Conceding defeat, the Labor leader Kevin Rudd announced he would be resigning as party leader.
The US Secretary of State John Kerry and the French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius have spoken of their determination to respond to the use of chemical weapons in Syria last month. Mr Kerry said the United States and France were not talking about going to war, but discussing limited military action aimed at degrading the Syrian authorities’ ability to use chemical weapons. He said the world mustn’t make the mistakes it did in the run-up to the Second World War.
“This really is the Munich of our generation. It is time to hold people accountable, not to appease them. We cannot stay indifferent in the face of this massacre.”
Tens of thousands of people have gathered in the Vatican to pray for peace in Syria. Pope Francis called for reconciliation and peace in Syria, saying that war was always a defeat for humanity.
World News from the BBC
The Italian coastguard says it’s rescued more than 700 people in the last two days from boats carrying migrants and refugees. Here’s Alan Johnston.
This is the time of year when Italians expect to see migrants landing on their southern shores. In the summer months, the seas are calmer and more people attempted to take their chance in rickety boats setting out from North Africa in search of better lives in Europe. Vessels land in Italy almost every day, but the numbers coming over the past 48 hours have been particularly high. Many of these people were from Nigeria, Ghana and Eritrea.