Monaco: city of vice and a few virtues

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is defending federal agents’ actions in three Minnesota shootings while pushing back on claims of “unprecedented noncooperation” raised in a lawsuit filed by the state.

Minnesota sued the U.S. Department of Justice and DHS on Tuesday, arguing the agencies have refused to turn over evidence tied to the January deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, as well as the shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis.

“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 states, arguing that access to federal evidence is central to that responsibility. “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 lawsuit, led by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison alongside Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans, asks a federal court to compel the federal government to release the evidence. In addition to the DOJ and DHS, it also names U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and former Secretary of the U.S. DHS Kristi Noem as defendants. 

In response, a DHS spokesperson told The Center Square that all use-of-force incidents involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement are reviewed under strict agency protocols.

“Every use of force incident and any discharge of an ICE firearm must be properly reported and reviewed by the agency in accordance with agency policy, procedure, and guidelines,” the spokesperson said. “All shootings are initially reviewed by an appropriate law enforcement agency. Following a review of the incident by the appropriate investigative agency, ICE and CBP conduct an independent review of the critical incident.”

The shootings occurred during a period of heightened federal enforcement in the Twin Cities under Operation Metro Surge, which brought thousands of agents to the area and led to sustained public protests, particularly after the January deaths of Good and Pretti.

DHS pointed to released footage of Good’s shooting, saying it supports the agency’s account that the officer acted in self-defense.

“The released footage corroborates what DHS has stated all along—that this individual was impeding law enforcement and weaponized her vehicle in an attempt to kill or cause bodily harm to federal law enforcement,” the spokesperson said. “The officer was in fear of his own life, the lives of his fellow officers and acted in self-defense.”

DHS added that Good had been “stalking, harassing and impeding law enforcement” throughout the morning, ignored repeated commands to stop and exit her vehicle, and then struck a federal officer.

“She then proceeded to weaponize her vehicle, a deadly weapon, and hit a federal law enforcement officer,” the agency said, adding that the officer fired “fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement, and the safety of the public.” DHS emphasized that “peaceful protest is a sacred First Amendment right” but said “this was not that.”

Regarding the shooting of Pretti, DHS said the FBI is leading the investigation with Homeland Security Investigations assisting, while U.S. Customs and Border Protection is conducting a separate internal review.

In the case of Sosa-Celis, however, DHS acknowledged potential misconduct, saying a joint review by ICE and the Department of Justice found that sworn testimony from two officers “appears to have made untruthful statements.”

Both officers were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and could face termination or criminal prosecution.

“Lying under oath is a serious federal offense,” DHS said. “The men and women of ICE are entrusted with upholding the rule of law and are held to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and ethical conduct. Violations of this sacred sworn oath will not be tolerated.”

Ellison said the lawsuit is necessary to ensure accountability and access to evidence.

“I’m suing the federal government for access to evidence in the shootings of Renee Good, Alex Pretti, and Julio Sosa-Celis,” Ellison said. “It’s astonishing this lawsuit is even necessary, but in Minnesota, nobody is above the law.”

The lawsuit argues that cooperation between federal and state authorities is not optional, pushing for the release of more information by the federal government.

“Cooperation is not merely customary,” the lawsuit states. “It reflects the basic structure of American federalism.”

DHS said all three cases remain under investigation.

An obscure group has claimed to have carried out a clutch of low-level attacks which have rattled the Jewish community in several European cities.

But experts question whether the group, which has called itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI) in online posts, really exists or is just a front for Iranian intelligence.

Jewish communities in Belgium, Britain and the Netherlands have each been targeted since the US-Israeli war with Iran began in late February.

Ambulances run by Jewish volunteers were set on fire in London, a car was torched in Antwerp, synagogues hit with explosives in Liege and Rotterdam, and a Jewish school targeted in Amsterdam.

Although police have generally been careful not to ascribe motives, pro-Iran social media accounts have posted footage and said the HAYI group carried out the attacks.

A European security source who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the topic pointed out that the HAYI group was unknown before the war.

"So it is indeed likely at this stage that it is a front group," the source said.

Laurence Bindner, a specialist in online radicalisation, said the group was first mentioned after the Liege attack on March 9.

She told AFP the logo used by the group shared similarities with that of the so-called axis of resistance, an informal Iran-led military alliance.

- 'A facade' -

Julian Lanches, of the Dutch ICCT research centre, also cast doubt on the group's authenticity in a research note on Monday.

After the Amsterdam attack on March 16, claims of responsibility were published first on pro-Iranian accounts before making it onto a supposedly official HAYI account on Telegram.

Yet the official account had only a few dozen followers at the time.

Lanches also wrote that the group had claimed responsibility for attacks that do not seem to have happened, calling these messages "likely disinformation".

All of which raised the question, he wrote, of "whether HAYI is a genuine terrorist group or merely serves as a facade for Iranian hybrid operations".

The Israeli authorities are in no doubt about the nature of the attacks and the group.

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said the attack on ambulances in London's Golders Green area was "the latest link in the terror chain" involving HAYI, which he labelled "an Iranian-backed proxy".

"From Liege and Rotterdam to Golders Green, Tehran deploys local cells to terrorise Jewish communities," he posted on social media site X on Monday.

- Child recruitment? -

Bindner said it was a "credible hypothesis" that the attacks had been outsourced to young operatives who may not even know who is employing them.

"They recruit operatives, sometimes minors, sometimes in criminal networks," she said.

"They instruct them to act, to film themselves, to send the video, which is then formatted with the group's graphics and logo."

European intelligence agencies have long accused Iran of using criminal networks to conduct clandestine operations in Europe.

"We are probably looking at a dual logic of a front group and subcontracting," Bindner said, allowing "plausible deniability on the part of the masterminds".

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Long queues of cars and motorcycles have built up at petrol stations in DR Congo's sprawling capital Kinshasa over fears of shortages and price hikes after Iran's blockade of a crucial shipping conduit.

In retaliation for US and Israeli strikes that began more than three weeks ago, Tehran virtually closed the strategic Strait of Hormuz through which one-fifth of the world's oil passes, sending global energy prices soaring.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) imports nearly all the oil needed for its more than 100 million people and a shortage would risk paralysing the economy, which relies on the transport of goods by road.

The vast central African country has only a single overland pipeline, which carries imported oil from the Atlantic port of Matadi in the west to Kinshasa.

The Congolese economics ministry on Monday said in a statement that there was "no fuel shortage and stocks of petroleum products are available and sufficient to supply the entire country".

Seeking to ease the situation at the petrol pumps, it announced customs duty exemptions and the "strengthening" of advances to oil companies "in a context of tensions linked to the geopolitical situation in the Middle East". It did not provide details on the sources of the oil supply to the country.

Yet, on a main city artery, motorcyclists gripping their handlebars have been jostling for days, shouting to make themselves heard and trying to carve out a space in the crowd to secure a few litres of the scant fuel.

"There are colleagues who have been here for four hours," said Emmanuel Gedeon Nzunzi, who drives one of the motorcycle taxis that are essential in the overcrowded and congested city of around 17 million people.

With its outdated infrastructure, the impoverished DRC is no stranger to temporary fuel shortages. But this time, the threat originates far away. 

"We saw on social media that people are talking about the war in Iran," Marcel said, standing by his motorcycle.

- 'Pressure' -

"We don't have any stocks?" asked motorbike taxi driver Moise Ilunga, not hiding his annoyance. "We have to put an end to this war, we have to negotiate with Iran, we're suffering," he said.

Fuel distributors, caught between the fear of seeing barrel prices skyrocket and the regulation of prices at the pump, are being singled out as responsible for the sudden shortage.

The government regulates pump prices, which are the equivalent of around $1 (2,440 CFA francs) a litre in the region around Kinshasa.

It pays subsidies to those involved in the petroleum sector to cover the difference with the actual price.

Emery Mbasthi, vice president of the Congo Oil Association, told AFP that he was worried about "depleting reserves without being able to replenish them".

He has called on the authorities to raise the price per litre at the pump or increase the subsidies.

Oil prices have already gone up since the start of the war in Iran and "oil companies are used to putting pressure on the government to review fuel prices" by holding onto their stocks," Jacques Mukena, a researcher at the DRC-based Ebuteli institute, told AFP.

But the government "will not immediately increase this shortfall", he added.

Increasing subsidies to fuel distributors would be a heavy drag on the state budget, while raising pump prices would have "a political and social impact", Mukena said.

The DRC, one of the poorest countries in the world, is particularly vulnerable to global oil price fluctuations.

Ilunga, the motorbike taxi driver, said that bikers like him now had to pay 1,000 CFA francs in bribes to be able to fill up on fuel at the pumps.

"With these costs, I'm going to have to ask for more money from customers" for the ride, said Marcel, amid the habitual din of engines and horns blaring in the Kinshasa sunshine.

The prime minister's office said on Tuesday that the DRC had stocks to supply the country until June and promised, for the time being, to limit the increase in the pump price.

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President Donald Trump on Wednesday named some of the biggest names in US technology to his Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, assembling a roster that includes Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

The council, known as PCAST, will be co-chaired by Trump's AI and crypto adviser David Sacks and Michael Kratsios, a tech investor who previously served as the country's chief technology officer during the president's first term.

The list of appointees includes Oracle chief Larry Ellison and Silicon Valley heavyweight Marc Andreessen, as well as Nvidia boss Jensen Huang and Lisa Su of chipmaker AMD.

"The United States has the opportunity to lead the world in AI. I'm honored to join the president's council and work with other industry leaders to help make this happen," Zuckerberg said in a statement sent to AFP.

The Council, which has existed since president Franklin Roosevelt, is purely advisory: it produces reports and recommendations on topics the president directs it to study, but has no regulatory or enforcement powers. 

Past councils have weighed in on everything from pandemic preparedness to quantum computing to clean energy.

The appointments are the latest sign of the deep ties Trump has cultivated with Silicon Valley since returning to the White House, in a major change from his first four years in office. 

The growing closeness between the White House and the tech industry has begun to generate some political backlash with recent polling showing Americans believe Big Tech has too much influence over Washington policy.

They are also wary of the rise of artificial intelligence -- a potential liability for Trump as he heads into crucial midterm elections in November.

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(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision on Wednesday, ruled that an internet service provider is not liable for $1 billion in damages when its users unlawfully engage in copyright infringement. 

The justices rule in Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment, a case that focused on $1 billion in damages a jury sought from Cox Communications, after users of the internet service were found illegally downloading and uploading copyrighted material from Sony. 

The justices argued that Cox could be liable for infringement of copyrighted material only if it intended to do so. 

"The intent required for contributory liability can be shown only if the party induced the infringement or the provided service is tailored to that infringement," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the court's majority opinion. 

Sony found 163,148 instances of illegal uploading and downloading of copyrighted material from users of Cox's internet services. 

"Under our precedents, a company is not liable as a copyright infringer for merely providing a service to the general public with knowledge that it will be used by some to infringe copyrights," Thomas wrote. 

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson filed concurring opinions with the majority but warned against blanket pardons for companies that knowingly engage in second-hand copyright infringement. 

"The majority, without any meaningful explanation, unnecessarily limits secondary liability even though this Court’s precedents have left open the possibility that other common-law theories of such liability, like aiding and abetting, could apply in the copyright context," Sotomayor wrote. 

US television host Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday described her family's "agony" in her first television interview since her mother was apparently kidnapped nearly two months ago in a case that has gripped the nation.

"Someone needs to do the right thing. We are in agony. We are in agony. It is unbearable," popular morning show presenter Savannah Guthrie said in an interview with fellow NBC News anchor Hoda Kotb.

Nancy Guthrie, 84, disappeared from her home in Tucson, Arizona in the early hours of February 1. Security camera footage released by authorities showed a masked, apparently armed man at her house, but since then the trail has gone cold.

No suspect has been identified and announcements of potential clues -- including discarded gloves -- have not led to further progress.

"To think of what she went through. I wake up every night in the middle of the night, every night," Savannah Guthrie said, tears streaming down her face.

"In the darkness, I imagine her terror. And it is unthinkable, but those thoughts demand to be thought. And I will not hide my face. But she needs to come home now."

Savannah Guthrie's comments came in a clip shared on her television show, Today, with the network saying other parts of the interview would be released on Thursday and Friday.

Savannah Guthrie previously offered $1 million for a tip leading to the recovery of her mother, acknowledging that "she may already be gone."

The FBI has offered $100,000 for information.

The Today show is something of a US institution, airing nationally since 1952 and drawing millions of viewers to NBC on weekday mornings.

pnb/sms

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court, in an 8-1 decision, decided an individual on supervised release is not automatically extended when that person absconds from their release. 

The case, Rico v. US, focuses on Isabel Rico who absconded her supervised release while she was on probation after being detained in federal prison. During her probation period, Rico was convicted of a state drug offense. 

A judge charged her with time in prison and several months of supervised release. 

Justices on the court said Rico cannot be automatically considered for an extension of supervised release just because she violated her previous release. 

"The government seeks not a rule that stops the clock or ensures a defendant takes no advantage of abscondment, but one that imposes new punishment by automatically extending supervised release," Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the court's majority opinion. 

The justices argued that the Sentencing Reform Act protects Rico from automatic additional punishment, even though she absconded her supervised release. 

In 1984, Congress passed the Sentencing Reform Act, which created mandatory uniform national guidelines to increase transparency and unity in federal sentencing practices.  

"The Act already provides many ways to ensure defendants do not profit from violations without automatically extending the period beyond what a judge ordered," Gorsuch wrote. 

Justice Samuel Alito provided the lone dissenting opinion. He argued the Sentencing Reform Act was used by the judge to determine Rico's punishment after she absconded supervised release. 

"It seems strange to regard a crime committed after the expiration of “unsupervised supervised release” as a non-event," Alito wrote. "By that logic, if petitioner had gone on a murder spree after the expiration of the period of unsupervised supervised release, the sentencing judge would have been required to put that out of his mind."

(The Center Square) – A majority of American voters say President Donald Trump has demonstrated better cognitive and physical skills during his second term compared to former President Joe Biden, according to a new poll.

The Center Square Voters’ Voice poll surveyed American voters on several issues, comparing the two leaders, including their cognitive ability; judgement and decision-making; ability to perform the day-to-day activities of the president; and transparency in the media.

The Center Square Voters' Voice Poll was conducted by Noble Predictive Insights between March 2-5, 2026. The poll sample included 2,659 respondents, comprised of 952 Republicans, 934 Democrats, and 773 Independents, of which 330 are True Independents, which Noble Predictive refers to as independents who, when asked if they leaned toward one of the major parties, chose neither. It is among the most comprehensive tracking polls in the country.

On cognitive ability, 56% of voters say Trump has demonstrated better cognitive skills than Biden, at 44%. Eighty-eight percent of Republicans view Trump’s cognitive skills better than Biden's, while 58% of independents agree and only 24% of Democrats agree.

Similarly, 54% of voters believe Trump has shown a better ability to carry out the day-to-day activities of the presidency, compared to 46% for Biden. Eighty-nine percent of Republicans agree compared to only 19% of Democrats; however, 55% of independents agree that Trump has shown better stamina.

When it comes to judgment and decision-making, 51% say Trump shows stronger judgment and decision-making skills than Biden, while 49% believe the opposite. Eighty-seven percent of Republicans view Trump’s judgment and decision-making skills more favorably, while 16% of Democrats and 49% of independents agree.

Lastly, 51% of voters believe Trump has demonstrated greater transparency and communication with the media than Biden, compared to 49% for Biden. Eighty-six percent of Republicans believe the current president has shown better transparency and communication skills with the media, while only 17% of Democrats and 48% of independents agree.

While the two leaders are only a few years apart in age, Biden’s presidency was marred by questions about his cognitive and physical abilities – ultimately leading him to drop out of his reelection campaign for president in 2024 after a poor debate performance against Trump.

Biden’s cognitive health during his four years as president has been the subject of congressional investigations, with several of his top advisors called to be interviewed by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Oversight Committee.

While Trump only scored slightly higher than Biden on transparency and communication with the media, there is a stark contrast between the two leaders’ communication styles with the media.

Biden preferred more formal, structured press conferences. At the same time, Trump is known for fielding questions from reporters during Oval Office events and White House roundtables, and even taking direct phone calls from reporters while on the golf course.

At the end of Biden’s presidency, he broke the record for any president in modern history on the number of vacation days taken during his four years in office. The Republican National Committee tallied that the former president spent 577 days on vacation during his four years in office.

Trump, on the other hand, is known to prefer working vacations, as evidenced by overseeing the recent military strikes on Venezuela and Iran from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla.

(The Center Square) – Five years into Texas’ border security mission, Operation Lone Star officers have seized a record amount of illicit drugs.  

Gov. Greg Abbott first launched OLS on March 4, 2021, in response to an unprecedented number of illegal border crossers and crime within the first year of the Biden administration. 

From March 2021 through February 2026, OLS officers have apprehended 538,141 illegal border crossers, The Center Square reported.

They’ve also seized a record volume of illicit drugs, including enough fentanyl to kill nearly one tenth of the world’s population.

Although illegal crossings have dropped by more than 95% under the Trump administration, crime is ongoing and cartel networks are embedded throughout Texas and nationwide. OLS 2.0 is targeting them and criminal actors designated as foreign terrorist organizations like Tren de Aragua, The Center Square reported. 

Roughly 4,200 Venezuelans illegally in the country have been arrested in Texas for a range of crimes. As of Jan. 8, there are 555 Venezuelans with active warrants issued by Texas law enforcement agencies. As of Feb. 27, there are 173 confirmed TdA members in Texas’ gang database, according to OLS data obtained by The Center Square. 

TdA’s vast criminal network relies on smuggling and trafficking of illicit drugs and money laundering tied to these operations, authorities have found. 

Despite record low illegal border crossings, law enforcement officers at the federal, state and local level are seeing an increase in narcotics coming across the border.

“Whether it's through the ports of entry or between the ports of entry, we've seen large amounts of narcotics especially in commercial vehicles, as well as money and weapons heading south to Mexico,” Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez told The Center Square.

Since March 2021, OLS officers have seized significant volumes of illicit drugs in border communities and statewide. They’ve seized record amounts of marijuana (more than 40,000 pounds at the border/nearly 89,000 pounds statewide); cocaine (nearly 17,000 pounds at the border/25,000 pounds statewide) and heroin (more than 300 pounds at the border/more than 1,000 pounds statewide), according to the data.

OLS officers have also seized a record amount of fentanyl (more than 600 pounds at the border/nearly 4,000 statewide), according to the data.

This translates to OLS officers seizing more than 138 million lethal doses of fentanyl at the border and more than 870 million lethal doses statewide. The statewide seizure total is enough to kill one-tenth of the world population.  

OLS officers have also seized a record amount of methamphetamine (nearly 25,000 pounds at the border/nearly 94,000 pounds statewide), according to the data. 

They are also continuing to implement targeted traffic enforcement, which authorities have found helps them identify drug smuggling and trafficking and enforce commercial driving safety regulations. Last September, Texas DPS began suspending issuing CDL licenses in several categories and implementing targeted enforcement actions. 

In the west Texas region near El Paso, OLS officers have conducted nearly 3,000 vehicle inspections, taking 13% of vehicles out of service. 

In OLS areas of interest at the border, since last March, OLS officers have apprehended and referred to Border Patrol 2,212 illegal foreign nationals for illegally operating a commercial motor vehicle or other large vehicles. The vehicles were being driven on public highways and used “to transport passengers or property, including but not limited to a bus, tractor trailer, cargo/horse trailer, box truck, farm vehicle,” according to the data. 

Earlier this month, in the small rural town of George West in Live Oak County, an OLS officer pulled over the driver of a semi-truck tractor trailer for a traffic violation and noticed signs of possible criminal activity. An OLS Live Oak Sheriff’s K-9 unit was called and identified 2,000 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in the trailer. The driver was headed for Dallas. He was arrested and the drugs, worth roughly $3.4 million, were seized.

“There is a trend that happens under different administrations and policies that cartels are always going to adapt to,” Olivarez said. “Right now, the cartels are adapting to this current administration. We’re not seeing that large volume of people coming across the border, which was the cartels money maker the last four years. Now, they're more careful. They're more discreet with who they're bringing across the border. They're charging double, triple the amount that they normally would charge somebody to get across the border. Now they're going back to what they normally would do: smuggling narcotics across the border and of course money and weapons going south.”

The continued need for OLS in the interior of the state is paramount for border security, he and others in law enforcement have told The Center Square. 

“Things could change, elections always play a role in border security,” Olivarez said. “Cartels are well aware and pay attention to politics. Elections will always play a role in border security.”

The war in the Middle East is impacting numerous economic sectors and not only in the region, both by direct disruptions and rising fuel prices.

- Aviation -

Airlines bore an immediate impact from the outbreak of hostilities as they cancelled flights to the region.

While airlines based in the Middle East account for only 9.5 percent of global capacity, they play an outsized role they have developed into a major hub for long-haul travel between Europe and Asia.

These airlines have been particularly hard hit.

Qatar Airways has had to cancel nearly 91 percent of its flights since the fighting broke on February 28, according to aviation data firm Cirium.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad has cancelled nearly three-quarters of its flights and Dubai-based Emirates nearly half.

But all airlines feeling the heat from soaring prices of jet fuel, which has more than doubled from pre-war levels.

Fuel accounts for between a quarter and a third of the operating costs of airlines, and some have already begun to pass along the higher costs to consumers by adding surcharges or hiking fares.

Several airlines have begun cutting back on their service schedules due to higher jet fuel costs as well as limited stocks, which have disrupted by the conflict and export restrictions some countries have imposed.

- Tourism -

Disruptions and higher airline ticket prices will have an impact on the willingness and financial means of tourists to travel.

Oxford Economics estimates that even with a quick end to the conflict the Middle East is facing an 11-27 percent drop in visitor arrivals this year, against previously forecast 13 percent growth.

But with Middle East airlines being important travel hubs and airlines everywhere raising fares the impact is likely to be wider.

The conflict could cause a reduction in 116 million visits and 858 million nights in hotel stays outside the Middle East this year, Oxford Economics estimates.

Some countries might benefit from tourists choosing its beaches over those in the Middle East region, however, such as Spain and Portugal, it noted.

In Europe, there was a six percent drop in hotel revenue per room, a key financial metric, during the first week of the war, according MKG Consulting.

Over the following two weeks the drop was just one percent in Britain and France, but 23.5 percent in Ireland and 15.4 percent in Portugal, two countries more dependent upon foreign tourists.

- Maritime transport -

Maritime transport carries 80 percent of the goods traded in the world. Fuel costs, which are up an average of 20 percent for ships, will raise overall shipping costs.

While shipping between Asia and North America has been little affected, routes between Asia and Europe, as well as Asia and Africa, have been impacted as ports in the Gulf and Red Sea are often used as transfer zones, said Cyrille Poirier Coutansais at the French defence ministry's maritime security research centre. 

Shipping companies also have a number of vessels blocked in the Gulf.

Those that don't want to travel through the Red Sea and take the Suez Canal have to take the considerably longer route around Africa, increasing delivery times and shipping costs.

- Agriculture -

The Gulf region produces around 30 percent of the world's fertiliser, which is key agricultural input in terms of cost as well as ensuring high yields.

The region is a big supplier for Asian nations, several of which have had to suspend their own output as the price of natural gas used in its production has soared.

There are concerns that an extended conflict could result in shortages while high prices could force some farmers to do without.

Farmers are also facing higher costs of diesel for their tractors and other equipment, as well as for gas to heat greenhouses and animal enclosures.

- Luxury -

The Middle East is an important market for the luxury industry and the Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai airports were also important distribution hubs.

Analysts at Bernstein expect luxury sales in the region to be cut in half in March, mainly due to a drop in tourism.

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