Angela Merkel, a conservative, long shunned the word feminist. Until her final years in power, she rarely publicly promoted the issue of advancement for women.

Paul and Tenisha Austin suspected the valuer had underestimated their family home. So they made it look like a white family owned it.

Oppressive regimes are increasingly using the glitz and glamour of hosting major sporting events to deflect from deplorable human rights abuses.

The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by our picture editors

Witness “Kate” told jurors she looked up to the Oxford-educated Ghislaine Maxwell, who boasted about being friends with people like Prince Andrew and Donald Trump.

The already fragile relationship between the heir to the throne and his youngest son appears at breaking point after Harry claimed he had raised concerns about Charles’ “cash for access” crisis.

The first reports of wild cane toad sightings surfaced a few weeks ago. Environmentalists warn that quick action is needed to ward off a full-on outbreak.

Drug detection wipes found traces of cocaine in places only accessible by MPs, including in a washroom near PM Boris Johnson’s parliamentary office.

US President Joe Biden has pledged his “unwavering support” to Ukraine in its standoff with Moscow and will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday AEDT.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki says US athletes will continue to compete and will “have our full support,” but added “we will not be contributing to the fanfare of the games”.

South Africa’s surge in COVID-19 cases following the emergence of Omicron is yet to overwhelm hospitals, prompting cautious optimism that the new strain may cause only mild illness.

A so-called statement of pardon was later issued stating that the Nobel laureate’s term had been halved and that she would be detained at her current location and not in prison.

The Biden administration’s plan to freeze out China’s games paves the way for Australia and other nations to follow suit.

The infection has raised fresh questions about how COVID-19 has spread between humans and animals during the global pandemic.

The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by our picture editors

Dole made a classic journey from the poverty of the Great Depression of the 1930s, through World War II battlefields to the corridors of power in Washington.

“One of the colossal problems pushing us into conflict is that Russian identity does not exist without Ukrainian identity,” said Ilya Ponomarev, a former member of Russia’s Parliament.

Eric Zemmour has drawn comparisons in France to former US President Donald Trump because of his rabble-rousing populism.

The world must be on guard for particularly large waves on the horizon and respond quickly — even if it’s just hitting the “pause” button.

Initial data from South Africa, the epicentre of the outbreak of the Omicron variant, does not show a resulting surge of hospitalisations, America’s top COVID adviser said.

An independent inquiry will investigate why school staff sent a student back to class despite finding images of bullets on his phone and disturbing drawings with the words “blood everywhere”.

One week into Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial, the jury has already been on board Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet and inside his Palm Beach mansion. They’ve also seen his stained massage table.

The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by our picture editors

As anti-mafia prosecutor Nicola Gratteri readies for Italy’s biggest crime trial in decades, he says the ’Ndrangheta are “very present” in Australia.

The news organisation said, “additional information has come to light”, leading to the firing of the popular prime-time TV host.

Prince William has spoken about his favourite songs, sharing stories about his mother, his children and his personal routines.

A Michigan judge set bail at $US500,000 each for the parents of a teenager accused of murdering four fellow high school students after the couple was taken into custody following a high-profile manhunt.

Researchers are scrambling to learn more about the heavily mutated variant that is driving a surge in cases in South Africa and has rapidly spread to countries around the world.

Will the Summit for Democracy address how borders have been rendered porous by technology, normalising the harassment of regime critics living in free societies?

At least 20 people drowned on Saturday when a bus carrying a group of religious faithful was swept away by floodwaters as the driver tried to cross a river in the eastern Kenyan county of Kitui, the county governor said.

People have been filmed dashing away from spiralling volcanic cloud in Indonesia’s East Java province as ash was sprayed 12 kilometres into the sky, turning day into night.

Police had been searching for Ethan Crumbley’s parents James and Jennifer after laying involuntary manslaughter charges. Police say they had bought the firearm for their son as a Christmas gift.

The French President’s visit to Saudi Arabia coincides with a weekend of festivities that will help to rebuild the image of the kingdom’s controversial prince.

“It’s been mind-blowing, literally, to see this dynamism in action,” the geologist said. “We are learning so much about how volcanoes work.”

Secret US government documents suggest the Kremlin is planning a multi-front offensive as soon as early next year involving up to 175,000 troops.

COVID-19 vaccine makers have contingency plans to deal with the Omicron variant that include a combination vaccine against the original version and the variant as well as a variant-specific booster dose, a top US health official said on Friday.

Photographs of naked children displayed in Epstein’s Florida mansion were “playful”, argued Ghislaine Maxwell’s defence lawyer.

More than 200 of the giant spiders were discovered at Bogota airport in plastic containers, intended for the European black market.

Police and prosecutors would have to show the behaviour caused “harassment, distress or alarm” with an intent to “humiliate or degrade” a victim.

Asked about a hypothetical invasion, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it would be “in no one’s interest, starting with China”.

A mostly white jury was seated on Friday for the trial of a suburban Minneapolis police officer charged in Daunte Wright’s shooting death, and opening statements were scheduled to begin next week.

Security forces are distributing inflammatory leaflets, stoking anti-Muslim tension, more atrocities are committed in the strife-torn south-east Asian nation.

Some 450 researchers around the world have begun work to isolate the highly mutated variant from patient specimens hoping to guide vaccine decisions.

Priscilla Chan is determined to share almost all of Facebook’s wealth through philanthropy. Can that act wash away the sins of the Big Tech giant?

In the summer of 2018, Steve Simon made a deal. It was to be the biggest one of his career.

It was the night that changed Anthony Broadwater’s life for ever. Without a now-abandoned film adaptation, it’s unlikely he would have been exonerated.

In an emotional television interview Baldwin says he assumed the gun he was holding was empty of live bullets before it went off and killed a cinematographer on the set of Rust.

Epstein’s former house manager testified that Virginia Roberts Giuffre, visited “very often” after encountering Maxwell at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.

Ever felt tempted to drift off to sleep in a bed shop?

From TubaChristmas in Boston to ongoing protests and civil unrest in Lebanon, these are the best photos from around the world in the past week, as chosen by The Age's photo editors.