TRANSCRIPT
- Hurricane Melissa makes landfall in Jamaica...
- Israel's Prime Minister orders powerful and immediate attacks on Gaza...
- Craig Drummond named the new chairman of the AFL.
Residents in Jamaica are bracing for the full extent of the damage brought by Hurricane Melissa, after it made landfall on the island’s southwestern coast.
The Category-5 storm is among the strongest hurricanes to have formed in the Atlantic Ocean since records were kept.
The Jamaican government said it had done all it could to prepare as it warned of devastating damage from the strongest hurricane to hit the island since recordkeeping began 174 years ago.
The Head of Jamaica Meteorological office, Evan Thompson, says catastrophic and life-threatening damage is expected.
"Flooding is expected, landslides are expected, storm surge is expected. And of course, those strong winds we will not be able to escape, especially if you are in the path of this system and in the path close to the eye of the system."
Daryl Vaz is Jamaica's Minister of Energy, Telecom and Transportation says power outages have affected hundreds of thousands of people.
"The electricity grid has already been impacted by hurricane conditions, which have caused several power outages across the island. Several generation units, critical high voltage substations, transmission and distribution lines across the island have been forced out of service by the hurricane force winds and lightning. As a result, approximately 240,000 are without power."
The storm is expected to travel in a path diagonally across the island and hit Cuba shortly afterwards.
Hurricane Melissa's brush against Haiti as it passed caused havoc.
UNICEF says three people died and one was injured in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince.
.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered "powerful" strikes on the Gaza Strip, after alleging Hamas committed what he called a clear violation of the ceasefire deal.
Gaza's Government Media Office has also accused Israel of committing 125 violations of the ceasefire since it came into effect earlier this month.
A statement from Defence Minister Israel Katz says Hamas had attacked troops and failed to return hostage bodies and Israel plans to extract a heavy price for the breaches.
Early reports indicate Israeli strikes have targeted an area near northern Gaza's largest operational hospital - but the extent of any casualties is as yet unknown.
On Tuesday, Hamas said it had recovered the body of another dead Israeli hostage, but its repatriation will now be delayed.
.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has praised Malaysia's leadership in hosting the 5th ASEAN-Australia Summit in Kuala Lumpur.
During the summit, the leaders issued a Statement on Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management.
Mr Albanese says the document builds on the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne last year - and highlights the collective responsibility to secure peace, security and prosperity in the region.
"Above all Australia's partnership with ASEAN is anchored in deep trust between our nations and enduring friendship between our peoples. Just as our region's prosperity has been created through shared opportunity, our security depends on our collective responsibility and our shared agency. We cannot succumb to the fatalism that our future is pre-determined."
.
The Queensland government has reinstated a ban on a puberty blocking treatment, just hours after it was overturned by a landmark Supreme Court ruling.
The ruling was made after the mother of a transgender teenager had legally challenged the Queensland government's ban.
The state's Health Minister Tim Nicholls confirms he will issue a ministerial direction to restore the ban in Queensland – but he says the direction won't affect people who are already on a treatment plan.
.
Former Geelong president Craig Drummond has been endorsed to join the AFL Commission, paving the way to replace the departing Richard Goyder as the AFL's next chairman.
Drummond, who served as the President of the Cats from 2021 to 2024, has won the Commission's unanimous vote to become its next member.
To win the top job, Drummond will have to be elected by the 18 clubs once he joins the commission.
Goyder, who's been the chairman for AFL since 2017, is set to depart in March next year.
