WorldWater supply for three US states drips down, Lake Mead at record low
Al Jazeera English
14 August 2026
The largest reservoir in the United States, located on the border of Arizona and Nevada, just hit a record low.
WorldAl Jazeera English
14 August 2026
The largest reservoir in the United States, located on the border of Arizona and Nevada, just hit a record low.
14 August 2026
The Prime Minister, who appeared on Osborne's Bush Deep show in July, said Australia could assume control of New Zealand under the Constitution.
14 August 2026
Kuehne+Nagel has announced the development of a new Container Freight Station in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, scheduled for completion in June 2027. The facility will provide more than 20,000 square metres of warehouse space, more than tripling Kuehne+Nagel’s existing CFS capacity in the country and strengthening its logistics capabilities to serve growing trade volumes across Cambodia and the wider region. The facility is strategically located near key transport gateways including Phnom Penh Autonomous Port, Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, Phnom Penh International Airport and cross-border road links to Thailand and Vietnam. Cambodia’s port infrastructure handled approximately 600,000 TEUs at Phnom Penh and 1. 3 million TEUs at Sihanoukville in 2025, reflecting the country’s strengthening trade base.
14 August 2026
The children, including the first two girls charged with murder under the controversial laws, face life sentences.
14 August 2026
The girl’s family holds serious concerns for her welfare after police located her car near a walking trail.
14 August 2026
Sterling, which was founded just 10 months ago, develops software designed to automate routine finance and accounting work.
14 August 2026
The Productivity Commission finds the WA GST deal is a "costly mistake" that has led to "perverse" outcomes, and recommends it be scrapped.
14 August 2026
Leah’s case, set out in reporting from ABC News, is stark and disquieting. Year after year the government has issued her a family tax debt based on child support her ex-partner did not pay. That sequence of events is not an isolated administrative error: it is an example of how a system intended to secure child support can be turned into a weapon that deepens hardship for single parents. For many people on the receiving end of family breakdown, child support enforcement is already a fraught area. The system must trace payments, assess liabilities and, when necessary, pursue non‑paying parents. But the process also needs safeguards to ensure that primary carers are not left to shoulder debts arising from enforcement failures or from other parties’ non‑compliance. In Leah’s case, repeated tax debts have been levied despite the underlying unpaid child support — in effect penalising someone for another person’s default. This has human consequences. Financial strain on a lone parent is not an abstract statistic; it affects rent, groceries, education and the basic security of children. A process that generates recurring family tax debts risks pushing already vulnerable households further into instability. It also raises the spectre of financial abuse, where one partner can weaponise administrative systems to destabilise the other. Policy responses must protect children’s interests while protecting primary carers from unfair administrative outcomes. That means clearer rules on how family tax debts are calculated and assigned, better verification before debts are issued, and expedited review mechanisms for people who can show they are not personally responsible for unpaid amounts. The system also needs better pathways to pursue defaulting payers so that the burden does not fall on the wrong person. There is a broader justice question. Governments should not create disincentives for someone to come forward for support because the administrative system might later saddle them with debt. Practical fixes — faster dispute resolution, transparent notice procedures and targeted assistance for low‑income carers facing debt — would reduce harm without weakening enforcement against non‑payers. This is a common-sense, humane test of the family support system. If the machinery designed to protect children instead compounds hardship for their primary carers, the policy needs urgent repair. The people most affected are ordinary parents and their children, who have no voice in policy debates but will live with the consequences unless the system is brought into balance.
Community angle
When administrative processes impose family tax debts on primary carers for unpaid child support, single parents and their children face deeper financial insecurity.
14 August 2026
Letters of protest and petition signatures from more than 30 countries are demanding the release of the 27-year-old socialist sentenced to 15 years in prison for his antiwar writings.
14 August 2026
Anthony Albanese also doubles down on his defence of gestures made while talking about a pair of melon's given to him by the Japanese prime minister.
14 August 2026
The Prime Minister, who appeared on Osborne's Bush Deep show in July, said Australia could assume control of New Zealand under the Constitution.
National news, government decisions and stories affecting communities across Australia.
14 August 2026
The children, including the first two girls charged with murder under the controversial laws, face life sentences.
14 August 2026
You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Telstra’s decision to lift chief executive Vicki Brady’s pay by about $700,000 in a year of heavy ...
14 August 2026
A crested tern near Currie on King Island was reported to the emergency hotline on Thursday and tested positive overnight.
14 August 2026
Shizuoka Crown melons are part of an important cultural gifting practice in Japan, where they are hand-patted by growers to achieve an even shape and texture The melons at the centre of a national imbroglio involving the Australian prime minister have the sweetness of a watermelon, the snap of a honeydew and the perfume of a peach, according to fruit sellers. Anthony Albanese maintains he has nothing to apologise for, after a joke he made regarding a gift he received from Japan’s prime minister.
News, public policy and community stories from across Aotearoa New Zealand.
14 August 2026
The Prime Minister, who appeared on Osborne's Bush Deep show in July, said Australia could assume control of New Zealand under the Constitution.
14 August 2026
Letters of protest and petition signatures from more than 30 countries are demanding the release of the 27-year-old socialist sentenced to 15 years in prison for his antiwar writings.
14 August 2026
The Prime Minister, who appeared on Osborne's Bush Deep show in July, said Australia could assume control of New Zealand under the Constitution.
14 August 2026
Caption:Queentsown airport had the second growth in overseas visitor arrivals in South Island, exceeded by Christchurch. Photo credit:Queenstown Airport Nine per cent more overseas visitors arrived in ...
Important international developments and what they mean for our readers.
14 August 2026
The largest reservoir in the United States, located on the border of Arizona and Nevada, just hit a record low.
14 August 2026
Anthony Albanese also doubles down on his defence of gestures made while talking about a pair of melon's given to him by the Japanese prime minister.
14 August 2026
Nigel Farage, the far-right political leader riding a surge of support in Britain, claims he will not attend the final count in the Clacton by-election after claiming victory before results had been officially announced.
14 August 2026
Anthony Albanese also doubles down on his defence of gestures made while talking about a pair of melon's given to him by the Japanese prime minister.
Housing, cost of living, health, education and the issues affecting everyday people.
14 August 2026
The girl’s family holds serious concerns for her welfare after police located her car near a walking trail.
14 August 2026
A person has died in hospital following a crash between a pedestrian and a car in Hokitika.
14 August 2026
Hilton remains in hospital following a live-streamed self-harm incident.
Business, entrepreneurship, the economy, innovation, employment and the issues affecting companies and business owners across Australia and New Zealand.
14 August 2026
Sterling, which was founded just 10 months ago, develops software designed to automate routine finance and accounting work.
Customs, biosecurity, freight forwarding, shipping, ports, supply chains and international trade.
14 August 2026
Kuehne+Nagel has announced the development of a new Container Freight Station in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, scheduled for completion in June 2027. The facility will provide more than 20,000 square metres of warehouse space, more than tripling Kuehne+Nagel’s existing CFS capacity in the country and strengthening its logistics capabilities to serve growing trade volumes across Cambodia and the wider region. The facility is strategically located near key transport gateways including Phnom Penh Autonomous Port, Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, Phnom Penh International Airport and cross-border road links to Thailand and Vietnam. Cambodia’s port infrastructure handled approximately 600,000 TEUs at Phnom Penh and 1. 3 million TEUs at Sihanoukville in 2025, reflecting the country’s strengthening trade base.
14 August 2026
Pacific Forum Line (PFL) will return NPDL Tahiti to its AUSPAC service following the completion of maintenance work on the vessel. NPDL Tahiti will replace Capitaine Tupaia, which temporarily operated on the AUSPAC service. Capitaine Tupaia will now return to PFL’s NZPAC service. The carrier has announced a short phase-in schedule to support the transition and restore its regular rotations. NPDL Tahiti returns to AUSPAC As part of the transition, Capitaine Tupaia voyage 2618N will complete a northbound rotation to Suva.
14 August 2026
Tankers, LNG carriers and port workers are being struck simultaneously in Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb. For an industry that has spent five months normalizing risk, the pattern points to something more durable than a crisis. This content is locked Select a CN Premium Subscription Package To Unlock The Content! Remember Me Lost your password? Don't have an account?
14 August 2026
Hapag-Lloyd will introduce a Peak Season Surcharge (PSS) on container shipments from Türkiye to the US East Coast and Gulf. The new surcharge will take effect on 12 September 2026 and will apply to all sailings until further notice. PSS levels Hapag-Lloyd will apply the following charges: US$400 per 20-foot container US$500 per 40-foot container The PSS will apply to all container types moving from Türkiye to destinations on the US East Coast and Gulf. Other charges remain unchanged Hapag-Lloyd said its Ocean Tariff rates will remain unchanged until further notice. Existing bunker-related and security-related surcharges will also continue to apply.
The people, volunteers and local organisations strengthening our communities.
14 August 2026
Leah’s case, set out in reporting from ABC News, is stark and disquieting. Year after year the government has issued her a family tax debt based on child support her ex-partner did not pay. That sequence of events is not an isolated administrative error: it is an example of how a system intended to secure child support can be turned into a weapon that deepens hardship for single parents. For many people on the receiving end of family breakdown, child support enforcement is already a fraught area. The system must trace payments, assess liabilities and, when necessary, pursue non‑paying parents. But the process also needs safeguards to ensure that primary carers are not left to shoulder debts arising from enforcement failures or from other parties’ non‑compliance. In Leah’s case, repeated tax debts have been levied despite the underlying unpaid child support — in effect penalising someone for another person’s default. This has human consequences. Financial strain on a lone parent is not an abstract statistic; it affects rent, groceries, education and the basic security of children. A process that generates recurring family tax debts risks pushing already vulnerable households further into instability. It also raises the spectre of financial abuse, where one partner can weaponise administrative systems to destabilise the other. Policy responses must protect children’s interests while protecting primary carers from unfair administrative outcomes. That means clearer rules on how family tax debts are calculated and assigned, better verification before debts are issued, and expedited review mechanisms for people who can show they are not personally responsible for unpaid amounts. The system also needs better pathways to pursue defaulting payers so that the burden does not fall on the wrong person. There is a broader justice question. Governments should not create disincentives for someone to come forward for support because the administrative system might later saddle them with debt. Practical fixes — faster dispute resolution, transparent notice procedures and targeted assistance for low‑income carers facing debt — would reduce harm without weakening enforcement against non‑payers. This is a common-sense, humane test of the family support system. If the machinery designed to protect children instead compounds hardship for their primary carers, the policy needs urgent repair. The people most affected are ordinary parents and their children, who have no voice in policy debates but will live with the consequences unless the system is brought into balance.
Community angle
When administrative processes impose family tax debts on primary carers for unpaid child support, single parents and their children face deeper financial insecurity.
Professional, grassroots and community sport across Australia and New Zealand.
14 August 2026
The Productivity Commission finds the WA GST deal is a "costly mistake" that has led to "perverse" outcomes, and recommends it be scrapped.
14 August 2026
Authorities say they have "accelerated" hazard reduction burning in NSW ahead of an elevated fire risk this summer.
14 August 2026
A pair of orcas working in tandem and a monk seal resting with its week-old pup are among the finalists of this year's Ocean Photographer of the Year competition.
14 August 2026
Former Victorian premier Jacinta Allan has announced she won't contest the November election, after stepping down from the Labor leadership just over a fortnight ago.
Explore
Public-interest reporting, practical information and stories affecting everyday people and small businesses.
Downunder Voices
Independent journalism covering Australia, New Zealand and the world, with a focus on social issues, small business, community voices and the stories that affect everyday people.
Featured Partner
Cusmode Customs provides professional customs clearance, freight support and import-export assistance for businesses and individuals across New Zealand and Australia.
Customs clearance support
Promote your business
Downunder Voices offers advertising opportunities for small businesses, community organisations, events and professional services.