TRANSCRIPT
- Victorians prepare for severe storms and flash flooding over the next 48 hours
- Hezbollah fires rockets at Israel in response to the killing of a Hamas leader
- Poland advances to the United Cup final
Victorians are being told to take shelter and prepare, with summer thunderstorms threatening to dump mammoth rainfall totals and cause widespread flooding.
Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent says a major rain event is expected over the next 48 hours.
He says emergency authorities are preparing for the worst-case rain scenario.
"We are planning for in excess of 200mm of rain. The extreme weather event will commence in the northwest and the southwest, before moving across through the southwest and central, north central and into the east of the state. Over the past few weeks, we've already had significant amounts of rain. And many of the river, creeks and water catchment areas are quite full. So it is highly likely that there will be flash floods in flood areas."
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More than 125,000 Queensland homes have had their power restored after devastating storms downed electricity lines and left residents disconnected.
The state's southeast has been affected by wild weather in recent weeks, with a tornado tearing through the Gold Coast and flash flooding hitting the Logan and Scenic Rim regions.
Queensland's acting energy minister Grace Grace says about 130,000 properties were without power at the peak of the storms but 97 per cent have been reconnected.
She says a further 3,000 homes should have their electricity restored by the end of the weekend.
"Safety remains the prime issue here. We want to make sure that those people who are connected are connected safely. We don't want other events to occur. And consequently, the crews are focusing their attention today on Mount Tamborine, Cedar Creek, Jimboomba, Mudgeeraba, Upper Coomera, Cedar Grove and Wongawalla communities."
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Israel's military says heavy fire from Lebanon has targeted northern Israel.
It says it responded by striking a terrorist cell that took part in the attack.
Lebanon's Hezbollah group said it hit a key Israeli observation post with 62 rockets early on Saturday as a "preliminary response" to the killing of Hamas' deputy chief earlier this week.
Tensions have been high since Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri was killed by a drone on Tuesday in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
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The United Nations relief chief says famine is "around the corner" in Gaza as civilians face the "highest levels of food insecurity ever recorded".
In a statement, Martin Griffiths says Gaza is "uninhabitable", with a public health disaster unfolding as sewers spill over and infectious diseases spread in overcrowded shelters.
UN spokeswoman Stephanie Tremblay says aid is getting through, but it is nowhere near enough.
"His office today tells us that we are our partners continue to do all we can to meet the massive needs in Gaza. However, they say the current response is only meeting a fraction of people's needs. On the food security front, our partners continue to do all they can to support people in Gaza. But they are constrained by security risks and mobility constraints."
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The death toll from the earthquake in Japan has reached 126 people.
210 people remain missing.
Bad weather and a snow forecast for Sunday has hindered the work of thousands of rescue workers.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says he has spoken with ministers on the need to "urgently and swiftly" to repair roads to help hundreds of people in cut-off areas.
In downtown of Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture, this woman says she has come personally to her uncle's house to find him.
"We brought food for our uncle, but we haven't been able to reach him. His house is old, and we're uncertain if he still resides there. He's nearly 80 years old, and our attempts to contact him have been in vain as his calls go unanswered."
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World No.1 Iga Swiatek has shrugged off an early challenge from Caroline Garcia, continuing her pre-Australian Open hot streak by booking Poland a place in the final of the United Cup.
Swiatek has never reached the Australian Open final at Melbourne Park, with her best result a semi-final appearance in 2022.
Defeating Garcia 4-6 6-1 6-1 in Sydney, the Pole has now extended her run of consecutive matches without defeat to 15.
The 22-year-old says she is happy she came back from dropping a set to win the match.
"Sometimes, it's even hard to like to point to one thing (that went wrong). The change - I just feel like I needed to calm down a bit and not rush it. And also observe the ball a little more because I felt I was off the timing. Maybe because we came from Perth. For sure, I needed some time to adjust. And I did that, so I'm happy."
