TRANSCRIPT
- Anthony Albanese marks Holocaust Remembrance Day amid rising antisemitism
- Donald Trump calls for Palestinians to be moved out of Gaza
- Jannik Sinner wins back-to-back Australian Opens
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has released a video message to commemorate Holocaust Rememberance Day, as Australia grapples with an increase in antisemitism.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus are attending official commemorations in Europe marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi death camp where 1.1 million people were murdered - most of them Jews.
Anthony Albanese says it's important to remember them.
"We hold their names and their faces in our hearts, we tend to these memories, because we cannot allow the holocaust to recede into history. It was a pitiless and unrelenting act of cruelty that was long in the planning cold in its calculation, and carried out on a scale that falls across the decades like a terrible shadow."
**
US President Donald Trump has suggested that Palestinians living in Gaza should be relocated to neighbouring countries.
Mr Trump told reporters he would like to see Jordan and Egypt accept more Gazans as refugees.
After speaking with Jordan’s King Abdullah II about the issue, President Trump told reporters Gaza is "literally a demolition site" and "we should just clear out the whole thing".
Hamas and its ally, Islamic Jihad, have both rejected Mr Trump's proposition, but Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says it's a "great idea".
Mr Trump's latest comments follow his suggestions last week that the enclave should "be rebuilt in a different way".
"You know, Gaza is interesting. It's a phenomenal location, on the sea, the best weather, you know, everything's good. It's like, some beautiful things could be done with it, but it's very interesting, some fantastic things could be done with Gaza."
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has ordered the Pentagon to release shipments of 900 kilogram bombs to Israel.
The weapons had been withheld by his predecessor Joe Biden due to concerns for civilian life.
**
The Lebanese health ministry says Israeli soldiers have killed 22 people and wounded 124 in southern Lebanon, as thousands of residents returned to towns and villages along the border.
The violence comes as Israel fails to withdraw from Lebanon under the terms that were agreed in a ceasefire deal between the two countries.
The Israeli military instead set up several roadblocks, claiming Hezbollah and the Lebanese army have not met their obligations.
Meanwhile, Lebanon accuses Israel of procrastination.
On Saturday, Israel ordered Lebanese residents not to return until further notice.
But Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad says civilians sought to return of their own free will.
"First, I want to tell you that the move is not organised, it is purely a people’s initiative that was not organised by Hezbollah or any other political party. Despite all the complications, Israeli intimidation, and restrictions that were imposed over the past few days, our people insisted on returning to these villages."
**
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is on track to win a seventh five-year term, according to an exit poll broadcast on state television.
A close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the 70-year-old ruler has been in power in Belarus since 1994.
The United States and the European Union both said in the run-up to the election that it could not be free and fair because independent media are banned in Belarus and all leading opposition figures have been jailed or forced to flee abroad.
The electoral commission released turnout figures, saying 81.5 per cent of 6.9 million eligible voters cast a ballot.
**
South Korean prosecutors have indicted the suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of leading an insurrection.
The decision comes after anti-corruption investigators recommended that Mr Yoon be formally charged last week.
It marks a continuation of chaos sparked by Mr Yoon's brief declaration of martial law in December last year.
Mr Yoon is the first South Korean President to be arrested.
The criminal charge carries with it the prospect of the death penalty or life imprisonment, if Mr Yoon is convicted.
Mr Yoon's defence team criticised the indictment, calling it "the worst decision" by prosecutors who they say are trying to curry favour with political forces who want Mr Yoon's exit.
**
Troy Cassar-Daley has taken out five Golden Guitar awards at the Tamworth Country Music Festival.
The First Nations singer-songwriter swept the major categories, winning Album of the Year, Male Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for the track Some Days.
Cassar-Daley paid tribute to his family as he accepted the awards, having recorded his album Between The Fires in his mother's lounge room in rural New South Wales.
The win takes Cassar-Daley's collection of Golden Guitars to 45.
**
And to sport, in Tennis, Jannik Sinner has defended his Australian Open title with a clinical straight-sets final victory over Alexander Zverev.
The Italian champion claimed a 6-3 / 7-6 / 6-3 triumph over his German rival at Melbourne Park.
Sinner is the first player since Novak Djokovic, in 2016, to win three successive hard-court grand slams.
Speaking during his on-court interview after the match, Zverev paid tribute to Sinner.
"First of all, congratulations to Jannik. you more than deserve it. You're the best player in the world by far. Yeah, I mean, I was hoping that I could be more competitive today, but you're just too good. It's as simple as that."
