ABC News Daily

Australia might be getting a new gas power station, but what's the case for it?

The Government issued an ultimatum to the energy sector earlier this week to come up with a plan for 1000 megawatts of dispatchable energy within seven months.

If the sector fails, it'll stage a major gas-themed intervention in the market.

There are very few agreed facts in the fight that's bubbled up since that announcement.

So what's the big rush? And why go with gas at all?

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Bruce Robertson, Analyst, Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis

Journalist Stan Grant looks at the impact of the pandemic on international relations and democratic freedoms. The pandemic is increasing tension within and between nations . Will the repression of civil liberties and authoritarian governments be a lasting legacy and has the strategic rivalry between the USA and China reached a dangerous new phase ?

Many rough sleepers who’ve been put up in hotels during the pandemic could be turfed out soon.

But they’re not the only ones who might be about to lose the roof over their head.

It’s part of a perfect storm that’s threatening to push even more people out of stable housing.

As eviction moratoriums and higher than usual JobSeeker payments dry up, the recession is setting in, and crisis accommodation is already in short supply.

So is there a way to provide affordable housing to everyone that’s about to need it?

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Ben, resident, crisis accommodation

Adrian Pisarski, Executive Officer, National Shelter

Australians might feel a sense of deja vu watching America's wildfires this week.

The sun is obscured by smoke, lives and homes have been lost, and there's a rolling debate about the role of climate change.

The debate is a deeply partisan one, with less than two months until Americans choose their next President.

So what will the disaster mean for the politics of climate change in the US?

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Matto Mildenberger, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of California in Santa Barbara

Julian Assange is back in court, and the US seems more determined than ever to get its hands on the Wikileaks founder.

It's been making the case for his extradition at a recently resumed hearing in a London court.

He's even been served with a new indictment, expanding the scope of his alleged offences.

Today on The Signal, the many moving parts in America's pursuit of Assange.

Who and what could stand in the way?

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Holly Cullen, Adjunct Professor of Law, University of Western Australia

Editor's note: The reference to 18 new charges in this episode is incorrect. When issuing a superseding indictment, the US Department of Justice did not lay additional charges against Mr Assange, but instead broadened the scope of the 18 offences previously levelled against Mr Assange.

Under the cover of darkness, one night in June  last year, an inflatable boat showed up in the capital of Malta, carrying 20 mercenaries, among them, two Australians.

They were fleeing from a Libyan warlord, after a botched attempt to help him overthrow the Libyan Government.

After that, they hopped on planes and went back to their lives.

So what does one disaster mission, led by an Australian man, reveal about the otherwise opaque world of mercenaries and the proxy wars they’re paid to fight?

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Dylan Welch, ABC investigative reporter

Clive Palmer is in at least six legal battles with the state of Western Australia.

Among them is a defamation suit, a High Court challenge to the border closure, and a claim for almost $30 billion.

If it's successful, it could bankrupt the state.

So how did this fight come to be so bitter, and what's the potential fallout?

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Nathan Hondros, political reporter, WA Today

Thousands of Victorian survivors of sexual assault would be forced to ask a court for permission if they wanted to tell their own stories in full at the moment.

The question is, why?

Six months ago, a law designed to help survivors accidentally banned them from using their own names, in cases where their attacker was found guilty.

Today, we're following the fight to change Victoria’s gag laws.

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Nina Funnell, journalist and founder of the #LetUsSpeak campaign

Stop one coal mine, stop them all.

That's the plan for a lawsuit that’s been launched by a group of teenagers on behalf of every single young person on earth.

Meet the high school students trying to legally force the Government to block a NSW coal mine, arguing it has a duty of care to prevent climate change.

Could the case set a precedent for the fossil fuel industries?

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Michael Slezak, National Environment Reporter, ABC

Being Alexei Navalny is a dangerous job.

The Russian opposition leader is currently in intensive care in Berlin, after being poisoned, but it's not clear if he’ll fully recover.

So if he doesn't, what kind of opposition will Vladimir Putin still face in his own country?

Today on the Signal, the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, and how it could backfire

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Professor Regina Smyth, Political Science, Indiana University