TRANSCRIPT:
- Clashes in Melbourne as competing protests face off across the country again
- 'No Kings' demonstrations draw large crowds across the US
- Mollie O'Callaghan sets a swimming world record.
There have been tense protests across the country as March for Australia demonstrators were met once again by anti-racism rallies in capital cities as well as some smaller regional centres.
In Melbourne, the riot squad deployed OC spray, with sirens and loud bangs also heard as police appeared to make at least one arrest while working to keep competing groups separate.
March for Australia organisers said rallies were planned in 14 locations - but crowds appear to have been significantly smaller than they were during earlier protests in August.
Those rallies proved controversial after neo-Nazis addressed the crowd in a number of cities, with an Aboriginal encampment also attacked in Melbourne.
Victoria's Housing Minister Harriet Shing says she's wary of the impact protests are having on Melbourne's streets.
"We need to make sure that people, in the first instance, who are exercising a right to protest are doing it without compromising the safety, the wellbeing or the welfare of people who are moving in and around areas where those protests are occurring. There is zero tolerance for any violence when it comes to protest activity or anything else across our community for that matter."
Federal Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has announced an Illegal Tobacco National Disruption Group to target mid-level criminals and enablers within small business.
Led by the Australian Border Force, the taskforce will bring together federal, state and territory police, as well as several commonwealth agencies and the tax office.
Mr Burke says the group has been established using part of the $188.5 million in funding Border Force gas already received to combat illegal tobacco.
The sale of illicit vapes will also fall within the group's remit.
Palestinians have gathered at the Nasser Medical Complex to see if their loved ones are among 135 bodies that Israel returned to Gaza this week as part of a fragile ceasefire deal.Doctors and family members say it’s difficult to identify bodies in the absence of DNA testing.Gaza’s Ministry of Health also posted the images of the bodies on their website.This woman she says her father went missing during the war.
"I saw in the photos something that reminds me of my father’s clothes. I thought, instead of speculating from the photos, that we would we actually come and see the corpse in-person. So, we came today to Nasser Hospital, to see - to verify if this is dad or not. We were able to verify (that it was him) from his clothes and marks on his body."
So far, Israel has only received a fraction of the 28 corpses held in Gaza when the ceasefire started, and the slow progress returning these bodies has become a key sticking point.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday hinted that the reopening of the vital Rafah crossing to Egypt could depend on Hamas returning all the bodies of hostages still in Gaza.
So-called 'no kings' protests across the U-S have drawn large crowds as demonstrators decry what they see as President Donald Trump's authoritarian tendencies.
Organisers said they expect to see millions attend events at around 2,700 locations, in the thirds mass-mobilisation during Mr Trump's second term.
Republicans have accused demonstrators of hating America, and activated the National Guard in some cities.
Protesting in Washington, veteran Nicole Sowers says she thought twice about showing up.
"I'm gonna be honest, I was scared to show up today. I was really debating to show up. I was like, should I go or not? The reason I'm here today is because I'm more scared about what will happen if I didn't show up."
A world-leading ban on social media for under-16s will be crucial in reducing rates of bullying online, the education minister says.
Education Minister Jason Clare said the looming ban would also remove access to AI chatbots on social media sites, which was one of the leading causes of bullying.
Social media companies will forced to take reasonable steps from December 10 to ensure underage users aren't able to access the platforms, with fines of up to $50 million if they don't comply.
State and territory education ministers backed a national anti-bullying plan during a meeting on the Gold Coast on Friday, with the goal of early intervention on bullying at schools.
Australian swimmer Mollie O’Callaghan has set a new world record in 200m freestyle at the World Cup in Westmont in the United States.
O'Callaghan hit a world record of 1min 49.77 seconds becoming the first woman to break 1min 50sec in the event, erasing the previous world record of 1:50.31.
O’Callaghan’s record-breaking performance comes a week after she lowered her personal best in the event with a victory in the Carmel, Indiana, World Cup stop with a win in 1:50.77.
And in the 100m backstroke, Australian star Kaylee McKeown finished second in 55.04 behind US rival Regan Smith.
Smith’s time of 54.02sec matched her short-course world record that she set last year while swimming the first leg of the 400m medley relay in Budapest.
