Spokesperson says just two out of 14 Australians remain in communication, after CCTV footage showed Israeli navy boarding vessels in international watersGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe family of a Newcastle man among at least six Australians onboard boats that were intercepted by Israeli navy personnel in international waters has issued a tearful plea for his safety and lashed out at the Australian government for not intervening.More than 50 boats set sail to Gaza from Italy on Monday as part of the Global Sumud flotilla in the hope of delivering 500 tonnes of aid and volunteers to the Gaza Strip, which remains under naval blockade by Israel. Continue reading...
Military video shows boat moving swiftly in water before explosion leaves it in flamesThe US military said on Sunday three men were killed when it struck a boat it claimed was âengaged in narco-trafficking operationsâ in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.This latest strike â which follows dozens of similar attacks on alleged drug boats in recent months â brings the US campaignâs death toll to at least 185, according to a tally compiled by Agence France-Presse. Continue reading...
Small boat destroyed in video posted on social media as US campaign has killed at least 178 people since SeptemberThe US military announced on Friday that it killed two people in an attack on a boat in the eastern Pacific, part of a series of deadly strikes on vessels in recent months which it claims are targeting ânarco-traffickingâ operations.The US Southern Command declared in a social media post on X that Gen Francis L Donovan directed Joint Task Force Southern Spear, the counter-narcotics unit that operates in the region, to carry out a lethal strike. The US military posted a video, which it labeled unclassified, showing a small boat being destroyed in an explosion. Continue reading...
⢠President Trump issued a controversial 'shoot and kill' order targeting boats placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz as tensions with Iran escalate, marking an intensification of military posturing in the critical shipping lane.
⢠Congress was briefed that removing all mines from the strait could take up to six months, creating significant concerns about extended disruptions to global energy supplies and trade.
⢠The Chevron CEO warned of potential air travel disruptions due to expected jet fuel shortages resulting from the ongoing tensions and potential blockade of the strategic waterway.
US president claims âtotal controlâ of strait of Hormuz despite Iranian seizure of two ships and report warning it could take months to clear waterway of minesTrump claims US has total control over strait of Hormuz after Iran seizes two container shipsAnalysis: Trump may talk of regime infighting, but Iran seems united by strategy born of warHello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.Donald Trump has ordered the US military to âshoot and killâ small Iranian boats that deploy mines in the strait of Hormuz and claimed that US minesweepers âare clearing the strait right nowâ amid the standoff over the key waterway.Trump said the US had âhit about 75% of our targetsâ in Iran and that a deal had not yet been reached because Iran was âin turmoilâ. Trump added to reporters in the Oval Office that he would not use a nuclear weapon against Iran as the conflict continues without a clear end in sight.Trump also said the US had âtotal control over the strait of Hormuzâ â a claim that has drawn scepticism in the face of Iranâs seizure of two container ships and a US report warning it could take six months to clear the strait of mines.Israelâs killing of a Lebanese journalist in a strike has been met with international outrage as Lebanonâs prime minister described the attack as a âwar crimeâ. Amal Khalil, 43, was killed in what colleagues described as a sustained attack by Israeli forces, with rescuers attempting to dig her out of the rubble of a building also targeted and prevented from providing life-saving assistance.Iranâs president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said there were no âhardlinersâ or âmoderatesâ in Iran, responding a Trump claim there was internal division in Iranâs leadership. Separately, Iranâs foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, said Iranian state institutions âcontinue to act with unity, purpose and disciplineâ.Italian sports officials say Italy is not interested in replacing Iran at the upcoming World Cup after a suggestion to that effect by a Trump administration official. Sports minister Andrea Abodi said âitâs not a good ideaâ while finance minister Giancarlo Giorgetti called the suggestion âshamefulâ. The US said it had no objections to Iranian players participating in the Cup but they would not be allowed to bring along people with ties to Iranâs Revolutionary Guards.Pope Leo XIV urged the US and Iran to return to talks to end the war and condemned capital punishment, calling for a new âculture of peaceâ to replace the recourse to violence.It remained unclear if the US and Iran would hold another round of talks in Pakistan amid efforts from mediators there towards a peace deal. Continue reading...
Iranâs goal is to maintain chokehold on global economy even as some say it could run out of oil storage by SundayMiddle East crisis â live updatesDonald Trumpâs indefinite shelving of the plan to bomb Iranâs bridges and power station on Tuesday night is being widely described as leaving the conflict in limbo, but that is anything but the truth.Pakistan insists the prospect of talks in Islamabad has not evaporated, and positive messages are still being exchanged, but in the meantime the site of kinetic activity has switched from land to sea. Both sides are vying to prove they can enforce their blockade of the strait of Hormuz more effectively than the other. It has become a form of gunboat diplomacy brought to life in the most significant geopolitical waterway in the world. Continue reading...
Unwanted vessels left to decay release fibreglass shards into the water, harming marine life. Steve Green â with his trusty van Cecil â is determined to clean things upSteve Green, a boat engineer from Cornwall, was pulled over by the police just before Christmas. He was driving a decrepit-looking VW campervan and towing an even more dilapidated yacht up to Truro. He hadnât broken any laws, but he admits that Cecil the campervan, which runs on donated chip oil from local pubs and has a crane and a winch on the front, âwasnât quite what VW intendedâ.Green (and Cecil) are on a mission to rid the beautiful hidden creeks of Cornwallâs Helford and Fal rivers of 166 abandoned fibreglass yachts, which are leaking plastic and toxins into the predominantly marine waters. Marine biologists have likened the thousands of shards of fibreglass they have found embedded in the flesh of sea-creatures in areas with wrecks such as these to asbestos, a substance known to have a noxious effect on humans.Green uses a detachable crane system at the front of his van to move around bags of plastic after they have been weighed. Cecil is upholstered in recycled denim Continue reading...
An Ecuadorian fishing crew describe their ordeal as victims of Trumpâs purported war on ânarcoterroristsâBy 4pm, the light was softening over the Pacific, and the crew of the Don Maca were finishing a long day hauling in lines of swordfish and albacore. Down in the hold, the mood had settled into the familiar rhythm of a fishing day drawing to a close.âWe were just working, waiting for the last trawler to return,â Jhonny SebastiĂĄn Palacios, one of the fishers, told the Guardian. âEverything was perfectly fine.â Continue reading...
Wednesdayâs strike brings the total of those killed in US military strikes on alleged drug boats to at least 177Three people were killed in a US strike on another alleged drug-trafficking boat, the fifth such deadly attack in as many days, military officials have announced.US southern command said it conducted âa lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizationsâ in the eastern Pacific, without naming the alleged group, in an X post. Continue reading...
Strike marks third deadly attack on vessels in region in four days, and the killing of 174 people since SeptemberSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe US military said it killed four more people in a boat strike in the eastern Pacific ocean on Tuesday, marking the third deadly attack on vessels in the region in four days.The US Southern Command, which oversees military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, announced the killings in a social media post, claiming, without providing evidence, that the men killed were ânarco-terroristsâ. Continue reading...