National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB.AX) said on Wednesday it has set a new target to more than double its lending to indigenous businesses and communities to at least A$1 billion ($633.70 million) over the next three years.

The move comes at a time when banks have borne the brunt of increased regulatory scrutiny in a push for better banking outcomes for indigenous consumers, including access to better finances and quality of life.

Australians have voted against a historic Indigenous referendum

Australia's national broadcaster ABC projects that three states have voted no, effectively defeating the referendum

Voters were asked to enshrine an Indigenous advisory body in the constitution that recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the nation’s First Peoples

No campaigners said the Voice to Parliament racially divides the country and have questioned how it would operate

After two years of horror stories about the alleged mass graves of Indigenous children at residential schools across Canada, a series of recent excavations at suspected sites has turned up no human remains.

Some academics and politicians say it’s further evidence that the stories are unproven.

Minegoziibe Anishinabe, a group of indigenous people also known as Pine Creek First Nation, excavated 14 sites in the basement of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Catholic Church near the Pine Creek Residential School in Manitoba during four weeks this summer.

Canada has agreed to pay C$2.8bn ($2.9bn; £1.68bn) to settle a class-action lawsuit seeking compensation for the loss of language and culture caused by its residential school system.

Government-funded compulsory boarding schools were part of a policy meant to assimilate children and destroy indigenous cultures and languages.

The money will be paid to a non-profit trust independent of the government.

But the settlement must still be finalised and approved by a court...