The government’s promised triple zero ‘custodian’ not yet staffed more than a year after previous Optus outage

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Consumer advocacy bodies and Greens say Labor failed to act fast enough to prevent last week’s outage linked to multiple deaths

An independent manager of the triple-zero emergency system has not yet been staffed by the federal government, despite it being a key recommendation of the review into Optus’s last emergency outage.

The communications minister, Anika Wells, said she wanted to “fast track” that process and others rising out of the latest debacle from the maligned telco, but consumer advocacy bodies and the Greens are critical the government has not worked quicker. Calls are growing for Optus to face multimillion-dollar fines even higher than the penalties from a similar incident in 2023.

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Weather tracker: Flash floods and landslides wreak havoc in California

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Two-year-old boy dies and homes buried as remnants of Tropical Storm Mario bring downpours and thunder

Flash flooding and landslides led to the death of a two-year-old boy in California in the US last week, after heavy rainfall followed on the heels of Tropical Storm Mario further south. The storm skirted the Pacific coast of Mexico with minimal disruption, eventually dissipating to the west of Baja California on Tuesday, but the remnants went on to cause havoc on Thursday. Residual moist air from the tropical storm was drawn north-east towards California, bringing heavy downpours and thunder to central and southern counties.

The heaviest rainfall was in the mountains of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, where up to 68mm (2.67in) fell in a few hours. Further north, Death Valley – famously one of the driest places on Earth – received 15mm of rain, triple the average rainfall for September and a full quarter of the yearly average.

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Sky News Australia admits editorial failure after guest insults Islam while wearing bacon-covered shirt

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Host Freya Leach sat silently while Ryan Williams called Muslims terrorists and explained he ‘wore’ bacon to protect himself from alleged threats of beheading

Sky News Australia has admitted a failure of editorial process allowed a guest to deliver a highly offensive diatribe against Islam while wearing a shirt festooned with raw bacon rashers.

Introducing the UK-based man as a “social media sensation”, Sky News host Freya Leach sat mute while Ryan Williams called Muslims terrorists and explained he “wore” bacon to protect himself from alleged threats of beheading.

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Dominican Republic recovers 1,000 kilograms of cocaine from speedboat destroyed by US Navy – France 24

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  1. Dominican Republic recovers 1,000 kilograms of cocaine from speedboat destroyed by US Navy  France 24
  2. Drug-smuggling boat struck by US was carrying more than a ton of suspected cocaine, Dominican Republic says  Fox News
  3. Dominican Republic Says It Recovered Cocaine From Boat Struck by U.S.  The New York Times
  4. Speedboat destroyed by U.S. Navy held 1,000 kilos of cocaine, Dominican Republic says  CBS News
  5. Dominican Republic says it seized cocaine that was on speedboat destroyed by U.S. Navy  NBC News
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Most powerful storm on earth this year lashes Philippines. Hong Kong, Taiwan and southern China on alert – CNN

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  1. Most powerful storm on earth this year lashes Philippines. Hong Kong, Taiwan and southern China on alert  CNN
  2. Super typhoon hits Philippines as thousands evacuate  BBC
  3. China to evacuate 400,000 after 'super' typhoon hits Philippines and Taiwan  Sky News
  4. Hong Kong Airport Cuts Flights From Tuesday Due to Super Typhoon  Bloomberg.com
  5. Super Typhoon Ragasa Hits the Philippines, Headed for Hong Kong  The New York Times
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Records of deadly 1934 pit explosion in Wrexham to be displayed near site

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Documents include letters calling for recovery of bodies and a falsified safety log that was part of a cover-up

Poignant records relating to a colliery disaster in the 1930s that lay unseen for decades at the National Archives are being put on display close to the site of the mine in north Wales.

Among the documents at the west London archive are petitions and emotional letters calling for the bodies trapped in the underground explosion at the pit in Gresford to be recovered. Despite the heartfelt entreaties, the vast majority remain there.

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British art dealer in row over return of Banksy artworks from Italy

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Essex-based John Brandler seeking final loan payments as well as three murals from exhibitions company

A bitter row has broken out between a British art dealer and an Italian exhibitions company over three enormous Banksy murals that were loaned three years ago and which the dealer insured for £15m.

John Brandler, an Essex-based specialist in work by the graffiti artist, is pursuing legal action after losing patience with Metamorfosi in Rome, which stages temporary touring exhibitions.

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Leaders promised to cut climate pollution, then doubled down on fossil fuels – NPR

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  1. Leaders promised to cut climate pollution, then doubled down on fossil fuels  NPR
  2. Nations’ plans to ramp up coal, gas and oil extraction ‘will put climate goals beyond reach’  The Guardian
  3. The Production Gap Report 2025  Stockholm Environment Institute
  4. Canada, major fossil-fuel producers widen gap between output and climate targets: report  Toronto Star
  5. World leaders pledged to cut fossil fuel production. They’re doing the opposite.  E&E News by POLITICO
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Angelina Jolie says ‘I don’t recognise my country’ now amid threats to freedom of speech in US

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Oscar winner’s comments come days after suspension of Jimmy Kimmel by ABC and Disney, a decision heavily criticised by major stars including Pedro Pascal and Olivia Rodrigo

Angelina Jolie has said “I don’t recognise my country” amid the threats to free speech in the US, saying “anything anywhere that divides or limits personal expressions and freedoms from anyone, I think, is very dangerous”.

At Spain’s San Sebastián film festival on Sunday, the Oscar winning actor was asked by a journalist: “What do you fear as an artist and an American?”

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Optus will face ‘significant consequences’ for triple zero failure linked to deaths, minister says

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Communications minister Anika Wells says telco has ‘no excuses here’ after last week’s outage linked to three deaths across two states

The federal government has promised Optus will “suffer significant consequences” after multiple deaths were recorded during the telco’s triple zero outage, with major financial penalties likely.

The communications regulator said it wasn’t informed of the outage by Optus until hours after it had been resolved – and that the company had provided “inaccurate” information.

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U.K., Canada, Australia recognize Palestine as a state, breaking with U.S. – The Washington Post

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  1. U.K., Canada, Australia recognize Palestine as a state, breaking with U.S.  The Washington Post
  2. With US backing, defiant Netanyahu vows response to countries recognizing Palestinian state  CNN
  3. 'Starmer's big Gaza gamble' and 'Maga send-off'  BBC
  4. Britain, Australia, Canada and Portugal Recognize a Palestinian State  The New York Times
  5. Statement by Prime Minister Carney on Canada’s recognition of the State of Palestine  pm.gc.ca
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German and Swedish jets intercept Russian military plane over Baltic Sea – NPR

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  1. German and Swedish jets intercept Russian military plane over Baltic Sea  NPR
  2. UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on Russian jet incursions over Estonia  CNN
  3. Russia shifts from talk to action, targeting NATO homeland amid fears of global war  Fox News
  4. Germany scrambles jets after Russia military aircraft flies over Baltic Sea  Al Jazeera
  5. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, September 19, 2025  Institute for the Study of War
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