Trump administration cancels classes at National Fire Academy amid funding freeze

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Free training classes for firefighters and other first responders are provided through Fema at the Maryland site

The country’s pre-eminent federal fire training academy canceled classes, effective immediately, on Saturday amid the ongoing flurry of funding freezes and staffing cuts by Donald Trump’s administration.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that National Fire Academy (NFA) courses had been canceled amid a “process of evaluating agency programs and spending to ensure alignment with Administration priorities”, according to a notice sent to instructors, students and fire departments. Instructors were told to cancel all future travel until further notice.

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Fires rage on Long Island as New York governor declares state of emergency

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State agencies responding around Pine Barrens, where homes, chemical factory and Amazon warehouse are at risk

Quick-moving brush fires burned through a large swath of land on New York’s Long Island on Saturday, fanned by high winds that spewed thick grey smoke into the sky and prompted the evacuation of a military base and the closure of a major highway.

Kathy Hochul, the state governor, declared a state of emergency and said state agencies were responding to the fires around the Pine Barrens, a wooded area that is home to commuter towns east of New York City.

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US vetoes G7 proposal to combat Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers

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US pushes to remove references to sanctions and Russia’s war in Ukraine from a Canadian draft statement

The US has rejected a Canadian proposal to establish a task force that would tackle Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of oil tankers, according to reports last night.

Canada, which has the current Group of Seven presidency, proposed the measure ahead of a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Quebec later this week.

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‘Etched in my mind’: reporter describes South Carolina firing squad execution

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Jeffrey Collins of the Associated Press recalls experience of watching Brad Sigmon die for 2001 murders

A reporter for the Associated Press who watched as South Carolina executed a convicted murderer by firing squad has described the experience, saying that the killing was now “etched” in his mind.

Jeffrey Collins, who has witnessed executions in South Carolina for the news agency for 21 years and has seen 11 people killed using three methods, wrote a short essay about the experience.

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Keir Starmer’s poll ratings leap after Trump withdraws support for Ukraine

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Around 30% of voters say they prefer Labour for dealing with ‘allies against threats to the UK’ in boost to party leader

Keir Starmer’s approval ratings have shot up since Donald Trump returned to the White House and shocked Europe by withdrawing political and military support for Ukraine, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.

Starmer’s Labour government as a whole has also gained public support for its response to the global turbulence caused by Trump’s return – on security and economic issues. His personal ratings have risen by 10% – albeit from an alarmingly low point – compared with a month ago.

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Activists vandalize Trump golf resort over his comments on emptying out Gaza – The Associated Press

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  1. Activists vandalize Trump golf resort over his comments on emptying out Gaza  The Associated Press
  2. Pro-Palestinian activists vandalize Trump golf course in Scotland over Gaza comments  The Hill
  3. Trump’s Scottish golf resort vandalized with red paint and course dug up over his plan ‘to ethnically cleanse Gaza’  Yahoo
  4. Trump's Scottish golf resort vandalised with pro-Palestinian graffiti  Reuters.com
  5. Activists target Trump’s golf course in Scotland over Gaza  Al Jazeera English
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Trump pick for Pentagon says selling submarines to Australia would be ‘crazy’ if Taiwan tensions flare

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Nominee for undersecretary for defense policy says Aukus deal to deliver Virginia class submarines could leave US sailors ‘vulnerable’

One of Donald Trump’s top picks for the Pentagon says selling submarines to Australia under the Aukus agreement poses a “very difficult problem” for the US and could endanger its own sailors.

Elbridge Colby, Trump’s nominee for undersecretary of defense for policy – the number three post at the US Department of Defense – has previously admitted he is “skeptical” about Aukus and said this week he is worried selling submarines to Australia could leave US sailors “vulnerable” because the vessels won’t be “in the right place in the right time”.

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Australia’s smaller airports rife with vulnerabilities, former Qantas security head says, after alleged gunman boarded Jetstar flight

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Much of the security is on the passenger side of the terminal, Geoff Askew says, not on the tarmac

Australia’s smaller and regional airports are rife with security vulnerabilities, industry insiders have warned, after the dramatic citizen’s arrest of a teenager who allegedly boarded a Jetstar flight with a shotgun and ammunition.

Police charged a 17-year-old Victorian boy with a range of offences, including unlawfully taking control of an aircraft, orchestrating a bomb hoax and possessing a firearm.

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Iran’s supreme leader rails against Trump’s ‘bullying’ military threat

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Ayatollah Khamenei says US demand to reopen talks on Iran’s nuclear programme is aimed at domination

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has criticised what he described as bullying tactics a day after Donald Trump threatened military action against Iran.

“Some bully governments – I really don’t know of any more appropriate term for some foreign figures and leaders than the word bullying – insist on negotiations,” Khamenei told officials after Trump threatened military action if Iran refused to engage in talks over its nuclear programme.

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Man, 38, charged in James Jarvis murder investigation in Glasgow – BBC.com

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  1. Man, 38, charged in James Jarvis murder investigation in Glasgow  BBC.com
  2. Murder probe launched after body of man found in Scots house  The Scottish Sun
  3. Murder inquiry launched after man found dead in flat  STV News
  4. Murder investigation launched after man, 55, found dead in property  The Scotsman
  5. Murder probe as man found dead in Glasgow flat and car dumped half a mile away  Daily Record
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France, Germany, Italy and UK give support to Arab-backed plan for rebuilding Gaza – The Times of Israel

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  1. France, Germany, Italy and UK give support to Arab-backed plan for rebuilding Gaza  The Times of Israel
  2. U.S., Israel reject Gaza reconstruction plan backed by Arab nations  CBS News
  3. Gaza plan criticized by US and Israel gets European support  Fox News
  4. France, Germany, Italy and UK back Arab plan for Gaza reconstruction  Reuters
  5. An Arab shift on Gaza and Hamas  The Jerusalem Post
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