- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
Australian census to ask about sexuality after LGBTQ backlash
Australia's census will ask citizens about their sexuality for the first time, the government said Friday, a policy U-turn aimed at quelling anger from LGBTQ groups.
Supporters have said questions about sexual identity would provide a more accurate snapshot of who Australians are and who they love.
Just a day after his ministers explained the census change had been scrapped to avoid a divisive debate, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Friday that a question about sexuality would in fact be included in the 2026 survey.
Australia's statistics bureau has developed a new question about sexual orientation, which will now be tested before it can be included in the survey, he said.
"We think that is a common sense position," Albanese told public broadcaster ABC.
It is compulsory to complete the census in Australia, with fines for those who fail to do so.
But people would have the option of answering the sexual orientation question or not, the prime minister said.
Asked why the government had backed down, Albanese said: "No, this is the first time I have been asked about it."
He made no mention of plans to include a question about gender identity, however, saying only that there would not be "massive changes" to the census.
Equality Australia, a rights advocacy group, said it was now unclear how the census would affect trans and gender-diverse people, as well as people with innate variations of sex characteristics.
"We welcome the inclusion of a sexual orientation question but the national snapshot of our nation must include all of us, not just some of us," said Equality Australia chief executive Anna Brown.
"The federal government shouldn't pick and choose those of us who are worthy of being counted."
Brown said including LGBTQ people in the census would bring Australia into line with other countries that already do so, including Britain, Canada and New Zealand.
"It would be a shame if the government doesn't trust the Australian public enough to accept that the census needs to gather basic data about our nation for it be meaningful and useful," she said.
X.Matos--PC