Australia news as it happened: Andrew to lose prince title and leave Royal Lodge; Hamas urges Australia to remove its terror listing; Opposition backbenchers ‘united’ against Labor’s energy policies

Thanks for reading the national news blog. This is where we’ll end today’s coverage.

To conclude, here’s a look back at the day’s major stories:

• Prince Andrew is losing the title that he’s had since birth and being evicted from his royal residence following recent revelations about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
• Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that launched the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, has urged the Australian government to remove its listing as a terror organisation in court documents filed as it embarked upon a ceasefire agreement with Israel’s Netanyahu government.
• Liberal federal MPs left a three-hour meeting broadly united in favour of reducing emissions while abandoning an iron-clad legislated pledge to get to net zero by 2050, but divided on whether to retain the “net zero” terminology.
• However, opposition employment spokesman Tim Wilson maintained there was no consensus on the Coalition’s net zero stance, and, “people just simply voiced their opinions and concerns” in the meeting.
• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had a “short, informal discussion” with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea, but would not confirm whether they discussed a Chinese military aircraft releasing flares near an Australian jet.
• Former prime minister Tony Abbott paid tribute to his mother, Fay Abbott, who has died aged 92.
• Australian electricity giant AGL is preparing a new round of job cuts as it moves to free more funds to spend on renewables and batteries, to replace its retiring coal-fired power stations.
• And in world news, the Trump administration is restricting the number of refugees admitted annually to the United States to 7500, and they will mostly be white South Africans, in a dramatic cut that effectively suspends America’s traditional role as a haven for those fleeing war and persecution.

Thanks again for joining us, we will be back on Monday with continuing live coverage. This is Cassandra Morgan signing off.

Sussan Ley’s suggestion that Labor pressure forced the cancellation of her planned tour of the embattled Tomago aluminium smelter is being flatly denied by the government, prompting Liberal MPs to question the opposition leader’s judgment after two recent attacks on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese fell flat.

Ley visited the site near Newcastle that is at risk of closure because of high energy prices and met with Tomago chief executive Jerome Dozol, but her tour of the facility, which media were alerted to last night, did not take place today.

In a statement, a spokesman for Ley said: “It’s a worrying sign when businesses are too nervous to have an open conversation about policy for fear of political consequences.”

The spokesman would not elaborate on the reference to political pressure. Industry Minister Tim Ayres told this masthead no one from the government had pressured Tomago over Ley’s visit.

“We have no issue with anyone who wants to attend the site,” he said.

Click here to read the full story.

The Bureau of Meteorology will revert to its previous colour scheme on its rain radar and weather map following widespread confusion and heated backlash to the agency’s upgraded website.

Acting chief executive Peter Stone this afternoon announced the changes, while the bureau began staged improvements to its site.

Stone announced the changes following a meeting with state and territory disaster ministers earlier today.

“We’ve listened to your feedback, and have restored the previous radar colour scheme,” he said.

Click here to read the full story.

Tony Abbott has paid tribute to his mother, Fay Abbott, who has died aged 92.

In a post to social media this afternoon, the former prime minister shared a family photo, writing that Fay was a wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

“Thank you for a great life. You will be deeply missed,” Tony wrote. “Rest in peace.”

The former prime minister’s father, Richard “Dick” Abbott, died in 2017.

The death toll from heavy floods in central Vietnam has risen to 13 people, with 11 other people still missing.

Floods triggered by record levels of rainfall inundated a large swath of central Vietnam in recent days, with the UNESCO-listed former imperial capital Hue and the ancient town of Hoi An the worst hit.

Vietnam is prone to deadly storms and flooding that cause widespread property damage, especially during the storm season from June until October.

The floods have inundated more than 116,000 houses and 5000 hectares of crops, and damaged roads and railways, cutting off traffic and power in several areas, the government’s disaster agency said in a report.

Reuters

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had a “short, informal discussion” with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea.

However, he will not confirm whether he discussed with the president an incident earlier this month, when a Chinese military aircraft released flares near an Australian jet over the South China Sea.

“At the risk of repeating myself, I don’t go out of private discussions and come in here and discuss them because that way you won’t have diplomatic advancement. It was an informal discussion with President Xi,” Albanese told reporters minutes ago.

“I reported on the formal discussions that I had with [Chinese] Premier Li, where it was raised with regard to our activity in the South China Sea and freedom of navigation. That’s what we do. We do that on a regular basis. We do it in an orderly way. And there’s nothing special about that.”