TRANSCRIPT
- International aid organisations call for an urgent end to an expected Israeli ground offensive in Rafah
- Both former Pakistani Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan claim victory in elections
- Record ratings expected for this year's Superbowl because of a half-time performance by Taylor Swift
International aid organisitions providing assistance to civilians in Gaza are calling for an urgent end to an expected Israeli ground invasion of Rafah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has ordered the military to prepare a plan for the evacuation much of the population of the southern Gaza city.
Israel claims Rafah is the last remaining Hamas stronghold and it needs to send in troops to complete its war plan against the group.
The U.N. estimates 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering in Rafah after fleeing fighting elsewhere in Gaza.
Jennifer Tierney, Executive Director of Médecins Sans Frontières Australia, says civilians around Rafah are experiencing a "compound medical emergency".
"They have very limited access to clean water, many of them have sustained wounds, and now they are suffering terrible infections, that we're unable to address because of the sanitary conditions. The malnutrition situation is getting quite desperate, and people cannot access basic care for things like births of premature babies, and we're sending babies home who should be hospitalised, but the hospitals aren't safe, and to create an even worse situation for Gazans is just unthinkable, truly unthinkable."
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The international community is raising serious concerns over the election in Pakistan, which is tonight entering into its third day of political crisis.
The pre-election favourite Nawaz Sharif has delivered a victory speech, after his Muslim League won the most votes of any party.
But supporters of the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan say his party won the most votes, with candidates running as independents.
The results mean the parties must enter coalition talks.
The Middle East Institute's Afghanistan and Pakistan Studies director Marvin Weinbaum says this will only prolong the instability.
"We can anticipate now, whatever the outcome, that the country is going to be politically unstable more than it has been. The danger here is that, if they feel that the election is stolen, that they could very well create an enormous, and I'm talking here about supporters of Imran Khan, they might take to the streets and we would find a level of violence on the election that would go beyond anything we've seen before."
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The Albanese government has accused the opposition of a "scare campaign" after Opposition leader Peter Dutton described proposed fuel efficiency standards as a "ute tax".
The federal government has announced a proposal for Australia's first ever emissions standard, under which manufacturers would have to to obey a fuel efficiency budget and balance sales of dirtier, fuel-hungry cars against low or zero-emission vehicles.
Australia stands alongside Russia as the only advanced economy currently without an emissions standard.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen has hit back at the Opposition's claims.
"The time for these sort of scare campaigns is over, and I say to the car industry, 85 per cent of cars sold around the world are sold under vehicle efficiency standards, and its time your Australian customers had the same rights"
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United States President Joe Biden's memory and mental capacity is being called into question by a U-S Department of Justice report, suggesting the President is suffering from memory lapses.
The White House has since blasted the report, with Vice-President Kamala Harris calling it politically motivated.
The report, from special counsel Robert Hur, a former attorney in Maryland during Republican Donald Trump's administration, has prompted an election-year brawl and renewed questions about Mr Biden's advanced age.
It comes as this week Mr Biden mixed up the names of several world leaders.
The U-S President says there's no cause for concern.
Reporter: "In his description you are a well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory."
Joe Biden: “I’m well-meaning, and I’m an elderly man, and I know what the hell I‘m doing. I've been President and I put this country back on its feet. I don't need his recommendation--"
Reporter: "How bad is your memory and can you continue as President?"
Joe Biden: "My memory is so bad I let you speak."
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The biggest American football game of the year, 'The Superbowl' is always the most watched program on U-S television.
But this year, the biggest excitement about the game and the half-time performance is being overshadowed by a celebrity superstar, Taylor Swift.
Now the spotlight locks on to the Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, who will be expected to come up with a finish worthy of the biggest show on the strip on Monday.
The game could be a watershed moment for the NFL, with predictions it might produce the biggest viewership numbers since Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.
