In this bulletin;
- Factory fire in Melbourne's west upgraded to seventh alarm severity;
- Volodymr Zelenskyy pleas for Donald Trump not to leave NATO if elected;
- And in tennis, Alex de Minaur gears up for biggest match of his career in Wimbledon quarter-final.
Victorian firefighters say a factory fire in Melbourne's west has been upgraded to "seventh alarm" severity and will likely burn for several days.
Crews are battling the still out-of-control blaze, caused by a chemical explosion, which has left thick black smoke visible from across the city.
VicEmergency has told communities around the fire at Swann Drive in Derrimut to shelter inside and close exterior doors and windows, warning wind is blowing toxic smoke across the area.
Around 180 firefighters using 66 appliances are fighting the blaze, including specialist crews using aerial equipment.
Firefighters were called to the fire at the Derrimut address, about 30 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD, about 11:20 am today.
Fire Rescue Victoria firefighter Michelle Carling says the fire was immediately upgraded to fifth alarm level, and later upgraded to an unprecedented seventh alarm.
"In the first year of Fire and Rescue Victoria, we're four years old, we saw a couple of fifth alarms, nothing exceeding that, so this is a significant fire. And as I said it's quite dangerous, it is a chemical factory, so we're urging people, please stay away from the area."
—
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian President Vladimir Putin hates both US President Joe Biden and his rival, former President Donald Trump, because they "support democracy."
Mr Zelenskyy, who made the comments on the sidelines of this week's NATO summit on Washington, says he hopes the former Republican president will continue US support for Ukraine if he is reelected.
Mr Zelenskyy arrived at the NATO summit a day after Russia unleashed one of the deadliest heaviest bombardments of the war on Ukrainian cities, levelling wing of the country's biggest children’s hospital.
Following a speech in which he called for action on Ukraine before the US' presidential elections, Mr Zelenskyy said he hoped the country would pull out of NATO, whoever wins.
"Otherwise, the world will lose a lot of countries, a lot of countries, because such such people like Putin. We will lose small countries which which, which count on America in NATO, American leadership."
—
Focusing on age verification for social media is a distraction from other important regulation, according to digital policy group Reset Tech Australia.
Director Rys Farthing has told a parliamentary inquiry into the impact of social media on society limiting the age a person is able to sign up to the platforms would not make them inherently safer.
The coalition has proposed an age limit of 16 years old for social media in Australia, whilst the government has funded a trial into age-verification systems.
Dr Farthing says the focus on age limits distracts from other regulations for social media.
"I think it's a bit of a trap. There are multiple regulatory reforms that we've put in place that would fundamentally transform the digital architecture for young people without requiring age assurance, but it's the only thing that tech wants us to talk about. And so I'd encourage us to think more broadly as well. It is an ingredient that we need to address a couple of problems, but it won't address anything, it won't make the platforms safe."
—
In tennis,
Alex de Minaur is preparing for the biggest match of his career as he tries to snatch a debut Wimbledon semi-final place from seven-time champion Novak Djokovic.
The 25-year-old Australian number one will be battling through a hip injury sustained winning the final point of his fourth round match against France's Arthur Fils.
Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev has moved within one match of his first Wimbledon final after knocking out top seed Jannik Sinner in five sets.
The man standing in his way is Carlos Alcaraz, the holder, who defeated Medvedev in the semi-final last year.
Alcaraz, who beat the US' Tommy Paul in four sets in his quarter-final, says he will enjoy the rematch.
"He just won (against) Jannik Sinner, the best player right now, so I know he's in really good shape. So I have to play my best, I have to believe in myself, and try to keep going if I want to beat him, so it's going to be a difficult one, so I'm going to enjoy."
