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Will Fransen was on a solo fishing trip south of Auckland in New Zealand when he was yanked into the water after hooking a big fishA New Zealand man who survived more than 23 hours in cold waters and an encounter with a shark has been rescued after fishers spotted the reflection from his watch.Will Fransen, 61, had set off on a solo fishing...

Woman in 70s taken to hospital after kicking accused in groin and scratching his face during attack in Coffs Harbour nursing home, police sayA man has been charged with breaking into an aged care home and allegedly assaulting an elderly woman on New Year’s Eve on the New South Wales north coast.Emergency services were called to an aged care home in Coffs Harbour at...

Intense speculation over future role for Kim Jong-un’s daughter, who is reportedly 10, comes as North Korea fires shells near South Korean islandsThe young daughter of Kim Jong-un is seen as her father’s heir apparent, South Korea’s spy agency has said for the first time, after speculation that the North Korean ruler is grooming her to become the fourth member of the dynasty to...

As railway staff, lorry drivers, farmers and others threaten to strike, we examine the challenges the country facesRailway staff, lorry drivers and farmers are among those threatening strike action across Germany from Monday in nationwide protests over grievances ranging from pay and conditions to cuts in agricultural subsidies and higher road tolls.Long Europe’s powerhouse, Germany is struggling with a potent mix of short-term and...

Qantas and Jetstar to offer special airfares, with accommodation deals to come, as Queensland premier insists region is ‘open for business’ after Cyclone JasperImages of Tropical Cyclone Jasper’s devastating impact on far north Queensland may have driven away tourists during peak season.But the Queensland premier, Steven Miles, insists the region is “open for business”, making a $5m pitch to lure visitors back. Continue reading...

Blaze broke out at Croydon building Friday morning, with firefighters highlighting risks from lithium batteriesAn e-bike workshop has been destroyed in an early morning fire in Sydney’s inner west, causing road closures along the suburb’s shopping strip.Residents were woken just before 5am on Friday after the fire broke out at the building on Elizabeth Street in Croydon. Continue reading...

Beyond the conflict in Gaza it has been a violent few weeks in the wider Middle East, from attacks on shipping in the Red Sea to bomb blasts in Iran and a killing by drone in Beirut. Julian Borger explains what may happen nextIran suffered the worst terrorist attack in the history of the Islamic Republic this week when dozens of people were killed...

Spider measuring record 7.9cm across is almost as big as largest female collected in 2021, which was named Megaspider by Australian Reptile ParkWith fangs that could pierce a human fingernail, the largest male specimen of the world’s most venomous arachnid has found a new home at the Australian Reptile Park where it will help save lives after a member of the public discovered it...

The election has been branded a ‘sham’ designed to cement Hasina’s rule by exiled opposition leader Tarique RahmanAn opposition boycott looks set to usher prime minister Sheikh Hasina to a fourth straight term in the Bangladesh election this weekend.The election has been described as a “sham” designed to cement Hasina’s rule by exiled opposition leader Tarique Rahman. Continue reading...

More than 300 additional pages deepen the picture of Epstein’s elite orbit while resurfacing old claimsA new batch of documents related to the disgraced financier Jeffery Epstein’s sexual abuse were released on Thursday.The additional 19 documents, totaling around 300 pages, add to the more than 900 pages of documents already unsealed on Wednesday evening, the release of which prompted an online frenzy that crashed...

White House says Moscow likely to supply Pyongyang with advanced technologies in exchangeRussia has started using ballistic missiles supplied by North Korea to attack Ukraine, the White House has said.Washington also alleged Russia was in talks with Iran to buy short-range ballistic missiles. The US intelligence assessment is that Iranian missiles have not yet arrived in Russia, but that the deal will eventually be...

Two killed and five wounded, militia officials say, before US secretary of state’s tour of Middle EastMiddle East crisis – live updatesA US airstrike in Baghdad on Thursday killed the commander of an Iranian-backed Shia militia that Washington blames for attacks on American forces in the region, according to US officials.One official said that a leader of Harakat al-Nujaba, later named by the Pentagon...

Lawsuit announced by Eric Adams says 17 bus companies violated state law by transporting 33,000 people to the cityNew York City has sued 17 charter bus companies that transported migrants from Texas, the mayor, Eric Adams, announced on Thursday.The lawsuit, filed in New York state court in Manhattan, says the city is seeking $708m from the firms because that was the cost it incurred...

Civil rights leader hosts protest outside office of alumnus who spearheaded campaign to remove Claudine Gay and criticized DEIThe civil rights leader the Rev Al Sharpton hosted a protest outside the office of the Harvard alumnus Bill Ackman on Thursday after Ackman criticized diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at Harvard following the resignation of the former university president Claudine Gay.“[Ackman] declared war on DEI....

Investigators believe suspect died of self-inflicted gunshot wound, and at least one of the victims is a school administratorPolice said that a 17-year-old suspect killed a sixth grader and wounded five others in a shooting early Thursday at a high school in the small town of Perry, Iowa.The suspect was identified as Dylan Butler, a 17-year-old student at Perry high school, officials said at...

In latest move by University of California, Berkeley, law enforcement agencies arrested protesters and erected barrierIn a midnight operation, hundreds of police officers descended on People’s Park in Berkeley, California, to clear out the activists and unhoused campers occupying the area, to make way for the construction of a housing complex for students.By dawn, the park that was once the centre of the 1960s...

Suit is aimed at stopping a law allowing police to detain people suspected of crossing the US border without authorizationThe US Department of Justice has sued Texas and its Republican governor, Greg Abbott, to block a new and controversial state immigration law from going into effect.After threatening the state with legal action after last year’s passage of SB4, a new Texas law which allows...

Alexander Lukashenko’s law also bars exiled opposition leaders from standing in presidential electionsThe Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, has signed a new law granting him lifelong immunity from criminal prosecution and preventing opposition leaders living in exile from running in future presidential elections.The law theoretically applies to any former president and members of his or her family. In reality, it is only relevant to the...

Stores in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium will no longer stock PepsiCo drinks, Lay’s and Doritos crisps and Quaker cerealsThe French supermarket chain Carrefour has said it will stop selling PepsiCo products in stores in four European countries because the global food company has put its prices up by too much.Shelves at Carrefours in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium will from Thursday carry signs...

Anthony Delon told a magazine his father was finding it hard to accept his frail state of healthThe actor Alain Delon will file a legal complaint against his son over “a media outburst” in France’s most prominent magazine, his lawyer has said.In an interview published on Thursday, Anthony Delon told Paris Match that his father was finding it hard to accept his frail state...

Criminal group charged $20-$30 a month to about 5,000 people as gangs diversify into sectors other than the drug tradeA cartel in the embattled central Mexico state of Michoacán set up its own makeshift internet antennas and told locals they had to pay to use its wifi service or they would be killed, according to prosecutors.Dubbed “narco-antennas” by local media, the cartel’s system involved...

Secretary general urges countries to increase investment to avoid falling behind on climate action and sustainable developmentThe world faces a protracted period of weak economic growth that will undermine progress on sustainable development, the UN has warned, as it urged countries to raise investment to tackle the climate emergency.Its annual assessment of the state of the global economy presents a sombre outlook for growth...

Analysts suggest popularity of A Guilty Conscience is down to portrayal of recent abuses in judicial systemHong Kong’s highest grossing Chinese language film of all time is a courtroom drama exploring themes of power and justice in a city where many feel both have been abused in recent years.A Guilty Conscience, the directorial debut of the Hong Kong screenwriter Ng Wai-lun, tells the story...

Independent French auditors say UK information on people crossing Channel is ‘very patchy’The UK is not coordinating sufficiently with France to reduce the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats or providing enough detailed information, French state auditors have said.The cour des comptes, an independent French body that examines the use of public funds, has published a report on the efficiency of...