Live: Iran drones hit near Dubai airport; speculation rises over Mojtaba’s health
Dubai Media Office says attack caused “minor injuries to two Ghanaian nationals and one Bangladeshi national, and moderate injuries to one Indian national"
Here is the top, trending news of Wednesday, March 11, 2026, including Iran war, Indian politics, states' politics, geopolitics, federal issues, economics, development issues, sports, entertainment, and so on.
Read updates below.
Live Updates
- 11 March 2026 2:51 PM IST
ICC hits back at criticism of travel arrangements amid West Asia crisis
The ICC on Wednesday expressed sympathy for the international players stranded in India after the T20 World Cup but lambasted "uninformed and unhelpful" suggestions that "anything other than safety" is driving the travel plans that have been thrown haywire by the West Asia conflict.
Giving details of the travel schedule, the ICC said the South African contingent had begun departing for home on Wednesday with "four players and five family members having boarded the flight".
"...all 29 remaining members of their contingent (are) scheduled to depart in the next 24 hours," said ICC in a statement.
"Of the West Indies contingent, nine members have departed for the Caribbean, while the remaining 16 are booked on flights departing India in the next 12 hours." This was after their charter flight scheduled to take off from Kolkata was cancelled due to logistical issues.
The ICC drew criticism from former England captain Michael Vaughan and South African star David Miller insinuated that England players were given better travel arrangements as they were able to leave within a day of their semifinal ouster. Before this, West Indies coach Darren Sammy had expressed frustration at the lack of updates from the world body.
The ICC hit back without naming anyone specifically.
"The ICC rejects any suggestion that these decisions have been driven by anything other than safety, feasibility and welfare. Suggestions otherwise across a variety of media platforms from people uninformed of the situation are as unhelpful as they are incorrect," said cricket's world governing body.
"There is no link between arrangements made in the cases of South Africa and the West Indies and those made previously for England or any other nation, which arose from separate circumstances, routing options and different travel conditions," it added.
"The delay is the direct result of the ongoing crisis across the Gulf region, which has caused widespread and continuing disruption to international air travel, including airspace closures, missile warnings, re-routing constraints, as well as the cancellation and rescheduling of both commercial and charter flights at short notice," it added.
The ICC said due to the current situation, which is outside its control, each travel solution has become significantly more "complex and time-consuming than under normal circumstances." The ICC said it is continuing to liaise with tour operators and airlines to ensure that all players reach home safely.
- 11 March 2026 2:23 PM IST
Most of Iranian women's soccer team leave Australia, declining asylum offers
The Iranian women's soccer team left Australia minus seven of its members, after tearful protests of their departure outside Sydney Airport and frantic final efforts inside the terminal by Australian officials who sought to ensure the women understood they were being offered asylum.
As the team's flight time drew nearer and they passed through security late Tuesday, each woman was taken aside to meet alone with officials who explained through interpreters that they could choose not to return to Iran.
Seven women earlier accepted humanitarian visas allowing them to remain permanently in Australia.
Eventually, after what Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke described as “emotional” meetings, no more women accepted the offers of asylum and the team's flight departed Sydney with all remaining members on board.
The tense and precarious nature of their decisions was underscored Wednesday when Burke announced one of the seven who had stayed behind would return home after all.
It was a dramatic conclusion to an episode that has gripped Australia since the Iranian team's first game at the Asian Cup soccer tournament, when they remained silent during their national anthem.
The players sang the anthem before subsequent games and haven't publicly disclosed their views or explained their actions.
Their silence was cast as a gesture of defiance or protest by some, and an act of mourning by others.
The women's fate captured international attention as Iranian Australian groups warned they could face dire consequences from Iran's theocratic government for failing to sing the anthem, even as the players remained silent on the gesture's meaning or their own concerns about returning.
Meanwhile, an Iranian official rejected suggestions that the women weren't safe to go home.
“Iran welcomes its children with open arms and the government guarantees their security,” Iranian first Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said Tuesday. “No one has the right to interfere in the family affairs of the Iranian nation and play the role of a nanny who is kinder than a mother,” he added. - 11 March 2026 2:17 PM IST
Speculation rises over Mojtaba Khamenei’s health
Speculation over the health of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei grew Wednesday after the son of Iran's president mentioned hearing news about him “being injured”.
Mojtaba, 56, is the son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
He long has been a secretive figure within Iran. His father and wife both were killed in an Israeli airstrike Feb 28 that started the war.
Mojtaba has not been seen since, nor has he given any statement since becoming supreme leader on Monday.
In an overnight post on the app Telegram, Yousef Pezeshkian, the son of President Masoud Pezeshkian, wrote: “I heard news about Mr Mojtaba being injured. I asked friends who were in contact. They said, thank God, he is healthy and there is no problem.” He did not elaborate. - 11 March 2026 2:16 PM IST
Qatar says it can't mediate for Iran while under attack
Qatar said it won't serve as a mediator for Iran as it remains under attack from Tehran.
Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi, Qatar's minister of state for foreign affairs, made the statement to the Qatari-funded satellite news network Al Jazeera in an interview aired Wednesday.
He noted both Qatar and Oman had been attacked even though they worked to “build bridges between Iran and the West”.
“We will not be able to fulfil that role under attack, and that's something the Iranians need to understand,” al-Khulaifi said. "The regional countries are not an enemy of Iran, and the Iranians are not understanding that idea.”
Meanwhile, Qatar issued a warning to the public on Wednesday morning of a possible Iranian attack. Explosions were heard as air defences intercepted incoming fire over capital Doha.
- 11 March 2026 1:39 PM IST
Iran holds US accountable for disruptions in energy routes
With the West Asia conflict roiling energy prices, Iran has held the US responsible for the disruptions in the shipping of crude oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz, holding Washington's "destabilising actions" as the cause of the problem.
Iran's foreign ministry said this in a readout on Wednesday while providing details of the previous night's phone conversation between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi.
It said Araghchi provided Jaishankar a "detailed" account of the "crimes" committed by the US and Israel against Iran over the past 11 days, including the missile attack on a girls' school in Minab and subsequent strikes on civilian sites.
He emphasised Iran's determination to comprehensively defend the integrity of Iran, the readout said.
It said the two foreign ministers also discussed the consequences of the disruptions in the movement of oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian foreign ministry blamed the US for the disruptions in the flow of energy through the passage.
Global oil and gas prices have surged after Iran virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
"Referring to Iran's principled approach to safeguarding shipping security in the Persian Gulf, Iran's foreign minister reminded that the insecure situation and problems arising for shipping in the Persian Gulf are a result of the aggressive and destabilising actions of the US, and the international community must hold the US accountable for this situation," the readout said.
On the overall situation, the Iranian readout described the "aggressive act by the US and Israel" as a "violation of the fundamental principles and rules of the United Nations Charter and international law".
It said all governments have a responsibility to condemn "this military aggression and blatant law-breaking".
- 11 March 2026 1:35 PM IST
Iranian drones hit near Dubai International Airport, wounding 4 people, though flights continue
Two Iranian drones hit near Dubai International Airport on Wednesday, wounding four people, though flights continue, authorities said.
The Dubai Media Office, which issues statements on behalf of the city-state's government, said the attack caused “minor injuries to two Ghanaian nationals and one Bangladeshi national, and moderate injuries to one Indian national.” It said flights continued.
Dubai International Airport, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates, is the world's busiest for international travel. Authorities have been trying to build up their flight schedule, though the airport has been targeted in the war.
- 11 March 2026 1:19 PM IST
Venugopal: BJP MPs have been quoting Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi's speeches
Venugopal says BJP MPs have been quoting Pandit Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi's speeches during the motions seeking removal of Mavalankar and Balram Jakhar, respectively. "You are quoting them because they were present in the House and spoke on the motion, they defended the Speaker. Where is the Prime Minister today? Why has he not come to the House for yesterday and today to speak in the motion," asks Venugopal.
"Last session the entire agenda of all ministers and BJP MPs was to attack Jawaharlal Nehru. This session, their entire agenda is to praise Jawaharlal Nehru. What a change. Time will come, you will also praise Rahul Gandhi and say he saved democracy," says Venugopal.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju objects, saying Venugopal is making a serious allegation against the Speaker, who is not present in the House to defend himself.
Venugopal sticks to his stand, saying the Speaker did not make the statement "on his own" but was "asked to make an excuse for the Prime Minister who did not want to come to the House that day... The government wanted to create an escape route for the PM through the Speaker".
Rijiju interjects saying Venugopal is lying. Rijiju threatens that the government will "release CCTV footage of the proceedings in Lok Sabha that day, the Congress party will be humiliated".
- 11 March 2026 1:15 PM IST
Congress MP Venugopal makes his submission in LS
Congress MP KC Venugopal makes his submission in Lok Sabha.
Reiterating the Naravane row, Venugopal recalls Modi's famous interview on the planning of the Balakot strikes and says, "The PM who had directed the forces to go ahead with the surgical strike to take advantage of cloud cover and said cloud cover will help us escape their (Pakistan's) radar even though the Armed Forces raised concern about the weather condition, could not give a clear direction to our Armed Forces when China entered Galwan".
Dilip Saikia, in the Chair, tells Venugopal to stick to the motion and speak about the Speaker, not about the government and the Prime Minister.
- 11 March 2026 12:38 PM IST
Prasad resumes submission, Rahul asked to wait for his turn
Dilip Saikia, presiding over the Lok Sabha proceedings, asks Rahul to wait for his turn to speak as the LoP continues to assert that he is stopped from speaking every time he raises issues about the compromises made by the PM. Saikia calls Prasad to resume his submission.
Referring to the row over Rahul's attempt at reading excerpts from the memoirs of MM Naravane, Prasad says there is a procedure and rule determining authentication of claims and documents made by any member in the House. In Naravane's case, Prasad argues that since the book has officially not been released and the publisher has stated this position, the claims cannot be authenticated and hence not be made on the floor of the House.
- 11 March 2026 12:35 PM IST
Rahul in Lok Sabha: 'Vile things being said about me'
BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad making his submission.
Prasad says, "let the instrument of opposition against the Speaker not be weaponised to satisfy the ego of a leader".
Congress MPs troop into the Well of the House in protest as Prasad takes a dig at Rahul Gandhi's conduct as LoP, urging Rahul's confidante and party MP KC Venugopal to "teach the LoP the responsibilities and expectations from the LoP as outlined in Kaul and Shakdher's seminal book on Parliamentary rules and procedure".
Following protests, Rahul is allowed to respond to Prasad. "Multiple times, the discussion here about democratic process and the role of the Speaker. Multiple times, my name is being raised and vile things are being said about me. This House is the expression of the people of India and this House does not represent one party. Every time we get up to speak, we are stopped from speaking... Last time I rose to speak, I raised fundamental questions about the compromises made by our PM... I am stopped from speaking".
