TRANSCRIPT
- A ceasefire to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah due to come into effect this afternoon.
- Senator Fatima Payman brands Pauline Hanson a disgrace to the human race.
- Cycling great Anna Meares says she's thrilled to be reappointed as Australia's chef de mission for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
A ceasefire designed to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah comes into effect today.
The United States helped broker the deal which will see Hezbollah withdraw from Lebanon's border with Israel.
President Joe Biden says it's designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities.
He says the Lebanese army would take control of its territory again and Hezbollah's infrastructure in southern Lebanon would not be allowed to be rebuilt.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the ceasefire will isolate Hamas.
"Hebrew then vo: Hamas relied on Hezbollah to fight alongside it. With Hezbollah out of the picture, Hamas will be left on its own. Alone on the battlefield, we will exert greater pressure and that will help the sacred mission of returning our hostages and releasing them."
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has welcomed the ceasefire.
Senator Wong hopes a similar agreement can be forged in Gaza.
"The people of Lebanon will welcome this ceasefire. The people of Isreal will welcome this ceasefire. What I would say, is that we hope this is a catalyst for a broader ceasefire in the region and we look forward to the day when there is a ceasefire too in Gaza."
Labor's package of migration legislation will pass the Senate, with the Coalition agreeing to pass the three bills.
The bills will give the government powers to pay countries to accept deported non-citizens, ban mobile phones in detention centres, and impose blanket travel bans on certain countries.
As part of the negotiations, the power to impose travel bans will be reviewed after three years and the minister must provide a list of reasons as to why a ban would be imposed.
Opposition Home Affairs Spokesperson James Paterson says they have worked with the government on the bills.
"These are important reforms that the coalition has negotiated in good faith with the government, because will not allow their mess and incompetence when it comes to community safety and national security to harm the Australian public anymore than it already has."
Senator Fatima Payman has branded Pauline Hanson a racist in fiery scenes in the Senate.
The conflict erupted after Pauline Hanson sought to refer Fatima Payman for an investigation over her citizenship.
Senator Payman was born in Afghanistan and the One Nation politician claimed she had not provided enough proof she had revoked that overseas citizenship before entering parliament.
Those revocations are essential in order to comply with Section 44 of the Constitution which prevents people who hold foreign citizenship from serving as a parliamentarian.
Senator Payman referenced some of Pauline Hanson's infamous statements before calling her a disgrace to the human race.
"In another statement, she says 'we're bringing in people from South Africa at the moment. There's a huge amount coming into Australia who have disease. They've got AIDS.' If that is not racist, what is it? You're not just vindictive, mean, nasty, you bring disgrace to the human race."
The Greens and Lidia Thorpe voted against a motion to allow Pauline Hanson to table papers related to her referral attempt.
And Lidia Thorpe threw papers at Pauline Hanson before leaving the chamber holding up her middle finger.
The bodies two 19-year-old women, who died from suspected methanol poisoning, have been flown to Melbourne as their grieving relatives welcome news of arrests by police in Laos.
The police have arrested eight people for questioning as part of an ongoing investigation into the deaths of six tourists.
Local media is reporting all those detained are Vietnamese nationals and include the manager and seven staff of a backpacker hostel.
The bodies of Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones have been flown to Melbourne from Thailand with their fathers on board the flight.
Bianca's father, Mark Jones, welcomed news of the arrests.
"We want to grieve. We miss our daughters desperately. I was happy to hear there's been some movement over in Laos. We cannot have our girls' passing and it's continuing to happen."
Ukrainian officials say Russia launched almost 200 drones in a single attack that's damaged critical infrastructure.
Russia launched 188 drones in its largest drone attack on Ukraine which cut power to much of the western region of Ternopil and damaging residential buildings in Kyiv region.
Ukrainian forces managed shoot down 76 of the drones.
New South Wales Health is urging people to take hot weather seriously as parts of Sydney's west are expected to endure temperatures in the high 30s.
On the coast, Sydney is tipped to reach a maximum of 34 degrees but it could get to 39 degrees in Greater Western Sydney.
New South Wales Health says extreme heat can cause severe illness and can be life-threatening.
The Bureau of Meteorology says a cold front will bring some rainfall late tomorrow and into Friday, with a significant drop in temperatures.
In sport,
Cycling great Anna Meares says she's thrilled to be reappointed as Australia's chef de mission for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Meares took on the role as Australia's Olympic team leader at this year's Paris Games and has accepted an offer to continue.
