World news

• As Iranians risk their lives to protest, an exiled prince emerges as a leader

  16-01-2026 09:45 via smh.com.au
  
  The Iranian regime is ruthless but losing its grip. Alternatives are coming forward.
  
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• Ex-South Korean president Yoon jailed over failed martial law bid

  16-01-2026 09:00 via smh.com.au
  
  The jail sentence concludes the first of eight criminal trials that Yoon Suk Yeol is facing over his botched attempt to impose martial law.
  
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• Ex-South Korean president Yoon jailed for 5 years over failed martial law bid

  16-01-2026 09:00 via smh.com.au
  
  The jail sentence concludes the first of eight criminal trials that Yoon Suk Yeol is facing over his botched attempt to impose martial law. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the most serious charges.
  
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• Trump accepts Nobel Peace medal from Venezuelan opposition leader

  16-01-2026 03:16 via smh.com.au
  
  The US president thanked María Corina Machado, who made the gesture during a high-stakes encounter with him that could affect how he seeks to shape her country’s future.
  
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• The intense diplomatic effort to convince Trump not to strike Iran

  16-01-2026 02:28 via smh.com.au
  
  US President Donald Trump has held off ordering military action against Iran to support widespread anti-regime protests after a two-day diplomatic effort by US allies.
  
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• The Trump-backed Palestinian who wants to bulldoze Gaza’s rubble into the sea

  16-01-2026 01:55 via smh.com.au
  
  Ali Shaath, a civil engineer from Khan Younis who has been chosen to administer Gaza, wants to push the war debris into the Mediterranean to make new islands.
  
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• US backs Palestinian civil engineer to administer Gaza

  16-01-2026 00:47 via smh.com.au
  
  The appointment of Ali Shaath marked the start of the next phase of US President Donald Trump's plan to end Israel's war in Gaza.
  
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• Karoline Leavitt lashes journalist over ICE question: 'Leftwing hack'

  16-01-2026 00:09 via smh.com.au
  
  White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has launched a tirade at a journalist who asked a question about ICE conduct.
  
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• Venezuelan opposition leader says she presented Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize

  16-01-2026 00:01 via smh.com.au
  
  María Corina Machado made the gesture during a high-stakes encounter with the US president that could affect how Trump seeks to shape her country’s future.
  
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• White House warns Iran after deadly crackdown

  15-01-2026 23:20 via smh.com.au
  
  The White House has warned Iran of grave consequences if the killing of protesters doesn't stop.
  
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• Trump threatens to invoke Insurrection Act as protests grow in Minneapolis over shootings

  15-01-2026 23:13 via smh.com.au
  
  Federal officers ignited flash-bang grenades and released clouds of tear gas in Minneapolis overnight after an immigration officer shot a man.
  
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• ‘Insurrectionists’: Trump threatens to deploy military to quell protests after second shooting

  15-01-2026 23:13 via smh.com.au
  
  Federal officers ignited flash-bang grenades and released clouds of tear gas in Minneapolis overnight after an immigration officer shot a man.
  
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• Trump threatens to invoke Insurrection Act

  15-01-2026 22:11 via smh.com.au
  
  US President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in the wake of a second shooting in Minneapolis.
  
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• Woman who accused NY party circuit twins of sexual assault found dead in Sydney

  15-01-2026 22:09 via smh.com.au
  
  Australian Kate Whiteman’s allegations against Oren Alexander – a high-profile New York real estate agent – and his twin brother, Alon, opened the floodgates for dozens of similar claims from women across the world.
  
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• Woman who accused NY party circuit twins of sexual assault found dead in NSW

  15-01-2026 22:09 via smh.com.au
  
  Australian Kate Whiteman’s allegations against Oren Alexander – a high-profile New York real estate agent – and his twin brother, Alon, opened the floodgates for dozens of similar claims from women across the world.
  
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• Australian woman who accused NY party circuit twins of sexual assault found dead in Sydney

  15-01-2026 22:09 via smh.com.au
  
  Kate Whiteman’s allegations against Oren Alexander – a high-profile New York real estate agent – and his twin brother, Alon, opened the floodgates for dozens of similar claims from women across the world.
  
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• Trump chooses sanctions over strikes – for now – against Iran

  15-01-2026 19:57 via smh.com.au
  
  The development came amid Arab states had engaged in intense diplomatic efforts over the past two days to convince the US president not to take military action.
  
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• Trump chooses sanctions over strikes, for now, against Iranian regime

  15-01-2026 18:30 via smh.com.au
  
  “There’s still time if you choose to join us,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Iranian leaders as he announced new sanctions on 18 individuals and entities accused of laundering oil proceeds.
  
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• ‘Safe and in good spirits’: Astronauts splash back to Earth in NASA’s first medical evacuation

  15-01-2026 13:02 via smh.com.au
  
  The crew returning from the International Space Station were greeted by dolphins after splashing into the Pacific Ocean near San Diego on Thursday evening (AEDT).
  
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• Astronauts splash back to Earth in NASA’s first medical evacuation

  15-01-2026 08:01 via smh.com.au
  
  The crew returning from the International Space Station were greeted by dolphins after splashing into the Pacific Ocean near San Diego on Thursday evening (AEDT).
  
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• Airspace closed, US personnel moved amid fears of attack on Iran

  15-01-2026 07:07 via smh.com.au
  
  Flight-tracking websites showed aircraft skirting around Iran and its airspace almost empty of civilian airplanes.
  
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• How a protest against Iran's currency led to the deaths of hundreds and could even topple a regime

  15-01-2026 07:05 via smh.com.au
  
  Thousands are reportedly dead in Iran as protests rage over the nation's collapsing currency. Nine.com.au Senior Journalist Maddison Leach asks the question - how did Iran got to this point?
  
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• ‘Very tense situation’: Clashes break out after second person shot in Minneapolis

  15-01-2026 06:15 via smh.com.au
  
  Protesters are clashing with law enforcement officers at the scene of the shooting, in a city that has rapidly become the epicentre of a national reckoning over Trump’s immigration crackdown.
  
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• ‘You were amazing’: Asian leaders hold cheesy jam session as Beijing blusters

  15-01-2026 06:06 via smh.com.au
  
  Like all finely tuned pieces of diplomatic stagecraft, the K-pop drumming session between the leaders of Japan and South Korea was laden with none-too-subtle messaging.
  
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• The not-so-subtle message in cheesy moment between two leaders

  15-01-2026 06:06 via smh.com.au
  
  Like all finely tuned pieces of diplomatic stagecraft, there was more to the friendly jamming session than matching tracksuits and K-pop hits.
  
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• Iran reopens airspace after five-hour closure amid tensions with US

  15-01-2026 05:04 via smh.com.au
  
  Flight tracking websites showed aircraft skirting around the country and Iranian airspace almost empty of civilian airplanes.
  
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• Federal agents shoot second person in Minneapolis as tensions soar

  15-01-2026 04:46 via smh.com.au
  
  The city has rapidly become the epicentre of a national reckoning over President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration and protests against it.
  
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• Iran extends closure of airspace amid heightened tension with US

  15-01-2026 02:41 via smh.com.au
  
  Flight tracking websites show aircraft skirting around the country and Iranian airspace almost empty of civilian airplanes.
  
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• South Korean and Japanese leaders end summit with K-Pop jam session

  15-01-2026 02:17 via smh.com.au
  
  South Korean president Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi wore matching tracksuits and played the drums together at the end of a two-day summit in Nara, Japan.
  
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• Astronauts head back to Earth early in NASA’s first medical evacuation

  15-01-2026 02:17 via smh.com.au
  
  The crew returning from the International Space Station are expected to splash down on Thursday evening (AEDT) in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego.
  
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• Astronauts head back to Earth early in NASA’s first medevac

  15-01-2026 01:39 via smh.com.au
  
  The crew returning from the International Space Station are expected to splash down on Thursday evening (AEDT) in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego.
  
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• Train disaster follows deadly tower collapse for crisis-hit developer

  15-01-2026 01:03 via smh.com.au
  
  At least 31 people are dead after a construction crane fell onto a passenger train. It’s the second deadly incident involving the same Thai developer in less than a year.
  
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• The one word that said it all after Denmark’s talks with US over Greenland

  15-01-2026 00:45 via smh.com.au
  
  The future of the NATO alliance is at stake if the US president – who has stepped up his demands for the territory – seeks to take it by force.
  
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• ‘Red lines’ emerge over Greenland as White House meeting ends in stand-off

  15-01-2026 00:45 via smh.com.au
  
  The future of the NATO alliance is at stake if the US president – who has stepped up his demands for the territory – seeks to take it by force.
  
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• ‘Red lines’ emerge over Greenland as White House meeting ends in standoff

  14-01-2026 23:46 via smh.com.au
  
  The future of the NATO alliance is at stake if the US president – who has stepped up his demands for the territory – seeks to take it by force.
  
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• Joe Rogan likens ICE to the Gestapo

  14-01-2026 23:28 via smh.com.au
  
  Joe Rogan has likened ICE to the Gestapo in a sharp break from Donald Trump.
  
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• ‘Respect the red lines’: Denmark, Greenland reject Trump demands

  14-01-2026 22:53 via smh.com.au
  
  The US, Denmark and Greenland held a high-stakes meeting at the White House just hours after the US president stepped up his demands for the territory.
  
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• ‘Extraordinary, aggressive’: FBI raids journalist’s home, seizes devices

  14-01-2026 22:45 via smh.com.au
  
  The editor of the Washington Post said the highly unusual move raised “profound questions and concern around the constitutional protections for our work”.
  
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• World in pictures, January 15, 2026

  14-01-2026 21:58 via smh.com.au
  
  The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by The Age picture editors.
  
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• Construction crane falls onto moving train in Thailand, killing dozens

  14-01-2026 21:26 via smh.com.au
  
  Rescue and search workers are toiling at the site of a major train accident in Thailand’s northeast Nakhon Ratchasima province, where a construction crane fell onto a moving passenger train.
  
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• FBI raids home of Washington Post journalist, seizes devices

  14-01-2026 20:17 via smh.com.au
  
  The highly unusual and aggressive move has been criticised by the Committee to Protect Journalists as a “blatant violation of journalistic protections”.
  
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• Iran warns of retaliation if Trump strikes, as US withdraws personnel from bases

  14-01-2026 19:58 via smh.com.au
  
  “All the signals are that a US attack is imminent,” one Western military official said. “But that is also how this administration behaves to keep everyone on their toes.”
  
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• The Islamic Republic of Iran is crumbling. Miscalculations have pushed it to this terminal frenzy

  14-01-2026 19:00 via smh.com.au
  
  Syria’s Assad, who had fought a brutal war against his people for 14 years, fell in less than 11 days. Ayatollah Khamenei faces a similar fate after turning his nation into a powder keg.
  
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• Iranian community in Australia react to deadly protests

  14-01-2026 09:24 via smh.com.au
  
  The rising death toll has rocked Iranian communities in Australia as they struggle to make contact with relatives who are cut off from the outside world.
  
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• The husband, the au pair – and the stranger they allegedly used in plot to kill wife

  14-01-2026 09:03 via smh.com.au
  
  In her final words, Christine Banfield warned her husband the intruder had a knife. What he did next is the focus of the double murder trial that has begun this week with the Brazilian au pair’s testimony.
  
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• Dozens killed after crane falls on Thai passenger train

  14-01-2026 08:55 via smh.com.au
  
  The impact of the collapse caused the coaches to derail and catch fire.
  
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• At least 22 killed after crane falls on Thai passenger train

  14-01-2026 07:07 via smh.com.au
  
  The impact of the collapse caused the coaches to derail and catch fire, local media is reporting.
  
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• The Ayatollah v Musk showdown that is shaping Iran’s fate

  14-01-2026 06:44 via smh.com.au
  
  It took just two words for Elon Musk to launch an extraordinary challenge to a system of control painstakingly built by Iran over decades. Now the regime is fighting back.
  
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• Trump in dangerous territory as he encourages Iran protesters, while criticising his own

  14-01-2026 05:47 via smh.com.au
  
  By telling them “help is on its way”, the US President has encouraged Iranians to keep risking their lives. But he does so without clear principles to guide him.
  
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• After Venezuela, Trump is gassed up on ‘winning’ – he will probably decide he must act in Iran

  14-01-2026 05:47 via smh.com.au
  
  But compare the way Donald Trump views protesters at home with those in Iran and it’s clear few principles are guiding his approach, even as he calls for Iranians to risk their lives.
  
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