Trump Threatens to Destroy Iran's Kharg Island Oil Hub Unless Deal Reached

• Kosovo approved a plan to send soldiers to the Gaza Strip as part of a US-backed international security force, joining Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, and Albania in making similar commitments. • The deployment represents an expansion of the international coalition participating in the Middle East security operation. • Kosovo's participation demonstrates growing international involvement in establishing security frameworks in the Gaza region.

• President Donald Trump warned Monday via Truth Social that if Iran does not open the Strait of Hormuz and a deal is not reached "shortly," the US will "blow up and completely obliterate" Iran's electric generating plants, oil wells, and Kharg Island. • US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington is close to achieving its objectives in Iran "in a matter of weeks" and that Trump has "a number of options available" to prevent Iran from controlling the strategic waterway. • The threat comes as 3,500 US Marines and sailors aboard the USS Tripoli arrive in the Middle East, joining over 50,000 American troops already in the region, with hundreds of Navy SEALs also deployed.

• Iran fired six ballistic missiles and 29 drones at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on Friday, wounding at least 15 US service members and destroying a US military E-3 Century radar aircraft. • The attack resulted in at least 13 US service members killed to date, prompting the Pentagon to prepare for weeks of potential ground conflict in Iran according to The Washington Post. • President Trump is reportedly considering a military operation in response, with 3,500 additional US troops beginning to arrive in the region as part of a broader deployment now exceeding 50,000 personnel.

• José Guadalupe Ramos, a Mexican national, died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in Los Angeles, according to ICE, marking the 14th death in ICE custody for 2026. • Mexico's foreign ministry announced it would file a legal brief supporting a lawsuit brought by detainees alleging poor conditions at the detention center, including inadequate medical care, unsanitary conditions, and punitive use of isolation. • The death raises ongoing concerns about detention facility conditions and has prompted diplomatic engagement from the Mexican government to address alleged violations.

Defence ministry says US failed to request authorisation in time for parliament to give approval as required by international treatyItaly has denied the use of an airbase in Sicily to US military planes carrying weapons for the war in Iran after the US did not follow the required authorisation procedure.A source at the Italian defence ministry confirmed a report in Corriere della Sera that “some US bombers” had been due to land at Sigonella – one of seven US navy bases in Italy – before heading to the Middle East, but that use of the base had been denied because the US sought authorisation to land only while the aircraft were already en route to Sicily. Continue reading...

New measures will protect Tata and British Steel but allow foreign pre-made parts into the UK, say industry bossesSteel bosses have warned ministers that a “back door” in new trade rules could hit British manufacturers and lead to job cuts and factory closures by allowing a vast array of foreign products to still enter the UK tax-free.The loophole means pre-made steel parts ranging from bridge sections, columns and door frames, all the way to smaller rods and tubes used in buildings, will escape recently announced import tariffs, the Guardian understands. Continue reading...

Families fear undocumented relatives could be turned away or detained at recruit celebrations in South CarolinaFederal immigration agents will be stationed at Marine Corps graduation events this week, the service has announced, raising fears that undocumented relatives celebrating their loved ones’ achievements will be seized and deported.The service is presenting the unusual move as a security enhancement for family events over the next few days at the Parris Island Marine Corps recruiting depot in South Carolina. Continue reading...

Union says there has been ‘far too little progress’ in talks over pay and career developmentUK politics live – latest updatesSenior doctors in England are to be balloted over the prospect of strikes, the British Medical Association has announced.The union said that simultaneous ballots of consultants and specialist, associate specialist, and speciality (SAS) doctors would run from 11 May to 6 July as both sets of medics escalate their disputes with the government. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Capital gains tax discount and negative gearing rules created ‘extra artificial incentive’ for property speculation, the e61 Institute has foundGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe combination of the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing rules has turbocharged debt-fuelled property speculation over recent decades, according to a new analysis of hundreds of thousands of property investments.The federal budget in three weeks’ time is widely expected to include changes to tax breaks for investors, in an effort to rebalance the tax system away from the wealthiest Australians and to take pressure off home prices. Continue reading...

MP for Hull East had recently given interview with Jody McIntyre, campaigner who stood against Jess Phillips in 2024The MP Karl Turner has lost the Labour whip, after making a series of interventions criticising Keir Starmer and No 10, especially changes to jury trials.The decision is understood to have been prompted by an interview given by Turner, the MP for Hull East, to Jody McIntyre, a campaigner who had previously stood at the 2024 elections against Labour’s Jess Phillips. Continue reading...

As living costs rise, the state where Gates and Bezos made billions is targeting top earners – could other states follow?Noel Frame knows exactly how difficult it is to raise taxes on the ultra-wealthy, because she has been trying to do just that – first as an activist, then as a state legislator – for the past 15 years. And until recently almost all of her efforts ended in failure.She lives in Washington, a solid blue state that should, in theory, be hospitable to the idea of more progressive taxation and has plenty of multi-millionaires to target, since it is the home of Microsoft, Amazon and an array of other tech-driven corporations. While the wealth of these tech giants has grown exponentially in recent decades, the state – which levies no income taxes – has struggled to bring in enough revenue to pay for basic services like public schooling and long-term healthcare. Continue reading...