The race to replace former Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is heading to a runoff after no candidate secured a majority in Tuesday’s special election.

Republican candidate Clay Fuller, who received the backing of US President Donald Trump, is projected to face Democrat Shawn Harris in the runoff to represent Georgia’s 14th congressional district.

The two candidates emerged from a crowded field of 17 contenders competing for the seat.

Trump gave Fuller his “complete and total endorsement” in a post on Truth Social and reiterated his support during a rally in Rome, Georgia last month.

Tuesday’s vote is being seen as an early test of Trump’s political influence ahead of the upcoming 2026 United States midterm elections scheduled for November.

Speaking on election night, Fuller credited Trump for his strong showing.

“For those of you who questioned how important Donald J Trump is to this country, to Georgia 14, and the state of Georgia, you see what this man means to this community, what he means to the people in this country, and what he means to the MAGA movement,” said Fuller, a former district attorney.

The runoff election between Fuller and Harris is scheduled for 7 April.

The winner will serve out the remainder of Greene’s congressional term, which ends in January. However, the victor will immediately need to begin campaigning again to secure a full term during the November midterms.

Harris finished with the highest vote total on Tuesday night, likely benefiting from a split among Republican voters across the large number of GOP candidates in the race.

In the runoff, Harris will face only Fuller, who is expected to consolidate Republican support.

By Wednesday morning, Trump had already moved to rally support behind Fuller.

“Clay Fuller is going to be a fantastic Congressman in representing the Great State of Georgia,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Now we have to be careful and finish it off. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

Democrats have also begun mobilising support for Harris. Former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg congratulated him in a message posted on X.

A Thai-flagged cargo ship caught fire in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz after being struck by unidentified projectiles, prompting an emergency rescue operation involving regional naval forces.

According to the Royal Thai Navy, the vessel was carrying 23 Thai crew members when it came under attack while sailing through the narrow shipping route that links the Arabian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman.

The navy said it received the first report of the incident at around 11:00, although the time zone was not specified. The ship had departed earlier from Khalifa Port in the United Arab Emirates.

Rescue efforts were quickly launched, with the Royal Navy of Oman successfully rescuing 20 crew members. Authorities said efforts were continuing to locate and rescue the remaining three sailors.

The Thai navy confirmed that the cause of the attack remains under investigation and did not provide details about who might be responsible.

Meanwhile, the UK Maritime Trade Operations reported a sharp rise in security incidents affecting vessels in the region since the start of the latest conflict in the Middle East.

According to the organisation, 13 ships have been attacked across the region so far. It has also recorded four additional cases of suspicious activity, bringing the total number of maritime security incidents to 17 involving vessels operating in and around the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman.

The update follows reports that three commercial vessels were struck by “unknown projectiles” in separate incidents earlier in the day. In one case, a ship north of Oman was hit, forcing its crew to abandon the vessel for safety.

The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most critical shipping corridors, with a significant portion of global oil supplies passing through the narrow waterway each day. Rising tensions and attacks on vessels have heightened concerns about maritime security and the potential impact on global energy supplies.

A United Nations investigation has concluded that Russia’s deportation of Ukrainian children from occupied territories could amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes.

According to the findings by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry, at least 1,205 cases have been documented involving children taken from Ukrainian territories by Russia since 2022.

The report states that about 80% of the identified children have not yet been returned, with many parents and guardians still unaware of their children’s whereabouts.

Investigators say the actions amount to enforced disappearance and unjustifiable delays in repatriation — violations that qualify as crimes against humanity and war crimes under international law.

Most of the children referenced in the report were living in the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic, regions of Ukraine that Moscow claims to control but which are internationally recognised as Ukrainian territory.

The report says that shortly before launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow moved many of the children into the Russian Federation, claiming they were being evacuated to protect them from a potential Ukrainian attack.

Once inside Russia, the children were reportedly placed with foster families or institutions and in many cases granted Russian citizenship.

Russian authorities have consistently denied accusations of forcibly removing children from Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin previously dismissed allegations of abduction, saying the issue had been exaggerated and insisting the children had been “rescued” from a war zone.

At the time, Putin also said there would be “no problem” returning children to their homeland if requested.

However, the Ukrainian government has disputed those claims, saying families have faced major obstacles trying to bring their children back. The UN report similarly states that many children have encountered significant difficulties returning to Ukraine.

Investigators say the forced separation from their homeland, combined with what the report describes as a “coercive environment” in Russia, has caused deep psychological distress among many of the affected children.

Those who have managed to return to Ukraine have reportedly suffered from trauma, anxiety and fear of abandonment, sometimes linked to harsh treatment while in Russian care.

One child cited in the report said staff at a Russian orphanage told him that Ukraine “does not exist anymore” and that his parents had likely died.

Another testimony quoted a mother still searching for her missing daughter, saying she feared how the girl might be coping in Russia.

“I am still looking for my daughter, and I am terribly afraid of what she might think of me and how she survives,” the woman said.

In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin, accusing him and Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights Maria Lvova-Belova of unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children.

Lvova-Belova previously described taking in a 15-year-old boy from the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol and attempting to “re-educate” him, despite acknowledging he did not want to move to Russia.

Ukrainian officials say they have managed to recover around 2,000 children so far.

Reports have also suggested involvement from Melania Trump, the former US First Lady, who has reportedly helped facilitate efforts to reunite some children with their families. She previously said she maintained an “open channel of communication” with Putin after writing to him about the children affected by the war.