Global Pulse

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  • Britain’s navy prepares to clear mines in the Strait of Hormuz while waiting for a peace deal

    Britain’s navy prepares to clear mines in the Strait of Hormuz while waiting for a peace deal

    Positioned off the sunbaked coast of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, hundreds of Royal Navy personnel aboard the Royal Fleet Auxiliary landing ship Lyme Bay are in a holding pattern, their impending mine-clearing deployment to the crisis-stricken Strait of Hormuz hanging in the balance amid ongoing diplomatic negotiations over a ceasefire with Iran.

    The tense standoff traces back to February 28, when the United States and Israel launched military action against Iran. In retaliation, Tehran effectively choked off access to the strait — a strategic global chokepoint through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s daily oil supplies, critical natural gas shipments and fertilizer cargoes pass. The closure has paralyzed international commercial shipping, driven global energy prices sharply higher, and inflicted widespread economic disruption across the world.

    U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly pressured U.S. allies, particularly the United Kingdom, to take a more active lead in securing the waterway. Back in March, Trump publicly told NATO allies that they should “go get your own oil” and take responsibility for securing the strait themselves. He has also lashed out at London, dismissing Britain’s Royal Navy as “toys” and dismissing Prime Minister Keir Starmer as an unworthy successor to wartime leader Winston Churchill. During remarks over the weekend, Trump confirmed that a peace deal to end the conflict has been “largely negotiated” following diplomatic calls with Israel and regional partners, though final details remain to be ironed out. “Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” Trump announced on social media Saturday, offering no specific timeline for the agreement. This is not the first time in recent weeks that a deal has been framed as imminent, leaving military planners and diplomatic observers in a state of waiting.

    To demonstrate Britain’s readiness to lead an international mine-clearing coalition alongside France, UK Armed Forces Minister Al Carns recently invited a small group of journalists to tour the Lyme Bay as the vessel receives final pre-deployment preparations. Docked at the gateway between the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, the amphibious ship is currently being stocked with ammunition and cutting-edge mine-hunting autonomous sea drones fitted with high-resolution sonar systems. Once diplomatic clearance is given, the Lyme Bay will sail from Gibraltar to link up with the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon and allied aircraft providing overwatch, before transiting the Suez Canal en route to the Persian Gulf.

    Responding to questions about whether the deployment amounts to a performative gesture to appease Washington, Carns pushed back on that suggestion. “Which other country can pull together 40 nations and come up with a solution to deal with a complex problem that we couldn’t predict because we weren’t involved?” he asked, referencing the UK’s ability to rally a broad multilateral coalition for the mission. He noted that more than 6,000 commercial vessels have been blocked from transiting the strait since the conflict began, and while some mines may have already drifted away or been destroyed, commercial shipping insurers require absolute confirmation that the waterway is safe before they will agree to underwrite voyages through the strait. “That’s what this capability will provide,” he said.

    Commander Gemma Britton, who leads the Royal Navy’s Mine and Threat Exploitation Group, outlined the serious range of hazards the mission could face. She warned that Iran could have deployed a “huge” variety of mine types across the strait, from rocket-propelled drifting mines to fixed culled mines and seabed-laid devices triggered by sound, water movement or light.

    Unlike traditional mine-clearing operations that rely on crewed vessels to map hazard zones, the Lyme Bay carries a suite of autonomous systems that can survey the seabed and water column in half the time of traditional missions. The sonar-equipped sea drones generate detailed imagery of underwater objects, ranging from discarded fishing traps to buried energy pipelines, that teams use to pinpoint potential mines. Once a device is identified, advanced acoustic sensors and remote cameras are deployed to confirm its identity. Many of these systems can be loaded onto smaller auxiliary vessels, launched from the Lyme Bay (which acts as a remote mother ship stationed outside the perimeter of suspected minefields) and operated autonomously, drastically reducing the risk to personnel.

    Traditionally, after a mine is located, a diver must swim into the hazard zone to place an explosive charge before retreating to detonate it. However, the Lyme Bay is testing a new remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that can dive to the seabed, place the charge next to the mine, and trigger the detonation without putting any service member in harm’s way.

    Britton explained that the mission’s first priority will be to clear a single outbound transit lane through the strait to allow the roughly 700 commercial vessels that have been stranded since the closure to depart. Once that lane is operational, teams will shift to clearing a second inbound lane for incoming cargo ships. She cautioned, however, that clearing the entire 21-mile-wide strait of all potential hazards could take months or even years of sustained work.

    Even with all preparations complete, major uncertainty remains: there has been no definitive confirmation of how many mines (if any) are actually deployed in the strait, and no final green light has been given for the coalition deployment. The entire international mine-clearing operation is contingent on a finalized peace deal and a full cessation of hostilities.

    “We don’t know when the Americans, Iranians and Israelis are going to come up with a suitable solution,” Carns acknowledged. For now, the crew of the RFA Lyme Bay remains on standby off Gibraltar, fully prepared to mobilize the moment the diplomatic process reaches a successful conclusion. “In the meantime, we will be waiting and will be really, really ready,” he said.

  • US, Iran and Pakistan say talks progressing towards agreement

    US, Iran and Pakistan say talks progressing towards agreement

    Fresh diplomatic momentum emerged Saturday as senior officials from the United States, Iran, and mediator Pakistan all reported encouraging steps toward a negotiated end to ongoing regional conflict, with a preliminary 30 to 60-day framework agreement reportedly close to finalization. Pakistan’s military, which has served as a critical go-between for Washington and Tehran amid heightened tensions, confirmed that Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir held high-stakes talks with top Iranian leaders in Tehran over the past day. In an official statement, the military noted that negotiations centered on accelerating ongoing diplomatic consultations to bolster regional peace and stability, adding that the 24 hours of talks had yielded measurable, encouraging progress toward a final understanding.

    U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters during an official visit to New Delhi, India, confirmed that a finalized agreement could come within days, as early as Saturday itself, though he declined to share further granular details. “There might be some news a little later today. There may not be. I hope there will be,” Rubio told reporters, adding that even as he spoke, diplomatic teams continued to work through remaining sticking points. “There is a chance that, whether it’s later today, tomorrow, in a couple days, we may have something to say,” he said.

    U.S. President Donald Trump told Axios Saturday that he would convene a meeting with his lead negotiating team later that day to review Iran’s latest formal proposal, with a final decision expected by Sunday: either sign off on what he called a “good” deal, or escalate ongoing U.S. military action against Iran. Trump framed the choice starkly, telling Axios he would opt between securing a negotiated agreement or “blowing them to kingdom come.”

    In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed to state television that Iranian negotiators are in the final stages of drafting a memorandum of understanding, which will act as the initial, temporary framework agreement spanning 30 to 60 days. The 14-clause draft, Baghaei explained, covers core sticking points including access through the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. naval blockade on Iran, and a ceasefire ending hostilities across all regional fronts, including Lebanon.

    Baghaei acknowledged that diplomatic talks have moved the two long-standing adversaries toward a rapprochement, but cautioned that a final breakthrough on all core issues remains far from guaranteed. He added that Iran’s nuclear program will be excluded from the initial temporary framework, with negotiations on that dossier pushed to separate discussions at a later stage. Throughout the 30 to 60-day initial window, both sides will continue working toward a permanent, long-term agreement, he clarified.

    Separately, the Financial Times reported Saturday that diplomatic mediators are close to finalizing a deal to extend an existing ceasefire for 60 days, matching the timeline laid out by Iranian officials. Under the terms of the proposal seen by the outlet, the agreement would include the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz—one of the world’s most critical global energy chokepoints—and talks on diluting or transferring Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. In exchange, the U.S. would ease restrictions on Iranian ports, roll back some sanctions, and begin the phased release of billions of dollars in Iranian assets frozen in foreign accounts.

    “The deal seems to be going in the right direction. It’s with the Americans now for review,” a senior anonymous diplomat told the Financial Times. The diplomat added that Iran is willing to make broader concessions on its nuclear program, but will not do so while active hostilities continue, making the current preliminary framework a critical step to bridge gaps between the two sides.

  • Liberal Party too close to Labor, ‘failed’ on economy as One Nation surges, senator says

    Liberal Party too close to Labor, ‘failed’ on economy as One Nation surges, senator says

    Fresh voter polling has painted a seismic shift in Australia’s political landscape, projecting a historic surge for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party and near-total collapse for the Liberal-National Coalition if a federal election were held today. A senior Liberal figure has publicly slammed his own party’s decades of ideological drift and economic policy missteps as the root cause of the projected catastrophe.

    The joint survey, conducted by the Redbridge Group and Accent Research, outlines a worst-case scenario for Australia’s two traditional major parties. The poll forecasts that the Coalition would be completely wiped out of parliamentary representation across four key states: Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania. center-left Labor would hold onto a razor-thin 76-seat majority, while One Nation would capture up to 59 seats — a result that would upend nearly a century of two-party politics in Australia.

    Responding to the survey’s findings, Liberal opposition housing spokesperson Senator Andrew Bragg did not mince words in his criticism of his own party. Speaking to Sky News’ Sunday Agenda program, Bragg argued that the Liberal Party has steadily abandoned its ideological distinctiveness on economic policy, growing indistinguishable from the Labor Party to the point of becoming what he called a “uni-party” with the incumbent government on core fiscal issues.

    Bragg argued that the party’s failure to differentiate itself from Labor on tax policy, industrial relations, superannuation, and federal budget management over the past 10 years has left voters with no clear reason to support the Coalition, resulting in a widespread voter backlash that the new polling captures. “That’s my main takeaway, that we’ve had too much similarity with the Labor Party,” Bragg said. “We should have done more on tax, more on industrial relations, more on super, more on budget stuff … we’ve just been too similar to Labor over a long period, and we’re being punished. The chickens are coming home to roost.”

    The senator warned that the Liberal Party faces political oblivion if it does not immediately course-correct and draw sharp contrasts with Labor on policy, pointing to emerging work on addressing bracket creep as a first step in the right direction. He added that Australian voters are hungry for substantive economic change, and that it is still not too late for the party to reset its agenda and win back disaffected voters.

    Outlining his policy priorities, Bragg said he supports increasing the capital gains tax discount, rather than reducing it or rolling it back to the previous 50 per cent rate, arguing that adjustments to capital gains tax can be structured to incentivize greater private investment across the Australian economy. When pressed to identify which government programs he would cut to offset the cost of his proposed tax cuts, Bragg called out what he described as government “boondoggles” including the National Reconstruction Fund and the Housing Australia Future Fund as programs the Coalition could scale back or eliminate, noting that while the Coalition would continue to support the National Disability Insurance Scheme, other wasteful spending programs are fair game for cuts. “People are too afraid to say what they would cut,” he said, adding that the party needs to be clear about its policy trade-offs.

    Reacting to the same polling data, Labor’s Assistant Technology Minister Andrew Charlton acknowledged that the rise of One Nation in voter surveys is impossible to ignore, framing the far-right party’s growing support as part of a global populist trend. However, Charlton argued that One Nation has excelled at exploiting voter grievances but failed to deliver substantive policy solutions that benefit working Australian families.

    Charlton criticized One Nation’s voting record, noting that the party has repeatedly opposed policies that support ordinary workers, including the Same Job Same Pay legislation, wage increase measures, and cost of living relief. “Every opportunity they get … they vote against things that will benefit Australian families and workers,” Charlton said. “One Nation, every single time they face a choice between battlers and billionaires, they choose the billionaires.”

    When asked if Labor risks losing significant seats to One Nation ahead of the next federal election, Charlton said the outcome remains uncertain, but that Labor’s best strategy is to continue delivering tangible policy solutions to address the daily economic challenges facing Australian households, pointing to the recent federal budget as evidence of that approach.

    The polling shift comes as One Nation continues to build its electoral presence: earlier this month, the party seated only its second ever lower house federal MP, its first elected outright on a One Nation party ticket, and Pauline Hanson recently unveiled a new gas policy during a campaign visit to South Australia.

  • Large police presence around White House after reports of shots fired: AFP

    Large police presence around White House after reports of shots fired: AFP

    On a Saturday evening in downtown Washington D.C., a sudden report of gunshots near the White House triggered a massive emergency response from law enforcement and national security agencies, sending the complex into lockdown as sitting U.S. President Donald Trump conducted high-stakes negotiations with Iranian officials inside the compound.

    Witnesses and on-site journalists described scenes of chaos immediately after the shots rang out. Reid Adrian, a Canadian tourist visiting the iconic area, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that his group heard what initially sounded like fireworks, but quickly realized the noise was live gunfire. “We heard probably 20 to 25 what sounded like fireworks, but they’re gunshots, and then everyone started running,” Adrian recounted.

    Multiple journalists working on the White House North Lawn at the time of the incident confirmed the chaos via social media platform X. ABC News correspondent Selina Wang, who was filming a social media update when the gunfire began, captured the audio of the repeated shots while diving for cover. “It sounded like dozens of gunshots,” Wang wrote in a post following the incident.

    Within minutes of the first reports, uniformed and plainclothes police officers and Secret Service agents swarmed the perimeter of the White House, establishing tight cordons to block public and media access to the area. National Guard troops deployed to the site intercepted an AFP reporter and barred entry to the locked-down downtown zone. Federal law enforcement leadership confirmed their agencies joined the response shortly after: FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X that the bureau was on-site providing support to the United States Secret Service, which holds primary responsibility for protecting the sitting president and securing White House grounds.

    A spokesperson for the Secret Service told AFP in an initial text statement that the agency was still in the process of collecting details, verifying witness accounts, and securing the area, with no immediate update on potential suspects or casualties. The incident comes against a backdrop of heightened security for Trump, 79, who has already survived three separate reported assassination attempts. The most recent prior attempt took place on April 25, when an armed suspect breached a security checkpoint near a ballroom where Trump was attending a media gala.

  • Journalists run for cover as they report possible gunfire near White House

    Journalists run for cover as they report possible gunfire near White House

    A developing security incident has sent the White House press corps scrambling for cover Wednesday, after multiple journalists on site reported hearing what sounded like gunfire erupt near the presidential compound.

    Video captured by ABC News senior correspondent Selina Wang shows the journalist taking shelter amid a rapid series of loud bangs that echoed across the White House North Lawn. In a post on X following the incident, Wang confirmed that reporting teams were ordered to run immediately to the White House press briefing room, where they remained sheltered as authorities assessed the situation.

    As of the latest update, law enforcement officials have not confirmed the source of the reported gunshots, nor have they verified whether an active threat to the White House or those inside remains. The United States Secret Service, which is the federal agency tasked with protecting the president and the White House complex, confirmed in an official statement to CBS News — the U.S. partner of the BBC — that agents were responding to reports of shots fired at the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, a block adjacent to the White House grounds.

    Spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi stated the agency was working alongside on-site personnel to cross-verify details of the reports. Visual footage from the scene captured by Agence France-Presse via Getty Images shows uniformed police officers sprinting across the area near the White House as the response unfolded. The BBC confirmed it had reached out to the Secret Service, White House officials, and local Washington D.C. police for additional comment and further details on the incident.

    This is an active breaking news story that is being updated in real time as new information becomes available from law enforcement and on-site correspondents. Readers can access instant updates on the incident via the BBC News mobile app for smartphones and tablets, or by following the official @BBCBreaking account on X for real-time alerts.

  • Venezuela’s Machado vows another run for presidency and eyes a return from exile by end of 2026

    Venezuela’s Machado vows another run for presidency and eyes a return from exile by end of 2026

    PANAMA CITY — In a meeting with fellow Venezuelan opposition figures held in Panama on Saturday, María Corina Machado, the exiled Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, made a major political declaration: she will once again seek the Venezuelan presidency, and plans to return to her home country before the close of 2026.

    Machado’s announcement arrives more than four months after a surprising policy shift from the White House, which set aside its previous backing for Machado to instead align with a loyalist from Venezuela’s ruling party following the U.S. military’s capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The opposition figure has lived outside Venezuela since last December, when she left 11 months of hiding within the country to travel to Norway to accept her Nobel Peace Prize.

    Speaking to reporters after the closed-door gathering, Machado emphasized that she and the assembled opposition leaders remain unified in their push for a peaceful democratic transition in Venezuela, a goal she said can only be achieved through “free and fair presidential elections, where all Venezuelans inside and outside the country vote.”

    Despite the opposition’s clear call for open elections, the timeline for a constitutional presidential vote remains murky. Under Venezuela’s constitution, a new election must be held within 30 days of a sitting president becoming permanently unable to serve. But the Trump administration has downplayed and delayed discussions of holding an immediate vote, as it has thrown its support behind Maduro’s successor, acting President Delcy Rodríguez.

    Rodríguez has drawn praise from U.S. President Donald Trump and top White House officials by opening Venezuela’s massive oil sector to expanded American investment at a moment when global oil prices are soaring, driven by ongoing conflict in Iran.

    Machado laid out a clear timeline for organizing a legitimate democratic vote, explaining that a properly run election with full democratic safeguards would require seven to nine months of preparatory work. Key preconditions she outlined include the installation of nonpartisan electoral oversight bodies, updates to national voter registration rolls, and guarantees that all opposition candidates can campaign and appear on the ballot without interference from the ruling government.

    Machado rose to prominence as Maduro’s most formidable political challenger in recent years. Ahead of Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, Maduro’s government issued a ban barring Machado from running for office. In response, she tapped retired ambassador Edmundo González Urrutia to stand in as the opposition’s unity candidate.

    On election night, ruling party officials quickly declared Maduro the winner just hours after polls closed, a move that drew widespread international skepticism. But Machado’s well-coordinated campaign network collected and published independent vote tally evidence showing González had defeated Maduro by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

    On Saturday, Machado reaffirmed her commitment to open competition, saying she would face any other presidential candidate in what she called an “impeccable election.” “I will be a candidate, but there may be others, of course,” she told reporters. “I would love to compete with everyone, with anyone who wants to be a candidate.”

  • Job-creating businesses punished by CGT ‘productivity tax’, Professor Richard Holden says

    Job-creating businesses punished by CGT ‘productivity tax’, Professor Richard Holden says

    Australia’s upcoming changes to the capital gains tax (CGT) regime will disproportionately penalize high-growth, job-creating small businesses while rewarding stagnant, low-productivity firms, a leading Australian economist has warned. Richard Holden, a respected professor of economics at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), has slammed the reforms as a “productivity tax” implemented at the worst possible time, as the nation grapples with a prolonged national productivity crisis. “This is the worst possible plan for a country desperate for more jobs and faster economic growth,” Holden said in his analysis, released publicly on Sunday. “It’s a productivity tax dropped right in the middle of a productivity crisis. The perverse logic of this policy is that it punishes high-productivity businesses for succeeding, scaling up, and creating new work for Australians.”

    To illustrate the inequity of the new framework, Holden modeled the tax outcome for two hypothetical small cleaning businesses launched by a husband-and-wife pair, each started with the couple’s combined $450,000 life savings, and both sold after five years of operation. The first business follows a low-growth trajectory, expanding just 3% annually and adding no new employees beyond the four founding staff over its five years. When sold, the new CGT regime imposes an effective tax rate of 26.6% on the capital gain from the sale. The second business, by contrast, grows 15% each year, scales to six employees, and delivers far stronger output and profit. When sold at the same four-times-fifth-year-profit multiple as the slower-growing business, the effective CGT rate jumps to 41.2% — more than 55% higher than the tax paid by the low-growth enterprise.

    The reforms, passed as part of the federal government’s May 12 budget, will ax the 50% CGT discount introduced in 1999, replacing it with an inflation indexation model applied to all asset classes starting July 1, 2027. The change will apply to investment properties, shares, and privately held small businesses alike. Originally, the Albanese government planned to limit CGT reform solely to residential housing to address a well-documented generational divide in Australian home ownership, a gap that has been confirmed by multiple independent inquiries including a March Senate inquiry report. But just four weeks before budget day, the Department of the Treasury advised the government to extend the changes to all asset classes, a last-minute shift that has triggered sharp criticism from Holden.

    While the CGT changes are the most controversial element of the government’s broader “productivity package”, the budget included a suite of pro-business measures alongside the tax overhaul. Officials made the $20,000 small business instant asset write-off permanent, cut redundant data requests from financial regulators, streamlined national retail tenancy rules, and eliminated Australian Standards access fees for construction, occupational health and safety, and product safety businesses, a change expected to save eligible firms up to $1,600 annually. The budget also expanded tax incentives for venture capital investment and introduced a new loss refundability provision for businesses amending prior year tax returns. In total, the government projects the full productivity package will cut business costs by $10.2 billion per year across the country.

    Many independent analysts have acknowledged the positive elements of the broader package, even as they push back on the scale and impact of the CGT changes. Analysts from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia noted in their post-budget assessment that the red tape cutting and pro-productivity small business measures are welcome changes. Still, they warned that the full suite of reforms is not large enough to materially lift Australia’s long-term economic growth ceiling or resolve the capacity constraints that are currently contributing to persistent domestic inflation.

    Holden called the skewed incentives of the new CGT regime a “profound oversight” that runs directly counter to the government’s stated goal of boosting national productivity, which has averaged just 0.8% annual growth across the last two decades. “Two identical businesses, delivering the exact same service — one highly productive, the other unproductive — will now face vastly different effective capital gains tax rates,” he explained. “Both took a risk, built a business, employed people, and paid taxes, and both sold for the same multiple of annual profit. The only difference is that one business was more productive, and in return, its owners get punished with a tax rate 55% higher than their less productive competitors. Put simply, this new system punishes the businesses most likely to create jobs and grow the economy, and rewards those that are more likely to cut positions and stagnate.”

    Treasurer Jim Chalmers has defended the full package, arguing that the reforms deliver progress on 13 of the 17 priority productivity reform areas identified by the independent Productivity Commission. Making the instant asset write-off permanent will save small businesses 376,000 hours of unnecessary tax compliance work annually, Chalmers said, while cutting duplicative regulatory data requests will save businesses a combined $181 million per year.

  • France bans Ben Gvir after flotilla activists abuse video

    France bans Ben Gvir after flotilla activists abuse video

    A diplomatic storm has erupted across Europe after a widely circulated video exposed Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir overseeing the mistreatment of detained activists from a Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla, prompting France to issue an entry ban on the senior official and throw its support behind EU-level sanctions.\n\nFrench Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced the measure Saturday in a post on X, framing the entry ban as a direct response to Ben Gvir’s “unacceptable conduct towards French and European citizens” during last week’s Israeli raid on the aid flotilla, which took place in international waters. Barrot clarified that while Paris does not endorse the activists’ mission to deliver humanitarian aid to blockaded Gaza, the harsh treatment the detainees received crosses a fundamental line. “We cannot tolerate French nationals being threatened, intimidated or subjected to violence in this way, especially by a public official,” he wrote. He added that Ben Gvir’s actions during the raid are only the latest in “a long series of shocking statements and actions, as well as incitement to hatred and violence against Palestinians.” Barrot also confirmed France backs an Italian call for the European Union to impose formal sanctions on the minister.\n\nThe incident that triggered the international backlash stems from last week’s Israeli naval intercept of the flotilla, which was carrying hundreds of activists attempting to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid to Gaza. Ben Gvir personally released a video of his presence during the detention of the activists, a move that made the incident unavoidable on the global diplomatic stage. The footage shows Ben Gvir waving an Israeli flag and taunting the detainees while Israeli security forces force hundreds of handcuffed activists to kneel with their faces to the ground.\n\nThe video has sparked widespread global condemnation, with multiple European governments summoning Israeli ambassadors to protest the treatment of their citizens. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called the captured scenes “totally disgraceful,” while Turkish officials accused Israel of demonstrating a “violent and barbaric mindset.”\n\nIn the aftermath of the raid, Israeli authorities detained more than 430 activists before deporting nearly all of them by Thursday, with only one Israeli citizen held. Multiple released activists have since come forward with detailed allegations of severe abuse, including torture and sexual assault, while in Israeli custody.\n\nItalian journalist Alessandro Mantovani, one of the deported activists, described his experience to reporters at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport: “We were taken to Ben Gurion airport in handcuffs and with chains on our feet and put on a flight to Athens.” He added that Israeli soldiers “beat us up… They kicked us and punched us and shouted ‘Welcome to Israel’.”\n\nMiriam Azem, a representative of the Israeli human rights organization Adalah, reported that one detainee “was forced to strip naked and run while guards were laughing.” Another female activist described being bound so tightly with handcuffs that she lost feeling in her hands, and recalled that Israeli soldiers “laughed all the time. Super sadistic. They took off my shirt, took pictures. Mistreated us all night long.”\n\nDr. Margaret Connolly, sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly and one of the detained activists, drew a sharp parallel while speaking to Ireland’s RTE Radio, saying the experience gave activists “a feeling of what the Jews felt like during the Second World War,” and that Israel was “now acting like a Nazi state.”

  • Peru’s Catholic Church holds a symbolic ceremony in apology for Indigenous land dispossession

    Peru’s Catholic Church holds a symbolic ceremony in apology for Indigenous land dispossession

    LIMA, Peru – Decades of unaddressed harm and land disputes came to a pivotal moment Saturday, when top Catholic leaders in Peru gathered with Indigenous Tallán people in the northern community of Catacaos to offer a formal, long-delayed apology for land dispossession carried out by the now-disbanded Sodalitium Christianae Vitae.

    Founded in 1971 as a conservative counter-movement to the left-leaning liberation theology that spread across Latin America in the 1960s, Sodalitium grew to become one of Peru’s most influential religious societies, boasting roughly 20,000 members across South America and the United States at its peak. But the organization’s reputation collapsed after decades of hidden misconduct came to light, leading to its full dissolution by the late Pope Francis in 2025. A sweeping Vatican investigation uncovered a pattern of severe abuses, including sexual exploitation by the group’s founder Luis Figari, systemic financial mismanagement by senior leadership, and widespread spiritual abuse against members.

    Calls for accountability first emerged in 2011, when former Sodalitium members submitted formal abuse allegations against Figari to the Archdiocese of Lima. For years, however, neither local church authorities nor the Holy See took meaningful action. It was not until 2015, when a survivor and an independent journalist published a book detailing the group’s wrongdoings, that pressure for a full investigation became impossible to ignore. After an unsuccessful internal reform attempt, Pope Francis dispatched two of his most trusted investigators – Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, who led Saturday’s ceremony, and Archbishop Charles Scicluna – to probe the claims. Their final report exposed a troubling culture of “sadistic,” sect-like abuse of power, misappropriation of church funds, and coordinated harassment of whistleblowers and critics.

    Saturday’s ceremony marked a long-overdue step toward repairing harm that extends far beyond internal religious abuse, to the displacement of Indigenous and rural communities in Catacaos. Land disputes between the Tallán people and Sodalitium-linked entities stretch back more than 10 years, after companies tied to the group launched legal eviction proceedings to seize thousands of hectares of land held by local farmers, through a series of property transfers that the community has never legally recognized. Dozens of local farmers were charged with criminal usurpation in the wake of the claims, and two community land rights leaders were shot and killed during violent clashes over the eviction efforts.

    Addressing a packed congregation of community members and church leaders, Bertomeu, the apostolic commissioner who oversaw Sodalitium’s dissolution, offered an unflinching acknowledgment of the church’s decades-long failure to act. “We are here to ask for your forgiveness in the name of the Church,” he said. “We are late. We should have come 20 years ago, and we are truly sorry. Forgive us, offer us your forgiveness, because we too need it.” Bertomeu also shared a message of solidarity the late Pope Francis sent to the Catacaos community in 2024, which read: “Fight for your lands, I am with you.”

    The historic ceremony comes months after the Peruvian Episcopal Conference confirmed that Pope Leo XIV is considering a visit to the South American nation before the end of the year. Tania Pariona, secretary of Peru’s National Human Rights Commission, framed the event as a groundbreaking step for accountability in the country. She noted that the church’s gesture puts it far ahead of Peru’s national government, which she said has repeatedly failed to uphold the land rights of rural and Indigenous communities. Describing Catacaos as a community still “fearful and broken” after decades of conflict, Bertomeu’s apology opens a new chapter in reckoning with the harm caused by one of Latin America’s most influential fallen Catholic organizations.

  • How the ‘Netflix effect’ is hampering a generation’s Australian dream

    How the ‘Netflix effect’ is hampering a generation’s Australian dream

    For generations, the Great Australian Dream – owning a fully paid-off home by retirement – stood as a defining life goal for working people across the country. Once widely achievable for most households, this long-held ambition has grown increasingly out of reach for younger generations today, driven by a toxic mix of skyrocketing property values and a shifting cultural attitude toward consumption and instant access that financial experts have dubbed the “Netflix effect.”

    Unlike the structural economic pressure of housing costs that have outstripped real wage growth for decades, the Netflix effect describes a broader cultural shift away from delayed gratification, a core value that allowed previous generations to slowly build wealth and save for a down payment on a home. Today’s young people, raised in an on-demand economy defined by streaming services like Netflix, ride-hailing apps such as Uber, and constant instant digital access, have grown accustomed to getting what they want immediately – a mindset that financial industry leaders argue is spilling over into long-term financial planning.

    Adelaide-based mortgage expert Marissa Schulze, founder of High Rise Financial Solutions, explains that the generational gap in expectation traces directly to this cultural shift. “When older generations were growing up, they had to wait for things – whether that was waiting until next week for the next episode of their favourite sitcom. They come to learn that good things come to those who wait,” Schulze said. “But nowadays, people are so much more use to having things now and at their convenience, through things like Uber and Netflix.”

    This constant access to instant satisfaction, she added, has eroded young people’s intuitive understanding of the value of long-term saving, making it far harder for many to set aside the funds needed for a property down payment. Even so, Schulze stressed that the Australian dream is not dead – just harder to reach than it was for previous generations. “It certainly is a lot harder for young people to save for a deposit, that is the big part, but it is still possible,” she noted. “I think maybe young people as a result of changing ideas and values do perhaps have less realistic expectations for what they want in a first home and so are less prepared to have a home as a first step then trade up. But I do also think there is a greater need to be more disciplined about saving, and lots of young people are.”

    That assessment is echoed by Sean Lee, director of Finance Quarter, who argues that the “want it now” mindset that defines modern culture comes with a tangible long-term cost. Lee points to social media as a key amplifier of this attitude, encouraging young people to take on debt for discretionary purchases ranging from new cars to international vacations just because they can qualify for borrowing. Small recurring costs, from multiple streaming subscriptions to monthly gym memberships, also add up over time, eating into funds that could otherwise go toward a housing deposit.

    “Social media in particular has created a culture where we want things now – so people may borrow for a new car or a holiday just because they can,” Lee explained. “This type of lifestyle makes it far more difficult to save up for a deposit. Things like subscription services and gym memberships do not sound a lot, but it does all add up. We have a ‘want it now’ society, but that does come at a price.”

    Like Schulze, Lee confirms that the dream remains achievable, but it looks different today than it did for older generations. It requires far more intentional financial planning, and is particularly challenging for single buyers, he said, adding that improved financial literacy education would go a long way to helping young people reach their goals. He also acknowledged that structural economic factors play a major role: in many parts of Australia, property prices have jumped 50% to 100% over just the past five years, a surge that average wage growth has nowhere near kept up with.

    Veteran financial advisor Peter White of the Financial Brokers Association of Australia, who has worked with first-time home buyers for 47 years, said saving for a deposit has always been challenging, even for previous generations. The biggest difference today, he argues, is the soaring cost of everyday living that leaves less disposable income for saving. To make the dream work, modern first-time buyers must be willing to compromise on location and size, he said.

    “It may be that you have to come to terms with not being able to buy in the same area as your mum and dad – you may have to move to a different suburb or something smaller,” White said. “Saving in the modern world is quite different to what it once was and it is a lot harder to do – and there’s always something that makes it harder. I do think we’ve become a bit more relaxed and prefer to have things the easy way than the hard.”

    His top advice for aspiring homeowners? Set realistic expectations, start saving immediately, and be prepared to make short-term sacrifices, such as taking on extra work to build up funds. He also reminds buyers to account for extra closing costs that can add up to roughly 5% of a home’s purchase price on top of the down payment.

    Ben Kingsley, managing director of Empower Wealth, echoes the call for adjusted expectations, emphasizing that younger buyers should not expect to purchase their ideal forever home as their first property. Instead, he encourages buyers to get on the property ladder with a more affordable entry-level home, then build equity to trade up to a larger or more desirable property later in life. That first step is particularly challenging for buyers who want to settle in major Australian capital cities, where prices have risen fastest, he noted.

    “Getting that deposit is definitely getting harder and harder,” Kingsley said. “However, if you trade down your expectations, you also trade down the size of the deposit you need and then have your first step. What you are finding is that people are coming into home ownership later in life. A big question is whether there is any sense of delayed gratification nowadays? The truth is, if you want the dream to become a reality, you are going to have to be prepared to buckle down.”