Fear

People in Caracas and coastal towns describe powerful quakes that collapsed buildings and killed at least 164As a double whammy of powerful earthquakes rattled Venezuela’s northern coast on Wednesday, residents of the capital, Caracas, scrambled out on to the streets from shuddering, fractured buildings.“It was horrible. I felt like the house was moving to a different rhythm to the earth. I had to carry my mum out. She was paralysed by fear,” said 18-year-old Sebastian Rodríguez, whose family runs a shop in Centro Plaza, a brutalist commercial centre in the affluent neighbourhood of Los Palos Grandes. Continue reading...

• International pressure is intensifying as the UN and foreign governments warn of an expanding conflict and deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Sudan. • Particular concern is mounting over the city of El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, where fears of escalation are rising. • This escalation threatens to further destabilize the region and exacerbate an already severe humanitarian crisis for the civilian population.

• US stock market futures for the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones are falling as AI-related fears trigger a global sell-off in technology stocks. • The decline is exacerbated by high borrowing levels among investors, which increases market volatility and accelerates selling pressure during downturns. • This tech-driven slump has overshadowed positive geopolitical news, including easing tensions involving Iran, which investors are largely ignoring.

Herbicide manufacturer Sygenta had reservations dating back to 1970s but regulator says tighter controls, including phasing out backpack sprayers, can protect workersFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe herbicide paraquat, banned in over 70 countries, will remain legal in Australia despite Parkinson’s groups, scientists and neurologists arguing there is a strong correlation between direct exposure and the incidence of the disease.The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) announced its final decision on Tuesday following a decades-long review of the highly toxic paraquat and a related chemical, diquat. Both are widely used in Australian agriculture. Continue reading...

Share of people who say cultural diversity has been good for the nation plunges from 90% in 2024 to 73% in 2026, Lowy Institute survey findsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia is undergoing a historic decline in support for multiculturalism, according to the Lowy Institute’s annual poll, amid a groundswell of fear rooted in mounting economic pessimism and an increasingly illiberal and chaotic world order.The Lowy poll is the latest edition of the country’s longest-running survey of Australians’ opinions of the world and their place in it, and revealed a record low 31% of the more than 2,000 people surveyed had faith in the United States to act responsibly on the world stage, and just one in five trust the president, Donald Trump, to do the right thing. Continue reading...

Trump-admiring Abelardo de la Espriella has vowed to ‘disembowel’ the left and kill criminals like ‘rats and cockroaches’When more than 20 women accused a Colombian evangelical pastor in 2012 of sexually abusing them, the defendant’s lawyer sought to discredit the allegations by telling the court that they were “trepadoras” – a pejorative term meaning social climbers.He ultimately secured his client’s acquittal – although the case remains under review by the supreme court – but footage of the remark resurfaced during Colombia’s presidential campaign, sparking outrage among many progressive voters. Continue reading...

Experts thought H5N1 bird flu would more likely reach Australia’s north. But an arrival from Antarctica had always been possibleGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastBrown skuas and giant petrels are a common sight offshore in southern Australian waters in the winter months, but they will rarely risk venturing on to land.So when two of these birds were discovered sick – on beaches a few kilometres apart on Western Australia’s southern coastline – it was a sign something might be wrong. Continue reading...