Author: Press Room

SAS veteran Ben Roberts-Smith could face life in prison if found guilty of murdering unarmed Afghan civilians One of Australia’s most-decorated soldiers has been arrested on war crimes charges related to the alleged murders of several unarmed Afghan civilians between 2009 and 2012.Former special forces (SAS) soldier and Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith has been charged with five counts of war crimes and refused bail. He is expected to appear in court on Wednesday.At a press conference on Tuesday, Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Krissy Barrett said that the SAS veteran is suspected of personally executing two captured Afghan civilians…

President Donald Trump and CIA Director John Ratcliffe on Monday detailed a high-risk rescue deep inside Iran in which U.S. forces — aided by a CIA-led “deception campaign” — raced “against the clock” to locate and recover a wounded airman concealed in a mountain crevice, “invisible to the enemy, but not to the CIA,” after his F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down, while evading capture for nearly two days behind enemy lines. Speaking at a White House news conference following the successful rescue of both the F-15E pilot and his weapons systems officer (WSO), who ejected over Iran after their…

Almost one fifth of gas stations in France are out of at least one type of gasoline Shortages have been worsening at filling stations across France, with around 18% of them having run out of at least one type of fuel, Energy Minister Delegate Maud Bregeon has said. Demand has risen amid capped prices, as Middle East war disruptions have pushed global energy costs up.The disruptions have been most pronounced at sites operated by energy major TotalEnergies, which account for the majority of affected stations after capping prices below market levels and drawing increased traffic, Bregeon said on Tuesday.Total said…

House Intel Committee Ranking Member Jim Himes (D-CT) last Friday said that he was “not aware” of the National Security Agency (NSA) purchasing Americans’ private communications despite years of reporting about the intelligence community purchasing Americans’ private information. Privacy activists protested outside a town hall after the Democrat congressman spoke about the alleged need to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) without significant reforms to the program. Section 702 is a surveillance authority meant to be used to spy on foreign adversaries; however, Americans’ private communications incidentally get surveilled without a warrant contrary to the Fourth…

Iranian authorities are urging young people, students, artists, athletes, and volunteer groups to form “human chains” around power plants across the country just hours before President Donald Trump’s deadline for a deal expires, effectively gathering civilians at infrastructure sites the United States has explicitly threatened to strike. The campaign, promoted through Iran’s Ministry of Sports and Youth, is set for 2 p.m. Tuesday local time — roughly 13 hours before Trump’s 8 p.m. Eastern deadline — and has been branded “Human Chain of Iran’s Youth for a Bright Future.” Deputy Youth Affairs Minister Alireza Rahimi claimed the initiative came from…

John Williams, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, on Tuesday said he supported Fed chairman Jerome Powell’s plan to remain in charge of the central bank until a successor is confirmed. Powell’s term as chair of the Fed’s board of governors ends on May 15. President Trump has nominated former Fed official Kevin Warsh to succeed him but his confirmation may be delayed because a key U.S. Senator, Republican Thom Tillis of North Caroline, has said he will not vote to approve the confirmation until the Justice Department drops its investigation of Powell and the Fed.…

A former assistant of radio legend Howard Stern says that he fostered a hostile work environment. Former Stern employee Leslie Kuhn, who says she was an executive assistant for the radio man and his wife, Beth, said that Stern demanded that she move in with them in their 20,000-square-foot Southampton mansion, according to TMZ. The woman says she managed Stern’s household staff, including payroll, scheduling, and other household needs, including issues dealing with Beth’s at-home cat rescue and fostering operation, the site added. But the job was harder than it should be, she said, adding that she suffered anxiety due…

As President Donald Trump threatened death to the “whole civilization” of Iran in a social media post early Tuesday, Rep. Eli Crane was outraged. “No sane person can think this is okay,” the Arizona Republican wrote on X, an hour after Trump’s message. But Crane wasn’t talking about the possible eradication of an entire people by a U.S. president. He was talking about a report that women from Turkey flew to Long Island to give birth and sign up for Medicaid. Crane was among dozens of lawmakers, Republican and Democrat, who published business-as-usual social media updates throughout the day Tuesday.…

The ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran could render large parts of the region uninhabitable A war launched by the US and Israel with the stated aim of preventing a nuclear crisis could end up causing one.With repeated strikes reported near the Russian-built Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran, discussions about the US potentially forcibly taking Iranian uranium reserves, and seemingly zero room for compromise, the likelihood of radioactive fallout across the Middle East is steadily increasing.Strikes getting closer to Bushehr reactorSince the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28, Tehran has reported four separate military strikes near its Bushehr…

President Donald Trump warned Iran “the entire country can be taken out in one night” as his Tuesday 8 p.m. Eastern Time deadline loomed, threatening a four-hour blitz he said could leave every bridge “decimated” and every power plant “burning, exploding and never to be used again” if Tehran fails to make a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking Monday at a White House news conference, Trump said the deadline would not be moved again, stressing that after 8 p.m. Tuesday, “they’re going to have no bridges” and “they’re going to have no power plants.” “We have a…