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I’ve got 10 seconds
The quote: “Everyone is absolutely safe at this point in time.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirming an Iranian missile caused minor damage to an Australian military base in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday morning.
The stat: 2,400. The number of drug samples that have been tested during Victoria's mobile pill testing trial, including 670 samples at the recent Pitch Music and Arts festival. A fixed testing site in Melbourne has tested "more than 2,300 samples and provided personalised harm reduction advice to more than 1,300 people," in its first six months, according to Victoria's Mental Health Minister Ingrid Stitt.
The big question:
thYesterday’s results: 43% of you do most of your grocery shopping at Woolworths. [2,500 votes].
I’ve got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
The NSW Parliament has banned symbols affiliated with recently outlawed the hate group, Hizb ut-Tahrir. Anyone found publicly waving flags or wearing clothes linked to the radical Islamist group, as well as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), could face up to two years’ imprisonment, a $22,000 fine, or both. NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley said the Labor-drafted bill follows in the federal government's footsteps, aimed at holding extremists to account. "There is no place in NSW for hateful, extremist conduct," he said.
Cuba has reconnected its energy grid and brought its largest oil-fired power plant back online, following a 29-hour nationwide blackout. Officials have warned Cubans that power shortages may continue, because not enough electricity is being generated. It comes as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to threaten to take over the Caribbean island nation. U.S. officials blamed the Cuban government for the grid collapse, but President Miguel Diaz-Canel fired back at Washington, criticising its “almost daily public threats against Cuba.” Cuban authorities have not revealed the cause of Monday’s grid failure, which was the first blackout since the U.S. blocked its oil supply from Venezuela. The White House has promised to impose harsh tariffs on countries that ship fuel to Cuba.
Together with AAP.
Recommendation of the day
Your guests insist they’re “totally fine” on the sofa. Your sofa says otherwise.
Good thing Koala has up to 30% off sofa beds right now.
Our pick? The Byron Sofa Bed (pictured). Deep enough for serious binge sessions, it transforms into a queen-sized bed when the night stretches on; and with washable covers, it’s ready for whatever those late-night snacks bring.
I’ve got 1 minute
An Israeli airstrike has killed Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani.
International media reports Larijani had been effectively running the country since the U.S. and Israel killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last month.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has also announced it killed General Gholamreza Soleimani, the commander of an internal paramilitary called the Basij.
Iranian authorities have confirmed both deaths.
Context
After nuclear negotiations broke down, on 28 February, the U.S. and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of top officials on the first day.
Khamenei’s son Mojtaba was appointed Supreme Leader on 8 March.
The new Supreme Leader has not appeared in public since February, meaning Larijani, as the country’s top security official, had emerged as the de facto leader.
Latest strikes
In the early hours of Tuesday morning (local time), Israeli forces killed Larijani in an air strike near Tehran.
The IDF said killing him was a “blow to the Iranian regime’s abilities to manage and coordinate hostile activity against the State of Israel.”
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council confirmed Larijani’s death to state-run media, describing him as a “martyr” – a person who is killed due to their beliefs.
Earlier this week, Israel killed Soleimani, who had commanded the Basij for six years.
The Basij is a plain-clothes paramilitary unit under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), itself a military force alongside Iran’s army. The regime has long used the Basij to violently suppress domestic protests.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said: “The leaders of the regime are being killed and their capabilities terminated.”
The IRGC said Basij-affiliated forces would continue their “path of resistance” and seek to avenge the killing.
After the deaths were announced, Iran launched missiles at Israel, killing two people in Tel Aviv, bringing the death toll of Israeli civilians and soldiers to 17.
Separately, the UAE closed its airspace and Qatar intercepted 13 ballistic missiles as Iran continued strikes across the region.
U.S-based human rights organisation HRANA reports U.S. and Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,300 civilians in Iran so far.
Reporting by Elliot Lawry.
Quick hits
🎧 On today’s TDA podcast, Emma explains the Government’s plan to increase taxes on the rich.
🎵 Bluesfest is officially cancelled, again. Sign up to TDA Culture here for the full context in your inbox this afternoon.
I’ve got 2 minutes
Afghan officials report a Pakistani military airstrike killed at least 400 people on Monday (local time) at a drug addiction rehabilitation facility in Kabul.
Pakistan has called Afghanistan’s account “false and deceptive”.
The countries have clashed multiple times in recent years, agreeing to a ceasefire in October 2025.
The UN has called for an independent investigation into the strike.
Context
The Taliban is an extremist Islamist group that held power in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. In 2021, it seized power again after the U.S. (and its allies, including Australia) withdrew their troops from Afghanistan.
Pakistan has backed the Taliban in the past, but the relationship is complicated by accusations the group is sheltering a collection of militant groups called Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The TTP seeks to overthrow Pakistan’s Government. It has carried out hundreds of attacks in recent years.
Afghanistan does not recognise the 2,600km border between the two countries because it was drawn by the British Empire in the 1890s.
Tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban escalated sharply in October 2025, with cross-border fighting lasting more than a week.
Despite a ceasefire signed in October, clashes between the two countries have continued.
Pakistan has accused the Taliban of backing a TTP attack in November, while the Taliban has accused Pakistan of killing civilians, among other accusations from both sides.
Bombing
On 16 March (local time), Taliban spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said the Pakistani military struck the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul.
Fitrat reported a death toll of 400, with a further 250 injured. The UN has also cited this death toll.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the military “carried out precision airstrikes... targeting Afghan Taliban regime terrorism”.
Tarar said the claim the drug rehabilitation facility was targeted was “entirely baseless”.
War crimes
All UN member nations, including Pakistan and Afghanistan, have agreed to the Geneva Conventions: a series of treaties to protect people not participating in conflict.
Warring parties must not mistreat, attack, or kill the sick and wounded – whether they are soldiers or civilians.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates and tries people accused of breaching these conventions.
International response
China has been involved in mediation between the two countries. On Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said “China hopes [they] exercise restraint.”
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was the latest in a series of attacks on “health facilities” in Afghanistan in recent weeks.
UN human rights spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan called for an independent investigation and for “those responsible [to be] held to account”.
Australia
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson told TDA: “We call on all parties to adhere to international humanitarian law and for the protection of civilians.”
“Australia does not regard the Taliban as the legitimate representatives of the Afghan people,” they added.
Pakistani-born Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi called the reports “horrific”.
“Hospitals and civilians should never be targets,” she added.
Reporting by Emily Donohoe.
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Give me some good news
An 11-year-old in the UK has designed a pair of glasses which make it easier for people with dyslexia to read.
Primary-school student Millie, who has dyslexia herself, was inspired to invent something that would make reading more comfortable for herself and others like her. She entered her design in an engineering competition, beating out more than 70,000 other students to win gold. Millie’s glasses include a frame and several colourful lenses. Users can mix and match lenses in different hues for tailored relief from visual stress. Millie’s concept is now being manufactured into an official prototype. Her mum Sarah told the BBC she thinks the glasses are “going to change people’s lives”.
Reporting by Emma Gillespie.
TDA titbit
It’s not Greased Lightning, but the plane John Travolta is donating to a NSW museum is still a hot rod.
“The last of the Hot Rods,” to be precise, according to the HARS Aviation Museum in Albion Park.
Travolta is the current owner of the HARS Boeing 707-138, a plane built for Qantas in the 1950s. A long-time aviation fan, he was once set to be the pilot on a flight taking Oprah Winfrey and 300 of her audience members to Australia, but had to pull out for the birth of his son.
Reporting by Lucy Tassell.
TDA asks
