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In this bulletin,
- The United States says a logistics vessel has departed to begin port construction in Gaza;
- Energy minister Chris Bowen rebuffs the Coalitions nuclear power plant plans;
- And in tennis, Novak Djokovic holds on to victory in his first match back in the US after five years.
TRANSCRIPT
A United States Army official says a logistics support vessel has departed base less than 36 hours after President Joe Biden announced plans to establish a maritime corridor to deliver aid to Gaza.
US Central Command says the ship is carrying equipment for the establishment of a temporary port in Gaza to assist the delivery of vital humanitarian supplies.
The announcement comes after critique about the US decision to airdrop aid into Gaza with no plan for distribution or collection, one aid airdrop killed five Palestinians when a parachute failed to open properly.
Emergency physician and Medglobal Board member Doctor Thaer Ahmad worked in Gaza for three weeks and says there are more efficient ways to deliver aid.
"I think it's more efficient than airdrops. You can get more aid in. Maritime corridors is something that many people have spoken about. Building this pier, if it's going to allow people are hungry in the Gaza Strip to get aid, I think most organizations are welcoming it. I think I have two concerns. The first is it's going to take time to build this pier. Two months, maybe three months. So in the meantime, we should also be working on getting those other land crossings open, which would be cheaper. It's more efficient, and it can have an immediate effect because we can do that tonight."
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Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy Ted O'Brien says Australia could have a nuclear power plant up and running in the next decade.
Mr O'Brien told Sky News that the Coalition is preparing to announce their nuclear plan, which it will take to the next election.
Minister for energy and climate change, Chris Bowen told ABC Insider's that Mr O'Brien is 'dreaming', citing the average build time of nineteen years for a nuclear power plant.
Australia currently has a total ban on nuclear energy which, if the Coalition were re-elected, would still have to be supported by parliament before it could be lifted.
Mr O'Brien says the best experts around the world say it could be done in ten years.
"What we're finding now is because we are at advanced stages in the Coalition of our nuclear part of our policy, Labor, suddenly all their MPs are experts, and you can be sure they will come out, they'll be negative, and they'll be on a talking point script from their party. What they won't be doing is looking across the world at what works best, and the importance of a general mix different technologies within the mix"
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Australia's Tibetan community is today marking the 65th anniversary of the uprising against the Chinese occupation, with protests calling on the Australian government to take stronger action against human rights abuses.
In 1959, thousands of Tibetans took to the streets to protest China's invasion of Tibet.
The Chinese response to the resistance resulted in the loss of many Tibetan lives and forced the Dalai Lama, alongside 80,000 other Tibetans to flee to neighbouring India.
Members of the Uighur and Hong Kong communities were also among those protesting.
One of the protest organisers and spokesperson for the Tibetan community in New South Wales, Kyinzom Dhongdue says every one of the Tibetans there has escaped.
"Tibet today has been turned into a vast open prison, there is a hidden silent genocide that is taking place inside Tibet, away from the gaze of the international community, not a single journalist is able to enter Tibet right now, foreign tourists are not able to travel Tibet freely. China has systematically isolated Tibet from the from the international community, which is why today we are here to tell the Australian Government and tell the Australian people that we have a responsibility Australia has a responsibility to help resolve the situation in Tibet."
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A driver who crashed on a remote highway in Queensland has been rescued after his smartphone sensed the accident and auto-dialled emergency services.
The man, aged in his twenties, crashed his ute in Queenslands Maranoa region at about 5:15am this morning.
The man's phone then detected the incident and called triple zero, notifying emergency services of his location.
The man has suffered a head injury and was airlifted to Roma hospital after being treated by paramedics at the scene.
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And in sport,
Unseeded Australian Aleksandar Vukic has pushed Novak Djokovic to three sets, but the world number one held on to win his first match back in Indian Wells after a five-year absence.
Djokovic had not competed at the tournament since 2019, as he was unable to enter the US because of travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The unseeded Australian found his range with his powerful forehand in the second set and finally broke serve when Djokovic's backhand up the line narrowly missed its target.
Vukic fended off three break points in the next game for a 3-0 lead, but Djokovic would break back with an exquisite drop-shot volley to hold serve for 3-3.
