when they went to their Gulf Cooperation Council neighbours and they warned that this [the war] is not going to be inside their borders and they are going to immediately turn it into a regional war,” she told Al Jazeera.

    But Nabeel Khoury, a former US diplomat, told Al Jazeera that the missile attacks launched by the Houthis against Israel amounted to “token participation, not full participation”.

    “They have fired a couple of missiles as a warning because of all the talk of potential escalation. There are US troops on their way to the region. There’s been talk that if there is no agreement, there might be a full-scale attack on Iran as has not been seen so far,” the former deputy chief of mission in Yemen told Al Jazeera.

    “So for all that, the Houthis are saying, ‘We are still here, and if you’re really going to go all-out against Iran, we will then jump in.’ But at this point, they haven’t yet jumped in.”

    If they do, Khoury said, their most significant move would be blocking Bab al-Mandeb with boats, mines or missiles.

    “All they have to do is fire at a couple of ships coming through, and that would lead to the arrest of all commercial shipping through the Red Sea,” he said. “That would be a red line, and then you would see attacks against Yemen very quickly.”

    The passage of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz has almost entirely ground to a halt after Iran targeted vessels passing through the waterway. The closure has caused a global energy crisis, adding inflationary pressure to economies across the globe. Several countries have been forced to impose fuel rationing and reduce working hours to conserve energy.

    Where is Bab al-Mandeb?

    The strait sits between Yemen to its northeast and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa to its southwest. It connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, which then extends into the Indian Ocean. It is 29km (18 miles) wide at its narrowest point, limiting traffic to two channels for inbound and outbound shipments and is de facto controlled by the Houthis.

    It is one of the world’s most important routes for global seaborne commodity shipments, particularly crude oil and other fuel from the Gulf bound for the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal or the Sumed (Suez-Mediterranean) Pipeline on Egypt’s Red Sea coast as well as commodities bound for Asia, including Russian oil.

    Reporting from Sanaa, Yemen, Al Jazeera’s Yousef Mawry said the main card in the war for the Houthis is Bab al-Mandeb.

    “With the Strait of Hormuz closed off to US and Israeli shipping, if the Houthis also decide to block Bab al-Mandeb, it’s only going to make the situation economically a lot worse for Israel,” Mawry said.

    “As of right now, shipping is still available for all vessels, including US- and Israeli-linked vessels. The Yemeni group has not imposed a blockade for the time being. That’s expected in the next phase if Israel decides to target the port of Hodeidah or Yemeni civilian and public infrastructure.”

    Can this strait be blocked by the Houthis?

    Neither the Houthis nor Iran has commented on whether there is a plan to block one of the world’s busiest maritime routes.

    But on Wednesday, an unnamed Iranian military official said Iran could open a new front at Bab al-Mandeb if attacks are carried out on Iranian territory or its islands, the country’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency said.

    Then on Saturday, Mohammed Mansour, the Houthis’ deputy information minister, told local media that the group is “conducting this battle in stages, and closing the Bab al-Mandeb strait is among our options”.

    Al Jazeera’s Asadi said that so far in the war, Iran has sought leverage through the Strait of Hormuz but now attention is turning to another key chokepoint, likely Bab al-Mandeb.

    “If that were to be disrupted, it would provide additional leverage for Iran and its allies amid ongoing air attacks by Israel and the US,” he said.

    Elisabeth Kendall, a Middle East specialist and the president of Girton College at Cambridge University, told Al Jazeera that if this strait is blocked, it would create a “nightmare scenario”.

    “Because if you have restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz at the same time as restrictions are escalating in the Bab al-Mandeb, then you really will disrupt, if not cripple, trade toward Europe. So this is a knife edge, really, depending on what happens next,” she told Al Jazeera.

    “Going to actually strike the Red Sea at the moment when it’s one of the more dependable routes out,and oil is going out via Yanbu from Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea, that would be a bit of a game-changer,” she added, referring to Saudi Arabia’s alternative route to export oil.

    Kendall, however, said that while this was a “sweet spot” for the Houthis, she noted that the Yemeni group might not want to “provoke a Saudi or indeed a broader response.”

    The Houthis previously carried out attacks in the Red Sea in 2024 when they targeted commercial ships. The Houthis then said they were targeting Israel-linked or Israel-bound vessels in protest against Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

    Ahmed Nagi, a Yemen senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera that the Houthis’ current posture reflects a deliberate calculation rather than restraint born of weakness.

    “The Houthis today didn’t attack the Red Sea or speak even about escalation in the Red Sea. They just attacked Israel directly,” Nagi noted.

    “That choice matters. The Bab al-Mandeb, linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, remains one of the most sensitive arteries in the global economy. About 10 percent of global trade and a significant share of oil and gas shipments pass through it,” he said.

    For now, Nagi suggested the Houthis are aligning their moves with Tehran’s broader strategy.

    “The aim is to support the Iranians in their negotiations, … and they are betting that maybe there will be a way out, so there will not be a need to use Bab al-Mandeb.”

  • New Ethereum project aims to fix network fragmentation and improve user experience

    New Ethereum project aims to fix network fragmentation and improve user experience

    A group of Ethereum projects have announced a new effort aimed at fixing a growing problem in Ethereum: its ecosystem is becoming too fragmented.

    Revealed at the EthCC conference in Cannes, the project — called the “Ethereum Economic Zone” (EEZ) — is designed to make Ethereum’s many add-on networks (known as layer 2s, or L2s) work together more seamlessly.

    The framework is being developed by Gnosis, Zisk and the Ethereum Foundation. Gnosis is a longtime Ethereum infrastructure developer, while Zisk focuses on zero-knowledge proving technology.

    It comes as Ethereum for years relied on L2 networks to scale, though these networks often operate like separate islands. Users have to move assets between them using bridges, which can be slow, costly and risky, while developers often have to rebuild the same tools on each network.

    The EEZ aims to change that by making all these networks feel like one unified system. In simple terms, it would allow apps and transactions on different Ethereum networks to interact instantly — without needing bridges — while still relying on Ethereum’s core security.

    The announcement comes as Ethereum’s long-term reliance on L2 scaling has faced renewed debate. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has recently suggested the ecosystem may need to rethink parts of its L2-heavy roadmap, particularly as fragmentation and user experience issues persist. The EEZ appears to directly address those concerns by trying to unify liquidity, infrastructure and user flows across networks, rather than adding more isolated chains

    The idea is to create shared liquidity (so funds can move freely), simpler infrastructure for developers, and a smoother experience for users. The system would also continue to use ETH as its main token for fees, rather than introducing new ones.

    The project is being developed openly with input from the wider Ethereum community.

    “Ethereum doesn’t have a scaling problem. It has a fragmentation problem. Every new L2 is a silo that makes it harder to seamlessly extend and drive value back to the Ethereum mainnet,” said Friederike Ernst, co-founder of Gnosis, in a press release shared with CoinDesk. “The EEZ is designed to do the opposite.”

    Read more: From ‘Ethereum’s sidekick’ to standalone stars: How Vitalik Buterin’s latest pivot is forcing Layer 2s to grow up

  • Box Office: ‘Project Hail Mary’ Enjoys Epic Hold With $54.5M Weekend, ‘They Will Kill You’ DOA at $5M

    Box Office: ‘Project Hail Mary’ Enjoys Epic Hold With $54.5M Weekend, ‘They Will Kill You’ DOA at $5M

    Project Hail Mary continues its out-of-this-world box office performance.

    The Ryan Gosling-led movie adaptation of Andy Weir’s sci-fi pic fell a scant 32 percent to $54.5 million to boast the best hold in recent memory for movies opening in the same range, including Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer in 2023 and 2024’s Dune: Part 2. Nolan’s pic dropped 54 percent to $46.2 in its sophomore outing, while Dune dipped 44 percent to $46.7 million.

    That puts Project Hail Mary‘s domestic cume at an astonishing $164.3 million as it races toward the $300 million worldwide in a huge win for Amazon MGM Studios. In just 10 days, the movie has become the highest-grossing pic since the eCommerce giant took over the once-storied lion after passing up Creed III‘s lifetime run of $156.2 million.

    Opening well ahead of expectations last weekend, the Phil Lord and Christopher Miller-directed Project Hail Mary blasted off with a domestic launch of $80.6 million, the best showing of the year to date and the second-best in a decade for a non-sequel or franchise title behind Oppenheimer ($52.5 million). Gosling’s top-grossing film of all time, of course, is Barbie, but Project Hail Mary is his biggest domestic opening featuring the actor in a leading role, not adjusted for inflation. It is also a domestic best for Lord and Miller.

    Hail Mary is also performing ahead of expectations overseas, where sci-fi is a notoriously tough genre to sell in certain European countries, as well as key regions in Latin America and Asia. The film launched to $60.4 million from 80 markets at the foreign box office for a global launch of roughly $141 million, also the best start of 2026 so far for a Hollywood title.

    And just as in the U.S., Project Hail Mary‘s wit and heartwarming undercurrents are leading to the sort of unanticipated, collective word-of-mouth that comes along once in a blue moon for theater owners and studios. On Friday, for example, the film grossed $11.7 million overseas, up four percent from the previous Friday despite adding more territories, for an international tally of $98.7 million in 86 markets.

    The sci-fi epic stars Gosling as an ostracized biologist now teaching high school who is tapped by the head of an international consortium (Sandra Hüller) to help stop the sun from dimming and ushering in another ice age. Gosling’s character doesn’t remember any of this upon awaking to find himself alone on a ship hurtling through space. The rest of the crew has died, but he proceeds and discovers an alien life form that is trying to solve the same problem. The craggy-looking alien, who is given the nickname “Rocky,” learns how to use English as their means of communication and the two, working step by step, use their growing bond to solve the problem (the merchandising possibilities are tantalizing, to sau the least, should Hail Mary transform into a franchise).

    Multiple sources say a franchise is a possibility. Weir has said he has ideas for a sequel to his best-selling novel, but to date, there are no official conversations between the author— who is in the driver’s seat in terms of all things related to Hail Mary — but insiders say a sequel is far from out of the question.

    The movie arrives at a defining moment for Amazon MGM, which is on the verge of becoming a major Hollywood studio just as David Ellison‘s Skydance, which became the new owner of Paramount in August 2025, prepares to add Warner Bros. Discovery to the portfolio. While he says he will keep the two studios separate, no one is sure how that will work. By all accounts, a vertical merger of this size would be heavily scrutinized by Washington regulators, but President Donald Trump is close allies with Oracle founder and mega-billionaire Larry Ellison, David Ellison’s father. Trump has also praised the younger Ellison, and supported the Paramount-Skydance marriage after sweeping changes were at made at CBS News. Trump is widely expected to exact changes at CNN as well if Ellison succeeds in buying WBD, owner the cable channel.

    Hail Mary wasn’t the only winning pass driving up year-over-year revenue. In its fourth weekend, Pixar and Disney’s Hoppers became the second-biggest title of 2026 at the global box office with $297 million in ticket sales behind Chinese sports pic Pegasus 3 ($609 million). Domestically, fell only 31 percent to $12.2 million for a domestic tally of $138.6 million as it continues to redeem Pixar’s ability to turn out original fare (Elio‘s entire domestic cume was $72.9 million). Overseas, it earned another $24.8 million for foreign tally of $159 million

    Duking it out for third place are They Will Kill You and two holdovers: Dhurandhar: ThRevenge, the latest installment in the Indian action-thriller starring Ranveer Singh; and Universal’s movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s Reminders of Him.

    The Warners-owned New Line and Skydance’s genre label partnered on They Will Kill You long before talks of a merger. The new action-horror-comedy follows Satan-worshipping tenants living in a luxury New York City building who perform ritualistic killings their mostly poor and marginalized staff. Filmmaker Kirill Sokolov (Why Don’t You Just Die!) directed from a script he co-wrote with Alex Litvak. The film has decent 79 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, while the 65 percent critics’ score is also in the fresh zone (The critics’ score has been fluctuating, and was in the low 70s several days ago). While solid, PostTrak exits aren’t spectacular either.

    Another problem for They Will Kill You: Searchlight Pictures’ horror-comedy Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is only in its second weekend after opening to a somewhat better $9.1 million domestically.

    More to come.

    This story was originally published March 28 at 12:59 p.m

  • Box Office: Ryan Gosling’s ‘Project Hail Mary’ Flies High With $54.5 Million in 2nd Weekend, ‘They Will Kill You’ Flops With $5 Million

    Box Office: Ryan Gosling’s ‘Project Hail Mary’ Flies High With $54.5 Million in 2nd Weekend, ‘They Will Kill You’ Flops With $5 Million

    Project Hail Mary” easily topped the box office for the second consecutive weekend, bringing in a heavenly $54.5 million. There have been hits in 2026 such as “Scream 7” and “Hoppers,” but “Project Hail Mary” is shaping up to be the year’s first true blockbuster, having already earned $164.3 million domestically.

    “Project Hail Mary” only dropped 32% from its debut weekend, signaling the film will have staying power. Its impressive results are welcome news for Amazon MGM, which is investing heavily in theatrical movies by committing to releasing roughly a dozen films in cinemas annually. The move comes after Amazon MGM has often struggled to define its moviemaking ambitions, first focusing on indie productions, then pivoting to streaming premieres before more recently opting to back populist fare geared for the big screen.

    “Project Hail Mary” also confirms Ryan Gosling‘s box office bona fides. The Oscar-nominated “Barbie” and “La La Land” star is front-and-center in the movie as a school teacher on a desperate mission to save the planet. The film rises or falls on Gosling’s lead performance and he’s being rewarded with one of the biggest hits of his career, as well as some early awards chatter. Then there’s Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who recovered from being fired from “Solo: A Star Wars Story” to deliver a crowd-pleaser that shows they can handle live-action space epics quite nicely, thank you very much. To say nothing of Andy Weir, the writer behind “Project Hail Mary” and “The Martian,” whose books have now inspired box office winners. His next novel is almost certain to spark a bidding war for the movie rights.

    The weekend’s only major new release, “They Will Kill You,” was D.O.A., earning an anemic $5 million domestically from 2,778 locations for a third place finish. The Warner Bros. and New Line release only cost $20 million to produce, but it’s still a dreadful result because studios have to split ticket sales with theater owners. Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy helped put “Project Hail Mary” in motion when they ran MGM. Having left the studio to lead Warner Bros., they enjoyed a red hot year at the box office, with the likes of “Sinners,” “A Minecraft Movie” and “Weapons” scoring commercially. But 2026 is off to a rough start for De Luca and Abdy. “They Will Kill You” arrives just a few weeks after “The Bride,” the studio’s $90 million steampunk reimagining of “The Bride of Frankenstein,” bombed, earning a disastrous $23.2 million globally.

    “They Will Kill You” stars Zazie Beetz as a housekeeper hired to clean a high-rise apartment with a history of mysterious disappearances. Patricia Arquette, Heather Graham, Tom Felton and Myha’la co-star in the film, which was directed by Kirill Sokolov, who also wrote the screenplay with Alex Litvak. Nocturna Pictures, the genre label backed by David Ellison’s Skydance and “It” filmmakers Andy and Barbara Muschietti, produced the picture. Ellison has a deal in place to buy Warner Bros. and merge it with Paramount, which he bought last year. “They Will Kill You” isn’t the only recent horror film to struggle. “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” cratered in its second weekend of release, earning $4 million to push the Searchlight Pictures production to a measly $16.3 million domestically.

    Disney and Pixar’s “Hoppers,” captured second place, taking in another $12.2 million. Through its first four weeks of release, the family film is projected to gross $138.6 million in North America and $297.6 million worldwide. “Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge,” a Bollywood thriller, came in fourth with $4.7 million, pushing its domestic total to a muscular $22.8 million and nearly outpacing “They Will Kill You” despite the fact that it was showing on almost 2,000 fewer screens.

    Rounding out the Friday top five was “Reminders of Him.” “Reminders of Him” came in fifth with $4.7 million domestically, bringing its gross to $41.1 million. Universal produced the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s romantic novel to the tune of $25 million.

    In limited release, Focus Features premiered “The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist,” a look at the risks and potential of artificial intelligence from the teams behind “Navalny” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” in 786 locations where it grossed $650,000. Neon also debuted “Alpha,” a body horror film from “Titane’s” Julia Ducournau that grossed just over $121,000 from 218 screens.

    Universal also brought back 2001’s “The Mummy Returns.” The adventure film grossed $600,000 from 1,300 venues, bringing its total to $202.7 million. The studio is rebooting the franchise and bringing back original stars Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz for a new sequel.

    “Project Hail Mary” should soon have company in the blockbuster club. Next weekend brings “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” Universal and Illumination’s latest collaboration with Nintendo, which is expected to be one of 2026’s biggest hits. For exhibitors, it will extend a strong start to the year, with ticket sales already up more than 25%.

  • Box Office: ‘Project Hail Mary’ Enjoys Epic Hold With $54.5M Weekend as ‘They Will Kill You’ Gets Murdered

    Box Office: ‘Project Hail Mary’ Enjoys Epic Hold With $54.5M Weekend as ‘They Will Kill You’ Gets Murdered

    Project Hail Mary continues its out-of-this-world box office performance.

    The Ryan Gosling-led movie adaptation of Andy Weir’s sci-fi pic fell a scant 32 percent to $54.5 million to boast the best hold in recent memory for movies opening in the same range, including Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer in 2023 and 2024’s Dune: Part 2. Nolan’s pic dropped 54 percent to $46.2 in its sophomore outing, while Dune dipped 44 percent to $46.7 million.

    That puts Project Hail Mary‘s domestic cume at an astonishing $164.3 million as it races toward the $300 million worldwide in a huge win for Amazon MGM Studios. In just 10 days, the movie has become the highest-grossing pic since the eCommerce giant took over the once-storied lion after passing up Creed III‘s lifetime run of $156.2 million.

    Opening well ahead of expectations last weekend, the Phil Lord and Christopher Miller-directed Project Hail Mary blasted off with a domestic launch of $80.6 million, the best showing of the year to date and the second-best in a decade for a non-sequel or franchise title behind Oppenheimer ($52.5 million). Gosling’s top-grossing film of all time, of course, is Barbie, but Project Hail Mary is his biggest domestic opening featuring the actor in a leading role, not adjusted for inflation. It is also a domestic best for Lord and Miller.

    Hail Mary is also performing ahead of expectations overseas, where sci-fi is a notoriously tough genre to sell in certain European countries, as well as key regions in Latin America and Asia. The film launched to $60.4 million from 80 markets at the foreign box office for a global launch of roughly $141 million, also the best start of 2026 so far for a Hollywood title.

    And just as in the U.S., Project Hail Mary‘s wit and heartwarming undercurrents are leading to the sort of unanticipated, collective word-of-mouth that comes along once in a blue moon for theater owners and studios. On Friday, for example, the film grossed $11.7 million overseas, up four percent from the previous Friday despite adding more territories, for an international tally of $98.7 million in 86 markets.

    The sci-fi epic stars Gosling as an ostracized biologist now teaching high school who is tapped by the head of an international consortium (Sandra Hüller) to help stop the sun from dimming and ushering in another ice age. Gosling’s character doesn’t remember any of this upon awaking to find himself alone on a ship hurtling through space. The rest of the crew has died, but he proceeds and discovers an alien life form that is trying to solve the same problem. The craggy-looking alien, who is given the nickname “Rocky,” learns how to use English as their means of communication and the two, working step by step, use their growing bond to solve the problem (the merchandising possibilities are tantalizing, to sau the least, should Hail Mary transform into a franchise).

    Multiple sources say a franchise is a possibility. Weir has said he has ideas for a sequel to his best-selling novel, but to date, there are no official conversations between the author— who is in the driver’s seat in terms of all things related to Hail Mary — but insiders say a sequel is far from out of the question.

    The movie arrives at a defining moment for Amazon MGM, which is on the verge of becoming a major Hollywood studio just as David Ellison‘s Skydance, which became the new owner of Paramount in August 2025, prepares to add Warner Bros. Discovery to the portfolio. While he says he will keep the two studios separate, no one is sure how that will work. By all accounts, a vertical merger of this size would be heavily scrutinized by Washington regulators, but President Donald Trump is close allies with Oracle founder and mega-billionaire Larry Ellison, David Ellison’s father. Trump has also praised the younger Ellison, and supported the Paramount-Skydance marriage after sweeping changes were at made at CBS News. Trump is widely expected to exact changes at CNN as well if Ellison succeeds in buying WBD, owner the cable channel.

    Hail Mary wasn’t the only winning pass driving up year-over-year revenue. In its fourth weekend, Pixar and Disney’s Hoppers became the second-biggest title of 2026 at the global box office with $297 million in ticket sales behind Chinese sports pic Pegasus 3 ($609 million). Domestically, fell only 31 percent to $12.2 million for a domestic tally of $138.6 million as it continues to redeem Pixar’s ability to turn out original fare (Elio‘s entire domestic cume was $72.9 million). Overseas, it earned another $24.8 million for foreign tally of $159 million

    Duking it out for third place are They Will Kill You and two holdovers: Dhurandhar: ThRevenge, the latest installment in the Indian action-thriller starring Ranveer Singh; and Universal’s movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s Reminders of Him.

    The Warners-owned New Line and Skydance’s genre label partnered on They Will Kill You long before talks of a merger. The new action-horror-comedy follows Satan-worshipping tenants living in a luxury New York City building who perform ritualistic killings their mostly poor and marginalized staff. Filmmaker Kirill Sokolov (Why Don’t You Just Die!) directed from a script he co-wrote with Alex Litvak. The film has decent 79 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, while the 65 percent critics’ score is also in the fresh zone (The critics’ score has been fluctuating, and was in the low 70s several days ago). While solid, PostTrak exits aren’t spectacular either.

    Another problem for They Will Kill You: Searchlight Pictures’ horror-comedy Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is only in its second weekend after opening to a somewhat better $9.1 million domestically.

    More to come.

    This story was originally published March 28 at 12:59 p.m

  • Pakistan maintains ‘delicate balancing act’ as it hosts Iran talks

    Pakistan maintains ‘delicate balancing act’ as it hosts Iran talks

    As the United States-Israeli war on Iran entered its 30th day, key regional powers have converged on Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, in a bid to de-escalate the fighting in the Middle East, which has caused a global energy crisis.

    Driven by growing concerns over the fallout of the conflict, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud arrived on Sunday for two days of talks with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar.

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    “Islamabad has now become the hub of all diplomatic activity to try to bring an end to the US-Israel war on Iran,” Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid reported from the Pakistani capital.

    He noted that the meetings are a platform initially discussed in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Dar, who is also Pakistan’s foreign minister, is now trying to use this foundation to “build a regional bloc of sorts” that could eventually bring together broader powers, including Indonesia and Malaysia.

    The diplomatic push follows a Saturday evening phone call between Dar and his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi. According to a readout posted on Araghchi’s official Telegram channel, Dar briefed him on the four nations’ efforts to achieve an immediate halt to the war. During the call, Araghchi detailed what he described as “heinous crimes” committed by the US and Israel against Iran, accusing them of deliberately targeting schools, hospitals, other public infrastructure and residential areas.

    As an initial confidence-building measure after the ministers’ call, Islamabad announced that Tehran had agreed to allow 20 Pakistani-flagged ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz at a rate of two per day.

    Bin Javaid explained that this move is designed to “tell the Americans that they’ve been somewhat successful in opening the Strait of Hormuz”.

    The regional efforts come as US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day extension of his deadline for Iran to reopen the strait, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supplies pass. Tehran’s chokehold on the strait has created the worst energy crisis since the 1973 oil embargo.

    Trump has sent a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran, but Tehran has rejected it and instead presented its own conditions, including the end of US-Israeli aggression, reparations for war damage and security guarantees to prevent future attacks.

    Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched the war on February 28 as Washington was holding talks with Tehran on its nuclear programme. Oman, the mediator of those discussions, said the war was launched although a deal had been “within reach”.

    ‘Very delicate balancing act’

    Pakistan will be walking a diplomatic tightrope at the talks. It has close defence ties with Saudi Arabia and shares a 900km (560-mile) border and cultural ties with Iran. Pakistan is also home to the second largest Shia population in the world after Iran.

    “It’s a difficult job, given the fact that these foreign ministers will be meeting to see if they are able to bring the Americans and the Iranians back to the negotiating table,” Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder said, reporting from Islamabad.

    Zahid Hussain, a political analyst from Pakistan, described the country’s role as a “very delicate balancing act”. He pointed out that while Islamabad condemned the recent attacks on Iran and Gulf states, it explicitly named Israel while carefully refraining from naming the US.

    Ties between Washington and Islamabad have warmed up since Trump succeeded former US President Joe Biden. Trump has hosted Pakistan army chief Asim Munir twice as the two leaders have developed a personal rapport. Trump has described Munir as “my favourite field marshal”.

    “Pakistan is currently playing the role of a messenger rather than a mediator, relaying messages between America and Iran,” Hussain explained, noting that Islamabad lacks the leverage to impose solutions. “If the war ends following this initiative, it will significantly elevate Islamabad’s diplomacy. But if it continues, Pakistan will be one of the countries most harmed.”

    ‘Islamic alliance’

    Analysts said the diplomatic push is a calculated attempt to appeal directly to the US president’s political ambitions.

    Mahjoob Zweiri, a Middle East policy expert, told Al Jazeera the Islamabad talks seek to revive Trump’s newly established Board of Peace, which went into a diplomatic “coma” after its recent proposals for Gaza.

    “They are appealing to the president’s sensibilities,” Zweiri said. “The message is: ‘You created this board and say you want to achieve peace. Go and make peace in this war.’”

    Beyond political manoeuvring, the participating nations are driven by severe economic fears. For Islamabad, the stakes are existential. Pakistan risks a major crisis if energy supplies decline while millions of its citizens could lose their jobs in the Gulf region if the conflict spreads.

    Experts also pointed out the enormous economic costs borne by the Gulf countries as their energy exports, a major source of revenue, have dropped drastically due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.  And near-daily Iranian drone and missile attacks have targeted energy and industrial facilities, forcing petroleum companies in several countries to declare force majeure on supply contracts.

    Gulf countries have condemned the Iranian attacks but have so far refrained from undertaking a military response. Iran has carried out attacks on its Gulf neighbours, who have forged close economic and security ties with Washington. Bases in the region where US forces are deployed have repeatedly been attacked by Iran since the war began.

    Mahmoud Alloush, a Turkiye-based political analyst, noted that the war has “increasingly deepened the doubts of US-allied countries regarding the American security umbrella”, proving that a reliance on Washington has brought consequences rather than protection.

    Alloush argued that the Islamabad gathering serves as a foundational step for an “Islamic alliance” designed to counter the Israeli project in the region, address the resulting geopolitical vacuums and mitigate the uncertainties surrounding future US involvement.

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged Arab countries not to join the war against Iran. His foreign minister has been travelling to Arab capitals to try to prevent the conflict from spreading.

    “Unfortunately, the region is being drawn step by step into a game scripted by Israel,” he said, accusing Israel of sowing a “seed of discord” to divide Muslim countries.

    However, the diplomatic push is racing against a highly volatile reality.

    On Saturday, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels launched their first attacks on Israel since the start of the conflict, just a day after thousands of additional US soldiers arrived in the Middle East.

    US media reports said the Trump administration is planning to launch a ground invasion.

    Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, on Sunday said Iranian forces are prepared for a potential US ground attack as he accused Washington of signalling talks while planning an escalation of the war.

  • Ukrainian Director Zhanna Ozirna Explores Intimacy Under Siege in ‘Honeymoon’

    Ukrainian Director Zhanna Ozirna Explores Intimacy Under Siege in ‘Honeymoon’

    At the 40th edition of Switzerland’s Fribourg International Film Festival, socially and politically engaged cinema remains at the heart of the lineup. Among the titles in international competition is “Honeymoon,” Ukrainian filmmaker Zhanna Ozirna’s chamber drama about a newly married couple trapped in their apartment as Russian forces close in on the Kyiv region at the start of the 2022 invasion.

    Ozirna’s debut feature, which is having its Swiss premiere at FIFF, takes an intimate approach to a subject that has often been documented through frontline footage and reporting. Instead of depicting combat directly, she keeps the harsh realities of war largely offscreen, turning her attention to what happens inside a relationship when fear and the instinct to survive take over every aspect of daily life.

    The project grew out of testimonies Ozirna encountered in the early days of the war. Friends had endured weeks in hiding and one story in particular stayed with her of a family forced to crawl across their apartment floor to avoid being seen from outside.

    “That image stayed with me,” Ozirna says. “To crawl for days just to stay alive felt like something that goes against basic human dignity.”

    Rather than build the film around a family’s experience, she drew from multiple accounts, shaping them into the story of a single couple. “I wanted to keep it minimal,” she says. “For me, the war was more of a frame, the real subject was the relationship. I was interested in how people behave when they lose their sense of safety and dignity, and how relationships change in that kind of situation.”

    That approach also shaped the film’s ethical framework. In Ukraine, Ozirna notes, there is an ongoing debate about how to portray a war that is still unfolding. She was determined not to exploit trauma, and one early decision was to avoid casting actors who had lived under occupation themselves.

    “We spoke with some very strong actors who had gone through it,” she says. “But they told us it would be re-traumatizing. So we understood very clearly that we could not ask that of them.”

    Her refusal to show Russian soldiers onscreen was equally deliberate. Their presence is conveyed entirely through sound, be it their footsteps, distant blasts, the constant sense of threat. While partly a practical decision for a production with a limited budget, it was also a conceptual one.

    “I didn’t want to show the enemy in a simplified way, and I also didn’t want to humanize that violence in a way that felt false to me,” she says. “So they remain like a ghost, something always near, something you fear, something that can return at any moment.”

    As the film continues to screen internationally, Ozirna is acutely aware of the gap between those living through the war and audiences encountering it from afar. Though global attention has shifted, daily life in Ukraine remains defined by uncertainty. “People abroad live their lives and that’s normal,” she says. “But for us, it’s different. Sometimes I can’t plan even a few days ahead.”

    For Ozirna, fiction offers a way to bridge that gap, allowing audiences to focus on the human cost of war in its most intimate form. “There are many documentaries showing what is happening,” she says. “But fiction can explore something else by looking at intimacy, relationships, and how people really feel.”