TRANSCRIPT
- The government to introduce a cap on the number of international students universities can accept.
- The death toll from Israel's assault on Gaza reaches 35,000.
- And in tennis, world number one Novak Djokovic defeated by Chile's Alejandro Tabilo at the Italian Open.
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The government will introduce a cap on the number of international students universities can accept in an attempt to reduce migration numbers to Australia.
The updated draft International Education and Skills Strategic Framework will impose the limit, which will allow providers to accept additional students if they invest in new student accommodation.
The government has also increased the amount of savings international students need before travelling to Australia, to almost $30,000.
Opposition finance spokesperson Jane Hume says the impact of Australian universities needs to be considered.
"We want to understand how it is going to effect the university sector, and I think that's probably discussions that are going to occur today. But what we do know is that immigration has really gone out of control under this government. There were 100,000 new immigrants in February alone. Now the Labor Party is still insisting that it's going to meet its financial year targets, but quite frankly, I can't understand how that is going to be possible, just with the numbers that we've seen so far."
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The United States Secretary of State has offered rare criticism of close-ally Israel, acknowledging their assault on Gaza has caused what he calls "a horrible loss of life of innocent civilians".
According to Gaza's Health Ministry, the death toll from Israel's military bombardment and invasion of Gaza following Hamas' October 7 attack has now reached 35,000 people, including at least 14,500 children.
The United Nations says over 300,000 have been forcibly displaced from Rafah as Israel's assault on the densely-populated southern city escalates.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC News that the U-S has delayed a weapons shipment to Israel as it does not want to be involved with the coming ground invasion given the mass killing of civilians seen so far.
"It's something that we do not want to be part of given the damage it would do to civilians. In terms of the horrible loss of life of innocent civilians it's reasonable to assess, as we say in the report, that there are instances where they've acted inconsistent with their obligations under international humanitarian law."
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Research from the Australia Institute reveals the government is spending five times more on fossil fuel subsidies than it is on the Housing Australia Future Fund.
The research found government subsidies for fossil fuel producers have increased by 31 per cent to $14.5 billion in the 2023/24 financial year.
Subsidies in the current financial year include $1.6 billion in aviation fuel concessions, with the federal government also spending $113 million on upgrading coal railways.
Rod Campbell, report author and Research Director at the Australia Institute says the money could be better spent on housing.
"This is their big ticket housing item, and it's one fifth of the money that they're going to spend on subsidizing major fossil fuel producers and users. It says something pretty major about the priorities of a government, that they're prepared to benefit polluters, far more than they're looking to help people who are affected by Australia's housing crisis."
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South Australia's government is pushing for a social media ban for children under 14.
The proposal would require children aged between 14 and 15 to get parental consent to access a social media account.
The changes would be an Australian-first and follow legislated restrictions on children using social media accounts seen in Spain and the US states of Florida and Texas.
South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas has appointed former High Court chief justice Robert French to look at options for a ban.
Most social media platforms require users to be at least 13 to register an account, but the age limit can be easily avoided.
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In tennis,
Chile's Alejandro Tabilo has beaten world number one Novak Djokovic in the third round of the Italian Open in just 67 minutes.
Djokovic blamed Friday's incident, when a fan's water bottle accidentally hit his head, for the 6-2 6-3 loss.
He says he felt like a different player entered his shoes and plans on getting medical scans later.
The victory made the 26-year-old Tabilo, the first Chilean in 17 years to beat a world number one.
