Global Pulse

标签： Oceania

大洋洲

  • “I love the inflation”: Trump comment on latest price jump sparks backlash

    “I love the inflation”: Trump comment on latest price jump sparks backlash

    A controversial offhand remark from U.S. President Donald Trump has thrown the nation’s ongoing inflation crisis into the center of the 2026 midterm election campaign, after the commander-in-chief openly embraced the latest three-year high in consumer price growth driven by his administration’s war with Iran.

    Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Trump downplayed widespread alarm over the May inflation reading, which clocked in at 4.2% year-over-year — up from 3.8% in April and the highest recorded since early 2023. “The numbers were great… I love the inflation,” the president stated, a line that Democratic opponents immediately seized on as proof the Trump administration is disconnected from the financial strain facing working American households.

    The sharp uptick in inflation traces directly to the February U.S.-led military campaign against Iran, which triggered a near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Tehran. Approximately one-fifth of the world’s daily oil and gas supplies pass through this critical chokepoint, and its closure sent global energy costs soaring. In May alone, national energy prices jumped 23.5% year-over-year, with retail gasoline surging 40.5%. Grocery costs added to the strain, rising 2.7% annually, with additional hikes hitting medical care, air travel, personal care and recreational services.

    Trump has pushed back against criticism, repeating his prediction that inflation will “come down like a rock” once the Iran conflict concludes. But independent economists have widely rejected that timeline, noting that oil markets will take months to stabilize even if a ceasefire is reached in the near term.

    Partisan fighting over the remark intensified rapidly in the hours after Trump’s comment. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, defended the president, arguing his words had been taken out of context. But Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer rejected that framing, posting on X that “Trump really said, ‘I love the inflation.’ On camera. For all of America to hear. His contempt for you knows no bounds.” The Democratic National Committee also released a new campaign ad featuring the full clip of Trump’s remark, framing it as an open admission of the administration’s disregard for household budgets.

    Long-running inflationary pressures have built in the U.S. economy for years, persisting long after the COVID-19 pandemic. Multiple overlapping shocks have kept prices elevated, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Trump’s trade tariffs, and now the Iran conflict. Still, some analysts see early signs that inflation may have hit its peak. Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, noted that retail gasoline prices have stabilized in recent weeks. She projects that inflation will trend downward in the second half of 2026, provided the Strait of Hormuz is reopened quickly through a diplomatic resolution to the Iran conflict. Core inflation, which strips out the volatile food and energy sectors, only ticked up 0.1% to 2.9% in May, and EY-Parthenon chief economist Gregory Daco added that “there appears to be little passthrough of higher energy cost onto core inflation, outside of airfare.”

    The inflation surge has also created major uncertainty for the U.S. Federal Reserve, which holds a key policy meeting next week. The gathering will be the first for new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, who was nominated by Trump and has faced sustained public pressure from the president to cut interest rates to boost economic growth.

    But the higher inflation reading has upended earlier market expectations. Before the Iran war, investors anticipated the Fed would begin cutting rates later this year, as inflation driven by Trump’s tariffs was expected to cool. Now, markets expect rates to hold steady next week, and are pricing in potential rate hikes later in the year — a shift that has rattled equity investors. Multiple Fed policymakers have publicly voiced growing concern over persistent inflation, which the central bank traditionally counters by raising borrowing costs. “The Fed will be in no position to cut rates if this continues,” explained Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management.

  • ‘We have to do better’: Trent Robinson’s powerful response to Kane Evans’ announcement

    ‘We have to do better’: Trent Robinson’s powerful response to Kane Evans’ announcement

    When former National Rugby League (NRL) player Kane Evans opened up about coming out as gay in a raw, vulnerable public interview this week, the praise quickly rolled in for Sydney Roosters head coach Trent Robinson, who has supported Evans through his years of inner turmoil. But the veteran coach has rejected the accolades, instead using the moment to challenge the sport to confront an uncomfortable truth: men’s rugby league still has not created a safe, inclusive environment where current players can be open about their sexuality.\n\nEvans, who spent six seasons with the Roosters before moving to other clubs, shared his decades-long struggle with denial in a primetime interview on the football program *100% Footy* on Monday night. The 31-year-old revealed that hiding his identity had left him suicidal, describing the crippling mental toll of staying in the closet throughout his professional playing career. He is only the second professional men’s rugby league player to ever come out as gay.\n\nWhile Robinson has stepped up to support Evans post-retirement — covering four weeks of his rent and paying for his mental health care alongside the Roosters organization — the coach made clear Thursday that this private support is not enough. Speaking to reporters, he questioned why Evans never felt safe enough to share his identity during his six years playing at the club.\n\n“I’m really proud of the club, but we still had a guy here for six years that didn’t feel open enough to say that he was gay while he was here,” Robinson said. “There’s a lot of positivity coming towards Kane, and then even towards us, but we’re still not at a place where somebody can come out while they’re playing. The reflection for me has been that we do things to support our players and former players, and we try and do our best, but have we got the complete right environment? I think we can be better.”\n\nRobinson pointed to a stark gap between public perception and lived reality within the sport, noting that statistical logic makes it clear there are far more LGBTQ+ players currently competing in men’s NRL who remain closeted. While women’s rugby league has seen far more openness around sexuality, the same has not held true for the men’s game, a divide Robinson says demands urgent reflection.\n\n“I’ve tried to reflect on why he didn’t feel comfortable at the time. And some of that’s personal with Kane, but some of that’s the environment we create,” he said. “And we need to create an environment where somebody can be themselves, where they know that they’re going to be accepted, that the language we use in clubs is in the right way, and the way that we casually reference each other is in the right way.”\n\nHis call for change has been echoed by other leading figures across the league. South Sydney Rabbitohs captain Cameron Murray, currently in camp with the New South Wales Blues State of Origin side, offered unwavering support to Evans, praising his courage in speaking out and hoping his story will pave the way for other closeted players.\n\n“That would have been a really hard thing to do, and I think he’s been pretty vocal and open about his mental health struggles and what he’s had to go through,” Murray said. “Someone like me, I could never understand what he’s gone through, but he’s got all my respect. I think there’s a lot of chatter about the statistics of the NRL and how that doesn’t really marry up with the statistics of the general public (with the number of gay men). Hopefully, he can be a role model and a leader for anyone else in that position and he gives somebody else the confidence to feel a little bit more confident in who they are and to accept who they are.”\n\nEvans’ announcement comes as NRL clubs have increasingly prioritized mental health outreach, rolling out new initiatives to encourage players to open up about personal struggles. But Robinson warned that the sport has not yet done enough, pointing to stubbornly high suicide rates among people hiding core parts of their identity as proof that incremental change is insufficient.\n\n“We’re heading in the right direction, but suicide rates are still very, very high because they don’t feel comfortable enough,” Robinson said. “We are better, we are doing things, we are saying things, but are we creating that environment where anybody – it doesn’t matter whether it’s being gay, having a religious belief, political belief – is our place safe enough and comfortable enough where we look after everybody and then we play tough footy on the back of it? That’s our role.”\n\nRobinson emphasized that he does not expect overnight change, but he hopes Evans’ bravery will spark a collective reckoning across the sport. He rejected any suggestion that the current system should be celebrated for supporting Evans after he came out post-retirement, arguing the goal should be to create a space where players never have to suffer in silence in the first place.\n\n“I think we should take it that we saw a really strong man do something that others haven’t felt comfortable to do, and hopefully that leads to other people feeling comfortable,” he said. “But we have to do better. We can do better than what we’re doing, and we’ll strive to do that.”’

  • French pop icon Bruel charged with rape, sexual assault

    French pop icon Bruel charged with rape, sexual assault

    One of France’s most recognizable entertainment figures, 67-year-old pop star and actor Patrick Bruel, has been formally charged with rape, attempted rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment following dozens of allegations from women spanning nearly three decades. The charges, confirmed by a judge in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, mark one of the highest-profile #MeToo cases to hit France’s entertainment industry in recent years, following the 2023 conviction of screen legend Gerard Depardieu for sexual assault.

    Bruel, who has denied all allegations of wrongdoing, spent 48 hours in police custody for questioning earlier this week after being taken into custody on Monday. The Nanterre prosecutor’s office confirmed that the current charges relate to nine alleged victims, with incidents occurring between 2010 and 2019. An additional 13 complaints, alleging offenses between 1992 and 2008, have been added to the case file handed over to investigating magistrates, even though prosecutors note these claims appear to be beyond the statute of limitations at this stage. Prosecutors have formally requested that Bruel be placed in pre-trial detention as the investigation proceeds.

    A defining cultural figure in France since the 1990s, when his chart-topping albums and teen heartthrob status sparked a national cultural phenomenon dubbed “Bruelmania,” the star has long maintained his innocence. Last month, in a public Instagram post addressing early allegations, Bruel stated he had “never forced a woman,” and announced he would cancel all scheduled concerts through September to focus on clearing his name. In a statement released Monday, his legal team reaffirmed that he would cooperate fully with investigators, saying he would “provide all the elements necessary to demonstrate his innocence.” Beyond his music and acting career, Bruel is also a former world poker champion, having claimed the title in 1998.

    The list of accusers includes multiple high-profile figures from France’s cultural and media sectors. Daniela Elstner, current director of Unifrance — the organization tasked with promoting French cinema internationally — filed a formal allegation in March claiming Bruel attempted to rape her in 1997, when she was a 26-year-old intern at a film festival in Mexico. Following Wednesday’s charging announcement, Elstner’s lawyer Jade Dousselin called the development “a real first legal victory for the victims.”

    Since Bruel’s initial detention on Monday, multiple new accusations have emerged. Attorney Myriam Guedj Benayoun confirmed Tuesday that a new complaint will be filed shortly, alleging Bruel attempted to rape a 19-year-old woman at his private residence in 2000. Another legal representative, Corinne Herrmann, confirmed two additional rape complaints were filed on May 27 and June 3. Investigative outlet Mediapart identified the two new accusers as a former beauty queen, who alleges Bruel raped her in 2008, and a physiotherapist who claims the assault occurred in 2000.

    French television host Flavie Flament, who publicly accused Bruel of raping her in 1991 when she was a minor, also spoke out this week. While Flament noted her allegation is not part of the current investigation due to timing, she criticized France’s slow-moving judicial system for the delay in addressing the claims. “Three weeks after my complaint was made public, Patrick Bruel is in police custody,” Flament told Agence France-Presse Monday. “What is truly outrageous is that before me, there were women who for months — for years — tried to make themselves heard, and it took the media coverage of my complaint for things to move forward.”

    At the peak of his fame, Bruel cultivated a public persona as a charming, desirable heartthrob, with his face gracing the covers of countless teen magazines across France in the early 1990s. Enthralled fans regularly gathered outside locations he was known to frequent in Paris, cementing his status as a national masculine ideal during the height of “Bruelmania.” In a 2000 television interview, Bruel leaned into this public image, commenting: “I’m easy to seduce, but not easy to keep.”

  • Hong Kong files charges over deadliest fire in decades

    Hong Kong files charges over deadliest fire in decades

    One year after the deadliest residential blaze in recent global history killed 168 people in Hong Kong, authorities have officially filed manslaughter and corruption charges against multiple individuals and firms linked to safety failures at the public housing estate. The unprecedented inferno, which broke out in November 2023, swept through seven of the eight high-rise residential towers at Wang Fuk Court, leaving thousands of residents homeless and triggering a months-long joint investigation by local police and Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

    When the blaze erupted, the estate was undergoing major renovation work, and investigators quickly uncovered a pattern of systemic safety negligence and alleged corrupt misconduct. Official public hearings into the disaster confirmed that nearly all critical life-saving fire safety systems failed on the day of the fire, a breakdown traced directly to avoidable human error. According to charge sheets reviewed by Agence France-Presse, manslaughter charges have been brought against the directors of the main construction contractor and the independent consulting firm overseeing the renovation, a certified fire safety inspector, and both of their companies. In total, seven individuals who held varying responsibilities for the renovation project face an expanded slate of charges including fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion beyond the manslaughter counts.

    All defendants made their first court appearance on Wednesday, where they confirmed to the presiding judge that they understood all charges leveled against them. During the hearing, prosecutors formally stated that the accused unlawfully caused the deaths of all 168 victims, who included ordinary residents and one responding firefighter. For the first time since the disaster, the full list of victims’ names was read out in open court, bringing the human cost of the tragedy into public record. The proceedings were then adjourned to September 2024 for further pre-trial processes.

    In a press briefing held after the court appearance, law enforcement officials outlined the scope of their investigation, noting that a total of 35 people had been arrested in connection with the fire in a joint operation between police and ICAC. “We suspect this terrible incident was driven by individuals putting personal profit above all else, with complete disregard for the safety of residents’ lives and property,” stated Hazel Law, principal investigator for ICAC.

    Investigators confirmed that the accused conspired to defraud government regulators by submitting falsified inspection reports for the renovation project. Police added that the contractor and consulting firms are suspected of egregious breaches of their duty of care, resulting in gross negligence across the construction work. Two key factors have been identified as driving the fire’s rapid and deadly spread: substandard, non-fire-retardant safety netting installed during the renovation, and a discarded cigarette that investigators have confirmed was the original source of ignition.

    Prosecutors further revealed that fire alarm systems for all seven affected towers had been intentionally deactivated during the renovation work, a decision that “greatly shortened the window of time residents had to evacuate” the burning buildings. Required fire-retardant protective netting was replaced with cheaper non-compliant material in most locations, and foam boards used for ongoing renovation work covered external windows, providing an additional fuel source that allowed the fire to spread quickly into occupied residential units. The blaze, which stands as the deadliest residential building fire worldwide since 1980, left thousands of residents displaced, with all relocated to temporary public housing in the months following the disaster.

  • SpaceX’s historic IPO by the numbers

    SpaceX’s historic IPO by the numbers

    As Elon Musk’s aerospace and technology conglomerate SpaceX prepares for its long-awaited initial public offering on the public stock markets this Friday, industry analysts and investors across the globe are already calling it the most influential debut in modern IPO history. The landmark listing is poised to reshape how the public and financial community view private space innovation, with a series of staggering key numbers underscoring its unprecedented scale.

    At the top of the list is the $75 billion capital raise target SpaceX has set for the new share offering. That figure is three times larger than the previous global IPO record, which was set by Saudi energy giant Saudi Aramco when it went public in 2019 with a $25.6 billion raise.

    Based on pre-IPO pricing, the company’s total market valuation comes in at $1.765 trillion. This valuation includes two of Musk’s other high-profile ventures that SpaceX absorbed back in February: his artificial intelligence startup xAI and the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter. If the valuation holds after listing, SpaceX will secure its spot as the eighth most valuable publicly traded company on the planet, slotting in just behind the world’s largest tech giants.

    Looking back at the company’s 2025 operational performance, SpaceX posted total annual revenue of $18.6 billion, representing a 33% year-over-year increase. A majority of that revenue, 61% to be exact, came from Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet constellation that delivers broadband connectivity to residential and commercial users around the world from low Earth orbit.

    Despite that strong top-line growth, SpaceX reported a net loss of $4.9 billion for 2025. The deficit stems from the company’s aggressive capital spending, particularly on its AI development initiatives, which absorbed nearly $10 billion in expenditures over the past year alone. Industry observers note that operating losses are not an indicator of failure for high-growth technology firms; they often reflect large-scale strategic investment in long-term expansion and product development.

    For Musk personally, a successful IPO could deliver a historic milestone. Currently, Forbes estimates Musk’s total personal net worth at $791 billion. If SpaceX’s share price rises in line with optimistic projections after listing, he will become the first trillionaire in recorded human history.

    In terms of corporate control, Musk will retain an 82% stake in SpaceX’s voting rights after the IPO. While new public investors will hold minority equity stakes, the company’s structure of special “super-voting” shares allows Musk to keep nearly complete decision-making authority – a common arrangement for tech companies founded by high-profile entrepreneurs who want to retain long-term strategic control.

    Finally, SpaceX has projected that the cumulative total value of all the markets it operates across – including commercial launch services, satellite internet, artificial intelligence, and private space exploration – amounts to $28.5 trillion. To put that figure in context, the entire United States’ total gross domestic product for 2025 was approximately $30.36 trillion, highlighting the massive long-term growth opportunity the company is targeting.

  • Norm-breaking SpaceX IPO a source of elation, angst on Wall Street

    Norm-breaking SpaceX IPO a source of elation, angst on Wall Street

    Elon Musk’s aerospace and technology firm SpaceX is on the cusp of making financial history this week, as its nontraditional initial public offering (IPO) prepares to break industry records while dividing Wall Street between enthusiastic bulls and skeptical bears. The highly anticipated listing, which is set to close investor orders on Wednesday, finalize pricing on Thursday, and begin trading on the Nasdaq exchange this Friday, is on track to become the largest IPO in global market history if it hits its fundraising target of $75 billion.

    Market observers report overwhelming early investor demand for SpaceX shares, far outpacing already elevated expectations for the offering. With more than 555 million shares priced at an expected $135 each, the company is targeting a valuation of roughly $1.8 trillion, which would place it among the most valuable public companies in the United States. Unlike most traditional IPOs that reserve less than 10% of shares for retail investors, around one-third of SpaceX’s offering is allocated to everyday market participants, many of whom are long-time supporters of Musk.

    Industry analysts attribute the massive hype surrounding the IPO to two key factors: Musk’s reputation as a visionary tech entrepreneur, and the public’s enduring fascination with space exploration. “No question that there is a ton of hype around it. Nothing captures the imagination like space,” noted Matthew Kennedy, a strategist at Renaissance Capital. Eva Ardos, chief investment strategist at ERShares which holds pre-IPO SpaceX shares, called the level of excitement around the offering “unlike anything else we’ve seen before in the IPO market.” Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners, added that Musk’s well-honed marketing acumen has given SpaceX a unique “cool factor” that sets it apart from other large tech listings.

    After the IPO, Musk will retain more than 82% of the company’s voting power, locking in his full control over the firm’s long-term strategic direction. That means the entire $1.8 trillion valuation rests entirely on investor confidence in Musk’s ability to deliver on his ambitious goals, which include building a permanent colony on Mars, orbiting space-based data centers, and scaling up the company’s artificial intelligence operations that recently merged with Musk’s xAI.

    While excitement runs high, many market analysts and fund managers have raised pointed questions about SpaceX’s path to profitability. The company reported $18.7 billion in 2025 revenue, a 33% year-over-year increase, but still posted a net loss of $4.9 billion for the year. While the company’s mature Starlink satellite internet division is widely expected to turn consistent profits long-term, its large-scale investments in cutting-edge AI and next-generation rocket development are projected to continue producing significant losses for years to come.

    Independent research firm Morningstar has estimated SpaceX’s fair value at roughly $780 billion, less than half the $1.8 trillion valuation the company is targeting. Some critics have even questioned whether the outsized allocation to retail investors is a deliberate attempt to offload a speculative asset to Musk’s loyal but inexperienced follower base. “Is this true democratization, the likes of which have never been seen on Wall Street before? Or is it a cynical attempt to unload an extraordinarily expensive and highly speculative venture on a gullible public?” asked David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation. Forrest, for her part, has already ruled the stock out for her firm’s portfolios.

    Even with these concerns, many analysts note that recent multi-billion-dollar AI infrastructure contracts with Google and AI startup Anthropic provide a solid near-term revenue foundation that could support the valuation. Beyond SpaceX itself, the outcome of this IPO is widely seen as a bellwether for the broader IPO market, particularly for high-profile unlisted tech firms including Anthropic and OpenAI, which are preparing for their own public offerings in the near future.

    “This has a real possibility of chilling IPO issuance if SpaceX performs poorly, or kicking off a new IPO rebound if it trades well,” Kennedy explained. Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, added that strong investor uptake would signal broad market confidence in long-term tech innovation, saying “if people are willing to pay that price and invest for the future, that’s a good sign for the market.”

  • Belfast girds for more violence after stabbing suspect held

    Belfast girds for more violence after stabbing suspect held

    Belfast entered a state of heightened alert Wednesday, preparing for a second consecutive night of anti-immigrant unrest that has already displaced local families, damaged property and spread across parts of the United Kingdom, with authorities blaming far-right actors for amplifying tension online following a recent knife attack.

    The unrest erupted Tuesday evening shortly after a 30-year-old Sudanese refugee, Hadi Alodid, appeared before Belfast Magistrates’ Court on charges of attempted murder, possession of a bladed article in public, and making threats to kill. The attack left a 40-something victim with severe injuries, including the loss of an eye, according to court documents. Alodid, who arrived in the UK in 2023 via Paris and Dublin and holds a UK residence permit valid through 2028, had no prior contact with Northern Ireland police and was remanded in custody until a case hearing on July 8.

    Within hours of the court proceeding, masked rioters took to Belfast’s streets, setting vehicles and buildings ablaze and forcing terrified families to evacuate their homes. During the disorder, police had to evacuate a two-month-old infant and their family to safety, Northern Ireland Police Chief Jon Boutcher told reporters. He described the rioters, most of whom were identified as young men, as “mindless idiots” whose actions amounted to “a huge act of self-harm” against Belfast’s community.

    By Wednesday morning, multiple schools had suspended classes, local businesses had shut early in anticipation of further unrest, and transport authorities canceled all evening bus and train services across the area. Police announced they would deploy an additional 200 officers to the streets to contain potential violence, after just three people were arrested in connection with Tuesday’s riots, one of whom has already been formally charged. The unrest spilled over to the Scottish city of Glasgow as well, where three arrests were made after clashes left two police officers and three members of the public injured.

    The stabbing victim’s family issued an urgent appeal for calm, rejecting attempts by extremist groups to exploit the attack for political gain. In a statement shared via a local politician’s Facebook page, they said: “We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility.”

    Graphic video footage of the stabbing, which captured members of the public intervening to stop the attack (one person using a hurling stick), spread widely across social media platforms despite official calls to stop sharing the content. Dozens of far-right and self-described “patriot” accounts reposted the footage to organize new anti-immigration protests, calling on supporters to demonstrate against immigration in local communities.

    Anna Turley, chair of Britain’s ruling Labour Party, slammed online platforms and prominent figures for stoking the unrest, specifically naming X owner Elon Musk as one of the “bad faith actors” inflaming division. Musk has recently reposted content from high-profile anti-immigration activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, adding his own comment that “Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change!!” He also shared a post from Rupert Lowe, leader of fringe hard-right group Restore Britain, that declared “millions must go” in reference to immigrants.

    Turley emphasized that public figures bear responsibility to avoid fomenting hate that puts vulnerable communities at risk: “Musk has a responsibility, everyone in public and civil life has a responsibility to call for calm and not to stoke grievance or hatred… that puts vulnerable people and our communities at risk.” UK media regulator Ofcom has also intervened, confirming it sent formal correspondence to online service providers this week warning against allowing platforms to be used to stir up racial hatred, provoke violence and violate UK criminal law.

    For immigrant communities already settled in Belfast, the current atmosphere is one of deep fear. Anselme Shima, a 48-year-old originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo who has lived in Northern Ireland since 2013, told reporters he was uncertain whether it was safe to send his two children to school amid the unrest. “This situation is terrifying,” he said.

    The violence comes at a time of already elevated social tension across the UK, where immigration has become an increasingly divisive hot-button political issue that has fueled the growing popularity of hard-right party Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage. Just last week, skirmishes broke out in southern England following public anger over the police handling of the December murder of 18-year-old white student Henry Nowak, who was killed by British Sikh man Vickrum Digwa. Anti-immigration clashes also erupted in Southampton in early June over the same case, where Digwa had falsely claimed Nowak had racially abused him before the killing.

  • Pakistan launches deadly strikes on Afghanistan

    Pakistan launches deadly strikes on Afghanistan

    Deadly cross-border airstrikes carried out by Pakistan against targets inside Afghanistan have reignited long-simmering tensions between the two neighboring nations, marking the most severe outbreak of violence in weeks after a brief period of relative calm, officials from both governments confirmed Wednesday.

    On the ground in Afghanistan’s southeastern Khost Province, an Agence France-Presse reporter witnessed a flattened residential structure in Mane village, where local residents worked through the morning digging fresh graves for those killed in the overnight assault. A provincial official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the attack in Khost’s Spera district alone left nine people dead and 10 more injured, many of them children. Multiple local residents corroborated this casualty count, confirming the strike hit the village shortly after midnight, which corresponded to 19:30 GMT on Tuesday.

    Ali Jan Akhlaqi, a 29-year-old Mane village resident who helped respond to the aftermath of the attack, described the immediate chaos. “We and people from the neighbouring areas rushed to the scene and rescued the remaining people. We even took some wounded to the clinic,” he told AFP. Shirbat Khan, a 55-year-old local resident, condemned the strike, saying the family killed in the attack was poor and had no connections to any armed militant groups. “They had done nothing,” he emphasized.

    Across the border region, additional strikes were reported in Afghanistan’s Kunar and Paktika Provinces. In Barmal district of Paktika, two local residents confirmed a separate strike hit a private home, killing three civilian children. Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid put the total nationwide death toll from the strikes at 13: 11 children, one woman, and one elderly man.

    Pakistani authorities have framed the operation as a targeted counterterrorism measure in response to a recent wave of attacks inside Pakistan. Islamabad says the strikes killed 26 militants affiliated with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an anti-state armed group that uses border areas of Afghanistan as staging grounds for attacks inside Pakistan. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar described the operation as “precise and calibrated strikes” that hit militant “hideouts and safe havens” in the border region, declining to address reports of civilian casualties. Tarar added that the strikes hit four pre-selected targets: a militant training camp, an ammunition cache, and hideouts linked to two high-ranking TTP commanders.

    In a post on X, Tarar signaled that cross-border counterterrorism operations would continue, noting that “Pakistan has always strived for maintaining peace and stability in the region, but at the same time the safety and security of our citizens remains our top priority.”

    The latest escalation comes after a flare-up of border conflict between the two nations in late February, which saw unprecedented Pakistani airstrikes that reached major Afghan population centers, including Kabul, the national capital, and Kandahar, where Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is based. A United Nations report published last month recorded that at least 372 Afghan civilians were killed and another 397 wounded in cross-border violence in the first three months of 2024.

    Diplomatic and security relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained deeply strained since the Taliban retook full control of Afghanistan in 2021. The TTP issue has emerged as the core sticking point: Pakistan has repeatedly demanded the Taliban government crack down on TTP operations from Afghan territory, accusing Kabul of sheltering the militants behind a surge in attacks inside Pakistan. Afghan Taliban officials have consistently denied these accusations, countering that Pakistan hosts anti-Afghan hostile groups and has repeatedly violated Afghan national sovereignty.

    Tensions have already disrupted economic ties between the two countries: the main border crossing has remained largely closed since an earlier flare-up in violence last October, bringing bilateral trade to a near standstill.

  • NDIS insider charged over alleged $5m plot to defraud disability scheme

    NDIS insider charged over alleged $5m plot to defraud disability scheme

    A 48-year-old Adelaide-based employee of Australia’s National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) has been hit with multiple criminal charges over her alleged role in a $5 million fraud plot targeting the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), the federal government’s flagship support program for people living with disability. The scheme was first flagged to authorities in March this year, when internal systems detected the employee’s unauthorized access to protected personal records held by the agency. Law enforcement and investigative bodies have since laid out the full scope of the alleged misconduct.

    According to charging documents from the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the woman accessed more than 40 protected NDIS participant records without permission both during and outside of her scheduled working hours. Investigators allege she used that illicit access to file false claims against the NDIS plans of her own family members, who are registered NDIS participants. The claims were submitted for supports and services that were never actually delivered to the participants, the AFP says. To date, the accused is alleged to have received more than $53,000 in improper payments through a local NDIS service provider, as part of the broader $5 million coordinated fraud scheme.

    Beyond the fraudulent claims, investigators say the woman also violated conflict of interest rules: she failed to disclose to the NDIA that she had an ownership or operational connection to a local NDIS-registered business, and also did not declare that one of her relatives was employed at that same business. The undeclared connection created the opportunity for the alleged fraud, authorities say.

    On Thursday, a multi-agency enforcement team comprising AFP officers, NDIA internal investigators, South Australia Police, and Services Australia personnel carried out coordinated raids at three locations: the woman’s private residence in Blakeview, a second residential property in Mawson Lakes, and a business premises in the Adelaide suburb of Prospect. Multiple electronic devices were seized across all three sites, and investigators are currently conducting forensic analysis on the seized hardware to build out their case. Police have confirmed that additional charges are expected as the investigation progresses, with probing into potential co-conspirators ongoing.

    The case was investigated by the Australian Government’s Fraud Fusion Taskforce (FFT), a specialized multi-agency unit set up to target large-scale fraud against federal government payment programs. AFP Detective Inspector Aidan Milner emphasized that the collaborative structure of the taskforce was critical to uncovering and halting the alleged exploitation of a program designed to support some of Australia’s most vulnerable community members.

    A spokesperson for the NDIA reiterated that the agency takes all allegations of internal misconduct and fraud extremely seriously. “Anyone who abuses their position for personal gain will be caught and held to account,” the spokesperson said. “The safety of participants and security of their personal information are absolute priorities. This arrest shows we act decisively when our systems detect alleged fraudulent activity and we pursue every lead with our Fraud Fusion Taskforce partners.”

    Louise Glanville, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commissioner, added that the Australian community has zero tolerance for fraud against the NDIS, a program that relies on public trust to deliver critical support to hundreds of thousands of participants across the country.

  • Iran attacks US bases in Jordan and Bahrain

    Iran attacks US bases in Jordan and Bahrain

    Escalating tensions across the Middle East took a sharp turn for the worse on Wednesday, as Iran launched retaliatory missile and aerial strikes against United States military installations located in Jordan and Bahrain. The attack came in direct response to recent U.S. retaliatory strikes on Iranian military infrastructure near the Strait of Hormuz, throwing a fragile April ceasefire into serious jeopardy and derailing previously optimistic peace talks billed as entering their final stages.

    The cross-border exchanges mark the most serious breakdown in de-escalation efforts since the broader regional conflict began three months ago, when joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran launched the war that upended regional stability and roiled global energy markets. According to a statement released by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and carried by the country’s official IRNA news agency, Iranian forces deployed long-range missiles to hit and destroy four key targets at U.S. facilities in Jordan, including an F-35 fighter jet staging area at an air base and a U.S. command center in Al-Azraq.

    Jordan’s military quickly countered the assault, confirming it had intercepted and shot down five incoming Iranian missiles, with no reported casualties or material damage to Jordanian assets. Across the Gulf in Bahrain, defense forces intercepted and destroyed multiple incoming Iranian aerial threats targeting another U.S. base stationed on its territory. An Agence France-Presse correspondent based in Bahrain’s capital Manama reported hearing multiple loud explosions in the early hours of Wednesday morning, consistent with the interception operations. Kuwaiti military authorities also announced their air defense systems were engaging unidentified hostile aerial targets Wednesday, marking the second recent incident of Iranian activity near Kuwaiti territory.

    The latest cycle of escalation was triggered by the downing of a U.S. Apache attack helicopter by Iranian forces earlier this week. Following the incident, the U.S. military carried out a retaliatory strike on Iranian positions near the Strait of Hormuz, with U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirming the operation targeted Iranian air defense batteries, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites using precision munitions launched from U.S. Air Force and Navy fighter jets. Ahead of Iran’s retaliatory strikes, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had issued a clear warning of retaliation in a post on X, writing that the U.S. had chosen to test Iran’s resolve, and that Iran’s powerful armed forces would not leave any attack or threat unanswered.

    Iran’s retaliatory strikes throw into question recent optimistic claims from U.S. President Donald Trump, who just hours before the escalation told reporters that negotiations to end the three-month-long conflict were in their “final throes”, and that a final peace deal would be reached within two to three days. After the helicopter was downed on Monday, Trump reiterated his pledge of a strong response in an interview with ABC News, saying the U.S. reaction would be “very strong, very powerful, and that’s what this one is.”

    The already shaky ceasefire had already faced a major test over the weekend, when Iran and Israel resumed a brief round of hostilities before agreeing to a renewed halt. One major sticking point in ongoing peace negotiations has been Iran’s demand that any final deal include a formal ceasefire in Lebanon, which was drawn into the conflict after Iran-backed Hezbollah militants fired rockets into Israeli territory on March 2. Israel has responded with a sustained campaign of airstrikes and a limited ground invasion into southern Lebanon that has killed more than 3,600 people to date. Despite the nominal regional truce, cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah has continued almost unabated.

    On Tuesday, Israeli airstrikes on the southern Lebanese city of Tyre killed 11 people, according to Lebanese officials. The Israeli military also issued an evacuation order for the entire city, prompting a mass exodus of residents northward. AFP correspondents on the ground reported heavy traffic of residents fleeing Tyre, including from the city’s historic Christian quarter, while displaced residents began arriving in the northern coastal city of Sidon with personal belongings strapped to the roofs of their vehicles.

    The rapid collapse of de-escalation efforts has also overshadowed ongoing diplomatic attempts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global chokepoint for around a fifth of the world’s daily oil supplies that Iran has blockaded since the start of the war. Global crude oil prices rose 1% on Wednesday as hopes of an imminent peace deal faded, a sharp reversal from the previous day’s 5% price drop that came amid growing optimism a deal would be reached. Araghchi reiterated his warning to foreign forces this week, saying that any foreign military presence near Iranian territory around the strait faces constant risk of being caught in crossfire, and that the only solution for foreign forces is to withdraw from the area.

    The downed Apache helicopter marks the second crewed U.S. military aircraft confirmed shot down by Iran since the conflict began, following the loss of an F-15 fighter jet in April. CENTCOM confirmed that both crew members of the downed helicopter were rescued shortly after it went down off the coast of Oman.