MJ.images.photo posted a photo:

2026

dannyhennesy posted a photo:

...these green little men was hinted at in the lego catalogue as next years new, but sadly I had already decided to sell all my Castle Lego at the flea market...

...and did so, sold them, but whit a sad heart I would sneak in to the toyshops to study the new Robin hood inspired sets...

Peace and Noise! MushroomBrain in the orange hood (in the late 80s)

DUBAI/DORAL, Florida, May 4 — Iran’s military warned US forces today not to enter the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump said the US would start helping to free ships stranded in the Gulf by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Trump gave few details of the plan to aid ships and their crews that have been “locked up” in the vital waterway and are running low on food and other supplies more than two months since the conflict began.

“We have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site yesterday.

The unified command of Iran’s armed forces responded by warning US forces to stay out of the strait.

Its forces would “respond harshly” to any threat, it added, telling commercial ships and oil tankers to refrain from any movement in the absence of coordination with Iran’s military.

“We have repeatedly said the security of the Strait of Hormuz is in our hands and that the safe passage of vessels needs to be coordinated with the armed forces,” Ali Abdollahi, the head of the forces’ unified command said in the statement.

“We warn that any foreign armed forces, especially the aggressive US army, will be attacked if they intend to approach and enter the Strait of Hormuz.”

US Central Command said it would support the effort with 15,000 military personnel, more than 100 land and sea-based aircraft, along with warships and drones.

“Our support for this defensive mission is essential to regional security and the global economy as we also maintain the naval blockade,” Admiral Brad Cooper, the Centcom commander, said in a statement. Hundreds of ships and as many as 20,000 seafarers have been unable to transit the strait during the conflict, the International Maritime Organization says.

Soon after Trump’s comments, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said a tanker had reported being hit by unknown projectiles in the strait.

The agency said all crew were reported safe in the incident, which occurred 78 nautical miles north of Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates, but few details were immediately available.

Iran has been blocking nearly all shipping from the Gulf apart from its own for more than two months, sending energy prices soaring.

Some vessels attempting to transit the strait have reported being fired on, and Iran seized several other ships. Last month, the US imposed its own blockade of ships from Iranian ports. The Trump administration has been seeking help from other countries to form an international coalition to secure shipping in the strait. Centcom said the latest effort would combine “diplomatic action with military coordination.”

It was not immediately clear which countries the US operation would aid or how the operation would work. It will not necessarily include US Navy ships escorting commercial ships, Axios reporter Barak Ravid said in a post on X. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump threatened that any interference with the US operation would “have to be dealt with forcefully.”

Iran reviewing US response on peace proposal

Equity markets edged higher today while crude oil prices were little moved, having surged back above US$100 (RM395) a barrel last week amid uncertainty over when and how the conflict will be resolved. Yesterday, Iran said it had received a US response to its latest offer for peace talks a day after Trump said he would probably reject the Iranian proposal because “they have not paid a big enough price.”

Trump, responding to shouted questions from reporters, said yesterday evening talks were going “very well”, without elaborating.

Iranian state media said Washington had conveyed its response to Iran’s 14-point proposal via Pakistan, and that Tehran was now reviewing it. There was no immediate confirmation from Washington or Islamabad of the US response.

“At this stage, we do not have nuclear negotiations,” state media quoted Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying.

The comment was an apparent reference to Iran’s proposal to set aside talks on nuclear issues until after the war has ended and the foes have agreed to lift opposing blockades of Gulf shipping. The US and Israel suspended their bombing campaign against Iran four weeks ago, and US and Iranian officials held one round of talks. But attempts to set up further meetings have so far failed.

Iran’s proposal vs Washington’s demands

The proposal to delay talks on nuclear issues until a later phase would appear at odds with Washington’s repeated demand that Iran accept stringent restrictions on its nuclear program before the war can end.

Washington wants Tehran to give up its stockpile of more than 400 kg (900 pounds) of highly enriched uranium, which the US says could be used to make a bomb.

Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, although it is willing to discuss some curbs in return for the lifting of sanctions. It had accepted such curbs in a 2015 deal that Trump abandoned.

While repeating he is in no hurry, Trump faces domestic pressure to break Iran’s hold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has choked off 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas supplies and driven up US gasoline prices.

Trump’s Republican Party faces the risk of a voter backlash over higher prices in midterm congressional elections due in November.

Iranian media said Tehran’s 14-point proposal includes withdrawing US forces from nearby areas, lifting the blockade, releasing frozen assets, paying compensation, lifting sanctions, ending the war on all fronts including Lebanon, and creating a new control mechanism for the strait. — Reuters

Search and rescue operation launched after service members reported missing near south-western city of Tan Tan

Two US service members are missing in south-western Morocco after taking part in annual multinational military exercises in the North African country, the United States Africa Command (Africom) said on Sunday.

The US, Morocco and other countries participating in the African Lion exercise have launched a search and rescue operation, Africom said.

Aussie~mobs posted a photo:

Caption: Expeditionary Force - Pay Day

Shows soldiers lining up to sign for their wages.

Aussie~mobs posted a photo:

Written on reverse by his daughter:
To Daddy with love from Jean
Wishing you a merry xmas with love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

reverse: www.flickr.com/photos/hwmobs/55244824228

Regimental number - 54777
Place of birth - Sherwood Heights, New South Wales
Religion - Methodist
Occupation - Tramway employee
Address - Granville, New South Wales
Marital status - Married
Age at embarkation - 29
Next of kin - Wife, Mrs R B Smith, William and Clyde Streets, Granville, New South Wales
Enlistment date - 19 April 1918
Rank on enlistment - Private
Unit name - New South Wales Reinforcement 8
AWM Embarkation Roll number - 23/111/5
Embarkation details - Unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board SS Feldmarschall on 19 June 1918
Rank from Nominal Roll - Private
Unit from Nominal Roll - 35th Battalion
Fate - Returned to Australia 1 April 1919

President seemed to suggest that legislative deadline to approve war no longer applies as Democrats push back

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Donald Trump said in a letter sent to congressional leaders on Friday that hostilities with Iran have “terminated”, suggesting that the 60-day deadline to seek approval from the legislative branch no longer applied.

Friday marks 60 days since the US president notified members of Congress that the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on 28 February. Under the War Powers Act of 1973, the president can deploy troops to respond to an “imminent threat” but must receive congressional approval within 60 days to continue military operations.

US president says European countries are ‘absolutely horrible’ to refuse to support operations in strait of Hormuz

• Why does the US have military bases in Germany?

The US is withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany, the Pentagon announced on Friday, as Donald Trump also threatened Italy and Spain for not helping to reopen the strait of Hormuz.

The president’s move to reduce the number of personnel deployed in Germany came after the country’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said the US was being “humiliated” by Iran.

Coroner says none of the five civilians killed in incident in Belfast during Troubles should have been shot

British army soldiers “lost control” and used force that was “not reasonable” in the killing of five civilians in Northern Ireland in 1972, an inquest judge has ruled.

Four of the victims – two teenagers, a father of six and a Catholic priest – posed no risk when they were shot in the Springhill and Westrock areas of west Belfast on 9 July 1972, Mr Justice Scoffield said on Thursday.

US president’s latest outburst comes a day after he suggested a ‘possible reduction’ in US troops in Germany

• Why does the US have military bases in Germany – and will Trump follow through on his threat?

Donald Trump has again lashed out at Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, saying he should focus on “fixing his broken country” and trying to end the Russia-Ukraine war – and spend less time “interfering” in Iran.

“The Chancellor of Germany should spend more time on ending the war with Russia/Ukraine (Where he has been totally ineffective!),” Trump wrote in a social media post.

Hope that sessions of MDMA-assisted therapy could help soldiers fight longer by helping them process trauma

A new doctrine could soon take hold in part of the US war on drugs: psychedelic drugs for active-duty soldiers suffering from PTSD.

In two studies funded by the Department of Defense (DoD), 186 service personnel with PTSD will likely next year undergo multiple sessions of MDMA-assisted therapy.