TRANSCRIPT
- Israel declares the United Nation's Secretary-General persona non grata
- Fatima Payman set to form her own political party within weeks
- A day of upsets in the European Champions League
Israel has declared United Nation's Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as persona non grata.
The country has banned Mr Guterres from entering Israel, accusing him of not unequivocally condemning Iran's missile attacks on Israel yesterday.
Speaking at an emergency meeting of the U-N Security Council, Mr Guterres has again called for a ceasefire and says a war in Lebanon must be avoided at all costs.
"Millions of people across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory were forced to seek shelter. One person was killed from the Iranian strikes, a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank. As I did in relation to the Iranian attack in April, and as should have been obvious yesterday in the context of the condemnation I expressed, I again strongly condemned yesterday's massive missile attacks by Iran on Israel."
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Around 1,700 Australians and their immediate families have indicated to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that they wish to leave Lebanon, as the Australian Government attempts to secure flights out of the country.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed 80 seats have been secured on a flight leaving today, with only 35 of those seats taken up.
An additional 500 seats have been secured on two flights to Cyprus on Saturday.
Senator Wong says Australians should not delay leaving Lebanon.
"My message to Australians in Lebanon is do not wait. If you are able to secure a seat on a flight, please take that seat. If you have a seat on today's flight, don't delay. Now is not the time for you to wait and see, now is the time to leave."
Australian citizens, permanent residents, and their immediate families can register with DFAT via the online crisis portal or by calling the 24 hour consular emergency centre.
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Independent Senator Fatima Payman will reportedly launch her own political party within weeks.
The Australian newspaper is reporting the party will likely run Senate candidates in each state, as well as lower house candidates in key marginal seats.
29-year-old Ms Payman was elected as a Labor Party Senator for Western Australia at the last election.
But she quit the Labor Party earlier this year over its stance on the conflict in the Middle East.
Ms Payman is a Muslim, but has said her party will not be based around religion.
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The Federal Government is pledging to crack down on the phenomenon known as shrinkflation.
Shrinkflation describes the selling of a product for the same price, despite its size being reduced.
The government says it will strengthen the Unit Pricing Code, and is threatening substantial penalties for those who breach it.
It says it will take measures to improve things like the readability and visibility of unit pricing, and addressing inconsistent use of units of measure across supermarkets.
The initiative comes at a time when supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths, who account for 70 per cent of supermarket retail sales, are accused of allegedly exploiting Australians during the cost of living crisis.
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Tens of thousands of US residents in North Carolina remain without running water nearly a week after Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida and carved a destructive path through much of the US southeast,
More than 160 people have been killed by the storm.
The hurricane inundated the region with catastrophic flooding, destroying pipes, damaging water plants and cutting off power.
One-fifth of the one million residents in the western half of North Carolina either had no water at all or low system pressure, according to an online state database.
Nearly 1.3 million homes and businesses across the southeast remained without electricity.
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In football, it's been a day of upsets in the European Champions League.
English side Aston Villa have defeated German heavyweights Bayern Munich, one goal to nil.
French side Lille has defeated reigning champions Real, one goal to nil.
Portuguese side Benfica have thrashed Spanish heavyweights Atletico Madrid, four goals to nil.
And Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb have held Monaco to a two-all draw.
Less surprisingly, Liverpool and Juventus made themselves two wins from two games in the tournament.
Goals from Alex Mac Allister and Mo Salah giving Liverpool a two-nil win over Italian side Bologna.
