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Trump says he could strike Iran again as Tehran threatens ‘new fronts’ in war if an attack takes placeTrump threatens ‘a big hit’ if Tehran does not make deal soonWelcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.Donald Trump warned the US may strike Iran again – a day after he said he had held off a major assault in hopes of a peace deal – but Tehran’s army threatened to open “new fronts” if he went ahead.The US Senate has advanced a war-powers resolution that would end the Iran war unless Trump obtains Congress’ authorisation. The vote on a procedural measure to advance the resolution was 50 to 47, as four of Trump’s fellow Republicans voted with every Democrat but one in favour. Three Republicans missed the vote.The Israeli military launched a series of strikes across Lebanon, killing 19 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry. One strike, in the town of Deir Qanun al-Nahr in the Tyre district, killed 10 people including three children and three women, the ministry said.The Israeli army in turn said that it intercepted a drone fired from Lebanon. Israel and Lebanon’s central government have twice extended a US-brokered ceasefire, but Israel says it does not apply to its attacks on Hezbollah.Israeli authorities said 430 activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla were taken to Israel after their vessels were intercepted in international waters near Cyprus. Sailing from Turkey last week, the Global Sumud Flotilla is the latest in a string of attempts by activists to breach Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory, with the last convoy intercepted by Israeli forces last month.Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said Moscow was ready to help with talks between the US and Iran to end the war, according to the Russian Tass news agency. His remarks came as the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, held talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.The United Arab Emirates was rattled by a drone attack on its Barakah nuclear power plant last week. On Tuesday the UAE said it originated from Iraqi territory, where Iran backs groups accused of launching attacks on Gulf nations in the war. The UN Security Council on Tuesday condemned the attack. Russia, which often defends Iran, joined the other members.Two Chinese tankers laden with oil exited the strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, according to shipping data. Continue reading...

Britain likely to face ‘warm, welcoming stance’ if it seeks re-entry but also a ‘hard-headed one’ – with no special dealsBritain would not be able to rejoin the EU on the special terms it enjoyed in the past, veterans of the Brexit negotiations have said.According to former officials from around Europe, the UK should not expect to achieve as beneficial a deal as it once had if it decided to begin negotiations on re-entry. Continue reading...

With a reshuffled cabinet, the premier is hoping to quell leadership rumblings as her party seeks an unprecedented fourth termGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAs the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, stood alongside the fresh faces in her reshuffled cabinet on Wednesday, she attempted to send her increasingly jaded electorate a blunt message: despite its 12 years in power, her government is – apparently – new.In her opening four-minute preamble to reporters, Allan - whose Labor government will in November seek an unprecedented fourth term - repeated the word 17 times. In one sentence alone, she referred to her “new cabinet”, “new portfolios”, “new solutions” and “new areas that are going to drive this government forward”.Benita Kolovos is Guardian Australia’s Victorian state correspondent Continue reading...

John Hancock welcomes findings on ownership of mines and companies although judge says dispute should be determined in private arbitrationGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGina Rinehart’s son has said he wants to reunite his family after a landmark court case left a long-running feud over ownership of mines and companies unresolved.The Western Australian supreme court on Wednesday found Rinehart’s children were at one point set to inherit 49% of her company and said their ownership claims should be determined in separate proceedings. Continue reading...

PM is in Saudi Arabia at start of an expected wider trip to Gulf allies, who may view him as more reliable than TrumpMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe UK has a “job” to help reopen the strait of Hormuz, Keir Starmer has said, as Iranian reports said the key shipping route was closed again just hours after a supposed ceasefire.The prime minister met UK and local personnel at an airbase in Taif, Saudi Arabia, at the start of what is expected to be a wider trip to Gulf allies, one billed as a mirror to his efforts to pull together a plan for how a ceasefire might operate in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Two-thirds of teenagers are still on social media platforms included in the ban, according to the eSafety commissionerFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWhen the age assurance technology trial released its final report before Australia’s under-16s social media ban came into effect last year, its first finding was: age assurance can be done privately, efficiently and effectively.Four months since the ban came into effect, we can say that was – to paraphrase Yes Minister – a courageous statement. Continue reading...

US firm Eli Lilly, which is also pushing for end to rebate scheme, optimistic about talks with ministersThe US pharmaceutical group behind the Mounjaro weight-loss drug has said it will unpause its UK investments if ministers agree to regularly increase NHS drug prices and end a rebate scheme.Patrik Jonsson, the president of Eli Lilly’s international business, said the company was in talks with UK ministers and that he was optimistic about reaching an agreement this summer for Britain to pay more for its medicines. Continue reading...

Stock markets in Asia drop sharply, with investors nervous over escalation of Middle East conflictBusiness live – latest newsThe price of oil has risen sharply to $116 a barrel after Donald Trump said he wanted to “take the oil in Iran”, sending Asian stock markets tumbling.Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, rose by 2% in early trading on Monday, after Trump said that he could seize the Iranian export hub of Kharg Island. Continue reading...

US president tells Financial Times his ‘preference would be to take the oil’ but that ‘some stupid people back in the US say: “why are you doing that?”’Full report: Iran accuses US of plotting ground assault while publicly seeking talksAnalysis: what the Houthis’ entry into the Iran war means for the conflict and the wider regionThe price of brent crude had now gone over $116 a barrel, while stock markets have slumped in Asia as investors dig in for a protracted Gulf conflict that could bring a spike in inflation and the risk of recession to much of the globe.Brent crude was just over $70 a barrel when the war started last month and prices have risen by over 50% since. Continue reading...

US president claims Iranian negotiators fear being killed by their own side; US military command claims to have damaged or destroyed over two-thirds of Iran’s missile, drone and naval production facilitiesIran rejects US ceasefire plan and submits its own amid push for talksAnalysis: Trump pitches Iran peace plan but military buildups rarely veer to off-rampChina’s foreign minister has said that a “glimmer of hope” for peace has emerged due to moves to stop the war in the Middle East, despite Tehran vowing to keep fighting.Wang Yi urged dialogue in separate calls with his Turkish and Egyptian counterparts, suggesting that both Tehran and Washington had shown signals they were willing to return to the negotiating table.Speaking of negotiations now is an admission of defeat.Prolonging this war would only result in further casualties and needless losses, leading to a further spillover of the conflict. Continue reading...

One Nation leader says voters ‘want to get rid of the Labor party, by all means’ but rejects possibility of formal power-sharing partnershipFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPauline Hanson says One Nation wants to work with the Liberals and Nationals – including on preferences deals – to defeat Labor and has offered to prop-up a future minority Coalition government.But Hanson ruled out forming an official coalition with the two conservative parties, declaring she will never agree to an arrangement “where I will be told what I can say, what I can do”. Continue reading...

Ottawa wants to modernize a region in the north that’s about six times the size of Texas, ‘just like in the 1800s’Picture an Arctic territory, marginalized by its own country, almost entirely lacking roads, ports and power sources, but rich in mining potential and suddenly feeling vulnerable to outside threats.It’s not Greenland; it’s the Canadian Arctic. Continue reading...

Conservationists hope Murray Watt’s review of national marine parks will ‘right the wrongs’ of previous downgrade of protectionSign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereThe federal environment minister, Murray Watt, has pledged to put an extra half a million square kilometres of Australia’s ocean out of reach of fishers and drillers in a step conservationists hope will “right the wrongs” of an Abbott-era downgrade of marine protection.Watt confirmed last year Australia would put 30% of its ocean estate under a high level of protection that bans extractive industries as part of an international agreement to protect 30% of the planet’s oceans. Continue reading...

• In a Saturday phone call with NBC journalist Kristen Welker, President Trump claimed Iran sought a ceasefire, but Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arashi immediately contradicted the assertion, stating Iran has never requested negotiations or a truce. • US and Israeli forces have intensified bombardment of Iranian cities including Tehran, Hamadan, and Isfahan, with Trump warning of additional strikes; 12 US service members have been killed since the war began February 28. • Reuters reports Trump has ignored attempts by Middle Eastern allies to broker negotiations ending the conflict, while the US State Department warned American citizens to leave Iraq immediately amid ongoing military operations.