"Donald Trump’s five-day deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz will end on the same day that thousands of United States marines are expected to arrive in the Middle East. The USS Tripoli will arrive on Friday, with roughly 2,200 marines on board, under the control of US Central Command, which is responsible for US forces in the Middle East.""The Pentagon has ordered a second marine unit, also composed of around 2,500 personnel, to depart from its base in California and head to the Middle East. The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which operates from the USS Boxer and its amphibious ready group, left California last week and could reach the theatre by mid-April.""On Tuesday afternoon, it emerged that Mr Trump is set to order a unit from the elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East." FULL STORY at above link."The Pentagon is expected to order roughly 3,000 troops from the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East “in the coming hours,” according to a Wall Street Journal report outlining an imminent deployment of a rapid-response brigade combat team to support operations against Iran." FULL STORY at above link.
"Iran recently presented the US with a list of demands it expects the Trump administration to honor if it wishes to proceed with ceasefire negotiations. Among those demands, the report said, the Islamic Republic was seeking economic control over the Strait of Hormuz, a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the continued ability to developing its ballistic missile program without any limitations. Other purported conditions, including the dismantling of US army bases in the region and financial compensation for war damages, have been previously reported."
"Many of Iran’s demands would appear to be in complete contradiction to Washington’s own reported conditions for ending the war."
"The US expects, among other things, for Iran to limit both the range and quantity of its missile programs and to commit to using them only for self-defense; to abandon its practice of forming and supporting regional proxies, including Hezbollah; and to dismantle all existing nuclear capabilities and hand over its stockpile of enriched uranium." FULL STORY at above link.
"A new Liberal bill that could open the door to the criminalization of religious expression and belief when quoting certain parts of the Bible has passed the report stage and will soon head to Canada’s Senate.""On Monday, Bill C-9, known as the “Combatting Hate Act,” sailed through the report stage in the House of Commons. All that is stopping it now from heading to the Senate, which mostly rubber stamps laws into place, is the law passing third reading, which will take place soon. The third reading on Bill C-9 could come as early as sometime this week." FULL STORY at above link."The finding comes after a routine scan of images captured by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, which revealed a fresh scar stretching roughly 225 metres - about the length of two football pitches laid end to end." FULL STORY at above link."Boston-based biotechnology firm R3 BIO, work in the production of living organ systems that are grown artificially and not by supported by any sort of brain, developing these 'bodyoids' as an alternative for animal testing."
"Their work involves trying to produce things like lungs, kidneys and hearts from a few cells in a lab, and keeping them alive in order to perform experiments on them." FULL STORY at above link.
(This was in the U.S.)