Iran Threatens Strait of Hormuz Blockade as Global Energy Crisis Deepens

Minister Tony Burke confirms another member of Iran’s women’s football team left Australia late Sunday nightA fifth member of the Iranian women’s football team has left Australia after withdrawing their claim of asylum.Home affairs minister Tony Burke’s office confirmed on Monday that the woman had left late on Sunday night. Continue reading...

Patients experiencing raised bedside rails, doors and pathways blocked by furniture and physical interventionsPeople with dementia are being subjected to restraints and non-consensual sedation while in hospitals in England, according to the first study of its kind.These restrictive practices were found to be an “embedded aspect of routine ward care”, according to the analysis, with such examples including dementia patients having their bedside rails raised, doors and pathways blocked by furniture, experiencing verbal commands to sit down or go back to bed, and physical interventions such as non-consensual sedation. Continue reading...

National Rally leader urges voters to back party’s ‘common sense’ campaign in final round as it eyes taking another cityJordan Bardella, the head of France’s far-right National Rally (RN) and a potential candidate in next year’s presidential race, has called on voters to back what he called his party’s “common sense and order” campaign in the final round of municipal elections next week.As the first-round municipal election results trickled in on Sunday night, the anti-immigration RN held on to the biggest city it runs: Perpignan. Louis Aliot was re-elected in the first round as mayor of the city, which has a population of 121,000 and is close to the Spanish border. Continue reading...

Author says he doesn’t ‘feel symbolic’ and hopes to steer narrative to his books after surviving assassination attemptSalman Rushdie said he’s tired of being everyone’s “free speech Barbie” four years after the author survived an assassination attempt that left him blinded in his right eye.“It’s a subject I’m anxious to change,” Rushdie said Friday during a talk with the Atlantic’s George Packer at Tulane University’s New Orleans book festival. “I don’t feel symbolic. Continue reading...

New AAA data shows petrol vehicles fell to a record quarterly low of 66.3% of sales. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNew data from the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) shows petrol-electric hybrid vehicles have reached record sales, while traditional fuel cars lose ground.In the fourth quarter of 2025, 55,458 new hybrids were sold, accounting for 19.13% of all new light vehicle sales. This comfortably eclipsed the previous record of 16.7% set in the September quarter of 2024. In addition, 15,411 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles were sold – 5.32% of light vehicle sales, up from its previous record of 4.82% in the January quarter of 2025. Continue reading...

• The United States has struck 90 targets on Kharg Island, Iran's primary oil export terminal, marking an escalation in the conflict now in its third week of operations. • The strikes are intensifying global economic concerns, with energy markets rattled, supply chains disrupted, and fears of a potential food crisis as oil supplies face unprecedented pressure. • Iran has threatened to blockade the Strait of Hormuz and destroy tankers in response, prompting President Trump to request U.S. allies deploy warships to the region to maintain maritime access.

• The Trump administration has suspended sanctions on Russian oil stranded at sea, a decision the European Union is actively pushing back against as counterproductive to international pressure on Moscow. • The move reflects competing priorities between managing energy prices during the Iran conflict and maintaining unified sanctions against Russia over its broader geopolitical actions. • EU officials argue that easing Russian oil sanctions undermines the coalition's ability to hold Russia accountable and contradicts the administration's stated commitment to allied coordination.

• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is appearing on major U.S. news programs to articulate Iran's position as the conflict enters its third week with no immediate end in sight. • The Iranian government continues to emphasize its blockade strategy and threats against maritime commerce, signaling determination to sustain pressure despite U.S. military strikes. • International diplomatic channels remain active, with discussions ongoing about potential paths to de-escalation and conflict resolution involving multiple stakeholders.

• Rep. Adam Schiff has publicly declared the war with Iran 'simply unsustainable,' marking significant Democratic opposition to the administration's military strategy and escalation decisions. • Schiff has criticized President Trump's continued downplaying of the war's impacts, arguing that the costs—both economic and human—are becoming untenable for the American public and global markets. • Key Congressional figures from both parties are expressing concerns about the war's trajectory, with worries that if operations extend beyond a four to six week timeframe, the conflict could spiral out of control.

Senator Ron Johnson pushes back, saying he’s not in favor of government meddling in freedom of speechThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair, Brendan Carr, is facing pushback from a Republican lawmaker after warning on Saturday that broadcasters could lose their licenses if they run what the federal agency deems “fake news” over the Iran conflict.Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said in an interview on the Sunday Briefing on Fox News that he was not in favor of the government control of private enterprise or efforts to meddle with freedom of speech protected under the constitution. Continue reading...

There is little sign of imminent regime change in Iran as its blockade of strait of Hormuz shocks global economyFew doubt that in the first days of the new war in the Middle East, the initiative belonged to the US and its ally Israel. Now it seems less sure, however.Mohsen Rezaee, a senior officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, on Sunday said “the end of the war is in our hands” and called for the withdrawal of Washington’s forces from the Gulf and compensation for all damage caused by the assault. Continue reading...