Support offered to police after a deadly Melbourne crash as the state government defends safety measures; A ban on Australian live cattle exports lifted by Indonesia; Carlos Alcaraz's reign as US Open champion comes to an end.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Support offered to police after a deadly Melbourne crash, as the state government defends safety measures;
- A ban on Australian live cattle exports lifted by Indonesia;
- Carlos Alcaraz's reign as US Open champion comes to an end.
The police officers who responded to the scene of a deadly crash in Melbourne's CBD on Friday night will be offered counselling.
Superintendent Zorka Dunstan says they want to make sure the arresting officers are supported.
"These things are never great, so, you know, welfare is always a consideration for us and so we'll provide that to those members."
Meanwhile Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has said there is nothing more the government could have done to stop a car ploughing into pedestrians and cars in the city centre.
Concrete bollards were installed at some of Melbourne's best known locations after six people were killed and dozens injured when James Gargasoulas ran them down in Bourke St Mall six years ago, with more bollards, extra CCTV and an emergency speaker system later installed as well.
Mr Andrews says they have already implemented every measure possible all they can to prevent incidents like this.
"I don't believe - and it's the judgement of experts in this field - that there's nothing more that can be done. I'm not aware of any further engineering treatment that we could put in place beyond the very substantial efforts we've already made."
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Still in Melbourne, and police have launched an investigation into a fatal shooting in the city's north west.
The still unidentified man was shot at a cafe in Keilor on the Old Calder Highway earlier this morning.
Police say they believe the shooting was a targeted attack.
There are unconfirmed reports that the man had gangland crime links.
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More than 60 people remain unaccounted for a month after a ferocious fire razed the Hawaiian island of Maui.
The official death toll of the August 8 fire still stands at 115 people, a number unchanged in more than two weeks.
But Hawaii Governor Josh Green says that may not be the final number, with authorities doing their best to track everyone down.
"The FBI has reported that 66 of our people are potentially still unaccounted for based on calls and emails they've received - and in many cases, they only have names of these individuals on a list and no other information. This is the number that initially was over 3,000 and then dropped to 385 last week and now, I repeat is at 66. The Maui Police Department continues to make daily progress on missing persons reports and encourages families to share information about any missing loved ones."
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Indonesia has lifted its ban on live cattle imports from Australia after a lumpy skin disease scare.
The country had stopped the importation from four Australian facilities in early August amid concern a small number of Australian cattle had been detected with the disease.
The Department of Agriculture says it was able to reassure Indonesian authorities that cattle exports could resume after providing negative test results for lumpy skin disease in Australian cattle.
Acting deputy secretary Nicola Hinder says L-S-D has never been detected in Australia and the country remains free from the disease.
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The Coalition says the government owes the United States an apology over the cancellation of a $1.2 billion NASA-backed satellite program.
Funding for the program was terminated in the May 9 budget but emails obtained by The Australian newspaper through Freedom of Information appear to suggest that two key government departments sought to keep that cancellation news from U-S officials until hours before it was announced on June 29.
Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ought to apologise for this to U-S president Joe Biden.
"What these emails show is that it was the Prime Minister's office with the Industry Minister's office who actually demanded that this be kept in the dark from the U-S. The Prime Minister needs to give President Biden an honest and frank explanation of what went on, followed by a sincere apology. This is not the way we treat our most important ally."
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The New South Wales State Library has reopened an important phone hotline to mark the 50th anniversary of Gay Pride Week, the first national protest that ended with violent mass arrests in Sydney.
People from across the country and world are being invited to record their thoughts, feelings and experiences through an on-site phone booth or dedicated number, with messages to become part of the library's LGBTQI+ collection.
Messages can go for up to five minutes and be left anonymously.
The Pride Line (02 9273 1212) will remain open 24 hours a day until October 30.
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Daniil Medvedev has ended Carlos Alcaraz's reign as US Open champion, eliminating the Spanish superstar in the semi to set up a final showdown against Novak Djokovic.
Medvedev says he's thrilled to have come out on top.
"Amazing, especially after beating someone like Carlos. I lost two times easy against him this year so before the match for sure a lot of doubts."
Top seed Alcaraz had been trying to become the first man to claim consecutive championships in New York since Roger Federer won five in a row from 2004-08.
Alcaraz will now relinquish the world No.1 ranking to Djokovic, no matter what happens in the final.
