The White House says the US is not looking for war with Iran after deadly drone strike; international student visa applications rejected at record rates; and in Asian Cup football, the Palestinian team exit the tournament after a loss to host Qatar.
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TRANSCRIPT
- The White House says the US is not looking for war with Iran after deadly drone strike
- International student visa applications rejected at record rates
- In Asian Cup football, the Palestinian team exit the tournament after a loss to host Qatar
The White House says the United States is "not looking for a war with Iran", but will do what is needed to protect troops.
The Pentagon has named the three American soldiers who were killed in a drone attack near the Jordan-Syria border as William Rivers, Kennedy Sanders and Breonna Moffett.
A group for Iran-backed militia calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq says it was behind the attack. Iran insists it had no involvement and that the group acted alone.
The deadly drone attack marks the first time American service members in the Middle East have been killed since the October 7 Hamas attack ignited the war in Gaza.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the US is planning how it will respond.
"We will respond decisively to any aggression and we will hold responsible the people who attacked our troops. We will do so at a time and a place of our choosing. At the same time, we remain focused on our core objectives in the region, both in terms of the conflict in Gaza and broader efforts to build truly durable peace and security."
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Student visa approval numbers are set to drop by up to 90,000 as the number of rejected applications increase.
While more than 570,000 visas were approved last financial year, almost 20 per cent of all applicants were knocked back.
The government says it’s focusing on genuine claims and a higher quality of applicant, while also trying to drive down net migration.
Former immigration department deputy secretary Abul Rizvi says while visa refusal numbers are higher, there are also more applicants compared to previous years.
"We're refusing massive numbers of students in order to manage net migration down and we're using very subjective criteria to refuse those visas, that is usually a reflection of poor visa design and that's what the government has got to start to address and it has started in the last 6 months of 2023 but I suspect there is more that needs to be done."
The federal government unveiled plans late last year to cut net migration by targeting student visas and focusing more on skilled migration.
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The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people dying in police custody has doubled since 2007.
Data released by the Productivity Commission shows the overall rate of deaths in police custody for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people is at its highest in a decade.
But Indigenous people made up one-quarter of the deaths between 2022 and 2023, despite representing only three per cent of the national population.
The report does not disclose whether deaths occurred in close contact with officers, such as in a station or police vehicle, or in custody-related operations like a pursuit.
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A heroic veterinarian and her neighbours are being praised for saving the life of a woman bitten by a shark in Elizabeth Bay in Sydney Harbour.
Paramedics were called to the inner city suburb after the woman, in her twenties, was bitten by a suspected bull shark on her right leg.
She dragged herself out of the water, but suffered major blood loss and was taken to St Vincent's Hospital in a critical condition.
Local resident Georgia told Channel Seven she was one of the first people on the scene.
"My wife's a vet and she basically bandaged it up. The bone's broken and it's pretty hectic actually. But she seems to be ok, she's been in a lot of shock. We kept her warm and my wife basically bandaged her up to stop the bleeding. Because if she'd got bitten out there, she wouldn't have survived."
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In football, Jordan and Qatar are through to the Asian Cup quarterfinals.
Two injury-time goals have secured a 3-2 win for Jordan over Iraq.
Defending champions and tournament host Qatar also progressed, beating the Palestinian team 2-1.
Goalkeeper Rami Hamadeh says despite the team's exit from the competition, the players can be proud it made history by reaching the knockout rounds of the Asian Cup for the first time.
Speaking after the game, he called for an end to the conflict in Gaza.
Malaysian-born Qatari resident Noliaani Ishak was among almost 65,000 fans in the Al-Bayt Stadium watching the game.
She says it was a thrilling match.
"We know that the Palestinian people cannot come here to celebrate and support their team, so we actually help them to give support and give spirit to win the game."
