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  • Mboko hails ‘Queen’ Serena ahead of tennis legend’s return

    Mboko hails ‘Queen’ Serena ahead of tennis legend’s return

    After more than two years away from competitive tennis, 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams is gearing up for a stunning return to action, set to compete in women’s doubles at the Queen’s Club Championship with 19-year-old Canadian rising star Victoria Mboko.

    The 44-year-old American legend stepped onto the grass practice courts at the west London venue alongside Mboko on Thursday, kicking off preparations for next week’s Wimbledon warm-up tournament. Mboko, the 2025 WTA Newcomer of the Year, later shared a photo of the pair on her Instagram page, showering Williams with praise ahead of their tournament debut.

    Calling Williams the “Queen” of tennis, Mboko wrote that sharing a court with one of the greatest athletes of all time is a profound honor, adding that she is extra excited to compete alongside Williams and noting how special the sport of tennis is. The age gap between the new doubles partners is 25 years: Mboko was born decades after Williams launched her legendary professional career.

    Williams originally stepped away from competitive tennis following the 2022 US Open, where widespread coverage framed the exit as a retirement. But the icon never explicitly used the term “retirement,” instead describing her exit as “evolving away” from the sport to focus on other life chapters, including raising her two young children with husband Alexis Ohanian. For months, tennis fans and analysts have speculated about a potential return, and Williams officially confirmed her comeback in a public announcement earlier this week.

    “Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter,” Williams said in her statement, adding that grass courts have produced some of the most meaningful moments of her decorated career, and she is eager to compete again on one of the sport’s most iconic stages. Williams has claimed seven Wimbledon singles titles over her career, making the grass surface a fitting venue for her return.

    Williams and Mboko received a wildcard entry into the 16-team Queen’s Club women’s doubles draw, securing their spot in the main tournament draw. While Williams is best known for her record-breaking singles career, she boasts an equally impressive resume in doubles: she holds a career 192-35 win-loss record and claimed 22 of her 23 career doubles titles alongside her sister, Venus Williams. The iconic Williams sisters pair won all 14 Grand Slam doubles finals they competed in, a record that remains unmatched in modern tennis.

    With the Wimbledon Championships set to kick off on June 29, Williams has not yet revealed whether her comeback will include entering the singles draw at the sport’s most prestigious grass court tournament. Her last Grand Slam singles title came at the 2017 Australian Open, where she won the championship while pregnant with her first child.

  • UK PM says Elon Musk ‘trying to whip up division’ over student’s murder

    UK PM says Elon Musk ‘trying to whip up division’ over student’s murder

    A high-profile political confrontation has erupted between United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer and American billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, after Musk’s incendiary commentary on the highly charged murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak prompted accusations of foreign interference and deliberate division of British society. The December 2024 stabbing death of Nowak in Southampton, carried out by 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa, has become a flashpoint for far-right political mobilization in the UK, after controversial details of the initial police response emerged.

    Digwa, who used a 21-centimeter ceremonial knife to kill Nowak during an altercation over a mobile phone, initially misled investigators by claiming Nowak had racially insulted him and that he was the actual victim of the confrontation. Earlier this week, Digwa was sentenced to a minimum of 21 years in prison for the murder. In the immediate aftermath of the stabbing, responding officers placed the mortally wounded Nowak in handcuffs while waiting for medical support; body camera footage capturing Nowak repeatedly telling officers he could not breathe has been described as “harrowing” by Starmer himself. Far-right political figures have seized on the case to push unsubstantiated claims that British policing systematically prioritizes ethnic minority communities over white citizens — allegations that both Starmer’s newly elected Labour government and national police leadership have forcefully rejected.

    Musk, the billionaire owner of social media platform X, has amplified these divisive claims through multiple public posts on his platform. In one incendiary post, Musk asked his hundreds of millions of followers whether they were aware that “official police policy requires them to be racist against Whites?” He has gone further than commentary, publicly offering to fund a private prosecution against Hampshire Police over their handling of the case, and has repeatedly insulted the force publicly. This intervention crossed a red line for Starmer, who called out Musk’s actions during a press briefing Thursday ahead of a scheduled meeting with Nowak’s family at his official 10 Downing Street residence.

    Speaking to reporters, Starmer emphasized that Musk’s actions amounted to unwelcome interference in British domestic politics. “We need to also assert who we are as a country, because Musk, again, has been interfering in our politics in the last few days, trying to whip up division. That is not who we are in Britain. In Britain, we are reasonable, tolerant people,” Starmer said. He added that the dignified response of Nowak’s own family set an example for the nation: Nowak’s father has publicly urged that his son’s killing not be exploited “to create further division, hatred or tension.”

    The prime minister also addressed unrest that followed Digwa’s sentencing, when a far-right-organized protest in Southampton on Tuesday night turned violent, with demonstrators throwing bricks, flares, and chairs at responding police officers. On Thursday, a 44-year-old man pleaded guilty to charges of violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon connected to the protest, while a second individual faces assault charges. Starmer said there was “no justification” for the violence, and also condemned remarks by senior far-right leader Nigel Farage, head of the popular Reform UK party, who publicly called for the public to respond to the murder with “pure cold rage.” Starmer called the comment unforgivable, noting that Farage’s remarks have contributed to rising racial tensions across the country; Farage has publicly defended his comments since they were made public.

    While Starmer has joined critics in acknowledging that the case raises major unanswered questions about police conduct, official investigations are already underway. The UK’s Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the national watchdog for police behavior, launched a probe into the response shortly after the killing, and is expected to release its findings within three months. Officials also announced Thursday that a full coroner’s inquest, convened to determine whether police actions contributed to Nowak’s death, will open before a jury in September 2027.

    This public clash between Starmer and Musk is not unprecedented: Musk has been a consistent and vocal critic of Starmer dating back to before the Labour leader won the 2024 UK general election, in large part due to Starmer’s previous career as the UK’s top public prosecutor. The two figures last clashed publicly in 2024 over the long-running “grooming gangs” sexual abuse scandal, when Starmer accused Musk of deliberately “spreading lies and misinformation” to undermine his government and stoke public anger.

  • ‘I’m a fan of no bunker’: Wayne Bennett fumes at crucial missed call as his Rabbitohs fall to third loss in a row

    ‘I’m a fan of no bunker’: Wayne Bennett fumes at crucial missed call as his Rabbitohs fall to third loss in a row

    In a tense Thursday night NRL clash that ended with Manly Sea Eagles notching up a 28-14 victory over South Sydney Rabbitohs, a contentious uncorrected officiating error has dominated post-match conversation, with veteran Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett launching a scathing attack on the sport’s multi-million-dollar bunker review system. The result extended South Sydney’s losing streak to three consecutive games, a run that has left Bennett openly frustrated with his side’s sliding form as the NRL season hits its midpoint. For Manly, the triumph capped off a fairytale week for incoming head coach Kieran Foran, who signed a three-year contract extension to stay at the club he once captained as a player.

    The game hung on a knife-edge at 10-8 when Manly’s stand-in fullback Clayton Faulalo broke through the Rabbitohs defensive line to score a pivotal try that pushed the Sea Eagles further ahead. What went unseen by on-field officials at the time, however, was a clear mistake in the preceding play-the-ball from Manly edge forward Ben Trbojevic: match replays clearly showed Trbojevic bobbled the Steeden, with the ball appearing to stick to his hand rather than being placed correctly as NRL rules mandate. On-field referee Adam Gee failed to spot the infraction, and crucially, the bunker review officials did not have the authority to intervene and correct the call on a play-the-ball error.

    Speaking to reporters after the final whistle, Bennett did not mince his words when questioning the purpose of the league’s heavy investment in the bunker system. “He didn’t play the ball properly, did he? It’s as simple as that, they pay all this money for the bunker and we still don’t get it right,” Bennett said. While the veteran coach stressed his underperforming side did not deserve to win on the night of the game, he argued that the system had failed its core purpose of getting critical decisions right.

    “We weren’t playing well, so I’m not going to use that as an excuse. But the bottom line is that’s what they’re there for,” Bennett explained. “They play the ball, they’ve got to go back to the play the ball because a try was scored and that was all in the one movement. And if that’s an acceptable play the ball, then the game is going to change enormously really quickly.”

    Bennett doubled down on his long-standing criticism of the review system, arguing that bunker officials have every advantage including multiple replay angles, hindsight and unlimited time to reach a correct ruling, yet still made costly mistakes. “We’ve got a bunker, it’s supposed to be perfect because they expect us to be perfect,” he said. “They have all the opportunity to make a decision and to see it. And they still get it wrong. I’m a fan of no bunker, I can tell you. I’d rather just the game played on with life and accept it like we always accepted it. Because they don’t get it right all the time, and they should, because they’ve got the benefit of hindsight, and there’s no time limit on their decision making.”

    Beyond the officiating controversy, Bennett made clear his deep frustration with his own side’s form, which has seen the Rabbitohs slip down the ladder after a promising start to the season. “We’re not anywhere near where we should be, and we’re well into the season,” he said. “We should be playing some good football and we’ve gone backwards, we’re not going forward at the moment. Our performances are going backwards.” The Rabbitohs’ high error rate choked their much-vaunted attacking line-up for the majority of the clash, leaving them unable to mount a comeback after the controversial try.

    For Manly, the win was the eighth in 10 games under Foran’s interim leadership, pushing the Sea Eagles back into the NRL’s top four ahead of their scheduled bye next week. The victory capped off a week of celebrations for Foran, who had confirmed he would continue as head coach for the next three seasons, with the club’s home ground temporarily renamed “Foz Pines Park” for the occasion, and a local KFC even superimposed Foran’s face onto the chain’s iconic Colonel Sanders logo in a playful tribute. Manly captain Jake Trbojevic said the team was determined to deliver a strong performance to reward Foran after a week of hype surrounding the new contract.

    “On the way here, everywhere I drove had ‘Fozball’, ‘Foz Pines’, Kieran Foran Chicken, so I’m like, ‘geez, we better play good,’” Trbojevic told reporters after the match. “There was a lot going on but it was a really good performance.” Faulalo, who scored the controversial match-turning try, suffered a low-grade hamstring strain during the build-up to his score, but club officials have confirmed the injury is not expected to keep him sidelined for an extended period.

  • Guardiola quit ‘100 times’ before leaving, says Man City chairman

    Guardiola quit ‘100 times’ before leaving, says Man City chairman

    In a revealing new interview with Manchester City’s official media channels, club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has pulled back the curtain on Pep Guardiola’s decade-long tenure, disclosing that the legendary manager considered stepping down nearly 100 times during his spell at the Etihad Stadium before confirming his departure at the end of the 2024-25 season.

    Guardiola leaves the club this summer after a historic 10-year reign that cemented his status as one of the greatest managers in modern football, amassing 20 major trophies including six Premier League titles, one Champions League crown, and a domestic FA Cup and League Cup double in his final campaign at the helm. The 55-year-old Spaniard formally stepped down after acknowledging he no longer held the same level of energy required to push the club to new heights.

    While Guardiola’s trophy haul speaks to unparalleled success at Manchester City, Khaldoon opened up about the emotional toll that elite top-flight management takes, noting that the passionate Spaniard regularly raised the idea of resigning during the inevitable low points of his decade in charge. “Inevitably over these last 10 years we’ve had a lot of ups and some downs, and in the downs, he must have quit 100 times over these 10 years, just so you know, just for the record,” the chairman shared on Thursday.

    Khaldoon drew a parallel to the classic fable of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, explaining that Guardiola’s frequent resignation talks were rarely a serious intention to leave, and required a steady hand from the club’s leadership to navigate. “In the case of Pep, when he says ‘I quit’, it doesn’t mean he’s quitting. You don’t take it that seriously – you have to manage him,” he said. “Whenever he quits or whenever he thinks it’s time, I will always convince him to come back, until the time where I know it’s actually the real time – and we reached that. I knew it and that’s why I didn’t fight it.”

    The announcement of Guardiola’s exit came after back-to-back seasons without a Premier League title, with City finishing seven points adrift of 2024-25 champions Arsenal. This run of form has sparked widespread speculation that the club’s dominant era may be coming to an end, but Khaldoon pushed back firmly against those claims, asserting that the club is still far from its peak. “We are far from peaked. We are used to – because it’s in our DNA – winning. This is a club that is designed, built to win,” he said. “Obviously with the additions we’re going to make this summer, I am very confident. I think next year we’re going to come back very strong.”

    As the club prepares to enter a new era, it is widely expected that former Chelsea manager and one-time Guardiola assistant Enzo Maresca will be named as the new head coach in the coming days. Maresca boasts an impressive resume, having lifted the UEFA Conference League and Club World Cup during his time at Chelsea, and gained first-hand experience of City’s playing philosophy during the 2022-23 season working alongside Guardiola.

    When questioned about the club’s succession process, Khaldoon emphasized that the hiring process had been thorough and methodical, with full alignment on the chosen candidate. “What I can say at the moment is we’ve gone through a very thoughtful and structured process and the team is convinced, I am convinced, that we will bring in the right manager for this club,” he said. “Just be patient with us. Very soon we’ll announce it and you will be very comfortable that we have selected and brought in the best manager possible.”

  • Bondi Beach shooting hero charged with domestic assault

    Bondi Beach shooting hero charged with domestic assault

    One of the most celebrated heroes of Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades is now facing criminal allegations that have stunned the nation. Ahmed al Ahmed, 44, the man who risked his life to disarm an alleged terrorist during the December 2024 Bondi Beach attack on a Jewish community Hanukkah gathering, has been formally charged with multiple domestic violence offenses, local Australian media have confirmed.

    The shocking charges, which date back to an alleged incident in March this year, include common assault, stalking, and intimidation in relation to an attack on al Ahmed’s own father. The former hero has forcefully denied all allegations against him, telling national public broadcaster ABC in an interview that the claims are “not true at all.”

    Al Ahmed catapulted to national fame in December for his extraordinary act of bravery during the attack that left 15 people dead and dozens more wounded. Security footage from the community event captured al Ahmed charging one of the armed assailants and wrestling the attacker’s gun away, a move that is widely credited with preventing additional casualties. He sustained multiple gunshot wounds during the confrontation and was hospitalized for weeks of recovery.

    In the immediate aftermath of the attack, then-Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited al Ahmed in his hospital bed and publicly praised him as “the best of our country.” A national public fundraiser launched to cover his medical expenses and support his recovery ultimately raised more than 2.5 million Australian dollars, equivalent to roughly 1.7 million U.S. dollars, highlighting the outpouring of public support for his actions.

    The Bondi Beach attack remains Australia’s worst mass shooting event since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, which prompted sweeping national gun law reform. Australian law enforcement quickly classified the 2024 incident as an act of terrorism, confirming the attack was deliberately targeted at the Jewish community gathered for the Hanukkah celebration.

    Al Ahmed is scheduled to make his first court appearance on June 29 at Sydney’s Bankstown Local Court, where he will formally respond to the charges against him.

  • Zverev heads up final four in men’s French Open semis

    Zverev heads up final four in men’s French Open semis

    The landscape of the 2025 French Open men’s singles draw has been turned upside down following stunning early exits of the tournament’s top title contenders, leaving Germany’s Alexander Zverev as the undisputed favorite to claim his first career Grand Slam trophy when the semi-finals kick off on Friday. Even as the 29-year-old second seed brushes off questions about favorite status, the weight of expectation sits firmly on his shoulders heading into his clash against 26th seed Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic. The winner of that match will go on to face either Italy’s Flavio Cobolli or Matteo Arnaldi in Sunday’s Roland Garros final, completing an unexpected final four bracket.

    After world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic both departed the tournament far earlier than predicted, Zverev has emerged as the clear pick to end his run as one of tennis’s most high-profile nearly-men. The 2020 Olympic gold medalist has been in imperious form through the first two weeks of the clay-court major, dropping just one set across five matches to secure his place in the final four. His most recent victory, a straight-sets quarter-final win over rising Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar, took less than two and a half hours and served as further proof of his sharpness entering the semi-finals.

    Despite being the highest-ranked, most experienced and most decorated player remaining in the draw, Zverev says he is blocking out all noise about a potential first title and focusing solely on his upcoming opponent. “As I said before, I don’t particularly care about being the favourite,” Zverev told reporters after his quarter-final win. “I focus on next match, and I focus on the opponent as they cross the net, and that’s the only thing that I can control.”

    Standing between Zverev and a fourth Grand Slam final is 20-year-old Mensik, who is into the final four of a major for the first time in his young career. The 196cm serving powerhouse has already notched a career-defining title, upsetting Djokovic to win the 2024 Miami Open, and has fought through a tough draw to reach this stage at Roland Garros. His straight-sets quarter-final victory over Brazilian breakout star Joao Fonseca cemented his status as one of the most exciting young prospects on the ATP Tour, and he is not intimidated by the challenge of facing the tournament favorite. The pair have met once before this season, with Zverev claiming a tight three-set win on the clay of Madrid. “The match with Sascha in Madrid, of course, it was a close one. It was best-of-three,” Mensik noted. “Right now it’s a different situation… I would say bigger match, best-of-five. I’m excited for the challenge.”

    The second semi-final will make Grand Slam history, as it pits two Italian players against each other in the men’s draw for the first time ever. Pre-tournament predictions expected Italy’s top star Sinner to be in this position, but instead it is 10th seed Flavio Cobolli and unseeded Matteo Arnaldi who will contest an all-Italian semi-final for a spot in the final.

    Cobolli, ranked 10th in the world, booked his first ever Grand Slam semi-final spot with a tight victory over Canada’s fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime on Court Philippe Chatrier, and described the moment as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “I felt like this is the chance of my life,” Cobolli said after the win. His opponent Arnaldi advanced to the semi-finals without hitting a shot in his quarter-final, as compatriot Matteo Berrettini was forced to withdraw due to injury. Currently ranked 104th in the world, Arnaldi is enjoying his best ever Grand Slam performance after returning from a recent injury layoff, and has spent more time on court than any other semi-finalist this fortnight. Despite the heavy workload, he says he has plenty of energy left for the match. “I have been playing a lot, but at the same time, I’m happy to be on court and to spend time on court, because I missed playing,” Arnaldi said. “I for sure have some energy left for the next matches.”

    The pair share a 1-1 head-to-head record, and their meeting on Friday will be a rematch of the 2024 French Open second round, where Cobolli claimed a four-set win. Cobolli says the historic semi-final is a win for Italian tennis regardless of who comes out on top. “For sure it will be another derby, but I think we have to be happy for Italian tennis,” Cobolli said. “Another Italian, apart from Sinner and Lorenzo (Musetti), are in the final this week. So we have to be happy, and we have to enjoy that match.”

  • Iran leader says dealt enemies ‘decisive blow’ in Mideast war

    Iran leader says dealt enemies ‘decisive blow’ in Mideast war

    As weeks of high-stakes negotiations to end the ongoing Middle East conflict and reopen the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz end in deadlock, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has declared that the United States and Israel have suffered a “decisive blow” at the hands of Tehran, marking a sharp rebuke to ongoing diplomatic overtures from Washington.

    Khamenei’s public message, delivered via a prayer leader at the annual commemoration of the death of the Islamic Republic’s founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, came just one day after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a historic resolution calling for an immediate end to American military involvement in the conflict. It was the first formal public statement from Khamenei since he was wounded in the February 28 opening U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign that killed his father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei. This year’s commemoration saw an empty chair bearing his predecessor’s portrait displayed at Khomeini’s mausoleum, a stark visual reminder of the upheaval the conflict has wrought on Iran’s leadership.

    In his address, Khamenei argued that Iran’s adversaries, after their battlefield setbacks, are now enduring “a deeply meaningful and profound humiliation.” He further accused the U.S. and Israel of seeking to sow division, sowing “the seeds of doubt, despair, fear, mistrust and division” among the Iranian public, and called on domestic political factions to unify to neutralize what he framed as a “sinister plot” against the country.

    The current standoff comes after weeks of on-again off-again talks marred by repeated threats of violence and intermittent clashes that have failed to produce any path toward a permanent ceasefire. While Tehran has laid out strict non-negotiable conditions for any deal, U.S. President Donald Trump has maintained a public posture of optimism, telling reporters this week that a final agreement “could happen… over the weekend.”

    The conflict has put intense domestic political pressure on Trump ahead of looming U.S. midterm elections, with the war roiling global energy markets and proving deeply unpopular among American voters. The House resolution, which passed by a narrow 215-208 margin Wednesday, saw four Republican lawmakers join Democrats to support the order to withdraw U.S. troops from the conflict. Democrats framed the vote as an unambiguous mandate from the American public, writing on social platform X that “it’s time to end his deeply unpopular and illegal war of choice in Iran.” Despite the historic vote, the resolution remains largely symbolic: it would need Senate approval, and Trump has the power to veto any such measure if it reaches his desk.

    At a recent congressional hearing, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that Iran’s stockpiles of highly enriched uranium remain the core sticking point in negotiations. Washington’s demands are clear: Tehran must surrender all of its near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, agree to permanent curbs on its nuclear program, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which handles roughly 20% of global oil flows and its closure has sent shockwaves through energy markets since the war began. Iran has repeatedly defended its right to peaceful nuclear enrichment, and has made ending Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon a non-negotiable precondition for any deal. On Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that any Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut would trigger an immediate “full-scale resumption” of the wider regional war.

    The parallel conflict in Lebanon remains one of the most intractable parts of the broader crisis. On Wednesday, Israel and Lebanese negotiators announced a new ceasefire agreement after two days of direct talks in Washington. The deal requires Hezbollah to implement a complete cessation of hostilities, and establishes pilot border zones where the official Lebanese Armed Forces will take exclusive control, barring all non-state armed groups from the area. Follow-up negotiations are scheduled to begin the week of June 22, with the goal of reaching a comprehensive long-term agreement to end the conflict.

    The new deal replaces a failed April 17 truce that was never fully implemented, with violence escalating steadily across the border in the weeks since. Even hours after the new ceasefire was announced, both sides reported fresh clashes: Israeli authorities triggered air raid sirens after reporting what they called a “hostile aircraft infiltration” in northern Israel, while Lebanese state media documented new Israeli drone strikes in southern Lebanon. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz framed the agreement as a win for Israel, saying it grants Israeli forces “freedom of action, with American backing, to strike in Beirut in response to fire on Israeli communities.” Israel is currently conducting its deepest ground offensive into Lebanese territory in 20 years, and Katz confirmed that Israeli troops will remain in their current positions while continuing to “dismantle terrorist infrastructure” linked to Hezbollah, which has long been backed by Iran. Just days before the new ceasefire announcement, an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon killed a man, his son, and his daughter, whose funeral was held Saturday in the Christian border village of Qlayaa, a stark reminder of the human cost of the ongoing violence.

  • Israel strikes Lebanon after truce announcement

    Israel strikes Lebanon after truce announcement

    Fresh Israeli airstrikes hit multiple locations across southern Lebanon on Thursday, just hours after diplomats from Israel and Lebanon announced a tentative conditional ceasefire agreement following four rounds of negotiations mediated in Washington. The deal, reached during the fourth round of talks between the two countries’ envoys on Wednesday, hinges on the Iran-aligned militant group Hezbollah halting all cross-border attacks against Israeli targets. But the agreement has already been thrown into doubt, as Hezbollah — which rejects direct bilateral negotiations with Israel — has issued no official response to the announcement, and top Israeli defense officials have made clear that military operations will not pause.

  • Four men fined for offensive behaviour after booing at Anzac Day Dawn Service in Melbourne

    Four men fined for offensive behaviour after booing at Anzac Day Dawn Service in Melbourne

    One year after a disruptive act of protest marred one of Australia’s most solemn national commemorations, a Melbourne court has delivered guilty verdicts and substantial fines to four men who interrupted an Indigenous Welcome to Country address during the 2023 Anzac Day Dawn Service.

    The disturbance unfolded shortly before 5:40 a.m. on April 25, as Indigenous Elder Mark Brown stepped forward to deliver his opening welcome to a crowd of thousands gathered at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance. The group—three known members of the now-banned far-right white supremacist organization National Socialist Network, plus a fourth man affiliated with the movement—launched into coordinated booing that cut through the quiet of the dawn service. The heckling was picked up by live broadcast microphones, airing the disruption to television audiences across the nation.

    On Thursday, Magistrate James FitzGerald found all four men—Jacob Hersant, 27, Nathan Bull, 24, Michael Nelson, 22, and Ian Lomax, 35—guilty of offensive behaviour. In his ruling, FitzGerald emphasized that the Dawn Service, a ceremony dedicated to honoring Australian and New Zealand soldiers who died in conflict, is not a platform for political grandstanding. While he acknowledged that Welcome to Country ceremonies remain a topic of public debate in some circles, he rejected the group’s claim that their views justified ruining the solemn occasion for thousands of attendees.

    Three of the offenders—Hersant, Bull and Nelson—are prominent adherents of the neo-Nazi ideology propagated by the National Socialist Network, which was formally designated a prohibited hate group and disbanded earlier this year. All three are currently unemployed. The fourth man, Lomax, a dentist from Ballarat, has already had his medical practice license suspended by the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency over his ties to the extremist group, and he now works as a farmhand.

    Court documents detail that the men split into pairs to spread their disruption across the crowd: Hersant and Bull stood in one section, while Nelson and Lomax positioned themselves elsewhere. After the initial interruption, crowd members removed Nelson and Lomax from the service, but Hersant and Bull continued their heckling through subsequent portions of the ceremony. Hersant was captured on camera shouting vitriolic slogans including, “What about the Anzacs?” and “We don’t need to be welcomed to our own country”. Nelson, meanwhile, was recorded arguing with other attendees and claiming “The Anzacs fought for white Australians” and “The first heads of the RSL were pro-White Australia”.

    In their defense, the three younger men did not deny booing during the address, instead framing their actions as protected political activism. Lomax’s legal team argued that prosecutors had failed to produce sufficient evidence to prove their client participated in the booing. FitzGerald ruled that even though Nelson was removed from the service quickly, his offense was aggravated by deliberate goading of other attendees, noting “In other words you set out to be offensive and you succeeded in being highly offensive.”

    In sentencing, the judge handed down a AU$1,500 fine to Lomax, an AU$1,800 fine to Bull, and AU$3,000 fines to both Hersant and Nelson, with formal convictions recorded against the latter two. Prosecutor Ryan Mallia had previously pushed for a jail sentence for Hersant, citing his extensive prior criminal history tied to far-right extremist activity. Mallia stressed the severity of the offense, noting “It was heard by many people, likely most if not all that were in attendance … On the most sacred day for the Australian public to commemorate fallen soldiers.”

    Outside the courtroom following the verdict, Hersant, Nelson and Bull engaged in a verbal altercation with a female member of the public before police stepped in to separate the parties and de-escalate the conflict.

  • ASX tumbles as Middle East fallout spooks Australian investors

    ASX tumbles as Middle East fallout spooks Australian investors

    Just 24 hours after Australia’s benchmark share index notched an all-time record high, a wave of volatility spurred by developments in the Middle East and a sector-wide pullback for mining stocks erased all recent gains, leaving the country’s major markets in negative territory on Thursday trading.

    The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 finished the session down 99.60 points, a 1.13% drop that closed the index at 8686.10. The broader All Ordinaries index followed a similar trajectory, falling 100.30 points or 1.11% to end at 8916.90. The Australian dollar also weakened slightly against its U.S. counterpart, slipping 0.12% to settle at 71.25 U.S. cents. Of the 11 market sectors tracked by the ASX, six closed in negative territory, with the steepest losses concentrated in mining, telecommunications and technology stocks.

    Among the hardest hit were Australia’s two largest mining giants, BHP and Rio Tinto, which fell more than 3% each to close at $62.80 and $188.08 respectively. The drop came just one day after the firms’ stocks hit record highs. Fortescue Metals extended recent losses to fall a further 4.11% to $21.02, while gold miners Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining dropped 6.08% and 3.04% to close at $20.39 and $12.10 respectively.

    Cameron Curko, chief investment officer at wealth management firm Pitcher Partners, noted that shifting iron ore supply dynamics also weighed heavily on investor sentiment for the sector. Expanded production at the large Simandou iron ore deposit in the Republic of Guinea is accelerating, he explained, sparking fears of an oversupplied global iron ore market in the near term. “It also follows a period of extreme exuberance for the sector, so some pullback is not surprising,” Curko added.

    Outside of mining, major listed companies also posted steep losses: Telecommunications leader Telstra fell 2.93% to $4.97, while top technology firms including accounting software provider Xero dropped 4.19% to $80.40, logistics software firm WiseTech Global fell 2.93% to $40.14, and health technology firm Life360 tumbled 4.03% to $21.66.

    Much of the day’s market movement was driven by breaking news from the Middle East. Earlier in the day, an Iranian missile attack damaged Kuwait’s international airport, and U.S. military forces carried out targeted strikes near the Strait of Hormuz—one of the world’s busiest and most critical global oil chokepoints—raising fears of disrupted energy supplies that initially sent oil prices surging. That upward momentum faded quickly after Israel and Hezbollah announced a ceasefire along the Israel-Lebanon border, and Brent Crude Oil futures ultimately fell 1.1% to settle at $US96.78 per barrel by market close.

    Justin Lin, an investment strategist for Global X ETFs, explained that repeated false starts for peace negotiations in the Middle East have left markets cautious of reacting to headline news, prompting a broad flight to safe assets during Thursday’s session. “The distinct mood across markets today was a retreat to safety, with consumer staples and utilities leading the way while materials and information technology lagged,” Lin said. “This came despite oil prices moving lower on news of a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, a development that has historically supported the Australian market and more risk sensitive exposures.”

    Not all stocks closed in negative territory on Thursday. Treasury Wine Estates was a standout gainer, soaring 13.11% to close at $4.66 after the winemaker reaffirmed its full-year projected earnings guidance of between $480 million and $490 million alongside plans to cut up to a dozen low-performing wine brands from its portfolio. On the other hand, medical imaging technology firm Pro Medicus slipped just 0.25% to $159.23 after announcing a new five-year, $16 million contract with Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.