The World Health Organisation is pushing for an international accord to help prevent and fight future pandemics after the emergence of the worrying new Omicron COVID-19 variant. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says many uncertainties remain about just how transmissible and severe infection by the highly mutated Omicron might be. Dr Tedros joined leaders like outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel …

After being banned from several social media platforms, former US president Donald Trump has announced plans to launch his own app, TRUTH Social, in a bid to “stand up” to bigger companies. TRUTH Social will be created through a new company formed by a merger of the Trump Media and Technology Group and a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), both organisations said …

Australia’s global strategic partnerships have been the focus of a speech by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on the fourth day of the United Nations General Assembly. In a pre-taped video statement, Mr Morrison touted Australia’s $100 million contribution to the Quad Vaccine Partnership “with our good friends the United States, India and Japan”. “This will support a boost in production …

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a senior-level review of the investigation that found that 10 Afghan civilians, including seven children, were killed in an Aug. 29 US drone strike in Kabul that the Pentagon initially said had killed an Islamic State fighter. The reviewer is to consider whether any military disciplinary action is warranted. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday that …

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has landed in the US for meetings ahead of the first face-to-face Quad leaders’ summit. Mr Morrison’s RAAF jet touched down at John F Kennedy international airport in New York about 8am Australian time on Tuesday, after travelling from Sydney via Hawaii on Monday. “I’m very pleased to be here in the United States,” he said …

Former US president Donald Trump has lashed his country’s women’s football team for being too “woke” after they won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics. The number-one ranked Americans suffered a shock 1-0 loss to Canada in the semi-finals, before beating Australia 4-3 to claim bronze. It was a moderate underperformance for a country that has claimed four previous Olympic gold …

The hack exposed tens of thousands of organisations across the world and allowed both Chinese security agencies — as well as criminal groups allegedly working with them — to access vast troves of valuable data and intellectual property. So why did the United States and its friends and allies decide to pin the attack on China? What are the risks for Australia? And …

United States President Joe Biden has ordered aides to determine the origin of the coronavirus pandemic, saying US intelligence agencies are pursuing rival theories including a possible laboratory accident in China. Intelligence agencies were considering two likely scenarios but still lacked strong confidence in their conclusions and were hotly debating which was more probable, Mr Biden said in a statement. The conclusions …

The Australian share market is set to modestly rise, despite tech stocks on Wall Street pulling that market lower. At 9:30am AEST, ASX 200 futures were up 0.2 per cent. The benchmark closed 0.1 per cent up on Monday after it was pulled higher by energy stocks. Meanwhile, globally the price of oil is up. It is up 1.1 per …

US President Joe Biden has expressed support for a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers in a phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr Biden is facing growing pressure from his own Democratic Party to play a more vocal role, but US officials say he and his team have opted for a quieter effort, talking directly with Israeli …