World - Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Ombudsman’s report finds complaints about hardship increased substantially over past 12 months. Follow updates live Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Scams come in all shapes and sizes (and none of them are nice), and the government is considering creating rules that would force banks, telcos and digital platforms to automatically reimburse victims of smaller scams of up to $3,000. Labor is considering a range of options as part of a scam protection framework. For smaller losses, $3,000 and under, what we’re proposing is that there should be automatic payment to consumers where they can verify that there has been a scam. Scams that get into the six figures: some investment scams, some romance scams. And that’s where dispute resolution processes would come into play. What we want to do is to make sure that we don’t have the wrong incentives for perpetrators to see Australia as a soft target. But the balance is that with very small claims we don’t want to have processes that are completely disproportionate to the value of the sum in dispute. Taxpayer funds should never be used for private business, nor were they in this case. When we’re undertaking whether it be community engagement, media engagement, stakeholder meetings, you know, assisting colleagues, there are arrangements in place to assist us to do that work that is right and appropriate, and it is not right and appropriate to bill the taxpayer, as you say, for personal activities. And I did not do that. Yep. Continue reading...

Few in Lebanon believe that diplomatic efforts to end the wider war will bring peace to their country, as clashes between Israel and Hezbollah intensify in the south.

The BBC's Ros Atkins and BBC Verify sifted through thousands of the president's posts.

In CBS interview set to air Sunday, former first lady says she was ‘frightened’ during husband’s debate with Trump Jill Biden said she had been “frightened” as she watched Joe Biden ’s faltering performance during his 2024 presidential debate, and thought her husband might have suffered a stroke. “I was frightened, because I had never, ever seen Joe like that before or since. Never,” the former first lady said in a 30-second clip of an interview with CBS, set to air on Sunday. Continue reading...

President Trump said U.S. politics would not affect his strategy in the unpopular war and was open to protracted peace talks. He also insisted that Iran would not control the Strait of Hormuz.

With US waiting staff getting cross at receiving less than 20%, tips are also on the rise elsewhere.

Bundaberg man, 36, allegedly drove into and assaulted multiple people in Childers and North Isis on Wednesday Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A man has been charged with murder after allegedly beating a 78-year-old pedestrian to death with a metal pole during a violent and random rampage that also injured two other men. A 36-year-old Bundaberg West man was charged with murder and attempted murder after allegedly driving into and assaulting multiple people near Bundaberg in Queensland on Wednesday afternoon. Continue reading...

The sister of Mexican influencer El Temach tells the BBC she does not recognise him any more.

President Trump said there would be serious repercussions if Iran and Oman move forward with a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Czech Foreign Minister Macinka voices strong support for Trump, defends increased European defense spending and warns Iran poses a global nuclear threat.