AdvertisementAlexander Darling and Emily KaineUpdated October 22, 2025 — 4:38pm,first published October 22, 2025 — 5:46amSaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items.Remove items from your saved list to add more.Save this article for laterAdd articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.Got itShareBack to TopKey Posts4.38pmWhat we covered today3.32pm‘These things don’t get resolved overnight’: Farrell says fight for tariff removal continues2.58pmNSW Police officer facing fresh charges over arrest of Greens candidate2.40pmLey responds to Hume’s ‘churlish’ charge, walks back Rudd dismissal call2.26pmWild weather halts race that stops Geelong2.20pmWhat Harry and Meghan have in common with Steve Bannon1.07pmDon’t use AI to figure out who to vote for, warns Dutch watchdog12.52pmHiggins drops defamation appeal against Reynolds, paving way for bankruptcy action11.56amToday’s headlines so far11.04amPM’s plane forced to land in MissouriThat’s where we’ll leave the blog for today. We’ll be back tomorrow with continuing live coverage. Here’s a quick recap:Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has walked back her calls for Australia’s ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd to be sacked over his past comments about US President Donald Trump. Ley’s softer words today came after one of her own MPs Jane Hume labelled the sacking call “churlish”.The wash-up from the prime minister’s visit to see President Trump continues. Today the trade minister was downplaying the impact the deal would have on Australia’s economic relationship with China, while the PM’s plane had to land in the US midwest after a midair incident.The government’s revamped environmental laws are also a topic of discussion. These are set to be reintroduced into parliament next week, but the Greens, environmentalists and business groups all have their reservations about it. This afternoon, Coalition senator Dave Sharma said he welcomed reports that the laws will not include a climate trigger that could block coal and gas projects.Brittany Higgins has dropped her appeal against her one-time boss and former Liberal senator Linda Reynolds’ defamation win in Western Australia’s Supreme Court. This means Reynolds is free to pursue Higgins and husband David Sharaz for bankruptcy.In Victoria, the Geelong Cup will be run on Thursday after the meeting was postponed due to damaging winds and safety concerns.Still in Victoria, and the state’s police commissioner has apologised for using a police helicopter to fly to Tasmania on Monday. “This doesn’t pass the pub test,” Mike Bush said in Hobart.In New South Wales, police have laid an additional charge against an officer over the arrest of former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas at an anti-Israel demonstration in June.And overseas, North Korea fired what appeared to be multiple short-range ballistic missiles ahead of Trump meeting with the South Korean president next week. Meanwhile, a road crash involving two buses on one of Uganda’s busiest highways has killed at least 63 people.ShareYou may have seen recently a very deliberate focus from our Melbourne newsroom to document the way things are in the city’s growing western suburbs – from transport issues, to crime, planning, health and the environment, the area has unique variations on problems familiar to all of us.And how the west’s issues are addressed matters for the whole city: “Melbourne is at a crossroads,” writes The Age in its editorial today.The Go West series culminates this week.Matt Davidson“The number of people who call the west home stands at close to 1 million. By 2050, it is projected to be 1.8 million, twice the size it was in 2021, and bigger than the population of Adelaide. It is the fastest population growth in Australia.”Tonight and tomorrow, our reporters will moderate a multi-day summit geared towards unlocking west Melbourne’s true potential.Click here to read the series.SharePolice are reviewing charges against more than 120 protesters who participated in a blockade of the world’s largest port after four activists were acquitted in court.Hordes of people descended on the Port of Newcastle in November to call on the federal government to rule out new coal and gas mines, and introduce a 78 per cent tax on coal and gas exports.Climate protesters in kayaks attempt to block access to the Port of Newcastle in November 2024.Getty ImagesMore than 170 people were arrested during the multi-day event, which organisers Rising Tide hailed as the largest single act of civil disobedience in Australia’s history.Four of the activists were charged with seriously disrupting or obstructing a major facility and faced Newcastle Local Court on Tuesday, where the charges were dismissed.The magistrate found there was a lack of reliable evidence as to the protesters’ movements at the time, so the offences couldn’t be made out, according to Rising Tide.The decision has prompted calls for NSW Police to withdraw action against 129 of the remaining protesters charged under the “anti-protest laws” introduced in 2022 after a surge of climate activism.A lawyer for 50 of the protesters said the “decisive and clear” ruling could set a critical precedent for others facing the same charges.“The police have spent enough time, money and resources on these charges,” Climate Defenders Australia director Josh Pallas said.“The police as prosecutors must act in the public interest, and the public interest – and the interests of justice – can only be served if these charges are withdrawn.”A spokesperson for the NSW Police Force said they are reviewing all matters, including recent court decisions.Rising Tide is planning another protest for this coming November, expected to attract thousands of attendees.AAPShareAdvertisementNorth Korea fired what appeared to be multiple short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, a week before a key Asia-Pacific leaders’ meeting in South Korea.It was the first launch of ballistic missiles since May by Pyongyang, which has defied a United Nations Security Council ban on the weapons.North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.APIt was also the first such launch since Lee Jae Myung was elected president in South Korea, with a platform of engagement with North Korea.Lee and US President Donald Trump are expected to meet in South Korea next week at a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation, where Trump is also expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.APShareJust a quick reminder that we have live blogs monitoring the weather situations in Victoria and NSW right now.A total of 13,918 customers are currently without power across Victoria due to widespread unplanned outages caused by severe weather. Read more here.And after heat that largely peaked in the early afternoon, temperatures across Sydney are starting to cool. Read more here.ShareThe results of a new study pour cold water on arguments vaping is largely short-lived among young people, according to the authors.The research, published in the Lancet medical journal, tracked the use of vapes among almost 1200 people aged between 12 and 21 from metropolitan Melbourne.VapesMarija Ercegovac“Among those who initiated vaping, more than one-third reported escalating use, and about one in five reported at least monthly vaping when they first reported use,” the authors wrote.“Beyond showing a sharply increasing prevalence across adolescence, these levels of sustained and frequent use are concerning as they suggest that a significant proportion of these young Australians may have developed nicotine dependence, as has been shown for young Americans.”The authors also noted the decline in smoking cigarettes after vaping become more common.Nationwide laws to restrict the availability of vapes came into effect in July 2024.ShareAdvertisementA road crash involving two buses on one of Uganda’s busiest highways has killed at least 63 people and left others injured, police say.The crash happened just after midnight on Wednesday on the highway between capital Kampala and the northern city of Gulu.View post on XInitial investigations suggest it was caused by two buses travelling in opposite directions trying to overtake other vehicles on the road – a truck and an SUV.“In the process both buses met head-on during the overtaking manoeuvres,” the Uganda Police Force said in a statement on X.“Sixty-three people lost lives, all occupants from involved vehicles.”ReutersShare“How do we sleep while our beds are burning?”This is how scientists led by Adelaide’s Flinders University have titled their latest research paper, which suggests that increasingly warmer nights are “chipping away at our sleep and with it, our health”.Rising global temperatures are costing us shut-eye, and impacting our health, according to Australian-led research.Fairfax MediaThe analysis of more than 300,000 people using sleep tracking devices found participants lost an average of 15 to 17 minutes of sleep when the temperature rose above the global median.“More concerning, the likelihood of experiencing short sleep – defined as less than six hours per night – increases by approximately 40% with similar results being observed during heatwaves,” the researchers said in a statement.“Sleep deprivation is linked to depression, cardiovascular disease, impaired cognitive function, and increased risk of accidents,” said senior researcher Professor Danny Eckert.“As global temperatures continue to rise, the burden of sleep-related health issues is likely to grow too.”Lead author Dr Bastien Lechat said that aside from individual solutions like keeping bedrooms cool and drinking water, public health strategies such as using heat-resilient housing designs could help.Earth’s temperature has risen by an average of 0.11 degrees Fahrenheit (0.06 degrees Celsius) per decade since 1850, according to the US’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.ShareStaying with the trade minister on ABC News, and Don Farrell was also asked whether Australia missed an opportunity by not tying the critical minerals deal to getting US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Australian exports removed.“No,” said Farrell. “In fact only an hour ago I raised this very issue with the governor of Utah [Spencer Cox] that we think that the American government should be honouring the terms of our free trade agreement and removing those tariffs.”The “reciprocal tariffs” Donald Trump announced on April 2.BloombergIn April, the US imposed a 10 per cent baseline tariff on most imported goods from Australia, as part of a wider program of tariffs that affected other nations more seriously.“When we came to government in the last parliament it took us three years to remove all the tariffs that had been applied by China,” said Farrell.“These things don’t get resolved overnight.“But I think the warm relationship that has been established between [Albanese and Trump] means we can continue this discussion and hopefully in the not-too-distant future we can explain to the Americans that ... we should return to tariff-free, free and fair trade between Australia and the US.”ShareAdvertisementAustralia’s Trade Minister Don Farrell says he hasn’t spoken with his Chinese counterparts since the prime minister signed a critical minerals deal with US President Donald Trump earlier this week.But Farrell also said he didn’t expect the deal to at all affect the China-Australia trade relationship.Trade Minister Don Farrell.Oscar ColmanUnder the deal, both countries will each invest at least $1.5 billion in the next six months to develop critical minerals projects in Australia.The $13 billion pact is designed to provide security of supply for critical minerals as China withholds exports and the technology needed for processing.On ABC News this afternoon, Farrell was asked if he’d spoken with China since the signing.“No I have not,” he said.“I’m going to with the world’s largest trade meeting [in Shanghai] in a couple of weeks’ time and I am hoping to continue my very good relationship with my counterpart, the Chinese trade minister Wang Wentao.”“We want a good relationship with China. I don’t think the [minerals] agreement with the US will have any impact on that at all.”Earlier this afternoon China responded to the Albanese-Trump meeting, and our correspondent Lisa Visentin said it was muted in its views on critical minerals compared to the AUKUS pact.With AAPShareA beloved banh mi spot closes, leaving a suburban bowls club fighting for survivalRain to ring in new year with possible thunderstorms on the wayHow Brisbane hopes to avoid public transport gridlock on New Year’s EveQueensland’s public sex offender register is live. Here’s what it’s like to access it‘That’s heavy’: Woolies bag laden with $20 bundles seized in Fortitude Valley drug probeMan taken into custody in Clem7 as another surrenders from rooftopAdvertisementClose comments panel