Australians among the survivors confirmed alive in the last 24 hours, following the Nepal-Tibet floods, Prime Minister Albanese speaks with his Nepali counterpart and expresses condolences, A heavily revamped Wallabies side to take on Argentina this weekend.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Australians among the survivors confirmed alive in the last 24 hours, following the Nepal-Tibet floods...
- Prime Minister Albanese speaks with his Nepali counterpart and expresses condolences...
- A heavily revamped Wallabies side to take on Argentina this weekend.
Two more Australians impacted by the Nepal-Tibet floods have been confirmed safe, with the number of Australians missing reduced to 36.
The pair have not required consular assistance.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the development would be a huge relief to their families, and the government has very serious concerns about those still missing.
Back home, Rishi Acharya from the Nepalese Australian Association in Sydney, says the community has come together to support each other during this time of need.
"We are not alone. We are together. We are here to support you. And then here in our local area, some community members lost their loved ones, their property. So we have been helping them to emotionally support them."
More than 1,200 people have been killed and some 5,600 are missing, including more than 800 foreigners from at least 34 countries.
Two people have been rescued from a hydropower tunnel in Nepal.
The two men were working in the Trishuli 3A tunnel when the floods hit, leaving them trapped for nine days.
The workers have been airlifted directly to a hospital in Kathmandu for treatment.
Authorities say they are working on rescuing at least 39 other workers who are believed to be in the tunnel.
Hundreds of workers remain trapped in other hydropower sites across the region, buried
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has today spoken with his Nepali counterpart, and expressed Australia's condolences following the deadly floods in the region.
PM Albanese said "Australia stands by Nepal" and will continue providing support, supplies and specialised capabilities as needed.
Researchers have welcomed federal government funding for a register of incidents of racism and discrimination against First Nations people.
The $2 million in funding will support the work of Call It Out register for another three years, including the establishment of an online data dashboard to help inform strategies and policies to combat racism.
The register is the only national, Indigenous-led collection of such data; and is managed by the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology Sydney, in partnership with the National Justice Project.
Professor Lindon Coombes at the Jumbunna Institute, says there has been a rise in racist incidents, following the failed 2023 referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
"We certainly had a peak after the referendum. I think tensions were really high after that. In the lead up to Australia Day, it is often a very difficult period once people come back to work, the social media kind of takes off. So we want the message to go out there to our people, to allies that when you submit through Call It Out - that information will be protected. It will be read and it will be used to come up with strategies to work against racism."
Ten research teams have been awarded prizes for unusual and imaginative contributions to science.
Called the Ig Nobel prizes, the satirical awards are organised by The Annals of Improbable Research magazine.
This year's winners include a multinational team for designing a splash-free urinal that minimizes splashback by directing liquid at an angle of less than 30 degrees.
Representing the UK and United States, Dr Matilda Brindle and colleagues at Oxford University secured the Biomechanics Prize for their research on the evolutionary history of kissing.
Dr Brindle says it is a joy to accept the award.
"Kissing, or what we like to think of as 'non-agonistic directed oral-oral contact with some movement of the lips or mouth parts and no food transfer,' is a deeply romantic gesture amongst humans. Our research shows that kissing isn't unique to humans and can be observed in other animals, too. We reconstructed the evolutionary history of kissing amongst the primates, showing that our ancestors were kissing as far back as 21.5 million years ago."
To sport and in rugby union,
There have been 14 changes to the Wallabies lineup for the second Argentina Test this weekend.
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii has been thrust back into the Wallabies' starting side, while Ben Donaldson will steer the ship for his first start at No.10 in two years.
Captain Harry Wilson has been recalled to team - and Tom Wright will play his 50th Test after being named at fullback.
The side is chasing five-straight wins for the first time since 2021.
Coach Les Kiss says the lineup takes into account the freshness of the squad members.
"Yeah, the game is physical. A big travel in. We stayed a few days in Buenos Aires but then we flew up. Altitude doesn't knock it out of you, but it was a heavy game. And it was demanding. So all along, there was this opportunity in the back of our heads as we selected the first team and the second team is just to make sure we can maintain some freshness. And again, I have said all along, trying to broaden and deepen what we have in different options."
