TRANSCRIPT
- The Prime Minister warns against future cyber threats following St Vincent's attack.
- The World Health Organisation reveals the immense scale of the destruction to healthcare in Gaza.
- Graham Arnold announces his 26-man Socceroos squad to take on the upcoming 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the federal government will continue to invest against the ongoing threats of cyber attacks.
It comes after the nation's largest non-profit health and aged care provider St Vincent's fell victim to a network infiltration by hackers on Thursday.
This was the latest in a series of cyber attacks that include high profile companies such as Optus, Medibank and Latitude.
Mr Albanese says that as they find more ways to counter these attacks, so too will the hackers find more sophisticated ways of acquiring private data.
"Cyber security is a major issue. The government has responded with having a cyber security minister, having a cyber security strategy that we announced recently. But we have had and do, all the predictions are for increased threats when it comes to cyber security, which is why my government takes those issues so seriously."
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Queensland police say they have scaled down the search for an 85-year-old man who went missing during the floods caused by Cyclone Jasper.
According to the authorities, the man's home, located in far north Queensland, was destroyed by the floodwaters.
He was last seen on Sunday.
Police say they will continue their regular patrols of the area and will act if there is any new information brought to them.
The 85-year-old's family say they are heartbroken by the recent developments.
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Communities in Western Australia are assessing the damage after fires ripped through parts of the state this week.
Three homes have been destroyed in the semi-rural area of Parkerville, in Perth's hills.
Parkerville resident Julie Moody says the fire ruined what was meant to be a joyous occasion.
"Today would have been my last day at work and we'd be getting ready to have a big Christmas family dinner, which we were all hosting here, with all the presents that have now gone up in smoke. Yeah, so we would have been getting ready to get everything sorted for a big pool party. Yeah, she's no longer gonna happen."
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The World Health Organisation has released footage from inside Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa, revealing the scale of the destruction.
Reports of people being killed on hospital grounds continue to arrive, as the Israeli military forces continue their operations against Hamas.
Since the deadly attack on October 7, over 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza according to local health authorities, with about 70 per cent of them women and children.
The WHO says it has managed to deliver critical medical supplies to the hospital, in what was dubbed a high risk joint mission alongside other partnering agents of the United Nations.
Emergency Medical Team Coordinator for the WHO Sean Casey says that while additional supplies had been brought in, without fuel, even bringing in medical equipment and staff will not help.
"Until we can get fuel here, bringing a team of surgeons, surgical equipment is going to do very little. Mostly what they're doing here is trauma stabilization, providing some pain management, some wound care. But how can the hospital function without fuel and when it's coming under attack?”
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As children around the world eagerly await Santa’s arrival on Christmas, the U-S military says it is ready to track him and see if he’s using any new technology.
Armed with radars, sensors and aircraft, the North American Aerospace Defence Command in Colorado keeps a close watch on Santa and his sleigh from the moment he leaves the North Pole.
And it once again will share all those details so that everyone can follow along as Santa travels the globe beginning Christmas Eve.
US Air Force Colonel Elizabeth Mathias, NORAD’s chief spokesperson, says the military will track Santa with the same technology they use every single day to keep North America safe.
"So NORAD has 68 years experience tracking Santa, and I will tell you, Santa doesn't file a flight plan with NORAD. But the great part is that we NORAD are able to use the technology, the same technology we use every single day to keep North America safe, to track Santa on December 24th. So it starts with our North warning system radars. Soon as Santa departs the North Pole, those radars pick him up."
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Graham Arnold has announced his 26-man squad to participate in the upcoming 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar.
The Australian manager made some major surprises in his call-ups, leaving out Qatar hero Mathew Leckie and the Socceroos all-time scorer Jamie Maclaren.
Instead, he chose to send out invites to wing-backs Gethin Jones and Cameron Burgess, alongside veteran striker Bruno Fornaroli.
Arnold says his decision to take the 36-year-old to Qatar was largely based on his great start to the season.
"The most important thing with the Socceroos is form. And Bruno's done a fantastic job, he's had a fantastic start to the season and it's very very hard to ignore. And the way his body looks in fantastic shape, I've had a great conversation with Tony Popovic who's very supportive of it and that's the type of form you want from all the players."
The 2023 Asian Cup will be held in Qatar from January 12 until February 10 in 2024.
