world
NewsAustralian Associated PressFive killed in head-on crash in Germany
Five people have been killed in a head-on car crash in south-central Germany, police say.A car carrying four men collided with another vehicle driven by a woman near Fritzlar, 120km north of the major financial hub of Frankfurt.
NewsAustralian Associated PressSolomon Islands PM faces confidence vote
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare faces a motion of no confidence after anti-government riots saw dozens of buildings burned down and shops looted in the Pacific island's capital.Boats have been banned from Honiara harbour, and more than 200 police and soldiers from Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji are on alert, amid fears Monday's vote could trigger another outbreak of violence.
HealthAustralian Associated PressNew Zealand gets a grip on Delta outbreak
Jacinda Ardern has hailed her country's "astonishing" vaccination rate as New Zealand's downtick of COVID-19 cases continues and Aucklanders enjoy restored freedoms.November brought pandemic highs for New Zealand, with 15 deaths, and daily cases pushing beyond 200 for the first time.
BusinessAustralian Associated PressAsia in cautious mood on Omicron, US CPI
Asian share markets have got off to a cautious start as Omicron emerges in more countries and investors face a week-long wait for key US inflation figures that could settle the course of interest rates.A mixed US jobs report did little to shake market expectations of a more aggressive tightening by the Federal Reserve, and the consumer price report due on Friday was likely to make the case for an early tapering.
NewsAustralian Associated Press'Extreme' vaccine bias isolating Africa
Africa has little chance of overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic unless 70 per cent of its population is vaccinated by the end of 2022, yet "extreme vaccine discrimination" is leaving the continent behind, a report says.The discovery of the Omicron variant in southern Africa has heightened claims that low inoculation rates can encourage viral mutations, which can then spread to countries where rates are much higher.
NewsAustralian Associated PressArtist not hiding US shooter folks: Lawyer
An artist whose studio was where the parents of the Oxford High School student charged in a deadly shooting were found by police is co-operating with authorities and did not know the couple had stayed overnight, his attorney says.James and Jennifer Crumbley, who face involuntary manslaughter counts, were found early on Saturday inside a Detroit commercial building.
HealthAustralian Associated PressOmicron in nearly a third of US states
The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has spread to about one-third of US states, but the Delta version is still providing the majority of COVID-19 infections as cases rise nationwide.Though the emergence of the new variant has caused alarm worldwide, Doctor Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease official, told CNN, "Thus far it does not look like there's a great degree of severity to it.
NewsAustralian Associated PressViolence at French presidential rally
French far-right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour has promised a "reconquest" against decades of decline at his first political rally, as scuffles with anti-racism protesters broke out on its fringes."If I win this election, it won't be another rotation of power but a reconquest of the greatest country in the world," Zemmour said in a nearly hour-and-a-half-long speech on Sunday.
NewsAustralian Associated PressISIS fighters 'kill five' in northern Iraq
Islamic State militants have killed four Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers and a civilian, and wounded six other people in an attack near Qara Salem village in northern Iraq, security sources say.The Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs said in a statement the attack had caused casualties, but did not confirm the toll.
NewsAustralian Associated PressBritish teen survives Zambia croc attack
An 18-year-old British woman has said she is "very, very lucky" to have survived a crocodile attack while on holiday in Zambia.Amelie Osborn-Smith was left fighting for her life after the three-metre reptile dragged her into a death roll as she swam with friends in the Zambezi River near the Victoria Falls.
NewsAustralian Associated PressUK should fund COVID hotels, lawyers say
A legal challenge which argues coronavirus hotel quarantine is a "fundamental breach of human rights" has been mounted.People entering the UK from 10 countries in southern Africa must currently spend 10 full days in a quarantine hotel, at a cost of PS2285 ($A4318) for solo travellers.
NewsAustralian Associated PressTribal violence kills 24 in Sudan's Darfur
Tribal clashes between Arabs and non-Arabs has killed at least 24 people in Sudan's western Darfur region, an aid group says.It is the latest bout of intercommunal violence to rock the conflict-stricken region.
NewsAustralian Associated PressSpike in outbreak after Norway Xmas party
Around 120 people have tested positive to COVID-19 after being present at a Norwegian restaurant where a corporate Christmas party led to an outbreak, the NRK broadcaster has reported, citing health authorities.More than half of the cases are believed to be of the new Omicron variant.
NewsAustralian Associated PressSpainish volcano causes $1.4b in damages
The volcanic eruption on the Spanish island of La Palma has caused more than 842 million euros ($1.4 billion) in damages over 11 weeks, according to a local government estimate.
NewsAustralian Associated PressDisquiet as Gambia's president re-elected
Gambia's incumbent President Adama Barrow has comfortably won re-election, the electoral commission says, though he may face a legal challenge from opposition candidates who rejected the results because of unspecified irregularities.The vote was the first in 27 years without disgraced former President Yahya Jammeh, who was forced into exile in Equatorial Guinea after refusing to accept defeat to Barrow in 2016.
NewsAustralian Associated PressPoor weather mars Indonesia volcano search
Officials monitoring Indonesia's Semeru volcano have warned residents to remain vigilant after a deadly eruption over the weekend, as heavy wind and rain brought search-and-rescue efforts to a halt.The tallest mountain on the island of Java erupted dramatically on Saturday , shooting a towering column of ash into the sky that blanketed surrounding villages.
NewsAustralian Associated PressIran says US sanctions block revived pact
The reluctance of the United Sates to lift all sanctions on Iran is the main challenge to reviving the 2015 nuclear pact, a senior Iranian foreign ministry official has been cited as saying by Iranian media.Indirect talks between Washington and Tehran on reinstating their nuclear pact broke off on Friday, with both sides saying they would resume the following week, as Western officials voiced dismay at sweeping demands by the Islamic Republic.
NewsAustralian Associated PressPope says don't use migrants for politics
Pope Francis has condemned the exploitation of refugees for political propaganda as he paid his second visit to the Greek island of Lesbos, a main entry point for migrants that has become a symbol of the plight of refugees.Francis, who first visited Lesbos in 2016 and took 12 Syrian refugees back to Italy with him, returned briefly as part of his five-day trip to Cyprus and Greece to meet with refugees at the Mavrovouni camp, which holds about 2300 people.
NewsAustralian Associated PressAvalanche in Austria kills three skiers
Three skiers have been killed and two injured in an avalanche in central Austria, authorities say.The victims were part of a group of 11 skiers, eight of whom were hit by a roughly 200-metre wide slab of snow as they ascended a slope during a ski tour on Saturday in the Tweng area, in Salzburg province.
NewsAustralian Associated PressWestern nations condemn Taliban killings
Western nations including the US, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France and the UK have expressed concern over reported killings and disappearances of former members of the Afghan security forces after the Taliban took power.In a joint statement issued over the weekend, the 21 countries plus the European Union referred to reports of such abuses documented by Human Rights Watch and others.
NewsAustralian Associated PressIndian troops mistakenly kill 13 civilians
Angry villagers have burned army vehicles in protest after more than a dozen people were killed by soldiers who mistakenly believed some of them were militants in India's remote northeast region, officials say.Nagaland state's top elected official Neiphiu Rio ordered a probe into the killings, which occurred on Saturday.
NewsAustralian Associated PressCar rams and kills protesters in Myanmar
Five people have been killed and at least 15 arrested after Myanmar security forces in a car rammed into an anti-coup protest in Yangon, local news portal Myanmar Now reports.Witnesses on the scene on Sunday morning told Reuters dozens had been injured.
NewsAustralian Associated PressCOVID outbreak on cruise ship off US
Ten people aboard a Norwegian Cruise Line ship approaching New Orleans have tested positive for COVID-19, officials say.The Norwegian Breakaway had departed New Orleans on November 28 and is due to return this weekend, the Louisiana Department of Health said in a news release on Saturday night.
NewsAustralian Associated PressArmenian Aussie volunteer braves war zone
Amid ongoing deadly hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan, an Australian woman is risking her life to help her ancestral homeland.Just weeks after the heaviest fighting this year in the mountainous Caucasus region between Asia and Europe claimed 22 lives, 55-year-old mother of two Milena continues running kindergarten programs in the Armenian capital, Yerevan.
NewsAustralian Associated PressChile detects first Omicron case
Chilean health authorities have detected the first case of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in a person who had arrived in the copper-producing South American country from Africa.The foreign patient residing in Chile arrived in the country on November 25 from Ghana with a recently taken negative COVID-19 test.
