Gulf states rethink security in light of US-Israel war on Iran

Lee Milne sentenced to eight years in landmark case after being found guilty of culpable homicide of Kimberly MilneA man convicted of killing his wife, who took her own life after repeated domestic abuse, has been jailed for eight years in case seen as a significant legal milestone.Kimberly Milne, 28, died when she jumped from a bridge in July 2023. Her estranged husband, Lee Milne, was found guilty of culpable homicide last month after a trial at the high court in Glasgow.In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 988 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org Continue reading...

Woman tells court ‘I lost my teenage self’ from abuse by teacher William ‘Rob’ Gilfillan, already in prison for offences against daughter Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA woman who was repeatedly sexually assaulted in the 1980s by her high school PE teacher has told a court how the man’s actions resulted in her life being changed “negatively for decades”.In December, William “Rob” Gilfillan was found guilty of indecent assault of a person under 16 and sexual penetration of a child under 16. The five counts against two victims took place at Traralgon high school in Gippsland. Continue reading...

Cheng Li-wun’s visit to Beijing has sparked controversy in Taiwan, with critics accusing her of being too close to ChinaIn a rare meeting with Taiwan’s opposition leader, China’s president, Xi Jinping, declared that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait were Chinese and wanted peace.The meeting in Beijing between Xi and Cheng Li-wun, the chair of Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT), is the first such contact in a decade. The visit has sparked controversy in Taiwan, with Cheng’s critics accusing her of being too close to China, a country that many in Taiwan see as a threat. Continue reading...

Powerful storm brings destruction, while temperatures soar in Vietnam and torrential rain lashes South KoreaSevere Tropical Cyclone Maila, currently in the Solomon Sea, is expected to continue moving south-westwards over the coming days. According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Maila had peak sustained winds of 115mph (185k/ph), with gusts up to 160mph on Thursday, making it the strongest cyclone recorded this far north in the Solomon Sea.The storm has caused widespread damage across the Solomon Islands, particularly in Western, Choiseul and Isabel provinces, where schools, clinics and homes have been damaged. The government is prioritising humanitarian assistance, after about 120 people were displaced and almost 73,000 people affected overall. Continue reading...

Stars including Sabrina Carpenter, Karol G, David Byrne and Addison Rae also head to the desert for the first of two sold-out weekends of live musicJustin Bieber is set for a major live performance comeback at this year’s sold-out Coachella with rainy weather set to be a possible spoiler.The Canadian singer will face his biggest live stage since he abandoned his 2022 tour over health concerns. Bieber was experiencing “full paralysis” on one side of his face after being diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome. “I wish this wasn’t the case but obviously my body is telling me I gotta slow down,” he said at the time. Continue reading...

Residents of Fleetwood say continuous foul smell from Transwaste site is making life hell and making them sickIn the week that many families took to the coast for the fresh sea air or the tang of fish and chips, visitors to one Lancashire resort inhaled a rather more unpleasant aroma.“Welcome to Fleetwood,” read the local newspaper headline. “The town that smells of bin juice.” Continue reading...

Australia and Singapore will ‘make maximum efforts to meet each other’s energy security needs’ in refined fuels and LNG, according to new agreementGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s largest petrol source has pledged not to cut supplies, with Singapore’s prime minister telling Anthony Albanese that fuel will keep flowing despite the international crisis.Albanese’s whistle-stop visit with his Singaporean counterpart, Lawrence Wong, culminated in a new agreement that the two countries would keep sending one another fuel and liquefied natural gas, amid the “acute energy crisis” caused by the war in the Middle East. Australia and Singapore will also add a legally binding addendum to their free trade agreement on essential supplies like energy. Continue reading...

Opposition candidate Péter Magyar warns supporters against complacency as some voters undecided ahead of Sundayin BudapestWe talked to a few Budapest residents this morning in the city centre at Jászai Mari Square. Continue reading...

Reports say Fed chair Jerome Powell among attenders at meeting in Washington The US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, summoned major American bank chiefs to a meeting in Washington this week amid concerns over the cyber risks posed by Anthropic’s latest AI model, according to reports.Bosses including the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, were said to have gathered at the Treasury headquarters for the meeting after the release of the Claude Mythos AI model that Anthropic says poses unprecedented cybersecurity risks. Continue reading...

PM appears to draw comparison between Russian and US leaders and calls for plan to restore shipping through strait of HormuzKeir Starmer has said he is “fed up” with the effect that Donald Trump’s actions in the Middle East are having on the British public, while appearing to draw a comparison between the US president to Vladimir Putin.Speaking to ITV’s Robert Peston on Thursday, the prime minister said: “I’m fed up with the fact that families across the country see their bills go up and down on energy, businesses’ bills go up and down on energy because of the actions of Putin or Trump across the world.” Continue reading...

Prime minister explicitly blames US president for British consumers’ higher bills as he concludes tour of Gulf statesGood morning. Keir Starmer is wrapping up his three-day tour of Gulf states today, and we are starting some conclusions. What we have not got is any sort of plan for a resolution of the Iran war; Starmer is not one of the main protagonists in this conflict, what he has said publicly about his talks with Gulf leaders has consisted largely of platitudes, we still have no idea about when, if or how the strait of Hormuz will fully open, and the outcome will be determined by Iran and a rash and unpredictable US president.But Starmer has been giving some thought to how the UK should respond to the era of global uncertainty we now find ourselves in and he has set out some of his thinking in an article for the Guardian. The full piece is here. Continue reading...

Text on plaque in Hall of Valour updated to include references to war crime – murder charges and the ongoing legal processThe Australian War Memorial has updated the display dedicated to Ben Roberts-Smith after the former Special Air Service (SAS) corporal was officially charged with five counts of the war crime of murder.The changes, implemented on Friday, mean nearly half of the descriptive plaque in the museum’s Hall of Valour is now dedicated to events occurring after his military service, beginning with the initial reports of misconduct in 2016. Continue reading...