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TRANSCRIPT
- A repatriation flight on the way home from Dubai...
- Liberal leader Angus Taylor addresses a review into the party's disastrous election campaign....
- Another event cancelled amid the ongoing Middle East war.
Emirates has confirmed a repatriation flight to Australia left Dubai this morning, and is due to land in Sydney tonight.
It is unknown how many Australians are on the flight, but about 24,000 of the nation's citizens are still stranded in the United Arab Emirates after flights were grounded due to Iranian retaliatory attacks following the US-Israel assaults.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says commercial flights remain the best option for Australians trying to get home, and the government is engaging with countries in the region, particularly the United Arab Emirates.
Ms Wong says she is grateful the UAE was funding meals and accommodation for Australians stranded there, but the situation across the Middle East remains unpredictable.
"We are looking at all contingencies that are possible, but I again say what I’ve said over the last two days. When you have as many Australians as we have in, particularly in the Emirates, but broadly in the region, so it’s 115,000 Australians in the broader region, 24,000 in Emirates. We are have a lot there obviously because it's been a hub for Australian travellers as well as Australian expats. That volume of traffic will really need to see commercial flights resume even if only sporadically, to get people home."
Meanwhile Israel says its forces have destroyed an Iranian nuclear development compound as the country stepped up airstrikes on Iranian missile launchers and factories.
Iran has retaliated against Israel and across the Gulf region, disrupting energy supplies and travel.
Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin has said Israel was determined to cease Iran's nuclear program.
"The regime attempted to rebuild its efforts and conceal them, thinking we wouldn't notice. They were mistaken. The Intelligence division detected and tracked these movements, and now the Air Force is attacking these headquarters across Tehran", Defrin added. This is how we deepen the impact on the regime and prevent the restoration of its capabilities and its attempt to acquire nuclear weapons."
As explosions rang out in Tehran and in Lebanon — where Israel said it struck Hezbollah militants — the American Embassy in Saudi Arabia has come under drone attack.
Four days into a war that U-S President Donald Trump suggested would last several weeks but perhaps longer, hundreds of people have been killed, the vast majority in Iran.
Information coming out of Iran has been limited because of poor communications, round-the-clock airstrikes and tight restrictions on journalists.
Iran has fired dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel, setting off air raid sirens across the country.
The pace of the attacks appears to be slowing and Israel has intercepted most of the incoming fire, but some missiles have landed, killing 11 people.
To domestic news now and....
The Liberal Party's new leader says he wants to put the past behind him following the unexpected publication of a review into its disastrous 2025 election campaign.
The report had been suppressed after Angus Taylor deposed Sussan Ley as Liberal leader, and following comments from their predecessor Peter Dutton claiming it could be defamatory.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese then caused an uproar in parliament on Tuesday [[030326]] afternoon when he tabled a leaked copy of the review.
Angus Taylor says it's time to move on.
"My focus is on taking the Liberal Party forward from here. What I want from the Liberal executive is an action plan for how we're going to address the issues - hang on, let me finish - the issues that have been canvassed for some time since the election."
Australians have enjoyed a rare blood moon during last night's total lunar eclipse, with the moon taking on an eerie red hue in places with clear skies.
A total eclipse is when the earth aligns perfectly between the sun and moon, so that the moon passes into the earth's shadow.
The shadow is what causes the moon to appear red - as sunlight from the earth is filtered on to the moon's surface.
Those who missed the spectacle will have a while to wait, with no blood moon expected for another three years.
Drone strikes on UAE oil refineries have forced the cancellation of a nearby ATP Challenger tennis tournament in Fujairah after debris sparked fires just 15km away from the event.
Tennis players reportedly scrambled for shelter amid jet noise and smoke, while the ATP says it kept players on site to keep them safe while exploring their accomodation and travel needs.
It is the latest sporting event to impact by events in the Middle East, with Euroleague basketball qualifiers in Abu Dhabi abandoned, along with England's Lions cricket series in the UAE.
The World Endurance Championship's Qatar 1812km race has also been also postponed, along with Asian football matches.
