TRANSCRIPT:
- US politicians release 23,000 pages from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, including files referencing Trump
- The Liberals set to unveil net zero stance after marathon party room debate
- England defends its unconventional Ashes prep despite criticism
Politicians in the United States have released 23,000 pages of documents from Jeffrey Epstein's estate, including some that reference President Trump.
The first items to be released by Democrats on the US House Oversight Committee were three emails between Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell and a writer, Michael Wolff.
They name Mr Trump and allege he spent hours at Epstein's house with a victim.
In one of the emails, Michael Wolff appears to suggest that Epstein attempt to make Mr Trump - who was then running for the Presidency - indebted to Epstein:
"I think you should let him hang himself. If he says he hasn't been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency. You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or, if it really looks like he could win, you could save him, generating a debt."
Mr Trump has always denied any wrongdoing and the White House says the emails create "a false narrative."
Shortly afterwards, the wider Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee released more than 23,000 files.
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The US President has formally urged his Israeli counterpart to grant a full pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been on trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust for the past five years.
In a letter to Isaac Herzog made public on Wednesday, Donald Trump said he respected Israel's justice system but described the prosecution as "political" and "unjustified."
Mr Herzog's office said the president holds Trump "in the highest regard," but noted that any pardon must follow a formal request process.
Mr Netanyahu, the first sitting Israeli Prime Minister to stand trial, has denied all charges and called the proceedings a politically motivated "witch-hunt."
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Indian security agencies have detained at least five suspects in the disputed Kashmir region as part of their investigation into this week’s deadly car explosion in New Delhi.
The blast occurred on Monday near the historic Red Fort monument of New Delhi, killing eight people and injuring several others.
In a cabinet statement on Wednesday, India's government classified the explosion as a "terror incident" and said all angles are being investigated under the country's stringent anti-terrorism laws.
If confirmed as a deliberate attack, it would be the deadliest blast in India's capital since 2011.
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The Liberal Party will outline its position on net zero, after its Coalition partner, the Nationals earlier this month abandoned a commitment to net zero emissions.
Liberal MPs discussed the issue in a five-hour party room meeting on Wednesday.
Opposition spokesman for energy, Dan Tehan, says the debate was vigorous - but in the end, there was a lot of consensus.
"The foundation principle were very clear that energy affordability must come first, and must be the focus along with reliability. Then the second principle is that we have to be serious when it comes to addressing emissions reduction because we want to be able to show very clearly that this is an issue the whole party room takes seriously."
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Australia and Indonesia are a step closer to formally signing what's being called a "watershed" defence treaty.
Agreement to sign the deal in January was made during Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's first state visit to Australia.
Under the deal, both countries will regularly consult each other at leader and ministerial level on security issues, including identifying "mutually beneficial security activities".
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the deal takes the bilateral relationship to a new level.
"It's co-operation. It shows the relationship is as strong as it has ever been. And that's a great thing for our region and for the people of both Australia and Indonesia."
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In cricket, England Captain Ben Stokes has strongly defended the team's unorthodox preparation for the Ashes as they aim to break a 14-year winless run in Australia.
England will head into the first Test in Perth, starting on 21 November, having not played a warm-up game against any Australian opposition.
The tourists have settled on a three-day match against the England Lions, essentially an England A team, starting on Thursday at Lilac Hill in Perth.
That decision has drawn criticism from Ashes greats on both sides such as Ian Healy, Ian Botham, and Geoffrey Boycott.
But Stokes says he believes the team will be ready.
"Some of our squad members are out here recently playing a series in New Zealand. The schedule is pretty jam-packed to be able to sort of prepare how our teams would have done 10, 15, 30 years ago as well. So I think there are a lot of factors that have changed over the years of cricket. We have been preparing for a very long time. So come the 21st of this month, we know we would have put everything possible we could have done to be in the right place to go out and there and hopefully, start off the Tour how we want."
