Australia's trade minister confident of success on the Prime Minister's trip to China, the US wary of a Gaza ceasefire, calling it potentially counterproductive, and in formula one, Max Verstappen wins pole position ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Australia's trade minister confident of success on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's trip to China
- The US remain wary of a Gaza ceasefire, calling it potentially counterproductive
- Red Bull's Max Verstappen wins pole position ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The federal government says it is not looking to reset its relationship with China during Anthony Albanese's trip, the first such visit by a Prime Minister to the Asian nation in seven years.
Trade Minister Don Farrell says the Australia-China relationship is not what is used to be and may never return to its previous state.
But he says the aim of the trip is to stabilise trading relations with Beijing given trade between the countries is worth billions of dollars in total.
The Minister has told Sky News he's confident Australia can grasp the opportunity to do so, and that a lot of progress has already been made over the last 18 months.
"Remember it was $20 billion worth of impediments. With the recent announcement in respect of wine, that's down to $1 billion. We're hopeful that as a result of this visit that we can get that down to zero, and that the remaining impediments - lobster and beef - will be removed."
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Arab leaders have continued to push for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during talks with the US in Jordan.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has held an afternoon of discussions with Egyptian, Jordanian, Saudi, Qatari and Emirati diplomats as well as a senior Palestinian official as they seek ways to protect civilians in Gaza and improve aid flows to the beseiged territory.
Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has said it is important to stop the war and ensure sufficient food, water, medicine and fuel is brought to Gazans.
But Mr Blinken says he does not agree with the push for a ceasefire, regarding that as something which could be counterproductive.
"It's our view that cease-fire now would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on October 7th."
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More details have emerged about a light plane crash in rural Queensland that has killed three people.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) says the aircraft belonged to a Victorian company that had been engaged to conduct line scans as part of the state's bushfire response.
QFES says the aircraft was travelling from Toowoomba to Mt Isa when it crashed.
Tributes and condolences have poured in for the trio, who remain unnamed, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese offering his sympathies during his visit to China.
"We know the people who fight fires and stand up in emergency services risk their lives each and every day to assist their fellow Australians and to assist the communities. And today our hearts go out to them."
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Authorities have closed an airport at Hamburg in Germany's north after a man drove a car through a barrier and parked beneath an airplane.
There is a heavy state and federal police presence on site, with a psychologist also on the scene and in contact with the man, who has his four year old son in the car with him.
Initial reports indicated the man was armed and had fired shots upon entering the airport.
But a clarifying police statement has now been issued saying that banging noises had been heard as the man entered the airport, and it remains unclear if he is armed.
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To sport,
Max Verstappen has won the Sao Paolo Formula One sprint race ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Verstappen took the lead from McLaren's Lando Norris at the first corner in the sprint and never gave it up.
The driver is believed to be no fan of the sprint format, but he says he took advantage of the conditions to claim victory.
The Dutch 26-year-old says he will now be chasing a record-extending 17th grand prix win of the season from pole position to take his career haul to 52, one short of retired four-time champion Sebastian Vettel.
"It was a long time very close. I think between myself and Lando (Norris). We were doing quite similar lap times for a long period of the race, and after that, the last three laps, I think, I found a little bit more comfortable. But I think - you know, everyone will learn a lot from today, and that will apply to tomorrow. But yeah, very happy compared to last year. This is of course miles better for us and already looking forward to tomorrow."
