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Russia, China ‘Emerging Axis’ Troubling, Says Australia Intelligence Chief

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a flower-laying ceremony at the Monument to Minin and Pozharsky, commemorating Russian national heroes Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, on National Unity Day in Red Square, in Moscow, Russia, 04 November 2024. Russia's National Unity Day (or Day of People's Unity) is celebrated this year from 04 to 07 November. (EPA/ Mikhail Tereshchenko/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a flower-laying ceremony at the Monument to Minin and Pozharsky, commemorating Russian national heroes Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, on National Unity Day in Red Square, in Moscow, Russia, 04 November 2024. Russia's National Unity Day (or Day of People's Unity) is celebrated this year from 04 to 07 November. (EPA/ Mikhail Tereshchenko/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool)
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Russia, China ‘Emerging Axis’ Troubling, Says Australia Intelligence Chief

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a flower-laying ceremony at the Monument to Minin and Pozharsky, commemorating Russian national heroes Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, on National Unity Day in Red Square, in Moscow, Russia, 04 November 2024. Russia's National Unity Day (or Day of People's Unity) is celebrated this year from 04 to 07 November. (EPA/ Mikhail Tereshchenko/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a flower-laying ceremony at the Monument to Minin and Pozharsky, commemorating Russian national heroes Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, on National Unity Day in Red Square, in Moscow, Russia, 04 November 2024. Russia's National Unity Day (or Day of People's Unity) is celebrated this year from 04 to 07 November. (EPA/ Mikhail Tereshchenko/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool)

The head of Australia's national intelligence office said an "emerging axis" of countries providing support to Russia, including China, Iran and North Korea, was "a profoundly troubling strategic development" that western countries were struggling to catch up with.

Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence, Andrew Shearer, said on Wednesday that the strategic impact of an emerging axis, that had China and Russia at its core, had been underestimated.

"The massive provision by China of dual use assistance to Putin, and economic support and diplomatic support is keeping Putin's army in the field in Ukraine, killing innocent Ukrainians just as surely as if they were providing artillery ammunition and missiles," Shearer said at the Raisina Downunder conference in Canberra.

He also listed the provision of Iranian drones, and North Korean missiles and combat troops to Russia. South Korea and the US say around 10,000 North Korean troops have arrived in Russia to support its war against Ukraine.

"This is a profoundly troubling strategic development and we are all grappling to catch up with it and put in place effective measures, but I think this is one of the strategic challenges of our time," Shearer said.

Australia is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence partnership with the US, Britain, Canada and New Zealand. Shearer is the top advisor to Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on intelligence matters.

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World

Tehran: More Than 3,000 Iranians Killed During War

Men walks past an anti-USA and anti-Israel mural, in Tehran on April 8, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) /
Men walks past an anti-USA and anti-Israel mural, in Tehran on April 8, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) /
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Tehran: More Than 3,000 Iranians Killed During War

Men walks past an anti-USA and anti-Israel mural, in Tehran on April 8, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) /
Men walks past an anti-USA and anti-Israel mural, in Tehran on April 8, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) /

More than 3,000 people were killed throughout Iran during the war ⁠that began on February ⁠28, Iran's forensic chief ⁠told state media on Thursday, adding that 40% of the dead needed forensic work ⁠to be ⁠identified and returned to families.

Semiofficial news agencies in Iran published a chart suggesting the country’s Revolutionary Guard put sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz during the war, as uncertainty hangs over a two-week ceasefire and further negotiations are expected in Pakistan.

The shaky ceasefire has been largely holding between the US, Israel and Iran, although Tehran and Washington have offered vastly different explanations of the initial terms.

The chief of Iran’s nuclear agency said that protecting Tehran’s right to enrich uranium is “necessary” for any ceasefire talks with the United States.

Mohammad Eslami, who leads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, made the remarks to journalists in Tehran during commemorations for the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

World

French Military Chief Says Possible War with Russia His 'Primary Concern'

General Chief of Staff of the French armed Forces Fabien Mandon delivers remarks during the Paris Defense Strategy Forum at the Ecole Militaire (military school) in Paris on March 24, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
General Chief of Staff of the French armed Forces Fabien Mandon delivers remarks during the Paris Defense Strategy Forum at the Ecole Militaire (military school) in Paris on March 24, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
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French Military Chief Says Possible War with Russia His 'Primary Concern'

General Chief of Staff of the French armed Forces Fabien Mandon delivers remarks during the Paris Defense Strategy Forum at the Ecole Militaire (military school) in Paris on March 24, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)
General Chief of Staff of the French armed Forces Fabien Mandon delivers remarks during the Paris Defense Strategy Forum at the Ecole Militaire (military school) in Paris on March 24, 2026. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)

France's top general on Thursday said the possibility of a war with Russia in the next few years remained his "primary concern" as he defended efforts to ramp up defense spending.

The chief of the defense staff General Fabien Mandon spoke in parliament as he presented France's draft legislation to boost defense spending between 2024 and 2030.

"The persistence of a Russian threat on our continent, with the possibility of an open war, remains my primary concern in terms of military preparedness," Mandon told the defense committee of parliament's lower house during a hearing devoted to the updated military programming draft law, said AFP.

According to the draft legislation unveiled by the government on Wednesday, 36 billion euros ($42 billion) were to be added to France's defense spending, on top of the 413 billion euros ($483 billion) allocated for the period of 2024 to 2030.

Russia and Ukraine have been at war since Moscow in 2022 launched the full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

European powers, including France, have backed Ukraine with increasing supplies of weapons but have always insisted they are not directly involved in the conflict.

Citing intelligence estimates, Mandon said Russia was expected to have a bigger army and more weapons by 2030.

Russia is projected to have 1.9 million-strong army by 2030, up from 1.3 million last year, he said.

The number of Russian heavy tanks was set to rise to 7,000 in 2030 from 4,000 in 2025, while the number of combat vessels in the Russian navy was expected to be between 230 and 240, Mandon added.

"This is... based on intelligence," Mandon said. "This military planning law is crucial for the defense of our fellow citizens".

"We are in a dangerous period. We must not cause alarm, but simply raise awareness because we need this defense investment," he added.

In November, Mandon warned France must be ready to "lose its children" against the background of the threat posed by Russia, sparking an outcry.

"An unrestricted use of force" and a "terrorist threat" in the Middle East, Asia and Africa also justified the ramping up of the defenses, Mandon said, pointing to Washington's wavering commitment to Europe.

"We can no longer have the same level of confidence in the Americans' commitment to our security", he said, adding however that dialogue with US military officials remained of "high quality."

World

4 Dead, 38 Rescued during Attempted Channel Crossing from France to UK

A vessel from the Maritime Affairs Department is sailing off France's Pas-de-Calais northern coastal city of Equihen-Plage after an attempt to cross the English Channel illegally turned tragic with several migrants found in cardiac arrest, on April 9, 2026. (Photo by Sameer AL-DOUMY / AFP)
A vessel from the Maritime Affairs Department is sailing off France's Pas-de-Calais northern coastal city of Equihen-Plage after an attempt to cross the English Channel illegally turned tragic with several migrants found in cardiac arrest, on April 9, 2026. (Photo by Sameer AL-DOUMY / AFP)
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4 Dead, 38 Rescued during Attempted Channel Crossing from France to UK

A vessel from the Maritime Affairs Department is sailing off France's Pas-de-Calais northern coastal city of Equihen-Plage after an attempt to cross the English Channel illegally turned tragic with several migrants found in cardiac arrest, on April 9, 2026. (Photo by Sameer AL-DOUMY / AFP)
A vessel from the Maritime Affairs Department is sailing off France's Pas-de-Calais northern coastal city of Equihen-Plage after an attempt to cross the English Channel illegally turned tragic with several migrants found in cardiac arrest, on April 9, 2026. (Photo by Sameer AL-DOUMY / AFP)

French authorities said that at least four people, two men and two women, died on Thursday as they were trying to get onboard an inflatable boat to attempt the perilous sea crossing from northern France to the UK. 

The prefect of the Pas-de-Calais region in northern France, François-Xavier Lauch, said 38 others were rescued, including one whose condition involved medical emergency. He spoke while rescue operations were still ongoing on Equihen Beach on Thursday morning. 

Lauch said migrants were carried away by dangerous currents as they were trying to embark on a “taxi-boat,” the name authorities use for small motorized boats, usually inflatable, used by traffickers to pick up people along large stretches of the northern French coast, The Associated Press said. 

Thursday's incident happened along a broad expanse of sand, backed by dunes and a forest where people attempting the perilous crossing hide out, sometimes for days at a time, as they wait for boats and suitable weather and sea conditions. Police patrol on buggies and keep watch from the remains of World War II-era bunkers but cannot prevent all departures on a beach so long. 

Attempted crossings and deaths have surged in recent days. French maritime authorities said Wednesday 102 people have been rescued in two separate operations while trying to cross the channel. Last week, two people died in a similar incident off the coast north of Calais. 

Unlike inflatable boats that migrants carry themselves into the water, so-called “taxi boats” set off largely empty from secluded spots along the coast and pick up migrants from prearranged rendezvous areas on beaches. 

An Associated Press reporter attended such scenes on Wednesday in Malo-les-Bains, near Dunkirk. 

Migrants wade into the sea, with adults carrying children in their arms or on their shoulders, then clamber aboard the inflatables that wait offshore. Once loaded up, they set off on the cross-channel journey, sometimes picking up more people along the way. 

Depending on tides, weather and police patrols, migrants sometimes have to wade far from the water’s edge, up to their torsos, to reach the boats, increasing the risk of losing their footing, being caught by currents, or wading too deep. 

Campaign groups for migrant rights have long warned that increasingly vigorous efforts by French police to prevent boat departures from beaches, including using knives to hack and puncture inflatable boats to render them unusable, are encouraging the use of “taxi boats,” which increases the risks of drownings, injuries and the need for rescues.