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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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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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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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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Cryptocurrency firms suffer heavy losses in Illinois primaries after spending big

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Cryptocurrency’s biggest Pac spent more than $10m for their candidates, only to be defeated by those who are anti-crypto

The cryptocurrency industry spent big and lost often in this week’s Illinois primaries.

As the industry prepares to make massive donations in the 2026 midterm elections to replicate its success in 2024, the Illinois losses mark an early setback for firms that are trying to establish themselves as power players in American politics.

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Peers vote to back clause pardoning women convicted over illegal abortions

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House of Lords decision welcomed as ‘landmark moment’ after attempt to strike out amendment is defeated

Women who have been convicted, and in some cases jailed, over illegal abortions are set to be pardoned after a historic vote in the House of Lords.

Last June, the House of Commons voted to end the criminalisation of women who terminate their pregnancies outside of the legal framework, while keeping the existing framework in place. Doctors and others who act outside of the law could still face the threat of prosecution.

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Archaeological site in Chile upends theory of how humans populated the Americas … again

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Discovery at Monte Verde puts north-to-south expansion theory back at centre of heated debate on continent’s human history

A groundbreaking new study may have once again upended our understanding of human prehistory in the Americas.

For years, the predominant theory of how humans arrived in the western hemisphere centred around the Clovis culture, which crossed the Beringia land bridge from Asia between 13,400 and 12,800 years ago, and spread south.

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Farage backs Tory attack on Muslim iftar event, saying public prayer ‘was a shock’ – UK politics live

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Nigel Farage echoed Nick Timothy’s comments after he said public prayer for Ramadan was an ‘act of domination’

Cleverly is trying to show a video, but it is not working. So he just invites Kemi Badenoch to start her speech.

The Conservatives are launching their local elections campaign. There is a live feed here.

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Joseph Duggar, former reality TV star, arrested on child molestation charges

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Duggar, 31, was taken into custody in Arkansas and was awaiting extradition to Florida, where he faces charges

Former reality TV star Joseph Duggar is facing a child molestation charge in Florida, almost five years after his brother Josh, who also starred in the TLC show 19 Kids and Counting, was convicted of downloading child sexual abuse images.

Joseph Duggar, 31, was arrested in Arkansas, where he lives, and was awaiting extradition to Florida on Thursday. Duggar is charged with lewd and lascivious behavior toward a child under 12 years old, according to an arrest affidavit from the Bay county sheriff’s office in Panama City, Florida.

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Indian film board blocks release of Oscar-nominated Gaza drama The Voice of Hind Rajab

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Distributor says authorities warned screening Tunisian film-maker Kaouther Ben Hania’s docudrama could harm India–Israel relations

The Indian release of The Voice of Hind Rajab, the Oscar-nominated Tunisian film about the death of a five-year-old girl during the Israel-Gaza war, has been blocked by the country’s ratings body, according to the film’s Indian distributor.

In a report by Variety, Manoj Nandwana of Mumbai-based Jai Viratra Entertainment said that he was told that if the film was released, it would “break up” India-Israel relations.

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Viktor Orbán refuses to agree to €90bn loan for Ukraine as EU leaders accuse him of betrayal

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Hungarian PM is continuing to block the funding, which the EU says is urgently needed for military aid and support for Ukraine

EU leaders have failed to convince Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, to drop his opposition to a vital €90bn (£78bn) loan for Ukraine. They have accused him of betrayal and acting in bad faith but have not persuaded him to budge.

In an unusual sign of public anger on Thursday, several leaders made plain their irritation with Orbán, who refused to sign off on the loan agreed last year because of a dispute with Kyiv over a damaged oil pipeline.

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Concerns raised over ex-Putin interpreter’s key role in monitoring Hungary vote

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Daria Boyarskaya coordinating OSCE mission overseeing vote in which pro-Moscow Viktor Orbán could lose power

Hungarian rights groups have raised concerns over the appointment of Vladimir Putin’s former interpreter to a key role in an international election monitoring mission, amid fears of Russian interference ahead of Hungary’s crucial vote next month.

Daria Boyarskaya, who worked for many years for Russia’s foreign ministry and interpreted in numerous high-level meetings including one between Putin and Donald Trump, is now a senior adviser at the parliamentary assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE-PA), based in Vienna. She is coordinating the body’s mission to monitor next month’s parliamentary election in Hungary.

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Meningitis vaccine eligibility expanded after Kent outbreak rises to 27

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Anyone who was at Club Chemistry in Canterbury from 5 March to 15 March advised to get antibiotics and vaccination

The government has announced a major expansion in vaccination against meningitis in Kent after seven new cases of the disease were confirmed in the county, taking the total number of cases to 27.

On a visit to the University of Kent, the health secretary, Wes Streeting, said anyone who attended the Club Chemistry nightclub in Canterbury from 5 March until 15 March should come forward for antibiotics and vaccination.

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Denmark reportedly flew blood bags to Greenland in preparation for a US attack

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Amid Trump threats, Copenhagen also sent over explosives intended to blow up runways, according to Danish media

Denmark reportedly readied itself for potential attack from the US in January – flying bags of blood to Greenland and explosives to blow up runways in case of a battle with its former closest ally.

During the tense days when Donald Trump threatened to take over Greenland – a largely autonomous territory that is part of the Danish commonwealth – “the hard way”, Copenhagen was so shaken that it started preparing for US invasion, according to Danish public broadcaster DR.

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Live Updates: Iran war escalates, energy prices spike after Israeli strike on South Pars gas field – CBS News

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  1. Live Updates: Iran war escalates, energy prices spike after Israeli strike on South Pars gas field  CBS News
  2. Trump Says U.S. and Qatar Not Involved in Strike on Iran’s South Pars Gas Field  The New York Times
  3. Middle East crisis live: Israeli officials push back on US claim that Trump knew nothing about gasfield attack  The Guardian
  4. European Gas Jumps 35% After World’s Top LNG Plant Hit by Iran  Bloomberg.com
  5. After Tehran strikes, Trump says Israel won't attack Iran gas fields anymore  Axios
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Iran War Live Updates: As Oil and Gas Prices Soar, Bessent Says U.S. May Release More Reserves – The New York Times

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  1. Iran War Live Updates: As Oil and Gas Prices Soar, Bessent Says U.S. May Release More Reserves  The New York Times
  2. What we know on the 20th day of the US and Israel’s war with Iran  CNN
  3. No 'definitive time frame' to end Iran war, Pentagon to seek funds from Congress — as it happened  ABC News
  4. Morning Mail: crude spikes as Israel hits major gasfield, the driveways that ate Sydney, flight of the fashionistas  The Guardian
  5. Iran conflict to end as US has achieved aims: Albanese  thesenior.com.au
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WA police investigate flyers targeting LGBTIQ+ community distributed to homes

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The anonymous leaflets display pictures of LGBTIQ+ people along with accusations of crimes such as drug trafficking and paedophilia

Police in Western Australia are investigating flyers distributed to homes across Perth targeting members of the state’s LGBTIQ+ community.

The flyers, which are anonymous, display photographs of LGBTIQ+ people and falsely accuse them of crimes such as paedophilia.

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‘One in, one out’ asylum seekers sent to France return to UK in lorries

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Exclusive: At least four people have travelled back to the UK by lorry in the last two weeks

Asylum seekers who arrived in the UK in small boats and were forcibly returned to France under the controversial “one in, one out” deal have returned to the UK in lorries, the Guardian has learned.

When asked about the recent returnees, the Home Office said that people who came back to the UK after removal to France were detained and returned to France at the earliest opportunity. Amnesty International UK has called for “one in, one out” to be scrapped.

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Bernardi vows to pay for flights taken with Hanson on Rinehart’s plane amid confusion about SA’s donations ban

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World-leading laws to be tested before South Australian election, complicated by Hanson and Bernardi’s political status

Cory Bernardi says he will pay for multiple flights with Pauline Hanson in a plane registered to Gina Rinehart’s company amid confusion about whether the trips may contravene South Australia’s new laws banning political donations.

Saturday’s SA election is the first since the new laws came into effect. There are a range of exemptions to the ban, but it is not clear if any of them apply to One Nation as parties, candidates and the electoral commission work through the “world-leading” laws for the first time.

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