Tag Archives: oceania

Severe weather warnings issued in five states and territories as destructive winds surge

2025-10-10 FreeNews

Severe weather warnings have been issued for five states and territories as wild winds buffet south-east Australia.

A strong low pressure system over the Southern Ocean has pushed a cold front over Tasmania and up towards the southeastern states on the mainland.

Warnings for damaging or destructive winds have now been issued in Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria, NSW and the ACT.

Severe weather warnings have been issued in five states.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has issued specific warnings for the following regions in each state:

Tasmania – King Island, Furneaux Islands, Western, Upper Derwent Valley, South East, North East, East Coast, North West Coast, Central North, Central Plateau and Midlands
SA – Lower South East district
Victoria – Central, South West, West and South Gippsland and parts of East Gippsland, North Central, North East and Wimmera
NSW and ACT – parts of South Coast, Southern Tablelands, Snowy Mountains, ACT and South West Slopes

People in the affected regions have been advised to secure outdoor items, and stay indoors and away from windows while conditions are severe.

Many have also been warned to prepare for power outages and beware of damaged trees and power lines.

Locals should also monitor for updates from State Emergency Services.

Strong wind gusts have already been recorded across all five affected states today.

A gust of 139 km/h was recorded at Scotts Peak in Tasmania early this morning, capping off six consecutive days of wind gusts exceeding 100km/h.

Severe weather warnings have been issued across Tasmania.

A gust of 154 km/h hit Maatsuyker Island, on the state's southern tip, at 11:40am (AEST).

Wind gusts have exceeded 110km/h there every day since Sunday.

Tasmania has also been lashed with rain over the past week, with the seven-day totals creeping towards 100mm in some locations.

Farther north, a gust of 120 km/h was recorded at Mt William in Victoria's Grampians this morning.

But it's unlikely the low pressure system will bring more than scattered showers to Victoria, SA or NSW.

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PM’s warning after alleged death threat

2025-10-10 FreeNews

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called for Australia to "turn the temperature down" on political discourse after a man was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill him online.

Queensland man Norman Dean Lake was arrested on Saturday after he allegedly wrote on Facebook that he would "assassinate" Albanese and urged the public to "watch the news in two weeks".

At a press conference today, Albanese said there was "no place" for violence in discourse.

"We just need to turn down the temperature," he said.

"It's something that I've tried to bring to political discourse in this country."

Albanese said the problem had worsened in recent years.

"Issues that I face are far more acute than 10 years ago, five years ago," he said.

"Certainly a lot more acute than when I was first elected.

"And I just say that the role of social media, people being able to say things that they would never say to your face is something I've spoken about regularly.

"There's no place for violence, there's no place for violent discourse either.

"Because we can't normalise these sorts of threats being made and think that it's business as usual."

While he did not comment on the specifics of Lake's case, which remains before the course, Albanese warned that rising anger in political conversation could lead to "real tragedy".

"Well, the great thing about this country is I could go to a shopping centre in Sunnybank during the election campaign, I could do a walkthrough in south-east Queensland and engage with people," he said.

"I don't want to lose that as prime minister. I don't want to be told I can't engage in a normal way with people at random about preparation."

Lake was refused bail in court and remains in custody.

His case will next be heard in November.

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Unusual customer heads to South Australia bottle shop’s beer fridge

2025-10-10 FreeNews

Staff and patrons at The Queenscliffe Family Hotel on Kangaroo Island, South Australia were treated to a surprise visit by a very unlikely customer this week: a koala.

Footage of him wandering through the venue attracted plenty of attention online, where it's being doing the rounds on social media.

The koala wandered in on Wednesday and spent about 10 minutes roaming the aisles, assistant manager Nicole Arthur told 9news.com.au.

A koala wandered into The Queenscliffe Family Hotel on Kangaroo Island this week.

"It's not unusual to see koalas wandering sort of around the streets in Kingscote," she said.

"He just wandered down the road and then just walked into the front of the bottle shop that's attached to the pub."

The koala appeared to be looking for a cool spot to escape the sun.

Arthur said the koala wandered into the main area of the bottle shop and parked himself by the fridges for a few minutes.

A koala wandered into The Queenscliffe Family Hotel on Kangaroo Island this week.

The koala didn't appear injured or in distress but staff contacted a local vet and wildlife services just to be sure.

They also provided a bowl of water for the koala to sip on while he was in the store.

"Somebody from the wildlife group came down and had a look at him," Arthur said.

"Made sure he wasn't in distress, made sure he was OK, and they just left him there."

Because it's so common to see koalas in the trees around Kingscote, where the pub is located, local patrons didn't make much of a fuss about the koala.

Tourists, on the other hand, were delighted at getting to see one of Australia's iconic native animals up close and personal.

"We just monitored him, made sure they weren't harassing him," Arthur said, adding that humans should refrain from touching or interacting with wild koalas.

"And then he wandered back out."

Though it's quite uncommon for koalas to venture into businesses or homes on Kangaroo Island, Arthur said she doubted this will be the last time it happens at The Queenscliffe Family Hotel.

"It's just one of those things over here," she mused.

"Nothing's ever normal on Kangaroo Island."

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Robert F Kennedy makes controversial link about circumcision

2025-10-10 FreeNews

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy has made a shock claim linking circumcision to autism, building on his recent controversial and unproven declaration that a common painkiller caused the condition.

At a round-table, Kennedy reasserted the unproven link between the pain reliever Tylenol and autism, and suggested people who opposed the theory were motivated by hatred for US President Donald Trump.

During a meeting with Trump and the Cabinet, the polarising Kennedy reiterated the connection, even while noting there was no medical proof to substantiate the claim. He also mistakenly described a pregnant woman's anatomy and linked autism to circumcision.

"Anybody who takes the stuff during pregnancy unless they have to is, is irresponsible," Kennedy told Trump and fellow Cabinet members.

"It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof."

Kennedy has long espoused unconventional beliefs about public health, which have prompted concern among medical experts that, as health secretary, he could upend the country's evidence-based health policies.

Tylenol

Kennedy noted during the meeting that he had seen a TikTok video, which he said featured a pregnant woman "gobbling Tylenol" and cursing Trump.

"The level of Trump derangement syndrome has now left the political landscape and now in the realm of pathology," he said. Kennedy also said the woman was taking Tylenol "with a baby in her placenta."

A fetus develops in the uterus, not the placenta. The placenta is a temporary organ that develops in the uterus during pregnancy and provides oxygen, nutrients, and hormones to the growing fetus.

Kennedy's statement came two weeks after he stood with Trump in the White House as the president used his office to promote unproven and, in some cases, discredited ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism.

Tylenol contains paracetamol, a very common painkiller drug.

Kennedy also said today that infant boys who are circumcised have double the rate of autism because they are given Tylenol after the procedure.

This claim seems to refer to a study in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine from 2015, which looked at ritual circumcision and the risk of autism spectrum disorder in boys under the age of 10 in Denmark.

It found that those who had undergone the procedure, which involves the removal of the foreskin from the penis, were more likely to develop autism than other boys in the study.

Researchers suggested a potential link might be due to the pain of the procedure.

Researchers noted that they had no data on painkillers or anesthetics used, and thus couldn't address whether Tylenol was linked to autism.

Other researchers pointed out that the Denmark study looked at correlation, not causation. They also point to other studies that found no evidence to support a link between circumcision and autism.

Reported with Associated Press.

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‘I burst into tears’: The phone call from a friend that stopped me cold

2025-10-10 FreeNews

I remember I was in the car, driving to my sister's house. My phone rang, it was one of my girlfriends.

I answered, chirpy and about to gush about how I'd just met my baby nephew for the first time and was on my way for more cuddles – but the tone of her voice stopped me cold.

She asked me to call her back once I'd gotten home, not keen to distract me with some bad news while I was driving.

But I pulled into a service station instead, insisting she tell me then. She broke down as she relayed the news that our beautiful friend Paula, had just been diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. Time stood still.

I had so many questions but was also completely lost for words. Parked in the middle of a suburban petrol station, I burst into tears, as I tried to digest the devastating news.

Paula had just turned 33, days earlier. She'd just given birth to her first child only months before that. She was healthy, hard-working, the kindest person you'll ever meet. I didn't want to believe it.

She was too young to have breast cancer! She was still breastfeeding her little girl! She was in the prime of her life! And yet she was now in the biggest fight of her life. It just wasn't fair.

I immediately thought back to my chat with Paula just a few days earlier, when she was telling me about nipple rawness that doctors had linked to general breastfeeding sensitivities.

She had also, during the last trimester of her pregnancy, felt a lump under her left arm, but doctors thought that it was most likely a blocked milk duct.

Many women will know that lumps and bumps pre and post partum are often attributed to hormonal changes or blocked milk ducts. But this time, Paula had pushed for more tests.

And sure enough, that lump proved to be much more sinister – Paula was diagnosed with stage 2, grade 3, aggressive HER2 positive breast cancer. Her newborn bubble had burst.

She was forced to immediately stop breastfeeding and a whirlwind of further testing began – CT scans, MRIs, surgery to biopsy her lymph nodes and fertility preservation – ahead of a gruelling chemotherapy treatment plan.

She had chemo for six months – the first three months was brutal, Paula says that part of the treatment is known as "the red devil" for its potency.

She also opted to have cold capping during chemo, a painful process but one that saved about 60 per cent of her hair. Then came months of targeted therapy, followed by the most physically altering process – a double mastectomy.

It was a four-to-five-hour surgery that included reconstruction and involved a recovery process which prohibited her from picking up her one-year-old daughter for six weeks. My heart breaks just thinking back on it all.

But thankfully, through resilience, grace, and incredible medical care and guidance, cancer was no match for Paula. After about nine months, and that debilitating treatment process, doctors gave Paula the news we'd all been hoping for – she was clear of cancer.

She still had to complete some treatment, and while any patient with lived experience with cancer will tell you they're never really "free", it was the end to a significant and painful chapter.

Paula of course lives with ongoing check-ups and the scars of her double mastectomy. But now, those scars are more a reminder of what she's overcome.

She's been able to have another child, and restore normality to her life. And now, she's investing her experience into advocacy for future generations of young breast cancer patients. And she's an advocate we desperately need – today, around three Australian women under the age of 40, will be diagnosed with breast cancer.

The same will happen again tomorrow. And again the following day.

Each year, it's on the rise. Since 2000, rates among women aged 30-39 have risen "modestly" according to Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA), and more "sharply" for women aged 40-49.

The network says these younger women are more likely to be diagnosed at later stages or with more aggressive disease.

In Australia, the federal BreastScreen program "actively invites" women aged 50-74 to have a free mammogram every two years.

Women aged 40-49 and 75 or over are instead simply "eligible" for a free screening, but need to proactively contact their local service if they wish to book an appointment. In our busy lives, it's not hard to see how something like that might be overlooked.

That's exactly why BCNA's new campaign reinforces the importance of taking a look, at every opportunity.

They're asking women to "Know Yourself. Feel Yourself", and literally feel around for any inconsistencies when it comes to your breast health.

They want women to give their breasts the same daily attention we give our faces in the mirror. Think about that – how many hours do we collectively spend cleansing, moisturising, applying make-up, to our faces, every single day.

Why not spend just a fraction of that time familiarising yourself with your breasts? In the shower, when you're getting dressed, undressed, on the couch watching TV, or while in the kitchen waiting for a meal to cook. Normalise knowing your breasts.

And if something feels off, get it checked out. You might just catch something early. And when it comes to a breast cancer prognosis, the sooner it can be treated, the better an outcome might be – just like it was, for my friend Paula.

You can watch BCNA's educational breast self-check video here.

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Record high gold prices could cripple Larna and Julie’s business

2025-10-10 FreeNews

Exclusive: The price of gold has skyrocketed to record highs and for small jewellery businesses like Larna Cooper and Julie Modica's, it's making it harder than ever to stay afloat.

In the five years they've been running Juju Gems Jewellery, a boutique store offering hand-crafted and bespoke pieces in Sydney's south, the cost of gold has doubled.

In the past, they tried to absorb those costs but with the price of gold breaking the $US4000 ($6071) barrier for the first time this week, that's become impossible.

Larna Cooper and Julie Modica, the women behind Juju Gems Jewellery.

"Jules and I have been in the industry for such a long time, we've been through global financial crises and all these ups and downs, but this is next level," Cooper told 9news.com.au.

"Every week we're checking and the gold price has jumped, and it's just adding a lot of extra work to us and making it really hard for us."

Gold prices tend to spike in times of economic turbulence and inflation worries, as it's considered a "safe haven" investment separate from national economies – so it's no wonder that prices are surging now.

And while the price hikes are tipped to push Australia's gold earnings to $60 billion in the 2025-26 financial year, it could cripple small businesses.

"It's getting harder for little boutiques like us and artists who create handmade pieces here in Australia," Cooper said.

"We don't want to send anything offshore, we don't want to get anything mass made, but with the price of gold, it is getting harder and harder, and I think you will probably see some small guys like us really struggling."

This week she and Modica made the decision to only honour bespoke quotes for a week instead of months, as prices change so quickly.

It's just one of the sacrifices they've had to make to stay profitable.

The duo have also had to cut down on the amount of gold they use in their jewellery, along with raising the prices on ready-to-wear and custom gold pieces, and constantly repricing their stock to align with the ever-increasing cost of gold.

One of the custom gold pieces created by Juju Gems Jewellery.

"At first, we were just absorbing most of the spikes and wouldn't increase our costs," Cooper said, but it was costing the business too much in lost profits.

Now they constantly have to check gold prices and adjust their own.

It's costing them time that could be spent designing and making the jewellery that pays their bills.

"There's so many struggles with small business right now, and this adds to our daily struggle," Cooper said.

"As a small business, we tend to cut costs by paying ourselves very minimum wages and that hurts, especially with the cost of living … it does feel like a major setback."

The number of customers willing to pay for bespoke jewellery has nearly halved due to financial strain and skyrocketing gold prices.

And it's probably only going to get worse in the months and years to come.

Juju Gems Jewellery is a boutique jewellery store located in Jannali, in Sydney's south.

Cooper and Modica have been in the jewellery industry for about 20 and 40 years respectively and have never seen the price of gold dip by more than a few dollars.

They don't expect that to suddenly change now.

"We're not going to hold out for the price to drop, although it would be amazing, I think it's just a pipe dream," Cooper said.

Giving up on gold to save the business money isn't an option either.

Juju Gems is all about creating high-quality jewellery pieces that can be passed down through generations and that just can't be achieved with cheaper materials.

So Cooper and Modica will just have to keep coming up with ways to adapt.

One tactic that has been working well for the duo is encouraging customers to trade in their unwanted gold jewellery to lower the cost of creating new gold pieces.

One of the custom gold pieces created by Juju Gems Jewellery.

Millions of Australians have gold lying around the house, from family heirlooms to jewellery they just don't wear anymore.

What they may not know is that it could be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars – provided it's solid gold, not plated.

"We have women come in who started accumulating jewellery in the '80s and they are sitting on quite a lot of money," Cooper said.

"And what they're getting back in trade-in is significantly more than what they paid for it."

Have you got a story? Contact reporter Maddison Leach at Google Play.

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‘I’m in great shape’: Trump says he will undergo fitness test

2025-10-10 FreeNews

US President Donald Trump said he will travel to a military hospital for a "semi-annual physical," describing it as a routine exam.

"I think I'm in great shape, but I'll let you know," Trump said from the Oval Office ahead of a meeting with the Finnish president.

"Physically, I feel very good, mentally I feel very good."

Earlier, the White House announced Trump would go to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Maryland for what it called a "yearly check up."

That initial description prompted confusion, since Trump had received an "annual" exam just six months ago.

Trump's doctor at that time deemed him "fully fit" to execute his duties, writing in an April memo that he was in "excellent health" — and citing his frequent golf outings as evidence of his wellbeing.

Since then, Trump has been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a common condition in older people where blood can pool in the veins. The White House disclosed the diagnosis amid growing scrutiny over photos showing swelling in Trump's legs.

The president in recent months has also faced speculation over bruising on his hand that he has tried at times to cover with makeup.

But chronic venous insufficiency is considered a benign and manageable condition, and Trump's physician has attributed the bruising to a combination of frequent handshaking and aspirin use that make it easier to bruise.

On Thursday, Trump maintained that neither was giving him any trouble – and that the upcoming trip to Walter Reed was mainly an effort to keep it that way.

"I have no difficulty so far," Trump said. "When I'm around, I like to check. Always be early, it's a lesson for a lot of people."

The White House said the president would also attend a "planned meeting" and deliver remarks to troops while at the hospital.

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Putin admits Russian missiles downed passenger jet

2025-10-10 FreeNews

President Vladimir Putin has admitted that Russia's air defence were to blame for downing an Azerbaijani jetliner in December that killed 38 people, his first public admission of responsibility for the crash in an effort to ease tensions between the neighbours.

Putin said the missiles fired by Russian air defences to target a Ukrainian drone exploded near the Azerbaijan Airlines plane flying from Baku as it was preparing to land in Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, on December 25, 2024. Ukrainian drones have regularly struck deep inside Russia.

Speaking at a meeting with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev in Tajikistan's capital of Dushanbe, where both were attending a summit of the former Soviet nations, Putin pledged to punish those responsible and provide compensation.

Azerbaijani authorities had said the Embraer 190 jet was hit accidentally by Russian fire, then tried to land in western Kazakhstan, where it crashed and killed 38 of 67 people aboard.

Days after the crash, Putin apologised to Aliyev for what he called a "tragic incident" but stopped short of acknowledging responsibility. Aliyev, meanwhile, criticised Moscow for trying to "hush up" the incident.

The controversy over the crash has roiled the previously warm ties between Moscow and Baku. Their relations were further destabilised by deaths of ethnic Azerbaijanis rounded up by police in a Russian city in June and a series of arrests of Russians in Azerbaijan.

Speaking to Aliyev on Thursday, Putin said that Russian air defences that targeted a Ukrainian drone fired on the Azerbaijani airliner because of a "technical malfunction," adding that two missiles exploded just 10 metres away from the passenger jet.

"The Russian side will obviously do everything to provide compensation and give legal assessment to all responsible officials' action," he said.

"Of course, these words related to this tragedy, aimed at supporting – morally supporting – the families do not solve the main problem: We can't bring back to life those who died as a result of the tragedy."

In this photo released by Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry Press Service, rescuers work at the wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lies on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)

Aliyev, for his part, thanked Putin for investigating the cause of the plane's downing.

"I would like to thank you for keeping the situation under your personal control," he said.

Relations with Baku have become increasingly important for the Kremlin since it sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, especially as Azerbaijan's close ally Turkey has become a key economic partner for Russia as it faced sweeping Western sanctions.

Azerbaijan is a key transport corridor for Russia's trade with Iran and other partners in the Middle East. The energy-rich Caspian Sea nation also has bought oil and natural gas from Russia to meet internal demand while exporting its own hydrocarbons to the West.

In memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190

Russia, in turn, has been the main market for Azerbaijan's fruit and vegetable exports and also is home to a sizable Azerbaijani diaspora. A 2021 census listed about a half-million ethnic Azerbaijanis living in Russia, but unofficial estimates put the number as high as two million.

All those ties have suffered as tensions over the jet's crash have surged. Both leaders on Thursday signaled their desire to turn the page and ease the strain.

"I hope that our cooperation not only will be restored, but continue in the spirit of our relations, the spirit of our alliance," Putin said.

Aliyev responded that they had a chance to discuss a "broad and positive" bilateral agenda, voicing hope that "the messages we are sending today to our societies will meet a positive response."

As part of his state visit to Tajikistan, Putin also sought to bolster relations with the Central Asian nation that neighbors Afghanistan and hosts a Russian military base.

Speaking at the start of his talks with Tajikistan's President Emomali Rakhmon, who has been in power for nearly 33 years, surpassing Putin's own quarter-century rule, the Russian leader praised the close military and security ties between Moscow and Dushanbe and noted that over one million Tajik citizens were working in Russia.

Later on Thursday, Putin held a summit with Rakhmon and the leaders of the four other Central Asian nations to discuss expanding trade and other contacts.

"Russia firmly intends to further strengthen its strategic partnership and alliance with your countries, and deepen mutually beneficial political, economic, and humanitarian ties," Putin said.

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Can Donald Trump really win the Nobel Peace Prize?

2025-10-10 FreeNews

This year, perhaps more than any other, there's been one big – huge – name looming over the Nobel Peace Prize.

But as the world asks if US President Donald Trump can really cap off his relentless campaign for the prestigious award with a win today (tonight AEDT), there's a list of other fascinating questions still to answer.

Does the Gaza peace plan make a difference? What is the Nobel committee really looking for anyway? What are some of the other names in contention? And would it be a good thing for the world if Trump wins – or loses?

Can Trump win the Nobel Peace Prize today?

Of course he can but those in the know seem to think he probably won't.

Experts say the Norwegian Nobel Committee typically focuses on the durability of peace, the promotion of international fraternity and the quiet work of institutions that strengthen those goals.

Trump, for all his claims of having "ended seven wars" and his rapid-fire rush to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a peace plan this week, has also shown disdain for multilateral institutions and his disregard for global climate change concerns.

Nina Græger, director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), told 9news.com.au she believed it was "unlikely" for Trump to win this year.

"While he clearly deserves credit for his efforts to end the war in Gaza, it is too early to tell whether the peace agreement will lead to lasting peace," she said, in a statement.

"The Nobel Committee may also want to look at the sum of a candidate's efforts towards peace.

"Trump's retreat from international institutions, and his wish to take over Greenland from The Kingdom of Denmark, a NATO-ally, do not align well with the will of Alfred Nobel."

Trump's own outspokenness about possibly winning the award might work against him: The committee won't want to be seen as caving in to political pressure she said, describing his prospects as "a long shot".

"His rhetoric does not point in a peaceful perspective," she said earlier this week at a press briefing in Norway.

FILE - President Donald Trump departs following a joint press conference with Russia's President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

What about next year?

Another thing counting against Trump is the timing of the award. Nominations closed on January 31, 11 days after he returned to the White House, although at least one politician said they nominated him before that deadline.

Perhaps more critically, the committee appears to have already made a decision before Trump announced his Gaza peace plan or Israel and Hamas agreed to the "first phase".

"In October, we make the announcement, and therefore the decision has to be taken just before the first week of October," Jørgen Watne Frydnes, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said in a video published by the Nobel Institute last week.

On Thursday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said it held its last meeting on Monday.

All those factors would seem to indicate that if, and that's a big if, the committee is inclined to recognise Trump, its members might be more likely to wait for next year.

What happens if Trump wins (or loses)?

Alistair Campbell, who was a senior figure in former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair's cabinet, suggested the prize announcement was a "big part" in the timing of the Gaza announcement.

"He sort of woke up a few days ago and thought 'If I'm gonna get this peace prize, I've got to stop this fighting now', and he's really, really gone for it," he said on the Rest of Politics podcast this week.

Campbell said rewarding him would be "absurd" even if the fighting stopped immediately, because peace was not just about stopping wars but the "durable peace" that follows.

His co-host, former Tory minister Rory Stewart, questioned whether it would be better to keep Trump involved in the process with the "carrot" of next year's prize.

"Do you think it would be more motivating for Trump to remain engaged if he won the prize on Friday, or if they dangled the possibility that if he did a good job over the next 12 months, they might give him the prize next year," he asked.

Last month, Trump told a gathering of military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia that if he didn't win it would be a "big insult to our country"."They'll give it to some guy that didn't do a damn thing; they'll give it to the guy who wrote a book about the mind of Donald Trump," he said.

Some observers have questioned whether Trump could blame and punish Norway if he doesn't win.

The five-member committee is appointed by the Norwegian parliament but is completely independent.

Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eid stressed Norway's government is not involved in the Nobel Peace Prize decisions.

"It's simply up to the Nobel Committee. It's important to remember it's an independent committee," he told Bloomberg.

FILE - President Donald Trump listens during a news conference with Russia's President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

Who has nominated him?

Trump has been nominated several times by people within the US as well as politicians abroad since 2018.

His name was put forward in December by US Representative Claudia Tenney, her office said in a statement, for his brokering of the Abraham Accords, which normalised relations between Israel and several Arab states in 2020.

Nominations made this year from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Pakistan's government occurred after the January 31 deadline for the 2025 award, as did Argentine President Javier Milei's endorsement on X this week.

Trump has said repeatedly that he "deserves" the prize and claims to have "ended seven wars".

CNN reported that he did contribute to brokering a couple of agreements between long-standing foes but his role in securing ceasefires in some of the other conflicts had been disputed by some of the countries involved.

Last week, he teased the possibility of ending an eighth war if Israel and Hamas agree to his peace plan aimed at concluding the nearly two-year war in Gaza.

"Nobody's ever done that," he said.

Israel and Hamas have since agreed to the first phase of the peace plan for Gaza, paving the way for a pause in the fighting and the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

In the early hours of Thursday, families of hostages and their supporters started chanting "Nobel prize to Trump" as they gathered in Tel Aviv's hostage square.

Who should win?

The Nobel Committee won't reveal the list of nominees until 2075 so we don't actually even know who is in the running.

But the annual PRIO director's list, compiled by Græger, is as good a place to start as any.

"Each year, I put together PRIO Director's list of five worthy contenders for the Nobel Peace Prize. Each of these organizations would be good candidates to receive the Prize," she told 9news.com.au.

"This year, my list includes Sudan's Emergency Response Rooms, a community-driven grassroots effort providing humanitarian relief amid conflict; the Committee to Protect Journalists, which defends press freedom and documents attacks on and killings of journalists in hostile environments; and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, a century-old movement advancing peace by lobbying for disarmament and the key role of women in peacebuilding."

FILE - President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before he departs on Air Force One at Morristown Airport, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Morristown, N.J. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

What are the bookies saying?

Despite the overwhelming views of Nobel watchers, Trump has shot into contention among the bookmakers' favourites since the Gaza deal was announced.

This morning one Australian bookmaker had him at $2.60 to win, behind only Sudan's Emergency Response Rooms ($1.72) and much more-fancied than the Mediterranean Sea Rescue Organisations ($4) and Yulia Navalnaya ($5), the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Australia's Julian Assange was paying $7, alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and runner Nedd Brockman was the longest of long shots at $101.

Why are people talking about Obama

While giving Trump the prize after just nine months in the job would be extraordinary, there is one surprisingly direct modern precedent.

Former US president Barack Obama was at the exact same point in his first term when the Nobel committee recognised him in 2009 "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples".

But it was a decision the committee's then-secretary, Geir Lundestad, said didn't provide the expected boost to the president, instead provoking criticism in the US, where many argued he hadn't been in charge long enough to have an impact worthy of the prize.

"Even many of Obama's supporters believed that the prize was a mistake," Lundestad wrote in his memoir, Secretary of Peace, in 2015.

"In that sense the committee didn't achieve what it had hoped for".

Lundestad had left the committee earlier that year and died in 2023 so it's unclear what impact, if any, those reflections would have on this week's decision.

– Reported with Associated Press

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Laurence won a High Court battle to have the world’s longest name

2025-10-10 FreeNews

If you want to address Laurence Watkins by his official government name, it might take you about 20 minutes.

That's because the Sydney man, originally from New Zealand, holds a unique world record.

After a lengthy High Court battle decades ago, the 60-year-old has the world's longest personal name.

If you want to address Laurence Watkins by his official government name, it might take you about 20 minutes.

Watkins' full name is 2253 words long and it was recognised again by the Guinness World Records after a small change to his 1992 title, revising it from the world's longest christian name to world's longest personal name.

"I always wanted to be a little bit famous," he told 9news.com.au.

"I read the 1989 Guinness World Records from cover-to-cover and that was really the only record I could have a chance of beating."

At the time in New Zealand, there was no law stopping Watkins from changing his legal name to something absurd.

Do you have a story? Contact reporter April Glover at Google Play.

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