TRANSCRIPT
- Israel launches strikes on the Syrian capital, Damascus
- Russian aerial attacks strike a Ukraine shopping centre
- Essendon pledge to fix their appalling injury list
Israel has launched airstrikes on Damascus, hitting Syria’s defence ministry and areas near the presidential palace.
Israel says the strikes were part of a campaign intended to defend Syria's Druze minority in the south who also form a substantial community in Israel, and to push Islamic militants away from its border.
Syrian Interior Ministry official Nabil al-Khalidi confirmed civilians are among the casualties.
Fighting in and around the Druze city of Sweida has escalated sharply, with death toll estimates ranging from 169 to 300.
Stephan Dujarric, spokesman for U-N Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued this condemnation.
"The Secretary-General condemns Israel's escalatory airstrikes on Sweida, Daraa, and in the centre of the Syrian capital, Damascus, as well as reports of Israeli Defenc e Forces redeployment of forces in the Golan. He calls for an immediate cessation of all violations of serious sovereignty and territorial integrity and for respect of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement."
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Twenty Palestinians have been killed in a crush at a food distribution site in Gaza.
The site, in the southern city of Khan Younis, is run by the controversial Israeli-backed American aid group the Gaza Humanitarian Fund.
It's the first time the Fund has acknowledged deadly violence at one of its sites, although there have previously been reports of others.
It says the Hamas militant group, which governs Gaza, whipped up panic that led to the violence, with reports 19 people died in a stampede and one was stabbed to death.
The Fund has presented no evidence for these claims.
Ahmad Abu Amra was there and describes what he saw.
“We arrived at the gate of the aid distribution centre. The Americans were standing there and announced over loudspeakers that no one should advance. The Jews (how many in Gaza refer to Israelis) started shooting from one side, and the Americans did as well. There were turnstiles at the gate. The young men were rushing through them. Those who fell down, we couldn’t lift them. Everyone was on top of each other. We tried to pull the young men up from the ground and help them, but we couldn’t.”
Witnesses are also claiming Fund employees used tear gas against the crowd.
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Rescue efforts are underway in Ukraine's Donetsk region, where authorities are reporting Russian strikes that hit a shopping centre have killed two people and injured 27 others.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the attack on Dobropillia - a town that lies northwest of Polrovsk, a town that has become a target for Russia since the war broke out.
This attack follows a deadly assault on Dopropillia in March, in which 11 people including 5 children, were killed.
This week there have been reports of a major assault on energy infrastructure.
The attacks, conducted via a missile strike and 400 drones, have wounded 15 people.
Mr Zelenskyy rejected Russia's assertion these strikes are strategic and justifiable in its war against Ukraine.
**
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare says the case of an alleged child abuser working at dozens of childcare centres is a nightmare for parents and highlights the need for a national register of childcare workers.
The 26-year-old who has been charged with more than 70 sex offences against eight young children has been revealed to have worked at more early learning centres than originally thought.
He is now believed to have worked at 24 childcare facilities since 2017 and authorities have recommended an additional 800 children who crossed paths with him be tested for infectious diseases.
The allegations have put childcare record-keeping in the spotlight, with police forced to use search warrants to confirm the man's employment history.
Mr Clare tells the ABC that a register is badly needed.
"This is a nightmare for hundreds more parents who now have to go through the ringer of working out whether their kids are sick or not. It strikes me when I saw this yesterday that this is another reason why we need an educator register, a database that tells us where people are working and where they have been working. The company responsible here should know this at a click of a button and so should we. This shouldn't be the sort of information that comes out in drip-feed form. It should be information that's easy to access quickly."
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
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Buyers are warned to be on the lookout for suspiciously cheap designer handbags after a ram raid on a luxury store.
Italian designer fashion retailer Fendi was the target of the attack in Sydney's city-centre early on Wednesday, when police say tens of thousands of dollars worth of items were stolen from the shopfront.
Chief Inspector Gary Coffey says a Lexus SUV, stolen on Monday night, was driven on to the pavement on Elizabeth St about 3:45am and smashed the shop window.
Broken glass scattered across the footpath and empty shopfront displays greeted police and store employees when they arrived at the scene.
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In the AFL, Essendon will allocate extra resources to its strength conditioning program to try and avoid a repeat of its extraordinarily-long injury list.
Eleven first-choice Essendon players will be unavailable for tonight's match against Greater Western Sydney in Melbourne.
Elijah Tsatsas is the latest injury absentee- he'll miss this game with a hamstring complaint.
Liam McMahon will become the 13th player to debut for the club when he plays for the Bombers in this game, setting a new record for the modern era.
The injuries have contributed to the Bombers' poor season, with the side 14th on the ladder coming into the match against GWS.
