NB: This edition has recently been updated in light of this morning's events.
“Unbelievably overnight we have lost some of our own in an attack we never thought we would see in our city”
— NSW Premier Mike Baird this morning
Home | Tragic end to Sydney siege
The siege inside the Martin Place Lindt cafe has ended. Three people are confirmed dead and four injured. The deceased included two hostages and the perpetrator. The victims are a 34 year-old man and a 38 year-old woman.
The hostage-taker was a man called Haron Monis. He was well-known to the police and media as an Islamic hate preacher.
Monis was an Iranian man granted political asylum in Australia, and was on bail for a number of violent offences, including being an accessory to his ex-wife's murder. He had also been convicted of sending hate mail to the families of dead Australian soldiers. He is not believed to have had any links to terror organisations.
The siege ended in dramatic fashion at around 2:00am this morning when police stormed the cafe. There were 17 hostages in total. Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione assured people this morning that this is an isolated incident.
Abroad | Lima climate talks: Deal or No Deal?
THE GIST. Leaders from 200 countries have reached a 'deal' at the Climate Change Conference in Lima, Peru on some elements of the effort to mitigate climate change
COPS. This was the 21st Conference of Parties (COPS), which is a yearly government gab-fest on climate change. Some others that might ring a bell: Kyoto in 1997 (of the 'Kyoto Protocol') and Copenhagen 2009 (aka the big fat failure that become symbolic of the Rudd Government on climate change).
WHAT'S IN. Agreements to submit plans for reducing emissions by the first quarter of 2015, and for richer nations to financially compensate developing nations hit hardest by the effects of CC. So the Pacific Islands might be wiped off the map, but they'll get a whole lot of cash to make up for it. Deal?
WHAT'S OUT. Any sanctions or legal consequences for countries who don't cut emissions as promised. In other words, it's a deal based on peer pressure - a mechanism that has, if nothing else, a consistent track record. What's that saying - 22nd time's a charm? We might find out by the next COPS, which is set to sizzle in Paris next year.
Small-talk
Time is Renminbi. An impatient passenger on a Chinese airline deployed the emergency slide in order to "get off the plane quicker". Apparently he didn't pay attention during the safety briefing, so didn't know the slide was for emergencies only.
Better with age. Dick Cheney has doubled-down in the face of personal criticism after the CIA torture revelations, saying 'I'd do it again in a minute' - which is, coincidentally, the number one least-likely response of Americans reflecting on Cheney's time in office.
Only fair. While we're on the topic, a band called Skinny Puppy has reportedly invoiced the US Government for $666,000 for using their music during 'interrogation' sessions at Guantanamo. Some popular Skinny Puppy songs: "The Choke", "Smothered Hope" and "Far Too Frail".
