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- Japan's Prime Minister dissolves parliament ahead of a snap election
- Millions brace for severe heat over the long weekend
- Canadian teen Victoria Mboko advances to a fourth-round match-up with Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open.
Japan's Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, has dissolved the lower house of parliament, paving the way for a snap election on February 8.
Elected in October as Japan's first female leader, Ms Takaichi has been in office only three months, but she has seen strong approval ratings of about 70 per cent.
But her decision to dissolve parliament will delay a vote on a budget that aims to boost a struggling economy and address soaring prices.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Fukushiro Nukaga, announced the formalities.
"I am reading out the prime minister's announcement. Following Article 7 of Japan's Constitution, the House of Representatives is dissolved."
The Danish Prime Minister is visiting Greenland as officials from Denmark, Greenland and the United States met in Washington DC.
US President Donald Trump told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday that the US would not use force to acquire Greenland and dropped his threat of tariffs against European countries.
President Trump said a framework of a deal for the arctic territory had been established with NATO.
Danish Prime Minister described the situation as 'serious' during her visit.
Millions of Australians are bracing for severe heat over the long weekend, with experts urging people to stay hydrated and be aware of heat-related health impacts.
Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Kevin Parkin says a so-called "heat dome" could bring record-breaking temperatures and fire danger to parts of the nation.
South Australia is first in the firing line as heatwave conditions drift eastwards, bringing 40-degree Celsius days to capitals along Australia's southeast.
Temperatures will start to build across Victoria, inland New South Wales, the ACT and southern Queensland from Saturday and into next week.
Director of the heat and health research centre at the University of Sydney, Professor Ollie Jay, says heat can contribute to a number of dangerous health outcomes.
"People get hospitalised for a variety of different reasons. Heat exhaustion, but often cardiovascular complication, people with heart disease and having heat related complications due to that, and also people with kidney disorders, people with respiratory disorders so lung disease also struggle in the heat."
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and Multicultural Affairs Minister Anne Aly have described the sending of a threatening letter to the Lakemba Mosque in western Sydney as disgraceful.
The letter, delivered on Thursday, reportedly contained explicit threats of violence targeting multiple communities.
In a joint statement, Minister Burke - whose electorate of Watson covers the Lakemba Mosque - and Minister Aly - who is Muslim - says the Albanese government takes these threats extremely serious and they "have no place in Australia".
The Lebanese Muslim Association confirmed the mosque had received a letter containing a very serious threat and says in a statement that Muslim communities have "become accustomed to receiving such disgusting and dangerous threats".
New South Wales Police tells SBS News it is aware of the incident and has started an investigation.
The impact of war in Sudan on children's education has been revealed in data analysed by aid agency Save the Children.
Nearly half of Sudan’s 17 million school-aged children [[more than eight million students]] have now spent around 484 days without stepping into a classroom over the last three years.
The agency's CEO Inger Ashing says the international community is failing the children of Sudan.
"Children in Sudan are now facing one of the world's worst education crises and in the midst of conflict and hunger and displacement, education is often seen as something that cannot wait. But for children, that is not the case for them, education is a lifeline. It is not something that you can wait for. It's not luxury. It is about their wellbeing, their ability to build a future here and now. And education provides safety, stability and hope for the future. And right now, the international community is failing the children of Sudan."
Victoria Mboko did not place any expectations on herself coming into her first Australian Open, but the Canadian teen ticked off another milestone by reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time.
The 19-year-old's reward for a 7-6 5-7 6-3 win over Clara Tauson at Melbourne Park is a first career meeting against world number one Aryna Sabalenka with a place in the quarterfinals on the line.
Mboko shot into the spotlight when she became the youngest player since Serena Williams to beat four major winners in a tournament enroute to claiming last year's Canadian Open in Montreal and has continued to impress in Australia.
Mboko's win over 14th-seeded Dane, Tauson, marks her best result at a Grand Slam.
