Wednesday, September 2

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Missing Israeli rabbi found dead in UAE in ‘antisemitic terrorist act’, Israel says
World News

Missing Israeli rabbi found dead in UAE in ‘antisemitic terrorist act’, Israel says

By Tamar Michaelis, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Sophie Tanno, CNN Zvi Kogan had been missing in the United Arab Emirates since Thursday. Photo: Supplied / chabad.org An Israeli rabbi missing in the United Arab Emirates has been found dead, Israeli authorities said on Sunday, in what they described as an "antisemitic terrorist act". Zvi Kogan, who also holds Moldovan citizenship and is a representative of Chabad, a religious movement of Hasidic Jews with communities, synagogues and other institutions in many countries, had been missing since Thursday afternoon (local time). Chabads official website says he was abducted from Dubai. In a joint statement Sunday, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Kogan's body had been located by UAE authorities. "The mu...
Mark Jones pleads to not let daughter Bianca’s death be in vain, urges government action on methanol poisoning
World News

Mark Jones pleads to not let daughter Bianca’s death be in vain, urges government action on methanol poisoning

Melbourne teenager Bianca Jones has died after suspected Laos methanol poisoning. Photo: Facebook The father of a teenager who died from methanol poisoning while on holiday in Laos has pushed for the local government to act and prevent further tragedies. Mark Jones spoke to media outside Bangkok Hospital in Thailand, where his daughter Bianca Jones was transferred after falling ill from ingesting methanol. He thanked the Australian public for the "overwhelming" support and love shown to his family over the past week. Bianca, 19, was holidaying with friend Holly Bowles, also 19, at popular tourist town Vang Vieng in Laos when she fell ill after consuming alcoholic drinks. Jones said the trip to Laos was supposed to be the start of wonderful adulthood for his daughter. "Our daughter was o...
The Caspian Sea used to lie beneath these swings. Now it’s shrunk | Science, Climate & Tech News
Business

The Caspian Sea used to lie beneath these swings. Now it’s shrunk | Science, Climate & Tech News

On a beach just outside the Azerbaijani capital Baku, a pair of deserted swings creak back and forth in the wind.They were built to be close to the water of the Caspian Sea. Now the ground beneath them is parched, and they are just relics of what once was there.Less than 20 years ago, the land beneath them under the water of the "Mother Caspian", as they call it here.It is the world's largest inland body of water and the lifeblood of the five countries that surround it.But the whole sea is shrinking, and on this sliver of land in the Absheron national park, the shoreline is now 200 metres away. "It is sad… even heartbreaking sometimes," said Elana Alizade, who used to play on other beaches around Baku."This is the place where as a kid we first discovered what bi...
COP 29: Carbon credit trading scheme criticised as ‘get out of jail free card’
World News

COP 29: Carbon credit trading scheme criticised as ‘get out of jail free card’

COP29 said it expected the scheme to reduce the cost of implementing countries' national climate plans by up to US$250 billion Photo: Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto via AFP A new carbon credit trading deal reached in the final hours of COP29 has been criticised as a free pass for countries to slack off on efforts to reduce emissions at home. The deal, sealed at the annual UN climate talks nearly a decade after it was first put forward, will allow countries to buy carbon credits from others to bring down their own balance sheet. New Zealand had set its targets under the Paris Agreement on the assumption that it would be able to meet some of it through international cooperation - "so getting this up and running is really important", Compass Climate head Christina Hood said. "It's a tool, it's...
Daily home activities – like folding clothes and sitting on a sofa – could give off clouds of microplastics, scientists warn | Science, Climate & Tech News
Business

Daily home activities – like folding clothes and sitting on a sofa – could give off clouds of microplastics, scientists warn | Science, Climate & Tech News

Routine domestic activities could expose people to a cloud of plastic particles so small that they can be inhaled deep into the lungs, according to research seen exclusively by Sky News.The study at the University of Portsmouth found a fitness workout on a synthetic carpet could result in up to 110 plastic fibres or fragments being breathed in every minute. Folding clothes made from fabrics such as polyester, and even just sitting down on a foam-filled sofa, also produced a plume of microscopic particles in the surrounding air.The researchers say the findings underline the urgency of talks by the United Nations this week to agree a global treaty to reduce plastic pollution. Image: There is no direct evidence that microplastics cause ill health...
COP 29: Carbon credit trading scheme critisised as ‘get out of jail free card’
World News

COP 29: Carbon credit trading scheme critisised as ‘get out of jail free card’

COP29 said it expected the scheme to reduce the cost of implementing countries' national climate plans by up to US$250 billion Photo: Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto via AFP A new carbon credit trading deal reached in the final hours of COP29 has been criticised as a free pass for countries to slack off on efforts to reduce emissions at home. The deal, sealed at the annual UN climate talks nearly a decade after it was first put forward, will allow countries to buy carbon credits from others to bring down their own balance sheet. New Zealand had set its targets under the Paris Agreement on the assumption that it would be able to meet some of it through international cooperation - "so getting this up and running is really important", Compass Climate head Christina Hood said. "It's a tool, it's...
Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE – as Israeli PM says he was murdered in ‘antisemitic terror incident’ | World News
Business

Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE – as Israeli PM says he was murdered in ‘antisemitic terror incident’ | World News

The body of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who went missing in Abu Dhabi has been found, Israel has said.Zvi Kogan, the Chabad representative in the United Arab Emirates, went missing on Thursday. A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office on Sunday said Mr Kogan was murdered, calling it a "heinous antisemitic terror incident"."The state of Israel will act with all means to seek justice with the criminals responsible for his death," it said.On Saturday, Israeli intelligence agency Mossad said it was investigating the disappearance.The Emirati government gave no immediate acknowledgment that Mr Kogan had been found dead.The rabbi lived in the UAE with his wife Rivky, who is a US citizen.Mr Kogan's disappearance comes as Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel after the t...
A man who had his leg amputated after being trapped for over 20 hours in Franklin River remains in critical condition
World News

A man who had his leg amputated after being trapped for over 20 hours in Franklin River remains in critical condition

By Madeleine Rojahn for the ABC Specialist medical teams were winched to the site where the man was trapped. Photo: Supplied: Tasmania Department of Police, Fire & Emergency Management A 65-year-old Lithuanian man who had his left leg amputated at the knee during a rescue operation near Tasmania's remote south-west remains in a critical condition. The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, was part of an international group of 11 people embarking on a multi-day pack-rafting trip along Tasmania's remote Franklin River. Police said they believed the man's leg became trapped in a rock crevice on Friday afternoon while he was "scouting" the area on foot along the Franklin River's banks. He used a GPS-enabled device to call for help but remained trapped and partially submerged in...
Irish leader Simon Harris preparing for any ‘economic shock’ under Trump presidency | Politics News
Business

Irish leader Simon Harris preparing for any ‘economic shock’ under Trump presidency | Politics News

Ireland's Taoiseach Simon Harris says he is setting aside "significant funds" to protect the country from any economic shock under Donald Trump's presidency.But the Fine Gael leader, whose party is seeking a historic fourth consecutive term in Friday's general election, remains hopeful of retaining good trade relations. President-elect Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on EU imports and appointed a commerce secretary who has vowed to entice US multinationals back from Ireland. In the first of Sky News' leader interviews ahead of the election, Mr Harris said: "I think president Trump does mean what he says in terms of his position in relation to trade and tariffs. "And I think president Trump has received a very large mandate in terms of the outcome of the US presidential election....
Taylor Swift ticket costs spur ‘Bad Blood,’ calls for price-gouging probe – National
Entertainment, Movies

Taylor Swift ticket costs spur ‘Bad Blood,’ calls for price-gouging probe – National

As Toronto continues its ‘Love Story’ with Taylor Swift and the Eras Tour, set to head next week to British Columbia, some are urging action over allegations of price-gouging by resellers and ticketing practices that have left some fans with ‘Bad Blood.’ On sites like StubHub, a single ticket for Taylor Swift’s Friday concert in Toronto is at minimum $4,654, while on SeatGeek it’s $4,500 for the 500-level seats.Some have been priced as high as $33,000.That’s not including Ticketmaster where you need a fan code to get one of the tickets made recently available for the same-day show. But those prices are why politicians like NDP MP Brian Masse are calling for action by governments to prevent future concert-goers from facing sky-high prices.“Going to a concert or an event is sometimes a speci...