Independent News & People Network Desk of News

UAE briefly closes airspace as fighting escalates

Source: The Hindu Business Line – Markets · Published: 2026-03-17T03:53:52+00:00

The airspace was closed briefly as the UAE’s military worked to intercept incoming Iranian fire early on Tuesday

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Cuba faces nationwide blackouts amid US oil blockade

Source: Al Jazeera - World · Published: 2026-03-17T03:52:10+00:00

Cuba’s national power grid has collapsed amid an ongoing US-imposed oil blockade, causing blackouts across the country.

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Trump demands help With Hormuz, threatens more Kharg strikes

Source: The Hindu Business Line – Markets · Published: 2026-03-17T03:49:06+00:00

The president expressed his frustration with other nations that have so far been publicly noncommittal on his calls to help ensure vessels can transit the strait

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RBA interest rates: Reserve Bank raises official cash rate to 4.1% in blow to mortgage holders

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-17T03:48:54+00:00

Reserve Bank of Australia’s second consecutive increase lifts cash rate target to where it was in February last yearFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Reserve Bank has increased interest rates amid a global energy shock that threatens to push Australian inflation towards 5%.The hike takes the RBA’s cash rate target from 3.85% to 4.1%, back to where it was in February 2025, wiping out the relief offered by two cuts last year. Continue reading...

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LPG supply: Crackdown against hoarding in multiple states

Source: The Hindu Business Line – Markets · Published: 2026-03-17T03:40:22+00:00

The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, said that the government had claimed that the LPG supply was not affected by the Iran-US-Israel conflict but the ground reality was different

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Australia news live: fresh blow to mortgage holders as RBA hikes official interest rate to 4.1% in second consecutive increase

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-17T03:33:33+00:00

Reserve Bank lifts official cash rate target by 25 basis points. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTwo men charged with murder after man fatally shot in Sydney unitTwo men have been charged with murder after a gangland-linked shooting at a suburban apartment complex that left one man dead and another injured, AAP reports. Continue reading...

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Trump appeals for help with Hormuz, threatens more Kharg strikes

Source: The Hindu Business Line – Markets · Published: 2026-03-17T03:32:29+00:00

Trump expresses frustration with US allies and other economies that have so far been publicly non-committal on his calls to help ensure vessels can transit the strait

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Middle East crisis live: Trump seeks to delay summit with China’s Xi amid Iran war; US embassy in Baghdad reportedly targeted in air attack

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-17T03:31:54+00:00

Trump says delay of ‘a month or so’ requested while key official insists move is not to pressure Beijing to help unblock strait of Hormuz; Iraqi officials say drones and rockets attacked embassyEuropean countries reject Trump’s call for help to reopen strait of HormuzHow have you been affected by the latest Middle East events?Are fuel price increases making you cut back? Continue reading...

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Nvidia makes trillion-dollar forecast at Annual Product Expo

Source: The Hindu Business Line – Markets · Published: 2026-03-17T03:31:06+00:00

The trillion-dollar sales forecast, fueled by orders from the company’s Blackwell and Rubin chips, offered evidence that demand remains solid

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RBA raises official interest rate to 4.1% in blow to mortgage holders

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-17T03:30:21+00:00

Reserve Bank of Australia’s second consecutive increase lifts cash rate target to where it was in February last yearFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Reserve Bank has increased interest rates amid a global energy shock that threatens to push Australian inflation towards 5%.The hike takes the RBA’s cash rate target from 3.85% to 4.1%, back to where it was in February 2025, wiping out the relief offered by two cuts last year. Continue reading...

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UAE reopens airspace after Iran attack – as it happened

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-17T03:28:09+00:00

This blog is closedContinued from previous post:Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has said she has no immediate plans to send her country’s maritime self-defence forces to help protect tanker traffic in the strait of Homuz.We have not made any decisions whatsoever about dispatching escort ships. We are continuing to examine what Japan can do independently and what can be done ⁠within the legal framework.I would like to ⁠engage in solid discussions based on Japan’s views and position regarding the need for early de-escalation. Continue reading...

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Here’s What Happened in the War in the Middle East on Monday

Source: New York Times - World · Published: 2026-03-17T03:24:35+00:00

President Trump said he might postpone a trip to China to focus on the war. More than a million people have been displaced in Lebanon this month, according to the country’s health ministry.

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Australia news live: RBA interest rates decision due; people buying up Bunnings’ jerry cans ‘unAustralian’, Bowen says

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-17T03:08:34+00:00

Reserve Bank to announce official cash rate target at 2.30pm. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTwo men charged with murder after man fatally shot in Sydney unitTwo men have been charged with murder after a gangland-linked shooting at a suburban apartment complex that left one man dead and another injured, AAP reports. Continue reading...

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Will the strait of Hormuz torpedo Trump’s war? – podcast

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-17T03:00:36+00:00

Events in the narrow waterway are causing chaos around the globe. Jillian Ambrose explains whyThe strait of Hormuz, a narrow stretch of water at the mouth of the Gulf, is the world’s petrol pump, a geographical bottleneck through which 20% of the world’s oil normally flows.Since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran, however, Tehran has threatened to close the strait and cause mayhem. “They’ve not formally, officially shut it down, but they have said that they will set ablaze any tanker that tries to move through. For any shipping owner, for any insurer, that is as good as closed,” expl

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Let the games begin: Victorian Liberals fail at sport but surprise with teamwork in viral video

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-17T02:50:10+00:00

Jess Wilson’s party has made a splash on social media but will they work together in the state election race?Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJess Wilson doing bombs into a swimming pool. Brad Battin in a muscle shirt curling 20kg, tattoos on show. John Pesutto throwing a discus, clad in blue jeans. Matthew Guy running, clutching a pink baton.The current Victorian Liberal leader and three of her predecessors feature in a social media video to mark what would have been the opening ceremony of the regional Commonweal

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Naveed Akram’s family members could be killed if their identities aren’t suppressed, court told

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-17T02:42:08+00:00

Lawyer acting for alleged Bondi beach terror attack shooter says 24-year-old’s mother and siblings have received death threats since December antisemitic shootingsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLawyers for alleged Bondi beach gunman Naveed Akram have argued the names of his family members should be suppressed due to fears “one or more of them may be killed” after they received death threats.But legal counsel for media organisations, who are challenging the suppression order request, argued there was no evidence b

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Iran says wars are not won on social media

Source: Al Jazeera - World · Published: 2026-03-17T02:24:30+00:00

A spokesperson for Iran's Central Headquarters said wars are decided on the battlefield, not social media.

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Flat opening seen domestic markets

Source: The Hindu Business Line – Markets · Published: 2026-03-17T02:24:18+00:00

Global stocks are up but analysts advise caution

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These 15 stocks to remain in focus on Monday

Source: The Hindu Business Line – Markets · Published: 2026-03-17T02:21:48+00:00

RIL, Tata Motors, CUMI, PSU stocks, LTTS, Bajaj Electrical, Paisalo, Hotel Leela among them

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En Chine, des officiels s’improvisent streameurs

Source: Le Monde - International · Published: 2026-03-17T02:00:11+00:00

Certains jeunes fonctionnaires se lancent sur Douyin, la version chinoise originale de TikTok, pour soutenir l’économie, promouvoir le patrimoine ou expliquer leur travail à l’Assemblée nationale populaire.

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All living former US presidents deny Trump’s claim one of them privately backed his war on Iran – as it happened

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-03-17T02:00:10+00:00

This live blog is now closed.Trump news at a glance: president threatens allies for not wading into strait of Hormuz as Iran conflict continuesSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxDonald Trump drew a backlash on Sunday for suggesting US efforts to protect the Strait of Hormuz were unnecessary – and that “maybe we shouldn’t even be there at all” because his country has plenty of oil of its own.The president made the contradictory comment to reporters on Air Force One after pleading with European and Nato allies to enter the war in Iran to help the US secu

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