New South Wales drought now affects entire state
Australia's most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), is now entirely in drought, officials have confirmed.
A dry winter has intensified what has been called the worst drought in living memory in parts of eastern Australia.
NSW produces about a quarter of Australia's agricultural output. It was officially listed as "100% in drought" on Wednesday.
The state and federal governments have provided A$576m (£330m; $430m) in emergency relief funding.
"There isn't a person in the state that isn't hoping to see some rain for our farmers and regional communities," said NSW Minister for Primary Industries Niall Blair.
Argentina holds historic abortion vote as 1m women rally to demand change
Senate votes on bill opposed by Catholic church and pope that would legalise abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy
Ana María Acevedo was a 19-year-old housemaid and already the mother of three children when she was diagnosed with cancer of the jaw.
Her prognosis took a turn for the worse when doctors discovered she was two weeks pregnant, and cancelled her scheduled chemotherapy sessions.
Acevedo was admitted to Iturraspe hospital in the Argentinian city of Santa Fé, where she remained throughout her pregnancy, but she found herself trapped in a legal grey zone.Which countries ban wearing niqabs and burqas in public?
Boris Johnson’s comments on traditional Muslim dress at odds with UK’s official stanceJoe Sommerlad
Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary, is under pressure to apologise for the use of Islamophobic language in his most recent Daily Telegraph column.
In reference to Denmark’s decision to fine Muslims for wearing niqabs and burqas in public, Mr Johnson described the traditional Islamic clothing as “weird” and “ridiculous” and likened women who wear it to “letter boxes” and “bank robbers”.
A spokesperson for the prime minister, Theresa May, said on Monday: “The longstanding government position on this is clear – we do not support a ban on wearing of the veil in public.
Georgia's frozen conflict takes psychological toll
Ten years after the war between Russia and Georgia, villagers near the breakaway region of South Ossetia still live under the strain of the conflict, dealing with border issues and Russian patrols. Emily Sherwin reports.
As Ilya Bervashvili walks out onto to his corn fields, the blue circle on the map moves beyond the dotted line with him. But an app clearly shouldn't be trusted when it comes to this border. Things are more complicated here than they appear on Google Maps.
The farmer points to the green sign just beyond his land. It says it marks a "state border" between Georgian-controlled territory and the breakaway region of South Ossetia, which is only recognized as a state by five countries worldwide — including Russia, which backs and defends it. Georgia sees this as an "occupation line." In many places, the boundary isn't marked at all — and it has been known to move. Here in the village of Ditsi, there is a small section of green border fencing. On either side of the fence, there is nothing.
At the epicentre of the Lombok earthquake, villagers cry out for help
By James Massola & Amilia Rosa
Indonesia’s government, military and aid agencies are struggling to deliver aid to people in some of the areas hardest hit by Sunday’s magnitude 7.0 earthquake.
The death toll from the earthquake rose to 131 on Wednesday and will climb higher, while the number of severely injured jumped from 239 to 1477.
An estimated 458 schools and 42,239 houses are uninhabitable.
Nearly three days after the quake hit, and as aftershocks continued to be felt across the island, Fairfax Media travelled to within a handful of kilometres of the earthquake’s epicentre.Taiwan mocks Beijing over new Winnie the Pooh film
Updated 0703 GMT (1503 HKT) August 8, 2018
Taiwan's government has mocked Beijing over rumors a new film featuring Winnie the Pooh has been banned in mainland China, due to comparisons between the yellow bear and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
On its official Twitter account, Taiwan's Foreign Ministry posted an image of their tourism mascot Oh! Bear, saying he was dismayed "his cousin Winnie's" film had been "banned" by Chinese authorities.
"Make no mistake: All bears are created equal in Taiwan and "Christopher Robin" is screening nationwide," the ministry said.
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