Good afternoon. Anthony Albanese has welcomed a two-week conditional ceasefire between the US and Iran that is set to temporarily reopen the strait of Hormuz (news that saw oil prices plunge). But as Dan Jervis-Bardy reports, the prime minister today issued a rare criticism of Donald Trump for threatening a “whole civilization will die”.
Angus Taylor said while he wouldn’t have echoed the PM directly, the outcome and ceasefire was “what I want to see”. Matt Canavan had earlier urged Albanese to make clear to the US that Australia wouldn’t support the president’s threat of widespread bombings, saying the situation had “gotten out of hand”. (But while the Nationals leader may have urged common sense on the global stage, economics editor Patrick Commins is less sure about the economic “mirage” he’s pitching at home.)
You can follow the latest developments in the Middle East here, and catch up on more news out of the Trump administration here.
Top news
Petrol prices rise again as Albanese government warns Iran war ceasefire won’t make fuel cheaper
Republican wins Georgia runoff election to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene
Tropical Cyclone Vaianu may bring life-threatening winds to New Zealand, forecasters warn
New Zealand asks US to send fuel tankers to Pacific to alleviate pressure caused by Iran war
Anna Wintour shares Vogue cover with Hollywood doppelganger Meryl Streep
In pictures
Island nations including Tuvalu, Kiribati and Fiji may become uninhabitable within decades due to sea-level rise. But countries are being “held hostage” by their reliance on fossil fuels, former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres has warned, describing the health impacts of climate change as “the mother of all injustices”.
What they said …
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“I don’t understand how it can be justified to spend more than $300m to try for years to bring SAS veterans, who have served our country, towards criminal proceedings, and most recently the arrest of Ben.” – Gina Rinehart.
Australia’s richest person has questioned the cost and time spent investigating former soldiers as pockets of support emerge for Ben Roberts-Smith. The former SAS soldier and Victoria Cross recipient, who was yesterday charged with war crimes, will remain in jail after his legal representatives declined to apply for bail today. Roberts-Smith has always denied any wrongdoing.
Full Story
Decoding America: Trump lashes out at Australia
Decoding America is a new weekly podcast from Guardian Australia hosted by Reged Ahmad with Jonathan Yerushalmy, one of our editors on the international desk. It will peel back the surface of Trump’s America, decoding the undercurrents of United States’ democracy.
In this first episode we look at Trump’s escalating rhetoric against Iran, a surreal weekend of condemning allies like Australia, social media posts and White House Easter celebrations. Jonathan also takes us through a now deleted speech which reveals the US president’s growing frustration with allies, the US public and how far removed we might be from the US of old.
Before bed read
Fifteen years ago, human rights professor Simon Adams and his wife moved from Fremantle to New York for work, bringing their three small children with them. “All of them are US citizens,” he writes. “But we recently took a family decision to return to Australia. To be honest, it feels like an escape.”
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: JOUR. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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