The Netherlands' biggest threat is built into its name – about one third of the country is technically below sea level. For the country's farmers, water is a non-negotiable natural element that must be taken into account. For the past few years, the government has put in place policies to work with nature and not against it, as was the case in the past.

Amsterdam

Extreme weather events are occurring more frequently amid rising sea-levels and increasing temperatures.

Climate Crisis

The Netherlands is contending with a significant environmental challenge, with approximately one-third of its territory situated below sea level. This geographical condition places the country at a heightened risk of flooding and presents unique difficulties that require careful management of water resources. The issue of rising sea levels is particularly pressing, posing a threat to the nation's land and its agricultural sector. 

In response, the Dutch government has shifted its approach towards managing this challenge. Rather than fighting against the natural forces, policies have been formulated to work harmoniously with nature. This strategic pivot aims at creating more sustainable and resilient water management practices. These efforts are critical for the country's farmers, for whom water is an indispensable and ever-present factor in their agricultural activities.



The Netherlands facing rising sea levels

This Dutch farmer's lands are flooded, but he isn't complaining. Several times a year, Oliver Schultz-Latz's property is covered by up to 1.5 metres of water. It starts next to the river, and it's like 500 metres, and it goes to the forest. Three-fourths of his 200 hectares are submerged. These lands are part of the Room for River program, in which the government rents them for four times less than their value. And yet Oliver doesn't mind. The river takes the minerals from the mountains, that's called slip, and it's the same as manure. This is what his lands look like when dry. Pastures for his 80 buffaloes, a species that feeds on grass adapted to flooding. Instead of fighting the water, Oliver is embracing it. Before we make the dikes higher and higher, but it's costing a lot of money. So it's easier to let the river coming closer to something back to the country. As a result, the nearby city is protected from flooding, like dozens of other municipalities in the Netherlands. But nature isn't the only force at work here. Dikes were pushed back, floodplains lowered, and lastly, the riverbed was made deeper. A real revolution in the polder region, where these lands were initially built below sea level. In the past, we also always believed that we could control nature, and we tried to cooperate with nature. Making scenes like this one a thing of the past. In 1995, the Netherlands evacuated 250,000 of its residents. But new policies also meant making sacrifices. This man was expropriated, and his house was destroyed to allow the river to swell when necessary. This is my house, and this was the dike, and after that we're going down a bit, and then there was my front door. With the payout he got from the government, he built himself a new home. It's necessary to keep the feet from 200,000 people dry. The cave is a nice prize and a possibility to rebuild again. Around a hundred buildings were displaced in total, in an area that welcomes visitors when there's no flooding. We organized this landscape, the agriculture, and now they bring it back with trees, with rivers, with water. It's a good thing. Several billion euros of state funding to allow rivers to swell with the tides. Since the 1990s, flooding has caused no major damage in the Netherlands.

Hamas's armed wing released video of two men held hostage in Gaza who are seen alive and urging Israeli authorities to strike a deal for the release of all the remaining captives.

Rafah

Israel-Gaza War

Hamas releases video of two Israeli hostages

Defence Minister Richard Marles has revealed a fresh aid package to support Ukraine in its war with Russia, including $30 million in funding for drones. It marks more than one billion dollars in funding from Australia since the war began.

Lviv

Ukraine Invasion

Australia announces $100m in Ukraine aid

Tens of thousands of people have marched across the country calling for an end to violence against women. The Prime Minister addressed the crowd in Canberra where he called the issue a 'national crisis'.

Canberra

Prime Minister joins rally calling for end to gendered violence

Israeli protesters have shut down streets in Tel Aviv demanding the release of hostages and the political end of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Anger has been growing inside Israel as the Gaza war drags on for more than 200 days.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Thousands block Tel Aviv streets in protest

After weeks of delays, negotiations, and distractions, Israel appears to be gearing up for its ground invasion in southern Gaza. Dozens of Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles have been seen near Rafah, Gaza’s last 'safe zone'.

Israel 'gearing up' for Rafah ground offensive

Ohio police released video of a Black man who died at a local hospital after repeatedly telling officers "I can't breathe" as they pinned him to the floor of a bar and handcuffed him, evoking memories of the killing of George Floyd in 2020.

Canton

'I can't breathe' man tells Ohio cops before death

Witnesses in Gaza reported fresh Israeli strikes overnight around Rafah. It comes as Hamas says it is considering an Israeli ceasefire proposal, after a delegation from Egypt arrived in Israel to resume stalled negotiations.

Sderot

Gaza hit by fresh strikes amid ceasefire talks

The US military has started building a large floating pier off Gaza's coast to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, the defence department has said. Ships will deliver aid from Cyprus to the pier where it will be loaded onto trucks to transfer across Gaza.

Jerusalem

US begins building floating base to boost aid

King Charles will return to his public duties next week for the first time since his February cancer diagnosis, visiting a cancer treatment centre. There fears his Australian trip will be delayed, while he continues treatment for his own cancer battle.

Windsor

King Charles resuming public duties but Australian trip in limbo

Demonstrations have taken place across the country after a spate of domestic violence deaths, including Molly Ticehurst. Protestors held signs saying ‘no more’ calling for immediate action against male-inflicted violence.

Council of the City of Sydney

Thousands rally across Australia against domestic violence

The Russian and Turkish flags were lowered to mark the closure of a center set up to monitor a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, as Russian peacekeepers ended a multi-year deployment in the strategic South Caucasus region.

Baku

Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire center closes as Russia withdraws

Britain's King Charles will return to public duties next week for the first time since being diagnosed with cancer as he makes good progress following treatment and a period of recuperation, Buckingham Palace said.

London

King Charles to resume public duties after cancer diagnosis

Students blocked access to Paris' prestigious Sciences Po university over the war in Gaza on Friday (April 26), demanding the institution condemn Israel's actions, in a protest that echoed similar demonstrations on U.S. campuses.

Paris

Pro-Palestinian protesters still occupying Sciences Po campus

The number of people killed in floods in Kenya due to heavier than usual rainfall since the start of the monsoon in March has risen to 70, a government spokesperson said Friday. Kenya and other countries in East Africa, a region highly vulnerable to climate change, have been pounded by heavier than usual rainfall in recent weeks, compounded by the El Nino weather pattern.

Nairobi

Kenya flood death toll since March climbs to 70

An Australian journalist has been named as a key figure in Donald Trump's criminal trial. Dylan Howard, the former editor of the National Enquirer in the U.S. accused of buying and burying negative stories as part of a deal to help him become President.

New York

U.S. Presidential Election

The Australian journalist caught up in Trump trial

A surging domestic economy and rising inflation will see the Reserve Bank change its mind and increase interest rates as many as three times this year, analysts have warned.

Reserve Bank set to raise interest rates, expert predicts

The Prime Minister has labelled the security guard murdered during the Bondi stabbing attack a 'national hero' during his funeral today. Mourners gathering at the Baitul Huda Mosque in Marsden Park, Sydney to honour Faraz Tahir.

Marsden Park

Mourners farewell Bondi security guard Faraz Tahir

After a crucial hearing, U.S. Supreme Court justices are weighing arguments for and against Donald Trump's claims of presidential immunity from 2020 election interference charges, but a ruling will take time.

Washington

U.S. Supreme Court weighs arguments on Trump immunity case

Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction has been overturned after New York’s highest court ruled the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against him that were not part of the case.

Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction overturned

Palestinians have begun evacuating Rafah as Israel steps up airstrikes. Israel plans to go forward with a ground operation in the southern Gaza city despite warnings from allies that it could cause mass casualties.

Israel steps up airstrikes on Rafah ahead of ground operation

After weeks of delays, Haiti is due to swear in a presidential transition council. Gang violence has devastated the economy and social services are on the brink of collapse. Gang leaders say talks over Haiti's political future must include them.

Port-au-Prince

Haiti interim transition council to be sworn in

Israeli forces are carrying out "offensive action" across southern Lebanon, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said without specifying whether ground troops had crossed the border. He also claimed that "half of Hezbollah's commanders in southern Lebanon have been eliminated" in months of violence.

Beirut

Israel says forces carrying out 'offensive action' in south Lebanon

In a deal facilitated by Qatar, Russia and Ukraine will exchange nearly 50 displaced children due to Moscow's invasion, announced Maria Lvova-Belova, the Kremlin's children's rights commissioner, in Doha.

Doha

Russia and Ukraine to exchange dozens of displaced children

Rudy Giuliani, a former lawyer for Donald Trump, is among 18 people charged in Arizona with illegally seeking to claim the state's 2020 electoral votes for the then-U.S. president.

Phoenix

Giuliani indicted in election vote-rigging case

Dozens of whales have died after 160 became beached during a mass stranding event in WA's south-west. Community members turned out this morning to the mouth of Toby Inlet at Geographe Bay near Dunsborough, where dozens of pilot whales were stuck in shallow water.

Geographe

Mass whale stranding in southwest WA

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has completed a two-day trek of the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea, alongside PNG Prime Minister James Marape in commemoration of ANZAC Day

Kokoda

Australian Prime Minister's Kokoda pilgrimage

Five teenagers have appeared in court, after being arrested in connection with the stabbing of the Bishop in the Wakely church stabbing. Counter-terrorism police are continuing searches in south-west Sydney and Goulburn.

Wakeley

Teenagers face court over terrorism offences

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to sign a law that sets a January 2025 deadline for Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell its U.S. operation. Lawmakers behind the ban have warned of national security risks from the popular social video app.

Biden to sign law that could ban TikTok in U.S.

Morning rush hour in central London turned chaotic Wednesday as five escaped military horses galloped at full speed through busy city streets, injuring at least four people. All five horses were rounded up and given veterinary care.

Runaway horses cause peak-hour chaos in London

The United Nations is calling for an inquiry after bodies were found beneath Gaza's Nasser Hospital, in the city of Khan Younis. The hospital was recently abandoned by Israeli troops who said they’d finished searching it for Hamas fighters.

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Climate Crisis