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World news from every region: conflicts, elections, diplomacy, disasters and the people at the centre of them.

7850 articles · page 51 of 164 · The World front page

World

Norte Fire forces 16,000 to evacuate, destroys homes in Orange County

A wildfire driven by fierce Santa Ana winds has damaged at least six homes and led to the evacuation of approximately 16,000 residents in Southern California's Orange County, fire officials reported Friday. Known as the Norte Fire, the blaze started in the coastal city of San Clemente and spread rapidly into nearby San Juan Capistrano, growing to an estimated 465 acres (188 hectares) according to the Orange County Fire Authority, while the state's Cal Fire agency put the size at about 570 acres (231 hectares). More than 500 firefighters were working to contain the fire, which remained at zero percent containment by Friday afternoon.

· 7 sources
World

Healey says Heathrow third runway has 'always been a case for growth' as PM holds back

Chancellor John Healey has declared that a third runway at Heathrow has 'always been a case for growth', striking a markedly more supportive tone than Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who has declined to back the expansion. Speaking at the IMF meetings in Bangkok, Healey said airports had been 'a big part of jobs and growth' in recent decades, as the government reviews responses to a closed public consultation on the project.

· 4 sources
World

Lula reverses stance, supports lowering criminal age to 16 in Brazil election gamble

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has reversed his long-standing opposition to lowering the age of criminal responsibility, announcing he now supports reducing it to 16 for heinous crimes. The shift, made during a televised interview with less than two weeks until the presidential runoff, is widely seen as an effort to close a 2.2 million-vote gap with his far-right opponent, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro.

Australia

Mass flying fox deaths along east coast threaten forest ecosystems, experts warn

A suspected mass starvation event of grey-headed flying foxes along the east coast of Australia has overwhelmed wildlife carers and prompted warnings that the loss of the keystone pollinator could disrupt entire forest ecosystems. Experts say drought conditions have caused a lack of nectar on flowering trees, forcing bats to seek food closer to the ground and leading to widespread malnutrition and death.

US Politics

Ocasio-Cortez transfers $1m to Michigan Senate candidate El-Sayed in progressive push

US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has transferred $1 million from her own campaign to support Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, marking a major progressive intervention in the tightly contested race. Ocasio-Cortez confirmed the donation on Friday, saying she is 'leaving everything I can on the field' to counter what she described as smears against El-Sayed's Muslim faith, Egyptian heritage and support for Palestine.

· 2 sources
US Politics

Lawsuit against private equity billionaire Leon Black dismissed as plaintiff cites medical crisis

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing private equity billionaire Leon Black of rape after the plaintiff, known only as Jane Doe, said she was medically incapable of continuing and at risk of acute psychiatric crisis including suicide. The dismissal, requested by Doe herself, comes without any settlement, according to Black’s legal team, and does not resolve Black’s separate battle with the US House of Representatives, which has voted to hold him in criminal contempt for defying subpoenas related to his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

World

Kenya records third Ebola case as DRC outbreak surpasses 9,000 infections

Kenya has confirmed its third case of the Bundibugyo virus disease, a strain of Ebola, in a 65-year-old woman who is a close relative of the first two patients. The new case was detected on Friday, 10 days after Kenya reported its first Ebola death in Nairobi, linked to the ongoing epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has now recorded more than 9,000 cases and over 4,300 deaths since May.

Australia

Fire ants re-infest Queensland organic farms after 14-month treatment suspension

Red imported fire ants have re-infested organic farms in south-east Queensland that have gone untreated for 14 months, after baiting was suspended on export-certified properties because the baits contained genetically modified ingredients. The National Fire Ant Eradication Program has confirmed re-infestation across parts of a 1,110-hectare zone, and a newly approved organic-compliant treatment is only now arriving at Brisbane port.

· 2 sources
US Politics

New US bill seeks to guarantee ownership rights for video game buyers

Representative Ritchie Torres of New York has introduced the Power To The Players Act, a bill that would require the Federal Trade Commission to establish regulations guaranteeing consumers ownership of the video games they purchase rather than a revocable license. The legislation comes amid growing frustration over games that become unplayable when publishers shut down the servers required to run them, with the bill specifically citing NBA 2K25 as an example of the problem.

· 2 sources
Australia

Witnesses and victims find a lifeline in court support volunteers across NSW

A vivid scene in a new feature from the October 17 edition of Good Weekend shows the intense anxiety victims and witnesses can face in court, and the critical role of volunteer support officers. Set at Newcastle’s regional courthouse, the story follows Jennifer, a court support officer, as she helps a young woman who is about to give evidence in a sexual assault trial and is visibly distressed by the defendant's presence.

· 3 sources
Australia

Victorian selective school debate heats up as thousands miss out on Mac.Robertson places

Thousands of students miss out on a place at Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School every year, intensifying a political debate over Victoria’s four selective-entry schools that is set to become a state election issue. With only 1000 new spots available across the network each year and thousands sitting the entry exam, the Liberal opposition has promised to establish new selective schools, while critics argue the system entrenches social segregation.

· 3 sources
Australia

Home battery owners cash in as NSW heatwave sends electricity prices soaring

A spring heatwave in New South Wales triggered a dramatic spike in electricity prices on Monday afternoon, allowing households with solar panels and battery storage to earn significant returns by selling power back to the grid. Prices in the National Energy Market (NEM) briefly reached $23,107 per megawatt hour, just shy of the market cap, as a combination of coal plant outages and transmission constraints left the system struggling to meet increased demand.

· 2 sources
Geopolitics

Musk approached Trump to slow Starlink in Ukraine, sources say, as both deny responsibility

Elon Musk approached US President Donald Trump with a proposal to slow down Starlink in Ukraine, and Trump agreed, according to four sources familiar with the discussions reported by The Telegraph. The speed restrictions, imposed this week on the military-grade Starshield system, capped drone connectivity at around 160km/h, hampering Ukraine's ability to intercept Russian jet-powered drones. Both Trump and Musk have publicly denied ordering the slowdown, with the president saying Friday he did not know who was responsible, while a US official insisted no request was made by the White House.

· 9 sources
World

Global Citizen returns to Western Australia as co-founder Michael Sheldrick comes home

Global Citizen co-founder Michael Sheldrick is returning to his hometown of Perth as the advocacy organisation brings its event back to Western Australia, with a mission aimed at tackling energy poverty. Sheldrick, a northern suburbs product who went from a shy, struggling student to a global advocate, credits a high school teacher for helping him realise his potential and is now determined to provide similar opportunities to children around the world.

· 3 sources
World

Police drop investigation into Palestine Action post by national security adviser's wife

Police have dropped their investigation into a social media post by Sarah Helm, the wife of the UK’s national security adviser Jonathan Powell, which appeared to express support for the proscribed group Palestine Action. The Metropolitan Police said on Saturday that the post had been assessed by specialist officers and determined not to meet the criminal threshold, adding that no further police action would be taken.

· 6 sources
US Politics

White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Removed After Five Days

Katie Zacharia has been removed as White House press secretary after just five days on the job, the shortest tenure in U.S. history. President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he had encouraged Zacharia to reconsider the role, saying 'I just spoke to her about it. I said, Katie, is this for you?' A White House official confirmed to reporters that Zacharia was 'transitioning out' of the position.

· 15 sources