Blog

By Leigh Thomas and Kanishka Singh, Reuters Pro-Palestinian protesters rally in support of Gaza and Lebanon in Times Square on 5 October, 2024 in New York City. Photo: STEPHANIE KEITH / AFP Thousands of protesters took to the streets in major cities around the world on Saturday demanding an end to bloodshed in Gaza and the wider Middle East as the start of Israel's war in the Palestinian enclave approaches its first anniversary. About 40,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through central London, while thousands also gathered in Paris, Rome, Manila, Cape Town and New York City. Demonstrations were also held near the White House in Washington, protesting US support for its ally Israel in military campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon. Protesters at Times Square in New York City wore the...

By Steve Holland, Reuters Tesla CEO Elon Musk (R) jumps on stage as he joins former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a campaign rally at site of his first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on 5 October. Photo: JIM WATSON / AFP Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Saturday (local time) returned to the rural Pennsylvania site where he was nearly assassinated, rallying a large crowd in the critical battleground state one month before the 5 November election. "As I was saying," Trump said as he appeared on stage, pretending he was resuming the speech that was interrupted when he was grazed in the ear by a bullet on 13 July. In mid-speech, Trump called up on stage a powerful ally - Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and owner of social m...

Hashem Safieddine in May 2024. Photo: ANWAR AMRO / AFP A high-level Hezbollah source said on Saturday (local time) that contact with Hashem Safieddine, widely touted as potentially the group's next leader, had been lost following Israeli strikes this week. Responding to the AFP report, the group said in a statement that there were "no Hezbollah sources and our viewpoint is issued in official statements". It did not confirm or deny whether contact with Safieddine was lost. "Contact with Sayyed Safieddine has been lost since the violent strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs" early on Friday, the official told AFP. "We don't know if he was at the targeted site, or who may have been there with him," he added. A second source close to Hezbollah also confirmed that communication had been cut o...

Photo: 123RF WARNING: This story contains graphic content that some readers may find upsetting. A woman has been charged over the alleged murder and dismemberment of her husband in Sydney's southwest last year. NSW Police launched a missing persons investigation after 62-year-old Mamdouh Noufl was reported missing by family and friends in July 2023. Noufl had not been seen since May of that year. Homicide squad detectives took over the case in January after police deemed the disappearance of Noufl to be suspicious. On Thursday, 53-year-old Nirmeen Noufl was arrested and a crime scene warrant was executed at her and her husband's home in Greenacre. Nirmeen Noufl was taken into custody at Bankstown Police Station and charged with murder yesterday morning. Detective Superintendent Daniel Do...

By Sarah McLean, ABC Not enough loos? It's a problem worth solving, Australia's Building Codes authority says, and it could deliver health and economic benefits as well as pluses for comfort and equity. Photo: Unsplash/ Jonathan Taylor New analysis shows women are 34 times more likely than men to be queued for bathrooms A researcher says there often are not enough cubicles for women to use In Australia, the Australian Building Codes Board wants to reduce the problem by imposing revised standards that would increase the minimum number of cubicles in women's bathrooms in some new buildings, including theatres and cinemas. A slow and painful crawl towards the bathroom in an endless queue is a situation most women would rather avoid. But for theatre entertainer Libby Trainor Parker, it...