Hamas, the Islamist group responsible for the October 7 attacks on Israel in 2023, has welcomed Anthony Albanese’s decision to recognise Palestine.

“We welcome Australia’s decision to recognise the state of Palestine, and consider it an important step towards achieving justice for our people and securing their legitimate rights,” Hamas co-founder Hassan Yousef said in a statement to Nine newspapers.

“This position reflects political courage and a commitment to the values of justice and the right of peoples to self-determination.

“We call on all countries, especially those that believe in freedom and human dignity, to follow Australia’s example and translate their positions into practical steps to support the Palestinian people and end their suffering under occupation.”

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash, who previously blasted the Prime Minister’s decision as “rewarding terrorists”, said Mr Albanese “should hang his head in shame” in wake of the statement.

“Mr Albanese has emboldened a terror group who murder civilians in cold blood and still hold 50 Israeli hostages in tunnels under Gaza,” Senator Cash said in a statement.

“All Australians should be appalled at the massive propaganda victory Mr Albanese has handed Hamas on a platter."

- NewsWire

Surely no one purchased any of this, did they?

Woolworths in New Zealand has apologised for trying to sell off cuts from their deli for NZ$15 a kilo.

The supermarket admitted they "did not get it right" with this particular offering, telling the Daily Mail they sometimes offer ends of sliced meat to reduce waste.

A photo of the meat was uploaded to Reddit and sparked outrage, with many in disbelief over the price.

"The audacity to sell waste is honestly wild," one person said.

Telstra customers in NSW's south have been hit with an outage, causing major disruptions.

The telco said 100,000 services using Mobiles, NBN, ADSL, PSTN were impacted.

Crews are en route to assess the incident, which has been caused by a power issue, Telstra said.

While Beijing has been vocal about its naval operations in Australian waters, they'll probably want this moment to pass without much noise.

The video below shows the dramatic moment two Chinese vessels collided with each other in a pursuit with a Philippines vessel in the highly-disputed South China Sea.

While the Philippines vessel reportedly offered to help the ships involved, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela said the move was "reckless". The Albanese government has previously criticised Beijing for its aerial and naval operations, accusing China of dangerous tactics.

China has rejected territorial claims in the South China Sea from several regional neighbours and has resulted in repeated confrontations in disputed waters.

It's been more than two months now lottery officials have been searching for the mystery winner of a whopping $100m Powerball jackpot.

The Lott are no closer to finding the winner despite tireless work to track them down.

That includes reviewing CCTV of the Bondi Junction store the ticket was purchased.

"We have collected all available evidence related to this win, including any CCTV footage," The Lott said. Sadly that can't be shared with the public as it would breach privacy rules.

Now The Lott are sending workers onto the streets of Bondi Junction with Powerball uniforms and boards to try and find the winner.

“Today, we’re hosting a Memory Jog around the streets where the winning entry was sold in the hope that seeing our team running around Bondi Junction sparks a memory and spurs players to hunt for unchecked lottery tickets," they said.

The era of bumper pay rises could be dead for Aussies amid new figures revealing sluggish wage growth over the last quarter – with warnings now emerging the country’s labour market has hit a “bump in the road”.

The wage price index rose only 0.8 per cent over the 2025 June quarter and 3.4 per cent annually, according to seasonally adjusted data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The growth was largely unchanged from the March quarter but down from the 4.1 per cent growth at the same time last year, ABS head of prices statistics Michelle Marquardt said.

“The share of wage changes greater than 4 per cent has declined since this time last year,” Ms Marquardt said.

“The smaller proportion of jobs with larger wage increases has contributed to lower overall wage growth.”

Private sector wages rose 0.8 per cent over June 2025 compared with a 1 per cent growth for the public sector.

Read more from NewsWire here.

Police in Sydney say they've confiscated a teenager's provisional licence after he was caught travelling 100km/h over the speed limit on a major suburban road.

The 19-year-old was behind the wheel of a BMW last Thursday, and was detected travelling at 182km/h in an 80 zone in Sans Souci, police say.

"He was charged with "Drive At Speed Dangerous to the Public" and "P2 Driver Exceed Speed Limit by More Than 45km/h". His licence was also suspended and confiscated," Highway Patrol said.

The UK is enduring its fourth heatwave of its summer as soaring temperatures sweep Europe. And it has been facing a threat Australians are more accustomed to.

Fire crews in London are tackling wildfires in two areas, with about 130 firefighters deployed to contain the fires that have burnt through grass, trees and shrubland.

On Tuesday, readings of 33.4C were recorded in Benson, Oxfordshire, Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire, and Northolt in west London.

Authorities pleaded with residents to take care and avoid barbecues, saying the majority of fires had been caused by careless behaviour.

It comes as some areas of the UK have been facing drought and the Environment Agency took the extreme step of asking people to delete old emails.

Emails and photos stored in the cloud are maintained by vast data centres, which consume so much energy that they require large amounts of water to keep cool.

Well this is certainly one way to start your holiday.

A Logan grandfather has landed $89,000 on Keno the day before he headed off overseas for a well-earned break.

“I was just out for lunch with some friends, and I wasn’t expecting this at all," he told Keno officials.

“I’m actually going overseas tomorrow. Thankfully, I’ve worked hard for my holiday, so that’s all sorted."

While he'll be celebrating his win away from home, he says his main goal with the cash will be helping his daughter and grandchildren.

You've probably read this morning of a renewed push to get millions of Australians working four days a week. If not, you can read Yahoo Finance's story on it here.

But not everyone is supportive of the idea.

The Australian Restaurant & Cafe Association (ARCA) says the move would punish struggling CBDs even more following the work from home boom the pandemic brought.

“Hospitality isn’t an office job. We can’t cram service into fewer days,” said ARCA CEO Wes Lambert.

“A blanket 4-day rule would push office attendance into Tuesday–Thursday, leaving Mondays and Fridays even quieter. That’s a death blow for CBD cafés already struggling with a 1 in 10 closure rate according to Creditor Watch.”

We've seen former prime minister Tony Abbott pop up in all sorts of places over the years and now he's been spotted stepping in to direct traffic.

The moment Abbott, dressed in a shirt and tie, assisted drivers at a boom gate in an underground car park was captured on video by Meredith Whitworth and shared by the Humans of Eastwood Instagram page.

Enjoy.

Kangaroo Island has been rocked by a magnitude 3.6 earthquake in the early hours of Wednesday, just days after another tremor shook the state’s Mid North.

Geoscience Australia recorded the quake at a depth of 10km, striking just after 1am and felt in and around Kingscote and parts of the South Australian mainland.

Dozens of people have so far reported experiencing the tremor.

The latest seismic activity follows a magnitude 2.5 quake near Laura in the Mid North at 2.26am on Friday.

That tremor, detected at a depth of 4km, was felt in Jamestown and Hallett.

Earlier this month, two quakes to the north of Adelaide - a 2.3 magnitude shake at Hawker and a 2.8 tremor near the Flinders Ranges - were recorded on the same day.

In June, Jamestown was struck by a 3.2 magnitude earthquake, with more than 70 reports from residents who felt it. That came just over a month after a 2.7 magnitude tremor hit the Adelaide Hills near Nairne.

- NewsWire

Two people have died in Italy from suspected botulism after eating sausage sandwiches from a food truck.

Authorities are investigating nine people over the outbreak that has left 14 people hospitalised in the nation's south, The Telegraph reported.

The victims all fell ill within 24 to 48 hours of eating paninis filled with grilled sausages and summer vegetables from the food truck.

“Toxic botulism is highly potent. Just a very small amount is enough to cause serious harm, as we have seen," Enrico Di Rosa, the president of the Italian Society of Workplace Hygiene, said.

Cadbury Australia has issued a product recall on a popular chocolate item sold at Coles, Woolworths, IGA, Drakes, The Reject Shop, and independent retailers nationally. The confectionery company is recalling the 10 Piece Sharebag Marvellous Creations Jelly Popping Candy Beanies 160g marked with the date 21.05.2026.

The $7 product is being recalled due to the presence of plastic, which may cause illness or injury if consumed.

The Marvellous Creations Sharebag includes 10 mini bars, combining Cadbury Dairy Milk milk chocolate, jelly pieces, beanies, and popping candy. No other Cadbury products have been affected by this recall.

Read more here.

A man has been arrested after a police firearm was discharged during a dramatic confrontation at the T2 domestic terminal at Sydney Airport.

Australian Federal Police have confirmed the man was arrested on Wednesday morning.

“An investigation into the incident has been launched and a crime scene has been established,” police said in a statement.

“There were no injuries as a result of the incident and there is no ongoing threat to the public.

“Further comment will be provided at an appropriate time.”

A spokesperson for Sydney Airport media earlier confirmed an altercation had taken place at a domestic terminal of the Mascot airport on Wednesday morning.

“Sydney Airport is currently assisting Australian Federal Police following an incident earlier this morning,” a statement read.

“No injuries occurred as a result of the incident.

“An arrest has been made and the airport is operating normally.”

It has been reported the incident sent part of the T2 terminal into lockdown, according to 2GB’s Ben Fordham.

Video obtained by 2GB showed a man pinned to floor by at least two other men, with a AFP officer brandishing a rifle kneeling on the floor next to the group.

One witness told 2GB "everyone hit the deck" when the gun discharged.

- NewsWire