Australia news live: Anika Wells refers expenses to parliamentary watchdog; where and when to see the aurora australis
Communications minister says she has referred her entitlement spending to parliament’s expenses watchdog but maintains she believes it is within the rules. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastKevin Hogan says no one ‘gobsmacked’ by Barnaby Joyce’s decision to join One NationKevin Hogan, the deputy leader of the Nationals, compared Barnaby Joyce to Mark Latham after the former said yesterday he would join One Nation.The only other person I can think of that has left who has been a previous leader of a political party and joined One Nation is Mark Latham. And Barnaby Joyce joins those ranks as having been a previous leader of a party and joining One Nation. But I’ll leave others to make their judgment about that.Barnaby has said this: he doesn’t want to be on the backbench. He doesn’t like where he sits. So I don’t think there was much that could have been done to stop that.David [Littleproud] was always saying publicly and privately to Barnaby that the door was open for him to return. And obviously, he’s very disappointed that he left. So, look, I think it was always going to be a tough call. And I think no one is, you know, gobsmacked that he’s made the decision yesterday. Continue reading...
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Australia deporting refugee to Nauru may cause his ‘imminent’ and ‘preventable’ death, court hears
Legal team of man who was part of cohort of non-citizens freed after high court decision argues Nauru’s medical facilities are ‘insufficient’ to treat his severe asthmaGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLawyers for an Iranian refugee Australia wants to deport to Nauru say there is a “real risk he will die” there, setting the stage for a showdown against the federal government’s $2.5bn NZYQ deal.The case surrounding the Iranian refugee, known as TCXM, who was granted a 30-year visa for Nauru in February and subsequently placed back into immigration detention after being freed by the 2023 high court ruling, was heard in the high court on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Analysis: Bangladesh’s BNP seeks Hasina’s liberal mantle before elections
The split between the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami could dramatically reshape Bangladesh's political landscape.
Victims of NHS maternity failings in England ‘received unacceptable care’
Valerie Amos’s investigation finds women let down and slow progress on reforms, with ‘devastating consequences’Victims of NHS maternity failings received “unacceptable care”, leading to “tragic consequences”, the head of an investigation into maternity care in England has said.Changes within services have been too slow despite being necessary and urgent, according to a report by Valerie Amos, who is leading the national maternity and neonatal investigation (NMNI). Continue reading...
7.6-Magnitude Earthquake Near Japan Triggers Tsunami Warning
The 7.6-magnitude quake struck in waters off Aomori Prefecture on Japan’s main island, Honshu. It triggered a tsunami warning, which was later lifted.
Australia is facing its shortest rate cut cycle in 30 years as the RBA hints it may have to start hiking
It’s sure to leave many mortgage holders feeling short-changed given the RBA’s equally historic 13 rate hikes through 2022 and 2023Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Reserve Bank’s governor, Michele Bullock, has effectively ruled out further rate cuts and flagged that hikes may be needed in 2026 if the recent inflationary rebound proves persistent.Speaking at a press conference after the widely expected decision to hold the cash rate at 3.6%, Bullock seemed surprisingly upbeat as she delivered the bad news to the roughly 3.3 million households with a mortgage. Continue reading...
UK campaigners condemn ‘creepy’ digital billboards that can track viewers’ responses
Tech company has installed the advertising screens in hundreds of apartment blocks across 20 British citiesDigital billboards that can film viewers’ responses to adverts have been installed in hundreds of apartment blocks, in a move that civil liberty campaigners called “creepy as hell”.The supplier, 30Seconds Group, says the cameras allow them to track “occupant engagement” from residents who are a “captive audience” as they wait for lifts to their apartments. Continue reading...
In Thailand and Cambodia, Taking Shelter (Again) as Fighting Reignites
Hundreds of thousands of people fled a deadly border conflict, the authorities said, some sheltering at a racetrack in Thailand and some near temples in Cambodia.
Honduras Issues Warrant for Juan Orlando Hernández
The attorney general said he had asked Interpol to detain Juan Orlando Hernández, who was freed from a U.S. prison last week.
China’s record trade surplus reveals its biggest strength – and hidden weakness
Booming Chinese exports have driven trade surplus past $1tn but also reveal the extent of country’s reliance on foreign marketsA boom in exports that has pushed China’s trade surplus past $1tn for the first time reveals the extent to which its economy is still overwhelmingly reliant on foreign markets – and the difficulty figures like Donald Trump will have in trying to rebalance global trade.Data released on Monday shows that in the first 11 months of this year, China’s trade surplus in goods was $1.076tn. The record trade surplus comes even as exports to the US have plummeted, a reflection of the bruising US-China trade war that, despite a recent cooling, has dampened the flow of goods between the world’s two largest economies. Continue reading...