Listen to Australian and world news and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.
- Europe's industry body warns the U-S over punishing Spain for not sharing military bases...
- DFAT deploys teams to support Australians caught in the Middle East as the war widens...
- Arsenal defeat Brighton, getting closer to the English Premier League title...
European leaders are voicing their concerns over the widening war against Iran, as Gulf Nations and countries including Turkey and Lebanon are drawn into the conflict.
This morning, the White House reported Spain had capitulated and was cooperating with the U-S on use of its military bases in the Middle East, which the Spanish Government has denied.
Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, says that despite Donald Trump vowing to block bilateral trade to punish Spain for not allowing the U-S to use its military bases, Spain will not be complicit in something that is bad for the world.
The European Union's industry chief Stephane Sejourne, has condemned the U-S for the threat.
"I want to be very clear. In commercial matters, any commercial threat directed at a member state is by definition a threat against the European Union. It falls under the competence of the European Union."
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong says the world is worried about how Iran is reacting to U-S and Israeli strikes that killed its leader, Ayatollah Khamenei and targeted nuclear infrastructure.
The Foreign Minister has reiterated Australia's support of the initial U-S and Israeli strikes to remove the threat of Iran using a nuclear weapon and engage in terrorist acts beyond its borders.
Minister Wong says 11 countries have now been brought into the war - and nobody predicted Iran would retaliate in this manner.
"It has within the first 72 hours struck many non participant countries. It engaged in strikes on airport hubs. So this conflict has spread very rapidly and the conflict is much more intense."
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says it is continuing to work on returning stranded travellers and residents of Middle East countries, following the arrival of more than 230 Australians overnight from Dubai.
Lucy Kenyon has said she is grateful to be among the passengers who made it onto a flight home.
"Once you knew you were out of kind of, the danger zone I guess. You could feel the mood lift and everyone clapped when we landed and so, it was really good."
DFAT has sent the first of six crisis response teams to the Middle East, where thousands of Australians are caught up in a widening conflict that has seen strikes on Gulf states and enclaves that are heavily populated by expats and tourists.
Australians in Israel, Iran, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates can register to receive the latest travel updates on the DFAT crisis portal.
Canada's prime minister has called for Australia to help restore international order, as he calls for rapid de-escalation in the Middle East.
Mark Carney has told the Australian Parliament that Canada and Australia are linked by a common heritage and similar political institutions.
He has also outlined five practical areas where Australia and Canada can cooperate.
The five areas are critical minerals, defence, artifical intelligence, trade, and capital.
"To be clear this is an ad hoc coalition, variable geometry that has a larger GDP than the United States, three times the trade flow of China, the largest combined financial balance sheets in the world, over sixty of the world's top universities and the largest source of cultural exports globally."
A slew of new research projects into dementia have been funded, with the Dementia Australia Research Foundation announcing 4.5 million dollars of new investment.The funding is part of a grant program which will enable 23 projects to progress, including one aimed at developing personalised strategies to prevent the disease.
Adelaide University's Dr Maddison Mellow received 450,000 dollars for a project that examines factors including age, sex and individual medical history to create programs and tools to enhance dementia prevention at an individual level.Dr Francesca Alves has been awarded a grant of 735,000 dollars for her research, which aims to find new ways to treat Alzheimer’s disease by focusing on how brain cells produce energy.
To sport now and in football,
Arsenal have beaten rival Brighton one-nil, inching closer to their bid for the English Premier League title.
24 year-old Bukayo Saka secured the game, scoring in the first half and marking three hundred games with the club - becoming the fourth youngest player to hit the milestone.
And it was was double joy for Arsenal fans, with staunch rival, Manchester City, drawing 2-2 with Nottingham Forest.
Arsenal's first English crown since 2004 is now within touching distance, with their lead on the league table now extended to seven points.
