Five dead, 87 missing in Philippines ferry fire; Nepali diaspora looking out for each other on RU OK day? And in sport, Elena Rybakina becomes first player from Kazakhstan to secure a world number one tennis ranking
TRANSCRIPT
In this bulletin,
- Five dead, 87 missing in Philippines ferry fire
- Nepali diaspora looking out for each other on RU OK day?
- And in sport, Elena Rybakina becomes first player from Kazakhstan to secure a world number one tennis ranking
At least five people have died and 87 are missing after a ferry caught fire in waters near in the Philippines island of Palawan.
According to the country's coast guard, a total of 42 people (38 passengers and four crew) have been rescued, since the fire broke out about two kilometres offshore.
Speaking to a local radio station, Captain Noemi Cayabyab says the passenger vessel MV June Aster - which departed from Manila - had listed 134 passengers and crew on board.
In a social media clip on Facebook posted by the coast guard, the vessel is seen completely engulfed in flames.
Captain Cayabyab says the search and rescue operations are ongoing and the numbers of the dead and missing may change.
--
This RU OK? Day, members of the Nepali diaspora in Australia are warning of the need to take care when viewing updates on the flood disaster on social media.
The United Nations says 1,367 people are confirmed dead and 5,132 remain missing, with the organisation's resident coordinator in Kathmandu, Lila Pieters Yahia, appealing for $50 million to help survivors.
Speaking to SBS Nepali, a former President of Australian Nepalese Journalist Association, Chiranjebi Raj Devkota, says asking someone if they're ok can help a lot.
He says he's developed a strategy to cope with the videos he sees online.
"We need to be very cautious about consuming those kind of videos. We need to take care of our mental health as well when we are looking into these kind of videos. Usually I just switch off the every electronics devices which is giving those kind of information, and then I start to walk, you know, uh, for half an hour or one hour. After that, I have found that, you know, the stress level is definitely down."
--
The latest national drowning report from Royal Life Saving Australia and Surf Life Saving Australia shows 313 people died in Australian waterways and oceans in the past year.
The figures are prompting calls to address growing inequalities, with drowning rates significantly higher in regional and remote areas compared to major cities.
This year's toll remains 10 per cent above the 10-year average, while Australia is still behind its target to cut drowning deaths by 50 per cent by 2030.
CEO of Royal Lifesaving Australia, Dr Justin Scarr, says people in regional areas are more than three times more likely to drown than those living in the city.
"People living in country towns, in the bush, they really struggle to get access to swimming and water safety lessons, often the local pool is not open frequently enough, and of course the waterways in inland communities are deeply concerning, very, very dangerous, often the flat still calm appearance of perhaps the local river or lake, it really hides sudden drop offs, significant changes in water temperature, snags and currents that really can catch people unawares if they don't have strong swimming skills."
--
A sod-turning ceremony's been held in Canberra to make the start of upgrades at the Australian Institute of Sport.
$250 million is being spent on upgrades including a new testing and training centre, indoor sports dome and athletes village and is the most significant upgrade to the site since it was built in the 1980s.
The work is expected to be complete by the end of 2028 ahead of the Brisbane Olympics in 2032.
CEO of the Australian Sports Commission and former Olympian and says the current accommodation is not suitable for some para athletes and the new facilities are a significant upgrade.
"It will be accessible, it will be safe, my goodness won't it be amazing they'll even be able to come and park undercover as they need to transition into the facility, all of these things make a huge difference, but when we look at the dome and the testing and training facilities, being able to uplift that all weather, all year training access, testing access, physiological work for our athletes, to reinforce the already amazing things the AIS team does here, it will absolutely make a difference and not just for this generation but for many to come."
--
Democratic Senator John Fetterman has recorded a video endorsing a Republican candidate, a move being seen as an extraordinary escalation in the worsening rupture between the Pennsylvanian and his party.
Fetterman has grown increasingly isolated from his party as he maintains staunch support of Israel’s war in Gaza and criticizes left-wing candidates who are members of the Democratic Socialists of America.
In the video, which has been played at a Republican Party convention, he describes himself as a "commonsense Democrat" who stands with America.
He calls Republican Dave McCormick "the kind of senator that gets the job done," introducing him to the convention.
"Right back over my shoulder, that's the iconic US steel mill. And that's exactly the kind of thing that we'll work together. And we'll work with President Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life right here in the Steel Valley. I have this opportunity to introduce this great American, a great senator, and yes, he is in a different party, but I'm proud to count him as my great friend."
--
In tennis...
Elena Rybakina has become the first player representing Kazakhstan to secure a world number one tennis ranking, after reaching the US Open semi-finals.
Her Open campaign had appeared to be in jeopardy after she retired injured from a tournament in Cincinnati last month.
But she convincingly disposed of Zheng Qinwen to reach the tournament's final four and secure the number one ranking.
She is the 30th woman to capture the number one spot, dethroning Belarussian Aryna Sabalenka.
Rybakina says it means a lot, but she's not celebrating just yet.
It's a great achievement, and I feel like you will appreciate and think about it even more when you finish your career. Like now, you still need to keep on going, and it's nice whenever you're done to say, Okay, I won these tournaments, I've been No. 1, it's amazing, but right now it's great. You never know how long you're going to stay. It's still many things. I want to win the titles still in the tournaments, so all my thoughts are just for the next match."
***
