TRANSCRIPT:
- ASIO's chief reveals the presence of a spy ring that targeted Australia;
- An elderly man in custody after a Sydney daylight shooting;
- The Matildas book their spot at this year's Olympic games.
The nation's top intelligence chief has revealed a spy ring that recruited an Australian former politician in its targeting of the country.
In his annual threat assessment address, the director-general of intelligence organisation ASIO, Mike Burgess, has said the foreign spy ring tried to use the politician to get close to a prime minister's family member before it was uncovered by the nation's intelligence agency.
Mr Burgess says the spies posed as consultants, head-hunters, local government officials, academics and researchers, and claimed to be from fake companies.
The director-general says they were part of a spy ring specifically set up to target Australia.
"We have come full circle. While the terrorism threat level is possible, if we had a threat level for espionage and foreign interference it would be at certain – the highest level on the scale. I want the A-team and its masters to understand if they target Australia, ASIO will target them. We will make their jobs as difficult, costly and painful as possible."
—
A man will appear in court over the shooting of another man in broad daylight in Sydney's CBD.
The 79 year old man has been charged with intent to murder, and two counts of having a firearm subject to a prohibition order.
Detective Inspector David El-Badawi says that officers arrived on the scene of the attack in three minutes, initially fearing more people had been attacked.
"At the scene we found one male offender who was being held down by staff members int he premises. He was arrested. We also found a victim in his late 70s with a gunshot wound to his groin. He was treated by paramedics. He's in a stable condition and was taken to St Vincents Hospital."
—
The widow of Alexei Navalny has addressed the European Parliament, telling the members that Vladimir Putin must answer for what he has done.
Yulia Navalnaya was given a huge standing ovation by the Parliament, before describing her husband - who died more than a week ago in a Russian penal colony - as an innovator.
She says the only way to defeat the Russian president is to also be an innovator - and to stop being boring.
"You can't defeat him by thinking he's a man of principle who has morals and rules. He is not like that and Alexei realised that a long time ago. You are not dealing with a politician but with a bloody monster."
—
Hundreds of people in Gaza City have collected bags of food items amid widespread shortage of supplies in the war-stricken territory.
People have carried large aid sacks draped over their backs as they walked through the city's destroyed streets.
Many waited in long queues to receive sacks of flour at a distribution centre run by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA.
But Haneen Hamouda, a Palestinian woman who has been forced to flee to Rafah, says the aid is barely enough to survive on.
"We are a family of six and have come to receive two bags of flour, which barely cover our needs. We will need to buy extra. We're staying in tents in front of the warehouse and receive aid only twice a month. It's not enough to feed the children. We barely get by."
—
New South Wales Police have begun a formal process to fire the accused killer of a Sydney couple from the force.
Alleged double murderer Beau Lamarre-Condon has been served with a show cause notice in prison, the first step to his formal removal.
He is currently stood down without pay, and remains in custody charged with murdering Luke Davies and Jesse Baird with a police-issued firearm in their Paddington home on February 19.
Police Commissioner Karen Webb says the officer has 21 days to respond to the notice, which she must consider in "a fair process".
—
Meanwhile, the police will be allowed to march in this year's Sydney Mardi Gras, after agreeing to not appear in uniform.
Commissioner Karen Webb says the deal has been struck to take into account "current sensitivities".
The announcement has met with mixed reactions, with Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich calling the agreement a significant step forward as the LGBTQI plus community and police work together towards community safety.
But the group Pride in Protest says the community has been betrayed.
—
And in football,
The Matildas have booked their spot at this year's Olympic games in Paris, defeating Uzbekistan 10-0.
A first half barrage from Australia including 4 goals from veteran goalscorer Michelle Heyman left Australia 8-nil up at half time.
Heyman, who came out of retirement following an injury to star striker Sam Kerr, scoring a hat-trick within 16 minutes.
Two goals in the second half rounding out an emphatic 10-nil victory.
