TRANSCRIPT:
- Police questioning a group of men believed to have arrived by boat in Western Australia;
- Taylor Swift mania descends on Melbourne;
- Rabbitohs legend Latrell Mitchell to captain the Indigenous All Stars in Townsville tonight.
Police are questioning a group of men in a remote part of Western Australia who are believed to have arrived by boat.
A witness who asked not to be identified has told SBS News a group of about 30 men, who said they had come from Pakistan, were speaking to police in Beagle Bay, about 100 kilometres north of Broome.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he has no other information.
"I've been travelling in a car so I haven't been advised about that. But our policies are very, very clear, which is that boats that arrive in that fashion, we have policies in place to ensure they're dealt with."
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The cleanup continues from a massive thunderstorm that hit Victoria earlier this week, causing bushfires, power outages, and flooding.
More than 40 homes have been lost in the western rural town of Pomonal, in the Grampians, after a fire thought to have been started by a lightning strike - while around 33,000 homes and businesses are still without power elsewhere in the state.
Victoria's premier Jacinta Allan says that crews are doing their best to complete assessments and repairs.
Mark Gunning from the Horsham Incident Control Centre says they are keen for recovery to happen sooner, rather than later.
"The messaging is that we want to get the roads open, we want people re-connected. There's families that are disconnected. Some stayed and some stayed behind. We've got people - you know, mum needs to be with dad and the kids. We need to make sure that happens and we need to make sure that happens quickly, for their benefit and their wellbeing."
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A man has been charged with the murder of his wife, whose body was found on their rural property in Queensland.
Detective Inspector Chris Knight says the woman's death was initially reported as being due to an accident with farm machinery at the Woodhill farm, south of Brisbane.
Police are continuing to scour the property for evidence, but the heavy rain that has hit southeast Queensland today is hampering efforts.
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The air quality in south and east Asia has plummeted to unhealthy levels.
The World Health Organisation says seven cities in the region are now among the ten most polluted major metropolitan areas across the globe.
Dust from construction activities, vehicular emissions, and forest fires are among the main factors contributing to air pollution.
This employee in Bangkok says authorities are now encouraging them to work from home because of the air quality, and people are increasing worried.
"I feel concerned about pollution and its impact on our internal health. After returning to normal work routines, COVID-19 cases decreased, and we relaxed. But with increased pollution levels, some of us don't check the air quality daily. We breathe in fully, so we don’t know how it’s going to impact our health in the long term."
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An inquiry has begun into diabetes in Australia, and how the food and grocery industry can help prevent the disease.
A tax on sugary drinks and limits on junk food ads are in place in some countries to reduce obesity, which is a primary risk factor for type two diabetes.
But Tanya Barden from the Australian Food and Grocery Council says that is not the right approach.
"Internationally, the implementation of heavy handed regulations to address preventive health has not resulted in reductions of obesity, and in fact has been repealed in some countries. We therefore urge caution in suggesting regulations without robust evidence of effectiveness."
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The Taylor Swift Eras Tour has descended on Melbourne, with the pop megastar expected to perform in front of the biggest crowds of her career so far.
Attendance at the Melbourne Cricket Ground are tipped to reach a total of 260,000 across her three dates at the stadium.
Fans have spent hours queuing and waiting on websites to secure coveted tickets, with a second last-minute release of tickets on Thursday and the promise of further tickets being released on show days.
Marsha and Nana have told SBS News they have flown from the Indonesian capital Jakarta to see the show.
Nana: "It was very very difficult. We went through a ticket war and we stood by for seven hours to get the tickets, so when we got the tickets it felt surreal."
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Latrell Mitchell will captain the Indigenous All Stars for the first time in their match-up against the Maori All Stars in Townsville tonight [[Friday 16 Feb]].
The 26 year old Rabbitohs fullback is of Biripi, Wiradjuri, Worimi and Gumbaynggirr heritage.
He says the captaincy will be the highlight of his rugby league career.
