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TRANSCRIPT:
- Australia joins talks - without the US - to reopen the Strait of Hormuz;
- The head of NATO to visit the White House after Donald Trump's remarks on the alliance;
- Aussie Min Woo Lee going for a Masters title at the Augusta National.
Australia has joined talks over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong is meeting online with counterparts from 35 countries - including Italy, France, Germany and Japan - to discuss the crucial oil waterway that has been closed to ships since US-Israeli strikes launched on Iran in February.
The US has not been invited.
Defence Minister Richard Marles says that the group will assess what contributions can be taken to restore navigation in the strait.
"Whatever we see from the president, Australia will act in its own national interest in terms of our engagement in the middle east and you've seen that in terms of the decisions that we've made. And we are providing a significant platform in the E-7 wedgetail to help in support of the countries of the Gulf, in particular the U-A-E."
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NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will visit Washington D-C next week, after the US President flagged the United States might leave the security alliance.
Both the White House and NATO have confirmed the trip, but not given details - only saying it has been planned for some time.
Earlier, Donald Trump had voiced criticism of NATO allies and other nations - including Australia - for not assisting the US in its war with Iran.
"We spent trillions of dollars on NATO. And when we need them, which we never do, we didn't need them here either. To be honest, I was really asking because I wanted to see what they do. We didn't need them. We blasted the hell out of them, out of Iran. And the last thing I needed was NATO stepping in our way, because they're not, they're a paper tiger."
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Indonesian coastal communities are being warned of tsunami waves that could reach up to 1 metre above the high tide level following an earthquake.
The United States Geological Survey is reporting the magnitude 7.8 earthquake has struck the Northern Molucca Sea region.
The quake was at a depth of 10 kilometres and the U-S Tsunami Warning System says hazardous waves are possible within a 1,000-kilometre radius of the epicentre.
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Residents of north Queensland could face another cyclone in the coming week, days after Tropical Cyclone Narelle tore through the region.
Meteorologists are monitoring a tropical low weather system forming off the Solomon Islands, which could develop into a cyclone by Sunday.
Forecasters from the Bureau of Meteorology say there is around a 55 per cent chance of that happening.
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A key report on hate speech protections is still sitting on the Attorney General's desk in New South Wales, despite repeated calls for its release.
Michael Daley commissioned respected former Supreme Court judge, John Sackar, to conduct the review of the state's racial and religious hate crimes law in May 2025, after some marginalised groups raised concerns about the law's potential impact on them.
The report was handed to the government in November, but it's been kept under wraps since despite a parliamentary order from Greens MP Amanda Cohn.
The deadline set for the release was April 1.
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NASA has launched four astronauts into space, in the first crewed moon mission in 50 years.
Australia will play a crucial role in keeping the three Americans and one Canadian connected with ground control, with the CSIRO to use its spacecraft communication and tracking capability to support the 10-day mission around the Moon.
The launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida has happened just one pad away from where the last moon-bound astronauts of the US Apollo program lifted off more than half a century ago.
Senior NASA test director Jeff Spaulding says this mission is one of a multibillion-dollar series to build up a long-term U.S. presence on the moon over the next decade and beyond.
"I think everybody understands what our mission is... So I think there's a lot of excitement and fervor within all of the groups that are out there, but especially here at Kennedy. The folks that I see are very, very excited to get on with this mission and then get out and get started with the next one."
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To sport now and in golf,
World number 25 Min Woo Lee will spearhead Australia's hopes for the season's first major championship next week at the Augusta National.
Lee is one of four Aussies teeing up for the Masters event, fresh off a tie for third place at last week's Houston Open.
Lee is known as one of the biggest hitters in golf.
He says he will prioritise accuracy with minor swing adjustments in his bid to join older sister, Minjee, in a quest for a majors title.
