Federal government announces $800 million budget boost for Help to Buy housing scheme

The federal government will expand the eligibility criteria for one of its signature housing policies under an $800 million investment to be included in next week’s budget.
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil has announced more people will be able to access the Help…[Read more]

US politics live: US tech giants rally against Australia over social media regulations

US tech giants are now pushing the Trump administration to pick a fight with Canberra over an Australian policy they believe is hurting the bottom line.

Donald Trump has effectively shut down the Department of Education as the White House takes a chainsaw to…[Read more]

Police investigating online threat to third Mosque

NSW police are investigating threats made online to another Sydney Mosque, with a TikTok account allegedly making another reference to the 2019 Christchurch shooting.
Lakemba Mosque in Sydney’s west reported received an alleged threat on Wednesday.
A group representing Padstow Mosque said they…[Read more]

Window crack found on Tokyo-Osaka bullet train

A window crack on a Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka forced a temporary slowdown, the operator said late Saturday.

A steel plate on communications equipment in a tunnel in central Japan is believed to have detached and hit a window on the No. 16 car of the Nozomi 317 train…[Read more]

Japan hot springs facing water shortages as tourism booms

Hot spring resorts across Japan are facing water shortages as the influx of foreign tourists drives up usage, forcing some onsen to shut down due to inadequate supplies, local authorities say.

Municipalities have restricted new drilling and called for water conservation, though no…[Read more]

Legacy Media Still Trusted in Japan, But Portal Sites Main Source for Latest News

What media do you trust most? The Tokyo-based Kioichō Strategy Institute conducted an online survey of 1,000 people in Japan aged 18 and older to ask this question. The responses, which allowed for multiple answers, showed that traditional media were overwhelmingly…[Read more]

France’s Macron to host Canada’s Carney in Paris on Monday

French President Emmanuel Macron will host Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney for a meeting in Paris on Monday in Carney’s first foreign visit since taking office, Macron’s office said on Saturday.
Carney also plans to visit Britain next week at a time of trade frictions with U.S.…[Read more]

French PM says EU tariff on American bourbon probably mistaken

The European Union was probably mistaken in targeting American whiskey in its riposte to U.S. tariffs, French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said on Sunday, calling for talks to avoid more damaging duties on France’s cognac industry.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened…[Read more]

Japanese firm’s rover ends mission on moon, gives up surface exploration

Japanese startup Dymon Co said Saturday its ultra-compact, lightweight rover, which reached the moon aboard a U.S. lander, will not proceed with its planned lunar exploration, bringing its mission to an end.

The Tokyo-based firm’s 498-gram rover, Yaoki, measuring around 14…[Read more]

Japanese university unveils AI program for medical student training

Nagasaki University in southwestern Japan and a local systems development company have unveiled an artificial intelligence program that lets medical students practice interviews with virtual patients on a screen.

The development comes as regional universities struggle to secure…[Read more]

Japan ranks 3rd worst place for working women in 2024 int’l ranking

Japan ranked the third worst place among developed nations for working women for the second year in a row, according to the 2024 index compiled by British magazine The Economist released to mark International Women’s Day on Saturday.

Based on the glass-ceiling index, which…[Read more]

2025 WA election: Warning to federal Labor after ‘historic’ state win

It has been dubbed an “historic win” for Labor in the state election with Roger Cook securing his first election as premier.

Federal Labor MPs have been urged not to “take the foot off the gas” after their Western Australia state-level colleagues secured a landslide e…[Read more]

Bridget McKenzie claims ‘knob’ comment could derail Trump tariff talks

A state premier’s rogue remark about the US Vice President could play a role in deciding if Australia gets a tariff carve out, a senior opposition senator claims.

A state premier’s rogue remark calling US Vice President JD Vance a “knob” could influence whether Australia g…[Read more]

Visitors flock to Paris’s Pompidou Centre before it closes for renovations

Art lovers catch last glimpse of prestigious art collection before gallery shuts for five years for major revamp

Tourists and French visitors alike filled Paris’s landmark Pompidou Centre at the weekend to catch a last glimpse of its prestigious art collection before it…[Read more]

Macron’s diplomatic comeback: from France’s domestic crisis to reshaping Europe’s defense

French President Emmanuel Macron is back at the center of global diplomacy, seeking to ease relations with President Donald Trump, championing a Ukraine peace plan alongside his British counterpart, and seeing his longstanding desire to boost European defen…[Read more]

France to tap Russian assets for 195 million euros this year, minister says

France will use interest from Russian assets to fund another 195 million euros ($211 million) in arms for Ukraine, Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu said a newspaper interview.
France also plans to hand over some of its older armoured fighting vehicles, such as its…[Read more]

Plans to deport three non-citizens to Nauru thwarted by legal challenges

It’s been revealed the federal government can’t go ahead with the deportation to Nauru of all three people identified for removal after urgent court applications were lodged.

Plans to deport one Iraqi man to Nauru were thwarted after an urgent application to the High Court…[Read more]

Labor says Dutton has questions to answer over timing of share purchases

Peter Dutton’s purchase of bank shares on the cusp of a Rudd government bank bailout is “highly unusual” and demands an explanation about what he knew at the time, Labor minister Murray Watt has said.

Mr Dutton has denied through a spokesperson that he had any sensitive…[Read more]

Australian aviation authorities first informed about Chinese live firing drill by Virgin pilot

Airservices Australia notified Australian defence force about drills 10 minutes after initial contact with pilot, estimates hears

Australian officials did not know Chinese warships were conducting live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea until a Virgin…[Read more]

American women in police custody in France after baby thrown from hotel window

A young American woman has been taken into police custody after her newborn baby was thrown out of a window of a Parisian hotel, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday.

The newborn received urgent medical care, but did not survive. Authorities are i…[Read more]