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AI videos fuel rhetoric as Orbán bids for four more years in Hungary

Ahead of Hungary’s crucial national parliamentary election on April 12, generative artificial intelligence has emerged as a dominant and deeply controversial tool of political manipulation, with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s long-ruling Fidesz party and its allied groups deploying deepfakes to smear opposition leader Péter Magyar, who is currently leading in most pre-election opinion polls.

The most disturbing example of this AI-fueled disinformation campaign emerged in February, when Fidesz shared a fake AI-generated video across its official social media channels. The clip opens with a sentimental scene of a young girl waiting by a window for her father, a Hungarian soldier deployed to war, to come home. It quickly cuts to a graphic execution sequence: the bound, blindfolded father is shot dead by enemy captors. Though Fidesz openly labels the video as AI-generated, the party frames the fake footage as a warning of what will come if Magyar’s center-right opposition party Tisza wins the election.

In the video’s caption, Fidesz claims Magyar seeks to hide the true horrors of war and accuses the opposition leader of pushing policies that would drag Hungary into the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Fidesz has amplified a series of unsubstantiated claims against Tisza, alleging that a Magyar government would use Hungarian pension funds to send military aid to Kyiv and reintroduce forced military conscription to deploy Hungarian troops to the front lines. Magyar and Tisza have repeatedly rejected these claims, noting that the party’s official election manifesto explicitly pledges not to send Hungarian troops to Ukraine and has no plans to bring back conscription.

When contacted for comment on the fabricated execution video, Fidesz did not respond to media inquiries. Támas Menczer, communications director for the ruling Fidesz-KNDP alliance, addressed the video in a public Facebook interview, reiterating that the greatest threat to Hungarian security is a Tisza victory because of the party’s stated support for Ukraine. Menczer declined to comment on the party’s choice to use AI-generated violent footage for political gain. For his part, Magyar has condemned the clip as a crossing of all ethical lines, calling it a heartless act of political manipulation designed to spread fear among Hungarian voters.

Fidesz is not the only pro-government group leveraging AI disinformation. Last month, the National Resistance Movement (NEM), a pro-Fidesz activist organization, shared a deepfake video depicting a fake phone call between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Magyar, in which the pair allegedly discuss plans to funnel Hungarian public funds to Ukraine. The clip amassed more than 3.7 million views, and NEM did not disclose that it was generated by AI. The fake video was quickly shared across pro-government media outlets and by Fidesz politicians, including Orbán himself. While Orbán acknowledged the footage was AI-generated, he warned it could represent a real future if Magyar wins office. NEM also declined to comment on the video when contacted by reporters.

Independent observers warn that the widespread use of AI disinformation marks a new escalation of misinformation tactics in Hungarian politics, even as aggressive anti-opposition and anti-Ukraine narratives have long been a staple of Fidesz election campaigning. Zsófia Fülöp, a journalist at Lakmusz, Hungary’s only independent dedicated fact-checking outlet, notes that while ruling party fear-mongering is not new, the mass deployment of generative AI to create convincing fake content is unprecedented. Generative AI disinformation is omnipresent across this election cycle, particularly in the communication of the ruling party, its state-aligned media empire, and affiliated political groups, Fülöp explained. While small scale uses of AI in campaigning occurred in past cycles, this election has seen a massive surge in its use.

The AI disinformation push has unfolded alongside another controversial incident that has stoked tensions between Hungary and Ukraine. Several weeks before the election, Hungary’s counter-terrorism police detained seven Ukrainian bank workers who were transiting through Hungarian territory en route from Austria to Ukraine, carrying $80 million in cash and 9 kilograms of gold in licensed cash-transport vehicles. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry accused the Orbán government of taking the workers hostage and stealing the funds, while Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank confirmed the shipment had all necessary legal permits and was a routine transfer. Hungarian authorities claimed the shipment was tied to potential money laundering and suggested the funds could be used to finance pro-Ukraine political activity inside Hungary. Though the seven workers were eventually released without any criminal charges filed, Hungarian authorities have still not returned the seized cash and gold.

Pro-government Hungarian media outlets again turned to AI to cover the arrest, publishing hyper-realistic AI-generated images of the raid that were presented as authentic on-the-ground footage. When compared to official photos and videos of the arrest published by the Hungarian government itself, the AI images contain multiple obvious inaccuracies, from incorrect police uniform details to wrong descriptions of the clothing worn by the detained Ukrainian citizens. Meta’s third-party fact-checking partnership has already labeled the post containing the fake AI images as “partly false.”

Hungary’s relationship with Ukraine has shifted dramatically over the past two years. Until late 2023, Budapest supported Kyiv’s bid for European Union membership and maintained relatively cordial bilateral ties, but relations have deteriorated sharply as Orbán has doubled down on his long-standing close political and economic alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Polling from Hungarian research institute Policy Solutions finds that anti-Ukraine sentiment has reached near parity with anti-Russian feeling among Hungarian voters: 64% of respondents hold a negative view of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, compared to 67% who hold a negative view of Putin.

Éva Bognár, a researcher at Central European University’s Democracy Institute, describes the entire 2026 election campaign as a disinformation hall of mirrors, built around a completely false narrative that Hungary is on the brink of being dragged into war. Bognár notes that Fidesz holds an unprecedented structural advantage in the campaign, controlling unlimited resources ranging from public state funds to government agencies and a massive state-aligned media conglomerate that operates as a full-time propaganda machine, including all public service media.

Against this lopsided media landscape, Magyar has managed to cut through Fidesz’s propaganda by building a strong direct connection with voters through social media platforms. Data from 20k, an independent Hungarian election integrity watchdog tracking political social media activity during the campaign, shows that Magyar’s posts across Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram generate twice the level of public engagement as posts from Orbán and Fidesz. Magyar’s social media strategy mixes formal policy content with casual, relatable personal content that portrays him as a younger, more approachable alternative to the 16-year incumbency of Orbán: his feed includes clips of him playing volleyball, flipping burgers at casual restaurants, partying with young supporters, and enjoying water sports.

However, independent fact-checkers have also found that Magyar has occasionally leaned into misleading rhetoric of his own, echoing some of Fidesz’s populist playbook. He has spread inaccurate claims about the number of Hungarian babies born to citizens living outside the country to stoke nationalist anxiety over eroding national pride, and has even flipped Fidesz’s own conscription claim against the ruling party, falsely alleging that Fidesz, not Tisza, plans to reintroduce compulsory military service. Reporters found no evidence to support this claim beyond a single brief discussion by two Fidesz politicians back in 2016.

Political analysts note that Magyar’s lead in the polls is driven largely by widespread public anger at Orbán’s 16-year incumbency, particularly among younger voters. Péter Krekó, director of independent Hungarian political research institute Political Capital, explains that Magyar has successfully tapped into deep-seated public resentment toward the Orbán government, a sentiment that is strongest among Hungarians between the ages of 18 and 40. Pre-election polling from Median agency confirms this divide: Tisza holds its strongest support among voters under 40, while nearly half of voters over 65 back Fidesz.

Despite trailing in most polls, Fidesz has continued to hammer its anti-Ukraine narrative across every available platform, with public campaign posters even showing Zelensky and Magyar side-by-side under the bold warning: “They are dangerous!” Krekó predicts that if Fidesz secures another term in office, the party will continue to use these AI-fueled disinformation tactics long after the election concludes. If Fidesz is defeated, however, Krekó says Hungary can expect a far more tumultuous rebalancing of the relationship between political power and the media. Regardless of the outcome, the 2026 Hungarian election has already set a troubling precedent for the use of generative AI as a tool of systemic political disinformation in European democratic contests.

4 4 月, 2026
Relatives of Qassem Soleimani arrested in US

In a recent development that escalates long-running tensions between the United States and Iran, two family members of the late Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani have been taken into federal custody in the U.S. following the cancellation of their permanent residency status. A U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed on Saturday that Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, Soleimani’s niece, and her daughter (the general’s grandniece) were arrested by federal agents after Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked their Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status. The pair are currently being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, pending further immigration processing.

To contextualize the event, Qassem Soleimani was one of Iran’s most high-profile military figures. He took command of the Quds Force, an elite overseas operations branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in 1997, after being appointed by then-IRGC commander-in-chief Yahya Rahim Safavi. Founded in the early 1980s, the Quds Force is tasked with carrying out Iran’s military and intelligence operations across the Middle East and beyond. In January 2020, Soleimani was killed in a targeted U.S. drone strike on his convoy in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. The attack also claimed the life of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy leader of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), alongside several other senior PMF officials.

In its official statement justifying the arrests and revocation, the State Department framed Hamideh Soleimani Afshar as a vocal public backer of what it terms Iran’s “totalitarian, terrorist regime.” According to the department, her own social media posts and independent press reporting confirm she has publicly praised Mojtaba Khamenei, a leading figure within Iran’s leadership, and repeatedly referred to the U.S. as the “Great Satan.” The statement added that Afshar’s husband has already been barred from entering the United States entirely.

This action is part of a broader crackdown on relatives of deceased senior Iranian officials that the U.S. has ties to adversarial actions against. The department also revealed that the daughter and son-in-law of Ali Larijani, a slain Iranian security chief, have similarly had their U.S. legal status revoked. Unlike the Soleimani relatives, the pair have already left the country and are permanently banned from re-entering the U.S. in the future. Larijani, who served as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting Iranian officials in Syria back in March 2025.

This reporting was originally published by Middle East Eye, an independent media outlet specializing in original coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa, and global affairs connected to the region.

4 4 月, 2026
Labor hopeful Iran war ‘drawing to a close’ after Trump threat

As former U.S. President Donald Trump issues a stark 48-hour ultimatum to Iran over the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Australia’s ruling Albanese government has voiced cautious optimism that the ongoing Middle East conflict is nearing its end, while moving swiftly to mitigate widespread domestic fuel shortages and price volatility.

Local time Saturday saw Trump, the Republican incumbent leading U.S. military operations against Iran, deliver the ultimatum: Tehran must reopen the critical global oil chokepoint, or the U.S. will unleash “all hell” on the Islamic Republic. Earlier, in a national address, Trump laid out a public timeline for the conflict, stating that joint U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran would conclude within two to three weeks.

Australian Assistant Immigration Minister Matt Thistlethwaite confirmed that Canberra is aligning its expectations with the U.S. timeline, telling Sky News the federal government remains hopeful the conflict will wrap up soon. “The original goal of military action against Iran was to degrade and eliminate the country’s nuclear capabilities,” Thistlethwaite explained. “Per President Trump and U.S. intelligence assessments, that objective has already been accomplished. On that basis, we want to see rapid de-escalation, and a swift return to normal operations through the Strait of Hormuz.”

Thistlethwaite added that Trump, who has full access to intelligence briefings and military input, shares the assessment that the conflict is drawing to a close. Even so, the Australian government has prepped contingency plans under its national fuel security framework to guarantee continued access to fuel for Australian households and businesses, and to cap upward price pressure as much as possible if hostilities drag on.

Already this week, the Albanese government has enacted two temporary cuts to the national fuel excise tax. The second cut was finalized only after state and territory governments reached an agreement on how to allocate GST windfall gains to offset the revenue loss from the tax reduction. Thistlethwaite acknowledged that despite expected de-escalation, the conflict will leave a “long tail” of economic impacts that will be felt in Australia for months to come.

To shore up supply, the federal government has already secured direct assurances from key Southeast Asian and East Asian fuel suppliers, which account for the majority of Australia’s imported fuel. “I met last week with Japan’s energy minister, and requested that existing supply volumes continue,” Thistlethwaite said. “Tokyo has given me a formal assurance that normal supply will hold. I’ve secured the same commitment from South Korea and Singapore, our three main suppliers. At the same time, we are actively diversifying our supply chains, and we have already started receiving additional fuel shipments from the United States to cover any gaps. We are covering all bases to expand supply diversification and secure as much fuel as possible for the domestic market.”

The severity of the current supply crunch came into clear focus Saturday, when Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen confirmed that more than 600 fuel stations across Australia have already run out of at least one grade of fuel, with 410 stations entirely out of diesel. The most acute shortages are in New South Wales, where 182 stations have no diesel and 48 are out of all petrol grades. Bowen urged the public to avoid panic buying, advising: “I encourage people to act sensibly. Only fill up when you need to, only take as much fuel as you normally would, and don’t stockpile.”

Amid the domestic upheaval, opposition foreign policy figure and Liberal Senator Dave Sharma has backed the assessment that the conflict will end soon, predicting hostilities will wrap up within two to four additional weeks. Sharma told Sky News that Trump is eager to wrap up military operations, having concluded that Iran’s nuclear program and ballistic missile infrastructure have already been severely set back. While Trump has publicly held out hope for further political change in Iran, and has called for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened, Sharma noted the U.S. leader is not making an end to operations conditional on the strait reopening immediately.

Sharma added that the marine expeditionary forces the U.S. has deployed to the Middle East give Trump flexible options to seize strategic territory if needed, though he does not expect a full-scale ground invasion of Iran. “The most likely move would be seizing key islands within the Strait of Hormuz to allow unimpeded control of commercial shipping through the waterway,” he explained.

Sharma’s position puts him at odds with fellow Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie, a prominent critic of both the conflict and Trump’s handling of it. Sharma argued that even if hostilities end immediately, Iran’s ability to foment regional instability and export terrorism has already been permanently reduced.

The developments come on the heels of an emergency diplomatic meeting attended by Australia, the United Kingdom, and more than 40 allied nations focused on coordinating efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical chokepoints for global oil supplies.

4 4 月, 2026
The man who became one of India’s greatest stage queens

In the mid-20th century, rural eastern India’s Bengal region was home to a thriving, beloved traveling folk theatre tradition called jatra. What made this art form particularly distinctive for decades was that nearly all leading female roles were played by male performers, known locally as *purush ranis*, or “male queens”. Among this rare group of artists, one name stood above the rest: Chapal Bhaduri, affectionately known to generations of fans as Chapal Rani, the undisputed reigning “queen” of jatra.

Cross-gender performance is a longstanding trope across global theatrical traditions, from Elizabethan English theatre to classical Japanese kabuki and Chinese Peking opera. But in Bengal’s jatra, this practice grew into a central cultural institution. Jatra was a raucous, immersive open-air spectacle blending devotional storytelling, epic myths, soaring music, and high melodrama, drawing massive, passionate crowds that often rivaled the audience size of mainstream cinemas — even if the performers themselves rarely earned comparable financial rewards.

Today, Bhaduri’s life, legacy, and the vanishing world he inhabited are being revisited for a new generation in *Chapal Rani: The Last Queen of Bengal*, a new biography by author Sandip Roy that traces the performer’s extraordinary journey from beloved stage icon to obscurity, while preserving the history of a fading cultural practice where gender performance was central to the art.

Born in north Kolkata in 1939 to a professional stage actress, Bhaduri grew up immersed in the world of performance, and made his stage debut at just 16 years old. Long after he stepped away from the spotlight, he reflected on his identity: “Femininity was always a part of me.” He noted that even as a young person, he naturally carried feminine mannerisms and had a soft, feminine voice that made him uniquely suited to the roles he would become famous for.

On stage, Bhaduri transformed completely, bringing nuanced, deeply felt performances to every role he took on, from powerful queens and divine goddesses to witty courtesans and formidable brothel madams, all performed with a deliberate, refined grace. He was meticulous about his craft, carefully crafting each character’s silhouette and appearance: early in his career, he used folded rags to create the shape of a bosom, later switching to sponge, and followed strict, consistent beauty routines to perfect the illusion he took so seriously.

Unlike many cross-gender performances of the era, which relied on caricature and comedy for laughs, especially for queer-coded characters, Bhaduri approached his work with radical honesty and sincerity. As Roy writes in the new biography: “In Indian performing art where playing gay or queer was in the form of characters who are ridiculed, Chapal morphed into a woman and played his roles with honesty and an act of bravery.”

Off stage, Bhaduri’s life was far more complex, shaped by the social norms of mid-century middle-class Bengali culture that made open queer identity impossible. While he never publicly labeled himself as gay, he did not lack for admiration: he received countless affectionate letters, relationship offers, and proposals from fans and partners over the years. Proud and unapologetic, he once stated plainly: “I refuse to apologise for love.” He maintained one long-term romantic relationship that lasted more than 30 years, even as his partner married and raised a family to conform to social expectations.

By the time Bhaduri rose to stardom in the 1950s, the world of jatra was already shifting. Women had begun to enter the professional stage, taking on the female roles that had long been the domain of *purush ranis*, and the space for male female impersonators shrank rapidly. The decline was gradual but inexorable: by the late 1960s and early 1970s, the “moustachioed queens of jatra” were almost entirely pushed out of the industry, as Roy documents.

Bhaduri experienced this rejection firsthand. During one performance of an older female role, he was booed off the stage after an audience member threw a clay cup at him; audiences now accustomed to cisgender female performers found his presence jarring and unacceptable. Many of Bhaduri’s fellow *purush rani* performers faded into desperate poverty after their careers ended: one became a street seamstress, another ran a small tea stall selling peanuts, others turned to manual labor, one died by suicide, and their stories were almost entirely lost to history.

Bhaduri survived by taking odd jobs, working as a cleaner in local libraries, and even performing as the Hindu folk goddess Sitala, the protector against infectious disease, on city streets, where he offered blessings to passersby in exchange for small change or leftover food. For decades, he lived on the margins of the Bengali cultural world he had helped shape, working as a housekeeper and largely forgotten by audiences and institutions.

In recent decades, Bhaduri has experienced a small revival of public attention. Kolkata-based theatre producer and publisher Naveen Kishore created a documentary film and exhibition about Bhaduri’s life in 1999, and later acclaimed Bengali filmmaker Kaushik Ganguly cast him in two feature films. A new generation of audiences, discovering Bhaduri through these projects, has reclaimed him as a pioneering queer elder, a trailblazer who lived outside rigid gender and social categories at a time when that was nearly impossible.

As India’s modern LGBTQ+ rights movement emerged and grew, activists and community members hungry for a documented queer Indian history embraced Bhaduri as an early icon. Roy writes: “The LGBTQ+ movement was young in India. Hungry for a queer history, it seemed to have seized on Chapal Bhaduri to be its fairy godmother.” Yet Bhaduri always resisted rigid modern identity labels, refusing to identify with terms like third gender. Off stage, he dressed like any other middle-class Bengali man, in a simple kurta and pyjama, a nuance that complicates contemporary readings of his life, even as Roy notes that he remains, unquestionably, “a queer survivor.”

Now 87 years old, Bhaduri lives in a Kolkata retirement home, a short distance from the maternal home where he grew up that no longer welcomes him. He lives with chronic age-related health conditions, surrounded by decades of memories of a life and an art form that have all but vanished.

Beyond preserving Bhaduri’s legacy, Roy’s biography raises urgent questions about cultural memory: why are some performers celebrated and remembered, while others are erased? What art forms are preserved in official archives, and which are allowed to disappear along with the last performers who carried them? As conversations around gender fluidity and performance gain global traction, Bhaduri’s life offers a vital new perspective: a reminder that long before modern identity language existed, gender was already fluid in practice, in the performance traditions that shaped regional culture across the world.

4 4 月, 2026
US says it has arrested relatives of late Iranian general Qasem Soleimani

A fresh diplomatic and legal controversy has erupted between the United States and Iran after US authorities announced the arrest of two women they identify as the niece and grand-niece of deceased top Iranian military commander Gen Qasem Soleimani, alongside the revocation of their permanent resident status.

In an official statement released Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter Sarinasadat Hosseiny had their lawful US green card status canceled, and are currently held in custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ahead of planned deportation proceedings. Taking to the social media platform X, Rubio further claimed the pair had been living a luxurious life in the US while holding legal permanent residency.

US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials outlined the pair’s immigration history to CBS News, the US partner of the BBC. Hamideh Soleimani Afshar first entered the US on a tourist visa in 2015, was granted asylum four years later in 2019, and secured her green card in 2021. When filing for naturalization in 2025, she disclosed that she had made four trips back to Iran since obtaining her permanent resident status. DHS argues that these repeated visits prove her original asylum application was obtained through fraud.

As for Sarinasadat Hosseiny, DHS records show she arrived in the US in 2015 on a student visa, followed the same asylum timeline as her mother in 2019, and received her green card just two years ago in 2023. The State Department has additionally labeled Hamideh Soleimani Afshar an open supporter of what it calls Iran’s “totalitarian, terrorist regime,” alleging she spreads state-backed Iranian propaganda through her personal social media accounts. Hamideh’s husband, who has not been publicly named by authorities, has also been barred from entering the US, per the statement.

However, the claims from US officials have been met with immediate and categorical denial from Soleimani’s biological daughter. Narjes Soleimani, whose father was killed in a 2020 US airstrike ordered by then-President Donald Trump, says the two detained women have no family connection to her late father at all, calling all of the State Department’s assertions completely false. In a sharp rebuke, Narjes Soleimani accused the US of fabricating lies against the iconic Iranian figure, claiming the moves show the US has become “weak and insignificant.”

Gen Qasem Soleimani was one of Iran’s most influential and powerful military leaders, heading the country’s elite Quds Force—the foreign operations arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps—and overseeing all Iranian military activity across the Middle East. He was killed in a targeted US airstrike at Baghdad International Airport in January 2020, alongside several leaders of Iran-aligned militias, a strike that sent already fraught US-Iran relations to a decades-long low.

The controversy comes as former President Trump, who authorized the 2020 strike, recently reiterated his position on the killing during a national address this Wednesday. “I killed Gen Qasem Soleimani in my first term. He was an evil genius, brilliant person, a horrible human being however, the father of the roadside bomb, and he lived just horrible, what he did,” Trump told attendees. He added that he believes Iran would be in a much stronger military position in its ongoing regional conflict if Soleimani were still alive today.

The BBC reached out to the US State Department to request additional context and comment on the arrests, but a department spokesperson said it had no further statement to add on the matter.

4 4 月, 2026
Iran authorizes passage of ships carrying essential goods to its ports through Hormuz

Against a backdrop of heightened regional conflict following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian territory in late February 2026, Iran has issued formal authorization for vessels carrying essential and humanitarian cargo to transit the Strait of Hormuz en route to its domestic ports, semi-official Iranian news outlet Tasnim has reported.

The policy shift, outlined in an official March 1 correspondence from Iranian Deputy Agriculture Minister Hooman Fathi to the country’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO), confirms that both the Iranian national government and the country’s armed forces have signed off on the adjusted navigation rules for these specific vessels. Fathi’s instructions direct the PMO to grant entry approval for cargo ships bound for Iranian ports or already anchored in the Gulf of Oman that are transporting humanitarian goods, prioritizing basic essential commodities and livestock production inputs, in compliance with established national shipping protocols. Going forward, a curated list of eligible vessels will be shared with relevant authorities to streamline coordination and processing.

This updated regulatory framework comes after weeks of heightened naval control over the strategic waterway, a response to the major escalation of hostilities that shook the region late last month. On February 28, the United States and Israel launched coordinated aerial attacks on Tehran and multiple other urban centers across Iran, killing then-Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei alongside a number of senior government officials and civilian bystanders. In retaliation, Iran launched multiple waves of missile and drone strikes targeting both Israeli territory and U.S. military installations across the Middle East, and subsequently implemented strict movement controls on shipping transiting the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint that carries roughly a fifth of the world’s total oil trade and serves as a critical access route for maritime commerce to and from Iranian ports.

4 4 月, 2026
German males under 45 may need military approval for long stays abroad

More than a decade after Germany abolished compulsory military service, a sweeping new law overhauling the nation’s military framework has introduced a little-noticed regulation that has recently come to public attention, reshaping how German men interact with national defense preparedness. The Military Service Modernisation Act, which took full effect on January 1 of this year, was crafted to expand Germany’s defense capabilities in response to heightened security risks stemming from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Among its most surprising provisions is a requirement that all German males between the ages of 17 and 45 must obtain official prior approval before taking any trip or extended stay abroad that lasts longer than three months.

A spokesperson for Germany’s Federal Ministry of Defense confirmed the new rule in an official statement provided to the BBC, clarifying that the obligation applies to all men aged 17 and above. Currently, the law notes that travel approval is generally granted for most requests, but official guidance has not yet outlined clear enforcement measures for individuals who fail to secure permission before traveling. The requirement flew under the radar of most citizens and media outlets until it was first reported by German outlet Frankfurter Rundschau this past Friday.

Defense ministry officials explained the policy’s core purpose: to maintain a accurate, reliable military registry that ensures authorities can quickly locate eligible personnel in the event of a national emergency. “In the event of an emergency, we must know who may be staying abroad for an extended period,” the spokesperson said. Officials also acknowledged that the new rule could carry “far-reaching” impacts for young German men, and noted that exemption guidelines are currently being drafted to cut down on unnecessary red tape for citizens.

The legal foundation for the new travel requirement traces back to Germany’s 1956 Conscription Act, a law that has been amended repeatedly over the decades, with the most recent update approved by parliament last December. Before this change, the rule requiring advance reporting for extended international stays only applied when Germany was officially in a state of national defense or mobilization. Defense officials added that an almost identical provision was in place during the Cold War, but it never gained practical relevance for everyday citizens at that time.

Beyond the travel regulation, the new Military Service Modernisation Act lays out an ambitious goal to grow Germany’s active armed forces personnel from its current count of roughly 180,000 to 260,000 by the year 2035. Last December, German parliament voted to roll out a revamped voluntary military service system: starting in January, all 18-year-olds in Germany receive a questionnaire asking if they are interested in joining the armed forces. Starting July 2027, all 18-year-olds will also be required to complete a fitness assessment, to pre-verify eligibility for military service if a full-scale conflict breaks out.

Under Germany’s constitution, women are allowed to volunteer for military service but cannot be compelled to serve in any capacity. While the current framework relies entirely on voluntary participation, the law leaves open the possibility of reintroducing some form of compulsory military service if the regional security situation deteriorates or volunteer recruitment falls short of government targets.

When the legislation was first approved by parliament late last year, thousands of young Germans joined mass public protests opposing the changes. “We don’t want to spend half a year of our lives locked up in barracks, being trained in drill and obedience and learning to kill,” one protest organizer wrote on social media, capturing widespread anti-conscription sentiment among young people.

This shift marks a dramatic reversal of decades of post-Cold War defense policy in Germany. Like many of its Western European allies, Germany steadily downsized its armed forces through the 1990s, a period of sustained peacetime following the collapse of the Soviet Union. At the height of the Cold War, Germany maintained an active army of nearly 500,000 personnel. Compulsory military service was fully abolished in 2011 under then-Chancellor Angela Merkel, ending a decades-long policy that had defined German national service for generations.

Today, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has made rebuilding the Bundeswehr a core policy priority, with a public pledge to turn Germany’s armed forces into the strongest conventional military force in Europe. This commitment comes in response to what his current government describes as a far more dangerous security environment across the European continent, driven by Russian aggression against Ukraine.

4 4 月, 2026
‘Where’s it come from?’: Business owners smashed by RBA surcharge change

Starting October 1, 2026, one of Australia’s most widely resented hidden consumer fees will disappear entirely, as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) enforces a full ban on card payment surcharges. But small business owners across the country are already sounding the alarm: the policy change will backfire dramatically, pushing up general prices for all Australian consumers and forcing many small operators to close their doors.

The RBA’s long-awaited review of merchant payment costs and surcharging, released Tuesday, outlined three major reforms to Australia’s retail payment network. The core change is a total ban on separate card surcharges, requiring all businesses to include credit and debit card processing costs in their advertised sticker prices. To offset the burden of this shift, the central bank is lowering interchange fees – the charges paid by a merchant’s bank to a customer’s card-issuing bank – and has pledged to increase transparency around fees levied by major card networks. The RBA projects the reforms will save Australian consumers up to $1.6 billion annually, even as officials acknowledge not all savings will reach household budgets.

But small business owners say the RBA’s math ignores the reality of operating on thin margins amid a prolonged cost of living crisis, and argue any lost revenue from eliminated surcharges will simply be passed to shoppers through higher base prices.

Kodar Eid, owner of Chaos Cafe with locations in Neutral Bay and Mosman, warned the change will deliver a devastating financial hit. For his Neutral Bay store alone, Eid estimates annual costs will jump by $22,000 when the ban takes effect. “That $22,000 isn’t going to disappear – where do you think it’s going to come from? What margin do you think I’m working with?” Eid asked. “Cost of living affects small businesses too. Small businesses absorb as much as they can, but if I take a $22,000 hit, I’ll be one of the businesses that close.”

Eid explained that for nearly 13 years, separate surcharges allowed his cafe to keep base menu prices lower, meaning customers paying with cash or debit cards did not bear the cost of credit card processing. The timing of the ban, he added, could not be worse: cafes already face soaring energy and supply chain costs, with many operators absorbing extra supplier fuel levies to keep prices low for struggling households. As discretionary spending drops amid cost of living pressures, cafes are already seeing fewer customers, and the new cost burden will only worsen the crisis. “The people in the room that made the decision, don’t they have a background in economics?” Eid said. “We are supposed to be happy they slugged the banks 0.3 per cent – seriously. Why not tell the bank to absorb the 1.2 per cent and the small business can cop the 0.3 per cent.”

Industry leaders echo Eid’s concerns, arguing the ban shifts the entire cost of card processing onto small businesses and all consumers, rather than forcing card users to pay for the benefits they receive. John Arnott, director of AMP Bank Go, said that if bank processing fees remain high, small businesses have no choice but to pass the costs onto all consumers through higher sticker prices.

“If surcharges are banned but bank fees stay high, small businesses are left carrying the cost. Australians will pay, just in less visible ways,” Arnott said. “You may not see a surcharge at the terminal, but you will start to see the surcharge flow through to the ticket. And small businesses are telling us they’ve got no choice. They’re already running on the smell of an oily rag.”

Arnott added that while big banks and card networks continue to record billions in annual profits, small business conditions are worsening rapidly. “If banks don’t slash card fees, Australians will keep paying – full stop. At some point, enough is enough, and small businesses need to start voting with their feet. And the payments industry needs to walk the talk.”

Critics also point out that cash and debit card users will be the biggest losers under the new rule. Currently, Australians pay roughly $1.6 billion in annual card surcharges, while businesses pay $200 million in fees to card providers. Jason Bryce, founder of Cash Welcome, argues that by banning surcharges for both debit and credit cards, the RBA has gone far beyond the original goal of cutting consumer costs – a move first flagged by the Prime Minister as a cost of living relief measure for debit card users.

“I’m concerned cash users are going to end up paying for the frequent flyer points and the benefits that accrue to people using fancy premium credit cards,” Bryce said. “So who is losing? Ordinary bank account holders with a debit card, cash users, people on a budget – and I can’t see how small businesses are going to like this at all.”

Bryce added that the ban does not eliminate processing fees, it simply hides them. “There’s no transparency, no little sign at the cash register that says if you pay this way it will cost you this much. Those signs, while very annoying, are very transparent.” He also noted that the RBA’s original 1990s surcharge framework made Australia a global leader in transparent card transaction pricing, a status the new reforms will end.

Not all observers oppose the change, however. Sally Tindall, data insights director at comparison site Canstar, said the reforms will simplify checkout pricing and crack down on hidden price-gouging. Canstar survey data of 3,001 Australian adults found 33 percent of shoppers switch to cash when a surcharge is applied, indicating widespread frustration with separate checkout fees.

“These changes will simplify the system, stop any price-gouging and help consumers compare apples with apples at the checkout,” Tindall said. “It’s a tiny fee in isolation, but plonked on top of the cost of a flat white every day, is enough to make people see red.”

But for small business owners already teetering amid rising costs, the reform is just one more burden that will leave both operators and consumers worse off. Arnott summed up the widespread industry concern: “It’s tough for small business right now, and the way things are headed, there’s only going to be more pain. Supporting local businesses matters – they’re at the heart of our communities and local economies. It’s your mate, your cousin, your local barista.”

4 4 月, 2026
Iran announces new air defence used to down US fighter jet

Tensions between Iran and the United States have spiked dramatically in recent days following a confrontation near the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz, where Iran’s newly unveiled domestic air defense system engaged and downed at least one U.S. military aircraft. Iran’s state media has confirmed the engagement, marking a sharp escalation in the long-running standoff between the two nations over control of the key global oil shipping chokepoint.

The announcement of the new air defense system was made by a spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Joint Military Command, who emphasized that the indigenous technology — developed by the country’s homegrown cohort of young scientists and engineers — has put Tehran on track to gain full, unchallenged control of its national airspace. In a strongly worded statement directed at foreign adversaries, the spokesperson warned that successive deployments of these advanced systems would continue to demonstrate the failure of hostile powers’ ambitions in the region, exposing their military weakness to the international community.

According to initial Iranian reports, the strike targeted an enemy A-10 Thunderbolt II, a single-seat U.S. jet purpose-built for close air support of ground troops, operating in airspace near the Strait of Hormuz. Confirming details of the incident, *The New York Times* reported that the downed jet’s lone pilot survived the crash and was recovered by U.S. forces. Multiple U.S. outlets have also expanded on the incident: an anonymous senior U.S. official speaking to NBC News shared that two U.S. helicopters deployed to the rescue mission were also targeted by Iranian defensive fire, though all crew members on board the helicopters escaped without injury. In total, two U.S. combat aircraft were downed in Friday’s exchanges, according to Iranian military accounts.

The confrontation comes amid a rapidly building U.S. military buildup in the Persian Gulf region. Over recent weeks, Washington has deployed thousands of additional troops to the area, a move that has fueled widespread speculation among global analysts that the U.S. is preparing for a potential ground operation to seize Iranian-controlled islands in the Strait of Hormuz — a suggestion that U.S. government officials have not formally denied.

The escalating crisis has drawn comment from former U.S. President Donald Trump, who issued a stark ultimatum to Iran via his Truth Social platform on Saturday. Repeating a reference to his own previous threats against the Islamic Republic, Trump wrote, “Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out – 48 hours before all Hell will reign [sic] down on them.”

The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the most geopolitically sensitive waterways on the planet, with roughly 20% of the world’s total oil shipments passing through the narrow channel annually. Any sustained disruption to shipping through the strait would trigger immediate, far-reaching consequences for global energy markets and international security, making the current standoff a point of intense concern for world powers.

4 4 月, 2026
Iraq closes southern border crossing with Iran following deadly strike

BAGHDAD – In a move that underscores escalating regional instability across the Middle East, Iraqi officials ordered an immediate closure of the busy Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran on Saturday, April 4, 2026, after a deadly airstrike on the Iranian side of the checkpoint killed one Iraqi citizen and wounded five more.

Omar al-Waeli, chairman of Iraq’s official Border Ports Commission, confirmed to the Iraqi News Agency that the airstrike targeted the crossing’s passenger terminal in the early hours of Saturday. The fatal blast claimed the life of an Iraqi passenger traveling through the facility, while the five injured victims were all transferred to medical centers inside Iranian territory for treatment, al-Waeli added.

Local Iraqi media reports note the strike occurred at the same time that convoys carrying humanitarian donations and logistical support were entering Iran through the Shalamcheh crossing. Situated in Iraq’s southern Basra Province, the border post serves as one of the most critical commercial and travel arteries connecting the two neighboring countries, handling large volumes of bilateral trade and cross-border tourism on a regular basis.

The closure of the key southern crossing comes as a separate deadly attack rocked another Iraqi border checkpoint just hours later. Iraq’s paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) announced Saturday that one of its fighters was killed and four additional members were wounded in a joint US-Israeli airstrike at the al-Qaim border crossing, located in Iraq’s western Anbar Province near the Syrian border. The PMF statement added that an employee of Iraq’s Ministry of Defense was also injured in the strike on the group’s 45th Brigade operating at the post.

Both attacks unfolded against a backdrop of sharply heightened tensions across the Middle East, which began when joint US-Israeli airstrikes on targets inside Iran launched on February 28 triggered a wave of retaliatory strikes by Iran and its regional allied militias against US and Israeli interests across the region. The latest attacks on Iraqi border crossings have further stoked fears that the ongoing conflict spillover could disrupt critical trade routes and deepen instability in Iraq, which has long faced collateral damage from regional power clashes.

4 4 月, 2026