Morning News Bulletin 2 December 2023

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Source: SBS News

Fighting resume in Gaza; world leaders look to renewables at the COP29 climate summit in Dubai; and a new survey highlights the continued struggles faced by elite female athletes.


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TRANSCRIPT
  • Fighting resume in Gaza
  • World leaders look to renewables at the COP29 climate summit in Dubai
  • A new survey highlights the continued struggles faced by elite female athletes
Fighting has resumed in Gaza after the seven-day ceasefire expired.

Both sides have accused each other of breaching the truce and the Hamas-run health ministry says more than 100 people have already been killed.

Rockets have also been fired into Israel.

A loss and damage fund has been officially launched at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai to help vulnerable countries cope with the increasingly costly and damaging impacts of climate disasters.

It's among several pledges made at this year's summit, including an agreement to prioritise food and agriculture systems, a private climate investment fund to incentivise new climate projects in developing countries and a goal to triple renewables.

So far 110 countries have signed up to the goal of tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling the annual rate of energy efficiency improvements worldwide by 2030.

But some attendees are warning while the targets are still there, the world is way off meeting them.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says world leaders cannot save a burning planet with a fire hose of fossil fuels.

"We are miles from the goals of the Paris Agreement – and minutes to midnight for the 1.5-degree limit. But it is not too late. We can, you can, prevent planetary crash and burn. We have the technologies to avoid the worst of climate chaos – if we act now."

The Vice-President of the European Commission has expressed his confidence the federal government will eventually reach a free trade agreement with Australia.

Margaritis Schinas and a number of delegates from Europe are visiting Australia to hold discussions with the immigration minister.

It comes after the breakdown of negotiations between the two sides about a month ago in Osaka, with Federal Trade Minister Don Farrell saying the offer from the European side was insufficient.

Mr Schinas told SBS News that a fair-trade deal is still a target the E-U hopes to achieve.

"I think that the FTA inevitably would come to seal the intensity and the depth of our strategic partnership. It was not possible in Osaka, but it will happen down the road."

The first woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court has died aged 93.

Sandra Day O'Connor died in Phoenix, Arizona from complications related to dementia and a respiratory illness.

Justice O'Connor was appointed to America's highest court by former president Ronald Reagan in 1981.

The moderate conservative served for more than 24 years and retired in 2006.

Australians are volunteering less but giving more, as the government examines recommendations to boost the nation's altruism.

A draft report on philanthropy from the Productivity Commission found Australians donated more than $13 billion to charities in 2021, a 26 per cent increase since 2017.

But the number of Australians volunteering with organisations has declined over the last decade, with six million participating in 2022.

Productivity Commission deputy chair Alex Robson says while Australia was generous, there are more incentives to donate than volunteer.

"People don't have a lot of time to volunteer, they have less time than they used to. They've got family to take care of. But also, there's more women in the workforce, which is a good thing but part of the cost of that is that there's fewer volunteers around. And what we do in this report is recommend policy changes that the government could take to try to increase the number of Australians that volunteer."

A survey by FIFPro, the worldwide representative organisation for footballers, has highlighted the continued struggles faced by elite female professionals at the 2023 World Cup tournament.

The 2023 Women's World Cup broke records for the most revenue generated from ticket sales, and the largest ever global audience for a women's sporting event.

But FIFPro's survey found many players globally were inadequately compensated, with one in three earning less than $45,000 a year from football in national leagues; and one in five supplementing their income with a second job.

Advocacy by FIFPro saw FIFA commit to compensating all players an additional $45,000 for participation in the tournament.

But Dr Michelle O'Shea, senior lecturer in sport management at Western Sydney University, says FIFA could be doing more.

"I think putting a $30,000 value on top flight players from across the globe really does show that culturally we've got a long way to go in terms of how the women's game is valued. FIFA is said to have made the payment to their country federations. Many of those athletes have not actually received that payment. And the Nigerian women's team is one example of that."

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