US lawmakers to grill Pentagon chief on Iran war

(The Center Square) - Ten candidates are running to fill the seat vacated by Georgia U.S. Congressman Barry Loudermilk, who announced he was not running for reelection.

Republicans John Cowan, John Hobbs and Chris Mora are among eight candidates seeking the party’s nomination in the 11th Congressional District.

Cowan, a neurosurgeon, said he would work to remove the federal government’s involvement in healthcare. He called for increased price transparency, targeting pharmacy benefit managers and expanding health savings accounts.

“When patients have power and the government steps back, prices come down,” Cowan wrote in a statement to The Center Square.

Cowan also called for greater transparency and for solutions to address the United States’ budget crisis. He said he would support legislation that caps annual deficits at 3% of GDP.

“Any serious cap needs automatic enforcement and a narrow supermajority carve-out for genuine emergencies, paired with a ban on congressional stock trading so the American people know their representatives are tightening belts right alongside them,” Cowan said.

John Hobbs, who is also seeking the Republican nomination, said he would eliminate the tax code entirely. He called for the elimination of property taxes and income tax.

“The government has no place in real estate, especially in taking homes from people,” Hobbs told The Center Square. “As long as property taxes exist, there’s no such thing as true ownership in this country.”

Both Hobbs and Cowan said they would work to bring federal investment back to the district. The two candidates said they would work to expand access to broadband, improve road quality and rural hospital funding.

“District 11 families send their hard earned tax dollars to Washington every year, and they deserve a representative who makes sure that money comes home to work for them,” Cowan said.

Also in the race are Chris Mora, Lisa Ann Carlquist, Rob Aderkerson, Uloma Stacy Kama and William Brown. They did not respond to a request for an interviews. 

Chris Harden and Barry Wolfert are running for the Democratic nomination in District 11. Harden told The Center Square he would increase access to healthcare in the district, including for abortion procedures.

“I’m one of the only people running on women’s reproductive rights,” Harden said. “We still have women who are having to carry dead fetuses because doctors can’t take care of them for fear of losing their license.”

Harden said he is hopeful Democrats can flip the seat in Georgia’s eleventh. He said the party is seeking to capitalize on affordability messaging to engage voters.

“A lot of people are upset with the way things are going right now,” Harden said. “I’m hopeful that people will look at the candidates and what they are saying and not just the ‘R’s’ and ‘D’s’.”

Wolfert did not respond to a request for an interview. 

A large statue has appeared on a plinth in central London with Banksy's name scrawled on the base, prompting speculation Thursday that it may be the famously enigmatic street artist's latest work.

The statue -- of a suited man marching, with one leg off the plinth, while carrying a flag that is covering his face -- reportedly first emerged on Wednesday just off the central street of Pall Mall.

Banksy, whose real identity has not been officially confirmed, has not claimed the piece as his own on his Instagram account.

The artist -- best known for his satirical murals, often using a distinctive stencilling style -- typically uses the platform to confirm his works, posting images and a caption.

The appearance of the statue comes just over a month after a Reuters investigation claimed to have confirmed the artist's true identity.

It backed up a similar claim by the Mail on Sunday tabloid nearly two decades ago that he is a 52-year-old Briton, born as Robin Gunningham, who later changed his name to David Jones.

The report relied in part on a New York arrest record from 2000 as well as witness testimony from a more recent visit to Ukraine by Banksy.

The potential new work sits on Waterloo Place, in the heart of central London, near more than century-old statues of King Edward VII and nurse Florence Nightingale, as well as the Crimean War Memorial.

It has reportedly been drawing crowds of onlookers since being erected.

The artist, who typically creates a media and public frenzy whenever he reveals a new piece of art, has previously unveiled an unofficial statue in the British capital.

His work known as "The Drinker", which satirised Auguste Rodin's iconic bronze sculpture "The Thinker", was unveiled in 2004 on nearby Shaftesbury Avenue.

It was stolen soon afterwards and then endured years of contested ownership.

Westminster Council, which is responsible for the area where the new statue has appeared, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday said Kyiv would seek details from Washington about a Kremlin offer for a ceasefire on May 9, when Russia holds large-scale World War II commemorations.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin made the proposal to pause fighting in his four-year invasion of Ukraine during a call with US President Donald Trump a day earlier. The Kremlin said Trump supported the move.

The proposal came after Russia announced earlier this week that no army hardware would be included in this year's World War II Victory Day celebrations, breaking with its traditional bombastic display of military might.

It called the decision a precautionary measure given the threat of Ukrainian retaliatory strikes.

Responding to Putin's new Victory Day truce proposal, Zelensky said he had instructed members of his team to get more details on what exactly was on the table, saying Ukraine ultimately wants to end the war.

"We will clarify what exactly this is about -- a few hours of security for a parade in Moscow, or something more," Zelensky said in the statement.

"Our proposal is a long-term ceasefire, reliable and guaranteed security for people, and a lasting peace. Ukraine is ready to work toward this in any dignified and effective format," he added.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that the overarching idea was for the ceasefire to last for Victory Day itself, May 9, but that the precise timings would be determined by Putin.

The United States has spearheaded efforts to bring Russia's invasion to a close through a negotiated settlement, but those efforts -- already fraught with major divisions -- have been derailed by fighting in the Middle East.

The Kremlin's call for a short halt in fighting came several weeks after the warring countries agreed an Easter truce that was marred by allegations of violations by both sides.

- 'We shouldn't make concessions' -

The centrepiece of Russia's May 9 celebrations is typically a massive military parade through Red Square in Moscow, presided over by Putin.

Cities throughout the country hold public celebrations that draw large crowds onto the streets, and world leaders allied with Putin descend on Moscow for the army procession.

In central Kyiv, some residents of the Ukrainian capital said they did not believe Putin's Victory Day proposal was in Ukraine's interests.

"If it were a complete ceasefire, then yes. But a partial one -- no, we shouldn't make concessions to them," said Nadia Maiboroda, a pensioner.

"They are insidious; they will do what they want, and it will not save us, in any case," added the 71-year-old, who was displaced by fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Vitaliy, a 26-year-old philologist, was hopeful the proposal could lead to a longer halt in combat.

"Any ceasefire is always good. If it can be stopped for one day, that means it can be stopped for a longer term. The question is who will comply with it and how," he told AFP.

Ukraine's army has increased its long-range strikes against energy and military targets deep behind the front lines in recent months, regularly sending batches of drones towards the capital.

Kyiv is aiming to dent the oil revenues that fund Russia's war chest.

Russia has meanwhile pursued its campaign of long-range drone and missile attacks.

Zelensky's response to Putin's ceasefire proposal on Thursday came as Moscow's forces killed two people in the southern city of Kherson, and in the Dnipropetrovsk region, local officials said.

Twenty more people were wounded in the Black Sea port city of Odesa, the head of the region said.

The invasion of Ukraine, launched by Russia in February 2022, has become the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II, killing hundreds of thousands of people and displacing millions.

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Cambodia deported more than 600 Thais allegedly involved in online scams on Thursday, the information minister said, part of a crackdown against the multibillion-dollar illicit industry that has ballooned in the country in recent years.

Cambodia has emerged as a hub for crime syndicates running fake romantic relationship and cryptocurrency investment schemes in which scammers -- some willing, others trafficked -- defraud internet users around the world.

Operated out of hotels, casinos and fortified compounds around the region, the global cyberscam industry has reached "industrial proportions", with estimates of its annual revenues as high as $64 billion, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

Cambodian Information Minister Neth Pheaktra told AFP "635 Thai nationals involved in illegal online business operations and transnational criminal networks were deported to Thailand" through a border checkpoint on Thursday.

Thirty suspects were "being processed by Cambodian authorities" over alleged criminal offences, he said.

Rights monitors and other experts have accused officials in Cambodia of complicity -- allegations the government has denied.

Authorities say they have detained and deported more than 13,000 foreign nationals involved in online scams since early last year.

From January to April, more than 240,000 people, including Chinese, Indonesians, Indians and others, accused of scam involvement "voluntarily departed" Cambodia, the government said last week.

Neth Pheaktra said police searched a condominium building in Poipet city, on the border with Thailand, on Saturday.

The location was suspected of being the site of illegal online businesses, online gambling and other activities "potentially linked to transnational criminal networks", the minister said.

Nearly 4,700 mobile phones and more than 400 computer monitors were found inside the building, he added.

"The inspection of electronic devices also uncovered numerous online gambling websites targeting customers in Thailand," he said.

The raid came two days after the United States announced sanctions on a Cambodian senator and businessman, Kok An, who Washington accused of controlling scam compounds in Cambodia and protecting a criminal network that has defrauded Americans of millions of dollars.

The US Treasury alleged Kok An's firm Crown Resorts owns casinos and other buildings, including in Poipet, that have been "converted into compounds from which criminal organizations conduct digital asset investment fraud and other scams".

Cambodian authorities raided another suspected scam compound in Poipet on Wednesday, detaining many foreigners, mostly Chinese nationals, police said.

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The latest developments in the Middle East war:

- Lebanon slams Israel -

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the "continuing Israeli violations" in south Lebanon, saying they were occurring "despite the ceasefire, as do demolitions of homes and places of worship, while the number of killed and wounded rises day after day".

"Pressure must be exerted on Israel to ensure it respects international laws and conventions and ceases targeting civilians, paramedics, civil defence, and humanitarian health and relief organisations," he added.

- 'Accelerate' climate transition -

The global energy crisis has shown the need for the world economy to transform and "accelerate the transition to clean energy", the Turkish president-designate of the United Nations' COP31 climate conference said.

"We now know clearly that the global economy must transform its energy paradigm," Murat Kurum, who is also Turkey's climate minister, told a meeting on the energy transition at the International Energy Agency (IAE) in Paris.

- 'Major energy crisis' -

The world is facing a "major energy and economic challenge" as oil prices have soared in the wake of the war in the Middle East, said IAE chief Fatih Birol at the same Paris meeting.

With the world faced with "the biggest energy crisis in history", oil prices were "putting a lot of pressure in many countries", he added.

- Blockade 'doomed to fail' -

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said a US naval blockade on Iranian ports would deepen disruptions in the Gulf while failing to achieve its targets. 

"Any attempt to impose a maritime blockade or restrictions is contrary to international law... and is doomed to fail," Pezeshkian said in a statement. 

- Oil at four-year high -

Oil prices soared to four-year highs, with the US crude benchmark Brent for June delivery spiking more than seven percent to $126.41, while West Texas Intermediate was up 3.4 percent to $110.31, before later paring gains.

- US-Germany tensions -

President Donald Trump said the United States was considering reducing its troops in Germany over Chancellor Friedrich Merz's refusal to join Washington's war against Iran -- a force estimated between 35,000 and 50,000 troops.

The threats to slash US troop numbers echo Trump's longstanding criticisms of the NATO alliance, but Merz drew Trump's fresh ire earlier this week after saying Tehran was "humiliating" Washington at the negotiating table.

- EU argues for US troop deployments in Europe -

Following Trump's post, the EU said Thursday that the deployment of US troops in Europe was in Washington's interest. 

"Our NATO allies are also increasing their defence spending at an unprecedented pace," European Union spokeswoman Anitta Hipper added.

- Putin-Trump talks -

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned his US counterpart not to resume attacks on Iran in a phone call between the two leaders Wednesday, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

He said there would be "inevitable and extremely damaging consequences" for the region and wider world if military action restarted.

Trump said Putin had wanted to "help" end the US-Israeli war on Iran but that he had told the Russian leader to end the Ukraine invasion first.

- US war cost $25 billion -

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was asked Wednesday during a fiery exchange in Congress about the cost of 60 days of conflict, and replied that it was estimated at less than $25 billion so far.

But he hit back at concerns that the United States has used up "alarming" levels of critical munitions that could deplete reserves, accusing critics of "handing propaganda to our enemies".

- 'No more Mr. Nice Guy' -

"Iran can't get their act together. They don't know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon!" Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, alongside an illustration of himself holding an assault rifle, with the caption "NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!" 

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The White House is opposing Anthropic's plans to expand access to its new artificial intelligence model Mythos to 120 companies, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

President Donald Trump's administration and Anthropic had only recently started to mend ties following a dispute over the AI firm's refusal to grant the military unconditional use of its software.

Anthropic has withheld the powerful Mythos model from public release citing potential cybersecurity risks and concerns it could be exploited by hackers.

Instead it shared a version with selected companies including Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia under a project called "Glasswing" to help improve their security infrastructure.

The AI startup proposed expanding access to the model to some 70 additional companies, which would bring the total number of organizations with access to around 120, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter.

The White House, which has been at loggerheads with Anthropic for months, opposed the expansion over security concerns, according to the Journal.

Authorities were also reportedly worried that Anthropic does not have sufficient computing power to share the technology with the additional companies without hindering the government's ability to use it.

In February, Trump instructed the US government to "immediately cease" using Anthropic's technology after Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth designated Anthropic a national security supply chain risk.

The company behind the Claude chatbot is now fighting these measures in court.

Tensions eased after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met with US officials at the White House this month for discussions, which the company described as "productive."

Earlier this week, Anthropic said it was investigating unauthorized access to Mythos after Bloomberg News reported that a small group of users in a private online forum had gained access.

The California-based developer says Mythos can spot undiscovered security loopholes that have existed for decades, in systems tested by both human experts and automated tools.

But the company has also been accused of overhyping the powers of a technology that is its stock in trade, and the subject of neck-and-neck competition with rival OpenAI.

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Organisers of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla on Thursday said Israel's army had "kidnapped" 211 activists including a Paris city councillor in a raid in international waters off Greece.

Helene Coron, a spokeswoman for the Global Sumud France, told an online news conference that the operation had taken place near the island of Crete, at an "unprecedented" distance from Israel.

Yasmine Scola, an activist on board the flotilla, said her colleagues had been "kidnapped" by Israel.

Israel's foreign ministry had earlier put the number of those detained at 175.

Coron said those intercepted included Paris Communist municipal councillor Raphaelle Primet and another 10 French nationals.

"We don’t have the information for the other nationalities, but the boats were mixed in terms of nationality, so there were crew members from all 48 delegations," she said.

The organisers of the latest flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists seeking to break Israel's blockade on Gaza had announced early Thursday that their boats were surrounded by Israeli military ships while off the coast of the Greek island of Crete.

"At the time of publishing this statement (06:30 Paris time, 04:30 GMT), at least 22 of the flotilla's 58 boats have been stormed by Israeli forces in complete violation of international law," the Global Sumud Flotilla said in a statement.

Israel's foreign ministry derisively called the initiative a "condom flotilla" after prophylactics were found in a previous convoy, adding that 20 of the ships were "now making their way peacefully to Israel."

Scola said her ship was carrying school supplies and food.

The remaining boats in the flotilla are currently near Crete, according to the organisation's live tracking on its website.

The flotilla organisers on Thursday could not immediately give more details on what the remaining ships planned to do.

The flotilla set sail in recent weeks from Marseille in France, Barcelona in Spain and Syracuse in Italy.

Overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, the flotilla said its boats had been "illegally surrounded" by Israeli vessels.

– 'Lasers and assault weapons' –

"Our boats were approached by military speedboats, self-identified as 'Israel', pointing lasers and semi-automatic assault weapons ordering participants to the front of the boats and to get on their hands and knees," the organisation had said.

"Boat communications are being jammed and a SOS was issued."

A Greek coastguard source told AFP it had responded to a distress signal from the flotilla, but once its patrol boat reached the area it was told that no assistance was required.

In the summer and autumn of 2025, a first voyage by the Global Sumud Flotilla across the Mediterranean towards Gaza drew worldwide attention.

The boats in that flotilla were intercepted by Israel off the coasts of Egypt and the Gaza Strip in early October.

The Israeli operation, described as illegal by the organisers and by Amnesty International, drew international condemnation.

Crew members, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, were arrested and then expelled by Israel.

Israel controls all entry points to Gaza, and has been accused by the United Nations and foreign NGOs of strangling the flow of goods into the territory, causing shortages since the start of the war in October 2023.

The Gaza Strip, governed by Hamas, has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007, and the war triggered by the Palestinian movement's attack on Israel has led to severe shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel.

A fragile ceasefire was reached last October after two years of devastating conflict.

Hamas's October 2023 attack killed 1,221 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures compiled by AFP.

Israeli military operations carried out in retaliation have killed more than 72,000 people in the Palestinian territory, also mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry.

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The oil crisis triggered by the Middle East war has underscored the need for the world to accelerate the clean energy transition, the COP31 president-designate and the UN's climate chief said Thursday.

Crude prices have soared since the United States and Israel launched the war against Iran in late February and Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz in response. That has fuelled calls for the world to ditch its reliance on fossil fuels.

"The fossil fuel cost crisis now has its foot on the throat of the global economy," Stiell said at a meeting on the energy transition hosted by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris.

"From this tragedy, an immense irony is unfolding. Those who've fought to keep the world hooked on fossil fuels are inadvertently supercharging the global renewables boom," he said, without naming countries or companies.

The Paris meeting was being in held in the lead-up to the UN's COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, in November.

Diplomats and representatives from banks, oil firms and renewable energy companies attended the talks.

"The world is facing the biggest energy crisis in its history today," COP31 president-designate Murat Kurum said.

"We now know clearly that the global economy must transform its energy paradigm," said Kurum, who is also Turkey's climate minister.

"And the most critical step is to accelerate the transition to clean energy," he added.

IEA chief Fatih Birol said oil prices, which topped $126 per barrel on Thursday, were "putting a lot of pressure in many countries".

"Our world is facing a major energy and economic challenge," said Birol, adding that his agency, which advises its member countries on energy policy, was monitoring the situation.

- 'Real momentum' -

The talks in Paris came as nearly 60 nations hailed progress at the end of a conference in Colombia aimed at speeding the shift away from planet-heating fossil fuels and break a stalemate on the issue at UN climate talks.

The Santa Marta conference was announced last year after nations failed to include an explicit reference to fossil fuels in the final deal reached at the UN COP30 climate summit in Brazil.

"Coalitions of the willing are already forging ahead," Stiell said, pointing to the gathering in Colombia.

"In key sectors right across the action agenda, COP31 in Turkey will provide a global stage to pick up the pace," he said. "We must seize this moment. We have no time to lose."

Stiell said that countries rich in renewables, such as Spain and Pakistan, had been shielded from the worst impacts of the fossil fuel cost crisis.

"Renewables offer safer, cheaper, cleaner energy that can't be held captive by narrow shipping straits, or global conflicts," Stiell said.

"That's why so many governments are pushing renewables plans into overdrive: to restore national security, economic stability, competitiveness, policy autonomy and basic sovereignty," he added.

China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Germany, the UK, and others have been "clear that pushing forward with the renewables transition is a cornerstone of energy security", he added.

"This is real momentum," Stiell said. "We must harness it to accelerate a truly global shift."

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Europe's most powerful rocket Ariane 6 launched on Thursday carrying a second batch of 32 satellites into space for Amazon's internet constellation, which is bidding to rival Elon Musk's giant Starlink.

The rocket blasted off into overcast skies at 5.57 am local time (0857 GMT) from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America, an AFP correspondent said.

It was the second Ariane 6 launch carrying 32 satellites for Amazon Leo, the internet constellation of the giant US company founded by US billionaire Jeff Bezos.

The launch also marked the second Ariane 6 mission using four boosters, its most powerful configuration.

The satellites are scheduled to separate an hour and 54 minutes after launch. They will be released into low-Earth orbit in small batches of twos and threes. 

Amazon Leo plans to intially deploy 3,200 satellites into space that will form a network to provide internet back on Earth.

However after delays there are currently just 239 in orbit, including some launched by the rival SpaceX company of fellow billionaire Musk, according to data provided to AFP on Wednesday by Look Up, a French startup specialising in space surveillance.

In March, Musk's Starlink internet constellation crossed the symbolic threshold of 10,000 satellites -- and now has 10,162 in orbit, the startup added.

The French company Arianespace, which operates the rocket, will carry out a total of 18 launches for Amazon Leo, its main commercial customer. 

Amazon Leo has become crucial for keeping Europe's relatively new Ariane 6 rocket competitive, because many European commercial customers have opted to rely on SpaceX for launches.

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Eurozone economic growth dropped to near zero in the first three months of 2026 as surging energy costs triggered by the Middle East war pushed inflation sharply up in April, data showed on Thursday.

The figures will add to fears of stagflation -- high inflation coupled with low economic growth -- in the eurozone because of the Middle East conflict unleashed after the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

The EU's official statistics agency said the 21-nation single currency area grew by a mere 0.1 percent in the first quarter, down from 0.2 percent in the final months of 2025 and slower than forecast by economists.

Eurozone inflation also jumped to three percent in April, from 2.6 percent in March because of a significant leap in energy prices, Eurostat said.

The inflation figure is sharply higher than the European Central Bank's two percent target for the eurozone.

The ECB is expected to hold interest rates steady again later on Thursday as policymakers weigh concerns about higher inflation against worries over weakening growth.

Economists warned against linking Thursday's growth data too much to the war.

The GDP figure "mainly reflects a sharp decline in Ireland and some seasonal factors for the eurozone, rather than the impact of the war", Nicola Nobile of Oxford Economics said.

"The 1Q growth figure is not particularly informative, as it was barely affected by the energy and supply shock caused by the war in the Middle East," Peter Vanden Houte of ING Bank said.

Nobile warned that the war's "negative effects will be more visible" in the second quarter of the year.

- German growth beats forecasts -

More worrying for policymakers is the rapidly increasing inflation, analysts said. 

Energy price rises rocketed to 10.9 percent in April, up from 5.1 percent in March.

That comes after the cost of energy had been falling until March this year with data showing they fell by 3.1 percent in February.

On a slightly more positive note, core inflation -- which strips out volatile energy and food prices and is closely watched by analysts -- slowed to 2.2 percent in April, slightly down from 2.3 percent last month.

The EU's biggest economy, Germany, did better than expected with growth of 0.3 percent in the first quarter of 2026. Analysts surveyed by financial data firm FactSet had forecast growth of 0.2 percent.

But France's economy stagnated in the first three months of the year.

Prices also rose in the two biggest economies of the EU.

Inflation in Germany accelerated to 2.9 percent in April, slightly up from 2.8 percent in March. Meanwhile, in France, inflation surged to 2.5 percent in April from two percent last month.

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