Morning News Bulletin 7 May 2024

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Source: SBS News

In this bulletin, Israel says attacks on Rafah are underway as it again refuses a Gaza ceasefire deal with Hamas; advocates say government's one-off $1,500 payment for abuse victims is insufficient; and in boxing, Australian Jason Moloney loses his bantamweight world boxing title.


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TRANSCRIPT

  • Israel says attacks on Rafah are underway as it again refuses a Gaza ceasefire deal with Hamas
  • Advocates say government's one-off $1500 payment for abuse victims is insufficient
  • Australian Jason Moloney loses his bantamweight world boxing title.
**

Protests erupt as an Israeli official says they cannot agree to a Gaza ceasefire deal with Hamas, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says an invasion of the southern region of Rafah will go ahead.

The Israeli military says it is currently striking Hamas targets in eastern Rafah, following news that Hamas had accepted a ceasefire proposal from Egyptian and Qatari mediators.

An Israeli official says the proposal that Hamas had accepted was a "softened" version of an Egyptian proposal, which included terms that Israel could not accept.

News of Hamas accepting the ceasefire deal initially sent Palestinians in Rafah cheering into the streets.

And now in Israel, protests rage in Tel Aviv with Yehuda Cohen, the father of Israeli hostage Nimrod Cohen, saying his government is attempting to jeopardise ceasefire efforts.

"And again we see that the Israeli government is doing everything to fail a deal. We expect from the Israeli government to take this deal to save all the remaining hostages who are still alive. Save lives. Don't talk about fighting and blood. Stop the killing, save lives. Lives of hostages and lives of Israeli soldiers."

**

Chinese president Xi Jinping has been welcomed to the Elysee Palace by his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron for a trilateral meeting also attended by the European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen.

The three sides are set to discuss trade relations between the EU and China, while the issue of Russia is also on the agenda.

In his opening remarks, the French president has said global developments necessitated the meeting between the three.

“The international situation, very clearly, requires more than ever this Euro-Chinese dialogue and, as I said recently while talking about Europe, we are at a turning point of our history which forces us to face and overcome structural difficulties.”

Following his departure from Paris, Xi Jinping is also set to visit Belgrade and Budapest as past of his European tour.

**

Advocates calling for an end to domestic violence against women say the federal government's recently announced one-off $1,500 payment for abuse victims is insufficient.

Over 200 women's rights advocates have signed a letter calling for an increase to Centrelink payments to help combat issues of financial insecurity in violent relationships.

It comes amid a growing crisis of violence against women in Australia, with state and federal leaders facing mounting pressure to take action.

Australian Council of Social Service Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody has told SBS insufficient funding can keep women trapped in abusive relationships.

"I think what it does is it traps both, particularly younger women and older women, in violent relationships if they don't have something which provides a dignified and survivable rate of payment, which is what we've been calling for in that letter that has been initiated by ACOSS."

**

The Western Australian Muslim Community is calling for more action to eliminate stigma around mental health and the allocation of resources for treatment and detection.

It comes after the death of a 16-year-old high school student who was shot by police after stabbing a man in the back at a warehouse car park in Willeton late on Saturday.

The parents of the teenager had earlier raised their concerns to police over his radicalisation from social media.

Criminology lecturer at Deakin University, Imogen Richards, says the radicalisation may not necessarily be due to religious reasons.

"For young people who actually are in a mental health crisis or have other circumstances going on, that gravitas, that weight, as well, can also be attractive as a way to actually ascribe meaning and understanding for themselves to what they might be going through, which isn't actually deriving from an understanding of a specific religious doctrine."

**

In boxing, Jason Moloney's desperate attempts for a final-second knockout have fallen short, with the Australian losing his WBO bantamweight world boxing title to Japanese newcomer Yoshiki Takei in Tokyo.

Australia is now without a current male world boxing champion after the 33-year-old's unanimous points loss - his first in four years - to a man in just his ninth professional boxing fight.

A former world kickboxing champion, Takei dominated the first five rounds.

He landed no less than 10 punches in each round while Moloney made contact on no more than six.

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