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TRANSCRIPT
- A new report finds Australia is unprepared for the security threat arising from climate change...
- Hundreds of Australians fleeing Lebanon return home on government's first repatriation flight...
- The AFL trade period begins.
Ceremonies and protests have been held in Israel and around the world marking the one year anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
The attack killed around 1200 Israelis and saw around 250 people taken hostage, with 101 believed to remain in captivity.
In Israel, hundreds gathered outside the home of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, led by the families of hostages holding up photos of their loved ones and observing a minute of silence.
Eli Albag is the father of a hostage held in Gaza, he says the Prime Minister must do more to secure their release.
"A year that is a nightmare. You wake up in the morning, if you sleep at all, live, and go to sleep dead. Every day, a whole year. Every day, a whole year. And I say to the Prime Minister - they will not remember the operations, they will not remember all the tricks, what they will remember forever and ever are the hostages."
A static vigil – to mourn Palestinian and Lebanese civilians killed by Israeli bombardment – has taken place in Sydney, after New South Wales Police applied to the state's Supreme Court to prevent a similar event from going ahead.
Unlike a moving protest, a standing – or static – vigil doesn't require a permit for police presence, allowing organisers to bypass the required paperwork [[known as Form 1]].
Some Jewish leaders have criticised pro-Palestinian rallies and vigils on and just ahead of October 7, calling the timing inappropriate.
But Palestine Action Group spokesperson Josh Lees told SBS News Palestinian and Lebanese communities have an equal right to mourn their dead, and a vigil is necessary to acknowledge the devastating loss of civilian life – that's still ongoing.
"For us we're trying to maintain some focus on the fact that there's been 42,000 – at least – Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip over the past year and already 2-thousand Lebanese people killed just in the space of two weeks. This is not just an event that happened a year ago, this an ongoing genocide in Gaza. There are new massacres taking place every day in the Strip, more schools being bombed, all the rest of it. We're determined to keep the focus as well on this ongoing crime carried out by the state of Israel."
Hundreds of Australians fleeing Lebanon have arrived home, after evacuating Israel's intensifying assault on the country.
A government-assisted flight arrived in Sydney Airport carrying 349 people, with thousands expected to follow.
Around 3,800 Australians and immediate family members are registered to depart Lebanon with the assistance of the Department of Foreign Affairs
Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed around 1400 people in the last two weeks and have displaced another 1.2 million.
Meanwhile, more than 60,000 Israelis have been displaced in the north of Israel due to Hezbollah's attacks.
At Sydney Airport, family members of those fleeing Lebanon say they feel relieved and guilty that not everyone is able to escape.
"I was stressed for a while, and now she's here, I feel better, but nevertheless, like I’m still stressed, because I’ve got extended family over there and friends, so it feels a bit selfish at the same time. And you know, when you have loved ones over there and I’m safe. Doesn't feel right. So I hope they get to solve this. And so everyone can be safe."
Two scientists have won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for their discovery of microRNA, tiny bits of genetic material that offer a way for scientists to control what’s happening in our cells.
Their discovery could lead to new ways of detecting and treating diseases including cancer.
A panel that awarded the prize in Stockholm says that the work by Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun has revealed a new dimension to gene regulation, essential for all complex life forms.
Mr Ruvkun says it is gratifying to receive recognition, after explaining that at the age of 21 he still didn't know what to do with his life until he read a Scientific American magazine and decided to go to Harvard for graduate school.
"From like 21 to 24, I was a disappointment to anybody who was thinking about where my career might go...And so, I came to Harvard for graduate school, and that was in '76. That was sort of the moment when recombinant DNA was really just starting to take off. And it was obvious that that was a revolution."
In sports, the AFL trade period has started, with clubs free to make player trades until next Wednesday night [[16 Oct]].
Premiership Eagle Jack Darling has officially left his club of 14 years, and will join North Melbourne in exchange for pick 67.
Meanwhile, Melbourne premiership player Alex Neal-Bullen has officially announced he will join Adelaide for 2025 and beyond, with the Crows parting with pick 28 to seal the deal.
Jack Graham has also picked a new team for next season, being The Eagles his club of choice.
The former Tigers premiership star will head to the West Coast as an unrestricted free agent on a four-year deal.
Joe Richards, who has played just nine games for Collingwood, has made his request to join Port Adelaide.
And that's the latest from the SBS Newsroom.
