Early Bird: The United States has allowed countries to purchase Russian oil already loaded on tankers for 30 days. Czechia is ending repatriation flights.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a license allowing the sale of Russian oil and petroleum products loaded onto ships before midnight on March 11 to be permitted until midnight on April 10 to 11, Washington time. According to Bessent, this measure will not bring significant financial benefits to the Russian government. Czech repatriation flights due to the conflict that paralyzed air transport in the Middle East ended yesterday.
Russian Oil is Back on Sale in Limited Quantities
The United States on Thursday evening permitted countries to purchase Russian oil already loaded on tankers at sea for 30 days in an effort to stabilize global energy markets, announced U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the X network. Oil prices continued their strong rise on Thursday, closing at the highest level in nearly four years near $100 a barrel. The markets have been experiencing tense conditions in recent days due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, sparked by U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran, reported the portal Ceskenoviny.cz.
Yesterday marked the last repatriation flight
The Czech Republic is ending repatriation flights from the Middle East for people whose return home was complicated by the Iranian war. Yesterday's twelfth repatriation flight was the last one. In total, more than 1500 Czech citizens returned from conflict-affected areas. The state launched repatriation flights with military aircraft and Smartwings planes after Israel and the USA militarily attacked Iran at the end of February, further specified the server Ceskenoviny.cz.
Google Maps Service is Planning Several Improvements Thanks to AI
Google Maps will increasingly rely on artificial intelligence. An innovation developed by Google's Gemini technology will introduce two AI features into the digital map service used by over 2 billion people worldwide. One of the tools named Ask Maps will expand conversation features that Google brought to the service last November. For users searching for places like mobile charging spots or cafes with short queues, it will offer suggestions on how to reach these places. Gemini's recommendations will be based on a database that includes over 300 million places and reviews from more than 500 million contributors, wrote the AP agency.
New Program Helps Readers Distinguish Books Written by Humans from AI
The British Society of Authors (SoA) has launched a program that helps readers differentiate between books written by humans and those created by artificial intelligence (AI). The program allows authors to register their books and download a logo with the phrase Human Authored, which they can place on the back cover. A similar certification program was launched in 2025 by the American Authors Guild, as reported by the server Ceskenoviny.cz.
Trump Discourages Iranian Football Team from Participating in the World Cup
U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he doesn't think it would be "appropriate" for the Iranian football team to participate in this year's World Cup, which is co-hosted by the United States. He cited security concerns as the reason.
"The Iranian national football team is welcome at the World Cup,"
Trump wrote on his social media page, adding:
"But I really don't think it's appropriate for them to be there, for their own life and safety."
Iranian leaders stated earlier this week that it is "impossible" for the country to participate in the World Cup, reported AP.
Sources: Ceskenoviny.cz, AP
