Red Cross

• Leider van de Green party beschuldigt rechtse media ook van politiek gemotiveerde aanvallen nu de populariteit groeit • Zack Polanski heeft verklaard dat hij onjuist was door zichzelf te beschrijven als woordvoerder van het British Red Cross, en dat de intensievere mediabeschouwing van de Green party een weerspiegeling is van de angst voor de groeiende populariteit en de steun voor vermogensbelastingen. • Polanski beschreef zichzelf als woordvoerder van het British Red Cross tijdens zijn campagne voor het partijleiderschap, onthulde The Times. Deze claim werd in 2020 ook vermeld op zijn persoonlijke website, waar hij schreef dat hij "echt trots was op het werk dat we doen".

• De leider van de Green party wordt ook beschuldigd van het onjuist stellen dat hij een volledig lid was van de National Council of Hypnotherapy • Zack Polanski claimde onterecht woordvoerder te zijn van het British Red Cross tijdens zijn campagne voor het leiderschap van de Green party, aldus de hulporganisatie. • Dit werd ook vermeld op zijn persoonlijke website in 2020, waar hij stelde dat hij "echt trots was op het werk dat we doen".

As Israel attacks on Lebanon continue, Abbas Araghchi points to announcement that says ceasefire includes Lebanon while JD Vance says US never promised thatMiddle East ceasefire in serious doubt as Israel assaults Lebanon and Iran blocks oil tankersWill shipping in the strait of Hormuz – and oil prices – return to normal?Independent analysts say they have observed no change in traffic through the strait of Hormuz. That’s despite claims from the White House on Wednesday there had been an uptick in the number of ships transiting the strategic waterway since a US-announced ceasefire with Iran.Windward, a maritime intelligence firm that tracks international shipping, said only 11 vessels transited the strait on Wednesday – about the same number from prior days.Iran announced alternative routes for ships travelling through the strait of Hormuz, citing the risk of sea mines in the main zone of the vital waterway. The statement shared instructions for an alternative entry and exit route through the strait.The Trump administration on Wednesday stated Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire deal, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claiming “that has been relayed to all parties”.The US vice-president, JD Vance, also told reporters in Budapest that the US never promised to include Lebanon in the ceasefire, and that Iran may have been under that impression due to a “misunderstanding”. Israel announced on Wednesday it did not consider Lebanon covered by the Iran-US truce.Karoline Leavitt also dismissed “misreporting” that Trump is working from the original 10-point plan put forward by Tehran. She said the 10-point plan presented in public by Iran was “literally thrown in the garbage” by Trump – despite the fact Trump said on Truth Social that the US received a 10-point proposal from Iran that is believed to be a “workable basis on which to negotiate”. Leavitt claimed Iran actually put forward a “more reasonable and entirely different and condensed plan to the president”.French president Emmanuel Macron said he has urged his US and Iranian counterparts, Donald Trump and Masoud Pezeshkian, to include Lebanon in the ceasefire reached with Iran. Australia’s foreign minister has urged the same.Donald Trump vented his frustration with Nato during a private meeting with its secretary-general, Mark Rutte, as relations in the alliance reached a crisis point. “He is clearly disappointed with many Nato allies, and I can see his point,” Rutte said on CNN, after spending more than two hours at the White House. “This was a very frank, very open discussion, but also a discussion between two good friends.”Sir Keir Starmer will continue his tour of the Middle East on Thursday after he met with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman, as part of ongoing talks with allies to give shipping the “confidence” to pass through the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

Energy minister Chris Bowen says ‘we’re a long way’ from further action like fuel rationing despite shortagesHundreds of service stations across Australia have run out of fuel, with the federal government inking a deal with Singapore, one of our biggest sources of refined petroleum, to keep supplies of diesel and gas flowing.Concerns are now broadening to supplies of fertiliser and other chemicals, heaping more pressure on the Albanese government’s leveraging of overseas exports of coal and gas in a bid to handle of the crisis. Continue reading...