An elderly man in court over an alleged aged care assault; Voting opens in Taiwan's presidential and parliamentary elections; Six Nations to become the first elite rugby competition to use new groundbreaking mouthguard technology.
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TRANSCRIPT:
- An elderly man in court over an alleged aged care assault;
- Voting opens in Taiwan's presidential and parliamentary elections;
- Six Nations to become the first elite rugby competition to use new groundbreaking mouthguard technology.
An emergency warning has been issued for residents near a fast-moving uncontrolled fire north of Perth.
The blaze was first reported this morning, and is understood to be rapidly moved towards Lower Chittering, which has a population of 2400 people.
Firefighters are on the ground actively fighting the fire and aerial support has been sent to assist.
Several other blazes are currently burning across Western Australia, including in the coal-mining town of Collie where 80 firefighters have contained a fire that started on Thursday.
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An elderly man has been charged with the sexual assault of an 87-year-old woman at a Sydney aged care home.
He's due to face Parramatta Local Court today.
New South Wales Police say the man entered the woman's room on two occasions before the alleged assault took place.
They say he was known to visit the facility in the city's northwest.
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Two music festival goers in Melbourne have been hospitalised with suspected drug overdoses, just a week after nine people became seriously ill from MDMA at another event.
One woman aged in her 30s is understood to be in a critical condition after collapsing at the Flemington Showgrounds.
The second - in her late teens - is stable.
The Victorian Department of Health says consuming drugs at hot and humid music events increases the risk of life-threatening hyperthermia.
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Voting has begun in presidential and parliamentary elections in Taiwan, a poll closely watched by the world - and China.
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which champions Taiwan's separate identity and rejects China's territorial claims, is seeking a third term in office with its candidate, current Vice President Lai Ching-te.
In the run up to the election, China has repeatedly denounced Lai as a dangerous separatist and rebuffed repeated calls from him for talks.
Melbourne-based voter Harry Hsu, who has returned to Taiwan to cast his ballot, has told SBS News he takes the vote very seriously.
"The election in Australia is mandatory. Like you have to vote otherwise you get penalties. But in Taiwan you can choose if you want to vote or not. But as a Taiwanese I think this is the opportunity for you to actually speak out, and try to choose the people who will represent the country for the next four years. That's super important, right. So that's why I came back."
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Scientists have warned the trend of increasingly hot temperatures is likely to continue this year, after 2023 became the world's hottest year on record.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says there is a one in three chance that 2024 will be even hotter than last year.
The World Meteorological Organisation's Christopher Hewitt says they don't know for sure yet if the forecast will come true.
But NASA Earth Scientist Liz Hoy says they're almost certain that the weather will become increasingly intense.
"When I think about how this is impacting us, I think about what we're going to see is with climate change and global temperatures increasing, it doesn't mean that we're going to have warmer temperatures everywhere all the time. What it means is we're going to see variable weather events. So when we have a hurricane, it might be more extreme or when we have a drought, it might last for a longer period of time."
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Troops have completed rehearsals in Copenhagen for the ceremony tomorrow that will see Crown Prince Frederick and Australian-Born Crown Princess Mary become King and Queen of Denmark.
Members of the Hussar Regiment Mounted Squadron will escort the current queen’s carriage from Amalienborg (Palace) to Christiansborg, the seat of the Danish parliament, where Frederik is to be proclaimed king from the balcony.
The riders will then escort the newly crowned king and queen in the carriage back to Amalienborg.
Royal Life Guards Major, Hans Christian Rorvang, says everyone is excited.
"It is a historical moment for the Royal Life Guards. Many of us have served Her Majesty the Queen for many years and it will be a new beginning.”
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It's been confirmed that mouthguard technology designed to help identify the need for head injury assessments will be used in the upcoming Six Nations rugby competition.
Players on all teams will be provided with custom-fitted instrumented mouthguards, which measure an individual's exposure to head accelerations and will be worn during training sessions and matches.
The mouthguards will provide in-game alerts to pitch-side medical teams.
The Six Nations will be the first elite men's competition to use the new technology after global governing body World Rugby announced they would be added to head injury protocols.
