TRANSCRIPT
- Local hospital says children queuing for aid killed in Israeli strike in Gaza
- A Rome conference on the economic recovery of Ukraine pledges over $17.8 billion
- Two-time Olympic champion runner Semenya wins an appeal contesting sex eligibility
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza overnight, with the largest death toll recorded in the central city of Deir el-Balah.
Palestinian Red Cross is reporting separate incidents, including a strike which reportedly killed a mother and her three children.
Medical staff treated injured patients, including children, lying on the ground inside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
Among them: mother Samah Al-Nouri, whose daughter was killed in an Israeli strike.
"She went to a medical facility for throat treatment, she had nothing, she went for treatment at a medical facility, full of children. They hit her with a shell, her brother went to check and he said they all died. What did they do? What's their fault? What is her fault? She was only getting treatment in a medical facility, a safe medical facility. Why did they kill them?"
Meanwhile, five Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces near Khan Younis in Gaza's south, as the Israeli military mounts a new incursion in the area.
**
The search for German backpacker Caroline Wilga has become a national hunt, with police issuing a plea for help to find her.
Carolina Wilga was last seen on June 29 arriving in a Mitsubishi van at a general store in Beacon, northeast of Perth in Western Australia.
The van has been discovered by police, abandoned around two hours from Beacon.
Police say it appears to have suffered mechanical issues.
The 26 year-old is of slim build with light brown hair, brown eyes and police have released footage to aid the investigation.
Homicide squad detective senior sergeant Katharine Venn told reporters Ms Wilga could have gone anywhere in the country.
"The information we have is very varied. I think she was very open to travelling anywhere in Australia. She could have been travelling to eastern states, also north."
**
The family of a Palestinian woman whose visa was cancelled over national security concerns, has protested outside Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke's office.
62-year-old Maha Almassri, who fled war in Gaza, was taken from her home in Sydney's south-west on Thursday and taken to a detention centre.
Her visa cancelled by Australia's Department of Home Affairs, with documents revealing she had been assessed as a direct or indirect security risk.
Protesters blamed Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke for the move.
"Tony Burke, how dare you? You represent the biggest population of Arabs and Muslims on this land. How dare you not fight in our name! What this family witnessed at 5am this morning is evidence. Because it is unfair that she flees a genocide and is captured by the Australian government in the early hours of the morning and is thrown into a detention centre. We'll be here until she's out."
The Department of Home Affairs says it will not be commenting on the situation.
Israel has denied allegations of acts of genocide in its offensive againt Hamas militants which began when Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
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European leaders have urged private business and equity to invest in rebuilding Ukraine now, even as Russia accelerates its war,
The Ukraine Recovery Conference, this year held in Rome, opened with announcements of a new equity fund and public-private partnerships amid uncertainties of the US commitment to Kyiv's defence.
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni says the conference is expected to finalise individual deals of guarantees and grants to unlock billions in investments.
"'Because whether we like it or not, what happens in Ukraine affects each and every one of us. I think that is why we should be proud of the result we are all achieving together today: nations, international organisations, financial institutions, local authorities, the business sector, civil society. Together we have made commitments with today's conference for more than 10 billion euros.''
As the proceedings kicked off, Russia pounded Kyiv with another major missile and drone attack - one of the heaviest in the more than three-year war.
**
To sport, two-time Olympic champion runner, Caster Semenya, has won a partial victory in her seven-year legal battle against sex eligibility rules in athletics.
A European Human Rights Court upheld a 2023 ruling that Semenya's appeal to a Swiss Federal Tribunal against World Athletics regulations had not been properly heard.
She has long contested rules which require female athletes with differences in sexual development to medically or surgically reduce their testosterone levels for at least six months in order to compete.
The Grand Chamber's decision does not overturn these regulations but allows Semenya to continue her legal challenge, which she has long said is a fight against discrimination.
