TRANSCRIPT
- Six policemen and an Orthodox priest have been killed by gunmen in southern Russia;
- Search underway for teenagers who triggered the lockdown of a shopping centre in Adelaide;
- More weight placed on the match against India to keep Australia's T20 World Cup title hopes alive.
Russian authorities say six policemen and an Orthodox priest are dead after gunmen opened fire at a synagogue, a church and a police checkpoint in Russia's southernmost region of Dagestan.
The interior ministry for the North Caucasus region said at least two of the attackers have also been killed.
At least 12 police officers were wounded in the shootings.
Local media reports that street fights were gripping Makhachkala, the main town of the majority-Muslim region that borders Chechnya.
Russia's Investigative Committee says the hunt for remaining gunmen is ongoing.
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Police in South Australia are searching for three male teenagers who started a fight in the food of a shopping centre that sent it into lockdown.
The incident happened at 3pm [[local time]] on Sunday [[23 June]], with police alleging the youths began fighting in the food court area of the Westfield Marion shopping centre in Oaklands Park.
Some of the individuals were reported to have weapons, which police said were expandable batons and possibly knives.
Assistant Commissioner Scott Duval says an investigation is underway to find the three male teenagers who managed to get away.
"The incident really involved three boys approaching another group of boys. We are not clear on the intention of that at this stage. But I stress that it does not appear to be a random attack. And it does not appear that three boys were intending on targeting anyone else in the centre. So I encourage these boys to hand themselves into place - perhaps they did not intend for this occur. But they need to understand the consequences of their actions."
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Australian supermarket giants, including Woolworths and Coles, face billion-dollar fines under a stronger grocery code.
The code will now be made mandatory for all supermarkets with an annual Australian revenue of greater than $5 billion.
Penalties for more harmful breaches include a $10 million fine or 10 per cent of the company’s annual turnover.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says all the recommendations from the review of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct will be implemented, as part of a wider cost-of-living crackdown.
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Opposition leader Peter Dutton has responded to criticism from former Labor prime minister Paul Keating on the Coalition's nuclear energy plan.
The Smart Energy Council* says the Coalition's pledge to build seven nuclear reactors could cost taxpayers as much as $600 billion, while supplying just 3.7 per cent of Australia’s energy mix by 2050.
In a statement, Mr Keating says the Coalition's plan threatens to derail efforts to build a "reliable and dependable framework for investment in renewables".
Mr Dutton has responded by calling Mr Keating's criticism a "petulant outburst" that undermines the national interest and has defended the nuclear energy plan.
He says detailed costings would be released "very soon".
But John Grimes, the CEO of Smart Energy Council, says nuclear energy is a costly distraction.
"What we need to employ is a wartime response to the transition of the energy system. To work collaboratively with industry, unlock the vast amount of resources and investment that are standing by to help the transition so we don't have a minute to lose. What Peter Dutton does by putting a stick into the spokes of progress is actually makes that much more difficult and that is why what is proposing is so dangerous and so costly."
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And to cricket, Australia still has a path towards a T20 World Cup title, but it won't be easy after losing for the first time ever to Afghanistan.
The loss means the Aussies may rely on net run-rate to make the tournament's final four, even if they are able to beat India in their last Super Eight game on Tuesday.
Australian former cricketer Brad Haddin told the Willow Talk Cricket Podcast, the loss is a huge setback for Australia.
"There were good moments in the game where they did have some, they did create some opportunities with the run-outs. They just missed the stumps a couple of times. But it was more about the pressure that Afghan put on the Australians. So they are going to have to fix that up going into the next game."
