The backlog of skilled worker visas is a "hopeless situation" but the government is working as fast as it can to get them processed, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says.
As businesses across multiple industries indicate they're being hampered by skills shortages, it's estimated more than 100,000 visas for overseas workers are yet to be processed.
Ghislaine Maxwell has failed to pay some US$878,000 ($1.27 million) in fees to two lawyers who defended the now-convicted British socialite against criminal charges she helped Jeffrey Epstein abuse teenage girls, the lawyers' firm said in a new lawsuit.
Maxwell, 60, was convicted in December of sex trafficking and is serving a 20-year prison sentence over her role in recruiting and grooming girls for Epstein, a financier and registered sex offender
Spanking is staging a comeback this school year in the classrooms of one small town in southwestern Missouri, where the district will now allow corporal punishment for any unruly student whose parents give their blessing.
In Cassville, about 50 miles west of Branson, administrators this week notified parents of the new policy at an open meeting and handed out consent forms to sign, according to a parent who attended the meeting.
Scott Morrison's secret appointment to five ministerial portfolios will be investigated by a former High Court judge in an independent inquiry announced by the Albanese government.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the inquiry into his predecessor's actions will be held "at arm's length" from the government and provide "transparency" about what went on.
Refugees in urgent need of resettlement will be supported by local community groups under a new pilot program aiming to guide and support new arrivals.
The Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot will enable community supporter groups to assist refugees to access accommodation, local orientation, education and government services.
Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro has been charged over a scuffle with a freelance cameraman on Sydney's northern beaches earlier this year.
NSW Police on Friday served a future attendance of court notice for alleged assault and malicious damage offences on a 51-year-old man, via his legal representatives, they told AAP.
It has been revealed that 17 children's books written by Australian refugee, writer and artist Anh Do were banned in a United States school district.
PE America, a not-for-profit organisation aimed at defending freedom of expression, reported that titles from Do's WeirDo series, had been banned from classrooms in Central York, Pennsylvannia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the world narrowly avoided a radiation disaster as electricity to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was cut for hours due to Russian shelling in the area, allegations that Moscow denied.
Mr Zelenskyy said Russian shelling on Thursday sparked fires in the ash pits of a nearby coal power station that disconnected the reactor complex, Europe's largest such facility, from the power grid.
