Trump threats cause dilemma for US officers: disobey orders or commit war crimes

Ron Gibson had recently expressed support for a 14-acre, $500m data center project in Martindale-BrightwoodAn Indianapolis city councilor said his home was fired at on Monday, with a note left behind suggesting he had been targeted over his support of data centers.The case involving Ron Gibson – a Democrat on Indianapolis’s city council since 2024 – comes amid growing bipartisan concern in the US over political violence in the wake of cases such as the September murder of Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist. Continue reading...

President dismisses concerns that bombing civilian targets would punish ordinary people and could constitute war crimesDonald Trump on Monday claimed that Iranian civilians are actively welcoming US strikes on their country’s infrastructure, saying they would be “willing to suffer” the loss of power and basic services in order to achieve freedom from the Islamic Republic.Speaking to reporters from the White House press room, Trump dismissed concerns that targeting Iran’s power grid and civilian infrastructure would punish ordinary Iranians rather than the regime, saying without evidence US intelligence had intercepts of civilians near active bombing sites urging American forces to continue. Continue reading...

Trump targets media to find ‘leaker’ who revealed that a US airman was missing after being shot down by Iranian forcesDonald Trump threatened to jail a journalist – or journalists – who reported that a second US airman was missing after being shot down by Iran on Friday in a bid to identify their source.The badly injured airman hid in a mountain crevice to avoid capture before being rescued by a US recovery team that took on heavy fire. The US president announced on Sunday that the service member had been recovered. Continue reading...

Claims explosives found near pipeline come before election in which PM Viktor Orbán is trailing in most pollsHungary has placed the gas pipeline that straddles the Serbian border under military protection, its prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has said, as accusations of a false-flag operation continued to swirl before a crunch election at the weekend and an official visit on Tuesday from the US vice-president, JD Vance.Orbán travelled to Hungary’s southern border with Serbia on Monday, one day after Serbia said it had found “explosives of devastating power” near a pipeline that carries Russian natural gas to Hungary and beyond. Continue reading...

As UK PM resists pressure to back airstrikes US president invokes British leader known for his policy of appeasementMiddle East crisis live – latest updatesDonald Trump has appeared to compare Keir Starmer to Neville Chamberlain in his latest disparaging remarks about the prime minister, who has refused to back the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.The comments, during an Easter Monday event at the White House, underline Trump’s continued annoyance at Starmer’s scepticism about the aims and legality of the conflict, a view which has not been shifted by the US president’s jibes. Continue reading...

Jonathan Jackson of Illinois calls Cuba ‘most sanctioned part of Earth’ amid US oil blockade causing vast disruptionsSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxTwo Democratic US lawmakers on Monday called for a permanent solution to crises confronting Cuba after they visited the island to witness the effects of an American energy blockade. US House members Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Jonathan Jackson of Illinois met with Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel and foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez as well as members of Cuba’s parliament during a five-day trip ending on Sunday.“I denounced the criminal damage caused by the blockade, particularly the consequences of the energy siege decreed by the current US government and its threats of even more aggressive actions,” Díaz-Canel wrote on X. Continue reading...

‘She got ripped away from me,’ army soldier Matthew Blank said after his wife Annie Ramos was detained in LouisianaImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents under the command of the Trump administration have reportedly detained the wife of a US army staff sergeant at his military base in Louisiana amid his preparations to deploy.The arrest of Annie Ramos, 22, took place last Thursday, just days after she married 23-year-old Matthew Blank, a soldier who has served for more than five years and previously deployed to the Middle East and Europe, the New York Times first reported on Sunday. Continue reading...

Kyriakos Mitsotakis calls alleged scamming of EU agricultural funds ‘a turning point’ The Greek prime minister has vowed to tackle what he has called a “deep state” he says is plaguing the country, as he sought to address a burgeoning political crisis over a farm fraud scandal that has forced the resignation of multiple government ministers.In a speech, aired on national TV, Kyriakos Mitsotakis attempted to limit the damage, describing the revelations as “a turning point” that had turbo-charged his commitment to rooting out entrenched corruption. Continue reading...

Police say 26-year-old man died at scene outside nightclub in Peckham and two others remain in hospitalFour men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was stabbed to death and two other men were injured outside a nightclub in south-east London.The Metropolitan police said officers were called at 3.54am on Monday to reports of a disturbance involving a group of people outside a nightclub in Ruby Street, Peckham. Continue reading...

A man in Phoenix had ‘over 100 stings’ and was airlifted out of a mountain trailSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA hiker was taken to a hospital in critical condition after bees stung him more than 100 times on an Arizona mountain trail over the Easter weekend – an emergency which required the help of a helicopter crew.The man reported “over 100 stings” had left him “unable to continue his descent” from the summit of Lookout Mountain Preserve in north Phoenix at about 10am on Saturday, the local fire department said in a statement. Continue reading...

With some misgivings, families and aviation enthusiasts bring stepladders and picnics to the perimeter fenceIt was a 4.40am start for the Wilkinson family. They packed their car with gear you might take on a trip to the seaside – folding chairs, blankets, a picnic. But instead of heading to the coast, they drove 80 miles from their home in Hampshire to Gloucestershire and set up camp close to the perimeter fence of RAF Fairford to watch American warplanes take off and land.“It’s definitely cheaper than a trip to a theme park,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, who was there with wife, Katie, and three sons, aged seven to 12. “The sights and sounds are impressive. But it’s a bittersweet thing. These planes are only here because of war. We have to keep that in mind.” Continue reading...