In this bulletin;
- Fire crews in Victoria battle to control three large bushfires.
- Oil executives converge on the White House for a meeting with President Trump.
- Wellington cement their place at the top of the A-League Men ladder
Fire crews in Victoria are battling to control three large bushfires which have destroyed buildings, homes and property during extreme fire and heatwave conditions.
A state of emergency has been declared in 18 local government areas after blazes burned through 150,000 hectares of bushland in the worst fires the state has seen since the so called Black Summer six years ago.
Three major fires continued to burn in central Victoria, at Longwood, Walwa and Ravenswood.
A child and two adults remain unaccounted for in Longwood, while and a local firefighter was hospitalised with third-degree burns to his hands in the nearby town of Ruffy, where dozens of homes and a school have been destroyed.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says its crucial Victorians follow the advice of emergency services.
"There are multiple dangerous bushfires burning across Victoria, some of which pose a threat to life and property, and the situation is far from over and a massive firefighting effort is underway as we speak. This is a crucial time for Victorians, for them to listen to the advice of emergency services and being ready to enact emergency plans."
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Fire crews in New South Wales are also facing difficult conditions with more than 40 blazes burning, including four which are uncontained.
Extreme and severe heatwave warnings are in place across a vast area of the state's centre and southeast, with temperatures set to reach 43 degrees Celsius in Sydney.
NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Trent Curtin says while the fires are not currently a threat, the RFS is prepared for them to escalate.
"We've also identified an additional six hundred firefighters who are ready to pre-deploy anywhere across the state should fires occur. We have around 50 aircraft that are either currently deployed or that are ready to respond immediately right across the state. That includes four heavy helicopters and three large air tankers, we have an additional 150 aircraft that we can employ if we need to."
Extreme heatwave warnings have also been issued in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, South Australia and Tasmania, with damaging winds forecast across S-A and eastern Victoria this afternoon.
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US President Donald Trump has held a meeting of global oil executives at the White House to discuss the U-S takeover of Venezuela's oil industry, after the capture of its President Nicolas Maduro a week ago.
The talks included major corporations such as Chevron, Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, as well as independents and private equity-backed firms.
Mr Trump told the meeting the US will decide which companies will be allowed to invest in the country's ageing industry in return for access to its oil.
"The numbers - 30 million barrels. I can't even - is that a correct number? 30 million barrels of oil was given to us by Venezuela. That's a lot of oil. That's about $4 billion worth. It's on its way to the United States right now."
Mr Trump also urged Greenland - which it has threatened to annex using military force - to make a deal, saying the U-S was prepared to, quote, "do it the hard way."
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The UK Defence Secretary says Russia’s use of a new hypersonic ballistic missile on Ukraine is a sign of rising threats.
Ukrainian officials say Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles in a large-scale overnight attack, killing at least four people in the capital.
For the second time in the nearly 4-year-old war, Russia used the powerful hypersonic Oreshnik missile, one of its most advanced weapons.
Russia’s missile forces chief has said the Oreshnik can travel up to 10 times the speed of sound with a range that allows it to reach all of Europe.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey says its use signals the need for a new approach to deterring future threats.
"I see it as an indication of this new era of threat. Rising uncertainties, rising threats. It demands a new era for defence and that's why as a government in the UK, we've made this commitment now to increasing defence spending by a record amount since the end of the Cold War. And it's why we have, at the same time, transformed our armed forces so that we learn the lessons from the sort of fight in Ukraine here."
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And in soccer, Auckland are five points ahead at the top of the A-League Men ladder after beating Brisbane Roar 2-0 in Brisbane .
Striker Sam Cosgrove and winger Lachlan Brook continued their outstanding form with goals in the sixth and 73rd minute respectively.
The victory puts Auckland at 24 points, well ahead of Sydney FC and Macarthur, who are next best placed at 19 points.
It's the third consecutive loss for the Roar who are fourth on the table at 18 points.
