Angus Taylor rejects One Nation seat sharing deal as cracks appear in Liberal ranks over Pauline Hanson threat

• The US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire on April 8 following weeks of intense conflict and retaliatory attacks. • The agreement aims to halt hostilities and initiate protracted negotiations between the two nations.

• Former President Donald Trump claimed that Iran shot down a helicopter on June 9, 2026, and vowed that the United States would "respond" to the incident. • The claim comes amid escalating tensions involving a broader US-Israel military conflict against Iran and ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

• Regional tensions persist in the Middle East nearly four months after the latest crisis erupted, despite a fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran. • The UN Security Council is convening for a high-level debate to discuss advancing political solutions to address ongoing conflicts and humanitarian emergencies.

• The International Day for Dialogue Among Civilizations 2026 will focus on the theme of "Digital Dialogue" to highlight the role of technology in cultural exchange. • The initiative emphasizes how digital communities, including social media groups and virtual exchanges, facilitate mutual learning and global solidarity.

Blundy’s investment firm, BBRC International, owns about 13% of the US-listed lingerie brand, giving it a potential platform to launch a hostile takeoverAustralian billionaire Brett Blundy is waging a high-stakes campaign to oust the long-term chair of Victoria’s Secret & Co, setting the stage for a showdown at the company’s annual meeting in the US on Thursday.Blundy’s investment firm, BBRC International, owns about 13% of the US-listed Victoria’s Secret lingerie brand, making it the second biggest single shareholder and giving it a potential platform to launch a hostile takeover. Continue reading...

Director of Picnic at Hanging Rock and Gallipoli celebrated for defining Australian culture and ‘global influence on craft, form and storytelling’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPeter Weir, the director of Dead Poets Society, The Truman Show, Picnic at Hanging Rock and Gallipoli, was presented with the inaugural lifetime achievement award from the Australian Film Television and Radio School on Wednesday night.At an event hosted by Sydney film festival, the AFTRS council chair, Rachel Perkins, called the now-retired 81-year-old director and screenwriter “the greatest film-maker this country has produced”. Continue reading...

Plan to move 240,000 people off scheme leads states and territories to jointly warn they can’t ‘deliver like-for-like services to people who are exited from the NDIS’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastState and territory disability ministers have rung alarm bells over the Albanese government’s proposed overhaul of the NDIS, warning they can’t deliver “like-for-like services” for more than 200,000 participants expected to be shifted off the scheme by 2031.The Albanese government’s national disability insurance scheme bill is designed to dramatically curb the growth of the $50bn-a-year scheme by first reducing budgets and then the number of people who can access it from 2028. Continue reading...

Man accused of sedating and filming abuse of partner had contact with Pelicot, who was jailed for drugging wife and inviting men to rape herA bodyguard from Lyon is to go on trial for allegedly sedating and raping his partner after he was in contact online with Dominique Pelicot, who was convicted of drugging and raping his own wife, Gisèle Pelicot.Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, is serving 20 years in prison after he was found guilty of drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in their home in the south of France over almost a decade. He and 50 other men were found guilty after the biggest rape trial in French history in 2024. Continue reading...

As the US prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary and Trump turns 80, what state is the country in? And its president?This weekend kicks off an extravaganza of celebrations for the US, marking 250 years of independence from Britain – and for Donald Trump, marking 80 years of being, well, him.Presidents gone-by would have used a milestone anniversary to promote national unity. Trump is organising a cage fight. The president is adamant that every decent, flag-waving American will enjoy the festivities … or at least be talking about the party rather than what he’s brought to it. Continue reading...

Former Labor foreign affairs minister says belief US would defend Australia in event of an existential attack is a ‘ludicrous delusion’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAukus will prove to be one of the worst defence and foreign policy decisions ever made by an Australian government and is only being permitted by Donald Trump in order to destroy Chinese nuclear threats to the US mainland, former foreign affairs minister Gareth Evans says.Giving evidence to an independent public inquiry into the $368bn nuclear agreement with the US and UK on Thursday, Evans, a cabinet minister in the Hawke and Keating governments, will warn the transfer and construction of submarines to Australia from the early 2030s is effectively only an extension of the American military fleet. Continue reading...

Defense says no evidence occasional Uber driver Jonathan Rinderknecht ignited deadly blaze on New Year’s Day 2025The trial of 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht, the man accused of starting last year’s deadly Palisades fire, kicked off on Wednesday with opening arguments. Prosecutors cast him as a vengeful arsonist who sought to hide his role from authorities, while his defense attorneys argued that the fire was caused by fireworks.On New Year’s Day in 2025, firefighters extinguished a small blaze in the Pacific Palisades, a coastal Los Angeles enclave. But the flames continued to smolder underground, before reigniting as they were picked up by strong winds. The Palisades fire, the most destructive wildfires in city history, tore through roughly 23,000 acres, incinerating thousands of buildings and killing 12 people. Continue reading...