TRANSCRIPT
- Iran fires around 200 missiles at Israel
- New South Wales Police move to ban pro-Palestinian protests in Sydney
- Harry Perryman to leave GWS to join Collingwood
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it has launched a wave of ballistic missiles towards Israel focused on Israeli military targets - and is in response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and others.
Alarms sounded across Israel, and explosions were heard in Jerusalem, the Jordan River Valley and other areas - as people took cover in bomb shelters.
Israeli army radio reported around 200 missiles were fired from Iran - the figure was confirmed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari reported no known injuries from the attacks.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says the US assisted in intercepting a number of Iranian missiles.
He says the attack is a a significant escalation by Iran, and he warns there would be severe consequences on Iran.
"Today, Iran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles towards targets in Israel. The United States military coordinated closely with the Israeli Defence Forces to help defend Israel against this attack. U.S. naval destroyers joined Israeli air defence units in firing interceptors to shoot down inbound missiles. ... We are still working with the IDF and the authorities in Israel to assess the impact of the attack. But at this time, and I stress at this time, we do not know of any deaths in Israel."
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New South Wales Police has confirmed its commissioner has decided to apply to the state's Supreme Court to prohibit two upcoming protests in Sydney.
The Palestine Action Group informed police of the protests for October 6 and 7, submitting the required paperwork.
After meeting with organisers on Tuesday morning, News South Wales Police says it is not satisfied that the protest could proceed safely - and they will be seeking to apply to the state's Supreme Court to prohibit both assemblies.
This long weekend marks the one-year anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he is not fully equipped to discuss what he endured, giving his first public comments since his release in June.
Giving evidence of the impact of his detention to the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, Mr Assange says his isolation took a toll which is he still trying to unwind.
Mr Assange spent over a decade in detention, fighting extradition over his involvement in the publishing of US military secrets, including details of U-S wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The human rights committee of the assembly say Mr Assange qualifies as a political prisoner, issuing a draft resolution expressing deep concern over his harsh treatment.
Mr Assange says journalists should not be prosecuted for doing their jobs.
"I want to be totally clear: I am not free today because the system worked. I am free today after years of incarceration because I pled guilty to journalism. I pled guilty to seeking information from a source. I pled guilty to obtaining information from a source. And I pled guilty to informing the public what that information was. I did not plead guilty to anything else."
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A new report has found Indigenous women are up to seven times more likely to be homicide victims compared with the national average.
The Australian Institute of Criminology report says that between July 1989 and June 2023, a total of 476 Indigenous women were victims of homicide and over 72 per cent were killed by their former or current partner.
Data shows five per cent of all homicide victims in Australia are Indigenous women, despite only accounting for three per cent of the entire population.
Responding to the report, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says more accurate data and action is needed to address the problem.
But Western Australian Greens Senator Dorinda Cox says what the government is doing is not good enough.
"The Attorney General talks about the eight hundred million dollars that has been put towards front services, in particular, legal services to help prevent violence against women. What I say to the Attorney General is that's not good enough, when we are seven times more likely to be affected by violence. When we are 10 times more likely to be victims of homicide."
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NATO's new chief, Mark Rutte, has pledged to prioritise support for Ukraine as he takes over the top job.
The former Dutch prime minister has taken over as Secretary-General from Jens Stoltenberg, who's led the alliance since 2014.
Mr Rutte says his priority is to deliver on Ukraine's path to NATO membership and to increase defence spending.
"There can be no lasting security in Europe without a strong, independent Ukraine. I know from personal experience with the downing of Flight MH 17 in 2014 how conflict in Ukraine is not contained to the front lines. So we must do our part."
Mr Rutte has also vowed he will work together with whoever wins the upcoming US Presidential election.
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And in AFL, Greater Western Sydney player Harry Perryman is set to leave the club and join Collingwood as an unrestricted free agent.
Perryman has shunned a long-term offer from Port Adelaide to join the Magpies in another blow to the Giants before the trade period opens.
GWS have also lost Isaac Cumming, another unrestricted free agent, who will join Adelaide after also considering an offer from Port.
The Giants will receive draft-pick compensation for losing both players.
Depending on the size of the contract in monetary and length terms, the picks could be in the first-round.
