TRANSCRIPT
- The US Military strikes targets in Iraq and Syria
- The International Court of Justice to hear Ukraine's genocide case
- Olympic athlete Peter Bol makes his return to racing in Australia after his provisional doping ban lifts
The United States military says it has begun carrying out retaliatory attacks in Iraq and Syria following a drone strike on a US military outpost in Jordan.
The US military has carried out air assaults on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria that they believe were serving as control headquarters and other facilities for Iranian backed militia.
The drone strike in Jordan, which reports say was carried out by Iran-backed militants, killed three US military personnel and wounded over 40 others.
US National Security spokesperson John Kirby says the goal of the strikes is to stop further attacks.
"This wasn't just a message-sending routine tonight. This was about degrading capability, taking away, in a more robust way, than, than we have in the past, taking away capabilities by the IRGC and, and the militant groups. And I want to repeat again, what I said in my opening comments - these responses began tonight. They're not going to end tonight."
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The United Nations International Court of Justice says it will hear the case in which Ukraine is asking it to declare that they did not commit genocide, which Russia has claimed as a pretext for attacking its neighbour.
Ukraine presented the case to the ICJ just days after Russia commenced it's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The judges threw out Ukraine's requests to rule on whether or not Russia was in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention but will instead rule on whether or not Ukraine committed genocide in the parts of Eastern Ukraine now occupied by Russia.
ICJ President Joan Donoghue read the ruling.
"It follows from the foregoing that submissions C and D in Paragraph 178 of Ukraine's Memorial do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Court and that the Court may not deal with them on the merits, while submission B in Paragraph 178 of Ukraine's Memorial does fall within the jurisdiction of the Court and the claim contained therein is admissible. At the next stage of the proceedings, the Court will therefore examine this claim on the merits."
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Flood warnings are in place across parts of Queensland's Gulf Country as ex-tropical cyclone Kirilly could bring 'life-threatening flooding to the region.
Some areas of Queensland have received a years worth of rain over just a few days, with a growing list of flood warnings in place around the state.
Off the east coast there are concerns a new cyclone could be developing as fears grow over a sub-tropical low in the coral sea that may track towards the coast.
The weak low has a moderate or 25 per cent chance of developing into a cyclone by Thursday.
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Legal experts are raising concerns after conservative politicians attacked the Environmental Defenders Office by discrediting lawyers and calling for the office to be defunded.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton made promises this week to defund the EDO, which receives most of its funding philanthropically but receives a small amount of federal cash.
The backlash against the EDO follows a failed case against energy company Santos, in which Federal Court Justice Natalie Charlesworth accused the groups lawyers of confecting evidence and coaching witnesses.
Australian National University scholar Andrew Macintosh says those calling for the defunding of community legal centres are often driven by other motivations and that their vested interests make the upholding of public rights an inconvenience.
Shadow Minister for the Environment Jonathon Duniam told Sky News that funding the EDO is bad policy.
"And all Tanya Plibersek can say to the EDO was, I hope they take notice. I don't think they're gonna take notice, they'll keep doing what they do now. This is why government shouldn't be funding, an organization decked to the rafters with activists to are not interested in jobs, are not interested in economic activity and don't care about our region, so that's why I picked it up and fight bravely made the decision that we would not fund them."
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Olympic athlete Peter Bol is set to return to racing in Australia next weekend for the first time since his provisional doping ban was lifted in February last year.
Peter Bol will race the 1500 metres at the Adelaide Invitational next weekend as he steps up his campaign ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The athlete's provisional doping ban was lifted when his reading of elevated EPO, commonly known as blood doping, was found to be atypical.
Peter Bol will also compete in the long distance at the Maurie Plant meet in Melbourne on February 15.
