Members of the Jewish and Islamic communities express growing fears for their safety; Queensland police confirm two toddlers found dead in a remote community were related; And in cricket, Alyssa Healy pinned as frontrunner to take over as captain from Meg Lanning.
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.
TRANSCRIPT
- Members of the Jewish and Islamic communities express growing fears for their safety;
- Queensland police confirm two toddlers found dead in a remote community were related;
- And in cricket, Alyssa Healy pinned as frontrunner to take over as captain from Meg Lanning.
Members of Melbourne's Jewish and Islamic communities have expressed growing fears for their safety, after a violent clash between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli supporters in the city's inner-east.
Police say the fight broke out when about 400 people gathered in Princes Park in Caulfield South, in response to a suspected arson attack on a burger shop which the Palestinian-Australian owner has called a hate crime.
Victoria Police say they are investigating the circumstances, but do not believe the attack was racially or politically motivated.
Organiser with Free Palestine Melbourne, Tasnim Sammak, has apologised for the location of Friday's protes, which she says the group did not realise was near a synagogue.
However she has defended their right to protest in what she says was solidarity against racism.
"More needs to be done to protect Palestinians. And the first thing is to acknowledge that there is rising anti-Palestinian racism across the nation, being fuelled by political discourse and media rhetoric that positions Palestinians in a negative light. The biased reporting and the biased political commentary inflames hatred towards our community."
Chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission, Dr Dvir Ambramovich, says people in the Jewish community are also feeling vulnerable.
"First of all I was shocked and sickened to the core, this is not the Melbourne that I know, and the chilling explosion of anti-Semitic violence and intimidation that I witnessed was a sad and dark day for the Jewish community, which is rightly asking, 'who's protecting us?'"
—
Optus has again apologised for Wednesday's massive network outage and have set up a specialist hotline for complaints from impacted businesses.
Teams had worked "into the night" answering calls from customers, a spokesperson for the telecommunications company said.
The company has apologised to small businesses who were unable to access internet services such as EFTPOS payments, and say they have set up a specialist team to address concerns.
—
Queensland police have confirmed two young boys who were found dead in an unused vehicle in a remote Indigenous community were related.
A two-year-old boy was found inside the car in a property in Woorabinda and rushed to hospital, officers have said, but he was declared dead - most likely from heat stress.
Police attended the same address about three hours later and found the unrepsonsive body of a three-year-old boy in the same car, who had been hidden from view in the initial search.
Central Region Crime Co-Ordinator Darrin Shadlow says police have set up a crime scene to investigate the circumstances of the deaths.
"And we have specialist investigators from our Child Traumatised force, from Brisbane, attending tomorrow. It's a tragic event, it's a close-knit community, Woorabinda. It's a tragic event for the community and also for the hospital staff and the first responders."
—
Hundreds of Remembrance Day events have been held across the country to honour those who have served and died for Australia.
The Prime Minister and the Governor General were among dignitaries paying their respects at the service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says it is important to mark thirty years since the Unknown Soldier was entombed at the War Memorial.
"'Lest We Forget' is Australia's eternal promise to all those men and women who've worn our uniform, who defended our nation, defended our democracy, and risked their lives in order to preserve the Australian way of life. Today on November 11 we pause to reflect and pay thanks to all those servicemen and women who are serving our nation today, (and) all those who have served us in the past."
At a service in Sydney, the youngest ever president of the New South Wales Returned Services League, Mick Bainbridge, has said it's a day to bring generations together and revive the RSL.
He says he has lost more friends and colleagues to suicide than in combat.
"War is a terrible business, no one wins. And to any veterans out there that are upset with the scenes on T-V, please reach out to R-S-L, we're here for you. They're fairly confronting and I hope that all sides can temper the outcomes there and make sure everyone is safe."
If you or someone you know needs support, call Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or call Lifeline on 13 11 14. Veterans and their families can call Open Arms crisis support on 1800 011 046.
—
And in cricket,
Alyssa Healy has declared hopes to take over from Meg Lanning, after the 31-year-old captain announced her retirement from international cricket on Thursday.
Healy is considered the front runner for the job, with selectors to name a squad for the looming tour of India this week.
The wicketkeeper is currently on the mend from a finger injury after a dog bite, but is expecting to be fit for the Mumbai Test against India on December 21.
Healy admitted she was sad to see Lanning decide to walk away on Thursday, after 10 years as Australia's captain.
