Talks to resume between US and Iran but Trump reiterates the ceasefire is over; a 16-year-old boy is arrested over the death of a Victorian teenage girl; Spain and Belgium face off in World Cup quarter final
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TRANSCRIPT
- Talks to resume between US and Iran, but Trump reiterates the ceasefire is over
- 16-year-old boy is arrested over the death of a Victorian teenage girl
- Spain and Belgium face off in World Cup quarter-final
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US President Donald Trump says he has agreed to further negotiations with Iran while repeating the ceasefire between the two countries is over.
With no direct talks held since last month and the two sides resuming strikes this week, Iranian media has reported a delegation from mediator Qatar is in Tehran.
Just over three weeks since Washington and Tehran signed an agreement aimed at durable peace, two days of trading fire threaten a return to full-scale regional war.
No strikes were reported on Friday.
UK Deputy UN Ambassador Kate Foster says there must be a return to diplomacy.
"We continue to stand in solidarity with our Gulf and regional partners. The fragility of the current situation underscores the urgent need to keep the diplomatic process on track. We stand with our partners in calling for de-escalation and return to diplomacy, and we welcome reports that both sides are returning to talks."
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More than two weeks after powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela, thousands of people remain missing beneath collapsed buildings.
The government says almost 4,000 people have been confirmed dead, while rescue teams are making slow progress through vast piles of debris in hard-hit areas including La Guaira.
In Caraballeda, Stefany Landaez says the bodies of her brother and son have been recovered, but her mother, daughter, sister-in-law and nephew remain missing.
"Right now my mind is blank. I couldn't tell how I feel or what I think. I'll be here until the last moment to get out my entire family from the rubble."
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A 16-year-old boy will face court after being arrested over the death of 13-year-old Layla Jeffery in western Victoria.
Two women were also questioned after detectives searched a property in Donald, a town of about 1,400 people.
Layla disappeared a week ago, and human remains believed to be hers were found in bushland near the town on Thursday.
Local resident Shane O’Shea says the tragedy has shaken the close-knit community.
"It really does upset the community there's a certain amount of fear that goes through the town before they know what actually happened, is there someone loose in the town that could do it again but I must commend the police and the SES the way they've worked over the past few days, just integrating with the community and not creating any hassles really but doing their job and doing it well and making us feel a lot safer."
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The Northern Territory Children’s Commissioner has resigned in protest over controversial child protection laws she says risk failing First Nations children.
Shahleena Musk says she was sidelined during the drafting of the bill and has accused the government of retreating from transparency, accountability and evidence-based decision-making.
The reforms would make child safety the overriding consideration and could make it easier for Aboriginal children to be permanently placed with non-Indigenous carers.
The Territory government has hit back, saying the commissioner is not the only voice in the debate and anyone unwilling to put children’s safety first should step aside.
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Liberal senator Kerrynne Liddle has apologised after wrongly linking the death of a South Australian woman to the nationwide Telstra outage.
Police say calls to triple zero were connected without difficulty and there was no link between the network failure and the woman’s death.
Telstra is facing an investigation by the communications regulator and a possible multimillion-dollar fine, after the outage disrupted transport, businesses, health services and emergency calls.
Federal Communications Minister Anika Wells says the company must now be held accountable.
"Like all Australians, I did not want or expect to be dealing with another mass outage so soon after the Optus incident. The last few days have been really difficult for many Australians and now that Telstra has resolved its outage, it is time for Telstra to face the music."
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The World Cup quarter-finals are underway, with Spain taking on Belgium for a place in the semi-finals.
England will face Norway tomorrow morning, after beating Mexico in the Round of 16.
Norway booked its quarter-final spot by knocking out five-time champions Brazil.
Argentina and Switzerland also face off tomorrow, with the winner also advancing to the final four.
