The leader of Nagorno-Karabakh declares the region will 'cease to exist' by the start of next year; Australia observes National Police Remembrance Day; A motorcade procession ahead of the AFL grand final.
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TRANSCRIPT
- The leader of Nagorno-Karabakh declares the region will 'cease to exist' by the start of next year
- Australia observes National Police Remembrance Day
- A motorcade procession ahead of the AFL grand final
The leader of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh has declared the region will 'cease to exist' by the start of next year.
In a statement, Samvel Shahramanyan says the decision to dissolve the state has been made to ensure the "physical security" of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The announcement comes as more than half the ethnic Armenian population has now crossed into Armenia after Azerbaijan seized control in a 24-hour military offensive last week.
More than 70,000 people have now fled the region, which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but populated by majority ethnic Armenians.
This woman is one of the many who have crossed into Armenia.
"We had horrific days. I could have never imagined that we would come to this point. We are leaving our Karabakh and going away."
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Hundreds of Lebanese Armenians scuffled with riot police outside the Azerbaijan Embassy in northern Beirut during a protest criticising the actions of the Azerbaijani authorities over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Protesters waved flags of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, and burned posters of Azerbaijan's President and the Turkish President at the demonstration.
Lebanese riot police fired teargas canisters at the protesters after they hurled firecrackers toward the embassy building.
Leo Nicolian was among the protestors.
“Nagorno-Karabakh is historical Armenian land since many thousand of years and years. It was even the house of the Armenian kings at the time of the kingdom. Unfortunately, today, we lose that. Today, Azerbaijan have take back all of Karabakh. And we have more than 50,000 people who are refugee in Armenia."
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The families of police constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow have remembered the "evil" day their lives were shattered when both were gunned down.
Today marks National Police Remembrance Day when services are held across the country, with three officers killed on the job in the past 12 months.
The third name added to Canberra's National Police Memorial this year will be that of 28-year-old Constable Anthony Woods who was run over and killed following a pursuit in June this year.
Constables Arnold and McCrow were following up a missing persons report on a remote Queensland property in December when they came under fire from a high-powered rifle.
Constable Arnold was killed, while a wounded Constable McCrow returned fire before she was also fatally shot.
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Western Australian Qantas Pilots say they will stop work for 24 hours next Wednesday as workers negotiate a new enterprise agreement.
Mining operations and regional travel could be disrupted by the industrial action, with more than 50 flights expected to be affected.
The Australian Federation of Air Pilots said it had notified Qantas management of the strike plans.
Network Aviation, which is wholly owned by Qantas, is WA's premier charter company for the mining industry.
Employees have complained of significantly lower wages compared to other airlines.
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United States soldier Travis King has landed at a US military base in Texas after being expelled from North Korea.
The 23-year-old was due to face military charges after he crossed the Korean border illegally.
Mr King is now expected to undergo a medical review at Brooke Army Medical Centre.
International relations analyst Dr Leonid Petrov says Mr King's release and return may signal an important moment in diplomatic relations between the two countries.
"The release or deportation of private Travis King may be a harbinger for a new major development in the US North Korean bilateral relations."
Details of the negotiations between the US and North Korea that led to Mr King's return have not yet been made public.
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In sport, thousands of AFL fans are expected to turn out for a motorcade procession this morning ahead of the grand final.
The procession is back on Friday morning after last year's grand finalists were made to travel on boats as fans watched from the banks of the Yarra River.
Many supporters said they couldn't even see the players from popular vantage points.
The AFL conceded the river parade didn't allow fans the best viewing and overall event experience.
