Category: World News

Alan Rickman nearly walked away from his starring role as anguished Hogwarts Professor Severus Snape in Harry Potter, excerpts from the beloved British actor’s extensive diaries have revealed. Entries from the late actor’s diaries have been published in the lead-up to the release of a book of them early next

Severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued in two states, with further heavy rain putting NSW and Queensland on watch for more flooding. The weather bureau issued a warning for “large hail [and] damaging winds” in an area of NSW from Coffs Harbour north to the Queensland border on Tuesday afternoon.

NSW train commuters could be travelling for free as the rail union revives a plan to indefinitely deactivate Opal card readers. Rail workers will vote on whether to shut down Opal readers at train stations after that plan was withdrawn when the government threatened legal action earlier this month. It

A new anti-corruption body will cost $262 million over four years to ensure it is resourced well enough to improve integrity in public life. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus briefed the Labor caucus on the legislation on Tuesday morning and will introduce the bill to parliament on Wednesday. He said the cost

Key independent MPs have raised a “major red flag” as Labor revealed more about its plans for a new federal anti-corruption body. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus briefed the Labor caucus on the legislation on Tuesday morning and will introduce the bill to parliament on Wednesday. It will cost $262 million over

The purported hacker who stole personal information from up to 9.8 million Optus users has apologised for their actions and claims to have deleted the stolen data. In a sensational twist, the hackers – who hours earlier began leaking  stolen information in a bid to draw Optus into a US$1

Jetstar has announced it has a new boss – as the budget carrier faces fresh accusations of leaving holidaymakers stranded overseas. Qantas chief customer officer Stephanie Tully will take over as Jetstar’s new chief executive. But she arrives at a time of turmoil for the budget airline. It was reported

Melissa Caddick’s husband says he had no inkling his wife was defrauding family and friends of millions of dollars, nor did he ask her why federal police or the corporate watchdog was suddenly raiding their home. Anthony Koletti began giving evidence at the NSW Coroners Court on Tuesday at the

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has lauded late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe for being integral to establishing the Quad security dialogue and advancing common interests in the region. Speaking at the start of a bilateral meeting with Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida in Tokyo, Mr Albanese said the two nations were working

Governing body FIBA has launched an investigation after two players on the Mali women’s basketball team exchanged punches following another loss at the World Cup in Sydney. The scuffle between Salimatou Kourouma and Kamite Elisabeth Dabou broke out as Serbian player Sasa Cado was being interviewed in the mixed zone

Consumers have regained some confidence in the economy as rising interest rates do little to rein in spending. The 2.1 per cent boost in sentiment was driven by an uplift in confidence in Australia’s economic conditions. ‘Current economic conditions’ jumped 4.8 per cent, according to ANZ-Roy Morgan’s weekly consumer confidence

Victoria has increased surveillance testing for traces of the polio virus in wastewater. Chief health officer Brett Sutton confirmed authorities stepped up testing after a man aged in his 20s was paralysed by the virus in New York earlier this year. He said the risk of an outbreak in Victoria

The British royal family and their households are returning to official duties as the period of official mourning in memory of the late Queen ends. The royal family has only carried out official duties where appropriate since the Queen’s death on September 8 and its members have dressed in black

President Vladimir Putin has granted Russian citizenship to former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, nine years after he exposed the scale of secret surveillance operations by the National Security Agency. Mr Snowden, 39, fled the United States and was given asylum in Russia after leaking secret files in 2013 that revealed

Russian-organised referendums that could annex 15 per cent of Ukraine’s territory are ending as the Kremlin says no decision has been taken on whether to seal Russia’s borders to stop military-aged men fleeing. Voting in the Ukrainian provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the east and southeast began

The royal commission into the controversial robodebt scheme will focus on the people in charge, promising to hold senior government figures to account. Hundreds of thousands of people were caught in the Centrelink debacle and the investigation is examining what went so badly wrong. The commissioner and senior counsel assisting

Peter Dutton’s defamation case against a refugee advocate has come to an end after an agreement was struck over legal costs, following the overturning of a finding in favour of the opposition leader. A notice of discontinuation was filed in the High Court on Friday. Refugee advocate Shane Bazzi in

Police in southern Tasmania are hunting for a person who fired at officers as they were driving to an alleged family violence incident. Shots were fired at one police car containing two officers about 11.50pm on Monday as they travelled to arrest a person at Glenfern, about 35km northwest of

Optus is staring down a possible class action after the personal data of millions of its customers was exposed in a massive hack last week. Law firm Slater and Gordon said on Monday it was investigating a possible class action, amid growing concerns that Optus customers could fall victim to

More than 95 per cent of Australian families will benefit from the Albanese government’s childcare reform. Education Minister Jason Clare will introduce the legislation to parliament on Tuesday. The bill is expected to slash out-of-pocket costs for 1.26 million families with children in care. “The vast majority of this is designed

Search efforts are underway for a mother and daughter who disappeared when their vehicle was swallowed by a massive sinkhole in Guatemala. The girl’s father was rescued on Sunday from the hole in Villa Nueva, southwest of the capital, along with three other people. The sinkhole opened in the middle

Giorgia Meloni, who will become Italy’s first female prime minister, says she wants to “enhance what unites” people in the country rather than what divides them, after her alliance won parliamentary elections at the weekend. “The Italians have entrusted us with an important task. Now it is our job to

The alleged hacker behind the Optus cyber attack targeting the data of millions of Australians has released a tranche of the data, as they step up their ransom demands. In the updated claim on Tuesday morning, the hacker – known only as “Optus Data” – demanded the telco get in

Britons are bracing for yet more hip-pocket pain and the pound has plummeted to record lows as the fallout continues from the Conservative government’s so-called ‘mini-budget’. The Bank of England said early on Tuesday (Australian time) it was monitoring the falling currency value and would not hesitate to again hike

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the Australian people voted for a government that will deliver a powerful, transparent and independent national anti-corruption commission. This week the Parliament faces an acid test on delivering one. Labor’s caucus will be given its first look at what is actually proposed on Tuesday. After the

Sami Whitcomb’s fourth-quarter rampage has helped Australia to a 75-72 win over previously undefeated Canada that ensures the Opals will advance to the knockout stage at the women’s basketball World Cup. The victory at Qudos Bank Arena improved Australia’s record to 3-1, meaning it is on track to finish in the

Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi, a spiritual guide to the Muslim Brotherhood who championed the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings and unsettled rulers in Egypt and the Gulf with his Islamist preaching has died. He was 96. Born in Egypt, Sheikh Qaradawi spent much of his life in Qatar, where he became

Global economic growth is slowing more than was forecast a few months ago in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as energy and inflation crises risk snowballing into recessions in major economies, the OECD says. Global growth this year was still expected at 3.0 per cent, but it is

Merchants and locals along Hanoi’s iconic Train Street are distraught after Vietnamese authorities called time on the tourism hotspot. Narrow Train Street draws is famous for drawing crowds of tourists every day to get up close with the daily locomotives that run along it. Trains pass through twice a day

The government is on the brink of securing support for legislation establishing a national anti-corruption commission on Monday after confirming that third parties will potentially be subject to its investigations. With the bill scheduled for introduction on Wednesday, there were positive indications of support from both the Coalition and the

The Albanese government will slash the cost of popular medications as it begins what it says is the biggest cut to drug costs in the 75 years of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. In a twin-pronged announcement on Monday, Health Minister Mark Butler said more than 2000 medications on the PBS

Australia has been polio-free for 22 years, but some state governments are concerned the country may be about to break its streak. Michael Toole, associate principal research fellow at the Burnet Institute, told the ABC News Daily podcast the New South Wales state government has put together an expert panel to

Few settings invite drama, messy emotions and chaos like a high school. The original 1990s Heartbreak High ran for seven seasons and was broadcast in more than 70 countries including the UK, US, Germany, Argentina, Mexico, India and Indonesia. The show followed a cast of students at a multicultural Sydney

Markets remained under the clear direction of the US dollar and yields following last week’s hawkish FOMC meeting, which saw Wall Street and key commodity markets continue lower due to recessionary fears. The ASX 200 fell for a second week and closed beneath 6600 for the first time since late

Petrol prices may hit $2.20 a litre within weeks as service stations raise bowser rates to multi-month highs, motorists have been warned. Daily average petrol prices across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane sit at 191 cents per litre (cpl) after a 23 per cent hike since prices bottomed two weeks ago,