Top World News

Oct 14, 2026 - World

Public gatherings stymied by bureaucracy, Australian Democracy Network and Deakin University researchers findGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCouncil red tape is stymieing the right to protest, a report has said, after a regional New South Wales council told a protest organiser they needed a $20m public liability insurance policy to hold a rally in a park.A report released on Wednesday, co-authored by Australian Democracy Network (ADN) and Deakin University’s Centre for Law as Protection, raised concerns about incidents in which councils have required protest organisers to obtain insurance when rallies are held on council land. It also expressed concern about the power some regional and urban councils have to issue financial penalties if public gatherings are held without a council permit. Continue reading...

Oct 14, 2026 - World

Federal court overrules decision by former environment minister for the McPhillamys goldmine development at BlayneyFollow our Australian politics live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe federal court has overturned a rare protection order issued by former environment minister Tanya Plibersek under Indigenous heritage legislation, which the company said effectively blocked a goldmine in the central west of New South Wales.Regis Resources challenged the decision by the former minister to issue the order in 2024 under section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act. Continue reading...

Oct 14, 2026 - World

Rights groups warn of Tehran regime’s increasing use of executions to suppress dissent, with at least 600 this yearHuman rights groups have raised the alarm over the growing number of death sentences and executions in Iran, after reports that a 23-year-old woman, Najmeh Amini, has been sentenced to death for blasphemy over a social-media post.Amini, an accounting student, is being held in Vakilabad prison in the north-east city of Mashhad. She has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison and death in separate cases heard by a revolutionary and a criminal court. Continue reading...

Oct 14, 2026 - World

Faced with deadlier threats, demining groups are coming up with new ways of working using drones and AICrouched over on her hands and knees in a field of weeds, Olena Kabanova is digging into the ground. With a shovel and a steady hand, the 58-year-old digs out a neat square around the spot where a mine detector has sensed a suspicious object.Four years ago, this field in eastern Ukraine was occupied by Russian soldiers. Now back under Ukrainian control, it is littered with landmines. Civilians such as Kabanova are trying to make the land usable again. Continue reading...

Oct 14, 2026 - World

Police have charged a 31-year-old man with the alleged murder of Jayda Allen Bonner, whose body was found in a Carlton apartment on SaturdayFollow our Australian politics live blog for latest updatesGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastWarning: This article contains images of and references to Indigenous Australians who have diedThe family of a young Indigenous woman found dead in an apartment complex in Melbourne’s inner-north on Saturday say they are “absolutely crushed and shattered” by her death.Jayda Allen Bonner, 21, was found dead on the fifth floor of an apartment block on Cardigan Street, Carlton on Saturday at about 1.45am. Continue reading...