Ukraine's forces report some success against the second line of Russian defences; Hong Kong residents feel the impact of Typhoon Saola; And in basketball, The Boomers' World Cup title pursuit is over, with Australia losing to Slovenia.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Ukraine's forces report some success against the second line of Russian defences;
- Hong Kong residents feel the impact of Typhoon Saola;
- And in basketball, The Boomers' World Cup title pursuit is over, with Australia losing to Slovenia.
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Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister says soldiers have broken through Russia's first line of defences in several places in the southeast.
Hanna Maliar says challenges still remain.
"Where we have already moved to the next line, the situation is slightly different because the enemy is much more fortified there and, in addition to the mining, we also see concrete fortifications, for example, under the main commanding heights, and our armed forces have to overcome a lot of obstacles in order to move forward. But even in the situation when the enemy has more fighters and more arms, our armed forces are moving forward step-by-step."
Kyiv's troops who have been battling to advance through heavily-mined areas for almost three months had now run into the major defensive Russian fortifications that can be seen from space.
The counteroffensive has not yet recaptured any major settlements, but retaken more than a dozen small villages.
Russia calls the Ukrainian push a failure; Kyiv says it is advancing slowly on purpose to minimise losses.
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Hong Kong was brought to a standstill as severe typhoon Saola brought hurricane-force winds and heavy rain to the territory.
Officials raised the hurricane warning to 10, the highest level, warned of possible flooding.
More than 300 people were stranded at the airport by the cancellation of about 460 flights.
Around 400 people sought refuge at temporary shelters and ferry and bus services were halted, while residents of low-lying areas placed sandbags at their doors to prevent their homes from being flooded.
Hong Kong resident Marianne Bray her concern is what will happen next - with warnings of storm surges and flooding.
"It is the wind, the wind is absolutely ferocious and the closest reading is on an island next to us which is around 140 km an hour so in the village where I live we had aircons blown off roofs and doors so it is actually, we came home, we were trying to come home before the storm got really bad. It was actually really frightening because we thought things were going to fall on us and we could hear lots of noises and you can hear the noise of the ocean and the wind and it is really ferocious."
Dozens of trees were knocked down, and seven people were injured and sought treatment at public hospitals.
In recent months, China has experienced some of its heaviest rains and deadliest flooding in years in various regions, with scores killed, including in outlying mountainous parts of the capital, Beijing.
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Elderly people are being urged to get a booster COVID-19 vaccination if six months has passed since their last jab.
The federal government has accepted advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation that those aged 75 years and older should receive an additional COVID vaccine dose.
People aged 65 to 74 years, or adults who are severely immunocompromised, should also consider an extra shot with their healthcare provider.
The latest advice recognises that older age remains the biggest risk factor for severe COVID-19 disease.
Health Minister Mark Butler says with COVID still remains in the community, following the vaccination advice of the expert group is important.
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Following a surge in fatal crashes across Australian roads, new research exposes some of the risks drivers are taking in rural areas.
The research from the Australian Road Safety Foundation, or ARSF, shows that almost two thirds of deadly road incidents in New South Wales occur on rural roads, despite only a third of drivers residing in regional areas.
The study, which quizzed 1005 drivers, found that 38 per cent of New South Wales drivers openly admit to breaking road rules when travelling on rural roads, slipping into bad habits like driving over the speed limit, using a mobile phone while driving and crossing a double line.
ARSF Founder and CEO Russell White says he's also concerned about the 21 per cent of respondents who reported struggling to maintain focus while driving on rural roads due to fatigue.
''Australians need to stop drowsy driving particularly in regional areas where you've got things like high speed, extra hazards, longer stretches of road. All of that increases the risk of something going wrong and often when it does happen help can be a long way away."
The latest data shows 1,205 people died on Australian roads in the 12 months to 30 June 2023, a 3.2 per cent rise on the previous year.
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In basketball,
The Boomers' World Cup title pursuit is over, with Australia misfiring in a testy 91-80 loss to Slovenia in Japan.
Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic was curbed by foul trouble as early as the second quarter and produced six turnovers in only 29 minutes of court time.
But it mattered little as the Boomers fired blanks in a second-round fixture they had to win to stay alive in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Australia were hesitant to shoot and gave up costly rebounds, failing to capitalise and missing open shots.
A loss to Germany in the first round meant Australia carried a 2-1 record into the next phase and needed to beat Slovenia and then Georgia to progress to the quarter-finals.
