World News

By Yasmin Jeffery of the ABC The It Ends With Us movie adaptation is here. Here's why people hate the Colleen Hoover novel so much. Photo: Sony Pictures/Nicole Rivelli It Ends With Us looks like your average pulpy love-triangle romance novel, if you go by its pastel-pink, flower-filled cover and the genre it purports to belong to. Even the blurb of Colleen Hoover's 2016 New York Times bestseller promises a "captivating romance with a cast of all-too-human characters". "It Ends With Us," it continues, "is an unforgettable tale of love that comes at the ultimate price." Warning: This story contains mentions of rape and descriptions of domestic violence. While romance does feature in It Ends With Us, it's actually an incredibly graphic story about the intergenerational effects of intima...

Ruins of Vakaloa Resort, west Tongatapu, following TC Harold. Photo: #ToddHenryPhoto A Tongan researcher from the University of Waikato found that in the Pacific region, particularly in Tonga and Samoa, people don't want to move despite what she calls the "stigma" associated with climate change. Lora Vaioleti conducted research alongside the University of Auckland and Mana Pacific Consultants, that drew on Pacific-based researchers and methodologies. She said the research "brought up an interesting insight" that people in Samoa and Tonga want real-life support. "People obviously don't want to move; they want real, practical, hands-on support as well," the survey found, but Vaioleti said they did not know why so they followed up with some interviewees. They then found there were families...

By Jamie McKinnell for ABC Jesse Baird and Luke Davies. Photo: Supplied / Instagram Former NSW Police constable Beau Lamarre-Condon has appeared in a Sydney court via audio-visual link nearly six months after he was charged with the murders of Jesse Baird and his partner Luke Davies. The 29-year-old, clean shaven and wearing prison greens, sat quietly during a relatively procedural listing of the case in Downing Centre Local Court. He spoke only to confirm he could see and hear the magistrate, replying: "Yes, Your Honour." It was the first time the ex-officer's case has been in court since police last month laid two fresh charges which now allege the murders were domestic violence-related. He is also facing a third charge of aggravated break and enter with intent to commit an indicta...

By Mark Savage, BBC News Isaac Hayes was one of the most prolific and successful soul musicians of the 1960s and 70s. Photo: FRAZER HARRISON / Getty Images via AFP The family of the late soul singer Isaac Hayes has ordered Donald Trump to stop playing the star's song 'Hold On, I'm Coming' at his campaign rallies. A letter sent to Trump and his team, and shared by Hayes' son on social media, threatens to sue the former US president if he does not comply by 16 August. The family is also demanding US$3 million (NZD$4.9m) in licensing fees for the campaign's repeated use of the song between 2022 and 2024. The song, which was made famous by soul duo Sam and Dave, is a regular feature of Trump's rallies, often playing before and after his speeches. Hayes composed the song in 1966 with Dave...

Elon Musk, left, and Donald Trump. Photo: AFP By Richard Cowan and Andy Sullivan for Reuters Elon Musk, left, and Donald Trump. Photo: AFP Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's interview with billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk finally got underway on Musk's social media platform X on Monday evening (US time), following a lengthy delay caused by technical problems that kept many users from accessing the live stream. Musk, who has endorsed Trump, began the event at 8:42pm (0042 GMT Tuesday), more than 40 minutes after the scheduled start time. He blamed the difficulties on a distributed denial-of-service attack, in which a server or network is flooded with traffic in an attempt to shut it down, though his claim was not confirmed. More than 1.3 million people were listenin...

A firefighter at work during a wildfire in Varnavas, north of Athens, on August 12, 2024. Photo: AFP By Christy Cooney for BBC News One person has died as fierce wildfires spread in the suburbs of Athens in Greece on Monday. The body, believed to be that of a woman, was found inside a shop in the town of Vrilissia, northern Athens, a source from the fire service told the BBC. Thousands of people have been evacuated after firefighters warned that homes, businesses and schools were under threat, with fires expected to continue into Tuesday. Fire service spokesman Colonel Vassilios Vathrakogiannis said while there was no longer a single active fire front in the north-eastern Attica region, which includes parts of Athens, there were still "many active localised blazes", mostly around the to...

Photo: RNZ / Quin Tauetau Explainer - A controversial document called "Project 2025" has been making waves in the US presidential race. But what does it really say? RNZ is here to explain it all. Project 2025 is a planning document by a conservative American organisation It outlines sweeping changes to the US government Democrats are using Project 2025 as a campaign tool against former President Donald Trump Trump has claimed he knows nothing about it However, many people closely linked to Trump and the Republican Party were involved in drafting the plan So what is Project 2025? Project 2025 is a proposed "presidential transition project" crafted by the conservative American think tank the Heritage Foundation which they describe as "the conservative movement's unified effort to be...

By Tiffanie Turnball, BBC News Ashlee Good, 38, was among six people killed by Joel Cauchi at Westfield Bondi Junction on 13 April. Photo: Supplied / ABC The partner of a mother killed while saving her baby from a stabbing rampage in a busy Sydney shopping centre has spoken out for the first time, saying the day she died will "never make sense". Ashlee Good, 38, was among six people killed by Joel Cauchi at Westfield Bondi Junction on 13 April. Her daughter Harriet, who was nine-months-old at the time of the attack, was also injured. Australian authorities say the stabbing was "mental health" related, but they believe Cauchi targeted women. Thanking those who had sent donations, Good's partner Dan Flanagan said "the overwhelming support, kindness and generosity" his family had receiv...

Russia's President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on the situation in the Kursk region, 12 August, 2024. Photo: AFP / Pool Ukraine's top commander has said Kyiv's forces control 1000 sq km of Russian territory as they press their biggest cross-border incursion in two-and-a-half years of full-scale war. Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said Ukraine continued to "conduct an offensive operation in the Kursk region" seven days after it began. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had brought war to others and now it was coming back to Russia. But Russian leader Vladimir Putin described the offensive as a "major provocation" and ordered Russian forces to "to kick the enemy out of our territory". A growing number of people have been evacuated from the western Russian region for their...

By Rachel Maher of Joseph Simpkins was killed in a crash near the Perth Airport early on Sunday. Photo: Kalamunda Districts Rugby Union Club / Facebook Rugby communities both in New Zealand and in Australia are mourning the loss of a popular rugby player killed in a car crash. Joseph Simpkins, 28, was killed in a car crash in Perth on early Sunday morning. The Sydney Morning Herald reported Simpkins was driving near Perth Airport on Tonkin Highway when his car crashed into the side of a barrier. Former players, rugby clubs and friends have taken to social media to remember Simpkins, who has been described as a "loyal" friend who will be "greatly missed". Simpkins began his rugby career in New Zealand and later became a renowned figure in the Perth rugby community. H...