The Home Affairs Minister says discussions are being had with China over a naval incident; Thousands attend pro-Palestine rallies across the country; And in football, The Netherlands, Switzerland and Romania all qualify for the Euro 2024 Championships.
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TRANSCRIPT
- The Home Affairs Minister says discussions are being had with China over a naval incident;
- Thousands attend pro-Palestine rallies across the country;
- And in football, The Netherlands, Switzerland and Romania all qualify for the Euro 2024 Championships.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil has responded to criticism around a naval incident where Australian divers were injured after a run-in with a Chinese warship on Tuesday.
Australian naval personnel have sustained minor injuries after being subjected to sonar pulses from a Chinese warship in international waters around Japan.
The Coalition has been questioning the federal government about why details of the incident were only released five days after it occurred, and if it will raise the issue with China.
Ms O'Neil told Sky News the government has reached out to China to discuss the incident.
"I'm very disappointed to see what happened here and it is absolutely unacceptable what has occurred. The safety of Australian military personnel is paramount to the Australian Government. And what occurred here is something that we don't want to see continued. This incident occurred on Tuesday last week and the Australian government has made its views known to the Chinese government through the appropriate channels."
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Thousands of people are attending pro-Palestine rallies across the country.
In Melbourne, it's expected to be one of the biggest pro-Palestine protests in the state's history.
The rallies come after around 1,200 people were killed in Israel on October 7 by Hamas militants.
Since Israel launched it's counter-offensive, more than 12,000 people have been killed in Gaza.
Nasser Mashni from the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network has stressed the importance of the protests.
"It's an opportunity for Palestinian Australians and their supporters to come out and mourn together. And it's also a cry for those in Gaza that are suffering the absolute brutality of a racist apartheid, unrestrained regime. This is a genocide, a war crime and Apocalypse unfolding in front of us in real time 4K live vision on our TV screens on our tablets on our mobile phones. Meanwhile, the West sits by and just says nothing."
Meanwhile, thousands of Israelis have joined the families of hostages held in Gaza to call on the government to prioritise securing their release - walking from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
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Western Australia Premier Roger Cook will travel to China for high level meetings around trade and investment opportunities.
China is WA's largest trading partner with over $158 billion of goods traded between 2022 and 2023.
The Premier will also promote future collaboration opportunities in tourism, international education and aviation during the four-day visit.
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And one library in Minnesota has been transported back in time...
A library book borrowed more than one hundred years ago has finally been returned to St Paul Public Library in Minnesota.
The book, titled 'Famous Composers' and featuring the likes of Bach and Mozart, turned up while someone was sorting through a relative's belongings.
The St Paul Public Library checkout slip shows it was last borrowed in 1919.
St Paul Mayor Melvin Carter joked in a tweet on Saturday that there would be no fine.
St Paul Public Library's digital library coordinator, John Larson, said in his 25 years working for the library it was the oldest book he ever saw returned.
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And in football,
The Netherlands, Switzerland and Romania have all secured places at Euro 2024, while France racked up the biggest-ever win in a European Championship qualifying by beating Gibraltar 14-0.
The Netherlands needed a win over Ireland to be sure of qualifying, gaining a lead in the 12th minute.
While Switzerland drew 1-1 with Kosovo to make sure of qualifying and continue a run of not missing any major tournament since Euro 2012.
