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TRANSCRIPT
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese set to begin his diplomatic trip to China
- A fire truck has been stolen as almost 50 blazes burn throughout Queensland
- Melbourne City beats Sydney F-C for their first win of the A-League Men's season
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese begins his diplomatic trip to China today [[4th Nov]] in an effort to strengthen diplomatic relations.
Mr Albanese's four-day tour of the country is the first time an Australian prime minister has visited the Asian superpower since 2016, with his efforts aimed primarily at healing a fractured relationship.
China says it is willing to work with Australia to take Prime Minister Antony Albanese's visit as an opportunity to expand cooperation and boost ties.
Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin says a strong and healthy connection between the two nations is key for regional peace and security.
"China's leaders will meet with Prime Minister Albanese for an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common concern. China and Australia are comprehensive strategic partners with extensive common interests and broad prospects for cooperation. A healthy and stable China Australia relationship is in the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples and it's also conducive to regional and world peace and stability."
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A fire truck has been stolen in north Queensland as almost 50 blazes continue to burn throughout the state.
Police say a group of people broke into a building in the rural town of Sarina and took the truck, which has distinctive Rural Fire Service branding on it.
Queensland's acting Deputy Commissioner Ben Marcus says firefighters are "shattered" by the incident - and that it "beggars belief" that anyone would steal something like that.
Sarina is located in the foothills of the Connors Range south of Mackay.
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with Israeli leaders as troops continue to surround the Palestinian enclave's largest city.
He's urged Israel to temporarily stop its military offensive on Gaza to allow for aid to enter - but faced pushback from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who rejected any such halt unless hostages held by Hamas militants are freed.
It is the second time in a month that Blinken has come to the Middle East as the US seeks to balance Washington support for Israel over a deadly October 7 Hamas attack with concern over civilian casualties that have soared under an Israeli bombardment.
Gaza's Health Ministry says at least 9,227 Palestinians have been killed in the violence so far, including 3,826 children.
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Qantas shareholders have vented their fury at board members during the embattled airline's Annual General Meeting.
Just over 80 percent of the group have voted against endorsing the company's remuneration report, and shouted at Chairman Richard Goyder, who at one point turned off the microphone of a shareholder who questioned the company's ethics.
That shareholder, Chris Maxworthy, had asked the board about former C-E-O Alan Joyce's decision to sell off shares ahead of negative backlash about cancelled flights.
Mr Maxworthy says the way questions were handled at the A-G-M has further damaged the public image Qantas is working to repair.
"I think it'll take a couple of years. And even then we'll be very wary of Qantas, because they've been so driven by the dollar that they've trashed their staff, they've trashed their customers, and they've even trashed their shareholders today."
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In football,
Melbourne City have beaten Sydney F-C 2-0 [[nil]] to start the Aurelio Vidmar era with their first win of the season while condemning the under-pressure Sky Blues to a third-straight defeat.
City have now claimed a confidence-boosting win under new coach Vidmar just two days after the sacking of Rado Vidosic [[vih-doh-sikk]] which followed two losses to start the A-League Men's season.
Steven Ugarkovic lashed home a wonderful long-range strike just before half-time to give City the lead, while Jamie Maclaren secured the win just a minute after the restart.
The defeat piles pressure on Sydney and coach Steve Corica as the team sit firmly bottom of the table with no goals from three games.
