Cyclone Fina closing in on Darwin | Midday News Bulletin 22 November 2025

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Source: SBS News

In this bulletin, Cyclone Fina making landfall in Top End; Gunmen in Nigeria abduct 200 students and staff from Catholic school; and in Rugby Union, Wallabies hit by fresh injury blows ahead of France Test.


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TRANSCRIPT

Cyclone Fina, currently a Category 2 system, is closing in on Darwin, posing a serious threat to the region.

As of this morning (Saturday), it’s located north-east of Darwin, impacting the Tiwi Islands and the Cobourg Peninsula, with sustained winds around 100 kilometres per hour and gusts reaching up to 140 kilometres per hour.

Residents in Darwin and the surrounding Top End areas are being urged to secure their homes and stay inside,

Shenagh Gamble with the Bureau of Meteorology says the system may intensify to a Category Three.

"The worst of the conditions in Darwin are expected to be during the day, tomorrow (Saturday) and into tomorrow evening. Destructive wind gusts of 150 kilometres an hour could develop during this evening, as the system nears the coast. Outside of the cyclone warning and watch area, severe thunderstorms with destructive winds could develop as far east as rude Island. A flood watch is current for much of the Northern top end."



Gunmen have attacked St Mary’s Catholic boarding school in Niger State, abducting around 200 students and staff in the latest wave of school kidnappings in northern Nigeria.

More than 1,500 students have been abducted in the region over the past decade, with armed gangs, often acting for ransom, repeatedly targeting schools, travellers and rural communities.

President Bola Tinubu has cancelled his trip to the G20 summit as the crisis escalates, while police say military units have been deployed, but no group has claimed responsibility.

The sister of one student who escaped, content creator Eze Gloria Chidinma, says families feel abandoned by authorities.

“It’s traumatic. Like my mum, I don’t think she’s getting herself because even when my sister escaped this morning, when the whole thing happened this morning, she was like, “Again?” After her and my eldest brother last year, this time around again. ... Last year, my mom and my brother, my senior brother, they were kidnapped. And guess what, we called the security, we called the police, and what they said was there is nothing they can do."



Anthony Albanese has met with his Indian counterpart on the sidelines of the G20 in Johannesburg.

He has offered condolences to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the recent terrorist attack in India that killed 30 people, and and a bus crash in Saudi Arabia that claimed the lives of 45 Indian pilgrims after the bus they were travelling in caught fire near Medina in Saudi Arabia.

The Australian Prime Minister has also commended the large Indian diaspora in Australia, describing the relationship between both countries as very strong.

He says he looks forward to further discussions with Foreign Ministers later today at the G20 summit in South Africa's Johannesburg (Saturday, 22 Nov AEST).

"We have much to discuss, and our relationship is very strong, never stronger in my view. I think the economic relationship we can strengthen further, and our defense and security ties are also very important."



US President Donald Trump and New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani have struck a conciliatory tone after meeting in the Oval Office, despite their sharp political differences.

Both men called the talks productive, focusing on housing, the cost of living and what they described as a shared commitment to improving life in America’s largest city.

President Trump spoke shortly after their meeting at the Oval Office.

"We've just had a great meeting, a really good, very productive meeting. We have one thing in common: We want this city of ours that we love to do very well. And I wanted to congratulate the mayor. ... And we're going to be helping him to make everybody's dream come true, having a strong and very safe New York. And congratulations, Mr. Mayor."

Mr Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has previously been highly critical of Mr Trump, says the conversation centred on affordability for the eight-and-a-half million New Yorkers struggling with rising rents, grocery bills and utility costs.

He added that the meeting focused on areas where cooperation is possible rather than on their many disagreements.



To sport,

The Wallabies have been dealt further setbacks at the end of their troubled European tour, with fly-half Carter Gordon and hooker Billy Pollard both withdrawing injured ahead of their final Test against France in Paris.

Gordon, recalled for just his second start since returning from the NRL, was ruled out after failing to overcome a persistent quad issue.

Pollard, one of only two players in line to feature in all 15 Tests this year, was also forced out after team medics confirmed a hip pointer injury.

Tane Edmed now smoves into the starting line-up, while the Western Force’s Hamish Stewart comes onto the bench.

***

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