Greece train tragedy trial adjourned amid courtroom chaos

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado told AFP on Tuesday that her country's formerly all-powerful socialist ideology has been fatally "wounded" by US President Donald Trump.

The regime known as "Chavismo" that held Venezuela in its grip for quarter of a century under Hugo Chavez and his successor Nicolas Maduro is "wounded irreparably and is being dismantled," Machado said.

The oil-rich Latin American country was thrown into turmoil this January when US military forces toppled leftist Maduro, who has now been replaced with his former deputy Delcy Rodriguez.

While Rodriguez served under Maduro, she has proved eager to bend to Trump's demands, including reopening the country to US oil companies. Last week, she ordered a wide-ranging reshuffle of senior military leaders.

"Following President Trump's instructions, they are dismantling their own repressive and corrupt structures -- a crucial step toward the transition," Machado said during an interview with AFP in Houston, Texas, where she was attending the CERAWeek global energy forum. 

Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, said that when presidential elections are held again in Venezuela, she will participate "in that electoral process." However, she did not specify whether she would run.

Machado said she believed that "Venezuelans will freely decide who they want" as leader in the next elections.

Machado was banned from running for president in the 2024 election. After Maduro claimed a reelection victory, a wave of repression forced her to remain in hiding for more than a year.

She has remained in the United States for most of her exile.

In January, just two weeks after US forces snatched Maduro and brought him to New York for trial, she met with Trump in the White House and presented him with her Nobel prize.

Trump has said he would like to "get her involved" in Venezuela's political process. But he has so far sidelined Machado and backed Rodriguez as interim leader.

Maduro is being held in a New York jail while awaiting trial on US drug trafficking charges.

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(The Center Square) – As the Department of Homeland Security nears 40 days since a government stalemate shut it down, Markwayne Mullins has been sworn in as the ninth secretary to lead the federal agency.

Attorney General Pam Bondi swore in Mullins in an Oval Office ceremony with President Donald Trump leading the ceremony.

In brief remarks, the secretary said he is committed to protecting all Americans and continuing to work every day.

“I’ll be fighting 365 days … No one’s going to outwork me, and I’m not going to let any of them outwork me. The president has entrusted me with this, and failure is not an option,” said Mullins.

When introducing Mullins, Trump described the new secretary as a “great American patriot,” adding that he was the only one for the job.

The secretary was confirmed Monday by the Republican-majority Senate, with two Democrats crossing the aisle to confirm the Trump-nominated senator to head DHS.

Trump tapped Mullins to lead DHS following the reported fallout of the now-former Secretary of DHS, Kristi Noem, over congressional testimony claiming the president gave the stamp of approval to a $200 million ad campaign for the agency featuring Noem.

Despite the reported fallout, Trump reassigned Noem to a newly created position as the special envoy for the Shield of the Americas.

In a March 5 social media post, the president said Noem’s new position would be a part of his administration’s new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere.

Up until his swearing in Tuesday afternoon, Mullins served as a Republican U.S. senator representing the State of Oklahoma. The state’s Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt announced Mullins replacement Tuesday morning, tapping Alan Armstrong, an energy executive.

Stitt described Armstrong as a “strong business leader who understands the power of free markets and limited government.”

(The Center Square) – Minnesota filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for refusing to share evidence regarding three shootings involving federal agents.

Those shootings include the incidents involving Alex Pretti and Renee Good, which led to both of their deaths in January. It also references the shooting of Julio SosaCelis. 

"The State of Minnesota has the authority and responsibility to protect against and address violence within its borders, including by prosecuting homicides, attempted homicides, and assaults," the lawsuit stated.

It called the alleged lack of cooperation from the federal government "unprecedented noncooperation."

DHS did not respond to a request to comment from The Center Square.

At the beginning of the year, DHS sent thousands of federal agents to the Twin Cities in an effort called Operation Metro Surge. More than 4,000 illegal immigrants have been arrested since it began.

Since federal agents were sent to the state, the Twin Cities faced nearly-constant public protests. The protests were heightened by the January deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, both of whom were shot by federal agents in January.

The federal government began pulling back from the operation in February. Since the operation has come to an end, the City of Minneapolis has sought financial aid from the federal government to address the “damage” and “ongoing needs” it says were caused by the operation.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, and Superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Drew Evans are leading the lawsuit. In addition to the DOJ and DHS, it also names U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of the U.S. DHS Kristi Noem.

The lawsuit is asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to force the federal government to share the evidence it has collected in reference to the three shootings.

"Cooperation is not merely customary. It reflects the basic structure of American federalism, under which the States retain primary authority to investigate and enforce violations of their own criminal laws," the lawsuit said. "At stake is not only Plaintiffs’ access to evidence central to these shootings but also a fundamental principle of our constitutional system: that the States retain the sovereign authority—and responsibility—to investigate crimes committed within their borders."

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court appeared in favor of the Trump administration's policy to prevent immigrants making asylum claims from being processed if they are on the Mexico side of the U.S.-Mexico border.

The court heard arguments in Noem v. Al Otro Lado, a case challenging whether a former Trump administration “metering” policy – that prevented immigrants on the Mexico side of the U.S.-Mexico border from claiming asylum protections – is against U.S. immigration law. 

The 1990 Immigration and Nationality Act allows an individual who “arrives in the United States” to apply for asylum status and be inspected by an immigration officer.

Several of the justices questioned at what point it can be determined that an immigrant “arrives in the United States.” Justice Amy Coney Barrett specifically drilled into what the definition of arrival means.

“What is the magic thing that we’re saying happens to make it so now someone arrives in the United States,” Barrett asked.

Kelsi Cockran, a lawyer representing Al Otro Lado, said the determination is made once an individual is “at the threshold” of a port of entry “about to step over.”

Justice Brett Kavanaugh appeared to criticize Cockran's response. He called for a specific definition that the court could apply moving forward.

“It seems very artificial trying to figure out, ‘at the threshold,’” Kavanaugh said. “Threshold means government will stop you short of the threshold.”

Several other justices proposed various hypotheticals seeking to define the term “arrives.” Chief Justice John Roberts said someone standing in a long line at a concert venue cannot be considered as arriving.

“If you’re at the end of a long line, you’re not there, you haven’t arrived at the turnstile,” Roberts said.

Several justices argued the Trump administration was seeking to encourage illegal immigration by preventing individuals from crossing the southern border to apply for asylum. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson said appearing to encourage illegal immigration seemed at odds with the Trump administration’s agenda.

Jackson questioned whether an illegal immigrant would be privileged over someone seeking status at a port of entry like the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Why would his asylum request be discarded but someone who manages to enter the United States illegally and requests asylum gets their application entertained,” Jackson said.

Vivek Suri, a lawyer representing the Trump administration, argued the metering policy is designed to control the flow of individuals at ports of entry.

“Metering is not saying you can never enter the U.S. and the only option is to enter illegally,” Suri said. “The U.S. has greater responsibilities to those in the U.S. than those in Mexico."

The Trump administration’s “metering policy” is not currently in effect because the border has been closed off to prevent entry. This led Jackson and Sotomayor to argue the policy should not remain in effect.

Suri said the administration would like to have the option to effectively administer this policy, without it being blocked in the courts if the border does open up eventually.

“This is a tool that [The Department of Homeland Security] would want in its toolbox,” Suri said. “This is an important tool that the government would want in its toolbox."

“[It’s] necessary for ports to say ‘sorry, we’re at capacity, try again next time,’” Suri said.

The Supreme Court is expected to deliberate on its ruling and issue a decision by the end of its term in June.

Israel should "refrain" from sending in forces to take control of a zone in south Lebanon, France's foreign minister told AFP on Tuesday, warning that such a move would have "major humanitarian consequences".

"We urge the Israeli authorities to refrain from such ground operations, which would have major humanitarian consequences and would exacerbate the country's already dire situation," Jean-Noel Barrot said in an interview with AFP.

His comments came after Israel earlier said its military would take control of south Lebanon up to the Litani River, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border.

Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militant group began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel has since launched strikes across Lebanon, killing at least 1,072 people and displacing more than a million others in more than three weeks of fighting. It has also sent ground troops into the country's south.

Barrot, who visited Lebanon and Israel last week, called on Israel to seize a "historic opportunity" for dialogue with Lebanon's government, saying that Beirut was "turning its words into action" to counter Tehran's interference in the country.

He noted that during his visit to Lebanon on March 19, President Joseph Aoun called for a truce and the opening of negotiations with Israel to stop the war between it and Hezbollah.

"There is a moment to seize, it is historic, and that moment is now," Barrot said, calling for "high-level political dialogue" with the Lebanese government.

Lebanon's government has acted against Iranian interests and withdrew its approval of the Iranian ambassador's accreditation on Tuesday, a decision Barrot hailed as "courageous".

Iranian ambassador Mohammad Reza Sheibani was told to leave Lebanese territory by Sunday.

"I wish to commend the statements and actions of the Lebanese government...which this morning took a courageous decision by expelling the Iranian ambassador," Barrot said.

Hezbollah strongly objected to the move, calling on the government to reverse it.

It was "no small matter" that Lebanon's government had also expelled "a number of representatives of the Revolutionary Guards" in the country, Barrot said, referring to the Islamic republic's ideological army.

Beirut has accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards of commanding Hezbollah's operations in its war against Israel, having decided on March 5 to ban all activity by the organisation in the country.

The government also took the unprecedented step of imposing a ban on Hezbollah military activities and called on the group to hand over its weapons to the state.

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The UN Human Rights Council will hold a rare urgent debate on Wednesday on Iran's strikes on countries across the Gulf region and their impact on civilians.

The session, approved on Tuesday, was requested by Bahrain on behalf of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Jordan -- to the infuriation of Tehran, which branded them "detached from reality".

The United Nations' top rights body will discuss "the recent military aggression launched by Iran against Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates... targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, which has resulted in the loss of innocent lives", according to the debate title.

The war erupted on February 28 when the United States and Israel began their attacks on Iran, with Tehran in turn striking targets in Israel and Gulf nations.

"Our countries are not party to the armed conflict, nor have we taken part in military aggression or attacks," Bahrain's ambassador Abdulla Abdullatif Abdulla told the council on Tuesday.

"These Iranian attacks have targeted civilians, civilian infrastructure, leading to very many innocent victims."

Abdulla said the GCC and Jordan had tried to ensure that dialogue prevailed, and had affirmed they would not attack Iran.

"Despite this, we are continuing to be targets of direct attacks," he said, calling the strikes "unjustified and unjustifiable".

The countries brought forward a draft resolution, which the 47-member council will vote on.

The draft resolution "condemns in the strongest terms the egregious attacks" by Iran, condemns Tehran's actions aimed at closing the Strait of Hormuz and voices "grave concerns at the Iranian attacks on energy infrastructure".

It demands Iran "cease all unprovoked attacks" against the GCC states and Jordan, and "provide full, adequate, effective and prompt reparation for all injury and damage... caused by its internationally illegal wrongful acts".

It does not mention Israel or the United States.

- 'Lawful targets': Tehran -

Tehran said the request was "wilfully ignoring the ongoing war of aggression launched against Iran by the US and Israeli regimes".

Holding such a debate was "manifestly unjust, legally untenable and fundamentally detached from reality", Iran's representative told the council.

"It is obvious that if the littoral states of the Persian Gulf and Jordan had not permitted their territories to be used by the US military forces for acts of aggression, US military bases and facilities in the region would not have become lawful targets.

"These states have, at a minimum, facilitated acts that qualify as aggression," and therefore cannot claim isolation from Iran's right of self-defence.

"Iran did not initiate this conflict... Don't confuse the culprits with the victims," the representative said.

Council president Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro said he had received a letter from Iran, China and Cuba requesting another urgent debate.

That request, on the "protection of children and educational institutions in international armed conflicts", refers to the airstrike on a school in the southern city of Minab, calling it a "grave breach of international humanitarian law and international human rights law".

Suryodipuro said the request would be discussed by the council bureau later on Tuesday.

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(The Center Square) – NASA has abandoned its plans to build a lunar-orbiting space station and will instead use those resources to construct a $20 billion permanent base on the moon, scheduled for completion within seven years.

This major policy shift is outlined in NASA's new roadmap, which describes a multi-phase approach to establishing a sustained human presence on the moon. The plan relies on international and commercial partnerships, advanced technologies and a $20 billion investment. NASA also aims to fulfill the ambitious space goals set by President Donald Trump.

"NASA is committed to achieving the near‑impossible once again, to return to the Moon before the end of President Trump's term, build a Moon base, establish an enduring presence, and do the other things needed to ensure American leadership in space," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said Tuesday.

As part of this shift, NASA will pause its Gateway project, which had aimed to build a small lunar-orbiting space station by 2027. Some of Gateway’s hardware will be repurposed for the new moon base initiative.

NASA’s plan will unfold in phases. The first phase focuses on repeatable missions deploying rovers, scientific instruments, and power generation equipment to the moon. The second phase introduces semi-habitable infrastructure and regular logistics in partnership with international collaborators. Heavier infrastructure to support a continuous human foothold will follow, marking the transition from periodic expeditions to a permanent base.

"The moon base will not appear overnight," Isaacman said. "We will invest approximately $20 billion over the next seven years and build it through dozens of missions, working together with commercial and international partners."

Isaacman noted that the International Space Station’s lifespan is limited.

"The transition to commercial stations must be thoughtful, deliberate, and structured to support long-term industry success," he said.

Part of the new strategy involves building a nuclear power station on the moon. NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy plan to construct a nuclear reactor by 2030 to support future missions to Mars. The agencies say the fission surface power system will provide safe, efficient, and plentiful electrical power, capable of operating for years without refueling.

NASA will launch the Space Reactor‑1 Freedom, the first nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft, to Mars before the end of 2028. It will enable advanced nuclear-electric propulsion in deep space.

"Nuclear electric propulsion provides an extraordinary capability for efficient mass transport in deep space and enables high power missions beyond Jupiter where solar arrays are not effective," according to the space agency.

Upon reaching Mars, SR-1 Freedom will deploy the Skyfall payload: Ingenuity-class helicopters designed to explore the Martian surface. The mission will also test flight-ready nuclear hardware, establish important regulatory and launch precedents, and bolster the industrial foundation for future fission power systems. By partnering with the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA aims to enable sustained exploration beyond the Moon, paving the way for eventual missions to Mars and the outer solar system.

The multi-stage Artemis program is expected to cost more than $100 billion. NASA’s acting inspector general told Congress in 2024 that the agency’s total Artemis campaign costs are projected to reach $93 billion for fiscal years 2012 to 2025.

The inspector general also projected that the SLS/Orion system and related ground launch infrastructure will cost at least $4.2 billion per launch for the first four Artemis missions. That does not include $42 billion in formulation and development costs spent over the past 12 years.

Russia fired almost 1,000 drones at Ukraine over the last 24-hours, unleashing one of its largest-ever daytime attacks, killing at least eight people and hitting the UNESCO-protected city centre of Lviv, officials said Tuesday.

Two people were killed and a maternity hospital damaged in a drone strike on the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk, with another person killed in the central Vinnytsia region -- part of an assault that followed an overnight barrage on residential buildings in several cities that killed another five people.

In Lviv, a western city far from the front, an AFP reporter saw a column of flames rising from a building next to the 17th-century St. Andrew's Church and Bernardine Monastery in the city centre, which was struck during evening rush hour.

Firefighters were working to put out the blaze at the apartment building, whose roof had been smashed in and windows blown out.

First responders and locals were seen sheltering inside a church in mid-attack, waiting for the all-clear to go back outside.

A spokesman for Ukraine's air force told AFP it was one of the biggest-ever daytime attacks on Ukraine.

"On such a large scale, it's basically the first time. I don't recall there being such daytime strikes with this number of drones," said the spokesman, Yuriy Ignat.

Russia fired 550 drones during the day on Tuesday, following 392 overnight, Ukraine's air force said in a statement.

Moscow has typically fired its barrages overnight in the four-year war, which started with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has killed hundreds of thousands of people.

- 'More protection needed': Zelensky -

The daytime strikes on the centre of Ivano-Frankivsk killed two people and wounded four, including a six-year-old child, regional head Svitlana Onyshchuk said on social media.

Around 10 residential buildings and a maternity hospital were damaged, she said.

In the Vinnytsia region, one person was killed and 11 wounded, the regional head said.

In Lviv, at least 13 people were hospitalised.

Unverified video from the city shared widely on social media showed a drone careering down into a building near a church in the city centre, erupting into a ball of flames on impact.

Earlier, in Kyiv, AFP reporters saw locals -- including a mother with her toddler -- sheltering in the metro at lunchtime during a rare midday air alert.

The attacks came with Ukraine concerned that it could struggle to repel relentless Russian aerial strikes as its supplies of US air defence systems dwindle amid the war in the Middle East.

"These numbers clearly show that more protection is needed to save lives from Russian strikes," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media.

A third round of US-brokered talks between Moscow and Kyiv aimed at ending Russia's invasion has been derailed by the war in the Middle East.

Ukraine sent a delegation to the United States last weekend in a bid to revive the negotiation process, but the effort yielded no immediate result.

Kyiv has been seeking to trade its anti-drone technology and expertise for conventional air defence missiles, which it urgently needs, and has dispatched around 200 of its military experts to Gulf countries facing Iranian drone attacks.

- Housing, infrastructure hit -

Overnight, Russian missiles and drones rained down on residential areas and transport and energy infrastructure across Ukraine, local authorities said.

Five people were killed and dozens wounded in strikes across the central Poltava region, the eastern city of Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south.

AFP reporters in Zaporizhzhia -- repeatedly battered by Russian attacks -- saw a fire raging across multiple floors in a high-rise residential block, windows and balconies blasted out and grey smoke bellowing from the building.

The nighttime attack also cut a key power line connecting neighbouring Moldova to Europe, forcing the country to declare a state of emergency.

Another power line to the southern Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was also cut, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported.

Russia has occupied large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine in a gruelling campaign that has forced millions of people to flee their homes.

In Russia, authorities in the western Kursk region said a Ukrainian strike on a farm had killed one person and wounded 13.

On the battlefield, Russia's army said it had captured a Ukrainian village in the Kharkiv region.

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Soaring fuel prices due to the Middle East war and snarled supply chains are already hurting businesses, business survey data published Tuesday showed.

Now in its fourth week, the war sparked by US and Israeli strikes on Iran has seen global oil prices soar by more than 40 percent as Tehran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of oil and liquefied natural gas supplied flowed before the conflict began.

Economists have warned that if they persist higher energy prices could trigger a fresh surge in inflation and slow economic growth.

The Purchasing Managers' Indices compiled monthly by S&P Global are the data equivalent of the canary in the coal mine. 

They survey managers who have their thumbs on the pulse of businesses across many industries, and often reveal changes in business conditions months before official government data.

The latest batch of PMI surveys, which included the period since the war broke out on February 28, showed that businesses activity is already slowing and prices rising.

The initial reading for the composite US PMI dipped to an 11-month low of 51.4 points in March from 51.9 points in February, with services taking a hit while manufacturing edged higher. 

A reading above 50 points indicates economic growth.

"The flash PMI survey data for March signal an unwelcome combination of slower growth and rising inflation following the outbreak of war in the Middle East," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. 

"Companies are reporting a hit to demand from the additional uncertainty and cost of living impact generated by the conflict," he added.

- Stagflation threat -

Williamson said that the price component of the surveys indicated inflation rising back to around four percent "hinting at a growing risk of the US moving into an environment of stagflation."

Stagflation is a period of little or no economic growth and high inflation, which poses a quandary for central bankers as raising interest rates to reduce inflation is a sure recipe to trigger a recession.

Meanwhile the eurozone PMI dropped to 10-month low of 50.5 in March, down from 51.9 in February, signalling a near stop in growth and weakening demand.  

"The flash Eurozone PMI is ringing stagflation alarm bells," said Williamson.

Analysts said the data is a warning signal.

"The risk is that the PMI data, which is a lead indicator, is the start of a wave of weaker economic data to come down the line," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.

- Growth at near stop -

Christophe Boucher at ABN AMRO Investment Solutions said the impact of the war in Iran is visible in the PMI data in three ways: a slowdown in the growth in services, an increase in manufacturing prices and a degradation in the global outlook.

Services is by far the main largest economic sector, and in the United States the services PMI dipped to an 11-month low of 51.1.

In Europe it fell to 50.1, a 10-month low.

Germany however saw manufacturing output jump to a four-year high thanks in part a major public investment programme to boost the economy. 

But "the problem with German industry is that it is extremely dependent upon access to fossil fuels" which raises concern that it will also face headwinds, said Christopher Dembik, investment strategist at Pictet Asset Management. 

In France, the private sector registered its strongest contraction since October at 48.3 points.

The same slowdown trend was observed in PMIs in Britain and Australia. 

- Inflationary spiral -

The survey found war-related shipping issues were a key cause of longer supply delivery times. 

In the eurozone, input prices increased at the fastest pace since February 2023, with both manufacturing and services facing steeper inflation, due to higher energy prices.

In the United States, input prices rose at the fastest rate in 10 months, and companies passed the higher costs to clients, with selling prices jumping at the fastest rate in over three-and-a-half years.

ABN AMRO's Boucher said it is important to watch for companies passing on higher costs to clients.

"What seems to be the most important to monitor, particularly in case of an extended conflict, is the risk of the transmission of inflation in the services sector which would signal the second-round effects," he said. 

While Iran and Israel traded strikes on Tuesday, there was still cautious optimism that talks US President Donald Trump evoked on Monday to justify postponing threatened attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure might lead to a deescalation.

"With the Ukraine conflict in 2022 it took five weeks to realize that it wasn't temporary and was becoming structural," Pictet AM's Dembik told AFP, referring to the rise in energy prices triggered by Russia's invasion of its neighbour.

"Today, with some twenty days of fighting, we're still in the middle of the zone of uncertainty," he added.

Jack Allen-Reynolds, deputy chief eurozone economist at Capital Economics, said "if energy prices remain high, worse could be to come."

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US oil giant ConocoPhillips has been urging President Donald Trump's administration to provide extra protection around assets in Qatar where the company has invested significantly, its chief executive said Tuesday.

CEO Ryan Lance's comments at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston come as war rages on in the Middle East, after US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 triggered Tehran's retaliation.

In addition to bringing commercial shipping to a virtual halt through the vital Strait of Hormuz, Iran has also attacked energy infrastructure in the region.

"We're obviously a big investor in Qatar, so a lot of my conversations with the administration is really pleading to try to get extra protection around the US-owned assets in Qatar," Lance said.

"As they protect naval and air force bases and our servicemen and embassies and US citizens, putting US assets on that list to protect there in Qatar is very important," he added.

Lance also said that his company had to evacuate a number of staff over the last few weeks, adding that the situation has been difficult to assess.

Oil prices have soared since the war began, with the price of a barrel of international benchmark Brent crude surging by more than 40 percent.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Brent prices hovered above $104.30 per barrel.

Normally, around a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

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