Queensland firefighters hopeful cooler weather can bring relief, a suspected methane explosion kills twenty eight people in Kazakhstan, and in sport, the Western Bulldogs win their first match of the AFLW season over West Coast.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Queensland firefighters hopeful cooler weather can bring relief
- A suspected methane explosion kills twenty eight people in Kazakhstan
- The Western Bulldogs win their first match of the AFLW season over West Coast
Gaza is largely cut off from the outside world as Israel rains more bombs from the air and suggests its long-promised ground offensive against Hamas militants controlling the Palestinian enclave is underway.
Israel says troops sent in on Friday (October 27) night were still in the field on Saturday, whereas previously it had made only brief sorties during three weeks of bombing to destroy Hamas whom it said killed 1400 Israelis, mostly civilians, on October 7.
Israel's military has renewed a call for civilians to move south from the north where it says Hamas is hiding under civilian buildings but Palestinians say nowhere is safe.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has delivered a video message on Saturday night.
"We passed a stage in the war. Overnight, the ground in Gaza shook. We attacked above the ground and underground. We attacked terror operatives of all ranks, everywhere. The instructions for the forces are clear: the operation will continue until a new order."
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services says better conditions (on Saturday 28 Oct) have allowed them to get the upper hand on three ferocious bushfires, in preparation for a return to difficult conditions predicted on Tuesday (31 Oct).
Active alerts remain in place for Moonnie and Haliford, while the "leave immediately" warning remains in place for parts of Tara, where 25 crews have worked to consolidate containment lines.
QEFS inspector Kent Barron says people in Queensland must monitor warnings, as the threat remains high.
"Through no fault of the crews out in the fire ground, we've been incredibly reactive to these fires. They're moving so fast. The fire behaviour is extreme. So today was just an opportunity, with some lighter winds, to get on the front foot. It wasn't great, the weather wasn't exactly how we love it, but it was better, so we could get on the front foot."
Queensland Police say there are no missing persons, but fires have destroyed at least 73 structures, including houses and sheds - a number expected to rise.
Off the back of a diplomatic trip to the US, the prime minister has his eyes set on Beijing with the hopes of stabilising the Australia-China relationship.
Anthony Albanese has returned to Australia after meeting with President Joe Biden, congressional leaders and senior government officials in Washington.
With one world superpower meeting out of the way, Mr Albanese has just over a week to prepare for the next as he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In a speech to the US State Department on Friday, Mr Albanese talked up the importance of maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait and investing in relationships as China emerges as the "test of our time".
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles noted Australia had a complex relationship with China and needed to act carefully.
The wife of former New South Wales Premier and Foreign Minister Bob Carr has died at age seventy seven.
The pair were in Vienna when Helena Carr suffered a brain aneurysm and died in her husband's arms.
The former premier says she was the "light of [his] life" and that he would not have been able to achieve his success without her ongoing support.
Helena Carr was an accomplished businesswoman in the security printing industry.
To sport...
The Western Bulldogs claimed their first win of the season in an eight point victory over West Coast.
Bulldogs Captain Ellie Blackburn played an impressive game with 32 disposals, seven score involvements and 665 metres gained - more than triple that of her teammates.
The win comes as a great relief to the team, who currently place last on the ladder.
Whilst holding back tears, Blackburn told Fox Footy "It's been such a disappointing season for us - there's no sugarcoating that by any means, so to finally get a win, it's so special to us".
