Ukraine war latest: Counteroffensive ongoing on southern front line, Syrskyi says

"Counteroffensive ongoing on southern front line, Syrskyi says Ukraine's Flamingo missile maker promises FP-9 ballistics will reach Moscow.
Ukraine deploys interceptor drones, experts to protect US bases in Jordan, Zelensky says
'He took on the most risky tasks' — Ukraine's 39th Tactical Aviation Brigade commander killed in action.
Ukrainian forces are continuing a "counteroffensive" on the southern front line, the country's top general Oleksandr Syrskyi said."KI

U.S. waiving oil-related sanctions to reduce prices, Trump says

"President Donald Trump said that the United States is preparing to waive certain oil-related

sanctions in an effort to stabilize global energy prices, which have skyrocketed amid the war in Iran.
"We're ... waiving certain oil-related sanctions to reduce prices," Trump said at a news conference in Florida. "So we have sanctions on some countries. We're going to take those sanctions off until this straightens out."
"Then who knows, maybe we won't have to put them on," he added. "There'll be so much peace." KI

5.9 Earthquake - 233 km southwest of Shimizu, Hokkaido, Japan

"A strong magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit 233 km (145 mi) away from Shimizu, Hokkaido, Japan at 12.45 am local time (GMT +9). The quake had a moderate depth of 141 km (87 mi) and was reported felt by some people near the epicenter." VD

6.0 Earthquake - Provincia di Campobasso, 36 km southwest of Naples, Napoli, Campania, Italy

"A very strong magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit 36 km (22 mi) away from Naples, Campania, Italy, shortly after midnight at 12.03 am local time (Europe/Rome GMT +1). The quake had a great depth of 382 km (237 mi) and was felt over a large region." VD

Iran’s attacks on Amazon data centers in UAE, Bahrain signal a new kind of war as AI plays an increasingly strategic role

"Last week, three data centers operated by Amazon Web Services (AWS), two in the United Arab Emirates and one in Bahrain, were struck by Iranian drones or missiles. The attacks forced the facilities offline and led to service outages affecting banking, payments, delivery apps, and enterprise software across the region.
The U.S. military also uses AWS to run some of its workloads, including running

Anthropic’s AI model Claude for some intelligence functions, and Iran’s Fars News Agency said on Telegram that the Bahrain facility had been deliberately targeted “to identify the role of these centers in supporting the enemy’s military and intelligence activities.” AWS has declined to comment on the Iranian claim, and it is not known whether the attacks impacted U.S. military computing workloads.
Still, the attack is believed to be the first time data centers have been deliberately targeted for air strikes in a conflict. Experts say it almost certainly won’t be the last. Data centers are rapidly emerging as vital strategic assets—and vulnerable targets.
The boundary between commercial cloud computing and military operations has largely vanished. The Pentagon’s Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability and its Joint All-Domain Command and Control networks run on the same commercial infrastructure that serves banks and ride-hailing apps. Meanwhile, several news organizations have reported that the U.S. military used Anthropic’s AI model Claude—which runs on AWS—for intelligence assessments, target identification, and battle simulations during the Iran strikes." 

Forbes

130 combat clashes over past day

"130 combat engagements between Ukraine's Defense Forces and Russian invaders were recorded.
The invaders launched airstrikes, in particular in the areas of the settlements of Pokrovske, Kolomiitsi, Chornenkove, Pysantsi, Havrylivka, Orly in the Dnipropetrovsk region, as well as Vozdvyzhivka, Svitla Dolyna, Novosoloshyne, Barvinivka, Novoselivka, Pryluky, Charivne, Huliaipilske, Lisne, Kopani, Dolynka, Hirke, Veselianka, and Prymorske in the

Zaporizhzhia region.
Aircraft, missile forces, and artillery of the Defense Forces struck three areas where enemy personnel and equipment were concentrated, four UAV control points, four artillery systems, one ammunition depot, and two other important targets of the Russian invaders.
In the Northern Slobozhanshchyna and Kursk sectors, Russian forces carried out 115 shelling attacks on positions of the Defense Forces and populated areas, including four using multiple launch rocket systems. They also launched four airstrikes using eight guided aerial bombs.
In the Southern Slobozhanshchyna sector, the invaders attempted three times to break through the defensive lines of Ukrainian defenders toward the settlements of Popivka and Lyman.
In the Kupiansk sector, Russian troops attacked twice toward the settlement of Novoplatonivka.
In the Lyman sector, the enemy attacked five times, attempting to break into defenses toward the settlements of Stavky, Lyman, Drobysheve, and in the area of Zarichne.
In the Sloviansk sector, Ukrainian defenders stopped 11 attempts by Russian forces to advance toward Riznykivka and near the settlements of Zakitne, Platonivka, and Fedorivka.
In the Kramatorsk sector, the enemy launched one attack near Nykyforivka.
In the Kostiantynivka sector, Russian troops carried out 13 attacks near the settlements of Kostiantynivka, Ivanopillia, Illinivka, Rusyn Yar, and Sofiivka.
In the Pokrovsk sector, the Defense Forces stopped 29 Russian assault actions near the settlements of Chervonyi Lyman, Nykanorivka, Rodynske, Myrnohrad, Pokrovsk, Hryshyne, Molodetske, Kotlyne, Udachne, Novomykolaivka, and in the sector of Vilne and Novooleksandrivka.
In the Oleksandrivka sector, Russian forces attacked five times near the settlements of Ivanivka, Dobropillia, Ternove, Berezove, and Nove Zaporizhzhia.
In the Huliaipole sector, 28 Russian attacks took place near Myrne, Luhivske, Huliaipole, and toward the settlements of Zaliznychne, Varvarivka, Staroukrainka, Zelene, and Olenokostiantynivka.
In the Orikhiv sector, one combat clash occurred toward Prymorske." Ukrin

Sky over Tehran covered in thick smoke after strikes on oil depots, black rain reported

"The sky over the Iranian capital Tehran was covered in thick black smoke on Sunday 8 March after Israeli strikes on oil storage facilities. The rain was so saturated with oil that it turned black.
The black rain that fell on Iran's capital may be "dangerous" to people's health.
Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told reporters that the storage facilities were used to supply Iran's military needs, including the production and storage of fuel for ballistic missiles." Pravada

Ukraine strikes Russian Pantsir-S1, landing craft in Crimea night raid

"The strikes were part of a series of attacks on Russian military facilities on temporarily

occupied territories of Ukraine and inside Russia. Final assessments of the damage and the scale of destruction are still being clarified, the General Staff said.
Ukraine’s forces also struck several command posts used by Russian occupying troops. Targets included an Orion UAV control center near Krasnosilske in occupied Crimea, a drone command post in Dunayka in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast, a drone command post near Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhya Oblast, and another drone command post in Selydove in temporarily occupied Donetsk Oblast." msn

Ukrainian strike hits Russian drone depot in occupied Donetsk

"Russian troops were killed after strikes on military warehouses in temporarily occupied

Donetsk, the partisan movement Atesh reported.
Ambulances are heading to the site of the strike, the group added.
“Explosions hit military warehouses in Donetsk. There are many ‘200s’ among Russian troops,” Atesh said in a statement, using a military code for soldiers killed in action.
Footage of a large fire in Donetsk appeared online. Monitoring channels reported that a missile strike likely hit a warehouse used to store Russian drones." NV

IRGC Fleeing Iran - IDF Kills IRGC Military Head

"There's also been some threatening messages being sent to the IRGC passage members. 

A huge chunk of them, second wave of IRGC members who are fleeing to Afghanistan through the border. This is not the first time. We've had the same thing a few days ago. 

But more of them are now leaving the country. A lot of the commanders have abandoned post anyway. We now have uh over the last few seconds minutes confirmation by the Israelis that the new military head of the Supreme Leader's office, the IRGC, has been eliminated. Another one bites the dust." Tousi

Police Investigate Explosion Outside U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway

"Norwegian police are investigating an explosion outside the U.S. Embassy in Oslo early Sunday, officials said.

No injuries were reported. Police received reports of a “loud bang” or explosion around 1 a.m., Oslo police said in a news release.
The explosion was caused by some sort of incendiary device, Oslo police representative Frode Larsen said during a news conference Sunday. Investigators believe the embassy was the target and are searching for the perpetrators and their motive.
Local media reported minor damage to an entrance of the embassy, and people nearby said the street was blanketed in thick smoke following the blast. Police are seeking to talk to witnesses." 

Breitbart

Russian drone hits Kyiv-Sumy train carrying 200 passengers

"A drone struck a train travelling from Kyiv to Sumy on the morning of 8 March in the Sumy district while up to 200 passengers were on board.
According to the prosecutor's office, early reports indicate that the locomotive was damaged by a Lancet-type drone." Pravada

5.7 Earthquake - North Pacific Ocean, Miyagi, 181 km east of Morioka, Iwate, Japan

"A strong magnitude 5.7 earthquake occurred in the North Pacific Ocean 101 km (63 mi) from

Japan late in the evening at 11.17 pm local time (GMT +10). The quake had a very shallow depth of 16 km (10 mi) and was felt by many near the epicenter. The shallow depth of the quake caused it to be felt more strongly near the epicenter than a deeper quake of similar magnitude would." VD

5.9 Earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 16 km west of Hihifo, Niuas, Tonga

"A strong magnitude 5.9 earthquake occurred in the South Pacific Ocean 184 km (114 mi) from Tonga late in the evening at 10.28 pm local time (Pacific/Tongatapu GMT +13). The quake had a moderate depth of 134 km (83 mi) and was felt by many near the epicenter." VD

5.5 Earthquake - 10.2 km west of Ioannina, Ioannina, Epirus, Greece

"A strong magnitude 5.5 earthquake hit 10.2 km (6 mi) away from Ioannina, Epirus, Greece, in the early morning at 5.32 am local time (Europe/Athens GMT +2). The depth of the quake could not be determined, but is assumed to be shallow.

The earthquake was felt over a large region.. The shallow depth of the quake caused it to be felt more strongly near the epicenter than a deeper quake of similar magnitude would." VD