live

The Loop: US President Joe Biden arrives in Maui to survey wildfire damage, speak to survivors

Japan will start releasing more than 1 million metric tonnes of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant on August 24, putting into motion a plan that has drawn strong criticism from China.

The plan, approved two years ago by the Japanese government as crucial to further decommissioning efforts at the plant, has also been opposed by local fishing groups, who fear reputational damage and a threat to their livelihood.

Japan has maintained that the water release is safe.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, also greenlighted the plan in July saying it met international standards and the impact it would have on people and the environment was "negligible."

Japan says the water will be filtered to remove most radioactive elements except for tritium, an isotope of hydrogen that is difficult to separate from water. The treated water will be diluted to well below internationally approved levels of tritium before being released into the Pacific.

Reporting by Reuters

You can get notifications about each day's edition of The Loop and other breaking news through the ABC News app.

If you don't have the app:

1. 1.Download it by tapping this link from your device and selecting the App Store or Google Play
2. 2.Download the app to your device 
3. 3.When you first open the app, you'll be invited to subscribe to any news alerts which interest you. The Loop is part of the Top Headlines category 🙋‍♀️ 

If you already have the app: 

• Open the app, then tap the Settings icon in the top-right corner, which looks like this:

• Then scroll down to Notifications, where you can subscribe to the alerts you want

The Loop is part of the Top Headlines category. 🙋‍♀️

Enjoy!

Justice Stephen Gageler will be the 14th Chief Justice of the Australian High Court, replacing current chief justice, Susan Kiefel upon her retirement.

A joint statement from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus described Justice Gageler as "highly respected for his leadership abilities and deep knowledge and understanding of constitutional law."

"Justice Gageler is currently the most senior puisne justice of the high court. He has served on the high court with distinction since 2012," the statement reads.

Justice Gageler will step into the role on November 6. 

Australians are being urged to get their COVID booster to help protect against new variants.

The latest Department of Health figures show four out of five Australians have not had their booster.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation is urging everyone over 65 to get their booster and recommends all other eligible adults should consider it.

University of Melbourne epidemiologist, Professor Nancy Baxter, told ABC Radio the new "Eris" variant is currently spreading rapidly in the US.

"You know whenever there's a peak, there's a dip, there's another peak coming and so there will be another outbreak of COVID, another rise in numbers," she said. "The question is what the variant will be because it always is based on a variant that has somehow been able to get around our immunity somewhat."

US President Joe Biden is in Maui nearly two weeks after wildfires swept through the Hawaiian island and killed more than 114 people.

Biden has arrived in the devastated city of Lahaina after a helicopter tour of burned-out areas with first lady Jill Biden, Hawaii Governor Josh Green and two Hawaiian senators.

Residents held up signs with messages as his motorcade passed through the devastated region.

The president says he would make sure local traditions are respected in the rebuilding of the community.

"The American people stand with you."

For the first time in 15 years Christina Aguilera will be perfoming down under.

Xtina will star in an exclusive show at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne on November 25. 

The all ages show is a part of the Victorian Government's Always Live program.

The pop icon will be joined by a number of artists throughout the month including The Temper Trap, Ruby Fields, Peter Garrett and many more.  

The program runs from the 24th of November to the 10th of December.  

Former US president Donald Trump plans to surrender himself for arrest in Georiga on Thursday according to a post on his Truth social media platform.

A 98-page indictment released last week charged Trump and 18 other defendants with 41 criminal counts in relation to alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 elections in Georgia.

Fulton Country District Attorney Fani Willis has given the defendants until Friday at noon to surrender or face arrest.

You can read more about the indictment here:

A trial in Brisbane  is being launched for a new COVID treatment for immunocompromised people.

The drug, dubbed "supernova", is a single injection designed to give immediate protection to people weakened by poor immune systems, blood cancer or other autoimmune issues.

The trial is being run by the Mater Hospital in Brisbane and immunosuppressed patients are invited to join.

 According to those running it, about 2 per cent of the population is immunocompromised.

Coles Group has reported a 4.8% increase in full-year profit, to $1.09 billion.

Meanwhile BHP's results are down 37% to $US13.4 billion.

Business reporter Gareth Hutchens is providing live updates on markets and annual reports today on the business blog.

Follow live here:

Police have charged a 49-year-old woman over a hit-and-run crash in Perth's southern suburbs that left a 12-year-old girl with serious injuries after she was run over at a lollipop crossing.

Alexis Lloyd was walking to school in Willetton on June 27 this year when she was struck by a white hatchback vehicle on Pinetree Gully Road.

The driver of the car did not stop to check on Alexis, who suffered a broken leg and collarbone and was taken to hospital by ambulance for treatment.

Read more here:

American Sha'Carri Richardson has flown home in lane nine to win the women's 100m at the world championships in Budapest, denying Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce what would have been a record-equalling sixth world title.

Richardson, 23, claimed gold with a personal best and championship record time of 10.65 seconds, having missed the 2021 Olympics over a positive test for marijuana and failing to qualify for last year's worlds.

Meanwhile, Australian Matthew Denny has smashed the decade-long national discus record but finished just outside medals.

Denny looked set to claim a spot on the podium with his fourth-round effort of 68.24m, which was 4cm better than Benn Harradine's Australian mark set back in 2013.

You can keep reading about the results here:

A class action has been launched against Qantas in the federal court, allegeding the national carrier misled customers about their refund options, withheld funds, and engaged in a "pattern of unconscionable conduct".

Andrew Paull, partner at Melbourne firm Echo Law, who is leading the class action, spoke to News Breakfast.

He alleges that during COVID, Qantas's own terms and conditions said they were required to refund people for COVID cancellations but instead  pushed everyone into a brand new travel credits program.

"We said that, that was a breach of its own contract. And we also say that it did this in a highly misleading way. It presented it as a program designed to help customers, when in fact, it was designed to help Qantas's own bottom line," Paull said.

In a statement, Qantas rejected the allegation it had enjoyed significant financial benefits during COVID saying it had lost "more than $25 billion in revenue and posted statutory losses of $7 billion during the pandemic".

It says it's given back $1 billion to customers over this period.

The next step is for Qantas to file a defence, which may take a month or a little bit longer.

Just weeks out from the Voice Referendum Australia's Electoral Commissioner has raised concerns about the safety of his staff and volunteers.

Tom Rogers says he's seen an increase in threats against staff with members of the public, intimidating and threatening voters at polling stations seen at the last federal election and New South Wales state election.

"What we saw was staff being filmed, harrassed for doing their job which was very disappointing," he says.

"We're seeing behaviours we haven't seen previously and we're absolutely calling for civility."

He told ABC News Breakfast the abuse goes hand in hand with an increase in misinformation and disinformation being spread online.

The date of the referendum is yet to be announced.

 Charles Martinet, the original voice of Mario in Nintendo games since the 1990s, is stepping down.

Nintendo of America has confirmed Martinet will now serve in the role of "Mario Ambassador," traveling around the world to promote the beloved plumber, signing autographs and performing Nintendo character voices.

"It's been a privilege working with Charles to help bring Mario to life for so many years and we want to thank and celebrate him," Nintendo says in a statement.

Nintendo did not give say why Martinet is stepping down or who would replace him as Mario's voice.

US President Joe Biden has arrived in Hawaii, where wildfires have left a trail of devastation.

He and First Lady Jill Biden are meeting with first responders and receiving updates from state and local officials.

They will then visit the devastated city of Lahaina to see the wildfire damage firsthand, talk with survivors, receive a briefing from state and local officials and deliver remarks.

Mr Biden is also expected to pay tribute to the victims.

The fires have killed more than 100 people in Hawaii. 

The head of Russia's space agency says the Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after its engines failed to shut down correctly, blaming the country's decades-long pause in lunar exploration for the mishap.

The pilotless Luna-25 had been scheduled to land on Monday while aiming to become the first spacecraft to touch down on the south pole of the moon, an area where scientists believe important reserves of frozen water and precious elements may exist.

Roscosmos Director General Yury Borisov says the spacecraft's engines were turned on over the weekend to put Luna-25 into a "pre-landing orbit" but did not shut down properly, plunging the lander onto the moon.

Roscosmos had contact with the spacecraft until Saturday, when communication was lost and "the device passed into an open lunar orbit and crashed into the surface of the moon," he said.

The lunar mission was Russia's first since 1976, when it was part of the Soviet Union.

"The negative experience of interrupting the lunar program for almost 50 years is the main reason for the failures," Borisov said, adding "it would be the worst decision ever" for Russia to end the program now.

The Luna-25 was in a race with an Indian spacecraft launched on July 14 to be the first to reach the south pole.

Meanwhile, the Indian Space Research Organisation says their spacecraft, Chandrayaan-3, is on course to land on Wednesday.

Spain's newly crowned world champions have celebrated the whole way home with pictures and videos capturing it all.

During their flight home they posed with passengers and trophies before heading to Madrid to cruise through the streets on an open-top bus.

ABC News Breakfast captured the celebrations live, showing fans giving their support late into the night.

The clean-up has begun in some areas of California from Storm Hilary and it now moves to Nevada, Utah and into the north-west of the US.

In Cathedral city, locals were forced to flee their homes in the middle of the night as large downpours led to flash flooding.

Some residents of a care home had to be rescued with excavation equipment.

Reuters is reporting the storm flooded streets and downed power lines across Southern California but no deaths have been recorded.

Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has posted his first video address since leading a short-lived mutiny in late June.

Prigozhin appears in a clip, possibly shot in Africa, on Telegram channels affiliated with the Wagner group.

In the video, he is seen standing in a desert area in camouflage and with a rifle in his hands.

In the distance, there are more armed men and a pickup truck.

Reuters was not able to geolocate or verify the date of the video, but Prigozhin's comments and some posts in the pro-Wagner channels suggested it was filmed in Africa.

"The temperature is +50 - everything as we like. The Wagner PMC makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa - more free. Justice and happiness - for the African people, we're making life a nightmare for ISIS and Al-Qaeda and other bandits," Prigozhin says in a video.

He then says Wagner is recruiting people and the group "will fulfil the tasks that were set".

The video is accompanied by a telephone number for those who want to join the group.

The future of Wagner and Prigozhin has been unclear since he led a short mutiny against the Russian defence establishment in late June and the Kremlin said he and some of his fighters — who have fought in some of the fiercest battles of the Ukraine war — would leave for Belarus.

Since the mutiny, some Wagner fighters have moved to Belarus and started training the army there.

In comments published in late July, Prigozhin also says Wagner is ready to further increase its presence in Africa

Here are some of this morning's latest news stories:

• Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has posted his first video address since leading a short-lived mutiny in late June, appearing in a clip possibly shot in Africa

• British nurse Lucy Letby has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six others in a neonatal ward in the English city of Chester

• Donald Trump's bond has been set at $US200,000 ($311,000)  in the Georgia case accusing him of scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss

• Residents in California are assessing damage from Tropical Storm Hilary as it heads toward more US states