Global Pulse

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  • Text of potential Iran-US memorandum of understanding has not been finalized — media

    Text of potential Iran-US memorandum of understanding has not been finalized — media

    Diplomatic tensions around proposed talks between Iran and the United States have taken a new turn this week, after a senior insider close to Iran’s negotiating team refuted widespread Western reports claiming a bilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) had already been completed. As reported by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency on Thursday, the anonymous source pushed back against assertions that the draft text was only waiting for a formal public announcement from both national governments, emphasizing that such claims do not align with the actual status of negotiations.

    The source made clear that the full text of the proposed MoU has not yet reached a finalized version, contradicting the earlier report published by U.S.-based outlet Axios. Earlier the same day, Axios broke the story claiming that negotiators from both Washington and Tehran had already agreed to a draft MoU that would extend a existing ceasefire for 60 days and open the door to formal negotiations over Iran’s controversial nuclear program.

    Beyond confirming the draft remains unfinished, the source added that Iran has not yet notified Pakistani mediators, who have been facilitating the backchannel talks between the two sides, that the work on the document has been concluded. The insider stressed that Tehran will follow a clear public protocol once negotiations on the text wrap up: Iranian officials will first formally alert Pakistani mediators of the completion, then issue a public announcement to disclose full details of the agreement.

    Until that formal process is completed, the source argued, any Western reports that claim the MoU has already been finalized carry no credibility. The development highlights the ongoing volatility of backchannel diplomacy between Iran and the U.S., two nations with decades of strained bilateral relations, as international observers continue to monitor progress on potential nuclear talks and ceasefire extensions.

  • Convicted triple-killer Erin Patterson’s appeal hearing set to run over two days on August 19 and 20

    Convicted triple-killer Erin Patterson’s appeal hearing set to run over two days on August 19 and 20

    One of Australia’s most high-profile criminal cases, the Leongatha mushroom murders, is set to return to the legal system this year, with a two-day hearing scheduled for convicted triple killer Erin Patterson’s appeal in Victoria’s highest appellate court.

    The 50-year-old was found guilty by a jury in September 2024 of murdering three of her husband’s relatives and attempting to murder a fourth during a homemade lunch gathering at her Leongatha, Victoria home in July 2023. Following the conviction, she was handed a life sentence with a 33-year non-parole period, a penalty that prosecutors have also challenged as too lenient in a separate state-led appeal.

    The fatal lunch that sparked the national case saw Patterson serve beef wellington to Don Patterson, Gail Patterson, Heather Wilkinson and Ian Wilkinson—her in-laws and her spouse’s aunt and uncle. All four guests developed life-threatening poisoning from toxic death cap mushrooms, and only Ian Wilkinson survived after an extended stay in intensive care.

    Throughout the trial and in the period since her conviction, Patterson has consistently maintained her complete innocence, arguing she had no knowledge that the mushrooms she used in her cooking were poisonous. Her legal team’s appeal, scheduled to begin on August 19 at the Victorian Court of Appeal, rests on seven distinct legal grounds, according to filed court documents.

    Key among Patterson’s challenges to her conviction are claims that her cross-examination while testifying in her own defense was unreasonably unfair and oppressive. She also argues that multiple pieces of evidence admitted during the original trial created unfair prejudice against her and should never have been presented to the jury. This contested evidence includes data tracking her mobile phone’s connection to local cell towers, crowdsourced observations of death cap mushroom growth in the region posted to the citizen science platform iNaturalist, and content from a Facebook true crime enthusiast group that Patterson was part of.

    Patterson’s legal team is asking the appellate court to overturn her original conviction and order a full new trial. In a rare procedural twist, the separate appeal brought by Victoria’s Director of Public Prosecutions will be heard alongside the defendant’s challenge. Prosecutors argue that the 33-year minimum non-parole term handed down last year is manifestly inadequate given the severity of her crimes. Court officials have confirmed that Patterson will not appear in person for the appeal hearing, which is expected to conclude after two days of legal argument.

  • Japan, South Korea markets hit records on hopes for a winding down of the Iran war

    Japan, South Korea markets hit records on hopes for a winding down of the Iran war

    HONG KONG – Asian equity markets closed out Friday on a robust upward trajectory, with Japan and South Korea’s benchmark indexes climbing to uncharted record highs, driven by growing investor expectations that Washington and Tehran will agree to a 60-day extension of their current ceasefire amid ongoing conflict.

    Market sentiment has lifted sharply this week following a revelation from a U.S. official Thursday that negotiators from both sides had reached a tentative agreement that covers both the ceasefire extension and the launch of a new round of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. The deal has not yet received public confirmation from Iranian authorities, and still requires formal approval from U.S. President Donald Trump to move forward. Under the terms of the tentative accord, Iran would commit to ending any tolls or restrictions on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, while the U.S. would gradually roll back its existing sea blockade of Iranian ports.

    Despite the positive geopolitical breakthrough, oil prices dipped on Friday but remain far higher than they were before the outbreak of the conflict, as the critical global shipping chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz remains mostly closed for commercial traffic. International benchmark Brent crude fell 1.2% to $91.57 per barrel, while U.S. domestic benchmark crude dropped 1.5% to $87.56 per barrel. For context, both benchmarks traded around $70 per barrel in late February, just before the war began.

    Commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey from ING noted that while rising hopes of a U.S.-Iran deal have pulled oil prices lower from their recent peaks, markets should approach the tentative ceasefire plan with caution. “A reopening of the strait would offer some immediate relief to the oil market with tankers leaving the Persian Gulf. However, the recovery is still uncertain,” the pair wrote in a note published Friday. They added that shipowners may initially be hesitant to reroute vessels through the region over fears the ceasefire could collapse, and that any rebound in Iranian oil and gas output will likely be gradual rather than an immediate flood of new supply to global markets.

    Across East Asian exchanges, the gains were led by Japan’s Nikkei 225, which jumped 2.5% to close at an all-time high of 66,329.50. The index got an additional boost from new May inflation data showing Tokyo’s core consumer price growth slowed more than economists had forecast, easing pressure on the Bank of Japan to adjust its long-standing loose monetary policy. South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index surged an even stronger 3.6% to close at a record 8,476.15, with the tech sector driving most gains amid the ongoing global artificial intelligence boom. Samsung Electronics, South Korea’s largest listed company, rose 5.8% on the day.

    Other regional indexes posted mixed results: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.9% to 25,222.38, while mainland China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.9% to 4,063.56. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.6% to 8,731.70, Taiwan’s Taiex added 2.5%, and India’s Sensex edged down 0.2% in Friday trading. U.S. stock futures ticked slightly higher ahead of the opening bell Friday, after all three major Wall Street indexes closed at fresh records Thursday: the S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 7,563.63, the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up less than 0.1% to 50,668.97, and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite gained 0.9% to 26,917.47. U.S. retail stocks outperformed on Thursday, with discount chain Dollar Tree surging 17.9% and department store Kohl’s jumping 20.6% after both posted better-than-expected quarterly profit results.

    In currency markets, the U.S. dollar held steady against the Japanese yen on Friday, trading flat at 159.24 yen, while the euro also remained unchanged at $1.1651.

  • Blue Origin rocket explodes into huge ball of flame on Florida launchpad

    Blue Origin rocket explodes into huge ball of flame on Florida launchpad

    On a late Thursday evening at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, a major incident unfolded for Blue Origin, the private space exploration firm founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, when a rocket under test dramatically exploded into a massive fireball on the launchpad.

    Video footage captured by on-site observers and shared widely across social media platforms shows the vehicle engulfed in intense flames that spread across the immediate launch area, marking a significant setback for the company’s upcoming launch plans. According to official statements from Blue Origin and emergency management officials, there were no casualties reported from the incident.

    In an immediate post-incident statement posted to social media, Blue Origin confirmed that the explosion occurred during a hotfire engine test, a routine pre-launch procedure designed to validate the performance of the rocket’s propulsion system. “We experienced an anomaly during today’s hotfire test at Cape Canaveral,” the company said. “All personnel have been accounted for, and there are no injuries to report.”

    Bezos echoed that confirmation hours later, releasing his own statement to reassure followers of the team’s safety. “All crew are safe and accounted for,” the billionaire founder wrote. “It’s too early to pinpoint the root cause of the failure, but our teams have already begun the work of investigating what went wrong. This is an incredibly rough day for our organization, but whatever needs to be rebuilt, we will rebuild it. We will get back to flying, because this work is worth every bit of effort.”

    Local emergency officials from Brevard County quickly moved to reassure nearby residents that the incident posed no ongoing risk to public safety. The U.S. Space Force, which manages the Cape Canaveral launch facility, confirmed that emergency response teams were already on site coordinating with Blue Origin investigators to review telemetry and test data to identify the exact cause of the anomaly.

    The test was being conducted ahead of a planned commercial launch, and comes at a time when Blue Origin is already under regulatory scrutiny following a separate launch failure last month. In June, the company attempted to deploy an AST SpaceMobile communications satellite using its New Glenn heavy-lift rocket, but failed to place the vehicle into its intended target orbit. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a full investigation into that June mishap, which led to a temporary grounding of the New Glenn system.

    Notably, the FAA confirmed that this week’s test was not conducted under the scope of an FAA-licensed activity, and that the incident had no impact on commercial air traffic across the region. NASA, which has partnered with Blue Origin on multiple future deep space and lunar mission contracts, said it stands ready to support the investigation into the latest failure. “Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a post on X. “We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess near-term mission impacts, and get back to launching rockets.”

    Blue Origin first successfully launched its New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral last November, marking a major milestone for the program when the reusable first-stage booster landed vertically back on Earth for reuse — a key cost-saving capability the company has been developing to compete in the global commercial launch market. The latest explosion represents the most serious setback the company has faced in years, as it works to scale up its launch operations to compete with SpaceX, the leading private launch provider founded by Elon Musk.

  • KPMG rocked as chief executive and senior partner quit over client data scandal

    KPMG rocked as chief executive and senior partner quit over client data scandal

    One of Australia’s most prominent big four accounting firms, KPMG Australia, has been thrown into turmoil after the abrupt resignations of its chief executive officer Andrew Yates and national audit and assurance leader Julian McPherson, forced by a public board admission that the firm failed catastrophically in its handling of a high-stakes whistleblower complaint. Both departures took effect immediately, with McPherson set to exit the firm entirely once a structured handover of his existing client responsibilities is completed.

    In a formal statement released through the firm, Yates took full personal accountability for the institutional failure, noting that he had long championed a transparent “speak-up” culture within the firm. “It is clear that in this case we have let ourselves down and I take accountability,” Yates said.

    The controversy centers on explosive allegations raised by a whistleblower regarding misuse of confidential client information by KPMG partners. The whistleblower claims that partners leveraged internal board documents from long-term client Lendlease to gain an unfair competitive advantage when bidding for an external audit contract with major banking group Westpac. When the claims were first raised, KPMG’s initial internal investigation, which received backing from an external legal review, dismissed the allegations out of hand. The firm later conceded that this initial inquiry lacked the required rigor to thoroughly examine the claims, prompting the whistleblower to escalate the matter directly to KPMG Australia’s board. Independent law firm Allens was brought in to revisit the case, and has continued to challenge the findings of the original flawed investigations.

    The simultaneous resignations came on the same day that the case was discussed during an Australian parliamentary inquiry held Friday. During the hearing, Labor Senator Deborah O’Neill referenced a letter received by Lendlease CEO Tony Lombardo that confirmed the KPMG team had used the confidential Lendlease materials to inform its Westpac tender bid. Senator O’Neill told the inquiry that Lendlease itself labeled the firm’s actions “not acceptable.”

    In a public statement addressing the scandal, the KPMG Australia board openly acknowledged that the firm had “fallen short” on multiple fronts: in its treatment of the whistleblower, in its management of the whistleblower’s concerns, in the execution of the initial investigations, and in the leadership response to the serious allegations. KPMG Australia Chairman Martin Sheppard issued an unreserved apology directly to the whistleblower, saying the firm was committed to systemic reform to prevent similar failures. “We commit to learning from this process to ensure we create an environment where it is safe and easy to surface concerns that will be acted upon,” Sheppard said.

    Sheppard also extended apologies to KPMG clients, whose confidential information was not handled with the level of care and respect they are entitled to expect from the firm, as well as to the firm’s broader employee base, noting that the institutional failure does not reflect the daily work and integrity of the majority of KPMG staff. KPMG confirms that a full, independent investigation into the full circumstances of the case remains ongoing, with further updates expected as the probe progresses.

  • Asia’s defense summit opens with China and doubts about US priorities topping concerns

    Asia’s defense summit opens with China and doubts about US priorities topping concerns

    SINGAPORE — When defense leaders, top diplomats and senior security officials from across the globe gather this week for Asia’s most influential annual defense summit, two interconnected forces will dominate closed-door discussions and public agendas alike: China’s accelerating military modernization and increasingly assertive posture across the Indo-Pacific, and growing global uncertainty over long-term U.S. strategic priorities in the region.

    Hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the 2025 Shangri-La Dialogue opens against a backdrop of spreading global instability that extends far beyond Asia’s borders. Just days ahead of the summit, new violent clashes have eroded the fragile ceasefire in the ongoing Iran war, pushing tensions in the Middle East to a new boiling point. Meanwhile, Russia has escalated its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, intensifying missile strikes and ground operations that have stretched Western military support for Kyiv to its limits.

    The summit gets underway Friday with a landmark keynote address from Vietnamese leader To Lam, who has reshaped Vietnam’s political landscape this year by consolidating power into his hands, holding both the post of Communist Party general secretary and state president — a break from the Southeast Asian nation’s long-standing tradition of split collective leadership. For Vietnam, a strategically positioned nation that lies at the geographic and economic intersection of competing U.S. and Chinese interests, the balancing act it has perfected for decades is now under unprecedented scrutiny.

    Like many Indo-Pacific coastal states, Vietnam maintains long-running overlapping maritime territorial claims with Beijing that have sparked multiple high-profile confrontations in recent years. At the same time, Hanoi remains deeply economically intertwined with China, which holds the position of Vietnam’s largest two-way trade partner. On the other side of the geopolitical divide, the United States is Vietnam’s top export market, and Washington has worked steadily over the past decade to deepen diplomatic ties and secure new defense contracts, aiming to shift Hanoi away from its decades-long traditional defense partnership with Russia.

    Even after Hanoi and Washington elevated their bilateral relations to the highest diplomatic level in recent years, newly leaked official documents reveal that Vietnam’s military leadership remains deeply skeptical of U.S. intentions in the region. The documents show Hanoi has already taken concrete defensive planning steps to prepare for a potential future American “war of aggression” against the country, laying bare the deep mistrust that persists despite warming diplomatic ties. Against this complex backdrop, observers widely expect Lam to frame his opening address around a call for regional consensus-driven dispute management and collective cooperation to advance shared stability and development, avoiding overt alignment with either global power.

    Following Lam’s opening, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will take the stage Saturday to outline the Trump administration’s updated Indo-Pacific strategy. This marks Hegseth’s second appearance at the summit; his 2024 address drew fierce condemnation from Beijing when he declared that “the threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent,” claiming China’s military was “rehearsing for the real deal.” At the time, Hegseth pledged that the U.S. would bolster its regional defensive posture to counter what the Pentagon frames as growing Chinese aggression, particularly against self-governing Taiwan.

    This year’s speech comes just two weeks after President Donald Trump’s high-profile meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, a summit that injected new uncertainty into U.S. policy across the Taiwan Strait. During the meeting, Xi issued a stark warning that the two superpowers could face direct military conflict if the Taiwan issue is not managed in line with Beijing’s core interests. After the talks, Trump publicly praised Xi as a “great leader” and claimed the two nations would build a “fantastic future together.” The U.S. president also sparked widespread concern by openly questioning Washington’s long-standing commitment to Taiwan’s defense, calling a proposed $14 billion U.S. arms package for Taipei — which he has yet to approve — “a very good negotiating chip for us” with Beijing.

    China claims the self-governing, democratic island of Taiwan as an integral part of its territory, and Beijing has repeatedly refused to rule out the use of military force to bring the island under its control. For decades, the U.S. has supplied Taiwan with advanced fighter jets, missiles and other defensive weaponry, while maintaining a long-standing policy of “strategic ambiguity” over whether it would intervene militarily if China launched an attack. Trump’s open ambivalence toward Taiwan’s security has far outpaced that of any of his predecessors, fueling growing global speculation that he could be willing to roll back long-standing U.S. support for Taipei in exchange for concessions from Beijing.

    A Pentagon spokesperson said Hegseth’s Saturday address will outline the military’s “common-sense approach to safeguarding U.S. vital national interests in the Indo-Pacific.” Most analysts agree that coming so soon after Trump’s Beijing summit, Hegseth is unlikely to make any dramatic remarks that would contradict the president’s recent conciliatory comments toward Xi.

    China is scheduled to present its official perspective on regional security during Sunday’s plenary sessions, but Chinese state media has confirmed that Beijing will send only a lower-level delegation to this year’s summit, and it has not yet confirmed which official will deliver China’s address. Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun also skipped last year’s Shangri-La Dialogue, continuing a pattern of reduced high-level Chinese participation in the annual forum.

    While the Shangri-La Dialogue has always centered primarily on Indo-Pacific security, two ongoing global conflicts will be impossible to avoid on the summit’s sidelines and in public debates: Russia’s 3-year full-scale war against Ukraine and the escalating Iran war that has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints. In normal peacetime, roughly 20% of all globally traded oil passes through the strait; since its effective closure following the outbreak of hostilities, global oil prices have spiked sharply, triggering widespread economic disruption across energy import-dependent nations worldwide. Qatar’s defense minister is among the senior Middle Eastern officials scheduled to address the summit over the weekend.

    Ahead of the conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent a formal letter to President Trump and the U.S. Congress requesting additional shipments of American-made air defense ammunition to help Ukraine fend off intensifying Russian ballistic missile attacks on Ukrainian civilian and energy infrastructure. While Zelenskyy made a surprise in-person appearance at the 2023 Shangri-La Dialogue, he is not expected to attend this year’s summit. But a roster of senior European defense officials from NATO frontline states including Lithuania and Poland are scheduled to speak, ensuring the war in Ukraine remains a core topic of discussion.

  • ‘They’d like to play’: Storm stars sit out training session as Knights make big call on Kalyn Ponga

    ‘They’d like to play’: Storm stars sit out training session as Knights make big call on Kalyn Ponga

    As the latest round of the National Rugby League (NRL) approaches, two of the Queensland Maroons’ biggest stars from the opening State of Origin clash are facing last-minute fitness questions ahead of Melbourne Storm’s Saturday night showdown with the Sydney Roosters, while the Newcastle Knights have locked in their full Origin contingent, including star fullback Kalyn Ponga, for their match against the Parramatta Eels.

    Storm superstars Harry Grant and Cameron Munster, who were key contributors to Queensland’s dramatic State of Origin opener in Sydney earlier this week, skipped the team’s traditional Friday captain’s run, leaving their game status up in the air. Both players put in standout performances for the Maroons despite the side squandering a commanding 20-point first-half lead: Grant notched a match-high 46 tackles and produced a brilliant flick pass that set up a try for prop Thomas Flegler, while Munster made 14 attacking runs and created one try of his own.

    Melbourne head coach Craig Bellamy confirmed Friday that the duo remain undecided for the round 15 clash, with the club waiting to assess their recovery from the high-intensity Origin fixture before making a final call. “Whether they play or not, I’m not quite sure yet. We’ll just see how they pull up tomorrow,” Bellamy told reporters. “They won’t be doing any training today. They’d like to play, but whether it’s best for them or not, we’re not quite sure yet. They need to have a few more checks and then go from there.”

    If Grant and Munster are ruled out through fatigue or injury, youngsters Trent Toelau and Keagan Russell-Smith are in line to step into the starting lineup. One Queensland Origin forward that will be suiting up for the Storm this weekend is bench forward Trent Loiero, who only saw 15 minutes of game time in the Origin opener. “We think Trent’s going to be OK because he only played 15 minutes so he’s really keen to play, and I think he’ll train today,” Bellamy added.

    Across the draw, Newcastle Knights head coach Justin Holbrook has confirmed that all of the club’s players who featured in the opening Origin fixture will be available to back up against the Eels this Saturday. That includes star Queensland fullback Kalyn Ponga, who was sent off early in the Origin opener and issued a fine for an illegal shoulder charge. Ponga is set to lead the Knights into this weekend’s clash after coming through the Origin fixture with no lingering fitness issues.

    New South Wales Blues pair Jacob Saifiti and Dylan Lucas, who were named in the Origin squad but did not take the field, will also be available for selection, matching the squad the Knights named earlier in the week. “After Origin, Kalyn’s feeling good, so he’ll back-up,” Holbrook said. “The other boys didn’t get a run, so we’re all good to go as what we’ve named.”

    For the Storm, the potential absence of their two star Origin representatives comes at a tricky time, as the club looks to bounce back from a frustrating loss to the Canterbury Bulldogs last round. Melbourne surrendered a substantial halftime lead against the Bulldogs to fall to defeat, a second-half collapse that left Bellamy frustrated and searching for answers. The coach noted that he has already implemented small adjustments to fix the side’s troubling second-half drop-offs, but those changes will need more time to take full effect.

    “We’ve already tried to tweak a few things, but there are only so many things you can tweak. The tweaks we’ve made might take a week or two to work,” Bellamy said. “I can’t remember the last time in my coaching career that I’ve been so confused about that. We’ve tried a few different things, but we just can’t seem to get it right in the second half. If we keep talking about it and thinking about it, we’ve got to worry about the rest of the game.”

    The Roosters, who will host the Storm, could also field a vastly changed side this weekend if head coach Trent Robinson opts to rest several of his own stars coming off State of Origin duties, making a Melbourne win even more dependent on whether Grant and Munster are able to take the field.

  • Italy restores lucky testicles on bull mosaic worn down by tourists

    Italy restores lucky testicles on bull mosaic worn down by tourists

    Deep in the heart of Milan’s iconic 19th-century Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, one of Italy’s most beloved cultural landmarks is finally getting a lifeline. The historic prancing bull mosaic, a symbolic emblem of Italy’s first capital Turin, has fallen victim to generations of a charming but destructive tourist tradition, prompting local authorities to launch a full restoration project this week.

    For more than a century, a folk legend has drawn millions of visitors to the floor-mounted artwork: tourists who twist three times on the spot with their heel pressed against the bull’s genital area are said to receive good fortune and a guaranteed return trip to Milan. What started as a local custom popular among 19th-century Milanese has evolved into a must-do ritual for casual travelers, with thousands of visitors repeating the grinding spin every single day.

    This constant friction has taken a severe toll on the centuries-old artwork. Years of repeated contact have carved a noticeable crater into the mosaic’s sensitive “lucky spot”, where the soft pink tiles that form the bull’s testicles have slowly worn away to almost nothing. This is not the first time the landmark has needed repair: the last full restoration effort was carried out back in 2017, but the unrelenting stream of participating visitors has required another intervention just under a decade later.

    Work got underway earlier this week, with a small protected work zone erected around the mosaic to allow master artisan Gianluca Galli to carry out careful, hands-on repairs. Onlookers gathered around the site to watch Galli kneel over the artwork, hand-cutting replacement stone tiles to match the original work and patch the eroded area.

    In an interview with AFP, Galli acknowledged the charm of the centuries-old tradition while noting its unavoidable impact on the fragile artwork. “It’s probably a charming gesture, but also quite damaging for a work of art,” he explained.

    Local city councillors Emmanuel Conte and Marco Granelli framed the restoration as a balancing act between preserving living heritage and accommodating the public’s deep affection for the landmark. “The Galleria is a living heritage, which can wear away precisely because it is loved and experienced: we take care of it so that it continues to be so,” they shared in an official statement. The project aims to fully restore the mosaic to its original 19th-century glory, ensuring it can be enjoyed by future generations of visitors who come to seek their luck at the famous landmark.

  • White House says Iran and US agreed to 60-day ceasefire extension, awaiting Trump’s approval

    White House says Iran and US agreed to 60-day ceasefire extension, awaiting Trump’s approval

    Tensions spanning the Persian Gulf have taken a tentative turn toward diplomacy, after negotiators from the United States and Iran hammered out a preliminary agreement to extend an existing bilateral ceasefire for 60 days. The deal, crafted to create a window for talks on a permanent end to hostilities, still requires formal sign-off from both US President Donald Trump and Iran’s supreme leadership, the White House has confirmed.

    The breakthrough comes at a moment of rapidly escalating friction between the two nations, as the current ceasefire framework collapsed into open conflict in recent days. The US launched a series of airstrikes targeting Iran’s Bandar Abbas port, prompting Tehran to retaliate with a missile strike against a US military installation based in Kuwait.

    If finalized, the 60-day truce is expected to clear the way for negotiations on deeply divisive core issues that have strained US-Iran relations for decades, including Iran’s civilian nuclear program and the rollback of crippling US economic sanctions. According to reporting from Axios, the tentative agreement includes specific security provisions for the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical global energy chokepoints. Under the terms, Iran would guarantee unimpeded, toll-free passage for all commercial shipping through the strait and clear all naval mines from the waterway within 30 days of the ceasefire taking effect.

    The question of transit fees for the Strait of Hormuz has already sparked sharp pushback from US leadership. Iran had previously pushed to impose a transit charge on ships passing through the waterway, holding preliminary discussions on the proposal with Oman, which shares territorial water boundaries with Iran in the strait. During a press briefing Wednesday, Trump issued an explicit threat against Oman if it backed the Iranian proposal, insisting the strait must remain open to all global traffic as international waters. “No, the strait is going to be open to everybody,” Trump stated. “It’s international waters, and Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow them up.” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent doubled down on this threat Thursday, announcing the US would “aggressively target” Oman if it assisted Iran in implementing a toll system for the strait.

    Additional terms of the draft ceasefire include a gradual lifting of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, with the easing of restrictions tied directly to verified increases in restored commercial shipping activity out of Iranian terminals. The memorandum of understanding also includes a preliminary Iranian commitment not to pursue the development of nuclear weapons, with the disposal of Iran’s existing stockpiles of enriched uranium set to be one of the first topics addressed during expanded negotiations.

    Tehran has long made sanctions relief and the unlocking of billions of dollars in Iranian assets frozen overseas core demands for any long-term agreement. Per Axios’ reporting, the tentative 60-day truce commits US negotiators to open formal discussions on both of these demands during the ceasefire period. The draft framework also includes provisions to negotiate a formal mechanism that would allow Iran to receive essential commercial goods and humanitarian aid from the international community.

    Aaron David Miller, a veteran former US State Department negotiator with decades of experience working on Middle East diplomacy, framed the tentative deal as a small first step rather than a breakthrough, writing on social platform X that the agreement amounts to “a ticket to a negotiation – a letter of intent – if you will – to negotiations on all core issues.” He cautioned that the coming talks would be fraught with difficulty, adding, “Get ready for painful negotiations that will feel like daily root canals and migraine headaches.”

  • ‘Dad strength’: Veteran Rooster in career-best form as his side looks to avenge horror record against the Storm

    ‘Dad strength’: Veteran Rooster in career-best form as his side looks to avenge horror record against the Storm

    As the Sydney Roosters prepare to face the Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park this Saturday, veteran Roosters enforcer Naufahu Whyte says the 15th-place ladder position of the perennial powerhouse means nothing. For Whyte, who has followed the Storm since early childhood, the Melbourne side has been a consistent benchmark of excellence in the National Rugby League (NRL) for nearly two decades.

    Calculated from when Whyte first started watching rugby league at age four, the Storm have only fallen short of a top-four finish on three occasions since the 2006 season. That long history of dominance is why Whyte admits he remains stunned by the club’s underwhelming 2026 form, even as he prepares his side for a brutal battle on the Storm’s home turf.

    “I’ve watched Storm growing up my whole life and never once did I see them outside the top four. So it’s crazy, man,” Whyte told NewsWire. “But that’s footy sometimes, and things don’t always go your way. When we go down there this week, we’re not going to expect any less from them … On the ladder or whatever doesn’t mean anything. Melbourne Storm is still Melbourne Storm, and they’re still a hard team to beat down in Melbourne.”

    Whyte knows firsthand how tough the Storm can be: he has only claimed victory once in six career appearances against them. The Roosters as a whole have also struggled against the NRL’s two modern powerhouses, Melbourne and the Penrith Panthers, notching just three wins from their last 27 combined matches against the two sides. Yet recent history gives the Roosters confidence heading into this weekend’s clash.

    Last year, the Roosters righted their wrongs against the Storm with a stunning come-from-behind thrashing in Melbourne, where they scored 40 unanswered points in the second half to lock in the win. Earlier this 2026 season, the Roosters pulled off an upset against the Panthers in a round two clash, securing victory despite being missing several key starting players.

    “I think people sleep on us a lot about going up against Penrith and Storm,” Whyte said. “I know stats-wise it hasn’t shown, but I’ll back our team to beat any pack at the end of the day. When we’re at our best, we can beat anyone that stands in front of us.”

    Whyte added that those two upset wins have reshaped the squad’s belief that they can compete with the league’s elite. “That win towards the back end of the year going into finals and everything definitely was a huge leap for us and gave us confidence going into that finals series even if it didn’t come off the way we wanted it to,” he explained. “Even at the start of the season against Panthers, we didn’t have anybody and we still managed to come away with the win. So it just goes to show we can compete with the top teams, and I believe that we are a top team in this comp. I know when we’re at our best, I know a lot of teams fear us being at our best.”

    Leading the forward pack this Saturday, Whyte will count on valuable support from impact substitute Nat Butcher, who is currently playing the best football of his 10-year NRL career. Butcher, who made his league debut in 2016, has filled multiple roles for the Roosters across his career, shifting between middle forward, edge position, and his current role off the interchange bench. This season, he is averaging a career-high 112 running metres per game, and put up a massive 182-metre performance with a try against Brisbane just weeks ago.

    Whyte credits Butcher’s new status as a father of three for his elevated form, after Butcher and his wife welcomed twin daughters in January that expanded their young family to five children. “I think he is in his career-best form right now,” Whyte said. “I kind of look at him and he’s got a little family of his own now, and you obviously just see that dad strength in him coming out. That mentality of wanting to provide for his family, that’s how I see him, and he’s playing his best footy. Big minutes, big carries, big tackles. He’s been doing that for a very long time, but I feel like it’s just this time around he’s getting his flowers, and he’s getting his recognition of what he does in the game.”

    Butcher himself says his career-best form comes after a frustrating injury-plagued 2025 season that forced him to miss extensive game time, which ultimately rekindled his appreciation for the sport. “I had a horrid year last year with the injury. That was super frustrating and I missed the game heaps, missed playing, missed being around the team, missed so many of those little things that you just don’t get to experience when you’re injured and on the sidelines,” Butcher said. “I had the amazing support of my wife, Harmony, and got to have some great time with my son, Beau, that you just wouldn’t get in the thick of the season. That was super grateful and it also put into perspective my love for the game, my love for the club, and my love for my teammates.”

    “I’m not sure if I can pinpoint anything. I think I just love what I’m doing,” he added.