More than 200 organisations are converging on Canberra today to discuss and plan for Australia's next bushfire season. State emergency services, charities and businesses including Telstra, Linfox  and Toll Group will attend the two day summit.

Canberra

Extreme weather events are occurring more frequently amid rising sea-levels and increasing temperatures.

Climate Crisis

Government hosts disaster preparedness summit

What's really interesting about this summit is the range of people that are there. It's not just the usual sorts of fire authorities, people in uniform, it is all of those others that you mentioned there, charities for one, the Australian Red Cross is here, telecommunications companies who play such an important role during natural disasters and ensuring people can simply communicate with one another. And also supermarkets even, the Coles Group and Aldi are both here talking logistics and transport and making sure that food and water can get into places when they're needed in those natural disaster scenarios. So a remarkable range of people coming together because there are these great concerns about the looming fire season and how hot and dry it might be, particularly after such a wet and cool few years, the regrowth that's occurred right up and down the east coast of Australia in particular. We've had a warm start to spring and seen a few fires spring out already, nothing particularly serious, but perhaps a bit of a concerning sign of what might lie ahead as the weather warms up. We've heard concerns in some bushfire prone areas about whether enough has been done to prepare national parks, state forests and other bushland for the fire season. Has there been enough hazard reduction burning, for example, have fire trails been prepared? We've even heard from former parks managers saying they're particularly concerned about that kind of infrastructure. The Emergency Services Minister Murray Watt says state agencies have been doing absolutely everything they can and he says Australia is in a much better position heading into this disaster season, particularly this bushfire season, than what it was back in 2019-20 heading into the Black Summer bushfires. And the New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner Rob Rogers agrees. He says lessons have been learned and Australia is in a better place. Let's have a quick listen to what he said ahead of this summer this morning. New South Wales had a fairly extensive inquiry which recommended improvements, more aircraft, changing systems, more staff to help with emergency management around the state and those things have been implemented so absolutely I'd agree with that. It's been a trajectory since that fire season of making sure that whilst I'm very comfortable that New South Wales I believe did a really good job, but we've also got to try and look at improving and do even better next time. Tom, work is underway on a new communication system for emergency agencies? Yeah, this was announced this morning and will certainly be a talking point at this summit in Canberra today. It's establishing this new Public Safety Mobile Broadband Taskforce. Now what this is, is addressing concerns about old school radios really that are being used by so many emergency services during natural disasters. It is still the primary way that many agencies communicate between one another and there are concerns about how those kinds of frequencies cross state lines and whether different agencies can always talk to each other during disasters, whether those communication tools also drop out from time to time, trying to find a national uniform system to replace it that's more reliable and doesn't have those sorts of cross border issues. So the Emergency Services Minister, Murray Watt, has announced the establishment of this taskforce this morning. He says this is something that's going to happen, they're bringing all the people that need to be there into the room, particularly from all the different states, to make sure this is rolled out. But it is going to take some time, it's not going to be in place for the coming fire season and in fact might take a few years before it's up and running. Here's a bit of what the Minister had to say on this this morning. A project of this size, we're talking several years in the making, it's a massive exercise that needs to bring together every state and territory, telecommunications companies, technology companies as well. But I guess what's different about our government is we're actually taking positive steps to make it happen rather than just kicking it off to review after review after review. So Corrina, that summit is underway here in the Great Hall of Parliament House this morning. With the weather warming up, there's certainly plenty to talk about.

For the first time, Amnesty International has accused Hamas and its allies of committing crimes against humanity, following an investigation into the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel. The organization found that 1,221 people were killed and said the mass killing of civilians amounted to extermination.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Amnesty accuses Hamas of 'crimes against humanity' for Oct. 7 attack

The “Architects of AI” were named Time's person of the year Thursday, with the magazine citing 2025 as when the potential of artificial intelligence “roared into view” with no turning back.

Rise of AI

Time magazine names 'Architects of AI' as person of the year for 2025

Message board website Reddit filed a lawsuit on Friday (December 12) asking Australia's High Court to overturn the country's social media ban for people under 16 as well as its inclusion in it, calling the law an infringement of free political expression.

Council of the City of Sydney

Reddit sues to overturn Australian social media ban

As tensions rise with Venezuela, U.S. President Donald Trump said land operations could start "pretty soon." Sources tell CBS News the administration is also planning more tanker seizures.

Washington

Trump says Venezuela land operations could begin 'pretty soon'

One day after capturing an oil tanker off Venezuela's coast, the U.S. has sanctioned three of Nicolas Maduro's nephews, along with six other oil tankers.

Trump ramps up pressure on Maduro with new sanctions

The EU has decided to keep the assets of the Russian Central Bank immobilised for the foreseeable future. The ban, which is based on a provision for economic emergencies, pushes back against external attempts to release the €210 billion in assets before Ukraine is compensated.

Moscow

Ukraine Invasion

EU triggers emergency clause to indefinitely immobilise Russian assets

Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she planned to take her award back to Venezuela, but declined to say when she would return to her home country after leaving in great secrecy to receive the honor.

Caracas

Nobel peace laureate Machado vows to take award home to Venezuela

Japanese authorities are assessing damage after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck northern Japan, followed by multiple aftershocks. In response, officials have issued a warning about the possibility of a megaquake, defined as a magnitude 8.0 or higher event.

Tokyo

Japan alerts citizens about possible megaquake

A Maryland judge has ordered the Trump administration to immediately release Kilmar Abrego Garcia from ICE custody. Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported to El Salvador and was later detained for potential deportation to another country.

Judge orders Kilmar Abrego Garcia's immediate release from ICE custody

About 500,000 people are fleeing renewed clashes on the Thailand-Cambodia border. Over a dozen were killed as fighting shatters a US-Malaysia-brokered peace deal amid a decades-old temple land dispute.

Samraong

Half a million flee as Thailand-Cambodia border clashes escalate

The U.S. has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, ratcheting up tensions with Caracas.

Trump confirms seizing of Venezuelan oil tanker

The U.S. House has approved a bill to end all Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, sparking cautious optimism in Damascus as the measure moves closer to becoming law.

U.S. House votes to lift Caesar Act sanctions on Syria

Myanmar's military bombs a hospital in western Rakhine state, at least 31 people are killed and dozens injured.

Rakhine

Air strike in Myanmar killed at least 31 people, dozens injured

The U.S. military seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the ship had been used to violate sanctions on oil from Venezuela and Iran.

U.S. seizes oil tanker off Venezuela coast

The daughter of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her mother's behalf in Oslo, Norway. Machado, who lives in hiding in Venezuela, is set to make an address on Thursday.

Oslo

Venezuela's Machado awarded Nobel Peace Prize in absentia

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is commenting on potential elections in Ukraine under certain conditions. Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst joins CBS News with more on the war against Russia.

Kyiv

Zelenskyy prepared to hold elections after Trump questions motive

A renewed outbreak of fighting between Thailand and Cambodia has derailed a US-brokered peace agreement, with cross-border shelling and air raids forcing more than half a million civilians to flee their homes.

Bangkok

Border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia flares up again

U.S. immigration agents used pepper spray against protesters in Minneapolis on Tuesday as residents blocked the officers’ vehicles and forced them to leave the area.

Minneapolis

Minneapolis protests erupt over ICE operation targeting Somalis

In Australia, millions of kids' social media profiles are going dark, as the country's new social media ban takes effect for anyone under 16. Jo Ling Kent reports.

Australia's social media ban takes effect for kids under 16

President Trump, in recent months, has dismissed concerns about affordability, but this evening, in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, he is focusing on the crisis and touting his administration's efforts to lower the cost of living. Nancy Cordes has more.

Pennsylvania

Trump tries to flip the script on affordability

Dozens of protesters blocked a highway near Tel Aviv to demonstrate against moves by the Israeli government to force some ultra-Orthodox Jews into mandatory military service, something they are currently exempt from so they can study the Torah full time.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Bill over ultra-Orthodox military conscription sparks protests in Israel

President Trump has told Politico that Nicolas Maduro's "days are numbered" in Venezuela. Political strategists Kevin Sheridan and Hyma Moore join with analysis.

Trump says Maduro’s “days are numbered”

The FBI has released a new photo of former Olympian Ryan Wedding, whom the bureau’s director has described as a “modern day iteration of Pablo Escobar.” The ex-skier and snowboarder remains at large as agents continue their search.

FBI releases new photo of alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Pope Leo XIV and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Tuesday (December 9), meanwhile voicing his refusal to surrender territory to Moscow despite pressure from Washington for territorial concessions.

Rome

Zelenskyy seeks backing from Pope Leo XIV, Italian PM Meloni

A federal judge said Tuesday (December 9) that the Department of Justice can unseal the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking case records. CBS News' Scott MacFarlane has more details.

Judge says DOJ can unseal Ghislaine Maxwell trafficking case records

Prosecutors on Monday (December 8) released new evidence seized from Luigi Mangione on the day of his arrest. He is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson a year ago and has pleaded not guilty.

Manhattan

New evidence introduced in Luigi Mangione case

The EU antitrust enforcer has opened an investigation into the U.S. tech giant over its use of online content to power its AI services, a move that threatens to ratchet up transatlantic relations.

Brussels

EU Commission opens probe into Google over AI

The U.S. government said the approval, which comes in exchange for a 25% surcharge, would also be available to other chipmakers like Intel and AMD.

Trump gives Nvidia green light to sell H200 chips to China

Ukraine is set to present a revised peace plan to the United States on Tuesday following President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s talks in London with the leaders of France, Germany, and Britain.

London

Ukraine to share revised peace plan with U.S., Zelenskiy says

The International Criminal Court Tuesday handed down a sentence of 20 years to a Sudanese militia leader for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the country's civil war two decades ago.

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