In this bulletin,
- At least eight Palestinians travelling to Australia to have visas reinstated;
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hits back at criticism from the U-S;
- And in sport, Australian distance runners smash the national 10,000 metre record.
TRANSCRIPT
At least eight Palestinians who had their visas cancelled while travelling to Australia will have them reinstated.
A government source told SBS News additional security checks had been undertaken and the cancellation may be reversed in some cases.
About 12 Palestinians holding temporary visas were informed of their cancellations while travelling to Australia, leaving them stranded in countries including Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates.
Currently, the source says at least eight visas are set to be reinstated, and more might learn their outcome soon.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hit back against the growing criticism from the United States regarding his government's handling of the war with Hamas.
U-S Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranked Jewish official in the country, recently called for an election in Israel, claiming Mr Netanyahu had lost his way.
U-S President Joe Biden expressed his support for Mr Schumer's comments, accusing Mr Netanyahu of responsibility for the high civilian death toll in Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu has told Fox News the timing of the elections is a matter for the people of Israel to decide.
“I think (Sen. Chuck) Schumer's statements are wholly inappropriate. I think we're not a banana republic. The people of Israel will choose when they'll have elections, who they elect, and it's not something that will be foisted upon us that, you know, it's wrong to try to replace the elected leaders of a sister democracy and a staunch American ally at any time, but especially during the time of war.”
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Haiti's health system is being pushed to the brink as gang violence continues to escalate in the capital of Port-au-Prince.
The United Nations aid agency UNICEF has made a statement saying a container carrying essential items for newborn babies and their mothers, including resuscitators and other critical supplies, was looted on the weekend.
In addition, the agency says over 260 containers of humanitarian assistance are now in the hands of armed groups.
Since the end of February, armed groups in Haiti have attacked public institutions including police stations and the international airport.
One resident in Port-au-Prince says every part of the Haitian capital is under the control of gangs.
" The situation is not really calm in Port-au-Prince, because, like I said before, there were many attacks from the gang in Port-au-Prince, and 80 percent of the capital is under influence of the gang. That's what the UN said, that's what the last report of the UN said, because every part of the capital is being controlled by gang. This is the situation in Port-au-Prince right now."
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The weather bureau says Northern Territory Tropical Cyclone Megan could develop into a category four system, with those in flood watch zones receiving warnings to evacuate immediately.
The Bureau of Meteorology says the weather system has intensified into a low level category three with a 20 per cent chance of developing into a category four when it makes landfall.
The cyclone is expected to cross the Northern Territory coast on Monday evening but heavy rainfall and wind gusts could hit the Gulf of Carpentaria even earlier.
Miriam Bradbury, from the Bureau, explains what the conditions could look like on Monday.
"So the core of the cyclone is the centre of the system and it's with the core the centre of the system that we associate the strongest and most destructive winds and usually the heaviest rainfall as well. So when that core approaches and crosses the coast. We are going to see the most dangerous conditions when those extremely strong winds and the heavy rainfall combined so that is most likely from Monday when that crossing is imminent."
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And to sport, Australian distance runners Lauren Ryan and Jack Rayner have made strides ahead of the Paris Olympics after breaking the national 10,000 metre race in California.
Ryan finished third and took an astounding 94 seconds off her personal best, beating previous record holder Benita Willis' 2003 record by two seconds.
Rayner finished 13th and beat his own 2022 national record by nearly six seconds.
In a post run interview with FloTrack, Ryan told reporters she expects the result to guarantee her position on the Olympic team.
"I don't know my coach was like, just let's go all in and go for the standard and jump on that pace and I didn't know whether it would pay off or not but it definitely did. I felt great trusting my coach, my training, had you know my teammates out here pacing and racing as well and it just like was a team effort and I just felt the team, I felt the atmosphere, and I felt the support from my support network and it was just incredible. I'm still in shock."
