Santos's gas pipeline to go ahead after Tiwi Islanders lose their landmark court case, Palestinian and Jewish groups pressure Foreign Minister Penny Wong to show greater solidarity with their causes, and Coco Gauff off to a roaring start at the Australian Open with a decisive win over Anna Schmiedlova.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Santos's gas pipeline to go ahead after Tiwi Islanders lose their landmark court case.
- Palestinian and Jewish groups pressure Foreign Minister Penny Wong to show greater solidarity with their causes.
- And in tennis, Coco Gauff off to a roaring start at the Australian Open with a decisive win over Anna Schmiedlova.
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Tiwi Islands Traditional Owners have lost a landmark Federal Court case against gas giant Santos over the construction of a pipeline in the Timor Sea.
Jikilaruwu Elder Simon Munkara began civil proceedings against Santos in October, arguing its planned $5.7 billion Barossa pipeline would threaten sacred cultural heritage sites.
In early November, Justice Natalie Charlesworth had granted an emergency interim injunction, which stopped work on the export pipeline just hours before it was due to start.
However, she has now dismissed the Tiwi Islanders' case and ruled they will have to pay costs to Santos.
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Both Palestinian and pro-Israel groups in Australia are pressuring the government for more explicit displays of solidarity, as Penny Wong touches down in the Middle East.
The Foreign Minister will visit Israel, Jordan, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the United Arab Emirates.
But The Australian Council of Executive Jewry has slammed her decision not to visit the sites attacked by Hamas in southern Israel on the 7th of October.
In a statement, the council has called it "insulting" and "an error of judgement", saying visiting those sites is the only way to understand what it calls the "necessity" of war.
Palestinian-Australian businessman Hash Tayeh says in that case Ms Wong would also need to visit sites where Palestinians have been massacred over the last 75 years.
At a pro-Palestinian protest in Canberra, he's called for more visible displays of solidarity with Palestinians, saying it would show Ms Wong stands for justice.
"And what justice is, is an end to the killings - on both sides. Children don't deserve to die, whether they're Palestinian, whether they're Jewish, whether they're Christian, whether they're atheist or Buddhist, children don't deserve to die, full stop, and that should have been a clear message from our Foreign Minister from the beginning. So unfortunately I think it's too little too late, but I'd like to see what she does, because maybe she can make amends. But at the moment we do feel like we're not being given a fair go, given a fair chance. I feel like it's not equal."
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A cholera outbreak in Zambia has killed at least 351 people, as the country struggles to contain almost 9,000 active cases.
Relatives of people being treated for the disease gathered outside a stadium in the capital Lukasa, waiting for news about whether their loved ones were alive or dead.
Health Minister Sylvia Masebo has visited the centre to express her condolences, and says she's told families they should not participate in burials.
"And I've also told them that they cannot have funerals at their homes. I also told the general public not to attend funerals anymore. To avoid those funerals, especially if someone has died from cholera because they are risking their lives. I think in the beginning it was a bit difficult, but I can tell you that, generally I think, the message is sinking (in)."
The disease is transmitted through the contamination drinking water and food, which has been aggravated by heavy rainfalls in poor and over-crowded areas.
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American number four tennis star Coco Gauff has begun her Australian Open campaign with a decisive 6-3 6-0 victory over Anna Schmiedlova.
The reigning US Open champ won the last nine games after some difficulty in the first set, ultimately needing just 60 minutes to end the challenge of Slovakia's Schmiedlova.
The 19-year-old told channel 9 she was happy with her performance.
"I was a little nervous in that first set and I think I did well returning. And then I found my serve towards the end in the second set. This is my third time playing her, she's a tough player to play, but I was happy with how I was able to manage my emotions today."
Gauff beat Aryna Sabalenka in last year's US Open final to become the first American teenager to win the U-S Open title since Serena Williams in 1999.
She's looking to build upon her hot streak with the Australian Open title, which would make her the first woman to win the two slams back-to-back since Naomi Osaka's win in 2019.
