Hamas says they will release a number of foreign hostages in coming days, Doctors to receive triple the incentive for bulk billing children, pensioners and concession card holders, and World number two Carlos Alcaraz loses to Russia's Roman Safiullin at the Paris Masters.
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.
TRANSCRIPT
- Hamas says they will release a number of foreign hostages in coming days.
- Doctors to receive triple the incentive for bulk billing children, pensioners and concession card holders.
- And in tennis, world number two Carlos Alcaraz loses to Russia's Roman Safiullin at the Paris Masters.
----
Hamas militants have declared their intention to release some non-Israeli hostages in coming days.
About 240 people have been held by the Palestinian militants since Hamas' brutal October 7 attack which started the recent escalation in violence.
Abu Obeida, a spokesman of the al-Qassam Brigades confirms that the release has been arranged with mediation by unnamed foreign countries.
In previous hostage releases, their Middle Eastern neighbour Qatar has been instrumental in negotiating with the militants for a release.
Mr Obeida did not disclose the specific number of captives to be released, but claims the group no longer has reason to detain them.
"Some countries have stepped in through intermediaries to release some of the detainees in Gaza who are of foreign nationality. We received the requests of these countries. We have therefore informed the mediators that we will release a number of foreigners in the coming days in line with our position stated earlier, about our lack of desire or need to keep them or continue holding them in Gaza."
----
General practitioners are today set to receive triple the incentive for bulk billing children aged under 16 pensioners and concession card holders.
The government says it will be a huge boost to confidence in funding to general practice, which has been under enormous pressure in recent years, making it much more difficult for eligible people to see GPs free of charge.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese says it will help relief pressure from the health system.
“The tripling of the bulk billing incentive is designed for more bulk billing to be spread, as well as a result of what was the centrepiece of our budget handed down in May this year. We know that the health system is under pressure. And one way that you deal with that is by taking pressure off emergency departments by making sure that people can see their local GP.”
----
NRMA Insurance has released their annual report on drink driving and is calling for more random breath testing to combat the issue.
They conducted a survey of 3,300 of their members, finding that 12 per cent of drivers have admitted to driving over the legal limit after alcohol consumption.
NRMA says that a decline in police random breath testing of drivers has contributed to heightened risks on the road.
NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury says they are calling for 1.1 RBTs per license holder to help discourage casual drink driving.
"All too often they think they're not going to get caught because we know that almost half of those people have not seen an RBT in the last six months. This is about saving lives. We've seen the carnage on our roads this year and we want it to stop. We want people to start to have that fear that if they take that risk they will be caught and that fear is not going to increase if they're not seeing RBTs on the road."
----
King Charles III has acknowledged the 'painful aspects' of Britain's colonial history in Kenya.
In his first Commonwealth state visit as Monarch, King Charles addressed Britain's colonial administration's harsh suppression of Kenya's self-rule struggle.
"There were abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans as they waged, as you said, at the United Nations, a painful struggle for independence and sovereignty. And for that, there can be no excuse. In coming back to Kenya, it matters greatly to me that I should deepen my own understanding of these wrongs and that I meet some of those whose lives and communities were so grievously affected."
In response, Kenyan President William Ruto applauded the King's courage, honesty and openess.
----
In tennis,
World number two Carlos Alcaraz has crashed to a surprise 6-3 6-4 loss to Russia's Roman Safiullin in the second round at the ATP's Paris Masters.
The Wimbledon champion was off peak-form as he made his return to action after withdrawing from the Swiss Indoors last week with injury, losing the first set despite earning an early break.
The 20-year-old Spaniard seemed to recover as he again broke the 45th-ranked Saffiullin's serve early in the second set to take a 3-1 advantage.
But the 26-year-old Russian kept his foot on the gas to earn the biggest win of his career.
The result was another blow to Alcaraz's hopes of gaining ground on Novak Djokovic in the ATP rankings, with the top-ranked Serbian in action today against Argentina's Tomas Etcheverry.
