TRANSCRIPT
- Australia's Climate Change Minister travels to Brazil for the final week of negotiations at the UN Climate Summit.
- A five-metre tall statue of Pope Leo unveiled in Peru.
- In tennis, Alex De Minaur to face defending champion Jannik Sinner in the semis of the ATP Finals
Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen says he will continue to advocate strongly for Australia's bid to host COP31 in partnership with the Pacific.
The decision on who will host next year's UN climate summit will be made over the coming week at this year's COP in Brazil.
If Türkiye does not withdraw its bid to host the event, it will be hosted in the German city of Bonn*.
Mr Bowen, who is travelling to Brazil for the final week of COP, says he hopes it doesn't come to that.
"The situation remains that Australia has the overwhelming support of the world to host COP31. But that is not how the system works. It is not a ballot process in that sense. That means we need to reach an agreement with Türkiye. That's difficult. I do know it is in Australia's best interest to be COP President and to host COP. I will continue to have conversations with my Turkish counterparts - in consultation with the Pacific over the week or so. And we'll see how we go."
*Under the COP rules, hosting duties rotate through five blocs of countries, which for 2026, includes Türkiye, Australia, Canada and other countries in Europe. If no consensus is reached the summit reverts to Bonn, a city in Germany that hosts the UN's climate secretariat
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The Bureau of Meteorology says severe storms will impact much of eastern Australia this weekend, after heavy rain, wind and hail resulted in thousands of households losing power in southeast Queensland.
The storm cell moved north-east over the Brisbane region on Friday evening, before heading out to sea.
More than 11, 000 households lost power.
Miriam Bradbury, from the Bureau of Meteorology, says there has already been a significant amount of rainfall in the last 24 hours - and there is more to come.
"In the east (of Australia), in particular, we've seen about 30 to 70 millimetres of rain in southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales. And this weekend, storms remain possible in Queensland and eastern New South Wales; pushing down through parts of Victoria as well. The key areas of concern though - the areas likely to be hardest hit are where we might see severe thunder storms. So for today, Saturday, those severe thunderstorm areas include southeast Queensland and much of eastern New South Wales."
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A five-metre tall statue of Pope Leo XIV has been unveiled in northern Peru.
The monument is intended to honour the pontiff’s ties to the country.
The statue is part of a new tourist route called "Paths of Pope Leo XIV" designed to showcase sites connected to his pastoral work in Peru, where he served from 1985 to 2023.
At the ceremony for the statue's unveiling, Chiclayo bishop Monsignor Edinson Edgardo Farfan Cordova says the statue celebrates the spiritual connection between the city and the head of the Catholic Church.
(Spanish then translated into English): "The heart of the Holy Father is in Peru. I am sure that in a few years he will give us an answer and visit his beloved Peru, especially the city of Chiclayo."
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Around 3,000 deaf and hard-of-hearing athletes are gathering in Tokyo for the 25th Summer Deaflympics, with the opening ceremony kicking off today.
The event takes place just over 100 years after the first Deaflympics were held in Paris in 1924.
Australia is sending a team of more than 90 athletes to the event, including members of the country's deaf women's basketball team, the Geckos.
Adam Kosa, the president of The International Committee of Sports for the Deaf, says 81 countries are represented - including some for the first time.
Japanese then translated into English: "As a refugee, South Sudan. It is going to be their first time joining this Games. The East Timor and Laos - they are going to join this Game for the first time. So I am very, very happy."
(Athletes will contest more than 200 medal events across 21 disciplines, including athletics, badminton, and karate.
The event continues until November 26.
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In Tennis, after achieving mission improbable, Alex de Minaur must now pull off what shapes as his mission impossible at the ATP Finals in Turin.
As expected in front of his home fans, defending champ Jannik Sinner breezed to yet another indoor victory in his final group match (on Friday 14 Nov).
He overcame the power serving of Ben Shelton to win 6-3 7-6 (7-3) and set up a semi-final with the Australian No.1 (Sat 15 Nov local time).
Sinner says he is looking forward to the match.
"In the matches we played, he has been close in a couple of matches. Especially this season we played always in different situations on the court. On different types of courts. And tennis really can change a lot from one day to the other. So I am just excited to go at least one more time on this court. Having the great support, and great crowd. And I hope I can perform in the best possible way."
Sinner has won all 12 past matches where the two have faced each other.
