Hot and windy conditions push Western Australian fires to "catastrophic" levels, The United Nations secretary general says Israeli bombs are stopping aid reaching people in Gaza, FIFA officials call for greater respect towards referees.
In this bulletin,
- Hot and windy conditions push Western Australian fires to "catastrophic" levels...
- The United Nations secretary general says Israeli bombs are stopping aid reaching people in Gaza.
- FIFA officials call for greater respect towards referees.
Authorities say hot and windy conditions forecast in Western Australia may escalate several bushfires to "catastrophic" levels.
Firefighters are battling seven blazes around the fringes of Perth, and the weather bureau has issued a new extreme fire danger warning for the Burrup district, north of Karratha.
Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm has said strong gusts will combine with hot temperatures, making for "difficult" days ahead through the Christmas holiday.
Sue Mead lives in the Shire of Serpentine, on the outskirts of Perth, and says the fire came close in recent days.
She's one of the residents considering what she'll do if it returns.
"I would stay and defend because I've got four pet sheep that are my life, so I would make sure my animals are OK. Depending on what the situation is, you know, if it's ridiculous to stay, I'll go - but I'll try and take my pet sheep with me."
Another Indigenous community in far-north Queensland is bracing for major flooding in the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper.
The Cape York town of Kowanyama is on high alert after creek levels reached 3.7 metres and continue to rise.
In a social media post, the Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire says it is currently addressing escalating waters by using sandbags and other drainage mitigation strategies.
The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted rising water could rival flood levels in 2000 and 2009 when the creek reached 4.35 metres.
-
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has criticised Israel's military bombardment of Gaza following a U-N Security Council resolution calling for more access to humanitarian aid for the struggling region.
The UN chief says the reason aid has been so difficult to access for Palestinians is due to Israel's bombing across the enclave which has made the distribution of aid dangerous.
Earlier, the Security Council adopted a long-delayed resolution calling for immediate aid deliveries to hungry and desperate civilians in Gaza.
The language of the resolution was changed to remove calls for an end to the conflict to please the United States who has vetoed all previous calls for a ceasefire.
António Guterres says Israel needs to do more to ensure the safe and effective distribution of aid.
"A humanitarian ceasefire is the only way to begin to meet the desperate needs of people in Gaza and end that ongoing nightmare. The real problem is that the way Israel is conducting this offensive Is creating massive obstacles to the distribution of humanitarian aid inside Gaza. An effective aid operation in Gaza requires security for staff who can work in safety, logistical capacity, and the resumption of commercial activity. These four elements do not exist."
The Australian Federal Police say the amount of cocaine they have seized in the last financial year has more than doubled.
A total of 26.8 tonnes of illicit drugs was seized by border officials in the 2022-2023 financial year - almost four tonnes more than in the 12 months before.
The AFP says Australia is confronting a global surge in trafficking.
While there was an increase in all drugs seized, the surge in cocaine was the most significant.
Fish markets across the country are gearing up for one of their busiest weekends of the year, as Australians plan seafood menus for their Christmas table.
The Sydney Fish Market is one of the biggest in Australia and expects to sell more than 350 tonnes of of produce, including 120 tonnes of prawns and about 70,000 dozen oysters.
More than 100,000 people are expected to visit the market in the final 36 hours before Christmas.
Sydney Fish Market's seafood educator, Mandy Hunt says there are ways to make sure seafood is safe to eat.
"To pick the best produce what you're really looking for is just: look, touch it, feel it, smell it. It needs to smell like the ocean. If it smells like the ocean it's fresh. Bring your eskies, bring your cooler bags, make sure you grab some ice from the retailer when you're buying your fish and your seafood here today and just get that home into the fridge, get it into the coldest part of the fridge as soon as you get home. You should get 3 to 5 days out of your seafood, as long as you keep it cold."
The president of FIFA and its chief of referees have called for greater respect towards referees, following the attack on Turkey's Halil Umut Meler.
Earlier this month Meler was punched in the face by the president of Ankaragucu club, Faruk Koca, at the end of a home game against Rizespor.
He was then kicked while lying on the pitch.
Speaking to the leaders of world football in Jeddah, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has called it a "terrible" and "criminal" attack.
FIFA referees chief, Pierluigi Collina says the sport needs to fight against abuse and violence directed at referees.
"I beg you to do something. From the bottom of my heart, I beg you to do something, to stop this. I said in London - this is the cancer that can kill football. It's true. I beg you, do something before it's too late."
