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Political lobbyists with unfettered access to Australia’s parliament to be publicly named
MPs who sponsor lobbyists’ entry to halls of power will also be listed online under new transparency rulesPolitical lobbyists with unfettered access to the halls of Parliament House – and the MPs who sponsor their passes – will soon be publicly identified in an online register, under a major shake-up of the pass system.Under the new rules, two MPs will need to sign for a lobbyist to register for a pass, with the primary sponsor responsible for their behaviour. It will also introduce fees for lobbyist and commercial passes. Continue reading...
Middle East crisis live: agreement signed by US-Iran presidents; Tehran claims it will charge ships to transit strait of Hormuz
Memorandum of understanding signed off on Wednesday; Tehran will charge ships after the 60-day negotiation period has ended, says chief negotiatorAnalysis: Where does Iran deal leave US-Israel relationship?Trump also addressed media reports of a leaked US-Iran deal (see post at 11:57), denying claims it includes a $300bn reconstruction fund for Tehran.“We’re not putting up 10 cents,” he said. “We are not investing and we do not have a fund.”It’s not final. It’s a memorandum of understanding, and if I don’t like it, we’ll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs on their head.If I don’t like it, if they don’t behave, we’ll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head, okay, because they’ve misbehaved for 47 years.” Continue reading...
US-Iran deal leaves core sticking points unresolved - and a $300bn question
Trump has insisted the deal ensures that Iran will never buy, develop or produce a nuclear weapon. But text of the agreement falls short of that.
Trump says he has signed peace deal with Iran at Versailles – US politics live
President tells reporters ‘it’s signed, yeah’, as he attends dinner in honor of 250 years of American independenceSign up for the Breaking News US emailDonald Trump also denied (again) that the memorandum of understanding includes a $300bn fund for Iran, and denied that he had asked the Gulf states to commit funding.“It’s false,” Trump told reporters as he sat alongside Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. “You can invest if you want. What am I going to do, say no one is ever allowed to invest? We’re not investing, we’re not putting up 10 cents and people can decide to do it. That’s up to them.”In short, what it does is it opens the strait of Hormuz immediately … It also provides a framework whereby if the Iranians give us what we need – on stopping the funding of terrorism, on no longer pursuing a nuclear weapon – then they can get some benefits, be re-invited into the world economy. Continue reading...
One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts says he will push for party to adopt blanket abortion ban
Senator tells Brisbane Christian conference the party needs to ‘reconsider some things’ on abortion, contradicting Pauline Hanson’s positionGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOne Nation should move to ban abortion entirely, Senator Malcolm Roberts has told a Brisbane Christian conference.His comments are at odds with those of the party’s leader Pauline Hanson, who told the National Press Club on Wednesday it was only “too late to have an abortion” after 20 weeks. Continue reading...
US releases text of Iran peace plan as Trump says deal averts ‘worldwide depression’
Details of 14-point agreement revealed as senior US officials claim ‘major win’ despite significant concessions to TehranMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe Trump administration has released the text of its 14-point agreement with Iran, claiming it delivered a “major win” for the United States – even as it made significant political and financial concessions to Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz and prevent a “worldwide depression”.In extraordinary remarks on Wednesday, Donald Trump went from threatening Iran with a new wave of attacks to suggesting the country had basic rights to enrich uranium for civilian use, that he would not pressure Tehran to abandon its ballistic missiles programme and the US was “going to have to give back” billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets. Continue reading...
US transfers immigrants out of Florida Alligator Alcatraz detention centre
The facility, located near the Everglade wetlands, has drawn human rights concerns and lawsuits over its conditions.
Iran war live: Trump, Pezeshkian sign MoU to end fighting, reopen Hormuz
Both sides say the deal is in effect and includes an end to war in Lebanon and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump to Netanyahu: Use a ‘softer’ touch on Lebanon
US President Donald Trump has encouraged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to use a ‘softer touch’ in Lebanon.
Trump says it’s ‘unfair’ for Iran to lack ballistic missiles
President Donald Trump says it’s ‘unfair’ for Iran to lack ballistic missiles if other regional countries have them.
Harvard and Bard face fresh questions from lawmakers over ties to Epstein
Democrat Jamie Raskin seeks ‘comprehensive accounting’ and requests interview with outgoing Bard presidentHarvard University and Bard College are facing new questions about the institutions’ relationship with Jeffrey Epstein amid allegations that the convicted child sex trafficker leveraged his ties to the universities and their faculty to traffic women, while also burnishing his reputation to avoid detection.Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House judiciary committee, said in a statement that Harvard and Bard had both previously attempted to investigate the role their universities and leadership played in facilitating Epstein’s abuse, but that those attempts either failed or fell short of a full accounting of what occurred. Continue reading...
Top Republican decries Trump’s Iran deal: ‘Reagan is rolling over in his grave’
Senator Bill Cassidy attacks ‘worst foreign policy blunder in decades’ while others in his party skeptical over peace dealA handful of Senate Republicans have sharply criticized the agreement Donald Trump reached with Iran, accusing the administration of committing “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades”.On Wednesday, the Trump administration released the text of an interim deal between Washington and Tehran to end the 110-day conflict, framing it as a “major win” for the US – even as the 14-point accord made significant political and financial concessions to Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz and prevent a “worldwide depression”. Continue reading...
Diplomat confirms that US and Iran have signed MoU electronically
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says the agreement has been finalised and signed with the US.
Sydney’s UNSW overtakes University of Melbourne in global rankings for first time
University of New South Wales ranks 19th in QS World University Rankings, with nine Australian universities achieving record-high positionsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe University of New South Wales has overtaken the University of Melbourne for the first time in a prestigious world university rankings list.UNSW ranked 19th in the QS World University Rankings, an improvement of one place for the Sydney university on last year’s result and 30 places since 2017. Continue reading...
‘Most famous tree in the world’: Sherwood Forest’s 1,000-year-old Major oak dies
Nottinghamshire tree, one of Europe’s oldest and largest, fails to produce leaves after being stressed by series of hot, dry summersThe Major oak, one of Europe’s oldest, largest and most celebrated ancient trees, has died.The huge tree, which has grown in Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, England, for at least 1,000 years, failed to produce any leaves this year, after becoming stressed by a series of hot, dry summers. Continue reading...
Solstice-aligned 5,000-year-old monument ‘once in a lifetime find’, say archaeologists
Wessex Archaeology suspect they have uncovered a prototype for world-famous Stonehenge site in WiltshireA 5,000-year-old monument that was aligned with the summer and winter solstices and may have served as a prototype for the later solar alignment at Stonehenge has been discovered close to the famous neolithic site, in what archaeologists have described as a “once in a lifetime” find.The structure at Bulford, 5km (3 miles) from the world heritage site in Wiltshire, has been carbon dated to around 3000BC, the same time as the earliest phase of construction at Stonehenge and 500 years before its huge trilithon stones were carefully placed to line up with the midsummer and midwinter sun. Continue reading...
US House staff visit Ghislaine Maxwell’s prison after claims of laptop and puppy
Epstein associate’s lawyer rejected preferential treatment claims in January, saying ‘humane treatment isn’t special’Staff from the House oversight and judiciary committees visited the Texas prison where Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, is serving her sentence, according to Democratic lawmakers.In a statement, the Democratic representatives Robert Garcia and Jamie Raskin said staff from the committees traveled to the minimum-security federal prison camp in Bryan, Texas, on Tuesday to seek answers about Maxwell’s transfer there, and about allegations that she has received preferential treatment at the prison camp. Continue reading...
Cannabis commercialisation not decriminalisation drives up usage, study finds
Review reveals rise in users and rates of psychosis in countries where cannabis is sold commercially Decriminalising the possession of cannabis or strictly regulating access to the drug do not appear to drive up usage, but when the drug is sold commercially the number of users increases and more mental health problems are seen, a review has found.An international team analysed the dramatic shift in policies on cannabis between 2000 and 2025, including how the numbers of people taking the drug, its potency, and rates of psychosis changed after new rules came in. Continue reading...
Kane double fires England past Croatia in World Cup thriller
Harry Kane scores twice, while Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford also net, as England beat Croatia 4-2 in 2026 opener.
Trump’s Iran deal is result of unrealistic ambitions for an untenable war
US entered war with maximalist goals and exits it with pragmatic decision to end conflict despite political costMiddle East crisis – live updatesAs the adage goes: no plan of battle survives first contact with the enemy.Donald Trump entered the war with Iran with maximalist goals: eliminating the country’s nuclear programme, destroying its ballistic missile programme and ending its support for regional military groups including Hezbollah and Hamas. Continue reading...
Al Jazeera journalist reunited with family in Khartoum after years of war
Al Jazeera journalist Al-Tahir al-Mardi has been reunited with his family in Khartoum after three years of separation.
Huawei CFO’s admissions can be used at criminal trial, US judge rules
CFO Meng Wanzhou said in 2021 that Huawei illegally conducted business in Iran.
Thieves with bulldozer carry out ATM heist in 4 minutes
CCTV footage released by police shows thieves using a bulldozer to tear an ATM from the front of a bank.