Morning News Bulletin 10 February 2025

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Source: SBS News

In this bulletin, Israel withdraws from a key corridor in Gaza, independent MP Andrew Wilkie pushes for stronger whistleblower protections. And in cricket, Australia caps a brilliant summer with a nine-wicket win over Sri Lanka.


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TRANSCRIPT

Victoria and New South Wales are expecting severe thunderstorms and heavy rain in the coming week, while northern Queensland is still battling heavy rainfall.

The Bureau of Meteorology also forecast severe thunderstorms from Dubbo all the way to the New South Wales-Victoria border, with wild weather hitting part of the two states from Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, northern Queenslanders are warned of flash flooding on Monday and Tuesday but could expect a significant ease in rainfall from Wednesday.
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Independent MP Andrew Wilkie is introducing a private members bill that aimes to establish a whistleblower protection authority, as the federal parliament returns to sitting week on Monday.

Mr Wilkie has told SBS the current situation of protecting whistleblowers in Australia is entirely unsatisfactory.

He says the Attorney-General's office has reached out to him for a copy of the bill.

"They are obviously wanting to have a have a good look at it before it's tabled. That's a positive development. In any case, I could certainly say that in these last dying days of this Parliament and in the next parliament, if I'm re-elected, this will be something I'll pursue strongly."

Mr Wilkie is also known as a whistleblower on Australia's involvement with the war in Iraq in 2003.
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Hamas says the Israeli military has completed its withdrawal from an area of Gaza known as the Netzarim corridor, which bisects northern Gaza from the south.

It's the latest signal the fragile ceasefire is holding.

Negotiations for the second phase are underway in Qatar [[cutter]], after a fifth hostage swap took place over recent days.

The Israeli military has began reducing its presence in the Netzarim corridor in recent weeks, allowing thousands of Gazans to return north.

Um Mohammed is one of them.

“We are steadfast and we’ve been patient under the rockets and strikes. They have deprived us of food and water but they haven’t deprived us of air, they haven’t managed to deprive us of air, we remained alive.”

Israel did not immediately comment on its withdrawal.
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Lebanon has formed a new government, after over two years of caretaker cabinet amid political turmoil.

Nawaf Salam has been appointed as the new Prime Minister by the Lebanese President, Joseph Aoun.

Mr Salam, who used to be the president of the International Court of Justice, promises he will reform Lebanon's judiciary and act on economic reforms.

“Now that we have announced the government, which I hope will be a government of reform and salvation, I would like to emphasize the following points, which I place at the top of my priorities: First, reform is the only path to real salvation, and this requires the government to ensure security and stability in Lebanon by completing the implementation of Resolution 1701 and the ceasefire agreement and following up on Israel’s withdrawal to the last inch of Lebanese territory. This is in conjunction with reconstruction, which I previously said is not a promise but a commitment.”

Mr Salam also calls for the withdrawal of Hezbollah from the Lebanese border with Israel, which marks a shift away from the country's leaders being close to the militant group.
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Leaders of far-right parties in the European Parliament have praised Donald Trump's return to the White House at a gathering in Spain.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Italian deputy premier Matteo Salvini, France's Marine Le Pen, and Netherlands's Geert Wilders, attended the event.

The leaders all belong to Patriot for Europe, the the European Parliament's third-largest voting bloc.

In a speech, Mr Orban told around 2,000 supporters that "the Trump tornado has changed the world in just a few weeks", claiming they had become mainstream.

But across Germany, thousands of people rallied to oppose the country's far-right party ahead of the country's general election in two weeks.

Veronika Frank is one of 320,000 protesters in Munich.

"(We are demonstrating) against the right. Never again is now. I find it horrible that right-wing ideas are acceptable again, that this is being said openly again."
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In sports, Australia's men's cricket team has capped off a brilliant summer with a nine-wicket win over Sri Lanka, landing their first clean sweep of a subcontinent Test series in almost two decades.

Chasing just 75 runs in Galle on Sunday, Australia secured victory in the second Test and two-match series when Marnus Labuschagne hit the winning run to square leg just before lunch on day four.

The 2-0 whitewash marked Australia's first Test series win in Sri Lanka since 2011, and their first time winning every match on a subcontinent visit since touring Bangladesh in 2006.

Stand-in captain Steve Smith had a brilliant series, with two centuries from as many innings.

He says he is very satisfied with the team's performance.

"As batters in particular, the way we have been able to put pressure on the bowlers all different ways...You've got to try and survive. It can be challenging. But sometimes the best way to do that is by putting the pressure on; and rotating the strike well; and having different options. I thought the guys did as well as I have seen an Australian team do it on the subcontinent since I've been playing."

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