TRANSCRIPT:
- Communities in Jamaica warned about crocodiles after Hurricane Melissa
- Negotiations continue over reform of Australia's environment laws...
- The Socceroos to face Venezuela and Colombia in games scheduled for next month.
Jamaican health officials are warning residents to watch out for crocodiles displaced by the storm and flood effects from a powerful hurricane.
Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a category five system - killing three people in the country - and has been downgraded to a category four hurricane.
It is now headed towards Cuba - and then the Bahamas.
Michael Brennan is the director of the National Hurricane Center in the US.
He says the weather data shows the impacts of the storm will be felt in Jamaica for quite some time.
"The potential for destructive winds, damaging winds likely to continue across Jamaica this evening, especially in the north coast, especially in areas of high topography. We still have the tropical storm conditions across the island, hurricane warning in effect, additional rainfall across the island leading to storm totals as high as 30 inches (76 cm). So, stay in your safe place, stay in a safe shelter overnight in Jamaica, and listen to any guidance from your local officials about when it might be safe to venture out."
A new report on the impact of climate change on Australia's ocean environments finds that even with aggressive emission cuts, the impacts on marine life will be severe - and in some cases irreversible.
The findings follow an alarming 18 months for Australia's seas, with bleached coral, fish kills and toxic algal blooms linked to marine heatwaves and high ocean temperatures.
Lead author of the study, Alice Pidd at the University of the Sunshine Coast, says the research findings have significant implications for ocean conservation.
She says marine parks that are protected from industry are in a better position to withstand the changes - compared to unprotected areas of the ocean, but they are still vulnerable.
"The exposure of our marine life, and the lives and livelihoods that they support depends entirely on how aggressively we reduce carbon emissions now. These aren't distant future problems. They are immediate planning challenges within the next 15 years. And if there is any consideration of expanding or adjusting our network of MPAs (marine protected areas). We strongly urge managers to consider not only present climate, but also the range of future possible climates."
Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner has called for more transparency on Australia's deportation deal with Nauru.
The Home Affairs Minister has confirmed that the first group of immigration detainees have deported from Australia and are now in Nauru.
The number of non-citizens deported in the group has not been disclosed.
They are part of the so-called NZYQ group, which had visas cancelled on character grounds.
The deal was struck earlier this year at a reported cost of A$2.5 billion over the 30-year lifetime of the deal.
Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay says the lack of basic detail about this latest transfer raises questions about the government’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
Pope Leo XIV has called for an end to wars in a ceremony with other religious leaders at Rome’s Colosseum.
Together with Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Protestant, Anglican and other religious leaders, Pope Leo lit a candle for peace and prayed for the end to violence.
"We must ensure that this era of history, marked by war and the arrogance of force, come to an end soon and a new story begins. We cannot accept that this era endures any longer, that it shapes the mentality of peoples, that we become accustomed to war as a normal course of human history. Enough! It is the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth. Enough!"
The ceremony was the final event in a conference organised by the Community of Sant-Egidio, an Italian Catholic group dedicated to issues of social justice.
Australians are being urged to check if they have unclaimed superannuation.
The Australian Tax Office says 7 million Australians have lost or unclaimed super - totalling $17.8 billion.
That figure represents an increase of $1.8 billion over the last financial year.
Assistant treasurer Daniel Mulino says Australians should aggregate their super into one account to ensure they are not worse off in retirement.
"There can be a range of reasons why people have lost super. It could be that you changed your name. That you have changed jobs, or even that you have worked overseas. What this can mean is that people can find themselves paying multiple fees, which will obviously have a bad effect on peoples' end balances. It (recovering your super) helps people to achieve that ultimate important goal of superannuation: dignity in retirement."
The Socceroos will travel to the United states to play against Venezuela and Colombia next month.
The game against Venezuela on November 14 will be only the second time the two sides have ever met.
The last encounter was in 2004, ending in 1-all draw.
The game against Colombia is set for November 18. The team is ranked 13th in the FIFA World Rankings and will be one of 48 countries competing at the FIFA World Cup next year.
Socceroos coach Tony Popovic says it is a great chance to expose the team to the different styles of play by the two South American sides - ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
