World News

A Sydney-based Māori group is proceeding with its development of a 'marae', despite pushback from local Aboriginal people. Sydney Marae Alliance (SMA) chairperson Louise Cooper (Ngāti Hine) said the multi-purpose cultural centre is to be all-inclusive of Māori, Pasifika, and Aboriginal peoples, providing cultural education, a place for hui, wānanga and events, and will give Māori somewhere to connect. "It will have the āhuatanga (characteristics) of a marae, and it will encompass all of the things that are natural to us as Māori." In 2022, the SMA gained approval to occupy the Hyland Road Reserve in Sydney, and in June, got consent from the New South Wales Planning and Development Department and the Cumberland Council to build on the 15-hectare block. It hopes to open the doors within the ...

By Chris De Silva for ABC Sinéad Diver finishes seventh in the London Marathon in 2019. Photo: ROBIN POPE/AFP A "devastated" Sinéad Diver has hit out at the criticism she has faced online after failing to finish the women's marathon at the Paris Olympics. The 47-year-old, who ran the best time in the Australian women's marathon qualifiers, lasted just over a kilometre before succumbing to cramping in her quadriceps. Diver's withdrawal reignited controversy surrounding the selection for Australia's women's marathon, with questions asked over why Athletics Australia didn't fly Lisa Weightman to Paris as a potential back-up while knowing Diver had been battling injuries. Weightman, 45, was denied the opportunity to become the first Australian athletics competitor to compete in five Olym...

The graffiti artist is a global phenomenon whose works fetch milllins, but his identity remains a mystery Photo: Banksy, Instagram Who is Banksy? He's one of the world's most famous artists, but despite his global following, his identity remains, officially at least, unknown. Often described as "elusive" and "secretive" by the press, the "guerrilla street artist" counts A-list celebrities, such as actor Brad Pitt, among his fans and collectors. A hero to some, a vandal to others, his artworks sell for eye-watering sums, with councils and landowners rushing to profit from - or whitewash - buildings chosen as his latest canvas. And yet, the self-styled prankster and anti-establishment figure has consistently managed to remain anonymous. So what do we actually know about him? Early career ...

Blake Wilson, 23, has been named as the New Zealand pilot killed in a helicopter crash in Cairns. Photo: Facebook Those who knew the New Zealand pilot who died in a Cairns helicopter crash on Monday say he was a "good all-round fella" and "one of the best out there". Nautilus Aviation chief executive Aaron Finn confirmed on Tuesday that a member of the company's ground crew misappropriated a helicopter following a celebration among staff to celebrate his promotion. Blake Wilson, 23, has since been named as the person who flew the few minutes from Cairns Airport into the no-fly zone over the CBD, before crashing into the roof of the DoubleTree hotel. Wilson, the sole occupant, died at the scene. New Zealand police have confirmed they have notified the pilot's next of kin after a request ...

Blake Wilson, 23, has been named as the New Zealand pilot killed in a helicopter crash in Cairns. Photo: Facebook Those who knew the New Zealand pilot who died in a Cairns helicopter crash on Monday say he was a "good all-round fella" and "one of the best out there". Nautilus Aviation chief executive Aaron Finn confirmed on Tuesday that a member of the company's ground crew misappropriated a helicopter following a celebration among staff to celebrate his promotion. Blake Wilson, 23, has since been named as the person who flew the few minutes from Cairns Airport into the no-fly zone over the CBD, before crashing into the roof of the DoubleTree hotel. Wilson, the sole occupant, died at the scene. New Zealand police have confirmed they have notified the pilot's next of kin after a request ...

Displaced Palestinians are doing chores by their tents at a makeshift displacement camp set up on a roadside in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Photo: Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via AFP By Parisa Hafezi and Laila Bassam, Reuters Only a ceasefire deal in Gaza stemming from hoped-for talks this week would hold Iran back from direct retaliation against Israel for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on its soil, three senior Iranian officials said. Iran has vowed a severe response to Haniyeh's killing, which took place as he visited Tehran late last month and which it blamed on Israel. Israel has neither confirmed or denied its involvement. The US Navy has deployed warships and a submarine to the Middle East to bolster Israeli defences. One of the sources, a senior Iranian s...

Photo: Facebook By Kristy Sexton-McGrath, Christopher Testa, and Sarah Richards, ABC Far North The pilot killed when a helicopter crashed into a Cairns hotel roof has been identified as 23-year-old Blake Wilson of New Zealand, who had been working as a ground crew employee with the company for four months. Nautilus Aviation CEO Aaron Finn confirmed late Tuesday afternoon that a member of the company's ground staff "gained unauthorised access to [the] helicopter hangar and misappropriated one of [the] helicopters". He said the employee held a New Zealand pilot's licence but had never flown in Australia. Finn said there was a gathering of company employees on Sunday night, including off-duty-pilots, celebrating a promotion of the man who flew the helicopter. "This was a privately organised...

First published on The diplomatic conference for the revision of the Geneva Conventions held in Switzerland on 12 August 1949. Photo: ICRC Archives/J. Cadoux Analysis - Today marks 75 years since the adoption of the Geneva Conventions on 12 August 1949. In theory, these rules of war are universally agreed by every nation. In practice, they are routinely violated everywhere. With an estimated 120 armed conflicts worldwide, more than 450 armed groups and 195 million people living in areas under their control, the protection of the vulnerable is as vitally important as ever. As the news headlines remind us daily, however, international humanitarian law can seem like too little, too late when faced with military might and political indifference. This year also marks ot...

By Christopher Testa, ABC News Flames coul be seen coming from the helicopter when it crashed. Photo: Twitter / Ghulam Abbas Shah The wreckage of a helicopter that crashed into a Far North Queensland hotel roof while on an "unauthorised flight" has been removed overnight. Investigators will return to the DoubleTree hotel on Cairns Esplanade on Tuesday as they probe what happened before the allegedly stolen craft crashed, killing the pilot and injuring two hotel guests. Nearly 400 people were evacuated after the helicopter hit the hotel shortly before 2am on Monday. Two hotel guests - a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s - were taken to Cairns Hospital in a stable condition and have since been discharged. Police are yet to identify the pilot but Nautilus Aviation, the charter compa...

By Kristy Sexton-McGrath, Christopher Testa and Sarah Richards for the ABC A cordon in place at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Cairns. Photo: Supplied / Queensland Ambulance Service The pilot who was killed when a helicopter crashed into a Cairns hotel roof in the early hours of Monday morning was a current ground crew employee, who had started working with the company four months ago. Nautilus Aviation chief executive Aaron Finn confirmed late Tuesday afternoon that a member of their ground staff "gained unauthorised access to [the] helicopter hangar and misappropriated one of [the] helicopters". He said the employee held a New Zealand pilot's licence but had never flown in Australia. Finn said there was a gathering of company employees on Sunday night, including off-duty-pilots,...