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In this bulletin;
- The so-called Islamic State group claim responsibility for suicide bomber attack in Islamabad
- New South Wales Premier appeals for calm across state ahead of Israeli President's visit
- Australian freeskier Daisy Thomas ruled out of first event following crash at training
The so-called Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack that killed at least 31 people at a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Pakistan's capital.
In the deadliest suicide bombing in Islamabad in over a decade, at least 31 were killed and more than 170 injured when an attacker fired at a Mosque before setting off a suicide bomb.
The attack took place during Friday prayers, when mosques around the country are packed with worshippers.
The last major attack in Islamabad took place in November when a suicide blast outside a court killed 12 people and wounded dozens, the first such incident to hit the capital in nearly three years.
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New South Wales Premier Chris Minns is calling for calm across the state ahead of the arrival of Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Sydney on Monday.
Thousands of demonstrators are set to defy protest restrictions when they rally against the Israeli president's contentious visit to Australia next week, as police warn activists face arrest.
Rallies have been organised in every state capital across the country ahead of Isaac Herzog's five-day tour.
Premier Chris Minns defended the police minister's special events declaration for the duration of the President's visit, prohibiting public assemblies in key parts of the city.
"It's really important there's no clashes or violence on the streets of Sydney. So our clear message is, in an unambiguous way, that people can remain calm and respectful during that presidential visit. We can disagree, without it resorting to clashes and violence on Sydney streets. In fact, that would be devastating for everybody, regardless of your cause."
President Herzog is set to meet with federal politicians as well as those impacted by the Bondi terror attack.
Herzog has previously said Palestinians bore collective blame for Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which a UN Human Rights Council commission of inquiry found in September might reasonably have been interpreted as inciting genocide.
Herzog has vehemently denied allegations that his remarks amount to incitement, saying they were taken out of context.
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Gale force winds and rising floodwaters are predicted for several mining communities as a tropical cyclone intensifies off the coast of Western Australia.
Tropical Cyclone Mitchell was about 200 kilometres off the Pilbara coast of northwest WA on Saturday morning as a category one system.
But the Bureau of Meteorology expects the storm to intensify to a category two system by the afternoon, with the chance of even greater intensity by Sunday.
The warning zone currently extends for about 160 kilometres between De Grey and Mardie, including the major mining towns of Port Hedland and Karratha, with Exmouth in the firing line for Sunday.
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Canada and France have opened consulates in Greenland's capital Nuuk, deepening Arctic ties amid US President Donald Trump's repeated calls to acquire the world's largest island.
Canada's Foreign Minister Anita Anand shut down suggestions that the move was purely a symbolic message directed at President Trump.
JOURNALIST: “How much of this opening is really about symbolism and sending a message to the U.S. President Donald Trump, more than anything?”
ANAND: “This is not symbolism. As I suggested, we are building ties with the kingdom of Denmark and Greenland in the short and the long term on defence and security, on bilateral economic ties, on shared values like environmental sustainability. And in addition, we together will cooperate with other Arctic countries to ensure that we are doing our part in an ever-changing global threat environment."
French ambassador to Denmark, Christophe Parisot, echoed Anand's message, saying the move demonstrated solidarity with Greenland and Denmark.
Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt welcomed the step as a strengthening of friendship and shared values between Greenland and Canada.
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The United Nations says Israeli settler violence and expansion in the occupied West Bank displaced nearly 700 Palestinians in January, the highest rate since 2023.
Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now says settlers’ resort to harassment, intimidation and violence, with the backing of the Israeli military, to force Palestinians out.
The UN Human Rights Office says settler violence is a key driver of forced displacement in the West Bank, where the Israeli government is expanding illegal settlements.
UN spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan says states must act to stop the expansion.
"Accountability and justice must be achieved, for all the victims of unlawful killings and other human rights violations. States must act immediately to stop the aggressive Israeli expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Further expansion of settlements will only entrench the racial segregation against the Palestinian people."
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Australian freeskier Daisy Thomas has been ruled out of her first event after crashing at training.
Set to make her Olympics debut in the qualifying round of the women's slopestyle at Livigno's Snow Park on Saturday morning, the 18-year-old will miss the event after she re-injured the same knee.
She has also qualified for the women's freeski big air event which begins on February 14 and remains hopeful of taking part.
