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A Trump biographer suggested that the reason Trump bombed Iran again was to get attention during the recent NATO summit.During an episode of Inside Trump's Head podcast, biographer and author Michael Wolff said that the idea of Trump bombing Iran was to "upstage" his counterparts at the NATO summit."It sums up exactly who he is and what he does," Wolff said. "The only intention here is the attention paid to him."Wolff pointed out that every time Trump visits NATO, "it has always been a kind of moment of holding their breath" because "he doesn't like to be among a group of equals, he just doesn't like the look" and "it's someplace that he dislikes, intensely dislikes being there."Before the summit, Wolff spoke with a White House insider who worried "he's going to do something" to reclaim the spotlight from the group of equals around him."And I think that's exactly what we've seen," Wolff said. "He arrives there, and it's, 'What do I do to claim all of the attention?' And, I mean, this has been a series of kind of things, including going back to war in Iran."Other examples of upstaging NATO allies included renewing demands for the U.S. to have control of Greenland and "dissing" European allies as he did with Spain, Wolff noted."So essentially, how could he not but become the center of attention here?" Wolff said. "This is the fundamental point to remember. That's what this is about. This is about attention. Donald Trump is about attention. He's not about policy. He's not about accomplishments. He's certainly not about cooperation, which is the nature of NATO. It's just about attention."

Conservative CNN pundit Scott Jennings laughed in the face of a fellow MAGA commentator and hurled insults at her during a debate.Former Trump White House aide Caroline Sunshine interrupted a debate hosted by CNN anchor Abby Phillip on Thursday by admitting that she didn't know that conflicts between Iran and the U.S. have been going on for nearly five decades, as Jennings asserted.The debate started over whether Congress should put more guardrails in place to check Trump's war powers in Iran. Jennings mocked the idea that guardrails should be in place so the U.S. can be "all rainbows and unicorns with the Iranians," considering that "they've been at war with us for 47 years."That's when Sunshine chimed in by demanding why she didn't know about the 47 years of conflict, explaining, "The first time I've heard about the 47-year Iran war was like this year.""I'm sorry you don't read much," Jennings responded before laughing in her face and shaking his head."We don't teach about the 47-year war with Iran in school," Sunshine continued. "Like, it's insulting to actual conflicts that we've been involved in."Jennings kept scoffing at Sunshine as she spoke, adding, "It's an insult to your intelligence that you have no idea what the Iranians have done."Although Sunshine and Jennings kept speaking over each other, Sunshine asked, "Why have our soldiers been over there?" and pressed Jennings to make it clear what the U.S. goals in Iran should be and what it should be prepared to lose."If we're going to keep going with this, what number of American troops are we willing to commit to keep going, and like, what's your number?" Sunshine asked. "Like, how many U.S. troops are you willing to expend to achieve your objectives and what amount of money?""What amount of money am I willing to expend to keep the American people safe from the worst regime in the world?" Jennings responded. "A fair amount."

British political commentator Piers Morgan lamented having written that Trump is a "changed man" after seeing him wage war in Iran.During an episode of The Bulwark Podcast, Morgan spoke about the New York Post column he wrote after Trump was re-elected. In the column, Morgan said that Trump is a "changed man" and could become "one of America's great presidents."Host Tim Miller, a former GOP operative, asked Morgan how those words are looking now that Trump is more than a year into his second administration."Not great," Morgan admitted. "He, unfortunately, has reverted to type."Morgan said, "More worryingly, I think, for his legacy," Trump has "begun to do things which he specifically campaigned on the opposite."The main broken campaign promise identified by Morgan was "not going into war in the Middle East." Trump also campaigned on "focusing on America first and getting inflation down," Morgan pointed out."Why would you launch a global trade war, and why would you go to war with Iran if actually those campaign aims were your priority?" Morgan wondered. "It's the opposite. It's going to have the opposite effect as we've seen."Morgan was hoping to see "Trump Mark 2, particularly after he survived several assassination attempts," and added, "It's unfortunate" that's not what he's seeing."I felt, talking to him, he was a bit of a changed character, but you know, there's also the reality check," Morgan said. "He's just turned 80. There aren't many people who turn 80 who suddenly become different people."Morgan added that if he were advising Trump, he'd say, "It's looking more likely than not he might lose control of the House and the Senate in the midterms," which are only a few months away. "He'll become a lame duck, which will be for him about as bad as life gets."

Plans to build a NZ$3.5bn datacentre in Makarewa in the country’s south has drawn concern about electricity and water use, and potential noise pollutionPeople living near the site of New Zealand’s first planned AI datacentre are calling for more transparency about the project, especially about how the centre’s huge electricity and water use and potential noise pollution could affect them.Singapore-based company Datagrid has secured approval to build a NZ$3.5bn (US$2bn) AI datacentre on a 49-hectare site in Makarewa, just north of New Zealand’s southern-most city, Invercargill. Construction is due to begin this year, with the centre becoming operational by 2028. Continue reading...

Lawrence Bishnoi, who is in prison in India, is accused of orchestrating assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023US and Canadian authorities say they have “dismantled” the leadership of a notorious Indian criminal group, charging dozens of operatives who have “inflicted pain and cruelty on people, victims around the globe”, including a high-profile murder in Canada that strained diplomatic relations between Canada and India.At a press conference on Tuesday, members of the FBI and Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said as part of Operation Hard Ball – a multiyear federal investigation into murder-for-hire plots, shootings, extortion and drug trafficking – they had charged 37 people, some of whom were already in custody. Authorities are still searching for seven fugitives in the US, two in India and one in Europe. Continue reading...

Early flight data shows K2 Airways plane crashed into sea with five crew on board south-west of KarachiPakistan has located the wreckage of a Boeing cargo plane, the country’s airports authority said, adding that rescuers were searching for the five crew members on board when the aircraft went missing.The plane was approaching Karachi from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates when radar showed it “rapidly descending” on Tuesday evening after reporting a “navigational system issue”, according to the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA). Continue reading...

Activist is challenging ruling last year that restored colonial-era homophobic law against same-sex intimacySome of the UK’s top judges are hearing arguments over whether a Trinidad and Tobago court had the legal right to overturn a 2018 ruling to remove colonial-era homophobic laws that criminalise anal sex between consenting men.The country’s “buggery law”, often referred to as its “sodomy” law, was created in 1925 and was written into Trinidad and Tobago’s 1986 Sexual Offences Act. In 2017 a Trinidadian LGBTQ+ rights activist, Jason Jones, challenged the law, and in 2018 a high court ruled that it infringed upon his constitutional right to privacy and equality. Continue reading...

Amnesty International says Albanese has opportunity to ‘reaffirm mutual commitment’ to rule of law as thousands in diaspora expected at stadium eventFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s first visit to Australia in three years has sparked calls for the federal government to raise human rights concerns, as excitement builds within the nation’s Indian diaspora.Modi’s visit begins on Wednesday evening and marks his third since becoming prime minister. It will see him return to Melbourne after more than a decade, with a stadium event expected to attract more than 20,000 people. Continue reading...