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7624 articles · page 124 of 159 · The World front page
Australian high school students have scored their lowest-ever results in maths and reading on the Programme for International Student Assessment, with the long-term learning decline continuing despite a slight improvement in science. More than half of 15-year-olds did not achieve the national proficiency standard in maths, according to the 2025 results released today.
· 2 sourcesThe UK government's plan to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank has sparked criticism from the United States, Israel, and some British MPs, with a Labour MP warning the move could increase risks to British Jews.
Nepal has launched a crackdown on online abuse directed at survivors of last month's deadly floods, with Prime Minister Balendra Shah declaring that those who make 'unnecessary remarks' or 'belittle' people in pain are criminals. Police are tracing the origins of hostile social media comments, including those insulting relatives of missing persons who had appealed for help.
Victorian One Nation leader Warren Pickering has admitted to using ecstasy, methamphetamines and marijuana in his 20s, losing his licence multiple times for drink driving, and says he is 'no angel' — but he has denied claims he smoked ice in front of children and is considering legal action against The Australian newspaper.
· 9 sourcesHouthi attacks on southern Saudi Arabia have injured dozens, according to Saudi officials, while the Houthi-run news agency in Yemen said the militia would issue a statement about a ‘large-scale’ military operation in the kingdom.
· 3 sourcesCanada's counter-tariffs on nearly C$28 billion ($20 billion) worth of US products came into force on Tuesday, with no progress toward resolving a deepening trade war that now hits steel, furniture, clothing and hundreds of other goods. Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa is ready to negotiate a 'durable' deal, but US trade representative Jamieson Greer insisted the ball remains in Canada's court.
· 2 sourcesIndia's latest GDP growth figure of 7.8% — higher than the forecast 7% — has sparked a furore, with former finance secretary Subhash Garg accusing the government of manipulating the data to inflate the number.
· 2 sourcesAl Jazeera has released a series of video news updates covering wildfires forcing evacuations near resort areas in Antalya, Turkey; tight polling as Brazil marks its Independence Day; a deadly explosion at a military base in Bolivia; flash floods in central Morocco; and a protest movement in Albania targeting a resort linked to Jared Kushner.
Lawyers for the outlawed neo-Nazi White Australia party have told the High Court that the anti-hate laws used to ban the group are 'authoritarian in nature' and breach the constitution, arguing the Commonwealth does not have the power to outlaw a political party — a position the High Court upheld in 1951 when it struck down an attempt to ban the Communist Party.
· 2 sourcesA friend of Alan Jones who has denied witnessing an alleged assault in a Mosman restaurant has agreed in court that he sent the broadcaster a text message offering to 'refute any lies', as the trial on 22 indecent assault and sexual touching charges continues.
Al Jazeera's video newsfeed on Tuesday reports a series of incidents worldwide, including a deadly explosion at a Bolivian military base, flash floods in central Morocco, the closure of the Eiffel Tower over a dispute involving a Hindu group, the 100th day of the 'Flamingo Revolution' against a Kushner-linked resort, and the collapse of an Indian temple into the Ganges due to riverbank erosion.
Israel has retaliated against the United Kingdom's announcement of sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank by ordering the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem, dramatically escalating a diplomatic rift between the two countries.
· 8 sourcesPolice in Victoria’s east are urgently searching for Peter O’Ryan, 48, who allegedly attacked his brother and parents with an axe at their home in Tyers on Saturday, just months after being released from prison. His father Keith is in a critical but stable condition, while brother Paul and mother Janine are in serious but stable conditions at the Alfred Hospital.
The federal government has today introduced draft digital duty of care legislation designed to protect Australians from online harms, shifting the regulatory focus from reacting to harmful content to requiring platforms to prevent harm through system design.
Somali piracy has returned to levels not seen in a decade, with eight hijackings of cargo ships and dhows since late April, fueled by disruptions from the US-Israeli war against Iran and a resurgence of political instability in Somalia, according to reports.
A 10-year-old boy with a shattered kneecap has spent almost a week in Karratha Hospital in serious pain, waiting for a Royal Flying Doctor Service flight to Perth for surgery, as the WA Country Health Service cites "unusually high" demand for patient transfers.
From October 1, 2026, the Reserve Bank of Australia will ban surcharges on eftpos, Mastercard, and Visa payments, eliminating the irritating extra line on receipts for most card transactions. However, the same reforms are slashing interchange fees — the money banks earn from card payments — which could reduce the funding that supports credit card rewards, perks, and interest-free days.
Mount Isa City Council is set to auction the first of 24 homes to recover almost $1 million in unpaid rates from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation for Welfare Services, a move that residents say could force First Nations families out of their homes with nowhere to go.
· 2 sourcesAn explosion at a military barracks in Bolivia has killed nine people, according to reports, with a nearby resident describing how the blast shook their home violently.
· 2 sourcesCricket Australia has reportedly agreed to a deal that would bring private investment into the Big Bash League, according to a breaking report from the ABC, though no specifics on the structure, investors or timeline have yet emerged.
The Australian government will require social media platforms to let users over 16 opt out of algorithm-driven content feeds, under draft legislation that also enforces a digital duty of care to limit children’s exposure to harmful material including misogynistic and eating-disorder content. Platforms that fail to comply face fines exceeding A$100 million.
· 7 sourcesThe far-right Alternative for Germany party has won a state election by a landslide, exposing a deep split among voters over whether to maintain the country's decades-old bipartisan strategy of isolating extremists to safeguard democracy.
· 2 sourcesGermany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has won the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, a victory that has alarmed European leaders due to the party's extremist designation, its calls to abandon Germany's Nazi-era education, and its pledge to pursue rapprochement with Russia by ending sanctions on Moscow and cutting support for Ukraine.
A B-double truck carrying compressed recycled cardboard was destroyed by fire on the Hume Highway at Manton, north of Yass, on Monday night, marking the tenth such incident along a 150-kilometre stretch of the highway in just over two months. The driver escaped without injury, but southbound lanes remain closed for clean-up and vehicle recovery.
· 2 sourcesUkraine's Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko resigned on Monday following a corruption scandal involving illegal call centres, a day after he dismissed the allegations as "completely unsubstantiated." The resignation comes after a weekend search of his offices by Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP), who said they uncovered a money-laundering network run by an official in Kravchenko's office.
· 2 sourcesLeaked text messages have revealed details of a proposed $1 billion treaty that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese intends to strike with his Solomon Islands counterpart, according to reports published by multiple News Corp Australia outlets.
· 3 sourcesPortsmouth, Leicester, Exeter, Bristol and Nottingham are set to experience the greatest warming by the end of the century as global heating intensifies the urban heat island effect in British cities, according to a new analysis from Ordnance Survey, the Met Office and 4 Earth Intelligence.
The Eiffel Tower reopened on Tuesday after a one-day strike by staff who protested against management's decision to relocate female employees from their workstations during a visit by a Hindu religious group over the weekend. Union representatives said women were asked to leave their posts so men could be placed there for the delegation, sparking outrage and leading to the closure of the iconic Paris landmark on Monday.
· 3 sourcesHawaii has declared a state of emergency as Hurricane Lowell, a powerful Category 3 storm with winds of 125 miles per hour, approaches the islands. The first impacts are expected as soon as Monday night, with officials warning of dangerous surf and storm conditions.
· 2 sourcesPresident Donald Trump has threatened to block Bombardier from selling its aircraft in the United States unless the Canadian company moves its manufacturing to America, escalating a trade dispute hours before Canada is set to impose $20bn in retaliatory tariffs on US goods.
· 3 sourcesCanada's retaliatory tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of American imports took effect at midnight Tuesday, escalating a trade dispute with the United States as President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney remain at odds and Washington warns of further duties.
· 5 sourcesVictorian Labor’s proposed reforms to strengthen the state’s anti-corruption body, IBAC, are at risk of collapse after last-minute changes that would prevent certain allegations from being investigated, according to reports.
· 3 sourcesFighting has escalated sharply in Yemen, with Saudi-backed forces loyal to the internationally recognised government renewing their pledge to seize the capital Sanaa as battles rage for control of the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait, threatening a return to full-scale war after years of relative calm.
· 3 sourcesAs the new Palestinian school year opened in the occupied West Bank village of al-Mughayyir, headteacher Bassam al Assaf described a climate of fear among students and parents, following a surge of settler-related violence that has claimed six lives in the community since the start of the year, including three pupils.
· 3 sourcesUS-based Peabody has submitted a scoping report to the NSW government to expand its Metropolitan coalmine at Helensburgh, south of Sydney, until 2044, a project that would extract 31 million tonnes of coal over 12 years and preserve 400 jobs, but has drawn warnings over its location within Sydney's drinking water catchment.
· 2 sourcesTwo years after deadly riots engulfed Nouméa, New Caledonia is grappling with an economic collapse that has seen $3 billion in damage, an exodus of 12,000 people, and mounting debts in its pension and healthcare systems, prompting its newly elected president to seek urgent aid from Paris.
· 2 sourcesThe federal government has quietly shelved a 2023 promise to implement national packaging standards aimed at curbing plastic waste, citing concern for increasing cost of living pressures. In an email to stakeholders last week, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water said the mandatory standards would not go ahead in this term of government, instead focusing on working with states and territories on ‘opportunities to improve’ packaging regulations.
· 2 sourcesAnimals Australia has formally called on Biosecurity Tasmania to investigate three of the state's largest Atlantic salmon farming companies — Huon Aquaculture, Tassal Group and Petuna Aquaculture — alleging serious and ongoing breaches of Tasmania's Animal Welfare Act. The complaint, seen by the ABC, argues that the companies have engaged in conduct including fin clipping without anaesthetic, withdrawing feed for up to 72 hours, and keeping fish in conditions that lead to disease and mass mortality, in contravention of multiple sections of the Act.
· 2 sourcesThe UN nuclear watchdog has confirmed that Syria constructed a nuclear reactor in Deir Az Zor during the rule of Bashar al-Assad, and that the facility was configured for nuclear weapons development, according to two separate reports released this week.
· 2 sourcesNorthern Territory Deputy Chief Minister Gerard Maley has been criticised for failing to publicly disclose that his sister-in-law is an employee of Beetaloo Digital, the gas company subsidiary that was granted exclusive rights to 185 hectares of government land for a proposed $40 billion hyperscale data centre. Maley jointly announced the deal at a July 22 press conference, saying it showed the Territory was open for business, but did not mention the family connection.
· 2 sourcesThe trial of three men accused of murdering Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad during a 2024 surf trip began in Ensenada, Mexico, on Monday, with the victims' parents coming face to face with the alleged killers in a dramatic first day that also saw a last-minute change of judge.
· 6 sourcesGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz has pledged to remain in office despite the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) scoring a decisive victory in the Saxony-Anhalt state election, a result he said had shaken his conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) ‘to its very foundations’.
Israel has opened a trade office in the Bosnian Serb entity of Republika Srpska, according to a report from Al Jazeera. The development highlights ongoing tensions over Bosnia’s complex post-war political structure.
A grassroots Labor Party group, Labor Against War, has called on the Albanese government to pursue an independent foreign policy and distance Australia from what it describes as 'the American war machine,' arguing the United States has 'led Australia into wars of aggression' for 50 years. The call follows revelations that US military and weapons manufacturers control or have access to more than 100 bases across the Australian continent, despite government assurances that the sites remain under Australian control.
· 2 sourcesRussia has ordered the closure of Germany's Consulate-General in Saint Petersburg by September 18, retaliating against Berlin's decision to close the Russian consulate in Bonn and a Russian cultural centre. The move deepens a diplomatic crisis already inflamed by Germany's accusation that Moscow orchestrated a drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport last month, an allegation Russia has dismissed as an absurd fabrication.
· 2 sourcesA new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has found that Stolen Generations survivors and their descendants experience significantly greater physical and health challenges than the wider Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations, including higher rates of severe or profound disability.
· 2 sourcesThe most severe El Niño weather event on record threatens to push food prices higher this year, experts say, piling pressure on households already struggling with post-pandemic grocery bills and complicating the Reserve Bank's efforts to bring inflation back under control.
· 2 sourcesIsraeli strikes on the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Rumman have killed at least 12 people, including two children and four women, Lebanon's health ministry said, in one of the deadliest days of bombardment since a June ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.