TRANSCRIPT
- Israel denies deliberately attacking an aid convoy in northern Gaza
- Victorian Labor Senator Linda White dies
- The Socceroos to meet Lebanon in Canberra for a crucial World Cup qualifier.
Israel's military has denied conducting a strike in northern Gaza which saw more than 100 Palestinians killed during an aid delivery.
Authorities and witnesses in Gaza say Israeli forces shot dead more than 100 Palestinians as they waited at the Nabulsi roundabout for the aid convoy of 38 trucks, which was making its way into the territory via the Kerem Shalom humanitarian crossing.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said it was an "ugly massacre conducted by the Israeli occupation army on people who waited for aid trucks".
But Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari says tanks escorting the trucks fired warning shots to disperse the crowd.
He says dozens were in fact trampled to death or injured in the fight to take supplies.
"As these vital humanitarian supplies were making their way towards Gazans in need, thousands of Gazans dispensed upon the trucks. Some began violently pushing and even trampling other Gazans to death, looting the humanitarian supplies. The unfortunate incident resulted in dozens of Gazans killed and injured."
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Australia's spy agency has defended its decision not to reveal the name of a former politician who was compromised by a foreign spy ring.
ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess says it is a longstanding practice of the intelligence agency not to publicly discuss operational details.
Mr Burgess says that in this particular case, Australia wants the foreign intelligence service to know its cover has been blown, but not to be in a position to unpick how their activities were discovered.
The spy boss' comments have prompted Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to pull back on his previous calls for the politician to be named and shamed publicly.
"It's difficult when these allegations are made because I think it casts a cloud over former MPs, and that's why I think if you can you should name the person. But Mr Burgess has outlined why you can't, and we accept that advice."
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Victorian Labor Senator Linda White has died.
The exact cause of her death has not been made public, but the senator had announced in February she was taking leave to address health issues.
Senator White was elected to the upper house at the 2022 federal election.
Before entering federal politics, she worked for 10 years as a solicitor, while also serving as the assistant national secretary of the Australian Services Union from 1995 to 2020.
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A group of interstate firefighters has started to return home, after helping Victorian crews with a major blaze near Ballarat.
Around 100 firies from New South Wales will head back today, while others will follow on Saturday.
Victorian firefighters continue to keep a close eye on the Bayindeen blaze in Victoria's west, which has now been contained, to ensure any flare-ups are addressed.
Premier Jacinta Allan says it has been a massive effort by everyone concerned.
"There has been hundreds and hundreds of firefighters out on the ground and in the air... And when you consider that that fire has burnt 22,000 hectares, it's got a 165 kilometre fire front, that speaks to the great work of people as I said on the ground and in the air for managing that fire."
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In the United States, Alabama politicians have approved a bill to protect providers of invitro fertilisation services from prosecution, after a court ruling that said frozen embryos should be considered children.
The state's legislation has come just a day after a similar effort at a federal level was stymied in Congress.
The February 16 Alabama Supreme Court ruling left unclear how to legally store, transport and use embryos, prompting some IVF patients to attempt to move their frozen embryos out of the state.
Resolve National Infertility President Barbara Collura has said the actions of the Alabama chamber will be widely felt.
"What happens here today in these offices will be looked at by the rest of the country. This potentially could be a road map for other states to restrict access to IVF or a road map on how to protect access to IVF and family building."
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To sport,
The Socceroos will play as an away team in Canberra in their World Cup qualifier against Lebanon, after the match was relocated because of tensions in the Middle East.
GIO Stadium will host the game on Tuesday, March 26, marking the Socceroos' return to the national capital for the first time since 2019 when they romped to a 5-0 win over Nepal.
