Blog

By ABC Defence Correspondent Andrew Greene Defence giant RTX has agreed to pay a US$200 million fine following 750 violations of the Arms Export Control Act and International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Photo: NurPhoto via AFP US defence giant RTX has been fined for a series of unauthorised defence technology exports to Australia and other nations. RTX employees were also found to have taken work laptops containing sensitive military secrets into Russia and Iran. Australia's Defence Department is not commenting on the settlement reached between RTX and the US government but insists it works closely with international partners on export regulations. An American weapons company made illegal technology transfers to Australia at the same time some of its staff members breached stri...

The procession and the crowd during the demonstration of the left-wing forces against the nomination of Michel Barnier, in Paris, France on 7 September 2024. Photo: AUGUSTIN PASQUINI / HANS LUCAS / AFP Thousands of people demonstrated across France on Saturday against Emmanuel Macron's decision to pick centre-right politician Michel Barnier as prime minister, with leftist parties accusing the president of ignoring election results. Macron named 73-year-old Barnier, a conservative and the former Brexit negotiator for the European Union, as prime minister on Thursday, capping a two-month search following his ill-fated decision to call a legislative election that delivered a hung parliament. "Democracy is not only the art of knowing how to accept victory, but the humility to accept defeat,...

Nicole Kidman (right) with her mother Janelle Kidman at the 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills on 25 January 2004. Photo: Getty via AFP Nicole Kidman has announced the death of her mother Janelle Kidman, aged 84. The Australian actress arrived in Venice, Italy on Sunday to attend the city's famous film festival that evening, where she was awarded best actress for her new film Babygirl. But before she could accept it, she found out her mother had passed away. The film's director Halina Reijn accepted the award on Kidman's behalf and shared a statement the actress had written. "I arrived in Venice and found out shortly after that my beautiful, brave mother, Janelle Ann Kidman has just passed," Kidman wrote. "I am in shock and I have to go to my family but this award is for h...

By Rich McKay An active shooter has been reported near Interstate-75 in London in the US state of Kentucky. File picture. Photo: 123RF Kentucky police reported an "active shooter situation" near Interstate-75 in London, Kentucky, on Saturday evening where "numerous persons" have been shot. The incident began just before 6pm (local time) about 14km outside of London, when officers were called for reports of multiple vehicles being fired at on Interstate 75 in Laurel County, multiple media accounts said. The shots were reportedly coming from a wooded area. "Please avoid I-75 around Ext 49. Until further notice! Use alternative route do not be any where in that area," London Mayor Randall Weddle said on Facebook. Police officials said the suspect had not been caught. Kentucky Governor ...

By Minh Nguyen and Thinh Nguyen, Reuters Trees were uprooted in the coastal city of Haiphong. Photo: AFP / Yang Guanyu Asia's most powerful storm this year made landfall in northern Vietnam on Saturday, the meteorological agency said, killing at least four people after tearing through China's island of Hainan and the Philippines. Super Typhoon Yagi hit island districts of north Vietnam around 1pm (local time) generating winds of up to 160km/h near its centre, having lost power from its peak of 234km/h in Hainan a day earlier. The government said that as of 5pm four people had died and 78 had been injured by the typhoon. At least another dozen were missing at sea, according to state media. Yagi had already claimed the lives of at least two people in Hainan and 16 people in the Philipp...

Photo: 123RF An earthquake has hit New South Wales' Hunter Region two weeks after similar events in the area. The Seismology Research Centre recorded a magnitude-4.5 earthquake near Muswellbrook shortly before 8am on Saturday. "Another large earthquake has occurred near Muswellbrook NSW," it said. "This magnitude 4.5 earthquake occurred at 5:58am local time." Ausgrid said 185 customers were still without power in Muswellbrook, Denman, Jerrys Plains, Bureen, Bengalla. Earlier, around 2500 customers were affected. Ausgrid said crews were on site and patrolling hazards and faults, and anyone in the area was warned not to approach downed power lines. Geoscience Australia reported the earthquake happened at a depth of five kilometres. Senior seismologist Trevor Allen said the quake was felt o...

By Alvise Armellini and Angelo Amante, Reuters Gennaro Sangiuliano Photo: AFP / ANDREAS SOLARO Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano quit after a controversy over a consultancy role for his former mistress had become an embarrassment for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government. Sangiuliano, a 62-year-old former journalist, had faced a media storm since self-proclaimed fashion entrepreneur Maria Rosaria Boccia said last month she had been nominated "adviser to the minister for major events". The culture ministry initially denied such an appointment, but Sangiuliano later explained he had agreed to take her on as an unpaid consultant before changing his mind due to conflict of interest. "I deem it necessary for the institutions and for myself to hand in my resignation," Sangi...