TRANSCRIPT
- Calls for longer-term Australian support for Ukraine two years since Russia’s invasion
- At least ten people killed in an apartment fire in the Spanish city of Valencia
- Ten international teams to race across the Sydney Harbour this weekend
Officials from the International Monetary Fund and the Ukrainian government have reached an agreement on economic policies, as the world marks two years since Russia's invasion today.
The agreement comes after six days of meetings as part of a third review of Ukraine's A$23.8 billion 4-year Extended Fund Facility Arrangement.
These developments have prompted the federal Coalition to call for a long-term financial commitment to Ukraine.
EU ambassador in Australia Gabriele Visentin says Canberra's support for Kyiv is unwavering.
Opposition Foreign Affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham says Australia should prove that, as other countries have done.
"We've seen in the last couple of weeks Japan step up with a 12.1 billion package of support for Ukraine that stretches across a number of years, but provides more than 4 billion this year alone. This is the type of support that can give Ukraine confidence to plan, to fight and to win, and Australia should be looking at multi-year commitments that are appropriate for us to give the same sort of confidence."
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Israel says it intends to maintain "security control" over Gaza once the war with Hamas comes to an end.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has presented a proposal to Cabinet that calls for Israel to have a presence on the Gaza-Egypt border in the south of the enclave, and cooperate with Egypt and the United States, including at the Rafah crossing.
The plan also calls for shutting down the UN Palestinian refugees agency UNRWA, which Israel has repeatedly accused of providing cover to Hamas - charges which UNRWA denies - and replacing it with other international aid groups.
The United States, Israel's main ally, has said that only a two-state solution has a chance of bringing long-term peace - but Israel's plan rejects the "unilateral recognition" of a Palestinian state.
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At least 10 people have been killed in a huge fire that has ripped through an apartment block in an affluent district of Spain's third largest city Valencia.
Authorities say the blaze engulfed the block within half an hour.
Scientific police have begun the task of inspecting the interior of two residential towers that were destroyed.
And Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has visited the scene, promising support for those affected, and expressing gratitude to firefighters and military personnel who worked to extinguish the fire.
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Detectives are continuing their search for a missing Sydney couple, following the charging of a serving police officer for their alleged murder.
There have been fears for former Channel Ten reporter Jesse Baird and Qantas flight attendant Luke Davies since their possessions were found in a skip bin in the southern Sydney suburb of Cronulla earlier this week.
Detective Superintendent Daniel Doherty says the discovery of those items led police to Mr Baird's share house, around 30km away in inner-city Paddington, where traces of blood were found.
Police allege investigators found a discharged gunshot round at the home and that it had been matched to a NSW Police firearm.
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A large bushfire in western Victoria is set to rage on for days.
Assessment teams have started to survey the damage in already-impacted areas, but it could take time because of the active fire threat and terrain.
More than 1000 firefighters and almost 60 water bombing aircraft are working to contain the blaze, while tens of thousands of residents from communities near Ballarat have been told to leave.
Rob Pelletier says his property is among those in the path of danger.
"Fires are humbling. You have these magnificant hedges. People come and admire it. You prune and grow them year after year but in five seconds, a fire does that to you. And what can you do? Pull it out?"
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And in sport, ten international teams are preparing to race across the Sydney Harbour in the world's biggest sailing competition this weekend.
This weekend is the eighth event of the season, and Australia is hoping to secure its first win for this year's competition.
Sail GP is one of the fastest growing sports and organisers are hoping to find more ways to give opportunities to female athletes interested in professional sailing.
23-year-old competitor Natasha Bryant says her participation all started at a family-run sailing club.
"It was actually because my brother started racing and he need someone to train against, so I was like 'Oh, I'll be your sparring partner!' and so we trained after school alot, like 4 or 5 days a week and we raced on weekends. From there I learnt about how the Olympics work and what type of boats were part of the Olympics."
