Evacuations in remote Northern Territory cancelled as Cyclone Megan intensifies; Israel attacks Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital; and in sport, thousands of memberships snapped up in Tasmania after the state's new AFL club launch.
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In this bulletin,
- Evacuations in remote Northern Territory cancelled as Cyclone Megan intensifies;
- Israel attacks Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital;
- And in sport, thousands of memberships snapped up in Tasmania after the state's new A-F-L club launch.
TRANSCRIPT
Tropical Cyclone Megan has continued to churn in Australia's north-east, with remote communities bearing the brunt overnight.
The cyclone has made landfall southeast of Port McArthur in the Gulf of Carpentaria, squarely in the path of the remote Northern Territory community of Borroloola.
A planned evacuation was cancelled when conditions made it impossible for RAAF aircraft to land, forcing residents to shelter.
Roper Gulf Regional Council Mayor Tony Jack has told SBS they are prepared to take shelter, with 40 structures built to withstand Megan's category three status.
"It's going to dump a lot of rain - up to 400 mm or something. That's the big worry - we're gonna get cut off and the roads get damaged."
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In Gaza, Israeli forces have raided the Al-Shifa Hospital.
Gazan authorities say the Israeli raid led to multiple casualties - although the exact number is unclear - and started a fire in one of the buildings.
The Israeli military says its soldiers conducted a "precise operation" based on intelligence information that the hospital was being used by senior Hamas leaders.
It says the 401st brigade carried out a "full encirclement" of the health campus, and identified "numerous" suspects attempting to flee from the hospital compound.
Al-Shifa, the Gaza Strip's biggest hospital before the war, is now one of the only healthcare facilities that is even partially operational in the north of the territory, and is also housing hundreds of displaced civilians.
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Question time at the House of Representatives has been interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters in the public gallery.
The group called for a "ceasefire now" in Gaza as politicians tried to continue over the noise.
Security removed the protesters from the gallery, while Attorney General Mark Dreyfus was speaking.
Greens Senator Max Chandler-Mather has expressed solidarity with the protest on X, saying they were "peacefully fighting" for an end to the conflict.
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The Albanese government says it will argue against the release of more than 100 people in immigration detention, in another landmark case to come before the High Court.
An Iranian citizen known as ASF17 is making a legal bid for freedom which, if successful, could lead to his release and around 150 others.
The case revolves around the principle of indefinitely detained people who refuse to cooperate with Australian authorities.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has told Parliament the government is arguing against the man's release, which could lead to 151 other people being freed from detention.
"The Government believes that these individuals, those who are not cooperating with their removal, should be removed from Australia as a priority and if, while they are not, they should remain in immigration detention. This is the position that was successfully defended before the Federal Court. We will be vigorously defending this before the High Court."
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Indigenous cancer researchers say they hope to find solutions to the "disparate" health outcomes faced by First Nations cultures across the world.
Health experts are in Melbourne this week for the World Indigenous Cancer Conference.
In Australia, lung cancer remains a leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Kamilaroi woman and University of Queensland Indigenous Health Research Professor, Gail Garvey, has told NITV News Australia's health system is not designed to benefit Indigenous people.
"We don’t have Indigenous people working in cancer care and supporting our Indigenous populations. We’re also dealing with health systems and cancer care services that are outright racist and they don't support our Indigenous populations with language, they don't communicate in a way that Indigenous populations can understand what their diagnosis is, what treatment is available.”
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And to sport, more than 40,000 foundation memberships have been sold for Tasmania's new AFL club, the Tassie Devils, within hours of them revealing their logo, colours, and jumper.
For comparison, expansion clubs Greater Western Sydney and the Gold Coast had 33,000 and 23,300 members respectively at the end of 2023.
Tasmania Football Club chair Grant O'Brien says the Devils have been amazed and delighted by the community support.
