World News

Are you sick of deciding what's for dinner every night? Photo: Unsplash By Kellie Scott, ABC What will we have for dinner? Do the kids have after-school activities tomorrow? Should we catch up with friends this weekend? Our day is full of decisions, and the more choices we need to make, the more fatigued we can become, explains Australian Association of Psychologists director Carly Dober. "Decision fatigue is a state of mental overload that can impact or impede a person's ability to continue making decisions," says Dober, based in Naarm/Melbourne. It can also occur when you're having a difficult time, such as dealing with the death of a loved one, or are faced with uncertainties like the rising cost of living. Dober says parents, especially single parents and primary caregivers who typi...

Noel Gallagher (left) Andy Bell (centre) and Liam Gallagher, members of the British rock band Oasis hold a photocall in Hong Kong on 25 February, 2006. Photo: MIKE CLARKE/AFP Britpop icons Oasis are reforming for the first time since 2009, with feuding brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher calling a truce to get the band back together. Oasis will headline a series of live concerts in the UK and Ireland next year. It's official! After 15 years of refuting any suggestion they might reform, Oasis have reunited to headline a series of live shows. After teasing fans earlier this week, Liam and Noel Gallagher have confirmed they would bury the hatchet to perform a run of concerts across the UK and Ireland in 2025. What are Oasis's reunion dates? The band will play four shows each at London's Wem...

From top left: Michael Johnson, Nicole Murray, Anna Grimaldi and Will Stedman are among Kiwi hopefuls in Paris. Photo: Photosport New Zealand is missing its most successful Paralympian but it still has a lot of medal prospects as the 17th summer Games begins in Paris from Thursday. It is now the world's third biggest sporting event, in terms of ticket sales - only the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cups sell more. It brings together 4400 athletes and among them are 25 athletes who will represent this country in eight sports. So here is some information on how best to follow the Paralympics and the event's history and schedule. How can I watch? The Paralympics will run from 29 August to 9 September Watch on free to air TVNZ1 from 7.30pm (hosted by Scottie Stevenson and Dame Sophie Pascoe)...

By Yimou Lee for Reuters Combat exercises and training of the navy of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the waters around the Taiwan Island, 2022. Photo: AFP / Xinhua China spent about US$15 billion, or 7 percent of its defence budget, on exercises in the Western Pacific in 2023, according to a previously unpublished Taiwanese estimate, showing Beijing's investment in military activity around Taiwan and its neighbours. The internal research by Taiwan's armed forces, reviewed by Reuters, offers a rare look into a slice of China's defence spending as Beijing has ramped up its military presence amid rising tensions in the region. China claims Taiwan as its own and has never renounced the use of force to bring the democratically governed island ...

By Saleem Ahmad and Saud Mehsud, Reuters Security personnel stand near charred vehicles at the site of a shooting on a highway in Musakhail district, Balochistan province on 26 August 2024. Photo: AFP At least 73 people were killed in Pakistan's province of Balochistan when separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines and highways and security forces launched retaliatory operations, officials said on Monday. The assaults were the most widespread in years by ethnic militants fighting a decades-long insurgency to win secession of the resource-rich southwestern province, home to major China-led projects such as a port and a gold and copper mine. "These attacks are a well thought-out plan to create anarchy in Pakistan," Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said in a statement. ...

"My heart is broken," Mariah Carey said in a short statement to People. Photo: Wikimedia Commons Mariah Carey has confirmed that her mother Patricia and sister Alison died on the same day over the weekend. No other details, including their cause of death are known at this time. "My heart is broken that I've lost my mother this past weekend. Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day," the Grammy-winner told People in a short statement. "I feel blessed that I was able to spend the last week with my mum before she passed," Carey wrote. "I appreciate everyone's love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time." Carey's mum, Patricia, was a Juilliard-trained opera singer and vocal coach before she and husband Alfred Roy Carey welcomed A...

Wraps are a popular emergency pantry food. Photo: 123rf By Nelli Saarinen, ABC Lifestyle When you need a lunch on the go or something quick for a dinner, few things are as convenient and versatile as wraps or tortillas. They're also a popular emergency pantry food, thanks to their incredibly long shelf-life, even at room temperature. But how do wraps last so long and are they actually healthy? How come wraps last so long?' The longevity of wraps is thanks to several factors, including their packaging, pH and moisture levels as well as ingredients, says Jayani Chandrapala, Associate Professor in Food Science at RMIT University. "It depends on the moisture content that the wraps are within, and also the air levels, because wraps are in airtight sealed bags." Anti-fungal and antimicrobial ...

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has threatened to pull out of a debate on ABC. Photo: AFP The campaigns of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris clashed over next month's US presidential debate, with the vice president's team seeking a return to open microphones while her Republican rival threatened to pull out entirely, suggesting the previously agreed-upon ABC network was biased. "Why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?" Trump, who is making his third bid for the White House, wrote in a social media post late Sunday night that also accused the network of bias. "Stay tuned!!!" Harris spokesperson Brian Fallon said on Tuesday the vice president's campaign wanted the broadcaster to keep the candidates' microphones on throughout the event, not muted when t...

By Georgie Hewson, ABC Noel Gallagher (L) Andy Bell (C) and Liam Gallagher, members of the British rock band "Oasis" pictured in 2006. Photo: MIKE CLARKE/AFP Oasis members Liam and Noel Gallagher have sent the internet into a frenzy, posting identical videos which hint at the band reuniting ahead of its 30th anniversary this week. The brothers, who have been locked in a bitter feud for 15 years tweeted identical videos on X, which say August 27, 8am. It is likely this will drop at 8am UK time (7pm NZT). British newspapers including the Sun have reported the band has secured a secret deal which will see them tour together in 2025. The band dropped its debut album, the fastest selling in UK history at the time, on 30 August, 1994. Here's what we know so far. Has Oasis confirmed the...

By Michelle Nichols, Reuters A school run by the UN Relief and Works Agency being used as a makeshift shelter for Palestinians displaced by conflict in the Jabalia camp. Photo: OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP United Nations aid operations in Gaza ground to a halt after Israel issued new evacuation orders on Sunday for Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip where the UN operations centre was located, said a senior UN official. The evacuation order came as the UN prepares to begin on Saturday a campaign to vaccinate an estimated 640,000 children in Gaza, where the World Health Organization (WHO) said a 10-month-old baby had been paralysed by the type 2 poliovirus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years. "We're unable to deliver today with the conditions that we're in," said the senior UN...