TRANSCRIPT
- Two nurses have their professional registration suspended in the wake of a controversial video
- Hamas agrees to resume a prisoner swap as part of the Gaza ceasefire agreement
- More betting charges laid against an A-League footballer
Two nurses accused of making antisemitic comments in a widely shared video on social media have been stripped of their nursing accreditation.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler says the nursing registrations of the pair have been suspended by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of New South Wales, pending further action that could see them permanently struck off.
He says the state suspension has now been reflected in the records of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.
The Minister has told Radio 4BC that means they cannot be employed in a caring capacity anywhere.
"Our system operates on the basis in New South Wales and Queensland that the relevant state authority has to suspend their registration. And as soon as that happens - and I want to see it happen as soon as possible - but as soon as that happens that applies right through the rest of the country. If the New South Wales authority suspends their registration as nurses in New South Wales, they are then unable, for example, to cross the border and try and get a shift at a hospital in Queensland or Victoria. I want to see that happen as soon as possible."
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Hamas has confirmed it will continue implementing the ceasefire agreement it has with Israel.
The militant group had earlier announced a delay in the exchange of prisoners after accusing Israel of breaching its obligations under the deal, but it now says the handover of the hostages scheduled to be released on Saturday will proceed.
It remains unclear how Israel will respond to the increased efforts of Qatari and Egyptian mediators to preserve what was feared to be an increasingly fragile truce.
But former Israeli hostage family member Shai Moses says Benjamin Netanyahu's government is under increasing domestic pressure to preserve the ceasefire agreement.
"We came here to remind Israeli people that it needs to wake up and be with us in the streets, on the streets, because our prime minister, our government, is playing with Israeli lives, with people's lives who are in captivity, and we need to save them. We urge our government to stop fooling around. Stop sabotaging the deal, and continue with the hostage deal."
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A man has driven his car into a crowd in the German city of Munich, hurting at least 28 people.
Police say the man's vehicle had approached police cars that were accompanying a demonstration of striking trade union workers, before speeding up and hitting the crowd.
The driver has been identified as a 24 year old Afghan asylum seeker, but police say his motive remains unclear.
The attack has come hours before international leaders including US Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were due to arrive in the southern German city for the Munich Security Conference.
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The Defence Department has confirmed a Chinese fighter jet dropped flares within 30 metres of an Australian military plane during a patrol flight over the South China Sea on Tuesday.
No Defence Force personnel were injured and the plane was not damaged, but the federal government says it has spoken to China's government over what it has called "unsafe and unprofessional" behaviour.
Defence Minister Richard Marles says if the flares had hit the Australian aircraft they may have caused significant damage.
He has told Sky News that in addition to raising formal concerns about this incident, Australia is also monitoring three Chinese navy warships that are northeast of Australia in the Coral Sea.
"I've ordered a deployment of both navy and air force assets to make sure that we are shadowing this to have a clear understanding of what's going on. So HMS Arunta right now, which is an ANZAC class frigate, is shadowing the Chinese navy frigate, and we'll continue to monitor their activities, which is very much within our rights, in a manner, of course, which is safe and professional, to understand what this task group is doing."
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A cyclone off the coast of Western Australia has intensified to category five and is now regarded as a potential threat to lives and homes.
The Bureau of Meteorology says Zelia has now reached the highest intensity on the Australian Tropical Cyclone scale as it approaches Port Hedland in the state's north.
A bureau spokesperson says the storm is expected to maintain that strength once it makes landfall some time this afternoon.
"The strongest and most destructive winds will occur when the core of that system moves across the coast. At that time, we could see wind gusts up to 320 kilometres an hour. Winds that strong will destroy anything in their path. Trees, cars, and permanent structures will all be wiped away."
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A compensation scheme for child sexual abuse victims has allegedly been targeted by a fraud syndicate promoting false claims for profit.
Police allege the syndicate has made claims with an overall value of $1.3 billion, many of which could be false.
Detective Superintendent Gordon Arbinja says the syndicate targeted a variety of compensation schemes - including the National Redress Scheme - and stood to personally gain about $3.75 million if the allegedly false claims were paid out.
He says the so-called 'claims farmers' allegedly approached adults who spent time in youth prisons and were former public school students, encouraging them to file false claims for compensation over historical child sexual abuse.
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To sport, a former A-League captain is facing further bet-fixing allegations after being allegedly linked to four more matches.
New South Wales Police say additional charges have been laid against the A-League player following an investigation by the Organised Crime Squad into alleged betting corruption under Strike Force Beaconview.
They allege the man is part of a scheme that involved taking yellow cards during certain games in exchange for profit.
