World - Wednesday, March 11, 2026

This blog is now closed - follow the latest news and live updates in the Middle East crisis here Over in Senate question time, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong , has confirmed embassies in Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv and the consulate in Dubai all physically closed in the last week. Wong said the government’s number one priority is to “keep Australians safe at home and abroad” . She continued: “The dangerous and destabilising attacks by Iran put civilian lives at risk, including Australian lives.” More than 3,200 Australians over 23 commercial flights have returned to Australia since the US and Israel attacked Iran, setting off a regional conflict and grounding thousands of international flights. Wong criticised Nationals senators for “winding up people and stoking fear” to panic buy fuel. The senator said: “Petrol companies are telling us that fuel stock continues to arrive as expected and on time but there has been a large change in the pattern of demand and that is having an effect on the supply, particularly in regional communities. We have seen jerry cans coming off the shelves at Bunnings and lines at the pump.” One of the two members of the Iranian women’s football teams provided with a humanitarian visa to stay in Australia has changed her mind and contacted the Iranian embassy , according to the country’s home affairs minister. In Australia, people are able to change their mind, people are able to travel. So, we respect the context in which she has made that decision. Unfortunately, in making that decision, she had been advised by her teammates and coach to contact the Iranian embassy and get collected … As a result of that, it meant that the Iranian embassy now knew the location of where everybody was. Continue reading...

Whether any mines had been laid in the Strait of Hormuz since the war began on Feb. 28 is unclear. The Pentagon said 140 American service members had been wounded, eight severely, in the war.

Release shows that Jonathan Powell warned Morgan McSweeney about the appointment of Mandelson as US ambassador As reported by Nadeem Badshah this morning, the documents relating to Peter Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US expected to be released today will include a due diligence report by the Cabinet Office, which is believed to be two pages long. It is likely to raise questions about Keir Starmer’s judgment, with sources saying it had warned the prime minister of the serious “reputational risk” of going ahead with Mandelson’s appointment in December 2024 given his links with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He has said, as you know that it is a little bit – it does fall into the category of too little too late, but I think they have a good, solid relationship, and hopefully they’ll be able to repair it. I go by what the president says, and the president says continuously that everybody is entitled to their point of view. But I think sometimes we detect that there’s not that feeling of gratitude. I think the president’s position is that we do plenty for Europe, plenty for the UK, in the area of trade, in the area of defence, in the area of the support we give to Nato. And I think sometimes the response back, the reciprocity back, is a little bit lacking. I would leave it at that, OK? Continue reading...

The conflict is reshaping travel patterns, energy dependencies, living costs, trade routes and diplomatic alliances.

Dutchman Hans Compter travelled around the world to deliver the Austin to Cathleen Hourie in Orkney.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Afghanistan as a state sponsor of wrongful detention, accusing the Taliban of using terrorist tactics against Americans.

For years, China has flown military jets near Taiwan almost daily. Then they suddenly stopped, leaving analysts to wonder why.

Maga world figures throw weight behind Maryam Rajavi, MEK’s leader, and Reza Pahlavi, the son of last Shah of Iran As a US battle group steamed to the Gulf in November 2002, competing Iraqi exiles, some championed by American insiders, jockeyed for position in the hopes of taking charge once George W Bush toppled Saddam Hussein. Bloomberg dubbed them “Iraq’s unruly opposition”. The most notorious Iraqi exile, failed former banker Ahmad Chalabi, boasted to his neoconservative allies that his return to Baghdad would be welcomed by cheering throngs. Among his competition was a former doctor named Ayad Allawi, who was backed by Britain’s MI6 and the Central Intelligence Agency in his bid for support to rule Iraq. Continue reading...

President Trump wants to strike cartels inside Mexico. In Sinaloa State, a cartel stronghold, some residents said they were willing to entertain U.S. intervention.

Initial reports suggest a man with "psychological problems" set himself on fire on the bus, according to police.