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TRANSCRIPT:
- The Liberals decline to release the report into their disastrous 2025 federal election campaign;
- At least 15 people killed in a Bolivia military plane crash;
- Both New Zealand and France out of the Sydney leg of Sail GP this weekend.
The Liberal Party says it will not publicly release a long-awaited review into its deplorable 2025 election campaign that saw the Peter Dutton-led party deliver its worst performance since the 1940s.
The party's Federal Council says it has received the report - but it's not going to be published, as Sussan Ley had promised before she was replaced by Angus Taylor.
One of the co-authors of the report - and former coalition minister Nick Minchin - says he's deeply disappointed in the decision.
He's called it a betrayal of members who had worked hard for the party.
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South Australia is on alert as storms in the centre of the country head their way.
Senior Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jon Fischer says a slow-moving tropical low that had spent a week sitting over the Simpson Desert in the southeast Northern Territory is now predicted to move southeast over the course of the weekend.
That means some regions in the Northern Territory could see up to 80mm of rain today, with the risk of flash flooding.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas has warned residents in his state to also prepare for what could lie ahead in the coming days.
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At least 15 people have been killed in a military cargo plane crash in the Bolivian city of El Alto.
Local media reports indicate the Hercules aircraft was transporting new banknotes to the interior of the country when it came down on a busy highway in the city.
Fire chief Pavel Tovar says it is unclear if the dead were in the plane or in cars on the highway near the airport in La Paz.
Around 30 others have also been injured in the accident - and Juan Daniel says one of his female relatives was among them.
"My sister told me that she was in the car when the plane crashed. The plane's tire fell on the car, and my sister was injured because the impact of the tire hit her on the head, so we rushed her to the hospital."
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Anthropic Technology says it will challenge a US government directive ordering every federal agency to stop working with the company.
US President Donald Trump has given the Pentagon a six-month period to phase out the technology that is already embedded in military platforms.
Anthropic currently has a $US200 million contract with the Pentagon, and C-E-O Dario Amodei says his company cannot accede to the Defense Department’s demands.
He says Anthropic had previously sought guarantees that its AI would not be used for fully autonomous weapons or for mass domestic surveillance - applications in which the Pentagon has said it had no interest.
"I'm concerned about the autonomous behavior of AI models, their potential for misuse by individuals and governments, and their potential for economic displacement."
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Back home and performers are getting ready for this year's Sydney Mardi Gras parade tonight.
Around 250,000 spectators are expected to attend the 48th annual parade, featuring 170 floats and 10,000 marchers.
Bundjalung man Colin McDonald has told NITV, he will be performing as drag queen Destiny Haz Arrived.
"I get a sense of joy, happiness, celebration of myself. And I think visibility is very important - whether it is for yourself or others - young youth."
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Stargazers may be able to spot six planets just after sunset tonight.
Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mercury, Neptune and Uranus will all be visible at the same time in the night sky, in a rare celestial spectacle.
Dhara Patel from the National Space Centre has recommended that people use a star app - either on their phone or a device - to help locate a planet.
She says binoculars or a telescope may be needed to spot some of them.
"Trying to spot Mercury with a pair of binoculars might be helpful, but again be careful to make sure that the sun has set and that you're not pointing your optics in the direction of the sun because even that bright light can cause some damage to your eyes. Unfortunately, I feel like with Uranus and Neptune you really do need dark skies and a telescope to be able to spot them. So, not necessarily a massive telescope, but one capable, maybe it's sort of a six-inch telescope, capable of trying to pick up those faint sources of light."
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To sport and in sailing news,
Louis Sinclair from New Zealand and Manon Audinet of France are both sitting out the Sydney leg of the Sail GP race this weekend, after being involved in a collision in the Auckland event on February 14.
Sail GP has undertaken a thorough review of the incident.
And repairs are taking place to the vessels of the Black Foils and DS Team.
The event's CEO and co founder Russell Coutts says both teams will be ready to race in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro next month [[April 12-13]].
"It's good to hear that both athletes are recovering. Mannon (Audinet), I think she's actually going to appear on a broadcast over the weekend which us great. And Louis' (Sinclair) recovery is going to take a bit more time. I actually spoke to him recently and he's on a good pathway. That's the best news."
