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8043 articles · page 105 of 168 · The World front page
Australia's ban on credit and debit card surcharges takes effect on Thursday, but some consumers will still encounter surcharges at the checkout, with business groups warning many smaller shops, especially those run by migrants, remain unclear on how the new payment rules work.
· 2 sourcesA pioneering solar power station in the remote outback town of White Cliffs in north-western New South Wales has been listed on the State Heritage Register, recognising what is believed to be the world's first commercial solar thermal plant.
· 2 sourcesQueensland's state government has missed the deadline to sign up to the federal government's Thriving Kids program before its rollout began, leaving children with mild to moderate autism or developmental delays in that state outside the new arrangement. The development was one of several items in the day's live coverage, which also reported that one-quarter of large companies pay zero tax and that credit and debit surcharges have been scrapped.
· 3 sourcesAn Argentinian-American writer and immigration advocate has sued the federal government, demanding that it delete data he says Customs and Border Protection agents copied from his phone when he re-entered the United States through Miami International Airport in September.
A fifth unvaccinated person has died of measles in Pennsylvania, the state health department announced Wednesday, as an outbreak that began in late April continues to spread. The deceased was a resident of Lancaster County, the epicenter of the outbreak.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has appointed Elon Musk to co-lead a new government taskforce studying the future of warfare, marking Musk's first return to government since his time running the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. The project, dubbed Project Meridian, will run for 120 days.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has confirmed plans to cut 20% of generals and admirals, vowing that 'no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps' would be tolerated inside the country's military.
A free Victorian service that helps home owners facing mortgage stress has been forced to temporarily close its books to new clients after the number of calls for assistance doubled between January and August this year. The organisation's chief executive says severe financial stress is now reaching parts of the community that have not sought help before.
· 2 sourcesThe Australian Council of Trade Unions and leading AI researchers have jointly called for a levy on tech giants building data centres in Australia, proposing that companies like OpenAI and Anthropic be required to contribute computing capacity and funds to develop a sovereign Australian artificial intelligence industry.
· 2 sourcesTreasurer Jim Chalmers has described this week's inflation increase as lower than expected, despite figures showing a jump to a four-month high in August, raising the prospect of another interest rate hike. Meanwhile, the Greens have elected David Shoebridge as their new leader, card surcharges have been scrapped from today, and a midair pilot stabbing on a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight was prevented by crew and passengers.
· 2 sourcesFormer Wallaby Nathan Charles, who defied cystic fibrosis to play international rugby, has publicly revealed he has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND), describing the news as 'extremely challenging and overwhelming, and at times quite cruel'. Charles, 37, announced the diagnosis in an interview with Stan Sport, saying he had been experiencing symptoms for eight months and now requires mobility aids to get around.
· 6 sourcesA passenger on flydubai Flight FZ1073 has described grabbing the co-pilot in a chokehold and pulling the plane out of a nosedive using knowledge gained from watching the documentary series Air Crash Investigation, as Israeli officials confirmed the mid-air incident was a suspected terrorist attack.
· 13 sourcesDays after Prime Minister Balendra Shah told the United Nations General Assembly that a warming climate was destabilising the fragile Himalayan ecology, torrential monsoon rains triggered another wave of flash floods and landslides, killing at least 27 people in Nepal and 62 in neighbouring India.
The West Australian coroner will examine the disappearances of four Aboriginal men who went missing across regional WA within two years, in a joint inquest that families say could finally yield answers after years of uncertainty.
After years of testing, Australia's three major telecommunications companies are ready to switch on a system that would give customers access to a rival network if their own goes down during a weather emergency. Known as temporary disaster roaming (TDR), the system will be activated jointly by Telstra, Optus and TPG in regional areas where a mobile service has been disrupted by severe weather.
· 2 sourcesHobart Airport has doubled its terminal size as part of a $200 million upgrade project, with improved signage, modernised car rental facilities and a high-end feel that one traveller compared to an international departure lounge.
· 2 sourcesNew figures reveal that more than 98 percent of pothole damage claims lodged by NSW motorists were rejected by the state government last financial year, highlighting the steep legal hurdles drivers face in seeking compensation for road-related vehicle repairs.
· 2 sourcesShili Chen and Shouyong Zhang, both 77, have been charged with murder in the shooting death of their son-in-law, Jonathan McKinsey, a New York Times games engineer, in a public park on Saturday, days before he and the couple's daughter were due to appear in court in a bitter divorce case.
Black-market tobacco shops in Victoria are circumventing the state's new shutdown powers by selling illicit cigarettes only outside business hours, when licensing inspectors are not rostered on, as the government's long-delayed crackdown begins to disrupt the country's largest illegal tobacco market.
· 2 sourcesThe US Senate on Wednesday blocked a Republican bill that would restrict stock trading by members of Congress, after Democrats refused to advance the measure over what they called a "poison pill" voter ID provision and gaps that would let lawmakers keep their portfolios.
The US Department of Justice has indicted 10 people in Minnesota on charges related to noncitizen voting, the sixth such announcement this month as the Trump administration intensifies its voter fraud allegations ahead of the midterm elections.
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated across Spain on Saturday after the government failed to pass emergency housing legislation, with clashes between protesters and police in Valencia, the arrest of three far-right activists in Madrid, and calls for a general strike. About 50 marches took place in cities including Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona.
· 7 sourcesIsraeli drone and air strikes across Gaza on Wednesday killed at least four Palestinians, including a rescue volunteer, medical sources reported. The attacks come as the cumulative Palestinian death toll from the war, which began after the Hamas-led assault on Israel on October 7 2023, has exceeded 74,245.
· 2 sourcesThe two mastheads have released a curated set of 30 egg recipes, covering breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner and snacks, highlighting the ingredient's versatility and nutritional value.
· 2 sourcesAl Jazeera's Jerusalem Daily reported that a flight carrying Israelis was diverted after a stabbing, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting the Flydubai passenger who subdued the pilot in the attack. The network also covered a Bangladesh dengue outbreak that has killed more than 233 people and an alleged Iran-linked plot at a UK airbase.
An internal watchdog has found that the Federal Reserve mismanaged costs in the $2.4bn renovation of its Washington DC headquarters, but that no criminal violations occurred, according to a report released Wednesday.
· 2 sourcesPerth home buyers are turning away from beachfront views and searching instead for space, with pools, granny flats, land and workshops emerging as the top property search trends this year, according to Domain's Spring Homebuyer Report released today.
· 2 sourcesConsumer group Choice has found Australia's cheapest mayonnaise is also the best tasting, with Aldi's Colway Real Mayonnaise tying for first place in a taste test of 29 store-bought products. The $2.79 jar costs 61c per 100g, the lowest price per unit of all products tested.
· 2 sourcesInterest rates are up again and recession talk is building, but Guardian Australia columnist Greg Jericho argues the Reserve Bank of Australia is ignoring half of its formal mandate. In a column published this week, he says the RBA's enabling legislation requires it to pursue both price stability and full employment, yet in practice the 'full employment' aspect appears to be overlooked.
· 2 sourcesThe pilot who was stabbed by a colleague on a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv has been hailed as a hero by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after he fought back and enabled passengers and crew to retake control of the aircraft, preventing what Netanyahu described as a catastrophic mid-air disaster. The plane was forced to divert to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where the suspect was arrested.
· 8 sourcesPrivate colleges have issued nearly 3,000 last-minute enrolments to a diploma course that is being cancelled after allegedly being misused by non-genuine students, prompting a warning from the assistant minister for international education that providers must not try to game the student visa system.
· 2 sourcesA state-backed truth commission has called on Sweden to apologise for the "harm and injustice inflicted upon the Sami people" and to launch a national process of redress and reconciliation. The Truth Commission for the Sami People also urged an urgent apology to elderly Sami forced as children to attend segregated nomad schools and other boarding schools.
French President Emmanuel Macron has warmly welcomed Andy Burnham's suggestion that the UK could rejoin the European Union, saying 'welcome back' and describing a potential return as very good news for Britain and Europe.
At least 52 civilians have been killed during three days of heavy fighting around Alamata in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, hospital sources have told the BBC. Government troops appear to have taken the town from regional fighters and may be preparing to push north toward Mekelle, the regional capital.
Victorians are being urged to prepare for potentially deadly thunderstorm asthma as health experts warn of an intense hay fever season following a wet and warm winter. The warning comes on the 10th anniversary of the world's largest thunderstorm asthma event, which killed 10 people and caused breathing issues in thousands of others.
· 2 sourcesSouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged men to take greater responsibility for violence against women, acknowledging that not enough has been done to protect women, as he announced new measures in response to a wave of murders that has sparked public anger.
The Trump administration is leveraging an anti-drug trafficking grant program from the 1980s to compel cities to funnel automated license plate reader data into federal surveillance centers, according to records obtained by 404 Media. The program raises significant privacy concerns as it effectively bypasses local restrictions on surveillance data use.
Birmingham and Wales will be the focus of local investigations as part of a national inquiry into grooming gangs, the independent probe chaired by former children's commissioner Anne Longfield announced on Wednesday.
The Australian Taxation Office's 10th corporate tax transparency report reveals that almost 30 per cent of large companies paid no income tax in the 2024-25 financial year, though this represents the lowest proportion since reporting began in 2013-14.
· 2 sourcesChrista Pike, the only woman on Tennessee's death row, remains alive more than an hour after receiving two doses of lethal injection, according to her legal team and multiple witnesses, who described an abnormally long and irregular procedure at Nashville's Riverbend Maximum Security Institution.
· 4 sourcesThe Trump administration has formally notified the Council of Europe that the United States is withdrawing from the Group of States against Corruption (Greco), the latest in a series of pullbacks from international bodies the administration considers wasteful or overreaching.
Britain's domestic security service issued a rare public espionage warning on Wednesday, telling researchers and academics to cease all work with the China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI), also known as the China Academy of General Technology (CAGT), which MI5 described as a 'significant threat' and a front for Chinese intelligence operations stealing vital UK research.
· 4 sourcesThe execution of Christa Pike, the only woman on Tennessee's death row, was halted by a federal appeals court about an hour before it was scheduled to occur on Wednesday. The Sixth Circuit panel said it needed more time to review arguments in her case, bringing a temporary reprieve after the US Supreme Court and the Tennessee governor both declined to intervene.
Australian house prices have dropped for the sixth consecutive month, with Cotality's Home Value Index falling 1.1 per cent in September to bring cumulative declines to 5.2 per cent below the March peak. Experts warn the market could see further falls of 10 to 15 per cent as higher interest rates and changes to housing tax breaks weigh on values.
· 5 sourcesNearly a decade after the Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people in London, the Metropolitan Police has asked the Crown Prosecution Service to consider charging 54 individuals and 20 companies and organisations with offences including corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter, health and safety breaches, fraud and misconduct in public office.
· 2 sourcesBotswana is facing criticism from animal rights activists after authorising the killing of 23 elephants to supply meat for celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of its independence from Britain.
An Iranian court has upheld a sentence of 74 lashes against singer Parastoo Ahmadi for performing without a hijab, prompting rights groups to denounce the punishment as a form of torture. The 29-year-old and eight members of her production team were convicted over a 2024 concert that was streamed online and went viral.
Russia has launched its largest combined attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure since the spring, striking power facilities around Kyiv and across 11 regions overnight and forcing the first emergency power cuts since the end of the last heating season. At least five people were killed, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying a child was among seven dead. The attack damaged the Trypilska power station, the largest supplier of electricity to Kyiv.
· 5 sources