TRANSCRIPT
- Dozens of pro-Palestinian protests sweep the country...
- Human trafficking rates skyrocket in Australia...
- Portugal beats Ireland in stoppage time in their World Cup qualifier.
Nationwide pro-Palestinian protests have swept the country, with thousands taking to the streets as a fragile ceasefire holds in Gaza.
The protests marking two years of Israel's military assault on Gaza following the October 7 attack by Hamas are taking place in cities and towns including Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth and Coffs Harbour.
Protesters say the new ceasefire hasn't changed the reality on the ground for people in the Palestinian territories.
VOXIE 1: "Even though there's a ceasefire, why I'm here today is because it doesn't mean that the Palestinians are free. I think it's the first step but occupation by Israel in Gaza is just not on and what's happening in the West Bank as well. People losing their homes."
VOXIE 2: "We're here to support the liberation of Palestine. What's happening there is completely immoral, completely wrong, unjust, and it's just got to end."
Reports of people being forced out of Australia and incidents of modern slavery have doubled, lifting Australian human trafficking alerts to an all-time high.
New data released by the Australian Federal Police in the 2024 to 2025 financial year reveal there were 420 reports, up from 382 reports in the previous financial year.
It's mainly driven by rising reports of forced marriage, sexual servitude and women being forced or tricked into leaving the country.
AFP Commander Helen Schneider says more than 90 per cent of exit trafficking victims are female, which occurs when coercion, threats or deception are used to exit, or attempt to exit an individual from Australia.
"We believe these increase in reports are just the tip of the iceberg. And these figures show trends in reporting and that Australians are more attuned to recognising the indicators of human trafficking."
Investigators now believe a massive blast at a military explosives facility killed 16 people in the U-S state of Tennessee.
Officials previously said 18 people were unaccounted for in Friday's explosion, but two people whose vehicles and personal items were found at the scene were not actually there when the blast erupted.
The explosion, which was felt for kilometres, levelled a building at the five square kilometre headquarters of Accurate Energetic Systems in Bucksnort.
Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis says the families of the victims have been notified.
"We have notified all 16 families of those people that we feel was involved in this situation, this tragedy. At this time, I can tell you that more than 300 people have been through that scene. I can say at this time we have not located any survivors and we are making the assumption that all are deceased at this point."
Investigators, including agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, are still working to determine the cause of the explosion.
Greece's famed Parthenon is now free of scaffolding for first time in decades allowing visitors an unobstructed, view of the Parthenon temple.
The scaffolding set up along the 5th century B.C. temple's western façade for conservation work about 20 years ago has been removed, allowing an uncluttered view of the UNESCO World Heritage site.
Culture Minister Lina Mendoni says it also marks the first time in about 200 years that the Parthenon's exterior is completely free of any kind of scaffolding on any side.
However, conservation work is set to continue with new scaffolding to be erected along the Parthenon's western side in about one month's time.
In football,
Portugal's Ruben Neves scored a stoppage-time goal to snatch a 1-0 win over Ireland that has cemented their spot at the top of World Cup qualifying Group F.
Portugal has moved to nine points at the halfway stage of the qualifying campaign with a five-point lead over second-placed Hungary.
Cristiano Ronaldo had a penalty saved in the 75th minute as Ireland threatened to hold the hosts to a draw but the late strike kept the Irish bottom of the standings with one point.
Neves scored his winning header a minute into added time for his first international goal in 60 appearances, as seen on Stan Sport.
"Wonderful cross and a header to match. Ruben Neves has come up with a massive goal for Portugal and an emotional goal too."
It was a poignant tribute to his close friend Diogo Jota who died in a car accident in July and whose number-21 jersey Neves wore in what was Portugal's first home game since the Liverpool player's death.
Portugal hosts Hungary on Tuesday in a match that could secure them qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
