Assistant minister says there is no fuel emergency in Australia
Assistant foreign minister Matt Thistlethwaite has been pressed on government decisions around fuel this week, which they have made while also saying there is no energy crisis in Australia.
Earlier today, the federal government announced fuel companies will be allowed to release a week’s worth of petrol and diesel – or nearly 800 million litres combined of petrol and diesel – from their domestic reserve to help meet skyrocketing demand.
This followed the government yesterday relaxing its fuel quality requirements, meaning higher sulfur petrol usually reserved for export can now be sold in Australia.
Fuel prices have been climbing above $2 a litre across the country and shortages have been reported in regional areas.
‘Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today.’
US President Donald Trump has issued his latest threat to Iran on his Truth Social media platform.
In a post just before 10pm Thursday Washington time – last hour in Australia – the president claimed his nation was “totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran, militarily, economically, and otherwise” before taking a shot at the New York Times newspaper’s coverage of the war.
“We have unparalleled firepower, unlimited ammunition, and plenty of time – Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today,” he continued.
Trump then drew attention to a numerical coincidence.
Top Iranian diplomat defected, received asylum in secret escape
Iran’s second-most senior diplomat in Australia defected from the hardline regime and received asylum in Australia three years ago in a remarkable development that has stayed secret until now.
News of the defection of Mohammad Pournajaf, the former chargé d’affaires at Iran’s embassy in Canberra, came after a week dominated by news of the dramatic escape of seven members of the Iranian women’s football team delegation, one of whom later changed her mind and decided to return to Iran.
The London-based Iran International news service, which is not aligned with the regime in Tehran, reported on Friday that Pournajaf, a diplomat at the Iranian embassy in Canberra had submitted an asylum request.
Read more here.
Missile attack on Israel injures 58
Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service said some 58 people were hurt in a missile attack on Zarzir, a city around 100 kilometres north of Jerusalem near the border with Lebanon.
It described most of the wounds as coming from glass broken in the attack.
Hezbollah said early Friday it had fired several rocket salvos toward Israel.
Meanwhile, an Israeli strike early Friday hit a car in Jnah, a coastal neighbourhood in southwestern Beirut, and killed one person, the Lebanese health ministry said.
Iran’s new supreme leader alive but ‘damaged’, Trump claims
US President Donald Trump said that he thinks new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, whose father, the former supreme leader, was killed on the first day of the US and Israel’s war on Iran, is alive but “damaged.”
Khamenei has not been seen by Iranians since his selection on Sunday by a clerical assembly, and his first comments were read out by a television presenter on Thursday.
An Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday that the newly appointed supreme leader was slightly injured but was continuing to operate, after state television described him as war-wounded.
“I think he probably is [alive]. I think he is damaged, but I think he’s probably alive in some form, you know,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Friday, Australian time.
How Australia’s petrol prices compare globally
Petrol prices across Australia have risen nearly 20 per cent in one month, according to a global price tracker.
GlobalPetrolPrices.com estimates the national average for Octane95 unleaded to be AU184¢ per litre and AU197¢ for diesel, also a 20 per cent rise.
The data is correct up to last Monday, March 9, and is updated every two weeks.
Asian nations have been feeling the keenest increases, with Cambodia seeing a 67 per cent price increase in Octane95 in two weeks, Vietnam 49 per cent and Laos 32 per cent.
British man reportedly among 21 people charged with cybercrime in UAE
A not-for-profit group has claimed the United Arab Emirates has arrested 21 people under its cybercrime laws after videos showing missile activity and explosions were circulated online.
Detained in Dubai, a body which claims to have assisted “foreign victims of injustice in the United Arab Emirates and throughout the Gulf States for over 16 years”, said a 60-year-old British national was among those arrested.
The organisation says the British man has told them he “deleted the video from his phone immediately when asked to and had no intention of doing anything wrong, but has nonetheless become caught up in the wider group of charges”.
Qatar condemns Israeli attacks in Lebanon
Qatar has condemned Israel’s attacks on southern Lebanon, saying they are a violation of international law.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on the international community to fulfil its responsibilities by compelling the Israeli occupation authorities to cease their repeated attacks on Lebanon,” the Gulf state’s ministry of foreign affairs said on Friday morning.
More than 600 people have died in Israeli strikes on Lebanon and 800,000 displaced as the IDF attempts to destroy infrastructure linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.
Israel’s campaign began after Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel on March 2 as revenge for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
There have been no deaths reported in Qatar so as a result of the current escalation of this conflict.
‘Hidden hand’: UK defence secretary claims Putin guiding Iran’s tactics
The UK’s defence secretary has suggested Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, are guiding Iran in the tactics the besieged nation is using in its retaliation to US-Israeli strikes.
“No one will be surprised to believe that Putin’s hidden hand is behind some of the Iranian tactics and potentially some of their capabilities as well,” John Healey said at a military briefing in London on Thursday.
“Patterns of Iranian attack have the hallmarks of the way Russia is attacking Ukraine,” he said, adding that was to be expected “knowing how closely that alliance of aggression has been growing over the last few years.”
Russia and Iran have deepened military cooperation after Moscow turned to other US foes for support after its global isolation following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Trump spruiks FIFA World Cup amid global tensions
Donald Trump is spruiking the FIFA World Cup as geopolitical tensions escalate and travel disruptions cast a shadow over the tournament which will be hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.
“The United States of America looks very much forward to hosting the FIFA World Cup. Ticket sales are ‘through the roof!’,” the president wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“It will be the Greatest and Safest Sporting Event in American History. All Players, Officials, and Fans will be treated like the ‘STARS’ that they are!”
Iran’s sports minister told state media earlier this week the nation would participate “under no circumstance”, while Iraq’s team asked FIFA to reschedule the nation’s World Cup play-off game because of the disruption to air travel in the Middle East.
The cup’s chief operating officer has ruled out postponing the tournament in June because the operation is too complex.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
