After the president of Iran’s football federation suggested the country could boycott the World Cup following the US and Israeli strikes on the country, Donald Trump has said he “really doesn’t care” if Iran play in the tournament.

According to multiple outlets, including the Associated Press, Iran’s top football official Mehdi Taj told sports news portal Varzesh3: “What is certain is that after these attacks, it’s hard to look at the World Cup with hope.”

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The tournament takes place across multiple cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada this summer. Iran’s group games are scheduled to be played in the US, between Los Angeles and Seattle.

“It’s not possible to say exactly, but there will certainly be a response,” Taj also said, according to Reuters. “This will surely be studied by the country’s high-ranking sports officials and there will be a decision on what’s going to happen.”

Fifa continue to monitor the situation. Secretary general Mattias Grafstrom said on Saturday: “It’s too early to comment, but we will monitor developments around the world that could affect the tournament.”

Iran were the only nation to be missing from a World Cup planning event participating teams, held this week in Atlanta. Trump told Politico on Tuesday: “I really don’t care. I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They’re running on fumes.”

Could Iran boycott the World Cup?

Iran are scheduled to play two World Cup games in Los Angeles and another in Seattle. They will face New Zealand and Belgium in LA on June 15 and June 21, followed by the match against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

But little is known about how Iran could respond to the US and Israeli strikes in a sporting context. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has been killed – while Trump has said the strikes could continue for the next four weeks. Iranian officials have ruled out negotiating with the US, as well.

There has never been a boycott of the World Cup on political grounds and the last World Cup boycott was 60 years ago, when African teams refused to play in protest of receiving just one-third of a qualifying berth.

There has never before been a situation where a World Cup host has attacked a qualified team so close to the start of the tournament, with just four months to go before the opening game.

As the Independent’s Miguel Delaney highlighted, several European countries discussed a World Cup boycott when the United States threatened to annex Greenland in January.

Even before the strikes, there was political tension over Iran’s involvement in the tournament due to visa restrictions. The country’s football federation followed through on a threat to boycott Novembers’s World Cup draw in Washington DC.

At the time, Iranian Football Federation spokesman Amir Mehdi Alavi said the US had granted visas to four members of the Iranian delegation, including head coach Amir Ghalenoei, but had not issued one to its football president Mehdi Taj.

The boycott of the World Cup draw, Alavi said, followed “unsportsmanlike actions” by one of the host countries.

And the situation has only escalated since then. Athletes, teams members and family members were previously excluded from Trump’s travel ban but the US government could also decide to restrict Iran from competing at all if they cited security risks.

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What could happen if Iran don’t play?

In Fifa’s World Cup regulations, published last year and before the qualifying stage of the tournament was complete, it states: “If any Participating Member Association withdraws and/or is excluded from the Fifa World Cup 26, Fifa shall decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take whatever action is deemed necessary. Fifa may decide to replace the Participating Member Association in question with another association.”

Iran qualified automatically for the World Cup, with the United Arab Emirates losing out on an automatic qualification spot and subsequently going out in the play-off rounds. In the event of Iran not playing in the World Cup, they would be the closest replacement. Iraq could only be an option, if they do not come through their intercontinental play-off against either Bolivia or Suriname in Mexico later this month.

But the uncertainty in the Gulf as a result of the US strikes means that replacing Iran with either the UAE or Iraq could be far from straight-forward, and Fifa’s regulations indicate that they could do whatever they would like, anyway.

There is some precedent from last summer when Mexican side Club Leon were kicked out of the Club World Cup due to multi-club ownership rules. Fifa then announced a play-off between Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) and Mexican team Club America which was won by LAFC, granting them access to the tournament.

Fifa’s World Cup regulations also state: “Fifa has the right to cancel, reschedule or relocate one or more matches (or the entire FIFA World Cup 26) for any reason at its sole discretion, including as a result of force majeure or due to health, safety or security concerns.”

Seemingly, there is therefore the possibility that Iran’s games could be moved from the US; but there is also the possibility that the US and Iran could play each other at the tournament. This would happen if both teams were runners-up in Group D and Group G respectively, with that fixture scheduled to be played in Arlington, Texas.

A rule change for primary voting in two Texas counties created mass confusion Tuesday that eventually led to a state Supreme Court ruling, threats of more legal action and the potential that an untold number of voters could find themselves disenfranchised.

The chaos had the most direct potential impact on the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. The county with the greatest number of affected voters includes Dallas and is the home base for Rep. Jasmine Crockett, an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump who was in a tight race with state lawmaker James Talarico.

Crockett told supporters Tuesday night that the race can’t be settled without the results from Dallas County.

“I can tell you, people were disenfranchised,” she said.

The unfolding chaos — first over the new voting rules, and then over the court decisions and whether late ballots would be counted — stemmed from a change by local Republicans that is unique to Texas’ primary system, but also hinted at the type of uncertainty that many have feared lies ahead for November’s midterm elections.

A Republican change to the primaries leads to ‘severe’ confusion

The problems in Texas began when voters in two counties — Dallas and Williamson, north of Austin — were turned away at polling locations and directed to different precincts after a recent change in how the primary is conducted.

In Dallas County, a judge ordered polls to remain open for two hours past the scheduled 7 p.m. closing time, citing “voter confusion so severe” that it caused the website of the county election office to crash. The judge was acting on a petition filed by the local Democratic Party in a heavily left-leaning county. Democrats in Williamson said they succeeded in getting two precincts to stay open late.

Later in the evening, the Texas Supreme Court acted on requests by the Texas attorney general’s office and stayed both decisions. Its brief orders said ballots cast by voters in both counties who were not in line by the 7 p.m. scheduled close of polls should be separated. The number of ballots affected could not immediately be determined.

Renea Hicks, a longtime Texas appellate lawyer, said the Supreme Court’s action was preliminary and does not say whether the ballots will eventually be counted. That’s something the court will have to sort out in the coming days, he said.

“That doesn’t mean ‘throw them away.’ It doesn’t meant they won’t count,” he said. “We don’t know what it means.”

In both counties, voters had been allowed to cast their ballot anywhere in their county for years. But for this primary, the local Republican parties opted against countywide voting. State law says both major parties have to agree to the countywide system for it to be in effect.

That meant that on Tuesday all voters could cast ballots only at their assigned precinct.

Voters separated by party

Both Crockett and Talarico denounced the effect of the change on voters, with Crockett saying it was an “effort to suppress the vote.” Talarico’s campaign aid it was “deeply concerned” about the reports of voters showing up at polling locations and being sent elsewhere. He told supporters later that evening, as ballots were still being tallied, that every vote must be counted.

Adding to the confusion was the fact that voting locations also might be specific to someone’s party affiliation, said Nic Solorzano, a spokesperson for the Dallas County Elections Department.

“We’re seeing a lot of people that are going to their vote centers that they usually go to … and not realizing they can’t do that anymore. They have to go to their precinct-based location,” he said.

The extensions in Dallas applied only to Democratic voting precincts. Voting also was extended for an hour in El Paso County after problems with voter check-in systems earlier in the day.

Attempt to inform voters

Texas was one of three states kicking off the 2026 midterm elections Tuesday, along with North Carolina and Arkansas. Voting otherwise went fairly smoothly, except for a problem with electronic poll books in one rural North Carolina county that prompted the state elections board to delay the release of statewide results by an hour.

Tomas Sanchez, a student at Dallas College, was among those who showed up at a voting location on campus to cast his ballot in Texas’ Democratic primary. But he was under a “mistaken impression” and told that he needed to vote at his assigned precinct, a location about 6 miles (about 10 kilometers) away and closer to his neighborhood.

“This is something that we were really concerned about, honestly,” Solorzano said. He added that after nearly seven years of voters being able to cast their ballots anywhere in the county, “then we kind of had to retool our entire operation to go back to precinct-based voting for Election Day.”

The county elections department has been putting up signs, running ads and sending text messages and mailers to make people aware of the change. On Election Day former poll workers were stationed outside voting locations with tablets to help people find the correct place to cast their ballot.

Voters turned away by the hundreds

While Solorzano said his department was not keeping track of how many people were been turned away, local Democrats said the number was significant.

Brenda Allen, executive director of the Dallas Democratic Party, said her offices were swamped by hundreds of calls from voters of both parties trying to find their precincts. She noted that congressional districts in the county also were remapped in Texas’ mid-decade redistricting and that new precinct lines were only finalized in December, leaving little time to inform voters.

“Lots of reports of people being turned away, hundreds of people unable to vote. Both parties are affected by this,” Allen said. “It’s not great.”

In Williamson County, the local Democratic Party headquarters was slammed by calls, executive director Madison Dickinson said.

“We’re having significant problems with the precinct-level voting,” she said, adding that, like in Dallas, even Republicans were confused by the change and were calling the Democratic Party for help.

Republicans were less vocal about the changes online, although the Dallas County Republican Party posted a link showing voters where to find their assigned polling places. The Williamson County Republican Party did not respond to a request for comment.

___

Associated Press writers John Hanna and Jonathan J. Cooper contributed.

The actress and former model sadly passed away in Los Angeles.

Annabel Schofield has died aged 62. The actress, originally from Wales, is best known for her modelling work and role in the hit TV soap opera Dallas.

She sadly died on February 28 in Los Angeles, California. Prior to her television fame, she enjoyed considerable success as a model, becoming a prominent figure in London’s edgy, street-inspired 1980s fashion world, reports the Mirror.

During a 2012 interview, Annabel said: “I honestly think London as far as cutting edge style, due to the New Romantics, the tail end of Punk, Vivienne Westood, Katherine Hamnett, Body Map, Buffalo style which was created by Ray Petrie and all the resulting street styles.”

Throughout her modelling career, she was represented by London’s Take Two Agency, appearing on hundreds of fashion magazine covers. She also featured in major designer and brand campaigns for plush designer companies, including Yves Saint Laurent, Rimmel, Revlon, and Boots No. 7.

Annabel achieved worldwide recognition with her memorable appearance in a Bugle Boy Jeans television advert. She famously delivered the line, “Excuse me, are those Bugle Boy jeans you’re wearing?” whilst driving through the desert in a black Ferrari sports car.

Former owner of London’s Take Two agency, Melissa Richardson, has paid tribute to Annabel, describing how much she was “loved” in a statement obtained by THR.

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Melissa said: “She was one of David Bailey’s favorites and appeared in countless shoots for Italian Vogue. She was the forerunner of Take Two – without her, we could never have made it as we did. We loved her because she was funny and real and beautiful and down to earth.”

She added: “She never changed from the sweet little 17-year-old Welsh girl I first met. She was directly loyal, caring, and above all, a raging beauty. She knew her craft. She was the best.”

Whilst her most memorable performance was arguably playing the feisty Laurel Ellis in Dallas, Schofield’s career also spanned numerous other productions, including her portrayal of Alex Noffee in Solar Crisis.

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Her acting credits also featured roles in Dragonard and Eye of the Widow, before she transitioned into production work on major films including The Brothers Grimm, Doom. and City of Ember.

Following confirmation of her passing, tributes have flooded social media from devastated fans. One mourner posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Rest in peace, Annabel Schofield. Fans of Dallas will remember Annabel as Laurel Ellis in 1988.”

Psychic Craig Hamilton-Parker predicted Iran strikes that killed Ayatollah Khamenei and now warns of further targeted attacks in March 2026

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A psychic known as the “Prophet of Doom” is receiving fresh scrutiny after one of his most contentious predictions regarding Iran seemed to come true – merely a day after he cautioned about additional precision strikes.

Craig Hamilton-Parker, whom admirers frequently liken to the “new Nostradamus”, has long maintained that Iran would experience direct attacks on its nuclear and military installations. Following a significant escalation across the Middle East, his forecasts are being re-examined.

On Saturday, 28 February, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died following a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the United States, Donald Trump said.

He claimed that Mr Khamenei’s death after aerial bombardment targeting Iranian military and governmental sites is “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country”.

The US president also said “heavy and pinpoint bombing” is to continue “uninterrupted” through the week or longer. Mr Trump called Mr Khamenei “one of the most evil people in history”, reports the Mirror.

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The killing of the Islamic Republic’s leader, who had no appointed successor, has sparked concerns of prolonged hostilities given Iranian vows of reprisal.

For Hamilton-Parker, recent events mirror alerts he has been issuing concerning Iran’s leadership and nuclear facilities. He had previously forecast strikes on Iranian nuclear installations — which have now taken place — and lately indicated another round of precisely targeted operations.

“I believe this will happen in March 2026,” he stated regarding what he characterised as a second phase. “We will see very targeted attacks-not just on the leadership, but also on the remaining nuclear facilities, because they cannot be left intact.”

He continued: “It will escalate quickly, then stop. A sudden hit followed by withdrawal, leaving the outcome to the Iranian people. I do not sense boots on the ground-rather, airstrikes and swift action.”

Hamilton-Parker has consistently maintained that even if Iran undergoes political transformation, the nuclear capability question would remain problematic. “Revolutions do not always lead to the outcomes people hope for; sometimes worse regimes take control. I’m not saying that will happen here, but it is a risk,” he explained.

He has previously described seeing symbolic imagery relating to Iran during his readings — including yellow and red flags and a lion soaring over the country — which he claims are now “manifesting in reality”.

The psychic, who works alongside his wife Jane and references spiritual readings, including ancient Indian Nadi texts, has cultivated a worldwide audience with predictions covering geopolitics, natural disasters and economic turbulence. He has previously forecast the Queen’s death and the Covid-19 pandemic, and regularly cautions that 2026 will witness converging global crises.

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Amongst his most contentious assertions is the notion that Donald Trump might seek a third term should worldwide conflict make a conventional election unfeasible. “To reiterate what I said at the time, I felt there would be some big global conflict, possibly involving Taiwan,” Parker explained.

“Looking at it now, it could be any global conflict. I know a lot of people have criticised this, saying you cannot have a third term because it is written in the Constitution-but who knows? Things have changed so much in the world.”

He has highlighted evolving geopolitical circumstances as proof that previously inconceivable situations can materialise swiftly. “Who would have imagined the possibility of invading Greenland, or kidnapping a country’s leader, as has happened in Venezuela? The world is changing rapidly,” he said.

Parker anticipates that emergency measures could be activated in 2026. “Something will occur that overturns the existing rules, and that period will be a time of great conflict,” he said.

In other predictions, he has issued warnings about a devastating gas cloud over Japan in August 2026 — a premonition he originally recorded in his 2015 publication Messages from the Universe. He has additionally raised concerns about a significant cyber incident affecting cryptocurrencies, industry and artificial intelligence markets, advising supporters to secure important data.

Regarding international partnerships, Parker has consistently predicted strengthened collaboration between China and Russia in opposition to the United States, based on his understanding of Nadi readings. He suspects NATO’s authority may diminish, potentially leading to a fresh global enforcement framework before the decade concludes.

Despite the worrying nature of many of his predictions, he maintains that the future remains malleable.

“The Nadi teachings stress that the future can be changed,” he said. “Part of the reason I’m sharing this is to encourage people to send positive thoughts, prayers, and visualisations to help reduce the impact.”

For the time being, with Iran’s leadership eliminated in an attack that has reverberated across the region, focus has shifted back to his cautionary messages. Should the present military action represent merely the opening stage of what he characterises as a swift, precision-led intensification, 2026 could still witness the additional turmoil he has consistently forecast.

Zakariya Waqar-Uddin, known as Dr Zak, was tragically found at the bottom of Huntcliff in Saltburn on May 21, nine days after he went missing from his home in Lancashire.

The 44-year-old, who had previously written a weekly health column in The Northern Echo, was due to visit the dentist and travelled to Teesside, where a flat he had was up for sale. 

But Dr Zakariya’s family did not hear from him and he was reported missing – and on May 21 coastguard teams sadly discovered his body. 

An inquest at Teesside Coroners’ Court, sitting at Middlesbrough Town Hall, heard how Dr Zakariya died from multiple traumatic injuries due to a fall from a height. 

His mother Patricia Waqar-Uddin, who attended the inquest alongside other family members, described her son as “charming, helpful, and very compassionate to all who he met”. 

She said he had “no airs and graces” despite his successful career and was the “best son any parents could ever hope for in life”. 

The inquest, held on Tuesday (March 3) heard how Dr Zakariya had previously suffered from some stress following the breakdown of his marriage and the dissolution of his GP partnership. 

However, two months before his death, there was no mention of any mental health concerns when he spoke with a dermatologist. 

The inquest heard how his mother had tried to ring him on the day he left his home but that his phone was switched off – and could not confirm whether he had been to the dentist. 

After he was reported missing, a search was launched across Teesside after his dark purple VW Touran was found, before his body was found on May 21.

Dr Zakariya was identified through his dental records and there were no significant toxicology findings, a report confirmed.

Daughter Jasmine ‘will make Zakariya extremely proud’

Dr Zakariya’s former partner Laura Jane Dunning fought back the tears as she paid tribute to him during the inquest, saying he was “charismatic, had a warm smile, and a very good sense of humour”. 

Ms Dunning said Zak, whom she married in October 2016 and shares daughter Jasmine, now eight, with, said she took comfort in the fact Dr Zakariya knew she was “well and happy”. 

She said: “I am distraught and I am very sad that Jasmine has lost her father. She will continue to be loved and cherished and I know she will make him extremely proud. 

Dr Zak (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

“I hope Zak found his peace and I thank him for the many happy times we had together.”

During the inquest, Coroner Bailey had to consider whether Dr Zakariya had intended to take his own life, but this was ruled out.

Ms Waqar-Uddin told Coroner Bailey that her son, who grew up in Euxton, was not agitated when he left his home and did not believe he intended to take his own life. 

She said there was no communication about intent left at his home and that he was also applying for jobs: “He had too many plans for the future.” 

Coroner Bailey recorded a narrative conclusion, saying : “Dr Zakariya was found dead at the bottom of Huntcliff in Saltburn on May 21. 

“It is not known how or when he exited the top of Huntcliff.”

‘We will miss him deeply’

In a statement, Ms Waqar-Uddin said DrZakariya was more than his profession and treated his patients with the “same care and respect he gave to his family”.

She said: “On social media there were over a thousand tributes to him when his death was announced.

“He often spoke of the joy and satisfaction being a GP brought to him.

“To us he was the best son any parents could ever hope for in life and we will miss him deeply for the rest of our lives.

“He was grateful to his youngest brother Yusuf for the love and support he extended to him despite living and working 6,000 miles away.

“To Yusuf on Zakariya’s and our behalf we say thank you son. We are so proud of you. Proud that you were there and supported Zakariya and was a kind and loving brother to him.

“He cared and loved his daughter Jasmine but missed her greatly so much so that the pain of not seeing her became unbearable for him.

“Some in the medical profession need to have a more compassionate and caring approach. 

“As one doctor said to Zakariya, ‘the trouble with you Zak is that you actually care for the patients whereas I just care about the money’.

“One patient wrote: ‘Dr Zak was a brilliant GP. The medical profession and humanity are the poorer for his passing.’

“In conclusion Zakariya deserved a long and fulfilling life. He gave so much to us his parents and to his patients and we will miss him deeply.”

The Israeli military said it launched a “broad wave” of strikes in Tehran early on Wednesday, just hours after Iranian state media reported that the Revolutionary Guard had carried out a fresh barrage of missile and drone strikes on Israel.

IDF said the strikes targeted “the Iranian terror regime’s launch sites, aerial defence systems and additional infrastructure”.

The US Central Command said American and Israeli forces had struck over 1,700 targets in Iran since the start of the war and “severely degraded” Iranian air defences.

The Pentagon, meanwhile, named the first four American personnel killed in the widening conflict with Iran.

Capt Cody A Khork, 35, Sgt 1st Class Noah L Tietjens, 42, Sgt 1st Class Nicole M Amor, 39, and Sgt Declan J Coady, 20, were identified on Tuesday, two days after they were killed in Kuwait.

They were killed in a drone attack on a military facility at Port Shuaiba while “supporting Operation Epic Fury”.

The Donald Trump administration had yet to identify two other American service members killed in the conflict.

Israel issued evacuation warnings for multiple villages in southern Lebanon ahead of a likely offensive, while Saudi Arabia said it intercepted nine drones overnight.

Earthquake of 4.3 magnitude hits Iran, no casualties reported

An earthquake hit Iran’s southern city of Gerash in Iran’s Fars province on Tuesday, according to the US Geological Survey.

The quake was at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles), USGS said.

No injuries or casualties have been reported.

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Maira Butt4 March 2026 07:49

Sri Lanka rescues 30 people on board distressed Iranian ship

The Sri Lankan navy has rescued at least 30 people on board a sinking Iranian ship on Wednesday.

A rescue mission was dispatched after a distress call from the Iranian ship, a defence ministry spokesperson said.

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Foreign minister Vijitha Herath did not give further details but said Sri Lanka would take appropriate action.

Local media reported the ship called for help off the coast of Galle in the southern part of the country, and that the injured had been admitted to a hospital in Galle.

Maira Butt4 March 2026 07:41

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In pictures: Israeli attacks on southern Beirut continue

A plume of smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut’s Haret Hreik neighborhood on Wednesday.

Israel launched fresh strikes on Iran and Lebanon, where state media reported a residential building was hit on 4 March, as Iran’s Guards said they had sealed off one of the world’s most vital shipping routes for energy.

Maira Butt4 March 2026 07:31

Iranians to bid farewell to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at Tehran ceremony

A three-day ceremony is to be held in Tehran for Iranians to mourn the death of their supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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Hojjatoleslam Mahmoudi, head of Iran’s Islamic Propagation Council, said the event would continue for three days and the funeral procession would be announced later.

Mr Mahmoudi the public will be able to pay their respects to the body of the Ayatollah at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Prayer Hall starting at 10 pm (6.30pm GMT).

“The Mosalla (prayer hall) will be receiving visitors and the dear people can attend and take part in the farewell ceremony and mark a strong presence once again,” he said in comments carried by Iranian media.

Maira Butt4 March 2026 07:17

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UK Maritime Trade Operations receives report of incident east of UAE’s Fujairah

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said it had received a report of an incident about seven nautical miles east of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.

According to UKMTO, the captain of a vessel reported it had been hit by an unidentified projectile, damaging its steel hull.

The crew were safe, and there were no reports of fire on board or water entering the ship.

Maroosha Muzaffar4 March 2026 07:00

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Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says it launched 40 missiles against US and Israeli targets

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it fired over 40 missiles in what it described as the 17th wave of aerial attacks against US and Israeli targets.

Maroosha Muzaffar4 March 2026 06:54

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Suspected CIA station inside US embassy in Saudi was struck by drone – report

A suspected Iranian drone struck the CIA station inside the US embassy in Riyadh on Monday, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Reuters reported that there is no indication the facility was the intended target, and the CIA has declined to comment.

The embassy, located in the Saudi capital, was hit by two drones, Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said, causing a small fire and limited material damage.

Maroosha Muzaffar4 March 2026 06:53

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Limited commercial options available for Britons in UAE, UK embassy says

The British Embassy in UAE has warned that only limited commercial options remain for UK citizens trying to leave the UAE amid regional disruption.

In updated travel advice, the embassy said flights are operating from the UAE and Oman but cautioned: “Travel within or out of UAE is at your own risk.”

It urged Britons to check airline updates, follow local authority guidance and confirm bookings before heading to the airport.

Meanwhile, the UK government has announced that its first chartered commercial evacuation flight for British nationals in the Middle East will depart from Oman later today.

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Maroosha Muzaffar4 March 2026 06:34

Drone shot down near Baghdad international airport – report

A drone was reportedly shot down near Baghdad International Airport, the site of an earlier attempted strike on the US embassy’s logistical support camp, AFP, citing security sources, reported on Wednesday.

A security source said the incident caused no casualties or damage.

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The development comes a day after another drone attack was thwarted on the airport’s outskirts, according to Iraq’s security media cell.

Maroosha Muzaffar4 March 2026 06:00

US commander Cooper says Epic Fury ‘ahead of game plan’

Maroosha Muzaffar4 March 2026 05:50

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Licenced premises that show televised sport will, in some circumstances, be allowed to serve alcohol until 30 minutes after the end of the football games.

Pubs and bars across South Lanarkshire have the go-ahead to stay open later this summer as the World Cup kicks off.

Licenced premises that show televised sport will, in some circumstances, be allowed to serve alcohol until 30 minutes after the end of the football games.

In the Clydesdale and Hamilton areas, all matches will be covered by the extended hours.

However, in East Kilbride and Rutherglen/Cambuslang, the extension applies to Scotland games only, including the group stages and any further stages in the competition, as well as the final.

South Lanarkshire Council’s head of administration and legal services, Iain Strachan, said: “We wish the Scotland men’s team all the very best and no doubt the full country will be behind them.

“We have four licencing division boards in South Lanarkshire, and it is up to them to decide what the extended opening hours should be.

“There is no need for premises to apply for an extended hours licence on these dates as long as the premises adhere to these hours, although we would ask if they could let us know if they are planning to make use of the extension.

“There is no obligation for any premises to trade during the extended hours.”

READ MORE: Over 60s leisure membership in South Lanarkshire could rise by 25 per cent

Licence holders are reminded to ensure proper management and consider extra stewarding where needed. The boards will monitor operations throughout the World Cup and can make adjustments if necessary.

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READ MORE: Expansion plans for South Lanarkshire secondary schools

Following a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in December, Karrthikeya Health Care Limited, a domiciliary care agency based in Newcastle, was found to have multiple failings in the care of people within their own homes.

The inspection was triggered by concerns about potentially unsafe staff recruitment.

Six breaches were identified, including failures around consent, safe care, safeguarding, staffing, fitness of employees and overall management.

All areas of the service were rated inadequate, including being safe, well-led, caring, responsive and effective.

Inspectors also found that the agency failed to properly investigate safeguarding concerns and other incidents.

Leadership at the service did not reflect an understanding of the diverse health needs of those in their care, leading to inflexible and unsupportive care delivery.

Staff were also criticised for failing to provide consistent care during transitions between services.

Decision-making involving service users was lacking, and staff did not address people’s needs in a timely or compassionate way.

The absence of a positive learning culture was highlighted, with inspectors noting a lack of staff training and regular appraisals, and insufficient understanding of people’s personal, cultural, social, and religious needs.

The CQC has placed Karrthikeya Health Care Limited in special measures and will continue to monitor the service closely.

China has responded to the joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran with strong diplomatic condemnation. In an article published on March 1, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency called the attacks a “flagrant violation” of the purposes and principles of the UN charter. The same article called the intervention a departure from “fundamental norms of international relations”.

This reaction resembled China’s response to the US capture of the former Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro, in early January. At that time, Chinese officials condemned what they described as a violation of international law. The Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, warned that no country should act as a “world policeman” or “claim itself to be an international judge”.

Beyond diplomatic condemnation, China’s most significant contribution to the conflict in Iran so far has come through its satellite navigation system, BeiDou. In recent years, BeiDou has emerged as a possible alternative to the dominant Global Positioning System (GPS), which is owned and controlled by the US government.

During the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in 2025, widespread GPS jamming caused significant disruption to Iranian civilian and military systems. Deactivating GPS and switching to BeiDou has thus given Iran’s military more strategic depth. It has done so by, for example, enabling better monitoring of American military assets.

The conflict in Iran is likely to lead to several issues for China. Iran is a key source of oil for the Chinese government, exporting more than 520 million barrels of crude oil to China in 2025. Only Saudi Arabia supplied China with more oil than Iran that year.

What effect the conflict ultimately has on Iranian oil exports remains to be seen. But it is already causing significant disruption to the strait of Hormuz, the main route connecting Iranian ports in the Persian gulf and also some of the Gulf region’s other major oil suppliers to the open ocean.

The economic pain caused by this disruption is likely to be felt acutely by China, which imports more than half of its crude oil from countries in the Gulf.

At the same time, the perceived weakness of China in failing to respond to the conflict proactively may make some states cautious about pursuing a closer relationship with Beijing. Some countries, particularly in Latin America, have already looked to address their overreliance on China over the past year following pressure and threats from the US government.

In January, for example, Panama’s supreme court invalidated a contract that had allowed Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based firm, to operate two ports on the Panama canal. The ruling came one year after Trump threatened to take control of the canal to limit Chinese influence over the waterway.

However, it is equally possible that the war assists Beijing’s wider efforts to position itself as a global counterbalance to the US. Countries that had previously maintained frosty relations with Beijing such as Canada, Germany and the UK have already all looked to boost economic ties with China in recent months amid concerns about the reliability of the US as a partner.

And Wang Yi used his appearance at the Munich Security Conference in February to speak of the need for the UN and more global cooperation and collaboration. The unpredictability of the Trump administration, most recently displayed by its decision to attack Iran, may serve to strengthen China’s message of stability.

Meanwhile, Beijing may point to Iran’s retaliatory strikes against the Gulf states as a warning for countries of the consequences of aligning with Washington. This may raise questions among traditional US allies in Asia such as Japan and South Korea over whether the alliance system in the region that has long been maintained by Washington can truly guarantee the security of these states.

Pivot to Asia

While it is difficult to predict how the conflict in Iran will play out, some analysts view a drawn-out war as a possibility. This scenario also has implications for China, as it could distract the US away from its pivot to Asia. The US has long wanted to shift its foreign policy focus away from Europe and the Middle East towards the Indo-Pacific to counter the rise of China.

The US is no stranger to protracted wars in the Middle East, having become bogged down in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan since the early 2000s. Both of these wars significantly hindered and delayed the pivot to Asia, leading to what some observers call a “lost decade” for the US that allowed China to expand its influence.

A long entanglement in Iran would drain resources that might otherwise reinforce US deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, creating an opportunity for China to further to cement its role as the dominant regional player in Asia. And it could also help Beijing with its preparations for future conflicts.

The war in Iran is fertile ground for China to study American and Israeli weaponry. This may inform its future military strategy. The demonstration of the military value of drones in Ukraine, for example, has been key in China’s decision to develop and test new types of drones and drone swarm technologies.

The Iran conflict may inflict short-term damage on China economically. But, as time goes on, we may look back on this moment as a key point in China shoring up its influence across Asia and the world.

Iran has made a “big mistake” by not just attacking US bases and assets in the Gulf states, but also targeting civilians in the region, the former director of the CIA has told Sky News.

General David Petraeus, the former director of the CIA, told lead world news presenter Yalda Hakim that Iran has widened the war by hitting airports, seaports, gas and oil loading stations in Gulf states.

Iran latest: Follow live updates

“It also went after a UK base. I think this was a drone launched by Hezbollah from southern Lebanon against the base in Cyprus,” he said.

“What this is doing is bringing those countries, which sought to be neutral in a way, to stay out of it, to not allow the US to use their bases, [to now] be part of it.”

As well as his role in running the US spy service between September 2011 and November 2012, General Petraeus was pivotal as a military commander in Iraq, where he led the 2007 “Surge” strategy that significantly reduced insurgent violence after the American invasion four years earlier.

US President Donald Trump has made it clear he wants regime change in Iran after launching a wave of strikes with Israel, which he warned is yet to reach its peak.

But General Petraeus said regime change won’t come by air.

“Air power alone is not going to bring down a regime. These are not the colour revolutions either, where just a popular sentiment can topple regimes in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union, as we saw in eastern Europe and former Soviet republics,” he said.

“There’s going to have to be some kind of ground force. The objective […] is to try to create conditions where the most important regime forces are dramatically degraded, the capabilities are reduced, and leadership is disrupted enormously.”

Read more from Sky News:
The dilemma Trump is facing as Iran war escalates
Mapped: What has been hit so far in Iran war

He questioned whether the salvo of airstrikes by US and Israeli forces could potentially create conditions in Iran where some element of the regime forces “could break off and galvanise the people to actually topple the regime”.

“I don’t think that’s the base case just yet,” General Petraeus added.

The former CIA chief said if there was such an emergency of force in Iran, it would need to be “guys with guns”, because “it is the guys with the most guns and the willingness to be the most ruthless that often prevail” in those situations.