Midday News Bulletin 7 September 2024

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In this bulletin, a US-Turkish woman killed in West Bank, after Israeli forces opened fire; An earthquake strikes New South Wales's Hunter region; and in Tennis, Jannik Sinner becomes the first Italian man in history to reach the US Open singles final.


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TRANSCRIPT
  • A US-Turkish woman killed in West Bank, after Israeli forces opened fire
  • An earthquake strikes New South Wales's Hunter region
  • Jannik Sinner becomes the first Italian man in history to reach the US Open singles final
Palestinian and Turkish officials say Israeli troops fatally shot a Turkish-American woman who had been taking part in a protest in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

26-year-old Aysenur Ezgi Eygi died in the West Bank town of Beita, during a protest against Israeli settlement expansion.

Israel's military said its troops had fired toward a male "main instigator" who posed a threat by hurling rocks at soldiers - and says it is investigating reports a foreign national was killed from the shots they fired.

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, says the US deeply disturbed by the death of Ms Eygi - and will be seeking answers.

"I just want to extend my deepest condolences, the condolences of the United States government to the family of Aysenu Ezgi Eygi. The most important thing to do is to gather the facts. And that's exactly what we're in the process of doing. And any actions that we take are driven by the facts. So first things first. Let's find out exactly what happened. And we will draw the necessary conclusions and consequences from that."

Earlier, Israeli troops withdrew from the West Bank city of Jenin, after a 10-day operation it says war targeting suspected militants.

The Israel Defence Forces says it killed 14 Hamas militants including the head of Hamas operations in Jenin, Wesam Khazem, during the operation.

The Palestinian Health Ministry says at least 36 Palestinians were killed during the offensive, including 21 people in Jenin.

**

An earthquake has left more than 2,500 homes without power in New South Wales's Hunter region, following similar shocks in recent weeks.

The 4.5-magnitude earthquake struck at a depth of about 5km near Muswellbrook just before 6am on Saturday, according to the Seismology Research Centre.

Nearly 2,750 homes were without still without power at 8am, but Ausgrid said it had restored power to around 1,000 customers.

The event comes weeks after a 5.0-earthquake shook the town of the upper Hunter region's Denman on August 23, the biggest in the area for 50 years, which was followed by a 4.5-quake at Muswellbrook the following day.

Senior seismologist at Geoscience Australia, Trevor Allen, says in the last 48 hours, there have been six or seven small events recorded in the region - adding the "occurrence of these earthquakes decay with time".

**

Pope Francis' historic 12-day tour of the Asia Pacific continues, with a three-day visit to Papua New Guinea.

Tens of thousands of Catholics have travelled across the country from isolated provinces to Port Moresby to attend Sunday Mass held at a 35,000-seat stadium venue, with the surrounding area expected to be packed.

The 87-year-old pontiff, originally from Buenos Aires, is on a 12-day tour of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Singapore - which is in part aimed at inspiring global action on climate change.

Francis is the second pope to visit Papua New Guinea, after St John Paul II in 1984.

The Archbishop of Port Moresby, Cardinal John Ribat, says he is grateful that the Pope - despite his his health challenges - has made the trip to PNG.

"To see the crowd that is gathering here is a really a moment of joy - a moment of seeing unity. And a moment of seeing we have to be united, working together for our nation."

**

In Tennis, Jannik Sinner has become the first Italian man in history to reach the US Open singles final.

He defeated Jack Draper 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-2.

Sinner says it was a tough match, particularly after getting a wrist injury from falling mid-match.

"I am quite relaxed because if it is something bad (the wrist injury) - you feel it straightaway a bit more so. Yeah, let's see how it is. Trying to find my game. Trying to find a rhythm. Trying to find confidence throughout days, we practice very hard in the days in between trying to prepare. I am happy to be in the final here. It is a special tournament."

Draper says he felt fine beforehand, but the pressure did build during the match.

"It's a big occasion for me. I definitely a bit more excited today. I had a few more nerves around. I am definitely someone who is quite an anxious human being. So I think when you add all that together, sometimes I do feel a bit nauseous on court. And I do feel a bit sick when it gets tough. So, yeah. I didn't have any problems before the match, but it obviously just built up."

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