Top World News
Australia and Japan commit to ‘support the flow’ of energy – as it happened
May 4, 2026 - World 
This blog is now closed.Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJim Chalmers says next Tuesday’s budget will not extend the 26 cent fuel tax cut beyond June.But with Australia “hostage” to the wild swings in global oil prices amid the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran, the treasurer said there was “a range of contingencies” prepared to help support households and the economy from any escalating damage as a result of the Middle East conflict.The budget will be calibrated for the conditions, but it will also still be consistent with our ambitions.The election began a year of delivery, and the budget will begin a year of more ambitious reform, reform which is made more not less, urgent by global inflation and global economic uncertainty. Continue reading...
More than 300 families evacuate in Philippines due to ashfall from volcano
May 4, 2026 - World 
Philippine officials say nearly 200,000 people have been affected by massive plumes of ash that billowed from Mayon volcano over the weekend due to the collapse of lava deposits from its slopes
Modi’s party set to take control of West Bengal, dealing blow to opposition
May 4, 2026 - World
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party is poised to take control of West Bengal, an opposition stronghold, in a key local election
Wikipedia founder brands Australia’s social media ban an ‘unmitigated disaster’ and ‘embarrassment’
May 4, 2026 - World
Jimmy Wales remembers a toxic internet even before social media and says AI is ‘not a disaster’ for the free – and freely edited - online encyclopaediaFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWikipedia’s founder, Jimmy Wales, has branded the Australian social media ban an “unmitigated disaster” and an “embarrassment” that is teaching kids to accept surveillance from tech companies when they go online.The online encyclopaedia that anyone can edit was born in a world before social media, in 2001. But Wales told Guardian Australia that many of the ills of social media existed even in the earlier stages of the internet. Continue reading...
Princess Eugenie and her husband announce they are expecting their 3rd child
May 4, 2026 - World
Britain’s Princess Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, announced Monday that they are expecting their third child
May 4, 2026 - World 
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May 4, 2026 - World