Global Pulse

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  • Xi and Sánchez say China and Spain should help safeguard multilateralism

    Xi and Sánchez say China and Spain should help safeguard multilateralism

    BEIJING – In a high-profile bilateral meeting held in the Chinese capital Tuesday, the top leaders of China and Spain have formally committed to expanding collaborative partnerships and upholding multilateral governance, against a backdrop of rising global instability marked by ongoing regional conflicts including the recent hostilities in Iran. Chinese President Xi Jinping made the remarks during an official reception for visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.

    During the address, Xi emphasized the urgency for the two nations to ramp up high-level communication, solidify cross-border mutual strategic trust, and advance close practical cooperation. He also underscores the need to push back against a growing global shift toward the law of the jungle, where power alone dictates outcomes, and work collectively to protect what he described as genuine, inclusive multilateralism.

    Sánchez, for his part, aligned fully with Xi’s position, noting that both nations are well-placed to drive progress in solving the world’s most pressing challenges. From persistent trade frictions to tangled geopolitical complexities, from active armed conflicts to escalating environmental and social inequities, the prime minister noted that China and Spain can play a pivotal role in forging collaborative, forward-looking solutions.

    This visit marks Sánchez’s fourth trip to China in a little more than three years, a frequency of high-level engagement that underscores Spain’s strategic interest in deepening ties with the world’s second-largest economy. Spain is currently seeking to expand both political dialogue and commercial exchange with Beijing. The trip also comes amid growing diplomatic friction between Madrid and Washington, rooted in Sánchez’s public opposition to the recent war in Iran.

  • Pope Leo XIV in Algeria to walk in footsteps of his spiritual father, St. Augustine

    Pope Leo XIV in Algeria to walk in footsteps of his spiritual father, St. Augustine

    On just his second full day in Algeria, marking the first ever papal visit to the North African nation, Pope Leo XIV traveled to Annaba — modern-day Hippo — to walk in the footsteps of his greatest spiritual inspiration, St. Augustine. This pilgrimage is far more than a diplomatic stop: it is a deeply personal homecoming for the first American pope, who has anchored his pontificate to the legacy of the fifth-century Christian theologian, and comes against the backdrop of a growing public feud with U.S. President Donald Trump over Leo’s calls for peace amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran.

    Leo has long tied his papacy to Augustine, identifying himself as a “son of St. Augustine” the night of his election and repeatedly citing the theologian’s teachings in his first year in office. For this trip, which is centered on advancing a message of interfaith harmony between Christians and Muslims, Leo is framing Augustine as a timeless model of bridge-building across ideological and religious divides.

    The visit also reframes a key figure in Western thought, drawing long-overdue attention to Augustine’s North African origins. Though Augustine is widely framed through a Eurocentric lens as one of the most influential European Christian thinkers, he spent nearly his entire life in what is now Algeria. Born in 354 CE to a Berber mother and Roman father in Thagaste — modern-day Souk Ahras, near Algeria’s border with Tunisia — Augustine was educated in Carthage (part of modern-day Tunisia) and taught rhetoric there before leaving for Italy in 383 CE. After his conversion to Christianity in Milan, he returned to North Africa just a few years later, founded a monastery in Hippo, served as a bishop, and wrote his most iconic works — including *Confessions* and *The City of God*, cornerstones of the Western intellectual canon — before his death in Hippo. Only five years of his life were spent on Italian soil.

    Scholar Catherine Conybeare, an Augustine expert at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, explores this underemphasized African identity in her new book *Augustine the African*, which examines how Augustine viewed himself as a North African looking toward Rome as the center of his faith, yet grappled with insecurity over his Punic-accented Latin. Conybeare notes that the narrative of Augustine’s legacy was shaped for centuries by European successors who relocated his remains to Pavia, Italy, after his death — leaving only one forearm relic in Annaba’s St. Augustine Basilica. “One of the most important thinkers in the Western intellectual tradition actually came from Africa, spent almost his whole life in Africa,” Conybeare told the Associated Press. “How does that change things?”

    Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune welcomed the pope, expressing the nation’s “immense pride” in Augustine, calling him “a cherished son of this land, which having been his first cradle, proudly became his initial resting place.”

    For Leo, the pilgrimage is the fulfillment of a long-held promise. He told reporters on the papal plane that he had planned this stop as the first trip of his pontificate, having announced as early as the previous May that he wanted his first international journey as pope to be to Africa. Multiple advisors immediately pointed him toward Algeria, given his deep ties to Augustine. Though other travel priorities intervened, Leo ultimately kept the commitment. This is not his first visit to the region: he traveled to Annaba twice before while serving as superior of the Augustinian religious order, which was founded in 13th-century Italy in Augustine’s honor.

    Leo emphasized that Augustine’s legacy offers a critical model for a divided world today. The saint, he said, represents “a very important bridge in interreligious dialogue” that global communities urgently need. “We must always seek bridges to build peace and reconciliation,” he said. “This journey, then, truly represents a valuable opportunity to continue with the same voice, with the same message, that we wish to convey: to promote peace, reconciliation, respect and consideration for all peoples.”

    During his time in Annaba, the pope toured the archaeological ruins of ancient Roman Hippo, including the theater, market, thermal baths, and the foundations of the original basilica where Augustine preached and the adjoining baptistry. He also met with a local order of nuns and the small Augustinian community based in the city, before closing the day with a Mass at the 19th-century Basilica of St. Augustine, which houses Augustine’s remaining forearm relic. The site draws thousands of pilgrims annually, including Muslim visitors, a testament to the shared cultural heritage Leo seeks to highlight.

    This coverage of religion by the Associated Press is supported through a collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP retains sole responsibility for all content.

  • Greek police using masked migrants to forcibly push other migrants back across border

    Greek police using masked migrants to forcibly push other migrants back across border

    A years-long joint investigation by the BBC and the Consolidated Rescue Group (CRG) has uncovered explosive evidence of systematic illegal pushbacks at Greece’s Evros land border with Turkey, revealing that Greek police have been recruiting migrant mercenaries to carry out violent, unlawful expulsions of asylum seekers and irregular migrants since at least 2020. The 200-kilometer Evros border forms the European Union’s eastern external frontier, a heavily militarized restricted zone dotted with watchtowers that has been a key entry point for more than 1 million migrants arriving in Greece since 2015. What the investigation uncovered is a shadowy, officially overseen system that violates both international and European Union human rights law.

    The inquiry began in autumn 2024, after a disgruntled smuggler shared graphic footage purporting to show migrants being abused by masked, third-country men at the border. While the BBC could not independently verify the footage’s content, its accounts aligned with testimony gathered from more than a dozen independent sources, including current and former Greek border guards, migrant victims, former mercenaries, leaked official disciplinary documents, and independent human rights investigations. Internal police documents reviewed by the BBC confirm that senior Greek police officers ordered and oversaw the recruitment of mercenaries, who are themselves migrants from countries including Pakistan, Syria, and Afghanistan. Recruits are compensated with cash, stolen mobile phones and valuables from other migrants, and unofficial permission to travel onward through Greece. In some cases, recruitment has happened under duress: Marwan, a Moroccan former mercenary who spoke to the BBC from Paris under a pseudonym, said he was pulled from a migrant detention cell in 2020 and given no choice but to agree to work. He described being held in an abandoned prison with other recruits, and told the BBC he witnessed routine brutal violence against migrants at the hands of Greek officers and other mercenaries, leaving him “completely destroyed” by trauma. “I am deeply sorry… I was under threat,” he said of his involvement.

    Multiple witnesses and documents corroborate allegations of widespread brutality against migrants subjected to pushbacks. Testimony collected by the BBC includes accounts of migrants being stripped, beaten until unconscious, robbed, subjected to invasive and degrading body searches, and sexually assaulted. One Syrian migrant, Amal (using a pseudonym for security), described how her family was detained by Greek police in Orestiada in 2025 while traveling to reunite with relatives who had already been granted asylum in Greece. She said police handed the group over to masked mercenaries, who removed her young daughter’s diaper during a search for valuables, leaving the child screaming in fear, and beat a young migrant so severely he lost consciousness. Another Syrian migrant, Ahmad, said he was beaten unconscious by Greek police, then loaded into an overcrowded truck where many passengers struggled to breathe before being handed over to mercenaries who stripped him, beat anyone hiding money, and forced migrants into dinghies half-way across the Evros River, throwing those who refused to jump overboard despite the risk of drowning.

    Official investigations and disciplinary records support these accounts. Excerpts from a 2024 Greek border guard disciplinary hearing reviewed by the BBC show multiple guards openly acknowledged the use of “boatmen” – the coded term for mercenary recruiters – for pushbacks. One guard told the hearing he was ordered to find recruits in 2020, when COVID-19 restrictions and heightened tensions with Turkey made direct police involvement too risky, and that the program was already active in southern Evros. Guards used coded language on the Viber messaging app to coordinate pushbacks, referencing “Special Team” operations, and told the hearing they had reported to senior officers that mercenaries were raping female migrants and stealing valuables, but no action was taken. Five border guards are currently awaiting trial on corruption charges related to the program, all of which they deny.

    A 2023 investigation by Frontex’s own independent Fundamental Rights Office into one ambush of a group of asylum seekers near Evros found that between 10 and 20 third-country nationals were acting under direct instruction of Greek officers. The report confirmed the group was subjected to death and rape threats, invasive sexualized body searches, beatings, stabbings, theft, and forced expulsion back to Turkey, in clear violation of EU human rights law. Greek authorities have denied any migrants were present in the area that day. The Greek National Commission for Human Rights (GNCHR) has itself documented more than 100 alleged forced pushback incidents in Evros dating back to 2020, dozens of which involved third-country mercenaries, with the most recent incident recorded in October 2025. GNCHR president Maria Gavouneli called the BBC’s findings “extremely significant” evidence of widespread human rights abuse.

    When confronted with the allegations by the BBC in March 2026, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he was “totally unaware” of any program using migrant mercenaries for pushbacks. He defended Greece’s border protection policies, adding that European leaders have made clear they will not repeat past “mistakes” of allowing a “massive influx” of migrants and refugees. Greek national authorities have not responded to the BBC’s detailed written requests for comment on the investigation’s findings. Frontex, the EU’s border and coast guard agency, has rejected claims it turns a blind eye to human rights violations, saying it works to ensure lawful border management and supports frontline states under pressure. A regional police source told the BBC that every uniformed officer serving in Evros – including Greek police, soldiers and Frontex staff – is aware pushbacks are taking place, with mercenaries pushing back as many as hundreds of migrants every week.

    The investigation also identified a leading former mercenary, a Syrian man known as “Mike”, who is referenced in internal police documents and confirmed by five separate sources to have held a senior role in the program. A photo provided by the smuggler shows a group of masked men in a van, and facial recognition analysis found a 90% match between the right-most individual in the photo and publicly available images of Mike. When contacted via social media, Mike did not respond directly, and his lawyer sent a warning letter opposing publication of the image and what he called “unproven allegations”. A lawyer has also confirmed she has filed a case before the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of an Afghan woman who alleges she was raped by a Farsi-speaking masked mercenary during a 2023 pushback.

    Pushbacks – the forced expulsion of migrants and asylum seekers across international borders without formal due process or access to asylum claims – are universally recognized as illegal under international law. Claims of masked third-country men carrying out pushbacks in Evros were first reported in 2022 by Dutch-based independent news outlet Lighthouse Reports. The BBC’s investigation provides the most comprehensive evidence to date of official involvement in the program, spanning more than five years and continuing into 2025.

  • Mother appears in court charged with neglect

    Mother appears in court charged with neglect

    A 31-year-old South Australian woman has made her first court appearance on criminal neglect charges connected to the tragic death of a nine-month-old baby earlier this year. The incident, which unfolded in Adelaide’s northern suburb of Elizabeth Downs on March 4, prompted an immediate emergency response, but first responders were unable to revive the unresponsive infant found inside a parked minivan at the family’s property.

    Crystal Manneken stood briefly in the dock at the Elizabeth Magistrates Court on Tuesday, marking her first public court attendance since charges were formally filed. No substantive details of the allegations were discussed during the short procedural hearing, with the case quickly adjourned to allow the defendant to secure legal representation.

    During the hearing, Manneken only addressed Magistrate Rodney Oates to confirm she was still awaiting a response on her application for government-funded legal aid. In response, Oates emphasized the gravity of the charges, urging her to secure legal counsel as quickly as possible ahead of the next court date.

    After the hearing concluded, Manneken declined to make any comment to assembled media waiting outside the courthouse. The matter has been scheduled to resume in the same court on December 15, when further procedural steps are expected to be outlined.

  • US and Iran keep talking as Trump’s blockade takes effect

    US and Iran keep talking as Trump’s blockade takes effect

    As a new U.S. naval blockade of Iran entered into force Monday and a fragile two-week ceasefire between the two sides remained largely intact, former U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Tehran is urgently pushing to reach a negotiated agreement with his administration.

    Speaking to reporters outside the Oval Office while receiving a McDonald’s delivery via DoorDash, Trump asserted that Iranian officials had reached out through backchannels to signal their desire for a deal. “I can tell you that we’ve been called by the other side. They’d like to make a deal. Very badly, very badly,” he told the press corps.

    High-stakes indirect negotiations between U.S. and Iranian delegations hosted in Islamabad, Pakistan, wrapped up over the weekend without a final agreement. But multiple current and former U.S. and Arab officials confirmed to Middle East Eye that both parties remain committed to the negotiating process. Reuters further reported Monday that diplomatic backchannels are still active, with Pakistan continuing to serve as an intermediary for communications between Tehran and Washington.

    According to sources familiar with the talks, discussions were at times tense, and the two sides came close to agreeing to a broad framework for a final deal. Three core sticking points scuttled a breakthrough: disagreements over Tehran’s nuclear program, competing claims to control over the Strait of Hormuz, and disputes over the amount of frozen Iranian assets that would be unlocked under any agreement.

    Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed Monday that diplomatic efforts are continuing, saying, “I want to tell you that a full effort is still on to resolve the issues.” Despite the lack of progress in Islamabad, the 14-day ceasefire that went into effect ahead of talks has held, with no major armed clashes reported as of Monday.

    When pressed by reporters on what would happen if no deal is reached before the ceasefire expires, Trump issued a blunt warning: “It won’t be pleasant for them.” This is not the first time the former president has issued sharp threats against Iran; he previously drew widespread international criticism for threatening to destroy Iranian civilization before walking back the comment.

    Monday marked the official launch of the U.S. naval operation aimed at breaking what the Trump administration frames as Iran’s restrictive control over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy chokepoint. The Wall Street Journal reported that at least 15 U.S. warships are participating in the blockade. Speaking to reporters, Trump laid out the current state of play: “Right now there’s no fighting…We have a blockade. Right now, Iran is doing absolutely no business.”

    Iran’s control of the strait has emerged as the most intractable strategic conflict between the two sides, and a core sticking point in the ongoing negotiations. Tehran currently allows its own vessels to transit the waterway, alongside select ships from Russia, China, India and Pakistan, while blocking most vessels registered to Western countries. One of Iran’s key demands in talks is the establishment of a formal transit toll system for the strait, with payments potentially denominated in Chinese yuan or cryptocurrency. Maritime experts consulted by Middle East Eye note that Iran has a logistically feasible path to implementing such a system at the global energy chokepoint.

    Trump has framed the blockade as an economic pressure tactic designed to force concessions from Iran by cutting off the country’s oil export revenue. But independent energy and security experts warn the move could backfire on the U.S., triggering a sharp spike in global energy prices and escalating the risk of open armed conflict between the two countries.

    In response to the U.S. blockade, Iranian military officials have pushed back hard. An Iranian military spokesperson called any restrictions on Iranian shipping equivalent to “piracy,” and warned that if Iranian ports come under threat, Tehran would retaliate by targeting Arab Gulf ports. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps further stated that any foreign military vessels entering restricted waters near the strait would be considered a violation of the ongoing ceasefire.

    U.S. military deployments signal the Biden administration (continuing Trump’s policy) is moving cautiously to avoid escalation. U.S. Naval Institute News reports that the U.S. aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush is rerouting its journey to the Middle East around Africa and the Cape of Good Hope, rather than taking the shorter route through the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea. This detour avoids the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and keeps the carrier out of missile range of Yemen’s Houthi movement, which is aligned with Iran and has previously disrupted shipping in the strategic waterway.

    While Trump has repeatedly bragged about “obliterating” Iran’s navy and air defense systems in past confrontations, he acknowledged Monday that Iran’s fleet of small fast-attack craft could pose a meaningful threat to U.S. surface vessels operating in the northern Indian Ocean. He doubled down on his warning to Iran in a post on social media, writing: “Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea. It is quick and brutal.”

  • ‘It’s not just one player’: Harry Grant defends Joe Chan after epic Craig Bellamy bake as Storm look to snap out of horror form slump

    ‘It’s not just one player’: Harry Grant defends Joe Chan after epic Craig Bellamy bake as Storm look to snap out of horror form slump

    For nearly 20 years, the Melbourne Storm have stood as the most dominant and feared franchise in the National Rugby League. But the 2026 season has brought the club an unprecedented crisis: a four-match losing skid that has exposed long-unseen vulnerabilities and left the squad hungry to reverse their fortunes ahead of Friday’s critical clash with the Canberra Raiders.\n\nThe team’s most recent defeat delivered an extra dose of humiliation, as the New Zealand Warriors – who had not beaten Melbourne in 17 consecutive matchups – bullied the Storm on their own home turf to snap that crippling losing streak. The core issues plaguing Craig Bellamy’s side this season trace back to a brutal off-season: a crippling wave of injuries and the departure of multiple star players left the roster depleted, forcing the veteran coach to shift middle forwards to edge positions and leaving the team without the dynamic wide attacking threat it has relied on for years.\n\nIt is on the defensive end, however, that the Storm’s struggles have been most glaring. Through the opening six rounds of the season, the side has conceded a staggering 158 total points, with 116 of those coming in just their past three outings. After the Warriors defeat, high-profile rugby league figures have been quick to criticize the squad: club great Billy Slater publicly questioned the team’s overall attitude, while former NSW coach Brad Fittler labeled Melbourne’s defensive performance “terrible” during his appearance on the *Sunday Footy Show*. The poor first-half performance against the Warriors also sparked an infamous, blistering halftime spray from coach Bellamy, a moment that gained widespread attention across rugby league social media channels.\n\nSpeaking ahead of Friday’s matchup with the Raiders, Storm captain and hooker Harry Grant has acknowledged the team’s subpar performance, admitting that the club has not hit the on-field standard it has built its reputation on. “There’s a level that we need to be performing to, and we’re certainly not there at the moment with application on the field,” Grant said. “We’ve been preparing really well for games and there are answers in the team and in the coaching squad, but it’s up to us to put in practice for performances on the weekend.”\n\nGrant added that all outside criticism of the struggling side is fair, but he is focused on tuning out external noise rather than letting it derail the team’s comeback efforts. He pointed to the rapid shift in public narrative around the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, who were widely written off just a few weeks ago before stunning the league with an upset win over the top-ranked Penrith Panthers. “Everyone changes their tune week after week,” Grant noted. “With that, it’s eliminating all the outside noise. We’ve got all the answers in the club here with the playing group and the coaching staff, but it’s just about applying it. People can have their opinions, but it doesn’t mean too much.”\n\nAll eyes will be on young forward Joe Chan this week, who was benched early in the second half against the Warriors after committing three errors and one penalty, just hours after receiving a public rebuke from Bellamy at halftime. Grant pushed back on narratives that have singled Chan out for blame, emphasizing that the Storm’s slump is a collective issue across the entire squad. “Everyone’s been in those shoes at times as a player,” Grant said. “We just need Joey at his best. When he brings his strengths to the team and is at his best, he’s a great asset to the team. You can single one player out, but it’s not just one player. It’s a collective 30-man squad, and that’s what it is.”\n\nHistorically, the Storm have built strong early-season leads to give themselves breathing room during the State of Origin representative period, but this year the club sits with just two wins from six matches, leaving no room for further error. Still, Grant and the squad have not given up on their 2026 campaign, pointing to the Penrith Panthers’ incredible 2025 turnaround as inspiration: that side sat at the bottom of the ladder after 12 rounds last year before rallying to reach the preliminary final, one win short of a grand final berth.\n\n“You can certainly take inspiration from other teams and where they’ve been,” Grant said. “At the end of the day, it’s a different team, a different environment, and it’s us that’s in it and it’s us that can make it happen. It’s not just going to happen because it’s happened in the past. You’ve got to go out there and create it and make it happen yourself.”\n\nThe Storm now enter Friday’s clash with Canberra desperate to snap their losing streak and avoid a second consecutive heavy defeat that would deepen their early-season crisis.

  • Trump needs A-10s to go after Iranian speedboats and patrol ships

    Trump needs A-10s to go after Iranian speedboats and patrol ships

    On a Monday morning at 10 a.m. U.S. Eastern time, the Trump administration enacted a sweeping military blockade across all of Iran’s ports and coastal waters, a major escalation of ongoing hostilities between the two nations that has already sent shockwaves through global energy markets and drawn sharp criticism from U.S. NATO allies. Under the current terms of the blockade, commercial vessels may continue transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical chokepoint for global oil trade, so long as their journeys do not involve travel to or from Iranian ports.

    The success of the blockade hinges entirely on the U.S. military’s ability to counter Iranian attempts to disrupt international shipping through the strait. So far, Tehran has effectively deterred commercial tanker traffic through the region more through psychological pressure than direct attacks, but the new blockade sets the stage for open military confrontation at sea. Iran retains a large fleet of missile-armed small attack craft, split between the regular Iranian Navy and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, that can be deployed to harass or attack passing vessels. Estimates place the total number of these small speedboats alone between 3,000 and 4,000, with an additional 133 larger patrol and combat vessels also in Iran’s inventory. When the U.S. launched earlier large-scale military operations against Iranian military assets, President Trump noted that American forces focused their strikes on Iran’s larger surface combatants and submarines — leaving the bulk of the small attack craft fleet intact. There remains ongoing uncertainty about the location of Iran’s Kilo-class submarines supplied by Russia. Now, U.S. forces are tasked with locating and eliminating every one of these small vessels, a mission that military analysts warn will require significant time, firepower, and operational resources to complete.

    Military analysts point to the A-10 Thunderbolt II, the U.S. Air Force’s iconic close-air support aircraft, as the most effective and low-risk platform for this mission. The A-10’s 30mm Gatling gun, which fires armor-piercing depleted uranium ammunition, can easily destroy even small, fast-moving vessels, and the jet can deploy low-cost laser-guided rockets for precision strikes. Unlike faster fighter jets, the A-10 is purpose-built for low-altitude, long-duration patrols over maritime environments, making it far more cost-effective for countering small boat threats. However, only around 30 A-10s are currently deployed to the Middle East, drawn from two Air National Guard squadrons: the 107th Fighter Squadron out of Michigan’s Selfridge Air National Guard Base and the 190th Fighter Squadron based at Idaho’s Gowen Field. Each squadron retains just 6 to 9 additional A-10s back in the U.S. that could be deployed, creating a critical gap in firepower for the mission.

    The solution to this shortfall is already available, analysts argue: dozens of fully operational A-10s recently retired by the Air Force are stored in the aircraft “boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. In the 2025 fiscal year alone, the Air Force retired between 56 and 59 airworthy A-10s, all retaining their full operational equipment and ready to be reactivated. While recalled pilots would require a short transition period to return to flying the aircraft, this process could be completed rapidly if the Trump administration prioritizes the move. Reactivating all stored A-10s would triple the size of the A-10 fleet in the Gulf region, expanding it from 30 to more than 90 aircraft, dramatically increasing U.S. capability to neutralize Iran’s small boat force.

    Yet there is a major barrier to this plan: the U.S. Air Force has spent years pushing to retire the entire A-10 fleet to reallocate funding to newer fifth-generation fighter jets, and analysts expect service leaders to mount aggressive resistance to reactivating stored aircraft. This creates a major test for the Pentagon and the Trump administration, which has traditionally deferred to military leadership on equipment and deployment decisions. Analysts warn that allowing the Air Force to block A-10 reactivation would severely undermine U.S. efforts to enforce the blockade and secure control of the Strait of Hormuz.

    The strategic goal of the blockade is clear: to cripple Iran’s economy to the point that the regime either accepts U.S. negotiating terms or collapses under domestic pressure. Leading economic warfare analyst Miad Maleki, a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, calculates that the blockade will cost Iran approximately $276 million per day in lost export revenue and disrupt an additional $159 million in daily imports, for a total economic hit of around $435 million per day, or $13 billion per month. More than 90% of Iran’s total annual trade, valued at $109.7 billion, transits the Persian Gulf, and oil and gas exports account for 80% of the Iranian government’s export earnings and 23.7% of the country’s total GDP. Iran’s primary oil export terminal at Kharg Island alone generates roughly $53 billion annually in export revenue.

    Maleki projects that the blockade will trigger a total collapse of Iran’s currency, the rial, pushing the country into irreversible hyperinflation. Even before the blockade, the rial has already crashed from 42,000 rials per U.S. dollar to 1.5 million rials per dollar. Iranian banks currently limit civilian cash withdrawals to between $18 and $30 per day, and national inflation already sits at 47.5%. Eliminating all of Iran’s foreign currency earnings from exports, Maleki argues, will push the rial into terminal collapse. The ultimate outcome of the Trump administration’s strategy is binary: either the Iranian regime will be forced to capitulate to U.S. demands for a new nuclear and security deal, or widespread economic hardship will spark a social revolution that the current government cannot suppress.

    As global oil prices have already surged past $100 per barrel in response to the blockade, NATO allies have openly criticized Trump’s decision, warning that the escalation poses severe risks to global energy security and economic stability. The speed and success of the U.S. mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz, analysts emphasize, will hinge on the administration’s willingness to overcome Air Force resistance and rapidly reactivate the stored A-10 fleet needed to neutralize Iran’s small boat threat.

  • The Trump and Leo chronicles: A president and a pope square off over Iran and its aftermath

    The Trump and Leo chronicles: A president and a pope square off over Iran and its aftermath

    For the first time in history, two of the world’s most influential public platforms are held by American-born figures — and their long-simmering rhetorical clash over the ongoing Israel-U.S. war in Iran has erupted into an extraordinary public split, exposing deep divides over faith, war, and the role of religious leadership in global politics.

    The confrontation reached a new peak this week, as Pope Leo XIV, the soft-spoken, studious first U.S.-born pontiff, pushed back forcefully against a volley of personal attacks from former and current U.S. President Donald Trump, an unapologetically combative politician who has framed his hardline stance on Iran as central to his political agenda. Speaking to reporters aboard his flight to Algeria this Monday, the pope made clear the Vatican’s consistent calls for peace and reconciliation are rooted in Christian Gospel teachings, and he has no intention of backing down to pressure from the Trump administration. “I’m not afraid of the Trump administration, or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what the Church works for,” Leo said.

    Trump, for his part, launched a scathing series of posts on his Truth Social platform over the weekend, labeling Pope Leo “Weak,” claiming the pontiff was held captive by the “Radical Left,” and even suggesting that Leo owed his papal election to Trump’s political influence. The feud follows the pope’s blunt rebuke of Trump’s threats to expand military action in Iran, which Leo called “truly unacceptable.” To contextualize this unprecedented clash, it is necessary to trace how the relationship between the two American leaders shifted from initial celebration to open conflict, shaped by long-standing patterns of speech and conviction from both men.

    Long before his election to the papacy, Robert Prevost — who would become Pope Leo XIV — established a track record of unflinching public commentary on global politics. As a bishop serving in Peru when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he did not hesitate to assign direct blame to Moscow, describing the incursion on a Peruvian current affairs program as “an imperialist invasion in which Russia wants to conquer territory for reasons of power given Ukraine’s strategic location.” The clip resurfaced widely in Italian media shortly after his May 2025 papal election.

    Earlier that same year, while still a cardinal based in Rome, Prevost sparked conversation by sharing a critical news analysis of U.S. Vice President JD Vance, a convert to Catholicism who had argued that Christian teachings mandate a hierarchical order of care, prioritizing one’s own family, local community and fellow citizens over foreign-born people. The headline of the analysis Prevost shared read: “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”

    This pattern of direct engagement set Prevost apart from many Catholic bishops, who often limit public commentary to broad statements of church doctrine and avoid direct critiques of sitting politicians. As the context makes clear, these early actions revealed a leader who kept close track of global affairs and was willing to stake out clear, controversial positions long before he took the papal throne.

    On the day of Leo’s election, Trump was quick to celebrate the milestone, framing the first American pontiff as a personal win for the United States and for his own presidency. “It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!” He later told reporters at the White House that the administration was “a little bit surprised and very happy” with the outcome of the papal conclave.

    By this week, that celebration had curdled into blame and grievance, with Trump claiming that Leo was only elected because the College of Cardinals picked an American specifically to curry favor with his administration. The shift highlights how Trump has consistently framed Leo through a lens of nationalist loyalty and personal power, rather than as the leader of a global religious institution. That perspective overlooks key context: the College of Cardinals has historically viewed the U.S. with a degree of skepticism, concerned about the global impact of Washington’s military and economic policies on low-income nations, and has long been reluctant to name a pope from the world’s dominant superpower. Though Leo was born, educated and ordained in the U.S., he spent decades serving as a church leader in impoverished regions of South America. As Steven Millies, a professor at Chicago’s Catholic Theological Union — where Leo earned his master of divinity — noted, “He was the least American of the Americans.”

    From the very first moments of his papacy, Leo made clear that peacemaking would be the defining mission of his tenure. His opening remarks from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica opened with a message of peace: “Peace with you all … the first greeting of the risen Christ, the Good Shepherd who gave his life for the flock of God.” At his first Sunday blessing from the loggia, he addressed both the Russian war in Ukraine and the ongoing Israel-Gaza violence, decrying the spate of global conflicts as a “third world war in pieces.” The following Monday, he opened a meeting with journalists by quoting Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

    Beyond his words, Leo took deliberate steps to distance himself from overt American branding, even in his choice of language. A fluent polyglot, Leo did not use English in any of his opening high-profile papal remarks: he spoke first in Italian when he was introduced to the world in St. Peter’s Square, then switched to Spanish to address the Peruvian people he had served for years. His first Sunday blessing was delivered entirely in Italian. While he briefly greeted the assembly of journalists in his native Chicago-inflected English, he quickly transitioned back to Italian for his formal remarks. The choice is a deliberate one, experts say, that underscores his role as the head of a global church with 1.4 billion followers worldwide. “He doesn’t want to be perceived, I think, as coming from the American side or as relying on his authority as American,” said William Barbieri, a professor at Catholic University of America. “He wants to speak in the name of the church.”

    The gulf between the two men’s views widened dramatically during this year’s Holy Week and Easter season, as Trump escalated military threats against Iran. In his Palm Sunday address, Leo framed Jesus as the “King of Peace” and directly challenged warmaking, quoting the Hebrew Bible: “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood.” Around the same time, Trump welcomed conservative Christian leaders to the White House for a Holy Week event, where his spiritual advisor Paula White drew a parallel between Trump and Jesus, framing both as persecuted figures.

    Later that week, Leo performed the traditional foot-washing ceremony and became the first pope to name Trump directly in a public critique, calling on the president to pursue an “off-ramp” from escalating conflict in Iran. On Easter Sunday, Trump issued a new threat to bomb civilian infrastructure across Iran and erase what he called an entire civilization, prompting Leo’s public rebuke that the threat was “truly unacceptable.” The back-and-forth stripped away all pretense of cordiality, making an open confrontation unavoidable.

    In his recent social media broadside, Trump doubled down on his attack, arguing: “I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do.” He added that Leo should “focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”

    For his part, Leo has repeatedly pushed back against framing his comments as political interference. “To put my message on the same plane as what the president has attempted to do here, I think is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is,” Leo told the Associated Press aboard his flight to Africa. “And I’m sorry to hear that but I will continue on what I believe is the mission of the church in the world today.”

    The clash is a historic one: popes have long commented on global conflicts, but rarely name sitting heads of state directly for public criticism. For Trump, too, the dynamic is unusual: while he regularly lashes out at perceived political rivals, he is facing off against a global religious leader who operates outside U.S. electoral politics and faces no pressure to comply with Trump’s terms.

  • Self-defence claim in Bunnings dog attack case

    Self-defence claim in Bunnings dog attack case

    A high-profile animal cruelty case has begun in South Australia, where a local man is facing charges over an alleged dog attack caught on camera that sparked public outrage earlier this year.

    Forty-eight-year-old Nathan Bradwell of Smithfield appeared before the Elizabeth Magistrates Court on Tuesday on one count of ill treatment of an animal. The charge stems from a March 1 incident in the carpark of the Bunnings Warehouse location in Parafield, a northern suburb of Adelaide, where prosecutors say Bradwell kicked a four-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier named Maya twice.

    Widely circulated public footage of the incident shows the dog leashed in the flatbed of her owner’s ute, with a man matching Bradwell’s description making a series of kicking motions toward the animal. Following his March arrest, Bradwell made his first brief in-person appearance before a magistrate this week, after which the case was adjourned to allow for further pre-trial preparation. The next hearing is scheduled for May 11.

    As Bradwell left the courthouse, he avoided press cameras by covering his face with a jacket, but spoke briefly to waiting reporters to lay out his planned legal defense. He claims he acted solely in self-defense when he interacted with the dog, saying, “I never hurt the dog at all. I was defending myself and I pushed the dog off.” He also questioned the authenticity of the viral footage, suggesting it could have been doctored to misrepresent what happened. To back up his claim of an aggressive encounter, Bradwell lifted his jacket and shirt to show reporters a scar on his abdomen, adding that he would present his full account of events during the trial. He also asserted that he has “defended animals all my life,” and argued he was now facing harassment from members of the public angry over the allegations.

    Maya’s owners, Hayden Palkovics and Tyler Wright, were in attendance at Tuesday’s hearing and spoke publicly about their perspective on the incident outside the courthouse. Palkovics, a Salisbury North resident, said he felt intense anger seeing Bradwell in the courtroom, noting that while Maya has recovered enough to resume normal life, she still suffers from a persistent sore eye from the alleged attack. The couple have paid between $300 and $400 in veterinary bills for Maya’s treatment, a cost Palkovics says should never have been necessary. “There is no excuse for what happened and no reason,” he said, adding that he believes Bradwell has shown little to no remorse for his alleged actions.

    Wright added that the traumatic incident has had a lasting impact on her daily behavior, saying she now feels anxious leaving Maya untended in public carparks and always waits beside the vehicle anytime the pair stop out. “There is never any excuse for harming an animal,” Palkovics said, echoing a sentiment shared by many members of the public who have commented on the viral footage of the incident.

  • China’s exports grew 2.5% in March in a sharp slowdown as Iran war raises uncertainty

    China’s exports grew 2.5% in March in a sharp slowdown as Iran war raises uncertainty

    HONG KONG – Newly released trade data from China’s General Administration of Customs reveals a marked deceleration in the country’s export growth for March 2026, a shift that economists largely attribute to growing geopolitical instability stemming from the ongoing Iran conflict and its cascading effects on global energy prices and cross-border demand.

    Last month, Chinese exports expanded by just 2.5% year-on-year, a sharp slowdown from the 21.8% aggregate growth recorded across January and February, and a figure that fell short of consensus forecasts from financial analysts. In a striking contrast, import growth jumped to 27.8% year-on-year in March, up from the 19.8% growth seen in the first two months of the year.

    The strong export performance that China recorded in early 2026 was largely fueled by technology-related shipments, with semiconductor exports surging in particular amid the global boom in artificial intelligence development. But economists warn that the protracted Iran conflict could dampen overall global appetite for Chinese goods through the rest of the year.

    “China’s exports have decelerated as the Iran war starts to affect global demand and supply chains,” explained Gary Ng, senior economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis, the French investment bank.

    Economists at Bank of America, led by chief economist Helen Qiao, echoed that assessment in a recent research note. They noted that even after the robust rebound in export growth through the first two months of 2026, the energy price shock triggered by the Iran conflict is likely to pull overall demand downward. If the conflict extends longer than current market projections, the Bank of America team added, the greatest risk will come from a sustained broad-based slowdown in global demand.

    Long-standing trade frictions have also added pressure on Chinese export performance in recent months. U.S. President Donald Trump’s elevated tariffs on Chinese goods have continued to weigh on China’s shipments to the United States, pushing Chinese exporters to reorient their trade flows toward other markets. Over the past quarter, the country has ramped up exports to Europe, Southeast Asia, and Latin America to offset lost U.S. sales.

    Beyond trade flows, geopolitical observers are closely tracking upcoming diplomatic engagement between the two largest global economies. Trump’s planned visit to Beijing for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, originally scheduled for earlier this spring, was delayed due to the outbreak of the Iran war, and a new timeline for the high-stakes summit is still pending.

    Looking at China’s broader economic outlook for 2026, Beijing has set an annual growth target of 4.5% to 5% — the lowest official target the country has announced since 1991. China hit its 2025 target of “around 5% growth” last year, powered in large part by strong export performance that delivered a record $1.2 trillion annual trade surplus. Analysts broadly agree that exports will remain a critical engine for maintaining China’s economic expansion this year, as a years-long slump in the country’s property sector continues to drag on domestic consumption and private investment.