As it happened: US government shutdown begins over funding deal; Nicole Kidman files for divorce from Keith Urban, reports say

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

Here’s a look back at today’s biggest stories:

• The US federal government has shut down after a last-minute vote to extend funding past a midnight deadline failed in the US Senate, and President Donald Trump threatened to extend his purge of the federal workforce. The 55-to-45 vote ensured that US government agencies will now discontinue all but “essential” activities, potentially disrupting everything from air travel to the monthly unemployment report.
• The government said it is concerned by reports that China has ceased buying BHP iron ore due to a breakdown in contract negotiations. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the reports were “concerning” but ultimately a matter for the company to work through, not government.
• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has marked the anniversary of the 2005 Bali bombings, saying, “so many hearts are still heavy with the weight of loss”, two decades on. In a post to social media today, Albanese said the bombings – which happened three years after the first Bali bombing, in 2002 – brought devastation to families in Indonesia, Australia, and more broadly across the world.
• The government today expanded its scheme to enables first home buyers to purchase a home with a 5 per cent deposit, “making it easier for young people and first home buyers to achieve the dream of owning a home”, Albanese said. The Coalition criticised it for not being means-tested and likely pushing up house prices.
• Queensland’s largest and oldest coal-fired power station could be shut down within four years, dramatically expediting the timeline for the plant’s closure. The owners of Gladstone Power Station announced today the plant might be retired as early as March 2029, six years ahead of schedule.

Former US vice president Kamala Harris will visit Sydney and Canberra in February for a female leadership summit.

Harris will attend the summit’s events in Sydney and Canberra to be interviewed by ABC journalist Leigh Sales.

The summit, a product of private company Hatchery, advertises itself as giving women the network and tools to step into leadership roles.

Liberal senator Jane Hume has questioned the effectiveness of the prime minister’s diplomatic trip to China in July after reports China has stopped buying BHP iron ore.

The China Mineral Resources Group Co asked domestic buyers to suspend purchases of BHP iron ore after a breakdown in negotiations between both sides, Bloomberg reported.

“What happened to the prime minister’s fantastic work with trade negotiations?” Hume told the ABC. “It sounds like a giant fail. If this is the case, all he did was go over and hug a couple of pandas.”

But Deputy Defence Minister Peter Khalil said it was a commercial matter and the government was not involved.

“It is a negotiation around contract pricing … between companies,” he said. “I hope they resolve it because it’s in everybody’s interest.”

The Australian government does not want any disruptions to its iron ore trade with China, says Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, following reports that Beijing’s state-run importer has told major steelmakers and traders to temporarily halt purchases of all new BHP Group cargoes.

Bloomberg reports the China Mineral Resources Group Co asked domestic buyers to suspend purchases of BHP iron ore after a breakdown in negotiations between both sides.

Marles told the ABC: “Obviously we’re looking at this carefully. We do not want to see any hindering of the trade that is undertaken between our two countries in general terms and specifically in relation to iron ore.

“We want to allow commercial processes to play out and to take their course and that’s appropriate. I think it’s reasonable in that context to say that we obviously want to see trade continue in a way which is not hindered.”