TRANSCRIPT:
- A new report shines a light on how much Australia spends on policing illicit drugs;
- Calls for the United Nations to back a US-led ceasefire proposal in Gaza;
- Australia's Alex De Minaur makes tennis history at the French Open.
A new study has confirmed the Australian government spends more money on police responses to illicit drugs than it does on treatment and prevention combined.
The University of New South Wales report has concluded almost 65 [[64.3]] percent of the $5.45 billion on responses to illicit drugs goes to law enforcement.
Less than 28 [[27.4]] percent is allocated to treatment, while just under 7 percent [[6.7]] is spent on prevention measures.
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Tourists from Australia are among a group of visitors who have been evacuated from a passenger boat on the Danube River in Germany.
The Australian travellers, as well as tourists from the US and UK, had been stranded since Sunday, with the ship unable to continue its journey as the country's south grapples with heavy flooding.
A spokeswoman for the district administration in Deggendorf in Lower Bavaria says more than 140 people have been safely taken off the ship.
The Australian passengers have been taken to Munich airport by bus to start their early journey home from there.
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The US says it wants the United Nations Security Council to back a proposal to end fighting in Gaza through a ceasefire and hostage deal.
Its ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, has released a statement saying that numerous leaders and governments have endorsed the plan, and the Council should join them in calling for the agreement to be implemented without delay or further conditions being imposed.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa says he hopes it will lead to a "serious and quick" ceasefire - but they still have to talk about what comes after that.
“We need to start arranging our affairs on the basis of preparing for reconstruction after the extent of the destruction that you all witnessed, but we also want to return and unite the Palestinian national institutions in Gaza and the West Bank in order to raise the level of their performance so that we can, in the next stage, provide the required services.”
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Meanwhile, the world weather agency has announced there's a 60 percent chance La Nina conditions will take hold between July and September.
But the World Meteorological Organisation says the end of El Nino does not mean a pause in long-term climate change, and that the planet will continue to warm due to heat-trapping greenhouse gases.
The past nine years have been the warmest on record despite the cooling effect of previous La Nina conditions.
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Foreign nationals living in Australia could soon be able to join the country's defence force - as the government looks to boost recruitment numbers.
From July, eligible New Zealanders will be able to apply to join the ADF, while permanent residents from the United Kingdom, United States and Canada can do the same from January 2025.
Their enlisting would form part of a route to citizenship, with the expectation they become Australians once they've served for 90 days.
Minister for Veteran Affairs Matt Keogh says it's a win win situation for everyone.
"Currently it's about 4400 people that we are down from the projected target for recruitment and that's a deep concern to the government and it's why we've taken a number of steps, including modernising our physical health, and other fitness requirements for joining the defence force that's opening up a pathway for about an additional 2000 people."
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The opposition is calling for Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to release departmental briefings that led him to wrongly claim drones were being used to monitor released immigration detainees.
Minister Giles says he relied on the information provided by his department when making the claim in an interview to Sky News.
Liberal MP Dan Tehan says the minister is not being forthcoming with the information that the public needs to know.
"How can he now have a serious relationship with his department when he's throwing them under the bus on two occasions. He also needs to answer the question, will he provide the advice that he relied on to say that drones were watching these detainees when it now is the point that they weren't being used. Will he show us that advice?"
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Alex de Minaur has defeated powerhouse Daniil Medvedev to reach the French Open quarter finals.
He's the first Australian man to make it to the final eight since Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt in 2004.
De Minaur says the win is the biggest triumph of his career - and he's soaking up the experience.
"So much, in my opinion, of Grand Slam tennis is just experience because ultimately you can put in all the work in the world - and I believe I'm one to do so - but how you conserve energy, how you use your energy in these long, gruelling five set matches it's - there's a lot to learn from. And as you play more the body gets used to it more."
