TRANSCRIPT:
- Evacuations underway in the Northern Territory amid major flooding;
- Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announces his resignation;
- Graham Arnold calls for better funding ahead of tonight's Socceroos World Cup qualifier.
Major evacuation efforts are underway for Northern Territory communities amid heavy rains brought by ex-Tropical Cyclone Megan.
A partial evacuation has been ordered for the town of Borroloola, after the McArthur River was forecast to hit a peak up to nearly three metres higher than first thought.
R-A-A-F aircraft are evacuating residents to relief centres in Darwin.
Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy says hundreds of people are affected.
"Two residential areas of Borroloola will be covered in water. One part is Gurrawa, which has 150 residents, and the other one is Yanyula, which has 200 residents. So we're working incredibly hard now to ferry the Gurrawa community across Rocky Creek in boats, and get them to the airstrip."
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Authorities are treating a fire burning on the eastern outskirts of Perth as suspicious.
Over a hundred firefighters - including volunteers - have been involved in bringing the fire under control, which started on Tuesday and has so far burned through 650 hectares.
Department of Fire and Emergency Services incident controller Murray McBride says arson squad detectives have been examining the site.
"Right now it is suspicious, it's being investigated, but the findings haven't come back to me at the moment."
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An Israeli airstrike has killed at least 15 people at the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
The camp is located in the middle of the Gaza Strip, five kilometres north-east of Deir al-Balah.
Authorities say the strike targeted a residential building with three floors, and that rescue operations are still underway, with some victims believed to be trapped under the rubble.
This eyewitness to the airstrike has called for an end to the conflict.
"I am sending a message to the whole world; the whole Arab world. People, enough, enough, find a solution for us. Stop these massacres, stop it all. Massacres are taking place."
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Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has announced his resignation, both as leader of the country and the governing party.
He'll remain in his position until April the 9th, providing time for the selection of a new leader to be chosen.
The 45-year-old had been serving his second term as Prime Minister, following his first stint that ran from 2017 to 2020.
Mr Varadkar has made the announcement during a speech outside parliament in Dublin, telling supporters it was time to step away.
"When I became party leader and Taoiseach back in June 2017, I knew that one part of leadership is knowing when the time has come to pass on the baton to somebody else and then having the courage to do it. That time is now. So I am resigning as president and leader of Fine Gael, effective today, and will resign as Taoiseach as soon as my successor is able to take up that office."
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The most senior Chinese leadership visit in nearly seven years to Australia continues today amid signs of thawing relations.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is in Sydney to visit New South Wales Premier Chris Minns.
His schedule will also include a controversial meeting with former Prime Minister Paul Keating, a vocal AUKUS critic.
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Indigenous advocates say they are "deeply disappointed" by a trial that will require Victorian teenagers charged with serious crimes to wear electronic ankle bracelet monitors.
State Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes says the change aims to reduce re-offending by a "small number" of people she believes are driving an increase in serious youth crimes.
But the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation says the decision will contribute to the over-policing of Aboriginal children, who are already over-represented at all levels of the justice system in Victoria.
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The Socceroos are preparing for a clash tonight with Lebanon, as part of their World Cup qualifying campaign.
Two wins over Lebanon in the next window would guarantee Australia's qualification to the final round of play-offs for the 2026 tournament.
In the meantime, Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has gone on the offensive in a pre-match press conference.
He's criticised the lack of government funding support for Australia's most popular sport, saying the team has been forced to train for the match on rugby league fields.
"It's frustrating because of my passion for the game and my passion for football and the pathways, and the government loves helping the NRL and the AFL building these fantastic facilities but we can't get anything. I have great gratitude to the NSWRL for letting us train on their pitch, even if there was rugby league posts behind the soccer posts."
