Rescue efforts continue in Taiwan following a 7.2 magnitude earthquake; The United Nations says it is suspending its nightly aid missions in Gaza; And in sport, the second AFL Gather Round set to begin with fans converging in Adelaide.
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TRANSCRIPT
In this bulletin,
- Rescue efforts continue in Taiwan following a 7.2 magnitude earthquake;
- The United Nations says it is suspending its nightly aid missions in Gaza;
- And in sport, the second AFL Gather Round set to begin with fans converging in Adelaide.
Rescue efforts are continuing in Taiwan after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake left at least nine people dead and over a thousand injured.
Operating crews are attempting to pull people out of the rubble from buildings that collapsed during the quake, in what was the strongest shock to hit the nation within the last 25 years.
Local residents have been evacuated to open areas due to fears that structures which suffered serious damage during the earthquake could still collapse.
Hsu Chen-wei,the mayor of the city of Hualien, which was close to the earthquake's epicentre, says rescue operations are continuing.
"All residents and businesses from buildings that are in a dangerous state were evacuated. Now the search team is only concentrating on one building where we found the remains of a lady whose surname is Tang, who will be retrieved soon."
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The United Nations says it has suspended aid missions in Gaza during the night, following the death of seven aid workers, including one Australian, in an Israeli attack.
United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric says the provision of aid by missions such as the World Food Program will continue during the day, in an effort to reach as many people in Gaza as possible.
"During the day our colleagues at the World Food Program tell us that operations are continuing, including daily efforts to send convoys to the north. People are dying and it is essential that we provide assistance to them, they tell us. And as famine closes in, we need humanitarian staff and supplies to be able to move freely and safely across the Gaza Strip."
The death of the seven aid workers has been met with outrage by the global community, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying he reached out to to his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to voice his concerns.
The Israeli Defence Forces say they have launched an investigation on the incident to ensure it does not repeat in the future.
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Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor says the Opposition is open to any plans made by the federal government that could bring down energy prices.
The Prime Minister is set to give a speech at the Small Business summit in Sydney, where he will reach out to business owners before the government finalises its energy plans for the upcoming budget.
It comes as the Opposition prepares to unveil its own recommendations on energy, with a policy that will suggest the repurposing of old coal factories into nuclear stations.
Speaking to the ABC, Mr Taylor has said the government's current energy plan has brought great pain to consumers and business owners.
"We've seen big increases in prices Lisa, and that's the reality. So, the typical Australian household, as I say, a thousand dollars more than they would've expected at this time and that's a lot of pain. At a time when we're seeing big increases in calls to helplines, whether it's for household debt or small businesses. We've seen an 82 per cent increase in calls to helplines for small businesses."
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A new report shows Australia's boardrooms are occupied by fewer racially diverse people compared to seven years ago.
The 2024 Board Diversity Index shows that despite efforts to increase inclusivity, there has been no significant change to the number of First Nations people sitting in director's roles.
Data reveals an increase of directors from an Anglo-Celtic background from 90.5 per cent in 2017 to 91 per cent last year.
Female representation, on the other hand, has grown significantly, with the number of women holding a boardroom position skyrocketing by 89 per cent since 2015.
—
In the AFL,
Fans from all across Australia are gathering in Adelaide for the second edition of the Gather Round, set to take place across the next four days.
It comes following last year's highly successful launch of the event which averaged almost 30,000 spectators at every game.
This year's attendances are set to reach similar, if not higher figures, with over 200,000 tickets already sold days before the start of the games.
The Gather Round is set to begin tonight with the Crows taking on Melbourne at the Adelaide Oval.
