CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australians resoundingly rejected on Saturday a referendum proposal to create an advocacy committee to offer advice to Parliament on policies that affect Indigenous people — the nation’s most disadvantaged ethnic minority.

The government proposed the first constitutional change since 1977 as a step forward in Indigenous rights. But the vote divided Indigenous leaders as well as the wider community.

GUATEMALA CITY, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Guatemala's President Alejandro Giammattei on Friday called for roadblocks to be lifted and said he cannot remove the country's attorney general, something demanded by protesters who accuse authorities of blocking the government transition.

Attorney General Maria Consuelo Porras, whose office has said she will not step down, has been investigating the party of president-elect Bernardo Arevalo in what he and the Organization of American States have branded an attack on democracy.

KYIV, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Fighting along the northern portion of Ukraine's eastern front has "significantly worsened" in recent days, the commander of Kyiv's ground forces said on Saturday.

Oleksandr Syrskyi, who was visiting Ukrainian troops in the area, said Russian forces had regrouped after suffering losses and were attacking around the village of Makiivka and towards the city of Kupiansk.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinians scrambled to flee northern Gaza on Saturday after the Israeli military ordered nearly half the population to evacuate south and carried out limited ground forays ahead of an expected land offensive a week after Hamas’ bloody, wide-ranging attack into Israel.

ANKARA, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Recent remarks by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have sparked speculations that his country could sever ties with the European Union (EU), but still, experts think a break-up is not in the interest of either side.

During a speech in the parliament on Oct. 1, Erdogan said his country no longer expects anything from Brussels after waiting for decades to become an EU member.

MOSCOW, October 14. /TASS/: The Crimean Bridge has been fully repaired 18 days ahead of schedule and traffic has been restored on all four lanes, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said on his Telegram channel.

14 October 2023; AA: New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov was arrested Friday after she was seen on social media displaying a handgun at a pro-Palestinian rally at Brooklyn College, according to reports that cited police. 

The conservative Republican councilwoman was arrested after turning herself into the 70th Precinct in Brooklyn. She was charged with "criminal possession of a firearm," NBC New York reported.

14 October 2023; AA: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday said that a plane with much-needed medical supplies for the people of the Gaza Strip had landed in Egypt.

"A plane with WHO medical supplies to support the urgent health needs in Gaza has landed in Al Arish, Egypt – close to the Rafah crossing," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who heads the UN agency, said on X.

12 October 2023; AA: Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom called the burning of the Muslim holy book Quran a "despicable act" and said such actions aimed at sowing division should not be allowed to succeed.

The burning of holy books, including the Quran, is a despicable act, Billstrom told Anadolu in an exclusive interview on Thursday.

WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The United States must prepare for possible simultaneous wars with Russia and China by expanding its conventional forces, strengthening alliances and enhancing its nuclear weapons modernization program, a congressionally appointed bipartisan panel said on Thursday.

The report from the Strategic Posture Commission comes amid tensions with China over Taiwan and other issues and worsening frictions with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

13 October 2023; MEMO: Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticised calls to the Palestinians to leave the besieged Gaza Strip and head to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula as “something that could lead to peace”, adding that Gaza is part of the historical land of Palestine.

NEW YORK (AP) — Several of former President Donald Trump ‘s Republican rivals denounced him on Thursday for lashing out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu days after Hamas’ deadly attack, a rare moment in which multiple competitors directly criticized the GOP front-runner.