Penny Wong assures pacific nations of Australia's commitment to climate action
A mystery illness in rural Eastern Highlands Province has reportedly claimed the lives of more than 10 people. Health authorities have been unable to verify the reports.
Fiji's police commissioner says the country's new Counter Narcotics Bureau needs to be reviewed after a police officer working with it was arrested over a recent methamphetamine bust.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has raised its concern over the risk to food supplies and marine life posed by Japan's controlled release of treated nuclear wastewater.
There's debate in Guam over whether is should consider whether to become the United States' 51st State. The territory's decolonization committee says it must be determined by the people.
Former Ikale Tahi coach Toutai Kefu being appointed to lead a First Nations-Pasifika fifteen against the British and Irish Lions in July.
With two rounds to go in the Super Rugby competition, Moana Pasifika are ranked 6th on the table and in a good position to make into the playoffs for the first time.
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News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
Alarm bells as Russia, China team up in Indo-Pacific
Ukraine's ambassador is warning of a growing threat from China and Russia as Australia marks the end of World War II in the Pacific, saying what happens in his country could 'open a Pandora's box' in the region. On August 15, 1945, the Japanese unconditionally surrendered after the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing hundreds of thousands and unveiling the terrifying might of nuclear weapons. The devastating attack came after nearly four years of heavy fighting that saw Japanese planes bomb Darwin – the only foreign attack on Australian soil. Most of the nearly 40,000 Australians who died fighting the Axis powers lost their lives defending the country against Japan's efforts to take the Pacific. In a statement to NewsWire, Veterans Affairs Minister Matt Keogh said August 15 was 'an important opportunity to acknowledge our greatest generation – both the veterans still with us and those long lost'. 'The sacrifices they made shall never be forgotten,' he said. Eighty years on, the spectre of conflict looms large in the region, with Xi Jinping's desires on Taiwan driving fears of an 'imminent' threat, as the Trump administration describes it. China is the big fish, but Russia too has a formidable presence in the region, as it showed just last week with 'routine' war games with the Chinese. Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ukraine's envoy in Canberra, told NewsWire that Australia should keep a close eye on the deepening defence ties between Beijing and Moscow. 'Indonesia and Russia hosted joint naval exercises in November of last year – why?' he said. 'Why would Russian corvettes would need to be that close to Australia? 'Is there any specific reason why the Russians could be requesting from the Indonesians an air base to locate their strategic bombers? To do what?' 'Pandora's box' Mr Myroshnychenko is no stranger to Vladimir Putin's war schemes. The Russian President ordered the invasion of his country just weeks after his appointment as ambassador to Australia. Mr Putin is set to meet Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday (local time) to discuss a peace deal for Ukraine. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has not been invited. Mr Myroshnychenko was hesitant to pre-empt the talks but said if Ukraine is told to cede territory to Russia, it could be a 'blueprint' for Australia as it manages an increasingly militaristic rivalry with China. 'This is dismantlement of the rules based international system,' he said. 'A permanent member of the UN Security Council, which has nuclear weapons, can change borders by force. 'That's a kind of blueprint which will be in place if the Russians are rewarded for their war of aggression.' He said it would 'open up a Pandora's box in the South China Sea'. 'It will embolden and inspire other authoritarian leaders, of which they all are authoritarian here in the region,' Mr Myroshnychenko said, noting a handful of exceptions, such as New Zealand and Japan. With few democracies around Australia and international norms crumbling, he said 'you need to be strong'. 'You need to have strong military,' Mr Myroshnychenko said. 'You need to have the available capabilities that could deter a potential enemy from taking over Australia, or hurting your interests, or even just projecting power and coercing you. 'That would be a huge win for China and a huge win for other authoritarian leaders.' He said the fact that Russia is a Pacific country means Australia has skin in the game in Ukraine. 'They have a huge Pacific fleet with strategic bombers, nuclear submarines, and they are interested in projecting global power,' Mr Myroshnychenko said. He is not the first to stress the links between events in Europe and the simmering Indo Pacific. China is pumping hundreds of billions into Russia's economy, fuelling the Kremlin's war machine. Meanwhile, growing numbers of North Korean troops are joining Moscow's forces on the front lines in Ukraine. The regional uncertainty is not lost on Canberra. Both Labor and the opposition often caution Australia is facing 'the most strategically challenging circumstances' since the Second World War. With self-evident parallels of warring parties in Europe and tinderbox conditions in the Indo-Pacific, Mr Keogh said Victory in the Pacific Day was a reminder of the 'relationships forged' out of the worst war ever waged. 'This day of commemoration is an important reminder of our place in the world, the importance of the relationships forged in the Second World War – alliances that continue to be important to this day, and the need to ensure stability in our region into the future,' he said.
Sydney Morning Herald
13 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
WA news LIVE: Perth hills driver to fight charges over Christmas Day head-on crash
Latest posts Latest posts 9.43am Perth hills driver to fight charges over Christmas Day head-on crash By A Hovea man who was allegedly behind the wheel of a car involved in a horror head-on collision on Christmas Day in Perth's east has pleaded not guilty to six counts of dangerous driving. Ryan North, 47, was allegedly behind the wheel of a Toyota Corolla hatchback when it and a Hyundai Santa Fe station wagon collided on the afternoon of December 25 in Greenmount. The crash happened on the Great Eastern Highway near Old York Road, about five kilometres east of Midland. Two women aged 45 and 48, each a passenger in one of the vehicles, were taken by ambulance to Royal Perth Hospital with critical injuries. The 48-year-old male driver, and two other passengers aged 17 and 10 who were in the Hyundai Santa Fe, were taken to hospital with serious injuries. North sustained minor injuries as a result of the crash, police said at the time. He was charged earlier this month with six counts of careless driving causing bodily harm and made his first appearance in Midland Magistrates Court yesterday. During the hearing, North pleaded not guilty to all charges and said he wanted a neurological report to be provided to the court, as well as crash expert opinion. He will be back before Perth Magistrates Court in November. 9.43am Across Australia and around the world Here's what's making headlines elsewhere today: Indo-Pacific experts in the United States have urged Australia to speak more clearly about the threats posed by China, including how it would respond in the event of a regional conflict, or risk the AUKUS submarine agreement that is now under review by the Trump administration. It comes after US lawmakers from both main parties pushed Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to keep the deal, ahead of the review's completion in coming months. European leaders have aired a potential deal to halt the war in Ukraine under plans to be put to Russian leader Vladimir Putin in talks with US President Donald Trump on Friday, signalling a negotiation over territory as long as a ceasefire comes first. The proposal came in an online meeting attended by Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with Zelensky telling his European counterparts that Putin was 'bluffing' about his desire for peace. The Australian sharemarket is set to advance on Thursday as US stocks drifted around record levels on Wednesday. Wall Street made gains after expectations reached a virtual consensus that the US Federal Reserve would cut its main interest rates for the first time this year at its next meeting in September, boosting investment prices and the economy while making it cheaper for households and businesses to borrow. 9.42am Today's weather 9.42am Welcome to our live news blog Good morning readers and welcome to our live news blog for Thursday, August 14. Making headlines today is new data from property analysts Cotality, formerly CoreLogic, which reveals Perth prices are – surprise, surprise – at a record high and have increased the most out of any capital city bar one. The data revealed Perth's dwelling value growth was up 0.9 per cent over the month and 2.6 per cent over the rolling quarter. Cotality economist Kaytlin Ezzy said Perth's strong value growth was driven by a combination of low advertised supply and elevated demand. Holly Thompson has the full story. You can read it here. Meanwhile, an Ellenbrook teenager has spent his first night behind bars after his suspended sentence for coward-punching a fellow student was overturned on Wednesday. The 14-year-old victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was at Ellenbrook Central shopping centre with friends in April when he was struck from behind. His 16-year-old attacker, who was 15 at the time of the attack and cannot be named due to his age, was confronted by shoppers and fled the scene. On Wednesday last week, the 16-year-old was handed a six-month suspended sentence with supervision, but that decision was overturned days later by Children's Court President Hylton Quail, who said a strong message must be sent to about the dangers of one-punch attacks.
The Age
13 hours ago
- The Age
WA news LIVE: Perth hills driver to fight charges over Christmas Day head-on crash
Latest posts Latest posts 9.43am Perth hills driver to fight charges over Christmas Day head-on crash By A Hovea man who was allegedly behind the wheel of a car involved in a horror head-on collision on Christmas Day in Perth's east has pleaded not guilty to six counts of dangerous driving. Ryan North, 47, was allegedly behind the wheel of a Toyota Corolla hatchback when it and a Hyundai Santa Fe station wagon collided on the afternoon of December 25 in Greenmount. The crash happened on the Great Eastern Highway near Old York Road, about five kilometres east of Midland. Two women aged 45 and 48, each a passenger in one of the vehicles, were taken by ambulance to Royal Perth Hospital with critical injuries. The 48-year-old male driver, and two other passengers aged 17 and 10 who were in the Hyundai Santa Fe, were taken to hospital with serious injuries. North sustained minor injuries as a result of the crash, police said at the time. He was charged earlier this month with six counts of careless driving causing bodily harm and made his first appearance in Midland Magistrates Court yesterday. During the hearing, North pleaded not guilty to all charges and said he wanted a neurological report to be provided to the court, as well as crash expert opinion. He will be back before Perth Magistrates Court in November. 9.43am Across Australia and around the world Here's what's making headlines elsewhere today: Indo-Pacific experts in the United States have urged Australia to speak more clearly about the threats posed by China, including how it would respond in the event of a regional conflict, or risk the AUKUS submarine agreement that is now under review by the Trump administration. It comes after US lawmakers from both main parties pushed Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to keep the deal, ahead of the review's completion in coming months. European leaders have aired a potential deal to halt the war in Ukraine under plans to be put to Russian leader Vladimir Putin in talks with US President Donald Trump on Friday, signalling a negotiation over territory as long as a ceasefire comes first. The proposal came in an online meeting attended by Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with Zelensky telling his European counterparts that Putin was 'bluffing' about his desire for peace. The Australian sharemarket is set to advance on Thursday as US stocks drifted around record levels on Wednesday. Wall Street made gains after expectations reached a virtual consensus that the US Federal Reserve would cut its main interest rates for the first time this year at its next meeting in September, boosting investment prices and the economy while making it cheaper for households and businesses to borrow. 9.42am Today's weather 9.42am Welcome to our live news blog Good morning readers and welcome to our live news blog for Thursday, August 14. Making headlines today is new data from property analysts Cotality, formerly CoreLogic, which reveals Perth prices are – surprise, surprise – at a record high and have increased the most out of any capital city bar one. The data revealed Perth's dwelling value growth was up 0.9 per cent over the month and 2.6 per cent over the rolling quarter. Cotality economist Kaytlin Ezzy said Perth's strong value growth was driven by a combination of low advertised supply and elevated demand. Holly Thompson has the full story. You can read it here. Meanwhile, an Ellenbrook teenager has spent his first night behind bars after his suspended sentence for coward-punching a fellow student was overturned on Wednesday. The 14-year-old victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was at Ellenbrook Central shopping centre with friends in April when he was struck from behind. His 16-year-old attacker, who was 15 at the time of the attack and cannot be named due to his age, was confronted by shoppers and fled the scene. On Wednesday last week, the 16-year-old was handed a six-month suspended sentence with supervision, but that decision was overturned days later by Children's Court President Hylton Quail, who said a strong message must be sent to about the dangers of one-punch attacks.
