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JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — At least 169 people were killed after insurgents raided a village in a remote area ofSouth Sudan, a local official said Monday, It's the latest bout ofsporadic violencethat has left the country teetering on the verge of full-blown civil war.

The victims, including 90 civilians, were attacked on Sunday in Abiemnom county, said James Monyluak, information minister for the administrative area of Ruweng.

He said women and children were among the dead, in addition to dozens of combatants.

The U.N. Mission in South Sudan, known as UNMISS, said in a statement that 1,000 people sought shelter at its base after the attack.

"Such violence places civilians at grave risk and must stop immediately," Anita Kiki Gbeho, a UNMISS official, said in a statement. "I urge all involved to cease hostilities without delay and engage in constructive dialogue to address their grievances."

"Our peacekeepers will continue to do everything within their capabilities to protect civilians seeking refuge at our base," she added.

The UNMISS statement cited 23 wounded in the attack in Ruweng, as well as concern over "reports indicating that dozens of civilians and some local officials have lost their lives."

The killings are part of anescalating wave of violencegripping South Sudan as government forces loyal to President Salva Kiir battle armed men who are believed to be loyal to opposition leader Riek Machar.

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Stephano Wieu De Mialek, the chief administrator of Ruweng Administrative Area, said on Sunday that the assault was conducted by elements linked to the White Army militia alongside forces affiliated with Machar's Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition. Wieu described the attack as a coordinated and organized assault, calling it an act of rebellion.

In a statement, Machar's group denied responsibility for the attack and asserted that it "has no military presence in the area concerned."

Machar was Kiir's deputy until September, when he was removed after he faced criminal charges. He is under house arrest in Juba, the South Sudan capital, as his trial progresses.

The U.S. is urging talks between Kiir and Machar.

Ongoing violence threatens a fragile peace reached in 2018 after a five-year civil war. After that agreement, Machar was named South Sudan's first vice president in a government of national unity. A U.N. inquiry has found that South Sudan's leaders are "systematically dismantling" that agreement.

Machar's supporters say the charges against him for alleged subversion are politically motivated. His removal from office coincided with a sharp increase in violence.

The conflict escalated in December when opposition forces seized government outposts in the county of Jonglei, an opposition stronghold and a flashpoint in renewed fighting that the U.N. estimates has displaced 280,000 people.

Aid groups have warned thataccess restrictionsto opposition-held parts of the state are endangering civilian lives.

The government has conducted a counteroffensive since January with aerial bombardments and ground assaults, despite an official commitment to the peace agreement.

Welcome back to another 'advanced English words' quiz! If you've checked out our32 Advanced English Words That Only Smart People Knowquiz, then you'll know what's expected of you here. Some of these words may seem very familiar to you. Maybe you've even used a few in conversation. But do you actually know what they mean?

This quiz will give you 30 advanced English words that regularly trip people up. The kind you see in books, headlines, academic writing, and debates. If your vocabulary is as strong as you think it is, this should be easy.

Ready to challenge yourself? Begin!

🚀 💡 Want more or looking for something else? Head over to theBored Panda Quizzesand explore our full collection of quizzes and trivia designed to test your knowledge, reveal hidden insights, and spark your curiosity.💡 🚀

What does this word mean?

◯ Carefully planned◯ Done routinely with little care◯ Deeply regretful◯ Overly emotional over the smallest things

Choose the correct meaning of this word:

◯ Extreme greed◯ Fear of change◯ Sudden confusion◯ Strong loyalty

Complete the sentence:

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What does this word mean?

◯ Reserved◯ Distracted◯ Persuasive◯ Loud

Fill in the blank:

◯ impartial◯ benevolent◯ amenable◯ obstinate

Match this word to the definition:

◯ Being socially awkward◯ Morally corrupt◯ Having great knowledge◯ Too easily offended

What does this word mean?

◯ Irritable◯ Generous◯ Shy◯ Competitive

Complete the sentence:

🧠 Curious to see the rest? Take the full quiz here 🧠

By Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Doina Chiacu and Susan Heavey

WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) - It will take time to achieve U.S. military objectives in Iran and additional ‌U.S. casualties are expected, U.S. General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of ‌Staff, said on Monday, as the United States and Israel's strikes on Iran continued for a third day.

The U.S.-Israeli ​air war against Iran expanded on Monday with no end in sight. The U.S. military said Kuwait's air defenses had mistakenly shot down three American F-15E fighter jets during an Iranian attack.

"This is not a single overnight operation. The military objectives that CENTCOM and the Joint Force have ‌been tasked with will take some ⁠time to achieve, and in some cases will be difficult and gritty work," Caine told reporters. He added that the United States continued to ⁠send additional troops to the Middle East, even after a massive military buildup.

Caine's comments come a day after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that strikes against Iran could go on for the next ​four weeks.

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A ​fourth U.S. service member on Monday died of ​injuries sustained in the U.S. operation ‌against Iran. U.S. military forces have intercepted hundreds of ballistic missiles targeting U.S. and partners in the region.

During the same press conference, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that military operations against Iran would not lead to an "endless war," though he acknowledged that the operation would not be complete overnight. Hegseth said the aim was to destroy Tehran's missiles, navy and other security ‌infrastructure.

"This is not Iraq. This is not endless," Hegseth ​said.

In the biggest U.S. foreign policy gamble in decades, ​President Donald Trump launched the campaign ​alongside Israel on Saturday against a foe that had tormented the United ‌States and its allies for generations.

Even with ​the U.S.-Israeli strikes, the ​conservative clerical leaders in Iran have shown no sign of yielding power. Military experts say U.S. and Israeli air power, with no armed force on the ground, may not ​be enough to drive them ‌out. Meanwhile, scores of Iranians have been reported killed in strikes, including several ​that hit apparent civilian targets.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Doina Chiacu; editing ​by Susan Heavey, Michelle Nichols and Nick Zieminski)

WASHINGTON (AP) — With hundreds of millions of peopleturning to chatbots for advice, it was only a matter of time before tech companies began offering programs specifically designed toanswer health questions.

In January,OpenAIintroduced ChatGPT Health, a new version of its chatbot that the company says can analyze users' medical records, wellness apps and wearable device data to answer health and medical questions. Currently, there's a waiting list for the program.Anthropic, a rival AI company, offers similar features for some users of its Claude chatbot.

Both companies say their programs, known as large language models, aren't a substitute for professional care and shouldn't be used to diagnose medical conditions. Instead, they say the chatbots can summarize and explain complicated test results, help prepare for a doctor's visit or analyzeimportant health trendsburied in medical records and app metrics.

Here are some things to consider beforetalking to a chatbotabout your health:

Chatbots can offer more personalized information than a Google search

Some doctors and researchers who have worked with ChatGPT Health and similar programs see them as an improvement over the status quo.

AI platforms are not perfect — they can sometimes hallucinate orprovide bad advice— but the information they produce is more likely to be personalized and specific than what patients might find through a Google search.

"The alternative often is nothing, or the patient winging it," said Dr. Robert Wachter, a medical technology expert at University of California, San Francisco. "And so I think that if you use these tools responsibly, I think you can get useful information."

One advantage of the latest chatbots is that they answer users' questions with context from their medical history, including prescriptions, age and doctor's notes.

Even if you haven't given AI access to your medical information, Wachter and others recommend giving the chatbots as many details as possible to improve responses.

If you're having worrisome symptoms, skip AI

Wachter and others stress that there are situations when people should skip the chatbot and seek immediate medical attention. Symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain or a severe headache could signal a medical emergency.

Even during less urgent situations, patients and doctors should approach AI programs with "a degree of healthy skepticism," said Dr. Lloyd Minor of Stanford University.

"If you're talking about a major medical decision, or even a smaller decision about your health, you should never be relying just on what you're getting out of a large language model," said Minor, who is the dean of Stanford's medical school.

Consider your privacy before uploading any health data

Many benefits offered by AI bots stem from users sharing personal medical information. But it's important to understand that anything shared with an AI company isn't protected by the federal privacy law that normally governs sensitive medical information.

Commonly known as HIPAA, the law allows for fines and even prison time for doctors, hospitals, insurers or other health services thatdisclose medical records. But the law doesn't apply to companies that design chatbots.

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"When someone is uploading their medical chart into a large language model, that is very different than handing it to a new doctor," said Minor. "Consumers need to understand that they're completely different privacy standards."

Both OpenAI and Anthropic say users' health information is kept separate from other types of data and is subject to additional privacy protections. The companies do not use health data to train their models. Users must opt in to share their information and can disconnect at any time.

Testing shows chatbots can stumble

Despite excitement surrounding AI, independent testing of the technology is in its infancy. Early studies suggest programs like ChatGPT can ace high-level medical exams but often stumble when interacting with humans.

A 1,300-participant study by Oxford University recently found that people using AI chatbots to research hypothetical health conditions didn't make better decisions than people using online searches or personal judgment.

AI chatbots presented with medical scenarios in a comprehensive, written form correctly identified the underlying condition 95% of the time.

"That was not the problem," said lead author Adam Mahdi of the Oxford Internet Institute. "The place where things fell apart was during the interaction with the real participants."

Mahdi and his team found several communication problems. People often didn't give the chatbots the necessary information to correctly identify the health issue. Conversely, theAI systemsoften responded with a combination of good and bad information, and users had trouble distinguishing between the two.

The study, conducted in 2024, did not use the latest chatbot versions, including new offerings like ChatGPT Health.

A second AI opinion can be helpful

The ability for chatbots to ask follow-up questions and elicit key details from users is one area where Wachter sees room for improvement.

"I think that's when this will get really good, when the tools become a little bit more doctor-ish in the way they go back and forth" with patients, Wachter said.

For now, one way to feel more confident about the information you're getting is to consult multiple chatbots — similar to getting a second opinion from another doctor.

"I will sometimes put information into ChatGPT and information into Gemini," Wachter said, referencing Google's AI tool. "And when they both agree, I feel a little bit more secure that that's the right answer."

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran and allied armed groups fired missiles at Israel, Arab states and U.S. military targets around the region on Monday, while Israel and the United Statespounded Iranas the war expended to several fronts. Kuwait mistakenly shot down three American warplanes over its skies.

APTOPIX Iraq Iran US Israel

The intensity of the attacks on both sides, thekilling of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the lack of any apparent exit plan indicated the conflict would not end any time soon. It was already have far-reaching consequences across the region and beyond: Previously safe havens in the Mideast like Dubai have seen incoming fire; hundreds of thousands of airline passengersare stranded around the globe; oil pricesshot up; and U.S. alliespledged to helpstop Iranian missiles and drones.

If attacked, Iran has long threatened to drag the region into total war, including targeting Israel the Gulf Arab states and the flow of crude oil crucial for global energy markets. All these thingscame under attackon Monday.

QatarEnergy, in fact, said it would stop its production of liquefied natural gas because of the conflict, taking one of the world's top suppliers off the market. It offered no timeline for restoring its production.

The chaos of the conflict became apparent when the U.S. military said Kuwait had "mistakenly shot down" three American F-15E Strike Eagles during a combat mission while attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones were underway. U.S. Central Command said all six pilots ejected safely and are in stable condition.

At least 555 people have been killed in Iran so far by the U.S.-Israeli campaign, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said, and more than 130 cities across the country having come under attack. Eleven people have been killed in Israel and 31 in Lebanon, according to authorities there.

Lebanon's government said Hezbollah's overnight attack against Israel were "illegal" and demanded the group handle over its weapons. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said only the state can decide whether to go to war or peace, and called on the Lebanese military to prevent the firing of projectiles and detain anyone involved.

In Kuwait, fire and smoke rose from inside the U.S. Embassy compound.

On Monday afternoon, multiple airstrikes hit Tehran, Iran's capital, while top Iranian security official Ali Larijani vowed on X that "we will not negotiate with the United States."

In Iraq, a pro-Iranian militia claimed responsibility for a drone attack targeting U.S. troops at the Baghdad airport, the day after it said it fired at a U.S. base in the city of Irbil in the north, and Cyprus said a drone attack targeted a British base on the Mediterranean island nation.

Israel and the U.S. bombed Iranian missile sites and targeted its navy, claiming to have destroyed its headquarters and multiple warships.

Iran expands attacks to regional oil infrastructure

World markets wererattled by the fighting and oil prices soared.

Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura oil refinery came under a drone attack on Monday, with defenses downing the incoming aircraft, a military spokesman told the state-run Saudi Press Agency.

Online videos from the site appeared to show thick black smoke rising after the attack. Even successfully intercepted drones cause debris that can spark fires and injure those on the ground.

Ras Tanura, near the city of Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia, is one of the world's largest with a capacity over half a million barrels of crude oil a day. It was temporarily shut down as a precaution after the attack, Saudi state television reported.

Oman said a bomb-carrying drone boat exploded against Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Monday, off the coast of the sultanate's capital of Muskat, killing one mariner. The state-run Oman News Agency said the dead crew member was from India.

Earlier in the day, debris fell on Kuwait's Ahmadi oil refinery, injuring two workers, after drones were shot down, the state-run KUNA news agency reported.

Iran's decision to expands its attacks to major regional oil infrastructure adds a new element to the war gripping the Middle East, directly targeting the lifeblood of the area's economy.

"The attack on Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura refinery marks a significant escalation, with Gulf energy infrastructure now squarely in Iran's sights," said Torbjorn Soltvedt, an analyst at the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

"An extended period of uncertainty lies ahead as Iran seeks to impose a heavy economic cost by putting tankers, regional energy infrastructure, trade routes and U.S. security partners in the crosshairs," he added.

Iran has also threatened ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil traded passes. Several ships have been attacked as well there.

An Iranian claim

Iran's Ambassador to the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, Reza Najafi, told reporters that the U.S.-Israeli airstrikes had targeted Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment site on Sunday.

"Again they attacked Iran's peaceful safeguarded nuclear facilities yesterday," he said. "Their justification that Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons is simply a big lie."

Israel and the U.S. have not acknowledged strikes at the site, which the U.S. bombed back in the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June. The Israeli military also did not immediately comment on Najafi's allegation.

Israel has not publicized specific targets in Iran but has said that it is targeting "leadership and nuclear infrastructure."

Hezbollah fires on Israel, prompting

massive response

As the attacks on Iran continued, Hezbollah said it fired missiles from Lebanon into Israel early Monday in response to the killing ofIranian Supreme Leader Ali Khameneiand "repeated Israeli aggressions." There were no reports of injuries or damage, and Israel said that it had intercepted one projectile while several fell in open areas.

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Israel retaliated with strikes on Lebanon, killing at least 31 people and wounding 149 others, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. About two thirds of the dead were in the country's south.

Lebanon's government said it was holding an emergency meeting after Hezbollah's attack on Israel triggered the Israeli airstrikes.

Iran has been firing missiles at Israel and Arab states in a counteroffensive since the joint America-Israeli attack Saturday that killedKhameneiand many top Iranian officials.

Casualties rise as attacks spread

Gulf Arab states have warned that they could retaliate against Iran after strikes that hit key sites and killed at least five civilians, and U.S. PresidentDonald Trumppromised Washington would "avenge" the deaths of three American troops who were killed in Kuwait, while predicting more casualties.

"Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends," Trump said. "That's the way it is."

Trump has urged Iranians to "take over" their government and, while he has also signaled he would be open to dialogue with new leadership there following the death of Khamenei, suggested Sunday there was no end in sight to the military operations.

"Combat operations continue at this time in full-force, and they will continue until all of our objectives are achieved," he said in a video message. "We have very strong objectives," he added, without elaborating.

The U.S. military saidB-2 stealth bombersstruck Iran's ballistic missile facilities with 2,000-pound bombs. Trump said on social media that nine Iranian warships had been sunk and that the Iranian navy's headquarters had been "largely destroyed."

Others have mostly stayed out of the war and pressed for diplomacy. But in an indication that the conflict could draw in other nations, Britain, France and Germany said Sunday they were ready to work with the U.S. to help stop Iran's attacks.

Early Monday, Cyprus said an uncrewed drone "caused limited damage" when it hit a British air base on the southern coast. Further details were not immediately available, but it came after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the U.K. would help the U.S. in the war against Iran.

The weekend attacks were the second time in eight months that the U.S. and Israel had combined against Iran, in a startling show of military might for an American president elected on an "America First" platform andpledged to keep outof "forever wars."

In the 12-day war last June, Israeli and American strikesgreatly weakenedIran's air defenses, military leadership and nuclear program. But the killing of Khamenei, who ruled Iran for more than three decades, creates a leadership vacuum, increasing the risk of regional instability.

Iranian proxies join the fray

Hezbollah's launch of missiles at Israel was the first time in more than a year that the militant group has claimed an attack. Israel said Hezbollah had "joined the campaign" alongside Iran as it retaliated with strikes on Beirut, Lebanon's capital.

Associated Press journalists in Beirut were jolted awake Monday by a series of loud explosions that shook buildings and caused windows to shatter. Warplanes could be heard flying low overhead.

"The strikes continue," said Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo, head of Israel's Northern Command. "Their intensity will increase."

The Iraqi Shiite militia Saraya Awliya al-Dam claimed a drone attack Monday targeting U.S. troops at the airport in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, further widening the retaliation over the killing of Khamenei. It had claimed a drone attack on Sunday against a U.S. air base in Irbil, in Iraq's north.

The group is one of a number of Shiite militias operating in Iraq. The U.S. and Iraq did not immediately comment on the claims.

In the Persian Gulf, Iran's retaliatory strikes pushed the conflict into cities that have long marketed themselves as regional safe havens. Three people were reported killed in the United Arab Emirates and one each in Kuwait and Bahrain.

In the United Arab Emirates, authorities said most Iranian missiles and drones were intercepted. But some either got through or fell as debris, causing the deaths and significant damage. Bahrain and Kuwait said Iranian strikes in both countries hit civilian targets outside the U.S. bases where Iran had pledged to retaliate.

WHO calls for protection of civilians

Tehran's streets have been largely deserted with people sheltering during airstrikes.The paramilitary Basijforce, which has played a central role in crushing recent protests, set up checkpoints across the city, according to witnesses.

In the northern Iranian city of Babol, a student, speaking anonymously over concerns of retribution, told the AP that armed riot police were on the streets Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday after the death of Khamenei.

"We don't know whether to be happy about the elimination of the criminals who oppress us or to remain silent in the face of the U.S. and Israel's war against the country and its interests and the terror that is taking place," he said.

In Israel, rescue services have confirmed several locations have been hit by Iranian missiles, includingJerusalemand a synagogue in Beit Shemesh, where nine people were killed and 28 wounded, bringing the overall death toll in the country to 11.

The World Health Organization called Monday for sparing civilians and healthcare facilities in the Middle East amid the escalating conflict.

"The protection of civilians and health care must be absolute," Hanan Balkhy, regional dietitian at WHO wrote on social media. "All parties must … ensure medical facilities remain protected."

Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue and Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed to this report.