Global Pulse

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  • Asian benchmarks jump after oil prices sink in response to the Iran ceasefire

    Asian benchmarks jump after oil prices sink in response to the Iran ceasefire

    Global financial markets reacted dramatically early Wednesday, with Asian equities jumping to multi-session highs and crude oil prices tumbling double-digit dollars per barrel, following a last-minute breakthrough: the United States and Iran have reached an agreement for a 14-day ceasefire that will reopen the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz for global shipping.

    In early morning trading across Asia, major benchmark indices posted double-digit percentage gains in some cases, a sharp turnaround from weeks of volatility stoked by geopolitical tensions. Japan’s Nikkei 225, the region’s most closely watched benchmark, climbed 5% to hit 56,106.18 minutes after opening. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 notched a 2.6% rise to 8,952.30, while South Korea’s Kospi outperformed most peers with a 5.9% surge to 5,819.97. In Greater China markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 2.6% to 25,767.42, and mainland China’s Shanghai Composite added a solid 1.7% to close in on the 4,000 point threshold at 3,957.55.

    Crude oil markets, which had seen prices spike sharply after the conflict closed the strait to commercial shipping, saw an immediate and steep correction. Benchmark U.S. crude plummeted $16.84 to settle at $96.11 per barrel in early trading, while international benchmark Brent crude fell $14.51 to $94.76 a barrel. The sharp drop comes as no surprise to market analysts: nearly 20% of the world’s daily oil supply transits through the Strait of Hormuz, making the waterway one of the most critical energy chokepoints on the planet. For resource-import dependent economies like Japan, the reopening of the strait removes a major near-term threat to energy security.

    The breakthrough followed a flurry of diplomatic activity through Tuesday evening. After Pakistan’s prime minister publicly urged U.S. leadership to extend its original deadline for reopening the strait and pressed Iranian officials to resume commercial navigation, U.S. former President Donald Trump announced late Tuesday he would pause planned strikes against Iranian civilian infrastructure, including bridges and power plants, that had been threatened in recent days. Iran’s foreign minister confirmed that the strait would remain open for all commercial shipping for the 14-day period, under supervision by the Iranian military.

    Even as markets rallied, analysts struck a cautious tone. Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, noted that the current market momentum is rooted in cautious optimism rather than unbridled celebration. “The ceasefire is only two weeks long, and markets will be watching closely to see whether shipping through the Strait of Hormuz normalizes as promised and whether the fragile truce can pave the way for a more durable peace agreement,” Waterer said.

    The ceasefire announcement ended weeks of sustained market volatility that began when the conflict broke out in late February. On Tuesday, U.S. equities already began pricing in the potential for a diplomatic breakthrough, with the S&P 500 erasing all earlier losses to close 0.1% higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.2% (a drop of 85 points), while the Nasdaq Composite also closed 0.1% higher.

    Other asset classes also reflected easing geopolitical risk. In U.S. bond markets, the yield on 10-year Treasury notes eased to 4.24%, down from 4.30% earlier Tuesday as investors moved back to safe-haven assets following the news. In foreign exchange markets, the U.S. dollar softened against major peers, falling to 158.54 Japanese yen from 159.52 yen earlier in the week, while the euro rose to $1.1671 from $1.1597.

    This report was contributed to by AP Business Writer Stan Choe in New York, with reporting from Yuri Kageyama based in Tokyo.

  • AFL 2026: St Kilda livewire Jack Higgins on his road to 150 senior games

    AFL 2026: St Kilda livewire Jack Higgins on his road to 150 senior games

    For Australian Football League (AFL) forward Jack Higgins, the weeks ahead of his 150th senior career match look just like any other. Life, as he puts it, is “pretty normal” these days. But that very normalcy is a triumph few would have predicted back in 2019, when a devastating on-field injury nearly ended both his football career and his life.

    It began after a match for Higgins’ former club Richmond, when persistent concussion symptoms led doctors to a shocking diagnosis: a life-threatening brain bleed that required immediate, high-risk surgery. The procedure carried grave potential outcomes – permanent paralysis or even death – and left the then-rising star wondering if he would ever step onto an AFL field again. In a recent interview with reporters, Higgins recalled the dark uncertainty that followed the procedure. “I didn’t think I’d play another game, didn’t think I’d live a normal life after that,” he said.

    Recovery in the early days was grueling. Simple daily tasks that most people take for granted – reading, writing, even getting through a day without crippling headaches – were huge challenges. But with support from a team of elite medical professionals, Higgins slowly rebuilt his strength and his abilities. Today, the residual effects of his surgery are barely noticeable in his day-to-day life. “To play one AFL game and live normally after that, I am happy and proud of myself for it,” he said.

    In late 2020, Higgins made the switch from Richmond’s Punt Road ground to St Kilda’s Moorabbin headquarters – a move that held special personal meaning, as St Kilda was the club Higgins grew up supporting. Since the transfer, he has thrived, emerging as the Saints’ leading goal kicker and a core leader of the club’s forward line. Last season, he turned in a career-best performance, nailing 46 goals from 63 scoring shots to cement his place as one of the league’s most reliable attacking threats.

    Now, as he prepares to walk onto the field for his 150th career game, Higgins says the milestone feels extra special knowing it will come wearing the guernsey of his childhood team. “It’s a really great achievement, I am really happy I’m playing 150,” he said. “To do it at the club I barrack for was pretty special, I can’t wait to play 150 and hopefully a few more after that. 150 is a great achievement, so I’ll take it day by day.”

    Despite already outperforming every expectation set after his injury, Higgins shows no signs of slowing down, and says he still has ambitions to expand his role on the field. For years, he has pushed coaches for the chance to spend more time in the midfield, a role he briefly played as a first-year player at Richmond in 2018. “I would love to play midfield, I have been asking Ross (Lyon) and all my other coaches for the last nine years and they never play me there,” he joked. “I played a bit in my first year at Richmond and that was good fun, I did all right there, hopefully they can look at AFL tables from 2018.”

    The milestone match will take place in Adelaide – a city Higgins once joked he had no interest in exploring – but the 200-game veteran-to-be says he does not care where he plays, as long as he gets to keep lacing up his boots at the highest level. He even joked he would play “Martians on the moon” if it meant another AFL match. When asked what would make for the perfect milestone game, Higgins did not hesitate: a solid team performance ending in a win, with himself contributing a healthy haul of goals. “Hopefully I play well, the team plays well and we can celebrate in Adelaide on Sunday,” he said.

  • NSW man accused of tying up woman before kidnapping her and a child

    NSW man accused of tying up woman before kidnapping her and a child

    A violent early-morning break-in and abduction in Sydney’s southwest has left a woman and a young child traumatized, leading to the arrest of a 26-year-old local man who is scheduled to face court on multiple serious criminal charges related to domestic violence.

    The series of disturbing events began at approximately 4 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7, according to official statements from New South Wales Police. Investigators allege the accused, who is known to the female victim, forcibly entered her residential property and threatened her at knifepoint. After the initial threat, he is said to have bound the woman’s wrists with industrial cable zip ties and seized her mobile phone to prevent her from contacting emergency services, before fleeing the property initially.

    Remarkably, the victim was able to free herself enough to reach a neighboring residence, where she alerted neighbors to the attack. Those neighbors contacted police on her behalf to launch an urgent response. However, the situation escalated dramatically when the accused allegedly returned to the home a short time later. Police claim he forced both the woman and a young child who was with her into a waiting vehicle, drove away from the property, and continued to assault the woman during the journey.

    The ordeal came to a partial end when the accused traveled approximately three kilometers north to the nearby suburb of Chester Hill, where the victim managed to escape from the vehicle and raise further alarm. Following a multi-hour manhunt, the South West High Risk Domestic Violence Team of NSW Police located and took the 26-year-old suspect into custody at 11:15 p.m. that same night in Guildford, a suburb in Sydney’s western region.

    Authorities have laid a lengthy list of serious charges against the suspect, including aggravated break and enter with deprivation of liberty, stalking and intimidation intended to cause physical harm (classified as a domestic violence offence), assault that occasioned actual bodily harm (DV), property destruction (DV), violation of an existing Apprehended Violence Order (AVO), and possession of a weapon with intent to commit a serious indictable offence.

    The accused is scheduled to make his first court appearance at Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday, the day following his arrest. As of the latest update, investigators have not released further details about the child’s condition or the status of the victim following her escape.

  • Top Australian soldier to remain in jail over alleged war crimes

    Top Australian soldier to remain in jail over alleged war crimes

    One of Australia’s most decorated living military veterans, Ben Roberts-Smith, is now being held in police custody after his arrest earlier this week on war crime charges, after his legal team opted not to pursue bail ahead of upcoming court proceedings.

    The 47-year-old former soldier was taken into custody by law enforcement officers at Sydney Airport on Tuesday, and was immediately slapped with five counts of murder under Australian war crime law. He was then transferred to a holding cell to await his first court appearance, held the following day.

    On Wednesday, when the matter was brought before a Sydney local court, legal representatives for Roberts-Smith — who received the Victoria Cross, Australia’s highest award for battlefield bravery, in 2011 for his service in Afghanistan — did not submit an application for release on bail. Through his legal team, Roberts-Smith has repeatedly denied all allegations against him, describing the charges as egregious, malicious acts driven by spite.

    Tuesday’s arrest and subsequent criminal charges cap years of scrutiny of Roberts-Smith’s conduct during his deployments to Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012, when he served as a corporal in Australia’s elite Special Air Service Regiment (SAS). The proceedings come after a landmark 2023 civil defamation ruling, which followed years of legal battles. The defamation case was initiated by Roberts-Smith himself after major Australian newspapers published reports detailing his alleged war crimes, marking the first time any Australian court had formally considered allegations of unlawful killings by Australian military personnel deployed overseas.

    In that civil trial, the judge ruled that on the balance of probabilities — the lower standard of proof required in civil legal proceedings — most of the war crime allegations against Roberts-Smith were substantially true, finding he had unlawfully killed multiple unarmed Afghan civilians during his tour. Throughout the defamation case, Roberts-Smith’s legal team argued that any killings attributed to their client were lawful acts of combat, or that the deaths never occurred at all.

    In the new criminal case, Roberts-Smith faces a mix of charges: one count of war crime murder, one count of participating in a joint murder, and three counts of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring murder. If convicted on any of the charges, he faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

    Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Krissy Barrett confirmed that the charges are the result of a years-long, complex and exhaustive investigation into the allegations. “It will be alleged the victims were shot by the accused or shot by subordinate members of the ADF [Australian Defence Force] in the presence of, and acting on the orders of, the accused,” Barrett told reporters Tuesday.

    Barrett also emphasized that the alleged misconduct is limited to a very small group of Australian military personnel, noting that the vast majority of Australian Defence Force members serve with honor and bring credit to the nation.

    Following Wednesday’s initial court hearing, the presiding judge scheduled the next hearing in the case for June 4, and ordered that Roberts-Smith appear at the proceeding via video link. Roberts-Smith’s legal team has already stated they intend to file a request to move the next hearing to an earlier date.

  • AFL 2026: Collingwood will be bolstered by two major returns and a debutant for Gather Round

    AFL 2026: Collingwood will be bolstered by two major returns and a debutant for Gather Round

    As the undefeated Collingwood Magpies prepare to take the field for this year’s highly anticipated Gather Round, the AFL powerhouse has received a massive boost to its lineup with the confirmed return of two fan-favorite superstars and the long-awaited debut of a promising young talent ahead of Friday’s clash against the Fremantle Dockers.

    Nick Daicos and Scott Pendlebury, two of Collingwood’s most impactful players, have been cleared to suit up for the crucial round, head coach Craig McRae confirmed in a media briefing on Wednesday morning. Both stars had been sidelined with minor soft tissue injuries heading into last week’s match against the Brisbane Lions, where Collingwood suffered its first defeat of the season.

    Daicos, who was originally listed as a late game-day withdrawal against Brisbane due to a tight calf injury, completed a full training session at Melbourne’s Olympic Park this week to prove his fitness. While McRae noted the young star is not quite at 100% match sharpness, the coaching staff has no plans to limit his game time against the Dockers, and will not shift him into a forward role ahead of the contest, preferring to adjust his positioning based on how the match unfolds. “Nick will play and so will Pendles, they did what they needed to do this week to get through,” McRae told reporters. “I don’t think anyone will declare 100 per cent right to play, he’s probably close to it, but I don’t think we’ll manage Nick’s minutes. We might with some others, we’ve been doing that in the early part of the season, depending on injuries and the bench. We’re probably going into the game thinking not (playing him forward) to see what the game gives us.”

    Pendlebury, the club’s veteran leader, has also overcome the achilles soreness that forced him out of the Lions clash after he picked up the issue in the prior week’s match against GWS, rounding out the much-welcomed lineup additions for the Magpies.

    Alongside the return of the two established stars, Collingwood will also hand a first senior AFL debut to young midfielder Angus Anderson, a 2023 draft selection recruited from South Australian National Football League (SANFL) powerhouse Sturt. Anderson turned in a dominant performance in the Victorian Football League (VFL) last week against Coburg, notching 30 disposals, 12 clearances and one goal – a form line that McRae said made him impossible to leave out of the matchday squad.

    The clash will carry extra personal meaning for Anderson, who won a SANFL premiership with Sturt at Adelaide Oval last year, making the Gather Round fixture a de facto homecoming for the young talent. “His last at Adelaide Oval he won a premiership with Sturt so he’s got some great memories there and plenty of friends I am sure so it’ll be a good homecoming for him,” McRae said. “Tough, he’s tough. The fans will love his tackling intensity and every time we show some highlights of him at VFL, he’s really smashing in and hurting the opposition. His contest and clearance work is his strength, and we’re playing against an opposition that is number one in the competition in those parts of the game.”

    Heading into the Gather Round, Collingwood holds an undefeated record in the annual event, and the strengthened lineup has positioned the club to extend that streak as it looks to bounce back from last week’s upset loss to Brisbane.

  • Crude prices plunge, stocks surge as US and Iran agree ceasefire

    Crude prices plunge, stocks surge as US and Iran agree ceasefire

    Just 48 minutes ago, a breakthrough diplomatic agreement between the United States and Iran for a two-week ceasefire sent shockwaves across global financial markets Wednesday, bringing sharp drops in crude oil prices and sweeping gains to equity indexes worldwide. The deal, mediated by Pakistan, includes Iran’s commitment to temporarily reopen the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz — the chokepoint through which roughly 20% of the world’s daily oil and gas supplies pass — ending weeks of escalating conflict that had disrupted global energy markets and stoked widespread fears of a broader regional war.

    The agreement came hours after a dramatic standoff: U.S. President Donald Trump had issued an extreme ultimatum Tuesday, threatening that if the Strait remained closed, “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” That threat followed pledges to target Iranian civilian infrastructure including bridges and power plants, while Iran responded with its own warning that it would cut off U.S. and allied access to regional energy supplies for years if Washington crossed its red lines. As the global community counted down to the deadline, Trump announced the truce via social media, noting he had received a “workable” 10-point proposal from Tehran.

    “Subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” Trump wrote, adding that the truce is “double sided” and that U.S. military goals have already been met. He also confirmed ongoing negotiations for a long-term peace deal covering both Iran and broader Middle East stability. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country played a core mediation role, confirmed the ceasefire went into effect immediately, and added that the truce also covers Lebanon — implying Israel has agreed to halt its invasion of the northern neighbor.

    Market reaction was swift and largely positive, as investors released pent-up anxiety built up over five weeks of war that had squeezed global energy supplies. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude fell as much as 20% in early trading, settling 14% lower at $97.12 per barrel by 0230 GMT, while Brent North Sea crude dropped 13.2% to $94.86 per barrel, down from peaks that had stoked inflation fears globally.

    Equity markets across Asia jumped on the news: Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 5.3% to close at 56,270.90, Taiwan’s benchmark added nearly 4%, and markets in Sydney, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Wellington all posted sharp gains. Safe-haven assets retreated in line with de-escalation hopes: the U.S. dollar, which had strengthened amid conflict uncertainty, fell against the yen, euro and pound, while gold rallied roughly 5% after earlier declines driven by interest rate fears, and Bitcoin also posted gains. Notably, major Western indexes that closed before the announcement posted slight losses, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.2% and London’s FTSE 100 falling 0.8% on Tuesday.

    Market analysts note the upbeat response reflects widespread relief after weeks of geopolitical uncertainty. “Unsurprisingly, the initial market reaction has been a positive one, albeit perhaps not as sizeable as one might’ve expected, largely owing to the grind higher in risk assets seen since the tail end of Tuesday’s cash session,” said Michael Brown, senior analyst at Pepperstone. “Participants have been desperate for anything resembling good news for some weeks now, and even more desperate to see concrete steps being taken towards de-escalation. Now that we seem able to put a tick in both of those boxes, participants are unsurprisingly willing to significantly take up risk levels once more.”

    For Asian economies, which have borne the brunt of imported energy inflation in recent weeks, the truce carries outsize importance, according to Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management. “Lower oil prices remove the chokehold that has weighed on regional risk sentiment, especially in markets that feel imported energy shocks first and hardest,” he explained. “With crude backing off, the pressure on inflation expectations and front-end yields eases at the margin, and that is enough to let capital rotate back toward risk, at least for now.” Iranians have already publicly welcomed the ceasefire news, joining global markets in celebrating a rare step away from open conflict.

  • Wave of nostalgia as 2000s TV makes a comeback

    Wave of nostalgia as 2000s TV makes a comeback

    Twenty-five years after “Malcolm in the Middle” first introduced audiences to a sharp, overstretched teenager navigating his chaotic, dysfunctional household, the beloved 2000s sitcom is returning to Disney+ with nearly its entire original cast, including Emmy Award-winner Bryan Cranston. This reboot is far from an isolated project: it sits at the heart of a fast-growing entertainment trend that is bringing 2000s-era television back to screens across the globe, all fueled by audiences’ intense hunger for warm, familiar nostalgia.

    For media companies and streaming platforms, this revival strategy is as financially savvy as it is popular. Reviving established, beloved intellectual property carries far lower financial risk than launching an entirely new untested series, while already drawing guaranteed, built-in fan interest that guarantees strong viewership numbers. Media experts note that recycling and reimagining popular fictional characters and universes is not a new trend – it has been a core part of storytelling from ancient myths to modern comic book franchises – but the revival movement has exploded in the streaming era.

    “Going back to properties that are already established is one way of avoiding a lot of potential risks,” explained Robert Thompson, professor of media and pop culture at Syracuse University, in an interview with AFP. “All of the millions of dollars that were spent marketing, promoting, establishing the brand of those things way back when they were on in the first place – those bills have already been paid.”

    The roster of upcoming and recent revivals spans nearly every genre of 2000s television. Beyond the new “Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair,” hit medical sitcom “Scrubs” – which originally aired from 2001 to 2010 – made its return to ABC and Hulu earlier this year, bringing back lead stars Zach Braff and Donald Faison alongside most of the original cast. In July, Amazon Prime Video will launch “Elle,” a prequel series that explores the high school years of Elle Woods, the iconic pink-loving heroine first brought to life by Reese Witherspoon in the 2001 “Legally Blonde” film franchise.

    Not every planned revival makes it to screen, however: Hulu recently scrapped a heavily anticipated reboot of the early 2000s supernatural hit “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” even after completing a pilot episode. Still, other legacy projects are moving forward: Fox is currently preparing a relaunch of “Baywatch,” the sun-soaked 1989-2001 lifeguard drama that turned Pamela Anderson into a global household name. Some 2000s series never even left the air: long-running hits such as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “NCIS” and “Law and Order: SVU” continue to produce new episodes for linear networks, while their older catalog seasons consistently rank among the most-watched content on streaming platforms year after year.

    So why are modern audiences, who have thousands of brand-new shows at their fingertips, flocking back to content produced a quarter-century ago? Experts say the answer boils down to the psychological comfort of nostalgia, a well-documented coping mechanism for people navigating uncertain times.

    “I think this is a pretty common coping mechanism for a lot of people to return to shows they enjoyed in their youth,” said Sohni Kaur, a practicing psychologist who researched nostalgia and media during her studies in psychology and media at Scripps College. Kaur herself turned to rewatches of 2000s “Twilight” franchise and 1990s Bollywood films during the COVID-19 pandemic, and explained that revisiting familiar content eases anxiety and distracts from the constant upheaval of modern life. “It does really provide a lot of comfort to me. Looking back and revisiting something that we already know about kind of relieves that anxiety, or it kind of just distracts us from all of the current changes that are happening,” she said.

    Certain genres of shows naturally spark stronger nostalgic connection, Kaur added. Series centered on family or tight-knit friend groups – such as early 2000s hits “Friends” and “Gilmore Girls” – tend to hold particularly enduring emotional pull for audiences. Even horror franchises from the era continue to draw massive crowds: the latest installment of the 1996-launched “Scream” series, “Scream 7,” has grossed over $200 million worldwide so far in 2024, per data from Box Office Mojo.

    Thompson notes that nostalgic revivals tend to follow a roughly 20-year cycle, a timeline that lines up perfectly with the current wave of 2000s reboots. In that time frame, children and teenagers who loved the original broadcasts grow into working adults with disposable income for streaming subscriptions and movie tickets, and often seek out content that defined their youth, while sharing those favorite stories with their own children.

    Kaur added that the 2000s also represent a unique cultural turning point: it was the final moment before rapid exponential technological change transformed the media landscape, making the era feel like a simpler, more stable time for many viewers. “I think going back to that, again, feels safe,” she said. In the late 1990s and 2000s, appointment viewing of weekly television episodes created shared pop culture watershed moments that nearly all audiences experienced at the exact same time, a collective experience that has become far rarer in the fragmented streaming era.

    Rebooting these iconic series also taps into the unique cultural centrality that mainstream television held in that era, Thompson explained. In fact, the throwback trend extends even to how new content is released: streamers are increasingly returning to the old model of dropping one new episode per week, in a deliberate attempt to recreate the shared excitement of appointment television. HBO Max’s upcoming medical drama “The Pitt,” starring former “ER” lead Noah Wyle, will follow this weekly release model, intentionally nodding to the 1990s heyday of the hit NBC drama that launched Wyle and co-star George Clooney to stardom.

  • Neo-Nazi Joel Davis calls for freedom of alleged war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith while speaking outside court

    Neo-Nazi Joel Davis calls for freedom of alleged war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith while speaking outside court

    On a Wednesday outside Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court, a former senior figure in Australia’s most prominent neo-Nazi extremist organisation made an unprompted public intervention, using his court appearance to demand the release of decorated veteran Ben Roberts-Smith, who is currently facing five murder charges linked to alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.

    Joel Davis, the ex-leading member of the National Socialist Network (NSN), appeared before the court this week for a routine procedural hearing in his own ongoing criminal case. Davis faces 10 separate charges of using a digital communications service to menace, harass, or cause offense against two high-profile Australian political figures: federal independent Member for Wentworth Allegra Spender, and New South Wales Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane. He has not yet entered formal pleas to any of the charges against him.

    Court documents and prior testimony outline the allegations against Davis. Last year, after Spender publicly condemned an NSN rally held outside the New South Wales state parliament, Davis sent a viral inflammatory message on the encrypted messaging platform Telegram that read, “Patriots, I bid thee to rhetorically rape Allegra Spender.” Separately, he is accused of posting a threatening comment about Sloane on social media, writing, “stupid b**** needs to be beaten fr (for real)” in response to a news article about the NSW Liberal leader.

    Davis was only released from custody last week, after the New South Wales Supreme Court granted him bail. The court confirmed during that bail hearing that Davis had cut ties with the NSN: the extremist group had expelled him six months prior after his violent viral comments brought widespread public condemnation and reputational damage to the organisation, with NSN state leader Jack Eltis ruling that Davis had “brought the organisation into public disrepute.” Davis had previously claimed in a failed January bail application that he had left the group, just days after NSN announced it was disbanding. His defense lawyer told the court that Davis has shifted away from his prior extreme political views, and now aims to focus on raising his newborn child—whose birth he missed while he was in remand custody.

    As part of his strict bail conditions, Davis is barred from coming within 100 meters of Spender, Sloane, or their electoral offices, is forbidden from contacting either woman directly, and has been banned from accessing any social media platforms.

    Outside the Downing Centre on Wednesday, Davis ignored questions about his own legal case and instead turned attention to Roberts-Smith, who was formally charged with five counts of murder by the Australian Federal Police just one day earlier. Roberts-Smith, a former Victoria Cross recipient once lauded as Australia’s most decorated modern soldier, is accused of murdering unarmed Afghan civilians during his deployments to Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. He has repeatedly denied all allegations against him.

    Davis framed the prosecution of Roberts-Smith as a symbol of national failure in comments to waiting reporters. “I don’t want to talk about my case but I want to say something about Ben Roberts-Smith’s situation, which I think is emblematic … of everything wrong with this country,” Davis told reporters. “What kind of a country prosecutes its war heroes … Free Ben Roberts-Smith.”

    Wednesday’s procedural hearing saw Davis’ case adjourned, with the next court date scheduled for June this year.

  • ‘Show respect’: Energy Minister Chris Bowen fires up over clean energy, Iran war

    ‘Show respect’: Energy Minister Chris Bowen fires up over clean energy, Iran war

    A heated public confrontation has put Australia’s ongoing clean energy transition at the center of national debate, after Energy Minister Chris Bowen clashed sharply with a senior reporter during a Wednesday press briefing originally called to address an ongoing national fuel shortage.

    The briefing was convened to update the public on the state of the diesel crisis, with Bowen confirming that three percent of Australia’s retail service stations still remain without stock of the fuel. But what was intended as a routine update quickly devolved into tension when questions turned to the government’s signature climate and energy policy.

    Liam Bartlett, a reporter with 7News Spotlight, who had interjected earlier in the press conference, challenged Bowen directly, linking the ongoing Iran conflict to Australia’s renewable energy push. “If this war in Iran has showed nothing else, hasn’t it proved, once and for all, that your obsession with renewables will only lead us down the track to another energy crisis?” Bartlett asked.

    Bowen immediately pushed back on the framing of the question, dismissing it as a loaded partisan comment rather than a legitimate inquiry. What followed was a back-and-forth that escalated rapidly, with Bowen accusing the reporter of breaking press conference convention and cutting off other journalists waiting for their turn to ask questions.

    In a forceful defense of the government’s renewable energy strategy, Bowen pushed back against claims that renewables create energy insecurity. “Renewable energy is secure,” he said. “The Australian sun cannot be interrupted by a war or anything else. Solar energy has to travel 150,000,000km from the sun. It doesn’t have to travel the 150km of the Strait of Hormuz.”

    Responding to accusations that the government was falling behind schedule on its transition targets, and that Bowen had avoided engagement with Bartlett’s media outlet, the minister pushed back on those claims too. He noted that he had held daily press briefings to update the public on energy issues, and that this was the first time Bartlett had attended to ask a question.

    Calling on the reporter to show respect to fellow journalists who had attended all consecutive briefings, Bowen said, “I think you need to show a bit more respect to your colleagues. This is a room full of journalists. Everyone here gets a question. You’ve come to a press conference. Congratulations. Other journalists have been at every press conference.” The confrontation quickly became the lead focus of coverage of the press briefing, reigniting public debate over the pace and security of Australia’s shift away from fossil fuels.

  • Oil plunges after US-Iran ceasefire deal to reopen Strait of Hormuz

    Oil plunges after US-Iran ceasefire deal to reopen Strait of Hormuz

    A breakthrough conditional two-week ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran has sent shockwaves through global energy and financial markets, with the key Strait of Hormuz waterway set to reopen to unimpeded commercial passage. The diplomatic breakthrough, announced this week, has driven a dramatic single-day decline in benchmark global oil prices and sparked widespread gains across international stock exchanges.

    Following the confirmation of the deal, international benchmark Brent crude plummeted nearly 16% to settle at $92.30 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. traded oil benchmark, fell 16.5% to $93.80 per barrel. Even with this sharp correction, prices remain well above pre-conflict levels: in late February, before escalating tensions between the two nations disrupted Gulf energy supplies, Brent traded at roughly $70 per barrel.

    The disruption to energy flows began after Iran threatened to block all commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which roughly 20% of the world’s daily oil supplies pass, in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets. The threat sent oil and gas prices soaring across global markets, as supply fears gripped investors and energy importers.

    Market reaction to the ceasefire announcement was overwhelmingly positive in early Asian trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index surged 4.5%, while South Korea’s Kospi Index jumped 5.5% in morning session trading. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 2.8%, and Australia’s ASX 200 added 2.5% to close out the trading day. U.S. stock futures also pointed to a strong opening rally for Wall Street, with futures contracts indicating broad upward momentum ahead of the official market open.

    The deal emerged after U.S. President Donald Trump outlined terms via a social media post Tuesday evening, confirming he had agreed to a 14-day suspension of all U.S. bombing and offensive operations against Iran, contingent on Iran’s commitment to fully, immediately and safely reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump had issued a hard deadline of 20:00 EDT Tuesday, warning that “a whole civilisation will die tonight” if no agreement was reached. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi quickly confirmed Tehran’s acceptance of the terms, stating Iran would uphold the ceasefire so long as attacks on Iranian territory halted, and that safe passage for commercial vessels through the strait would be guaranteed during the truce.

    Market analysts note that political considerations likely pushed both sides toward a temporary truce. Xavier Smith, senior market analyst at research firm AlphaSense, observed that President Trump had strong incentives to avoid further escalation that would send energy prices skyrocketing. A sharp sustained rise in energy costs would amount to a “self-inflicted economic wound” that would damage Trump’s approval ratings ahead of key political deadlines, Smith explained, making escalation a risk few leaders would be willing to take.

    Saul Kavonic, energy analyst at investment firm MST Marquee, noted that the ceasefire will allow dozens of stranded oil tankers waiting near the strait to begin transiting the waterway in the coming weeks, which will deliver much needed relief to tight global energy markets. Even during the height of tensions, a small number of commercial vessels continued to pass through the strait, with a number of Asian nations including India, Malaysia, the Philippines and China securing individual safe passage agreements for their flagged ships in recent weeks.

    Despite the near-term market relief, Kavonic warned that a full return to pre-conflict energy production levels is unlikely until a permanent lasting peace agreement is reached. Additionally, damage to energy infrastructure across the region sustained during the conflict could take months to repair, delaying a full rebound in production and export volumes.

    Asian economies have borne the brunt of the conflict’s economic fallout, as most major Asian economies are heavily dependent on Gulf oil imports. Governments and private sector firms across the region have rolled out emergency measures in recent weeks to address skyrocketing energy prices and widespread fuel shortages. The Philippines, which imports 98% of its total oil supply from the Middle East, became the first nation to declare a national energy emergency in late March after retail petrol prices more than doubled. Multiple regional airlines have already implemented fare increases and cut route capacity to offset surging jet fuel prices.

    Ichiro Kutani, a senior researcher at Japan’s Institute of Energy Economics, explained that developing Asian economies have faced disproportionate harm from the conflict, as many lack domestic refining capacity and sufficient strategic oil reserves to buffer supply shocks. “The ceasefire is good news for Asian countries. If it holds, oil prices will return to normal states, though this will take time,” Kutani noted.