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By Nelli Saarinen, ABC News A handout picture provided by Saudi's NEOM on July 26, 2022 shows the design plan for the 500-metre tall parallel structures, known collectively as The Line, in the heart of the Red Sea megacity NEOM. Photo: AFP PHOTO / NEOM NEOM, a massive infrastructure project by the Saudi Arabian government, has been advertised on social media for years with the help of otherworldly concept images and animations. Vloggers showcasing their lives inside the urban development underway in the Saudi desert have been gaining traction on social media, but audiences have pointed out it does not look quite as glamorous as expected. One influencer who shared vlogs showcasing her life in NEOM deactivated her TikTok account after her videos received backlash online. Here is what N...

By Max Walden, ABC News Photo: 123rf If a wife and husband fall out of love in the Philippines they are legally required to remain married - even in cases of infidelity. As the ABC reported earlier this year, it also means that women who are abused by their husbands cannot escape. So, why does divorce remain forbidden in the Philippines? What does the Filipino public think of divorce? And when might the law change? Why is divorce illegal? In a word: Catholicism. The religion arrived with the Spaniards who came to colonise the archipelago in the 16th century. "Catholic Church teachings emphasise the indissolubility of marriage. It is a lifelong commitment that cannot be dissolved by human authority," said Cecilia Francisco-Tan, a Melbourne-based theology lecturer. "A consummated marria...

British musician and producer Jamie XX Photo: Alasdair McLellan When it comes to fine-tuning a dance track, nothing beats real-time feedback from a live audience says electronic musician Jamie xx. "As a DJ you get to stand there and really engage with how a song works. A lot of it has to do with the structure and where the bass and the kick sit and how they hit and how they feel on a massive sound system," he told RNZ's Music 101. As he completed his new solo record In Waves, xx says he was excited to finally share the finished songs. "If I'm still in love with that piece of music I can get such an instant visceral reaction from the crowd." This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions. Jamie xx (aka James Smith) has made three albums with indie band The xx and rel...

Former Acting Regent of Nduga, Edison Nggwijangge, far left, with Susi Air Pilot Phillip Mehrtens, right, after his release. Photo: Dok. Istimewa New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has been freed from more than 1 1/2 years in captivity in West Papua, Indonesia, Indonesian police announced on Saturday. "We are prioritising approach through religious leaders, church leaders, traditional leaders and Egianus Kogoya's close family to minimise casualties and maintain the safety of the pilot," the chief of Cartenz 2024 Peace Operations, Brigadier General Faizal Ramadhani said in a statement released to media. Mehrtens was freed and picked up by a joint team in Nduga Regency and is undergoing health check-ups and a physiological examination in Timika regency, the police said. "We managed to pic...

Philip Mehrtens is seen in video from Indonesian media. Photo: Screenshot New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has reportedly been freed from more than 1 1/2 years in captivity in West Papua, Indonesia. The Indonesian police announced it in a statement on Saturday, Reuters reported. "We are prioritising approach through religious leaders, church leaders, traditional leaders and Egianus Kogoya's close family to minimise casualties and maintain the safety of the pilot," the chief of Cartenz 2024 Peace Operations, Brigadier General Faizal Ramadhani said in a statement released to media. Mehrtens was freed and picked up by a joint team in Nduga Regency and is undergoing health check-ups and a physiological examination in Timika regency, the police said. New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens wa...

By Andrew Goudsward and Kanishka Singh, Reuters Republican presidential candidate, former US president Donald Trump is whisked away by Secret Service after shots rang out at a campaign rally at Butler Farm Show Inc. on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Photo: JEFF SWENSEN / AFP / GETTY A US Secret Service probe found communication gaps and a lack of diligence ahead of the July attempted assassination of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally. "There was complacency on the part of" some agents "that led to a breach of security protocols," Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe told reporters on Friday, adding that agency employees will be held accountable. "These penalties will be administered according to our disciplinary process," Ro...

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with US President Joe Biden Saturday. (File image) Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said today that he is confident the AUKUS defence pact will be supported by any future US administration, after a meeting with President Joe Biden that covered bilateral defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. Biden is set to hand over the presidency after a 5 November election that will deliver the White House to his vice president, Kamala Harris, or Republican Donald Trump, who has vowed a confrontational approach with China and voiced scepticism about traditional US alliances. The US is Australia's closest security ally. "There is no question in my mind that AUKUS will continue to have the support of any future US admin...

By Larissa Ham, ABC News Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett were found dead at their home in Easey Street, Collingwood on 13 January 1977. Photo: Supplied / Victoria Police A man has been arrested in Italy over the infamous Easey Street murders in inner-city Melbourne almost 50 years ago. A 65-year-old man, who is a dual citizen of Australia and Greece, was nabbed at an airport in Rome on Thursday night, with a charge and warrant placed for his arrest. The arrest follows a decades-long investigation by Victoria Police's Homicide Squad, following the murders of housemates Suzanne Armstrong, 27, and Susan Bartlett, 28, who were found dead at their home in Easey Street, Collingwood on 13 January 1977. Both women, who had last been seen alive on the evening of 10 January that year, had...