Top World News

Jan 30, 2026 - World

Follow today’s news updates liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastQueensland health minister said federal government still has to bridge the gap on funding dealTim Nicholls, the Queensland health minister, said he still thinks there’s a “bit of water to flow under the bridge” in discussions between states and the federal government over hospital funding.There’s quite a bit of work for the commonwealth to do to step up to the mark because the last offer that was put forward was rejected by states. Because it was inadequate and failed to address the burgeoning problems that we have.We’re negotiating respectfully with them, but quite frankly, the most recent offer wasn’t up to scratch, and we hope to see some improvements on it. Continue reading...

Jan 30, 2026 - World

Trump broke precedent by not releasing his tax returns when he ran for president“I do not want to hear that “everything that’s been done here has been perfect”, Homan said, without referring specifically to the fatal shooting of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.Homan noted that while no “agency is perfect” he did not come to Minneapolis to create “headlines”. The federal immigration enforcement surge is “going to improve because of changes we’re making”, he said. Continue reading...

Jan 30, 2026 - World

The impact of fires on wildlife can be ‘catastrophic’, with some plant species feared extinctGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAs tinderbox conditions continue to hamper wildlife assessment and rescue efforts, bushfires in Victoria have burned habitat crucial to bird and animal species, including eastern bristlebirds and dingoes. Some plant species are feared extinct.Prof Don Driscoll, a terrestrial ecologist at Deakin University, said he was particularly concerned for the state’s population of endangered eastern bristlebirds – shy songbirds with cinnamon-brown feathers – after fires near Mallacoota burned about 60% of their habitat at Howe Flat. Continue reading...

Jan 30, 2026 - World

Woman and man accused of sex outside marriage and drinking alcohol faced what is likely to be one of the severest punishments since Aceh province adopted sharia lawSharia police have caned a couple 140 times each in Indonesia’s Aceh province for having sex outside marriage and drinking alcohol, likely one of the severest such punishments since the deeply conservative region adopted Islamic law.Sexual relations between an unmarried couple are strictly outlawed in Aceh, the only place in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, to impose sharia law. Continue reading...

Jan 30, 2026 - World

General Tchiani accuses France, Benin and the Ivory Coast of links to attack near Niamey’s airport and thanks Russian troops for defence efforts Heavy security has been deployed around the main airport in Niger’s capital, Niamey, after overnight gunfire and explosions that the country’s military ruler blamed without evidence on France, Benin and Côte d’Ivoire.The shooting and detonations began shortly after midnight on Wednesday, according to residents of a neighbourhood near the airport, which is next to Base Aérienne 101, a military base previously used by US and then Russian troops. Continue reading...