TRANSCRIPT
- ASIO Director Mike Burgess says his comments on Palestinian Visa vetting have been misconstrued
- Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel must control the Philadelphi corridor...
- Rafael Nadal defends Jannik Sinner over doping allegations...
Australia's intelligence chief says his comments about the vetting process for people fleeing Gaza have been skewed.
Last month ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said that support for Hamas would not automatically disqualify people from getting a visa, and if people expressed 'just rhetorical support" for the listed terror group they wouldn't automatically be barred from entering Australia.
The opposition has since called for a ban on any Palestinians entering Australia.
The comments were made in an interview to be aired on the ABC tonight.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is insisting the government has maintained a good relationship with the Reserve Bank despite claims of a rift between them.
Ahead of the Australian Bureau of Statistics' national accounts release on Wednesday, Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the RBA is 'smashing the economy' through cash rate rises.
Critics are saying Mr Chalmers is shifting the blame for the expected sluggish growth onto the R-B-A.
Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie told the Today show that interest rates remain high because the government won't get it's own budget under control.
"Labor's spending profile over the last three budgets is to blame for inflation being higher for longer than it needs to be. The fact is, interest rates are going down Amanda. These are the facts, in the U-K, Canada and New Zealand. They're coming down in the USA, and the reason that ours are staying higher inflation and interest rates are staying higher is because Labor won't get won't get its own budget under control."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is rejecting calls from both sides to soften his stance on keeping Israeli troops along the southern border of the Gaza Strip.
Contention over Israel's control of the Philadelphi corridor are a sticking point in ceasefire negotiations, with Israel insisting it's security depends on presence along the corridor and Hamas rejecting Israeli presence.
Around half a million Israeli protesters took to the streets on Monday demanding the government act urgently to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal, with many accusing the Prime Minister of stalling negotiations for political gain.
One protester, Maya Or, says the government does not care about the people.
"I think if somebody needs to do it, it's us, the people, we don't have any choice. We have to do what the government is not able to do. They don't want to, they prefer their seats in the Knesset. They prefer the religious partners in the government and they don't care about people that really live here and care about this country."
Australian scientists have made a world first stem cell breakthrough that may put an end to the difficult task of finding bone marrow donors needed to treat life-threatening conditions.
Scientists at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute have successfully developed lab-grown blood stem cells similar to those in humans.
While clinical trials are still around five years away the discovery is sparking hopes of improved treatment for conditions like leukaemia, blood disorders and children with tumours.
The next steps in the research will involve making sure the technology is both safe and effective before it is used in a clinical setting.
Researcher Elizabeth Ng spoke to SBS about the discovery.
"So essentially, what we have done is we have figured out a way to generate blood stem cells from human pluripotent stem cells. So essentially blood stem cells in a dish. The reason this is important is it means that we can make blood stem cells from patient iPS cells, therefore we can make blood cells that are perfectly matched to a patient."
The Albanese Government has announced it is investing $2.4 billion in N-B-N over four years to give more than 500,000 homes and businesses in Western Australia better regional connectivity.
Communication Minister Michelle Rowland is in Western Australia today and says that by then end of 2025, more than 10 million premises on the fixed line network will have access to faster connection.
"We know how important mobile services are, and they're relied on by people in terms of not only their day to day living and transactions, but particularly in times of emergency services and access to triple zero during collisions and when people need to be in touch with their businesses. as well. "
To Tennis now...
Rafael Nadal has defended Jannik Sinner after the world number one avoided punishment after testing positive for a banned substance.
Nadal says the Italian would never have considered doping and says he was not judged differently because he is the world number one.
Jannik Sinner tested positive for the steroid clostebol in March, which can be used to build muscle mass, however he was cleared after it was revealed his physio applied a spray to a cut on his own hand prior to treating Sinner.
Players at the US open made allegations on double standards when other players were provisionally suspended for similar positive tests.
