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Indonesia’s Mount Merapi erupted Saturday with avalanches of searing gas clouds and lava, forcing authorities to halt tourism and mining activities on the slopes of the country’s most active volcano. Merapi, on the densely populated island of Java, unleashed clouds of hot ash and a mixture of rock, lava and gas that traveled up to 7 kilometres down its slopes. A column of hot clouds rose 100 metres into the air, said the National Disaster Management Agency’s spokesperson Abdul Muhari. READ MORE: Podcaster and husband shot dead in US home Men watch as Mount Merapi releases volcanic materials during an eruption in Sleman, Indonesia, Saturday, March 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi) Officers distribute masks to villagers in an area covered by ash after Mount Merapi eru...

 Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday he plans to meet with President Joe Biden in the United States following a trip to India this week, amid speculation the leaders will make an announcement about Australia’s plans to build nuclear-powered submarines. Albanese gave few details of the U.S. trip, saying there would be further announcements about the arrangements. Albanese is visiting India through Saturday. U.K. officials said Wednesday that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will meet with Biden and Albanese in San Diego on Monday for talks on Australia’s procurement of nuclear submarines under the AUKUS defense agreement among the three nations. The White House confirmed the meetings in a statement released later Wednesday. The previous Australian government infuriated F...

The message to asylum-seekers from British Home Secretary Suella Braverman was stark: “If you enter Britain illegally, you will be detained and swiftly removed.” The government hopes that decisive — and divisive — measure will stop tens of thousands of migrants reaching Britain in boats across the English Channel. Behind the tough talk, however, lie a host of legal, practical and ethical questions. Condemned by rights groups and queried by legal experts, the Illegal Migration Bill is the latest in a long line of British government efforts to control unauthorized migration. IS THIS A NEW PROBLEM? The issue is neither new nor unique to the U.K. War, famine, poverty and political repression have put millions on the move around the globe. Britain receives fewer asylum-seekers than European...

An unidentifiable object has washed up on a beach in Japan this week, prompting much speculation and debate about its origins. Police and the bomb squad were called in to investigate the sphere, which is about 1.5m in diameter, after a woman spotted in on the beach in the city of Hamamatsu. It was deemed not to be a threat after the area was cordoned off and X-Rays were carried out. READ MORE: 'Mind-blowing' discovery by space telescope Police were called in to investigate the object. (Nine) But authorities have been unable to identify the sphere, which was found to be hollow and is thought to be made of iron as it appears to be coated in rust. Theories about wat the item could be have been sweeping social media, but many have suggested it is likely just a m...

The US Defence Department issued an official warning to troops last week: if you don't want to test positive on a drug test, you should avoid poppy seeds. A memo distributed on Friday from Gilbert Cisneros, the Undersecretary of Defence for Personnel and Readiness, directed military service leaders to "notify service members to avoid consumption of all poppy seeds to include food products and baked goods containing poppy seeds". "Out of an abundance of caution, I find protecting service members and the integrity of the drug testing program requires a warning to avoid poppy seeds," Cisneros wrote in the memo, released on Tuesday. READ MORE: The NSW pocket where thousands have been left homeless "As more information becomes available, we will revise this policy acco...

The man convicted in the shooting death of rapper Nipsey Hussle was sentenced to 60 years to life in prison during a court hearing in the US. A jury determined that Eric Ronald Holder Jr shot Hussle outside the hip-hop artist's clothing store in March 2019. Prosecutors alleged that Holder approached Hussle over allegations he had called him a snitch. Holder was sentenced to up to 25 years for shooting Hussle and an extra 25 years for firearm enhancements added to the charge. He was also convicted of two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter for injuring two other men in the incident, for which he was sentenced to an additional 10 years. READ MORE: The NSW pocket where thousands have been left homeless Holder's father submitted a letter to the court apologisin...