US forces have struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in the first military action in a month, an American official says.

Semi-official news outlets in Iran reported sounds of explosions near Larak island on the strait.

Forces with the Revolutionary Guard Corps were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the strait, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to detail sensitive military movements.

The US military last week completed clearing sea mines from the strait’s international shipping routes.

The Revolutionary Guard Corps in a statement carried by Iran’s state broadcaster noted “the martyrdom and injury of several of our fighters and compatriots”.

The statement said the attack will “result in punishment of the aggressor”.

with Reuters

Business owners could soon have access to simplified rules for leasing retail spaces, regardless of where they operate.

The federal government will begin talks with traders and landlords about simplifying laws around commercial tenancies and retail leases in a bid to make it easier for small businesses to expand.

Consultation, which begins on Monday, will look at leasing rules, rent reviews and dispute resolution.

Small Business Minister Anne Aly said the consultation would help to eliminate unnecessary rules to set up companies and ensure laws were not duplicated between jurisdictions.

“The Albanese Labor government wants to make running a small business as easy as possible,” she said.

“We want to hear directly from businesses about where the system is creating unnecessary complexity and how we can make it easier to operate and grow.”

Assistant Productivity Minister Andrew Leigh said current rules often imposed restrictions on business owners looking to expand into different states or territories.

“Australian businesses shouldn’t need a new rule book every time they cross a state border,” he said.

“Different leasing rules can mean extra legal costs and extra work for a business wanting to open in another state.”

Dr Leigh said the consultation would be about making the current rules simpler, rather than imposing identical rules on every state and territory.

The Shopping Centre Council of Australia welcomed the planned harmonisation of retail tenancy laws.

Chief executive Angus Nardi said it would mean more productivity for businesses in the retail space.

“Retail lease legislation is an area where greater harmonisation could reduce unnecessary cost, complexity and delays,” he said.

Grace O’Brien knows what it’s like to come face-to-face with parents who are desperate to get their kids off screens and into sport.

But there’s an escalating issue that she, and many local sport administrators across Australia, are grappling with.

“New people would come to the club and try out, and they loved it. Then as soon as they heard the fee structure and what they had to invest to get their kids to play, you could see them just turn off,” the Fawkner Netball Club president told AAP.

“Ultimately, we want to see kids of all ages and backgrounds being able to play sport. It’s important for them.”

A groundbreaking report commissioned by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) has found the average annual total cost for a child to play in a community sport competition is more than $4500, while adults are forking out about $2900 per year for themselves.

The study, which surveyed about 5500 sport participants, concluded that those figures are considerably higher than previously reported numbers, which have largely been linked to registration fees.

But even entry-level costs, which include uniform, equipment and registration fees, amount to about $1200 per person on average.

The numbers, which factor in hidden costs such as the loss of parental income because of children’s sporting commitments and travel, detail the true toll of Australia’s cost-of-living crisis when it comes to sport.

Individual sports are generally more expensive than team sports, although water polo ($15,694) is the most expensive sport for children to participate in.

For adults, motor sports ($14,551), weightlifting ($8923), and equestrian ($8580) are the most costly.

Despite Saturday morning games or Wednesday afternoon training sessions becoming a money drain for families, ASC chief executive Kieren Perkins believes the research will help ensure participation remains accessible for as many Australians as possible.

The ASC is collaborating with governments and sporting bodies to identify how best to reduce costs without cutting into the core experience of kids playing games.

The Fawkner Netball Club has already begun making its organisation more inclusive by requesting grants, while offering second-hand uniforms and instalment plans.

“We do have some members who say it’s just too much, and so we help them apply for a grant … offered through Netball Victoria to cover membership fees or registration fees up to $500,” O’Brien said.

“Parents have realised that we are an affordable option who are intent on making everyone feel welcome and provide them with a place of belonging.”

The Wests Brisbane Junior Rugby League Club has introduced tiered registration pricing, meaning fees are reduced for families with two or more players.

The club also supports state government voucher programs, which in Queensland reduce costs by up to $200 per child.

Despite the need to keep expenses low, president Gareth Pritchard admits the organisation bears the brunt of rising maintenance fees.

“We do fundraising initiatives … we’ve got a good canteen that’s profitable. We’ve got a new clubhouse,” Pritchard told AAP.

“By looking at ways that we can generate more income, we can just invest that back into more equipment, new tackle bags … (and) things like water, which is killing us.

“Even just basic mowing and maintenance, the costs have gone up.”

A third of Pacific Islands Forum leaders may miss this week’s summit in a blow to regional unity that could deteriorate into a crisis.

However, Australian and New Zealand officials are downplaying the impact of the pull-outs, some of which they privately blame on Chinese pressure.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will fly out to Palau on Monday to lead Australia’s delegation at the annual PIF leaders meeting.

For various reasons – domestic politics, poor health, and unspoken defiance – seven leaders may not attend.

The leaders from Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu are out, while there are conflicting reports about the participation of counterparts from Nauru and New Caledonia.

The most concerning no-shows from a regional standpoint are Kiribati and the Solomon Islands.

While other missing leaders will have deputies or foreign ministers standing in, Kiribati President Taneti Maamau is effectively snubbing the summit by sending a senior public servant – and former ambassador to China.

That decision has raised eyebrows, if not alarm bells, in Canberra given last week the Micronesian nation began the process of embedding ties to Beijing in its constitution.

Mr Maamau has blamed a difficult transit and a clash with parliament for not attending.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale has also offered apologies, but not before landing in Palau’s capital Koror this weekend.

Mr Wale was one of a string of leaders taking advantage of New Zealand’s offer to facilitate their travel on a defence force flight from Auckland and Brisbane on Saturday.

However, the recently installed prime minister left early on Sunday when one of his cabinet ministers moved a motion of no confidence in his leadership.

Home Affairs Minister Manasseh Maelanga cited Mr Wale’s failure to consult on key decisions for his motion.

The threat to Mr Wale’s leadership comes after the 58-year-old shifted Honiara’s outlook to a more Australia-friendly stance and began negotiating a fresh treaty.

Australia holds concerns that the ructions may be tied to those talks, and possibly influenced by China.

New Zealand, too, believes the harsh hand of greater powers is at play in the pull-outs.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Kiribati’s move was “hugely disappointing” and, asked if foreign interference was involved, didn’t disagree.

“You’d be defying gravity and logic if you said it wasn’t a big problem,” he told journalists in Palau.

Officials on both sides of the Tasman point out it is not the first time that PIF summits have missed leaders but insist the show goes on.

“The centrality of the Pacific Islands Forum is not going to be compromised … but it doesn’t help,” Mr Peters continued.

Mr Peters is on duty for Prime Minister Chris Luxon, who arrives two days after Mr Albanese, as the pair of Kiwi politicians navigate an election on November 7.

Organisers expect to welcome around 2000 visitors to Koror this week, including officials from Pacific nations and further beyond.

After a smaller summit last year in Honiara, Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr has re-opened the occasion to other nations, with many of the world’s major powers sending delegations.

Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau will lead the US contingent, while Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung will also attend.

Alongside Mr Albanese, Climate Minister Chris Bowen and Pacific Minister Pat Conroy will also travel.

Nepal’s military has airlifted heavy machinery by helicopter to an under-construction dam high in the Himalayas as rescuers battled rising water to reach workers in a tunnel, four days after catastrophic ‌floods trapped them inside.

The torrent of ice, rock and debris that swept down a mountain valley on the China-Nepal border on Wednesday killed more than 780 people, left more than 3000 missing, knocked out about 10 per cent of Nepal’s power generation capacity and inundated several hydropower projects under construction.

Rescue operations are underway at five hydro-electric projects, including a major effort at the Upper Trishuli complex, where authorities said on ‌Friday they received information that ‌about 350 people ⁠could be trapped inside a tunnel.

About 10,000 Nepali troops have been deployed for tunnel rescue operations ​alongside specialists from China and India, said Dharam Raj Uprety, chief of Nepal’s national disaster management authority.

“It’s very tough because there’s a lot of debris and we cannot blast things to make our way through,” he said.

A team of rescuers and soldiers worked through the night at Upper Trishuli, Nepali Prime Minister Balen Shah’s office said on Sunday, posting video on social media showing a helicopter carrying heavy machinery to ⁠the area.

“Rescue efforts continued despite the severe flooding last night,” it said.

The ‌Upper Trishuli ​Hydropower 3A and 3B are interconnected hydropower plants on the Trishuli River, spanning Nepal’s Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts, which were both hit hard ​by the floods.

China and India have each airlifted specialised tunnel rescue teams that are assisting Nepali authorities at the hydropower projects, according ​to their foreign ministries.

Rescuers reached the entrance of one tunnel on Sunday and began clearing debris blocking access, officials said, marking the first breakthrough in the effort to reach those feared trapped inside.

Once entry is secured, teams carrying oxygen supplies ​and cameras ​will move inside to assess conditions, search for survivors ​and provide the first images from within the tunnel, officials said.

The ‌Nepali army released a photograph showing two men caked in mud after being pulled from the mouth of one of the tunnels.

An estimated 35 to 40 people could be trapped inside Tunnel 3A, where rescue personnel have widened the face of the passage after locating it on Sunday, said Nishesh Shrestha, aide to Nepali politician Sagar Dhakal, who is at the site.

“This figure is based on information ​gathered from people in nearby villages and has not been independently confirmed,” Shrestha told Reuters.

Officials estimate the main working area lies ​about 180 metres inside the tunnel. 

Reaching ⁠it could provide the first clear indication of the condition and location of any workers trapped ​underground.

Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez says an energy agreement with the US will remain in force ‌for 25 years, target an increase in crude output to 1.5 million barrels per day and preserve the country’s sovereignty over its natural ‌resources.

Rodriguez hailed the accord in a late-night address on Saturday as a “historic” deal that would help revive the economy and boost government revenue, saying it would help shape the country’s future.

“This 25-year bilateral project envisages the development of 17 strategic oilfields with a production target of more than 1.5 million barrels per day,” Rodriguez said on state broadcaster VTV.

“That figure relates solely to the bilateral agreement between Venezuela and ‌the United States.”

Rodriguez ‌added that the ⁠agreement’s target of 1.5 million bpd was only an initial goal and that the broader ​plan also included the development of eight greenfield oil blocks as part of a wider expansion of the country’s energy sector.

President Donald Trump on Friday announced plans for the US to take partial control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, betting that American companies can help revive the South American nation’s battered energy industry while providing a new source of crude to help lower US fuel prices.

Trump provided few ⁠details on the agreement, saying only that the US had secured majority ‌control of ​more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s proven oil reserves through a partnership with private business.

Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil ​reserves, but it produces ‌only about 1.25 million bpd – far below its potential – after years of underinvestment, mismanagement and sanctions.

Rodriguez said the agreement could generate ​about $US209 billion ($A292 billion) in revenue for the Venezuelan state, based on a benchmark oil price of $US65 ($A91) per barrel, though she acknowledged crude prices could fluctuate. 

She said roughly $US19 ($A27) from each barrel produced and sold under the arrangement would flow directly to Venezuela, ​providing ​a significant boost to government revenue.

The ​country retained “ownership of and sovereignty” over its natural resources, “while leveraging capital, technology ‌and operational expertise to support the recovery of a strategic industry that has been severely affected by sanctions”, she said.

Rodriguez welcomed the agreement, saying it would bolster economic growth and increase government revenue.

Venezuelan officials are preparing to sign agreements next week granting new oil exploration and production rights to several ​companies, including US firms.

Two sources close to the negotiations said on Friday that Chevron was among the companies expected to ​finalise talks to transition its Venezuelan ⁠joint ventures into the country’s new energy framework.

The Reserve Bank will turn its gaze to Australia’s economic growth rate after hotter-than-expected inflation data set it on course for another rate rise.

Another strong result will further add to the case for more hikes when the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals national accounts figures on Wednesday.

However Westpac senior economist Pat Bustamante expects GDP growth to slow to 0.2 per cent for the June quarter.

Higher interest rates and fuel prices are significant headwinds but Mr Bustamante says the economy has been showing signs of resilience, supported by investment in data centres, renewable energy and home building.

“For now, growth remains stuck in the slow lane but the economy appears to be stabilising rather than weakening further,” he said.

GDP growth came in at a relatively subdued 0.3 per cent in the March quarter yet the annual rate was still 2.5 per cent and above the RBA’s assumption for how fast the economy can grow without fuelling inflation.

But Mr Bustamante expects the annual rate to slow to 1.7 per cent year-on-year.

It might not be enough to convince the RBA that enough spare capacity is opening up in the economy to get inflation under control.

Household spending grew at the fastest rate since the series began in 2023 in July, data released on Thursday showed.

Westpac activity data shows strength continuing through early August, Mr Bustamante said, indicating the economy is stabilising rather than weakening further.

As well as GDP partials earlier in the week, the ABS will also release building approvals data on Tuesday and trade figures on Thursday.

Also on Thursday, Reserve Bank chief economist Sarah Hunter will appear before a Senate hearing on intergenerational housing inequity.

While she might deliver some insight into the rise in housing unaffordability in recent decades, there will likely be little new information on the monetary policy front.

Looking abroad, central banks in New Zealand and Canada meet to decide interest rates.

Markets are pricing in a second straight Reserve Bank of New Zealand rate hike, lifting the official cash rate to 2.75 per cent.

Wall Street investors are meanwhile taking caution after Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh reiterated the central bank’s focus on fighting ‌inflation, increasing prospects for a US rate hike.

The S&P 500 lost 0.25 per cent, to finish Friday at 7,711.76, the ‌Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.52 per cent to 26,402.42 and the Dow Jones closed 0.02 per cent lower to 53,559.99.

For the week, the S&P 500 gained 0.49 per cent, the Nasdaq rose 0.85 per cent and ​the Dow climbed ‌0.53 per cent.

Australian share futures slid 36 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 10,334.

The S&P/ASX200 rose 54.1 points on Friday, up 0.6 per cent, to 9,092.3, as the broader All Ordinaries advanced by 51 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 9,294.2.

Australians could have the ability to opt out of social media algorithms under new digital laws as leaders try to limit the spread of violent, misogynistic content online.

The federal government will also consider bans on pornography depicting strangulation or suffocation, Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said on Sunday.

“It takes an average of 23 minutes for you to be fed misogynistic – violent misogynistic – content online,” Ms Plibersek told the ABC’s Insiders program.

“That is a deliberate decision of the social media companies that is wrecking our young boys, giving them all of the wrong ideas about what healthy relationships look like, so we’re absolutely up for work on algorithms.”

Labor has committed to legislating a digital duty of care that would force tech companies to proactively prevent online harms, rather than just requiring them to act on complaints.

Ms Plibersek said the government was also looking closely at the implications of a recent $US18 billion settlement between Meta and various US governments, an agreement that includes additional safety features for children on social media.

The senior minister said all those issues were being considered as part of the development of the digital duty of care bill and separate plans to prevent violence against women and children.

“These are all really important considerations as we develop our next action plan on family, domestic and sexual violence, and that work’s going on right now.”

However, she cautioned any restrictions on tech companies would need to be carefully implemented.

“What would be terrific is if we saw some of those features that have been forced on the tech companies overseas to be more broadly adopted globally,” Ms Plibersek said.

Days after a 16-year-old NSW girl was found dead in an incident reportedly linked to a sexual choking, the Labor frontbencher also said Australia needed to seriously look at recent UK laws that criminalised depictions of strangulation and suffocation in pornography.

“There is something wrong with a situation where 60 per cent of young people say they’ve experienced strangulation during sexual encounters,” Ms Plibersek said.

“There is no safe way to strangle someone.”

NSW Liberal leader Kellie Sloane has written to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling for a UK-style ban to be introduced.

“We have had the inquiries, we have the evidence and we have seen the consequences,” she said.

“When pornography depicts an act capable of causing brain injury, unconsciousness or death, it should not be treated as just another form of adult entertainment.”

Consent activist Chanel Contos, who will address National Press Club on Wednesday, has been campaigning for Australia to introduce world-leading features to give people the ability to opt in to social media algorithms.

She previously successfully campaigned for mandated consent education in schools.

Ms Contos is among 14 people announced on Sunday to sit on a new Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Advisory Council, which will advise the government on implementing its national action plan.

Anti-men’s violence activist Tarang Chawla, leading Aboriginal child welfare expert Muriel Bamblett, criminologist Hayley Boxall and family violence system advocate Conor Pall are among the other names announced.

“Putting the voices of expert advisors at the heart of our decision-making is essential if we are to end family, domestic and sexual violence for good,” Ms Plibersek said.

The council will meet for the first time in the coming week.

One Nation will not say how many permanent migrants will feature in its overall targets as the party tries to clarify its immigration numbers.

Pauline Hanson’s anti-immigration party has been under pressure to specify details of its migration policy after differing targets were cited by various members.

The party has put forward a policy of an annual net overseas migration rate of 130,000 people, but federal MP David Farley said there could be an extra 100,000 on top of that.

That figure would put annual net overseas migration above the 225,000 target proposed by Labor, a significant decrease on the 2025 tally of 301,000 people.

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce clarified on Sunday the 130,000 net target would remain.

But he would not say how much of that figure would be made up of permanent migrants, adding that net migration was based on a number of factors.

“To get to a (net overseas migration) of 130,000, it’s going to be very hard to do that unless we’re substantially below the permanent migration numbers of Labor,” he told News24.

The One Nation MP added Pacific workers, who mostly come to regional areas as part of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme, would largely be in addition to the 130,000 net figure.

“Things such as the PALM scheme … are not counted in the net overseas migration number,” Mr Joyce said.

“(Only) a small portion are because they don’t stay for 12 months, they stay generally for a period of nine.”

But Pacific Minister Pat Conroy said half the cohort of workers would typically count towards net migration figures.

“Half of all PALM workers are on the four-year visa, so that would count for (net overseas migration),” he said.

“If (One Nation’s) arguing that PALM is on top of 130,000, they’re arguing for a much more substantial figure than what they said only this week.

“Barnaby got basic facts wrong about the proportion of PALM workers that count … their figures are all over the shop.”

Labor was set to unveil its overhaul of migration policy in a speech by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke at the National Press Club earlier in August.

However, the speech was cancelled at the eleventh hour after cabinet failed to sign off on the changes amid internal party division on the issue.

Mr Conroy said the policy would be announced in due course.

“What you’re seeing is good government in action, rather than thought bubbles,” he said.

“We’ll do it in a sensible, orderly way.”

Opposition immigration spokesman Jonathon Duniam said One Nation was unlikely to get its migration numbers down to 130,000 people.

“I don’t know how they’ve arrived at 130,000. Who is in that makeup of numbers there? How will that impact on the economy?” he said.

“They’ve got to actually work out what they stand for and be clear and make sure people understand it.”

Australia might be bringing the world’s climate talks to the Pacific but it can expect few favours from those impatient for an emissions turnaround.

The Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting begins on Sunday, with heads of government from across the blue continent gathering in Palau for the annual talks.

A wrestle takes place each gathering between the needs of developed powers Australia and New Zealand and the 16 island nations of varied development levels.

All, however, are invested in an improved climate and none more so than host Surangel Whipps Jr.

The Palau president has form holding Australia’s feet to the fire on its climate record.

Last year, he lashed Australia as “one of the largest contributors to global emissions through fossil fuel exports, accounting for approximately 4.5 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions”.

“As the Pacific region faces the dire consequences of the climate crisis, we urge Australia to demonstrate solidarity and responsibility by the phasing out of coal and gas production and halting approvals of new fossil fuel projects,” he told the Lowy Institute.

“We must act boldly today for ourselves, our children and future generations to reverse the trajectory, or as I like to say, turn the boat around on climate change, before it’s too late.”

While Australia continues to unearth and ship coal and gas in huge quantities, it is supplying plenty of support to the region.

In the past half-decade, it has provided $1.3 billion in climate finance, including renewable energy projects.

There is an expectation of more to come, including towards a Pacific-led resilience facility, perhaps announced at this summit.

Australia’s climate record includes a landmark 2023 treaty with Tuvalu, the world’s lowest nation and therefore most threatened by sea level rise, including provisions to resettle citizens in Australia.

Canberra also led a losing bid to host this year’s global climate summit, COP31, which was roundly championed by the Pacific.

A compromise consolation prize will see lead-up events staged in the region, with Climate Minister Chris Bowen also to serve as President of Negotiations in Turkiye.

Wesley Morgan, a Climate Council fellow and UNSW research associate, said Australia’s efforts didn’t meet the scale of the challenge.

“Pacific Island countries have been champions for limiting global temperature rise for decades … the catch-cry has been 1.5 to stay alive,” he said.

“We are certain to go past 1.5 degrees but the question is how the world responds and the expectation will be that Australia and the Pacific will issue a leader-level declaration on limiting overshoot.

“That is a line in the sand for survival for Pacific countries: 1.5 degrees.”

Another issue unlikely to get much air time from the summit is development.

This year’s host is one of the smallest Pacific nations but one of the region’s richest, given its natural blessings and association with the US.

Other states close range to Australia, like Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, are among the world’s least developed.

Central to human security is economic development and foreign aid, with Australia the most generous regional partner.

Save The Children Pacific regional director Kim Koch told AAP Australia’s decision not to cut aid was welcomed in the context of other major powers, led by the US, slashing their budgets.

“That has really helped insulate the Pacific from these development hits,” she said.

The scale of the need is vast.

Ms Koch said Pacific children faced one of the world’s highest rates of violence and battled food insecurity.

“The important message here is that regional security is human security,” she said.

“If you’re trying to fight for a prosperous and stable future of the Pacific, its going to depend on whether today’s children grow up safe, healthy, educated, resilient.”.

This year’s 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Koror, Palau runs until September 4.