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TRANSCRIPT
- Iranian state media confirms the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reiterates Australia's support for United States military action
- The situation in the Middle East sending ripple effects across the sporting landscape.
Iranian state media have confirmed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead.
Multiple official local news agencies, including the Islamic Republic News Agency, the official news agency of Iran and the state television, have made the announcement.
Earlier, Iranian state media had cited a source close to Mr Khamenei’s office that said the leader of the revolution was alive and firmly commanding the field.
The first reports of the Ayatollah's death came from two Israeli TV networks, who reported his body was recovered from the rubble of his compound in Tehran, and photos were shown to both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump.
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Travellers at Australian airports have described chaotic scenes, amid major delays and cancellations to flights to and from the Middle East.
Australians have been told not to travel to a number of Middle East countries including Israel, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and Australians in Iran are being advised to leave as soon as possible if it is safe to do so.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said airspace closures in the region caused by Iranian retaliatory strikes are likely to limit the federal government's ability to organise repatriation flights for Australians stranded in the Middle East.
This traveller is among those trying to return home, who were forced to spend the night at Sydney Airport .
"We started off in Wellington yesterday and we were due to fly to Doha and then onto Edinburgh. The flight was cancelled just before we boarded. We had no information. They provided us with no hotels, no food. There's no information on the website. You can't get through the telephone. The live chat isn't working. And we just want to get home now. We've been away for five weeks."
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reiterated Australia's support for United States military action in Iran.
The PM says U-S action was necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and to stop the threat Iran had continuously posed to international peace and security.
He says the Australian government is concerned about escalating military action in the region, condemning retaliatory strikes launched by Iran on Dubai.
Mr Albanese also says the Ayatollah will not be mourned.
"Ayatollah Khomeini was responsible for the regime's ballistic missile and nuclear program, support for armed proxies and its brutal acts of violence and intimidation against its own people. This claimed countless lives in Iran but also internationally. He was responsible for orchestrating attacks on Australian soil. His passing will not be mourned."
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Thousands of Australians suffering from advanced cancer can now access immunotherapy drugs at far cheaper prices.
The drugs Opdivo and Yervoy, which previously cost some patients more than $100,000 dollars per course of treatment, are now being subsidised under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme ((PBS)).
Health Minister Mark Butler says the listing offers vital access for all Australians living with advanced and rare cancers that won't be improved by surgery .
"Immunotherapies have become a highly effective treatment for a range of different cancers. They attack the proteins that the cancer's released to try to suppress a body's immune system, which obviously gives the cancer an upper hand. And by doing that, it essentially improves the body's ability to fight the cancer, extends lives, gets rid of tumors, and a whole range of other terrific things."
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A funeral has been held in the Canadian province of British Columbia for a teenager who died on the Australian island of K'gari.
Close family and friends have paid tribute to Piper James at the ceremony, her mother remembering her as an athlete, a dirt bike rider, a snowboarder, a dedicated seasonal firefighter and devoted animal lover.
The 19-year old was found dead on a beach on the island in January, surrounded by a pack of dingoes.
The teenager had been on a backpacking trip with her best friend Taylor Stricker, and was working at a hostel on the island before her death.
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To sport,
The unstable situation in the Middle East is having multiple effects on the sporting landscape.
As the Women's Asian Cup gets underway, there are fears the Iranian teams' match against South Korea might be impacted.
F1 organisers have moved to calm concerns that some of its upcoming races could be impacted by the current situation in the Middle East.
An F1 spokesperson has said organisers will continue to monitor the situation, but the next three races, in Australia, China and Japan, are not for a number of weeks.
