Australian black market tobacco sparks firebombings, budget hole

A Syrian doctor on trial in Germany for torture and murder while working in military hospitals in his war-torn homeland on Tuesday denied setting fire to a teenage boy's genitals or operating on detainees without anaesthesia.
The 25-year-old underwent surgery on fractures to his spine, knee and thigh at the Universidad de la Sabana clinic in Bogota late on Monday night following his costly crash earlier in the day.
Wall Street stocks sank at the start of trading on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve began a two-day monetary policy meeting, while European stocks rebounded.
Google on Tuesday announced a new plan to stop using small files known as cookies to track people's web browsing habits, after its previous proposals were roundly criticised.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is all but guaranteed a second term after a procedural vote on Tuesday made him the sole nominee for a leadership election in May.
The Federal Reserve began Tuesday a policy meeting in which central bankers are expected to further signal which weapons they plan to use against inflation and when, amid a selloff on Wall Street that appears set to continue.
Supporters of Burkina Faso's new ruling junta rallied on Tuesday as France and the UN condemned the West African country's latest coup.
Europe's busiest airport in Istanbul welcomed its first flight in 24 hours on Tuesday and Greece declared a public holiday as the eastern Mediterranean neighbours began digging out of a rare snowstorm that ground their capitals to a halt.
Lia Thomas has made a splash in US collegiate women's swimming with her dominant performances for the University of Pennsylvania. But just a few years ago, she competed on the men's team.
Matteo Berrettini created tennis history by reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open with a rollercoaster five-set victory over Gael Monfils on Tuesday.
Sara Hector survived a scare midway through her second run to edge Petra Vlhova to win the giant slalom in Kronplatz, Italy, on Tuesday.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday vowed to cooperate with police in any formal probe into coronavirus lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street, which has deepened the threat to his position.
The Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final due to be played at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde will be switched to another stadium after Monday's tragedy left eight people dead, African football supremo Patrice Motsepe said.
Olavo de Carvalho, a writer and philosopher who was considered a guru to President Jair Bolsonaro and others in Brazil's far right, has died at age 74, his family said Tuesday.
Yemen's Huthi rebels were expelled from a key battleground district by UAE-trained Giants Brigade fighters, the militia said Tuesday, a day after the insurgents' latest missile attack on Abu Dhabi.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich are set to lose Niklas Suele at the end of the season, with the Germany defender reportedly having turned down a contract extension.
Russia on Tuesday launched new military exercises near Ukraine and in annexed Crimea as it accused the United States of ratcheting up tensions by putting several thousand of its own troops on alert.
At least 19 people have been killed in a clash at a nightclub in Indonesia's West Papua province, police said Tuesday, with most dying after the venue caught fire.
General Electric reported a drop in fourth-quarter revenues Tuesday on a mixed performance across its industrial businesses but projected higher sales in 2022 despite inflation.
US skier Breezy Johnson announced her withdrawal from the Beijing Olympics on Tuesday after a recent knee injury dashed her dream of gold at the 2022 Games.
A leading UK freight lobby group has urged the British and French governments to hold talks to ease miles-long backups at Channel ports that have been blamed on Brexit.
Norway said it will put "tangible demands" on the Taliban during talks in Oslo on Tuesday, the last day of the hardline Islamists' controversial first visit to Europe since returning to power in Afghanistan.
The threat to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's position deepened on Tuesday, as police said they were investigating lockdown-breaking parties at his Downing Street office and government departments.
China's President Xi Jinping had a rare pandemic-era encounter with a foreign visitor Tuesday when he met with Olympic chief Thomas Bach as the country readies to host the Winter Games.
The crush that killed eight people and left dozens injured prior to Monday's Africa Cup of Nations last 16 match between hosts Cameroon and the Comoros in Yaounde is the the latest in a long line of football stadium tragedies.
Pfizer and BioNTech have begun enrollment for a clinical trial to test the safety and immune response of their Omicron-specific Covid-19 vaccine in adults aged up to 55, the companies said in a statement Tuesday.
Europe's busiest airport in Istanbul welcomed its first flight in 24 hours on Tuesday and Greece declared a public holiday as the eastern Mediterranean neighbours began digging themselves out of a rare snowstorm that ground their capitals to a halt.
A live preview for a Netflix documentary on Brazilian soccer star Neymar attracted more than 500,000 streaming views on Monday night in the South American nation.
Credit Suisse warned Tuesday that litigation would hit fourth-quarter profits while its investment bank faces a loss, in the latest blow to the scandal-plagued financial giant.
Brazilian surfing world champion Gabriel Medina announced on Monday he will take a break from competing for mental-health reasons, joining gymnast Simone Biles and tennis player Naomi Osaka on a list of sports stars who have said they are battling psychological stress.
Supporters of Burkina Faso's new ruling junta were set to rally on Tuesday as France and the UN condemned the West African country's latest coup.
Myanmar demonstrators who bang pots and pans in protest at last year's coup can be charged with high treason, the junta warned Tuesday, days ahead of the putsch's one-year anniversary.
Ashleigh Barty said Tuesday she was having fun "problem-solving" on court after accelerating her march towards a maiden Australian Open title Tuesday with a straight-sets masterclass against Jessica Pegula.
Jessica Pegula admitted Tuesday she felt "helpless" against ruthless world number one Ashleigh Barty, saying she "plays more like a guy".
European stock markets rebounded Tuesday, shrugging off steep Asian losses on the eve of a Federal Reserve monetary policy decision and after tumbling the previous day on Ukraine tensions and US rate hike fears.
An electricity grid accident left millions of people in three Central Asian countries without power on Tuesday, idling subway trains, disrupting flights and trapping people in lifts.
Rafael Nadal dug deep into his immense reserves of resilience for the second match running to keep his dream of a 21st Grand Slam title alive at the Australian Open on Tuesday, as women's top seed Ashleigh Barty powered into a semi-final against Madison Keys.
An ailing Rafael Nadal said he was "destroyed physically" by his gritty five-set quarter-final win over Denis Shapovalov at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
US-backed Kurdish forces tightened the noose around armed jihadists hunkering down inside a Syrian prison Tuesday, with both sides facing a bloodbath or talks to end the five-day-old standoff.