Aussie found alive after Nepal flood + The legal trap silencing #MeToo victims

**Sacha Barbour Gatt** (0:08)
Hi, Sacha Barbour Gatt with you. Welcome to The Briefing. In 2017, the hashtag MeToo movement became a moment of vindication for women who had experienced sexual harassment, abuse and assault, and a reckoning for the men who had perpetrated it. Almost a decade on, the world has culturally shifted thanks to MeToo.
But the campaign has also sparked a legal backlash that's impacting those who speak out.

**Jennifer Robinson** (0:32)
Silence breeds impunity and violence.
We have to shine a light on this problem. We have to be able to talk about it. We have to be able to deal with it. Why are we so concerned about protecting men's reputation when so many women in Australia are harmed by this problem?

**Sacha Barbour Gatt** (0:48)
A chat with international human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson about her new film, Silenced, which is all about how defamation laws are being weaponised against women, is coming up in the second half of this episode. But first, it is time for the headlines with Chris Spyrou on Wednesday, the 2nd of September.

**Chris Spyrou** (1:06)
Morning, Sacha. We're starting today with the flooding disaster in the Himalayas, where a second Australian has been found alive. We don't know their name or any further details except for the fact that they were on the Tibet side of the border with Nepal when the flood hit. The Chinese authorities say they were not in the disaster zone. The person has been able to make contact with their family.

**Sacha Barbour Gatt** (1:26)
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has commented, saying, it's hard to imagine the sense of relief this person's family must be feeling. But she says we should be realistic about what the days ahead will bring. Loved ones, though, have been buoyed by the news of another person located alive, including the son of a man and woman from New South Wales who are on a spiritual trip to Mount Kailash. Aakash Venkatraman urging authorities not to give up the search for survivors.

**Aakash Venkatraman** (1:53)
If they've held out for so long, somehow, somewhere, and they're not rescued, I think that'd be the worst situation. That'd be my worst fear.

**Sacha Barbour Gatt** (2:01)
That audio thanks to the ABC.

**Chris Spyrou** (2:03)
The total number of Australians still missing is at 42, with more than 4,400 people unaccounted for in the wake of the tragedy. The death toll meantime has climbed to over a thousand. The federal government has announced a further five million dollars in aid and assistance to Nepal, with most of that to go towards hygiene kits.

**Sacha Barbour Gatt** (2:24)
Staying overseas to the Middle East, where any hope the weekend's fighting between the US and Iran was a flare-up that would fizzle out, has been shattered. This morning, the US launched fresh strikes on Iran, US Central Command saying its forces started hitting revolutionary guard targets inside the country after Iran attacked commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and went after American troops in the region. On Truth Social, Donald Trump said the US was striking targets near the Strait after Iran tried to add sea mines. He's called the attacks large and powerful and justified, promising bigger ones if Iran hits back.

**Chris Spyrou** (3:01)
So why now? It all goes back to the weekend, like you mentioned, Sacha, when the US struck two Iranian rocket sites, the first time the two sides had traded blows in about a month. Iran fired back at US bases in Jordan and sent a drone at the UAE.
Now Tehran says it's got air defences at more than 3,800 sites across the country and it's warning it'll keep hitting back and even stop oil leaving the Gulf if the strikes don't stop from the US.

**Sacha Barbour Gatt** (3:29)
Iran's president, Masoud Peseshkian, is accusing the US of reneging on the memorandum of understanding both sides signed in June, but says Tehran still sees a negotiated end to the conflict. Under the understanding, Iran had agreed to clear the Strait of Mines and let ships through, while the US promised to drop its blockade, help rebuild the country and lift sanctions. Instead, a week ago, the Trump administration rolled out what it's calling Economic D-Day, a wave of sanctions squeezing Iran's oil, its banks and anyone still trading with it.

**Chris Spyrou** (4:04)
Australia will pledge $600 million to help tackle drug smuggling in the Pacific, much of which is bound for our shores. Anthony Albanese will make the commitment at the Pacific Islands Forum, which is currently happening in Palau. The cash will go towards the Waka Moana Initiative to increase aerial surveillance in tracking drug vessels and also giving extra support to police in Fiji.