Henry Kissinger dies at age 100; One passenger dies after an American military aircraft crashes with six people onboard off the coast of Japan; And in sport, Kayaker Aniol Serrasolses has descended a 20-metre ice waterfall in the Arctic Circle.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Henry Kissinger dies at age 100;
- One passenger dies after an American military aircraft crashes with six people onboard off the coast of Japan;
- And in sport, Kayaker Aniol Serrasolses has descended a 20-metre ice waterfall in the Arctic Circle
Former American diplomat Henry Kissinger died at age 100.
Mr Kissinger was the US Secretary of State from 1973 to 1977 under the presidencies of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford and served before that as National Security advisor, granting him a significant influence in the foreign policies of the United States for a decade.
Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for his role in the peace process that ended the war in Vietnam, jointly with North Vietnamese diplomat Le Duc Tho, who declined it.
According to his consultancy firm Kissinger Associates, Mr Kissinger died at his home in Connecticut.
Born in Germany and arriving in the United States as a refugee, Henry Kissinger led to the diplomatic opening of China, landmark US-Soviet arms control talks, expanded ties between Israel and its Arab neighbours, and the Paris Peace Accords with North Vietnam.
He was also criticised by many for his alleged involvement in supporting coups and dictatorships overseas, most notably in Latin America, and for his recent visit to Beijing where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
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The government has launched its 15 billion dollar National Reconstruction Fund, aiming to boost local manufacturing in key areas like medical science, renewable technology and defence.
A major focus will be on growing local businesses and companies solely or mainly based in Australia, as China works to restrict access to some critical minerals and supply chains.
Industry Minister Ed Husic says Australia currently produces only one per cent of the world's batteries, despite having half of its critical minerals.
"Rebuilding manufacturing in this country has been a big focus of this government. We learned through the pandemic that supply chains that didn't work in a way that helped the public in their time of need meant that the products that were needed most at the time that they were needed, most weren't there. We determined that Australia be a country that makes things because a country that makes things also makes great, secure. well paying jobs in our suburbs in our regions."
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In Japan,
One member of the American military died in the crash of an aircraft in the ocean.
An OV-22 Osprey trirotor aircraft crashed for reasons yet unknown with six people onboard, with the fate of the five other passengers still uncertain.
One crew member died after being recovered.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he planned to seek a further explanation from the US military, but declined to say whether he would seek a temporary suspension of operations of Osprey aircrafts in Japan.
“I believe that we are at a stage where we must do our utmost to save lives... We plan to seek from the US further details of the accident.”
The coalition has opposed the fund, citing the risk of an inflationary impact and productivity stalling through the use of equity instead of grants.
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And to sports,
Kayaker Aniol Serrasolses has descended a 20-metre ice waterfall in the Arctic Circle - the biggest ever recorded descent of a glacial waterfall.
The Catalan adventurer paddled through the rapids and ice tunnels of the river on the ice cap before descending, in Brasvellbreen in Norway.
As the first person to run the waterfall Serrasolses chose to name the descent "Philip's Ladder" in honour of the crew who helped him ascend the ice cap.
"One of the things that surprised me more is that feeling you had of levitating above the water. You could see the bottom with those textures, with those movements, with those shapes, and you were on top of your kayak, totally transparent. You could look down and see everything."
