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Pentagon Identifies First US Soldiers Killed in Iran War

A combination image of undated photos shows US Army Reserve Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida, US Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska, US Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and US Army Reserve Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, who were killed March 1, 2026, at the Port of Shuaiba, Kuwait during a drone attack. Reuters
A combination image of undated photos shows US Army Reserve Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida, US Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska, US Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and US Army Reserve Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, who were killed March 1, 2026, at the Port of Shuaiba, Kuwait during a drone attack. Reuters
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Pentagon Identifies First US Soldiers Killed in Iran War

A combination image of undated photos shows US Army Reserve Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida, US Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska, US Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and US Army Reserve Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, who were killed March 1, 2026, at the Port of Shuaiba, Kuwait during a drone attack. Reuters
A combination image of undated photos shows US Army Reserve Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida, US Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska, US Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and US Army Reserve Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, who were killed March 1, 2026, at the Port of Shuaiba, Kuwait during a drone attack. Reuters

The US military on Tuesday identified four of the first American soldiers killed in the war against Iran as the Trump administration warned the intensifying conflict would lead to more American casualties.

Among six US military deaths so far, the four soldiers were members of an Iowa unit of the US Army Reserve. They died on Sunday when a drone slammed into a US military facility in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, the US military said on Tuesday. The Pentagon said four ranged in age from 20 to 42 and served in the 103rd Sustainment Command from Des Moines, Iowa, part of the Army's ⁠global logistics and ⁠supply operation.

The military identified the four US Army Reserve soldiers as:
* Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida
* Sergeant 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska
* Sergeant 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota
* Sergeant Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa
Major General Todd Erskine, who leads the 79th Theater Sustainment Command, in a statement extended "my deepest sympathy and my respect" ⁠to relatives and unit members of the four.

Most of the soldiers had a history of overseas service. Khork had deployed to Saudi Arabia in 2018, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 2021 and Poland in 2024. Amor deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019. Tietjens had two other deployments to Kuwait in 2009 and 2019.

Coady, who was posthumously promoted from specialist, had only enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023.

President Donald Trump and other senior officials have warned the Iran conflict will result in more US military deaths as Tehran retaliates against US and Israeli strikes.

The US military's Central Command said on Tuesday that Iran has launched over 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,000 drones in its ⁠retaliatory attacks throughout ⁠the Middle East so far.

The risks to US forces in the Middle East came up during a closed-door briefing to lawmakers on Tuesday by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"They told us in that room that there are going to be more Americans that are gonna die - that they are not ... going to be able to stop these drones," Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, said.

The facility in Kuwait where the four deaths occurred was protected by concrete blast walls but did not have a fortified roof, two officials told Reuters.

It was unclear if there were air defenses in place but no alarm apparently sounded as the drone approached, one of the officials added, speaking on condition of anonymity.

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World

Pope Leo Marks First Easter as Pontiff with Call for Hope Amid Global Conflicts

Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP)
Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP)
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Pope Leo Marks First Easter as Pontiff with Call for Hope Amid Global Conflicts

Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP)
Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP)

Pope Leo celebrated his first Easter Mass as pontiff with a call Sunday to exercise hope against “the violence of war that kills and destroys,” saying “we need this song of hope today” as conflicts spread around the world.

With the US-Israeli war on Iran in its second month and Russia’s ongoing campaign in Ukraine, Leo has repeatedly called for a halt in hostilities. In his Easter homily, the pope singled out those who wage war, abuse the weak and prioritize profits.

Leo, the first US-born pope, addressed the faithful from an open-air altar in St. Peter’s Square flanked with white roses, while the steps leading down to the piazza where the faithful gathered were filled with spring perennials, symbolically resonating with the pope’s message of hope.

The pontiff implored the faithful to keep their hope in the face of death, which lurks “in injustices, in partisan selfishness, in the oppression of the poor, in the lack of attention given to the most vulnerable.

“We see it in violence, in the wounds of the world, in the cry of pain that rises from every corner because of the abuses that crush the weakest among us, because of the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth’s resources, because of the violence of war that kills and destroys,” he said.

He quoted his predecessor Pope Francis in warning against falling into indifference in the face of “persistent injustice, evil, indifference and cruelty,” because “it is also true that in the midst of darkness, something new always springs to life and sooner or later produces fruit.”

He will later deliver the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” message — Latin for “to the city and the world.”

Christians in the Holy Land were marking a subdued Easter Traditional ceremonies at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, revered by Christians as the traditional site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, were scaled back under an agreement with Israeli police. Authorities have put limits on the sizes of public gatherings due to ongoing missile attacks.

The restrictions also dampened the recent Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr holiday, as well as the current weeklong Jewish festival of Passover. On Sunday, the Jewish priestly blessing at the Western Wall — normally attended by tens of thousands — was limited to just 50 people.

The restrictions have strained relations between Israeli authorities and Christian leaders. Police last week prevented two of the church’s top religious leaders, including Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from celebrating Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

On Tuesday, the pope had expressed hope that the war could be finished before Easter.

World

France Condemns China’s Execution of a French Citizen Held on Death Row for 15 Years

A child holds a Chinese national flag near the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in Beijing, China, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP)
A child holds a Chinese national flag near the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in Beijing, China, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP)
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France Condemns China’s Execution of a French Citizen Held on Death Row for 15 Years

A child holds a Chinese national flag near the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in Beijing, China, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP)
A child holds a Chinese national flag near the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in Beijing, China, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP)

France said China has executed a French citizen convicted of drug trafficking after keeping him on death row for more than 15 years. 

Chan Thao Phoumy, 62, was executed in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, despite French authorities’ clemency appeals, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Saturday. It didn’t say when the sentence was carried out. A Chinese court sentenced him to death in 2010. 

The ministry’s statement expressed “consternation” and added: “We particularly regret that Mr. Chan’s defense did not have access to the final court hearing, which constitutes a violation of his rights.” 

“We extend our condolences to his family, whose grief we share,” it said. 

In a short statement Sunday that didn't mention Chan by name, the Chinese Embassy in Paris said that China “treats defendants of all nationalities equally, handles all cases impartially and strictly in accordance with the law.” 

France abolished the death penalty by act of parliament in 1981, and has become a vigorous campaigner against its use and for its abolition everywhere. 

China's use of executions — carried out by firing squads or lethal injections — is shrouded in secrecy but has long been extensive. Amnesty International says China is the world's lead executioner, believed to sentence and put to death thousands of people annually. 

World

Iran Internet Blackout Is Longest Nationwide Shutdown on Record, Says NetBlocks

Iranians pose for pictures as they celebrate Iranian Nature's Day on the thirteenth day of Nowruz (Persian New Year), in a park in Tehran, Iran, 02 April 2026. (EPA)
Iranians pose for pictures as they celebrate Iranian Nature's Day on the thirteenth day of Nowruz (Persian New Year), in a park in Tehran, Iran, 02 April 2026. (EPA)
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Iran Internet Blackout Is Longest Nationwide Shutdown on Record, Says NetBlocks

Iranians pose for pictures as they celebrate Iranian Nature's Day on the thirteenth day of Nowruz (Persian New Year), in a park in Tehran, Iran, 02 April 2026. (EPA)
Iranians pose for pictures as they celebrate Iranian Nature's Day on the thirteenth day of Nowruz (Persian New Year), in a park in Tehran, Iran, 02 April 2026. (EPA)

Iran's internet blackout, first imposed well over a month ago, is now the longest nationwide shutdown on record, according to the monitor NetBlocks.

"Iran's internet blackout is now the longest nation-scale internet shutdown on record in any country, exceeding all other comparable incidents in severity having entered its 37th consecutive day after 864 hours," NetBlocks said in a tweet.

In another tweet, the monitor noted some countries had experienced intermittent or regional-level shutdowns over longer periods, while North Korea had never been connected to the global internet at all.