For days, Neukgu, a young two-year-old wolf, held South Korea’s public interest captive after breaking free from its enclosure at a Daejeon metropolitan zoo. The unexpected escape sparked immediate coordinated search efforts across residential and wooded areas surrounding the urban zoo, as local officials and wildlife teams worked around the clock to track down the missing predator. News of the at-large wolf spread rapidly across South Korean social media and national news outlets, turning the small-scale wildlife incident into a major talking point that captured the attention of people across the entire country. After days of intensive searching, authorities have now confirmed that the runaway wolf has been found, bringing an end to the public anxiety and widespread curiosity that surrounded the days-long search. While additional details about the wolf’s condition during its time on the run and the exact circumstances of its escape are still emerging, the successful location of Neukgu has reassured local residents who had expressed concerns about potential safety risks from a wild carnivore roaming near populated areas.
作者： admin
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‘Pretty unfair’: Shane Flanagan hits back at criticism of how he’s handled Loko Pasifiki Tonga as he urges Dragons fans to remain loyal
Six consecutive opening-season losses and a recent 10-match losing skid have pushed St George Illawarra Dragons head coach Shane Flanagan into the spotlight, with his job security and the future of young talent Loko Pasifiki Tonga dominating headlines this week. As the club prepares to face South Sydney Rabbitohs this Saturday, Flanagan has made a public appeal to the club’s passionate fanbase to stand by the team through its rough patch.
St George Illawarra’s poor form, which has seen the side struggle for consistent attacking spark throughout the losing run, was compounded by recent confirmation that star edge forward Jaydn Su’A will depart the club by 2027. Disgruntled supporters have taken to social media in droves to criticize the club’s direction, with online circulations of petitions demanding sweeping changes that include removing both Flanagan and the club’s board from their positions.
A premiership-winning coach with the Dragons back in 2016, Flanagan acknowledged the widespread frustration among fans, saying no one at the club is satisfied with the current results. “Nobody’s happy with what’s happened. We are not trying to cover over it. I know how passionate the Dragons fans are,” he told reporters. “We’ve just got to fight our way out of it. Hopefully the Dragons fans can see that. Time will tell, but all I ask is that they stay solid. This club is a great club. We’re trying to fight our way out of a hole at the moment and we need them behind us.”
Flanagan’s situation is the latest high-profile example of the intense coaching pressure that has defined the early stages of this NRL season. Just weeks into the year, Manly Sea Eagles cut ties with head coach Anthony Seibold after three opening losses, a decision that has sparked an immediate turnaround for the club: interim coach Kieran Foran has led the side to an unbeaten run since taking over.
Veteran South Sydney Rabbitohs head coach Wayne Bennett, who will go head-to-head with Flanagan this weekend, shared his perspective on the relentless scrutiny that comes with elite rugby league coaching. “I feel for all coaches,” he said. “I feel the day they sign their contracts is the day they sign their dismissal as well, so that’s the business we’re in. We apply for the jobs, we want the opportunities, and you’ve got to take the good with the bad, so it’s just the job we’re in. I’ve been coaching a long time, they were trying to sack me back in 1977, so nothing’s changed really.”
Alongside addressing questions about his own future, Flanagan also pushed back on recent public speculation surrounding 20-year-old forward Loko Pasifiki Tonga, who requested an early release from the club that was ultimately denied by St George Illawarra’s management. The young front-rower has impressed in reserve grade, notching one try and a massive 252 running metres in his most recent NSW Cup outing, but has grown frustrated after failing to add to his 10 NRL appearances so far this season.
Flanagan explained the club’s decision to keep Pasifiki Tonga in reserve grade was a deliberate plan to build his match fitness, noting the timeline was disrupted by a bye week and a scary on-training incident that saw the youngster rushed to hospital in an ambulance after a neck injury scare. “I signed and re-signed Loko and have a high opinion of him,” Flanagan said. “Some of the commentary around it was pretty unfair on the club because at the club we value him because he’s a 20-year-old front-rower who we’re looking after.”
Despite the overwhelming outside noise surrounding the club this week, Flanagan said the playing group has remained focused, and understands the only way to silence critics is to secure a win this weekend. “There’s so much outside noise at the moment, but the playing group have been really good. They’ve been solid, they understand what’s going on and understand to stop the noise, you need to go and win a football game. We’ve knuckled down and trained hard, and that’s all I can ask for.”
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Wrexham’s Hollywood takeover fuels economic boom
Five years ago, the small northern Welsh city of Wrexham was best known for a struggling football club mired in the fifth tier of English football, with a stagnant local economy and little global recognition. That all changed in 2020, when Hollywood A-listers Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds completed their takeover of Wrexham AFC — and set in motion a transformation that has reshaped the club, the city, and even the wider region.
What began as an unconventional celebrity investment has turned into a modern fairytale, with success stretching far beyond the white lines of the pitch. On the field, Wrexham has secured three consecutive promotions, climbing from the depths of non-league football to the Championship, England’s second tier. With just four matches left in the current season, the side sits just one spot outside the playoff places, narrowly vying for a historic fourth promotion and a spot in the Premier League. Even in defeat, the club has captured global attention: earlier this season, they pushed top-flight Chelsea to the brink of an upset in the FA Cup, earning widespread praise for their grit and underdog spirit.
Off the pitch, the impact has been even more dramatic. The hit Disney+ documentary series *Welcome to Wrexham*, which chronicles the club’s rebuild and the new owners’ journey into lower-league football, has ignited a surge of interest across North America, drawing tens of thousands of international visitors to the city each year. Tourism data confirms the boom: annual tourism income in the area has doubled to £200 million ($271 million), and local industry leaders say that figure may be a conservative estimate.
Sam Regan, owner of Wrexham’s popular Lemon Tree hotel and restaurant and chair of local tourism board This is Wrecsam, says international visitors now make up a core part of local business. “Year round now about 20 percent of my accommodation is filled with American and Canadian guests, but when the home games are on, pretty much 80 percent is international visitors,” Regan explained. On match days, iconic local spots like The Turf pub, located steps from Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground, fill with fans drawn from across the Atlantic — from Virginia to Vancouver — all eager to experience the club’s magic in person.
Unlike some rapid tourist booms that spark local resentment, the “Rob and Ryan effect” has been widely embraced by long-time Wrexham residents and lifelong fans. James Townshend, a 30-year-old sales trainer and lifelong Wrexham supporter, says the entire local community has benefited from the renewed energy. “Every business around here now feels the buzz of Wrexham,” Townshend said. “Wrexham wouldn’t be where they are now without them, so we have to embrace and appreciate what these fans are bringing to the area.”
That affection for the city is shared even by new international fans, many of whom had never heard of Wrexham before watching the documentary. Becki Hendricks, a 51-year-old programme analyst from Virginia, has now visited Wrexham seven times since first watching the show — and she and her husband are even considering relocating permanently to the city. “We started with the documentary, yes. My life-long friends are here now,” Hendricks said. “Wrexham is a part of our hearts and part of our souls now.”
While a fourth consecutive promotion may prove out of reach this season, the club is already investing heavily for long-term growth, in anticipation of eventually reaching the Premier League. A new 7,500-seat state-of-the-art stand is currently under construction at the Racecourse Ground, set to open next year and bring the stadium’s total capacity to 18,000. The expanded facility will also allow Wrexham to once again host Wales international matches, bringing more visitors and revenue to the region.
Club CEO Michael Williamson told AFP the transformation runs far deeper than commercial growth. “This has had an impact that goes beyond just football. It has had an impact on the entire community,” Williamson said. “It has helped create jobs and opportunities within the community, but it’s also more importantly just inspired people and reestablished hope.”
For long-time observers who lived through 15 years of the club languishing in the fifth tier, the most visible change is a new wave of local civic pride. Richard Williams, a journalist who has covered the club for 20 years, notes the shift in how the city sees itself. “Just the fact that you go around the town and it used to be little kids in Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal shirts. Now it’s Wrexham, Wrexham, Wrexham everywhere,” Williams said. “So, the vibe, the feel-good factor around the town, it’s just absolutely phenomenal.”
The success of Reynolds and McElhenney’s experiment has also sparked a wider trend, with other American celebrities jumping to invest in lower-tier English football. Rapper Snoop Dogg now holds a minority stake in Swansea City, while NFL legend Tom Brady is an investor in Birmingham City — who even defeated Wrexham in an exhibition match last weekend.
Local councillor Nigel Williams says the Wrexham model has set a new benchmark for celebrity overseas investment, proving that it can deliver broad, shared benefits rather than just personal branding. As tourism board leader Regan puts it, the city’s reputation has been completely remade: “Before people knew Wrexham for problems like anti-social behaviour,” Regan added. “Now we are known worldwide and people are proud to be from here.”
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Former President Win Myint freed in broad Myanmar prisoner amnesty
BANGKOK, Thailand — In a clemency announcement tied to Myanmar’s traditional New Year celebrations, ousted former President Win Myint, a close ally of deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, has been released from prison as part of a mass prisoner amnesty ordered by newly inaugurated military head Min Aung Hlaing, state-run media confirmed Friday.
The pardon covers more than 4,500 incarcerated people overall, including 4,335 domestic detainees and nearly 180 foreign nationals who will be deported after their release. However, officials have offered no confirmation that the 80-year-old Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s pre-coup civilian leader, will be included in the full pardon. Under accompanying sentence adjustments announced alongside the amnesty, Suu Kyi’s existing 27-year combined sentence will be reduced by four and a half years, leaving her with 22 and a half years remaining to serve. An anonymous senior military official based in Naypyitaw, speaking to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not cleared to share the information, added that Suu Kyi will be transferred from prison detention to house arrest as part of the clemency measures. She has already been moved to house arrest at least once earlier this April while serving her sentence at an undisclosed location in the capital.
Win Myint, a steadfast loyalist of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, was elected to the presidency in 2018. He was taken into custody on February 1, 2021, the same day the Myanmar military seized power in a coup that ousted the elected civilian government and detained both Win Myint and Suu Kyi. He was ultimately convicted on multiple counts carrying a combined 12-year prison term, a sentence that was already reduced to eight years in 2023. State-run MRTV television confirmed that Win Myint, who was held at a prison in Bago Region’s Taungoo township, had received the amnesty and was released.
Outside Yangon’s Insein Prison, a major detention facility for political detainees, crowds of relatives and friends gathered from pre-dawn to greet buses carrying newly freed prisoners. Among those released was prominent filmmaker Shin Daewe, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment under Myanmar’s controversial counterterrorism law just months earlier in January 2024.
The mass amnesty comes exactly one week after Min Aung Hlaing was sworn in as president, following an election that critics across the international community have widely denounced as neither free nor fair, designed explicitly to cement the military’s authoritarian hold on national power. In his inauguration address last week, Min Aung Hlaing framed the planned amnesties as a step toward advancing national social reconciliation, justice, and peace, and supporting broader development across the country.
Mass prisoner releases during major national holidays and state events are a long-standing tradition in Myanmar. However, the clemency announcement comes amid a protracted nationwide conflict that has followed the 2021 coup. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent human rights monitoring group that tracks political detentions and casualties, nearly 8,000 civilians have been killed since the military takeover, and roughly 22,170 political detainees — including Suu Kyi — remain behind bars. Independent estimates put the total death toll from ongoing conflict across the country far higher.
Many detainees are held on vague incitement charges, under a law routinely weaponized to target critics of the military-led government that carries a maximum three-year prison sentence. Others have been prosecuted under the counterterrorism statute, which allows for the death penalty and has been used to target political opponents, armed resistance members, journalists, and other dissidents. All released detainees are subject to a key release condition: if they commit any new offense after being freed, they will be required to serve the full remainder of their original sentence in addition to any new penalty handed down for the later crime. The amnesty also included broader sentence adjustments for all remaining detainees: all death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment, life sentences were reduced to fixed 40-year terms, and any prison term shorter than 40 years was cut by one-sixth of its original length.
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Macron and Starmer hold international summit on reopening the Strait of Hormuz
PARIS — When the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical global energy chokepoints, was effectively closed by Iran following the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, the resulting disruption rippled through every corner of the global economy. This Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will convene a high-level summit in Paris to advance a multinational initiative to reopen the waterway, a diplomatic and security effort that notably excludes the United States.
The gathering marks the most visible step yet by non-belligerent nations that have chosen not to join the ongoing conflict to mitigate its widespread global spillover. Since Iran closed the strait — through which roughly 20% of all global crude oil shipments pass daily — global energy markets have swung sharply, dragging already fragile economic growth down and pushing up inflation worldwide. The new initiative, officially named the Strait of Hormuz Maritime Freedom of Navigation Initiative, has been planned entirely without input or participation from the U.S. government.
Macron laid out the core parameters of the mission in a pre-summit post on social media platform X, emphasizing that the effort will be strictly limited to defensive operations, open only to countries that are not active participants in the current conflict, and will only be deployed once on-the-ground security conditions permit.
Starmer, who has publicly accused Iran of holding the entire global economy hostage, has joined Macron in spearheading both diplomatic outreach and preliminary military planning for the initiative. The stakes have grown even higher following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a full retaliatory blockade on Iranian ports, a move that has deepened global economic uncertainty and energy market volatility. Ahead of the summit, Starmer framed the urgency of the action, stating, “The unconditional and immediate reopening of the Strait is a global responsibility, and we need to act to get global energy and trade flowing freely again.”
Preliminary military planning for the mission has been underway for weeks, mirroring the structure of the coalition of the willing assembled to support Ukraine during its conflict with Russia. French military spokesperson Colonel Guillaume Vernet confirmed Thursday that the mission framework remains a work in progress. A senior anonymous official, speaking in line with French presidency protocol, outlined the core practical needs of the operation: ship operators must have full confidence that their vessels will not be targeted when transiting the strait, which may require sharing real-time intelligence, mine-clearing support, military escort capability, and standardized communication protocols with coastal states.
Independent defense and Iran experts have weighed in on the mission’s likely scope, noting that large-scale escorted transits are unfeasible for participating nations. Sidharth Kaushal, a sea power research fellow at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, explained that full tanker escort operations would require a far larger fleet than any coalition of participating countries could assemble. “You need huge numbers of vessels for that sort of thing, which nobody has,” Kaushal noted. Instead, experts point to mine-clearing and the development of a shared maritime threat warning system as the coalition’s most realistic core roles.
Ellie Geranmayeh, Iran expert and deputy head of the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations, added that European-led participation carries a key strategic advantage over U.S. involvement. “They would be a better party to do this than the United States, because once you have U.S. military doing this and lingering on Iranian shores, it creates a potential arena for Iran and the U.S. to have miscalculations and get back into a sort of military tension,” she explained.
Military preparations have already begun. Britain has outlined plans to test mine-hunting drones deployed from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Lyme Bay, while France — which fields the European Union’s most capable military — has already moved its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, a helicopter carrier, and multiple frigates to the region. Britain’s current force posture in the region highlights the constraints on the coalition: the Royal Navy currently has only one major warship, the destroyer HMS Dragon, deployed to the eastern Mediterranean.
Over 40 countries have participated in preliminary diplomatic and planning meetings led by Paris and London in recent weeks, though far fewer are expected to commit dedicated military resources to the mission. Around 30 countries will attend Friday’s summit in Paris, including nations from the Middle East and Asia. The full attendee list has not been publicly released, but German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have confirmed they will attend in person, with other participating leaders joining via video conference.
The initiative itself is widely viewed as a partial response to Trump’s public criticism of U.S. allies, who he has berated for refusing to join the war against Iran. Trump has repeatedly argued that reopening the strait is not America’s responsibility, has called allied leaders “cowards,” and attacked the alliance, claiming that “NATO wasn’t there when we needed them.” He even went so far as to mock Britain’s military capabilities, claiming “You don’t even have a navy.”
For many participating European nations, the summit also represents an opportunity to demonstrate the ability to deliver regional security independent of U.S. leadership. “I imagine there’ll be some desire on the part of many European states, and potentially Canada, to demonstrate the ability to provide security in a way that’s distinct from if not completely separate from the U.S. and which also demonstrates a capacity for independent action,” Kaushal said. Still, he noted that the actual level of military capacity nations will be able to commit remains an open question.
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Ex-Philippines MP arrested in Prague over corruption scandal
In a major breakthrough in one of the Philippines’ most high-profile corruption probes, Philippine authorities have confirmed the arrest of former legislator Zaldy Co, a central suspect in a multi-billion dollar flood control project scandal, in the Czech Republic.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced Thursday that local law enforcement in Prague detained Co shortly after he entered the country with invalid documentation. The former House of Representatives member, who held his seat from 2019 until stepping down last September, had been a fugitive outside the Philippines since July 2025, according to local Philippine media reports. Last year, Philippine officials revoked his passport and issued a red notice through Interpol to aid in his capture.
Co stands accused of accepting illegal kickbacks from what investigators have labeled “ghost” flood control infrastructure projects — non-existent or shoddily completed works that have drained an estimated $2 billion from the national economy. The scandal burst into public view last year, when severe flooding across the archipelago upended millions of lives, triggering widespread public anger and massive anti-corruption protests across the country, as residents questioned why government flood control investments had failed to protect communities.
The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in Southeast Asia, facing an average of 20 tropical storms and typhoons annually that bring regular, deadly flood events. In November 2025 alone, Typhoon Kalmaegi triggered catastrophic flooding across entire towns on the central island of Cebu, leaving at least 85 people dead. The failure of flood protection systems during that event amplified public calls for accountability for the decades of siphoned public funds meant for infrastructure resilience.
The arrest comes with a key legal hurdle: the Philippines and the Czech Republic do not share a formal extradition treaty, leaving Co’s repatriation uncertain for the moment. Despite that challenge, President Marcos emphasized that Philippine officials are maintaining close, ongoing coordination with the Czech government to navigate all required legal processes and secure Co’s return to Manila as quickly as possible.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla told reporters in a Friday radio interview that he remains optimistic, projecting Co could be back in Philippine custody within one to three months.
Co is not the only high-profile figure tied to the sprawling scandal. Other implicated individuals include the sitting Speaker of the House of Representatives, who has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing, and a former Senate president who was ousted from his leadership post after it was revealed that a infrastructure contractor had made large donations to his election campaign shortly before winning a major government flood control contract.
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One Nation MP survives missing votes scare to win marginal SA seat
Nearly a month after South Australia held its state election, a surprising development upended the final result of the state’s tightest electoral contest: more than 80 previously uncounted ballots were uncovered in the Narungga district, triggering a last-minute re-count that threatened to unseat a newly elected One Nation candidate. The district had already cemented its place as the most marginal seat in the state after the initial count gave One Nation’s Chantelle Thomas a razor-thin 58-vote lead over her closest competitor, a margin so narrow that political observers widely expected a potential reversal when the missing votes were added. Contrary to widespread speculation, however, the final full count only strengthened Thomas’s hold on the seat. After all ballots were tallied, her winning margin expanded slightly to 73 votes, allowing the first-term One Nation MP to hold onto her seat and avoid what would have been one of the most dramatic post-election upsets in recent South Australian political history. The discovery of the misplaced votes has drawn quiet attention to electoral administration protocols in the state, though no official calls for a broader inquiry have emerged as of yet. Further updates on the post-election process are expected to be released in the coming days.
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‘It’s a tricky one’: Michael Maguire backs Grant Anderson to thrive in NZ as Broncos coach confirms young gun will make his NRL debut
The Brisbane Broncos have been hit by an unprecedented injury crisis at the hooker position that has forced a major shake-up ahead of this weekend’s clash with the Wests Tigers, and the unprecedented shortage has opened the door for promising young prospect Cameron Bukowski to make his long-awaited National Rugby League (NRL) debut. Head coach Michael Maguire has thrown full support behind the 20-something rookie, insisting Bukowski is more than prepared to handle the intensity of top-flight rugby league after cutting his teeth against the Broncos’ biggest stars in daily training sessions.
The injury crisis began last weekend during Brisbane’s high-scoring loss to the North Queensland Cowboys, when starting hooker Cory Paix sustained a head knock that was initially classified as a category one concussion. While Broncos medical staff worked to clear Paix to feature against the Tigers, an independent specialist tasked with approving concussion-related returns declined to reverse the ruling, immediately ruling Paix out of Saturday’s road fixture in Sydney.
Paix’s absence is just the latest blow for Brisbane at the dummy-half position: the defending NRL premiers are already without established hookers Billy Walters, Ben Hunt, and Blake Mozer, all sidelined by separate injury issues. The injury toll extends far beyond the hooker role, with key starting stars Reece Walsh and Patrick Carrigan also ruled out of the trip to face the Tigers, who enter the clash sitting high on the competition ladder on the back of a stunning five-game winning run under new head coach Benji Marshall.
With all experienced hookers unavailable, Bukowski will get his shot off the bench this Saturday, with utility Josh Rogers tapped to start in the position. Maguire says the rookie, a former Queensland Under-19s State of Origin representative, has earned his opportunity after years of development through the Broncos’ academy system, located just across from the club’s main training facility. For two to three years, Bukowski has been tasked with tackling Brisbane’s powerhouse forwards Carrigan and Payne Haas in daily training drills – a trial by fire that Maguire says has him fully prepared for his first NRL outing.
“Cam has been here the entire time I’ve been head coach, and even before I arrived,” Maguire told reporters this week. “He grew up in our academy program, worked his way through the ranks, and this opportunity is a real testament to the work both he and our development staff have put in. He’s been matching up against Patty and Payne every day in training for years – he’s more than ready to step out on Saturday.”
Another Bronco on the injury list is winger Grant Anderson, who moved to Brisbane from the Melbourne Storm during this year’s off-season and is set to miss another two months with a serious knee injury. Anderson recently made headlines for signing a three-year contract to join the New Zealand Warriors starting in the 2027 NRL season, a deal that will see representative forward Mitch Barnett move to Brisbane in exchange.
Maguire described the contract move as a transformative moment for Anderson, noting that long-term big-money deals at the NRL level are rare for fringe squad players, and the opportunity to secure a starting spot long-term at the Warriors was one the club was happy to let him pursue. “It’s a life-changing opportunity for him and his family,” Maguire said. “When you work as hard as he has to put yourself in this position, it’s great to see a player get rewarded with a contract like that – they don’t come around every day. Grant is a quality person, and he’s going to keep working hard for us while he’s here, even with this move locked in for down the line. Unfortunately, injuries happen, and this one came at a bad time for him.”
Heading into the weekend clash, the severely depleted Broncos enter the game as clear underdogs, and they know they have major improvements to make after conceding 35 points in last week’s loss to the Cowboys. The Tigers, by contrast, have hit top form under Marshall, playing an expansive, free-flowing style of attacking football that has climbed them up the ladder. Their attack got even more dangerous this week with star five-eighth Jarome Luai cleared to return from his own injury layoff, adding another elite playmaker to an already dangerous forward and back line.
Maguire acknowledged that his side faces a huge test on Saturday, but said the focus this week has been on tightening up defensive efficiency rather than simply adding more physical intensity to their game. “We just need to be better across the board,” he said. “It isn’t about being more aggressive, it’s about executing our game plan more effectively, and we’ve worked on that all week. We know what to expect from the Tigers – they play an open, attacking style, they move the ball around really well, and Saturday will be no different. We have to be ready for whatever they throw at us.”
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Harry and Meghan meet Bondi shooting survivors
Four days into their first private visit to Australia since stepping back as working British royals in 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, made a meaningful stop at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach to connect with those impacted by the December 2024 antisemitic shooting that left 15 people dead and dozens more injured.
The couple’s first official engagement on Friday morning brought them to the Bondi Surf Bathers’ Life Saving Club, where they held private conversations with two survivors of the attack: Jessica Chapnik Khan and Elon Zizer, both of whom credited quick thinking and community support for saving their children’s lives during the mass shooting at an on-beach Hanukkah gathering.
They also sat down with the club’s volunteer lifeguards, a group that has been widely celebrated as national heroes for their quick, brave actions to shield beachgoers and move civilians to safety during the chaotic attack. Representatives from the Sydney Jewish Museum, which is currently preparing a special commemorative exhibition honoring the victims and first responders of the tragedy, also joined the meeting. A spokesperson for the museum described the royal couple’s gesture of solidarity as “really special” for a community still processing the attack.
After the heartfelt meeting at Bondi, the Duke and Duchess moved on to their next engagement, where they were greeted by crowds of cheering fans lining the steps of the Sydney Opera House. The couple boarded a private vessel for a sailing event hosted by Invictus Australia, the national affiliate of the Invictus Games — an international adaptive sporting competition Prince Harry founded in 2014 for wounded, injured, and sick military veterans and service personnel. It was during Harry and Meghan’s 2018 official royal tour that the pair first announced Australia would host a future iteration of the Invictus Games.
This visit marks the couple’s first time back on Australian soil since that 2018 official tour, and they are undertaking the entire trip in a private, non-working capacity, separate from the formal duties of the British Royal Family. The stop at Bondi Beach, however, has drawn widespread praise from Australian community leaders for centering the needs of the affected community rather than formal ceremonial obligations.
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Australian soldier accused of war crimes in Afghanistan granted bail
In a high-profile development that has rocked Australia’s national security and military establishment, a once-revered former Australian special forces soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, has been granted bail by a Sydney court more than a decade after his alleged unlawful killings of unarmed detainees in Afghanistan. Once one of Australia’s most decorated war heroes, Roberts-Smith has now gone from being celebrated as a national icon to standing as a defendant in one of the most consequential war crimes cases in the nation’s history.
Roberts-Smith first became a household name across Australia in 2011, when he was awarded the Victoria Cross – the country’s highest honor for wartime gallantry, reserved only for acts of extraordinary courage in combat. In the years that followed, his fame extended far beyond military circles: he met Queen Elizabeth II, his portrait was hung in the Australian War Memorial, and he was even named Australia’s “Father of the Year” in 2013.
But cracks in his public reputation began to emerge in 2018, when two major Australian publications, *The Age* and *The Sydney Morning Herald*, published a series of investigative reports linking Roberts-Smith to systemic war crimes in Afghanistan. The outlets alleged that between 2009 and 2012, during Australia’s deployment to the country as part of the US- and NATO-led counter-terrorism mission, Roberts-Smith participated in multiple unlawful killings of unarmed captives. The most shocking claims included that he kicked an unarmed Afghan civilian off a cliff before ordering his subordinates to shoot the man, and that he and other soldiers used the prosthetic leg of a man killed by machine gun fire as a drinking trophy.
Roberts-Smith has consistently denied all allegations against him from the moment they were first made public. In response to the 2018 reports, he launched a multi-million dollar defamation suit against the two newspapers, seeking to clear his name. However, the legal backfired dramatically: in 2023, a judge ruled that the core claims made by the journalists were “substantially true”, in a civil ruling that severely undermined his public defense. That civil proceeding carried a lower standard of proof than the criminal charges Roberts-Smith now faces.
The broader context for these charges stretches back to 2020, when a landmark independent public inquiry into Australian military conduct in Afghanistan – the Brereton Report – exposed a pattern of systemic abuse among elite special forces units deployed to the country. The report detailed grave accusations of torture, extrajudicial summary executions, and even “body count” competitions, where competing units sought to kill more unarmed detainees than one another. Over two decades of deployment, Australia sent 39,000 troops to Afghanistan to fight against the Taliban and other militant insurgent groups.
Earlier this month, Australian prosecutors formally charged Roberts-Smith with five counts of war crime murder, alleging he was complicit in a string of unlawful killings between 2009 and 2012. After spending 10 days in pre-trial detention, the former soldier was granted bail on Friday, in a ruling delivered by Judge Greg Grogin. Grogin noted that the complex nature of the case means Roberts-Smith would face “years and years” of pre-trial detention before the case ever goes to a jury trial, a factor that weighed heavily in the court’s bail decision.
Roberts-Smith appeared before the court via video link, dressed in a green prison tracksuit, and showed no visible reaction to the bail ruling. His defense lawyer, Slade Howell, had argued that detaining his client for years while the case wound through the overloaded court system was fundamentally unjust. “It will take many, many years and will have many twists and turns,” Howell told the court.
Prosecutors had pushed back against the bail application, arguing that the extreme gravity of the alleged crimes required strict conditions for release. Prosecution lawyer Simon Buchen told the court: “The applicant is accused of either killing or directing his subordinates to kill unarmed detainees in the custody of Australian armed forces.”
If he is ultimately convicted on all charges, Roberts-Smith faces the possibility of a life sentence in prison. The case has already forced a long-overdue national reckoning over Australia’s military conduct in Afghanistan, and the final criminal trial is expected to draw international attention as it unfolds over the coming years.