A dire climate warning from the United Nations; The EU to tighten sanctions against Russia; And in sport, North Melbourne's boss speaks out on Clarkson's sacking.
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TRANSCRIPT
- A dire climate warning from the United Nations
- The EU to tighten sanctions against Russia
- North Melbourne's boss speaks out on Clarkson's sacking
A United Nations report warns the world is likely to exceed the 1.5 degree emissions target within years.
This would expose communities to further extreme weather events and rising sea levels.
Even under the most optimistic scenario, global temperatures are projected to peak at 1.8 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
UN officials have urged governments to speed-up emissions cuts, saying the challenge is no longer avoiding a 1.5-degree breach but limiting its scale and duration.
University of Exeter climate scientist Richard Betts said the world should not simply accept this disappointing outcome.
“The new message is about what we do about this. It's a reality check, we have to live with this warmer world and put in place adaptation and resilience, but there's still a lot we can do to limit warming. We have to still be reducing emissions to limit the amount of overshoot and start taking carbon out of the atmosphere to bring temperatures back down again. So it's about responses rather than just sort of saying it's happening.”
Environmental groups said the findings should be a global wake-up call
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The European Union says it will tighten sanctions against Russia, likening an attempted attack at Leipzig / Halle Airport to "state sponsored terrorism."
This week, Germany deemed Russia responsible for the attempted drone attack at the strategic airport last month.
Russia rejects the accusations.
The EU's Kaja Kallas says there's "broad support" among ministers to move ahead with an EU visa entry ban for Russian ex-combatants, and to impose tougher visa restrictions for Russian tourists.
“Leipzig attacks had hallmarks of state-sponsored terrorism. What happened in Leipzig was not an isolated incident. Since 2022, we have seen systematic attacks across Europe. Sabotage, cyberattacks, espionage are becoming more frequent and more brazen."
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Iran has launched missile and drone attacks on US bases across the Middle East, as several days of escalating strikes threaten to reignite the six-month war.
The latest flare-up began on Sunday, when the US struck Iranian rocket launchers in the Strait of Hormuz, saying they were being prepared to deploy sea mines.
Iran retaliated against US forces in Jordan, before Washington launched a much broader wave of strikes across Iran on Tuesday.
Tehran has now struck back again, targeting US assets in Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq.
President Donald Trump says the US strikes targeted newly-built Iranian military equipment and were also retaliation for an attack on an American base in Jordan.
"They were trying to build a rocket that drops mines. Who does that? Did you ever build a rocket that dropped... I never heard of such a thing. But that's what they were doing. They were building it. It was almost finished, so we took it out. We saw that they were building it. We see everything that they're doing. They can't move. They can't go to the bathroom without us seeing it. So we saw that. We took it out. We took out some other things. And then we hit them last night because they took a shot at us in Jordan, at our base in Jordan. We knocked all of them down."
At least 15 people have been killed in the latest wave of US strikes on Iran, according to Iranian state media.
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(WARNING: This story contains a reference to sexual assault.)
Police have interviewed four Sydney men as part of a sexual assault investigation linked to the Sydney Swans.
The investigation relates to allegations made by women who were at the Pullman Hotel following Sydney’s match against Essendon last month.
Victorian detectives travelled to N-S-W this week to speak with the men, while three others were interviewed as witnesses.
No charges have been laid against the Sydney Swans players, and they deny any wrongdoing.
The AFL's integrity unit is conducting a separate investigation, which will not proceed until the police inquiry is complete.
(If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.)
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A new study has found Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability face significant and preventable barriers before, during and after imprisonment.
Research conducted by the University of Melbourne's BlakAbility team found that disability can be unrecognised or misinterpreted, which academics say can lead to criminalisation rather than support.
The team analysed previous studies and conducted interviews with people who have experienced incarceration, their family members, legal aid practitioners and solicitors.
Ngiyampaa and Wiradjuri woman, Roslyn Sackley helped lead the study and says it's essential that disability services provide culturally safe support.
"The lack of professional people in remote, rural and remote areas. And being treated as Indigenous people in the community, where they are not labelled. They are treated for their strengths, looked on for strengths, rather than their weaknesses."
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North Melbourne football boss Todd Viney says it may take time to rebuild his friendship with Alastair Clarkson, after helping deliver the news that the coach would not be retained beyond 2026.
Viney, a long-time friend and former colleague of Clarkson, described the decision as difficult but says he was committed to seeing North Melbourne's rebuild through.
He says Clarkson did not expect the sacking and was disappointed by the news.
Despite the split, Viney has praised Clarkson's contribution to the club and says he hopes their friendship will recover.
