Australia news LIVE: RBA keeps interest rates on hold; Colombia quake death toll tops 250 as thousands remain missing

Emily KaineUpdated August 12, 2026 — 6:52am,first published 6:45amMorning headlinesBy Emily KaineGood morning and welcome to our national news live blog for Wednesday, August 12. Here’s what is making the headlines today.The Reserve Bank kept interest rates on hold yesterday, as it weighed up a slowing economy dragged down by a weaker-than-expected housing market, and balanced the risk of inflation being pushed up by AI and continued conflict in the Middle East.During question time yesterday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dismissed the claim he made “foul-mouthed, classless comments about women” after renewed criticism of remarks he made about a gift from Japanese leader Sanae Takaichi during a July podcast.Former prime minister John Howard has warned against an alliance between the Coalition and One Nation, as the Liberal Party’s campaign chief urges downbeat MPs to play the long game in countering Pauline Hanson. Howard told this masthead that “the only party that we should ever be in coalition with is the National Party”.Abroad, tensions in the Middle East have flared again after the US military said it fired on a Panamanian-flagged ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade the American blockade on Iranian ports.And the death toll from a powerful earthquake in Colombia has reached 250 and thousands remain missing as rescue crews continue to dig through the rubble to find survivors.Latest Posts6.52am‘I learnt a lot’: Former opposition leader opens up on life after politicsBy Emily KaineFormer opposition leader Sussan Ley has spoken about her life after politics and her journey of self-discovery riding a Greyhound bus through middle America.In an interview with the 7.30 Report, Ley reflected on what she had learnt since she was ousted as leader of the opposition in February.“I was there to quieten the noise in my head about politics,” she told the ABC.Sussan Ley starts her post-politics road trip at Minot on the Canadian border.“While I dealt with the effects of burnout, it didn’t bring me undone. It allowed me to move to the next chapter of my life, which is allowed me to draw a line very conclusively under those 25 years in public life, and move to this next chapter where I know that I will have more to say, more to write, and more observations to make.”Ley would not be drawn on questions about the rise of One Nation since her departure from politics, and said she would “leave the political commentary to others”.“The most important journey you ever make is the journey you make inside yourself to understand who you really are.”6.35amColombia quake death toll tops 250 with thousands still missingBy Periera/Cali: Rescue crews have been digging through mountains of shattered concrete in western Colombia, racing to find survivors after a powerful earthquake killed more than 250 people, according to estimates from local authorities.With thousands of people still missing, families have been waiting beside the rubble for signs of life. The 7.4-magnitude earthquake, the most powerful to strike the South American country in decades, tore through Colombia’s coffee-growing heartland on Monday, leaving apartment blocks, homes, schools and health centres cracked, leaning or flattened. About 100 aftershocks have been registered.Rescuers worked through the night with cranes, excavators and, at times, their bare hands, cutting through twisted steel and passing buckets of debris in desperate searches for those still trapped.The country’s new president, Abelardo De La Espriella, said he had decreed a three-month economic relief measure for people in the coffee-growing region of Risaralda.6.30amUS fires on ship to enforce Iranian blockadeBy The US military said its forces fired on a Panamanian-flagged ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade the American blockade on Iranian ports, a move that comes as President Donald Trump tries to keep economic pressure on Tehran.US Central Command said this morning that the vessel had ignored warnings to stop, prompting an American helicopter to fire missiles into the engine room of the M/V Vela Nova, disabling the ship. It did not say whether the ship’s crew suffered any casualties.Meanwhile, Yemeni authorities said six people were killed when Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked a vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb strait.Yemen’s coast guard said the dead included four crew members and two members of the government-allied National Resistance Forces. Houthis fired three ballistic missiles at the Yemeni commercial vessel, according to the Transportation Ministry of Yemen’s internationally recognised government.Morning headlinesBy Emily KaineGood morning and welcome to our national news live blog for Wednesday, August 12. Here’s what is making the headlines today.The Reserve Bank kept interest rates on hold yesterday, as it weighed up a slowing economy dragged down by a weaker-than-expected housing market, and balanced the risk of inflation being pushed up by AI and continued conflict in the Middle East.During question time yesterday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dismissed the claim he made “foul-mouthed, classless comments about women” after renewed criticism of remarks he made about a gift from Japanese leader Sanae Takaichi during a July podcast.Former prime minister John Howard has warned against an alliance between the Coalition and One Nation, as the Liberal Party’s campaign chief urges downbeat MPs to play the long game in countering Pauline Hanson. Howard told this masthead that “the only party that we should ever be in coalition with is the National Party”.Abroad, tensions in the Middle East have flared again after the US military said it fired on a Panamanian-flagged ship in the Gulf of Oman that tried to evade the American blockade on Iranian ports.And the death toll from a powerful earthquake in Colombia has reached 250 and thousands remain missing as rescue crews continue to dig through the rubble to find survivors.1 of 1