The UN’s climate summit has closed amidst cautious praise for its achievements, and bitter condemnation for its failures. On the plus side, more than 60 nations announced they were working on or exploring plans to reduce greenhouse gas to virtually zero. And a similar number said they would definitely boost their climate change ambitions by next year. On the minus …

Mothers accused of being part of a $4 million ‘fake daycare centre’ fraud shielded their faces – and one claimed her innocence – as they fronted court for the first time. Thirty-five people faced a south-west Sydney court on Monday over allegations they participated in a fraud by saying their kids attended the Red Roses Daycare Centre. But police claim …

The NSW Government has accused residents of Mascot Towers of attempting to force its hand to pay for urgent remediation work on the beleaguered apartment complex. The 132-unit Mascot Towers block was evacuated in June after cracks were found in the building’s car park. At an extraordinary general meeting in August, owners voted to raise $7 million in special levies for remediation …

US Democrats have opened a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump over allegations he sought help from a foreign power to damage a political rival. Top Democrat Nancy Pelosi said the president “must be held accountable”. Mr Trump has denied impropriety and called the efforts “garbage”. While there is strong support from Democrats on impeachment, if the inquiry moves …

Teenage activist Greta Thunberg angrily denounced world leaders on Monday for failing to tackle climate change, unleashing the outrage felt by millions of her peers in the heart of the United Nations by demanding: “How dare you?” The Swedish campaigner’s brief address electrified the start of a summit aimed at mobilising government and business to break international paralysis over carbon …

Iranian authorities have now confirmed the nation is detaining three Australians, with one of them accused of spying for a third country. The details are contained in a brief report from the semi-official Fars news agency, which contains the first information from within Iran about the detention of three Australians. It quotes an Iranian judiciary official saying two Australian travel bloggers …

More than 20 women have been arrested over an alleged family day care fraud syndicate defrauding the government of $4million in rebates. Detectives initially charged 17 people in May over their alleged links to a fake business called Red Roses Family Day Care. It was alleged the illegitimate company accumulated the sum in rebates in ten months alone by exploiting …

Cardinal George Pell has taken his legal fight to overturn his child sex abuse convictions to the High Court of Australia. A 12-page application seeking leave to appeal has been lodged, following the Victorian Court of Appeal’s dismissal of Pell’s appeal in August. The 78-year-old former adviser to the Pope is currently serving a maximum six-year prison sentence for the sexual …

Queensland remains a “tinderbox” despite favourable bushfire conditions, with Gold Coast hinterland residents on alert while firefighters work to control a blaze. Firefighters from Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and New Zealand have arrived in Queensland to give weary crews a break after days of fighting fires that have razed homes and bushland. Meanwhile, on Saturday at 1pm, the New …

Gladys Liu’s Liberal Party branch pushed an unusual motion within the Liberal Party to relax foreign investment laws prior to her becoming a federal MP. At the 2017 Victorian Liberal Party conference, the party’s Eastern Multicultural Branch, of which Ms Liu was the president, proposed a motion that would make foreign investment in agribusiness and agricultural land easier without approval …