Midday News Bulletin 17 May 2024

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Source: SBS News

Three A-League players arrested over betting corruption allegations; Police hunting for a man after a mother and baby abducted in Melbourne; Australia's Cameron Smith still in the PGA championship after an audacious underwater shot.


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TRANSCRIPT:
  • Three A-League players arrested over betting corruption allegations;
  • Police hunting for a man after a mother and baby abducted in Melbourne;
  • Australia's Cameron Smith still in the PGA championship after an audacious underwater shot.
Three players from the men's A-League competition have been arrested this morning, over allegations of betting corruption.

Detectives allege one of the players took instructions from a man - believed to be based in South America - to organise others taking yellow cards during matches for money.

Police are yet to name any of the men who have been charged, but investigators say all three are attached to a club based in southwest Sydney.

State Crime Unit's Commander Michael Fitzgerald there is one further player who will be interviewed.

"There is currently one further player that police wish to interview that is currently out of the state, in the coming days we are hoping that player returns to our state or we'll be seeking his extradition."

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Police are hunting for a man who allegedly abducted a mother and her baby from a Melbourne shopping centre and forced the woman to drive to electronic stores at knifepoint.

The incident is alleged to have taken place in Rowville, Melbourne's southeast, on May 10.-

Police say the woman was getting out of a vehicle in a shopping centre supermarket car park when she was approached by the man who threatened her with a knife and forced her into the driver's seat.

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The leader of one of New Caledonia's Indigenous parties says he's not surprised by the violence that's erupted on the French-ruled island in the wake of a bill that would change its electoral laws.

Electoral reform is the latest flashpoint in a decades-long tussle over France's role in the mineral-producing southwest Pacific island some 1,500 km (930 miles) east of Australia.

Dominique Fochi is the secretary-general of the pro-independence Caledonian Union.

He says that the rioting could have been avoided if the French authorities had listened properly to their concerns, which often centred around how urban families and young people were living in poverty, without water and electricity, and were worried about being disenfranchised even further.

"We feel like we were shouting in a void. Shouting in a void. Now things are exploding. At least concerning the mobilisations, local leaders are calling for calm."

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The United States says it expects to get more fuel and other aid into Gaza in the coming days, now that a floating pier has been completed to facilitate deliveries.

Aid deliveries via the maritime corridor are already on the way, with a British shipment of nearly 100 tonnes of aid leaving Cyprus and a U.S.-flagged vessel also en route.

U.S. officials have said the pier would initially handle 90 trucks a day, but that number could go to 150.

Spokeperson Karine Jean-Pierre says the White House remains concerned about limited aid operations, and that the level of assistance is still not enough, concerns are shared by the United Nations according to deputy spokesman Farhan Haq.

"Getting aid to people in need, into and across Gaza cannot and should not depend on a floating dock far from where needs are most acute. Land routes are the most viable, effective and efficient aid delivery method, which is why we need all crossing points to be opened. To stave off the horrors of famine, we must use the fastest and most obvious route to reach the people of Gaza, and for that, we need access by land, now."

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Australia has imposed sanctions on North Korean entities over allegations it's exporting weapons to Russia.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong says the continued transfer of arms is a "flagrant violation" of United Nations Security Council resolutions, and increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people.

Both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied the accusations that were first raised by the United States.

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The Greens have criticised the Coalition for blaming the housing crisis on high net migration.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton says the Coalition would cut the annual permanent migration rate if elected, which the party believes would free up tohousing for Australians.

Greens leader Adam Bandt says migrants aren't to blame for the housing crisis.

"Migrants are not the reason we have a housing and rental crisis. Labor and Liberal give billions of dollars in tax handouts to wealthy property investors that deny renters the chance to buy their first home. It is pushing prices out of reach of first homebuyers, because first home buyers turn up to an auction and they get out-bidded by a wealthy property investor who's got a big fat cheque in their pocket from the Labor and Liberal governments."

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Women who experience miscarriage will receive bereavement support and boosted follow-up care in a new federal government funding package.

It's estimated up to 110,000 Australian women experience a miscarriage every year, which can take a lasting toll on their physical and mental health.

Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearney says the support package will also address data gaps to understand more about miscarriage.

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Cameron Smith has showcased his short-game wizardry to stay in the PGA Championship mix with one of the most audacious shots of the year.

Smith's ball ended up in the water between two fairways on the 16th hole of Smith’s opening round.

He removed his shoes and socks and played a brilliant bare-footed flop shot back onto the seventh fairway at Valhalla before going on to save par.

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