Australia expresses concern about the latest actions in Israel's war with Hamas, A veiled woman shot at a Paris train station after allegedly making terrorist threats, Australia's world champion netballers end the year on a high.
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.
TRANSCRIPT
- Australia expresses concern about the latest actions in Israel's war with Hamas
- A veiled woman shot at a Paris train station after allegedly making terrorist threats
- Australia's world champion netballers end the year on a high.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says Australia is deeply concerned at reports of ongoing settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Ms Wong says such violence only inflames tensions and those responsible must be held accountable.
The statement comes as Israel continues its attacks on Hamas, demolishing the house of senior Hamas leader, Saleh al-Aruri, in the West Bank.
They say they've also attacked Hamas gunmen inside Hamas' vast network of tunnels beneath Gaza.
The government continues its quest to delicately balance Australia's public response to the war between support for Israel and humanitarian concern for Palestinians.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says there are people being hurt unfairly on both sides of the conflict.
"The people of Gaza, innocent people, are suffering, and innocent people, of course in Israel."
Israel says it has engaged Hamas gunmen within the insurgents' massive tunnel network beneath Gaza.
It comes as a hospital director reported that an Israeli air strike on a refugee camp in the besieged area killed over 50 Palestinians and injured 150 more.
As the fighting within the Hamas-ruled Palestinian region intensified, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ignored international pleas for a cease-fire.
But United Nations and other aid officials warn that a public health catastrophe is engulfing civilians in Gaza.
Filippo Grandi, U-N High Commissioner for Refugees, insists on a ceasefire.
"The past three weeks have provided devastating proof that disregarding the basic rules of war, international humanitarian law, is increasingly becoming the norm and not the exception. With innocent civilians killed in unprecedented numbers in the Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians and in the killing of Palestinian civilians and massive destruction of infrastructure caused by the ongoing Israeli military operation."
An unarmed woman has been shot by French police after allegedly making Jihadist threats at a Paris train station during morning rush hour.
Members of the public alerted police to the 38-year-old fully-veiled woman whilst she was travelling on a suburban rain.
Police isolated her at a station, where they say she refused to follow orders, and threatened to blow herself up.
Two police officers fired eight rounds at the woman, hitting her in the abdomen.
French government spokesman Olivier Veran says they had no other choice.
"French, then translated "Police found this woman who was wearing a full-body veil and was uttering aggressive, jihadist comments. They pulled the woman aside and first asked her to calm down but also to show her hands to show they presented no particular danger. What happened then was that law enforcement officers had no option but to open fire on this woman given the danger of the situation."
The woman has been taken to hospital.
The officers were wearing body cameras, which officials say will be used in the investigation of the incident.
Mr Veran says the woman has a previous conviction for threatening soldiers on patrol.
The Queensland town of Wallangarra has been saved from a fast-moving bushfire.
The town of 600 people in the Southern Downs area, near the border with New South Wales, looked to be under threat from a ferocious fire, fuelled by strong winds and high temperatures.
But a quick, co-ordinated effort from Queensland firefighters and New South Wales waterbombing aircraft ensured the town was spared.
Meanwhile, another fire in the state, near Bundaberg, north of Brisbane, broke containment lines, forcing a evacuation centre to be set up at Childers [[chill-ders]].
The biggest fire currently burning in the state is on the Western Downs, west of Brisbane.
Queensland premier Annastascia Palaszczuk has pledged one million dollars towards a state bushfire appeal.
A new version of the Last Post has been created to help remember both Indigenous and non-Indigenous soldiers together.
Didgeridoo player Mark Atkins has teamed up with jazz icon James Morrison to create the new sound.
The Australian War Memorial and the late Indigenous leader Archie Roach were also involved in the project, which has taken three years to come to fruition.
Mr Atkins says the product is long overdue - in fact, he's been thinking about it since he was a child.
In netball, Australia has finished their successful 2023 season on a high, beating South Africa three games to nil.
The Diamonds have beaten Proteas 77 goals to 50 in Hobart in the third and final game of the series.
The Australians took the lead early in the match and did not relinquish control.
Captain Liz Watson starred for Australia, setting up 31 of Australia's goals.
The 27 goal margin is the biggest of the series.
Australia finishes 2023 having won 16 of their 19 matches, including winning the World Cup, the Constellation Cup against New Zealand, and the Quad Series tournament that featured England, New Zealand, and South Africa.
