Israel hit by missiles as Iran retaliates for strikes on nuclear sites
Dubai: Air raid sirens have sounded across Israel as Iranian missiles struck the country in retaliation for deadly Israeli attacks on nuclear sites and military leaders.
The rumble of explosions could be heard throughout Jerusalem on Friday, and Israeli TV stations showed plumes of smoke rising in Tel Aviv after an apparent missile strike. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The army said dozens of missiles were launched, and the army has ordered residents across the country to move into bomb shelters.
Iran's state news agency reported that Iran has fired hundreds of ballistic missiles toward Israel as part of its retaliation for Israel's Friday attack on Iranian nuclear and military sites.
Israel launched a wave of strikes across Iran that targeted its nuclear program and military sites, killing at least three top military officers and raising the prospect of an all-out war between the two bitter Middle East adversaries. It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq.
The strikes came amid simmering tensions over Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear program. For years, Israel had threatened such a strike and successive American administrations had sought to prevent it, fearing it would ignite a wider conflict across the Middle East and possibly be ineffective at destroying Iran's dispersed and hardened nuclear program.
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Israel attacks on Iran will intensify, vows Netanyahu
Israel has pounded Iran for a second day and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said its campaign will intensify dramatically, while Tehran has called off nuclear talks that Washington had held out as the only way to halt the bombing. A day after Israel wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command with a surprise attack on its old foe, it appeared to have hit Iran's oil and gas industry for the first time, with Iranian state media reporting a blaze at a gas field. Netanyahu said Israel's strikes had set back Iran's nuclear program possibly by years and rejected international calls for restraint. "We will hit every site and every target of the Ayatollahs' regime, and what they have felt so far is nothing compared with what they will be handed in the coming days," he said in a video message. In Tehran, Iranian authorities said around 60 people, including 29 children, were killed in an attack on a housing complex, with more strikes reported across the country. Israel said it had attacked more than 150 targets. Iran had launched its own retaliatory missile volley on Friday night, killing at least three people in Israel. Air raid sirens sent Israelis into shelters as waves of missiles streaked across the sky and interceptors rose to meet them. US President Donald Trump has lauded Israel's strikes and warned Iran of much worse to come. He said it was not too late to halt the Israeli campaign, but only if Tehran quickly accepted a sharp downgrading of its nuclear program at talks with Washington due to be held on Sunday. But host Oman confirmed on Saturday that the next round of talks had been scrapped. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said holding talks was unjustifiable while Israel's "barbarous" attacks were ongoing. In the first apparent attack to hit Iran's energy infrastructure, Iranian media reported a fire on Saturday after Israel bombed the South Pars gas field in southern Bushehr province. With Israel saying its operation could last weeks, and urging Iran's people to rise up against their Islamic clerical rulers, fears have grown of a regional conflagration dragging in outside powers. "If (Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn," Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said. Tehran warned Israel's allies that their military bases in the region would come under fire too if they helped shoot down Iranian missiles. However, 20 months of war in Gaza and a conflict in Lebanon last year have decimated Tehran's strongest regional proxies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, reducing its options for retaliation. Iran's overnight fusillade included hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones, an Israeli official said. Three people were killed and dozens wounded, the ambulance service said. In Iran, Israel's two days of strikes destroyed residential apartment buildings, killing families and neighbours as apparent collateral damage in strikes targeting scientists and senior officials in their beds. Iran said 78 people had been killed on the first day and scores more on the second day, including 60 when a missile brought down a 14-storey apartment block in Tehran, where 29 of the dead were children. State TV broadcast pictures of a building flattened into debris and the facade of several upper storeys lying sideways in the street, while slabs of concrete dangled from a neighbouring building. Fars News agency said two projectiles had hit Mehrabad airport, located inside the capital, which is both civilian and military. Israel sees Iran's nuclear program as a threat to its existence, and said the bombardment was designed to avert the last steps to production of a nuclear weapon. A military official said Israel had "eliminated the highest commanders of their military leadership" and had killed nine nuclear scientists who were "main sources of knowledge, main forces driving forward the (nuclear) program". Israel has pounded Iran for a second day and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said its campaign will intensify dramatically, while Tehran has called off nuclear talks that Washington had held out as the only way to halt the bombing. A day after Israel wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command with a surprise attack on its old foe, it appeared to have hit Iran's oil and gas industry for the first time, with Iranian state media reporting a blaze at a gas field. Netanyahu said Israel's strikes had set back Iran's nuclear program possibly by years and rejected international calls for restraint. "We will hit every site and every target of the Ayatollahs' regime, and what they have felt so far is nothing compared with what they will be handed in the coming days," he said in a video message. In Tehran, Iranian authorities said around 60 people, including 29 children, were killed in an attack on a housing complex, with more strikes reported across the country. Israel said it had attacked more than 150 targets. Iran had launched its own retaliatory missile volley on Friday night, killing at least three people in Israel. Air raid sirens sent Israelis into shelters as waves of missiles streaked across the sky and interceptors rose to meet them. US President Donald Trump has lauded Israel's strikes and warned Iran of much worse to come. He said it was not too late to halt the Israeli campaign, but only if Tehran quickly accepted a sharp downgrading of its nuclear program at talks with Washington due to be held on Sunday. But host Oman confirmed on Saturday that the next round of talks had been scrapped. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said holding talks was unjustifiable while Israel's "barbarous" attacks were ongoing. In the first apparent attack to hit Iran's energy infrastructure, Iranian media reported a fire on Saturday after Israel bombed the South Pars gas field in southern Bushehr province. With Israel saying its operation could last weeks, and urging Iran's people to rise up against their Islamic clerical rulers, fears have grown of a regional conflagration dragging in outside powers. "If (Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn," Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said. Tehran warned Israel's allies that their military bases in the region would come under fire too if they helped shoot down Iranian missiles. However, 20 months of war in Gaza and a conflict in Lebanon last year have decimated Tehran's strongest regional proxies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, reducing its options for retaliation. Iran's overnight fusillade included hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones, an Israeli official said. Three people were killed and dozens wounded, the ambulance service said. In Iran, Israel's two days of strikes destroyed residential apartment buildings, killing families and neighbours as apparent collateral damage in strikes targeting scientists and senior officials in their beds. Iran said 78 people had been killed on the first day and scores more on the second day, including 60 when a missile brought down a 14-storey apartment block in Tehran, where 29 of the dead were children. State TV broadcast pictures of a building flattened into debris and the facade of several upper storeys lying sideways in the street, while slabs of concrete dangled from a neighbouring building. Fars News agency said two projectiles had hit Mehrabad airport, located inside the capital, which is both civilian and military. Israel sees Iran's nuclear program as a threat to its existence, and said the bombardment was designed to avert the last steps to production of a nuclear weapon. A military official said Israel had "eliminated the highest commanders of their military leadership" and had killed nine nuclear scientists who were "main sources of knowledge, main forces driving forward the (nuclear) program". Israel has pounded Iran for a second day and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said its campaign will intensify dramatically, while Tehran has called off nuclear talks that Washington had held out as the only way to halt the bombing. A day after Israel wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command with a surprise attack on its old foe, it appeared to have hit Iran's oil and gas industry for the first time, with Iranian state media reporting a blaze at a gas field. Netanyahu said Israel's strikes had set back Iran's nuclear program possibly by years and rejected international calls for restraint. "We will hit every site and every target of the Ayatollahs' regime, and what they have felt so far is nothing compared with what they will be handed in the coming days," he said in a video message. In Tehran, Iranian authorities said around 60 people, including 29 children, were killed in an attack on a housing complex, with more strikes reported across the country. Israel said it had attacked more than 150 targets. Iran had launched its own retaliatory missile volley on Friday night, killing at least three people in Israel. Air raid sirens sent Israelis into shelters as waves of missiles streaked across the sky and interceptors rose to meet them. US President Donald Trump has lauded Israel's strikes and warned Iran of much worse to come. He said it was not too late to halt the Israeli campaign, but only if Tehran quickly accepted a sharp downgrading of its nuclear program at talks with Washington due to be held on Sunday. But host Oman confirmed on Saturday that the next round of talks had been scrapped. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said holding talks was unjustifiable while Israel's "barbarous" attacks were ongoing. In the first apparent attack to hit Iran's energy infrastructure, Iranian media reported a fire on Saturday after Israel bombed the South Pars gas field in southern Bushehr province. With Israel saying its operation could last weeks, and urging Iran's people to rise up against their Islamic clerical rulers, fears have grown of a regional conflagration dragging in outside powers. "If (Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn," Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said. Tehran warned Israel's allies that their military bases in the region would come under fire too if they helped shoot down Iranian missiles. However, 20 months of war in Gaza and a conflict in Lebanon last year have decimated Tehran's strongest regional proxies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, reducing its options for retaliation. Iran's overnight fusillade included hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones, an Israeli official said. Three people were killed and dozens wounded, the ambulance service said. In Iran, Israel's two days of strikes destroyed residential apartment buildings, killing families and neighbours as apparent collateral damage in strikes targeting scientists and senior officials in their beds. Iran said 78 people had been killed on the first day and scores more on the second day, including 60 when a missile brought down a 14-storey apartment block in Tehran, where 29 of the dead were children. State TV broadcast pictures of a building flattened into debris and the facade of several upper storeys lying sideways in the street, while slabs of concrete dangled from a neighbouring building. Fars News agency said two projectiles had hit Mehrabad airport, located inside the capital, which is both civilian and military. Israel sees Iran's nuclear program as a threat to its existence, and said the bombardment was designed to avert the last steps to production of a nuclear weapon. A military official said Israel had "eliminated the highest commanders of their military leadership" and had killed nine nuclear scientists who were "main sources of knowledge, main forces driving forward the (nuclear) program". Israel has pounded Iran for a second day and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said its campaign will intensify dramatically, while Tehran has called off nuclear talks that Washington had held out as the only way to halt the bombing. A day after Israel wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command with a surprise attack on its old foe, it appeared to have hit Iran's oil and gas industry for the first time, with Iranian state media reporting a blaze at a gas field. Netanyahu said Israel's strikes had set back Iran's nuclear program possibly by years and rejected international calls for restraint. "We will hit every site and every target of the Ayatollahs' regime, and what they have felt so far is nothing compared with what they will be handed in the coming days," he said in a video message. In Tehran, Iranian authorities said around 60 people, including 29 children, were killed in an attack on a housing complex, with more strikes reported across the country. Israel said it had attacked more than 150 targets. Iran had launched its own retaliatory missile volley on Friday night, killing at least three people in Israel. Air raid sirens sent Israelis into shelters as waves of missiles streaked across the sky and interceptors rose to meet them. US President Donald Trump has lauded Israel's strikes and warned Iran of much worse to come. He said it was not too late to halt the Israeli campaign, but only if Tehran quickly accepted a sharp downgrading of its nuclear program at talks with Washington due to be held on Sunday. But host Oman confirmed on Saturday that the next round of talks had been scrapped. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said holding talks was unjustifiable while Israel's "barbarous" attacks were ongoing. In the first apparent attack to hit Iran's energy infrastructure, Iranian media reported a fire on Saturday after Israel bombed the South Pars gas field in southern Bushehr province. With Israel saying its operation could last weeks, and urging Iran's people to rise up against their Islamic clerical rulers, fears have grown of a regional conflagration dragging in outside powers. "If (Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn," Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said. Tehran warned Israel's allies that their military bases in the region would come under fire too if they helped shoot down Iranian missiles. However, 20 months of war in Gaza and a conflict in Lebanon last year have decimated Tehran's strongest regional proxies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, reducing its options for retaliation. Iran's overnight fusillade included hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones, an Israeli official said. Three people were killed and dozens wounded, the ambulance service said. In Iran, Israel's two days of strikes destroyed residential apartment buildings, killing families and neighbours as apparent collateral damage in strikes targeting scientists and senior officials in their beds. Iran said 78 people had been killed on the first day and scores more on the second day, including 60 when a missile brought down a 14-storey apartment block in Tehran, where 29 of the dead were children. State TV broadcast pictures of a building flattened into debris and the facade of several upper storeys lying sideways in the street, while slabs of concrete dangled from a neighbouring building. Fars News agency said two projectiles had hit Mehrabad airport, located inside the capital, which is both civilian and military. Israel sees Iran's nuclear program as a threat to its existence, and said the bombardment was designed to avert the last steps to production of a nuclear weapon. A military official said Israel had "eliminated the highest commanders of their military leadership" and had killed nine nuclear scientists who were "main sources of knowledge, main forces driving forward the (nuclear) program".
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PM confirms meeting with Donald Trump for tariff talks
The prime minister is to come face-to-face with Donald Trump for the first time. After weeks of speculation, Anthony Albanese confirmed he had scheduled talks with the US president on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada on Tuesday local time. The pressure will be on for Mr Albanese to try negotiate an exemption from controversial US tariffs as Mr Trump stares down domestic protests and unrest in the Middle East. But the prime minister remained unperturbed. "We do have a meeting scheduled," he told reporters in Seattle on Saturday local time. "Obviously, there are issues that the US president is dealing with at the moment, but I expect that we will be able to have a constructive engagement. "We'll have a discussion as two friends should." Mr Albanese said he would raise tariffs and emphasise the importance of AUKUS, Australia's nuclear-powered submarine arrangement with the US and UK. Both men have already spoken on three occasions but Tuesday's arrangement is the first time they will meet in person. Australia currently faces 10 per cent tariffs on goods exported to the US and - like all US trading partners except the UK - has been hit with 50 per cent tariffs on aluminium and steel sent to America. Critical minerals and US beef imports could be used as bargaining chips in tariff talks. Mr Albanese did not want to make "grand declarations" prior to the meeting, but maintained he would put forward Australia's interests. "It is also in the interests of the United States for Australia to be treated appropriately," he said. Tensions between two countries have ebbed and flowed in recent days after Australia, alongside several other countries, was criticised by the US for sanctioning two top Israeli government ministers. Meanwhile the US has called on Australia to increase its defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP and launched a review into the AUKUS agreement to ensure it aligns with its "America first" agenda. The prime minister arrived in Seattle after holding bilateral talks in Fiji, and is expected to depart for the G7 on Sunday local time. Tariffs have also loomed over Mr Albanese's Seattle trip as he prepares to sing the praises of "free and fair trade" to US business leaders. "Free and fair trade has transformed the economies of our region," the prime minister will say in remarks to the Technology and Business Reception on Saturday. "We should not lose sight of the profound opportunities that can be realised by closer and deeper co-operation - the businesses in this room are proof of that. "In a time of global uncertainty, all of you represent cause for optimism." Mr Albanese also visited the Amazon corporate headquarters in Seattle to highlight the company's $20 billion dollar commitment to expanding, operating and maintaining Australian data centres. The global tech giant also announced it would invest in three new solar farms in Victoria and Queensland to help support its infrastructure growth. Though Australia is not a member of the G7, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney invited Mr Albanese to attend. The summit is often used to discuss solutions to major global issues like trade, security, economics and climate change, and in a year largely defined by trade tariffs, the topic is expected to take the spotlight. Throughout the multi-day event, the prime minister is also expected to hold talks with Mr Carney, UK prime minister Keir Starmer and other world leaders. The prime minister is to come face-to-face with Donald Trump for the first time. After weeks of speculation, Anthony Albanese confirmed he had scheduled talks with the US president on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada on Tuesday local time. The pressure will be on for Mr Albanese to try negotiate an exemption from controversial US tariffs as Mr Trump stares down domestic protests and unrest in the Middle East. But the prime minister remained unperturbed. "We do have a meeting scheduled," he told reporters in Seattle on Saturday local time. "Obviously, there are issues that the US president is dealing with at the moment, but I expect that we will be able to have a constructive engagement. "We'll have a discussion as two friends should." Mr Albanese said he would raise tariffs and emphasise the importance of AUKUS, Australia's nuclear-powered submarine arrangement with the US and UK. Both men have already spoken on three occasions but Tuesday's arrangement is the first time they will meet in person. Australia currently faces 10 per cent tariffs on goods exported to the US and - like all US trading partners except the UK - has been hit with 50 per cent tariffs on aluminium and steel sent to America. Critical minerals and US beef imports could be used as bargaining chips in tariff talks. Mr Albanese did not want to make "grand declarations" prior to the meeting, but maintained he would put forward Australia's interests. "It is also in the interests of the United States for Australia to be treated appropriately," he said. Tensions between two countries have ebbed and flowed in recent days after Australia, alongside several other countries, was criticised by the US for sanctioning two top Israeli government ministers. Meanwhile the US has called on Australia to increase its defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP and launched a review into the AUKUS agreement to ensure it aligns with its "America first" agenda. The prime minister arrived in Seattle after holding bilateral talks in Fiji, and is expected to depart for the G7 on Sunday local time. Tariffs have also loomed over Mr Albanese's Seattle trip as he prepares to sing the praises of "free and fair trade" to US business leaders. "Free and fair trade has transformed the economies of our region," the prime minister will say in remarks to the Technology and Business Reception on Saturday. "We should not lose sight of the profound opportunities that can be realised by closer and deeper co-operation - the businesses in this room are proof of that. "In a time of global uncertainty, all of you represent cause for optimism." Mr Albanese also visited the Amazon corporate headquarters in Seattle to highlight the company's $20 billion dollar commitment to expanding, operating and maintaining Australian data centres. The global tech giant also announced it would invest in three new solar farms in Victoria and Queensland to help support its infrastructure growth. Though Australia is not a member of the G7, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney invited Mr Albanese to attend. The summit is often used to discuss solutions to major global issues like trade, security, economics and climate change, and in a year largely defined by trade tariffs, the topic is expected to take the spotlight. Throughout the multi-day event, the prime minister is also expected to hold talks with Mr Carney, UK prime minister Keir Starmer and other world leaders. The prime minister is to come face-to-face with Donald Trump for the first time. After weeks of speculation, Anthony Albanese confirmed he had scheduled talks with the US president on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada on Tuesday local time. The pressure will be on for Mr Albanese to try negotiate an exemption from controversial US tariffs as Mr Trump stares down domestic protests and unrest in the Middle East. But the prime minister remained unperturbed. "We do have a meeting scheduled," he told reporters in Seattle on Saturday local time. "Obviously, there are issues that the US president is dealing with at the moment, but I expect that we will be able to have a constructive engagement. "We'll have a discussion as two friends should." Mr Albanese said he would raise tariffs and emphasise the importance of AUKUS, Australia's nuclear-powered submarine arrangement with the US and UK. Both men have already spoken on three occasions but Tuesday's arrangement is the first time they will meet in person. Australia currently faces 10 per cent tariffs on goods exported to the US and - like all US trading partners except the UK - has been hit with 50 per cent tariffs on aluminium and steel sent to America. Critical minerals and US beef imports could be used as bargaining chips in tariff talks. Mr Albanese did not want to make "grand declarations" prior to the meeting, but maintained he would put forward Australia's interests. "It is also in the interests of the United States for Australia to be treated appropriately," he said. Tensions between two countries have ebbed and flowed in recent days after Australia, alongside several other countries, was criticised by the US for sanctioning two top Israeli government ministers. Meanwhile the US has called on Australia to increase its defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP and launched a review into the AUKUS agreement to ensure it aligns with its "America first" agenda. The prime minister arrived in Seattle after holding bilateral talks in Fiji, and is expected to depart for the G7 on Sunday local time. Tariffs have also loomed over Mr Albanese's Seattle trip as he prepares to sing the praises of "free and fair trade" to US business leaders. "Free and fair trade has transformed the economies of our region," the prime minister will say in remarks to the Technology and Business Reception on Saturday. "We should not lose sight of the profound opportunities that can be realised by closer and deeper co-operation - the businesses in this room are proof of that. "In a time of global uncertainty, all of you represent cause for optimism." Mr Albanese also visited the Amazon corporate headquarters in Seattle to highlight the company's $20 billion dollar commitment to expanding, operating and maintaining Australian data centres. The global tech giant also announced it would invest in three new solar farms in Victoria and Queensland to help support its infrastructure growth. Though Australia is not a member of the G7, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney invited Mr Albanese to attend. The summit is often used to discuss solutions to major global issues like trade, security, economics and climate change, and in a year largely defined by trade tariffs, the topic is expected to take the spotlight. Throughout the multi-day event, the prime minister is also expected to hold talks with Mr Carney, UK prime minister Keir Starmer and other world leaders. The prime minister is to come face-to-face with Donald Trump for the first time. After weeks of speculation, Anthony Albanese confirmed he had scheduled talks with the US president on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada on Tuesday local time. The pressure will be on for Mr Albanese to try negotiate an exemption from controversial US tariffs as Mr Trump stares down domestic protests and unrest in the Middle East. But the prime minister remained unperturbed. "We do have a meeting scheduled," he told reporters in Seattle on Saturday local time. "Obviously, there are issues that the US president is dealing with at the moment, but I expect that we will be able to have a constructive engagement. "We'll have a discussion as two friends should." Mr Albanese said he would raise tariffs and emphasise the importance of AUKUS, Australia's nuclear-powered submarine arrangement with the US and UK. Both men have already spoken on three occasions but Tuesday's arrangement is the first time they will meet in person. Australia currently faces 10 per cent tariffs on goods exported to the US and - like all US trading partners except the UK - has been hit with 50 per cent tariffs on aluminium and steel sent to America. Critical minerals and US beef imports could be used as bargaining chips in tariff talks. Mr Albanese did not want to make "grand declarations" prior to the meeting, but maintained he would put forward Australia's interests. "It is also in the interests of the United States for Australia to be treated appropriately," he said. Tensions between two countries have ebbed and flowed in recent days after Australia, alongside several other countries, was criticised by the US for sanctioning two top Israeli government ministers. Meanwhile the US has called on Australia to increase its defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP and launched a review into the AUKUS agreement to ensure it aligns with its "America first" agenda. The prime minister arrived in Seattle after holding bilateral talks in Fiji, and is expected to depart for the G7 on Sunday local time. Tariffs have also loomed over Mr Albanese's Seattle trip as he prepares to sing the praises of "free and fair trade" to US business leaders. "Free and fair trade has transformed the economies of our region," the prime minister will say in remarks to the Technology and Business Reception on Saturday. "We should not lose sight of the profound opportunities that can be realised by closer and deeper co-operation - the businesses in this room are proof of that. "In a time of global uncertainty, all of you represent cause for optimism." Mr Albanese also visited the Amazon corporate headquarters in Seattle to highlight the company's $20 billion dollar commitment to expanding, operating and maintaining Australian data centres. The global tech giant also announced it would invest in three new solar farms in Victoria and Queensland to help support its infrastructure growth. Though Australia is not a member of the G7, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney invited Mr Albanese to attend. The summit is often used to discuss solutions to major global issues like trade, security, economics and climate change, and in a year largely defined by trade tariffs, the topic is expected to take the spotlight. Throughout the multi-day event, the prime minister is also expected to hold talks with Mr Carney, UK prime minister Keir Starmer and other world leaders.
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an hour ago
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Americans might have ceded government to corrupt oligarchs, but not Australians
Looking for something engaging, I briefly considered getting around to the final season of Succession - the HBO series inspired by the Murdochs. A discussion ensued in which I explained, as much to myself as to my partner, that in past episodes, I kept wishing that a giant concrete block would drop from above silencing the vulgar combatants - Two Ronnies-style. There was not a single likeable character and virtually every sentence was an exercise in cruelty and sexual depravity. Of course, this was the satirical point. Here was a vast media company owned by one disgustingly rich family wantonly controlling public discourse and distorting political outcomes. Here, too, was deep unhappiness, familial brutality and toxic competition. There is no disputing, however, that Succession had tapped into the zeitgeist, just as there is no denying that we, as a culture, derive pleasure from horrible things. Try looking for series that don't feature murder and violence. Most of it, directed at women. If anything, politics in the US increasingly mimics the ruthless nihilism, shameless cynicism and power-lust of the Roys. After the Democrats' colossal deceit of installing a decompensating Joe Biden in 2020, American voters have opted for chaos, for tearing down the rotten edifice of orthodox, institution-based politics and replacing it with things wholly more believable - ego, revenge, self-enrichment and power. They didn't elect Trump in spite of the January 6, insurrection, but because of it. There may not be a single likeable character in which they can feel genuinely invested, but in Trump, there is a superior level of authenticity. He wasn't installed to be restrained or empathetic, or a more politically conservative version of Biden or Obama. Their tinkering proceduralism was the central problem. Trump is the wrecker of worlds, defier of courts, commander in chief in America's new (un)civil war. Rules and standards are for breaking. Everything has become about doubling down, obliterating elite outrage on this or that scandal, with something bigger. Trump's intellectual Svengali, Steve Bannon, invoking his best Successionist imagery, had previously described this as "flooding the zone with shit". And so it is. Little more than a week ago, the world had been agog at the spectacular - if long-expected - public bust-up between the President and Elon Musk. With all the dignity this pair is known for, they had attacked each other as liars, egomaniacs and moral degenerates. Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" (seriously, that is its name) was going to add something like US$2.4 trillion to the federal deficit through tax cuts - wiping out the meagre $100 billion or so Musk had tallied by slashing government agencies and sacking "non-patriots". Musk called Trump's spending a disgrace. Via this glimpse of satire-like insight, there was also truth - a backstage episode of government as reality TV. Musk became the apprentice who had been "fired!". Yet the whole thing was suddenly washed from the front pages by Trump's militarisation of his immigration crackdown via the federalisation of the National Guard in a Democrat state and the deployment of another 700 United States marines. This, to control a crisis he, the President, had manufactured. G7 leaders, and invitees such as Australia, are gathering in Canada to discuss the world economy and an increasingly fractious global security environment. Israel has chosen the moment to dramatically ratchet up its aggression, launching missile and drone attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities and on civilian structures. Suddenly, even the illegality of a permanent occupation and the unspeakable horror a manufactured famine in Gaza is second-order news. Trump had let it be known that he had asked the Netanyahu government to hold off launching strikes on Iran as he was close to a deal on nuclear non-proliferation and verification. No matter. In response to the attacks, he said on Truth Social "I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal ... certain Iranian hardliners spoke bravely but they didn't know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!" In Ukraine - the war Trump was to resolve in a day - Russia's attacks on Kyiv are said to be the most massive of the two-and-half-year invasion. Trump has apparently lost interest. MORE MARK KENNY: The Israel-Iran conflagration may see the American withdraw from the Canada summit, potentially robbing world leaders, including Anthony Albanese, of a chance to hold one-on-one talks on trade, security, and specifically, AUKUS. The Albanese government has been in damage-control mode in recent days following the announcement of a snap 30-day Pentagon review of the tripartite defence technology partnership in which Australia is already heavily out of pocket. Between that development (or is it an opportunity?), Australia's non-embrace of Trump administration stipulations that partners spend vastly more of their GDP in defence, and the Albanese government's participation in sanctions on two Israeli ministers, there are new frictions in the US-Australia relationship. While Albanese may yet be snubbed in Canada - cue opposition outrage - he can take comfort from his recent mandate and from the fact that, unlike Americans, voters here still value the separation of powers, social cohesion, and a free press. Americans might have ceded government to corrupt oligarchs with the fluid morals of TV scriptwriters, but Australians still believe in sound government. Logan Roy would hate it. Looking for something engaging, I briefly considered getting around to the final season of Succession - the HBO series inspired by the Murdochs. A discussion ensued in which I explained, as much to myself as to my partner, that in past episodes, I kept wishing that a giant concrete block would drop from above silencing the vulgar combatants - Two Ronnies-style. There was not a single likeable character and virtually every sentence was an exercise in cruelty and sexual depravity. Of course, this was the satirical point. Here was a vast media company owned by one disgustingly rich family wantonly controlling public discourse and distorting political outcomes. Here, too, was deep unhappiness, familial brutality and toxic competition. There is no disputing, however, that Succession had tapped into the zeitgeist, just as there is no denying that we, as a culture, derive pleasure from horrible things. Try looking for series that don't feature murder and violence. Most of it, directed at women. If anything, politics in the US increasingly mimics the ruthless nihilism, shameless cynicism and power-lust of the Roys. After the Democrats' colossal deceit of installing a decompensating Joe Biden in 2020, American voters have opted for chaos, for tearing down the rotten edifice of orthodox, institution-based politics and replacing it with things wholly more believable - ego, revenge, self-enrichment and power. They didn't elect Trump in spite of the January 6, insurrection, but because of it. There may not be a single likeable character in which they can feel genuinely invested, but in Trump, there is a superior level of authenticity. He wasn't installed to be restrained or empathetic, or a more politically conservative version of Biden or Obama. Their tinkering proceduralism was the central problem. Trump is the wrecker of worlds, defier of courts, commander in chief in America's new (un)civil war. Rules and standards are for breaking. Everything has become about doubling down, obliterating elite outrage on this or that scandal, with something bigger. Trump's intellectual Svengali, Steve Bannon, invoking his best Successionist imagery, had previously described this as "flooding the zone with shit". And so it is. Little more than a week ago, the world had been agog at the spectacular - if long-expected - public bust-up between the President and Elon Musk. With all the dignity this pair is known for, they had attacked each other as liars, egomaniacs and moral degenerates. Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" (seriously, that is its name) was going to add something like US$2.4 trillion to the federal deficit through tax cuts - wiping out the meagre $100 billion or so Musk had tallied by slashing government agencies and sacking "non-patriots". Musk called Trump's spending a disgrace. Via this glimpse of satire-like insight, there was also truth - a backstage episode of government as reality TV. Musk became the apprentice who had been "fired!". Yet the whole thing was suddenly washed from the front pages by Trump's militarisation of his immigration crackdown via the federalisation of the National Guard in a Democrat state and the deployment of another 700 United States marines. This, to control a crisis he, the President, had manufactured. G7 leaders, and invitees such as Australia, are gathering in Canada to discuss the world economy and an increasingly fractious global security environment. Israel has chosen the moment to dramatically ratchet up its aggression, launching missile and drone attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities and on civilian structures. Suddenly, even the illegality of a permanent occupation and the unspeakable horror a manufactured famine in Gaza is second-order news. Trump had let it be known that he had asked the Netanyahu government to hold off launching strikes on Iran as he was close to a deal on nuclear non-proliferation and verification. No matter. In response to the attacks, he said on Truth Social "I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal ... certain Iranian hardliners spoke bravely but they didn't know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!" In Ukraine - the war Trump was to resolve in a day - Russia's attacks on Kyiv are said to be the most massive of the two-and-half-year invasion. Trump has apparently lost interest. MORE MARK KENNY: The Israel-Iran conflagration may see the American withdraw from the Canada summit, potentially robbing world leaders, including Anthony Albanese, of a chance to hold one-on-one talks on trade, security, and specifically, AUKUS. The Albanese government has been in damage-control mode in recent days following the announcement of a snap 30-day Pentagon review of the tripartite defence technology partnership in which Australia is already heavily out of pocket. Between that development (or is it an opportunity?), Australia's non-embrace of Trump administration stipulations that partners spend vastly more of their GDP in defence, and the Albanese government's participation in sanctions on two Israeli ministers, there are new frictions in the US-Australia relationship. While Albanese may yet be snubbed in Canada - cue opposition outrage - he can take comfort from his recent mandate and from the fact that, unlike Americans, voters here still value the separation of powers, social cohesion, and a free press. Americans might have ceded government to corrupt oligarchs with the fluid morals of TV scriptwriters, but Australians still believe in sound government. Logan Roy would hate it. Looking for something engaging, I briefly considered getting around to the final season of Succession - the HBO series inspired by the Murdochs. A discussion ensued in which I explained, as much to myself as to my partner, that in past episodes, I kept wishing that a giant concrete block would drop from above silencing the vulgar combatants - Two Ronnies-style. There was not a single likeable character and virtually every sentence was an exercise in cruelty and sexual depravity. Of course, this was the satirical point. Here was a vast media company owned by one disgustingly rich family wantonly controlling public discourse and distorting political outcomes. Here, too, was deep unhappiness, familial brutality and toxic competition. There is no disputing, however, that Succession had tapped into the zeitgeist, just as there is no denying that we, as a culture, derive pleasure from horrible things. Try looking for series that don't feature murder and violence. Most of it, directed at women. If anything, politics in the US increasingly mimics the ruthless nihilism, shameless cynicism and power-lust of the Roys. After the Democrats' colossal deceit of installing a decompensating Joe Biden in 2020, American voters have opted for chaos, for tearing down the rotten edifice of orthodox, institution-based politics and replacing it with things wholly more believable - ego, revenge, self-enrichment and power. They didn't elect Trump in spite of the January 6, insurrection, but because of it. There may not be a single likeable character in which they can feel genuinely invested, but in Trump, there is a superior level of authenticity. He wasn't installed to be restrained or empathetic, or a more politically conservative version of Biden or Obama. Their tinkering proceduralism was the central problem. Trump is the wrecker of worlds, defier of courts, commander in chief in America's new (un)civil war. Rules and standards are for breaking. Everything has become about doubling down, obliterating elite outrage on this or that scandal, with something bigger. Trump's intellectual Svengali, Steve Bannon, invoking his best Successionist imagery, had previously described this as "flooding the zone with shit". And so it is. Little more than a week ago, the world had been agog at the spectacular - if long-expected - public bust-up between the President and Elon Musk. With all the dignity this pair is known for, they had attacked each other as liars, egomaniacs and moral degenerates. Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" (seriously, that is its name) was going to add something like US$2.4 trillion to the federal deficit through tax cuts - wiping out the meagre $100 billion or so Musk had tallied by slashing government agencies and sacking "non-patriots". Musk called Trump's spending a disgrace. Via this glimpse of satire-like insight, there was also truth - a backstage episode of government as reality TV. Musk became the apprentice who had been "fired!". Yet the whole thing was suddenly washed from the front pages by Trump's militarisation of his immigration crackdown via the federalisation of the National Guard in a Democrat state and the deployment of another 700 United States marines. This, to control a crisis he, the President, had manufactured. G7 leaders, and invitees such as Australia, are gathering in Canada to discuss the world economy and an increasingly fractious global security environment. Israel has chosen the moment to dramatically ratchet up its aggression, launching missile and drone attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities and on civilian structures. Suddenly, even the illegality of a permanent occupation and the unspeakable horror a manufactured famine in Gaza is second-order news. Trump had let it be known that he had asked the Netanyahu government to hold off launching strikes on Iran as he was close to a deal on nuclear non-proliferation and verification. No matter. In response to the attacks, he said on Truth Social "I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal ... certain Iranian hardliners spoke bravely but they didn't know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!" In Ukraine - the war Trump was to resolve in a day - Russia's attacks on Kyiv are said to be the most massive of the two-and-half-year invasion. Trump has apparently lost interest. MORE MARK KENNY: The Israel-Iran conflagration may see the American withdraw from the Canada summit, potentially robbing world leaders, including Anthony Albanese, of a chance to hold one-on-one talks on trade, security, and specifically, AUKUS. The Albanese government has been in damage-control mode in recent days following the announcement of a snap 30-day Pentagon review of the tripartite defence technology partnership in which Australia is already heavily out of pocket. Between that development (or is it an opportunity?), Australia's non-embrace of Trump administration stipulations that partners spend vastly more of their GDP in defence, and the Albanese government's participation in sanctions on two Israeli ministers, there are new frictions in the US-Australia relationship. While Albanese may yet be snubbed in Canada - cue opposition outrage - he can take comfort from his recent mandate and from the fact that, unlike Americans, voters here still value the separation of powers, social cohesion, and a free press. Americans might have ceded government to corrupt oligarchs with the fluid morals of TV scriptwriters, but Australians still believe in sound government. Logan Roy would hate it. Looking for something engaging, I briefly considered getting around to the final season of Succession - the HBO series inspired by the Murdochs. A discussion ensued in which I explained, as much to myself as to my partner, that in past episodes, I kept wishing that a giant concrete block would drop from above silencing the vulgar combatants - Two Ronnies-style. There was not a single likeable character and virtually every sentence was an exercise in cruelty and sexual depravity. Of course, this was the satirical point. Here was a vast media company owned by one disgustingly rich family wantonly controlling public discourse and distorting political outcomes. Here, too, was deep unhappiness, familial brutality and toxic competition. There is no disputing, however, that Succession had tapped into the zeitgeist, just as there is no denying that we, as a culture, derive pleasure from horrible things. Try looking for series that don't feature murder and violence. Most of it, directed at women. If anything, politics in the US increasingly mimics the ruthless nihilism, shameless cynicism and power-lust of the Roys. After the Democrats' colossal deceit of installing a decompensating Joe Biden in 2020, American voters have opted for chaos, for tearing down the rotten edifice of orthodox, institution-based politics and replacing it with things wholly more believable - ego, revenge, self-enrichment and power. They didn't elect Trump in spite of the January 6, insurrection, but because of it. There may not be a single likeable character in which they can feel genuinely invested, but in Trump, there is a superior level of authenticity. He wasn't installed to be restrained or empathetic, or a more politically conservative version of Biden or Obama. Their tinkering proceduralism was the central problem. Trump is the wrecker of worlds, defier of courts, commander in chief in America's new (un)civil war. Rules and standards are for breaking. Everything has become about doubling down, obliterating elite outrage on this or that scandal, with something bigger. Trump's intellectual Svengali, Steve Bannon, invoking his best Successionist imagery, had previously described this as "flooding the zone with shit". And so it is. Little more than a week ago, the world had been agog at the spectacular - if long-expected - public bust-up between the President and Elon Musk. With all the dignity this pair is known for, they had attacked each other as liars, egomaniacs and moral degenerates. Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" (seriously, that is its name) was going to add something like US$2.4 trillion to the federal deficit through tax cuts - wiping out the meagre $100 billion or so Musk had tallied by slashing government agencies and sacking "non-patriots". Musk called Trump's spending a disgrace. Via this glimpse of satire-like insight, there was also truth - a backstage episode of government as reality TV. Musk became the apprentice who had been "fired!". Yet the whole thing was suddenly washed from the front pages by Trump's militarisation of his immigration crackdown via the federalisation of the National Guard in a Democrat state and the deployment of another 700 United States marines. This, to control a crisis he, the President, had manufactured. G7 leaders, and invitees such as Australia, are gathering in Canada to discuss the world economy and an increasingly fractious global security environment. Israel has chosen the moment to dramatically ratchet up its aggression, launching missile and drone attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities and on civilian structures. Suddenly, even the illegality of a permanent occupation and the unspeakable horror a manufactured famine in Gaza is second-order news. Trump had let it be known that he had asked the Netanyahu government to hold off launching strikes on Iran as he was close to a deal on nuclear non-proliferation and verification. No matter. In response to the attacks, he said on Truth Social "I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal ... certain Iranian hardliners spoke bravely but they didn't know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!" In Ukraine - the war Trump was to resolve in a day - Russia's attacks on Kyiv are said to be the most massive of the two-and-half-year invasion. Trump has apparently lost interest. MORE MARK KENNY: The Israel-Iran conflagration may see the American withdraw from the Canada summit, potentially robbing world leaders, including Anthony Albanese, of a chance to hold one-on-one talks on trade, security, and specifically, AUKUS. The Albanese government has been in damage-control mode in recent days following the announcement of a snap 30-day Pentagon review of the tripartite defence technology partnership in which Australia is already heavily out of pocket. Between that development (or is it an opportunity?), Australia's non-embrace of Trump administration stipulations that partners spend vastly more of their GDP in defence, and the Albanese government's participation in sanctions on two Israeli ministers, there are new frictions in the US-Australia relationship. While Albanese may yet be snubbed in Canada - cue opposition outrage - he can take comfort from his recent mandate and from the fact that, unlike Americans, voters here still value the separation of powers, social cohesion, and a free press. Americans might have ceded government to corrupt oligarchs with the fluid morals of TV scriptwriters, but Australians still believe in sound government. Logan Roy would hate it.
