Accessible wire
Headlines
The same published stories that appear in the 3D newsroom, presented as a conventional reading list.
NAB's annual cash profit falls 13.4% to $6.14 billion as its chief warns recession risk has risen
National Australia Bank's cash earnings fell 13.4 per cent to $6.14 billion for the year to September, weighed down by a jump in credit impairment charges and a software writedown, the Sydney Morning Herald, The Nightly and the bank report. Chief executive Andrew Irvine said a recession was not the most likely outcome but its chances had increased. NAB shares fell 5.6 per cent soon after the market opened on Thursday.
Sources: Sydney Morning Herald, The Nightly, National Australia Bank
JD Vance blames the Iran war for the Republicans' midterm rout: "The reason we lost is the war"
US Vice-President JD Vance has blamed voter anger over the war with Iran for the Republican Party's heavy losses in the 3 November midterm elections, CBS News, NBC News and the BBC report. In a long post on X on Wednesday, he wrote: "The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night." President Donald Trump said the statement was "largely true" but that he would have done nothing different, the BBC reports.
Crowd-funded AUKUS inquiry led by Peter Garrett and Chris Barrie urges Australia to scrap the submarine deal
A crowd-funded public inquiry chaired by former Labor minister Peter Garrett and former defence force chief Admiral Chris Barrie has called for the AUKUS nuclear submarine program to be scrapped, the Sydney Morning Herald, AAP and the Guardian report. Its report, launched at the National Press Club on Wednesday 4 November, makes 16 recommendations, including a royal commission into the pact.
Sources: Sydney Morning Herald, AAP, The Guardian
David Jones collapses into voluntary administration, and its lender appoints FTI Consulting as receivers
David Jones has gone into voluntary administration after talks with its main landlord, Westfield owner Scentre Group, broke down, ABC News and the Guardian report. The board appointed McGrathNicol as administrators, and lender Hilco appointed FTI Consulting's Christopher Hill, David McGrath and Joanne Dunn as receivers and managers. Stores and online sales continue under the receivers, who say steps to reduce the retail footprint are likely. The retailer has 38 stores and more than 6,000 staff.
Sources: Sydney Morning Herald, ABC News (Australia), The Guardian, BusinessDesk
Canva restructure affects 1,271 roles, 22% of its workforce, through job cuts, relocations and role changes
Australian design software company Canva announced on Wednesday 4 November a restructure affecting 1,271 people, 22% of its global workforce, who will lose their jobs, be asked to relocate to central hubs or change roles, ABC News, BBC News and the Guardian report. Chief executive Melanie Perkins did not say how many jobs would be cut. Sydney is to become the primary home for more of the company's product teams.
Sources: ABC News (Australia), BBC News, The Guardian
Five charged as federal taskforce alleges $235 million in fraud against the NDIS and three other Commonwealth agencies
Five people have been charged after a three-month operation by the AFP-led Fraud Fusion Taskforce that identified about $235 million in actual and potential fraud against the National Disability Insurance Agency, Services Australia, the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the Department of Education, The Nightly, ABC News and Region Canberra report. Search warrants were executed at 26 locations in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, the NSW Central Coast and rural Queensland.
Sources: The Nightly, ABC News (Australia), Region Canberra
NSW Health cyber breach declared a 'major incident' as the police Cybercrime Squad investigates
A cyber breach affecting an isolated NSW Health server has been declared a major incident and is being investigated by NSW Police's Cybercrime Squad, ABC News, the Sydney Morning Herald and AAP report. Cyber Security NSW says no patient data has been affected, and Health Minister Ryan Park said no risk to clinical services had been identified. A hacker claims on a dark web forum to have taken about 100,000 documents; the claim has not been verified.
Sources: ABC News (Australia), Sydney Morning Herald, AAP
Spain's deputy PM Carlos Cuerpo takes over the Transport Ministry after Óscar Puente resigns over the Urda train crash
Spain's first deputy prime minister and Economy Minister, Carlos Cuerpo, will run the Transport Ministry on a temporary basis after Óscar Puente resigned over the high-speed train crash near Urda that killed 69 people, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Wednesday 4 November, Expansión and Público report. The official gazette, the BOE, has published Puente's removal and Cuerpo's appointment, Europa Press reports.
Greenland's parliament approves the defence agreement with the US and Denmark, with Denmark's parliament to vote on 19 November
Greenland's parliament, Inatsisartut, approved the security and defence agreement between Greenland, Denmark and the United States at its second reading on Tuesday 3 November, with 16 votes for, none against and seven blank, Sermitsiaq, DR and Ritzau report. Denmark's parliament, the Folketing, is due to vote on 19 November; the agreement takes effect once both parliaments have approved it and the US has been notified.
Sources: Sermitsiaq, DR, Ritzau
Two killed as a car collides with two B-double trucks on the Newell Highway at Eumungerie, north of Dubbo
A man and a woman were killed when their northbound sedan collided with a southbound B-double and was then struck by a second, northbound B-double on the Newell Highway at Eumungerie, north of Dubbo in central-west NSW, at about 10pm on Tuesday 3 November, Nine.com.au, ABC News and the Daily Liberal report. Both truck drivers were uninjured. Police have not yet established the identities of the two people who died.
Sources: Nine.com.au, ABC News (Australia), Daily Liberal
Latvia says a drone that entered its airspace on Sunday was most likely a Russian Geran, and the one that crashed near Balvi probably Ukrainian
Latvia's National Armed Forces said on Tuesday 3 November that a drone that entered and left Latvian airspace on Sunday evening was most likely a Russian Geran-type drone, while one that crashed in Balvi municipality overnight into Tuesday was probably Ukrainian, Reuters, LSM and ELTA report. Debris from the Balvi crash has not been found, so it is not known whether that drone carried explosives.
Crown Iris cleared to sail for Haifa after Coast Guard divers find no explosive device at Syros
A Coast Guard Underwater Missions Unit team found no explosive device on the Panama-flagged cruise ship Crown Iris at the Greek port of Syros, and its 940 passengers and 597 crew re-boarded before it was cleared to continue its voyage to Haifa in Israel, the Coast Guard said, SKAI, in.gr and typika.gr report. Greek authorities had searched the ship on Tuesday 3 November after an unknown person claimed by radio that an explosive device had been attached to its hull.
Trump says US military aid to Israel will be cut off at the end of the year
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday 3 November that the US would stop giving Israel about US$4 billion a year in military aid at the end of this year, and that the idea came from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, NBC News, ABC News and the Guardian report. He did not say which aid would end or how. The US currently provides Israel with US$3.8 billion a year under a 2016 agreement that runs until 2028.
Sources: NBC News, The Guardian, ABC News (US)
Kremlin says Vladimir Medinsky will lead Russia's delegation at talks with Ukraine and the US in Abu Dhabi on 10–11 November
Russia's delegation at trilateral talks with Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi on 10–11 November will be led by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday 3 November, Interfax-Ukraine and NV report. Peskov confirmed the dates previously announced by US special envoy Steve Witkoff, and the Guardian reports that the talks are scheduled for 10–11 November according to Witkoff.
Sources: Interfax-Ukraine, The New Voice of Ukraine, The Guardian
Russia hits energy facilities in 10 Ukrainian regions, halting three DTEK power plants and forcing emergency power cuts
Russian missiles and drones hit energy facilities in 10 Ukrainian regions overnight and on Tuesday morning 3 November, Ukraine's Energy Ministry said, forcing emergency power cuts in Kyiv and the Kyiv, Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv, Cherkasy and Kharkiv regions, Interfax-Ukraine and the Kyiv Independent report. DTEK, the country's largest private energy company, said three of its thermal power plants stopped generating. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched 289 attack drones, 17 ballistic missiles and 59 cruise missiles across nine regions, the Guardian and AP report.
Sources: Interfax-Ukraine, AP News, The Kyiv Independent, The Guardian
Court and police open routine inquiries into the death of Tenerife striker Jesús de Miguel after an on-pitch collision
Tenerife striker Jesús de Miguel, 30, died in hospital on Tuesday 3 November after a collision with the Andorra goalkeeper in a Spanish second-division match on Monday, the Guardian reports. A Santa Cruz de Tenerife court has opened preliminary proceedings and the Policía Nacional homicide group is investigating, which is standard practice for any non-natural death and does not mean a crime has been established, laSexta, El Español and El Independiente report. The chief prosecutor told EFE a criminal case was "muy difícil" (very difficult).
Sources: The Guardian, El Correo, El Español, laSexta, El Independiente
US midterms: Democrats win the House as well as the Senate, taking full control of Congress
Democrats have won control of both chambers of the US Congress in the 3 November midterm elections. The Associated Press called the House for Democrats at 1.26am Eastern time on Wednesday, 4.56pm ACDT, Roll Call reports, hours after Democrats were projected to win the Senate. In New York's Westchester County, officials began counting ballots that scanners could not read on election day, CBS News reports.
Sources: Reuters, CBS News, The Guardian, FOX 5 New York, ABC7 New York, NBC News, BBC News, Gothamist, Roll Call
Point of Law wins the Melbourne Cup as Ciaron Maher trains the first three home
Point of Law, formerly owned by King Charles, won the Melbourne Cup at Flemington on Tuesday 3 November for jockey Ethan Brown and trainer Ciaron Maher, BBC Sport, The Guardian and ABC News report. Maher's Zahrann and Juja Kibo ran second and third, which ABC says is the first time in 166 editions that one trainer has had the first three home. Asterix was scratched on race morning.
Sources: BBC News, The Guardian, ABC News (Australia)
Indian tourist killed as two helicopters collide while landing near Everest base camp in Nepal
An Indian national was killed and a New Zealand passenger and a pilot were injured when two helicopters collided while trying to land at a helipad in Pheriche, in Nepal's Solukhumbu district, on Tuesday morning 3 November, the Kathmandu Post, BBC News, Nepal News and The Annapurna Express report. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has launched an investigation.
Sources: The Kathmandu Post, BBC News, Nepal News, The Annapurna Express
Reserve Bank lifts the cash rate to 4.85%, its highest since 2008, in a split 6-3 vote
The Reserve Bank of Australia raised the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.85% on Tuesday 3 November, its fifth rise this year and the highest level since 2008, after six board members voted for the rise and three to hold, the Sydney Morning Herald, ABC News and AAP report. Governor Michele Bullock said people would feel as if the economy were in recession, the Herald reports, and Treasurer Jim Chalmers pointed to more savings in December's budget update.
Sources: ABC News (Australia), Sydney Morning Herald, AAP, Reserve Bank of Australia
High Court reserves judgment on Reddit's challenge to Australia's under-16 social media ban
The High Court has reserved its decision on challenges by Reddit and the Digital Freedom Project to Australia's ban on under-16s holding social media accounts, after a two-day hearing before all seven justices ended on Wednesday 4 November, AAP reports. The government's barrister, Stephen Lloyd SC, said "the burden is indirect and modest in extent", Reuters reports. Platforms face fines of up to $99 million for systemic breaches.
Sources: AAP, The Guardian, Reuters, Sydney Morning Herald
Iran's Revolutionary Guards say four tankers caught fire after hitting mines near Hormuz, but BBC Verify finds no evidence they were destroyed
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday 4 November that four oil tankers caught fire after hitting naval mines on a "prohibited" route south of the Strait of Hormuz, and that two other vessels were seized, Reuters and the BBC report. BBC Verify says it has found no evidence that four tankers were destroyed. The claim came a day after US officials said the US had carried out limited, defensive strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island.
Sources: CNN, NBC News, ABC News (US), BBC News, Reuters
US Supreme Court refuses Trump administration bid to make California set aside 20,000 ballots
The US Supreme Court on Monday 2 November denied the Justice Department's emergency request for an order requiring California election officials to set aside mail ballots from about 20,000 people the Trump administration says are "likely" noncitizens, CBS News, NBC News and NPR report. The unsigned one-line order had no noted dissents, and the court ruled without asking California to respond, a day before Tuesday's midterm elections. A district judge and a divided 9th Circuit panel had already refused the request.
Russian bombing of a school used as an aid centre in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region kills at least 40, Zelensky says
At least 40 people have been killed in Russia's bombing of a school used to hand out humanitarian aid in the village of Komyshuvakha, in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday 4 November, Interfax-Ukraine, Ukrainska Pravda and the Kyiv Post report. He said more than 30 people may still be trapped under the rubble. Russia's defence ministry said the strikes on Monday 2 November targeted Ukrainian military units.
Sources: BBC News, ABC News (Australia), The Kyiv Independent, Ukrainska Pravda, LB.ua, Interfax-Ukraine, The Guardian, AP News, Reuters, Kyiv Post
UK doubles standard wait for settlement to 10 years, with a carve-out for care workers
Most migrants to the UK will have to wait 10 years instead of five before they can apply for indefinite leave to remain, under "earned settlement" rules Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood set out in the Commons on Monday 2 November, the Mirror, ITV News and the Guardian report. She dropped earlier plans to make migrant care workers wait 15 years: care workers who arrived before May 2025 and earn more than £25,000 will stay on a five-year route. People who arrive by small boat face 20 years, or 30 if they do not enter work or study.
Sources: ITV News, The Mirror, The Guardian
Karl Bushby ends 28-year walk from Chile at his mother's door in Hull
British adventurer Karl Bushby completed his walk home from South America on Monday 2 November, reaching his mother's house in Hull 28 years after setting off from Punta Arenas, Chile, BBC News, the Guardian and CBS News report. He crossed four continents, the frozen Bering Strait and the Darién Gap, and swam the English Channel, under self-imposed rules not to use transport to advance or return to the UK until the end.
Sources: BBC News, The Guardian, CBS News
Wizz Air Luton–Sofia flight diverted to Budapest after bomb threat; nothing found
A Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia diverted to Budapest on Monday 2 November after a bomb threat was received in flight, and a Hungarian Gripen fighter jet escorted it to the airport, Hungary's defence minister said. Wizz Air said security checks on the aircraft and passengers were completed and nothing was found, BBC News, Euronews, HVG, Index and dnes.bg report.
Suspected cyber-attack on supermarket fridges and freezers hits at least nine European countries
A suspected cyber-attack on refrigeration systems hit supermarkets in at least nine European countries – Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden – overnight into Monday 2 November, AFP and BBC News report. In Estonia, hackers raised the temperature in refrigeration units at one supermarket to 50C, ERR News reports. Belgian federal prosecutors have opened an investigation, and no one has claimed responsibility.
Sources: ERR News, BBC News, Reuters, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, AFP
Belgium's King Philippe holds Prime Minister Bart De Wever's resignation under consideration after budget talks fail
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever offered his resignation to King Philippe on Monday 2 November after overnight talks in his five-party coalition failed to agree a budget, Euronews, Politico, NOS and VRT NWS report. The palace said the king was taking his decision under consideration and would consult the leaders of the coalition parties from Tuesday. The king will receive De Wever again on Friday. The coalition is divided over how to save €10 billion, with some parties pushing for spending cuts and others for tax rises.
Russia launches 193 drones at Ukraine overnight as a guided-bomb strike on Izium kills one and injures 27
Russia launched 193 drones at Ukraine overnight into Monday 2 November, of which 154 were downed or suppressed, Ukraine's Air Force said, Kyiv Post and DW report. On Monday morning Russian guided aerial bombs struck the city of Izium in Kharkiv region, killing one person and injuring 27, including two children, Kharkiv regional police said, Interfax-Ukraine reports, and the city lost power. Strikes on energy facilities led to emergency power cuts in Kyiv region, NV and DW report.
Sources: Kyiv Post, The New Voice of Ukraine, Deutsche Welle, Ukrainska Pravda, Interfax-Ukraine
Flash floods on the Greek island of Rhodes sweep away at least 60 vehicles
Severe flooding on the Greek island of Rhodes early on Monday 2 November swept away at least 60 vehicles and flooded dozens of homes and businesses, authorities said, eKathimerini reports. The village of Archangelos, on the east coast, was worst hit. A 112 emergency alert was sent at about 3.30am local time urging residents and visitors to limit their movements, and schools were closed in several districts, CNN Greece, eKathimerini and Euronews report. The storm also damaged property on Kalymnos, Samos and near Volos.
Sources: CNN Greece, eKathimerini, Euronews
Ukraine blames Russia after its Air Alert app sent false radiation, chemical and street-fighting warnings; Moscow says its own alert app was hacked
Ukraine's officially backed Air Alert app sent false warnings late on Sunday of a radiation threat, a chemical attack and street fighting in Kyiv, along with a message in Russian about an "Oreshnik" missile, after it was hacked, The Kyiv Independent, BBC News and Ukrainska Pravda report. An Air Force spokesperson confirmed the hack to AFP, and Ukraine's Centre for Strategic Communications, SPRAVDI, blamed Russia, AFP and Al Jazeera report. Russia's emergencies ministry said its own app had been hit by a "massive cyberattack"; a claim of responsibility by the partisan group Atesh, reported by UNN and cited by the BBC, has not been verified. The hacks came as a localised ceasefire in the Kherson region ended.
Sources: The Kyiv Independent, BBC News, Ukrainska Pravda, The Guardian, AFP, Al Jazeera
Nationals leader Matt Canavan to seek preselection for Capricornia as One Nation's James Ashby and Pauline Hanson rule out running
Nationals leader Matt Canavan says he will nominate for LNP preselection in the central Queensland seat of Capricornia, which retiring MP Michelle Landry will vacate at the next federal election, ABC News, The Guardian, nine.com.au and AAP report. Canavan, a Queensland senator, stressed he is not yet the candidate and would have to resign from the Senate if he is chosen. One Nation's national director, James Ashby, and its leader, Pauline Hanson, have ruled out running for the seat, which the LNP holds by 5.8%. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor backed the move, while a pollster told AAP Canavan had "only an outside chance" in Capricornia.
Sources: ABC News (Australia), The Guardian, Nine.com.au, AAP
Learjet crashes into a Palm Beach County neighbourhood in Florida, killing all nine people on board
A Learjet 60 flying from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas crashed in a residential area of Palm Beach County, Florida, at about 12:50pm on Sunday local time (4:20am ACDT Monday), killing all nine people on board, seven passengers and two crew, NBC News, AP, BBC News and ABC News report. NTSB board member Tom Chapman said weather is a major focus of the investigation: the crew reported icing and moderate turbulence at 35,000 feet, then made a mayday call and reported an overspeed, Fox News, ABC News and Tampa Bay 28 report. The cause has not been determined.
Sources: NBC News, BBC News, AP News, WPBF, ABC News (US), FOX 13 Tampa Bay, Fox News, Tampa Bay 28
Bulgaria's election commission declares Iliana Yotova elected president after she won the runoff with 57.566% of the vote
Bulgaria's Central Election Commission (CIK) has declared Iliana Yotova and her running mate, Kiril Valchev, elected president and vice-president in decision No. 441, BNT reports. They won Sunday's runoff with 1,093,852 votes (57.566%), against 750,251 (39.483%) for Andrey Gyurov and Georgi Kandev, with 56,080 voters (2.951%) choosing not to support anyone, and turnout was 28.67%, according to BNT. Gyurov has conceded.
Federal judge throws out Justice Department bid to block certification of Alaska's US Senate race; the department files notice of appeal
A federal judge in Alaska on Sunday 1 November dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit that sought to stop the state certifying the result of its US Senate race, NPR, AP and the Anchorage Daily News report. US District Judge Sharon Gleason ruled that the federal government did not have standing to bring the case, which asked for ballots cast for Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg who shares the Republican incumbent's name, to be segregated and investigated; she said the government had not explained how that could be done while keeping the ballot secret. The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal within hours of the ruling, the Anchorage Daily News and AP report. Senator Dan Sullivan faces Democratic former Representative Mary Peltola in Tuesday's ranked-choice election, a race that could help decide control of the Senate.
Sources: NPR, AP News, Anchorage Daily News
UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara ends after 35 years as the Security Council fails to renew its mandate
The UN mission in Western Sahara, MINURSO, has ended after 35 years, with the UN announcing on Sunday 1 November the start of its liquidation period, AFP (in copy published by France 24), AP and Reuters report. Its mandate lapsed after Russia vetoed a US draft resolution in the Security Council on Friday and a rival Russian draft was voted down. Morocco welcomed the outcome, while the Algeria-backed Polisario Front criticised it. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he remained concerned about the risk of an escalation of hostilities and called for maximum restraint.
Cyclone Murasu crosses the Andhra Pradesh coast near Ongole, uprooting thousands of trees and wrecking fishing boats
Severe cyclonic storm Murasu crossed the south Andhra Pradesh coast close to Ongole between 3.30am and 5.30am local time on Tuesday 3 November (8.30am to 10.30am ACDT), with winds gusting to 120km/h, the India Meteorological Department said, the Press Trust of India reports. The storm uprooted thousands of trees, damaged electric poles and wrecked fishing boats. The National Disaster Response Force said on Tuesday that no casualty had been recorded in Andhra Pradesh, PTI reports.
Sources: The Hindu, Reuters, Press Trust of India, India Meteorological Department, India Today, The Indian Express
100 police injured and 54 arrested as rioting follows youth protests in Frankfurt, Hesse's interior minister says
One hundred of the up to 1,300 police officers deployed in Frankfurt were injured, one of them seriously, and 54 people aged between 13 and 29 were arrested when rioting broke out after largely peaceful youth protests on Saturday 31 October, Hesse's interior minister, Roman Poseck, said, according to Tagesschau's latest report; ZDF and The Guardian also report the 54 arrests. Seventeen shops were damaged and five looted, and police recorded 87 criminal complaints and issued 1,225 orders to leave the area, Tagesschau reports. Violence was also reported in Cologne and Berlin. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt called the rioting a breach of the peace and said he expected tough penalties.
Sources: The Guardian, ZDF, Tagesschau
Australian home values fall for a seventh straight month, and Cotality says the downturn is the fastest in 40 years
Australian home values fell 1.2% in October, the seventh monthly fall in a row, leaving them 6.7% below their March peak, or about $63,400 off the value of the median dwelling, according to Cotality's Home Value Index, ABC News, The Sydney Morning Herald and MarketWatch report. Combined capital-city values are down 8.1% in seven months, close to the 8.2% record fall of 2017 to 2019, and Cotality says the downturn is the fastest of the past 40 years. Economists expect the Reserve Bank to raise rates again on Tuesday.
Sources: ABC News (Australia), Sydney Morning Herald, MarketWatch