TRANSCRIPT
- Sri Lanka has a new president.
- Al Jazeera condemns Israel for raiding and shuttering their offices in the occupied West Bank.
- And in netball, England stun the Diamonds in its third ever win in Australia.
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Sri Lankans are rejoicing at the election of Marxist politician Anura Kumara Dissanayake as president.
Mr Dissanayake, who lacked the political lineage of his rivals in the presidential election, has pledged to fight corruption and bolster a fragile economic recovery following the South Asian nation's worst financial crisis in decades.
He led from start to finish during the counting of votes, beating incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa.
He took 5.6 million or 42.3 per cent of the vote - a massive boost to the 3 per cent he managed in the last presidential election in 2019.
Mohammad Nafang, a banker in the capital Colombo, says Sri Lanka has been waiting for real change.
“After 76 years of that bad politicians did something bad to our country. This is the change we need. Actually we hope the new president will do something better.”
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Al Jazeera has condemned the closure of its bureau in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank by armed Israeli soldiers who stormed the premises, destroying equipment.
This follows the Israeli government also banning Al Jazeera from reporting in Israel.
Walid al-Omari is Al Jazeera's Ramallah bureau chief.
He says the action jeopardises the safety of journalists.
"They told us that it's closed now. We will stop working and nobody can go inside the office. This is the situation. It means that they extended the closure, the closure of our office, the shut down of our office in Jerusalem and banning our work inside of Israel to the West Bank. They extended to the West Bank now, which means that the Jazeera cannot work inside Israel and inside the West Bank."
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Meanwhile, the Israeli Defence Forces says Israel has almost completely dismantled Hezbollah's military chain of command.
It comes after a strike on a multi-storey residential building in the Lebanese capital Beirut which killed at least 37 including two Hezbollah commanders and children.
It also follows attacks on networks of pagers and radio devices used by Hezbollah across Lebanon which wounded thousands and killed at least 37 people including children.
And, over the weekend, Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire, launching missiles into each other's territory amid concerns from the international community of a possible all-out war.
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A search is underway for the shooters who killed at least four people and injured 17 others in a popular nightlife area in Birmingham, Alabama.
Birmington Police Chief Scott Thurmond says most of those shot were caught in the crossfire of what police believe was a paid hit on one of the victims.
"We believe the individual that was targeted is among the deceased. We believe that there was a hit, if you will, on that particular person. Or, as you know, someone was willing to pay money to have that person killed. We just have that information from some of the information we've learned in the last few hours of the investigation. I mean, that could change, but that's where we're at right now."
He says multiple suspects pulled up in a vehicle, got out, fired shots, got back in the vehicle and fled.
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New South Wales Heritage Minister Penny Sharpe says the heritage honour given to Australia's first women's refuge has helped continue the conversation on domestic violence.
Established in 1974, Elsie Refuge in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Glebe survived on donations before eventually being awarded a government grant.
Today, there are more than 800 shelters around the nation with a similar vision of helping women and children.
The refuge is now being added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register.
Minister Sharpe says the refuge has left behind a great legacy.
"What this really is about is the building; it's about the people who went through it; it's about the changed lives and it's about the movement that created women's refuges ... and really started the conversation about domestic violence on women and children and their need to be able to live free from it."
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In netball,
England have stunned the world champion Australian team with a vastly improved performance, forcing the Diamonds to just their third home defeat in 31 test matches with the Brits.
The Roses rallied against the Diamonds in the final quarter in Sydney, beating them 61-59 in a nail-biting display.
Helen Housby led the way for England with 29 goals and 10 assists.
Jess Thirlby is the England coach.
"We are not done yet, we wanted to come here and beat Aussie on home soil, so we've ticked one box and done it really well but both teams do great homework and I'm just glad that some of us paid off today."
The series will be decided in Bendigo on Wednesday night, with England having a strong chance of winning a first series against the Diamonds in Australia.
