Violence rocks Sri Lanka as PM quits
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has resigned after clashes broke out between rival political activists in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo.
International News
Ukraine’s Odesa douses fires after strikes
Russian forces have hit targets in the east and south of Ukraine and are pushing to defeat the last Ukrainian troops holding out in a steelworks in Mariupol.
Putin says West was preparing to invade
Russia's intervention in Ukraine was necessary because the West was "preparing for the invasion of our land, including Crimea", President Vladimir Putin says.
Mariupol’s stand as Putin eyes victory
Ukraine believes Vladimir Putin's determination to take control of Mariupol has reached a crucial stage, ahead of Victory Day in Russia.
US coordinating Ukraine fighting – Russia
A senior Russian politician has accused the US of being directly involved with fighting in Ukraine.
Women and children evacuated from Mariupol
After weeks of Russian bombardment, the women, children and elderly citizens of Mariupol hiding in the Azovstal steel plant have been evacuated.
Russia bombs school, Ukrainians flee plant
Russian bombing of a school in eastern Ukraine has left 60 people feared dead in the rubble while civilians have been evacuated from the steelworks in Mariupol.
Fierce Ukraine fighting as WWII win marked
About 60 people are feared dead after a bomb struck a school in eastern Ukraine as Russia prepares to mark victory over the Nazis in World War II.
Sri Lanka govt declares state of emergency
Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has declared a state of emergency in the country effective from midnight, officials say.
Efforts underway to save Mariupol fighters
The defenders at the Azovstal steelworks in the city of Mariupol, Ukraine have vowed not to surrender amid fears Russian forces want to wipe them out.
New effort to evacuate Mariupol civilians
Russia's new war front in Mariupol is aimed at limiting Ukraine's access to the Black Sea, vital for its grain and metals exports.
WHO links 14.9mln deaths to COVID-19
Nearly 15 million people were killed either by the coronavirus or by its impact on overwhelmed health systems in the first two years of the pandemic, WHO says.
Australian woman missing in Mexico
Mexican authorities say an Australian woman is missing after her two-year-old daughter was found wandering alone in the resort city of Cancun.
Ukraine’s Zelenskiy appeals for truce
After failing to capture the Kyiv, Russia has accelerated attacks on Ukraine's east and south while thousands of people remain trapped in Mariupol.
Virus cases dip except in Americas, Africa
Global coronavirus infections have dropped 17 per cent in the past week, the World Health Organisation says.
EU sanctions as fighting rages in Ukraine
The European Union is expected to spell out proposed new sanctions, including a ban on imports of Russian oil by the end of this year.
Roe v Wade US abortion law ‘to be revoked’
Landmark US legislation that for almost 50 years has allowed a woman's right to choose to have an abortion could be overturned, reports suggest.
EU pushes antitrust case against Apple
EU antitrust regulators say Apple is restricting access to its technology in a move that may force the iPhone maker to open its mobile payment system to rivals.
Russia unleashes rockets in Mariupol
Russia's offensive to capture the east and south of Ukraine as been met with commitments by Western powers to supply heavier weapons to the embattled nation.
Civilians rescued from Ukraine’s Mariupol
After nearly two months of siege, civilians holed up at a steel plant in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol began to be evacuated over the weekend.
Mariupol civilians flee Azovstal bunkers
After two months of heavy bombardment from Russian aggressors, civilians sheltering in the Mariupol steel works are being evacuated.
US Speaker Pelosi visits Ukraine’s capital
Russia has accused Ukraine of attacking its own citizens as Moscow continues to pound its neighbour's south and east, and evacuees trickle out of Mariupol.
Aust Zoo backflip strands elephant in NZ
Auckland Zoo staff have been crushed by a last-minute backflip from Australia Zoo, which was to home their elderly elephant Burma.
Ukraine says Russia pounding Donbas region
Russia is attacking Ukraine's eastern Donbas region but have so far failed to capture three target areas and the conflict goes on.
Ukraine says Russia taking colossal losses
Having failed in an assault on Kyiv in the north of Ukraine last month, Russia is trying to fully capture two eastern provinces known as the Donbas.
Russia steps up assault on eastern Ukraine
Although Russian forces were pushed out of northern Ukraine last month, they are still heavily entrenched in the east.
Indonesia widens palm oil export ban
Analysts say vegetable oil prices are soaring as Indonesia widens an export ban on raw materials for cooking oil to include crude and refined palm oil.
Suu Kyi jailed five years for corruption
A Myanmar court has found deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of corruption and sentenced her to five years in prison, a source says.
NZ High Court: COVID rules ‘not justified’
Grounded Kiwis, a lobby group founded to protest New Zealand's tough COVID-19 border restrictions, has won a court case against the government.
EU, Turkey, Albania curbs end as WHO warns
World Health Organisation head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the agency is blind to how the coronavirus is spreading because of falling global testing rates.
Russia blasted as Ukraine calls ‘karma’
Russia is reporting blasts in the south of the country, in what a top Ukrainian official has described as "payback" and "karma" for Moscow's invasion.