Property investors make up two in every five Australian home loans amid record borrowing

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Investor home borrowing surges nearly 18% in the September quarter compared with previous three months, prompting calls to ‘urgently rein in overheated credit market’

Property investors have borrowed record amounts of money for home purchases amid a decline in first home buyer lending and surging house prices.

Investors accounted for two in every five home loans from July to September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Wednesday, sparking calls for the Albanese government to force banks to put the brakes on landlord lending.

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‘Atrocious on every level’: sex case findings shame New Zealand’s senior police culture

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Inspector general will be inaugurated to oversee service after report on how top officers steered investigation of Jevon McSkimming, who went on to become deputy commissioner

New Zealand’s government will take the unprecedented move of appointing an inspector general of police after a damning report found “significant failings” in the way senior police officers handled serious sexual complaints against a former high-ranking officer.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) released a 135-page report on Tuesday detailing allegations made against the former deputy police commissioner Jevon McSkimming and the police’s response to them.

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Supply boom in cheaper renewables will seal end of fossil fuel era, says IEA

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Watchdog’s flagship report says rise in low-carbon electricity will make transition ‘inevitable’, despite Trump’s calls to carry on drilling

Renewables will grow faster than any major energy source in the next decade, according to the world’s energy watchdog, making the transition away from fossil fuels “inevitable”, despite a green backlash in the US and parts of Europe.

The world is expected to build more renewable energy projects in the next five years than has been rolled out over the last 40, according to the flagship annual report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

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Borderline ambiguity: How Google Maps removes disputed Western Sahara border for Morocco users

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The tech giant has released a statement acknowledging the use of different border displays between Western Sahara and Morocco

The dotted lines illustrating the border between Western Sahara and Morocco, indicating the former’s disputed territory status, have never been visible to people using Google Maps in the latter.

After media reports last week highlighted the discrepancy, tying it to the UN security council endorsing the Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara, the tech company released a statement acknowledging it has always displayed the border differently depending on the search region.

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Hongqi bridge collapses: Newly constructed bridge in China falls apart, splashes into river — watch – The Times of India

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  1. Hongqi bridge collapses: Newly constructed bridge in China falls apart, splashes into river — watch  The Times of India
  2. Moment newly opened bridge partially collapses in China  BBC
  3. How a New Bridge Partly Collapsed in China’s Southwest  The New York Times
  4. New bridge in south-west China collapses into mountainside  The Guardian
  5. Bridge partially collapses in southwest China, months after opening  Reuters
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Paris attacks: 10 years on, politics in France still shows scars – politico.eu

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  1. Paris attacks: 10 years on, politics in France still shows scars  politico.eu
  2. France honors victims 10 years after attacks at Bataclan concert hall, cafes and national stadium  AP News
  3. How the 2015 Paris attacks increased police powers and eroded civil liberties  France 24
  4. David Fritz, victim of 2015 mass shooting at Bataclan in Paris: ‘The worst wound for a survivor is guilt’  EL PAÍS English
  5. 10 years after Paris attacks: A time to remember and heed warnings  Le Monde.fr
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‘People were screaming for help’: Delhi car blast witnesses describe scenes of horror – The Guardian

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  1. ‘People were screaming for help’: Delhi car blast witnesses describe scenes of horror  The Guardian
  2. 'There was blood everywhere': Delhi residents recount horror of huge car explosion  BBC
  3. Indian police detain suspects in Kashmir after deadly New Delhi car blast  abcnews.go.com
  4. India’s Prime Minister Vows Justice After New Delhi Car Explosion Kills 8  The New York Times
  5. New Delhi car blast investigated as possible terrorism, Indian police say  The Washington Post
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Evidence of ancient tree-climbing ‘drop crocs’ found in Australia – BBC

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  1. Evidence of ancient tree-climbing 'drop crocs' found in Australia  BBC
  2. 55m-year-old eggshells unearthed in Queensland may be older relative of infamous ‘drop crocs’  The Guardian
  3. Australian 'drop crocs' unlock insights into ancient ecosystems  Phys.org
  4. Scientists discover crocodile species that hunted like a leopard  The Independent
  5. Time travelling tourists must watch for drop crocs  Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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What the Looming Fall of a Ukrainian City Says About Putin’s War – The Wall Street Journal

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  1. What the Looming Fall of a Ukrainian City Says About Putin’s War  The Wall Street Journal
  2. Pokrovsk: Russian forces use fog cover to push further into key Ukraine town  BBC
  3. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, November 11, 2025  Institute for the Study of War
  4. Russian forces roll 'Mad Max'-style into battered Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, video shows  Reuters
  5. Ukraine’s Hardest Winter  Foreign Affairs
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China sharpens its language on Taiwan as part of ‘longer-term’ strategy

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A series of statements, articles, photos and even a new national holiday indicate a shift in Beijing’s stance over the island, analysts say

In recent weeks China has released a series of statements, articles and photos, that analysts say signal an escalation in the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s approach to Taiwan.

Beijing claims Taiwan as a province and has vowed to annex it under what it terms “reunification”. China’s military is not believed to be capable of a full invasion yet, but senior officials have recently started using sharper language.

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Israel has destroyed more than 1,500 buildings in Gaza since ceasefire – BBC

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  1. Israel has destroyed more than 1,500 buildings in Gaza since ceasefire  BBC
  2. What Gaza looks like today, after two years of war  Reuters
  3. Israeli military brings CBS News to the edge of its control in Gaza, where destruction and uncertainty linger  CBS News
  4. Destruction of millennia-old Gaza City robs inhabitants of the landscape of memory  EL PAÍS English
  5. An NPR reporter's journey into Gaza, for the first time since the war began  NPR
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Taliban orders women to wear burkas to access hospitals, MSF says – BBC

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  1. Taliban orders women to wear burkas to access hospitals, MSF says  BBC
  2. Taliban Bars Women Without A Burqa From Entering Hospitals In Afghanistan  Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
  3. The Taliban’s New Face of Misogyny in Herat  Hasht-e Subh Daily
  4. Taliban’s Vice and Virtue Ministry in Herat Detains Female Doctor for Not Wearing a Burqa  KabulNow
  5. Taliban Denies Arrest of Doctor Filming Women’s Protest in Herat  خبرگزاری اطلس
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‘Lucifer’ bee with horns discovered in Western Australia – The Washington Post

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  1. ‘Lucifer’ bee with horns discovered in Western Australia  The Washington Post
  2. New 'Lucifer' bee with devil-like horns found in Australia  BBC
  3. Bees with 'devil-like horns' found in wildflowers by Australian researchers  USA Today
  4. Devilishly distinctive new bee species discovered in WA Goldfields  Curtin University
  5. Scientists discover new "lucifer" bee with devil-like horns lurking in critically endangered wildflower in Australia  CBS News
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Corruption investigation into former Zelenskyy associate shakes Ukraine – abcnews.go.com

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  1. Corruption investigation into former Zelenskyy associate shakes Ukraine  abcnews.go.com
  2. Ukraine's government suspends justice minister amid energy corruption investigation  Reuters
  3. Why Do Ukrainians Fight? A $100 Million Graft Case Shows Why  Bloomberg.com
  4. Top ally of Ukraine's president accused of $100 million graft scandal  France 24
  5. Ukraine announces energy corruption probe, targeting top officials  The Washington Post
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