World

The war’s opening blows decapitated much of Iran’s ruling establishment, killing supreme leader Ali Khamenei and sweeping away a senior layer of the Islamic republic’s political and military command in US-Israeli strikes. US President Donald Trump said yesterday the conflict had delivered "regime change" and that "we're dealing with different people than anybody's dealt with before". Yet several prominent officials remain alive, and the Islamic republic has moved quickly to fill vacant posts while continuing its fight…

A stark new warning from Washington has raised the stakes in the Middle East conflict, with US President Donald Trump saying the United States would destroy Iran's energy plants and oil wells unless Tehran reopens the Strait of Hormuz. The threat came after Iran dismissed US peace proposals as "unrealistic" and launched fresh waves of missiles at Israel. The Israeli military said two drones launched from Yemen were intercepted today, while Lebanon's Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel. Israel, meanwhile, said it struck…

With fuel costs climbing in the wake of the Iran war, Victoria is moving swiftly to blunt the impact on households by making public transport free from tomorrow. In a post on social media, state Premier Jacinta Allan described the decision as a "temporary measure to take pressure off the pump and ease the cost of living for Victorians right now". "It won’t solve every problem, but it is an immediate step I can take to help Victorians right now," she added. The plan in Victoria, whose capital is Melbourne, is set to remain in…

A seven-month manhunt across Victoria’s unforgiving bushland came to a violent close on Monday when Australian police said they shot dead Desmond Freeman, the fugitive accused of killing two officers last August. Freeman had vanished into dense country after the deadly shooting on a rural property in Victoria state, triggering an expansive search that drew hundreds of officers into the region’s rough and isolated terrain. For months, police combed the area in a sustained effort to track him down. "A man has been fatally shot…

Live: South Lebanon attack leaves two UNIFIL peacekeepers dead

With the war’s economic shockwaves still rippling through energy markets, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Russia to agree to a reciprocal pause in strikes on energy infrastructure, arguing that such a move could help calm pressure on global oil prices. Mr Zelensky told reporters that Kyiv was prepared to mirror any such step if Moscow stopped targeting Ukraine’s energy network. "If Russia is ready to stop hitting Ukrainian energy facilities, we will not respond against their energy sector," he said. He…

Violence along the Lebanese-Israeli border has struck UN peacekeepers again, with members of the force wounded in an "incident" near Bani Hayyan, according to a spokesperson, in the latest blow to a mission increasingly exposed to the conflict. "There has been an incident involving peacekeepers near Bani Hayyan, and we have injuries," Kandice Ardiel said. The development follows the death of a UNIFIL peacekeeper yesterday after a projectile detonated at one of the mission's positions near the southern Lebanese village of…

A war in Iran that is beginning to cloud President Donald Trump’s legacy is also raising the political stakes for two of the most closely watched figures in his orbit: Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Both men, often cast as possible heirs to Donald Trump, have been drawn into the still-evolving push to bring thewar to an end just as Republicans are starting to think more seriously about what the party looks like after him. JD Vance has moved carefully, mirroring his long-running scepticism of…

A Russian oil tanker nearing Cuba has opened a narrow lifeline for the island as US President Donald Trump insisted the shipment would do little to change the trajectory of Havana's communist government. Even as the expected delivery promised some badly needed relief, Mr Trump sharpened his warnings toward Cuba's leadership, saying the government would collapse "within a short period of time." The Anatoly Kolodkin, carrying 730,000 barrels of crude, was positioned off Cuba's northeastern coast yesterday evening and was due…

President Donald Trump struck an upbeat note on the standoff with Iran, saying the two sides have been in contact "directly and indirectly" and describing Tehran's new leadership as "very reasonable", even as additional US troops arrived in the region and Iranian officials vowed they would not submit to humiliation. The comments, made last night, followed word from Pakistan — acting as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington — that it was preparing to host "meaningful talks" in the coming days in an effort to bring the…