The Trump administration expressed desire to reimburse the Taliban for their expenses in attending recent peace talks, according to a congressional aide. Since October 2018, the US government has held six rounds of peace negotiations with the Taliban in Qatar's capital, Doha, the talks were aimed at paving the way for a safe US exit from Afghanistan.

The Capitol Hill committee denied the president’s request to cover the militants' costs as it would have amounted to illegal material support for terrorists, said the aide.

A senior leader of the Basque militant separatist group ETA has been arrested in the French Alps after being on the run for 17 years, according to Spanish authorities.

José Antonio Urruticoetxea Bengoetxea, widely known by the alias Josu Ternera, has been ETA's most-wanted member since 2002.

ETA's initials stand for "Basque Homeland and Freedom" in the Basque language. The group is estimated to have killed more than 850 people during its violent, decades-long campaign to create an independent state in northern Spain and southern France.

Professor Joseph Ibrahim head of the Health, Law and Ageing Research Unit within Monash University's Department of Forensic Medicine has laid claims that federal and state governments do not care about people living in aged care facilities.

Prof Ibrahim says that based on how the australian government and larger society treats residential aged care it is clear that the public believes that “because they're old they have no benefit to society”.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has been criticised for a "tasteless" tribute to Bob Hawke, who he described as having a "Labor heart but a Liberal head".

Hawke died aged 89 last night, and Mr Abbott posted a statement describing Hawke as "Labor's greatest prime minister" but in the following sentence took a swipe at his political opponents.

"But his key achievements — financial deregulation, tariffs cuts, and the beginnings of privatisation — went against the Labor grain, as Labor's more recent policy direction shows," his statement read.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has been criticised for a "tasteless" tribute to Bob Hawke, who he described as having a "Labor heart but a Liberal head".

Hawke died aged 89 last night, and Mr Abbott posted a statement describing Hawke as "Labor's greatest prime minister" but in the following sentence took a swipe at his political opponents.

"But his key achievements — financial deregulation, tariffs cuts, and the beginnings of privatisation — went against the Labor grain, as Labor's more recent policy direction shows," his statement read.

With Lime Scooter’s anniversary approaching the electric scooter giant announces a new safety campaign, including a move to automatically slow scooters to walking speed in CBD areas with a lot of pedestrians.

Lime regional director of government affairs and strategy Mitchell Price said slow-speed zones would include the Queen Street and Brunswick Street malls, the Clem Jones Promenade in South Bank, Roma Street Parkland and Chinatown Mall in Fortitude Valley.

Disaster assistance has been extended to primary producers in the local government area of Longreach as they continue to recover from Severe Tropical Cyclone Trevor.

Minister for Emergency Management and North Queensland Recovery Senator Linda Reynolds and Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Minister Craig Crawford said assistance was being provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-Queensland Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

China has threatened to retaliate against US sanctions seen as an attempt to restrict international trade by the Chinese technology giant Huawei.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Beijing opposed countries imposing unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies and would take action.

The Trump administration on Wednesday effectively blocked Huawei products from being used in US networks. The order does not name any company, but is believed to target Huawei.