Israel/US-Iran conflict 2026: Background and UK response - House of Commons Library

• U.S. Navy Amphibious Ready Groups (ARGs) are deploying to the Red Sea to project Marine power and secure critical international trade routes. • These forces utilize specialized amphibious connectors, such as Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) hovercraft and Landing Craft Utility (LCU) vessels, to move personnel and equipment from ship to shore.

• Ukrainian drones launched a "massive attack" on Saturday, targeting a tanker at the port of Taganrog and an oil depot in Armavir. • The strikes occurred overnight in Russia's southern Rostov and Krasnodar regions, according to local authorities.

Australian Greens should ‘take on’ Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, Polanski tells Victorian conference, just as he took on Nigel Farage’s Reform UKGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastZack Polanski, the leader of the Green party of England and Wales, has told his counterparts in Australia that they need to start “connecting with people’s anger” and learn from the “storytelling power” of populist rightwing politics.Speaking via video link at the Victorian Greens campaign conference on Saturday night, Zack Polanski said the party in Australia needed to start “taking on” Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, just as his own party had taken on Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. Continue reading...

Fab Four are still making waves 60 years on – and upcoming Sam Mendes films are expected to turn the hype up to 11If anyone needed a reminder of the enduring cultural clout of the Beatles, the past few weeks have provided a glut. Firstly, there’s the small matter of The Boys of Dungeon Lane, Paul McCartney’s 20th solo album, billed as “an adventurous and limber take on guitar music” by the Guardian.When England announced their World Cup squad, the soundtrack was Come Together, played alongside a film of fashionable young people in New York and a clip of a young, puckish John Lennon. The same week Stephen Colbert was played off from his final episode of the Late Show by a Paul McCartney rendition of Hello Goodbye. Continue reading...

Former Scottish first minister says she will not apologise for actions of her ex- husband found guilty of embezzlementNicola Sturgeon has said feels like she is “serving a sentence for a crime I did not commit” after her former husband and former Scottish National party chief executive, Peter Murrell, admitted embezzling more than £400,000 from the party.Murrell pleaded guilty this week to embezzling the sum from the SNP between 2010 and 2022 to fund a lavish personal lifestyle. Continue reading...

Capture of Beaufort castle near the city of Nabatiyeh comes despite a nominal ceasefire and shortly before talks due in the USIsraeli troops have captured a mountain topped with a Crusader-built castle in southern Lebanon in their deepest incursion into the country in more than a quarter of a century.The capture of Beaufort castle near the city of Nabatiyeh came after days of intense fighting and airstrikes in nearby villages where Israeli troops fought Hezbollah members in the rugged area.Israel has expanded the scope of its operations in Lebanon sending troops across the Litani River, which previously served as a de facto boundary. Israel has designated the area from the Litani up to the Zahrani River a combat zone. Some residents have already left the area due to the intense strikes in recent days, but people remain in many of the area’s towns.Hezbollah overnight claimed two attacks targeting Israeli troops and a Merkava tank in the southwestern town of Bayada near the border. In recent days, the group has said it has clashed with Israeli troops in several towns just north of the river near Nabatiyeh and the castle.The Lebanese Health Ministry said the death toll in the country since March was 3,371, including civilians and combatants. The Israeli army announced Sunday that one of its soldiers had been killed the previous day by a Hezbollah explosive drone in southern Lebanon, bringing to 25 the number of Israeli military deaths since early March.US president Donald Trump said he had secured guarantees from Iran that it would not develop nuclear weapons, as reports emerged he had sent a tougher peace proposal back to Tehran. Trump has said his priorities for any deal include stopping Iran from any nuclear weapon development and re-opening the blockaded strait of Hormuz.Benjamin Netanyahu said he has given orders to the Israeli army to seize control of 70% of the Gaza Strip in a move that threatens to torpedo an already fragile ceasefire and create catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the already devastated territory. Continue reading...

Environment minister Murray Watt decides against emergency declaration to halt construction but does not rule out ‘longer term protections’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe federal government has decided against an 11th-hour intervention to halt construction of an Olympic stadium and aquatic centre in the heart of Brisbane, in a park that traditional owners call “sacred”.The environment minister, Murray Watt, issued a statement on Sunday afternoon to say he had considered applications made under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act for him to stop construction in Victoria Park. Continue reading...

Premier Group Recruitment went into administration with debts of £2.9m – including £647,000 owed to HMRCA recruitment executive – who was allowed to buy back the assets of his bust company in instalments despite it accumulating almost £3m of debt – has fallen behind on promised payments after pledging to send staff on an all-expenses paid trip to Las Vegas.The development is the latest case to raise questions about the practice of “phoenixism”, accounting’s controversial art of liquidating companies to allow directors to rise from the ashes with a new entity, free of debts. Continue reading...

Shinjiro Koizumi says Japan valued as a ‘peace-loving’ nation while China expands military capabilities ‘without sufficient transparency’Japan’s defence minister took a veiled swipe at China on Sunday, pledging to keep strengthening the military despite Beijing’s criticism of Tokyo’s increasingly muscular security stance.Under the prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, Japan has quickened its pivot to a more proactive defence policy, further shaking off – with US encouragement – its pacifist outlook in place since the end of the second world war. Continue reading...

Wind gusts up to 125km/h forecast to hit city as residents urged to stay away from windowsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTens of thousands of residents have been left without power in Perth as an intense storm lashed Australia’s west coast, with authorities warning on Sunday morning the worst was still to come.The powerful weather event was forecast to bring wind gusts of up to 125km/h to Perth and communities along Western Australia’s coast. Continue reading...

There is hope that a change to building regulations could resurrect music clubs, which have been hit by rising rents, social shifts and noise disputesA move by the German government to reclassify nightclubs to distinguish them from amusement and adult entertainment facilities could give a much-needed boost to the country’s struggling nightlife, industry advocates say.Under a fundamental change to building regulations approved by Friedrich Merz’s cabinet last week, nightclubs will be formally recognised as providing cultural and artistic value, making it more difficult for developers to evict venue operators in favour of new construction. Continue reading...