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TRANSCRIPT
- Booing during Anzac Day commemorations condemned
- Australian families believed to be linked to the IS group leave a refugee camp in Syria
- Socceroos defender Harry Souttar makes a victorious comeback
Booing has marred Anzac Day commemorations in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth - interrupting the Indigenous acknowledgement of country.
New South Wales Police say officers arrested a 24-year-old man over the booing during the Sydney service at Martin Place.
He has been charged with committing a nuisance in connection with a war memorial.
The acting president of the Returned and Services League of Australia New South Wales Branch, retired brigadier Vincent Williams, says the booing is disrespectful and must be condemned.
In a statement, he says there is no place for such disruption on ANZAC Day, particularly for Indigenous Australians who he says served in Australia's armed forces "often in the face of significant discrimination – demonstrating courage, commitment and sacrifice".
Mr Williams says he was heartened to see the many thousands gathered in Martin Place show their support for Indigenous veteran Uncle Ray Minniecon, who delivered the acknowledgment of country.
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A commemorative ceremony to honour those Indigenous Australians who have served in the Australian forces since 1901 has been held in Canberra.
In attendance were guests from the United States, New Zealand, the UK, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Veterans Association organised the event.
The association's director of communications, Aboriginal veteran Garth O'Connell, says he is pleased to see Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in attendance.
"In the not too distant past, terribly unequal treatment was given to our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander veterans on their return to Australia. And this ceremony acknowledges that fact. That many of our veterans and families suffered from this still do today, and we vow never to let that happen again. Our ceremony also acknowledges the decades of proud service of Australians of Pacific Islander descent. Especially those who've served in and around the Australian military forces in the past. Up until 1975, Papuans were part of Australia, and we consider them to be the third Indigenous Australians at war, in addition to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders."
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Australian families believed to be linked to the IS group have left the Roj camp in north-east Syria, according to the camp's co-ordinator Lana Hussein.
She says the group departed under escort, with Kurdish-led forces overseeing the transfer.
"Today, a group of Australians left (the camp) - four families. The total number was 13 people, in coordination with the Damascus government. This coordination involved intelligence services - our own and those of the Damascus government."
It’s unclear where the families are headed, with Australia previously maintaining it will not repatriate detainees from Syria.
Roj camp houses more than 2,000 people from around 40 countries, most of them women and children,.
It is in an area controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, and is run by Kurdish-led authorities with internal security provided by local forces.
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At least 12 people have been killed by an Israeli strike in Gaza, as polling booths open in one of the only Gaza cities not overrun by Israeli ground forces during the war.
The vote in Deir al-Balah is part of Palestinian Authority municipal elections that Palestinians have cast as a display of national unity against a US plan for Gaza that they believe intends to entrench their separation from the occupied West Bank.
It will be Gaza's first vote of any kind since 2006, when Hamas won the Palestinian Authority's legislative elections and later seized control of Gaza.
It comes as bodies arrived at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, after Israeli fire killed at least 12 people across Gaza.
The Israeli military says it targeted Hamas militants in a Gaza City strike, but did not immediately comment on the other incidents.
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And in sport,
Socceroos defender Harry Souttar has scored in his first game in nearly 500 days, in a huge boost to the Socceroos' World Cup hopes.
Leicester City's Souttar tore his Achilles in December 2024 before having his return pushed back by knee surgery which dented his hopes of making Australia's World Cup squad.
Souttar was a powerful presence in defence during the game, recording 14 clearances, winning eight out of 10 duels and sitting at 73 per cent passing accuracy.
