海角大神

Khamenei鈥檚 son was named as Iran鈥檚 new supreme leader. Iranian state TV said that Mojtaba Khamenei had been named as his father鈥檚 successor. He had long been considered a contender, even before an Israeli strike killed his father at the start of the war, and despite never being elected or appointed to a government position. The younger Mr. Khamenei will have the central say in war strategy. The 88-seat Assembly of Experts, a group of clerics, selects Iran鈥檚 supreme leader. 鈥� The Associated Press
Our coverage: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Death of Iran鈥檚 leader marks turning point for Islamic Republic

Oil prices surpassed $100 a barrel amid disruptions in production and shipping.聽The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, was at $101.19, up 9.2% from Friday. Crude prices haven鈥檛 been that high in more than three and a half years. The Persian Gulf region is home to a major concentration of proven reserves. Supply concerns have gasoline higher. In the U.S., a gallon of regular gas rose to $3.45 Sunday, about 47 cents more than a week earlier.聽鈥� AP

Bahrain said an Iranian strike hit a desalination plant. That report Sunday, a day after Iran鈥檚 foreign minister said a desalination plant in southern Iran had been attacked by the United States, heightened concerns about a key component of civilian infrastructure. Several Gulf countries besides Bahrain are heavily dependent on some 400 regional plants for converting seawater to potable water, according to the Arab Center in Washington. Some 90 percent of Kuwait鈥檚 drinking water, for example, comes from such plants.

A device thrown during an anti-Islam demonstration in New York was an improvised explosive.聽Police say the object, thrown by a counterprotester, contained nuts, bolts, and screws, plus a hobby fuse. Two counterprotesters are in custody with charges pending. The confrontation unfolded outside the home of Mayor Zohran Mamdani during a protest organized by the far right activist Jake Lang to 鈥淪top the Islamic Takeover of New York City.鈥� 鈥� AP

Conservative leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean met with President Trump. A dozen convened in Florida over the weekend to launch a regional security initiative. The 鈥淪hield of the Americas鈥� summit excluded historic partners in fighting drug trafficking, as well as economic leaders, all led by leftist presidents, including Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. Mr. Trump said 鈥渢he only way to defeat [drug cartels] is by unleashing the power of our militaries.鈥� He鈥檚 leaned on tariffs to press for action in the past.

A Gen-Z backed party secured a majority in Nepal鈥檚 parliament. Early results also showed the new Rastriya Swatantra Party on track to sweep the proportional vote in the country鈥檚 first election since youth protests toppled the government. Led by rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, its victory reflects widespread frustration with Nepal鈥檚 traditional, established political parties.
Our coverage: Nepalis head to polls in first election since 鈥楪en Z uprising鈥�

Emergency crews saved 34 bus passengers in Australia as monsoonal rains hit the northeastern part of the country. It was one of four major rescues in Queensland, News.au.com reported on Saturday, as the rains caused flash floods and started moving south and inland. Firefighters ferried the passengers two-by-two from a trapped Greyhound bus to a point more than a mile away using a motorized rescue craft.

鈥� Compiled by Monitor writers around the world

Military troops are a key presence at the southern border, where illegal crossings have plummeted. Some personnel who are normally at the border are now assigned to an interior immigration enforcement surge that is anything but quiet.

The United States and Europe have responded to a wave of migration with tighter border policies and efforts to expel migrants. Spain is taking a different approach: by granting migrants legal residency.聽

A very old type of information warfare 鈥� spreading false narratives to rattle an enemy鈥檚 population during a conflict 鈥� now has a new and vital adversary: fact-checkers.

On March 3, for example, a video went viral showing Israel鈥檚 second-largest city, Tel Aviv, in flames from multiple strikes by Iranian missiles, four days after the first Israeli and American attacks on Iran. It attracted more than 14 million views.

鈥淭he video is AI-generated, and features multiple errors consistent with AI clips,鈥� posted BBC Verify senior journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not real.鈥�

After spotting many similar fake images, Mr. Sardarizadeh concluded: 鈥淭his war might have already broken the record for the highest number of AI-generated videos and images that have gone viral during a conflict.鈥�

鈥淲elcome to our brave new world of AI misinformation,鈥� he wrote.

Civilians in countries at war these days face a much higher burden to discern the accuracy of information designed to mislead or panic them, perhaps to sow distrust of leaders. The modern battlefield is now as much digital as it is physically armed. Traditional journalists, along with other credible experts, can only do so much to counter the effects of an opponent鈥檚 falsehoods, or what鈥檚 called 鈥渋nfluence operations.鈥�

鈥淎s we fight against Iran and we lose brave men and women, we should reflect that the most powerful force we have in the United States is not our aircraft carrier groups, but the truth,鈥� said Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, during a hearing on March 5.聽

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming cyberwarfare, perhaps even making cyberdisruption of public opinion as important as military strikes. Software such as Google鈥檚 reverse imaging can sometimes help people detect fake images, yet even that can often fail. Individual intelligence remains essential in the digital fog of war to counter psychological operations 鈥� and that starts with consumers of war news.

鈥淭ry to assess, not just the message, but the incentives behind the message. So who is communicating and what are they getting after?鈥� Professor Alan Jagolinzer, co-chair of the Cambridge Disinformation Summit, told The Independent.

During times of war, the public craves information, states Roi Soussan, the director of public affairs at FakeReporter, an Israeli organization that exposes disinformation. 鈥淭his drives people to find alternative sources for news, like WhatsApp groups, Telegram channels and posts on X,鈥� he told Haaretz last year.

鈥淲e should stop for a moment and use our healthy judgment: Who published it, and where? If it鈥檚 only from one place and it鈥檚 not from a reliable source, I would be suspicious,鈥� said Mr. Soussan.

The digital age and its effects on 21st-century wars have helped reaffirm an ancient Greek warning: 鈥淚n war, truth is the first casualty.鈥� Yet when confronted with falsehoods during a conflict, no one need be gullible. There鈥檚 nothing fake about the individual capability to sift fact from fiction.