04-02 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
Attacks have continued as Israel has announced its intention to control swathes of south Lebanon.
Israel intensifies Lebanon attacks and hits areas not in Hezbollah's control
Israel has intensified its attacks on Lebanon this week, hitting areas outside of Hezbollah's control on Tuesday.
Strikes without warning hit a vehicle north of Beirut and the Jnah neighbourhood in the heart of the capital.
Attacks also continued in the city's southern suburbs and the country's south, both where Hezbollah has a strong presence.
A building was destroyed on the road to Beirut's airport after an evacuation order, and in the south, a strike hit a health facility, killing a paramedic, according to Lebanon's health ministry.
Israel's military said it had hit Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut and killed a senior commander and another senior figure from the Iran-backed armed group.
Hezbollah joined the ongoing regional war on 2 March, sending missiles towards Israel, after the US and Israel attacked the armed group's ally Iran on 28 February.
Israeli attacks have kept bombarding Lebanon as its troops have moved into the country's south.
On Tuesday, a vehicle was targeted in the Mansourieh area, a predominantly Christian residential neighbourhood north of Beirut.
Meanwhile, the Jnah neighbourhood in the heart of the capital was attacked after midnight. The Lebanese health ministry said the Al-Zahraa Hospital had received and treated "a number of those injured in the air strike".
Hassan Jalwan, who lives near Jnah, told AFP he heard several "big explosions" overnight.
"Nobody knows what's happening," he said, adding that "displaced people have been sleeping in the open" in the area.
The Dahieh neighbourhood to the south of Beirut, where Hezbollah has a strong presence, continues to be a target. A building was destroyed on Tuesday in Ghobeiry on the road to the airport following an evacuation order.
Also on Tuesday, Lebanon's health ministry said at least seven people had been killed by Israeli strikes in the country's south, including the paramedic.
The number of health workers who have been killed since the start of the war has now reached 53.
Earlier, the Lebanese army cleared its last positions in the south, pulling out from Ain Ibel and Rmeish villages a day after an army checkpoint was hit and a soldier was killed by an Israeli air strike, according to the Lebanese Armed Forces. The Israeli military has not appeared to have commented yet on the reported death.
However, some residents of the villages refuse to leave.
In the predominantly Christian village of Rmeish, Father Najib Al Amil appeared in a video on social media, where he said: "There is grass and soil. We rely on God and will stay in our village. We either all die together and lose our land or live and our villages will live with us."
Israel has announced its decision to control large swathes of land in southern Lebanon - up to the Litani River, about 30km from the border with Israel - to create a buffer security zone.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel would keep security control over the territory even after the end of the current war against Hezbollah. The plan has drawn criticism from the UN.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to leave the south, but there are still tens of thousands who have refused to go.
Supply lines to the south have been cut by Israel targeting bridges and infrastructure, making villages in the south uninhabitable.
Katz said more than 600,000 displaced Lebanese residents would be "completely prohibited" from returning to that area until the safety of residents of northern Israel was guaranteed.
The Israeli defence minister also said all houses in villages near the border in Lebanon will be destroyed "according to the model of Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza".
In total, 1,268 people in Lebanon have been killed since the beginning of the attacks, the country's health ministry said on Tuesday.
More than one million people have been displaced, the UN reported.
This is critical time for Lebanon and the residents of the south. Many see Israel's strategy in the south mimicking that of Gaza - destruction, depopulation and occupation.
The government said earlier that this constitutes a violation of the country's sovereignty.
South Lebanon previously lived under Israeli occupation for nearly 18 years, between 1982 and 2000.
Some Lebanese have lived the displacement and loss of land generation after generation.
Many in Lebanon believe that Israel is more powerful than Hezbollah and capable of destroying the south with its advanced missiles and drones. At the same time, if Israel is to stay in the south, Hezbollah is more powerful on the ground and can engage in a guerrilla war to wear out the Israelis and prevent them from staying put.
In short, for the hundreds of thousands who have been forced out of their homes, this war is not ending anytime soon.
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04-02 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
Trump has criticised Nato members for showing a lack of support for US objectives in Iran.
What do Trump's latest comments on leaving Nato mean for the alliance?
Of all the warnings in President Trump's arsenal, quitting the Nato military alliance is among those he's wielded the most.
Now he's doing it again.
Asked by Britain's Telegraph newspaper if he is reconsidering US membership of Nato, he said: "Oh yes… I would say [it's] beyond reconsideration" – fuming again that his partners weren't joining America's military operations, alongside Israel, against Iran.
"I just think it should be automatic," he emphasised in his remarks to the paper.
Trump's invective underlines again his misunderstanding of how this 32-member alliance works.
Nato's Article 5 does commit it to collective defence. An attack against one member is deemed to be an attack against all but invoking this principle requires a consensus. And the 1949 treaty only referred to crises in Europe and North America.
One ally after another has held back from joining a war they weren't consulted on, given they still don't understand its goals in the face of mixed messaging from the Trump administration.
Article 5 has only been triggered once, in the wake of the September 11th attacks on the US in 2001.
Trump also referenced Ukraine in the Telegraph, saying: "We've been there automatically, including Ukraine."
After Russia's audacious full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the then-US President Joe Biden did take a leading role in shaping the response of individual Western governments because he believed President Putin's actions threatened them all.
Nato, as an alliance, provided assistance but avoided the dangerous prospect of becoming directly involved as a party to this conflict.
Even before Trump entered the White House in 2017, he repeatedly dismissed Nato as a "paper tiger," described it as "obsolete", and said that it was "costing a fortune" for the US.
This year, he's mocked the alliance, saying Russia would have occupied all of Ukraine if the US had not been Nato's enforcer.
Trump almost walked out in early 2019, during his first term in office.
"We saw clear signs that Trump was preparing to act on his threat," the former Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wrote in his recent memoir, On my Watch.
Stoltenberg recounted how he went on Fox News and credited Trump with pressuring Nato allies to increase their military spending.
In his telling, Trump immediately acknowledged that praise on social media and then didn't make the speech the White House had reportedly drafted for a US pullout.
At the centre of Trump's concerns was the 2014 agreement that countries should spend 2% of their GDP on defence; at the time, it was only described as a "guideline".
Military spending has ramped up significantly by almost all Nato members, partly in response to Trump's threats, partly because of Russia's growing menace.
This new crisis will again strengthen the resolve of European countries and Canada to bolster their own defences and depend on themselves for their own security. But there's still that cold hard fact that the might of the US military matters - immensely.
The US's military budget now makes up some 62% percent of Nato's total defence spending and the Pentagon has assets and intelligence capabilities others still can't match.
This time, his Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who calls himself a former supporter of the alliance, has also chimed in.
"I think there's no doubt, unfortunately, after this conflict is concluded we are going to have to re-examine that relationship," he told Fox News.
Referring to US bases in Europe he said not using them "to defend America's interests" meant "Nato is a one-way street."
Britain initially refused access to US warplanes but later changed tack, saying bases could be used for "defensive operations." That delay continues to be derided by Trump and his secretary of defence, the self-styled Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. They've repeatedly taunted Prime Minister Starmer as being "no Churchill" – a reference to Britain's leader during the Second World War.
On Tuesday, Italy denied US aircraft permission to land as they were en route to the Middle East for combat operations. Spain has closed its airspace to US planes conducting missions against Iran.
Rubio added it was "ultimately" up to the President to decide this issue.
But it's not his alone.
The US Congress voted at the end of 2023 to prohibit the president from unilaterally withdrawing from Nato without the approval of a two-thirds Senate majority or an act of Congress.
Nato leaders, and most of all its current secretary general Mark Rutte who visits Washington next week, will need to spend time again trying to convince and cajole Trump that it's in his interest, and America's, to stay.
Rutte, like Stoltenberg, is called the "Trump whisperer" for his efforts in public, and private, to keep the unpredictable president on side.
Rutte, the former Dutch leader armed with his toolbox of praise, is widely seen as having played a significant
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04-01 10:03 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
It's a turnaround for Beijing, whose official response has been muted so far. Why is China stepping in now?
China is trying to play peacemaker in the Iran war - will it work?
As the war in the Middle East enters its second month, choking the world's energy supply and sending oil prices soaring, China is trying to step in as a peacemaker.
It comes as President Donald Trump says US military action in Iran could end in "two to three weeks", but there is no clear sense yet of how that will happen or what comes after.
China joins Pakistan, which has emerged as an unlikely mediator in the US-Israel war against Iran. Officials in Beijing and Islamabad have presented a five-point plan with the aim of bringing about a ceasefire and re-opening the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Pakistan, which has been a US ally in the past, seems to have won over Trump to mediate this conflict.
Beijing, however, is entering the fray as a rival to Washington, ahead of crucial trade talks between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Trump next month.
China's backing on this is "very important," says Zhu Yongbiao, a Middle East expert and director of the Centre for Afghanistan Studies at Lanzhou University.
"Morally, politically and diplomatically, China is providing comprehensive support with the hope that Pakistan can play a more distinctive role."
It is also a turnaround for Beijing, whose official response to the war has so far been quite muted. So why is China stepping in now?
The peace plan was drafted after Pakistan's foreign minister flew to Beijing to ask for Chinese support for the country's efforts to negotiate an end to this conflict.
His efforts appear to have worked. China's Foreign Ministry said the two were making "new efforts towards advocating for peace." The joint statement agreed that dialogue and diplomacy were "the only viable option to resolve conflicts", and it called for waterways, including the blockaded strait, to be protected.
It's not just about oil, although that will be a concern. China, the biggest importer of crude oil in the world, has enough stockpiled to get it through the next few months.
Beijing will likely have decided to play the role of peacemaker because the war in Iran jeopardises something Xi covets: stability. China needs a stable global economy as it is heavily reliant on selling goods around the world as it tries to revive an ailing domestic economy.
"If the rest of the world begins to slow down economically because of an energy shock, that's going to be tough for China's factories and exporters," says Matt Pottinger, Chairman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracy's China Program.
"That's why I think when I see China's foreign minister just this week advising Iran that we need to find a way to end this war, I think there's some sincerity there. I think that Beijing is a little bit worried about where this could lead if it turns into a real energy shock that is protracted."
There are already fears that China's industrial heartland, which serves as the factory of the world, will be impacted in the long term if this crisis continues.
Paying a higher price for oil affects the whole supply chain, from the plastics needed to make toys and games, to the raw materials for modern synthetic fabrics, to the hundreds of components that go into phones, electric cars and semiconductors.
The US trade war with China during Trump's first term led many business owners across the country to look for new markets around the world.
As a result, China's exports to the Middle East grew nearly twice as fast as its exports to the rest of the world last year. The region has become the fastest growing market for electric cars, and China is also the largest investor in desalination in the Middle East, where potable water is scarce.
The Power Construction Corporation of China has projects in Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Oman and Iraq.
As a result of its economic ties, China has cultivated relationships across the region with both US allies, such as Saudi Arabia, and foes, such as Iran.
Tehran and Beijing have a partnership dating back decades. China is Iran's leading trade partner and it buys around 80% of Iranian oil.
The Chinese government has played the role of peacemaker in the Middle East before, with limited success.
In 2023 it brokered a deal between bitter rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, which have long stood on opposing sides in proxy wars in the Middle East. They severed ties in 2016 when Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shia Muslim scholar, triggering protests in Iran with crowds attacking its embassy in Tehran.
After China took up the mantel as mediator, the two sides agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations. This was in China's interest. Beijing will have hoped that better diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran would reduce the likelihood for regional tensions.
A year later, Beijing played host to the leaders of 14 Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas. The talks resulted in a national unity government for the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
The declaration was more an expression of intent rather than
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04-01 01:36 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
The two-phase exercise - the world’s most ambitious - will see three million officials count every Indian.
Billion-plus people, three million officials, 33 questions - India begins huge census
Does your house have a concrete roof or a thatched one?
What is your main cereal? Do you have internet access - or just a basic mobile phone? And how many married couples live under your roof?
These are among the 33 questions that more than a billion Indians will be asked as the country launches the world's largest census on Wednesday, marking the first population count in more than 15 years.
The two-phase exercise, billed as the world's most ambitious of its kind, will see more than three million officials spend a year counting every person in India.
India's 16th census - the eighth since independence in 1947 - will also include caste data and is seen as crucial for policy, welfare delivery and political representation in the world's most populous country.
With more than 1.4 billion people, India overtook China in 2023, according to the United Nations Population Fund.
Yet, falling fertility and a median age of 28 mean it remains one of the world's youngest countries, with nearly 70% of its population of working age.
The last census was held in 2011, with the 2021 round delayed by the pandemic and later pushed back further due to administrative and electoral scheduling - the first time the decennial exercise missed its schedule.
The exercise will span 36 states and federally-administered territories, more than 7,000 sub-districts, over 9,700 towns and nearly 640,000 villages, with fieldwork carried out by enumerators and supervisors - typically schoolteachers, government staff and local officials.
For the first time, the census will be conducted digitally, with enumerators using mobile apps to collect and upload data.
Authorities have introduced self-enumeration, letting residents submit details online via a 16-language portal that generates a unique ID for verification by census workers.
There will be two phases of physical door-to-door surveys.
The first phase, known as the House Listing and Housing Census, will gather information on housing conditions, amenities and household assets.
The second phase - population enumeration - is scheduled for February 2027 and will collect detailed data on demographics, education, migration and fertility.
The initial rollout will begin in selected regions, including Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Goa, Karnataka, Mizoram and Odisha.
In these areas, self-enumeration will run from 1 to 15 April, followed by a house listing and housing survey between 16 April and 15 May.
From its origins as a rudimentary headcount under colonial rule, India's census questionnaire has steadily expanded in scope, mirroring the state's changing priorities.
The first attempt in 1872 contained 17 questions and was essentially a house register - recording who lived where, along with basic markers such as age, religion, caste and occupation.
By 1881, when the first synchronous nationwide census was conducted, the template had stabilised around identity (name, gender, marital status), social markers (caste, religion, language) and rudimentary education and disability categories.
Over the next decades, questions on language, literacy and occupation were refined, adding secondary work and dependency details.
English proficiency - a colonial preoccupation - was one of 16 questions in the 1901 census.
A shift began with the 1941 census, when its 22-question schedule moved from "who you are" to also "how you live".
Fertility, employment status, economic dependency, migration and job search entered the frame, signalling a growing administrative focus on economic behaviour.
After independence, this widened further: the 1951 and 1961 rounds incorporated nationality, displacement (in the shadow of Partition), land ownership and more work categories.
From the 1970s onwards, the census took on a distinctly socio-economic lens.
Migration histories, duration of residence, fertility patterns and detailed employment classifications became standard.
In more recent decades, especially in 2001 and 2011, the census has tracked the modernising economy: commuting patterns, marginal versus main work, education attendance and increasingly detailed disability and fertility data.
That evolving lens is now extending to how households themselves are defined. In the latest census, a couple in a live-in relationship can be recorded as married if they consider their "relationship as a stable union" - signalling a quiet shift towards recognising changing social realities.
But as the scope of data collection has widened, so too have concerns around how such information might be used.
Some analysts say recent efforts to build databases - including the National Population Register (NPR) - and intensive revisions of electoral rolls have sharpened public anxieties around official counting, often linking it to questions of citizenship and inclusion.
"Although the census has nothing to do with citizenship, this can create anxiety, prompting some
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04-01 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
President Donald Trump, when asked about the helicopters flying by his friend's house said: "They like Kid Rock. I like Kid Rock."
US Army pilots who flew near Kid Rock's home suspended and then reinstated within hours
The crews of two military helicopters seen hovering outside musician Kid Rock's Tennessee home were briefly suspended on Tuesday, before being told they could go back to work by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
"No punishment. No Investigation. Carry on, patriots," Hegseth wrote on social media.
Kid Rock, a prominent supporter of President Donald Trump, posted a video of himself saluting to the AH-64 Apaches as they hovered above his pool at his home on Saturday, prompting many to question why they were there.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Army had said that the crews would be taken off work while the military looked into whether they had followed federal flying regulations. Hegseth stepped in a short while later.
The BBC has contacted the US Army for comment.
Kid Rock - whose real name is Robert Ritchie - told local news outlet WKRN-TV on Monday that it is not uncommon for helicopters from the nearby Fort Campbell Army base to fly near his home.
He noted that he has performed for troops at Fort Campbell and overseas.
"I think they know this is a pretty friendly spot," he said.
"I've talked to some of these pilots. I've told them, 'You guys see me waving when you come by the house?' I'm like, 'You guys are always welcome to cruise by my house, any time.'"
Trump, when asked about it, said in a joking manner: "Maybe they were trying to defend him."
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday evening, the president said the crews "probably shouldn't have been doing it. You're not supposed to be playing games".
"They like Kid Rock. I like Kid Rock," he added.
The Army has confirmed that two of its Apache helicopters from the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Campbell conducted a flight on 28 March in the Nashville area in the state of Tennessee, where Kid Rock lives and owns two restaurants.
"The Army takes any allegations of unauthorized or unsafe flight operations very seriously and is committed to enforcing standards and holding personnel accountable," spokesman Maj Montrell Russell told the BBC in the earlier statement.
In the caption of the video he posted online, Kid Rock, who also performed at the Republican convention in 2024, insulted California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who has feuded with him and Trump.
One clip shows Kid Rock standing poolside next to a smaller replica of the Statue of Liberty, clapping and saluting as the aircraft hovers before flying away.
"God Bless America and all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend her," the caption reads.
Another video shows the Born Free singer pumping his fist before a second gunship appears to fly by his mansion, which he has dubbed the Southern White House.
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04-01 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
Tests results suggest the two women may have been killed with ricin, according to Italian media, but police still do not have a suspect.
Italian Christmas meal tragedy turns into murder inquiry
Italian prosecutors have opened a murder investigation following the deaths of a mother and her teenage daughter after a pre-Christmas meal last year.
Sara Di Vita, 15, and her mother Antonella Di Ielsi, 50, fell ill after a lunch in their hometown of Pietracatella, a small municipality 260km (161 miles) south-east of Rome.
Sara's father Gianni - the former mayor of Pietracatella - was also taken to hospital, but he later recovered. The couple's eldest daughter was not there that day.
Doctors initially attributed the symptoms to food poisoning, but the new focus comes after laboratory tests revealed the presence of a deadly poison, ricin, Italian media say - even though police still do not have a suspect.
Doctors are said to have thought the infection originated from either fish or mushrooms and discharged the mother and daughter after they went to hospital.
However, their symptoms quickly worsened and the pair were soon re-admitted.
Dr Vincenzo Cuzzone, head of the intensive care unit at Cardarelli hospital in nearby Campobasso, told Italian media that liver failure occurred first and was followed by multi-organ failure "at truly unparalleled speed".
Di Vita and Di Ielsi's deaths were initially attributed to medical negligence and doctors who discharged them were placed under investigation for manslaughter, Italian media report.
They published the test results carried out at laboratories in Italy and Switzerland.
Ricin, a highly toxic chemical, is a poison found naturally in castor beans.
Ingesting a tiny quantity can cause rapid organ failure and lead to death. There is no known antidote for ricin poisoning.
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04-01 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
The deaths of the two Indonesian nationals came less than a day after another UN peacekeeper - also Indonesian - was killed in Lebanon.
Peacekeepers killed by roadside explosion in Lebanon, initial report finds
Two Indonesian peacekeepers were killed on Monday by a "roadside explosion" in southern Lebanon, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix has said, citing the findings of an initial investigation.
In a separate statement, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) said the explosion was of "unknown origin" and "destroyed" the peacekeepers' vehicle near Bani Hayyan.
A third peacekeeper was "severely" injured in the explosion, and a fourth was hurt, Unifil said.
It was the second such fatal incident in 24 hours. Another peacekeeper - who was also Indonesian - was killed on Sunday when a projectile, also of unknown origin, exploded in Adchit Al Qusayr, southern Lebanon.
Unifil said it had launched investigations to determine what happened in both incidents.
The findings of an "initial" investigation into the incident on Monday "point to a roadside explosion striking the convoy", Lacroix told the UN Security Council earlier.
Their deaths had "most likely" been caused by an IED (improvised explosive device), Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, later said at a briefing.
Speaking about the other incident, on Sunday, Dujarric said it was likely caused by "an explosive that landed in the position that the Indonesians were holding".
Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia as well as a political party, has fired rockets into Israel in retaliation for the ongoing US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
In a statement on Telegram, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its own review had concluded that the Bani Hayyan explosion "was not caused by IDF activity".
It went on: "A comprehensive operational examination indicates that no explosive device was placed in the area by IDF troops, and that no IDF troops were present in the area at all."
Separately, the IDF said on Tuesday that four of its soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon. Another soldier was severely wounded and a reservist moderately wounded, the IDF said.
Dujarric, of the UN, said the peacekeepers in Lebanon were "soldiers sent there on behalf of the international community... and everyone needs to ensure that they are protected and never targeted".
He urged Lebanon and Israel to use the Unifil mechanism for dialogue, saying "the bottom line is that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon needs to be respected".
Antara, an Indonesian government-owned news agency, named the soldier killed on Sunday as Chief Private Farizal Rhomadhon. The two soldiers killed on Monday were named as Captain Zulmi Aditya Iskandar and First Sergeant Muhammad Nur Ichwan.
In a statement, Unifil said: "We extend our sincerest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of those brave peacekeepers who gave their lives in service of peace."
Created by the UN Security Council in 1978, Unifil has since served as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon.
The peacekeeping force patrols the "Blue Line" - the de facto border between Lebanon and Israel, in collaboration with the Lebanese army.
Around 339 peacekeepers have been killed since the mission was established.
Despite a November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, brokered after violence flared between the two over the war in Gaza, Israel has conducted near-daily strikes on Hezbollah targets.
It says the armed group has not abided by the terms of the ceasefire - under which Hezbollah was meant to disarm and leave its positions in the south - and has accused Unifil and the Lebanese army of not doing enough to remove its militants from the region.
Since the ceasefire began, 1,268 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese health ministry, including 124 children.
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04-01 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
The US state department says a suspect in her abduction has ties to an Iran-backed militia group, Kataib Hezbollah.
US journalist Shelly Kittleson kidnapped in Baghdad
A US freelance journalist has been kidnapped in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, and one of the suspects is linked to an Iran-backed militia, Iraqi and US officials say.
Shelly Kittleson was abducted on Tuesday evening, said Al-Monitor, a news outlet for which she has contributed articles.
The Iraqi interior ministry said security forces had chased the reporter's abductors in a pursuit that resulted in one of the kidnappers' cars overturning and the arrest of one suspect.
A US state department official said an individual with ties to an Iranian-aligned militia group, Kataib Hezbollah, was detained by Iraqi authorities.
Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, confirmed the abduction of an American journalist, without naming Kittleson.
He posted on X: "The State Department previously fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against them and we will continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure their release as quickly as possible."
It is understood that US officials had contacted Kittleson a number of times to warn of threats against her, including as late as Monday night.
The US state department said in a statement to the BBC: "Due to privacy and other considerations, we have nothing further to share at this time."
It added that the state department had confirmed it "is aware of Kittleson's kidnapping and working with the Iraqi government to secure her release".
Al-Monitor said it was "deeply alarmed" by her kidnapping, and called "for her safe and immediate release".
An Iraqi official confirmed to the BBC's US partner CBS that local authorities were working "at the highest level" to release Kittleson.
Her emergency contact Alex Plitsas, a CNN national security analyst, told CBS that Kittleson had been warned by the US government about a specific threat to her from Iran-backed paramilitaries.
Kataib Hezbollah was said to be plotting to kidnap or kill female journalists.
Plitsas said Kittleson had been warned that her name was on a list in Kataib Hezbollah's possession. A second source confirmed she had been told of a risk, but thought it was false information.
The interior ministry statement said in a statement translated from Arabic: "Security forces immediately launched an operation to apprehend the perpetrators, acting on precise intelligence and through intensive field operations, tracking the kidnappers' movements."
It added: "The pursuit resulted in the interception of a vehicle belonging to the kidnappers, which overturned as they attempted to escape."
The interior ministry did not identify the suspect, calling the abductors "unknown individuals".
"The Ministry affirms that efforts are ongoing to track down the remaining perpetrators and secure the release of the abducted woman, and to take due legal action against all those involved in this criminal act, in accordance with the law," it added.
Kittleson, based in Rome, Italy, has covered conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. According to her bio on X, she has worked for numerous publications.
The FBI, National Security Council, state department, Delta Force and the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service were in contact about her abduction, sources familiar told CBS.
Baghdad was once notorious for kidnappings, but abductions have decreased as the security situation in Iraq has improved in recent years.
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04-01 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
An 11-year-old is reported to have been killed in an air strike while manning a checkpoint in Tehran.
Iran using children in security roles in war, reports and witnesses say
The death of an 11-year-old Iranian boy reportedly in an air strike while manning a security checkpoint alongside his father in Tehran has thrown focus on a new initiative to recruit children into the security services.
Alireza Jafari's mother Sadaf Monfared told the municipality-run newspaper Hamshahri that the pair had been helping Basij volunteer militia patrols and checkpoints to "maintain the security of Tehran and its people" when they were killed on 11 March.
Last week, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) official in Tehran told the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency that the organisation would enrol "volunteers" aged 12 and above.
Eyewitnesses have told the BBC they have seen children, including some armed, in security roles in the capital and other cities.
Foreign-based human rights organisations have also reported Alireza's death. The Kurdish group Hengaw said he was a "fifth-grade student" who was killed while present at a checkpoint in Tehran.
Alireza's mother said her husband had told her there were not enough personnel at the checkpoint, with "only four people" present. She said he took Alireza with him and said that the boy needed to be "ready for the days ahead".
She quoted her son as saying: "Mum, either we win this war or we become martyrs. God willing, we will win, but I would like to become a martyr."
Hamshahri newspaper said they were hit by an "Israeli drone strike".
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told the BBC they were unable to verify this unless provided with the co-ordinates of the alleged strike.
Rahim Nadali, of the IRGC's Greater Tehran Muhammad Rasulollah Corps, said the new programme, known as Homeland Defender Fighters for Iran, would place children on various duties, including patrols and deployment at checkpoints.
Recruitment, he added, could take place at mosques attached to the Basij militia in Tehran, and in city squares where pro-establishment rallies have been held.
The Basij is a volunteer militia controlled by the IRGC, with an estimated one million members. It is often deployed on the streets to suppress dissent. Israel has said it recently targeted several Basij checkpoints.
Despite a government-imposed internet outage in Iran, the BBC has spoken to four eyewitnesses who said they had seen children under the age of 18 at checkpoints in Tehran, the nearby city of Karaj, and the northern city of Rasht.
Names have been changed for security reasons.
Golnaz, who is in her 20s in east Tehran, told the BBC that she had seen armed teenagers taking part in Basiji forces when she went out after an air strike on 9 March to see what was going on.
Sara, also in her 20s in west Tehran, told the BBC that she saw a teenager at a checkpoint on 25 March.
"He was holding a gun at the cars. He and the others were stopping cars and searching them. He was short and slight."
Those who have been able to connect to the internet have told the BBC that the practice is still going on, and that some patrols go around with the Islamic Republic's flag and loudspeakers during the night.
Some have told the BBC that they have seen teenagers at checkpoints in cities other than Tehran as well.
Peyman, who is in his 20s and lives in Karaj, told the BBC that he saw what he called a "teenage boy" with a Kalashnikov at a checkpoint on 30 March. "His moustache hadn't fully grown," he said.
Tina, who is also in her 20s and comes from Rasht, told the BBC that she saw young people on duty in a square in the city on 14 March.
"They were wearing masks so their faces were covered. But it's obvious that they are children; I can see it from their eyes. They are short as well. They stand in front of those adult forces. I feel pity for them and I get scared at the same time."
"There is no excuse for a military recruitment drive that targets children to sign up, much less 12-year-olds," said Bill Van Esveld of HRW. "What this boils down to is that Iranian authorities are apparently willing to risk children's lives for some extra manpower."
Pegah Banihashemi, an expert in constitutional law and human rights at the University of Chicago Law School, told the BBC: "Under international law, the use of children in security or military roles is tightly constrained and, in many contexts, unlawful."
She also said that their deployment "introduces broader risks to society: untrained minors operating under pressure, often with limited command structure and insufficient understanding of force, can unintentionally escalate violence and endanger civilians".
Holly Dagres, an Iran specialist at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank told the BBC that the use of children at security checkpoints "underscores the desperation of the Islamic Republic".
She said it shows "how deeply unpopular they are with their own population that it is struggling to recruit adults to staff security checkpoints and is resorting to using children in support r
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03-31 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
Fans, who paid up to $450 (£340), complained of a grey convention centre backdrop and a "swag bag" that included only a plastic pouch with a Barbie hand sanitiser.
Barbie Dream Fest in Florida to issue refunds after fan complaints
The organisers of the Barbie Dream Fest weekend in Florida are issuing refunds to attendees after customers complained of a lacklustre event.
The creators of the event promised "unforgettable experiences", and advertised a roller rink and disco with a caption that read: "Join us for three days of glam, nostalgia, and dream-big energy made for Barbie fans of every generation."
But ticketholders, who paid up to $450 (£340), say it was far from that. Photos of the event show a grey convention centre space with pink cardboard cut-out Barbie signs.
Mattel, which owns the Barbie brand, said that full refunds would be given to everyone who purchased tickets.
One attendee, Michael Gorey, who flew to the event from Ohio for a spring break trip with his daughters and wife, told the Times that upon entering the concrete event space, he thought: "Is this it? Like, did I miss something?"
Others took to social media to air their complaints.
"This event sucks," one user wrote on Reddit. "The 'life size Barbie dream house' is a cheap backdrop with a picnic table on some fake turf/grass."
Hell Hotel, a burlesque group who attended the event, told the BBC that they were "expecting much more based on what was advertised to us through their social media channels".
They say that young women in their 20s and 30s were advertising the event on social media, but in reality many of the experiences at the convention were height restricted and "for children up to eight years old".
"There were empty halls, maybe 14 vendors, lack of things to do for all ages and especially a lack of events for our demographic," the group said.
"Barbie Dream Fest was created by Mischief Management, which licensed the Barbie brand from Mattel," the company said.
"We are working with Mischief Management, who are managing attendee feedback and issuing full refunds to everyone who purchased tickets. We want every fan experience to be an excellent one."
Mischief Management, meanwhile, said in a statement to the BBC that it appreciated "the passion and engagement from the Barbie community".
"Barbie Dream Fest was created as an intimate fan convention designed to foster meaningful connection, inspiration, and closer access to Barbie and her world. We will be providing full refunds to everyone who purchased tickets."
A day pass to the event cost $72 for adults and $33 for children - and as much as $250 for a three-day pass with a "swag bag" comprised of a plastic pouch with Barbie hand sanitiser.
Instead, eager fans who turned up at the event, located in an industrial area of the Scottish city, described it as "little more than an abandoned, empty warehouse".
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