News

With a sonic boom heard in Alaska, Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai erupted near Tonga on Saturday, causing a tsunami and spreading ash across the Pacific Islands and cutting off communications.

A new law, modelled on a controversial American act, gives the Foreign Affairs minister extraordinary powers to impose travel bans and financial sanctions on foreigners.

Western Australia’s plan to reopen its border to the rest of Australia was pushed back late this week, amid warnings of a coming catastrophe in the country’s worst health system.

How a movement that began in earnest a decade ago, built on grassroots representation, could affect at least eight seats at the next election.

A cascading series of crises, across various sectors, has undone any pretence that the government is managing the pandemic.

Changing allegiances in the Solomon Islands – from Taiwan to China – have made unlikely heroes for Australia’s right-wing media.

Damage from tropical cyclone Cody in Fiji leads to a government warning on diseases. Drone strikes targeting Tigray hit a camp for displaced Ethiopians. Ugandan students are back at school after two-year closure.

Five nuclear powers in pledge to prevent their use. Indonesia bans coal exports for January. Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is convicted of fraud.

The prime minister believed the reopening of NSW would mark a swing in positive sentiment. He is now rushing to cover testing failures and redefine close contacts and hospital admissions.