Good morning. It’s Friday 6th May, and here’s a round up of the latest news.
Fresh bid to evacuate civilians trapped in besieged steel works
A new United Nations convoy is en route to Ukraine to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol.
If follows reports of heavy, bloody fighting at the besieged plant, where many still remain trapped in underground tunnels and bunkers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett that they remain committed to an agreed three-day ceasefire to allow civilians to evacuate.
But, a Ukrainian fighter, Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov Regiment, who said he was holed in up the vast complex, has accused Russian forces of breaching the plant's defences for the third day in a row.
"Once again, the Russians violated the promise of a truce and did not allow the evacuation of civilians who continue to hide from shelling in the Azovstal plant's basement," Mr Palamar said.
"We call on the global community to evacuate civilians and I personally appeal to the commander-in-chief to take care of wounded soldiers who are dying in agony from inadequate treatment.
"Provide the opportunity to pick up the bodies of soldiers so that Ukrainians can say goodbye to their heroes.
"Respond appropriately to a critical situation in which the enemy does not adhere to any ethical norms, conventions or laws, destroying people in front of the whole world, guided by permissiveness and impunity."
WHO says COVID-19 death toll close to 15 million
World Health Organisation (WHO) officials say the true death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic is close to 15 million.
That's more than two times the official death toll of six million.
The figures include people killed directly by coronavirus, or by the pandemic's impact on health systems, such as those with conditions who were unable to seek treatment when hospitals were inundated with COVID patients.
The WHO's technical officer for the Department of Data and Analytics, William Msemburi, says most of the additional deaths were concentrated in South East Asia, Europe and the Americas.
"Globally we estimate 14.9 million excess deaths associated with the COVID-19 pandemic by 31 December of 2021.
"So this estimate ranges from 13.3 million to 16.6 million. There were 5.4 million reported COVID-19 deaths to WHO over this period."
He says lower-middle-income and upper-middle-income countries account for 81% of this 14.9 million number.
Victorian truth-telling inquiry
The First Peoples' Assembly co-chair is pushing for Victoria's truth-telling commission to have a longer inquiry to better understand injustices against First Nations people.
Victoria's Aboriginal Affairs Minister Gabrielle Williams is scheduled to appear at the Yoorrook Justice Commission on Friday and an interim report is due next month.
Co-chair Marcus Stewart has told NITV, the commission should last from between five to ten years to make the full extent of history known.
"We will I guess connect the dots of the systemic, not just the systemic but basically the pattern of what has happened throughout colonisation .
"We'll be encouraging the commission to speak to all Nations, All peoples who have stories to tell, truth to tell but really we'll be laying the foundations of what Treaty can achieve in the state of Victoria."
The Commission's final report will be delivered in 2024.
Israeli PM says Vladimir Putin apologised for foreign minister's Hitler comments
Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says Mr Putin has apologised for his foreign minister's comments claiming Adolf Hitler had Jewish origins.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier said that Hitler had Jewish roots — a remark described by Israel as an "unforgivable falsehood" that undermined the horrors of the Holocaust.
In a phone call, Mr Putin had apologised with Mr Bennett accepting the apology and thanking the Russian leader for "clarifying his regard for the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust".
The leaders also discussed how Russia would allow civilian passage from the besieged Azovstal steelworks in the Ukrainian port of Mariupol through a humanitarian corridor handled by the United Nations and Red Cross.
Australia's Richie Porte. Source: AP
Richie Porte to complete final Grand Tour
Australia's Richie Porte will be an important support rider for Ineos Grenadiers when the three week Giro jee-roh d'Italia begins on Friday night.
The 37-year-old cycling star will retire at the end of this season with the Giro being his 17th and final Grand Tour which is being staged in Budapest, Hungary.
He is expected to strongly support Ineos Grenadiers leader Richard Carapaz, a reigning Olympic road champion and 2019 Giro winner.
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