TRANSCRIPT
- Famine officially declared in Gaza City by a UN-backed group.
- The Coalition has welcomed progress towards improving safety in Australia's childcare system.
- And in the NRL, the Storm defeat the Bulldogs in AAMI Park in Melbourne.
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Famine has been confirmed in Gaza for the first time.
A UN-backed group responsible for monitoring food security says 514,000 people - nearly a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza - are experiencing famine.
In its latest report, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Famine Review Committee says that number is expected to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.
Israel has rejected the report, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling it an “outright lie.”
The IPC, says famine is happening in Gaza City, home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and could spread south to Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis by the end of next month.
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United States President Donald Trump says that in two weeks he should know whether progress is possible in his bid to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine and he again raised the prospect of imposing sanctions on Moscow.
Mr Trump says he's not happy with any aspect of the effort to find peace.
A week ago Trump held talks in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has been unable thus far to coax him into a meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"I think in two weeks we'll know which way I'm going. Because I'm going to go one way or the other, and they'll learn which way I'm going. And it's going to be a very important decision. And that's whether or not it's massive sanctions or massive tariffs or both. Or do we do nothing and say 'it's your fight'?"
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The Coalition has welcomed progress towards improving safety in Australia's childcare system, but says the test for governments will be how quickly action is taken.
A meeting of state, territory and federal ministers on Friday agreed to a series of changes that will be implemented in stages over the coming months.
This includes plans to establish a national register for childcare workers by February, and a ban on mobile phones due to come into effect this September.
More mandatory training and spot checks at centres will also be rolled out, alongside a trial of CCTV at hundreds of childcare centres from December.
Opposition spokesperson for education and early childhood learning, Jason Duniam says privacy protections will be an important part of using CCTV.
"So of course, we need to get it right. The trial I think is a very good step in the right direction. I accept that there are going to be privacy concerns, and we know for a fact that, sadly, those who prey on our most vulnerable, on children, have utilised CCTV and other systems to their own ends, which is something we need to guard against. So, this trial, informed by law enforcement officials and cyber experts in partnership with the child care sector will be about getting it right. We support that."
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Five bodies have been exhumed from shallow graves in Kenya, near a site where more than 400 bodies of followers of a doomsday cult were recovered two years ago.
Government pathologist Dr Richard Njoroge says 10 human body parts were also recovered, scattered in nearby thickets about two kilometres from the site of the Shakahola cult.
He says these are just a handful of 27 suspected grave sites that homicide detectives and forensic experts are continuing to investigate.
"At the commencement of this exercise we had 27 suspected graves. So, today we managed to exhume 6. Of the six graves, we found five bodies. So we had remaining 21 graves, for which the exercise will continue."
In 2023, more than 400 bodies were exhumed from shallow graves in the Shakahola area, where pastor Paul Mackenzie instructed his followers to starve themselves to death in order to "meet Jesus."
He was arrested and charged with murder and is in custody awaiting trial.
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In rugby league,
Melbourne have locked down a top-two ladder position with two rounds to play after holding out Canterbury in their blockbuster NRL showdown.
The Storm were forced to work hard for a 20-14 win over a much-improved Bulldogs outfit.
The AAMI Park victory put Melbourne four points clear of third-placed Canterbury, but they have a far superior points differential.
Meanwhile, a dramatic golden-point victory by Canberra over Penrith has put the Raiders in prime position to claim the minor premiership.
The sensational last-minute try completed a thrilling 20-16 comeback win over the Panthers.
