Good afternoon. Extreme fire risks and heatwave warnings have arrived early, as the Bureau of Meteorology confirms El Niño has begun.
Communities on the New South Wales south coast, hit hard by the black summer bushfires, spoke of their “anxiety” as the fire danger today was upgraded to “catastrophic”. An extreme fire risk has been forecast across Sydney and the Greater Hunter tomorrow, while bushfire evacuation notices were given to two Queensland communities near Townsville. There were 61 fires burning across NSW today with 13 yet to be contained.
Top news
Man charged with attempted murder over ANU stabbings | Alex Ophel, 24, appeared briefly before the ACT magistrates court, wearing a grey tracksuit and white thongs, one day after he allegedly stabbed two 20-year-old women on the ANU campus, leaving one with critical injuries. No application for bail was made and his lawyer said he was struggling to get instructions from his client, referring to prior court findings about his mental capacity.
Hunt for Victorian gunman who fled into NSW | An alleged gunman remains at large after evading police and allegedly kidnapping a Victorian resident before crossing the border. The alleged gunman has been identified as Stanley Turvey, with police releasing an image of his tattooed face as part of a public appeal to track him down.
NSW budget underwhelming on housing | Housing was touted as a major focus ahead of the first Labor state budget in more than a decade. The result, however, was an underwhelming commitment to build fewer than 5,000 homes over the next 16 years. Read the analysis.
Krista Kach died from bean bag rounds fired by NSW police | The 47-year-old woman Tasered during a siege in Newcastle last week died from bean bag rounds that penetrated her chest and hit her heart, the state’s acting police commissioner said. Kach’s family yesterday criticised police actions, while the NSW Greens are pushing for a parliamentary inquiry into police responses to vulnerable people.
Vatican examining ‘distressing’ Australian allegations | The Catholic archbishop of Perth says “very serious and deeply distressing” allegations against former Broome bishop Christopher Saunders are now being examined by the Vatican after an investigation by the church. The archbishop did not detail the nature of the allegations, but said Saunders, now in his 70s, has denied them. Saunders resigned in 2020 after sexual misconduct and bullying claims emerged
China summons German ambassador | Beijing has taken issue with Germany’s foreign affairs minister, Annalena Baerbock, calling president Xi Jinping a “dictator” last week. Meanwhile, China’s defence minister, Li Shangfu, has gone missing. He appears to be the latest senior official to be seemingly swept up in China’s political purges, as Xi tightens his grip on power.
What’s behind growing Canada-India tensions? | Justin Trudeau has said there is “credible” evidence that Indian government agents were behind the alleged assassination of a Sikh separatist leader in June. India rejected the allegation as “absurd and motivated”.
Protests in Libya after floods | Protests broke out in the city of Derna on Monday, with hundreds venting their anger against authorities and demanding accountability one week after a flood that killed thousands of residents and destroyed entire neighbourhoods. Angry protesters set fire to the house of the man who was Derna’s mayor at the time of the flood, Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi.
Why is Ardern absent from NZ election campaign? | As the final month of campaigning in New Zealand’s election begins, Jacinda Ardern has been noticeably absent. One expert says her domestic brand is now “entirely associated with Covid and the restrictions and the radicalisation and polarisation that’s followed from that”.
In pictures
Forecasting our fiery future, by Fiona Katauskas.
What they said …
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“There will be a material reduction in airfares ... somewhere between 7% and 10%.” – Tony Webber, aviation expert
Competitive pressure from additional Qatar Airways flights to Australia would have brought airfares down, Webber told a Senate inquiry today. The Albanese government has been under pressure for rejecting the Qatari request amid soaring airfares for consumers.
In numbers
The proportion has been tracking higher since January 2022 when 71% of people said they banked with the Big Four.
Before bed read
How to get your kids interested in cooking? Cook and author Alice Zaslavsky has some ideas.
“Not only is cajoling kids into the kitchen an effective way to get them off devices, it can speed up your dinnertime hustle with an efficient brigade of sous chefs and apprentices. Over time, food will land on the table sooner – and more of it will be eaten.”
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: BUSH. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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• The Afternoon Update on 18 September 2023 used an image that said it showed the start of a fire at the Greater Nile Petroleum Company building in Khartoum. In fact, the photo was of the Corinthia hotel in Khartoum, and Agence France-Presse, which supplied the image, had previously stated that it had been digitally manipulated to add the flames.
