US President Joe Biden has been relentlessly grilled by White House reporters over his age and mental acuity during a surprise last-minute press conference late Thursday night, local time. A long-awaited report cleared President Joe Biden of any wrongdoing in his mishandling of classified documents on February 8, but dropped a political bombshell by painting the Democrat as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory". Mr Biden rejected concerns about his failing memory during the address. "My memory is fine," the President said. Mr Biden stated he is the "most qualified person in this country to be President of the United States".

A defiant Joe Biden has declared that his memory is “fine” in a fiery prime-time press conference. The US President was clearly furious over a special prosecutor's report into his handling of classified documents which suggested that he had memory problems. President Biden’s temper became evident as he faced a barrage of media questions about his mental state. “I’m well-meaning, and I’m an elderly man, and I know what the hell I’m doing,” he said. “I don’t need his recommendation ... my memory is fine.”

During a charity event at Salisbury Cathedral, Camilla delivered a positive announcement following King Charles III began his cancer treatment. “He is doing extremely well under the circumstances. He is very touched by all of the letters and messages the public has been sending from everywhere. That’s very cheering,” she said. Camilla arrived at her first royal commitment following the King’s cancer diagnosis smiling and thanked people for their ongoing support. The charity attended by Her Majesty is raising money for local charities Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust, Wiltshire Air Ambulance, and Community First Youth Action Wiltshire. Other members of the Royal Family have also continued with their royal duties since the announcement of the King's cancer diagnosis.

Police are investigating yet another Melbourne tobacco shop fire, Border Force officials seize over 5 million cigarettes and over 200,000 vapes in Sydney, QLD Premier Steven Miles urges the RBA to cut rates immediately, Australia's top Indigenous health organisation says the NT's alcohol bans are proving successful, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro surrenders his passport amid an ongoing investigation, and a volcano erupts in Iceland. See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

Former Queensland premier Peter Beattie believes the plan to rebuild the Gabba is “derailing public support” for the Olympics and says Queensland should dump the redevelopment plan. There are growing calls to scrap the controversial plan to rebuild the Gabba, with IOC Vice-President John Coates making a stunning intervention yesterday, urging the Queensland government to dump the $2.7 billion Gabba redevelopment plan. “I think most people in Queensland are sick of the politics on this – it’s a lot of politics, local Green politics, the Lord Mayor wanting to get elected at the election at the end of the year,” Mr Beattie told Sky News Australia. “John Coates cut through all of that nonsense and basically said the Gabba is the wrong decision, and I agree with him. “Suncorp would be absolutely ideal for the opening and closing ceremonies … and it uses local facilities that already exist. “It’s frankly, I think, derailing public support for the Olympics, and if we can follow John Coates’ advice on this and cut to the heart of this … then you can actually diffuse it.”

A senior member of an Iranian-backed militia has been killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad. The strikes are in response to the deaths of three American servicemen on a base in Jordan last month. The US Pentagon says the commander from Kataib Hezbollah was responsible for directly planning and participating in the attacks. “[United States] forces conducted a unilateral strike in Iraq in response to the attacks on US service members, killing a Kataib Hezbollah commander responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on US forces in the region,” a statement from the US military read. The commander has not been named.

Former US president Donald Trump has responded to a special counsel’s report which states Joe Biden will not be charged over his handling of classified documents. The report said the President came across to investigators as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory”. Donald Trump put out a statement saying: “This has now proven to be a two-tiered system of justice and unconstitutional selective prosecution! “The Biden case is 100 times different and more severe than mine. “I did nothing wrong, and I cooperated far more. What Biden did is outrageously criminal – He has 50 years of documents, 50 times more than I had, and ‘WILFULLY RETAINED’ them.”

Consumer Affairs Victoria has issued a public warning, advising customers to be cautious when shopping with popular homewares and gifts retailer Ishka. There have been 38 serious allegations made to the market regulator in recent months, including failure to supply goods and refunds and to respond to consumer complaints. Sky News contacted Consumer Affairs Victoria to see what had been done about it a week ago, and now the regulator has issued a public warning about Ishka. “Consumer Affairs Victoria Director Nicole Rich has issued a public warning about retailer Ishka, following a significant number of consumer complaints to the regulator in recent months,” it said. “Given the number of complaints and the serious nature of the issues raised, Rich believes the warning is in the public interest and is urging consumers to be cautious when dealing with Ishka.”

Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham has criticised Defence Minister Richard Marles for saying his department still has a "way to go" before it achieves excellence as “deeply concerning” but says it's a “problem of their own making”. Tensions between Mr Marles and the Department of Defence were revealed yesterday during Question Time after the Opposition called for him to lift his game. “This is deeply concerning, and it is a serious problem that the Albanese government needs to address rapidly – but it is also a problem of their own making,” Mr Birmingham told Sky News Australia. “The Albanese government has put Defence into a quagmire of endless reviews, it has cut into the Defence budget, it has shown an inability to make critical investment decisions, and it has shown next to no confidence in defence personnel to deploy them and do the types of jobs they signed up for. “Little wonder we’re in a situation where decisions are piling up on Richard Marles’ desk, not being actioned. “It’s little wonder that defence chiefs are at wit's end with the Minister who is not making decisions, not getting outcomes through the Cabinet and budget process, and is just leaving all the hard capability decisions to pile up with a budget going backwards and defence personnel numbers going backwards as well – they’re walking out the door on him.”

US President Joe Biden has been described in a Special Counsel report as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” and that he couldn’t “remember when he was vice president”. The report into the President’s handling of classified documents has revealed he will not be charged over the matter. “That fact he won’t face charges is, in and of itself, an issue with his mental health, essentially what this investigation has found is that Joe Biden did wilfully retain documents,” said Sky News Washington Correspondent Annelise Nielsen. “The issue with going forward is that they would have an issue prosecuting him in court theoretically and upholding that evidence because his memory is so bad. “So this is an absolutely damning report – this is from not a political foe, this is an independent look into this case, this issue with classified documents. “This has said that the main issue in all of this is Joe Biden’s memory.”

ASPI Senior Analyst Malcolm Davis says the expected announcement of the MQ-28A Ghost Bat is “very significant” because it will allow the Australian military to “undertake more dangerous missions”. Labor is expected to announce an investment into the unmanned combat aircraft, which would see the launch of more advanced surveillance and communication functions. They are the first military aircraft to be designed, developed and manufactured in Australia in more than half a century. “It’s known as a cooperative combat aircraft,” Mr Davis told Sky News Australia. “In other words, it’s an unmanned aircraft … it’s designed to work with aircraft such as the F-35, the Super Hornet and the P-8 Poseidon to basically support those crewed aircraft, undertake more dangerous missions ahead of the formation. “You have what’s known as crewed autonomous teaming … where crewed and autonomous platforms work together as a team, and the Ghost Bat provides that sort of fast long-range strike and surveillance capability that will be part of that process. “This is very significant because if you look at where combat aircraft are going, increasingly it’s this crewed autonomous teaming approach.”

ASPI Senior Analyst Malcolm Davis says it is “really important” Defence Minister Richard Marles and his department “work together effectively” after it was revealed he was feuding with the Department of Defence earlier this week. Marles says his department still has a ‘way to go’ before it achieves excellence. Tensions between Mr Marles and the Department of Defence were revealed yesterday during Question Time after the Opposition called for him to lift his game. “The strategic circumstances that we’re in demand that all sides in our defence organisation and in government work together effectively to deal with the challenges that are ahead,” Mr Davis told Sky News Australia. “I think that it’s really important for both defence, as an organisation, and also the government to get the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible. “We don’t have a lot of time to play with here – worst-case scenarios on some crises such as Taiwan, for example, suggest three to five years, so we don’t have a lot of time to mess about. “It’s really important that both government, with the minister, and also the defence organisation work together as an efficient team.”

Sky News US Analyst Michael Ware says a special counsel describing Joe Biden as an ‘elderly man with poor memory’ couldn’t have been written by the Trump campaign “better if they had done it themselves” and “will be appearing” in campaign ads. Special Counsel Robert Hur has described US President Joe Biden as a “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with poor memory” and said he would bring no charges against him after his investigation into Biden’s classified documents scandal. “The Trump campaign couldn’t have written that sentence better if they had done it themselves,” Mr Ware told Sky News Australia. “You can be assured that quote will be appearing in campaign ads. “This is part of the irony of where we are in American politics right now, because former president Trump has actually been charged with withholding secret classified US documents, and unlike President Biden, President Trump not only refused to give these documents back, but tried to hide them and lied about them. “In a really bitter irony, while we’re hearing Republicans talk about how strong an action the Biden administration must take against Iran for its role in Gaza and backing militias in the Middle East, one of the key documents that President Trump has been charged with retaining is America’s secret attack plans on Iran. “It is an extraordinary time both politically and in terms of the legal.”

Defence Minister Richard Marles says his department still has a “way to go” before it achieves excellence. Tensions between Mr Marles and the Department of Defence were revealed yesterday during Question Time after the Opposition called for him to lift his game. Funding demands are one of the key points of tension. Mr Marles says he is working with civilian and uniformed leadership on a path to reforms. “I make no excuses or apologies for demanding excellence and a culture of excellence in the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force,” Mr Marles said in Question Time. “We are giving the Defence Force a strategic purpose … to improve the culture, but there is a way to go because of the mess that was left by those opposite.”

Sky News host Liz Storer says the world’s largest developer of offshore wind is “culling 800 jobs”. Renewables giant Orsted is scaling back development targets and announced hundreds of job cuts. Ms Storer said they are “scaling back production, they’re scaling back their development targets”. “They’ve even paused shareholder payouts. “Because they’re trying to help their bottom line and balance the books.”

Sky News host James Macpherson says renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy “If you get enough government subsidies”. Renewables giant Orsted is scaling back development targets and announced hundreds of job cuts. Mr Macpherson said Orsted is “laying off 800 workers”. “They’ve pulled out of Spain, they’ve pulled out of Portugal, out of Norway. “And their share prices dropped by 30 per cent.”

Sky News host Caleb Bond has drawn comparisons with the Bonds clothing brand and Bud Light. Mr Bond’s comments come after the clothing label’s new advertising displayed a non-binary model in branded female underwear. “If you’re trying to sell women’s underwear to women well, presumably, you would get a woman to come in and do it,” Mr Bond said. “If you are trying to sell a product to men, Bud Light beer for instance, you don’t get a transgender TikToker to come in and do it. “Unless there is just some massive market out there of non-binary people Bonds thinks they are going to corner.”

Sky News host Liz Storer says it is not even a question if a ‘pro-life Spiderman’ is a hero. The man in question climbed the Las Vegas Entertainment Sphere all the way to the top with no safety equipment to raise money for a homeless woman who is pregnant. “That is a manly man he is doing what men should,” Ms Storer said. “And that is looking after women and babies. “I absolutely love it – he is a hero.”

Sky News host Rita Panahi says this Labor government is “far more radically left” than the Shorten team that Australia rejected. “That is what is driving this party and we know what is in their DNA,” she told Sky News host Paul Murray. “They don’t like aspiration, they don’t like Australians being independent and self-reliant. “That’s what property is for a lot of people who are not born into wealth. “It is so absurd and economically illiterate to be upset about negative gearing.”

Former US Army vice chief of staff General Jack Keane has applauded the European Union for stepping up following a new support deal for Ukraine. European Union leaders have approved a $82 billion package to support Ukraine for the next four years. “I applaud what has happened here, and the Europeans have truly stepped up; there’s no doubt about it,” General Keane told Sky News host Andrew Bolt. “I take my hat off to them. “I’ve spent a lot of time educating Americans that Europeans have truly stepped up here, and the United States has to continue to make this commitment.”