TRANSCRIPT
- Singer Liam Payne dies after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires
- Ukraine welcomes the announcement that Australia will send over more tanks
- Still a chance Alyssa Healy could play in the T20 World Cup semifinal
Former One Direction singer Liam Payne has died outside a hotel in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.
Local media reports the 31-year-old British musician was found dead after falling from the hotel's third floor.
Police were called to the hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood in response to an emergency call that cited an aggressive man who could be under the effects of drugs and alcohol.
Ambulance workers later confirmed the death of the singer, who was found in an interior hotel patio.
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Israel has allowed 50 aid trucks into the Gaza Strip, a day after the White House threatened to cut military aid if Israel did not increase the flow of assistance.
United Nations agencies say over the last two weeks Israel has blocked almost all food aid from getting into northern Gaza.
UN humanitarian official Joyce Msuya told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that 400,000 Palestinians are experiencing unbearable conditions in northern Gaza.
"The level of suffering in Gaza defies our ability to capture it in words or even to comprehend it. S upplies essential for people's survival and humanitarian assistance are blocked at every turn. International humanitarian law must be respected, and this Council and all member States must exert all their influence to ensure it."
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his plan to win his country’s fight against Russia’s invasion could bring peace next year, but it contains a step that some crucial Western allies have so far refused to support: inviting Ukraine to join NATO before the war ends.
NATO’s collective security guarantee — Article 5 of the military alliance’s treaty — outlines a political commitment by all member countries to come to the aid of any member whose sovereignty or territory might be under attack.
The decision to have a new member join the alliance would need the acceptance of all member nations, including the United States and Germany who refuse to allow Ukraine in while fighting continues because they fear being dragged into a wider war with Russia.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte says he is aware of Mr Zelenskky's plan - and has been in regular communication with him.
"We are in regular contact and I am very much aware of all the elements of the victory plan. As you also know, NATO in Washington decided to make the path towards NATO membership for Ukraine an irreversible path. That's clearly stated. And we are in close contact with allies with Ukraine to see how we can take next steps, how to do that in a way which is also successful, which is fruitful, etc. Obviously, these are talks, I cannot give you all the insights about. That's impossible in a press conference like this. But the victory plan, of course, we very much are debating with them and using every opportunity to take that one step by step further."
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South Australia's Parliament has narrowly voted down a bill that would have made it illegal to terminate a pregnancy after 27 weeks and six days.
The final vote was nine in favour and ten against, which means the bill will not go to the lower house; and therefore will not become law.
The controversial proposal had drawn criticism from opponents inside and outside parliament, and labelled an "extreme right-wing culture war bill" by SA Health Minister Chris Picton.
Ahead of the vote, the South Australian Abortion Action Coalition had also staged a demonstration outside parliament, which included women dressed as handmaids.
The group's Brigid Coombe says the fight to protect reproductive rights remains an ongoing concern.
"Always in Australia we have had an undercurrent of anti-abortion activitists, often getting their ideas from the United States - which is not a very good place to get their ideas from because the way that American law operates against women means they have in fact a very high maternal mortality."
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In cricket, Alyssa Healy hasn't ruled out the prospect of leading her Australia team out in their T20 World Cup semifinal.
The team medics are giving the skipper every possible chance to be fit for the clash against South Africa in Dubai.
Healy is still recovering from her right foot injury suffered last week in the win over Pakistan.
Stand-in vice-captain Ellyse Perry says Healy has not been ruled out for the semifinal at this stage.
"The medical staff and the team are going to give her every every opportunity and possibility to play. But I don't think anything has changed in that respect. We'll just have to see in the next 24 hours."
