Australia stands ready to help Morocco, after an earthquake which killed over 2,000 people; The Prime Minister says he wants to see free- trade negotiations settled; Coco Gauff defeats Aryna Sabalenka to win the women's US Open.
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- Australia stands ready to help Morocco, after an earthquake which killed over 2,000 people
- The Prime Minister says he wants to see free- trade negotiations settled
- Coco Gauff defeats Aryna Sabalenka to win the women's US Open
Moroccan earthquake survivors have huddled for a night in the open on the High Atlas Mountains, a day after the country's deadliest quake in 120 years.
Neighbours were still searching for survivors buried on the slopes, where houses of mud brick, stone and rough wood were cracked open and mosque minarets toppled by the quake that struck late on Friday.
Morocco's Interior Ministry says the death toll rose to 2012 people.
The number injured also rose to 2,059, including 1,404 people who are in a critical condition.
Sanwa Zaaraoui is a tourist from Belgium.
"I was in my (hotel) room and suddenly my bed was lifted up and I started running. The walls came down next to me. I have some pictures, it's unbelievable. The walls next to us in the hotel collapsed, you could hear the people screaming. It was horrible. Two girls who were at the hotel with us died, so it was a double shock for us."
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Morocco’s King Mohammed VI held talks with his councillors to discuss the effects of the massive earthquake that devastated parts of the country late Friday night.
King Mohammed ordered the nation’s armed forces to mobilise specialised search and rescue teams and a surgical field hospital.
Despite an outpouring of offers from around the world, the Moroccan government has not formally asked for assistance, a step required before outside rescue crews can deploy.
Australia's Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles says Australia stands ready to help.
"This is a part of the world that many Australians have visited so I know that there will be an enormous amount of concern and sympathy for the Moroccan people. We'll obviously talk closely with the Moroccan government about ways in which we can help. And we do have an embassy in Rabat and there are investigations now about whether or not Australians have been caught up in the earthquake. My latest advice is that it doesn't appear that any have but obviously it will be a situation which will be closely monitored as well."
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Anthony Albanese says he wants to see negotiations on a free-trade agreement with the European Union settled by the end of the year, as he held talks with world leaders on advancing the deal.
The prime minister held formal talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 summit in India on Saturday, where the pair discussed steps needed to finalise the trade agreement.
"On the sidelines, I have also had discussions with the European Commission, Ursula van der Leyen last night, the discussion with the European Commission was about advancing the Australia European Free Trade Agreement and whether we can get that completed this year."
Australia has been locked in tense negotiations over an agreement with the EU, with the federal government insisting what was on the table did not offer enough market access for Australian producers.
If a deal is not reached by the end of the year, it's unlikely an agreement will be signed off in the near future, due to EU elections taking place.
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Suicide Prevention Australia's latest report indicates Indigenous Australians die by suicide at a rate twice higher than the general populations due to experiences of discrimination, historical dispossession, the forcible removal of children, cultural suppression, and exclusion.
It also shows that LGBTIQ+ people have higher rates of mental ill-health and suicide than the general population in Australia, due to experiences of discrimination and stigma.
Over 65,000 Australians attempt to take their own life annually, and over eight Australians die by suicide every day.
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And in sport,
Coco Gauff's day of destiny has arrived as she came from a set down to beat Aryna Sabalenka and win the US Open.
The 19-year-old became the first American teenager to triumph at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 1999.
"Oh my goodness. it means so much to me. I feel like I'm a little bit in shock in this moment. You know that French Open loss was a heartbreak for me. But I realised, you know, God puts you through tribulations and trials and this makes this moment even more sweeter than I can imagine."
Despite her defeat, Sabalenka will be the new world Number One on Monday after a remarkably consistent year in which she won the Australian Open and reached the semi-finals in Paris and at Wimbledon.
