TRANSCRIPT
- Questions still being raised over the cancellation of some Australian visas for Palestinians fleeing Gaza
- Australia's Top End bracing for a tropical cyclone forming off the coast...
- Three Matildas in an embarrassing wardrobe mishap.
Questions have continued to be raised over the reason for the cancellation of a group of Australian visas, issued to Palestinians fleeing Gaza.
Greens leader Adam Bandt says families were advised that Labor had cancelled their visas because they didn't know how long the war in Gaza would last and therefore how long they would be in Australia.
SBS News understands there are concerns about how some visa holders have passed through the Rafah Crossing to Egypt and that has caused complications for their applications.
But Foreign Minister Penny Wong has defended the visa system.
"I know this is an incredibly distressing time for Australians with extended family members in Gaza. I want to emphasise that we have successfully assisted the vast majority of Australian citizens, permanent residents and immediate family members wanting to leave the besieged strip had been helped - and Australian officials have worked very hard to ensure that occurs. As I've previously said, all visa applicants undergo security checks and are subject to ongoing security checks."
**
A charity ship carrying aid for the besieged Gaza Strip has arrived at the territory's Mediterranean coast.
Video released by the World Central Kitchen group shows aid being unloaded from a barge from the Open Arms ship onto the Gaza shore.
But there are few details on how the aid distribution will work, with UN relief agencies describing ongoing huge obstacles to getting relief supplies delivered.
UNFPA representative Dominic Allen says it's hoped a ceasefire will help the situation.
"Because this is so catastrophic, the whole population is impacted by this. So whilst we can try and bring some light amidst the very dark, huge amounts of darkness, we have to continue to hope for the success of a ceasefire coming through and then additional conditions that would need to be in place to be able to get assistance and aid to the people that need it the most."
**
Australia's Top End is bracing for severe weather as a second cyclone in as many months forms over the eastern coast.
The weather system is currently a tropical low lying near the eastern coast of the Northern Territory, with a monsoon to the north that is moving towards the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Angus Hines from the Bureau of Meteorology says there's a strong chance it will become more powerful.
"Once it gets over these warm waters in the Gulf we anticipate intensification and strengthening of this tropical low... We'll start to see strong winds and heavy rain across northern parts of Queensland, all through Gulf country here and parts of the eastern Top End, and that could continue into the weekend."
NT Incident Controller Superintendent Daniel Shean says the operations centre has been preparing for the latest event since Monday.
He says communities across the territory should supply themselves with enough food, and critical goods and services to last through.
**
Housing organisations have raised the alarm over what they say is a worrying trend in youth homelessness.
A coalition of 80 groups have directed its concerns in a letter to the responsible federal minister, Julie Collins, saying that young people are in need of more dedicated housing options and stronger interconnected services to help them.
New South Wales and Victoria have recorded the highest numbers seeking help, followed by Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
Over 30 per cent are from a First Nations background.
Kate Colvin from Homelessness Australia says too many young people are being let down by their unstable circumstances.
"They can thrive, they can stick with education, they can make all the development leaps that teenagers make at that age. But if they don't get housing and support, what we see time and again is that their mental health suffers, they disconnect with education, they become long-term unemployed, and they end up living a lifetime of disadvantage."
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Two people have been injured by a car that caught fire after it crashed into a pole in the New South Wales Hunter region.
The 20-year-old woman and 14-year-old girl have been taken to John Hunter Hospital in a serious condition with pelvic and leg injuries.
Police allege the driver was doing burnouts before the two were hit at North Arm Cove, near Port Stephens.
They say the Ford Falcon also crashed into a pole and caught fire.
**
Ski resorts in Australia and New Zealand will be the worst affected in the world by climate change induced snowfall reductions, a study has found.
Researchers have found annual snow cover in all major skiing regions are projected to fall dramatically, with one in eight ski areas worldwide losing all natural snow cover by the end of the century.
But they say by 2071 to 2100, average annual snow cover days will decline 78 per cent in the Australian Alps and 51 per cent in New Zealand's Southern Alps under a high emissions scenario.
**
To sport, three Matildas have been involved in an awkward wardrobe mix-up as they prepared to take the field for Chelsea and Arsenal's WSL clash in the UK.
The game had to be delayed by 30 minutes because of a clash of socks.
Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross all play for the Gunners, who arrived at Stamford Bridge with the same colour white socks as the hosts.
Arsenal ended up sporting black socks from Chelsea's mega-store to enable the match to go ahead.
