World News

Photo: AFP A man shattered a sculpture by Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei during the opening of his exhibition at Palazzo Fava in the Italian city of Bologna, a spokesperson for the show said. Footage from CCTV cameras - posted on Ai Weiwei's Instagram account - showed a man vigorously pushing the sculpture over, breaking it and then holding a piece of it over his head. The sculpture targeted was the artist's large blue and white 'Porcelain Cube', the spokesperson said. The exhibit's curator, Arturo Galansino, said the perpetrator was well-known in the art world. "Unfortunately, I know the author of this inconsiderate gesture from a series of disturbing and damaging episodes over the years involving various exhibitions and institutions in Florence," said Galansino. The police in Bo...

By Dave Graham, Reuters Stephen Fry Photo: AFP British actor Stephen Fry has praised Austria for welcoming him as a citizen and giving him the right to vote in the country's upcoming election following a change in the law that sought to address Austria's crimes under Nazism. In 2019, the Austrian Parliament passed a bill making descendants of Austrians who fled Nazi rule eligible for citizenship, a step which Fry told newspaper Der Standard was a "noble gesture" in an interview published on Saturday. Fry, one of Britain's best-known actors and TV broadcasters, said this month in a video on social media that he had obtained citizenship because he had grandparents from Austria and that his great-grandparents had died in the Holocaust. After thanking Austria for changing the law and urg...

US Vice President Kamala Harris and former US President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Photo: Brendan SMIALOWSKI and Patrick T. Fallon / AFP US Vice President Kamala Harris has accepted an invitation from CNN to participate in another debate against Donald Trump on 23 October, and urges her Republican rival to face her less than two weeks ahead of the 5 November presidential election, the Democratic candidate's campaign said on Saturday. "Vice President Harris is ready for another opportunity to share a stage with Donald Trump, and she has accepted CNN's invitation to a debate on 23 October. Donald Trump should have no problem agreeing to this debate," Jen O'Malley Dillon, the chair of the Harris campaign, said in a statement. Asked about Harris' acceptance of ...

By Anna Chisholm, ABC News Photo: RNZ/Michael Hall Sunsets leave artist Jayde Hopkins feeling peaceful and reset. While "not religious", the Gurindji and Woolwonga woman, who lives on Larrakia lands in Darwin, says a sunset can also make her feel in "awe of the universe". "I think as an artist it's the colours that really speak," Jayde says, "the warm colours make me feel that way too." She'll even point a sunset out to strangers at the petrol station. "You'll never see the same sunset again. It's only there for a short amount of time. It's up to you to notice and appreciate it before it's gone." It's the same feelings and emotions she tries to recreate abstractly through her painting. Jayde also welcomes sunsets because they mark the end of the day. "You're finished work and now your...

By Dawoud Abu Alkas and Nidal al-Mughrabi, Reuters A Palestinian boy sits amongst the debris at the site of an Israeli strike on a school in southern Gaza. Photo: AFP / Omar Al-Qattaa Health ministry says 22 Palestinians killed in school Israel says it targeted Hamas command centre No breakthrough in ceasefire efforts Palestinians said an Israeli strike killed at least 22 people in a school sheltering displaced people in southern Gaza City on Saturday, while the Israeli military said the attack targeted a command centre of militant group Hamas. The Gaza health ministry said most of those killed were women and children. The Hamas-run government media office said 13 children and six women were among the dead. The military said it hit a Hamas command centre embedded in the compound...

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...