The US vows to discuss "concrete steps" with Israel on minimising civilian harm to civilians in Gaza; a landmark settlement on an Aboriginal stolen wages case in WA brings mixed emotions for an Indigenous elder; and in tennis, Alex de Minaur granted a walkover advance to the Paris Masters quarterfinals.
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TRANSCRIPT
- The US vows to discuss "concrete steps" with Israel on minimising civilian harm to civilians in Gaza
- A landmark settlement on an Aboriginal stolen wages case in WA brings mixed emotions for an Indigenous elder
- And in tennis, Alex de Minaur granted a walkover advance to the Paris Masters quarterfinals
The Israel Defence Forces have released several videos of combat activity in Gaza Strip as troops prepare to enter the main city.
The IDF says more than 130 Hamas militants have been targeted in recent hours, with damage to their infrastructure and the destruction of weapons.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari says troops have surrounded Gaza City.
"IDF (Israel Defense Forces) fighters completed the encirclement of Gaza City, the center of the Hamas terrorist organisation. In the last hours, artillery and infantry forces in cooperation with the airforce have been attacking bases, headquarters, concentration points and other terror infrastructure used by Hamas and its terrorists."
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he will discuss steps Israel "can and should" take to minimise civilian casualties during his upcoming visit to Tel Aviv.
"And so we will be talking about concrete steps that can and should be taken to minimise harm to men, women and children in Gaza. And this is something the United States is committed to. I am not going to get into the details here. But it is very much on the agenda."
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Agriculture Minister Murray Watt says he doesn't have high hopes that China will drop more tariffs on Australian products immediately following the prime minister's visit to Beijing.
Anthony Albanese will fly to China on Saturday to hold talks with President Xi Jinping in the first visit to the Asian nation by a sitting prime minister since 2016.
While China recently agreed to review its tariffs on Australian wine following a drawn-out trade dispute, Senator Watt says he does not expect other sanctions to be removed straight away on products like seafood or beef following the bilateral talks.
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Noongar elder Jim Morrison has welcomed the West Australian government settlement of a three-year class action over stolen wages for thousands of Aboriginal people.
The $180.4 million ettlement offers redress to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who worked between the 1930s and 1970s and were subject to a state government policy that withheld up to 75 per cent of their wage.
The arrangement, which still needs approval from the Federal Court, will see $165 million paid to Aboriginal workers or their surviving spouses and children - as well as $15.4 million to cover legal costs.
Uncle Jim Morrison is the chairperson of the West Australian Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation.
He told NITV it's a relief to finally get some closure - but he has mixed emotions.
"It brings closure to Stolen Generations people who have lost their wages in whatever stage they were at in life because our people went from missions, farms and anywhere else to where there was an opportunity for employers to take money off us because we were not citizens. You know the damning part while our wages were being kept (from us), our children were stolen. So I come with, I guess, mixed responses as to what it (the settlement) will do."
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The economic, physical, mental and financial impacts of menopause will be the focus of a new inquiry.
The Senate will next week support a Greens motion to set up an inquiry, reporting in September next year, to examine menopause and perimenopause.
Menopause happens between the ages of 45-60, and perimenopause - which precedes it - can last for up to 10 years and begin in women aged in their 30s.
Greens Senate leader Larissa Waters says for too long women experiencing debilitating menopause and perimenopause symptoms have been forced to suffer in silence - and good policy is needed to address the impacts experienced by Australian women.
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Alex de Minaur has been the unwitting beneficiary of a scheduling row at the Paris Masters which forced his weary last-16 opponent Jannik Sinner to pull out just 90 minutes before they were due to clash.
The organisers of one of the sport's biggest Masters 1000 events have been criticised for a schedule which meant Sinner only won his previous match in the early hours on Thursday.
That meant he had no time to rest and prepare properly for a match later that same afternoon against de Minaur.
Sinner's Australian coach Darren Cahill led the protests, tweeting on X (formerly Twitter) after the three-set win over Mackenzie McDonald in a match which had only begun after midnight.
The Australian coach said: "2:45 am. Happy for the Jannik win, but zero care for the players' welfare with the Paris schedule."
De Minaur is set to face number five seed Andrey Rublev on Saturday morning for the quarterfinals.
