We have rounded up all the news you need today, with the biggest headlines from around Australia and the world.
1. The leadership challenge.
The Prime Minister faces a battle for his position this morning in a party room meeting at 9am. He met overnight with many key Liberals to firm up his position. The ABC reports that Malcolm Turnbull is not expected to announce a challenge before the 102 members of the party meet.
The PM told the last night that battling for his leadership had been a chastening experience.
“It’s a pretty chastening experience to have a spill motion moved on you after just 16 months in government – a very chastening experience and I am determined that my government if it continues after tomorrow will learn from experience.”
The Treasurer, Joe Hockey told yesterday that any cabinet minister who wanted to support the spill or seek the leadership should resign immediately.
Warren Entsch who met with the PM last night said he discussed backbench concerns with Mr Abbott’s leadership style.
2. Newspoll figures a disaster for the PM.
In a disastrous poll taken for The Australian the PM’s personal approval rating is at a record low, the worst for any prime minister since Paul Keating in 1994.
The Coalition’s primary vote is down three points to an eight-month low of 35%.
In two-party terms, the government’s vote is 43% with Labor on 57%.
The poll of 1178 people found that voters preferred Malcolm Turnbull as the best person to lead the Liberal Party as prime minister.
This backs up a poll by Mamamia Women’s Network which showed of 2000 people 86% want to see a change in the leadership of the Liberal Party, with Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop significantly outstripping Tony Abbott as preferred Prime Minister.
49% back Malcolm Turnbull to lead the nation, while 22% would prefer to see Julie Bishop in the top job. Tony Abbott is the least popular proposed leader in the poll at 14%.
3. Sydney siege interviews show hostages true stories.
Last night’s television was dominated by the hostages from the Sydney siege who spoke on both 60 Minutes and Sunday Night.
Marcia Mikhael has told Sunday Night that police bungled the rescue operation, she said that it should have been controlled by the army.
“I know there are a lot of officers there (who) probably risked their lives to be there and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not being ungrateful to them…but I just think that maybe the Army would’ve been better, more appropriate to be handling this situation.”
She said that she felt it was a waiting game.
“They were waiting for him to kill someone or shoot something so they (could) come in. It would be reactive. There was nothing proactive about that operation, nothing.”
For more on what the hostages had to say read this post here.
4. Man to face court over women’s murder today.
A man will face court Redcliffe Magistrates Court today in QLD over the death of mother-of-two Adelle Collins on Friday night.
The 45-year-old Bongaree man has been charged with her murder, as well as three other offences including break and enter of a dwelling, willful damage and stealing.
He was known to Ms Collins.
Friends flooded her Facebook page yesterday with messages of grief and wishes that domestic violence is overcome.
5. Adnan Syed From ‘Serial’ Wins Motion to Appeal.
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals has granted an appeal for Adnan Syed, the man convicted of the murder at the center of the hugely popular podcast Serial.
In the application for the appeal, Syed claimed his attorney at his first two murder trials, Christina Gutierrez, was “ineffective.”
Syed was convicted and found guilty for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee back in 1999, and he has been serving a prison sentence since 2000.
6. Queensland election: Electoral Commission to issue writ for Ferny Grove; result to be decided by courts.
By Kirrin McKechnie, ABC
The Queensland election result is headed for the courts, with the Electoral Commission planning to refer the seat of Ferny Grove to the Court of Disputed Returns.
It will then determine whether to order a by-election, because a candidate there was disqualified.
Both leaders were still in election campaign mode on Sunday.
Labor leader Annastacia Palaszczuk was on the pseudo-hustings at Brisbane’s South Bank markets, while the new LNP leader, Lawrence Springborg, took his campaign to an ambulance station where he stressed he was still in government.
“The caretaker conventions allow for the day-to-day business of government to continue,” Mr Springborg said.
And it seems he wants to stay in caretaker mode for a lot longer, using the threat of a by-election in Ferny Grove to keep things as they are.
“I think we need to be very much focused on the caretaker government doing its job in Queensland until we get a clear direction in what may happen in Ferny Grove, because I don’t think people would be wanting things to change and then change back the other way, whatever the outcome may be,” he said.
Mr Springborg pointed to the 1996 Mundingburra by-election, which saw the Goss Labor government replaced by a minority Borbidge Coalition government months after a general election.
“I think everyone should just hold their horses until we get a clearer understanding,” he said.
Ms Palaszczuk said she would not “deal with hypotheticals”.
“The Electoral Commission will make their determination in regards to Ferny Grove,” she said.
A version of this article originally appeared on ABC and has been republished with full permission.
7. Bali 9 lawyer to launch last ditch appeal
By Indonesia correspondent George Roberts
Lawyers for the two Australians due to be executed in Indonesia this month are launching a rare challenge against the Indonesian president’s refusal to grant them pardons.
Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the ringleaders of the so-called heroin trafficking group Bali Nine, are due to face a firing squad before the end of February after they were denied presidential pardons.
Their lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said their “last chance” was to challenge president Joko Widodo’s decision in an administrative court — a move that has rarely been attempted.
“We have done almost everything and now we are planning to file another claim to the administrative court in Jakarta,” Mr Mulya said.
“We will challenge the rejection of the clemency issued by the president, or made by the president.”
But Mr Widodo has declared Indonesia in a state of “drug emergency” and vowed not to grant clemency to any drug offenders.
It is on that basis that Mr Mulya and his team of lawyers are hoping to challenge the president’s decision, saying that he has to actually consider each case.
“It’s not the way to do it,” Mr Mulya said of the president’s outright rejection of clemency bids.
“We don’t think the president can reject all the clemency petition[s] based only on drug emergency situations.
“The president must go into [them] one by one. Now [an] assessment has to be done.
A version of this article originally appeared on ABC and has been republished with full permission.
8. Prince Charles alarmed by radicalization of young people.
The Prince of Wales has descried the extent to which young people are being radicalized in the UK as alarming, telling the BBC
“You think that the people who have come here, [are] born here, go to school here, would imbibe those values and outlooks.”
“The frightening part is that people can be so radicalized either through contact with somebody else or through the internet, and the extraordinary amount of crazy stuff which is on the internet.”
9. Bruce Jenner fatal accident victim named
The 69-year old victim of a fatal car crash in which Bruce Jenner was involved has been named as Kim Howe a neighbour of the Kardashians.
reports that Jenner is under investigation by police as there are thoughts he was texting at the time his Cadillac Escalade crashed into the back of another vehicle.
10. Down Syndrome baby abandoned by mother assisted by worldwide donations.
Donations have flooded in for a New Zealand father and baby who has Down syndrome after the story of how his Armenian mother ‘abandoned’ him after his birth made headlines across the world.
His father, Samuel Forrest has said that his ex, Leo’s mother refused to even look at or touch the her baby for fear “of getting attached in a society where defects are not accepted, often bringing shame on the family involved,”
His mother has since disputed the allegations. “I saw the evasive looks of the doctors, my relatives’ tear-stained faces, received calls of condolences and realised that only a move to a country with such standards as New Zealand would entitle my son to a decent life.”
“Sam has never suggested joining him and bringing up the child together in his country.”
For more read this post here.
11. Retrial for Al Jazeera journalists.
Peter Greste’s colleagues from Al Jazeera have been granted a retrial – set for February 12. Baher Mohamed and Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy were sentenced last year on charges including spreading lies to help a terrorist organization.
Australian journalist Peter Greste who was jailed along with them returned home last week.
He has been campaigning for the release of his colleagues.
What news are you talking about today?
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