TRANSCRIPT
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has expressed her outrage at the latest Russian attacks on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.
Officials say at the drone and missile attack on the city centre killed at least 15, injured 38, and damaged nearly 100 buildings.
Ms von der Leyen says two missiles struck within 50 metres of the European's Union delegation, in the worst attack on Kyiv since July.
None of the EU diplomatic staff was hurt, but the delegation's offices sustained some damage.
Ms Von der Leyen says it's a grim reminder of what's at stake.
"It shows that the Kremlin will stop at nothing to terrorise Ukraine, blindly killing civilians: men, women, and children, and even targeting the European Union. We will come forward soon with our 19th package of hard-fighting sanctions. And in parallel, we are advancing the work on the Russian frozen assets to contribute to Ukraine's defence and reconstruction."
Meanwhile, Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov claims that although the fighting continues, Russia remains interested in a negotiated end to the conflict.
"RUSSIAN THEN ENGLISH VO: "The special military operation continues. You can see that attacks on Russian infrastructure, and often on Russian civilian infrastructure, by the Kyiv regime are also continuing. The Russian armed forces are also fulfilling their tasks. At the same time, Russia remains interested in continuing the negotiation process in order to achieve our goals through political and diplomatic means."
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The United Kingdom, France and Germany have launched a 30-day process to reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran over its disputed nuclear program.
The foreign ministers of the so-called E-3 group wrote to the U-N to raise the possibility of sanctions on Iran if it does not return to negotiations with the international community.
The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to a 2015 nuclear deal reached with Iran that lifted sanctions on the country in return for restrictions on its nuclear program.
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Politicians in the U-S state of Minnesota are calling for stricter gun laws after the latest school shooting.
Two children have been killed and 17 others wounded when an assailant, armed with three guns, fired through a stained-glass window into a Catholic church, where students were attending mass.
The mayor of the city of Minneapolis, where the shooting occurred, Jacob Frey [[fray]], says there must be a national ban on so-called assault weapons.
"We're not talking about your father's hunting rifle here. We're talking about guns that are built to pierce armour and kill people. Why do we have them coming in by the trunkloads onto our streets around the country?"
The perpetrator, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, took his own life near the scene of the shooting.
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A Senate inquiry is set to probe Labor's decision to delay the release of tens of thousands of home care packages for older Australians from July to November this year.
Around 83,000 packages were delayed when Labor pushed back the implementation of its new Aged Care Act, citing concerns providers weren't ready for the increase.
Greens spokesperson Penny Allman-Payne says some people are waiting up to 12 months for help with things like feeding themselves, showering, and cleaning their homes.
She says by the 1st of November there will be around 100,000 people on the home care waiting list, but legislation currently before the Senate could fix this.
"We need to do something about this. Older people should not be dying while they are waiting for care, and I encourage the Labor Government to listen and act. The Greens-led Senate inquiry into aged care will be looking at this issue, and we're going to hear from providers that on the first of July, they were ready to go, and that Labor should have released these Home Care Packages, and there was no need for the delay."
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Thousands of skilled permanent migrants are facing lengthy struggles to have their qualifications recognised, and it's stifling Australia's productivity.
That's according to research from Activate Australia's Skills, a campaign spearheaded by Settlement Services International, and 100 partners from industry, unions and social services.
The research found unlocking the migrant workforce would add 20,000 teachers, 50,000 engineers, 16,000 nurses, and 5,000 psychologists to the workforce.
Liam Byrne is with the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
He says the issue is causing problems on many levels.
"Our skills recognition system is failing many workers who come to this country, indeed, many workers who are already here. We know that this system is extremely costly and burdensome to those that are seeking to have their skills recognised. There's a lack of transparency in relation to skills recognition that vastly needs to be improved. Most importantly, we recognise that migrant workers in particular are vulnerable, and we've heard shocking stories of exploitation when it comes to skills assessment recognition of foreign qualifications."
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A new report from tech giant Amazon says large Australian businesses are delaying the implementation of artificial intelligence technology dure to both concerns about its regulation, and a lack of skilled workers in the sector.
Its survey of more than 2,000 executives and individuals has found more than more half the companies in Australia use AI, but most use it only at a basic level.
Amazon says any AI regulation has to be supportive of innovation, and businesses want A-I regulation that are ethical, yet also easy to follow.
The federal government says AI is key to Australia's future, but has only issued voluntary A-I guidelines so far.
It is yet to respond to public consultation about mandatory guardrails.
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In the National Rugby League, Canterbury Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo says overcoming a vastly-weakened Penrith Panthers side was a bigger challenge than it might at first appear to be.
The Bulldogs have beaten the Panthers, 28 points to 4, at Sydney's Olympic Stadium in the opening match of Round 26.
With the finals series just two weeks away, the four-time defending champion Panthers rested a whopping 16 of their top players for this game.
Ciraldo says his side prepared for the game well enough to avoid a potential trap.
"That was a big challenge, and, as much as we talked about how strong our mindset was going to be, the players needed to do it, and they did it. They prepared as well as they have ever prepared, and for 60 minutes, really went about a professional performance."
Forward Jacob Preston scored three of the Bulldogs' five tries in the victory.
