US President Donald Trump has pointed to Australia and New Zealand as shining examples of merit-based immigration while announcing a controversial proposal to overhaul America's immigration system.

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Plane crash near Dubai airport kills four

Three British nationals and one South African have been killed in a plane crash near Dubai International Airport, the Emirati General Civil Aviation Authority says.

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Trump plan favours skills over family ties

US President Donald Trump says he wants to overhaul the immigration system to favour young, educated, English-speaking applicants with job offers instead of people with family ties to Americans.

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Republicans silent on Alabama abortion law

Several Republicans in the US Congress are criticising a new Alabama law that will ban nearly all abortions in the state as too extreme, saying exceptions should be made for rape and incest and questioning whether it will hold up in court.

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House Democrats read Mueller report aloud

Democrats in the US House of Representatives have begun a marathon reading of the redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's 448-page assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

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Manning won't comply with new subpoena

Former US Army soldier Chelsea Manning says she will not comply with a fresh grand jury subpoena to testify about her contacts with WikiLeaks and will ask a federal court to quash it.

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Huawei to challenge US export sanction

Huawei Technologies says it will challenge a decision by the US Commerce Department to add the Chinese company to a export blacklist, warning the decision "will do significant economic harm to the American companies with which Huawei does business".

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US pregnant teen slain, baby cut from womb

A pregnant woman who had gone to a Chicago home in response to a Facebook offer of free baby clothes was strangled and her baby cut from her womb, US police and family members say.

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Australian Associated Press