The International Criminal Court warns that impeding relief supplies to Gaza may constitute a crime, and social services Minister Amanda Rishworth says the government is not afraid to disagree with China but respects its most significant trading partner, And a French championship game has been called off after fans attack a bus carrying the Lyon team.
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TRANSCRIPT
- The International Criminal Court warns that impeding relief supplies to Gaza may constitute a crime.
- Social Services minister Amanda Rishworth says the government is not afraid to disagree with China but respects its most significant trading partner.
- And in football, a French championship game has been called off after fans attack a bus carrying the Lyon team.
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The International Criminal Court's top prosecutor says impeding relief supplies to Gaza's population may constitute a crime.
Aid supplies to Gaza have been minimal since Israel began bombarding the densely populated Palestinian enclave in response to a deadly attack by its ruling militant group Hamas on October 7.
Small fleets of 20 to 30 trucks carrying food and aid have been permitted through Egypt's border with Gaza in recent days but these are far below the 450 trucks on average that would enter the strip before the conflict began.
United Nations officials have said the aid supplies are limited and do not correspond to the huge need on the ground.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan says Israel must make immediate discernible efforts to ensure civilians receive adequate supplies.
"And I want to underline clearly to Israel that there must be discernible efforts, without further delay, to make sure civilians receive basic food, medicine. We hear reports of operations taking place without these basic medicines as if we are in the Middle Ages. In this regard, I have to say that Israel has clear obligations in relation to its war with Hamas, not just moral obligations but legal obligations to comply with the laws of armed conflict."
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Social services minister Amanda Rishworth says that while the federal government is not afraid to disagree with China on certain important issues, the country remains Australia's most significant trading partner.
It comes just a few days before prime minister Anthony Albanese's trip to Beijing where he will meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping.
Ms Rishworth told Channel Seven that the prime minister's trip is important to help stabilise the relationship between the two nations.
"As a country and as a government, we've been pretty clear that when we disagree with things that China says or does, we will speak out against it, but we will also be very clear that, where we can cooperate, we will. And I think that's really important for our national interests. China is still our largest trading partner."
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Winston Peters, the leader of the New Zealand First party has raised hopes of a swift end to government coalition talks once election results in New Zealand are finalised.
The 20-day vote counting process will come to an end on Friday, when the Electoral Commission ratifies results for the October 14 poll.
The three parties in the mix for government formation – the National, ACT and Mr Peters' New Zealand First - have used the time to "relationship build", according to incoming prime minister Chris Luxon.
In his first interview since election weekend, Mr Peters told fringe online radio station The Platform that Mr Luxon had placed a veil of secrecy on the talks.
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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says glaciers in Nepal are melting at record rates and the situation is dire and accelerating.
According to the assessment by the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, an intergovernmental scientific authority on the region, glaciers in Asia’s Hindu Kush Himalaya could lose up to 75 per cent of their volume by century’s end due to global warming.
This could lead to both dangerous flooding and water shortages for the 240 million people who live in the mountainous region.
Mr Guterres says time for the nation is running out.
"On this trip, I will visit Himalayas to see for myself the terrible impact of the climate crisis on the glaciers. The situation is dire and it is accelerating. Nepal has lost close to a third of its size in just over 30 years, and glaciers are melting at record rates. The impact on communities is devastating and I will meet local people in the Himalayas to hear directly from them about how they are affected."
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In football,
A French championship game between Lyon and Marseille has been abandoned after a fan attack on the bus carrying the Lyon team.
Marseille fans launched flares and other items toward the bus, causing the injury of Lyon coach and World Cup 2006 winner Fabio Grosso, with images on social media showing him laid on a stretcher.
The bus was heading to Stade Velodrome for the highly anticipated clash between the two teams.
Tens of thousands of fans were already in the stands when it was announced that the game was being postponed.
