TRANSCRIPT
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles says Israel's reaction to Australian recognition of Palestinian statehood is disappointing and unjustified.
He's jopined Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong in criticising Israel's decision to revoke the visas of Australia's representatives to the Palestinian Authority.
In a social media post on Monday ((AUGUST 18)), Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said the move, which would revoke visas from three Australian diplomats, was in response to Australia's decision to recognise a Palestinian state and to refuse entry to a controversial Israeli politician, Simcha Rothman, for offensive and inflammatory remarks.
Mr Marles is reiterating Australia's position in support of a two state-solution.
"The step that we've taken in respect to the recognition of Palestine is consistent with a long held position, with successive Australian governments around supporting a two-state solution. Obviously this is a decision that has been made in the wake of decisions that have been made by countries like he United Kingdom, countries like France and Canada, so we are very much within the mainstream of the international community, which has always supported a two-state solution."
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Business groups are happy with how the federal government's productivity roundtable has started- but are warning a way has to be found to implement its ideas.
The Chief Executive of the Business Council, Bran Black, says there has been broad agreement amongst attendees of the three day summit in Canberra.
However, he says a lot of the ideas discussed to try and boost Australia's ailing productivity are not particularly new- and the nation can't afford to waste time implementing the good ones.
"Most of the points that have been discussed today are points that have been mentioned and raised in various reports, and by various experts, for many, many years now. But I think a key challenge that we've got is taking the broad agreement and translating that into a pathway to deliver specific outcomes reasonably quickly."
Mr Black says, in the face of certain proposals put forward by the trade union movement, his group has emphasised the importance of giving employers incentives to achieve aims, rather than threatening them with punishment.
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Police in Western Australia are making a desperate appeal for the mother of an infant found dead in a stormwater drain to come forward.
The body of the newborn baby boy was found yesterday [[mon 18]] afternoon by tradesmen in the suburb of Alexander Heights, in Perth's north.
The boy's body is believed to have placed there, and to have been there for two weeks.
The boy's nationality is not yet known.
The case is being investigated by the W-A Police homicide squad.
Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen Cleal says the mother, or someone who knows who she is, has to come forward, no matter what.
"It is a priority of the homicide squad to identify the mother of that child. We have serious concerns for the mother's health, the mother's welfare, and that is priority for us- we want to help that mother, that is our priority."
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The South Australian government will move to regulate home delivery of alcohol to try and help prevent domestic violence.
The move is part of a suite of measures in response to the unveiling of the report of the state's Royal Commission into the issue.
Another immediate response will be the establishment of a 24-hour crisis phone line for victims.
The Royal Commissioner has handed down 139 recommendations in all, seven of which the government has immediately agreed to, with the rest to be responded to by year's end.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas says his government has already allocated money to deal the implementation of the response of the report, and won't hesitate to allocate more.
"I don't think money should be the paramount consideration here. The paramount consideration is the safety of women and children that suffer from domestic violence. And what we have got here is roadmap to deliver better outcomes- including some thoughtful, practical measures. And we should have the vision to implement as many as we reasonably should."
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that security guarantees for his country will likely be formalised on paper within the next week to 10 days.
His comments came after his meeting with U-S President Donald Trump and European leaders at the White House.
The meeting is being much better received on all sides than the rancourous previous meeting betwene Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy at the White House, earlier
Mr Zelenskyy says that a part of security guarantees for Ukraine is a package of U-S weapons which primarily includes aircraft and air defence systems.
Ukrainian translated to English: "And we have agreements with the U.S. president that when our export opens, they will buy Ukrainian drones. This is important for us. This will finance our domestic production. Our enterprises will have money for production, to increase production. It is important."
Mr Trump now says he will arrange for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mr Zelenskyy to meet with each other.
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In cricket, Sam Konstas says his love of the game has not been diminished by his recent run of poor form.
The teenage opening batsman exploded upon the international cricket scene on Boxing Day last year, hitting a spectacular 60 on debut against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
But he's only scored 103 runs in his nine Test innings for Australia since, leaving his place in the Australian team in jeopardy ahead of this summer's Ashes series.
However, Konstas says he realises you can't be successful all the time at the top level, and a player needs to learn from their mistakes.
"It's the reason why I play cricket- the love of it. And, as an athlete, you're going to go through failures and successes. But it's how you build from those failures and become a better person and cricketer."
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The Women's National Basketball League is expanding to ten teams.
The Tasmania Jackjumpers, who've been successful since their admission to the men's competition in 2021, have been awarded a licence for the women's competition for the 2026/2027 season... although the women's team will carry a yet-to-be-determined different name and different logo.
The new team will be the first professional women's basketball team in Tasmania since the Hobart Islanders' ten-year stint in the competition ended in 1996.
It will be the ninth team in the competition, with the search now on for a tenth team to join them in entering next season.
