TRANSCRIPT
- A warning issued on a developing cyclone headed for Vanuatu, as it deals with the aftermath of a deadly earthquake
- New Year's Eve plans to be impacted by public transport chaos
- The search for the new coach of the Matildas could extend past February
The aid and rescue response to this week's 7.3-magnitude earthquake in Vanuatu faces the possibility of a setback from another developing cyclone that could hit the country in coming days.
The Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department has issued a warning that the low-pressure system in the Coral Sea has a 10- to 60 per cent chance of developing into a cyclone.
Australia has sent search-and-rescue teams to boost the disaster recovery effort in Vanuatu.
With communications down, the official death toll has fluctuated with between nine and 14 people confirmed dead.
A further 200 injured in what's being described as the worst earthquake to hit the Pacific island nation in more than a century.
Two planes from the Royal Australian Air Force returned from Vanuatu overnight, carrying 136 Australians.
Shane Cook says a six-day holiday turned into horror when the earthquake hit.
"It was an experience. I was in the middle of Port Vila when the earthquake hit. So I watched buildings come down around me and people start screaming and running. And I had no idea what to do. So I just started following the crowd and we ended up running up a giant hill because people started sort of yelling the word 'tsunami' to everyone. Never in my life have I ever experienced that. And especially on my own, I had no one. So I just started following everyone that was running in that direction up the hill."
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French President, Emmanuel Macron, has visited cyclone-hit Mayotte, pledging to rebuild the French island territory.
Officials in France's poorest overseas territory have only been able to confirm 31 fatalities more than five days after Cyclone Chido struck, but some have said they fear the death toll could rise to thousands of people.
Mr Macron has declared December 23 as a day of national mourning.
"Rebuilding Mayotte, that's the commitment I've made, that's the wish of the elected representatives of the population, i.e. rebuilding both housing and sustainable public buildings that meet the standards and that will cope with events like this cyclone or the natural events that, unfortunately, we have to deal with in the region."
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Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of causing the deaths of thousands of Palestinians by systematically restricting and targeting Gaza’s water supply in a campaign that amounted to what it called acts of genocide.
The rights group makes the claim in a new report based on interviews with more than 60 Palestinians, accounts from utility employees, doctors and other healthcare workers and aid workers, and analysis of satellite images, photos and video.
Israel vehemently denies the allegations, saying its war is directed at Hamas militants, not Gaza's civilians.
Meanwhile, the United Nation's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says more aid must be allowed into Gaza to stop the number of people dying hungry and in pain.
Spokesperson Georgios Petropoulos says the situation is beyond urgent.
"We not allowed to do our jobs. Whether our response is impactful as it should be, cannot continue to be measured in the number of trucks that reach Gaza, but in whether people are safe from hunger, rain, disease, and if they have access to proper and appropriate health care facilities, protection and even to safe drinking water. The opportunities for sustainable supplies are scarce, and the degree to which our operations in the Gaza Strip are supported by the Israeli authorities is almost zero."
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The New South Wales government says it is considering all its legal options to block protected industrial action by workers on Sydney trains that would result in delays and cancellations over the Christmas-New Year period.
A Federal Court decision on Thursday allowed the work bans to proceed.
Commuters have already been impacted, with up to 30 per cent of train services delayed or cancelled today.
Passengers have been advised to delay non-essential travel or take alternative routes.
Transport Minister Jo Haylen says the industrial action will have a huge impact on travel plans and businesses, particulary on New Year's Eve.
"We are being hit by significant industrial action. It's unfair on passengers that this is occurring this time of the year. And that is why the government is taking every single legal step available to us. We want businesses to have certainty. Train services carry more than a million people at a frequency of four and five minutes to get people in and out safely."
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In sports, the search for the next Matildas coach could drag on beyond February's international window.
Football Australia CEO James Johnson says he won't put a strict deadline on the decision, saying it is important to find the right person.
He says the recruiting process is progressing with interviews and screenings of candidates.
The new coach needs to lead the team to compete in the home 2026 Asian Cup, the 2027 Women's World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.
But Johnson says there is still time to prepare - with six women's international windows in 2025, plus two before the Asian Cup in 2026.
Coach Tony Gustavsson has departed in August and replaced in the interim by Tom Sermanni, who has led the Matildas in six friendlies since his appointment in September.
