The number of Australians missing in Nepal rises as the federal government offers further assistance; the devastating impacts of bird flu spreading; a heartbreaking post-siren miss ends Collingwood's AFL finals dream.
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TRANSCRIPT
- The number of Australians missing in Nepal rises as the federal government offers further assistance.
- The devastating impacts of bird flu spreading.
- A heartbreaking post-siren miss ends Collingwood's AFL finals dream.
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Desperately needed aid is beginning to reach villages devastated by immense flash floods triggered by a glacier collapse on the Nepali-Tibet border.
More than 580 people have been confirmed dead in the disaster, but authorities say 1,924 people are still missing in Nepal, and 554 are missing in Tibet.
World Health Organization officials and the Nepalese army, are distributing aid, collected by the U-N, to villages in the hard-hit Nuwakot district.
Dr. Balwinder Singh Chawla, who leads the immunisation and preventable diseases programme at WHO Nepal, is on the ground in Nuwakot.
“The whole village seems to have been washed away. There are families that have been washed away. The health facilities have been washed away, and people are in dire need of support. WHO has been trying to assess the needs and respond to the government of Nepal with whatever best we can at this moment. We have been supporting with with emergency health supplies. We’ve been supporting with tents, we’re supporting with other supplies as required .”
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Foreign Minister Penny Wong has spoken to her Nepali counterpart, saying she offered deep condolences, support and further humanitarian assistance with aid and recovery.
There are now 41 Australians confirmed to be missing in the disaster.
Among those desperately waiting for news is Subansh Prasad Shah, who's worried about his nephew, Sudhir Kumar Shah.
He was working inside a tunnel on the Trishuli hydropower project when the disaster struck.
"So he's a mechanical engineer, he was in the tunnel with his whole group and when this happened everyone just scattered and I don't know who is where and from that time we're not in contact with him, so we're very worried and we're trying to find out information, anything we can find out about him, and definitely for the other people as well, everybody, we're praying to the gods at least those who can be recovered, they will be recovered nicely."
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The Australian Antarctic Division says it will withdraw staff from the Australian territory of Macquarie Island to protect the psychological wellbeing of its scientists amid fears of a bird flu outbreak.
The island is officially yet to be impacted by the disease, but authorities predict a significant mortality event during the upcoming breeding season is highly likely.
The island is home to several species of seals and millions of breeding seabirds including multiple penguin species.
Sean Sullivan from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water says an outbreak would be devastating.
"Imagine living and working in among two and a half 1000 seals within very close proximity in and around the station, and the mass mortality event would cause disruptions in terms of distress of seeing those animals, not being able to help them."
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United States President Donald Trump says the US has entered into an oil agreement with Venezuela.
In a post on social media, President Trump says the deal secures majority US control of more than 65 billion barrels of oil reserves in Venezuela.
He says the agreement, which he calls a 'historic transaction,' will lower gas prices in the US, and strengthen the relationship between the two countries.
The announcement comes as the US President faces growing pressure to address high fuel prices, and the war in Iran continues past its six-month milestone.
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The Energy Minister has clarified Labor's stance on its new policy mandating that data centres must be powered by renewable energy, after concerns that some states would receive different treatment.
State and territory governments met to discuss the policy in National Cabinet during the week.
But following the meeting, there were questions over whether Queensland and the Northern Territory would receive carve-outs, allowing for centres in those jurisdictions to be powered by coal and gas.
Mr Bowen says there the federal government will decide.
"If Queensland really thinks that they can provide data center energy cheaper than renewables, they can put a case together, and if it genuinely turns out to be cheaper than renewables, they can apply for an exemption. The Commonwealth will decide that, not Queensland. We know that renewables are the cheapest form of energy. That's why we're requiring data centers to use renewable energy, because otherwise you'd see everyone's bills go up."
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And in AFL,
Collingwood forward Tim Membrey missed a set shot after the final siren, as the Western Bulldogs hung on for a tense three-point victory in the AFL's first wildcard final.
Membrey's attempt at a match-winning goal ended in heartbreak, with the Bulldogs prevailing 96 to 93 at the MCG on Friday night.
It means they advance to an elimination final next week, while the Magpies' finals campaign is over.
The Bulldogs will find out who they play in next week's elimination final after tonight's [[Saturday]] other wildcard final, between Melbourne and Carlton.
