Australia news live: Tropical Cyclone Narelle poised to hit Queensland coast within hours with wind gusts up to 250km/h

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Tropical cyclone expected to make landfall in far north Queensland within hours. Follow today’s news live

Waves of near-record heights smash Cairns coastline

One of the challenges posed by Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle is the lack of weather monitoring infrastructure in remote parts of Cape York.

Winds of that speed are pretty hard to imagine if you haven’t experienced them before. They are just so, so strong, capable of uprooting really large trees or completely stripping them of their branches …

It can also cause extensive damage to properties in the path of those very strong wind gusts as well as power outages.

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Trump’s window for face-saving exit may be closing now – Responsible Statecraft

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  1. Trump's window for face-saving exit may be closing now  Responsible Statecraft
  2. Analysis: Trump faces legacy-defining dilemmas in Iran | CNN Politics  CNN
  3. Trump’s Changing Statements On Iran Explained  The Hill
  4. There is plenty of scope for the Iran war to intensify  The Economist
  5. Opinion | Can Military Excellence Save Us From Trump’s Incompetence?  The New York Times
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US states sue Trump EPA over decision to repeal bedrock climate finding

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Lawsuit says rescission of endangerment finding – which ruled greenhouse gases threaten public health – was illegal

A coalition of 24 states, alongside a dozen cities and counties, has sued the Trump administration over its decision to revoke the bedrock scientific determination underpinning virtually all US climate regulations.

The new lawsuit, filed in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Thursday, is being led by the states of Massachusetts, California, New York and Connecticut. It argues that the Environmental Protection Agency’s February rescission of the 2009 endangerment finding – which the White House described as the “single largest deregulatory action in US history” – was illegal.

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‘Time to End the Pause’ – Zelensky Sends Delegation to US Amid War in Middle East – Kyiv Post

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  1. ‘Time to End the Pause’ – Zelensky Sends Delegation to US Amid War in Middle East  Kyiv Post
  2. US, Ukrainian negotiators to discuss drone deal in Miami on Saturday  Reuters
  3. Ukraine Will Raise Drone Deal Offer in US Talks, Zelenskiy Says  Bloomberg.com
  4. Zelenskyy says Ukraine wants timeline for next round of Russia talks  Al Jazeera
  5. Ukraine may restart peace process as Iran war escalates and EU aid remains blocked  Euronews.com
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Strike on Iran gasfield exposes US-Israel rift as Trump claims he did not know

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US president says he told Netanyahu ‘don’t do that’ as he distances himself from attack that has angered Gulf allies

The US-Israeli war against Iran has exposed further divisions between the two countries after an Israeli strike on Iran’s largest gasfield angered US allies in the Gulf and prompted Donald Trump to say he knew nothing in advance about the attack – a claim that Israeli officials disputed.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said he had spoken to Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu following the strikes on Iran’s South Pars gasfield – part of a reserve shared with Qatar – and had told the Israeli prime minister to refrain from further attacks that could escalate a regional war on energy infrastructure.

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What constitutes victory in an ‘asymmetric’ war with Iran? – The Christian Science Monitor

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  1. What constitutes victory in an ‘asymmetric’ war with Iran?  The Christian Science Monitor
  2. How America’s War on Iran Backfired  Foreign Affairs
  3. Russia, China and the US – the global winners and losers of the Iran war  BBC
  4. The US–Israel war with Iran will not end with a clear victor  Al Jazeera
  5. A Strategic Failure in Iran  Cato Institute
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U.N. nuclear watchdog chief says “a lot has survived” of Iran’s nuclear capabilities – CBS News

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  1. U.N. nuclear watchdog chief says "a lot has survived" of Iran's nuclear capabilities  CBS News
  2. War can't entirely eliminate Iran's nuclear program, the U.N. atomic energy chief says  NPR
  3. Iran’s Highly Enriched Uranium Still Buried at Sites Attacked in June, IAEA Chief Says  WSJ
  4. IAEA does not know status of new Iranian enrichment facility in Isfahan, Grossi says  Reuters
  5. IAEA chief skeptical Iran’s nuclear program can be eliminated with just military action  The Hill
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Trump mocks Japan about Pearl Harbor in response to question about Iran war

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US president was meeting with Japanese PM when he said: ‘Who knows better about surprise than Japan?’

It would be funny if it wasn’t so Trumpy.

Hosting the Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, in the Oval Office on Thursday, Donald Trump could not resist mocking Japan about its 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor during the second world war.

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Some of the world’s poorest countries to lose UK aid due to 56% budget cut

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UK’s bilateral aid to African countries, which funds areas such as schools and clinics, to be cut by almost £900m by 2028-29

Some of the world’s poorest countries will lose out on UK aid that funds programmes such as schools and clinics, due to budget cuts set out by the foreign secretary.

The UK’s bilateral aid to African countries will be reduced by almost £900m by 2028-29 – a 56% cut – as part of more than £6bn in cuts which are funding an increase in defence spending.

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