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Albanese and cabinet ministers among those to back parliamentary motion introduced by independent Andrew WilkieGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastAustralian federal MPs – including the prime minister and cabinet members – have voted overwhelmingly to urge the US and the UK to allow the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to return to Australia.The independent MP Andrew Wilkie hailed...

Human rights groups also want to see executive order used to stop US groups from donating millions of dollars each year to settlersThere are growing calls for Joe Biden to use his new executive order sanctioning violent Israeli settlers to also target political leaders, including government ministers, responsible for driving attacks against Palestinians.Pro-Israel groups and others in the US say the order is potentially...

Assistance package worth $17.6bn, seen as ploy to block broader Senate-backed measure, fails to win two-thirds majorityThe US House of Representatives rejected a Republican-led bill on Tuesday that would provide $17.6bn to Israel, as Democrats said they wanted a vote instead on a broader measure that would also provide assistance to Ukraine, international humanitarian funding and new money for border security.The vote was 250...

President says ‘If you harm an American, we will respond’ as US forces strike in what is expected to be first of multiple attacksUS airstrikes in Iraq and Syria – live updatesJoe Biden has warned “if you harm an American, we will respond” as US forces attacked more than 80 targets in Iraq and Syria in a wide-ranging air assault on sites belonging to...

Some see the US president’s executive order imposing sanctions on settlers who violently attack Palestinians as a bid to win supportWas Joe Biden’s announcement of unprecedented US sanctions against Israeli settlers in occupied Palestine a sign of political weakness at home, or of a newly found willingness to assert American influence over Israel?The president signed the executive order imposing financial and travel sanctions on...

Financial sanctions and visa bans imposed on four individuals as US frustration with Israel growsMiddle East crisis – live updatesJoe Biden has issued an executive order targeting Israeli settlers in the West Bank who have been attacking Palestinians, amid fast-growing frustration in Washington at Israel’s trajectory in the midst of its war in Gaza.The order initially imposes financial sanctions and visa bans against four...

Strikes expected to take place in Syria and possibly Iraq, after three US soldiers were killed at a base in JordanMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe US has ordered a series of reprisal strikes to be launched over more than one day against an Iranian-backed militia, the US defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, has said.Austin said all drones in the region attacking the US were...

American war planners used joint Talisman Sabre exercises to position equipment in northern VictoriaFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastWhen US and Australian troops practised amphibious landings, ground combat and air operations last year, they drew headlines about the allies deepening defence cooperation to counter China’s growing military ambitions.But for...

Chris Wray tells House committee there has been been far too little public focus on a sleeper cyber threat that affects ‘every American’US officials say they have disrupted a state-backed Chinese effort to plant malware that could damage civilian infrastructure, as the head of the FBI warned that Beijing was positioning itself to disrupt daily life in America were the US and China ever...

Lloyd Austin says president ‘will not tolerate attacks on US forces’, but Qatar warns that reprisal attacks could undermine Israel hostage talksSee all our Middle East coverageUS defense secretary Lloyd Austin has vowed to take “all necessary actions” to defend US troops after Iran-backed militants killed three US troops and wounded dozens more in a drone attack on a US base in Jordan.“The president...

Pentagon calls attacks ‘necessary and proportionate’, after US personnel were injured in a weekend attack in IraqSee all our Middle East crisis coverageThe US has carried out strikes in Iraq against three facilities linked to Iran-backed militia, the Pentagon has said, after a weekend attack on an Iraqi airbase that wounded US forces.“US military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used...

UK, US and others use universal periodic review to speak out over Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong KongThe UK, the US and several other countries criticised China’s human rights record on Tuesday as the country was subjected to rare scrutiny of its policies at the United Nations.The UK called on China to “cease the persecution and arbitrary detention of Uyghurs and Tibetans and allow genuine...

Foreign secretary defends continued campaign in Yemen, while Labour says it was not briefed beforehandMiddle East crisis – live updatesA fresh set of US and UK airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen were intended to “send the clearest possible message that Britain backs its words and our warnings with action”, David Cameron has said.The foreign secretary insisted he was confident that attacks carried out...

US president says Israeli PM not opposed to all two-state solutions after pair talk for first time in nearly a monthJoe Biden has said the creation of an independent state for Palestinians was still possible while Benjamin Netanyahu was still in office, following a call with the Israeli prime minister on Friday.The US president spoke to Netanyahu for the first time in nearly a...

Hard-right Republicans ensure chances of more money and weapons for Kyiv hinge on immigration reform negotiations Joe Biden on Friday signed a measure to keep the US government funded but as Washington shivered under its second major snowfall in a week, the bill did not unfreeze funding for Ukraine.Hard-right House Republicans, led by the speaker, Mike Johnson, are ensuring the chances of more money...

US missile strikes came after a bulk carrier was hit by Houthi drones in the Gulf of AdenThe US military has fired another wave of missile strikes against Houthi-controlled sites, marking the fourth time in a week that it has directly targeted the group in Yemen.The strikes were launched from the Red Sea, hitting more than a dozen sites – the officials told the...