MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Australia is suing U.S. conglomerate 3M for more than 2 billion Australian dollars ($1.4 billion) over so-called “forever chemical” contamination from firefighting foam at defense bases, the government said on Thursday.
Stock indexes closed higher on Wall Street. The S&P 500 added 0.2% Friday. Tech stocks led the way, with Dell Technologies in a stunning 32.8% gain. The Dow added 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%. European and Asian markets mostly rose. Brent crude fell 1.7%.
A special Redbridge poll that was mostly taken before the federal budget had Labor winning 76 of the 150 House of Representatives seats (a majority of one), with One Nation on 53 and the Coalition 12. Three more regular polls that were all taken since the budget have One Nation continuing to gain, with DemosAU having One Nation first on primary votes.
BANGKOK (AP) – Rescue workers in Laos said Saturday they have safely evacuated four villagers trapped in a flooded cave for 10 days, the day after another one was successfully extracted. Two men remain missing. Lao and Thai rescue groups posted about the successful operation on social media, along with photos of the men lying on stretchers, wearing oxygen masks and being wrapped in foil blankets.
To say this year's federal budget has ruffled some feathers would be an understatement. The Albanese government announced major reforms to two tax breaks long seen as politically untouchable - negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount.
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) – Russia’s intelligence agencies have grown more aggressive in their efforts to steal Western technology and defense secrets as sanctions squeeze the country’s wartime economy, three senior European intelligence officials told The Associated Press.
The Liberal Party is now "fighting for its existence", according to one of its own former federal MPs.After the low of the 2025 federal election defeat, the party's position as the major force in Australian conservative politics in under threat from an ascendant One Nation.
Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:
Inflation actually fell in Australia last month, thanks to temporary government fuel discounts that saw fuel prices come down by 7% from their record peaks in March. New Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show the monthly consumer price index (CPI) rose 4.2% in the 12 months to April 2026 - down from 4.6% in March and lower than market expectations.
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