POLITICS & POLICY

King Charles III this week begins his first tour of Australia as monarch, reigniting debate about whether the country should sever ties with the British monarchy and become a republic.

Italy on Monday began transferring migrants intercepted in the Mediterranean to centres in Albania in a European first that has sparked criticism from human rights groups.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky accused North Korea on Sunday of sending troops to Russia's army and once again appealed for more support to prevent "a bigger war".

Did a Donald Trump supporter burn down his house while igniting an LGBTQ flag?

The poll, however, predicted a hung parliament, with both parties failing to get a clear majority, leaving the Labor Party set to return as a minority government.

Hezbollah said it targeted an Israeli naval base on Monday, a day after a drone strike killed four soldiers in the deadliest attack on Israel since the war in Lebanon began.

Israel expanded its aerial bombardment of targets in Lebanon, hitting areas both in and outside traditional Hezbollah bastions, as its troops battled militants across the border on Sunday.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wants to bring back US manufacturing and lower costs, relying on tariffs to boost US coffers and exert pressure on other countries -- but the reality is less straightforward.

As Israel undertakes its fourth ground offensive in southern Lebanon in 50 years, its troops again face rocky terrain mined with explosives and full of hiding places that previous generations of soldiers have battled over.

Hezbollah said it launched a salvo of missiles at an Israeli military base on Saturday, as Israeli troops battled militants in Lebanon and Gaza on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Pope Francis Friday to help bring back Ukrainians taken captive by Russia, as he toured European capitals seeking more support ahead of a tough winter.

Lebanese Christian Joseph Jarjour was hoping for a peaceful retirement at home in south Lebanon, but has instead found himself caught in the crossfire of the Israel-Hezbollah war.

Israel appeared to target Hezbollah's security chief in air strikes on Beirut that killed 22 people, in the deadliest raid on the centre of Lebanon's capital since the Israel-Hezbollah war began.

An Iraqi professor leading a group of students on a walking tour of Baghdad's historic centre invites them to stop and admire a centuries-old stone wall erected to shield the city from Mongol invaders.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, as part of a European tour aimed at securing more Western support before the presidential election in the United States.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te vowed Thursday to "resist annexation", as China exerts growing military and political pressure on the self-ruled island it claims as part of its territory.

In 2019, China was the destination for AU$700 million worth of rock lobsters, making up 98% of Australia's exports, and with the ban in place, Australia struggled to find both domestic and international markets for Southern Rock Lobster.

"The bombing of schools and the bombing of hospitals, I think, are not complying with international law," the Education Minister told AAP. "Enough blood has been spilled and it's time for the suffering and starvation and the slaughter that's happening in Gaza to end."

Two months into Ukraine's offensive on Russian territory, questions are growing in Ukrainian ranks over the long-term strategy as Russian troops advance steadily in other areas.

European countries are to discuss "innovative" ways to increase deportations of irregular migrants and rejected asylum seekers on Thursday, including controversial plans to set up dedicated return centres in non-EU nations.

Death, detention and dissolution have decimated Aung San Suu Kyi's political party, easing the way for groups backed by Myanmar's ruling military to claim victory at elections expected next year, analysts say.

Hezbollah fired projectiles into Israel on Wednesday and said it foiled ground incursions, a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Lebanon could face destruction like Gaza.

A few dozen kilometres from the Philippine capital Manila sits a coal plant that some hope could be a model for how developing countries can quit the polluting fossil fuel.

A surge of drugs is engulfing the paradisal South Pacific, as cartels and triads use far-flung island nations to channel narcotics across the globe, top police and UN officials have told AFP. Pacific islands such as Fiji and Tonga sit at the crossroads of largely unpatrolled ocean-trafficking routes used to shift cocaine from Latin America and methamphetamine and opioids from Asia.

Hungary's leader Viktor Orban sent sparks flying at the European Parliament Tuesday as he told the EU to change tack or face "defeat" in Ukraine, and promised to pop the champagne if Donald Trump wins back the White House.

Elon Musk is ramping up his public support of Donald Trump, telling Tucker Carlson in a conversation streamed Monday that he is "all in" on the Republican presidential candidate.

The Coalition's proposed motion focused on offering "words of comfort" and "words of recognition" to the victims of the Oct. 7 tragedy, whereas the Albanese government's motion took a broader approach, acknowledging the violence in Gaza and Lebanon.

Andres Iniesta scored the most important goal in the history of Spanish football, winning his country the World Cup for the first time in 2010.

Israel ramped up its ground offensive against Hezbollah along Lebanon's southern coast on Tuesday, after deploying more troops in the country and urging civilians living near the Mediterranean to evacuate.