TRANSCRIPT:
- A major Sydney highway closed after a car crash and stabbing rampage;
- The Coalition accused of politicising the issue of Gaza visas;
- Aussie Formula One driver Oscar Piastri unhappy with qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix.
A police officer and two people have been stabbed at the scene of a two-car crash on a major southern Sydney highway.
The officer was injured during the arrest of a man found sprinting away from the scene in Engadine earlier this morning.
A woman understood to be a passenger of one of the crashed cars was found with multiple stab wounds.
Sutherland Police Command Superintendent Donald Faulds says the arrested man and injured woman were known to each other.
"What I can say about the two occupants in the car where the female was stabbed and the driver self-inflicted a number of wounds to himself, they were in a domestic relationship. Again, there's no history that we're aware of. There's no apprehended violence orders between the two. But definitely domestic-related."
.
Labor has accused the Coalition of politicising the issue of Gaza visas to deflect attention from their domestic agenda.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has repeatedly called on the government to refuse entry to migrants from the Gaza warzone, citing national security concerns.
But Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has told Sky News the Opposition is manipulating the issue to subvert public opinion from other important topics.
"The reason that the Opposition are focused on this is because they want to distract from the fact that they have nothing to say on what actually matters to Australians and that is cost-of-living pressures."
Deputy Opposition leader Sussan Ley has rejected the accusations.
She says it's the government that isn't doing its job right.
"We've got no confidence in the government on this. This is not about Palestinian Australians and the contribution they have made or will make to this country. This is about threshold questions of security, of immigration and Australians expect their government to get those things right, and they haven't. We ask the questions, we don't get the answers."
.
Israel has launched a series of air raids in Lebanon, in what it's called a pre-emptive strike against the Hezbollah militant group.
The Israeli Defence force says their military assessment identified the Iranian-backed movement was preparing to fire rockets and missiles towards Israel.
Hezbollah has responded by announcing it's launched more than 320 rockets and drones at Israel, in what it says is a reaction to the killing of a top commander in Beirut last month.
The attacks have come as Egypt plays host to a new round of talks aimed at ending Israel's war with Hamas, now in its 11th month.
.
The search continues this afternoon for a woman who was swept into a sinkhole in Malaysia's capital of Kuala Lumpur.
Eyewitnesses say the woman fell after the earth suddenly collapsed beneath her, just as she was walking along the pavement in the Dang Wangi district of the city.
Rescuers have barricaded part of the area and are using an excavator to clear debris in the sinkhole, but there is no sign of the victim yet.
Kuala Lumpur's police chief, Rusdi Mohamad Isa, says the hole is thought to be around eight metres deep.
.
The organisers of Sydney's iconic Mardi Gras festival have reached out to the L-G-B-T-I-Q plus community, asking them their views on police involvement in the next event.
The board has released a statement saying that there has been ongoing debate about the participation of New South Wales Police, and that they want to address concerns through a structured process.
Members of the organisation and wider community have been asked to give feedback over the next three weeks.
An independent consultant will then create a report based on that feedback before the issue is voted on at the next annual general meeting.
.
Millions of Australians have been told to brace for power outages and dangerous driving conditions, with wild thunderstorms predicted to sweep across three states from this afternoon.
The Bureau of Meteorology says thunderstorms are developing over Adelaide and southeast South Australia, and they're expected to track across large parts of New South Wales and Victoria during the afternoon and evening.
Meteorologist Miriam Bradbury says residents should keep themselves up to date on the latest warnings.
"We've got storms possible all the way up through western New South Wales, extending down to south-east South Australia and Victoria too. Tasmania is less likely to see the thunderstorms tomorrow, although we will still have some wet weather in the far south east."
.
A new pair of giant pandas will soon be making their way to Adelaide, marking the next panda diplomacy step between Australia and China.
It's been confirmed that a male [[named Xing Qiu]] and female [[Yi Lan]] will travel from China to settle into Bamboo Forest at Adelaide Zoo later this year.
They will replace beloved couple Wang Wang and Fu Ni, who have lived there for 15 years.
.
Australian Formula One driver Oscar Piastri has criticised his own performance in qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix, despite finishing third fastest.
But Piastri says he's still confident he can pick up his second win of the season, just over a month after his maiden victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix in July.
"I just didn't do a good enough job, really. I think the first half-lap was pretty solid, and then the second half just wasn't quite what I needed."
