Serbia defies EU warnings, honours the so-called Butcher of Bosnia with state funeral; The federal government to introduce beefed-up social media laws to parliament today; And in tennis, American Jessica Pegula through to the US Open quarter-finals.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Serbia defies EU warnings, honours the so-called Butcher of Bosnia with state funeral
- The federal government to introduce beefed-up social media laws to parliament today
- American Jessica Pegula through to the US Open quarter-finals
The so-called Butcher of Bosnia, Ratko Mladic, has been buried at a funeral with full military honours in front of crowds of mourners.
The Bosnian military commander died while serving a life sentence after being found guilty of genocide - Europe's first case since World War II.
Mladic was honoured with a procession and his body was held in state in Belgrade before the burial, as the Serbian government acted in defiance of E-U warnings against honouring the war criminal.
His son, Darko Mladic, thanked the crowds.
”Ratko reunited the Serbian people in his death, for the second time. First time when he went (to The Hague) to defend Serbian people and today when we see him off. Thank you all.”
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At least 12 people, including two children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on a village in southern Lebanon.
The strikes hit Kafr Rumman, near Nabatiyeh, despite a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel reached more than two months ago.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry says one strike destroyed a building, killing 11 people, while another killed a paramedic.
Mona Farhat is a relative of Mustafa, an eight-year-old boy injured in the attacks.
She says residents were preparing for the school day when the strikes hit.
"Everyone was getting ready and prepared to go to school. His father is a school teacher and his mother works at the ministry of labour. What did they target? What is the goal they are targeting? Do they want us to leave our land? They are mistaken. We will not leave our land and our home."
The US-brokered ceasefire has repeatedly been violated, with Israel carrying out strikes in Lebanon and Hezbollah launching attacks against Israeli forces.
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Nepal has marked its final day of official mourning for the catastrophic flooding along the country's border with China.
More than 1,380 people have died, and more than 5,500 are missing after the flood, triggered by a glacier breaking off, which occurred on the 26th of August.
Search teams are still looking for survivors, particularly after four miraculous rescues in recent days.
Australia has sent social workers and Australian Federal Police representatives to help, as well as things like hygiene kits, solar light towers, and shelters.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the government continues to work with local diaspora communities as well.
He's told federal parliament the way Australia as a whole has rallied to help Nepal is a credit to the nation.
"And I say to Australians: I thank you for your compassion, your empathy, and characteristic generosity with which you have dug deep and donated to the emergency action appeal. That spirit stands as a powerful reminder that, no matter the scale of what we face, we face it together, and we face it with our shared spirit of humanity."
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Social media companies could give users a choice to turn off their algorithm, under draft laws set to be unveiled by the government this week.
The Labor party is expected to release an exposure draft of its Digital Duty of Care legislation, as part of increased efforts to tackle online harm.
The proposal has sparked some criticism from the Coalition, with the Greens calling for a tougher approach including a requirement for social media users to opt-in rather than opt-out of the algorithm.
Senior lecturer in Media and Communications at Swinburne University, Belinda Barnet, is welcoming the proposal but believes an opt-in mechanism could prove more effective.
"I actually agree with the Greens on this particular point, in that it would be far more effective if it were opt-in. So, in other words, the default option, particularly for kids, is this really quite addictive component of social media platforms. If that component were missing and you had to actually ask for it, it would make users think about how that content is curated."
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New South Wales Opposition Leader, Kellie Sloane, is calling for federal government intervention to help stop organised crime in Sydney.
The state government has unveiled a package of proposed reforms to help stop organised crime after the deaths of several innocent people in botched gangland shootings.
The proposed reforms include new aggravated offences for gangland conspiracy and attempted murder.
Premier Chris Minns says he's working with the federal government to try and stop overseas-based criminals ordering shootings in Sydney.
But Ms Sloane says whatever is being done is not good enough, and Police Minister Yasmin Catley is to blame.
"Yeah, this is absolutely a crime crisis. And we are seeing a Police Minister who is not up to the job. And one of her key failings is her inability to pick up the phone to Canberra and say: clear the paperwork, drag these criminals back form their overseas coward's castles where they are just picking up the phone and dialling up a young crook to go do their dirty work. That is where we can stop this."
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In tennis, Jessica Pegula has set up a quarter-final showdown with fellow American Emma Navarro at the U-S Open in new York.
Pegula has defeated Romanian, Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 25 minutes in their forth round match.
Pegula says the match was harder than it looks on the scoreboard.
"I played very well tonight. Maybe I didn't, like, serve my best, but I felt like from off the ground, I played a really high level. I felt like I was moving well. Even though the score seemed a little bit more straightforward, I felt like it was a really tough two sets."
