An ongoing, high-stakes eight-week corruption investigation run by New South Wales’ Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has pulled back the curtain on the covert internal operations of a secretive religious-aligned conservative faction operating within the state’s Liberal Party, with explosive testimony from key insiders laying bare alleged irregularities in political fundraising and tax practices. The inquiry centers on the faction, self-named the Reformers, which sought to expand its influence by recruiting thousands of conservative and Christian-identifying members to regional and metropolitan Liberal Party branches across the state. At the heart of the probe are questions over whether four central figures linked to the group — Jean-Claude Perrottet, brother of former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet, and influential Liberal powerbrokers Christian Ellis, Jeremy Greenwood and Robert Assaf — improperly solicited or accepted political donations, including from sources prohibited from contributing to Australian political parties, to fund the Reformers’ membership recruitment drives. Neither Dominic Perrottet nor federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, whose name has emerged in testimony, have been accused of any wrongdoing, and Taylor has explicitly denied ever providing funding to the faction. On Friday, co-founder of the Reformers Robert Assaf returned to the witness stand for a second round of intense questioning over the group’s convoluted handling of donations, including hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from prominent Australian hotelier Michael O’Hara, who bankrolled the group until a bitter public falling out over state government Covid-19 public health mandates. Assaf co-founded the faction alongside Ellis, the owner of Sydney-based lobbying firm Beckington. The commission heard that the Reformers initially established a dedicated Westpac bank account under the group’s name to hold incoming donations. However, once Ellis launched Beckington — which held a lucrative monthly retainer contract for consulting work with Catholic Schools NSW — all donations were quietly rerouted through the lobbying firm instead. Giving evidence under oath, Assaf told counsel assisting the commission Peggy Dwyer SC that early discussions between group leaders focused on structuring O’Hara’s donations in a way that would deliver the maximum possible tax benefit, since the Reformers were not a registered charity, making direct donations non-tax-deductible for contributors. When pressed directly on allegations that the group created fake consultancy invoices to allow O’Hara to claim illegal tax deductions for his donations, Assaf acknowledged the idea was raised as a possible workaround, but deflected further questions by stating other group leaders would have more detailed knowledge of the arrangement. Dwyer sharply pushed back on Assaf’s vague testimony, questioning how a university-educated man who had filed personal tax returns for years could claim ignorance of basic Australian tax law governing deductions. “Are you seriously suggesting that in 2020 you did not know that you had to declare tax deductions in accordance with the law?” Dwyer asked. Assaf responded that he had trusted the guidance of other group leaders at the time, who framed the arrangement as a common, minor workaround that was widely accepted. “I think I thought I just want to trust that whoever said to me at the time, ‘I know everyone does a little, it’s OK. It’s a tricky way to do things’,” Assaf told the commission. When asked if Ellis had a long history of finding workarounds for regulatory rules, Assaf replied: “He always seemed to have a way around things.” The commission confirmed that O’Hara never requested his donations to the Reformers be disguised through fake invoice arrangements. Nonetheless, in October 2020, Ellis issued O’Hara a receipt for non-existent consultancy work to allow the hotelier to claim a tax deduction, according to evidence presented to the inquiry. Assaf denied that the arrangement was intentionally designed to conceal the true nature of the payments, admitting only that the accounting practices were sloppy. “Well, it definitely wasn’t good accounting,” he said. “I don’t think anyone was thinking like that … no one was (thinking) they were doing anything wrong.” When pressed by Assistant Commissioner Fabian Gleeson on whether the arrangement was dishonest, Assaf admitted the situation was “tricky”. Earlier in his testimony, Assaf — who previously worked on staff for multiple federal Liberal parliamentarians, including former prime minister Tony Abbott — acknowledged he had general awareness of Australian electoral laws governing political donations. However, he claimed he never received detailed training on these rules, as his role was focused on internal party operations rather than fundraising compliance. “I was never introduced to the electoral laws in detail because I was always seen as an internal machination Liberal Party person,” Assaf said. “There were always other people who dealt with that when it came money coming into the party. I’ll tell you what, if someone told me any point before I got my first summons to this, that what I had done was a problem, I would have gone straight to the Electoral Commission and recorded it and sorted it out.” The inquiry also heard that Beckington made payments to Assaf’s wife, Carmel Assaf, who was discussed as a potential director of the firm in 2019. When asked why Carmel Assaf would need to hold a directorship to receive a standard referral fee, a payment Assaf confirmed he also received from the firm, Assaf again described the arrangement as a “tricky thing” related to the organization’s structure. By 2021, the Reformers’ recruitment efforts had added more than 1,000 new members to the NSW Liberal Party, Assaf confirmed. The recruitment drive boosted the party’s overall revenue through increased membership fees and grew the faction’s voting bloc within internal party elections, the inquiry heard. Multiple other key witnesses have already given evidence in the probe, including former Reformers associate Dylan Whitelaw, who was an employee of Catholic Schools NSW, and O’Hara himself. Whitelaw’s testimony included details of a 2021 group chat message that claimed senior party figure Dallas McInerney had secured a $15,000 one-time donation to the Reformers from Angus Taylor, plus a recurring $3,000 monthly contribution. When asked about the allegation outside the hearing on Friday, Taylor declined to comment, saying “As I’ve said, I am not going to provide a running commentary.” Beyond the Reformers’ internal fundraising activities, the ICAC probe is also examining ties between fugitive property developer Jean Nassif and former Catholic Schools NSW chief executive Dallas McInerney, who has stood aside from his role pending the outcome of the inquiry. Investigators are probing allegations Nassif made donations to undermine the political career of Liberal MP David Elliott and force the removal of Building Commissioner David Chandler, who oversaw regulation of the state’s construction industry. The inquiry is also examining alleged misconduct by two Labor councillors from Sydney’s Strathfield area: Sharangan Maheswaran, an employee of Nassif, and Karen Pensabene. Maheswaran is alleged to have participated in a plot to discredit Chandler and to blackball independent political rival Matthew Blackmore, including by compiling a “dirt file” and threatening professional retaliation if Blackmore refused to align with Maheswaran’s political goals. It is important to note that ICAC does not have the authority to make formal findings of criminal conduct. Once the public inquiry concludes, any individuals found to have potentially engaged in criminal activity will be referred to the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions for further action and possible prosecution.
标签： Oceania
大洋洲
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Pauline Hanson no ‘good’ Muslim claim not hate speech, AFP say
Australian Federal Police (AFP) have officially closed an investigation into One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, concluding that her inflammatory remarks about Muslim Australians did not cross the criminal threshold outlined in the nation’s new 2026 hate speech legislation.
The controversy ignited in February this year, during a Sky News interview focused on the debate over so-called ISIS brides seeking repatriation to Australia. During the discussion, Hanson made sweeping, widely criticized comments about the Islamic faith, claiming the Koran incites hatred of Western people and questioning the existence of “good Muslims”.
Shortly after the interview aired, federal law enforcement confirmed it had received multiple formal criminal complaints linked to Hanson’s statements. For months, the case hung over the veteran right-wing populist politician, as the controversy unfolded against a shifting political landscape where One Nation was seeing a dramatic jump in national opinion polling. Though the party’s polling momentum has softened slightly in recent months, it remains firm in its plans to contest the upcoming 2026 Victorian state election.
Facing widespread backlash from across the political spectrum immediately after the interview, Hanson issued a partial, conditional apology. She clarified that she only apologized to Muslim people who rejected sharia law, female circumcision and child marriage, and who aligned with Australian cultural norms and laws. When pressed by host Chris Kenny to issue a full apology to Australia’s one million Muslim residents, Hanson refused to backtrack on her core claims, only offering a broad apology for any offense taken to her stated beliefs.
In an official statement released Friday, an AFP spokesperson confirmed the investigation had concluded with no adverse findings against the federal senator. “In February 2026, the AFP received several complaints about public comments made by a Federal Parliamentarian,” the spokesperson said. “The AFP has determined the comments do not meet the threshold for relevant offences, including within the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Act 2026.”
Hanson has framed the investigation as a politically motivated attack by the Labor Party and left-wing political actors, accusing her opponents of attempting to use the new hate speech laws to imprison her. “In other words, they’re trying to use Labor’s new hate speech laws to put me back in jail,” Hanson said. “Let me send a very clear message to those within Labor and the left side of politics. Stop gaslighting the Australian public.”
The closing of the case brings an end to the first high-profile test of Australia’s newly implemented hate speech legislation, reigniting debates around the balance between combating religious hatred and protecting political free speech in the country.
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Spain safari park animals grazed calmly amid ‘terror’ of fire
A devastating wildfire that swept across central Spain, scorching 77,000 hectares of land across the Madrid region and neighboring Avila province, brought chaos and destruction to communities near Aldea del Fresno — but it revealed a surprising calm among most of the 2,000 animals residing at Safari Madrid, the region’s largest wildlife park.
As flames crept toward the park’s borders and raged along the surrounding hill ridges, painting the night sky a menacing bright red, most wild residents of the park carried on with their daily routines unbothered. Bison continued grazing peacefully on open grasslands, while large predators like lions and tigers napped through the roar of fire engines and the wail of emergency sirens. Only one group of animals showed visible signs of stress, veterinarian Christian Cabrera, a 36-year-old member of the park’s core staff, told AFP. Giraffes, naturally skittish and easily frightened by unusual disruption, struggled with appetite and remained agitated throughout the emergency.
Evacuation was never an option for the park’s largest inhabitants, Cabrera explained. Moving even a single adult elephant requires months of advance planning, with pre-anesthesia preparation alone taking up to 10 hours of coordinated work, making emergency evacuation logistically impossible. As the wildfire advanced, most of the park’s 26 on-site keepers were evacuated for their own safety, leaving just four staff members including Cabrera to stay behind and protect the animals. For five straight days, the remaining team got almost no sleep, navigating hours of intense uncertainty as flames edged closer to the park’s boundaries.
“We went through hours of real terror when we saw the fire getting close and we did not know if we would be able to stop it,” Cabrera recalled. “We have become attached to some of these animals over many years. We are hugely responsible for them. That was our top priority — keeping the animals safe, no matter what. There was terrible anxiety through those days.”
Staff implemented the only contingency plan possible: the largest species, including big cats and elephants, were moved into reinforced indoor shelters for protection. Smaller roaming species such as deer, camels, and monkeys were left in their vast outdoor enclosures, where overgrazing had already removed most dry flammable grass, creating a natural fire break that kept advancing flames from reaching their enclosures.
After six days of forced closure, Safari Madrid welcomed back a small stream of visitors starting Wednesday morning, a milestone that brought relief to staff and visitors alike. On the reopened drive-through route, ostriches and dromedaries still approach passing cars in hopes of getting treats, while lions lounge in tree shade and alligators bask in the warm summer sun, seemingly unbothered by the recent upheaval. Cabrera noted that the animals’ overall calm was a huge relief for the skeleton staff that stayed behind during the fire; widespread panic among the animals would have created far more crises for the small team to manage.
While the park itself escaped major damage, the surrounding landscape still bears the brutal marks of the wildfire. From the monkey enclosure, visitors can look out on blackened hillsides and charred vegetation that stretch across the surrounding countryside. Elena Alonso, a 21-year-old language student who traveled from Valladolid to visit the park with friends, said the contrast between the calm park and the devastated surrounding land was striking.
“We passed lots of places that were blackened and burnt — it was really sad,” Alonso said. “I think the firefighters did an amazing job. We would not have bet a penny on being here today.” Despite the destruction nearby, Alonso said her group enjoyed the visit, with no issues encountering the animals.
Beyond protecting the wildlife at Safari Madrid, firefighters prioritized defending the park to stop the blaze from spreading to nearby residential developments surrounding Aldea del Fresno, which sits adjacent to the park grounds. For Susana Barrul, a 39-year-old homemaker who lives at a nearby campsite that suffered minor fire damage, the fire breaks dug by firefighters around the park saved her property. Barrul and her family were forced to evacuate to a sports hall in a neighboring town for several days, and returned Tuesday evening to find their plot untouched by flames.
Now, as the park reopens and residents return to their homes, communities across the fire zone are working to get back to normal life after the disaster. “we are trying to get back to normal life,” Barrul said.
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15 years in prison for father of US teenage school shooter
In a historic ruling that amplifies national conversations around parental responsibility and gun access in the United States, a 55-year-old Georgia man has received a 15-year prison sentence for enabling his teenage son’s deadly 2024 school shooting that left four people dead. Colin Gray was found guilty by a jury in March of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and multiple additional charges connected to the attack carried out by his 16-year-old son Colt at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia.
Court documents and courtroom statements reveal that Colin Gray gifted his son an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle as a Christmas present in 2023, a decision that came despite explicit warnings that the teenager had previously threatened to commit a school shooting. Just months after receiving the weapon, Colt Gray carried out the September 2024 attack, murdering two 14-year-old students and two educators, and wounding nine other people. The shooter pleaded guilty to all charges earlier this week and was sentenced on Tuesday to life in prison without any opportunity for parole.
During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm emphasized that the conviction was not rooted in Colin Gray’s broader failures as a parent, but in his deliberate disregard for clear red flags. “It is clear you failed as a parent. You did not provide a stable household. You didn’t have him in school. None of those failures helped your case,” Primm told the defendant. “But those aren’t why you were convicted. You were convicted because the warning lights were flashing brighter and brighter and you didn’t get him help and you didn’t remove his access to the guns.”
This case marks a pivotal turning point in the national debate over gun regulation and accountability for school shootings, a crisis that has grown increasingly pervasive in the U.S. Currently, the total number of firearms in circulation across the country outnumbers the total population, and regulatory restrictions on access to powerful military-style rifles remain extremely lax. While parental liability in mass casualty school shootings has only recently begun to draw widespread legal and public scrutiny, this conviction builds on a landmark 2024 ruling in Michigan.
In that 2021 case, Jennifer and James Crumbley, the parents of a Michigan teenager who murdered four people at Oxford High School, became the first parents of a school shooter to be convicted of involuntary manslaughter for their child’s actions, receiving sentences of 10 to 15 years in prison. Colin Gray’s conviction is unprecedented in U.S. legal history: legal experts confirm he is the first parent of a school shooter to be charged and convicted of murder for their role in enabling their child’s attack.
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‘So much chaos’: Api Koroisau gives his take on the Adam Doueihi drama as Tigers star prepares for major milestone
This weekend, National Rugby League (NRL) veteran Api Koroisau is set to hit one of the sport’s most respected career milestones: his 250th top-flight appearance. But instead of letting the hooker take the spotlight, all eyes have shifted to ongoing internal drama involving halfback Adam Doueihi that has thrown the struggling Wests Tigers further into the headlines.
Koroisau, a 3-time premiership winner and Fijian international, concedes he can barely recall fragmented moments from his very first NRL game. Ahead of Sunday’s clash against the Parramatta Eels, he says he is determined to set aside the chaos of the past few weeks to focus on marking his career milestone with a much-needed win. Benji Marshall’s Tigers side have slumped to a six-match losing streak, sitting second-last on the 2024 NRL ladder. Off the field, the club has been roiled by reports of friction between Doueihi and coaching staff after the halfback opted to sit out last week’s loss to Canberra.
The conflict was addressed publicly by both Doueihi and Marshall earlier this week, and Koroisau shared his perspective on the standoff during a media briefing Friday morning. According to the veteran hooker, the issue has been resolved internally among the playing group. “I think it’s been dealt with pretty well behind closed doors,” Koroisau said. “I think he’s good. I think the boys have been really receptive towards him as well and I think you guys saw him training the other day, so we just sort of dealt with that. It was between us and Adam and we’ll probably just leave it there.”
For a club that has dominated rugby league headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent weeks, Koroisau says the only path to silencing external noise is through on-field results. “For us it’s just been so much talk and there’s been so much chaos, so for us it’s about going out there this weekend and putting on a performance. That’ll be the biggest factor in all this,” he explained. “I think rugby league is built on that. And if we go out there and have a good performance, I’m sure it’ll all quiet down.”
Despite the off-field speculation, Koroisau insists the culture within the Tigers’ locker room has improved over recent seasons, adding that the playing group remains unified despite external criticism. “It (the culture at the Tigers) definitely has (improved). There’s a lot of noise and everything that comes from the outside, but us, in these four walls, we’ve been pretty good. And the boys are sticking solid with each other.”
Sunday’s match will double as a celebration of Koroisau’s decorated 10-year career, which includes premiership titles in his rookie 2014 season, 2021 and 2022. The 2014 title remains one of the most iconic moments of his career: he was called into the grand final side at the last minute to replace suspended starting hooker Issac Luke, and walked away a champion. “It was all a bit surreal. I still think about it now,” he recalled. “You never know when it’s going to be your opportunity and I just sort of had to do my part for the team in that one, but it was definitely a crazy story.”
Now a veteran leader at the Tigers, Koroisau says his core approach to the game has not changed over his decade in the NRL, even as he has added new tactical tricks to his gameplay. “I don’t know if much has changed (for me as a player). I just try to get a bit more trickery in my game and build on that. I still love putting my body on the line and just defending and going out there.”
Three years ago, Koroisau made the high-profile decision to leave powerhouse side Penrith Panthers, where he won two premierships, to join the rebuilding Tigers. Penrith have gone on to win two more consecutive titles since his departure and are heavily favored to claim a fourth straight premiership in 2024. Even with the Tigers’ ongoing on-field struggles and off-field chaos, Koroisau says he has never regretted his choice to move to the Sydney club. “I’d still take it (and wouldn’t) change anything, even with everything that’s gone down,” he said. “I love this place and I love the boys that are here, and anything I can do to help them. I definitely would still take it knowing everything that was to come.”
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BHP faces $120m loss as unions plan 24-hour Pilbara strike
Major Australian mining conglomerate BHP is on the brink of new operational disruptions at its iron ore facilities in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, after a coalition of trade unions formally notified regulators of planned 24-hour work stoppages set to kick off in early August. The industrial action comes after months of slow-moving, unproductive negotiations over a new enterprise bargaining agreement, with union leaders accusing BHP management of using deliberate stalling tactics to avoid addressing worker demands.
Unions have officially filed industrial action notice with Australia’s Fair Work Commission, scheduling a two-stage stoppage for August 8 and 9. On August 8, workers will implement a full 24-hour ban on all ship loading operations at Pilbara ports. From 5:30 a.m. local time on August 9, all site workers will down tools for a further 24-hour work stoppage, unless BHP agrees to return to good-faith negotiations before the deadline.
The financial impact of even a single 24-hour stoppage in the Pilbara is substantial: industry estimates put BHP’s lost revenue at roughly $120 million per day of halted operations, while the Western Australian state government stands to lose approximately $6.85 million in foregone mineral royalty payments each day work is stopped.
The joint union action is led by the Combined Port Unions, which counts the Electrical Trade Union (ETU) and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) among its member organisations, alongside the Western Mine Worker Alliance. Union representatives unanimously criticized what they describe as the “glacial pace” of talks with BHP leadership, saying the company has dragged out negotiations for months without meaningful progress.
Craig Beveridge, a spokesperson for the Western Mine Worker Alliance, said BHP has had ample opportunity to engage in good-faith collective bargaining but has instead prioritized delay and obstruction. “Our members are fed up and ready to fight harder and longer, if that is what it takes to secure a fair and reasonable agreement,” Beveridge stated. “BHP rakes in billions of dollars in profits each year, thanks to the hard work and dedication of our members. It’s only right that they receive their fair share.”
Adam Woodage, state secretary of the WA branch of the ETU, expanded on worker frustrations, noting that BHP posted a staggering $15 billion in net profit last year. Despite that massive windfall, Woodage said the company is pushing a controversial pay proposal that includes a “false floor” structure that would cut base pay below what workers currently earn, while offering unregulated off-agreement backdoor payments that lack transparency.
“That isn’t a real agreement. It isn’t fair or transparent,” Woodage said. “The people who enable this company’s exorbitant profits are sending a message with this action: We want an honest deal, in black and white, and we are not going to entertain what the company is pushing.”
If the planned strike goes ahead, it will mark the second round of industrial action at BHP’s Pilbara operations in just two months. In mid-July, 100 workers walked off the job for an eight-hour stoppage to protest the stalled negotiations. BHP has not yet issued a public response to the latest strike notice, and requests for comment from the company remain unanswered as of press time.
Federal government minister Matt Keogh, speaking to reporters, acknowledged that the breakdown in talks is disappointing, but noted that worker frustrations stem from BHP’s failure to engage in meaningful negotiations. “I understand that this strike action is because the workers there feel that the employers are not engaging with them properly in the negotiations,” Keogh told media. “We want to see good negotiated outcomes, enterprise agreements to support the workforce, support business, and the best outcome for Australia.”
Keogh also highlighted the unique challenges Pilbara mining workers face, including long-distance rotational rosters that require extended periods away from home, alongside broader cost-of-living increases that have put extra pressure on worker wages across the country. “It’s important that workers are able to do that when they’re in the process of bargaining,” he said. “But we want to see the employers properly engaging with their workforce to get to good outcomes.”
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Trump announces agreement for disarmament of Hamas
In a dramatic development for Middle East peace efforts, former U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Hamas has reached a landmark agreement to fully disarm in Gaza, framing the deal as a pivotal breakthrough toward establishing a new unified Palestinian government in the war-torn enclave.
Senior Hamas officials confirmed to Agence France-Presse that the tentative deal with Israel includes binding provisions addressing the future of the group’s weapons arsenal and maps out a timeline for the gradual withdrawal of Israeli military forces from the Gaza Strip. A senior anonymous Hamas official stated, “An agreement has been reached regarding the issue of weapons… Furthermore, an agreement has been reached on a gradual withdrawal of (Israeli forces)” from the coastal territory.
As of Thursday, Israeli officials had not issued any immediate public comment on the announcement. Trump’s confirmation follows reports from anonymous sources close to mediated negotiations in Cairo, who told AFP that the Palestinian Islamist movement had made substantial progress toward a deal that would require the full decommissioning of all its military capabilities.
Posting to his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: “Today, the Board of Peace reached a HISTORIC agreement for the COMPLETE DISARMAMENT of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza. This is a monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY.” He added that the disarmament process would unfold in “carefully structured phases.”
He went on to outline the next steps of the plan: “As disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw, and the International Stabilization Force will work with a new Palestinian police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its residents and its neighbors.” Trump also extended public thanks to mediation teams from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, who have facilitated months of backchannel talks.
The question of Hamas disarmament has long been one of the most intractable sticking points in advancing the existing ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which has been in place in Gaza since October. Even with the ceasefire in effect, low-level violence has persisted across the enclave: on Thursday alone, Israeli airstrikes killed at least four Palestinians, including two children, according to local Gaza health officials.
Early Friday, Egypt’s state-linked outlet Al-Qahera News reported that Cairo would host a new round of talks between truce mediators “soon.” The delegation of mediators includes representatives from the United States, Qatar, and Turkey, in addition to Egyptian hosts. While the outlet did not share a specific date for the gathering, it confirmed the meeting will focus on implementing the second phase of the existing Gaza ceasefire plan, a roadmap that Hamas and all major Palestinian factions have already signaled their approval of.
The second phase of the ceasefire, as laid out in Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace framework, requires Hamas disarmament and the gradual drawdown of Israeli forces from all occupied areas of Gaza. The plan also establishes a transitional governing body made up of independent Palestinian technocrats, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), which will oversee day-to-day governance of the enclave during the post-war transition period.
In off-the-record comments to AFP, an anonymous senior diplomatic source detailed the core terms of the agreed implementation roadmap: “We continue to advance the implementation roadmap that offers a balanced and pragmatic path forward, with all weapons decommissioned and a phased transition of responsibilities taking place to hand over full authority to the technocratic government.”
The source emphasized that there would be no carve-outs for any faction or weapons system: “no exceptions for certain weapons or certain people. One authority, one law, one weapon.” The roadmap also includes a formal process to locate and destroy all smuggling tunnels, weapons storage depots, and illicit weapons manufacturing facilities operating across Gaza, the source added.
“All weapons, heavy and light, will be under full control of the NCAG in coordination with and with the support of the ISF,” the source said, referring to the International Stabilisation Force, a new multinational security body created under the Trump-led Board of Peace framework. A formal independent verification mechanism will be put in place to ensure full compliance from all parties to the agreement, the source confirmed.
A Hamas official familiar with the negotiations told AFP earlier this week that the movement is “awaiting the Israeli response to the amendments we recently submitted to the mediators.” The amendments focus on two specific articles of the original roadmap presented by the Board of Peace, the official said. Regarding the section focused on weapons disarmament, the official noted that “some points were removed, and alternatives were proposed.”
Yet the proposed deal has yet to win Israeli endorsement: an anonymous Israeli political source told AFP that the current text does not “satisfactorily” address core Israeli national security demands. “Israel demands the complete disarmament of Hamas, including the removal of weapons from Gaza and full demilitarization of the Strip as a precondition for any process,” the source said. The source also added that “the issue of Gaza did not come up at all” in this week’s White House meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump in Washington.
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Geelong coach Chris Scott says free kick count ‘very strange’ in win over Collingwood
Despite a dominant 25-point victory over Collingwood at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday night, Geelong Cats head coach Chris Scott has not shied away from calling out one of the most imbalanced free kick tallies recorded at the venue this AFL season.
The final free kick count told a striking story: Collingwood, the Cats’ opponent, was awarded 24 free kicks over the course of the match, while Geelong was called for just seven – a 17-free-kick advantage for the Magpies that left Scott confused and frustrated in his post-match press conference.
The second half saw the disparity grow even starker, with Collingwood holding a 12-2 edge in free kicks as the Magpies mounted a comeback attempt. That comeback effort came after Geelong got off to a blistering start, kicking nine of the match’s opening ten goals to build an unassailable early lead.
Scott told reporters that while the 24 free kicks awarded to Collingwood did not raise major red flags for him, the fact his side only earned seven struck him as deeply irregular. “We’ve had a few games like that this year, and if it’s like 7-12, it’s like okay it’s just put the whistle away night,” Scott explained. “I will bring up one issue that’s been confusing for everyone. When you have one umpire 12m away with a perfect view and he gets overruled, that’s strange.”
Beyond the officiating controversy, Scott addressed broader team questions heading into the closing stretch of the AFL regular season. Star midfielder Patrick Dangerfield missed Thursday’s clash with a lingering injury, and Scott clarified that the club was holding Dangerfield out of the lineup not because he was physically unable to play, but because coaching staff would not rush him back until he is fully prepared to perform at his best. “He’ll come back into the team at some stage, but we’re not going to bring him back when we think he’s not ready to play his best,” the coach said.
Scott added that even with the strong win, the 16th-year head coach believes his squad still has plenty of room to improve as they enter the latter part of the campaign. Two other key Cats stars – Max Holmes and Jeremy Cameron – remain sidelined with injury, but Scott said the club remains optimistic that both will be able to return to action before the end of the season.
The pivotal win over Collingwood has already moved Geelong up the AFL ladder, catapulting the side from ninth place to a provisional fifth spot in the standings. Geelong still has three remaining regular season games, all scheduled against teams currently ranked outside the top 12, giving the Cats a strong path to solidify their position in the top eight and qualify for the finals series.
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Mediator Pakistan says US-Iran talks ongoing as foes trade attacks
As the Middle East slides toward broader military escalation, mediator Pakistan reaffirmed Thursday that direct negotiations between longtime adversaries the United States and Iran remain active, even as Washington launched a massive retaliatory strike campaign against Iranian targets following recent attacks on Jordan. The fast-paced 48-hour period of unrest has drawn in other key regional players, from Saudi Arabia launching its own strikes on militant groups in Iraq to Egypt facing its first direct attack of the expanding conflict, pushing regional leaders to sound alarms over spiraling violence.
The latest round of open hostilities came after a brief lull in fighting that was designed to create space for diplomatic progress. Pakistani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told reporters Thursday that discussions continue, with particular focus on de-escalation and securing stability around the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints. Pakistan previously helped broker a preliminary agreement between the two rivals that laid the foundation for talks aimed at a long-term settlement, and Andrabi said the country is working aggressively to return all delegations to technical talks outlined in the framework.
Previous negotiations that followed an April ceasefire collapsed earlier this month, after which Iran reclosed the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies pass daily. On Thursday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced that two oil tankers attempting to transit the strait with U.S. military support had turned back after one vessel caught fire.
Amid the rising tension, Saudi Arabia announced the formation of a 14-nation regional maritime defense coalition to secure shipping lanes around the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait. The move came one week after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement announced a maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia and claimed responsibility for attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. The Bab al-Mandeb has grown in strategic importance for Saudi energy exports after the U.S.-Iran standoff shut down traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off the kingdom’s primary export route for crude.
The U.S. military confirmed earlier Thursday that it had completed a heavy wave of strikes against Iran, targeting dozens of Revolutionary Guard sites including key command and control centers. U.S. President Donald Trump had pledged a forceful response after Iran launched an attack on Jordan, marking its second direct regional strike in as many days.
The Revolutionary Guard’s branch in Iran’s northwestern Zanjan Province confirmed that three of its members were killed in the U.S. strikes there. Iran’s official state news agency IRNA also reported strikes across multiple locations in southwestern Khuzestan Province, as well as on Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf, including areas near the major cities of Abadan, Shadegan, Arvandkenar and Ahvaz.
For the second consecutive day, Jordan’s military announced it had intercepted a new round of Iranian missile attacks Thursday morning, shooting down five incoming missiles with no reported casualties. The Revolutionary Guard later confirmed the missile launch, saying it was a response to U.S. airstrikes launched from American bases stationed in Jordan that killed Iranian civilians on Qeshm Island.
In Kuwait, the defense ministry condemned what it called a “heinous” Iranian strike that hit a building owned by a Chinese company in northern Kuwait, killing one foreign worker and causing extensive structural damage.
The broader regional conflict, which began in February with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets, has now impacted nearly every country across the Middle East and spilled beyond the region’s borders. While energy infrastructure across the Gulf has faced repeated drone and missile attacks since the conflict began, Egypt remained untouched until Wednesday, when an attack on Egypt’s Mediterranean gas import hub sparked a large fire that damaged two commercial vessels.
Egyptian government officials confirmed Thursday that a drone was responsible for the blaze, noting that no group had yet claimed responsibility. Houthi rebel media issued a statement denying the movement had any involvement in the attack. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on social media platform X that Egypt is a “valued friend and partner” to Iran, suggesting the attack was a false-flag operation carried out by Israel to destabilize the country.
Egypt’s presidency said an official investigation is ongoing to “uncover the full circumstances of the incident and implement all necessary measures to protect Egypt’s national interests and security.” During a phone call with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi emphasized that the international community must act collectively to end the rapidly escalating violence, according to his presidential spokesman.
Maritime trade analytics firm Kpler identified the two damaged vessels as the Energos Winter floating storage and regasification unit and the GasLog Salem tanker, adding that both ships were moved to offshore anchorage following the attack to avoid further risk. UK-based private security monitor Ambrey reported that the floating storage vessel, which is owned and operated by a U.S. firm, was hit by at least one drone. Port authority officials noted that the terminal remains fully operational despite the incident.
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Hundreds of migrants flood into Spain’s Ceuta exclave from Morocco
A major new influx of irregular migrants into Spain’s North African exclave Ceuta from neighboring Morocco has sparked a diplomatic row between European nations, prompted a military security deployment, and escalated domestic political tensions in Madrid this week.
Hundreds of migrants have crossed into the territory over recent days, with most completing the journey by swimming around the fortified sea-border fence that separates Ceuta from Morocco. By Thursday, recovery teams had recovered the bodies of nine migrants who drowned during the dangerous crossing, according to Spanish government sources speaking to Agence France-Presse.
In response to the crisis, Madrid announced Thursday it would deploy military personnel to reinforce local security forces. The Spanish Interior Ministry confirmed armed forces will back up the Civil Guard to maintain public order in the densely populated exclave, which covers just 18.5 square kilometers. While the exact number of deploying troops was not released, officials confirmed Civil Guard numbers will nearly double from the current 80 officers, with additional diving teams and coastguard vessels also being dispatched to the area.
Local Ceuta leader Juan Vivas confirmed that roughly 1,500 migrants have arrived in the enclave over the past three days, warning that local reception facilities have reached maximum capacity. “There is no more room for anyone,” Vivas told Spanish broadcasters Wednesday. Despite the overstretched infrastructure, on-the-ground AFP reporting Thursday evening found hundreds more migrants, including children, gathered on the Moroccan side of the border near the town of Fnideq, waiting for an opportunity to cross. Many migrants told reporters they had heard rumors the border had been opened, prompting their journey to Ceuta.
Witnesses in Ceuta reported mobs of newly arrived migrants walking through local streets, greeting police and celebrating their arrival after leaving Morocco. Local law enforcement has largely taken a restrained approach, guiding arrivals to the overcrowded local reception center rather than turning them away. Local residents expressed sympathy for the vulnerable arrivals, with one young Ceuta resident telling AFP: “It really breaks my heart to see so many people suffering, and who knows how many have actually drowned along the way. When they arrive, they’re faced with the harsh reality that they have nothing and that people treat them as if they were nobody.”
The crisis has spilled over into international diplomacy, after Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called Thursday for Spain to be temporarily suspended from the Schengen Area, the 29-nation European open-border agreement that eliminates routine internal border checks. Writing on social media platform X, Tajani argued that “Irregular and uncontrolled immigration poses a danger to national security,” adding that the Spanish government’s prior decision to grant citizenship to more than 500,000 undocumented migrants was “profoundly wrong” and encouraged transnational human trafficking networks.
The call drew an immediate angry rebuke from Madrid, which summoned the Italian ambassador to deliver a formal protest. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Luis Albares accused Tajani of weaponizing the humanitarian crisis for domestic political gain, saying the comments were “improper” for a friendly European partner. “We expect European solidarity, not partisan demagoguery,” Albares said.
Domestically, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has faced intense pressure from right-wing opposition parties over the government’s handling of the surge. Opposition Popular Party leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo called the situation a national security crisis, saying the government cannot abandon its security duties. Far-right Vox party leader Santiago Abascal directly blamed Sanchez for the influx of migrants.
Sanchez responded via X, saying his administration was “focussed on providing an immediate response to the crisis in Ceuta”, adding that “We are mobilising all necessary resources, working with Moroccan and international authorities, and preparing the necessary measures to restore normality as soon as possible.” A statement from Ceuta’s regional government confirmed Sanchez spoke with Vivas to receive a first-hand briefing on the severity of the situation, while Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska will travel to Ceuta Friday to personally oversee the government’s response.
Irregular migration across the Morocco-Spain border, which includes Europe’s only two land borders with Africa at Ceuta and the nearby exclave Melilla, has long been a thorny politically sensitive issue between Madrid and Rabat, with large surges of arrivals occurring periodically.