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Government ‘urgently seeking’ status of 11 Australian Gaza flotilla activists detained by Israel

Eleven Australians attempting to deliver aid to Gaza as part of a global flotilla have been detained by Israeli forces in international waters off the coast of Cyprus, with the government “urgently seeking” confirmation of their welfare. On Monday local time, the Global Sumud Flotilla alleged the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) encircled 38 ships that were part of a fleet of 54 boats which left Turkey last week for the embattled strip, which remains under naval blockade by Israel. The ships, holding 319 activists from dozens of nations, were around 250 nautical miles from the coast of Gaza when they were surrounded, organisers said. Footage showed Israeli military approaching in speedboats and boarding the vessels in broad daylight. The Israel foreign ministry posted to X that activists from the “provocation flotilla” had been transferred to Israeli vessels, alleging “no aid” had been found on their boats, a claim disputed by the flotilla. The detained Australians are academics, doctors, students, activists and film-makers who have urged the federal government to protect them. They include Anny Mokotow, Dr Bianca Pullman-Webb, Neve O’Connor, Violet Coco, Gemma O’Toole, Sam Woripa Watson, Zack Schofield, Helen O’Sullivan, Juliet Lamont, Isla Lamont and Surya McEwan. Ethan Floyd, who has returned to Australia after he was among six Australians detained by the IDF when 22 boats were intercepted off the coast of Greece two weeks ago, said it wasn’t a “radical act” to attempt to deliver food, water and medicine to a “starving population”. The Australians were held on an Israeli vessel for two days before being released in Crete, and alleged they and their colleagues were subject to mistreatment. “This is now the second time Israel has illegally abducted Australian citizens in international waters, and our government has said nothing,” Floyd said. In a video distributed by flotilla supporters as the boats were being intercepted on Monday, documentary film-maker and mother, Juliet Lamont, can be heard saying “it’s all on now”. “Here we are in international waters, and our governments are completely failing us. Do everything that you can to keep us safe.” A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) said it was “urgently seeking” confirmation of the Australians’ welfare. “We will continue to make clear our expectation that any detainees receive humane treatment in line with international norms,” they said. “We understand people want to respond to the humanitarian situation in Gaza, but we continue to urge Australians not to join others seeking to break the Israeli naval blockade as they will be putting themselves and others at risk of injury, death, arrest or deportation.” Dfat remains in contact with local authorities in Israel. Last month, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, arranged for Dfat to provide a briefing on current travel advice for the region and consular services ahead of the flotilla departures. The Greens’ deputy leader and spokesperson for international aid and global justice, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, said “it is frightening how little the Australian government cares”. “Israel is able to commit acts of piracy and kidnapping in international waters with complete impunity because countries like Australia refuse to stand up for their citizens,” she said. Lawyers Greg Barns SC and Bernadette Zaydan, who are representing some of the Australians onboard the flotilla, said Israel had demonstrated a “documented pattern of harm” against civilian humanitarian workers. “Australia is a party to all core international human rights treaties, and accordingly carries binding obligations under international law,” they said. “We urge the Australian government to provide urgent diplomatic and consular measures be taken to monitor the safety and wellbeing of Australian participants involved in the [flotilla] mission.” Italy, Indonesia and Spain have pressed the Israeli government to release the detained activists. On Monday, Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, said he had summoned Israel’s chargé d’affaires in Madrid over what he called “a new violation of international law barely 15 days after the previous interception”. The husband of prominent activist Coco said Australia should “follow the lead of the Spanish prime minister and publicly condemn these blatant acts of piracy”. Brad Homewood said he last spoke to Coco, who was on board the Perseverance, via FaceTime on Monday evening, when the vessel issued an ‘orange alert’ prior to the IDF boarding and detaining its eight passengers. He said the French embassy advised they would be transported to Ashdod prison in Israel, a claim not verified by Guardian Australia. Homewood described his wife as a “genuine humanitarian with a heart of gold”. “We’ve both wept on numerous occasions about the situation in Gaza … She was determined to … put her body on the line,” he said. Wong, the Israel foreign ministry and the Israeli embassy have been approached for comment.

UAE restores power to Barakah nuclear plant after drone strike, says IAEA – as it happened

We’re wrapping up this live coverage for now but you can see our full report here, as well as this recap of the latest key developments. Thanks for joining us. Donald Trump said he postponed a planned military attack on Iran set for Tuesday after it sent a peace proposal to Washington and that there was now a “very good chance” of reaching a deal limiting Iran’s nuclear program amid the “serious negotiations” under way. The US president said allies in the Middle East had told him they were “getting very close to making a deal” that would leave Iran without nuclear weapons. “It’s a very positive development,” he said, while warning earlier that the US Washington was ready for a “large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice” if an acceptable deal wasn’t reached. Iran remained defiant in statements issued on state media after Trump’s announcement, warning the US and its allies against making any further “strategic mistakes or miscalculations” in striking Iran and saying Iranian armed forces were “more prepared and stronger than in the past”. The US announced another 30-day extension of a sanctions waiver allowing purchases of Russian seaborne oil to aid “energy-vulnerable” countries hit by the Iran war, reversing plans not to grant an extension. Off-site power was restored to a unit of the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates after the drone strike on Sunday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said it had been told by the UAE. Iran’s top security body has announced the formation of a new body to manage the strait of Hormuz and wants to charge ships to traverse. Israeli strikes have killed more than 3,000 people in Lebanon since the start of the Hezbollah-Israel war on 2 March, the health ministry said on Monday. Lebanese president Joseph Aoun said he would do the “impossible” in order to stop the war with Israel after a ceasefire and direct talks between the countries failed to end the fighting. Gaza’s health ministry said at least six people were killed and 40 others injured in Israeli attacks across the territory over the past day. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said its forces had struck groups linked to the US and Israel in the western Iranian province of Kurdistan, near the border with Iraq. Oil prices and stock markets worldwide swung through a shaky Monday. The price for Brent crude – the international standard – went from a high of $112 a barrel overnight to below $107 in the morning before turning back higher, and after settling at $112.10, then fell back below $109 after Trump’s announcement on holding off attacking Iran. One of Indian billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani’s companies will pay the US Treasury $275m to settle an investigation into whether it violated US sanctions against Iran, the Treasury said.

From sanctioned cars to beauty clinics, Russian rubles have flowed into China’s border towns since Ukraine war

Suited and booted in a navy twinset tracksuit and colourful high-top trainers, Wang Runguo is hustling. Darting across the gleaming floors of his cavernous car showroom, the 45-year-old from one of China’s poorest provinces is closing on yet another deal. It is all in a day’s work for the man whose salary has more than doubled in the past year thanks to a well-timed pivot: from corn to cars; from China to Russia. This time last year Wang was working for an agricultural company that grew corn and soya beans for the domestic market. Now he is a manager at Xingyun International Automobile Export, a company founded in August 2025 to cater to the booming new car export industry in Suifenhe, a small city in China’s north-east that borders Russia. “Recently, China and Russia have been moving closer together,” Wang says. “As we move closer, more and more cars are going there.” A manager at Suifenhe Hengchi International Trade, one of the city’s biggest car dealerships, puts it more bluntly: “The Russia-Ukraine war … has been a good opportunity for our business.” As Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, visits China on Tuesday, Moscow may be hoping that Beijing continues to see the benefits of a cosy relationship. And on China’s border with Russia, where the US is a distant concept but where Russians spend their money, local businesspeople say they are unconcerned by western sanctions. China rejects western sanctions and says that they do not comply with international law. Earlier this month the Chinese embassy in the UK lodged “stern representations” with London over sanctions that were applied to Chinese companies accused of supplying drones and military goods to Russia. A Chinese government spokesperson said: “Normal exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and Russian enterprises should not be interfered with” by sanctions. Ever since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, weeks after Xi Jinping and Putin had declared a “no limits” partnership, ties between the two countries have deepened. Bilateral trade has soared to record highs, to the chagrin of western leaders who accuse Beijing of providing an economic lifeline to Moscow while it engages in a war of aggression. Beijing has bought more than €316.5bn of Russian fossil fuels since the start of the full-scale invasion, according to data collected by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, far outstripping purchases by any other country. And Chinese companies have jumped to fill the gaps in the Russian market left by the retreat of western businesses. Last year exports to Russia from Heilongjiang, the province that includes Suifenhe, increased by 22%. “The dependency is mutual, but asymmetric,” says Alexander Gabuev, the director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. China now buys nearly 30% of Russia’s exports, while only about 3% of China’s exports flow in the opposite direction. But in certain industries, Russia plays a much bigger role in China’s economic fortunes. One such trade is cars, a sector which in China is struggling with oversupply and a lack of domestic demand. Vehicles are one of Suifenhe’s main exports. Between 2021 and 2024, Chinese brands’ share of the Russian car market increased from 7% to nearly 60%, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association. In 2024, China sold more than 1m vehicles to Russia, making it the biggest destination for Chinese vehicles, although it has since dropped to second place behind Mexico. Further volumes have come from the export of China-made, foreign-branded vehicles. Despite sanctions on Russia, tens of thousands of cars from brands such as BMW, Honda and Volkswagen continue to be sold in Russia each year, via third-party Chinese dealerships. Wang’s BMW, a used model, sold for 120,000 yuan (US$17,600). That is cheap compared with prices in Russia, says the buyer, a Russia-based businessman. And it is too expensive for Chinese consumers, Wang says. It’s win-win. As much as China has kept the Russian economy afloat, Russian rubles are also sustaining many parts of China, where the economy is heavily reliant on exports and where domestic consumers are unwilling, or unable, to part with their cash. Gao Bin, the boss of Suifenhe Hengchi International Trade, says the company pivoted towards exporting cars to Russia three years ago. The first car they shipped across the border was a black Toyota Camry. “After the war started, there was demand in Russia,” he says. Last year, he sold more than 7,000 cars to Russia, compared with only a few dozen domestically. “Domestic sales have basically come to a halt.” Suifenhe, a city of just 60,000 people in China’s economically depressed rust belt region, is a microcosm of this relationship. Cyrillic signs are everywhere and prices are advertised in rubles as commonly as in yuan. But most of the shops are boarded up. From certain hilltops you can peer into barren Russian villages (a pair of binoculars helps), although a multistorey observation tower designed to attract tourists has been left abandoned and unfinished for years . As the first place in China to allow the use of rubles as legal tender, Suifenhe has long been home to a large community of Russian businesspeople and visitors, boosted by the introduction of a visa-free regime for Russian tourists in September. It is just two hours from Vladivostok by train. And according to local businesspeople, Russians are the only ones spending. Ning Qiang, who runs a beauty salon catering exclusively to Russians, says the number of customers has increased by about 50% since the visa-free policy was introduced. By 5pm on a Tuesday, he had received three clients. “When China-Russia relations are good, life is better for ordinary people,” he says. “Locals in Suifenhe don’t buy much.” Heilongjiang got a more than 60% boost in visitors from Russia in the first six months of the visa-free policy, according to Chinese state media. Gabuev says the difficulty in procuring European visas is pushing more Russians to travel eastwards. “And they come back mostly really fascinated and willing to come back again. It’s a net positive for the Chinese,” he says. One of the Russians spending her money in China rather than Russia is Mariia Publichuk, a 36-year-old from Vladivostok living in Suifenhe with her eight-year-old daughter. Publichuk moved to Suifenhe last year so that her daughter could study Chinese. The pair spend their mornings at a local primary school surrounded by the chatter of Chinese children. Evenings are spent singing and dancing in Suifenhe’s central square, which echoes with competing soundtracks from speakers dotted across the plaza. “English is the first most useful language in the world,” Publichuk says. “And the second is Chinese.” But for anyone whose livelihood depends on yuan rather than rubles, times are tough. The manager of a local logistics hub which handles cross-border and domestic freight says it has been his worst year since he started the job six years ago. The war in the Middle East has pushed up fuel prices for his trucks, and orders are down. “Even during the pandemic … it wasn’t like this,” says Wang, who declines to give his first name. “This year, in every industry … demand in China is decreasing. It’s simply that people don’t have money in their pockets.” National statistics tell a similar story. Despite the US-China trade war which pushed US tariffs on Chinese goods as high as 145% last year, Chinese goods continue to be shipped overseas at astonishing rates. Last year China’s trade surplus reached a record $1.2tn. In the first three months of 2026, exports were up almost 15% compared with the same period last year, while domestic retail sales in March grew only 1.7% compared with 12 months earlier. The US president, Donald Trump, left Beijing last week after a two-day summit full of pageantry with promises of “fantastic trade deals”. But there has been little by way of public announcements on tariffs. On Saturday, China’s ministry of commerce said the two sides would establish a board of trade to discuss “tariff reductions” but did not provide further details. China’s long-term goal is to make the economy less reliant on exports. In March, its premier, Li Qiang, said China “must adhere to the strategic basis of expanding domestic demand”. Structural problems such as an ageing population, a depressed real estate sector and a lack of consumer confidence after the pandemic all make this transition hard to execute. Exporting goods, whose prices are kept low in part because of China’s discounted energy supplies from Russia, is a lot easier. Despite the economic slowdown, Beijing still holds the cards in the China-Russia relationship. China has options for international trade that Russia does not. Bloomberg recently reported that 90% of Russia’s sanctioned technology is imported from China. And with Trump in the White House, Xi is under less pressure than ever over his relationship with Putin. The war in Ukraine barely featured in last week’s US-China summit. Trump’s “ask to Xi Jinping to contribute to the peace effort in Ukraine is not a very serious push”, Gabuev says. “Not that Xi Jinping feels that he’s on the hook for that.” In Suifenhe, even the most ardent Russophiles see Russia as a country in decline, notwithstanding their own city’s beleaguered economy. On the outskirts of town, in a crumbling, barely populated village, a house built in the style of a Russian wooden cottage, painted in bright blue and yellow, stands out from the grey. Its inhabitant is Song Lu, a 67-year-old retired artist whose family has lived in Suifenhe for generations. An enthusiast for Russian arts and crafts, he builds models of traditional Russian wooden carriages in his spare time, and has even built a blue tubular sauna in his front garden. “Russians might find it hard to admit, but in reality, China has already become the big brother,” he says. Additional research by Lillian Yang

Trump’s shifting remarks on Taiwan are perfect for China to exploit

It has been an unsettling few days for Taiwan’s government. When Donald Trump met Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday, many feared the unpredictable US leader could upend Washington’s longstanding support for Taipei. But beyond a starkly worded statement from Xi stressing China’s claims over Taiwan, which it claims as part of its territory despite never having ruled it, initial signs appeared good for Taipei. An uncharacteristically sheepish Trump skirted reporters’ questions on Taiwan after he and Xi emerged from their first talks on Thursday evening. A White House readout of the meeting made no mention of the issue. But that welcome silence began to unravel onboard Air Force One on Friday, when Trump told reporters he would soon “make a determination” on pending multibillion-dollar weapons packages to Taipei – provided as part of Washington’s commitment to help Taiwan maintain its self-defence capabilities. An interview with Fox News, aired later that day, provided further soundbites, as Trump declared he was “not looking” to “travel 9,500 miles to fight a war” in Taiwan’s defence. He then described weapons sales to Taipei as a “very good negotiating chip” for Washington with Beijing, adding that he was “not looking to have somebody go independent”. Washington has long maintained an ambiguous stance on whether it would defend Taiwan if China were to invade. Trump’s comments have stoked concern among Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive party (DPP), which supports a continuation of de facto independence. On Sunday, Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, issued a statement emphasising that US arms sales were “the most important deterrent” to regional conflict. He described Taiwan’s security as a “core global interest”, saying: “Ensuring peace and stability across the Taiwan strait has always been a high consensus and common interest of Taiwan [and] the United States.” But while Taipei may be unnerved, J Michael Cole, a senior fellow with the Global Taiwan Institute, cautioned against reading too much into Trump’s comments. “We need to keep in mind that he has a tendency to say many things – sometimes contradicting himself within 24 hours – in the moment, based on what he recently heard or whom he spoke with,” Cole said. “My expectation is that, recent remarks notwithstanding, the Trump administration will hew to the US’s longstanding policy.” Cole pointed to remarks by the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, affirming Washington’s continued commitment to the status quo as a more reliable gauge, as he called for observers to “pay closer attention instead to what the US does in the coming weeks and months”. This sentiment is shared by the DPP legislator Kuan-ting Chen, who said: “Taiwan should not over-interpret any single remark made during high-level US-China interactions.” Chen added, however, that Taipei “should not ignore the risk that China could amplify and exploit” Trump’s comments. Beijing has attempted to do just that, with state-run outlets suggesting that Trump’s independence comments had “sent shock waves” through Taiwan, dealt a “severe blow” to the DPP and issued a clear warning to Taiwan’s “separatist forces”. While Beijing’s framing may veer into the hyperbolic, the US leader’s remarks have exacerbated pre-existing fractures between the DPP and the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) – once combatants against the Chinese Communist party during the Chinese civil war, but who today advocate for warmer cross-strait relations. Yang Kuang-shun, a cofounder of the Taipei-based thinktank US Taiwan Watch, said any apparent sign that Washington did not fully support Taiwan’s independence was seized upon by the KMT to “push its agenda for opposing Taiwan’s independence”. In the days since the Beijing summit, the KMT has called for the DPP to abandon what it views as the ruling party’s pro-independence platform. It has also criticised the DPP’s handling of cross-strait relations, which have grown increasingly tense under Lai – whom Beijing has labelled a dangerous “separatist”. Charles I-hsin Chen, a former KMT legislator and chair of the foreign affairs and national defense committee, said the DPP had “placed a one-sided bet on its relationship with the US”, with Trump’s statements showing that Taiwan “cannot tie everything” to Washington. “This highlights the need for Taiwan to move towards an equidistant approach between the US and China – that is, to give equal weight to cross-strait relations and relations with the US – in order to secure Taiwan’s greatest interests,” he said. Chen, however, also expressed concern over Trump’s framing of weapons packages as a negotiating chip, saying that Taiwan could be reduced to a “pawn to be moved around” with “no initiative and no agency”. This concern that Taiwan may become a pawn between superpowers is one of the few points of agreement between the DPP and the KMT – though the parties disagree over the causes and solutions. DPP legislator Chen said that arms procurement cooperation between Taiwan and the US had “never required the consent of any third country”, referring to China, and that it “should remain that way”. “If arms sales to Taiwan are described as a bargaining chip, Beijing may use this to test the limits of Washington’s commitment to Taiwan,” he said. “Taiwan must make clear to the international community that it cannot be traded away.”

Ukraine war briefing: Chinese ship hit on way in to Odesa port, says Zelenskyy

Russian drones hit a Chinese ship as part of strikes on civilian vessels approaching Ukraine’s Odesa ports on the Black Sea on Monday, Ukrainian authorities said. The Ukrainian navy described the Ksl Deyang as a Chinese-owned cargo ship sailed by Chinese crew under the Marshall Islands flag. The Deyang was heading to load iron ore concentrate in Ukraine’s Pivdennyi port in the Odesa region, Reuters reported, citing a source. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said a Russian drone hit the Chinese-owned vessel. It reportedly sailed on after the attack. Ukraine’s seaports authority said another ship sailing under the Guinea-Bissau flag was hit, while the Odesa governor, Oleh Kiper, said separately that a Russian attack hit a Panama-flagged civilian vessel heading to Ukraine’s Chornomorsk port. No one was injured, the crew extinguished the resulting fire and the vessel continued on its way. Ukraine has observed attempts by Russia to export grain from occupied Crimea involving US companies, Zelenskyy said. “In particular, we have recorded attempts to organise the export of grain from the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea – and, regrettably, other forms of economic exploitation of the peninsula involving entities from the United States.” Zelenskyy said Moscow was also trying to bring investment from “democratic countries” into Russia’s Arctic oil and gas projects. Ukraine’s foreign ministry condemned tactical nuclear weapons drills in Belarus on Monday, blasting the deployment as an “unprecedented challenge” to global security. “By turning Belarus into its nuclear staging ground near Nato borders, the Kremlin is de facto legitimising the proliferation of nuclear weapons worldwide and setting a dangerous precedent for other authoritarian regimes,” the ministry said. Kyiv urged its western allies to tighten sanctions against Moscow and Minsk. Vladimir Putin has few good options in Ukraine, Estonia’s foreign intelligence chief has said, with Moscow’s armed forces unable to advance significantly on the battlefield while western sanctions are chipping away at his resources. Kaupo Rosin told Reuters that Russia was losing more men than it was recruiting and a general mobilisation would be deeply unpopular and potentially undermine stability. “All these factors together are creating a situation where some people in Russia including in the higher levels understand that they have a big problem. Hard to say what Putin thinks about it, but I think all these factors are starting to float into his decision-making … My message is let’s push forward with [sanctions]. This is not the time to hesitate, just let’s keep going.” Another European intelligence chief, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that there were growing signs of pressure on Russia, but no indication for now that was changing Moscow’s calculus in the war. “It’s very difficult for me to see that they [Russia] would get rid of their objective to get the whole Donbas area … and Russia is in no hurry, basically.” The spy chief described Russian society as resilient. “It is wishful thinking that now Russia’s leadership is in some way eroding, or Putin is somehow challenged [domestically].” Democratic senators blasted an “indefensible gift” to Putin after the Trump administration waived sanctions on Russian oil for another 30 days. “Every additional dollar the Kremlin earns from this licence helps Putin finance his illegal war against Ukraine and kill innocent Ukrainians,” said a statement from Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. British and European sanctions on Russian oil purchases remain in place. The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, claimed the waiver – allowing purchases of Russian oil already at sea as of 17 April – would “help stabilise the physical crude market and ensure oil reaches the most energy-vulnerable countries”. Analysts said the waiver may help some individual countries starved of Gulf oil by Trump’s Iran war, but would do little to drive down US gasoline prices, while the Democrats said it would also not stabilise global markets. Russian drones struck critical infrastructure of Ukraine’s energy firm Naftogaz in the Dnipropetrovsk region over Sunday night, the company said. Among the targets was a filling station, Naftogaz said, adding that the station’s premises and equipment were completely destroyed and two employees injured. Russia launched 524 drones and 22 missiles at Ukraine over Monday, the Ukrainian air force said. Air defence units shot down or neutralised 503 drones and four missiles. In Russia, drones were downed over regions such as Rostov and Belgorod in the south, the Interfax news agency said, citing the defence ministry in Moscow. Two people were killed in Belgorod, local authorities said. Explosives found on Monday near the debris of a suspected Ukrainian military drone would be disposed of by blowing them up in place, Lithuanian police said. Authorities had previously said the drone was not armed. It was found crashed in the village of Samane and was presumed to have gone off-course en route to a Russian target.

‘Remain calm’: Japan is gripped by fears of a naphtha shortage. What is it and why are people worried?

Japan’s government is fighting to cushion the economic impact of the Middle East war, as the shortage of oil sends inflation rising, with the crisis threatening to undermine prime minister Sanae Takaichi’s wide poll lead. Amidst it all, new polling shows that Japan has seen a surge in concern over shortages of naphtha, a crude oil product that is used to make a wide variety of products. But why the concern about a product that few had heard of just several months ago? What is naphtha? Commonly used to refer to a range of highly flammable liquid mixtures derived from oil (and other sources), it is used in the production of petrol, but also a wide range of materials including plastics, insulation foam, adhesives, medical supplies such as syringes, and printing ink solvents. Naphtha is used in manufacturing all around the world, but Asia is particularly vulnerable to the current disruption as it constitutes the largest market for exports of the product from the Middle East. Why is the Japanese public worried about something it didn’t know existed a few months ago? Pronounced “nafusa” in Japanese, the word recently began appearing in news reports about the impact that the strait of Hormuz blockade was having on supply chains. But it was the announcement by Japan’s biggest snack maker – Calbee - on 12 May that the colourful packaging of its flagship potato chips were going monochrome that brought home the seriousness of the geopolitical fallout. Data shows that Japan’s wholesale inflation accelerated in April at the fastest pace in three years, with the price of naphtha spiking 79.4%. While Japan has significant national stockpiles of petrol, there have been suggestions that the government is playing down the risk of disruption to other industries. Japanese television networks and newspapers have been running segments and articles explaining what naphtha is and how shortages could affect everyday life. A Kyodo News poll over the weekend found more than 70% of respondents had expressed concern about supplies of Naphtha being disrupted. What is the Japanese government doing in response? Japan sources more than 90% of its oil from the Middle-East and so is very sensitive to the current supply problems. After Calbee announced it was switching to black and white packaging, the government’s deputy chief cabinet secretary was forced to reassure the public that adequate supplies of naphtha for ink had been secured after questions from the media. Prime minister Sanae Takaichi has also made multiple statements insisting that Japan is finding alternative sources for oil and resisted making the calls to reduce consumption that some of Japan’s Asian neighbours have been forced to issue. But the lack of naphtha is already reported to be hitting plastic production, leading environment minister Hirotaka Ishihara on Friday to echo the assurances previously made on ink supplies: “We have secured the necessary supply of garbage bags. Please remain calm and avoid panic buying.” Japanese media have also reported that, in contrast to government claims, supply chain disruptions are already being felt in sectors such as construction, dry cleaning, food processing and paint production. Is it affecting Takaichi’s popularity? The cabinet’s approval rate did fall 2.5 percentage points to 61.3% in the poll released Sunday by Kyodo News. But that should be seen in the context of a decline from very high poll numbers in the honeymoon after her landslide election victory in February. It is unclear just how much impact the Middle East crisis is having and how much responsibility the public believes Takaichi bears for the situation. More than 70% of those surveyed said the government should call on the public to conserve energy.

‘Dodgy’ shops handling criminal cash targeted by new specialist unit

“Dodgy” retail outlets such as vape stores, barbers, mini-marts and sweet shops suspected of being used to launder £1bn of criminal money will be targeted by a new specialist unit, the government has said. A £20m National Crime Agency cell will run and coordinate investigations and raids into UK businesses suspected of acting as fronts for gangsters, the Home Office said. The NCA and police forces in Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, Kent and Essex will recruit 75 officers to boost the effort. Labour vowed to crack down on “dodgy” outlets such as US candy shops in its general election manifesto, amid investigations into tax evasion and the sale of counterfeit goods. The move comes as Reform UK and the Conservatives blame Labour for a decline in UK high streets, as household brands collapse and shoplifting rises. Trading standards departments will receive an extra £6m to bolster the response to sham businesses in at-risk local authorities, according to the latest announcement. New training will help officers identify suspicious businesses, strengthen compliance and boost enforcement. The cash will come from a £30m pot put aside by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in last November’s budget. There is growing concern that many such businesses act as fronts for money laundering, tax fraud and illegal work. The NCA estimates at least £12bn of criminal cash is generated in the UK each year, with £1bn laundered through high street businesses such as mini-marts, barber shops, vape stores and sweet shops. Some businesses are also connected to the sale of fake goods, tax evasion, illegal working and illegal drug supply. As many as half of convenience stores and vape retailers in some areas are estimated to have links with organised crime, according to trading standards, while up to a third of American candy stores and one in four takeaways in specific areas are suspected of being a front for criminal activity. A new High Street Organised Crime Unit, to be chaired by the security minister, Dan Jarvis, has also been established to bring together government departments, policing partners and trading standards. Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, said: “Criminal gangs have exploited our high streets to launder their dirty money and undercut honest businesses. “We are hitting back with a nationwide crackdown to shut these fronts down, seize dirty cash and drive organised crime off our high streets and put bosses behind bars.” Coordinated raids of illegal retail outlets have been launched by the NCA under Operation Machinize 2, which targeted cash intensive businesses in the “grey economy”. The NCA, the body responsible for fighting serious and organised crime, helped plan the raids of more than 2,700 premises, leading to 924 arrests. Police seized more than £10.7m of suspected illegal proceeds, 111,000 illegal vapes, 70kg of cannabis and 4.5m illegal cigarettes. Research released in January showed that people feel high streets have declined more than any other part of their local area. Improving shopping precincts was the third most important local issue for voters, behind good healthcare and reducing crime, according to polling conducted by YouGov. Reform UK supporters were more likely than anyone else to say their area had significantly declined, underlining what researchers called a “deep sense of place-based resentment” towards Westminster.

Trump claims planned attack on Iran postponed after Tehran makes new proposal to end war

Iran has made a new proposal for a deal to definitively end the war in the Middle East, officials in the region said on Monday, with Donald Trump claiming he had postponed new military strikes so talks could continue. But while the US president has regularly used social media to threaten Tehran, and to claim that a peace deal was within reach, there has been no sign of an immediate breakthrough in the stalled negotiations to end the war. A ceasefire has paused most violence after six weeks of US-Israeli airstrikes and Iranian retaliation, but there has been little progress since Trump said the ceasefire was “on life support”, with some Israeli media reports suggesting a resumption of hostilities is imminent. In a post on Monday, Trump said he had been asked by the leaders of several Gulf countries to “hold off on our planned Military attack [on Iran], which was scheduled for tomorrow, in that serious negotiations are now taking place”. Trump claimed that the leaders of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia had approached Washington because of the chance of reaching a deal that would be “very acceptable” to the US, and preclude Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The US president said he had instructed military leaders that “we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice”. The announcement came as Iran’s foreign military spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, claimed Pakistan has shared Tehran’s latest proposal with the US. There were contradictory reports from Islamabad, which has been mediating between both sides. A Pakistani source appeared pessimistic, telling Reuters that Washington and Tehran “keep changing their goalposts” and that time was running out to find agreement. Other regional officials said Iran had made or reiterated some concessions, including a long-term suspension of its nuclear programme and transfer of its highly enriched uranium to Russia, as well as a phased reopening of the strait of Hormuz. The semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing an unnamed source close to the country’s negotiation team, reported on Monday that the US had agreed to waive sanctions on Tehran’s oil exports during the negotiation period. There was no independent confirmation of the claims, and talks have been marked by a series of misleading statements made by Iran, the US and mediators to try to publicly frame the talks to their advantage. Rhetoric on both sides has remained defiant in recent days. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened on Monday to impose permits on internet cables passing through the strait of Hormuz, while other officials have said the waterway would remain under Iranian “management”, implying Tehran would impose tolls on shipping, which Washington has said it cannot accept. Baghaei said Tehran was prepared for all scenarios, telling a televised press conference: “As for their threats, rest assured that we are fully aware of how to respond appropriately to even the smallest mistake from the opposing side.” Axios reported that Trump was expected to meet national security advisers on Tuesday to discuss options for resuming military action. But speaking later on Monday at a White House event, Trump said there had been a “very positive development” and claimed a deal was near that would leave Iran without nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies pursuing. “There seems to be a very good chance that they can work something out. If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I’d be very happy,” Trump said. Though US-Israeli airstrikes have ceased and Iranian retaliation has been scaled back, drones have been launched from Iran towards Gulf countries hosting US military bases. One drone strike caused a fire at a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, officials there said on Sunday, and Saudi Arabia reported intercepting three drones. Iran stepped up attacks on the UAE this month after Trump announced a naval mission to try to open the strait of Hormuz, which he suspended after 48 hours. Analysts say the conflict is now deadlocked, with both sides facing significant pressure to bring the war to an end, but without sufficient incentives to make painful concessions necessary for a deal. Trump, who faces midterm elections in November that could go badly for his Republican party, held talks with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, last week in Beijing without securing an indication from China that it would help resolve the conflict. White House officials worry that Trump’s foreign policy gamble in Iran, and its effect on US fuel prices, may derail Republican chances of keeping control of Congress at a time when voters are more concerned with the cost of living than conflicts abroad. Iran faces a deepening economic crisis and potential damage to its oil infrastructure. Inflation is soaring and some officials fear a surge in popular discontent with the radical regime. The Human Rights Activists news agency (HRANA), a US-and Netherlands-based monitoring group, said it had documented at least 4,023 arrests in Iran between 28 February, when the war started, and 9 May. Charges included espionage, threats to national security and communicating or sharing content related to the conflict with foreign media, it said. There has been growing alarm over executions in Iran. Rights groups have said that since the start of the war, Iran has executed 26 men seen as “political prisoners” – 14 charged over January protests, one over 2022 demonstrations, and 11 accused of links to banned opposition groups. Six men have been hanged by Iran on charges of spying for Israel since the war began, according to reports in Iranian official media. HRANA said it had documented at least 3,636 fatalities, including 1,701 civilians, due to US-Israeli attacks on Iran in the war. Israel carried out new airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Monday, Lebanese security sources and the state news agency said, while Hezbollah announced new attacks on Israeli forces, continuing the war in Lebanon despite the extension of a US-backed truce first announced by Trump on 16 April. A 45-day ceasefire extension between Lebanon and Israel is now in effect after a third round of US-hosted talks. With Reuters and Agence France-Presse