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Middle East tensions

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Omani security personnel watch a convoy believed to be carrying US envoy Steve Witkoff in Muscat, Oman, on Saturday.

The brief moment that marked a win for Trump’s high-stakes talks with Iran

Trump’s man was in one room. Khamenei’s was in another. Then the two-hour mark ticked over.

  • Susannah George

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JD Vance and Hegseth texts

The Signal chat decoded: What Hegseth and Waltz revealed in airstrike text messages

Details of a planned US airstrike in Yemen mistakenly shared with a journalist on the messaging app Signal were almost certainly classified information, military experts say.

The Israeli Defence Forces resumed airstrikes in Gaza after the first phase of the ceasefire reached its end.

Gazans are trapped in a forever war designed around Netanyahu’s impossible aims

Nobody should be shocked by the ceasefire breakdown between Israel and Hamas. Those with power see no incentive to end this war.

  • Waleed Aly
Donald Trump wants the US, not China, to write the standards of the global economy.

Cuckold Europe, prop up dictators: Trump’s global plot laid bare

The US president’s shifting of the geopolitical tectonic plates may seem chaotic, but it’s not. He is a staunch sovereigntist and a shrewd geopolitical calculus is at work.

  • Clinton Fernandes
Artist Khaled Sabsabi (right) and curator Michael Dagostino have been dropped as Australia’s entrant to the 2026 Venice Biennale to avoid “divisive debate”.

Venice Biennale backflip could turn pride into embarrassment

Australia triumphed at the world’s most high-profile art event last year, but a controversy over Creative Australia’s choice of representatives threatens the nation’s participation in 2026.

  • The Herald's View
Artist Khaled Sabsabi (right) has been dropped as Australia’s entrant to the 2026 Venice Biennale, to avoid ‘divisive debate’. Picture here with curator Michael Dagostino.

Resignations follow dumping of Australian artist from Venice Biennale

All other biennale finalists have called for Creative Australia to reinstate multimedia artist Khaled Sabsabi as the nation’s chosen entrant.

  • Linda Morris, Kerrie O'Brien and Paul Sakkal
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This Lattouf saga is the worst ABC whodunnit ever

The national broadcaster is always under attack, but in this episode, the ABC’s management did its enemies’ work for them.

  • Malcolm Knox
Testing of a Russian ballistic missile in 2022. It was the first time Russia’s Defence Ministry announced drills involving tactical nuclear weapons.

Trump wants Russia, China to stop making nuclear weapons, so all can cut defence spending by half

“There’s no reason for us to be building brand-new nuclear weapons, we already have so many,” he said. “You could destroy the world 50, 100 times over.”

  • Zeke Miller and Michelle Price
Trump hosts Jordan’s King Abdullah II in the Oval Office at the White House.

How Jordan’s king managed an awkward moment with Trump

The Middle Eastern leader did everything in his power to avoid being put on the spot during his meeting with the US president.

  • Michael Birnbaum and Dan Diamond

Even better than real estate is Trump’s ability to spin a tall tale

For the developer in the White House, every problem looks like it can be solved with hotels and casinos, but can we really take Trump’s words seriously?

  • Waleed Aly

Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/topic/middle-east-tensions-1nd1