While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, March 8, 2026
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Smoke rises following an explosion in Iran's capital, Tehran, on March 7.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Cracks emerge in Iran’s leadership, amid bombardment
Iran’s hierarchy is showing signs of fracturing over a war its leaders see as existential, with angry divisions between hardliners and more pragmatic factions laid bare by a row over President Masoud Pezeshkian’s promise not to strike Gulf states.
Fissures within Iran’s ruling elite were long suppressed under the iron rule of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but his killing a week ago has allowed them to spill out into the open as US and Israeli strikes pile pressure on Tehran.
The unrelenting bombardment mortally imperils the Islamic Republic and has prompted its fiercest acolytes, the Revolutionary Guards, to seize a bigger role in strategy despite a decapitation campaign that has killed many top commanders.
Sources close to Iran’s leadership, speaking from inside the country, told Reuters the strains were starting to show among leading figures still alive after a series of killings in the US-Israeli strikes.
First repatriation flight brings Singaporeans home
Passengers on the first repatriation flight from the Middle East returned to the hugs and cheers of their loved ones as they landed in Singapore from Muscat, Oman, on the night of March 7.
Many family members had gathered at the arrival hall at Changi Airport Terminal 3 to welcome them home, after days of anxiously waiting for updates amid escalating conflict in the Middle East.
A total of 152 Singaporeans and their dependants touched down safely on the flight, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in an update on the evening of March 7. “We are glad to see them reunite with their loved ones in Singapore,” said the ministry in a Facebook post.
Hundreds of drones, missiles, kill at least 10 in Ukraine
PHOTO: AFP
Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight on March 7, damaging infrastructure and killing at least 10 people, including two children, in the north-east city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia launched 480 drones and 29 missiles targeting the energy sector and railway infrastructure across the country.
Ukrainian air defence units shot down 453 drones and 19 missiles, the air force said. But nine missiles and 26 attack drones hit 22 sites.
Trump offers Latin American leaders US fire power
US President Donald Trump on March 7 urged Latin American nations to use military power against the “cancer” of drug cartels and offered to support them with US missile strikes targeting narco kingpins.
Mr Trump, currently waging a war with Iran, laid out a muscular position for advancing Washington’s interests in the Western hemisphere, pronouncing that communist-led Cuba was “in its last moments of life” and advocating tough action by allies against organised crime blighting the region.
He formally launched a 17-nation “counter cartel” coalition which the White House described as a pledge from governments in the region to use “hard power” against security threats.
‘Significant’ acceleration of global warming since 2015
ST FILE PHOTO
Global warming has accelerated in a “statistically significant” way since 2015, according to a study published by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).
“Over the past 10 years, the estimated warming rate has been around 0.35 deg C per decade, depending on the dataset, compared with just under 0.2 deg C per decade on average from 1970 to 2015,” the study found.
“This recent rate is higher than in any previous decade since the beginning of instrumental records in 1880,” it added.
