Army

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...

Judgment outlawing forcing of survivors of trafficking, torture and other forms of violence to share rooms is blow to Shabana Mahmood’s asylum plansShabana Mahmood’s plan to house more asylum seekers in former army barracks is facing a major hurdle after the high court ruled on Thursday that a policy change forcing torture victims to share rooms was unlawful.According to a judgment seen by the Guardian, the government failed in its duties when it forced survivors of trafficking, torture and other serious forms of violence to share rooms with strangers. Continue reading...

Case involving June 2025 protest is escalation in Trump officials’ attack on first amendment rights, say expertsA federal jury has found three protesters, including a US military veteran of the war in Afghanistan, guilty on felony conspiracy charges on Thursday for their part in a June 2025 protest against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).Legal experts have said the Spokane, Washington, case marked a serious escalation in the Trump administration’s attack on first amendment rights. The demonstrators now face potential sentences of up to six years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Continue reading...

Speaking in West Bank settlement, Israeli president, who’s fighting for political survival before elections, says ‘we are squeezing Hamas’Benjamin Netanyahu has 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.Under the US-brokered ceasefire in October, the Israeli army withdrew to a demarcation line which gave Israel direct control of 53% of the occupied territory. Since then, Israeli forces have steadily advanced their positions westward into the Hamas-controlled half of the strip, and declared an ever-expanded no man’s land west of that, within which they claim the right to decide who can enter and open fire on anyone perceived as a threat. Continue reading...

Daniela Klette sentenced to 13 years for crimes committed during three decades of hiding in plain sightA German court has sentenced Daniela Klette, a former member of the Red Army Faction, also know as the Baader-Meinhof group, to 13 years’ in jail for armed robberies committed during three decades hiding in plain sight.Long Germany’s most-wanted woman, Klette was the last female member of the far-left terrorist network still on the run before her arrest at her home in Berlin in February 2024. Continue reading...

• Ukrainian military forces captured an Indian man fighting as a combatant for Russian forces during ongoing conflict operations. • The capture highlights the international dimension of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with foreign nationals recruited to fight for Russian military interests. • The incident raises questions about recruitment practices and international volunteer involvement in the prolonged conflict.

• India's top military leadership issued a warning on May 10, 2026, stating the country faces a strategic nexus of Pakistan, China, and Turkey along its borders one year after Operation Sindoor. • Officials revealed Pakistan launched 300–400 drones, many of Turkish origin, during recent incursions, but India's air defence grid destroyed most using systems like S-400 and Project Kusha. • The alliance involves drones, missiles, air defence, and space capabilities, with terror launch pads across the Line of Control and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir fully mapped and no longer safe.

• TNI AD dan Tentara AD Singapura mempererat kerja sama strategis di bidang pertahanan pada 5 Mei 2026. • Fokus utama pada penguatan sinergi militer regional untuk menjaga stabilitas ASEAN. • Kerja sama ini bagian dari komitmen bilateral dalam menghadapi ancaman keamanan bersama.

Leaked remarks by Maj Gen Avi Bluth describe fatal shootings of stone-throwers and different treatment for Jewish settlersThe Israeli army chief in the West Bank has said his troops were “killing like we haven’t killed since 1967”, including fatally shooting Palestinian stone-throwers, according to an Israeli report of his comments.The remarks by Maj Gen Avi Bluth, head of the army’s central command, were made in a recent closed forum but were leaked to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper. Bluth has so far not denied the authenticity of the Haaretz account. The Israel Defense Forces did not respond to a request for comment. Continue reading...

Jose Serrano, a sergeant, said Deisy Rivera Ortega, his wife, was arrested at an immigration appointmentA US army sergeant with 27 years of military service – including deployment to Afghanistan – has said that federal immigration agents recently arrested his wife during an appointment at an El Paso, Texas, immigration office.In an interview with CBS News published Monday, Sgt First Class Jose Serrano said that Deisy Rivera Ortega, a Salvadoran and his wife, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers under the command of the Trump administration despite receiving legal protection in 2019 that bars her from being deported to El Salvador. Rivera Ortega, who wed Serrano in 2022, has been in the US since 2016, he said. Continue reading...

IDF says sledgehammer photo circulating online is authentic and is being viewed with ‘great severity’The Israeli army has said it is investigating a soldier who was seen apparently striking a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer in southern Lebanon.The Israel Defense Forces said they had determined that an image circulating on social media showing the incident was authentic. The image appears to show an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off a cross. Continue reading...

Soldiers were participating in ‘land navigation training’ when bear injured them in a ‘defensive attack’Two US army soldiers have been injured after encountering a brown bear in a mountainous training area in Anchorage, Alaska, the military said on Friday.The incident happened on Thursday as the soldiers were participating in a “land navigation training event” in Arctic Valley, part of the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson’s training area. Continue reading...

Refugee Council criticises Labour’s decision, saying military sites are unsuitable and ‘more expensive than hotels’Hundreds of asylum seekers have been removed from government-funded hotels while others have been sent to live in army barracks, the Home Office has announced.Eleven “asylum hotels” in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland have been closed, as first reported by the Guardian, and more will close “in the coming weeks”. About 350 claimants have been moved to the Crowborough military camp in east Sussex, described by a spokesperson as “basic accommodation”. Continue reading...

Richard Barrons backs George Robertson and says UK forces ‘too small and undernourished for the world that we now live in’Good morning. When Keir Starmer gave evidence to the Commons liaison committee before the Easter recess, and when he made a statement to MPs yesterday on the first day after it was over, he was repeatedly asked when the government will publish its defence investment plan (DIP). On both occasions, he could not give a timetable and would just say it would be published as soon as it was ready.His critics are furious because the DIP, a 10-year plan explaining how the government will fund its commitment to get defence spending up to 3% of GDP by the end of the next parliament, with total national security spending reaching 5% of GDP by 2035, was due to be published last autumn.There is a corrosive complacency today in Britain’s political leadership. Lip service is paid to the risks, the threats, the bright red signals of danger — but even a promised national conversation about defence can’t be started.We are underprepared. We are underinsured. We are under attack. We are not safe . . . Britain’s national security and safety is in peril.Like many others I hung my head in sorrow. But I couldn’t argue with him because although the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force and the army are, in their bones, outstanding institutions, they are simply too small and too undernourished to deal with the world that we we now live in. And the review says this. Continue reading...

Appointment part of a raft of senior defence changes as current navy chief Mark Hammond promoted to chief of defence forceFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLt Gen Susan Coyle, an officer of more than three decades standing, will become the first woman to lead the Australian army.Coyle has been announced as the new chief of army, with her term beginning in July. Continue reading...

• Inside the Pentagon, concerns grow over a disrupted war effort following the ouster of the Army chief amid Iran conflict tensions. • The leadership change raises fears as the U.S. navigates ceasefire challenges and threats against Iran. • This internal shakeup occurs alongside Democratic calls for a War Powers vote to curb Trump's military actions.

Russian advances slowing, thinktank’s data shows; 14 killed in Ukraine in massive drone and missile salvo. What we know on day 1,501Russia’s army recorded almost no territorial gains on the frontline in Ukraine in March for the first time in two-and-a-half years, according to analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) conducted by Agence France-Presse. The Russian army has been slowing in its advances since late 2025 – because of Kyiv’s localised breakthroughs in the south-east of the country. Across the entire frontline, the Russian army seized only 23 sq km (8.9 sq miles) in March, losing territory in some areas, according to the analysis. This figure excludes infiltration operations conducted by Russian forces beyond the frontline, as well as advances claimed by the Russian side but neither confirmed nor denied by the ISW.The Russian army made 319 sq km of gains in January and 123 sq km in February, which was then the smallest advance since April 2024. Its advance in March was the smallest since September 2023. The ISW attributed the slowdown to Ukrainian counteroffensives, but also to “Russia’s ban on using Starlink terminals in Ukraine” and “the Kremlin’s efforts to restrict access to Telegram”. The messaging app – very popular among Russians, including those fighting on the front – has been barely usable in recent months due to blocks imposed by the authorities. As in February, Russia lost ground on the southern section of the frontline, between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.Russian strikes killed 14 people in Ukraine on Friday, officials said, as Moscow launched the latest in an increasing number of daytime barrages. Moscow has been firing aerial broadsides at Ukraine throughout its more than four-year invasion, mostly at night, but in recent weeks has stepped up daytime attacks. The Russian military used more than 500 drones and dozens of missiles in its salvo on Friday, according to the Ukrainian air force.Russia’s Baltic oil export hubs at Ust-Luga and Primorsk remain unable to handle shipments after a series of Ukrainian drone attacks, prompting the country’s refineries to find alternative routes for export, industry sources said on Friday. The attacks have damaged port infrastructure and continued through the last two weeks of March, with at least five strikes on Ust-Luga in the space of 10 days. Sources said the export restrictions, along with disruptions at large refineries, could lead to a decrease in oil production in Russia. Traders said refineries had been unable to deliver diesel fuel to Primorsk for export since 22 March, leaving refineries in European Russia and Siberia without their most viable export route. Traders said refineries were having to consider more expensive rail transport routes to other export terminals.Zelenskyy has called on lawmakers to pass key legislation next week to avert a funding crisis, help Ukraine fight the war against Russia, and enact key reforms required for EU accession. Due to lagging reforms and slow legislative progress in late 2025 and early this year, Ukraine missed deadlines to unlock billions from its key lenders, economists said. With the need for external financing standing at $52bn this year – equivalent to about a quarter of annual economic output – the budget situation is desperate. “I have a list of key draft laws that are critical for securing funding,” the Ukrainian president said in remarks released on Friday. They range from strengthening the court system to reforming energy sector procedures. “I believe that members of parliament from all parties must understand the importance of these bills for Ukraine’s budget,” said Zelenskyy, who has a majority in parliament but its relations with his government have soured. Continue reading...

Pentagon announces Randy George retiring from role as US army chief of staff, ‘effective immediately’Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxRandy George, the US army’s top officer, is stepping down from his role after defense secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly requested that he retire immediately. The Pentagon confirmed on Thursday that George, who had been serving as the army’s 41st chief of staff, is retiring.“General Randy A. George will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately. The Department of War is grateful for General George’s decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement,” Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement shared on social media. Continue reading...

Two AH-64 Apache helicopters on training run maneuvered near hillside home of Trump-supporting musicianThe army has launched an administrative review after two AH-64 Apache helicopters on a training run hovered near the hillside home of Kid Rock as the outspoken supporter of Donald Trump saluted their crews.Kid Rock posted two videos on social media on Saturday. Each shows a helicopter hovering alongside his swimming pool while the entertainer claps, salutes and raises his fist in the air. The Nashville skyline can be seen in the background. Continue reading...

Change raises age limit from 35 and removes barrier for entry for recruits who have a legal conviction for cannabisSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe US army has raised the maximum enlistment age to 42 years old and scrapped a barrier for potential recruits who have a legal conviction for marijuana or drug paraphernalia possession.People aged up to 42 can now enlist in the army, the army national guard and the army reserves, according to the new US army regulation, lifting the previous ceiling of 35 years old. Continue reading...

Diplomatic sources say negotiations in Islamabad may begin next week, though no formal agreement is in placeMiddle East crisis – live updatesPakistan’s military leadership has been attempting to broker negotiations between the US and Iran, after the White House confirmed that Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, had a phonecall with Donald Trump on Sunday to discuss the conflict.Diplomatic sources said the US and Iran could meet for negotiations in Islamabad as early as this week, to discuss an end to the war which began almost a month ago. Continue reading...

• The US Army announced a major enterprise agreement with Anduril, consolidating 120-130 prior orders into a 5-10 year contract worth up to $20 billion for AI drones and detection systems. • The deal shifts Pentagon strategy from pilot programs to long-term fixed-price contracts with select defense tech startups, with an initial $87 million task order issued. • This establishes a benchmark for venture-funded firms, amid tensions with AI companies like Anthropic restricting military use of their models.

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced public comment solicitation on Google's proposed data center campus in Botetourt County, Virginia, focusing on effects to local water sources. • The project highlights growing infrastructure demands from tech giants, with Virginia Tech expert Murat Kantarcioglu noting data centers' critical role amid rising cybersecurity risks like potential drone attacks. • This development underscores tensions between tech expansion and environmental concerns in the US, potentially influencing future data center approvals nationwide.

• The US Army selected the M111 Offensive Hand Grenade (OHG) to replace the Mk3A2 series, in service since 1968, for room and trench clearing. • This upgrade addresses needs in enclosed spaces amid evolving special operations requirements. • The decision enhances US military capabilities in close-quarters combat scenarios.

• On March 15, 2026, the US Army awarded Anduril Industries a contract valued up to $20 billion to integrate commercial technologies into a unified, AI-driven operational system through March 2036. • The agreement centers on Anduril's Lattice platform to fuse sensors, autonomous platforms, and counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) tools for faster threat detection and streamlined military operations. • The $20 billion procurement deal represents a major shift in how the Army integrates commercial technology and aims to improve interagency interoperability amid ongoing regional conflicts.

Stanley McChrystal said White House has a ‘we should do because we can’ approach to international relationsThe retired US army general who once led Nato forces in Afghanistan says the bellicose foreign policy Donald Trump has pursued during his second presidency can be summed up as “we should do because we can” – invoking the lyrics of the Dolly Parton classic Jolene to emphasize the point.Stanley McChrystal delivered those remarks on Friday at Tulane University’s New Orleans book festival during a fireside chat hosted by the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, who asked in part about US military strikes Trump has ordered in Nigeria, Venezuela and Iran since Christmas. Continue reading...