TRANSCRIPT
The federal government says Israel needs to comply with the International Court of Justice's [[ICJ]] ruling and withdraw its forces from Rafah.
The I-C-J gave the emergency order earlier today on a case that was initially launched by South Africa accusing Israel of a genocide in Gaza.
Israel has also been ordered to allow more pathways for humanitarian aid groups into the strip so they can provide urgent care to the thousands of people in need of support.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen says the government has always been opposed to Israel's ground incursion in Rafah.
"Obviously this is a matter of international law but Australia can express its view. Either you comply with international law or you don't. Australia believes international law should be complied with. Australia believes the binding rulings should be complied with. And we believe Rafah should not be invaded by Israel."
————
The federal government is cracking down on misuse of funds in the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Misuse of funds is believed to have resulted in more than three billion dollars worth of overspending in the scheme.
Plan managers are being warned of their obligations.
More than 100,000 participants in the scheme, which around 15 per cent of participants, have been found to have overspent their budgets before the end of a support plan's period.
The Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Bill Shorten, says support worker costs are one of the main reasons plans are going over budget.
Support items commonly claimed incorrectly by participants include mobile phones, bonds for cleaning fees, television antennas, passes to theme parks, treadmills, and birdseed.
——-
Another Australian government-assisted repatriation flight from the Pacific island of New Caledonia has just landed in Brisbane.
It's one of two Royal Australian Air Force flights that will land from the New Caledonian capital, Noumea, in Brisbane today [[sat]].
They are part of a series of repatriation flights for Australians, organised with the agreement of French authorities.
300 Australians registered their interest to leave New Caledonia in the wake of deadly riots there that have now been going for more than a week.
The riots come as a result of controversial voting reforms that allow French residents who have lived in New Caledonia for ten years or more to vote.
These reforms have left Indigenous New Caledonians concerned that their voices will be diluted.
——
One person has been killed and another was left injured during a fire at a house in South Australia's southern suburbs.
The injured person has been taken to Flinders Medical Centre with life-threatening injuries.
Fire fighters arrived at the scene in the early morning hours to find one of the front rooms of the house covered in flames.
They pulled the two people out of the fire with one of them dying a few moments later.
After putting out the fire, the authorities launched an investigation to identify the extend of the damage and the cause of the incident.
——————-
West Australian police have launched an investigation into an incident that saw three people, one man and two women, killed on Friday ((May 24)) night.
Police say the incident occurred when the 60-year-old man brought a firearm to the house in Floreat where the two women were residing.
He then used the weapon to shoot the two women before killing himself.
Local resident Indiana Bond says the shooting caused a lot of concern to the community.
"At first we saw two people, just outside, teenagers, about my age. Starting to talk to one police officer. And fifteen minutes later, we start hearing more sirens pop up and SWAT team roll in and we're just confused (on) what's going on. As soon as you start hearing gun shots, in Perth in general it's quite weird. So we were all pretty concerned I think."
——-
Over 300 people and 1100 houses have been buried in a landslide that devastated a small village in a remote area of Papua New Guinea [[PNG]].
Footage from drones has shown the extent of the damage to Kaokalam village, with local authorities still attempting to get through the rubble as hundreds of people are feared dead.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has said it is prepared to offer any assistance necessary to P-N-G and is working with local authorities to determine if any Australians were involved in the incident.
The landslide occurred at about 3am on Friday ((local time)), 300 kilometres northwest of the island nation's capital of Port Moresby.
—————
Russia president Vladimir Putin is prepared to negotiate a ceasefire with Ukraine that recognises the current frontlines of battle, sources say.
The same sources, who have requested to remain anonymous, have told Reuters that the Russian president is prepared to continue the war for as long as it takes, if Kyiv and the west do not agree to his terms.
Reuters has spoken to five people who have worked with Vladimir Putin in both the political and business fields.
One of the sources emphasised the Russian president's concerns regarding a nuclear escalation.
Speaking from Belarus, Mr Putin has opened the door for the start of the peace talks.
"We see now that the discussions have resumed now that there is a need to return to talks. Okay, let them resume. But they must be resumed not on the grounds of what one party wants, but basing on the accords reached in principle during complicated negotiations in Belarus and in Turkey (in spring 2022) and reflecting the current realities which have emerged on the ground."
————
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says Manchester United's history alone makes them contenders in tonight's [[sat 2355 aest kickoff]] F-A Cup final in London.
City go in firm favourites to win.
If they win, they would claim their third Premier League-FA Cup double in the last six seasons.
Once-mighty United have struggled this season, falling to eighth in the Premier League, and The Guardian is reporting manager Erik Ten Hag will be sacked after the final, regardless of the result.
But Guardiola says he still has plenty of respect for his side's arch-rivals.
"We respect United a lot. It's always been like that, since I arrived. In the last decade we have been better, but in terms of history, they're the best team in England. So, just for that, you have to of course respect them massively. What they feel I don't know because I'm not there."