United States President Donald Trump on Sunday rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the West Asia conflict, declaring it entirely unacceptable, even as oil prices surged nearly three per cent on Monday amid fears that the diplomatic impasse could escalate into open confrontation.

Without elaborating on the specifics of Tehran's offer, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: "I just read the response from those who purport to represent Iran. I don't like it — it is not acceptable in any way." The blunt dismissal came shortly after Iranian state media outlined the broad contours of what Tehran had proposed.

What Iran Sought

According to Iran's state-run news agency Tasnim, Tehran's proposals included compensation for damages suffered during the conflict, a lifting of the naval blockade on its ports, a binding American assurance against further strikes, removal of sanctions, and an end to the embargo on Iranian oil sales. Iran also demanded the release of Iranian assets frozen in international banks under American pressure, and sought guarantees for safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as security arrangements in Lebanon.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baghaei defended the proposals as reasonable and responsible. "Our demands are legitimate. We called for an end to the war, the lifting of the blockade, a halt to maritime piracy, and the release of frozen Iranian assets," he said, adding that safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and broader regional security arrangements were also among Tehran's conditions.

Hormuz Tensions and Oil Markets

With negotiations deadlocked following Trump's rejection, the Strait of Hormuz — a critical chokepoint through which a significant share of global oil supplies passes — came under renewed strain. Iran has warned that it would retaliate if the United States launches strikes, and has signalled that foreign warships may no longer be permitted to enter the strait. The resulting uncertainty sent crude oil prices sharply higher on Monday, with markets registering a rise of approximately three per cent.

Trump's China Visit from Wednesday

Against this backdrop of West Asian tensions, Trump is scheduled to travel to China on Wednesday for a three-day visit — his first trip to the country since 2017. He is expected to hold meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday and Friday, with the agenda likely to include discussions on Iran, Taiwan, artificial intelligence, and nuclear weapons.

American officials indicated that the two leaders may also take up the extension of an existing critical minerals agreement between the two countries. The visit marks the first face-to-face talks between the leaders of the world's two largest economies in six months, and comes at a time when both nations are seeking to recalibrate trade ties strained by tariff disputes.

Americans Billed for Unbuilt Power Projects

In a separate development, millions of American consumers are being charged for electricity grid upgrades that have not yet been completed — and whose benefits remain years away. As ageing grid infrastructure prompts policymakers to accelerate modernisation, utilities across the United States are being permitted to bill customers in advance of the construction of new power plants and transmission lines, according to a Reuters report.

The move is being justified on the grounds that upfront financing will yield long-term savings, but households and businesses already grappling with elevated energy costs are set to see their bills rise further. Demand for grid upgrades has intensified amid the rapid expansion of data centres driven by artificial intelligence, adding urgency to the overhaul. Critics, however, argue that utilities should recover construction costs only after projects are completed, rather than passing financial risk on to consumers during the building phase. Individual household bills could rise by several dollars per month as a result of the pre-construction charges.

JUPITER ISLAND, Florida — It was just before 2 o'clock on a Friday afternoon when Tiger Woods' Land Rover clipped the back of a pressure cleaning truck on a quiet two-lane road not far from his home on Jupiter Island. The car swerved, rolled onto its side, and one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen crawled out of the wreckage.

Hours later, he was in handcuffs.

By Friday night, the 50-year-old golf legend had been released on bail — but not before spending mandatory hours behind bars, held separate from other inmates in what the Martin County Sheriff described as a protective measure for a man whose fame follows him everywhere, even into a jail cell.

The arrest sent shockwaves through the sporting world. And yet, for those who have watched Tiger Woods' long and painful journey over the past decade, it felt less like a surprise and more like a heartbreak.

The Crash

The sequence of events, as described by Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek, is stark in its simplicity.

Woods was driving at high speeds along a residential road with a 30 mph speed limit when he attempted to pass a pressure cleaner truck. His Land Rover clipped the back of the truck's trailer. The car swerved violently and rolled onto its driver's side.

Woods crawled out. He was not physically injured — at least not in ways that were immediately visible.

But when deputies arrived, something was clearly wrong.

Woods showed what Budensiek described as "signs of impairment." He appeared lethargic. He agreed to a Breathalyzer test — which showed zero traces of alcohol — but refused a urine test, a right the sheriff acknowledged he was fully entitled to exercise.

It was enough for an arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence. "We will never get definitive results with what he was impaired on," Budensiek conceded — but investigators believe Woods had taken some form of medication or drug.

Woods was cooperative throughout, the sheriff said, but careful. "He's not trying to incriminate himself."

A Haunting Repeat

For anyone paying attention, Friday's arrest carried the weight of painful déjà vu.

This is not the first time Tiger Woods has been arrested for a DUI that had nothing to do with alcohol. In 2017, police found him asleep behind the wheel of his car in the middle of a road — engine still running, driver's side damaged. He told authorities he had taken a bad mix of prescription painkillers. He pleaded guilty to reckless driving.

Friday was the second time. And it was the fourth time in his life that Woods has been involved in a serious car crash.

The most devastating came in February 2021, when his SUV ran off a coastal road in Los Angeles at high speed, shattering bones in his legs and ankles so severely that doctors considered amputation. He survived. He fought back. He always fights back.

But every time Tiger Woods fights his way back to the surface, something seems to pull him under again.

The Body That Has Betrayed Him

To understand Friday's arrest, you have to understand the physical ordeal Tiger Woods has endured — an ordeal that would have ended most careers many times over.

Multiple injuries to his left knee. Repeated surgeries on his back. The catastrophic 2021 car crash. A ruptured Achilles tendon in March 2025 that wiped out his entire season before he had even played a competitive round. And then, in September, a seventh back surgery — his seventh — as he tried once again to piece together a body that has been pushed further than any athlete's should ever have to go.

Against all of this, he had been working his way back. Just Tuesday night, he played in his indoor TGL golf league. He was weighing whether his body was fit enough to compete in the Masters, which begins April 9. He was due in Augusta on April 5 to unveil a golf course project alongside Masters chairman Fred Ridley.

And he was days away from a crucial decision — whether to accept the role of U.S. Ryder Cup captain for the 2027 matches in Ireland.

In a single Friday afternoon, all of it was thrown into uncertainty.

Trump Weighs In

When Air Force One touched down in Miami on Friday afternoon, reporters wasted no time asking President Donald Trump about his friend's arrest.

Trump, whose former daughter-in-law is reportedly dating Woods, did not hide his emotion. "I feel so badly. He's got some difficulty," Trump said. "Very close friend of mine. He's an amazing person. Amazing man. But, some difficulty."

It was an unusually subdued response from a president not known for understatement — a reflection, perhaps, of genuine concern for a man he has known for years.

The Greatest of His Generation — and What Remains

It is worth pausing, in the middle of all this, to remember who Tiger Woods is.

Fifteen major championships. Eighty-two PGA Tour victories — tied with the legendary Sam Snead for the all-time record. A man who single-handedly transformed golf from a sport into a global phenomenon. A man who came back from addiction, from scandal, from a crash that nearly cost him his legs, to win the 2019 Masters in one of sport's most extraordinary comeback stories.

Since that Los Angeles crash in 2021, he has played just 11 tournaments. He has not finished within 16 shots of the winner in any of the four events where he completed all 72 holes. The body that once made him invincible is a different body now — older, scarred, and held together by surgery and sheer will.

And yet he keeps coming back. He always keeps coming back.

He remains deeply embedded in the future of the sport he defined — serving as chair of the PGA Tour's Future Competition Committee, reshaping the very structure of professional golf even as his own playing career flickers uncertainly.

What Comes Next

Florida law required Woods to spend at least eight hours in custody before posting bail. He was kept separate from other inmates — a precaution the sheriff was unapologetic about. "He'll pay the price," Budensiek said, "but he's not going to pay the price by getting punished in jail."

By Friday night, he was free.

But the questions that surround him now are bigger than bail or legal proceedings. They are questions about health, about pain management, about what it costs a human being — even the greatest golfer who ever lived — to spend decades pushing a body to its absolute limits.

Tiger Woods has always been defined by his refusal to quit. By his capacity to absorb punishment and rise again. By the almost mythological quality of his comebacks.

But even myths have their limits.

And on a quiet Florida road on a Friday afternoon, with his car on its side and deputies approaching, the myth and the man felt very, very far apart

PYONGYANG — In the shadow of America's war in the Middle East, North Korea's Kim Jong Un is sending a message of his own — and it is written in rocket fuel.

State media reported Sunday that Kim personally observed the ground test of a newly upgraded high-thrust, solid-fuel missile engine, hailing it as a landmark moment in his country's drive to build a nuclear arsenal capable of threatening the United States mainland. The announcement, carried by the Korean Central News Agency, signals that while the world's eyes are fixed on Iran, Pyongyang is quietly — and deliberately — advancing its most dangerous weapons program.

Bigger, Faster, Harder to Stop

The numbers tell the story. The newly tested engine recorded a maximum thrust of 2,500 kilotons — a significant jump from the 1,971 kilotons recorded in a similar solid-fuel engine test conducted just last September. The upgraded engine was built using composite carbon fiber materials, KCNA reported, reflecting the sophistication North Korea is pouring into its missile development.

Defense analysts say the push for greater engine power is almost certainly tied to one goal: placing multiple warheads on a single missile. The strategy, known as MIRVing — Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles — would dramatically increase the chances of penetrating and overwhelming U.S. missile defense systems.

In plain terms, North Korea wants a missile that is not just powerful, but nearly impossible to stop.

A Five-Year Plan With America in Its Crosshairs

Sunday's test was not a one-off provocation. It forms part of North Korea's formal five-year military escalation program, a sweeping blueprint to upgrade what KCNA calls "strategic strike means" — a term universally understood to refer to nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles aimed at the continental United States.

Kim left no ambiguity about the stakes. The latest engine test, he said, carries "great significance in putting the country's strategic military muscle on the highest level."

It is the language of a leader who believes he is winning an arms race — and wants Washington to know it.

Solid Fuel: The Art of Surprise

Perhaps the most alarming aspect of North Korea's missile modernization is its shift toward solid-fuel propulsion. Unlike the country's older liquid-fuel missiles — which must be laboriously fueled before launch, giving satellites and intelligence agencies precious warning time — solid-fuel missiles can be fired with little to no advance notice.

They can be hidden. They can be moved. And they can be launched before an adversary even knows they are coming.

North Korea has test-fired a growing arsenal of solid-fuel ICBMs in recent years, each one demonstrating a potential reach to the U.S. mainland. The trajectory of the program is unmistakable.

Hurdles Remain — But For How Long?

Not all experts agree that North Korea has crossed the finish line. Some foreign analysts point to unresolved technical challenges — most notably, ensuring that a warhead can survive the punishing heat and pressure of atmospheric reentry before striking its target.

But others are less reassuring. Given the decades North Korea has invested in its nuclear and missile programs, and the pace of recent advances, skeptics of Pyongyang's capabilities may be underestimating what Kim's scientists have quietly achieved behind closed doors.

The Ghost of Singapore

Sunday's test comes against a charged political backdrop. Kim delivered a fiery speech to North Korea's Parliament just days ago, pledging to irreversibly cement his country's nuclear status and accusing Washington of global "state terrorism and aggression" — a thinly veiled broadside against the U.S. military campaign in the Middle East.

Yet behind the rhetoric lies a more complex reality. At a Workers' Party congress in February, Kim left the door open — just a crack — for renewed dialogue with President Donald Trump. His condition, however, was non-negotiable: Washington must abandon any demand for North Korean nuclear disarmament before talks can begin.

It is a position that has deadlocked diplomacy since Kim and Trump's high-profile negotiations collapsed in Hanoi in 2019. Six years on, North Korea's arsenal is larger, its missiles more powerful, and its leader more confident than ever.

The World's Most Dangerous Waiting Game

As U.S. forces remain engaged in the Middle East and Washington's attention is stretched across multiple global flashpoints, Kim Jong Un appears to be playing a long and patient game — testing, upgrading, and advancing, one engine at a time.

The question hanging over every capital from Washington to Seoul to Tokyo is not whether North Korea will eventually have a fully functioning ICBM capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to American soil.

The question is how much time is left before it does.

They came by the millions. From the gleaming skyline of New York City to the quiet back roads of rural Idaho, Americans poured into the streets Saturday in a sweeping display of defiance — marching, chanting, and singing against a president they say has gone too far.

The "No Kings" movement, now in its third and largest wave, brought an estimated 9 million people into public squares, courthouse steps, and city parks across all 50 states. More than 3,100 events were registered — 500 more than the last round in October. The message was unified, the energy electric, and the anger very real.

The Boss Takes the Stage in Minnesota

If one image defined Saturday's protests, it was this: Bruce Springsteen, guitar in hand, standing before a sea of thousands on the Capitol lawn in St. Paul, Minnesota — the undisputed heart of the movement.

Springsteen performed "Streets of Minneapolis," the haunting song he wrote following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents during a surge of ICE enforcement operations. His voice cracked with emotion as he honored their memory — but his eyes burned with defiance.

"Your strength and your commitment told us that this was still America," Springsteen told the crowd. "And this reactionary nightmare, and these invasions of American cities, will not stand."

The crowd roared.

Minnesota has become a symbol of resistance. Through a brutal winter, its residents stood firm against waves of immigration enforcement agents flooding their cities. On Saturday, the state wore that resistance like a badge of honor.

From Blue Cities to Red Heartland

What makes this movement impossible to dismiss is its geography. These are not just the protests of coastal liberals.

Saturday's rallies stretched from New York City — home to 8.5 million people in one of America's bluest states — all the way to Driggs, Idaho, a town of fewer than 2,000 souls in a state where Trump won with 66% of the vote in 2024. The "No Kings" movement has found its way into corners of America where dissent rarely gets a public stage.

Organizers say the first rally drew more than 5 million in June. The second pulled in 7 million in October. Saturday's expected turnout of 9 million suggests the movement is not fading — it is growing.

Mostly Peaceful, but Not Without Friction

The vast majority of Saturday's events were peaceful — filled with music, speeches, and impassioned crowds. But in some cities, tensions boiled over.

In Los Angeles, authorities deployed tear gas near a federal detention center downtown, where protesters had gathered in large numbers. Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department eventually arrested several individuals for failing to disperse. Earlier in the day, the atmosphere had been festive — a band playing Spanish-language music, people dancing in the streets.

In Denver, police declared an unlawful assembly after a small group of protesters blocked a road and refused to move. Officers deployed smoke canisters, and some in the crowd hurled them back. At least nine people were arrested before the situation calmed.

The White House Hits Back

Not everyone was moved by the spectacle.

The White House wasted no time going on the offensive. Spokesperson Abigail Jackson dismissed the rallies as the product of "leftist funding networks," insisting they reflected fringe opinion rather than mainstream sentiment. The protesters, she said, were little more than fodder for journalists looking for a story.

The National Republican Congressional Committee was even sharper in its rhetoric. Spokesperson Maureen O'Toole labeled the events "Hate America Rallies," claiming they gave a platform to what she called the far-left's most extreme voices.

But with millions in the streets and the movement still growing, the White House's dismissals may be harder to sell with each passing weekend.

A Movement That Will Not Be Silenced

Three rallies in. Millions in the streets. A rock legend on stage. Protests in red states and blue ones alike.

Whatever one thinks of the politics, one thing is clear: the "No Kings" movement is not going away. And as America's war in Iran grinds forward and immigration enforcement continues to reshape communities across the country, the crowds gathering each weekend seem to have no intention of going home quietly.

America is talking. The question now is — who is listening?