12 August 2026

Can Syria deliver transitional justice?

Downunder Voices Newsroom

Source reporting: Al Jazeera English

A court has sentenced ousted former leader Bashar al-Assad and others to death in absentia.

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Investor loan applications may have fallen since the start of the year, but the slump already appears to be turning around The country’s biggest mortgage lender, Commonwealth Bank, reported a bumper $11bn full-year cash profit on Wednesday, backed by robust demand for its lending products, especially mortgages.

Source: The Guardian WorldOriginal source

Australia

12 August 2026

Pay with a glance at a screen as biometric technology company begins push into Australian retail

Customers will be able to pay using face and palm scans, potentially speeding up transactions – but rollout of the technology is likely to be slow Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Verifone is selling the innovation as “pay for your coffee with a smile”, promising faster checkouts for people who opt in to having their face or palm-vein – the veins in people’s hands – biometrics used for Eftpos transactions in Australia.

Source: The Guardian WorldOriginal source

World

12 August 2026

National’s Asian candidates face uphill battle to secure seat in Parliament

Top-ranked list-only candidate Nancy Lu will be hoping election night results go her way, while Indian-origin contenders look like needing to win electorate races to secure a path to the Beehive.

Source: https://www.rnz.co.nz/rss/news.xmlOriginal source

New Zealand

12 August 2026

'Visual pollution': Kelburn residents oppose cellphone tower next to St Michael's Anglican Church

Residents in the Wellington's Kelburn say a planned cellphone tower to be built in front of a church will be 'visual pollution'.

Source: https://www.rnz.co.nz/rss/news.xmlOriginal source

Can Syria deliver transitional justice?

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