TRANSCRIPT
- The Liberal Party has scrapped the net zero by 2050 emissions reduction target
- The United States government shutdown comes to an end...
- The 2028 Olympic competition schedule released, with athletics taking the spotlight.
The Liberal Party has dumped the net zero by 2050 emissions reduction target from its policy platform, four years after adopting it under Scott Morrison.
The position now aligns with their Coalition partner, with the Nationals officially dropping the target earlier this month after their post-election policy review.
It signifies a break in bipartisan support for net zero, which was legislated by Anthony Albanese in 2022.
It follows a three-hour meeting of the Liberal frontbench, a day after a five-hour wider party room debate, during which each party member articulated their views.
Opposition leader Sussan Ley says the Coalition will step away from the climate commitment to focus on affordable energy.
"The Liberal Party will remove a net zero target from our policy, and if elected, we will remove the 2030 target and its net zero by 2050 target from the Climate Change Act."
United States President Donald Trump has signed a bill to end the nation's longest government shutdown, after an historic 43-day funding lapse.
The Republicans used their slight majority in the House of Representatives to get the bill over the finish line with a vote of 222-209.
Democrats had aimed to hold out on a deal until securing an extention of lower cost health coverage under the Affordable Care Act - but there were enough Senate Democrats who agreed to cut a deal with the Republicans to send the bill to the House.
President Trump is celebrating the end of the shutdown and accusing the Democrats of extortion.
"The Democrats tried to extort our country for hundreds of billions of dollars for illegal aliens and people that came into our country illegally from gangs from prisons from mental institutions. They wanted to pay them 1.5 trillion dollars which would have really hurt our healthcare businesses and at levels never seen before. Today we're sending a clear message that we will never give into extortion, because that's what it was."
A teenager who fatally stabbed a grandmother in front of a young girl last year has been jailed for 16 years.
Vyleen White was murdered by the boy*, then aged 16, in a car park at Redbank Plains shopping centre, west of Brisbane, in February 2024.
The 70-year-old's death was a catalyst for the Queensland Liberal National government's controversial "adult crime, adult time" laws, ensuring juveniles face at least 20 years in custody for murder.
However the laws are not retroactive, meaning the teen has been sentenced under Queensland's previous laws after earlier pleading guilty to murder.
Chief Justice Helen Bowskill has described the boy's actions as cowardly and callous when handing down her sentence.
"Your actions on that evening, taking the life of another human being, have caused immense indeed catastrophic pain and suffering to her family. Your actions were callous and cowardly. They are made even worse by the fact that you attacked a defenceless woman right in front of her six-year-old granddaughter."
A self-styled fortune teller and her assistant have been charged over a $70 million fraud and money-laundering syndicate targeting vulnerable clients in Sydney.
Authorities allege the 53 year old woman convinced clients to take out loans with the assistance of the 25 year old, promising a "billionaire" future and taking a cut for herself.
The New South Wales Crime Commission has frozen an additional $15 million in assets linked to the syndicate, bringing total seized assets to $75 million.
The investigation, launched in January 2024 under Strike Force Myddleton, has already seen 17 other people charged over related financial crimes.
Environmental conservationists, including actor Leonardo DiCaprio and representatives of Indigenous communities, have gathered in Washington DC to pay a heartfelt tribute to celebrated primatologist Jane Goodall.
Goodall, who died in October aged 91, transformed the study of chimpanzees and over her decades-long career became one of the world's most revered wildlife advocates.
She died in Los Angeles while on a speaking tour.
Leonardo DiCaprio paid respects to his late friend.
"When most of us think about environmental issues, we tend to dwell on destruction and loss. But Jane led with hope, always. She reminded us that change begins with compassion and that our humanity is our greatest tool. Most people knew her as the icon, the legend. But the Jane I was fortunate enough to get to know was gentle, curious, funny, witty and absolutely unstoppable."
In sport,
The 2028 Olympic competition schedule has been released, with the Los Angeles games to see athletics staged for the entirety of the period for the first time at a modern Olympics.
Historically, athletics usually takes place in the second week of the games, but Los Angeles has decided to swap it with swimming, which will now be staged later in the fortnight.
The women's 100 metre sprint at the L-A Coliseum will launch the games with all heats, semi-finals and the final held on the opening day, while the men's final will follow on day two.
Sprinters normally run a maximum of two races in a day at a major event, with athletes now given three years to prepare for this demanding new challenge.
