TRANSCRIPT:
- More travel warnings for Australians in Lebanon;
- Qantas travellers on alert for strike action as football final season begins;
- An Australian football coach concerned over a rising number of fixtures on the international scene.
Australian families are struggling to get out of Lebanon amid the threat of all-out war.
Citizens have been warned the path to leave is narrowing as flights are being cancelled and the airport is at risk of closure.
But for some families it's not so easy to evacuate.
Bitoul Hijazi and her one-year-old son Adam are Australian citizens, but Bitoul's husband and Adam's father Abbas is Lebanese.
Ms Hijazi says they've applied for partner and visitor visas for Abbas so the family can flee - but are still yet to hear word from the government.
"We're actually basically terrified. We're taking it day by day, doing what we can to survive. But it's absolutely scary. We don't know what the future will hold. We don't know what tomorrow will bring. So yeah, and I think what's scary about the situation the most is the fact that we have a son. I think if it was just the two of us, it would've still been scary, don't get me wrong, but it's different when you have a child that you need to take care of and make sure that they're safe. And we're unable to do that at the moment."
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Australia has joined a bid to hold the Taliban to account for its treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan since the group took control of the country.
It is spearheading a push with Germany, Canada and the Netherlands to challenge the Taliban under an international convention on eliminating discrimination against women.
The formal notification under the convention officially demands the Taliban come to the negotiating table, the first step in a process which could include taking the group to the International Court of Justice.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says Australia has chosen to take action, rather than just stand by.
"The Taliban have demonstrated their contempt for human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls, and they have engaged in a campaign of sustained and systematic oppression. What I said at the meeting this morning is we have two choices. We can stay silent, or we can act in solidarity with the women and girls of Afghanistan."
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Elon Musk's social media platform X is preparing to file documents requested by Brazil's Supreme Court in its bid to have services restored in the country.
There are unconfirmed reports that the platform may again be available to Brazilians as early as next week after X provides the documents proving it now has a legal representative in the country, as required by Brazil law.
Access to the platform formerly known as Twitter has been blocked in the country since the end of August, following an order by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
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Qantas travellers have been put on alert for flight disruptions as engineers stage a fortnight of industrial action in their bid for a pay rise.
The action has started in Melbourne this morning, and is due to spread around Australia in the coming days.
The industrial action has been timed to coincide with the A-F-L and N-R-L Grand Finals, which make this a busy time of year for domestic air travel.
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The government says changes to negative gearing tax policy remains hypothetical, despite rumblings it is seeking advice on curbing the tax breaks.
Labor has reportedly sought a briefing from Treasury on scaling back negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions as it looks to make a breakthrough on housing affordability.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has downplayed the speculation, saying the government's commitment was to boosting housing supply.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has told Channel 7 that Labor remains focused on getting current legislation through the Senate - which the Greens are blocking as they argue for a cap on rent increases and a negative gearing phase out.
"No, I'm not slightly interested in the Greens' approach, because they are just blockers, not builders. There will be no coalition. The Greens are in with the Liberals and the Nationals when it comes to housing policy."
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New research reveals that migrant women are the most disadvantaged when it comes to workplace equity.
Research by Victoria’s Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector has found women from culturally and linguistically diverse communities find it the hardest to find a job in the first place - and when they do, they're more likely to face barriers to career progression because of racist attitudes and assumptions.
It says they are subjected to a higher bar, underestimated, and negatively singled out compared to other female colleagues.
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In football news,
Australian coach Ange Postecoglou has added his voice to concerns that top players are playing too many games.
He says players don't get a break between seasons any more, because there are more tournaments both at club level, international level and continental level.
Postecoglou says there will soon be serious consequences if something is not done.
"I think we're getting to a dangerous level of where our expectations are around players. Players don't get a break between seasons anymore, they used to, there's more tournaments at international and club level and continental level. I said it's going to get to the point where we're not going to have the best players out there playing , or probably even worse them breaking down for various reasons so it's definitely something that needs to be addressed."
