In this bulletin, The UN fears more than 500 dead as boats carrying Rohingya refugees go missing; a report lays bare the rising use of drugs at work; and in sport Argentina facing possible FIFA sanctions over its semi-final Falklands banner.
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TRANSCRIPT
- UN fears more than 500 dead as boats carrying Rohingya refugees go missing
- A report lays bare the rising use of drugs at work
- Argentina facing possible FIFA sanctions over its semi-final Falklands banner
The United Nations says more than 500 people are feared to have died after the capsizing of two separate boats carrying refugees off the coast of Myanmar.
The UN Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration say the vessels left Myanmar's Rakhine State in late June carrying mostly Rohingya passengers.
The Rohingya are a persecuted Muslim minority that frequently flee to refugee camps in neighbouring Bangladesh before risking dangerous sea journeys to other countries including Malaysia and Indonesia.
One boat carrying about 250 people lost contact shortly after departure, while another carrying about 280 people is believed to have sunk off the coast of Myanmar.
The UN says if the losses are verified, the tragedy would add to the nearly 300 people reported to be missing or to have lost their lives in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal so far this year.
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Iran is signalling it could widen disruption to global shipping beyond the Strait of Hormuz through its Houthi allies in Yemen.
Renewed tensions have erupted after Yemen's Houthi movement accused Saudi Arabia of bombing an airport under their control, leading to concerns Iran could now use its Houthi allies to close the waterway of Bab el-Mandab, near the Red Sea.
Houthi attacks on commercial shipping during the Israel-Hamas war forced many vessels to sail around the southern tip of Africa instead of using the Red Sea, increasing shipping costs and contributing to higher prices around the world.
Royal United Services Institute research fellow Petras Katinas says any renewed disruption would accordingly affect far more than oil supplies.
"Everything can be affected because not only oil or natural gas basically is shipped through this strait. Other cargoes from Asia, such as containers, food as well, fertilisers, coal, and everything else."
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Israeli air strikes in Gaza have killed at least 23 people in the past two days, including three members of the same family.
Relatives, including Abu Anas Shaheen, have gathered to mourn them, saying a young brother survived while his parents and six year old sister all died.
“The child is the lone survivor. How (to live) without a father, without a mother? What kind of cruelty is this that the people of Palestine, the people of Gaza, are enduring? The Palestinian people are witnessing immense sacrifices, sorrows, and tragedies. How will this orphan, this child grow up without a father, without a mother? Where is the mercy? Where is the humanity? Where is human compassion?"
The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect in October of last year.
At least five Israeli soldiers have been killed in the same period.
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The Drug Detection Agency says the number of Australian workers taking drugs on the job has soared over the past year.
The workplace drug-testing provider's latest quarterly report has found amphetamine-type stimulants, including methamphetamine, now account for six in every 10 positive workplace drug tests.
The use of opioids makes up 11.6 per cent of positive tests, but that is a 36 per cent decrease compared with last year.
Speaking to SBS, the Agency's CEO Glenn Dobson says there has been a notable spike in the use of cocaine, accounting for just over 8 per-cent of positive tests.
"I was in a conference, a drug testing conference in the US a couple months ago, and they were making comments that cocaine use has increased significantly in the United States in the last six to nine months. So what this really shows to us is that, as I said, Australia is just part of that large global supply chain these days."
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To sport,
Argentina could face sanctions from FIFA after their national side celebrated their World Cup semi-final win over England by holding up a banner about the Falkland Islands on the pitch in Atlanta.
World football body FIFA bans players and officials from displaying political messages around World Cup matches.
Disagreements have lingered between Argentina and Great Britain over the Falkland Islands, which boiled over into conflict in 1982.
But prior to the match, Argentine boss Lionel Scaloni said he didn't want the game to become about the historic conflict and it was not the only source of tension between the two sides.
"In terms of World Cups we can remember when England also faced Argentina, with Maradona, and the hand of God, that fantastic historical goal, where Argentina beat England as well."
