TRANSCRIPT:
- Talks underway to bring Australians home from Israel on commercial flights;
- Comedian Cal Wilson passes away after a short illness;
- Next year's Australian Open formally launched, with hopes Nick Kyrgios will make an appearance.
At least two people are feared to have perished in a truck and car crash in Western Australia's Pilbara region.
The prime mover and car were incinerated in the collision on the Great Northern Highway at Karijini, with the truck thought to be carrying a significant quantity of ammonium nitrate, a white crystalline salt widely used in fertilisers and explosives.
A 2 kilometre exclusion zone has been set up around the crash site to protect the public and emergency services workers.
Major crash detectives will attend the scene once the area is safe.
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A police task force has been set up to co-ordinate responses to protest activity in New South Wales after a widely condemned pro-Palestine rally on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.
Police acting Commissioner David Hudson says the task force will capture all available intelligence about community sentiment, potential protest activity, and any demonstrations that might take place in the future.
Meanwhile Mr Hudson says a second Sydney protest planned for Sunday night has not been given official authorisation - and he's urging organisers to cancel.
"They do have no protections - that come from the appropriate issue of a form one - for breaking the law. And they'll be dealt with appropriately."
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The Australian government has asked Qantas and Virgin airlines for help in repatriating Australian citizens in Israel.
Qantas says it doesn't usually operate regular flights to Israel, but it's spoken with the Department of Foreign Affairs and is offering support.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says she's instructed her department to begin a contingency plan for government-backed flights, but is urging people not to wait for them if they can fly commercial.
It's estimated that around 12,000 Australians are in Israel, and just over 100 have left the region since the significant escalation in the long-running conflict between Hamas and Israel.
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The United States is in talks with Israel and Egypt on a plan for safe passage of Gaza civilians as Israel carries out air strikes on the enclave.
Gaza's Health Ministry says at least 900 Palestinians have been killed in those strikes, while Israel's embassy in Washington has put the death toll from the Hamas assault at more than a thousand.
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan says negotiations about getting people to safety are ongoing - but that the White House is also working on a contingency plan for "any and all" escalation scenarios.
"At President Biden's direction, the U.S. military has enhanced its force posture in the region to strengthen our deterrence, including the movement of a carrier strike group into the eastern Mediterranean. And we are prepared to move additional assets as necessary. Let me be clear. We did not move the carrier for Hamas. We moved the carrier to send a clear message of deterrence to other states or non-state actors that might seek to
widen this war."
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Australia has confirmed it's sending humanitarian aid to Afghanistan in the wake of major earthquakes last week that have killed and injured thousands.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong says the government is making sure the aid will go to the United Nations led Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund, and not to the Taliban regime.
The earthquakes have added more pressure to the impoverished nation's population and infrastructure, which remains poor after decades of war and a lack of foreign aid since the Taliban takeover in August 2021.
Afghanistan's Health Minister Dr Qalandar Ebad says they need lots of supplies, including emergency kits and medicine.
"For the long term, as everybody knows, that after disasters maybe there are communicable diseases and just because of the less of the water, especially the clean water, the water for the drinking, and also for the sanitation. And also the issue of the nutrition. This a big thing and challenging for us."
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Comedian and writer Cal Wilson has died at the age of 53.
She passed away after a short illness at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney.
Born in New Zealand, she moved to Melbourne in 2003 and later became a regular fixture on Australian television.
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Tickets will go on sale tomorrow for the 2024 Australian Open.
But there are still no guarantees on Australia's Nick Kyrgios as the local fan favourite makes his way back from injury.
Kyrgios has struggled with knee and wrist setbacks since his outstanding performance last year, and has played just one match on the A-T-P Tour in 2023.
The Open's director Craig Tiley says organisers are confident he'll return as one of this summer's headline acts - but says Rafael Nadal is already a confirmed starter.
"You always get your hopes up because you always want people like Rafi to be here. He particularly is someone who loves Australia, who loves playing (here) and is very well liked by all the staff and there too. So it's pretty exciting to see him hitting and feeling really good about it."
