TRANSCRIPT
- Indonesia assures Australia it won't host Russian air bases.
- Hamas says they've lost contact with last living US hostage after Israeli strikes.
- And in AFL, Willie Rioli on leave after what AFL association describes as racist backlash against the First Nations player.
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Reports that Russia approached Indonesia requesting permission to base long-range aircraft in the Papua province appear to have been without basis.
Defence Minister Richard Marles says his Indonesian counterpart has assured him in the clearest possible terms the reports are untrue.
Kremlin spokesman Dimitry Peskov was less absolute.
This is how he responded when asked yesterday.
"There is a lot of various fake news and publications in the media, including those on sensitive matters. In this case we do not comment on such publications."
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Hamas says they have lost contact with a group of militants holding Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander hostage after an Israeli bombardment allegedly struck the area in Gaza.
On the weekend, Hamas had released a video purportedly showing the 21-year-old New Jersey native, who has been held in Gaza since he was captured by militants on October 7, 2023.
He is believed to be the last living American hostage held by Hamas.
The news comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Israeli soldiers in the north of Gaza.
"I am here with the minister of defence, with the IDF commanders, and our regular fighters and the wonderful reservists. They are doing a great job here in the Gaza Strip. They are hitting the enemy - and Hamas will take more and more hits. We insist that they release our hostages, and we insist on achieving all our war goals. And we are doing this thanks to our heroic fighters. They are simply doing a wonderful job."
Mr Netanyahu currently faces pressure from families of the hostages to cut a deal with Hamas to free them while his coalition partners want to continue the war with the aim of annihilating the militant group.
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Several prisons in France have been hit with attacks in response to a government crackdown on drug trafficking.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin says the assaults ranged from vehicle burnings to automatic weapon fire.
Anti-terrorism prosecutors and national security agencies have opened investigations into the attacks.
Prison workers union representative David Mantion says it's lucky nobody was hurt.
“Let me say, fortunately we didn’t have any prison staff in a car or on foot behind the door, because considering how they (the bullets) pierced through, it could have been more serious than what it was. Fortunately, no one was injured or died.”
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The Greens say major party policies on housing have been discredited by experts in recent days as they try to position themselves as the party of renters and first homeowners.
Labor says it will lower the deposit required from first time buyers to five per cent, also pledging $10 billion towards building 100,000 new homes for that cohort.
The Coalition is offering to allow first homeowners to dip into their super, as well as tax deductions for money spent on mortgage repayments.
Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather says the economic consensus is both policies will push house prices up.
"The battlelines have been drawn on housing. We have two major parties – the Labor and Liberal parties – that want house prices to go up. They want to turbocharge house prices and lock millions of Australians out of ever being able to buy a home. Economists across the political spectrum have panned these policies, called it a 'dumpster fire'. Well, it's a bit more than a dumpster fire - it's a raging house fire and the Labor and Liberal parties are throwing the dreams of millions of renters onto that fire as they turbocharge house prices."
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Labor has announced it will provide $1.6 million to support Turbans for Australia, which has become famous for its work providing emergency relief across Australia.
In recent years the group of Sikh volunteers has provided support - including food, clothing, water and toys - to people facing floods, fires, and the pandemic.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says the funds will go towards building a community kitchen and multicultural support centre in Adelaide's northern suburbs.
She says it's a reminder multiculturalism strengthens communities.
"We're a country which welcomes people from some 300 ancestries, and together, we build the Australian community, with all of that diversity and vibrance, with all of the values that we care about, inclusion, diversity and strength in that diversity, and we work together in hard times, as well as in good times."
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In AFL,
Port Adelaide forward Willie Rioli has been granted leave after facing a backlash for social media comments.
Rioli posted a video to Instagram that showed him scoring a goal against rival club Hawthorne, with a caption saying he hated the club because it had mistreated his family.
His cousin Cyril Rioli, a four-time premiership Hawk, last year settled a federal court case with the club over racism claims.
The comments prompted a backlash against the First Nations forward which AFL Players Association chief Paul Marsh called "racist and homophobic".
It's unclear how long Rioli will be on leave.
