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  • Nepal vows action against trekker rescue scam

    Nepal vows action against trekker rescue scam

    Nestled in the heart of the Himalayas, Nepal draws adventure seekers from every corner of the globe each year. The country boasts eight of the 10 highest mountain peaks on Earth, including the iconic Mount Everest, with thousands of trekkers tackling its isolated high-altitude trails annually. For these remote routes, emergency helicopter evacuations are a lifeline for travelers facing altitude sickness or life-threatening injury — but they also come with a steep price tag.

    For years, this critical rescue system has been exploited by a widespread insurance scam that threatens one of Nepal’s most important economic pillars: tourism. On Tuesday, a senior government official confirmed that authorities are rolling out strict new measures to eliminate the racket, which has already led to 32 criminal charges over an alleged fraud scheme worth more than $19.6 million.

    Law enforcement investigations have laid bare the brazen tactics used by scam operators. One common fraudulent practice involves filing multiple duplicate insurance claims for a single helicopter rescue, allowing charter companies to collect payment several times over for the same unnecessary flight. Investigators also uncovered more alarming abuses: some trekkers were intentionally made unwell, through serving contaminated food or even tampering with meals using baking soda, to manufacture a medical emergency that justified an airlift. Even trekkers with only minor altitude-related discomforts were pressured into agreeing to evacuation, according to official charge documents.

    “The government is taking several steps to ensure that there is investigation and immediate action against any fraudulent practices,” Jaya Narayan Acharya, spokesman for Nepal’s Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, told Agence France-Presse. “Tourism is an important industry. We must take corrective action against any malpractice.”

    The new crackdown introduces a formal zero-tolerance policy toward the scam, with measures including expanded cross-agency investigations and public disclosure of the identities of entities found guilty of fraud. A dedicated interagency task force, bringing together representatives from national police, the Nepal Tourism Board, and civil aviation regulators, will be tasked with strengthening industry oversight, carrying out regular compliance audits, and verifying that all trekking guides and agencies hold valid operating licenses.

    This latest enforcement action comes after years of inaction that allowed the scam to grow. A 2018 government inquiry identified 15 companies linked to similar fraudulent practices, but no legal action was ever taken. Even after new industry guidelines were introduced years ago following warnings from international insurance providers, the racket continued to operate unimpeded.

    The current investigation launches just ahead of Nepal’s profitable annual climbing and trekking season, a period that generates huge revenue for the country as mountaineers pay tens of thousands of dollars for permits and guiding services to attempt summiting the world’s highest peaks. On these dangerous high-altitude routes, acute mountain sickness can turn fatal quickly, making trust between trekkers and guides critical to the industry’s reputation.

    Notably, police confirmed there is no evidence linking Everest expedition guides to the scam. The Nepal Mountaineering Association has also pushed back against some of the most serious allegations, stating that there are no verified cases of intentional food poisoning or medication tampering involving Diamox, a common drug used to prevent and treat altitude sickness, for climbers operating in Nepal.

  • War in the Middle East: latest developments

    War in the Middle East: latest developments

    The long-simmering conflict between Israel and Iran erupted into open cross-border fire on Tuesday, sending shockwaves through the Middle East and raising urgent international concerns over broader regional destabilization. Multiple coordinated strikes, civilian safety warnings, and high-stakes diplomatic maneuvering have combined to create one of the most volatile moments in the region in decades.

    Pakistan, which has been serving as a neutral mediator between Iran and the United States, has seen its diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the crisis reach a pivotal turning point, according to Iran’s ambassador to Islamabad, Reza Amiri Moghadam. In a post shared Tuesday on the social platform X, Moghadam noted that “positive and productive endeavours in Good Will and Good Office to stop the war is approaching a critical, sensitive stage,” though he offered no additional details on the substance or timeline of the ongoing talks.

    As military operations intensified across the region, the Israeli Defense Force issued an urgent public safety advisory to Iranian civilians, urging them to avoid all rail travel across Iran until 17:30 GMT Tuesday. “For your safety, we ask you to refrain from using trains or travelling by train throughout the country from now until 9 pm Iran time,” the military said via its official Persian-language social media account, warning that “Your presence on trains and near railway tracks puts your life in danger.”

    Neighboring Gulf states have also moved to strengthen security protocols amid rising tensions. Authorities in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain announced a temporary precautionary closure of the King Fahd Bridge, a critical cross-border transportation artery that connects the Saudi mainland to the island Kingdom of Bahrain. The closure came shortly after official security alerts were issued for the border region amid rising threat assessments.

    In the Iranian capital of Tehran, local media confirmed that US-Israeli joint airstrikes carried out early Tuesday completely destroyed the city’s Rafi-Nia synagogue. Iran is home to a small remaining Jewish community, the majority of whose members fled the country in the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

    Hours after a series of strikes hit energy infrastructure targets across Iran, overnight attacks targeted a major petrochemical complex in the eastern Saudi Arabian industrial city of Jubail. An anonymous witness confirmed the strike to Agence France-Presse (AFP) Tuesday. The strike came shortly after the Saudi Ministry of Defense announced that its air defense systems had successfully intercepted and destroyed seven ballistic missiles launched toward eastern regions of the kingdom.

    The escalating conflict has already claimed the lives of foreign civilians, with the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs confirming Tuesday that a second Philippine national has been killed in the fighting. The Filipino woman was killed Sunday in a missile strike on a residential building in the Israeli port city of Haifa, dying alongside her Israeli husband and his elderly parents. Israeli rescue services recovered four bodies total from the rubble of the building, which was hit by an Iranian missile a day after the attack was launched.

    Israeli military officials confirmed Tuesday that they had launched a widespread wave of airstrikes across Iran, with local Iranian media outlets reporting loud explosions across multiple neighborhoods in Tehran and the nearby city of Karaj. Simultaneously, the IDF confirmed that its domestic air defense systems had been activated to intercept incoming missiles fired by Iranian forces toward Israeli territory.

    In the autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq, local authorities reported that a drone originating from Iran crashed into a residential home, killing a married couple. An AFP journalist on the ground also reported hearing two large explosions near Erbil International Airport, which hosts military advisors from the US-led global anti-jihadist coalition. Earlier the same day, a security source told AFP that regional air defense systems had intercepted four missiles targeted at the US consulate in Erbil before they could reach their target.

    At the United Nations headquarters in New York, the UN Security Council is scheduled to hold a key vote Tuesday on a draft resolution addressing Iranian threats to freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a top global diplomatic source confirmed to AFP. The latest draft of the resolution, which has been reviewed by AFP, demands that Iran end all attacks on commercial shipping and halt “any attempt to impede transit passage or freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.” However, objections from multiple veto-wielding permanent Security Council members have forced negotiators to water down the text, and the current draft does not include explicit authorization for the use of military force to enforce its terms. Tehran has effectively closed the strategic waterway to international commercial traffic since US-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets on February 28, a move that has already sent global oil and natural gas prices soaring in recent weeks.

    Tensions between Washington and Tehran further escalated Tuesday after US President Donald Trump doubled down on extreme threats to destroy Iran’s national infrastructure. In response, an Iranian Army spokesperson rejected the threats, saying that Trump’s “rude, arrogant rhetoric” has no impact on Iranian military and political decision-making. Trump doubled down on the threats during a White House press conference, saying that “the entire country” of Iran “could be taken out in one night and that night might be tomorrow night,” if Iran does not meet his ultimatum to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 00:00 GMT Wednesday. “Every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again,” he said, adding that he also threatened to destroy all major bridges across Iran. “I mean complete demolition by 12 o’clock (0400 GMT), and it’ll happen over a period of four hours — if we wanted to.”

  • Australia issues new travel warning for Fiji as separate cyclones loom over Pacific neighbour and north Qld

    Australia issues new travel warning for Fiji as separate cyclones loom over Pacific neighbour and north Qld

    Two simultaneous Category 3 severe tropical cyclones are churning across the South Pacific, triggering an urgent travel advisory from Australian officials for visitors heading to one of the region’s top tourist destinations, and raising storm preparedness alerts for both Fiji and Australia’s Queensland state.

    In an updated public notice issued through its official Smartraveller service, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) warned Australians with upcoming travel plans for Fiji that Cyclone Vaianu, one of the two powerful storm systems, is projected to bring severe hazardous conditions to the island nation. As the storm tracks southward toward New Zealand, it is expected to dump intense rainfall that will trigger life-threatening flash flooding, alongside destructive sustained winds that can down power lines and damage infrastructure.

    DFAT officials noted that the approaching storm is already poised to disrupt regional travel plans, with widespread potential for flight delays or full cancellations, as well as interruptions to basic essential services across affected areas. The department has urged all current and incoming travelers in Fiji to familiarize themselves with their accommodation’s official evacuation protocols, and to follow direction from local emergency management officials immediately if a storm warning is issued for their area. “If a cyclone is approaching your area, find your nearest shelter and follow the advice of local authorities,” the advisory read.

    Vaianu is currently on track to reach New Zealand’s North Island, including the country’s largest city Auckland, by the weekend. Forecasters project the storm will weaken significantly as it moves across cooler southern waters, dropping below tropical cyclone intensity before it reaches landfall in New Zealand.

    The second cyclone, Maila, the other equally powerful Category 3 storm system, is currently lingering east of Papua New Guinea in the waters near the Solomon Islands. According to updates from Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), steering wind currents around the storm are currently balanced, leaving Maila moving slowly across the Solomon Sea. The system is forecast to shift toward the west-southwest by Thursday, and while it will remain well offshore of Queensland’s coast for the next several days, it is projected to track toward far north Queensland from late this week, with potential landfall sometime over the weekend or early next week. Forecasters have not yet confirmed what intensity Maila will maintain when it reaches the Australian coastline.

    This is not the first time Fiji has faced severe cyclone impacts; the island nation suffered one of its deadliest storm events in 2016, when Cyclone Winston made landfall and killed 44 people, leaving thousands homeless and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to the country’s critical tourism infrastructure.

    In addition to the alerts, DFAT has advised all travelers planning trips to Fiji to reach out directly to their airline and accommodation providers to confirm the status of their plans and understand any changes or disruptions that may affect their trip.

  • Laughter, tears: historic day for astronaut Jenni Gibbons in Houston

    Laughter, tears: historic day for astronaut Jenni Gibbons in Houston

    On a momentous Monday inside NASA’s Houston mission control center, Canadian astronaut Jenni Gibbons stood at the center of a landmark moment for human space exploration, remotely guiding her Artemis II crewmates through their groundbreaking voyage around the Moon. Handpicked as the mission’s backup astronaut, Gibbons spent months training alongside the four primary crew members: NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen. On flight day, her core role was managing real-time communications between ground teams and the crew as they checked off a long list of historic milestones during their lunar flyby.

    In an exclusive interview with AFP, Gibbons shared her firsthand account of the emotional, electric atmosphere inside the control room, more than 50 years after humanity first reached the Moon. The air was thick with tangible, contagious excitement, she recalled, a once-in-a-generation moment punctuated by tears, warm hugs, and unbridled laughter. “Every flight controller in that room grew up inspired by the Apollo missions, and many have spent their entire careers working toward this day,” Gibbons explained. “When the crew called down their descriptions of the space and views around them, the energy in the room was unmatched.”

    Over the course of nearly seven hours, the Artemis II crew fixed their gaze on the lunar and deep space landscape outside their capsule windows, shattering long-standing records and making modern space history. Most notably, the team broke the 54-year-old distance record set by Apollo 13, which had stood as the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth. When Artemis II reached its maximum distance from our home planet, it clocked in at 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers) – more than 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) farther than Apollo 13’s 1970 record. “That moment was so special,” Gibbons said. “At one point, people were crying, people were hugging, people were laughing out of joy. It’s one of the most cherished moments of my entire career.”

    When asked why this lunar flyby will go down as a defining chapter in space exploration history, Gibbons outlined two key breakthroughs beyond the distance record. First, all previous Apollo missions flew much closer to the Moon than Artemis II, meaning the crew experienced a unique perspective of Earth that no human had ever witnessed firsthand. The flyby also brought the crew to the far side of the Moon, where terrain features had never been illuminated for direct human observation during the Apollo era. “We’ve mapped these areas with remote imaging before, but this is the first time human eyes – the most sensitive cameras in existence – have been able to observe these landscapes directly,” she noted.

    One specific observation from the crew stood out to Gibbons above the rest: thanks to the timing of the mission’s launch and unique orbital mechanics, the crew witnessed a solar eclipse as they completed the final leg of their lunar flyby. The alignment of the Sun, Moon, and capsule allowed the team to see faint deep space and lunar features that are usually hidden by bright sunlight, including fine details of the Sun’s corona as it passed behind the Moon. The crew carried eclipse glasses for safe viewing, a small detail that Gibbons says helps connect their out-of-this-world experience to eclipse watchers here on Earth.

    The crew also made a rare scientific observation while the Moon was fully shadowed: they spotted four to five impact flashes on the lunar surface, created when space material collides with the Moon to form new craters. While Apollo astronauts occasionally reported seeing similar events, such observations are extremely rare and hold high scientific value. “The fact that they saw multiple impact flashes during the flyby is just outstanding,” Gibbons added.

  • Kon Gob, Yahye Abas: Pair charged over alleged Lygon St machete attack on New Year’s Eve

    Kon Gob, Yahye Abas: Pair charged over alleged Lygon St machete attack on New Year’s Eve

    Two months after a brazen New Year’s Eve group machete attack that left two young men hospitalized with severe injuries on one of Melbourne’s busiest entertainment strips, two of the accused have appeared before the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, with one receiving a stern final warning over case delays.

    On Tuesday afternoon, 20-year-old Kon Tong Gob made his first court appearance since being charged over the December 31 incident on Lygon Street, Carlton, a popular pedestrian strip lined with restaurants and bars that was packed with revellers ahead of midnight. To avoid press photography, Gob covered his entire head with a jacket as he entered and exited the courtroom, keeping his face hidden from view.

    Authorities allege Gob, 21-year-old co-accused Yahye Abas, and a 17-year-old minor carried out the targeted attack outside The Balcony Shisha Bar, which was captured in full by local closed-circuit television. Investigators confirm the two groups involved were already known to one another, and the three offenders fled the scene in motor vehicles after the assault. Two victims, an 18-year-old and a 20-year-old, were rushed to emergency care with serious wounds. All three accused face three identical charges: violent disorder, affray, and intentionally causing serious injury. Two additional men arrested in connection with the case in January – a 19-year-old from Carlton and a 21-year-old from Reservoir – have since been released without any charges being laid.

    During Tuesday’s hearing, Alana Reader, Gob’s legal representative, requested an adjournment of the case. Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge granted a one-month delay but issued an unambiguous final warning that no further extensions would be permitted. “It’s not going to be further adjourned after that date,” Lethbridge told the court.

    Abas also appeared before the court on the same day, and his case was also adjourned following reports he has made a legal deal offer to prosecuting authorities. The court confirmed prosecutors have asked for a four-week window to review and assess the proposal. Both Gob and Abas are scheduled to return to Melbourne Magistrates’ Court for their next hearing on May 6.

  • ‘He won’t miss a beat’: Rival tips Bronson Xerri to come out firing in his return game, Dragons make major changes for round six

    ‘He won’t miss a beat’: Rival tips Bronson Xerri to come out firing in his return game, Dragons make major changes for round six

    The National Rugby League’s next round of fixtures is bringing a wave of dramatic lineup changes across the competition, headlined by speed centre Bronson Xerri’s shock recall to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs starting side. Xerri will get his first start of the season outside of the opening round in Las Vegas this Thursday, when the Bulldogs face off against competition heavyweights and title favourites Penrith Panthers. He will replace captain Stephen Crichton, who is currently sidelined recovering from an AC joint injury.

    Xerri’s path back to the starting 13 has been anything but smooth. After being dropped to reserve grade following the season opener, speculation quickly mounted that the winger could seek an immediate release from his contract to pursue opportunities elsewhere. Things grew even more tense on Good Friday, when Crichton picked up his early injury, but Ciraldo opted to leave Xerri on the bench instead of slotting him into the starting lineup. Instead, the coach shifted five-eighth Burton to left centre and called Sean O’Sullivan up into the halves.

    Now that he has earned his shot against the league’s top side, Penrith centre Paul Alamoti says he expects a fired-up, hungry performance from the returning Bulldogs speedster. “I think we’ll see a lot of fire and a lot of energy from him, and rightfully so,” Alamoti told reporters ahead of the clash. “The position that he’s been in, that’s what I’m expecting from him: someone who is hungry on the field, who is locked in on every single play. He won’t miss a beat.”

    For the unbeaten Panthers, the lineup news is far less chaotic, with hooker Mitch Kenny returning to the side fresh after serving a suspension.

    Down the coast at St George Illawarra Dragons, the club has announced a major overhaul of its halves pairing for a must-win upcoming clash, following a messy performance against North Queensland Cowboys last round. Kyle Flanagan is back in the starting seven just weeks after suffering a sickening head knock, slotting back into the number seven jersey. Big-money off-season signing Daniel Atkinson, who struggled with a poor kicking performance against the Cowboys, will shift to five-eighth to accommodate Flanagan’s return.

    Dragons captain Clint Guthrie will miss the next several weeks with a hamstring injury, opening the door for Tyrell Sloan to step into the fullback position, where he will add much-needed attacking speed to the side. On the wing, Setu Tu will come in to replace suspended forward David Fale.

    Across at Brisbane Broncos, captain Adam Reynolds has been named in the starting side despite exiting last week’s match early with a groin injury. Reserves back Tom Duffy has been named on standby to step into the side if Reynolds is ruled out unfit pre-match. Blake Mozer has been named on the bench to replace the injured Ben Hunt, while Jesse Arthars will get the start at fullback after superstar Reece Walsh was ruled out for at least a month with a fractured cheekbone.

    Speaking ahead of his first start in the fullback role, Arthars said he was not feeling added pressure filling in for the representative star. “I don’t feel the pressure. Obviously we are two different players and I just want to bring my strengths,” Arthars said. “I am sure the boys will have faith in me, and that is something I want to repay to my teammates and to Madge (coach Michael Maguire) for picking me and trusting me.”

    Josiah Karapani is returning to the Cowboys starting lineup on the wing after missing last round over disciplinary issues, and he will go up against Brisbane’s Arthars. Cowboys centre Braidon Burns is still in doubt after leaving last week’s match with an ankle injury.

    For Sydney Roosters, the side is getting two key playmakers back this round: enforcer Victor Radley returns after serving a club-imposed suspension, while prop Spencer Leniu is back from a hamstring injury. Hugo Savala will step into left centre to replace the injured Billy Smith.

    Elsewhere across the league, Brandon Smith has finally received medical clearance to make his season debut for the Melbourne Storm after spending the opening weeks of the year sidelined with a lingering calf injury. For the Canberra Raiders, Jed Stuart will start on the wing in place of Xavier Savage, who is out with an ankle injury. At Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Mawene Hiroti has been named to replace injured centre Jesse Ramien, who will go up against the Roosters’ new starting centre Savala. The Storm have also welcomed outside backs Moses Leo and Jack Howarth back into the squad after extended time on the injury list.

    New Zealand Warriors will be without starting five-eighth Luke Metcalf for multiple weeks with a hamstring injury, with Chanel Harris-Tavita stepping into the playmaking role to replace him.

    Parramatta Eels are facing a crisis of injuries after a bruising Easter Monday loss, with four key players ruled out of the next round: Bailey Simonsson, Sean Russell, Jonah Pezet and breakout rookie Apa Twidle are all unavailable. Araz Nanva will make his first grade debut on the right wing, while Ronald Volkman has been named starting five-eighth, with starting centre Will Penisini hopeful of a return from his own injury issue.

    Finally, Jeral Skelton has been recalled to the starting wing for Wests Tigers ahead of their clash against Newcastle Knights, who will be without star centre Bradman Best, who is out with a groin injury.

  • AFL 2026: South Australian great Mark Ricciuto suspects Zak Butters is all but out of Port Adelaide

    AFL 2026: South Australian great Mark Ricciuto suspects Zak Butters is all but out of Port Adelaide

    As one of South Australia’s most respected Australian Football League legends, Brownlow Medallist and eight-time All Australian Mark Ricciuto has delivered a stark assessment of Port Adelaide superstar Zak Butters’ future at the club, claiming there is a 99% likelihood the young gun will depart for Victoria at the end of the current season.

    Butters is entering the final stretch of his existing contract with Port Adelaide based at Alberton, and his impending free agency has already triggered widespread speculation of a heated bidding war for his services when the off-season transfer window opens. According to industry rumours, the Western Bulldogs hold the strongest position to secure Butters’ signature, as the player has openly shared his goal to relocate closer to Darley, his rural Victorian hometown.

    In comments shared with media this week, Ricciuto outlined the two stark paths Port Adelaide’s list management team now faces. The first option involves ramping up a massive contract offer to convince Butters to stay, potentially pushing his annual salary as high as AUD 2.5 million – well above the AUD 2 million figure widely cited as the going rate for star players at Melbourne-based clubs. The alternative would see the Power cut ties, capitalise on the transfer market to secure a package of high-value early draft picks, and accelerate a full team rebuild ahead of the upcoming entry of the Tasmanian AFL team, which will reshape future draft allocations.

    “All I can go on is what I hear from everyone across the industry, and everyone says he’s probably a 99 per cent chance of going,” Ricciuto said. “I don’t know what the list managers at Port Adelaide will do – they might chuck an extra half a million a year on top of any existing offer, but who knows? They could also choose to let him leave, pocket the draft picks, and push forward with their rebuild. Chad Cornes has raised questions about Mitch Georgiades potentially departing too; if both players leave this off-season, Port could walk away with four or five top-round picks before the Tasmanian team entry adjusts the draft structure. I don’t know what will end up happening, but if you follow the rumour mill, the rumour mill says he’s gone.”

    Beyond his analysis of Butters’ future, Ricciuto also shared his assessment of his former club, the Adelaide Crows, heading into their upcoming Round 5 Gather Round clash against Carlton this Thursday night. The Crows currently hold a 1-3 win-loss record after dropping three consecutive close matches against the Western Bulldogs, Geelong and Fremantle – a start that has left many fans concerned about the team’s trajectory this season.

    Ricciuto, however, urged supporters not to hit the panic button just yet, noting that Adelaide’s slow start comes against an unusually tough opening schedule. “I think they’ve played four really good sides, had a couple of slow starts and their midfield is perhaps a little bit down as well,” he explained. “The team’s ball movement has been a talking point, so I think they’re probably only playing at 70 to 80 per cent of their full capability right now. They’ve still been competitive with the top teams in the competition, so I think there’s a lot of upside with this Adelaide group. I certainly wouldn’t be panicking, but I’d want to see some improvement in form from the players who are currently underperforming. That’s not uncommon for anyone in the competition – anyone can hit a form slump, but as long as you put in the work on the training track, you turn things around eventually.”

    Ahead of this year’s Gather Round hosted in South Australia, Ricciuto has also thrown his support behind the “Always respect, always DrinkWise” public health campaign, urging footy supporters flocking to Adelaide for the blockbuster weekend of football to prioritise responsible drinking and look out for their fellow fans.

    “It’s a big weekend Gather Round, it’s a good time, there’s lots of people in Adelaide, lots of interstaters,” he said. “I think the key thing is to drink alcohol in moderation and making sure you’re remembering Gather Round for the right reasons. There’s a lot of passion in footy, in close games, in big moments, so just do everything in moderation.”

  • ‘Morale boost’: NASA carries out Moon mission during tough year for science

    ‘Morale boost’: NASA carries out Moon mission during tough year for science

    In a moment decades in the making, NASA’s long-awaited Artemis II mission reached its dramatic milestone this week, as four astronauts guided the Orion spacecraft on a close swing around the far side of the Moon. While the mission unfolded 240,000 miles from Earth, hundreds of agency staff packed into Houston’s historic Johnson Space Center White Flight Control Room on Monday to capture a celebratory group photo, their grins reflecting the excitement of a feat not accomplished by American astronauts in 50 years. For thousands of NASA team members who have spent years, even decades, developing the Artemis program, this successful lunar flyby comes at a uniquely challenging moment for American scientific research. The Trump administration has ushered in sweeping cuts to federal science spending, frozen long-planned projects, and reduced agency workforces across the sector. Just one week before Artemis II reached its lunar milestone, the White House tabled a new budget proposal that would slash NASA’s overall operating budget by 23%, with deep cuts to the agency’s core science programs. Space policy analyst Clayton Swope of the Center for Strategic and International Studies notes that NASA has navigated these severe headwinds to deliver on one of the nation’s most high-profile exploration goals. “It’s been under very challenging circumstances,” Swope told Agence France-Presse, affirming that the mission team has delivered on its promise despite widespread resource cuts. For the scientists and engineers who built the Artemis program, the successful mission has been far more than a technical achievement — it has been a much-needed injection of institutional morale. Exploration scientist Jacob Bleacher, who has worked on the initiative for more than a decade, called the milestone a “massive positive moment” for the entire agency. Speaking from Johnson Space Center’s Science Mission Operations Room, Bleacher described the experience as surreal. Most current NASA staff and the majority of the American public were not alive during the 1960s Apollo Moon landing era, turning the iconic lunar missions into a distant historical myth rather than a living, ongoing achievement. “This is my generation’s first chance to step up and really do this,” Bleacher said. “I like to think about it as walking through a doorway into how humankind explores the solar system going forward.” Amanda Nahm, a program scientist based at NASA Headquarters, echoed that sentiment, saying the mission’s progress has already offered a substantial “morale boost” for staff across the agency. “We all work at NASA because of this — and I think it’s helping remind us that our base mission is this hard, exciting exploration — seeing new things, trying out new things we’ve never done before,” Nahm said. “I think it will hopefully reinvigorate us all.” For the four astronauts on board Artemis II, the weight of the moment has not been lost on the crew. Mission commander Reid Wiseman emphasized that the mission’s success belongs to the thousands of ground staff who prepared for the flight over years of work. “We just feel like we’re lifted up by the team that supports us, and you just sort of execute the plan,” Wiseman said as the crew traveled away from Earth. “A lot of people telling us how to work this and manage this vehicle, and a lot of great training, and you just kind of go step by step, which I think is pretty remarkable, what this team can do. It really highlights their excellence.” The Artemis program’s ultimate goal — set by the Trump administration, which has pushed for a crewed lunar landing before the end of the second presidential term in 2029 — remains on the horizon, but this first crewed lunar flyby in a generation has already renewed momentum for a program navigating significant political and budgetary headwinds.

  • ‘I’ve got to go where the best opportunity is’: Jack Cole could leave Penrith at the end of the season

    ‘I’ve got to go where the best opportunity is’: Jack Cole could leave Penrith at the end of the season

    One of the National Rugby League’s most promising young playmakers is facing an uncertain future at the Penrith Panthers, with a potential move to a new club for the 2027 season growing increasingly likely as his path to consistent first-grade football is blocked by established stars.

    Twenty-two-year-old Jack Cole, who has been a part of the Panthers organization since he was 15 years old, is currently in his fourth season with the club. However, he has been stuck behind star halfback Nathan Cleary, rising talent Blaize Talagi and experienced recruit Jack Cogger in the team’s depth chart, leaving him with little room to break into the top side. Out of contract at the end of the current season, Cole has emerged as a potential target for rival NRL clubs, though he has ruled out a move to the UK’s Super League at this stage of his young career.

    In an interview with NewsWire, Cole shared that he expects more clarity around his future over the next one to two months, and is focusing on his on-field performance to attract interest from suitors, whether that be Penrith or rival clubs. “I don’t know yet. It’s still early days, obviously being round five. Hopefully I get a bit more clarity maybe over the next month or two,” Cole explained. “Enjoying my footy and just focusing on my footy is going to help that cause. So I’m not really trying to worry about too much else really. Just trying to knuckle down and get better. And then obviously that will create more interest.”

    While Cole made clear he holds deep affection for the Panthers organization that has developed him from a teenager, he acknowledges that professional rugby league is a business, and his next move will be driven by the opportunity to secure consistent first-grade game time and long-term financial security. He is eager to make the jump from understudy to a starting leading man at a club, and is open to a move if Penrith cannot offer him that path. “I love it at Penrith and we’ll just see what happens. I’ve got to go where the best opportunity is, because at the end of the day, it is a business. If there wasn’t an opportunity here for me at the end of the year to progress or play consistent NRL, then you’d obviously have to try to have a look,” he said.

    This season, Cole has turned in strong performances in the NSW Cup after recovering from major shoulder surgery that cut short his pre-season training. During his rehab, he leaned heavily on Panthers star Nathan Cleary, who underwent the same procedure years earlier, for guidance on the mental side of recovery. Cleary shared a key mental skills technique he uses – visualization – to help Cole prepare for a return to playing, focusing on routine game processes rather than big high-pressure moments. “He told me to focus on the video and the mental side of the game. There are a lot of good things here we do about visualisation, which obviously if you can train your mind and visualise some stuff then it’s going to help with the physical side when you’re back doing that stuff too. Most people close their eyes and just put yourself in scenarios. It’s more so about process instead of picturing big moments like matchwinning tries,” Cole explained. Cleary also shared diet tips, including bone broth and oysters, though Cole admitted he has not tested the oyster recommendation.

    Cole has not yet featured in first-grade this season, but he stands ready to step up into the side when Cleary is away representing New South Wales in the annual State of Origin series. He credits Penrith’s “next man up” culture and the NSW Cup side’s alignment with the first-team game plan for making it easy for reserves to slot straight into the top side when called upon. “I think that’s a big part of Penrith where everyone’s got to be ready. It’s sort of a next man up mentality here, so we all train the same, we all have the same sequences, set plays. Our Cup team models our game off the NRL team, so I think that helps that when someone does get called up, you sort of just slot straight in,” he said. “If I get called up, I’ll be ready and just enjoy it and take it with both hands.”

  • Australian soldier arrested for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan

    Australian soldier arrested for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan

    In a landmark development that caps years of investigations into alleged atrocities by Australian special forces in Afghanistan, one of the nation’s most celebrated former military personnel has been taken into custody on multiple charges of war crime murder. Australian Federal Police (AFP) announced Tuesday the arrest of 47-year-old Ben Roberts-Smith, a recipient of the Victoria Cross — Australia’s highest award for battlefield gallantry — who has long been at the center of mounting allegations of unlawful killings of unarmed civilians and prisoners during his deployment.

    AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett confirmed to reporters that the former Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) soldier faces five counts of war crime murder. The alleged offenses took place between 2009 and 2012, during Australia’s long-term participation in US- and NATO-led counter-insurgency operations in Afghanistan. All of the victims were civilians or detained prisoners who were not actively engaged in hostilities at the time of their deaths, Barrett said. Prosecutors will argue that the victims were either shot directly by Roberts-Smith, or killed by his subordinates acting on explicit orders from him.

    Once hailed as Australia’s most distinguished living war hero, Roberts-Smith’s reputation began to unravel in 2018, when investigative journalists from *The Age* and *The Sydney Morning Herald* published a series of explosive reports linking him to a pattern of unlawful killings and unprofessional conduct during his tour of duty. The outlets alleged that Roberts-Smith kicked an unarmed Afghan civilian off a cliff before ordering his troops to shoot the man, and that he participated in the machine-gun killing of a man with a prosthetic leg — later repurposing the limb as a drinking trophy during celebrations with fellow soldiers.

    The 2018 media reports triggered a sweeping national inquiry into allegations of war crimes committed by Australian special forces in Afghanistan. A landmark 2020 military-led investigation ultimately confirmed that special forces personnel unlawfully killed 39 unarmed Afghan civilians and prisoners between 2005 and 2016, uncovering widespread evidence of summary executions, competitive body-counting practices, and systemic torture among deployed troops.

    Under intense public and international pressure to hold perpetrators accountable, the Australian government established a dedicated special investigation unit to pursue criminal charges against current and former service members linked to the atrocities. Throughout the years of investigation and public scrutiny, Roberts-Smith has consistently maintained his complete innocence. He launched a costly defamation lawsuit, reported to be worth millions of Australian dollars, against the newspapers that first published the war crime allegations against him.

    Over the 20-year duration of the Western military campaign in Afghanistan, Australia deployed more than 39,000 troops to the country to fight against the Taliban and other affiliated militant groups. In recent years, as veterans have returned to civilian life, the conduct of Australian troops during the conflict has come under unprecedented legal and public scrutiny, with Roberts-Smith’s arrest marking one of the most high-profile legal actions to date in the national reckoning over wartime conduct.