Celine Dion announces 10-concert return to the stage in Paris

Celine Dion is set to make a long-awaited return to live performance, announcing that she will play 10 concerts in Paris later this year. The French-Canadian star, who won the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin in 1988, said she "cannot wait" to reunite with fans, describing the comeback as the "best gift of my life" as she shared the news on her 58th birthday. The shows in the French capital will be her first full-length concerts in nearly six years, following an extended break after her diagnosis with stiff person syndrome…

UN says 2 UNIFIL peacekeepers killed in south Lebanon

A deadly 24 hours for UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon has left three Indonesian members of the UNIFIL mission dead, after two were killed when an "explosion of unknown origin" destroyed their vehicle near Bani Hayyan. UNIFIL said the blast killed the two Indonesian peacekeepers and left two more wounded, one of them severely. The latest deaths bring to three the number of Indonesian UNIFIL personnel killed in southern Lebanon in the past day. The attack came a day after another Indonesian peacekeeper was killed and a…

Israel passes death penalty law for Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks

Israel’s parliament has approved legislation that makes the death penalty the default punishment for Palestinians convicted in military court of carrying out lethal attacks, a move that immediately sharpened domestic and international criticism. Sixty-two lawmakers, among them Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, backed the bill, while 48 voted against it. The measure was championed by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. One member abstained, while the remaining lawmakers were absent from the vote. An Israeli…

EU Says Attacks on UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon Are Grave Violation

Calls for accountability grew across Europe after three Indonesian United Nations peacekeepers were killed in southern Lebanon, pushing the conflict’s toll beyond the battlefield and deepening alarm over the safety of international forces. Three UN peacekeepers from Indonesia died in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon after a bloody weekend that also saw Lebanese journalists and medics killed in Israeli strikes. "We call for a thorough investigation to shed light on these grave attacks. These attacks are a grave…

G7 ministers address financial fallout from Middle East war

With energy markets jolted and anxiety spreading through the global economy, G7 finance ministers and central bank chiefs met today to confront the fallout from the war in the Middle East. The crisis escalated after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February. Tehran responded by targeting crude-exporting states across the region and stopping most shipments moving through the Gulf. That blow to supply has driven oil and natural gas prices sharply upward, sending disruptive aftershocks through…

Australian sky turns red ahead of approaching tropical cyclone

Western Australia woke to blood-red skies on Friday as a tropical cyclone that had already carved a path across much of Australia pushed closer, turning daylight in one coastal town into an unsettling scene. Video captured the crimson glow hanging over Shark Bay Caravan Park in Denham, 831km north of Perth, as the unusual light spread across the area. The owner of the holiday park said the conditions felt "incredibly eerie outside" and that dust had settled over everything. "Not a lot of wind yet. Let's hope we get enough…

Iranian leaders killed as Israeli-US war raises regime change question

The war’s opening blows decapitated much of Iran’s ruling establishment, killing supreme leader Ali Khamenei and sweeping away a senior layer of the Islamic republic’s political and military command in US-Israeli strikes. US President Donald Trump said yesterday the conflict had delivered "regime change" and that "we're dealing with different people than anybody's dealt with before". Yet several prominent officials remain alive, and the Islamic republic has moved quickly to fill vacant posts while continuing its fight…

Trump warns Iran over Strait of Hormuz in new statement

A stark new warning from Washington has raised the stakes in the Middle East conflict, with US President Donald Trump saying the United States would destroy Iran's energy plants and oil wells unless Tehran reopens the Strait of Hormuz. The threat came after Iran dismissed US peace proposals as "unrealistic" and launched fresh waves of missiles at Israel. The Israeli military said two drones launched from Yemen were intercepted today, while Lebanon's Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel. Israel, meanwhile, said it struck…

AUSSOM assumes command of British base to bolster operational capacity

Mogadishu, 28 March 2026 – The African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) has taken formal control of Operating Base SHAND from British forces, marking a new chapter for international support operations in the Somali capital. Opened in 2017 as the United Kingdom Mission Support Team’s (UKMST) principal military facility in Somalia, OB SHAND will now function as a key hub for AUSSOM to expand its operational reach. At the handover ceremony, Ambassador El-Hadji Ibrahima Diene, Special Representative…

Nations respond to fuel crisis with free public transport and four-day weeks

With fuel costs climbing in the wake of the Iran war, Victoria is moving swiftly to blunt the impact on households by making public transport free from tomorrow. In a post on social media, state Premier Jacinta Allan described the decision as a "temporary measure to take pressure off the pump and ease the cost of living for Victorians right now". "It won’t solve every problem, but it is an immediate step I can take to help Victorians right now," she added. The plan in Victoria, whose capital is Melbourne, is set to remain in…