Trump claims Iran or ‘somebody else’ could have carried out deadly school strike

President makes evidence-free claim despite video showing US Tomahawk missile hit naval base next to school

As oil prices surged amid the widening war with Iran, Donald Trump suggested, without evidence, on Monday that the strike on an Iranian elementary school could have been carried out by Iran or “somebody else”.

During back-to-back appearances in Florida, Trump was asked whether the US would accept responsibility for a strike that hit the school and killed scores of people, many of them children, after video evidence showed a US Tomahawk struck the naval base next to it.

Continue reading...

Three Australians jailed for more than a decade over Melbourne man’s shooting death in Bali

Sentences of 16 and 12 years handed down over 2025 death of 32-year-old Zivan Radmanovic

A court on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali has sentenced three Australian citizens over the fatal shooting of a fellow Australian national, after they claimed to have been paid by a man they will not identify.

Mevlut Coskun, Paea I Middlemore Tupou and Darcy Jenson were convicted of the shooting death of Zivan Radmanovic, a 32-year-old from Melbourne.

Continue reading...

Black people up to 48 times more likely to be stopped and searched in richest areas of London

Research found extreme disproportion in use of police power in districts such as Richmond-upon-Thames

Black people are up to 48 times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched by police in some of London’s best-off areas, a new report has found.

The study found that the reasons given by officers for subjecting black people to the controversial power were more likely to be vague, with examples including that a black person gave a “furtive glance”.

Continue reading...

Ig Nobels to move awards to Europe due to concern over US travel visas

Scientific awards – which honor research that makes people laugh and then think – to move away from ‘unsafe’ US

The annual Ig Nobels, a satirical award for scientific achievement, are shifting for the first time from the US to Europe due to concerns about attendees getting visas, organizers announced on Monday.

Organized by the Annals of Improbable Research, a digital magazine that highlights research that makes people laugh and then think, the 36th annual ceremony will be held in Zurich. It’s usually held in the US in September, a few weeks before the actual Nobel prizes are announced.

Continue reading...

MPs reject ban on social media for under-16s

Ban could still be introduced in future after Commons back government bid to give extra powers to secretary of state

A proposed ban on social media for under-16s has been rejected by MPs.

Parliamentarians voted 307 to 173, majority 134, against the proposed change to the children’s wellbeing and schools bill, which was brought forward by Conservative peer and former minister John Nash.

Continue reading...

New Mexico authorities launch search of ranch previously owned by Epstein

The so-called Zorro Ranch was the site of numerous alleged abuses, but was not subject to intense scrutiny

New Mexico authorities launched a search of a ranch previously owned by Jeffrey Epstein, state officials announced on Monday.

The late convicted sex offender and financier’s so-called Zorro Ranch was the site of numerous alleged abuses, according to civil and criminal proceedings. But the location was not subject to the same scrutiny as other Epstein properties, and a Guardian investigation in February revealed that federal authorities apparently never searched the New Mexico ranch.

Continue reading...

Trump says Iran war is ‘very complete, pretty much’ as economic toll rises

President reassures Republicans that conflict is intended to be short lived but also says ‘we haven’t won enough’

Donald Trump has said that the war in Iran is “very complete, pretty much”, as the economic toll of the joint US-Israeli operation has risen, disrupting global oil trade and threatening to engulf the Middle East in a regional war.

Trump made the comments before a speech and press conference in Florida where he sought to emphasise that the US military campaign would be ending soon amid concerns from Republican allies that the US was being dragged into another long-term conflict in the region.

Continue reading...

Democrats file new war powers resolutions and call for public hearings on Iran strikes

Senators say Trump allies such as Hegseth and Rubio should be forced to testify to Congress on ‘unnecessary war’

Democratic senators have filed a wave of new war powers resolutions as they call on Republicans to convene public hearings into the US hostilities with Iran or be forced to vote on continuing a conflict that polls show majorities of Americans do not support.

Late last week, Democrats Cory Booker of New Jersey, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Adam Schiff of California, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Chris Murphy of Connecticut filed resolutions under the War Powers Act that would force the US military to withdraw from the war with Iran unless Congress votes to authorize the engagement.

Continue reading...

Live updates: Trump calls choice of Iran’s leader a ‘big mistake’ as war roils global economy – CNN

  1. Live updates: Trump calls choice of Iran’s leader a ‘big mistake’ as war roils global economy  CNN
  2. Trump slams Mojtaba Khamenei’s appointment as Iran projects defiance  Al Jazeera
  3. Live updates: Trump holds news conference, says war is ‘short-term excursion'  NBC4 Washington
  4. Trump says he's "not happy" about Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei  CBS News
  5. Iran's next supreme leader won't 'last long' without my approval, Trump says  abcnews.com
Posted in Uncategorized

Definition of anti-Muslim hate will not harm free speech, says Steve Reed

Communities secretary tells MPs that government has to act against record levels of hate crimes

A new definition of anti-Muslim hate will not restrict freedom of speech, the communities secretary has pledged, as he said that “clear expectations” will still be set for new arrivals and existing communities in Britain to learn English.

MPs were told by Steve Reed that the government had a duty to act against record levels of hate crime against Muslims, but that “you can’t tackle a problem if you can’t describe it”.

Continue reading...

So Badenoch, Farage and Blair think the Iran war is a great idea? Hmm … | John Crace

Kemi may be all in favour, but at least economic realpolitik is forcing her to take a slightly different tack

There have been any number of opportunities for people to decide they wanted no part of America’s war with Iran. The first was after the US had launched its first wave of strikes. To be fair, this was the moment Keir Starmer and most of the UK reckoned enough was enough and that our involvement would be limited to defensive strikes only.

You couldn’t really fault the logic. Did the UK really want to be part of a war that was illegal in most versions of international law and for which the Americans had no clear vision of how it might end? Other than Donald Trump gets bored and lets everyone else clear up his mess. Like a baby. Nor was the UK’s track record of wars in the 21st century any source of pride. Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya had all been in chaos. Iran was shaping up the same way. So Starmer decided to sit this one out. Applying the doctor’s principle of “first, do no harm”.

Continue reading...

Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader? – DW.com

  1. Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's new supreme leader?  DW.com
  2. Iran Live Updates: Oil Prices Soar as Fighting Escalates; Iran Picks Khamenei's Son as Leader, Defying Trump  The New York Times
  3. World reacts to appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s supreme leader  Al Jazeera
  4. Iran's new supreme leader and the AI threat to white-collar jobs: Morning Rundown  NBC News
  5. Mojtaba Khamenei, son of slain ayatollah, named Iran’s supreme leader  Politico
Posted in Uncategorized

‘We thought we were doomed’: Canadian fishers in dramatic rescue after ice shelf floats away

Anglers describe harrowing phone calls to loved ones once ice detached from shores of Georgian Bay in Ontario

Kevin Fox thought the spring-like temperatures that had temporarily pushed the cold away from south-eastern Ontario meant a good day on for ice fishing, a popular winter pastime in the region.

After shifting location because the wind and ice “didn’t feel right” and the fish weren’t biting close to shore, he and a friend joined nearly two dozen others far out on a sheet of ice in Lake Huron. They followed the familiar routine of anyone who spends a day on the ice: they drilled holes, dropped their lines and waited.

Continue reading...

Emmanuel Macron vows Europe will stand by Cyprus after Iran drone strike

French president says attack on island is ‘an attack on Europe’ as EU states send military support

Emmanuel Macron has vowed that Europe will do whatever it takes to stand by Cyprus, the continent’s first state to be directly affected by the Iran war, after coming under what he described as “attack from multiple drones and missiles.”

In the strongest show yet of solidarity towards the EU member closest to the Middle East, Macron likened the attacks, which included a drone strike against a British base on the eastern Mediterranean island, to an attack on Europe.

Continue reading...

X suspends 800m accounts in one year amid ‘massive’ scale of manipulation attempts

Social media company tells MPs of continual fight against state-backed efforts, with Russia being most prolific

Elon Musk’s X said it had suspended 800m accounts over a 12-month period as it fights the “massive” scale of attempts to manipulate the platform.

The social media company told MPs it was continually fighting state-backed attempts to hijack the agenda on its network, with Russia the most prolific state actor, followed by Iran and China.

Continue reading...

Sheinbaum tells Trump: stop illegal arms trade from the US to Mexico

US president claimed he wanted to eradicate cartels and made comments about Mexico’s president that were deemed sexist in summit speech

Claudia Sheinbaum has responded to Donald Trump’s description of Mexico as the “epicenter of violence,” by calling on the US government to step up efforts to combat gun trafficking.

“There is something that the US can help us a lot with: stop the trafficking of illegal weapons from the US to Mexico,” the president of Mexico said. “If they stopped the entry of illegal weapons from the United States into Mexico, then these groups wouldn’t have access to this type of high-powered weaponry to carry out their criminal activities.”

Continue reading...

Ukraine sent drone experts to protect US bases in Jordan, says Zelenskyy

Interceptor drones and operators deployed to Middle East after ‘requests for help from 11 countries neighbouring Iran’

Ukraine’s president has said he dispatched interceptor drones and operators to protect US bases in Jordan last week, one of 11 countries that had asked Kyiv for help as the US-Israeli war against Iran continued into its 10th day.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview that he had responded to a US request for help in defending Jordan last week as Ukraine seeks to improve relations with Gulf and Middle Eastern countries coming under attack from Iran.

Continue reading...