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PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Aroadside bombtargeting a police vehicle killed four people, including two officers, and wounded about two dozen others in restive northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border, police said.

The blast occurred in Wana, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police official Asghar Shah said.

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The dead included two police officers and two passersby, he said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion is likely to fall on thePakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. The group is separate from but allied with Afghanistan's Taliban government and has intensified its campaign against Pakistani security forces in recent years.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence that has deepened tensions with Afghanistan. Islamabad accuses the TTP of using Afghan territory as a safe haven since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021, a charge the Afghan Taliban deny.

This weekend, we spring forward and turn our clocks ahead one hour to kick offdaylight saving time.

As is always the case when the clocks change, folks around the country and online initiate conversations about the need to turn daylight saving time into our permanent modus operandi instead of ending it every fall (known as going to standard time). This is mostly because daylight saving time guarantees more sunshine toward the end of the day, a fact that experts stress can help with seasonal depression.

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Talks have gotten so intense that politicians have even introduced bills attempting to make daylight saving irreversible.Back in March 2022, the United States Senate went as far as passing the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021.

"The call to end the antiquated practice of clock changing is gaining momentum throughout the nation," said Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at the time in an official statement.

In 2023, Rubio re-introduced what is now referred to as the Sunshine Protection Act of 2023 to the 118th Congress. "This ritual of changing time twice a year is stupid," the GOP lawmaker said in astatement. "Locking the clock has overwhelming bipartisan and popular support. This Congress, I hope that we can finally get this done."

Even PresidentDonald Trump has voiced his support for getting rid of daylight saving time,saying it's "inconvenient" and "costly."

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If that were ever to happen (it hasn't yet), our clocks would permanently move an hour forward ― like we do every spring ― making daylight saving time our new forever normal.

But if there has been this much supposed political support and public momentum behind the initiative, why haven't we been able to make the change permanent so far?

Here's why we change our clocks in the first place.

The overall idea is that people prefer to do things in daylight, so "extending" the day by an hour could be beneficial to just about anyone.

However, that's not exactly the case. Farmers, for example, have been famously opposed to daylight saving time because it disrupts their usual schedule.

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Historically, those arguing that daylight saving time should be turned permanent have brought up potential energy-saving measures as major benefits to the practice.

"Household lighting and electricity use is one of the biggest energy savers," explainedNick Loris, economist and VP of public policy at C3 Solutions. Basically, the longer there is sunshine outside, the less likely you are to turn on your lights at home, therefore saving energy.

However, there have been studies pointing to the flaws of that view.

"If people are going out after work ― driving to restaurants or going to the mall, for example ― they are using more gasoline than they otherwise might, so that reduces some of the energy savings," Loris explained. "Also, technology has vastly improved the efficiency of our appliances, so families are saving less than they used to from daylight saving time. The way we use energy is much different than our parents and grandparents, which, again, makes the energy savings argument a little dubious."

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Who wants daylight saving time to become the norm?

According to theNational Conference of State Legislatures, as of 2023, a total of 19 states have tried to adopt daylight saving time all year around, passing resolutions confirming their position. However, until a similar law is passed on a federal level, local states cannot alter the way the system currently works.

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Retailers, in particular, tend to approve of the proposed changes because, according to Loris, "more light means people are willing to shop or hang out after work rather than just go home" and, as a result, are more likely to visit retail-adjacent destinations.

When it gets darker, people are less likely to spend money. "Studieshave shown that even groceries and fuel shopping goes down when daylight saving ends," Loris said.

Loris noted that additional evening light has been associated with specific health benefits ("kids play outside more, it helps with seasonal depression") and public safety concerns (the longer it is light out, the less dangerous not being home might be).

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According to astudypublished in the Journal of Affective Disorders, mental health distress increases among the population during the times of the year characterized by reduced hours of sunlight.

"With fewer sun time hours, clients will be particularly vulnerable to emotional distress,"according to Mark Beecher, clinical professor and licensed psychologist in New York University Counseling and Psychological Services and one of the scientists behind the study.

What are the downsides of daylight saving time?

Loris conceded that lighter nights come with darker mornings and, therefore, sometimes unpleasant situations: Students going to school and commuters heading to work during pitch-black morning hours may have to confront other safety issues, for example.

Parents of school-aged children have become pretty loud voices in the debate,arguingthat the full-time adoption of daylight saving time will bring several safety issues when it comes to morning commutes to school.

Sleep patterns are another downside. A total of two states just stay on standard time all year long: Arizona and Hawaii. Although there are a number of reasons behind the states' decision, it seems like a lot of it is based on what the American Academy of Sleep Medicine has been saying for years: Living off standard time might be healthier for the human body.

"Current evidence best supports the adoption of year-round standard time, which aligns best with human circadian biology and provides distinct benefits for public health and safety," reads anofficial statementby the organization.

To put it simply, daylight saving time means more darkness in the morning and light in the early evening, which would go against our bodies' natural rhythms.

Will one time schedule ever get implemented?

As of now, although several states have passed their own propositions to make daylight saving time permanent, the federal government has yet to take on the issue.

Every few months, when the designated days to switch our clocks approach, conversations about the issue abound in Congress, but just a few weeks later, as we get used to the new normal, all such discussions seem to die down—case in point: The Sunshine Protection Act has yet to reach the House of Representatives.

"It just doesn't seem to be a priority issue," Loris said. "We talk about it twice a year, and then it's largely forgotten about until it's time to spring forward or fall back again."

So, the hold-up is within the government. Officials have to first choose whether to implement a never-changing time system and, following that matter, opt for which frame to use permanently: standard time or daylight saving time.

If the past few years are of any indication, we're still a long way from either decision, as the lobby groups behind each camp have enough of a case to stall conversations until the next season.

For now, we'll just keep Googling ways not to feel jet-lagged every six months after we change our clocks.

The original version of this story was published on HuffPost at an earlier date.

Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive.Support HuffPost.

Related...

• How To Adjust Your Kid's Sleep Schedule Before Daylight Saving Time Ends

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Read the original on HuffPost

A navy vessel is seen sailing in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which much of the world's oil and gas passes on March 1, 2026. Two ships were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz on March 1, maritime security agencies said, as Iran pressed a second day of strikes in response to US-Israeli military strikes on Iran killing it's supreme leader. Credit - Sahar AL ATTAR—AFP or licensors

The war in Iran has killed hundreds of civilians, displaced hundreds of thousands more, sent globaloil pricesskyrocketing, created a political crisis for President Donald Trump and shaken the stability of the Gulf. But for one nation at least, the chaos has created opportunity.

Russia has emerged from the first week of the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran as an early winner, seemingly able to profit from thesecondary economicand geopolitical effects of the war while others bear the costs.

Russia is one of the few nations that has maintained a friendly relationship with Tehran. Moscow condemned the U.S. and Israel's attack on Iran on February 28, calling it a "pre-planned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent U.N. member state," in astatement from Russia's Foreign Affairs Ministryposted to Telegram. Vladimir Putin similarly criticized the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a "cynical murder."

Read More:Wars Like Ukraine and Iran Are Pushing Countries To Rethink How They Get Their Energy

But while it may stand to lose a powerful ally in the region, Moscow may also benefit in the short term, analysts say.

"What we're seeing now was not hard to predict," says Robert Person, nonresident Senior Fellow with the Eurasia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), a nonpartisan think tank based in Philadelphia.

"Putin and his advisors have likely determined that war in Iran serves Russia's interests in the short term: higher energy prices, global distraction from a Ukraine war that Putin is not ready to settle, and America at risk of entrapment in another Middle Eastern quagmire," Person says.

"We don't know the degree to which any of this influenced the Trump Administration's decision-making, but I suspect they were of secondary consideration, if at all," he adds.

Here are the ways in which Russia is benefiting from the Iran war.

U.S. lifts restrictions on Russian oil

Russia has been under heavy sanctions from the U.S. and other allies since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including export controls, asset blockings, an oil price cap, and other restrictive economic pressures aimed at impeding its ability to fund its war.

President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% import tariff on India over its import of Russian oil in August, arguing that its continued purchase undermined the sanctions regime designed to pressure Putin to negotiate over the Ukraine war.

But in response torising gas pricesin the U.S., Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week issued a 30-day waiver on the tariff and is considering further lifting of sanctions.

"Yesterday, the Treasury agreed to let our allies in India start buying Russian oil that was already on the water," Bessent told Fox Business on Friday. "We may sanction other Russian oil."

In anX postThursday, Bessent added that the "deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea."

Despite this, Russian leadership claims that there is "a significant increase in demand" for Russian energy products, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, "in connection with the war in Iran."

Rising oil prices

A combination of heavy sanctions and low oil prices had given Russia's energy industry a poor outlook just a little over a week ago.

Oil and gas revenues fell from 45% of Russia's federal budget in 2021 to around 20% in 2025, as sanctions imposed by the international community aimed at limiting Moscow's ability to wage war in Ukraine took effect.

Now, due to the crunch on global oil supplies caused by the Iran war, oil prices have spiked and Russia is one of the few oil-producing nations that stands ready to fully benefit from it.

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It was forced to sell its oil at a discount of $10-$13 a barrel before the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, now it is selling at a premium of $4-$5, according toReuters.

The combination of higher prices and the disruption to Gulf countries' ability to supply markets in Asia could provide a windfall to Moscow, just a year after its oil and gas revenuedroppedto its lowest levels since 2020.

Ukraine's Patriots

One knock-on effect of the Iran war is that it may directly impact Ukraine's ability to defend itself against Russian missiles, delivering a boost to Moscow.

Ukraine was already facing a shortage of U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, the expensive $4 million-a-piece munitions it uses to shoot down ballistic missiles and drones. Now the U.S. is running through those same missiles to defend against a barrage of Iranian missiles and drones that are targeting U.S. bases and Washington's allies in the Middle East.

European Union Defense and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius saidFridaythat the outlook for Ukraine was "critical," and said the E.U. would need to "develop missile production in a very urgent and very rapid way."

"Americans will not be able to provide enough of those missiles for the Gulf countries, for their own army, and also for Ukraine," Kubilius said.

Ukraine's vulnerability to aerial attacks was underscored overnight on Saturday as Russia launched a barrage of at least 450 drones and 19 missiles in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, according to Ukrainian officials, killing at least 10 people.

An analysis by Agence France-Presse found that Russia fired more missiles in overnight strikes in February than in any month since the beginning of 2023. The agency found that Russia launched 288 missiles at Ukraine in February, an increase of about 113% compared to 135 missiles in January.

At the same time as his country is struggling to defend itself, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country would assist the Gulf in taking down Iranian drones by providing some of its much cheaper, homegrown drone-interception technology.

"We received a request from the United States for specific support in protection," against Iran's drone systems, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday on X. Ukrainian advisers and systems would shortly be on their way to the Persian Gulf region, Zelensky said, because "Ukraine helps partners who help ensure our security."

Russia has used Iranian-made Shahed drones to devastating effect against Ukraine over the last few years. Mostly out of necessity, Ukraine developed cheap interceptor drones known as the Sting system, which are operated by pilots who can guide them to crash into Shahed drones, forcing them to explode.

'Degrading America's projection of power'

Several news outlets, including the WashingtonPostand theAssociated Press, have reported that Russia has shared targeting intelligence on the U.S. military with Iran and is directing Iran on what to do with the information.

ThePost, citing officials familiar with intelligence on the matter, said the intelligence included the locations of American warships, aircraft and other military assets.

White House officials have not denied that Russia is providing intelligence to Iran, but they have downplayed the country's influence and its ability to harm military operations.

When asked by CBS News about the reports and how Russian information has aided Iran in targeting U.S. bases across the Middle East, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said:  "No one's putting us in danger".

"We mitigate it as we need to," the Pentagon chief continued. "Our commanders factor all of this, but the only ones that need to be worried right now are Iranians that think they're going to live."

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump snapped at Fox News reporter Peter Doocy when he asked about Russia's reported role in helping Iran.

"I have a lot of respect for you, you've always been very nice to me," Trump told Doocy. "What a stupid question that is to be asking at this time. We're talking about something else."

"Recent reports that Russia has provided Iran with intelligence used to target American forces in the region are consistent with the latter effort: anything to complicate or degrade America's projection of power shifts the relative geopolitical balance in Moscow's favor," Person says.

Contact usatletters@time.com.