The US military is deploying thousands of Marines to the Middle East, officials told Reuters, as President Donald Trump accused NATO allies of cowardice over their reluctance to send forces to help open the Strait of Hormuz https://reut.rs/4spsCUw

Donald Trump ends the third week of the Iran war confronting a crisis that seems to be slipping out of his hands: Global energy prices are surging, the United States stands isolated from allies and more troops are preparing to deploy despite his promise the war would be only a "short excursion."   A defensive Trump called NATO countries "cowards" for refusing to help secure the Strait of Hormuz and insisted the campaign was ‌unfolding according to plan. But his declaration on Friday that the battle "was Militarily WON" clashed with the reality of a defiant Iran that is choking off Gulf oil and gas supplies while launching missile strikes across the region.   Trump, who took office promising to keep the U.S. out of "stupid" military interventions, now appears to control neither the outcome nor the messaging of a conflict he helped to initiate. The lack of a clear exit strategy carries risks both for his presidential legacy and his party's political prospects as Republicans scramble to defend narrow majorities in Congress in the November midterm elections https://reut.rs/3NTkQTE

South Korea on Saturday shut down the heart of Seoul for a comeback concert by Kpop supergroup BTS, as authorities prepare ​for an estimated 260,000 fans to flood the city's streets and millions more to watch the show live on Netflix https://reut.rs/3PQQvWk

As government funding for the Department of Homeland Security remains frozen in Congress, airports are running food drives and accepting donations for security screeners enduring their second stretch without pay in the last six months.   One union is alerting members nationwide to food drives and free pantries for groceries. Airports like Minneapolis-St. Paul and Phoenix are accepting donations such as gasoline gift cards, food, or essentials like baby goods. Seattle-Tacoma's airport has opened a food pantry, while at Dallas Fort Worth International, supervisors are bringing food to checkpoints twice a week.   Atlanta's ‌Hartsfield-Jackson Airport is giving out vouchers for one free meal per shift. Screeners are also getting free parking and public transport passes  https://reut.rs/4d28R0i

Campaigners for slavery reparations and scholars criticized the British monarchy after King Charles posed with Caribbean officials at a London reception ‌beneath a portrait of George IV, who profited from enslaved labor on plantations in Grenada.   Charles hosted on March 10 several Caribbean representatives at St. James's Palace for the annual Commonwealth Day reception, attended by, among others, the foreign ministers of Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago.   Research by independent scholar Desirée Baptiste shared with Reuters last year found that 1,000 pounds - about 103,000 pounds today - were paid into George IV's private coffers from two Crown-owned Grenadian estates worked by hundreds of enslaved people in the 18th and 19th centuries https://reut.rs/4uEPKzX

Our journalists Simon Gardner and Blake Morrison went on an international journey to unravel the mystery of Banksy after the enigmatic British street artist kept his identity just out of reach for decades. Hear how their search took them from a bombed-out Ukrainian village, through Bristol’s music scene, Manhattan’s art world and hundreds of documents until they uncovered a name - and so much more https://reut.rs/3NvbrBJ

Robert Mueller, the former FBI chief who documented Russia's interference in the 2016 US election and its contacts with Donald Trump's campaign but opted not to bring criminal charges against a sitting president, has died at age 81 https://reut.rs/4rIdVdN

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell lauded former Fed Chair Paul Volcker's "willingness to resist" political pressure as he fought inflation in the 1980s, remarks that have particular resonance as Powell presses his own defense ‌of the Fed's independence amid the Trump administration's efforts to get him to lower rates https://reut.rs/4t09igb