TRANSCRIPT
- Israel says air strikes and artillery fire in southern Gaza are in response to Hamas violations of the ceasefire
- Victoria Police says it expects to make more arrests over weekend protests
- Australia's triathlete Matt Hauser wins a world triathlon title in Wollongong
Israel's military says it launched air strikes and artillery fire at targets in southern Gaza in response to Hamas violating the ceasefire agreement.
The strikes are the most serious test to an already fragile deal, which took effect on October 11th.
An Israeli security official told AP news agency that all aid deliveries into Gaza have been halted until further notice.
Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian says the strikes followed anti-tank missile and gunfire targeting Israeli troops.
"Hamas is required to uphold its commitments to the mediators, including President Trump, to return our remaining hostages as part of this agreement. The prime minister has made it abundantly clear there will be no compromise and Israel will spare no effort until all of our fallen hostages are home. There are 16 more hostages that need to be returned."
A statement from Hamas' armed wing says it remains committed to the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, and is unaware of clashes in Rafah.
Hamas says it has not been in contact with groups in Rafah since March.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has left for Washington, where he's expected to meet United States President Donald Trump.
They're expected to discuss the AUKUS defence agreement, tariffs and trade .. as well as critical minerals, which have become a key issue as China threatens to restrict supply.
Australia has been offering to work with the U-S on developing a secure supply chain for critical minerals since Mr Trump first announced tariffs in April.
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Tensions erupted as anti-immigration and counter-protesters demonstrated in Melbourne and other capital cities for the second time in two months.
In the Victorian capital, officers and protesters clashed as plain-clothed and riot police kept the two groups apart.
Anti-immigration March for Australia protests also took place in Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Darwin - and were also countered by significant anti-racism marches.
Numbers for the March for Australia rallies were reported to be lower than at similar demonstrations last month.
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A 30-year-old woman has been arrested after two police officers were injured, with police saying they are looking to make more arrests concerning the targeting of police officers.
Victoria Police Commander Wayne Cheeseman say the items thrown at officers included rocks, bottles filled with shards of glass, and rotten fruit; with bins and flags also set on fire.
"The truth is it's difficult. We are investigating all these offenders who we identify on our cameras are followed up. We really rely on a whole range of information the intelligence forces to try to identify these people. But proving who was throwing these rocks, it's a really difficult task but we investigate it anyway - and we hope that we get a result - because we don't want these people coming to future protests and putting people in harms way."
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Thieves armed with chainsaws have stolen jewellery from The Louvre in Paris.
The government says thieves broke into the museum through a window, stealing pieces of jewellery - one of which had been found nearby - before escaping on motorbikes.
No injuries were reported.
Prosecutor Laure Beccuau says police are working to determine who was behind the theft.
"Either it was commissioned by a collector, in which case, if we identify this collector and this commissioner, we will find the jewellery in good condition. Or, as we can see on different occasions, it was commissioned by people who only noticed these jewels because of the stones and pearls and objects, the rare metals they were made of."
The Louvre is closed for the day.
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And in sport, world Number One Matt Hauser has won the triathlon's world championship series in Wollongong, ending a 15-year drought for Australia.
The 27-year-old two-time Olympian won gold for the 1.5 kilometre swim, 40 kilometre cycle, and ten kilometre run event in one hour 42.42 minutes.
He says it feels great.
"I am just overwhelmed with gratitude. Gratitude for my family, for my friends, for my girlfiend, for the Australian public, for the Wollongong locals. It means so much to me and Aus Triathlon. And just to have a week-long of success for the country and for our sport is so amazing. It is a credit to such a great organisation - Aus Triathlon - on getting world-class racing back on the shores of Australia."
