In this bulletin;
- Hundreds of thousands of people without power in the aftermath of Cyclone Alfred
- Israel says it is cutting off its electricity supply to Gaza
- Greater Western Sydney beat Collingwood with 52 points, but at the cost of its superstar
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Queensland Premier David Crisafulli says about 350,000 homes and businesses in Queensland spent the night without power after Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
Premier Crisafulli says downed powerlines are a concern as nearly 2,000 workers work to restore electricity.
"It's been a really challenging day of rain and wind, and they are working to reconnect that power."
The disruption isn't over, with the Bureau of Meteorology issuing a warning for a severe thunderstorm for people in parts of Ipswich, Logan, Scenic Rim, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane City and Moreton Bay Council Areas.
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Defence Minister Richard Marles says his department will investigate its capacity to handle disaster recovery work, after two military trucks crashed and rolled over amid storm conditions, injuring 13 personnel.
The trucks were assisting with flood recovery efforts, after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred swept through the town of Lismore in northern New South Wales.
Superintendent Scott Tanner, from New South Wales Police, says the accident occurred around 5pm on Saturday when one truck left the road.
"In my 32 years of policing it is the largest accident that I've been to. One vehicle had left the roadway and it overturned in a paddock, had rolled a number of times and one was blocking the entire road. The cause of the accident is still under investigation."
13 defence personnel were injured in the crashes, with six seriously wounded.
Defence Minister Marles acknowledged the incident has put the spotlight on the issue of defence capabilities during disasters, which was first raised in the Defence Strategic Review.
"Yes, there is a conversation that we are having and we will continue to have going forward. But in a given disaster right now, we will be there and we will continue to lean forward to make sure that all the capabilities are provided."
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Israel says it is cutting off its electricity supply to Gaza.
The full effects of that are not immediately clear, but the territory's desalination plants receive power for producing drinking water.
The announcement comes a week after Israel cut off all supplies of goods to the territory to over 2 million people.
Israel's Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Eli Cohen, says Israel wants Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in return for a promise to negotiate a lasting truce.
"I have now signed the order to cut off electricity to the Gaza Strip immediately. We will employ all the tools available to us so that all the hostages will return, and we will ensure that Hamas won’t be in Gaza on the day after."
Phase one of the Gaza ceasefire expired earlier this month, and ever since then Israel has sought to press Hamas to accept an extension of the first phase rather than moving to the second phase of the deal.
Hamas wants to move to the second phase, which would see the release of remaining hostages from Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a lasting peace.
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Syrian leader Ahmed Sharra has called for peace, after over 1,000 people were killed in coastal areas between security forces and loyalists of Bashar al-Assad.
According to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the clashes are the country's worst violence since December, when Hayat Tahrir al-Sham overthrew Bashar al-Assad.
The United Nations special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, has called on all side to refrain from violent actions.
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Greater Western Sydney have defeated Collingwood by 52 points in the opening round of the AFL season.
The Giants secured the victory thanks to star midfielder Finn Callaghan, with defender Sam Taylor kicking the first goal of the match, also his first since 2019.
Giants head coach Adam Kingsley says he is pleased with the team's performance.
"I couldn't have been prouder and happier with the way that we performed. I thought our pressure, our intensity around the ball was first class. I thought that the way we moved the ball was really strong. You know, we've had patches and we've still got plenty to work on. We had some patches where we were pinned in and Collingwood had repeat entries. And they were defending us really well. So we will continue to improve our game each and every week. But all in all, I was absolutely rapt."
But the win came as a cost, as the Giants lost Bieran Briggs to a neck injury in the first quarter, after a collision with Taylor.
Briggs was rushed to hospital, but seemed to be in good spirits, watching the second half of the game on his phone.
