Baltimore bridge collapse sparks baseless attack theories
Conspiracy theorists said March 26 that the Baltimore bridge collapse resulted from an intentional attack – despite officials quickly saying there was no evidence of foul play.
A container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge sending vehicles and people plunging into the US city’s frigid harbour.
There was no immediate confirmation of the cause of the collapse, but Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said there was no indication of terrorism.
US defense chief to Israel counterpart: Gaza toll ‘too high’
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant March 26 that civilian casualties in Gaza are “too high,” and said the two would talk about alternatives to a major Israeli operation in the territory’s south.
A separate Israeli delegation was supposed to visit Washington to discuss US concerns over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to launch an assault on the southern city of Rafah, where much of Gaza’s population has sought refuge.
But Israel scrapped that visit after the United States abstained in a March 25 vote on a UN Security Council resolution that called for a Gaza ceasefire, allowing it to pass.
Lukashenko says concert hall attackers first headed for Belarus, contradicting Putin
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said on March 26 that the gunmen who attacked Moscow’s Crocus City Hall music venue on March 22 tried initially to flee to Belarus, not Ukraine as Russian officials including President Vladimir Putin have insisted.
Putin said Ukraine had prepared a “window” for the attackers to cross the border - currently a war zone.
Ukraine has vehemently denied involvement but two of Putin’s most powerful allies, Security Council chairman Nikolai Patrushev and FSB state security service head Alexander Bortnikov, on March 26 both directly blamed Kyiv for the attack, albeit without producing any evidence.
Animal feed for Gaza blocked for months, UN food agency says
The United Nations food agency said on March 26 that shipments of animal feed to sustain milk-producing cows were blocked at the border into Gaza for months as Israel pressed its offensive against Hamas militants in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
The barley intended for farmers and herders mostly in northern Gaza would have been “enough to produce milk for all the children in Gaza for over a month,” said AbdulHakim Elwaer, Assistant Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization.
“We had trucks from December of animal fodder and we had difficulties,” Elwaer said.
Medvedev eases past Koepfer to reach Miami quarter-finals
Daniil Medvedev took another step towards retaining a title for the first time in his career as the Russian third seed beat Germany’s Dominik Koepfer 7-6(5) 6-0 on March 26 to reach the Miami Open quarter-finals.
Medvedev overcame a shaky start and converted four break points while dropping serve just once to secure a spot in the last eight in Miami where he has yet to drop a set.
Koepfer was the early aggressor, using a pair of holds at love to build a 4-3 lead in the first set but Medvedev forced a tiebreak in which he lost the opening four points before finding his way.
