TRANSCRIPT
- Indonesia's defence minister declares victory in the country's presidential elections.
- Federal MPs call for the United States and United Kingdom to end the prosecution of Julian Assange.
- Latrell Mitchell will captain the NRL's Indigenous All Stars for the first time.
Indonesia's defence minister Prabowo Subianto has declared victory after early results show he's on course to become the country's next president.
Early election results show Mr Subianto has already received more than 57 per cent of the vote, avoiding a second run-off election.
Rival candidates Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo have around 25 and 17 per cent of the vote respectively, according to independent pollsters.
Allegations of human rights abuses against the former general Subianto raised questions about his campaign but were largely ignored by younger voters.
This supporter of Mr Subianto was one of 200 million people who cast their ballot on Wednesday.
“My hope is to find a president who is sincere and honest, who is willing to fight for the people of Indonesia”
In the world's largest single-day election, the results will not be fully counted for several weeks.
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Federal MPs have called for the United States and the United Kingdom to drop their prosecution of Julian Assange, ahead of a final extradition hearing in the UK.
The House of Representatives passed a motion by 86 votes to 42 last night, urging the US and UK governments to allow Mr Assange to return to Australia.
The WikiLeaks founder will face the High Court in London next week in a final bid to prevent his extradition to the US on espionage charges.
The motion was moved by Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, who will travel to the UK for the hearing.
Human Rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, who has been representing Mr Assange, told the ABC they're at the “sharp end” of the case.
“This is his final appeal in the UK, we've already sought permission to appeal against the decision to extradite him that was refused at the end of last year, this is actually a renewal application. And if it's refused, there are no further appeals in the UK. That means that he could be extradited to the United States. We are of course preparing a European Court of Human Rights application, but that would be an exceptional measure for the European court to grant to protect him from extradition. So we really are in a serious situation where he could be extradited to the United States and soon.”
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Regional Victorians face a nervous wait to fully understand the impact of catastrophic bushfires on their properties after three days of high temperatures and severe storms.
The fire threat has eased in most of the state after a cool change brought much-needed relief yesterday, but out-of-control fires continue to burn at two national parks.
Two watch and act warnings remain in place for residents to the north and east of the Grampians National Park, and people are advised to stay informed about a fire at Warby-Ovens National Park in the state's northeast.
In Pomonal as many as 30 properties have been destroyed, and residents have been told not to return home yet to check on their houses due to safety concerns.
Victoria Chief Fire Officer Chris Hardman says it will take several days to assess the full extent of the damage.
“As access becomes easier and safer, we will have impact assessment teams in and we'll be able to provide details on what the losses were, but you know, devastating impacts.”
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Around 135,000 Victorian properties remain without power after storms caused what's been described as the largest blackout in the state's history.
Of those still without electricity, more than 100,000 are in the eastern part of the state.
Five regional hospitals are also running on generator power, down from 15.
Authorities are rushing to prioritise fuel and power restoration to these sites, but they could remain disconnected for at least three days.
There were widespread issues with the triple-zero emergency line, particularly in Gippsland, after 39 Ambulance Victoria branches lost power.
Authorities say the damage could take weeks to fully fix.
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A major Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras event has been cancelled following the discovery of asbestos at its parkland venue.
More than 70,000 people were expected to attend the rainbow extravaganza Fair Day at Victoria Park in Camperdown in New South Wales on Sunday.
While the organisers will continue to explore the relocation of Fair Day, they say it requires shifting and setting up stages and 200 food, retail and community stalls in four days.
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In NRL, Latrell Mitchell will captain the NRL's Indigenous All Stars for the first time tomorrow night.
Mitchell's South Sydney teammate Cody Walker was set to captain the side against the Maori All Stars but has pulled out of the clash with injury, opening the door for his colleague.
Mitchell has Biripi, Wiradjuri, Worimi and Gumbaynggirr heritage and will play in his sixth All Stars match since 2017.
He says being able to captain is an “honour” that means “everything to him”.
