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By Oscar Holland, CNN

(CNN) — Officials in Brisbane, Australia, have revealed plans for 2032’s Olympic stadium: a $2.3 billion venue inspired by the state’s typical suburban homes, known as “Queenslanders” — residential architecture that may be familiar to fans of Brisbane-based cartoon, “Bluey.”

Digital images of the proposed stadium — encircled by a walkable platform evoking the Queenslander’s distinctive wraparound veranda — were unveiled Monday, as the Queensland state government announced the winners of an international design competition.

Set to host the Olympic and Paralympic athletics, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies, the stadium is due to be built in the 158-acre Victoria Park, just north of central Brisbane. But with authorities previously ruling out a brand-new venue in favor of upgrading an existing one, the plans to construct a 63,000-seat arena in a heritage-listed park have met backlash from conservationists.

Local campaigners have also expressed concern about potential damage to a culturally and historically significant site inhabited and used by Australia’s Indigenous communities for thousands of years.

Following Monday’s announcement, campaign group Save Victoria Park described the renderings as “greenwashed computer imagery.” Its statement added that the proposal will cause “catastrophic loss of heritage parkland.”

Although the venue’s exact location within Victoria Park is yet to be finalized, early studies by an an independent panel suggested that the stadium would occupy between 12% and 13% of its land. A report by sustainable development researcher Dr. Neil Peach, however, claims that as much as two-thirds of the park may be “destroyed,” estimating that more than 1,200 trees will be felled during construction.

“There’s a marketing ploy to try and convince people that only a small part of the park will be impacted, and it’ll be covered in mature greenery,” the spokesperson for advocacy group Save Victoria Park, Andrea Lunt, said over the phone, adding: “These images are basically selling a fantasy. And the reality of Victoria Park is much more wonderful. The reality is that we have this beautiful, central park full of history.”

At a press conference on Monday, Stephen Conry, chair of the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority (GIICA), the organization responsible for Brisbane’s Olympic venues, argued the project would, in fact, “maximize the use of the parkland and of green space.” He added that the winning proposal, by Australian firms Cox Architecture and Hassell, would allow “hundreds of thousands of people” to “enjoy Victoria Park and utilize it.”

At the same press conference, Queensland’s deputy premier, Jarrod Bleijie, was more forthright, dismissing the Save Victora Park group as “loopy” and its members as “a bunch of nimbys who don’t want anything to happen.”

He also referenced the recent history of the site, which housed a golf course for most of the last century, only being converted into a public park in 2021. “They believe this park has been activated for years. It wasn’t. It was a golf course. Before it was a golf course, it was a dump, for goodness sake,” he told reporters.

Controversial site

Brisbane was awarded Olympic hosting rights in 2021, more than 11 years before the Games — the longest preparation time ever given to a winning host. Officials originally proposed upgrading the city’s largest cricket stadium, The Gabba, to accommodate the Games, though the project’s pric

By Mostafa Salem, CNN

(CNN) — Pockets of protests erupting across Iran over the past week have intensified pressure on a dysfunctional government struggling to manage a spiraling economic crisis.

But a dramatic US military operation more than 7,000 miles away looms even larger over the Islamic Republic. Iran woke up over the weekend to dramatic scenes of US forces landing in the Venezuelan capital Caracas to capture Tehran’s ally President Nicolas Maduro and move him to the US in a brazen nighttime operation that saw the president and his wife get dragged out of their bedroom.

On Monday, Trump issued his second threat to Iran in less than a week, warning again that if authorities kill protesters, the US would respond.

The Iranian leadership, already grappling with internal unrest and multiple crises, is now confronting the prospect of renewed US military action after its nuclear sites were targeted last summer – an escalation driven by an emboldened US president who has also threatened other adversaries in the wake of the Venezuela attack.

“If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they’re going to get hit very hard by the United States,” Trump said aboard Air Force One on Monday.

Protests erupted in Iran last week when disgruntled shopkeepers took to the streets to demonstrate against the country’s plummeting currency. Largely peaceful and localized at first, the demonstrations quickly spread nationwide as other segments of the population joined in, leading to unrest across 88 cities in 27 of Iran’s 31 provinces, a US-based activist group Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said. The regime eventually deployed the Basij paramilitary force to suppress hundreds of protesters.

After nine days of protests, at least 29 protesters have been killed and nearly 1,200 arrested, HRANA said. Iranian security forces cracked down on the demonstrations, even raiding a hospital in Ilam on Sunday where they arrested wounded protesters, a common tactic by the security apparatus.

Trump’s blunt warnings have infuriated the country’s leaders, who have since doubled down on crushing the protests.

The leadership of the Islamic Republic has long-warned about American-instigated regime change, telling supporters and opposition alike that the ultimate goal of Western powers is to topple it.

Adding to American pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared support for Iranian protesters, likely heightening paranoia in Tehran. Iranian officials have since denounced some demonstrators as “rioters,” “mercenaries,” and “foreign-linked agitators.”

“Protesting is legitimate, but protesting is different from rioting. We talk with protesters. The officials must talk with the protesters. But, there’s no point in talking with a rioter,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on X this week. “Rioters must be put in their place.”

When Israel launched the surprise war against Iran last summer, the depth of its infiltration became evident when it was revealed that Israeli intelligence agents smuggled weapons into the country and used them to strike high-value targets from within Iranian territory.

Iranian authorities arrested scores and executed at least 10 in the aftermath of the war. On Monday, Iranian state media said a man was arrested in Tehran on suspicion of collaborating with the Israeli spy agency Mossad.

Vali Nasr, a professor with Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, said Iran now views US intentions as “maximalist.”

“To Tehran, American int