TRANSCRIPT
- International aid arrives in Myanmar as death toll exceeds 1,600
- Opposition leader Peter Dutton pushes gas plan to cut energy bills but offers few details
- Australian sprint star Gout Gout edged out by Lachlan Kennedy at the Maurie Plant Meet
The death toll in Myanmar has surpassed 1,600, after a 7-point-7 magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Mandalay on Friday - the country's ancient capital.
The military junta says another 3,408 people have been injured.
Teams have arrived from neighbouring China and India to assist with rescue efforts, with more international aid on the way.
A magnitude 6-point-7 aftershock was also felt across the region – in China, Vietnam and Thailand.
In Bangkok, at least 10 people have died - and more than 100 others remain unaccounted for, after the earthquake caused a high-rise building under construction to collapse.
Relative of missing Thai construction workers, Chanpen Kaewnoi, says she's waited day and night to see her loved ones.
"My mother and my sister were working on the 5th floor (of collapsed building), my sister ran back to call out for my mum and both of them together with their co-workers ran down. But seems like my mother tripped and fell, my sister tried to help her up and that's when they couldn't make it out."
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Voters still don't know how much less they will be paying for power under the opposition's gas plan - and Opposition leader Peter Dutton can expect to be pressed for more detail on day two of the campaign.
Both major parties were selling their cost-of-living blueprints to voters on Saturday, with the prime minister talking about cheaper healthcare and the opposition leader focused on energy prices.
Touring a brewery in Brisbane, Mr Dutton says high energy prices are putting businesses under serious financial strain and promoted his gas plan as the answer.
"Groceries are up by 30 per cent. I want to make sure with our east coast gas reservation, we can bring down the price of gas - not just for consumers but because it is a big part of business manufacturing; and the production of electricity as well. And we can have an economy-wide benefit."
Under the plan unveiled in his budget reply speech on Thursday, Mr Dutton has promised to lower domestic gas prices by forcing exporters to divert uncontracted gas to local users.
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Communities across three states are on high alert for flooding, after days of heavy rain.
A severe weather warning is in place for multiple regions in New South Wales, while communities in Western Australia are contending with Cyclone Dianne.
But it is Queensland that is bearing the brunt, with the state's worst flooding in more than 50 years expected to take weeks to clear.
Meteorologist Jonathan How at the Bureau of Meteorology says it is the state's southeast that will be the most impacted.
"Across Queensland there is a lot of tropical moisture across the state. And this will drive widespread rain and storms for much of eastern and central parts. Heavy falls are possible. These are really focused around southeastern parts of the state. As well as the northeast and along the inland New South Wales border. For inland parts of the state (Queensland), rainfall is easing back to showers. But right across Queensland, we are seeing much cooler temperatures than usual for this time of year."
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Israel has begun ground operations in Rafah’s al-Janina neighbourhood, amid escalating violence across Gaza.
Israel's military has issued two more evacuation directives overnight for western Gaza.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says hostilities continue to intensify across the Strip, causing deaths and injuries while severely limiting humanitarian access.
"Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that the situation continues to rapidly worsen. Intensified hostilities continue across the Strip, killing and injuring people and severely constraining the ability of humanitarian workers to provide lifesaving support. As we mentioned earlier this week, since the ground operation commenced in Rafah on Sunday, several ambulances belonging to the Palestinian Civil Defence, as well as the Palestine Red Crescent were hit while trying to rescue the wounded and their crew became trapped in the area."
According to the UN, at least 1.9 million people – or about 90 per cent of the population – across the Gaza Strip were displaced during the war.
Many have been displaced repeatedly, some 10 times or more.
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Authorities say a strong synthetic opioid - called nitazenes - have been detected in fake oxycodone tablets in New South Wales.
The state's Poisons Information Centre Medical Director Dr Darren Roberts says nitazenes are extremely potent synthetic opioids which are more likely to suppress or stop breathing compared with other opioids, and can stay in the body longer than other drugs.
The fake tablets are round and green in colour, and marked with O-C on the front and 80 on the reverse.
New South Wales Health says this packaging is different to genuine branded oxycodone tablets that are sold under the brand name of Oxycontin.
For support and information on drug and alcohol problems, contact the Alcohol and Drug Information Service on 1800 250 015. This is a 24/7 service offering confidential and anonymous telephone counselling and information.
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In athletics, Lachlan Kennedy has edged out national record-holder Gout Gout to win the Peter Norman Memorial 200-metre event at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne.
21-year-old Kennedy achieved a personal best time of 20.26 seconds, ahead of Gout on 20.30 seconds.
The race was Gout's first since he clocked 19.98 seconds to become the first Australian ever to run a sub-20-second 200-metres.
The 17-year-old says the response of the crowd cheering him on was a highlight and he is motivated to do even better at his next event.
