TRANSCRIPT
- Israel strikes Iran's state media buildings
- NT Government scraps plans for an independent review into police racism
- JJ Spaun wins the US Open
Israel has attacked the Iranian state broadcasting authority, as Iranian media reports that the country is preparing for the largest and most intense attack yet against Israel.
Israel says it struck the broadcasting authority after the evacuation of local residents; however, video footage shows a newsreader fleeing from her desk as a blast struck.
International law prohibits the direct and intentional attack on journalists and news media in conflict situations.
Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says the aerial attacks will continue for as many days as it takes to remove what he considers the existential threat posed by Iran's nuclear capacity - and there is also the aim of seeing regime change in Iran.
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Australians in Iran and Israel are facing an anxious wait, as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade tries to organise repatriation flights.
It comes as Israel claims to have taken control of the airspace over Iran's capital Tehran, as the two countries trade missile strikes.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says around 350 Australians have registered for assistance in Iran, compared to 300 in Israel.
But she says charter flights can't take place until airspace is re-opened.
"Well, firstly, the timeline is primarily dictated by safety, and as long as governments have closed down airspace because of the risk to civilian aircraft, obviously no one can fly, and we certainly can't fly. We say to Australians, please listen to the advice of local authorities. At the moment the advice is to shelter in place, and obviously, that is a very difficult thing to say to people, but that is the best advice we have."
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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has welcomed world leaders at the Group of Seven Summit with Donald Trump, the Middle East, and Ukraine expected to dominate discussions.
Leaders from Britain, France, Canada, Italy, Germany, Japan and the US, along with the European Union, are convening in the resort area of the Canadian Rockies.
With an escalating Israel-Iran war, the summit in Canada is seen as a vital moment to try to restore a semblance of unity among democratic powerhouses.
Mark Carney says the world is in a pivotal moment.
“We're meeting at one of those hinge moments, those turning points in history. The world's more divided and dangerous. Hostile states and terrorists have expanded their capabilities and their reach, threatening global security in our local communities. Global commerce, energy systems, even intelligence, are all being rewired.”
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The Northern Territory has scrapped an independent review into systemic racism within the NT Police, promised two years ago in response to the death in custody of Kumanjayi Walker.
Attorney General Marie-Clare Boothby told estimates the $300,000 that had been promised by the previous government has been redirected to fill budget shortfalls in Legal Aid NT.
She says the police racism review will now be rolled into a broader anti-racism strategy being developed by the NT Police.
It coincides with calls for an independent investigation into a separate death in custody; that of Kumanjayi White, who died after being arrested by plain clothes police last month.
Community group Justice Not Jails has delivered more than 760 letters to the NT Chief Minister, calling for an independent investigation into Mr White's death.
Natalie Hunter is the group's spokesperson.
"We've had many black deaths in custody, and we do not trust the Northern Territory government no longer with the treatment of Aboriginal people. The human rights have been destroyed of my 30-odd years in this space. So, I demand that we have an independent (investigation) and we need to also stop damaging and degrading the deceased. It has to stop."
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JJ Spaun has emerged from a packed leaderboard to win the US Open at Oakmont Country Club, claiming a two-shot victory over Robert MacIntyre.
It was Spaun's first major championship, and sealed in style, with a massive 64-foot birdie putt in the rain.
When the final putt dropped, he tossed his putter, pumped his fist, hugged his caddie and walked off the green with his two young daughters.
Spaun had appeared to be out of the mix in the final round but found himself back in the thick of things late on the back nine.
"It just, it felt like, as bad as things were going, I just still tried to just commit to every shot. I tried to just continue to dig deep. I've been doing it my whole life. I think that's been the biggest difference this year has been being able to do that. Fortunately, I dug very deep on the back nine, and things went my way, and here we are with the trophy."
