ABC News Top Stories

Listen to the latest updates from ABC News

Donald Trump is turning 80 and is on track to be the oldest US president to hold the office.He'll overtake his predecessor Joe Biden in August 2028, five months before he finishes his second term.In recent years the term gerontocracy has sometimes been used to describe United States.It refers to political systems where those in power are typically older than the rest of the population.So is this the case?

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is underway but it has not been smooth sailing, with plenty of controversy surrounding the tournament.

The IPO of Elon Musk's company Space X is the biggest in history. So what is an IPO and how important are they?

This week the conflict between the US and Iran has been escalating again, and it's casting doubt on a fragile ceasefire between the two sides.

Violent protests have broken out in Northern Ireland after a brutal stabbing attack, with the alleged perpetrator a Sudanese asylum seeker. 

NASA's named a crew for its next Artemis mission, hoping to pave the way to land humans on the moon for the first time since the 1970s. 

Football fever is sweeping the globe ahead of the FIFA World Cup, with the competition expanding to 48 teams for the first time. 

Public consultation has begun on a proposal to make health star ratings mandatory on all packaged food and drinks sold in Australia.Health and medical bodies want mandatory star ratings to help shoppers make healthier choices. A decision on mandatory food star ratings is expected in 2027.

ABS data shows Australians are less satisfied with life than during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, as cost of living pressures bite. 

The federal government is trying to get sweeping changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme through parliament, but its plans have faced criticism.

A WA town is in mourning after a fatal shark attack off the south coast city of Albany at the weekend. 

As winter starts to bite, respiratory illnesses are spreading. And off the back of Australia's worst ever flu season, experts are urging people to get vaccinated amid falling immunisation rates. 

One of the world's biggest AI companies is arguing for a slowdown on the development of artificial intelligence.Anthropic Co-founder Jack Clark is warning that humanity is coming close to losing control of the technology as AI is starting to build itself and write its own codes.Essentially, it may soon no longer need human input.

For nearly 50 years, thousands of peacekeepers from about 50 countries have been watching the unofficial border between Lebanon and Israel, called the Blue Line.In the past three months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, seven peacekeepers have died.Tensions on the border have worsened since last August, when the UN Security Council voted to end the current UN mission by the end of this year. However, the UN Secretary-General is now suggesting a new peacekeeping mission.

It's the King's Birthday long weekend in most states this weekend, but Queensland and WA celebrate the holiday on different dates. So what's the date actually marking, and why do public holidays vary so much across Australia? 

The murder of a teenager in the UK last year has become a flashpoint in the country.

US President Donald Trump's again threatening to impose tariffs on Australia and a number of other countries for allegedly failing to take action to prevent slavery.

Australia's most ambitious renewable energy project is slowly nearing completion, but experts are divided on whether Snowy 2.0 will ever justify its snowballing price tag. 

Australia's economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5 per cent in the March quarter, the same as in the previous quarter.But on a quarterly basis, the economy grew by just 0.3 per cent, which was much weaker than the 0.9 per cent recorded in the previous quarter.The rapid slowdown in the quarterly rate of growth coincided with the Reserve Bank's decision to lift interest rates in February and March.

The United Nations has warned the rest of the world, including Australia, to prepare for a moderate-to-strong El Niño. So what's in store for us?

Australia is set to only buy second-hand US nuclear submarines under the stopgap phase of AUKUS.

Australia's minimum wage will increase by 5.97 per cent, and minimum award workers will get a 4.75 per cent pay boost, in the Fair Work Commission's annual wage review.

Australia has more billionaires than ever before, according to analysis by Oxfam. But there is debate over whether taxing them more would be better for the country.

How did One Nation become so popular? And could Pauline Hanson become the Prime Minister?Pauline Hanson's One Nation party has overtaken Labor to become Australia's most popular political party - according to the latest Redbridge poll - published in the Australian Financial Review.

The Australian dream has always traditionally been to buy a house, but with prices soaring over the past decade that has been largely out of reach for many. But is that about to change?

New data from leading women's health organisation Jean Hailes shows has found only 16 per cent of Australian women know dementia is the leading cause of death.

US officials say a tentative agreement to extend the ceasefire in the war by 60 days has been reached in the Iran conflict.

The government has seized twenty million vapes with an estimated street value of $1 billion, two years after introducing new legislation. But are the rules really working? 

Six people who were on a cruise ship that was hit by an outbreak of hantavirus have had their quarantine period in the outer Perth suburb of Bullsbrook extended until June 23. 

Another group of Australian women and children have left a camp in Syria for the families of killed and jailed Islamic State fighters.Senior executives at Snowy Hydro were paid more than a million dollars in bonuses, a month before revealing costs for Snowy 2.0 had further blown out.The United Nations human rights office has called for an investigation into the treatment of activists detained after Israeli forces intercepted a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.Press the 'Follow' or '+' button on this show page to add us to your playlist, so you never miss an episode.For more news, politics and current affairs podcasts go to ABC listen.

Israel's far right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is once again facing widespread condemnation, this time for a video he's posted on social media.

An outbreak of Ebola virus is spreading in central Africa and The World Health Organisation has warned it could take months before a vaccine against the latest strain is ready.

The Bureau of Meteorology has put out its winter outlook, so what's in store for the coming months? 

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump's recent visits to China could have major implications for the world order as we know it. 

The federal government is facing a growing backlash over its decision to get rid of the capital gains tax discount.

The Northern Territory's diphtheria outbreak is now one of the worst in Australia's history after spreading across its borders. So what is it? And how worried should we be? 

The reaction to the government's changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax has initially focused on the housing sector.But some young investors are concerned they'll miss out on the perks that made older Australians rich with the changes applying to all investments.So will younger Australians be better off with the measures announced in the federal budget?

Australia's illicit tobacco trade is booming. So what's being considered to deal with it? 

The Federal Government is fending off claims by the Opposition that it is effectively introducing a new "death tax" through its newly-announced changes to a tax on trusts.

An emergency permit for double-strength mouse baits has been conditionally approved by Australia's chemical regulator.It comes as plague-proportions of the rodent cause damage and distress in both Western Australia and South Australia's grain-growing regions.

The World Health Organization has declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic ‌of Congo and Uganda a "public health emergency of international concern".