World - Tuesday, May 19, 2026

This blog is now closed Labor denies CGT reform will ‘kill startups’ as tech giant Canva warns of stifling innovation Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The NSW economy will grow less than expected next financial year amid rising inflation and the global oil shock, the state’s treasurer will warn ahead of next month’s budget. In a speech today ahead of the 23 June state budget, Daniel Mookhey will warn that NSW will only avoid a recession in 2026-27 because of the number of renewable energy projects now under construction in the state. Attentive budget watchers will notice a slowdown more pronounced in NSW than elsewhere in the federation. The simple reason is that higher inflation has led to higher interest rates which is lowering consumption spending; the point of the [Reserve Bank of Australia’s] increased interest rates. But the more complicated explanation is this: higher interest rates hurt working Australians in every state, but they hurt working Australians more in this state. Continue reading...

After President Trump’s threats to seize the island, Gov. Jeff Landry’s offers of MAGA hats and chocolate chip cookies fall flat.

This live blog is now closed. Trump critic Thomas Massie defeated in Kentucky Republican House primary Sign up for the Breaking News US email Trump told reporters he is giving Iran until the weekend or early next week , to make a deal to end the war. He said that yesterday he was within an hour of deciding to resume bombing Iran but that his negotiators had reported progress in talks. I never tell anybody when. But they knew that we were very close. I would say we were. I was an hour away from making the decision to go today, and we would probably not be talking about a beautiful ballroom today. We’d be talking about that. I had made the decision, so they called up. They had heard I made the decision. They said, sir, could you give us a couple of more days because we think they’re being reasonable. Well, I mean, I’m saying 2 or 3 days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday something. Maybe early next week, a limited period of time, because we can’t let them have a new nuclear weapon. Continue reading...

Hundreds of cases are suspected in central Africa but experts fear the actual number may be much higher.

More than 130 deaths and over 500 cases are suspected. The United States restricted entry for people who have been to three African countries after a global health emergency was declared.

Experts say Hezbollah recruits and radicalizes youth through its Mahdi Scouts, preparing children to become fighters and carry out jihad missions.

Single strike on the village of Deir Qanoun al Nahr in the coastal Tyre province killed 10, including three children and three women, health ministry says Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday killed at least 19 people, including four women and three children, Lebanon’s health ministry said, the latest in near-daily attacks from both sides that have not stopped despite a fragile, US-brokered ceasefire . Israel’s military did not immediately comment on the casualties or specific incidents, but said that between Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon, it had targeted more than 25 sites of Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon. Continue reading...

Altadena group pans report as ‘pages of deflection’ and cites reliance on ‘department insiders’ rather than residents Los Angeles county fire officials did not discriminate on the basis of race or socioeconomic status and did not delay in their evacuation orders during last year’s deadly Eaton fire in Altadena , a consulting firm found on Monday. At the behest of the county and its fire department, the California-based firm Citygate Associates conducted an investigation into how evacuation alerts were deployed last January, after emergency response officials came under fierce scrutiny for reported delays. Continue reading...

After two decades of leftist rule, many voters who backed Bolivia’s new, more conservative president say he’s made their lives harder and are demanding his removal.

Health officials reported more than 130 suspected deaths and 540 cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, but experts say the figures could be much higher.