TRANSCRIPT
- A protester charged for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag
- Central and eastern Australia hit by intense heatwaves
- Bad news for Australia as Sophie Molineux confronts a knee injury
A man has been charged with displaying a banned terrorist symbol after he allegedly waved a Hezbollah flag during a protest.
The 36-year-old man is accused of displaying the designated terror organisation's flag during a protest in Melbourne's CBD in late September.
The rally formed part of a national day of action for Gaza, with thousands of people also taking to the streets in Sydney and other cities in a series of ongoing protests that have largely remained peaceful.
A small group with Hezbollah flags - and some holding what appeared to be framed photographs of the terror group's slain leader Hassan Nasrallah - joined the Melbourne event as speeches ended and people began to march.
Australia designated Hezbollah a terrorist organisation in 2021 and in January outlawed the public display of prohibited Nazi symbols and symbols used by banned terrorist organisations, including the Hezbollah flag.
Further charges are expected to be laid against other alleged offenders.
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Energy Minister Chris Bowen has criticised the Coalition's nuclear energy plan costings, saying the modelling is misleading.
The Coalition wants to build seven full scale nuclear power stations at locations across the country – the first to be set up by 2037.
The cost for nuclear energy is estimated at $331 billion dollars, totally funded by taxpayers, with the Opposition using Frontier Economics modelling to claim the government's renewables will cost $595 billion dollars.
The Coalition says renewables will account for about half of their energy grid.
But Energy Minister Chris Bowen has criticised the modelling.
"This is the first time we've heard from the liberal party that they're actually planning to produce less electricity. It's quite a revelation, and it's how they cook the books. They cook the books by saying it'll cost less because we'll make less. I mean, well done. You don't need to be a professor to work out. If you make less, it'll cost less. Well done guys. This is what they've been working on for the best part of 12 months. This is what's taken so long. A magic assumption. You'll need less electricity."
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Sikh-led charity Turbans 4 Australia has been forced to cancel its Christmas toy drive for the first time, as charities struggle to meet demand.
Amar Singh is the founder of Turbans 4 Australia and told ABC that the demand for food relief is back to numbers seen during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The donations are at all time low and the demand's at all time high and how we turn people away because my number is listed on my website. People text me or call me direct and it's hard to hear those human stories and go, sorry, we can't help you. So we've got to juggle things and make it work somehow, and that's really tough. I think we need to look after better our fellow human beings, fellow citizens."
It comes as charities across Australia are struggling to meet a growing demand for food and essentials amid a cost of living crisis.
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An intense heatwave is hitting much of central and eastern parts of the country, including Queensland, NSW, Victoria and northern and eastern South Australia.
The heatwave will bring temperatures in the high thirties to low forties, particularly for inland areas.
By Monday, temperatures are expected to reach the mid to high forties for inland New South Wales and northern Victoria.
The Bureau of Meteorology's Dean Narramore told Channel Nine what to expect in coming days.
"Thankfully the relief will come into South Australia late on Sunday into Monday, Monday night into Tuesday morning through Victoria and Southern New South Wales, and then the rest of New South Wales as we get into Tuesday afternoon and evening, but no relief unfortunately for inland and northern parts of the country, which will continue to swelter through next week."
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Taylor Swift has surpassed Drake as the most decorated artist in Billboard Music Awards history.
The pop superstar took home 10 more prizes at the star-studded event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Taylor won Top Artist, Top Female Artist, and Top Billboard 200 - among other awards.
She previously tied with Drake, each with 39 prizes, but has now toppled the rap superstar with her new total of 49 awards.
Taylor thanked her fans and said her record-breaking wins were the "nicest early birthday present", as she celebrates her 35th birthday.
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And in cricket,
Australia is heading into the Ashes with Sophie Molineux ruled out of the Women's One Day International (ODI) tour of New Zealand with a knee injury.
This comes after captain Alyssa Healy's sore knee raised concerns for the team.
Finger-spinner Molineux has battled knee issues this summer, missing some WBBL games with the Melbourne Renegades to manage pain in the joint.
It means she will now skip all three ODIs against New Zealand this month, with bowling-allrounder Heather Graham to take her spot four weeks out from the Ashes.
The games double as the team's last before next month's multi-format Ashes series, where Australia will aim to retain the trophy for a fifth straight time.
