World - Thursday, June 4, 2026

This blog is now closed Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Jane Hume , the deputy opposition leader, accused the government of being “sneaky”, saying discussions around tax reforms in parliament were much too short to properly address so-called “generational” tax reforms. “What the government has done is essentially prevented scrutiny of the changes that this legislation is going to inflict on the Australian economy,” Hume told RN Breakfast. She went on: Apparently, these are generational reforms. If they’re generational reforms, well, surely they should have been taken to an election so that the Australian people could decide that. Two days simply is not enough. There is no need to rush these changes through because they don’t kick in until 2028. Victim-survivors and their loved ones will no longer be forced to sit in court and hear the person convicted of a heinous crime be described as an otherwise good person. While I’m glad we’re finally here, it should not have taken so long for the Liberals and Nationals to listen to victim-survivors and their advocates and drop their opposition to these reforms. This win belongs to every survivor in this country. … That is hard-won dignity. But I’m not done. Every survivor in every corner of this country deserves the same protection, and I will fight until every jurisdiction reflects that. NSW was first. The rest will follow. Continue reading...

“After 26 years in power, age is beginning to take its toll,” President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine wrote of his Russian counterpart, bragging of a recent strike on St. Petersburg.

Ukraine's president tells the Russian leader that only "direct engagement" between the two countries could end the war, with the US focused on Iran.

Platner says claims in New York Times article of physical misconduct and offensive remarks ‘politically motivated’ Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for the US Senate, has rejected an explosive new report about his treatment of women, insisting that allegations of abusive behavior are “politically motivated”. Platner, a progressive running for election in Maine, was responding to a New York Times article published on Thursday that included an interview with a Republican operative who accused him of womanizing, physical misconduct and making troubling comments about rape. Continue reading...

Swampy mangrove forests are staging a surprise comeback - which is good news for coastal communities and the climate.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth says the U.S. remains committed to defending Bolivia's government amid coup warnings and mass unrest over fuel prices.

Hezbollah’s leader said the Iran-backed group, which was not included in U.S.-brokered talks, said a truce worked out between Israel and the Lebanese government amounted to surrender for his group.

Pulte, who is the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is a staunch loyalist of the president Donald Trump has suggested his controversial ally Bill Pulte will investigate “rigged elections” while serving as the country’s top intelligence official, as the US president continues to make unfounded allegations about voting. But Pulte, whom Trump appointed as acting director of national intelligence earlier this week, will only serve in the role temporarily, the president claimed on Thursday. Continue reading...

The K-pop band say accepting their flaws and embracing humour took them to a new level of success.

Residents of Israel's northern border describe life under what they call "the ceasefire war," with sirens and explosions despite agreements.