The Trump administration is facing calls for an investigation after a reporter was accidentally included in a group chat where senior US officials discussed conducting airstrikes on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.
Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, was added to a group which included US vice president JD Vance, defence secretary Pete Hegseth, national security adviser Mike Waltz and director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
He said he had received a connection request on the encrypted messaging service Signal by Mr Waltz on 11 March and was invited to join the “Houthi PC small group” two days later.
Responding to the report, Mr Trump said “I know nothing about it” and called The Atlantic “not much of a magazine”. He added: “I don’t know anything about it. You’re telling me about it for the first time.”
Speaking to reporters in Hawaii, Mr Hegseth said “nobody was texting war plans and that’s all I have to say about that”. He also claimed Mr Goldberg was “peddling garbage”.
Image: Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth in the White House last week. Pic: Reuters
Image: Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, in 2022. Pic: Reuters
Senior Democrats have been highly critical of the incident. Congressman Jamie Raskin told Sky’s Martha Kelner: “This is such a basic error to be talking about war plans and military strategy in such a sloppy and open and public way.
“Almost certainly there were crimes committed in the process.”
When asked about the use of emojis in the group chat, Mr Raskin said: “It doesn’t surprise me coming from this crowd.”
Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called for a full investigation, saying: “This is one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence I have read about in a very, very long time.”
On 15 March, US airstrikes killed at least 53 people in Yemen in retaliation for Houthi threats to begin targeting “Israeli” ships after Israel blocked aid entering the Gaza Strip. The daily bombardment has continued for the 10 days since then.
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From 16 March: US launches multiple strikes on Yemen’s Houthis
When Mr Goldberg initially received a connection request from Mr Waltz, he was sceptical and initially thought “someone could be masquerading as Waltz in order to somehow entrap me”.
Leak raises huge questions about national security
By David Blevins, Sky correspondent in Washington DC
“FUBAR” – that’s one congressman’s response to the jaw-dropping news that Trump officials discussed war plans in a group chat on the Signal app.
It’s an old military acronym meaning ‘F***ed up beyond recognition” or “…beyond repair”.
“Only one word for this: FUBAR,” said Democrat representative Pat Ryan, an army veteran who sits on the armed services committee.
The leak raises huge questions about national security, but legal experts suggest establishing the group on Signal may violate the espionage act.
A spokesperson for the US National Security Council said: “At this time, the message thread that was reported appears to be authentic, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain.
“The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials. The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to our service members or our national security.”
Image: A US ship fires missiles during the strikes. Pic: US Central Command/Reuters
Group included ‘active intelligence officer’
After he was added to the “Houthi PC small group” on 13 March, Mr Goldberg saw a message from Mr Waltz asking the other members to provide a point of contact “for us to coordinate with over the next couple of days and over the weekend”.
In total, 18 people were part of the group, Mr Goldberg said, including Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump’s Middle East and Ukraine negotiator, and an “active intelligence officer” whose name he did not publish.
Image: Smoke rises in Yemen’s capital Houthi after US airstrikes. Pic: AP
The next day Mr Waltz texted the group: “Team, you should have a statement of conclusions with taskings per the Presidents [sic] guidance this morning in your high side inboxes,” with “high side” referring to classified computer systems.
“State and DOD [Department of Defence], we developed suggested notification lists for regional Allies and partners. Joint Staff is sending this am [morning] a more specific sequence of events in the coming days and we will work w DOD to ensure COS [chief of staff], OVP [office of the vice president] and POTUS [president of the United States] are briefed.”
Image: Smoke rises from an explosion after a group of buildings were hit during the strikes. Pic: US Central Command/Reuters
‘I think we are making a mistake’, vice president says
Mr Vance, who was at an economic event in Michigan, messaged: “I think we are making a mistake.
“[Three] percent of US trade runs through the [Suez Canal]. 40 percent of European trade does. There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary. The strongest reason to do this is, as POTUS said, to send a message.”
He added: “I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now. There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.”
Image: The aftermath of US airstrikes in Yemen’s capital Sanaa. Pic: Reuters
European ‘free-loading’ is ‘PATHETIC’, senior officials say
Later in the conversation, Mr Waltz criticised the limited capabilities of European navies, writing: “Whether it’s now or several weeks from now, it will have to be the United States that reopens these shipping lanes. Per the president’s request we are working with DOD and State to determine how to compile the cost associated and levy them on the Europeans.”
Mr Vance addressed Mr Hegseth in a message reading: “If you think we should do it let’s go. I just hate bailing Europe out again.”
Image: Pics: The Atlantic
Mr Hegseth replied: “VP: I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s PATHETIC. But Mike is correct, we are the only ones on the planet (on our side of the ledger) who can do this. Nobody else even close. Question is timing. I feel like now is as good a time as any, given POTUS directive to reopen shipping lanes. I think we should go; but POTUS still retains 24 hours of decision space.”
An account believed to be the deputy White House chief of staff, Stephen Miller, then said: “As I heard it, the president was clear: green light, but we soon make clear to Egypt and Europe what we expect in return. We also need to figure out how to enforce such a requirement. EG, if Europe doesn’t remunerate, then what? If the US successfully restores freedom of navigation at great cost there needs to be some further economic gain extracted in return.”
Messages could ‘harm American military and intelligence personnel’
The next day, the day of the strikes, Mr Goldberg said he saw messages which “if they had been read by an adversary of the United States, could conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel”.
“I will say a prayer for victory,” Mr Vance said.
Mr Goldberg said after the strikes many of those in the group celebrated with messages including “good job” and “God bless”.
When he realised the messages were real, Mr Goldberg removed himself from the Signal group and emailed several officials in the group for comment.
A spokesperson for Mr Vance replied: “The Vice President’s first priority is always making sure that the President’s advisers are adequately briefing him on the substance of their internal deliberations.
“Vice President Vance unequivocally supports this administration’s foreign policy. The President and the Vice President have had subsequent conversations about this matter and are in complete agreement.”
It comes after Mr Hegseth’s office announced a crackdown on leaking sensitive information.
The number of children killed in Gaza, according to the local health ministry, recently rose above 15,000.
Fatality figures in Gaza are disputed by Israel, but even allowing for miscalculation or exaggeration, it is a staggering loss of life.
Many children have been orphaned, losing not just both parents but also siblings, grandparents and other close relatives too.
Against this tragedy, the children of Gaza can’t dream of growing up.
War has robbed them of that.
‘I just want to forget’
Image: The children of Gaza have spent a year and a half under Israeli bombardment
“I’m here hanging out with my friends because I just want to forget the war,” Osama says, surrounded by other young boys, probably no older than 10.
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“I look at my destroyed home there and think about the memories I had there with my mum and dad, in their room. And now it’s gone.
“We used to have fun every day, sit in the kitchen, play together at home, and now it’s all gone.
“I want to forget everything. I want to have fun.”
Israel continues to bombard Gaza
On Thursday, Egypt sent a delegation to Qatar in an attempt to push for a renewed ceasefire.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with senior security officials on Thursday night to discuss developments.
For now, Israel is continuing to attack Gaza daily and is refusing to lift a blockade on aid entering the Strip.
The United Nations has reported that cases of malnutrition among children in northern Gaza have almost doubled as a result.
Hundreds of children have also been killed since the resumption of attacks almost two weeks ago.
She danced until the war came home
Five-year-old Jenin liked to dance, like so many five-year-old girls around the world liked to dance.
She danced in the tent where her family was sheltering from the war nearby and she danced until the day that the war came home.
Image: Five-year-old Jenin liked to dance
It was early in the morning when the missile struck – the family was getting ready for Suhoor, the Ramadan breakfast.
Twenty-five of Jenin’s relatives were killed, including her father and all of her brothers and sisters.
Her mother was already dead, killed in a previous strike.
Jenin now lies in a hospital bed, still unaware she has lost her family.
Image: Jenin is now mostly unconscious and in desperate need of surgery she cannot get in Gaza
She is mostly unconscious – her skull fractured, she has bleeding on her brain and is in desperate need of surgery she cannot get in Gaza.
“She’s truly lost all sense of safety. She’s terrified by anyone who comes near her,” Jenin’s aunt told Sky News.
“Jenin has lost the ability to speak. The shock was so severe that she can no longer communicate verbally.”
She went on: “Instead, she points and gestures, but words elude her. Most of the time, she is angry and throws things around; her emotional state is drained.
“Sometimes she responds, but other times she doesn’t. When she looks at us, there’s a visible frustration in her eyes -frustration from not being able to see her mum.”
Image: The aftermath of the strike that killed 25 members of Jenin’s family
Another family that didn’t survive the night
In Gaza City, our team filmed another family that didn’t survive the night.
Rescuers searched for survivors but pulled out the bodies of four people.
Twelve-year-old Sameer was the only one to escape the strike. He sobbed in silent prayer next to the wrapped corpses of his parents and siblings. Another orphan in Gaza.
Image: Sameer was the only one to escape the strike that killed his entire family
Image: Sameer at his family’s funeral
“One of my favourite memories with my family was a day at the beach,” he told us.
“We swam and played and had such a good time. I remember my brother walking back and spilling juice on himself. We laughed and told him off!”
His family was buried together, side-by-side in a shallow grave. Sameer, the one who lived, watched on, silent and lost.
“I wasn’t scared before, because I had my family around me. Right now, I am scared to lose more people. My mum and dad and everyone were martyred. I’m worried about losing more people. So now whenever I hear the planes above, I think they’re going to bomb me in my home.”
Image: Sameer returned to the ruins of his home and found his school books
There is no word for someone who has lost so much.
But in Gaza, there are so many children who have lost everything.
At one factory in East Germany, they’re pumping out a car part every second, cutting and pressing millions of pieces destined for the country’s mega motor industry.
The HENNgineered plant sits on the edge of Zwickau, a city where the car is king. And when it comes to vehicles, America is Germany’s most important trading partner.
In 2024, automotive exports to the US reached a total value of €36.8bn (£30.7bn), according to the German Automobile Association.
So, Donald Trump’s decision to introduce 25% tariffs on all passenger cars and light commercial vehicles imported into the US is a big problem for manufacturers and suppliers alike.
Image: Trump’s tariffs could prove a big problem for car manufacturers and suppliers like HENNgineered in Zwickau
Image: This factory makes a car part every second, cutting and pressing millions of pieces
Image: There are fears about future jobs after Donald Trump announced latest tariffs on car imports
“Such tariffs would be very hard. It could make companies decide to move to the US to produce there, which might also mean jobs are lost here in Germany,” explains site manager Matthias Wissel.
Volkswagen is now the main local employer, providing around 10,000 jobs.
But car building is in people’s blood, with the first vehicle made here around 120 years ago.
The city museum proudly displays cars through the ages.
One room hosts shiny silver racing cars, another brightly coloured Trabants.
Image: The August Horch Museum in Zwickau showcases the city’s long history of car making
The city developed cars from the German empire right through to the current modern republic, explains Thomas Stebich, head of August Horch Museum.
While the immaculate car displays celebrate the city’s pioneering past, tariffs are making many feel uncertain about the future.
“If nobody in the US buys a German car or less people buy German cars, it will have an impact, of course, because we need to build high numbers of cars here [for jobs],” Stebich says.
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If you want to understand how key the auto industry is to German identity, think mining to the UK in its heyday.
Around 700,000 people are employed in the industry, which generates more than 540 billion euros in sales a year.
But tariffs are not the first storm German car manufacturers have had to weather.
High energy and labour costs, competition from China and weaker domestic demand due to the ailing economy mean the German car industry has been cutting jobs.
Audi recently announced it will cut 7,500 administration jobs by 2029.
They’re not the only ones, but Trump’s tariffs news comes as a fresh blow to workers.
A representative on the VW works council in Zwickau cancelled our interview due to crisis talks.
All the workers we met seemed pessimistic and deeply worried for the plant and the city’s future.
Their concern is shared by Aliriza Oernek, who owns four restaurants in Zwickau.
He says in recent years they’ve seen many of their young people leave the area to seek jobs elsewhere. He fears fresh pain from tariffs will hurt the whole community.
“Volkswagen is the biggest employer in Zwickau, the main source of money for people who live here. If they were to disappear, then people won’t stay in the town anymore,” he says.
Image: Aliriza Oernek, owns four restaurants in Zwickau, and worries that tariffs will hurt businesses like his
Like its counterparts, Volkswagen is closely watching developments around tariffs and assessing how they could impact the supply chain and production.
All eyes are currently on the European Union to see how it will retaliate.
In a statement, a spokesperson for VW Group said they “share the assessment of most experts that US tariffs and any counter-tariffs will have negative consequences for growth and prosperity in the US and other economic areas… and continue to advocate for constructive talks”.
So, while car makers brace for impact, Germany’s vowed it will “not take this lying down”, calling for a “firm response” from the EU as it tries to protect its automakers from this new American attack.
Seven healthcare professionals, including a neurosurgeon, a psychiatrist and medical staffers, have gone on trial for manslaughter after being accused of failing to provide Maradona with adequate medical care.
Image: Maradona holds the World Cup aloft after his nation’s 3-2 victory over West Germany in 1986. Pic: AP/Carlo Fumagalli
One of the experts who performed a post-mortem examination on Maradona spoke in front of the court on Thursday.
He said the Argentinian suffered agony for at least 12 hours before death and added “any doctor” should have noticed his symptoms days earlier.
Carlos Cassinelli, director of forensic medicine at the Scientific Police Superintendency, on Thursday provided details of the post-mortem performed on the day of Maradona’s death.
Image: Fans gather in Buenos Aires during the trial earlier this month.
Pic: Reuters/Agustin Marcarian
“The heart was completely covered in fat and blood clots, which indicate agony,” he said.
Mr Cassinelli added: “This is a patient who had been collecting water over the days; that’s not acute.
“This was something that was foreseeable.
“Any doctor examining a patient would find this.”
The post-mortem concluded that Maradona died from acute pulmonary edema secondary to congestive heart failure.
The trial could last up to four months, with three hearings held a week.
If found guilty, the defendants, who all deny the allegations against them, could be jailed for 25 years.
Among the accused are Leopoldo Luque, Maradona’s personal physician for the last four years of his life, and psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, who prescribed medication that Maradona took until the time of his death.
Along with them, psychologist Carlos Diaz, coordinator of the medical company hired to care for him during his hospitalisation, Nancy Forlini, representative of the company that rendered nursing service, Mariano Perroni, Dr Pedro Di Spagna, who monitored his treatment, and nurse Ricardo Almiron are also standing trial.
Image: Leopoldo Luque, the personal doctor of Maradona. Pic: Reuters/Agustin Marcarian
Gisela Madrid, a nurse who was also indicted, will be tried by a jury later this year.