Protesters furious with pledges on climate and COVID-19.

One person has been taken to hospital and four houses have been badly damaged by a major fire in Wellington.The blaze broke out in a property on Hanson St in Newtown just after 10.30 last night.It quickly spread to three other…

Israel's parliament has narrowly voted in favour of a new coalition government, ending Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's historic 12-year rule.

Naftali Bennett, a former ally of Mr Netanyahu turned bitter rival, becomes Prime Minister, presiding over a diverse and fragile coalition comprising eight parties with deep ideological differences.

Mr Netanyahu remains head of the Likud party and will hold the post of Opposition Leader.

Sunday's vote, passed by a 60-59 margin, ended a two-year cycle of political paralysis in which the country held four elections.

From RNZ New guidelines from the World Health Organisation calling for an end to compulsory and “coercive” treatment for mental illness should be a wake-up call for New Zealand, mental health experts say.A senior lecturer at…

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Leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy nations have pledged more than 1 billion coronavirus vaccine doses to poorer countries, vowed to help developing countries grow their economies while fighting climate change and agreed to challenge China's "non-market economic practices" and call out Beijing for rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

Speaking at the end of a G7 leaders' summit in south-west England, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday praised the "fantastic degree of harmony" among the re-energised group, which met in person for the first time in two years.

The leaders wanted to show international cooperation was back after the upheavals caused by the pandemic and the unpredictability of former US President Donald Trump.

READ MORE: Scott Morrison holds first in-person meeting with Joe Biden in trilateral G7 talk

And they wanted to convey that the club of wealthy democracies — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States — is a better friend to poorer nations than authoritarian rivals such as China.

Mr Johnson said the G7 would demonstrate the value of democracy and human rights to the rest of the world and help "the world's poorest countries to develop themselves in a way that is clean and green and sustainable."

"It's not good enough for us to just rest on our laurels and talk about how important those values are," he told reporters after the 3-day meeting on the Cornwall coast.

"And this isn't about imposing our values on the rest of the world. What we as the G7 need to do is demonstrate the benefits of democracy and freedom and human rights to the rest of the world."

But health and environmental campaigners were distinctly unimpressed by the details in the leaders' final meeting communique.

"This G7 summit will live on in infamy," said Max Lawson, the head of inequality policy at the international aid group Oxfam.

"Faced with the biggest health emergency in a century and a climate catastrophe that is destroying our planet, they have completely failed to meet the challenges of our times."

Despite Mr Johnson's call to "vaccinate the world" by the end of 2022, the promise of 1 billion doses for vaccine-hungry countries — coming both directly and through the international COVAX program — falls far short of the 11 billion doses the World Health Organisation said was needed to vaccinate at least 70 per cent of the world's population and truly end the pandemic.

Half of the billion-dose pledge is coming from the United States and 100 million from Britain.

The G7 also backed a minimum tax of at least 15 per cent on large multinational companies to stop corporations from using tax havens to avoid taxes.

The minimum rate was championed by the United States and dovetails with the aim of President Joe Biden to focus the summit on ways the democracies can support a fairer global economy by working together.

Mr Biden also wanted to persuade fellow democratic leaders to present a more unified front to compete economically with Beijing and strongly call out China's "nonmarket policies and human rights abuses."

READ MORE: How Donald Trump is still haunting the G7 summit

"With regard to China, and competition in the global economy, we will continue to consult on collective approaches to challenging non-market policies and practices which undermine the fair and transparent operation of the global economy," the group said in its communique, published on Sunday.

The leaders said they would promote their values by calling on China to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Xinjiang, where Beijing is accused of committing serious human rights abuses against the Uyghur minority, and in the semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong.

Mr Johnson, the summit's host, wanted the three-day meeting to fly the flag for a "Global Britain," his government's push to give the midsized country outsized global influence.

Yet Brexit cast a shadow over that goal during the summit on the coast of south-west England. European Union leaders and US President Joe Biden voiced concerns about problems with new UK-EU trade rules that have heightened tensions in Northern Ireland.

But overall, the mood was positive: The leaders smiled for the cameras on the beach at cliff-fringed Carbis Bay, a village and resort that became a traffic-clogged fortress for the meeting. The last G7 summit was in France in 2019, with last year's event in the United States scuttled by the pandemic.

The leaders mingled with Queen Elizabeth II at a royal reception on their first evening and were served steak and lobster at a beach barbecue after watching an aeronautic display by the Royal Air Force Red Arrows on their second.

America's allies were visibly relieved to have the US back as an engaged international player after the "America First" policy of the Trump administration.

"The United States is back, and democracies of the world are standing together," Mr Biden said as he arrived in the UK on the first foreign trip of his five-month-old presidency.

After the G7 summit, the president will have tea with the queen on Sunday, attend a NATO summit in Brussels on Monday and hold talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Geneva on Wednesday.

At the G7, Mr Johnson described Mr Biden as a "breath of fresh air."

French President Emmanuel Macron, after speaking one-to-one with Mr Biden, said, "It's great to have a US president part of the club and very willing to cooperate."

The re-energised G7 made ambitious declarations during meetings about girls' education, preventing future pandemics and financing greener infrastructure globally

On climate change, the "Build Back Better for the World" plan promises to offer financing for infrastructure — "from railways in Africa to wind farms in Asia" — to help speed up the global shift to renewable energy. The plan is a response to China's "belt and road" initiative, which has increased Beijing's worldwide influence.

All G7 countries have pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, but many environmentalists say that will be too little, too late.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is attending the summit as a guest along with several other middle power nations' leaders, on Sunday reaffirmed the country's commitment to a looser target to "achieve net-zero emissions as soon as possible, preferably by 2050".

Naturalist David Attenborough addressed the leaders by video on Sunday, warning that humanity was "on the verge of destabilising the entire planet."

"If that is so, then the decisions we make this decade — in particular the decisions made by the most economically advanced nations — are the most important in human history," the veteran documentary filmmaker said.

Large crowds of surfers and kayakers took to the sea in a mass protest Saturday to urge better protections for the world's oceans, while thousands beat drums as they marched outside the summit's media centre in Falmouth.

"G-7 is all greenwashing," the protesters sang.

"We're drowning in promises, now's the time to act."

The communique's language on China was more muted than the United States had sought.

White House officials also said Biden wanted the G7 leaders to speak in a single voice against the forced labour practices targeting China's Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities.

Canada, Britain and France largely endorsed Mr Biden's position on China, while Germany, Italy and the European Union showed more hesitancy, according to two senior Biden administration officials.

You can find out more details about how to book your vaccine through the Federal Government health site here.

A 10-year-old boy has described how a shark launched at him three times while he was snorkelling, leaving him with two deep gashes to his foot.

Jackson Bartlett was snorkelling with his dad at Five Finger Reef, near Coral Bay, in Western Australia on Friday morning when a shadow followed him in the water.

"It went for me, missed," Jackson told 9News from his hospital bed.

"Then went for me, got one of my flippers, then went for me and got a flipper and my leg."

The 2-metre bronze whaler left two nasty gashes in the schoolboy's foot, slicing it from his ankle to his toes.

"I was bleeding at (that) moment … I thought I was going to die because it was really scary," he said.

Jackon's father, Blake Bartlett, told 9News he felt as though he was running on water as he rushed his injured son back to shore.

"We were out probably 75 metres, so it was a long way, and felt like a lifetime," Mr Bartlett said.

Off-duty doctors at the beach gave Jackson first aid before he was airlifted to Perth Children's Hospital.

"Since it bit me, I wanted to take one of its teeth so I could remember it," Jackson said.

"I still like sharks. But I just don't want to swim too close to big ones like that.

"I want to go back surfing. I just love the ocean."

Jackson is expected to be discharged from hospital tomorrow.

The Bartletts have been travelling around Australia for the past nine months.

It is expected Jackson and his family will fly back home to Sydney this week where he will spend time recovering, before they head back to WA to resume their travels.

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The body of a hiker who died after falling from a cliff yesterday in the Blue Mountains has been recovered.

Emergency crews were notified about 2.45pm yesterday that a 60-year-old man had fallen and suffered head injuries while hiking with a group near Wentworth Falls.

"(He was) scrambling up a rock shelf … and there's also a suggestion he has been hit in the head by a rock," NSW Police Force Sergeant Dallas Atkinson said.

The hikers were said to be in a remote area of the mountains at the time.

The rest of the group walked to safety but, due to the rugged terrain and high winds, the rescue mission was postponed until morning.

READ MORE: Rain eases in Victoria after deluge as damage assessment begins

The search resumed at sunrise today but by the time police and paramedics arrived, the man was pronounced dead.

With assistance from the police helicopter, the man's body was located at Blue Drum Creek and later recovered about 3pm.

A report is being prepared for the coroner.

Residents across flood affected areas of Victoria have breathed a collective sigh of relief this morning as clear skies finally make their way across the state.

Acting premier James Merlino today said financial assistance would be available to eligible Victorians impacted by floods and storm damage.

"We have got this for residential homes, getting people back on their feet, back in their homes as quickly as possible," he said.

Financial aid of up to $42,250 will be available to those who qualify for the payment.

READ MORE: Victoria records one new local case of COVID-19

https://twitter.com/BOM_Vic/status/1403537103116505093?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said authorities had visited hundreds of properties following the severe weather.

"My latest advice is that those impact assessment teams have visited almost 600 properties, and there are about 140 but have been impacted in one way or another," he said.

:We will continue to do that impact assessment work, working closely with local government to make sure we marry up that information."

While there was some rainfall in the early hours of today, most of the day is expected to remain dry after a horror few days of weather for parts of Victoria.

A number of flood warnings have been downgraded overnight, but three remain in place at the Thompson, Yarra and the Latrobe Rivers.

Yesterday, Victoria's largest power plant was evacuated as the the situation continued to worsen, prompting fears that the state's power supply might be compromised.

Yallourn Power Station, east of Trafalgar, is responsible for roughly a third of the state's electricity and three generators were taken offline yesterday after heavy rain caused flooding and landslides.

Unions and workers at the plant estimated there was just three days worth of reserves.

"The company was very concerned that if they had water ingress into their mine, they may damage equipment and endanger personnel," Mark Richards from the CFMEU said.

"The long-term supply issues are what they're trying to maintain, and as soon as the water stops flooding in, it'll be a case of firing up the plant and getting the four units back up and running."

READ MORE: Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews confirms day he will return to work

Since then, the Victorian government has attempted alleviate concerns, assuring residents that there is enough energy to maintain the state's winter demand.

Authorities have continued to warn people to stay clear of floodwaters and practice extreme caution at affected regions, urging drivers especially to remain alert, as just 15cm of water is enough to sweep vehicles of roads.

While residents make the most of the dry day, more rain is expected to fall later in the week, raising new fears of more flooding.

Tens of thousands remain still without power, as SES and energy companies struggle to keep up with demand.