World

A team of experts led by an Australian doctor has published an open letter calling for a rethink on the investigation into the origins of COVID-19 from Wuhan, China, as the restrictions on a WHO-led investigatory team hamper their report.

Italy's government has blocked the export of 250,000 AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine doses destined for Australia, with EU officials approving the intervention.

Six Dr Seuss books will stop being published because of 'racist and insensitive imagery', the business that preserves and protects the author's legacy says.

Four people have pleaded not guilty in an English court to criminal damage over the toppling of a statue of a slave trader in the city of Bristol.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to three years on charges of bribery and influence peddling, a court in Paris

Facebook has settled claims it violated users' privacy for $US650 million. The loss is the second for the global giant in a week, after the Australian government brought it to heel.

Congressional Republicans attending a national conference in Florida have been confronted by a wheeled out gold-coloured tribute statue of former president Donald Trump.

An operation to rescue more than 300 girls kidnapped in Nigeria has failed to pinpoint their location, almost 24 hours after gunmen seized them in a raid on their school.

Tiger Woods is undergoing surgery on leg injuries after being cut from his car following a motor vehicle accident in Los Angeles.

NASA has released footage early Tuesday Australian time of the Perseverance rover's descent to the surface of the planet Mars.

Christchurch in New Zealand has paused to remember the 185 killed in a major earthquake on 22 February 2011.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has referred to President Vladimir Putin as "Voldemort" in a speech in court as his appeal against his prison sentence was rejected. 

The World Health Organisation has a team in China investigating the origins of the COVID-19 virus and a WHO expert has dismissed China's persistent claim the virus came from food imported into the country.

Prince Philip has been admitted to hospital as a precautionary measure after feeling unwell, Buckingham Palace says. Queen Elizabeth's 99-year-old husband has been admitted as a precautionary measure with an ailment that is not coronavirus-related.

China will pay a price for its human rights abuses, US President Joe Biden has warned, responding to queries at a televised event on the Asian nation's handling of Muslim minorities in its far western region of Xinjiang.

On the same day that Victorians are released from a 5-day lockdown, a Dutch court has cancelled a government curfew that had been in place since January 23, ruling there was no emergency justifying the restrictions on the human rights of personal movement and liberty

Italy's Mount Etna has put on a stunning eruption with lava flows down to 2000 metres from the volcano's 3300 metre peak

Greece is enduring a rare snow covering with the Acropolis and Parthenon shrouded in snow on Tuesday.

An ebola outbreak in Guinea has spurred the WHO to warn neighbouring nations on the risk of an outbreak, launching an immunisation campaign in the region

A recent escalation of violence between separatists and the Indonesian military in Indonesian Papua further highlights the deteriorating security and human rights situation in Australia's nearest neighbour.

A Bangladesh court has handed down the most severe sentence possible for militants that hacked to death with machetes an anti-extremism blogger in February 2015

Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan has tweeted his congratulations to the new head of the World Trade Organization, an appointment blocked by the Trump administration but supported by the Biden administration.

A group of scientists have discovered "strange creatures" under a 900-metre thick ice shelf of the Antarctic, according to an article published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.

Tanks have been spotted on the streets and security forces have opened fire to disperse protesters in Myanmar as mass anti-coup demonstrations continue.

Former US President Donald Trump has made history, winning a second impeachment acquittal despite 7 Republicans crossing the floor to support his impeachment over the US Capitol riots.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is optimistic about England's path to easing coronavirus restrictions, while South Africa is set to reopen land borders with 20 countries.

Seventy Christians were released from three prisons in Eritrea in late January and early February, many having been incarcerated without charge for as long as twelve years.

A 7.6 magnitude earthquake east of New Caledonia has put New Zealand and the Australian territory of Lord Howe Island on a tsunami warning alert

Australians arriving in the United Kingdom would need to pay $3125 for hotel quarantine, or face steep fines for failing to do so, under new COVID-19 requirements issued on Tuesday

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne says the government is working hard to secure the release of an Australian academic detained in Myanmar during the military coup.

As Denmark floats a proposed wind/hydrogen energy 'island', Australia is investing in hydrogen energy as a way of meeting global emissions targets

After hurtling hundreds of millions of kilometres through space since July, three robotic explorers from the US, China and UAE are ready to hit the brakes at Mars in quick succession.

The Chinese People's Consultative Conference has advised the government it wants help for boys that have become too 'delicate, timid and effeminate'

Human rights groups have called on nations to boycott the Winter Olympics due to China's repression of ethnic minorities, specifically Tibetans, Uighurs, Inner Mongolians and residents of Hong Kong

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been sentenced to 3½ years' jail as protests against his arrest increase in scale across the nation.

Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne has expressed alarm at the Myanmar military's coup, overthrowing the government after recent elections.

On a purple patch of successful Nobel Peace Prize nominations, Norwegian politicians have selected a wide range of 2021 nominees, from Donald Trump to Greta Thunberg, the WHO to Black Lives Matters.

China has warned Taiwan that moves to assert their independence meant 'war' and that 'those who play with fire will burn themselves' in a sobering warning to Australia, the USA and western nations concerned about freedom of navigation in Chinese waters and regional security.

President Biden has set an unpredecented breakneck pace issuing executive actions in his first week in office. His executive orders could impact Australia's domestic and foreign policy on climate change and the origins of COVID-19