TRANSCRIPT
- A man has died after a police pursuit in south-east Melbourne
- Ukraine's president says he's willing to meet with Russia to talk peace - on one condition
- Dane Gagai prepares to lead the Maori All-Stars in this weekend's showdown
A man has died after being pursued by police into a shopping centre at Lynbrook in Melbourne's south-east.
Detective Inspector Dean Thomas says the man died at the scene after being found inside the shops with what they believe to be self-inflicted injuries.
He says officers had been attempting to arrest the 36 year old over what they have described as "outstanding matters".
The Detective Inspector has confirmed the man was also tasered for allegedly brandishing a weapon.
"He was armed and he was still threatening at that point in time. The police involved are very shaken up as to what's occurred. They don't expect to come to work and be confronted with this."
**
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is willing to meet Russia's president to finalise a peace plan for Ukraine - but only on one condition.
US President Donald Trump has already spoken separately with Vladimir Putin, and told US officials to begin talks on ending the nearly three-year-long conflict.
The Ukrainian President says he is also prepared to talk to the Russian president, once Ukraine agrees on a common plan with the US and European leaders.
"Really, what we need to speak more, to work more and to prepare the plan, how to stop Putin and finish the work. Really, we want peace very much, but we need real security guarantees."
**
Officials investigating a deadly collision between a helicopter and plane in Washington DC say the crew of the chopper may not have heard air traffic controllers in the moments before the accident.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy says their analysis of the blackbox recording from the helicopter suggests the crew did not hear the controller tell them to go behind the plane because the microphone key was depressed.
But she says they have not definitively determined yet if there was a mixup in communication or where they were positioned.
"We're confident with the radio altitude - radio altitude - of the Blackhawk. At the time of the collision that was 278ft. But I want to caution that does not mean that's what the Blackhawk crew was seeing on the barometric altimeter in the cockpit... We are looking at the possibility of there may be bad data. We're looking at - were they seeing something different in the cockpit."
**
Politicians in Queensland have been granted a new payment to cover the cost of home security.
The Queensland Independent Remuneration Tribunal says it has accepted evidence from the Clerk of Queensland's Parliament Neil Laurie that the allowance was necessary in view of the potential safety risks they faced.
That means members will now be granted up to $6,500 for measures such as security cameras or lighting.
But the Tribunal says they need to be recommended by a Queensland Police risk assessment.
**
Health officials have diagnosed a man in New South Wales with Japanese encephalitis, the first case of the season.
New South Wales Health says they believe the man acquired his infection in late December or early January while camping in the state's Murrumbidgee region.
Health Protection Executive Director Dr Jeremy McAnulty says the case highlights the risk of the virus in a large stretch of New South Wales west of the Great Dividing Range.
Japanese encephalitis is transmitted through mosquito bites and is not transmissible between humans.
**
A Pride Flag has been raised above Sydney Town Hall to officially mark the start of this year's Mardi Gras.
More than 80 events and attractions will now be held over the next two weeks, which will include a First Nations Gala Concert called Blak and Deadly, an LGBTIQ+ women's event, and the Mardi Gras parade.
Rebecca from the Cerebral Palsy Alliance says representatives from disability organisations will also feature strongly in this year's programming.
"Research tell us that about 40 to 50 per cent of people with disabilities are in the gay and queer community. And we know that we really want to raise their voices, because they have been marginalised and not had their voices heard for so long."
**
To sport, Dane Gagai has vowed to lead the Maori All Stars to victory tonight in honour of his mother.
He has played three times for the Indigenous team through his father's heritage.
But he says now he has the honour of co-captaining the Maori side, on behalf of his mother's people.
"I'm proud to be Torres Strait Islander and I'm proud to be Maori so... I'm going to be doing that the best way I can, and that's going out and wearing my heart on my sleeve, and just putting in my best performance."
