TRANSCRIPT
- Conflicting reports on when a four-day ceasefire will start in the Middle East
- Two people killed in an explosion at the United States-Canada border
- Nikita Tszyu captures the Australian super-welterweight title
There are conflicting reports as to when a temporary ceasefire between Israeli forces and Hamas will begin.
After weeks of negotiations, Israel's government and Hamas agreed to a four-day pause in fighting to allow aid into the Gaza Strip and the release of at least 50 Israeli hostages in exchange for at least 150 jailed Palestinians.
Hamas officials previously said the ceasefire was set to begin on Thursday at 6pm AEDT.
But senior Israeli officials say no Israeli hostages will be released by Hamas before Friday.
A statement issued by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office says the negotiations for the release of hostages are advancing and continuing constantly.
Mr Netanyahu says the ceasefire does not mean the end of the war.
"I want to be clear. The war is continuing. The war is continuing. We will continue it until we achieve all our goals of returning all our abductees, eliminating Hamas and guaranteeing that after Hamas, Gaza is not to be controlled by a party that supports terrorism, that educates its children for terrorism, that funds terrorists or their families. Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel."
A car explosion at the Rainbow Bridge border crossing connecting the United States and Canada at Niagara Falls has left two people dead and one border guard injured.
Video footage of the incident shows a car travelling at high speed, reportedly in excess of 160 kilometres per hour, before becoming airborne and exploding upon landing.
While there were initial fears the explosion could be terror-related, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul has since confirmed that there is no indication of terrorism.
"The world is watching to find out what happened here. And again, at a time when there's such high anxiety, stress levels are already high. And we've been on heightened alert since October 7th. That's why it's so important for me to stand here and tell the world based on what we know at this moment. And again, anything can change. There is no sign of terrorist activity with respect to this crash. We have identified that this is a local individual, a western New Yorker. Two individuals died in the vehicle. The border patrol individual working in the booth was injured, the booth really protected that individual. They went to the hospital for minor injuries that have been released."
_
Three teenagers are being questioned by police following an alleged stabbing attack in Wollongong, south of Sydney.
A woman is said to be in a critical condition, rushed to Wollongong hospital after suffering multiple stab wounds to her body and head.
-
In boxing,
Nikita Tszyu has captured the Australian super-welterweight title with a devastating Technical Knock Out victory over Dylan Biggs to have the nation's most famous boxing family on the precipice of an extraordinary sporting milestone.
After a heated, at-times ugly build-up, the much-anticipated showdown at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre lived up to its billing as the domestic fight of the year when Tszyu climbed from the canvas to win in brutal fashion.
A smirking Biggs dropped Tszyu inside the opening 45 seconds on Wednesday night with two heavy rights, but the challenger recovered to pound his rival literally into submission.
Biggs did well to survive a relentless bashing from "The Butcher" in the fourth round before the referee stopped the fight late in the fifth as Biggs' team prepared to throw in the towel.
Tim Tszyu was there to congratulate his younger brother after the match.
Reporter: "You've yelled it out. 'Vegas Baby!' You want to go together?"
Tszyu: "You know who I'm chasing so let's get Nikita chasing one of those guys as well. And we'll bring all of Australia to Vegas. March 2nd you know what's up... All glory belongs to him. I'm so proud of my brother, he's come a long way. And again, Aus. champ, but number two in Australia so I'm proud of that. (Laughs)."
