Good morning, it's Thursday, March 31. Here's what you need to get going today.
One thing to know right now: Key moments from Shane Warne's memorial service
The state memorial service at the MCG gave the public a chance to properly say goodbye to the cricketing giant almost a month after his sudden death in Thailand at age 52.
Here are just some key moments:
- Warne's children gave touching tributes, and his father Keith said looking forward to a future without his son was "inconceivable"
- Warne's love of music and friendships shaped the evening, with performances from Elton John, Chris Martin, Robbie Williams and Ed Sheeran
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Recollections from fellow cricketers were among the most touching of the night
One thing you’ll be hearing about today: Bruce Willis to give up acting following aphasia diagnosis
Action star Bruce Willis is stepping away from his acting career at age 67 after being diagnosed with aphasia.
"Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities," Willis' family wrote in an Instagram post early on Wednesday morning local time.
Aphasia can cause a person difficulty with their language or speech, and can also hamper one's reading, listening, typing or writing ability.
News while you snoozed
Let's get you up to speed.
- Russian forces have bombarded the outskirts of Kyiv and the besieged city of Chernihiv in northern Ukraine, a day after promising to scale down operations there in what the West dismissed as a ploy by the invaders to regroup after taking heavy losses
- Australian entertainment pioneer Ernie Carroll, best known as the puppeteer behind Hey Hey It's Saturday character Ossie Ostrich, has died aged 92
- Academy Awards co-hosts Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes sid they were sickened by Best Actor winner Will Smith's slap of presenter Chris Rock at Sunday night's ceremony
The news Australia is searching for
- Lismore — The Wilsons River at Lismore has peaked below predictions but remains above the town's flood levee, and a search for a 55-year-old woman believed to be missing in floodwaters continues
- 7.30 — It comes after Prime Minister Scott Morrison rescheduled his interview with host Leigh Sales for next Tuesday instead of last night
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Hubble — NASA's Hubble Space telescope has discovered the most distant star ever seen, believed to have been formed 12.9 billion years ago
One more thing: Despite tensions on Earth US astronaut returns with Russians
A NASA astronaut has caught a Russian ride back to Earth after a US record 355 days at the International Space Station, returning with two cosmonauts to a world torn apart by war.
Mark Vande Hei landed in a Soyuz capsule in Kazakhstan alongside the Russian Space Agency's Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, who also spent the past year in space.
Despite escalating tensions between the US and Russia over the latter's invasion of Ukraine, the American's return followed customary procedures.
A small NASA team of doctors and other staff was on hand for the touchdown and planned to return immediately to Houston with the 55-year-old astronaut.
That's it for now
We'll be back later on with more.
ABC/wires
