A confluence of bullish signals from global markets and easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East pushed Australia’s benchmark share index to solid gains on Thursday, capping a day of uneven sector performance driven by falling crude oil prices. The ASX 200 closed 84.50 points, or 0.96%, higher at 8878.10, while the broader All Ordinaries index rose 90.90 points, or 1.01%, to settle at 9107. The Australian dollar also edged up 0.20% to trade at 72.49 U.S. cents by market close. The rally followed a record-setting overnight session on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 gained 1.5% and the technology-focused Nasdaq climbed 2.08% to both hit new all-time closing highs. The upward momentum in U.S. equities was triggered by a breakthrough diplomatic development: the U.S. government tabled a one-page proposal that could pave the way for a gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil chokepoint. U.S. President Donald Trump announced via social media that he was pausing military “Project Freedom” for a short period to allow time for a final agreement with Iran to be negotiated and signed. IG market analyst Tony Sycamore noted that this more constructive geopolitical tone injected fresh optimism into global markets, pulling West Texas Intermediate crude prices back below the key $100 per barrel threshold. For the ASX, falling oil prices delivered an outsized boost to mining and resources stocks, which led all 11 market sectors with a 3.67% collective gain. Major iron ore miners posted double-digit gains in line with the sector: BHP rose 3.78% to $58.52, Rio Tinto gained 3.23% to $180.24, and Fortescue Metals outperformed many peers with a 3.73% rise to $21.42. Gold producers also rallied alongside rising spot gold prices, which traded at $4709 per ounce at press time. Northern Star Resources climbed 4.38% to $31.70, Evolution Mining surged 6.33% to $13.10, and Newmont Corporation added 2.78% to $160.06. Consumer staples, another key driver of the day’s gains, also saw broad upward movement. Woolworths closed 0.92% higher at $34.16, Coles eked out a 0.37% gain to $21.81, and Treasury Wine Estates rose 1.17% to $4.34. Not all sectors joined the rally, however. Energy stocks bore the brunt of lower crude prices, posting broad losses across the board. Woodside Energy slumped 4.24% to $30.49, Santos fell 3.30% to $7.63, and fuel retailer Ampol dropped 2.28% to $34.22. In the fintech space, digital financial services firm Zip bucked broader market trends to post a 4.76% gain to $2.64 after it reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance of $260 million in earnings before interest and tax. Conversely, wagering operator TAB suffered a steep 23.48% nosedive to $0.88 after Australia’s financial intelligence agency Austrac issued a formal notice over the firm’s compliance failures with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations. Gaming firm Lights & Wonder also closed 8.34% lower at $102.66 after reporting mixed first-quarter 2026 results: overall earnings rose 5% year-over-year, but adjusted net profit after tax slipped 2% to US$115 million (AU$159 million). In total, seven of the ASX’s 11 sectors finished the session in positive territory, closing out one of the market’s strongest single-day gains in recent weeks. Altogether, the day’s trading highlighted how shifting geopolitical developments and global market momentum continue to shape Australian equities, with commodity price movements driving sharp divergences across sector performance.
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Kenyan politicians trade accusations of ‘goonism’ as political violence rises ahead of 2027 election
In the East African nation of Kenya, political tensions are hitting a fever pitch 12 months out from the 2025 general election, and a new term has come to dominate public discourse: ‘goonism.’ Coined by national leaders to criticize the growing trend of violent, intimidating gangs targeting opposing political groups, the phrase has revealed deep divides between President William Ruto’s administration and the country’s opposition, as the competition for power grows increasingly hostile and dangerous.
Ruto, who first swept into office in a tight 2022 race after campaigning as a devout born-again Christian promising to build a pious, peaceful nation centered on working-class Kenyans, now faces widespread accusations of breaking the values he once championed. Once nicknamed ‘Nabii’ – the Swahili word for prophet – for his public piety, Ruto framed his 2022 campaign as a rebellion against long-standing political dynasties, arguing his rise to power came solely through God’s grace rather than elite privilege. But many of his one-time supporters say a dramatic shift occurred immediately after his inauguration.
While Ruto still attends Sunday church services, critics note he no longer carries a Bible or quotes scripture regularly. Controversial decisions, from demolishing a small chapel on the Statehouse compound to build a newer facility to rolling out aggressive income tax hikes just months after taking office, have reinforced claims of betrayal. The tax proposals sparked mass protests by thousands of young Kenyans across the capital Nairobi that forced partial rollbacks, but failed to ease public anger. Later, additional unrest erupted after a popular blogger died in police custody, and a 2024 protest that saw demonstrators storm the parliamentary building left Ruto’s political standing damaged – and the president increasingly determined to project hardline strength. In a fiery response to anti-government protests where demonstrators carried signs demanding his resignation, Ruto infamously instructed police to ‘break’ protesters’ limbs, drawing widespread condemnation that framed the comment as a veiled threat against political dissent.
Today, both ruling and opposition figures decry goonism, but each side blames the other for the surge in political violence. Opposition leaders claim the gangs that disrupt their rallies and intimidate their supporters are directly state-sponsored. ‘We must say no, collectively, to the new specter, the new norm, of goonism,’ prominent opposition leader Kalonzo Musyoka told local media, rejecting government claims that opposition groups are behind the violence. Even ruling party allies have acknowledged the threat the trend poses to Kenya’s democracy: National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, a close Ruto ally, recently stated that ‘the culture of goonism has no place in a democratic society.’ Interior Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has also pledged to crack down on unauthorized armed gang activity targeting political gatherings.
The violence has already spilled into everyday public life: Last month, opposition Senator Godfrey Osotsi was violently assaulted by a group of men at a western Kenyan restaurant over his political views, leaving him with injuries serious enough to require hospitalization. The attack sparked local protests and drew widespread condemnation from religious leaders across the country.
Religious leaders have emerged as some of the most vocal critics of Ruto’s shift away from his stated Christian values, with one prominent megachurch pastor delivering a viral sermon that implicitly condemned the president’s ties to political violence. ‘Everyone who wants to rule this country by that kind of thing, I speak as a prophet of God: You shall fall,’ megachurch pastor Wilfred Lai, based in the coastal city of Mombasa, told his congregation during a recent Sunday service. ‘You can’t use goons and you are telling us that you are taking us into a better place. You are a liar and the truth is not in you.’ Though Lai never mentioned Ruto by name, the widely shared clip of the sermon left little doubt among Kenyans who he was targeting. Lai was one of multiple evangelical leaders who publicly supported Ruto during his 2022 campaign, making his rebuke all the more significant.
Public anger has been further stoked by a bitter, venomous public feud between Ruto and his former deputy Rigathi Gachagua, who was impeached earlier this year after falling out with the president. Gachagua now leads the ‘Wantam’ movement, which is pushing to limit Ruto to a single term. The pair have traded increasingly vulgar insults: In March, Gachagua called Ruto a thief who would ‘steal a funeral home,’ prompting Ruto to label Gachagua a ‘cold-blooded pig’ who stole from his own brother. The public spectacle drew a rare rebuke from Kenya’s top Catholic leadership. ‘Disagreement is OK, but insulting each other in public is a disgrace,’ said Archbishop Maurice Muhatia, head of the local Catholic bishops conference, at a recent gathering. ‘Give us a break.’
Political scholars and analysts warn that if both sides do not de-escalate tensions immediately, the 2025 election could be one of the most violent in Kenya’s modern history. Kenya has a long history of fractious, election-related violence – most notably the deadly 2007 post-election unrest that saw the criminal gang Mungiki play a major role in targeted attacks. Analysts say the current context is far more volatile than past elections, with Ruto’s uncompromising leadership style stoking fears of a shift toward authoritarianism, a break from past Kenyan presidents who were more open to accommodating opposition. ‘Goonism’ is ‘a product of gangster theology’ of which Ruto is the high priest, said Nairobi-based independent writer Christine Mungai, arguing the president has mastered ‘how to perform public piety’ while working ‘to make life harder for everyone.’
Karuti Kanyinga, a Kenyan development scholar and visiting professor at South Africa’s Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, warned that if hostile rhetoric and gang activity continue, the 2025 election will devolve into widespread bloodshed. ‘If Ruto and opposition figures don’t tone down the rhetoric the election is going to be very bloody,’ Kanyinga said, adding that by next year, ‘everyone will have their own protection gangs.’
As the election draws closer, Ruto continues to court influential church leaders, who hold massive social and political sway across Kenyan communities. But with growing numbers of religious leaders turning against him, and opposition groups gaining traction amid widespread public anger, Ruto’s path to a second term remains uncertain. Though his position is precarious, adversaries acknowledge the president remains a cunning, formidable opponent who will be difficult to unseat in next year’s vote.
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Circus tackles jihadist nightmares of Burkina Faso’s children
For over a decade, brutal jihadist insurgency has torn through West Africa’s Burkina Faso, leaving a generations-long crisis in its wake: thousands of children have been murdered, kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and forcibly recruited as fighters by armed groups, per United Nations investigations. Human rights organizations have also documented widespread abuses against minors by Burkinabe government forces and allied civilian militias, a sensitive topic the performing artists have chosen not to address, given the ruling military junta’s heavy crackdown on dissent following two successive coups in 2022.
Now, one of the country’s oldest performance troupes, Dafra Circus, is turning the silent trauma of conflict-affected children into a gripping, wordless stage production. Titled *Souffle* — French for “Breath” — the 60-minute performance uses acrobatics, mime, choreographed movement, and storytelling to capture the unspoken horror of childhoods destroyed by violence. The four-person cast brings harrowing scenes to life: one sequence depicts children juggling spent ammunition collected from battlefields; another, a traumatized performer stumbles through wobbly pirouettes and unsteady somersaults to mimic the descent into madness triggered by constant terror.
Drawn from the real-life experiences of the troupe’s members — all of whom have been directly impacted by the violence that centers Burkina Faso — the production is more than an artistic performance, its creators say. For choreographer Jean Adolphe Sanou, *Souffle* centers on the connection between life and hope, and hope, he argues, is inherently tied to the futures of children. Artistic director Moustapha Konate, 30, explained that circus is uniquely suited to bear heavy political and social messages: the medium draws audiences in through spectacle, the beauty of movement, and feats of skill, making it easier to engage with a devastating topic that might otherwise feel too overwhelming to confront.
“We take a clear stand against the use of children in war,” Konate emphasized. The UN’s most recent report on the conflict confirms children bear the brunt of Burkina Faso’s escalating spiral of violence, documenting more than 2,200 gross abuses against minors between 2022 and early 2024, the vast majority attributed to jihadist insurgents.
After premiering to sold-out, enthusiastic crowds in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou and the troupe’s home base of Bobo-Dioulasso, the company brought *Souffle* to an international audience in mid-April at a festival in Abidjan, the economic capital of neighboring Ivory Coast. For many local attendees, the subtle, emotional performance offered a more human perspective on the conflict than sensationalized news reports. “It’s a bit more subtle, less shocking than what we see on TV, which is always scary,” 21-year-old audience member Yeli Gnougoh Coulibaly said after the show, explaining that the performance moved him deeply by making the crisis feel personal.
For many Burkinabe audience members, the blend of traditional circus skills with dance, theater, and narrative storytelling was also a new experience, Konate noted, opening the door for wider conversations about the human cost of a conflict that rarely captures sustained global attention. Even as it confronts unspeakable trauma, the production ultimately frames its core message around resilience and the possibility of healing: as its title *Souffle* suggests, it is a reminder that the children of Burkina Faso still carry the breath of life, and the right to a hopeful future.
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Britons set to punish Starmer’s Labour in local polls
Polling stations opened across England, Scotland and Wales at 7 a.m. GMT on Thursday for what is poised to be the most high-stakes electoral test for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government since the party’s landslide 2024 general election victory that ended 14 years of Conservative rule.
Nearly two years into Starmer’s premiership, pre-election opinion polls point to a grim outcome for the ruling party, with losses large enough to reignite long-simmering tensions over his leadership and amplify growing calls for his resignation or an official leadership challenge. Widespread public disillusionment with the traditional major parties has created a power vacuum that two populist factions — Nigel Farage’s right-wing anti-immigration Reform UK and the left-wing Green Party led by self-described eco-populist Zack Polanski — are projected to fill as their main beneficiaries.
Around 5,000 of the UK’s 16,000 local council seats in England are up for grabs in this vote, while voters in Scotland and Wales are also choosing new members for their respective devolved legislatures. Polls will close at 10 p.m. Thursday, with partial results expected overnight and the full bulk of vote counts set to be released Friday.
Starmer campaigned on a platform of transformative national change after 14 years of Conservative governance marked by austerity measures, Brexit-driven political chaos, and the 2022 economic crash under former Prime Minister Liz Truss. But critics argue his tenure has been defined by a string of unforced policy missteps and controversies, most notably a high-profile scandal tied to his former close ally Peter Mandelson, the ex-UK envoy to the U.S. who was fired over his ties to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Most damaging for Starmer’s approval ratings has been the government’s failure to deliver on its core campaign promise of jumpstarting sustained economic growth. British households continue to grapple with a prolonged cost-of-living crisis driven by soaring energy prices and stagnant wages, leaving many voters frustrated that the change they voted for has yet to materialize. As University College London associate politics professor Melanie Garson put it: “The change hasn’t been delivered, or change that has been delivered has been negative.”
Garson noted that this election marks an unprecedented turning point for UK politics, noting “for the first time, significant pressure on the main political parties across every single council.” She described the vote as “a huge barometer for how the country is feeling about this political establishment.”
Ahead of voting, Starmer framed the election as a binary choice between national unity and division, “progress versus the politics of anger.” Labour has also sought to stem losses by highlighting problematic comments from opposition candidates, unearthing racist remarks from some Reform contenders and antisemitic statements from several Green candidates.
Pre-election projections paint a dire picture for Labour across all regions. Polling suggests the party will lose control of the devolved Welsh government for the first time since the Welsh parliament was established 27 years ago, with a recent More in Common poll placing Reform neck-and-neck with pro-independence Plaid Cymru in Labour’s traditional Welsh heartlands.
In Scotland, the Scottish National Party (SNP) is projected to extend its 19-year hold on the Edinburgh devolved parliament, with YouGov data forecasting that Reform could even push Labour into third place in the region. In London, the Greens are on track to seize seats from Labour by courting disaffected left-wing voters with a pro-Gaza policy platform.
Leading pollster Robert Hayward projects that Labour could lose as many as 1,850 of the roughly 2,550 local council seats it is currently defending. Hayward predicts Reform will gain 1,550 seats from both Labour and the Conservatives, mostly in majority white working-class communities that have long been traditional strongholds for the major parties. The Conservatives, who have been out of national power since 2024, are also bracing for heavy losses of their own traditional heartland seats.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch framed the shift as a definitive end to the UK’s traditional two-party system, telling PA Media: “The two-party era has moved into a multi-party era. But the fact is none of these new parties or Labour have a plan for the country.”
Farage, for his part, expressed confidence in Reform’s prospects Thursday: “The message is clear: if you want real change, you’d better vote for it, and we go into tomorrow feeling pretty optimistic about our prospects.”
Following the expected poor results, UK media is rife with speculation that senior Labour figures could move to oust Starmer. Names frequently cited as potential challengers include former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and current Health Secretary Wes Streeting. However, neither contender commands universal support within the parliamentary Labour party, and a leadership challenge requires the backing of at least 20 percent of Labour MPs to move forward. Some backbench lawmakers are also reportedly planning to demand that Starmer announce a timeline for stepping down, despite his repeated public commitments to leading the party into the next general election scheduled for 2029.
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China says ties with US remain stable ahead of Trump visit despite ‘disruptions’
BEIJING – One week ahead of a highly anticipated bilateral summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, senior diplomatic and political leaders from both nations have issued public statements emphasizing a commitment to preserving overall stable bilateral relations, even amid acknowledged ongoing disruptions. On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, China’s highest-ranking diplomatic official, addressed a visiting bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation led by Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Steve Daines, a Montana Republican and prominent ally of President Trump.
Wang opened the discussion by framing the trajectory of China-U.S. ties over the preceding year, noting that while the relationship has navigated significant twists and unplanned disruptions, it has remained anchored in overall stability. He specifically credited both President Xi Jinping and President Trump for providing critical directional guidance to the bilateral relationship at key inflection points, and called on both nations to collaborate on a shared path forward that advances global peace and security.
Senator Daines echoed Wang’s call for stability, reiterating that Washington’s priority lies in de-escalating existing tensions rather than pursuing full economic decoupling from the world’s second-largest economy. “I strongly believe that we want to de-escalate, not decouple. We want stability, we want mutual respect,” Daines stated during the meeting.
The Republican senator also highlighted economic opportunities that could emerge from next week’s summit, suggesting that a successful meeting could clear the way for additional Chinese purchases of Boeing commercial aircraft, a outcome that would benefit the U.S. aviation manufacturing sector. Beyond trade and economic cooperation, Daines praised China’s recent diplomatic efforts to ease rising tensions in the Middle East, particularly its work to facilitate the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz — a strategic chokepoint through which 20% of the world’s global oil supplies transits. He pointed to Wang Yi’s Wednesday meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as tangible evidence of China’s constructive diplomatic engagement in the region. This aligns with longstanding U.S. pressure on Beijing to leverage its economic and political influence with Iran to keep the critical waterway open, ahead of Trump’s scheduled May 14-15 visit to China.
This trip marks Daines’ second visit to China since President Trump took office, following an earlier trip in March 2025. That earlier visit took place at a moment of heightened bilateral friction, with both sides locked in disagreements over trade tariffs and cooperation to curb the illegal cross-border fentanyl trade.
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Wembanyama shines as Spurs and Knicks win in play-offs
Fresh off making history as the NBA’s first ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, French phenom Victor Wembanyama delivered a dominant performance to power the second-seeded Western Conference San Antonio Spurs to a lopsided 38-point victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, squaring their Western Conference Semifinals series at one game apiece. Just days after dropping Game 1 on their home court, the Spurs bounced back in emphatic fashion on Wednesday, outmuscling the Timberwolves to a 133-95 win that marked San Antonio’s highest single-game score in any NBA playoff matchup since 1983. By halftime, San Antonio had already built an insurmountable 59-35 lead – the lowest first-half point total Minnesota has allowed all season. Wembanyama, the 2023-24 breakout star, turned in a double-double of 19 points and 15 rebounds to anchor the blowout win, capping off another impressive showing that extends the Spurs’ remarkable run: the franchise has not dropped back-to-back games since mid-January, a 49-game stretch of consistent results that has positioned them as one of the league’s most dangerous playoff contenders. Speaking to reporters after the game, Wembanyama said he expected the sharp turnaround from both himself and his teammates, calling the response unsurprising. “There is some ego. They assaulted us in game one, we wanted to assault them in game two,” the French international added of the team’s motivating mindset. Across the country in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the third-seeded New York Knicks held off a frantic back-and-forth battle to clinch a narrow 108-102 home win over the Philadelphia 76ers, taking a 2-0 series lead ahead of the matchup’s shift to Philadelphia for Game 3 this Friday. The 76ers were dealt a major blow hours before tipoff, when reigning MVP Joel Embiid was ruled inactive due to a combination of right hip soreness and a sprained right ankle. Without their star center, Philadelphia still pushed the Knicks to the final buzzer, in a game that saw 25 lead changes – the most lead swings in any NBA playoff game in the last 11 years. Knicks guard Jalen Brunson led the late charge for New York, scoring eight of his total 26 points in the fourth quarter to help the home side pull away in the final minutes. Forward Karl-Anthony Towns supported Brunson’s effort with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double. For the short-handed 76ers, guard Tyrese Maxey stepped up to score a team-high 26 points, and the franchise remains hopeful Embiid will recover enough to suit up for Game 3 on Philadelphia’s home court.
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A fan-run soccer club pushes back against Poland’s nationalist stadium culture
In the heart of Warsaw, Poland, a community-led soccer club born out of fan resistance to toxic, nationalist-driven stadium culture is positioning itself as a critical counterpoint to shifting political and social tides in the country, even as Poland’s newly elected president openly acknowledges his history of involvement in football fan street violence.
Founded in 2015 by lifelong supporters of Warsaw’s two dominant professional clubs, Legia Warszawa and Polonia, AKS Zły — short for Alternatywny Klub Sportowy Zły, which translates to Alternative Sports Club Evil — emerged as a deliberate rejection of the pervasive hostility and aggression that organizers witnessed in and around Polish football stadiums. More than a decade after its launch, the club remains fully owned and democratically governed by its members, encompassing both men’s and women’s competitive teams that prioritize radical inclusivity over the exclusionary norms common in much of Polish fan culture.
“We set out to build something entirely different: a space where every person, no matter their sexual orientation, race, or nationality, can feel truly welcome and at home,” Jan Dziubecki, AKS Zły’s coordinator, told the Associated Press. Dziubecki noted that fan culture across Poland has shifted sharply further right in recent years, with openly hateful chants and rhetoric becoming a normalized fixture at many top-tier matches.
This political shift has accelerated following the 2024 election of President Karol Nawrocki, a candidate backed by the nationalist conservative Law and Justice party. A lifelong diehard supporter of northern Poland’s Lechia Gdańsk, Nawrocki has continued attending matches regularly since taking office. When reports surfaced during his campaign that he had participated in a violent street brawl between rival football fans, Nawrocki did not deny the incident, instead claiming he had taken part in many “noble” fights throughout his life.
While Nawrocki’s presidency is widely expected to embolden the nationalist, aggressive fan culture that AKS Zły was created to oppose, club leaders say the political shift could paradoxically boost their mission. “Maybe more fans fed up with the current culture will choose to join us,” Dziubecki said with a smile.
Juliusz Wrzosek, one of the club’s founding members and owner of the Offside bar in Warsaw’s working-class Praga district, recalled what pushed him and other like-minded fans to create the alternative club. A lifelong Legia Warszawa fan, Wrzosek was expelled from the club’s radical supporter section after he refused to sing chants honoring fans serving prison sentences. At the same time, his friends who supported rival club Polonia faced marginalization for the same refusal to conform to extremist fan norms. With no mainstream club that aligned with their values, the group decided to build their own. “At the end of the day, you have to support someone,” Wrzosek said.
Today, Wrzosek’s Offside bar serves as both a gathering spot for AKS Zły fans and a community hub for local social and historical events. In March, the club co-hosted a gathering honoring Stefan Okrzeja, a 20th-century socialist worker who fought for Polish independence. Wrzosek emphasized that the gap AKS Zły fills extends far beyond the soccer pitch: “It always bothered me that in Poland, a country with such a rich history of leftist and progressive values, there wasn’t a single democratic club that didn’t force its extreme version of fan culture on everyone.”
That commitment to inclusive norms is visible every match day. During a recent second-division women’s fixture against a higher-ranked side from Słupca, fans in AKS Zły’s small Praga stadium cheered enthusiastically for their team, but also greeted visiting players with warm chants. Criticisms of referee calls were kept polite and minimal, a stark contrast to the confrontational atmosphere common at other Polish matches.
Eliza Górska-Tran, a former AKS Zły player who now supports the team alongside her wife and two young children, said the community built around the club is what sets it apart. After she and her wife married in Scotland — where same-sex marriage is legal, unlike in Poland — AKS Zły fans organized a public wedding celebration for the couple on the stadium pitch. Górska-Tran recalled her final match before pregnancy, when the team marked the occasion with flares, including rainbow-colored smoke, on the field.
“It’s not just empty talk when we say fans are the club’s 12th player. The support here really pushes you to give more,” she said. AKS Zły’s core values extend beyond LGBTQ+ inclusion: the club welcomes immigrant players, invests equally in its men’s and women’s programs, and runs a youth academy where wealthier families voluntarily contribute to cover fees for low-income participants.
Alicja Cichońska, who is currently in her seventh season playing for the club, said she chose to join after hearing about its intentionally inclusive community. “Football is supposed to bring all of us together, not pull us apart,” Cichońska said. “There’s already more than enough division in society as it is.”
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Surging fuel prices and data centre costs wipe out Australia’s nine-year trade surplus
After nearly a decade of consistent goods trade surpluses, Australia’s unbroken run has come to an abrupt end, with official data revealing a $1.8 billion deficit in March driven by two key factors: skyrocketing global fuel costs and a historic, unexpected surge in data centre equipment imports from Taiwan.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) published the revised trade data on Thursday, confirming the sharp reversal in the country’s goods trade balance. Analysts point to two primary contributors to the unanticipated deficit: the rapid spike in global energy prices and a one-in-a-generation jump in imports of automatic data processing (ADP) equipment, core infrastructure for modern data centres.
First, the global oil market disruption that rippled across the world in March hit Australia’s import bill particularly hard. With roughly 20% of the world’s total crude oil shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz, regional conflict that disrupted shipping lanes in the key chokepoint sent oil prices soaring from around $US56 per barrel in January, before tensions escalated, to a range of $US100 to $US110 per barrel by March. This translated directly to a 53.6% jump in Australia’s total fuel and lubricant import spending, adding an extra $2.1 billion to the import bill and pushing the total value of fuel imports to $6.1 billion for the month. For Australian consumers, every $US10 increase in crude prices adds an extra 10 cents per litre at domestic fuel pumps, a burden that has weighed heavily on household budgets through the early months of 2024.
The second, far more unexpected factor driving the deficit was a 322% monthly surge in ADP equipment imports from Taiwan. The total value of these shipments jumped from $1.6 billion in February to $4.8 billion in March, more than doubling the previous record high of $2.3 billion for this product category. Economists say most of this imported equipment consists of high-performance semiconductors and computing hardware destined for Australia’s growing fleet of new data centres, as demand for cloud computing and AI infrastructure booms domestically.
“The biggest surprise for markets and analysts was unquestionably the jump in ADP equipment imports,” explained Harry Ottley, senior economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. “The vast majority is almost certainly chips and computing hardware for data centre buildouts, and this was a material increase that no one forecast. We still don’t know for certain if this is a one-off large shipment for a single major infrastructure project, or the start of a sustained upward trend in capital imports for the tech sector.”
Ottley added that while the surge in fuel prices was largely expected given the ongoing Middle Eastern tensions, the scale of the ADP import jump caught the entire industry off guard.
The deficit was also exacerbated by an unexpected downturn in Australia’s key rural export sector, which saw an 11.6% drop in rural goods export values in March. Non-rural exports remained largely flat overall: a 0.3% uptick was driven by rising global gas prices that offset falling values for iron ore and coal, two of Australia’s largest export commodities.
Looking ahead, Ottley noted that the pressure on Australia’s trade balance is likely to persist in the coming months, even as some factors offset the drag. “Energy markets have remained tight through early May, and while additional shipments are now arriving, the value of fuel imports is likely to stay elevated in the next few monthly reports,” he said. “This will continue to put downward pressure on the overall trade balance, though that drag will be partially offset by higher export prices for one of Australia’s key commodities – liquefied natural gas.”
Ottley projected that the March trade deficit will cut approximately 0.8 percentage points from Australia’s gross domestic product for the current quarter, though he noted that much of the hit to GDP from falling net exports will be countered by gains elsewhere in the economy: the massive ADP equipment imports represent a major increase in private business investment, a positive driver of long-term economic growth.
The end of Australia’s nine-year trade surplus streak marks a key shift in the country’s trade dynamics, driven by both global energy market volatility and a historic wave of capital investment in the domestic digital economy.
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Pakistan warns of strong response to any attack on anniversary of clash with India
On the first anniversary of the 2025 four-day border conflict that pushed nuclear-armed neighbors Pakistan and India to the edge of full-scale war, Pakistan’s armed forces issued a stern warning Thursday: any future hostile action from India will be met with a far sharper, more precise response than it witnessed last year.
The 2025 clash, which Pakistan officially labels *Marka-e-Haq* or “Battle of Truth,” was triggered by a deadly militant attack in Pahalgam, a tourist town in India-administered Kashmir. The assault left 26 people dead, most of them Hindu visitors. New Delhi immediately placed blame on Pakistan-backed militant groups, an accusation Islamabad has repeatedly rejected while calling for an independent international probe into the incident. Speaking at a joint televised press briefing featuring senior leaders from all three branches of Pakistan’s military, army spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry pointed out that one year after the Pahalgam attack, the key questions Pakistan raised about the incident still have not been addressed. He added that India rushed to assign blame to Pakistan within minutes of the shooting, without presenting any concrete evidence to back up its claim.
In the days following the attack, India launched cross-border strikes into Pakistani territory on May 7, 2025. Pakistan responded with coordinated retaliatory action, including drone incursions, missile barrages, and artillery exchanges across the disputed Kashmir border. Dozens of civilians and military personnel were killed on both sides before a US-brokered ceasefire took effect on May 10, halting the escalation that had raised global fears of a full conflict between the two nuclear-armed states. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for negotiating the truce that prevented a wider war.
Since the ceasefire, conflicting accounts have emerged over the scale of losses during the clash. Pakistan initially said its forces downed at least seven Indian military aircraft, including a French-built Rafale fighter jet. On Thursday, Air Vice Marshal Tariq Ghazi, Pakistan’s Deputy Chief of Air Staff (Projects), updated that figure to eight downed Indian fighter jets. Ghazi emphasized that Pakistan deliberately exercised restraint during the conflict, even though its air force held the capability to inflict far more severe damage on Indian targets. India has acknowledged unspecified military losses but has never released an official detailed account.
Senior military leaders also outlined new details of Pakistani operations across multiple domains during the 2025 conflict. Rear Admiral Shifaat Ali, Deputy Chief of the Pakistan Naval Staff, said the Indian Navy attempted to deploy warships in the northern Arabian Sea during the fighting to target Pakistani naval infrastructure and disrupt key maritime trade routes passing through Pakistani waters. “But due to the effective strategy of the Pakistan Navy, maritime traffic in all our waterways remained uninterrupted,” Ali stated.
Chaudhry made clear that while Pakistan does not seek out conflict or full-scale war with India, it is fully prepared to defend its territorial integrity against any future aggression. “We do not underestimate India’s military capability, but we are fully prepared to respond to any misadventure,” he said. “We are prepared; if anyone wishes to test us, they are more than welcome.” He added, “We are not seeking conflict, we are not seeking war. But we know how to defend ourselves with honor and dignity.”
The anniversary statement comes amid decades of strained relations between India and Pakistan. The two South Asian nations have fought three full wars since gaining independence from British rule in 1947, and two of those conflicts were fought over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, which both countries claim in its entirety.
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How one German artist’s remembrance stones turn Berlin sidewalks into Holocaust memorials
On a gray, rainy spring afternoon in central Berlin, 78-year-old German artist Gunter Demnig knelt to press a palm-sized polished brass plaque into the cracked sidewalk of a busy intersection. Engraved with short, unflinching details, the stone honors Johanna Berger: born 1893, resided at this address, deported November 17, 1941, murdered eight days later.
Once Demnig brushed sand away from the four plaques marking Berger, her husband, and their two sons, a dozen of the family’s descendants stepped forward from the crowd of onlookers. They laid down crisp white roses at the site and recited Kaddish, the ancient Jewish prayer for the dead, as rush-hour traffic rumbled past just feet away. These small, sunken memorials are known as Stolpersteine — German for “stumbling blocks” — a name that references their ability to make passersby literally and figuratively pause in their tracks.
Thirty years have passed since Demnig laid the very first Stolperstein in Berlin. Today, more than 11,000 of these memorials dot the German capital’s sidewalks, with a total of 126,000 installed across Germany and 31 other European nations. Unlike large, centralized Holocaust memorials that draw intentional visitors, Demnig’s project brings memory directly into daily life: embedded in pavement outside former homes of victims, the shiny brass squares force commuters, shoppers, and children to stop, bend down, and confront the history that unfolded in the very neighborhood they inhabit. It is not uncommon to see young children leaning in to read the inscriptions and ask their parents to explain who the people named on the stones were, and why they are honored there.
In an interview with the Associated Press Wednesday, Demnig explained the core vision that has driven his work for three decades: “My basic idea behind this was that wherever in Europe the German Wehrmacht, the SS, the Gestapo, and their local collaborators committed murders or carried out deportations, symbolic stones should be placed there.”
For many families of Holocaust victims, these small stones serve a purpose no other memorial can fill. Most victims of the Nazi genocide were killed in concentration camps, their bodies disposed of in mass graves or crematoria, leaving no place for surviving relatives to mourn. That is why relatives travel from across the globe to attend each stonelaying ceremony. “The Stolpersteine are some kind of substitute for the missing gravestones,” explained Michael Tischler, 72-year-old Berlin resident and great-nephew of Johanna Berger, who lost multiple family members to the Holocaust. “I think this brings the family history to a certain conclusion, or at least a provisional one.”
Beyond bringing solace to grieving families, the Stolpersteine project has grown into a grassroots movement that unites local neighborhoods, schools, and religious communities in researching Nazi-era history. Young and old volunteers alike dive into city archives and pore over yellowed resident lists to trace where victims of Nazi persecution — including Jews, Roma, LGBTQ+ people, political dissidents, and disabled people — once lived. Once a victim’s former residence is confirmed, the community organizes a public laying ceremony and commits to polishing the brass plaque regularly to keep its shine, ensuring the inscription remains legible for years to come.
Wednesday, a group of 10th graders from Berlin’s Friedrich-Bergius-Schule joined a second stonelaying ceremony on Stierstraße, a street once home to a dense Jewish community. The three new stones added for the Krein family — Michael, Maria, and their daughter Dalila — brought the street’s total count of Stolpersteine to 62. While Maria escaped to the United States and Dalila fled to British Mandate Palestine, Michael Krein, a professional musician, died as a forced laborer under Nazi rule in Berlin in 1940.
Sixteen-year-old student Sibilla Ehrlich watched as violinists played a slow, solemn melody and elderly neighbors shared stories of the Krein family’s lives before the Nazi regime. “It is just so horrible, all this the hatred of others,” she said. “I keep thinking: what if this had been my family.”
Before the Nazis seized power in 1933, Berlin was home to the largest Jewish community in Germany, with roughly 160,500 Jewish residents. By the end of World War II in 1945, emigration and systematic extermination had reduced that number to just 7,000. Overall, an estimated 6 million European Jews and millions of other marginalized groups were murdered in the Holocaust.
This May 8 marks 81 years since the Allied powers defeated Nazi Germany and liberated its concentration camps. As the anniversary approaches, many Germans have grown increasingly concerned that the lessons of the Holocaust are at risk of being forgotten, as far-right extremist parties gain political influence and antisemitic harassment and violence rise across the country.
Tischler shares these worries about his nation’s future, but he says the Stolpersteine project offers a small, persistent source of hope. “I hope that these Stolpersteine will still give some people pause for thought,” he said.