Meet Daisha Auda, 15, first Torres Strait Islander to reach The Voice Australia grand final

Times of India - Sep 23, 2026

Daisha Auda, an inspiring self-taught singer from Logan, Queensland, has carved her name in history on The Voice Australia. She is the first Torres Strait Islander artist to reach the grand final, defying the odds by overcoming elimination in the knockout rounds, where she was saved by another judge. Auda's achievement resonates deeply with First Nations communities, sparking hope in aspiring young artists lacking formal training.

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US yields edge higher as investors weigh Fed rate hike expectations
Sep 23, 2026
US yields edge higher as investors weigh Fed rate hike expectations

NEW YORK — U.S. Treasury yields were slightly higher on Tuesday as investors weighed lower oil prices against expectations for further interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Fed, hit a fresh two-year high at 4.7879 percent. The Fed last week raised rates for the first time since 2023 to try to control inflation. Traders see a roughly 53 percent chance of another increase when the U.S. central bank next meets in October, according to CME FedWatch. Boston Fed President Susan Collins wrote on LinkedIn on Tuesday that she supported the U.S. central bank's decision last week to raise rates in the face of risks that future inflation will be above the 2 percent target. Oil prices dipped but were off the day's lows. Oil prices have spiked since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, fueling concerns about inflation and higher interest rates. Investors also digested comments from President Donald Trump, who told the United Nations that he believed the U.S. would make a deal with Iran

Trump makes no mention of N. Korea while touching on Iran, AI, other key issues
Sep 23, 2026
Trump makes no mention of N. Korea while touching on Iran, AI, other key issues

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump made no mention of North Korea or other Korean Peninsula issues during his high-profile address to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, though he has expressed his intention to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un later this year. During the second address to the Assembly under his second term, Trump touched on a series of key issues, ranging from the Iran war to the protracted war between Russia and Ukraine, and artificial intelligence, which he called "superintelligence." But he made no references to North Korea, despite speculation that he would seek to rekindle his personal diplomacy with Kim that led to their three in-person meetings during his first term: the first in Singapore in June 2018, the second in Hanoi in February 2019 and the last at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in June 2019. Trump did not mention North Korea during last year's address to the Assembly either, though he mentioned it in three of the four addresses he delivered during his first term, including his 2017 speech in which he famously called North Korea

First Iran flights cancelled as US sanctions set to come into force
Sep 23, 2026
First Iran flights cancelled as US sanctions set to come into force

TEHRAN — Flights from Iran to the capitals of Iraq and Oman will be cancelled as of midnight, local media reported Tuesday, hours before expanded U.S. sanctions were due to come into force. The Tasnim news agency cited a civil aviation spokesman as saying that "Baghdad and Muscat airports will no longer accept Iranian flights." "Other international flights, including Istanbul, will operate as scheduled and as usual, and at present there are no problems with these flights," Tasnim reported. According to Tasnim, Iran's aviation authorities are in talks to reroute Baghdad flights to Najaf, a major destination for Iranian pilgrims. The agency ISNA said negotiations with Oman were also ongoing. In Iraq, the government has not yet announced plans to enforce the ban, but several sources, including a senior government official, told AFP that Baghdad would comply. Earlier this month the U.S. blacklisted the Iranian aviation sector and threatened sanctions against any foreign organisation working with Iran's airlines. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that Iranian airlines would

What is in the US-Greenland-Denmark security deal?
Sep 23, 2026
What is in the US-Greenland-Denmark security deal?

The United States, Denmark and Greenland signed a security agreement on Tuesday aimed at ending months of tension over the Danish self-governing territory after U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated threats to take control of the vast Arctic island. Here are some key components of the deal, which adds to a 1951 U.S.-Danish pact on Greenland's defence, according to a text published by the Danish government. What are the military aspects of the deal? The agreement allows the United States to establish twonew military bases — one at Narsarsuaq in southern Greenland and the other at Mestersvig on the east coast — and to expand Pituffik Space Base, currently its only active base on the island. US craft including planes and vessels get flyover, landing and undersea rights in all of Greenland, including territorial waters. The agreement does not specify troop numbers or timelines. How does the pact work with NATO? The agreement expresses support for a stronger NATO presence in the Arctic, and Denmark commits to further strengthen its own security posture in the region. If Greenland ever become

UN chief says power has polarized the world and urges leaders to cooperate
Sep 23, 2026
UN chief says power has polarized the world and urges leaders to cooperate

UNITED NATIONS — In a no-nonsense farewell speech, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged global leaders Tuesday to respond to the defining challenge today: Will the world continue on its path to fragmentation or cooperate to tackle the existential threats from climate crisis, runaway artificial intelligence and intensifying inequalities? At the heart of these crises is power, Guterres told the annual high-level gathering at the U.N. General Assembly, pointing to the “irreversible” move toward a multipolar world, the “extraordinary transfer of power” from governments to a handful of private corporations and individuals, and the increasing handover of power from humans to machines with artificial intelligence. Guterres urged leaders to avoid what he called “the great fracture – the division of the world into two rival blocs with separate economic, technological and security systems.” He rebuked might-makes-right thinking, telling superpowers to recognize “that their power isn’t so super” — that “military power alone cannot security peace” and that “no

Trump says US and Iranian officials met Tuesday, shortly after warning he may 'annihilate' Iran
Sep 23, 2026
Trump says US and Iranian officials met Tuesday, shortly after warning he may 'annihilate' Iran

UNITED NATIONS — President Donald Trump said U.S. and Iranian officials met Tuesday, an unexpected engagement that came even as he threatened in his address to the U.N. General Assembly that he may “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if a deal isn’t reached soon to end the nearly seven-month war. Trump told reporters that his chief envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner , met for about three hours with the Iranian officials on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders but he offered few details about how the discussions transpired or the substance of the exchange. “It was a very good meeting,” Trump said. The president later added that the Iranian officials were “not the highest level, but it’s something.” Witkoff said in a posting on X that the talks were conducted through mediators who shuttled between the U.S. and Iranian teams. He added that he was hopeful the effort “will prove constructive and promising.” The engagement comes after months of U.S.-Iran communications languishing following the collapse of a short-lived ceasefire that was brokered in

Meta acts against 3.7 mil. scammers' accounts with Singapore police help
Sep 23, 2026
Meta acts against 3.7 mil. scammers' accounts with Singapore police help

SINGAPORE — Meta has disrupted more than 3.7 million scam-linked accounts, pages and other content this year based on information provided by the Singapore police, the company said Wednesday. The social media giant said the Singapore Police Force (SPF) has been helping Meta's investigators "identify and dismantle entire ecosystems of scammers" through an information-sharing collaboration in place over the past two years. Between January and June, Meta removed more than 113, 000 entities and pages related to fraud and scams on Facebook and Instagram, company executives said at a media briefing. In June, Meta said it disrupted more than 33,600 entities and pages linked to scammers who were trying to take advantage the upcoming school holidays when families are rushing to look at travel websites for good deals. And in July, Meta took action against more than 3.6 million entities and pages, the big majority of which were "shell pages", or those that have no content and are not in active use, but could still be acquired by scammers for their future activities. Meta did not provide comparativ

Rubio to meet Russian counterpart Lavrov on sidelines of UNGA
Sep 23, 2026
Rubio to meet Russian counterpart Lavrov on sidelines of UNGA

WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov Wednesday morning on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the State Department said Tuesday. The meeting comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is slated to address the United Nations the same day. Earlier Tuesday, the Ukrainian leader told journalists he is ready to halt strikes on Russian energy sites if Moscow also agrees to do so. But Zelensky said he did not know Moscow's position, and expressed hope the "American side will find a way...to bring them to any kind of negotiations." War has raged since Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Washington's efforts to end the hostilities have stalled in recent months. Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in intensifying long-range strikes targeting a growing number of civilian sites, including factories, warehouses and energy and port infrastructure, as well as ships in the Black Sea. US President Donald Trump met with Zelensky in New York on Tuesday.

Wife of US seismologist held in China says Trump will ask Xi to free him
Sep 23, 2026
Wife of US seismologist held in China says Trump will ask Xi to free him

WASHINGTON — The wife of a U.S. expert on North Korean nuclear tests who has been imprisoned in China since late 2024 said on Tuesday the White House has assured her that President Donald Trump will ask Chinese leader Xi Jinping to free her husband when the pair meet this week. Yufang Rong said she feared that Beijing planned to try her Chinese-born husband, Youlin Chen, on fabricated espionage charges even though his U.S.-funded research was openly published, used publicly available data and was done in collaboration with Chinese scientists. Trump will welcome Xi on Wednesday for their second meeting since May as the leaders of the world's leading powers seek stability amid tensions ranging from trade to Iran and Taiwan. Rong said she was assured during a Tuesday meeting at the White House with officials from the State Department and National Security Council that Trump would ask Xi to free her husband. Chen, 54, is one of two Americans held by Beijing that the U.S. has designated as "wrongfully detained," making their release a top priority. The other is Min Zin, a scholar arrested i

El Nino-driven record heat could lead to 451,000 more deaths, group says
Sep 23, 2026
El Nino-driven record heat could lead to 451,000 more deaths, group says

BENGALURU, India — This year's powerful El Nino and the record global heat it's driving, along with severe droughts, wildfires and shrinking water supplies, could lead to nearly half a million more deaths worldwide by the end of February, according to a research report released Wednesday. The grim warning by the University of Chicago-based Climate Impact Lab says that as many as 451,000 more heat-related deaths between June and the end of February could be attributed to El Nino, compared with heat deaths expected in a typical year. The heaviest toll, the group says, is expected in poorer countries, already struggling with food insecurity and high energy costs, partly due to climate change and the fallout of the war in Iran. Michael Greenstone, a co-founder of the group and the study's co-author, said the heat danger will likely persist beyond February — even though this El Nino is expected to end by then. The fallout of the weather phenomenon could be felt well into next summer, he added. The research, he said, shows that heat is most dangerous in places that are already hot and rela

US Justice Department charges Utah postal worker with dumping mail ballots in trash during primary
Sep 23, 2026
US Justice Department charges Utah postal worker with dumping mail ballots in trash during primary

SALT LAKE CITY — A U.S. Postal Service letter carrier in Utah threw out more than 300 mail ballots that were being sent to voters for the state's June primary , the Justice Department said Tuesday. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said during a news conference that Damon Matai Seei was arrested Tuesday and appeared in federal court in Salt Lake City to be arraigned. The 34-year-old from Payson, Utah, pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of destruction or delay of mail. If convicted, he could face up to five years in federal prison. A message seeking comment was sent to his attorney. Seei was delivering mail in Eagle Mountain, a conservative suburb of Provo, when he threw the ballots and other mail into a dumpster in a church parking lot not long after his shift started, McCotter said. Melissa Holyoak, the U.S. attorney for Utah, said Seei indicated to authorities that he had no political agenda and did not intend to discard the ballots. He told investigators in an interview that he acted out of “laziness,” throwing away mail to “lighten his workload," according to c

Funding cuts weaken Himalayan disaster monitoring as climate risks grow
Sep 23, 2026
Funding cuts weaken Himalayan disaster monitoring as climate risks grow

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Sitting on the floor of a makeshift shelter for survivors of Nepal's deadly recent floods, Tenzin Dolma Ghale said she had nothing left but the clothes she was wearing. Her entire village and members of her family were washed away by the surge of water and debris that killed over 1,450 people and left more than 6,000 missing. After speaking, she waved a hand and looked at the ground. “It’s all finished,” she said. Ghale is among millions of people living with the deadly consequences of climate-related disasters. As such disasters intensify, international climate adaptation and disaster preparedness aid programs have been slashed, leaving countries facing billions of dollars in avoidable damage and dwindling recovery funds. “The reality is that we need trillions of dollars every year, but developed countries have not met their obligation,” said Harjeet Singh, founding director of New Delhi-based Satat Sampada Climate Foundation. Aid cuts weaken disaster monitoring in Himalayas The Trump administration’s abrupt cuts to U.S. foreign aid in 2025 eliminated or

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