Australians among the first 400 foreign passport holders to be evacuated from Gaza; environment scientist Tim Jarvis on finding hope and inspiration to tackle climate change; and in sport, the Matildas a step closer to booking a spot in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Australians among the first 400 foreign passport holders to be evacuated from Gaza
- Environment scientist Tim Jarvis on finding inspiration to tackle climate change
- The Matildas a step closer to booking a spot in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
About 20 Australians are among the first evacuees from Gaza after Egypt's decision to open the Rafah crossing.
One of the evacuees has described the situation in Gaza as disastrous.
"It's just been an awful situation, I can't describe it. It's just beyond description. It's something that I've never been through. Something that I never saw in my life, it's just a disaster, atrocity, holocaust, if you want to call it holocaust, it's even worse than holocaust and there I am, I'm just so glad to leave."
The group were met by Australian consular officials in Egypt to discuss ongoing travel arrangements.
Assistant foreign minister Tim Watts says 65 Australians are still in Gaza.
More than 400 foreign passport holders and injured Palestinians have been allowed to leave Gaza for the first time in more than three weeks, after Qatar brokered a deal between Egypt, Hamas and Israel on Wednesday.
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A woman has been arrested as part of the investigation into a suspected mushroom poisoning incident that left three people dead.
The 49-year-old was arrested by homicide squad detectives at her home in Leongatha just after 8am on Thursday.
Police say the woman will now be interviewed and the investigation remains ongoing.
No charges have been laid.
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A Melbourne man is expected to become the first person charged under a new Victorian law outlawing Nazi salutes and symbols.
Detectives interviewed the 24-year-old following allegations the banned gesture was performed outside a Melbourne court last Friday.
The man is expected to be charged on summons for breaching the new law which came into effect late last month, police say.
A Victoria Police spokesperson says: "Police are taking a zero-tolerance approach to any breach on the prohibition on performing Nazi salutes or displaying Nazi symbols in public."
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The Australian Education Union says it supports adopting safeguards on the introduction of AI products in the classroom.
In the European Union, only products approved by authorities can be used in school settings.
A parliamentary inquiry is examining how generative Artificial Intelligence might be used and regulated in Australia’s early childhood education, schools, and higher education sectors.
Australian Education Union federal secretary Kevin Bates told the inquiry he would support the EU approach being adopted here in Australia.
"We would strongly support that (EU model). One of the things we've seen over many years in the education context is essentially a licensing arrangement that see systems approve particular items, software - this case the AI. And they then become available for education institutions to use. But having already established that the product does not have the potential to cause negative consequences."
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Environmental scientist Timothy Jarvis has been named South Australia's 2024 Australian of the Year - and nominee for the Australian of the Year Award to be announced in January next year.
The author, filmmaker and philanthropist says he will be using his new platform to encourage others to find hope to act amid despair over the climate crisis.
A seasoned expeditioner, he has taken on 10 projects ranging from Norway, to Indonesia, to Antarctica.
He says his current project is pushing for the protection of more parts of the Antarctic, after his advocacy helped result in the declaration of a marine sanctuary off World Heritage-listed Macquarie Island.
He urged others to do what they can to make a difference.
"I think it will be the fact that everybody stepping up and taking responsibility for part of the problem themself. The famous and sadly now deceased environmental retailer Anita Roddick said: 'If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room.' You know, it's up to each of us to try and make a difference."
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And in football, goals by Mary Fowler, Sam Kerr and Tameka Yallop have resulted in a 3-nil win for the Matildas over Taiwan in front of 19,000 fans in Perth.
To qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Australia must now beat world No.50 Uzbekistan in a two-legged play-off in February.
Uzbekistan will host the first game on February 24, with Australia to host game two at a yet-to-be-decided venue on February 28.
The performance of Fowler continues to impress, with the 20-year-old scoring her second goal across the three qualifiers, and also setting up numerous others for her teammates.
She says it is incredible to see the team excel across the three games.
"And I think that first camp after a big camp after a big tournament can go either way. Either everyone is really tired and performances drop off a bit. Or you are able to build off that momentum. And I think you can see in this camp, in three games we were able to build up off that - and everyone was just as motivated as they were in the World Cup. It has been a really good camp for everyone. And it's great to get through good results."
