TRANSCRIPT:
- The former boyfriend of childcare teacher Molly Ticehurst pleads guilty to her murder
- Chris Bowen says Coalition have counted themselves out of climate conversation.
- Kylian Mbappe helps France book a spot in their eighth consecutive World Cup.
A crowd in the rural hometown of slain childcare educator Molly Ticehurst has burst into applause, after her former boyfriend finally pleaded guilty to her domestic violence murder.
28-year-old Ms Ticehurst was found dead from stab wounds in her home in Forbes in the early hours of April 22, 2024.
Daniel Billings was freed on bail by a local court registrar a fortnight before the murder, despite being charged with several counts of allegedly raping Ms Ticehurst and domestic violence offences.
Mr Billings appeared via audio-video link in Forbes Local Court, in central western New South Wales today to enter the plea.
The 30-year-old also admitted four other charges, including breaching an apprehended violence order, property damage and animal cruelty.
State premier Chris Minns says he hopes Mr Billings spends a long time behind bars.
"The murder of Molly Ticehurst was a shocking shocking crime and now today we can officially call this man for what he is and that is a murderer. The family have been absolutely rocked as has the community, someone who had a wonderfully close family and hundreds of friends has been robbed from our community by a shocking violent crime. I hope they throw the book at him."
Mr Minns also says tough new bail laws for domestic violence offenders should make crimes like this impossible in future.
Climate minister Chris Bowen says he regrets the Liberal party's decision to step away from Australia's emissions reduction target of net zero by 2050.
The Liberals have followed their coalition partners the Nationals in dumping the climate target, saying their priority is to deliver affordable energy for Australians no matter the source.
Mr Bowen says the Opposition have chosen to count themselves out of addressing the threat of a worsening climate crisis.
"I say more in sorrow than anger that the Liberal National Party have decided to count themselves out of that conversation. Clearly the National Party is calling the shots and Barnaby Joyce is calling the shots within the National Party and that is sad for Australia because it means we don't have an opposition fully engaged in the great challenges and opportunities of our time. They just don't get it when it comes to the need for action on climate change. They continue to dispute the science and they continue to dispute the economics that renewables are the cheapest form of energy"
The Liberals have entered discussions with the Nationals over the coming days before a joint partyroom meeting on Sunday will see them finalise a joint policy position.
Dementia has been identified as Australia's leading cause of death, with the disease claiming the lives of 17,500 people last year.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics Causes of Death Data reveals 9.4 per cent of the total number of people who died in Australia last year had a form of dementia, which includes Alzheimer's disease.
These numbers represent an almost 39 [[38.8]] per cent increase in mortality from dementia between 2015 and 2024, which was the first year where dementia caused over 1,000 more deaths than ischaemic heart disease.
Ischaemic heart diseases are the second leading cause of death, accounting for 8.7 per cent of deaths, their lowest since a peak in heart disease deaths in 1968.
The Australian share market has fallen to an almost four-month low and is on track for its worst day in 10 weeks, amid a global pullback in risk assets.
The benchmark ASX-200 index had fallen 125.1 points, or 1.43 per cent by midday today while the broader All Ordinaries had dropped 132.4 points, or 1.47 per cent.
The plunge comes after a similar sell-off on Wall Street, where the S&P-500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both dropped 1.7 per cent.
Pepperstone head of research Chris Weston says there is no single smoking gun that had triggered a broad reduction in risk positioning, but the drawdown had been pronounced.
In football,
France have booked a spot for their eighth consecutive World Cup, after a Kylian Mbappe double helped to secure a 4-0 home victory against Ukraine.
Les Bleus, who are unbeaten in a Euro or World Cup qualifying game since 2019, will be seeded when the draw for next year's tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada is made on December 5.
Captain Mbappe scored twice in the second half of an emotionally charged game that was played on the 10th anniversary of attacks that killed 130 people in Paris.
Coach Didier Deschamps says Mbappe is a hard player to come up against.
“When he is at that level, for the opponents, it is complicated. And then, for us, it makes things easier. We were talking at a time when he had a drought for how many matches. Now it's the other way around. He is extremely decisive, as he is with his club.”
