Thursday briefing: Why EU​-Taliban talks have sparked outrage among Afghan women ​

• Oil prices have climbed following Iran's signal that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed despite a potential management agreement with Oman. • Iran stated that reopening the vital waterway is contingent upon the United States meeting a specific list of conditions.

• A magnitude-7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia, resulting in at least 73 deaths and the collapse of numerous buildings. • In the Middle East, Iran's president reported that the supreme leader is calling for national "unity" to withstand the pressure of U.S. sanctions.

• Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has reshuffled Iran's military leadership, announcing six new senior appointments. • The leadership shake-up occurs as diplomatic talks regarding the Strait of Hormuz appear to have stalled.

Consultant Jeremy Greenwood gives evidence to Independent Commission Against Corruption as it investigates allegations linked to Christian Liberal groupFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA former lobbying firm which allegedly accepted illegal donations to fund factional Liberal party work created a fake administrative assistant called “Jessica”, an inquiry has heard.Consultant and lobbyist Jeremy Greenwood gave his second day of evidence to the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s (Icac) Operation Rosny on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Supply in nine blocks in Tower Hamlets affected with some residents suspecting nearby building developmentsThey cannot even flush their toilets: life in east London blocks where taps often run dryHundreds of residents in blocks of flats in east London have been left without regular running water for more than seven months after development in the area may have left it without an adequate supply.Taps have been running dry in nine blocks in Tower Hamlets, where residents have been forced to use bottled water while their landlord, the housing association Poplar Harca, delayed works to solve the problem. Continue reading...

Parent-carers of disabled children are exposed to chronic levels of extreme stress and often reach crisis point before help is available – then they face a ‘fight for basic support’, experts say. This is Matilda Davis’s storyTwo days before she died, Matilda Davis issued a plea on Facebook. Sharing a study that found more than 40% of parent-carers had considered suicide, she called for “greater awareness, action and change” in Britain’s broken social care system. “This speaks the words I can’t,” she wrote.Matilda, known as Tilly to her family and friends, had spent years battling for support in a regime that close observers and those who rely on it often say is increasingly confusing, fragmented and difficult to navigate. Continue reading...

Former 2GB and 2UE radio host, now 85, has pleaded not guilty to 22 charges of indecent assault and sexual touchingFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn alleged victim of Alan Jones told his older brother, after the broadcaster was arrested, that his indecent assaults weren’t “too bad” but involved Jones grabbing his penis, a Sydney court has heard.The witness on Tuesday was asked by the trial prosecutor Georgina Wright to describe what his younger brother, known as complainant J, told him during a meeting at a McDonald’s. Continue reading...

In a widely expected decision, the Reserve Bank of Australia holds interest rate after three consecutive hikesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Reserve Bank has held the cash rate at 4.35% in a widely expected decision despite persistent worries about elevated inflation.The announcement comes amid a steep decline in property prices in Sydney and Melbourne after three rate hikes earlier this year and major reforms to investor taxes. Continue reading...

Lord mayor says public square will be ‘fantastic’ – but business advocate says project’s scale of demolition presents ‘unwanted disruption’Sydneysiders have been given a first glimpse of a new public square set to “unify” the CBD, more 40 years after the project was initially conceived.The City of Sydney on Tuesday released new renders of a plaza that will be built opposite Sydney Town Hall after the council began finalising discussions with the owners of the last of seven buildings that need to be acquired and bulldozed for the project. Continue reading...

Elaborate ruse was used to transport president to military flight from Air Force One to return from Nato meetPrompted by an Iranian assassination threat, Donald Trump departed on a secret military flight from Turkey last month when the White House said he was flying aboard ⁠Air Force One, in an extraordinary ruse that involved hiding the president in an airport catering cart, according to reporting from the Washington Post and the New York Times.The operation took place when Trump was in Ankara for a Nato summit with world leaders, according to the Post. The president reportedly boarded the old Air Force One jumbo jet in view of television cameras, and then was secretly shuttled minutes later to a smaller plane via an airport catering truck typically used to load meals and other supplies preflight, a US official told the Post. Continue reading...

Federal government also hopes to vaccinate some wild birds but admits catching them once, let alone twice for both doses, is ‘difficult’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastVaccinations against H5 bird flu will be rolled out for Australian native bird species in captivity as the deadly virus continues to spread across the country.The federal agriculture minister, Julie Collins, said on Tuesday that target native species in captivity would be prioritised with the first vaccinations to commence “in the coming days and weeks”. Continue reading...

Jennifer Balkcom to face Democrat Jamie Ager in race to represent North Carolina’s 11th congressional districtNorth Carolina Republicans on Monday chose state lawmaker Jennifer Balkcom to replace Chuck Edwards, the incumbent congressman who earlier this month dropped his re-election bid after a US House investigation determined his conduct towards to young female staffers likely amounted to sexual harassment.Balkcom will face off against the Democratic nominee, Jamie Ager, in the November midterm elections to represent the 11th congressional district in western North Carolina. Though Donald Trump won the district by 10 percentage points two years ago, Democrats believe Ager may have a shot at winning amid the president’s low approval ratings and frustration over the pace of recovery from Hurricane Helene, which devastated the region in 2024. Continue reading...