Thursday 12 November 2026 | five Australian stories first, then the main headlines from around the world.
Featured image: Photo: Tdorante10, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Illustrative image of a hospital emergency entrance.
Australia
1. NAB to repay about $169 million to underpaid staff
National Australia Bank agreed to repay about $169 million to tens of thousands of current and former staff over roughly 14 years of underpayments, including superannuation and interest. It also agreed to a $2 million contrition payment to the Fair Work Ombudsman under an enforceable undertaking, which SBS News said is the largest such payment in an undertaking of its kind.
2. ASIC sues Commonwealth Bank over CommBiz fees
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is suing the Commonwealth Bank over fees on its CommBiz business banking platform. Customers were told they would pay a fee on transfers to or from third-party accounts, but ASIC alleges they were also charged an additional undisclosed fee. About 42,000 business customers were overcharged a total of about $8.5 million between November 2020 and 31 May 2025, according to ASIC.
3. Big four bank chiefs appear at parliamentary review
Executives from the four major banks appeared at a two-day House of Representatives review of the sector. Westpac chief executive Anthony Miller said home loan applications were starting to rise after a downturn he linked to five rate rises and the budget tax changes. ANZ chief executive Nuno Matos said record-high equity markets combined with rising interest rates were a risky mix, and that he did not expect a recession.
4. Missing Victorian teenager found alive after six days
A 17-year-old who went missing in Gippsland was found alive after six days in the bush. Police believe he left the track and did not return to camp on what was his first camping trip, with overnight temperatures dropping to 3 to 4 degrees. A police helicopter spotted him, and his mother said she was relieved, SBS News reported.
5. Cricket Australia sees no reason to reopen ball-tampering inquiry
SBS News reported that Pat Cummins is due to respond publicly on Friday to claims in Usman Khawaja’s memoir about the 2018 ball-tampering incident, and that Cricket Australia’s chief executive sees no reason to reopen the investigation. On Wednesday, Nationals leader Matt Canavan had urged Cricket Australia to reopen it, the ABC reported.
Around the World
6. US envoys meet Putin in Moscow after Abu Dhabi talks
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Russia on 12 November to brief President Putin on the Abu Dhabi talks, which ended with agreement on a large prisoner exchange but no visible breakthrough. Reuters reported that the envoys appear to have won Putin’s agreement to allow European representatives to join the next round. After Moscow, they were due to meet President Zelensky in Ireland.
7. Russian drone strike kills one in Kyiv apartment block
A Russian drone hit an apartment block in Kyiv overnight, killing one woman and injuring five people, according to the city’s mayor. Russia said it had targeted military facilities in and around Kyiv. Moscow’s mayor said air defences shot down five Ukrainian drones heading for the city.
8. Israeli strike hits Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza
An Israeli airstrike hit a building at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza overnight, killing at least seven people, including a surgeon, according to Hamas-run civil defence officials. The Israeli military said it struck a senior Hamas member and other militants who it said used the hospital as a command centre.
9. Mixed signals from Washington on Iran talks
The Wall Street Journal reported that Vice President JD Vance is considering face-to-face talks with Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei, and that President Trump was open to reopening talks, though officials stressed they were preliminary. Trump later posted that the US does not need a deal with Iran. Reports the same day said an Iranian attack hit a tanker off the United Arab Emirates and that tankers were disabled by explosions in the Strait of Hormuz.
10. Scott Colom wins Mississippi Senate race
Democrat Scott Colom defeated Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi’s Senate race, becoming the first Black senator from the state since Reconstruction, according to SBS News. Hyde-Smith conceded and congratulated him, AP reported.
Stories are included only where the reporting could be confirmed. Figures and details may be updated as events develop.
Sources
This report is a summary written in our own words from the following reporting: SBS News bulletin, 12 November (evening); SBS News bulletin, 12 November (morning); ABC News: markets live blog, 12 November; ABC News: South East NSW briefing, 12 November; Just Security Early Edition, 12 November; Foreign Exchanges world roundup, 12 November.
