As talks start this week on a global plastics treaty, debate is emerging between countries wanting to limit the production of more plastics and the petrochemical industry favoring recycling as the solution to plastic waste. 

Paris

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

Climate Crisis

Plastic recycling in focus as Paris talks underway

As talks start in Paris this week on a global plastics treaty, a divide is emerging on how to deal with plastic pollution. Between countries that want to restrict production of plastic and the petrochemicals industry, which says recycling is the answer. A 55-nation coalition called for a strong treaty that restricted certain hazardous chemicals and banned problematic plastic products that are hard to recycle and often end up in nature. Inga Anderson heads the United Nations Environment Programme, which is hosting the talks. Please bear in mind that only elimination, reduction, a full life cycle approach, transparency and a just transition, only those can bring success. Because the truth is that we cannot recycle our way out of this mess. Recycling infrastructure is unable to cope with today's volumes. Greenpeace unveiled an artwork in Paris in the shape of a machine churning out bottles in front of an oil derrick. Many countries say the treaty's goal should be circularity, or keeping already produced plastic items in circulation as long as possible. Greenpeace campaigner Marianne Ledesma. There are studies showing that there is microplastics in our air, in our water, and in our bodies as well. And that's just one facet of the problem. If you go into the communities where plastic production happens, they're already suffering from very serious health risks and health conditions because of emissions, of contamination from these plastic production facilities. UNEP has released a blueprint for reducing plastic waste by 80% by 2040. It outlined three key areas of action, reuse, recycling and reorientation of plastic packaging to alternative materials. But some environmental groups criticised the report for focusing on waste management, which they saw as a concession to the global plastics and petrochemicals industry.

Court documents have revealed Bruce Lehrmann refused an offer to settle with Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson before his failed defamation case had begun hearings.

Council of the City of Sydney

Bruce Lehrmann refused settlement before court case

The lawyer representing a former NSW Police officer charged with murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies says his client's defence may involve mental health elements.

Man accused of murdering Sydney couple faces court

A western New South Wales man charged with murdering a young woman was on bail for several violent charges against the same victim.

Forbes

Man faces court over murder of young Forbes woman

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised to start sending asylum seekers to Rwanda within 10 to 12 weeks as the upper house of parliament finally passed required legislation, delayed for weeks by attempts to alter the plan.

London

UK parliament passes Rwanda asylum law

New York prosecutors said on the first day of Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial that the former president broke the law and corrupted the 2016 election by trying to cover up sexual encounters with a porn star and a Playboy model, while his defense lawyer said he committed no crime.

New York

Jury hears opening statements at Trump hush money trial

Floods swamped parts of China's Guangdong province following record-breaking rains, sparking worries about the region's defenses against bigger deluges induced by extreme weather events.

Guangdong Province

China's Guangdong floods spark extreme weather fears

Israel has yet to provide evidence for its accusations that hundreds of staff with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) are members of terrorist groups, according to a review of the agency's neutrality released.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Israel-Gaza War

'No evidence' of UNRWA, Hamas links

Arj Barker has defended asking a mother to leave his show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The woman said she was humiliated after being asked to leave while breastfeeding her baby during Barker’s performance.

Melbourne

Comedian criticised for removing breastfeeding mother from show

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being accused of hate speech for comments he made about Muslims at an election rally, referring to the religious community as "infiltrators." Nearly a billion people are eligible to cast ballots during the six weeks of voting, which started Friday.

New Delhi

India's Modi accused of anti-Muslim hate speech amid election

The Philippines and the United States are holding joint naval exercises in a climate of tension between China and its neighbors. Despite international legal rulings, Beijing claims the entire South China Sea as its own. That's contested by the Philippines and other Indian Ocean nations.

Manila

Filipino, U.S. troops set to begin joint combat exercise

More than one year after prosecutors pressed charges in Manhattan against former President Donald Trump, they are presenting their evidence to a jury. Opening statements have begun in the first-ever trial of a former president as Trump faces 34 felony counts for falsifying business records.

Manhattan

Opening statements begin in Trump hush money trial

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he would fight against sanctions being imposed on any Israeli military units for alleged rights violations, after media reports said the U.S. was planning such a step.

Jerusalem

Netanyahu says he will fight any sanctions on army units

Accused triple murderer Erin Patterson has faced court for the first time in five months over the alleged mushroom poisonings of her relatives last year.

Leongatha

Accused mushroom murderer faces court

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has flagged more tax relief is on the cards if the Government can find room in next month's budget. Cost of living issues are dominating the political agenda, as inflation bites.

Canberra

More cost of living relief expected in Federal budget

The U.S. House of Representatives approved additional military aid for Israel despite growing concerns over human rights violations in the West Bank. The U.S. is expected to sanction the IDF for the first time with Antony Blinken promising "results soon" when questioned at a recent presser in Italy.

Washington

U.S. poised to sanction Israeli army over human right violations

Former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush-money trial — for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up paying porn star Stormy Daniels to bury her story — is set to start this week in New York City. The world is watching how it will play out and whether it will impact his political future.

Opening statements at Trump criminal trial set to begin

TikTok on Sunday reiterated free speech concerns about a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that would ban the popular social media app in the U.S. if its Chinese owner ByteDance did not sell its stake within a year.

TikTok raises concerns about bill passed by U.S. House

Since the start of the war in Gaza over six months ago, Israeli soldiers have filmed and posted hundreds of videos of destruction in Gaza online, with many mocking the destruction of the enclave. The IDF says it's addressing the issue with sanctions.

IDF soldiers chronicle Gaza destruction on social media

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked the U.S. House of representatives for passing a $61bn aid bill. It was part of a major military package that also provided funds for Israel, Taiwan and several other allies.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine says U.S. aid bill will halt Russian advances

Israeli forces killed at least 14 Palestinians during a raid in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian authorities said, amid escalating violence that began more than a week ago after an Israeli boy went missing.

Tensions rise in West Bank after Israeli boy goes missing

The United States House of Representatives with broad bipartisan support has passed a $95 billion legislative package providing security assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, despite bitter objections from Republican hardliners.

U.S. House approves aid package for Ukraine, Israel

In Iraq, at least one person has been killed and twenty others have been injured in a large explosion. The blast happened south of the capital Baghdad, in the Babil province. A base used by the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces was hit.

Babylon Governorate

Giant explosion hits military base near Baghdad

Revelations that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned drug before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, have shocked and angered Australian swimmers, with calls for medals to stripped.

Tokyo

Sporting world reacts to Chinese swimmers doping scandal

A teenage boy is in a stable condition after suffering puncture wounds from a shark attack. The attack happened on an afternoon fishing trip after he caught a white pointer shark.

West Beach

Teenage boy bitten by shark off Adelaide beach

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed reports that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for a banned drug before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but it accepted the country's findings that this was due to substance contamination.

Chinese swimmers won Olympic golds after positive tests

Tension between Iran and Israel dominated the final day of discussions at the G7 meeting in Italy. Foreign ministers called for de-escalation, while threatening further sanctions against Iran.

Capri

G7 considers further sanctions against Iran

Social media giant X has been directed by the eSafety Commissioner of Australia to remove certain posts related to the stabbing of a Sydney bishop. However Elon Musk and X have publicly defied these demands, critiquing the requests as censorship.

Elon Musk slams request by Australian Government

Explosions echoed over an Iranian city in what sources said was an Israeli attack, but Tehran played down the incident and indicated it had no plans for retaliation - a response that appeared gauged towards averting region-wide war.

Iran signals 'no retaliation' for Israeli strikes

A man has died and multiple people are injured after a bus and car crashed, following a police pursuit outside Dubbo, Central West NSW.

Dubbo

Driver dead, multiple injuries following police pursuit

The U.S. House of Representatives advanced a $95 billion legislative package to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific in a broad bipartisan vote, overcoming hardline Republican opposition that had held it up for months.

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