Energy experts say South Korea's pledge to phase out thermal coal should be a wake-up call for Australia's fossil fuel industry.

This week South Korea – a major customer of Australian thermal coal exports – joined Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA), committing to abandon all its coal power by 2040.

The move was lauded by environment campaigners who have pushed major industrial nations to ditch fossil fuels and replace them with renewable energy sources.

READ MORE: Australia loses out in bid to host crucial climate conference

South Korea is the world's fourth largest importer of coal, which is used to power its industrial base and heat homes.

But the country's steelmakers have been building steel plants that do not use coal, resulting in a gradual drop in demand for the fossil fuel.

But South Korea's decision and similar moves by other nations also brings big implications for Australian coal exporters.

The value of Australian coal exports to South Korea is worth about $2.4 billion a year, data analytics company Kpler said.

The Australian Office of the Chief Economist has forecast a near 15 per cent decline in global thermal coal demand in the three years to 2027.

Thermal coal, along with iron ore, liquified gas and coking coal, make up Australia's four largest commodity exports from last year.

Climate Energy Finance director Tim Buckley said those major exporters would be "terminally challenged" over coming decades as countries shifted to renewable energy to meet commitments under the 2015 Paris agreement.

"This should send a strong reminder to Australia as the second largest exporter of thermal coal behind only Indonesia that our key trade partners are responding to climate science and their treaty obligations," he said.

"Australia needs to pivot our export focus to low emissions industries of the future, in particular exporting green iron and aluminium, critical minerals and lithium hydroxide to help our key trade partners jointly deliver on their decarbonisation objectives."

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The White House was quietly lobbying senators to slow-walk a vote to force the release of investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein even as President Donald Trump publicly insisted his administration had nothing to hide and urged Congress to act, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The effort unravelled on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST) when senators approved the measure passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives without the changes Trump aides had pressed for, exposing the limits of the president's sway over his party on an issue that has bedeviled him since he returned to power this year.

The measure is now expected to land on Trump's desk as soon as Wednesday (Thursday AEST), and he has indicated he plans to sign it.

READ MORE: US Senate unanimously agrees to send Epstein files bill to Trump's desk

His signature would cap an extraordinary week that began with Trump reversing course on Sunday night to urge House passage of a bill his administration had been trying to stall or head off for months.

The measure compels the release of US Justice Department files on Epstein, the late convicted sex offender and New York financier who fraternised with some of the most influential men in the country.

Pivot to damage control

By late on Sunday afternoon, top White House aides and the president had concluded their campaign to prevent the vote was failing, and they tried to pivot from prevention to damage control, said the sources, who were not authorised to speak publicly.

White House aides ramped up their outreach to Senate leadership for amendments to the House bill, including redactions to protect victims, as a final effort to influence the measure, the two sources said.

They prepared for a period of "messaging and management" to slow the bill, encouraging senators to portray any delay as responsible oversight. They also circulated talking points tailored to vulnerable Republicans, urging them to frame the vote around transparency while quickly steering the conversation back to affordability issues that are expected to loom large in next year's midterm congressional elections.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said Trump had worried the focus on Epstein would distract from his other priorities.

"President Trump has never been against releasing the Epstein files – rather, he has always been against Republicans falling into the Democrat trap of talking about this rather than focusing on the historic tax cuts signed into law, the fact that zero illegal aliens have entered our country in five months, and the many other accomplishments of the Trump Administration on behalf of the American people," Jackson said.

Limit to Trump's power?

Despite weeks of strategising and direct pressure on politicians – including a long delay in swearing in a newly elected Democratic politician – congressional Republicans moved ahead against Trump's wishes.

The fight has taken a toll on Trump's public approval, which fell to its lowest point this year in a Reuters/Ipsos poll concluded on Monday. It found that just 44 per cent of Republicans thought Trump was handling the Epstein situation well.

Another 60 per cent of Americans believed the federal government was hiding information about Epstein's death, and 70 per cent believed it was hiding information about people involved in his sex crimes. A majority of Trump's Republicans shared those suspicions.

READ MORE: Trump hurls outrageous slur at female reporter

The saga also soured relations with one of his strongest Republican supporters in Congress, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

Trump socialised and partied with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s before what he calls a rift, and later amplified conspiracy theories about Epstein to his own supporters.

Now, many Trump voters believe his administration has covered up Epstein's ties to powerful figures and obscured details surrounding his death in a Manhattan jail, which was ruled a suicide while Trump was president in 2019.

Epstein pleaded guilty to a Florida state felony prostitution charge in 2008 and served 13 months in jail. The US Justice Department charged him with sex trafficking of minors in 2019. Epstein had pleaded not guilty to those charges before his death.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and the investigative material to date has yet to reveal any specific compromising details, though House Democrats last week released a 2019 email from Epstein that cryptically contended Trump "knew about the girls."

READ MORE: What's next once Trump signs bill releasing the Epstein files

The intense focus on the Epstein files has fuelled frustration within the White House and for Trump personally. The president this week lashed out at female reporters who pressed him on Epstein, calling one "a terrible person" and saying, "Quiet, quiet piggy" to another. Aides expressed exasperation over what they see as the Republican Party's fixation on the issue – one, they fear, might persist no matter what files are released.

"There is a misconception, embraced by many in the Republican Party, that the federal government is hiding information about Epstein," a senior White House official said. "But that theory is simply not true … the president has nothing to hide."

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

For under 25s: Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800.

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Australian shoppers can now expect parcels to arrive any day of the week, as Australia Post reintroduces temporary weekend deliveries starting this Saturday to manage the enormous volume of packages expected this festive season.

The move, which covers all metro capital cities and selected regional locations, comes as Australia Post prepares for the surge driven by major sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

The weekend service will remain in place until Christmas.

READ MORE: What's next once Trump signs bill releasing the Epstein files

Gary Starr, Australia Post's Executive General Manager for Parcels, Post, and eCommerce Services, said the extra service would ensure deliveries remained timely during the peak period.

"With Black Friday and Cyber Monday just around the corner, we're expecting to see a significant spike in parcel volumes and online spending activity," Starr said.

"Last year we delivered nearly 103 million parcels over the Black Friday sales period, and we're ready to go even bigger this holiday season. Weekend deliveries are just one of the ways Australia Post is stepping up to support our customers."

To handle the expected influx of parcels, Australia Post has had to expand its resources.

This includes adding more free Parcel Lockers and opening new, dedicated parcel-focused Post Offices with 24/7 self-serve options in metro areas across NSW, VIC, QLD, and ACT.

Christmas deadlines for packages

To avoid disappointment, shoppers are being told to stick to these cut-off dates to guarantee arrival by Christmas Day.

Service	Same state (metro)	Interstate (metro)
Parcel Post	Monday, December 22	Friday, December 19
Express Post	Tuesday, December 23	Tuesday, December 23

People sending to or from Western Australia, Northern Territory, Tasmania, or regional and remote locations, should allow a few extra days.

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A Sydney man says an order to turn over his personalised licence plates featuring the infamous nickname of a WWII dictator is a violation of his free speech rights.

Eddie sent a message to Ben Fordham Live on 2GB saying the message he received from Transport for NSW was "another damning indictment of the woke left imposing their thoughts on our society".

His personalised licence plates, for which he claims he paid just shy of $900, read ILDUCE, or "Il Duce" – Italian for "The Leader".

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https://omny.fm/shows/ben-fordham-full-show/exclusive-sydney-driver-told-to-return-controversial-numberplate/embed

Duce is descended from the Latin word "dux", from which the noble title "duke" is also derived.

"Il Duce" was also the widely used nickname of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, who ruled Italy from 1922 until his overthrow and death in 1945, and who was a close ally of Adolf Hitler.

Eddie told 2GB's Ben Fordham that he chose the plates to reflect his business role.

READ MORE: Footage catches car thief's reaction on finding sleeping baby

"(The car) is under my company ownership, the words really mean 'the leader', I'm the director of the company," he said.

He acknowledged there was a "connotation" to Mussolini but maintained the words themselves were innocent.

He claimed there was a double standard in place, with other "offensive" licence plates allowed on the roads.

READ MORE: First cyclone of season jumps to category 2, set to U-turn for coast

Transport for NSW confirmed a member of the public had reported the plates, which were subject to an assessment by the department.

"The decision to withdraw the plates is based on a wider perception they could be directly related to fascist dictator Benito Mussolini," a spokesperson said.

"The ILDUCE number plates were originally issued due to an oversight in the vetting process."

Transport for NSW will refund the balance of the annual fee owing for the plates and issue replacement plates at no cost.

Eddie will also be able to order a new set of personalised plates up to the same cost as he paid for the ILDUCE plates, free of charge.

Until then, he will be given general issue plates on the spot when he turns in the ILDUCE plates before the deadline of November 24.

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Exclusive: For anyone, having a loved one diagnosed with cancer is devastating.

Especially when it's one of the least survivable kinds.

But Steph McGuire, 31, lost her mother, father and aunt to the same kind of cancer over just 12 months.

READ MORE: 'Beautiful and gentile soul' killed a month before her 18th in suspected hit-run

"It's hard to know what to feel it's just so surreal," McGuire, from Melbourne, said.

"When mum got it, obviously it hit hard.

"Then a few months later, my dad got diagnosed, which was horrible.

"It was stage four, my mum was stage three.

"Then my aunty got diagnosed a year or so later.

"You're like, 'Surely it's not the same.'"

The mother to Harvey, four, and Hazel, 10 months, with husband Shaydan, is now worried about her own health.

Her mum, Vicki Jackson, who worked at a law firm, died aged 65 in July 2024, just over two years after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Her early symptom was itching palms, a sign of bile in the bloodstream.

READ MORE: Beloved dog stolen alongside ute in Brisbane found dead

Her former CEO father, Steve, who was given the devastating news that he too had pancreatic cancer just months after his ex-wife's diagnosis, died a year after that, aged 66.

He had bowel issues, which flagged a problem, though he defied expectations to live for three years after chemo and a trial treatment.

In between losing her parents, Steph's aunt and her mother's sister, Valerie Boyd, was also diagnosed with and died from the disease.

She had diabetes, which can be an indicator.

Steph is now doing genetic testing to see if she's likely to develop it, though testing done on her parents indicated it was not a genetic type.

An early diagnosis is crucial to surviving.

"It definitely freaks me out, once the symptoms are there, it's really too late," she says.

Advocates are also pushing for more money to help save lives.

READ MORE: Nut allergy to brain injury: what happened to Max?

Michelle Stewart, CEO of Pankind, said earlier detection and faster treatment – as well as funding for research – is needed.

"Survival has improved, but not fast enough and when several members of a family are diagnosed, it underscores the urgent need to understand familial and genetic risk," Stewart said.

Pankind has a family health checker online so Aussies can assess their risk.

Last month, a new study for a screening program was announced, trialling surveillance methods for those at higher risk.

It aligns Australia with the global PRECEDE study, which aims to lift five-year survival rates from 13 to 50 per cent within a decade.

A spokesman for the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing said the Australian Government supports health and medical research with $650 million annually from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) and around $1 billion a year through the National Health and Medical Research Council's (NHMRC) Medical Research Endowment Account (MREA).

It has invested more than $13 million for research focused on pancreatic cancer in the past decade, he said.

"Between 2015 and 2024, the NHMRC has expended $41.5 million towards research relevant to pancreatic cancer.

"On 2 May 2024, Minister (Mark) Butler announced the MRFF Low Survival Cancers Mission (LSCM).

"It will provide $150 million over 10 years, from 2027-28, for research to improve care and health outcomes for people with low survival cancers, including pancreatic cancer."

READ MORE: Professor flooded with death threats after what he wants banned from Queensland

Pancreatic cancer facts

Pancreatic cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer death in Australia.

Symptoms include abdominal and back pain, jaundice, loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss, fatty stool, new onset or hard to manage diabetes and nausea.

Patients diagnosed have just a 13 per cent chance of surviving for five years, according to Pankind.

Only three out of 10 people diagnosed will be alive after a year.

It's a number which has not increased for 15 years, unlike the figures for other cancers such as breast cancer, which is now at a 93 per cent five-year survival rate.

World Pancreatic Cancer Day today, November 20.

READ MORE: Melissa underwent an 11-hour surgery to remove her tumour. Her body was hiding another secret

There's good news for prospective homeowners in South Australia, with the latest Domain Property Report forecasting that Adelaide will see an easing of price growth in 2026.

House price growth in the South Australian capital is anticipated to ease from nine per cent in 2025 to four per cent in 2026. 

That's despite last month's data showing Adelaide prices going up 3.2 per cent in a quarter, the highest rate in the country.

READ MORE: Hannah McGuire's mum slams 'out-of-proportion' sentence handed to her killer

The decrease reflects a broader national trend, but Adelaide is expected to record the lowest growth among Australian capital cities. 

Unit prices are also predicted to experience a dramatic slowdown, declining from a 16 per cent increase in 2025 to five per cent in 2026. 

This means a prospective unit buyer in 2026 will pay only $50,000 more than current prices.

READ MORE: Tropical Cyclone Fina intensifying faster than expected, forecasters warn

"That double-digit price growth for both houses and units is in the rear view and we are expecting much more modest pace of price growth for 2026," Dr Nicola Powell from Domain said.

The rental market is also expected to stabilise, with price growth in the sector predicted to remain steady at four per cent, and the average unit rental price is forecast to reach about $548 per week. 

Demand for more affordable housing options, particularly units, is expected to remain strong.

This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.

For the first time, South Australian police have been granted the power to conduct random weapons searches at the annual schoolies festival in Victor Harbor. 

The move comes as more than 3500 school leavers prepare to converge on the coastal town this weekend. 

This year's festival has been declared a public event, enabling police to search individuals within the designated area using metal detection devices.

READ MORE: Hannah McGuire's mum slams 'out-of-proportion' sentence handed to her killer

"This is going to help us enhance the public safety in the environment," Superintendent Joanna Howard said.

Despite the new security protocols, organisers are focusing on providing a positive experience for the school leavers.

"This weekend we are well prepared for, and we're bringing three unique nights of entertainment and experience for our young people," Nigel Knowles from Encounter Youth said.

READ MORE: Tropical Cyclone Fina intensifying faster than expected, forecasters warn

Organisers have increased the availability of free buses to the festival, extending services from Adelaide to about a dozen regional locations. 

Shuttle buses will also operate within the Victor Harbor area throughout the three-day event. 

"We do approximately 20,000 boardings over this weekend so there's really no reason for our young people to have to use their cars," Knowles said.

But concerns have been raised over the condition of beaches in the area, with a toxic algal bloom still ravaging South Australia's coastline.

Authorities say it's safe to swim for now, but an update will be provided later in the week.

This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.

Adelaide will not play host to next year's COP climate summit, with the federal government unable to overcome its stalemate with rival bidder Turkey.

Australian officials have conceded to 9News that COP31 next year will simply not happen in the South Australian capital. 

9News understands negotiations are continuing to give some role to Pacific nations, but that Turkey will emerge as the host.

READ MORE: Hannah McGuire's mum slams 'out-of-proportion' sentence handed to her killer

The conference would have seen up to 50,000 delegates descend on Adelaide for two weeks of meetings and seminars.

Both the federal and state governments have already committed millions of dollars preparing for the event to come to South Australia, with a specialist police squad formed to prepare security measures.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said this afternoon that Australia will still be involved regardless of where the event lands.

READ MORE: Tropical Cyclone Fina intensifying faster than expected, forecasters warn

"We are trying to get the best outcome here for the planet and for the global economy and regardless of where it is held, we will continue to play a leadership role in that," he said.

COP31 was predicted to cost Australia more than $1 billion, but would have brought South Australia close to half of that in economic revenue.

It's unclear whether the millions already spent can be used for another major event in Adelaide.

This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.

She says New Zealand’s political scene has become ‘increasingly personal’.

Six teenagers have been arrested in Brisbane, accused of being part of a criminal gang that has been targeting houses across the city.

One of the teens, a 14-year-old from Marsden, was dramatically arrested at a house in Kingston, where he attempted to hide in the home's insulation in the roof.

One teenage girl was arrested as she answered the door, but finding the boy was a much more difficult task.

READ MORE: Tropical Cyclone Fina intensifying faster than expected, forecasters warn

Bodycam footage shows police officers at the scene shouting at the teenager to present himself.

They eventually have to climb into the insulation area itself, pull him out of the roof cavity legs first, where he was then arrested by officers.

Another child was on the scene in bed, and they were also arrested.

READ MORE: Man in court accused of murdering two men at first birthday party

Six teenagers were arrested overall, all being between 14 and 16 years old.

Police will allege he is part of a criminal gang with five other teenagers who have committed almost 100 property offences in southern Brisbane.

They allegedly have hit houses in over a dozen suburbs, including Bulimba, Springfield Lakes and Sunnybank Hills.

They were charged with multiple offences, including stealing, attempted burgulary, and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

The teenagers who were arrested have now been handed dates to appear at various children's courts across Brisbane.

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