Photos show Salla Porocup reindeer racing in Finland

SALLA, Finland (AP) — Traditional reindeer racing that has been delighting spectators for decades in Finland brought hundreds of fans to the Salla Reindeer Cup in the frigid town of Salla on Saturday and Sunday.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

A reindeer breaks away from the pack during the Salla Porocup reindeer sprint racing event on the frozen Lake Keselmajarvi in Salla, Finland, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Aino Vaananen)

Reindeer rest in their holding area beneath Sallatunturi fell before the start of reindeer racing at the Salla Porocup sprint racing event in Salla, Finland, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Aino Vaananen)

A junior competitor bursts out of the starting gate during the Salla Porocup sprint racing event in Salla, Finland, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Aino Vaananen)

A reindeer is loaded into the starting gate before a heat at the Salla Porocup reindeer sprint racing event in Salla, Finland, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Aino Vaananen)

A reindeer handler guides an eager reindeer to the starting area during the Salla Porocup reindeer sprint racing event in Salla, Finland, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Aino Vaananen)

Young reindeer herder Antti-Akseli Pohtila practices throwing a suopunki, a traditional reindeer lasso, during the Salla Porocup reindeer sprint racing event in Salla, Finland, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Aino Vaananen)

Reindeer herders Kalevi Simontaival, left, and Juhani Mantyranta, right, chat at the fence during the Salla Porocup reindeer sprint racing event, in Salla, Finland, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Aino Vaananen)

Reindeer and their mushers sprint down the opening stretch during the Salla Porocup reindeer sprint racing event on the frozen Lake Keselmajarvi in Salla, Finland, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Aino Vaananen)

Mushers and reindeer jostle at the start of the Salla Porocup reindeer sprint racing event in Salla, Finland, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Aino Vaananen)

Jonne Mikkola, center, and other mushers wait in the starting gates for their reindeer to be loaded before a heat at the Salla Porocup reindeer sprint racing event in Salla, Finland, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Aino Vaananen)

A reindeer breaks away from the pack during the Salla Porocup reindeer sprint racing event on the frozen Lake Keselmajarvi in Salla, Finland, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Aino Vaananen)

Reindeer compete during the Salla Porocup reindeer sprint racing event on the frozen Lake Keselmajarvi in Salla, Finland, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Aino Vaananen)

Iranian fired drones towards Saudi Arabia and Kuwait early Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump sent contradictory signals about how long the war could last, fueling uncertainty that’s causing markets to swing.

The Saudi Defense Ministry said it has destroyed drones over the kingdom’s oil-rich eastern region, while in Kuwait, the National Guard said it shot some down in the county’s northern and southern areas.

Iran’s latest attacks on neighboring Gulf States come as Trump late Monday told Republican lawmakers that the war was likely to be a “short excursion,” but hours later threatened in a post on social media that the U.S. would dramatically increase attacks if Iran tried to close the Strait of Hormuz.

In an apparent response to Trump’s remarks published in Iranian state media, a spokesperson for the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Ali Mohammad Naini, said “Iran will determine when the war ends.”

Here is the latest:

The Israeli military said Tuesday it had completed a series of strikes targeting Hezbollah’s financial arm, al-Qard Al-Hasan.

Israel says Hezbollah uses al-Qard al-Hasan to finance its military activities.

Israel targeted several of the group’s branches in southern and eastern Lebanon last week.

Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Aramco reported 2025 profits of $104 billion, down from the year before as the Iran war has seen its fields and facilities targeted.

Aramco released its annual results Tuesday. It planned to brief investors later in the day as the war that began Feb. 28 has seen Iranian drones and missiles target its facilities.

Aramco, formally known as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., reported profits of $110 billion in 2024.

Aramco said its 2025 revenues were $445 billion, down from $480 billion in 2024.

The United Arab Emirates will lower the volume of missile alerts sent to mobile phones in the overnight hours.

The UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority made the announcement late Monday night, saying that the loud blaring alarm would sound on phones from 9 a.m. until 10:30 p.m.

A standard text message chime would sound from 10:30 p.m. until 9 a.m., it said.

The blaring klaxon had sounded in the middle of the night since the war began Feb. 28. The change in the alerts signals how Gulf Arab states are trying to adjust to the idea of the war grinding onward as there’s no immediate sign of an end to the conflict.

Egypt hiked fuel prices by up to 17% on Tuesday as the war in the Middle East sent prices of oil soaring.

According to the Petroleum Ministry the cost of a liter of diesel, which is heavily relied on for public transport, increased by more than 17%. The price of the 92-octane gasoline rose by 15% and 95-octane gasoline increased by 14%.

The war has hit Egypt hard. The most populous Arab country, Egypt depends heavily on imported fuel. The Egyptian pound fell to a record low, trading at over 52 to the US dollar on Monday.

To mitigate impact of the war, the government announced a series of measures, including reducing official overseas trips and tightening fuel consumption across sectors.

The paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said on Tuesday that the end of the war will be determined by Iran.

Spokesperson Ali Mohammad Naini said in a statement published in various Iranian state media and apparently in response to Trump’s remarks Monday that “Iran will determine when the war ends.”

The U.S. president pledged aggressive action against Iran if it continues to block the shipment of oil in the Strait of Hormuz.

“If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far,” Trump posted on social media. “Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!”

The president said his threat was a “gift” to China, among other nations, because it relies on oil from the Middle East.

Flames rise from an oil storage facility south of the capital Tehran as strikes hit the city during the U.S.–Israel military campaign, Iran, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iraqis hold a portrait of the new successor to Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the U.S. embassy is located in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

A coffin is carried during the funeral of mostly children killed in a strike Feb. 28 at a girls' elementary school in Minab, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (Abbas Zakeri/Mehr News Agency via AP)

This image taken from video provided by Iran state TV shows Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran's slain supreme leader, who has been named as the Islamic Republic's next ruler, authorities announced Monday, March 9, 2026. (Iran state TV via AP)