TRANSCRIPT
- The UK High Court delays the extradition of Julian Assange.
- At least six people missing after a bridge in the U-S city of Baltimore collapsed.
- Australia through to the final round of World Cup qualification after a 5-0 win against Lebanon.
The British High Court in London has ruled that Julian Assange will not be immediately extradited to the United States and may be able to appeal the order.
The WikiLeaks founder has been indicted on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over the leaking of classified U-S documents almost 15 years ago.
The British High Court justices have delayed their final ruling on whether the 52-year old Australian will be able to appeal the extradition, saying Mr Assange will be granted the hearing unless the U-S can provide more assurances about his treatment.
The assurances are related to whether Mr Assange will be able to rely on the First Amendment of the U-S Constitution in his legal defence and whether he could be subject to the death penalty.
Mr Assange's wife, Stella Assange, reacting to the ruling, said the case should be dropped entirely.
"Now the U-K courts have invited the United States to issue assurances. The Biden administration should not issue assurances. They should drop this shameful case that should never have been brought. Julian should never have been imprisoned for a single day. This is a shame on every democracy. Julian is a political prisoner. He is a publisher, and he is being published for expressing freedom of the press in its purest form."
The British High Court has adjourned the case until May 20.
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A major bridge in the United States port city of Baltimore has collapsed after being struck by a container ship, sending a number of vehicles and people into the harbour below.
Rescuers are desperately searching for survivors in the Patapsco River after huge spans of the nearly three kilometre Francis Scott Key Bridge fell into the water.
Authorities say two people have been able to be rescued with one in serious condition, while at least six people, part of a construction crew filling potholes on the bridge, remain missing.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore says the ship’s crew issued a mayday call moments before the crash, enabling authorities to limit vehicle traffic on the bridge.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott says it is a tragedy.
"This is an unthinkable tragedy. We must first and foremost pray for all of those impacted, those families, pray for our first responders and thank them."
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A massive bushfire south of Perth that was contained after it destroyed eight properties has continued to pose a risk for WA residents.
An emergency warning that was reissued on Tuesday ((26 March)) for parts of Brookdale and Waroona in the shires of Waroona and Murray, has been downgraded after a fresh breakout was contained.
Residents were earlier told they were in danger and needed to act immediately to survive, as the fire flared up and was threatening lives again.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services says a watch and act warning remains in place for parts of Coolup, Meelon, Nanga Brook, Teesdale and Waroona.
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The Northern Territory's most powerful land council has criticised the government's handling of ex-Tropical Cyclone Megan, saying vulnerable people were left cold, hungry and in danger.
The severe weather event tore through northeast NT on March 17, bringing heavy wind and rain and cutting off communities.
An evacuation of the remote community of Borroloola on March 18 was initially called off after Australian Defence Force planes could not land as the eye of the cyclone neared.
In a statement, Northern Land Council chair Matthew Ryan says the government response was inadequate and put residents in danger.
A minister in the NT government, Mark Monaghan, has defended his government's response.
"The bottom line with it is if no one dies in these spaces how can you say it was a horror? At the end of the day that's our job - to keep people safe and we did that with the emergency team and the incident controller managing that."
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In Football,
Australia are through to the final round of World Cup qualification after a masterful display from winger Craig Goodwin led the Socceroos to a 5-0 win against Lebanon.
It was a dream night for Graham Arnold's side at Canberra's GIO stadium, with both Kusini Yengi and John Iredale netting their first international goals.
Goodwin scored two goals and created another two with gorgeous deliveries into the box to get the Socceroos the comfortable result.
Goodwin told Channel Ten he was happy with how the team were able to improve on their performance in the second half.
"It was just about drawing them in and trying to get it wider and really picking and choosing the moment of when to change the tempo and go forward and I think we did that better in the second half. It's really good for us as a performance but for the other boys who've made their debuts, some first goals, it gives a lot of confidence going forward."
The Socceroos are now guaranteed a spot in the third-round qualifiers which start in September, where a top-two finish in a six-team group will carry them to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
