Tensions escalate between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz; Australia-New Zealand security talks begin; and Jessica Fox storms back from surgery to win World Cup kayak gold.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Tensions escalate between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz
- Australia-New Zealand security talks begin
- Jessica Fox storms back from surgery to win World Cup kayak gold.
The United States says it has shot down four Iranian attack drones launched towards the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command says the drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic, with American forces later striking Iranian coastal surveillance radar sites on Qeshm Island and in Goruk.
The latest exchange marks a further escalation around one of the world's most important energy shipping routes, days after a deadly drone attack on Kuwait's international airport.
It comes as peace talks between Washington and Tehran remain stalled over Iran's demand for the release of $24 billion in frozen assets.
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Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun has accused Iran of using his country as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the United States.
In an interview with CNN, Mr Aoun rejected what he described as interference by Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
He says Lebanese people are being killed and homes are being destroyed, as a fragile ceasefire with Israel comes under pressure.
Mr Aoun has also called on Hezbollah to negotiate, saying diplomacy is the only way to resolve the conflict and save what's left of the country.
"It's not your country. It's our country. It's our obligation. It's not your job to interfere in our country. I reject the statement totally, because our people are being killed, our people, our houses being destroyed. They are using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in their negotiation with the United States."
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Energy Minister, Chris Bowen, says Australia currently has more of every fuel type than it did the day US attacks on Iran started.
Major oil shipping route the Strait of Hormuz has been closed since early March due to conflict in the Middle East.
Fuel excise relief is due to end at the end of the month but Mr Bowen says the situation will continue to be monitored.
He says there are 50 ships on the water on the way to Australia at the moment.
"While we have an average arrival of number of ships of 81 over the course of may we had 92 ships arrive with fuel in Australia, so Australia is doing very, very well, in the face of the ongoing tensions and challenges that every country in the world is facing with fuel supply. Australia currently has 43 days worth of petrol, 36 days worth of diesel and 30 days worth of jet fuel."
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The number of confirmed Ebola cases is approaching 400 [[397]] as former US ambassadors to Africa criticise the US response to the outbreak as disjointed.
Experts say clinical capacity alone does not stop an outbreak and what's needed is a multi-sector response covering health, education, agriculture, livestock, local government and humanitarian actors.
Former senior USAID official, Susan Reichle, says the US response is making America more vulnerable.
"The US has relinquished its role as a global health leader rather than convening an international coalition for a robust response, as we did in 2014. Our response is disjointed, focusing on transporting infected Americans to Europe for treatment or opening a treatment facility in Kenya by focusing only on how to keep Ebola out of the US, rather than stopping transmission at its source, we are making America more vulnerable."
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New Zealand's prime minister says he is looking forward to discussing how New Zealand and Australia can further increase their co-operation on the global stage amid security and economic challenges.
Christopher Luxon is in Australia for a two-day visit, which includes the annual leaders' meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Queensland.
Mr Luxon says defence and security co-operation will be among the discussion topics.
"The world is increasingly volatile and uncertain - and we're seeing this big shift from a rules-based system to a power-based system. Having friends and family like you nd other friends and partners; remaking the case and advocating how we can remark and reinvent mullti-lateralism."
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Australia’s ski season has officially opened, with several resorts welcoming visitors for the King’s Birthday long weekend.
Perisher, Thredbo, Falls Creek, Mount Hotham and Mount Buller are among those operating.
Recent snowfall and snowmaking have helped prepare some beginner and intermediate runs.
Resorts are hoping the early conditions will help draw strong crowds, after warmer winters have made the season harder to predict.
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In sport,
Three-time Olympic champion Jessica Fox has won her first World Cup gold medal since returning from surgery.
Fox claimed victory in the women's single kayak event in Prague, finishing ahead of Poland's Klaudia Zwolinska.
The Australian was competing in only her second World Cup event since having surgery to remove a benign tumour from her left kidney last year.
Fox says it's an achievement just to be back competing, describing the victory as unbelievable.
