ASX plunges nearly 3% as Iran conflict triggers market wipeout
Luca Ittimani
The Australian share market has plunged 3% this morning, wiping nearly $90bn from the value of the country’s biggest companies.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 fell to 8,576.2 points in early trading, after closing at 8,851 last week.
Markets have started to expect the US will continue its war on Iran, which has restricted oil shipping and sent energy prices soaring. Global oil prices surged past US$100 a barrel this morning for the first time since 2022, now sitting at around US$106.
Almost nowhere is safe, with 186 of Australia’s top 200 listed companies falling in value. The big banks are down 3% each, rare earths producers Iluka, Liontown and Lynas are down 5% or more and Qantas and Virgin Airlines are down 6% each.
The only winners are adjacent to the energy sector: gas companies Santas, Beach and Woodside, petrol retailers Ampol and Viva and coalminers.
Economic disruption from the war on Iran has also sent the US dollar surging in value, at the expense of the Australian dollar, which has fallen back below 70 US cents.
Updated at 20.45 EDT
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Ian Sample
Recreational drugs can more than double risk of stroke, study suggests
Recreational drugs can more than double the risk of stroke, with some of the most concerning impacts seen among younger people, a major review suggests.
Scientists analysed medical data from more than 100 million people and found that the risk of stroke was 122% higher for amphetamine users and 96% higher for cocaine users compared with those who did not take the drugs.
Cannabis users were also at greater risk, suffering 37% more strokes than non-users, the review found, though researchers saw no evidence that opioids, a highly addictive painkiller, added to a person’s risk of stroke.
The rise in strokes observed in connection with some drugs was not confined to older people.
When researchers focused on under-55s, they saw a near tripling in stroke risk among amphetamine users. The additional risk linked to cannabis was a more modest 14% in the age group, while the risk from cocaine was much the same at 97%.
Read more here:
Updated at 21.28 EDT
Ima Caldwell
Aerial footage shows swollen Katherine Gorge
The Northern Territory’s Nitmiluk/Katherine Gorge has been inundated with water, as you can see in this video from Saturday, as an extreme weather event passes over parts of northern Australia.
A tropical low brought heavy rain to large parts of the Top End and northern Queensland.
Several flood warnings are still in place for the NT today, including for the Katherine and Daly rivers, while most of Queensland remains on flood watch.
Aerial footage shows swollen Katherine Gorge – videoShare
Updated at 21.05 EDT
Man charged with murder after alleged campsite stabbing near Tamworth
A man was charged with murder after an alleged stabbing at a campsite near Tamworth on Sunday night.
NSW police said emergency services were called to the campsite, about 45km from Tamworth, around 6pm. On arrival, officers were told two men were in an altercation before one was allegedly stabbed several times in the chest and neck.
The injured man, thought to be in his 50s, was treated by paramedics, but he died at the scene.
The other man was arrested at the scene and taken to the police station. He was charged with murder and was scheduled to appear before court today.
Updated at 20.38 EDT
Penry Buckley
‘Crocs absolutely everywhere’: NT residents warned to stay out of flood waters
Flood-affected residents in the Northern Territory have been warned not to swim in crocodile-filled waters, as tropical lows continue to bring major flood warnings and heavy rains to the Top End and Queensland.
Hundreds of people were evacuated over the weekend, with the entire town of Nauiyu/Daly River in the NT evacuated as of Sunday afternoon, the NT chief minister, Lia Finocchiaro, said.
Flooding in Katherine, NT. Photograph: Bec Beaumont
The NT incident control acting commander, Shaun Gill, urged residents not to venture into flood waters after reports of people swimming.
“There are crocs absolutely everywhere … please don’t go in the water,” he said Sunday morning.
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Most of Queensland on alert for flooding
Most of Queensland is on alert for flooding as a tropical low that’s already hammered the far north continues a slow crawl through the state’s southeast, AAP reports.
Brisbane is also on flood alert, with a severe weather warning in place for heavy rainfall in the Capricornia, Central Highlands, Wide Bay, Darling Downs and southeast coast districts.
There have been widespread totals of 90 to 100 millimetres, with higher local falls recorded in areas including Brovinia in the Burnett, which received 239 millimetres.
More than 30 roads have been closed on the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane.
Rain continues today for central and south-east #Qld with possible heavy falls.
Thunderstorms for the tropical north.
Flood Watches and Warnings across most of the state.
Remaining dry and warm through southern interior areas.
Latest: https://t.co/UkC56n16j5 pic.twitter.com/D8BP6vhkD0
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) March 8, 2026
ShareASX plunges nearly 3% as Iran conflict triggers market wipeoutLuca Ittimani
The Australian share market has plunged 3% this morning, wiping nearly $90bn from the value of the country’s biggest companies.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 fell to 8,576.2 points in early trading, after closing at 8,851 last week.
Markets have started to expect the US will continue its war on Iran, which has restricted oil shipping and sent energy prices soaring. Global oil prices surged past US$100 a barrel this morning for the first time since 2022, now sitting at around US$106.
Almost nowhere is safe, with 186 of Australia’s top 200 listed companies falling in value. The big banks are down 3% each, rare earths producers Iluka, Liontown and Lynas are down 5% or more and Qantas and Virgin Airlines are down 6% each.
The only winners are adjacent to the energy sector: gas companies Santas, Beach and Woodside, petrol retailers Ampol and Viva and coalminers.
Economic disruption from the war on Iran has also sent the US dollar surging in value, at the expense of the Australian dollar, which has fallen back below 70 US cents.
Updated at 20.45 EDT
Jillian Ambrose
Global oil prices surge past the US$100 mark for the first time since 2022
Global oil prices surged past the $100 (£74, AU$142) a barrel mark for the first time since 2022 as escalating military aggression in the Middle East continues to wipe 20m barrels of oil from the market each day.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, jumped 16.6% to $108.10 a barrel as the new week’s trading began in the Asia Pacific markets, the first time that market prices have soared above this key psychological threshold since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark price of US crude also soared, rising 19.6% to $108.72 per barrel. Pre-market trading data put Wall Street on course to open lower on Monday.
The extraordinary spike in oil prices is “a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace”, Donald Trump argued on Sunday.
Read more here:
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Lorenzo Tondo
Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, chosen as Iran’s new supreme leader?
Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been chosen as his successor.
Members of the clerical body responsible for selecting Iran’s highest authority announced the decision on Sunday, calling on Iranians to rally behind him and preserve national unity.
An Iranian man holds a picture of Mojtaba Khamenei. Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA/Shutterstock
In a statement carried by state media, the assembly said Khamenei had been chosen through what it described as a “decisive vote”.
Who is he, and what does his selection mean for the war in the Middle East?
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Benita Kolovos
Victoria environment minister says entry fee ‘only fair’
The Victorian environment minister, Steve Dimopoulos, said the funds collected would support upgrades to beach access and visitor facilities and maintain the historic landmarks.
double quotation markThe Twelve Apostles are visited by more than two million people each year and the Great Ocean Road is visited by over six million people – and we want even more people to come and enjoy it. …
It’s only fair that visitors to the region pay a small fee to visit this world-class destination so that we can maintain it for future generations.
Steve Dimopoulos. Photograph: Kelly Defina/Getty Images for Netball AustraliaShareVictoria to charge entry fee for Twelve Apostles visitorsBenita Kolovos
Victoria’s famous Twelve Apostles will soon have an entry fee. How much? We don’t know yet.
Tourists will soon have to pay an entry fee to see the landmark on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road.
The Victorian government will announce a fee today for tourists to visit the Twelve Apostles Visitor Experience Centre, which is due to open at the end of 2026.
The entry cost is not yet known and will be decided following a consultation with stakeholders. The government said people who live near the site and members of the Eastern Maar Indigenous community will not be charged.
A visitor booking system will also be in place to manage visitation numbers and guarantee parking at peak times, the government said.
Tthe Twelve Apostles along the Great Ocean Road. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAPShare
Updated at 18.59 EDT
Two men in hospital after separate shootings in Sydney on Sunday night
Two men are in hospital and another is in custody after two shootings took place by different alleged offenders on Sunday night, AAP reports.
A 29-year-old man in western Sydney was shot multiple times around 8.45pm. Officers were told unknown people had fired the shots from a home and hit the man who was on the street.
The 29-year-old was taken to hospital but his injuries were not viewed as life threatening and he was in a stable condition. Police arrested a man a few hours later in connection with the shooting.
About an hour later at 9.55pm, a 25-year-old was shot multiple times at a home in Bass Hill in southwestern Sydney.
He was injured by bullets in his leg, arm, and chest, and was later in a serious but stable condition at Liverpool Hospital. A short time later, police found a car on fire nearby believed to be the getaway car of the accused offenders.
ShareHarry and Meghan to visit Australia in April
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will visit Australia next month for a number of engagements, Press Association reports.
A spokesperson for the couple said:
double quotation markPrince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, will visit Australia in mid-April to take part in a number of private, business and philanthropic engagements.
The Sussexes last carried out an official royal tour to Australia in 2018, five months after their wedding. Meghan’s pregnancy with Prince Archie was announced shortly after their arrival.
The couple had a busy two-day trip to Jordan last month, to learn more about the humanitarian effort to support the health and wellbeing of Syrians and Palestinians who have sought sanctuary in the country.
Their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, will not be coming with them to Australia.
Harry and Meghan in Jordan in February. Photograph: Middle East News Agency/APAImages/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 18.20 EDT
Jonathan Barrett
ASX to drop as oil disruption intensifies
Australian shares will open sharply lower today, as investors fret over a prolonged war in the Middle East, a sharp rise in oil prices, and a breakout in global inflation.
Futures pricing indicates the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 will open about 1.7% lower this morning to trade below the 8,700 point mark, continuing the selldown that occurred last week.
Disrupted oil supplies are widely viewed as the single biggest contributor to global inflation, given rising energy prices make almost all economic goods and services more expensive.
Drivers fill their tanks at a Caltex petrol station in Preston, Victoria. Photograph: Jay Kogler/AAP
Crude oil prices have surged above $US90 per barrel, up more than one-third from late 2025 prices.
ANZ’s research team said this morning that concerns of supply disruptions rose over the weekend on reports that producers are starting to reduce production.
Pictures of black smoke smothering Tehran will add to investor worries, after Israel struck at least five energy sites in and around the city.
Greg Boland, from trading platform Moomoo, says traders are monitoring developments around the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping corridor that normally handles roughly 20m barrels of oil and petroleum products per day.
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Paul MacInnes
Tears and drama amid snowboard cross chaos at Winter Paralympics
Snowboard cross is a sport with high technical demands, as athletes negotiate a series of challenges from – to adopt the lexicon – jumps and berms to rollers and drops, all along a winding course. But all this skill is subordinated to the generation of speed. Every movement is calculated to limit resistance and drag.
Add the challenges to balance and navigation that come from racing with a physical disability and it is perhaps not surprising to find that the snowboard cross finals at the Winter Paralympics on Sunday were carnage.
Ben Tudhope of Team Australia in action. Photograph: Tom Weller/Getty Images
The Australian Amanda Reid, a Paralympic gold-medal swimmer making her debut as a snowboarder, was taken to hospital after crashing out backwards during the heats of the women’s LL1 classification (denoting a more impactful lower limb disability).
The biggest cheers of the day came in the penultimate race when Italy celebrated gold in the men’s LL2 classification (the less severe of the two lower limb categories). Emanuel Perathoner absolutely smashed the field, beating the Australian Ben Tudhope by more than three seconds.
Read more from our dispatch here:
Updated at 17.57 EDT
eSafety commissioner says age verification for porn comparable to restrictions on strip clubs and casinos
Julie Inman Grant, the eSafety commissioner, said changes to age verification to access adult content have been a long time coming.
Speaking to RN, she compared access to sites featuring content like pornography to restrictions on children entering bars or strip clubs, calling them “commonsense” measures to protect young people.
She said:
double quotation markThey can’t stroll into a strip club or browse an adult shop or sit down at a blackjack table in a casino. So, this really just brings the online world and those protections that we put for kids in place to the digital realm.
Inman Grant said a “click of a button” won’t pass muster any longer, saying there needs to be more “rigour” behind age verification.
Julie Inman Grant. Photograph: Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 17.46 EDT
Craig Foster ‘very worried’ about Iran women footballers
Former Socceroo and refugee advocate Craig Foster said he is “very worried” about the fate of the Iran women’s team after they were defeated by the Philippines 2-0, ending their Women’s Asian Cup bid.
It’s unclear when they will return home, but some have expressed “grave” concerns about the players after they did not sing the national anthem last week.
Foster told RN Breakfast:
double quotation markI think it’s pretty clear to everyone on the potential threat that they’re facing, whether here or particularly if they do return or when they do return to Iran. …
I think the whole Australian football community and Australia is extremely concerned about the potential threat to the lives of these players.
The Iran women’s team. Photograph: Albert Perez/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 17.34 EDT