In this hour of need, contemplating a cut to Australia’s refugee intake is cruel populism

• A top UN official addressed the Security Council on Thursday regarding Syria's ongoing transition and rebuilding efforts following more than a decade of war. • Key developments mentioned include the recent dissolution of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and the United States' decision to remove Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Book was removed for review earlier this month following complaint but reinstated after petition and State Library letter to Waverley councilFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Sydney library has returned to its borrowing shelves a book critical of Israel called How to Sell a Genocide following a public campaign and an intervention from the State Library of New South Wales.Waverley library removed the book “for review” earlier this month after the Jewish news outlet JWire reported it had approached the council. Continue reading...

Woolston Eyes in Warrington, a dumping ground for canal dredgings, has become best place in UK for black-necked grebeA dumping ground for dredgings from the Manchester Ship Canal has become the best place in Britain for the rare and beautiful black-necked grebe, hosting 64% of Britain’s breeding population.Since 2021, Woolston Eyes in Cheshire has been restored, extended and turned into a mosaic of freshwater pools, reedbeds, willow scrub and rough grassland, managed by the RSPB and Woolston Eyes Conservation Group. Continue reading...

President denies visit was to gain support for Iran sanctions or due to fears that Putin plans to ‘test Nato resolve’Donald Trump has downplayed a visit to Moscow by the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, as “semi-routine” after he turned up in the Russian capital unannounced, triggering a wave of speculation about the reasons for his trip.Ratcliffe was reported to have flown to Moscow on a government transport plane on Tuesday in a rare visit after taking off from the Andrews air force base in Maryland. Continue reading...

Course at Donald Trump’s Turnberry resort was painted with words ‘Gaza is not 4 sale’ and clubhouse was sprayed with graffitiSeven people charged with vandalising Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf course in Scotland have been accused of malicious damage “having a terrorist connection”.The clubhouse at the five-star Trump Turnberry hotel and resort on the west coast of Scotland was graffitied on 8 March last year and the course was dug up and painted with the words “Gaza is not 4 sale”. Continue reading...

A zero-emission compact hydrogen power plant will drive the main stage at Clifton Down in BristolWhen Lorde, Little Simz and Wet Leg stride on to stages in Bristol this weekend, they will not only be entertaining tens of thousands of festivalgoers but taking part in what is being billed as a world-first clean power project.The two stages at Forwards festival on Clifton Down are being driven almost entirely by green power – a combination of hydrogen and mobile batteries charged with sustainable energy. Continue reading...

Man – referred to as MM by court – will keep his identity hidden after legal challenge against suppression dismissed The identity of a high-profile Queensland man drawn into a Cairns extortion case will remain secret, after the state’s supreme court threw out a legal challenge against a suppression order.The man – referred to as MM by the court – was drawn into an extortion case earlier this year. He is not a party to the case and is not accused of any offence. Continue reading...

Barrister for former St Kilda player says he will appeal both the sentence and the conviction for unprovoked assault in May 2025 Former AFL star Nicky Winmar has been jailed for six months for attacking a woman in a violent assault.Winmar, 60, dropped his head as he was sentenced in Bendigo magistrates court over the May 2025 assault against a woman at Cohuna in northern Victoria. Continue reading...

Other governments could seek similar concessions, while separate legal action is pending in places ranging from Kenya to the NetherlandsIn October 2021, Abrham Meareg’s father, a professor of chemistry in Ethiopia’s northern town of Bahir Dar, was shot at close range and died outside his family home. This was in the middle of the country’s civil war.For weeks, Facebook’s algorithm had actively promoted posts calling for the academic to be murdered, according to Meareg and Foxglove, a nonprofit organisation supporting Meareg’s lawsuit against the company in Kenya. These posts included photos of his father and his home address. Continue reading...

Coronor finds 31-year-old deviated from a walking track as dusk fell, four days before the winter solsticeOverlapping errors, including a lack of preparation in near-freezing winter weather, contributed to the death of a Belgian tourist on a wilderness track.Celine Cremer set off on a walk at Philosopher Falls in Tasmania’s remote northwest on 17 June 2023, and was reported missing almost 10 days later. Continue reading...

Renewed scrutiny comes after police officer accused of falsifying records in order to close the cases of people who were later found deadSouth Korean police will re-examine about 310,000 missing persons cases closed over the past three years, prompted by a scandal in which an officer was arrested on suspicion of falsifying records to close files on two people who were later found dead.The case has drawn national attention, with President Lee Jae Myung ordering an investigation into the police handling of it and telling the force to draw up a reform plan. Continue reading...