TRANSCRIPT
- A hotel security guard dies outside a southern Sydney premises.
- The government rejects claims it has cut funding from border security.
- And in sport, Penrith beaten by Wigan in their second straight Super League loss.
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A hotel bouncer has died after an alleged assault at a southern Sydney hotel.
The man aged in his 30s died at the scene after being found by police unconscious on the footpath outside a licensed premises in Sutherland.
Police have been told the man was a security guard who had been allegedly punched in the head by a patron that had been asked to leave before the assault.
A 31-year-old man has been arrested and is assisting police with their inquiries.
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The Deputy Prime Minister has again rejected claims that the government has reduced funding to border control operations.
In the wake of a recent boat arrival in far north Western Australia, Opposition leader Peter Dutton has alleged that more boats will start to arrive because of what he claims is a cumulative $600 million has been taken out of Operation Sovereign Borders.
But Richard Marles has told Sky News it is not true that funding has been cut to border operations.
He also says his recent visit to Indonesia was about preparing to sign a defence cooperation agreement, and not offering more money to Jakarta to stop asylum seekers from entering Australian waters.
"That's been the focus of my engagement in Indonesia for some time and was the focus of this trip. We certainly spoke about the question of people smuggling and human trafficking. It's a shared challenge for both nations. I'm not going to go into the detail of it, but I think the important point to understand is that we both feel that in terms of meeting the collective challenge of this issue, we need to cooperate on a level that we've never done before, and that is what we are doing."
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The US and Britain have struck more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen in response to a recent surge in attacks by the Iran-backed militia in the Red Sea.
American and British fighter jets hit about 18 sites across multiple locations, targeting missiles, launchers, rockets, drones and unmanned surface and underwater vehicles.
This is the fourth time that the US and British militaries have conducted a combined operation against the Houthis since January 12.
Houthi rebels say that their attacks on shipping is in response to Israel's bombardment of Gaza and has insisted to the European Union that maritime navigation in the Red Sea is safe, and there is no threat to ships except vessels connected to Israel, the US, and the UK.
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West Africa's regional bloc has announced plans to lift strict sanctions on the country of Niger as it tries to address a deepening political crisis.
The Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS says the chance in approach is part of a strategy to dissuade military-ruled Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali from leaving the 15-member bloc, something the three countries threatened to do last month.
ECOWAS president Omar Touray says he hopes the decision will make the group change their mind.
"Closure of land and air borders between ECOWAS countries and Niger to be lifted. No Fly Zone of all commercial flights to and from Niger is to be lifted. Suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS member states and Niger is to be lifted. On the withdrawal of the three countries, the authority urges the countries to reconsider the decision in view of the benefits that the ECOWAS member states and their citizens enjoy in the community.’’
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UK authorities have safely detonated a world war two era bomb that had been found in the English port city of Plymouth, decades after a German blitz littered the country with explosives.
The unexploded device was set off in the sea after being carried by a military convoy to the city's shoreline from a residential backyard, to the bemusement of some locals who watched from a safe distance.
Man: "There we go."
Woman: "That quickly? That's got to be it, isn't it?"
Man: "That's definitely it. Yep, that's it. It's got all the sand round it."
Woman: "Hardly a convoy though, isn't it."
The success of the operation means that about 10,000 people, who were evacuated as a precaution, can now return home.
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To sport,
Penrith have been denied a maiden World Club Challenge title, with the powerhouse NRL side beaten by Super League champions Wigan in England.
A controversial second-half try for Warriors centre Jake Wardle and a gritty defensive display sealed the 16 to 12 win for the English side.
The Panthers will be asking plenty of questions about Wardle's match-winning try, awarded despite the England international appearing to ground the ball well short of the line.
It was the second straight year Penrith have failed to add the world title to their NRL premiership.
They lost a heartbreaker match 13-12 to St Helens at home in 2023.
