The three children in eastern Germany used powerful magnets to remove the rusted shells and bullets from World War II from the pond without hurting themselves.

They called the police when they were found near the town of Ohrdruf.

The police blocked the area and urged the public to immediately report any such findings and leave ammunition alone. It is not clear why the ammunition was dumped in the pond.

Germany was littered with explosives after the war because of the intensive air raids by British, US and Soviet bombers.

The United States has changed its position on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and no longer regards it as a violation of international law.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompey said that the status of the West Bank is negotiated between Israelis and Palestinians.

Israel welcomes this move - a reversal of the US stance under President Donald Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama.

The settlement is a community established by Israel in the land occupied by the 1967 Middle East War.

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency scorecard, released today, has identified the pay gap between men and women is narrowing, but men still out-earn women by an average of 20.8 per cent.

The scorecard also showed almost 40 per cent of managers in the workplace are women, and there has been a slight increase in female representation on boards. 

But the number of chief executives who are women remains unchanged and 40 per cent of employers are not taking any action to close the pay gap overall.

The US has offered to facilitate the rescue and return of Australian families of IS fighters from Syria, but Prime Minister Scott Morrison remains determined to take no action.

Mr Morrison previously claimed his reason for inaction to be that he does not believe Australian officials should be placed in danger to rescue women and children from conflict zones.

He was asked on Monday what his reason could be now, to reject the US offer.

He answered, “I don’t engage in hypotheticals on national security issues.”

The Charities and Not-for-profits Commission has decided to strip the organisation Aussie Farms of its charitable status.

Aussie Farms is an animal activist group that runs a website listing the personal details of thousands of Australian farming families and encouraging activists to take part in farm invasions.

North Queensland’s first Hindu temple was consecrated in Townsville early this month to cater for Australia’s fastest growing religion.

The temple committee decided on a large aluminium shed to be the temple, called the Sri Siddhi Vinayaka, as it allowed them more space to host yoga, dance and other cultural activities.

The temple’s senior priest is based in Melbourne, but most of the cultural duties are given to junior priest Mugundan Achari.

Millions in Hong Kong have been exposed to tear gas since June. From June to November, the police have fired more than 9,000 tear gas at different areas in Hong Kong.

According to the figures released in police briefings, around 88% of Hong Kong’s 7.4 million residents are affected by the impact of tear gas.

Numerous improper and potentially dangerous uses of tear gas have been captured on television on social media platforms.

The authorities have removed a lion allegedly used to guard the house in Lagos, Nigeria.

According to reports, the two-year-old lion was discovered by a task force on a property opposite a school on Friday.

The owner of the animal was told to report to the police before the end of Monday or he would be arrested.

A group of Lagos State Environmental Health and Special Crimes teams found the animal after the residents filed a petition with the state's Ministry of the Environment.