Politics live: Penny Wong warns Australians of ‘serious travel disruptions’ due to Iran conflict; NSW to review hospital maintenance after outbreaks of mould and bird lice 01. March 2026 (20:49) Travel changes likely at short notice, including on routes to Europe. Follow today’s latest new updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMeanwhile, AAP reports, Cotality’s latest Home Value index shows home values in Sydney and Melbourne have flatlined, even as mid-sized capitals post bumper monthly gains. Perth remains the nation’s standout performer, with prices surging 27.1% in the last year..Dwelling values climbed 2.3 % in February alone, adding more than $22,500 to the median home. Brisbane and Adelaide are also outperforming, rising 1.6% and 1.3%, respectively. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Foreign Office starts planning evacution of thousands of Britons in Middle East 01. March 2026 (20:43) About 76,000 nationals thought to be in the region as tensions rise after US-Israeli attacks on Iranian regimeUS-Israeli war on Iran: latest updatesThe Foreign Office is drawing up plans to evacuate tens of thousands of British citizens if war in the Middle East escalates, with many travellers currently stranded in Dubai.The government does not know how many British nationals are resident, on holiday or otherwise travelling across the Gulf, but it said 76,000 have so far registered their presence in affected areas of the region. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Peacemaker’ Trump starts a war with Iran – podcast 01. March 2026 (20:42) The US and Israel launched a joint military operation against Iran on Saturday, killing Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Why did Trump decide (again) to attack Iran during negotiations on a nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic? How does he sell a new war in the Middle East, with potential US casualties, to people at home? What happens next for Iran?In this special collaboration with Today in Focus, Annie Kelly speaks to the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour.Archive: CBS News, NBC News, PBS Newshour, CNN, Fox News Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Iran’s military options limited as it tries to hit back at US-Israeli attack 01. March 2026 (20:31) Retaliatory strikes have so far been high in volume but mostly not very effective and are likely to become less soUS-Israel war on Iran – latest updatesIn the grim calculus of war, Iran now has to hope it gets lucky. The first hours of the joint US-Israeli assault were catastrophic for the Iranian regime: the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, killed alongside, it is believed, the minister of defence, the head of the armed forces and the head of the powerful Revolutionary Guards.Iran knew its security apparatus had been compromised during the 12-day war of June 2025 when Israel killed a string of senior military commanders. During January’s street protests, Khamenei was moved away to a secure location for his own safety, yet on Saturday he felt safe enough to hold a security meeting in his compound in Tehran. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
How Israeli sleight and US might led to the assassination of Ali Khamenei 01. March 2026 (20:27) An operation decades in the making took just 60 seconds to carry out, but some question its wisdomThe assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was the culmination of decades of painstaking intelligence gathering by Israeli secret services, with crucial technological resources and manpower provided over the last six months by the CIA and other US intelligence services, that culminated in a single concentrated burst of lethal violence to decapitate the Iranian regime, according to experts, veteran spies and officials in Israel and the US.Khamenei was killed along with seven “members of the top Iranian security leadership who had gathered at several locations in Tehran” and around a dozen members of his family and close entourage in near-simultaneous strikes within 60 seconds, military officials in Israel said. Forty other senior Iranian leaders also died in the attack. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Starmer faces greater quandary over ‘special relationship’ after Iran attack 01. March 2026 (20:12) PM is in diplomatically precarious position of declining to endorse US strikes while also refusing to condemn themUS-Israel war on Iran – latest updatesIt was perhaps naive for No 10 ever to position Keir Starmer as a “Donald Trump whisperer” capable of persuading the unpredictable US president to step back from reckless decisions.The “special relationship” has been under severe strain in recent months over the UK’s decision to give up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, and the refusal of European countries to back Trump’s play for Greenland. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Labour Together ‘making clean break’ after former director resigns as minister 01. March 2026 (19:46) Thinktank’s board distances itself from Josh Simons’ decision in 2023 to hire lobbying firm to investigate journalistsA Labour thinktank that helped Keir Starmer into No 10 has said it is making a “clean break” from the past after its former director, Josh Simons, resigned as a minister over a report falsely linking journalists to a “pro-Kremlin” network.The board of Labour Together distanced itself from Simons’ decision in 2023 to hire a lobbying firm to investigate Sunday Times, Guardian and independent reporters who were looking into its failure to declare more than £700,000 in donations. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump says Iran leadership agrees to talks after US and Israel strike Tehran 01. March 2026 (19:32) ‘They should have done it sooner, they waited too long,’ says Trump but he doesn’t say when talks would take placeUS-Israel war on Iran – latest updatesSign up for the Breaking News US emailDonald Trump said on Sunday that Iran’s political leadership have agreed to talks, a day after the US and Israel began to target the country’s military and political infrastructure, killing the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top officials.“They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them,” Trump told a reporter for the Atlantic magazine on Sunday. “They should have done it sooner. They should have given what was very practical and easy to do sooner. They waited too long.”Reuters contributed reporting Continue reading...(The Guardian)
The Democrat who schools Republicans – ‘I would say do more of that’ 01. March 2026 (18:00) Isaiah Martin’s videos have gone viral – he thinks his party should follow his lead and stand up to Republican excessDynamism, courage, and wit are words that few are likely to associate with the mainstream Democratic party, particularly after its capitulation to Republicans’ budget demands last year.Polls show that majorities of Democratic voters think their party is weak and ineffective. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate leader, is even more unpopular than Donald Trump. People are crying out for a bold voice, someone to take the fight to an increasingly authoritarian Republican party. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US military reportedly used Claude in Iran strikes despite Trump’s ban 01. March 2026 (18:00) Trump calls Anthropic a ‘Radical Left AI company run by people who have no idea what the real World is all about’US-Israel war on Iran – latest updatesThe US military reportedly used Claude, Anthropic’s AI model, to inform its attack on Iran despite Donald Trump’s decision, announced hours earlier, to sever all ties with the company and its artificial intelligence tools.The use of Claude during the massive joint US-Israel bombardment of Iran that began on Saturday was reported by the Wall Street Journal and Axios. It underlines the complexity of the US military withdrawing powerful AI tools from its missions when the technology is already intricately embedded in operations. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
