Israel’s prime minister has accused his Australian counterpart of having “betrayed Israel” and “abandoned” Australia’s Jewish community, after days of growing strain between the two countries. Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that history would remember Anthony Albanese “for what he is: a weak politician”. Australia barred a far-right member of Netanyahu’s ruling coalition from entering the country on Monday, and Israel in turn revoked the visas of Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority. Australian Immigration Minister Tony Burke said Netanyahu was “lashing out” over Canberra recently announcing it would join the UK, France and Canada in recognising a Palestinian state....

Palestinians are fleeing parts of Gaza City after the Israeli military began the first stages of a planned ground offensive, officials in the city say. Israel’s troops have established a foothold on the outskirts of the city – which is home to more than a million Palestinians – after days of intense bombing and artillery fire. It has prompted UN Secretary General António Guterres to renew calls for an immediate ceasefire “to avoid the death and destruction” an assault would “inevitably cause”. Israel wants to signal that it is pressing ahead with its plan to capture all of Gaza City...

Japanese police have said that an elderly man who they had believed was killed by a bear had in fact been stabbed to death by his son. Fujiyuki Shindo, 51, was arrested in the northern Akita prefecture on Tuesday for allegedly murdering his 93-year-old father Fujiyoshi, local media reports. Police sent out a bear attack warning mail after the victim’s wife found him collapsed and bleeding on the floor. But it was withdrawn after investigators concluded the wounds were more consistent with knife injuries. Bear sightings are increasingly common in the northern Japan, where ageing populations and shrinking farmlands have...

The Kano State Hisbah Board has announced plans to sponsor the weddings of repentant thugs. The Commander-General of Hisbah, Sheikh Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, revealed this after more than 1,000 youths surrendered their weapons and renounced violence. “This programme is part of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s initiative to support youths who have turned away from crime and want to live a decent life,” Sheikh Daurawa explained. Daurawa, however, cautioned the youths to ensure their repentance was genuine. He also urged other thugs who had not yet surrendered to take advantage of the programme. Speaking at the event held at the Police...

Every three years in August in the highlands of Toraja, Indonesia, a remarkable ritual blurs the line between the living and the dead. It is called Ma’nene, or The Ceremony of Cleaning Corpses, Ma’nene is a centuries-old tradition of family reunion, where the preserved bodies of the ancestors of the Torajan’s are carefully exhumed from their specially made tombs for funeral festival. The mummified Torajan, which are often preserved with natural preservatives or formaldehyde, are then meticulously cleaned and groomed, and dressed in fresh clothes and sometimes even posed for photos or walked around the village. For the Torajan people,...

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: “Last night, the Russian army set one of its insane anti-records. They targeted civilian infrastructure facilities, residential buildings, and our people. “Several cruise missiles were lobbed against an American-owned enterprise in Zakarpattia. It was a regular civilian business, supported by American investment, producing everyday items like coffee machines. And yet, it was also a target for the Russians. “This is very telling. The fire at the facility is still being extinguished. As of now, 15 people have been reported injured in the strike – all have received the necessary assistance. “First responders are also working across many...