Latest News
US-Israel war on Iran live: explosions heard in Gulf cities and Jerusalem; evacuations in Beirut as conflict spreads to Lebanon
Iran-backed Hezbollah says it launched rockets and drones at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Ayatollah Ali KhameneiPodcast: The assassination of Iran’s ayatollah – and fears for a wider conflictFull report: Trump open to talks with Iran as conflict deepens in Middle EastHow have you been affected by events in the Middle East?Bahrain has said that one person was killed by shrapnel from an intercepted missile. The death of a foreign worker at Salman Industrial City, working on a boat there, marks the kingdom’s first reported fatality in the war.Bahrain, home to the US navy’s 5th fleet, said it intercepted 61 missiles and 34 attack drones launched against it. It said some shrapnel had gotten through, striking buildings and the naval base. Continue reading...
Hundreds more flights cancelled as world faces worst travel chaos since Covid pandemic
Hundreds of thousands of passengers remain stranded, with key air hubs in Middle East closed amid fallout from US-Israeli strikes on IranUS-Israeli attack on Iran – live updatesHundreds more flights were cancelled on Monday, extending the turmoil in global air travel caused by the US-Israel war on Iran, with hundreds of thousands of passengers already stranded.Leading airline stocks came under pressure after days of disruption, with Donald Trump indicating that the US military action could last another four weeks.Emirates Airlines, the world’s largest international carrier, which suspended all planned services to and from Dubai until 3pm UAE time (10pm AEDT, 11am GMT and 6am EST) on Monday.Etihad Airways, which suspended all flights to and from Abu Dhabi until 2pm UAE time (9pm AEDT, 10am GMT and 5am EST) on Monday.Qatar Airways, which suspended flight operations because of the closure of Qatari airspace. Continue reading...
Australia politics live: Senate censures Pauline Hanson over Muslim comments as all but two Coalition senators oppose motion
Follow today’s latest new updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJoyce says petrol prices will increase due to conflictSpeaking with Tanya Plibersek on a Sunrise panel this morning, One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce says Australia should focus on building up fuel supplies under risk due to conflict in the Middle EastIt’s a shame in a crisis like this that we’ve got ourselves down to two oil refineries, so that if there’s a crisis in the production of fuel, we’re in a bad spot.We’ve got the old policies here – cross fingers, everything should be right as long as President Trump is able to bring this to a conclusion … People have got to start looking at what the effects are for Australia, not just the Middle East, and you can start looking for those effects at a petrol pump near you.There will be an economic impact of this. There was an economic impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that affected the whole world, and that includes Australia. This is an area where a lot of our global oil and petrol, ultimately, is impacted by what’s being produced in the Middle East. I mean, it is a very good argument for Australia to have energy security and energy independence. Continue reading...
Monday briefing: What does the escalation in the Middle East mean for global stability?
In today’s newsletter: A region already strained by years of proxy conflict is now confronting its most volatile moment in decades, as the death of Iran’s supreme leader could drag us into a rapidly widening crisis, with no clear path to de‑escalationGood morning. Over the weekend the US and Israel launched a series of attacks on Iran that resulted in the assassination of Tehran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – a move that dramatically raised the stakes in their long-running conflict.The assassination of a serving supreme leader is an extraordinary act – one that signals not containment, but confrontation. Retaliatory strikes by Iran have already spilled the conflict far beyond its borders, drawing a host of regional powers into the fray. Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, the judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, and senior cleric Alireza Arafi will reportedly lead Iran in the transitional period following Khamenei’s death.Iran | Donald Trump said on Sunday he was prepared to talk to what was left of the Iranian leadership in the wake of the killing of the country’s supreme leader by US-Israeli air strikes aimed at overthrowing the regime.British military | The UK’s RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus was hit by a suspected drone strike, causing limited damage and no casualties, Cypriot authorities and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.Immigration | Shabana Mahmood has ripped up the government’s asylum rules so that from Monday every refugee will be told that their status is temporary and will last just 30 months.UK politics | The Green party said its membership had passed 200,000 in the wake of its victory in the Gorton and Denton byelection, in which it overturned a huge Labour majority.AI | Datacentre developers are facing pressure to reveal whether their projects will increase the UK’s net greenhouse gas emissions, amid concerns the sites could double national electricity demand. Continue reading...
What Now in Iran?
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead. Whoever takes his place will shape the Middle East’s future.
Where the Strikes Leave Iranians
Iran is reeling a day after the United States and Israel carried out a large attack that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Erika Solomon, the Iran bureau chief for The New York Times, explains how ordinary Iranians are responding to the sudden end of Khamenei’s authoritarian rule and the uncertain future that lies ahead.
Pauline Hanson censured over Muslim comments but only two Coalition senators back motion
It is Hanson’s second censure within four months, this time over comments questioning whether there were ‘good’ MuslimsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPauline Hanson has been censured again by the federal Senate, with two Liberal senators crossing the floor to support a motion calling out the One Nation leader’s “inflammatory and divisive” recent comments about Australian Muslims.Hanson branded the motion – her second censure within four months, following her stunt in wearing a hijab in the parliament last year – as a “joke”, theatrically slapping herself on the wrist before storming out of the chamber before the final vote. The Greens and much of the crossbench backed Labor’s censure motion, while the Coalition resolved to oppose it, saying censures should be reserved for the most serious conduct. Continue reading...
Most senior council officers in England say building work hit by delays
Funding uncertainty is main concern, despite Labour’s pledge to revitalise construction, survey showsAlmost two-thirds of senior council officers have said they are seeing construction projects delayed, despite the key role of local authorities in creating the wave of new housing and infrastructure promised by Labour.Before Rachel Reeves’s spring forecast on Tuesday, a survey of senior council officers showed that 40% do not think the local authority they work for is well placed to follow through on its construction plans. Continue reading...
‘Some parents said they’d break my knees’: the teacher who exposed Putin’s primary school propaganda
Grenade-throwing contests replaced PE and ‘denazification’ speeches became homework. Pavel Talankin’s undercover film about his school’s indoctrination drive won a Bafta and is tipped for an Oscar, but has left him in exileIn order to watch the Oscar-nominated documentary in which many of them have starring roles, pupils at Karabash School No 1 have had to source bootlegged copies, viewing the film in private, on their phones or their laptops.Last week’s Bafta best documentary win for Mr Nobody Against Putin has been studiously ignored by Russian state media, and the prize the film won at Sundance last year was also met with silence. Staff at the school and government officials in the Kremlin seem united in their desire to pretend that they know nothing about the film. Continue reading...