TRANSCRIPT:
- A group of Australian soldiers stripped of awards amid a war crimes investigation;
- The U-N reacts to the killing of refugee agency staff in Gaza;
- Australia beats the U-K in the first T-20 International at Southampton.
A group of soldiers who held command positions in the Afghanistan war have been stripped of their awards after a war crimes investigation.
The action does not apply to soldiers who have been directly accused of war crimes, rather it targets those in the chain of command.
Separate criminal investigations into those direct allegations are still under way.
Defence Minister Richard Marles has not confirmed how many people are affected by the decision, but he says it's fewer than 10 that have lost their medals and citations.
He says the decision has come as the government finalises its formal response to the Brereton Inquiry into war crimes.
"I want to start by thanking Major General Paul Brereton and his team for what has been a thorough, extensive, remarkable inquiry which has resulted in an utterly essential report for our nation."
.
Six members of staff from the UN refugee agency UNRWA have been killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza.
They were reportedly killed at Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, marking what the agency says is the highest death toll among its staff in a single incident.
There has been swift reaction from the UN itself, and Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
"We must condemn firmly what was the horrible terror attacks that Hamas has produced. But then afterwards, we have witnessed a series of military interventions by Israel in Gaza with the level of deaths and destruction that has no parallel in my times as Secretary General and with the very dramatic violations of international military and law and the total absence of an effective protection of civilians."
The Israeli military has said it takes steps to reduce the risk of harm to civilians and that at least a third of the Palestinian fatalities in Gaza are militants.
It accuses Hamas of using Palestinian civilians as human shields, which Hamas denies.
.
The former President of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, has died at the age of eighty-six ((86)).
His death was confirmed by his daughter on the social media platform X.
Mr Fujimori's decade-long presidency began with economic triumph and the defeat of a brutal insurgency, only to end in disgrace and later a prison sentence for corruption and responsibility for the murder of 25 people.
Mr Fujimori was pardoned in December and had been planning to run for the presidency again in 2026.
.
Activists have vowed to continue to protest outside a major weapons expo in Melbourne.
Pro-Palestine and anti-war protesters say they have a third straight day of demonstrations planned outside the entrance of the Melbourne Convention Centre which is hosting the Land Forces weapons convention.
Police have been out in force outside the Centre since early this morning, maintaining no-go lines nearby after chaotic scenes on Wednesday.
.
Legislation to boost the wages of childcare workers by 15 per cent over the next two years will be introduced to parliament today.
The wage boost is dependent on centres not increasing their fees by more than 4.4 per cent over the next 12 months.
But if it goes through, it means the pay of childcare and out-of-school-hours workers will go up an extra $155-a-week.
Education Minister Jason Clare says the increase will reflect the true value of workers in the sector.
"Our early educators do some of the most important work in this country, but you wouldn't know from what they're paid. And that changes with this legislation that we'll introduce today."
.
Ten culturally significant Indigenous artefacts have been returned to Australia from a museum in England.
The Horniman Museum and Gardens has handed back the items to representatives of the Warumungu community, from Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory.
They include a water carrier, knives, boomerangs and a spear thrower.
Gordon Seabright from the Museum says he's been honoured to facilitate the return, and learn more about the significance of the objects.
"Our friends from the Warumungu community were kind enough to take time with the Horniman team of staff and volunteers and explain more about the objects and how they were used. And it was an absolute eye-opener for us. It's funny, we've been looking after these things for a long time. It was so good learning more about what they were for but also how much they mean to the community they were taken from."
.
In cricket news,
Australia has beaten England by 28 runs to win the first T-20 International at Southampton.
Australia scored 179 against their 151.
The final score was helped along by Travis Head, who blasted a record-breaking half century in his turn at bat.
The series now moves to Cardiff in Wales.
