TRANSCRIPT
- Lebanese civilians return to what's left of their homes
- The FBI says some of Donald Trump's picks for his upcoming administration have received bomb threats
- Matthew Richardson dismisses his lifetime ban from AusCycling
Thousands of Lebanese people are returning to what's left of their homes, hours after a ceasefire came into effect to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
The ceasefire won't directly affect Israel's war in Gaza but the United States President Joe Biden says the US will make another push to end the hostilities in that region.
Hamas says it would like to see a similar ceasefire in Gaza but it continues to reject Israel's demands.
Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi has warned that any Hezbollah troops who approach Israeli troops in Lebanon will be attacked.
"The activity in Lebanon was very determined, and the enforcement of the (ceasefire) agreement will be even more determined. With determination, according to the guidelines approved yesterday by the Minister of Defense, the Prime Minister, and the Cabinet, Hezbollah operatives who will approach our troops, the border area, and the villages within the area we have marked, will be struck. "
In other developments, Israel says it will be lodging an appeal against the International Criminal Court's issuing of an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
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Some of Donald Trump's picks for his upcoming administration have received bomb threats.
The FBI says it's aware of numerous bomb threats as well as "swatting incidents" in which prank calls are made to attract police attendance at a target's home.
The office of New York Republican Elise Stefanik, who Trump has named to be US ambassador to the United Nations, says she has received a bomb threat.
Police are investigating .
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Supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan have temporarily called off their protests in Pakistan demanding his release from prison.
The demonstators had vowed not to leave Islamabad until Mr Khan's release.
At least six people died this week during the protests which started on Sunday.
Imran Khan has been in prison for more than a year on charges he says are politically motivated.
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Labor and the Coalition have joined forces to suspend Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe from the Senate for the remainder of the sitting week.
The suspension comes after Senator Thorpe ripped up a motion by Pauline Hanson on the chamber floor and gave senators the middle finger.
A furious row erupted in the Senate yesterday after the One Nation leader questioned Independent Senator Fatima Payman's eligibility to sit in Parliament, prompting Ms Thorpe's impassioned response.
The motion to suspend Senator Thorpe passed 45 votes to 11, with the Greens Party voting against – in solidarity with their former colleague.
Speaking to the motion, Senate leader Penny Wong has accused Lidia Thorpe of hateful and inappropriate attacks.
"This fortnight alone the senator has been censured by the Senate, she has sworn in the chamber, repeatedly made offensive gestures when leaving the chamber and made comments resulting in First Nation senators from across this chamber feeling culturally unsafe, and all of that was prior to today's incident, which culminated in Senator Thorpe tearing up papers and throwing them at another senator on the Senate floor. This behaviour would not be tolerated in any workplace, and we will not tolerate it in our workplace.”
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Hours after the spectacular senate stoush that saw Ms Thorpe suspended, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson announced she will appeal her recent conviction under section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.
Earlier this month, the Federal Court found Senator Hanson had contravened the legislation when she told Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi to "piss off back to Pakistan".
Posting on X, Ms Hanson complained she had been labelled a "convicted racist" during the senate debate and went on to suggested the entire law should be axed.
"And all the, lot of legal people and other people right across the broad spectrum have said it is a ridiculous law and it should be gone. So anyway, this is my fight, but at the moment, it's about Pauline Hanson, now it's gone to the appeal courts and who's next? Will you be the next one? Will you be actually lose your freedom of speech, and your right to have an opinion? Because that's how serious this is."
Senator Hanson says she expects the appeal to come before the courts in August next year.
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A cyclist who won three Olympic medals in Australian colours at the Paris games has dismissed a lifetime ban imposed on him by AusCycling this week.
Matthew Richardson's decision to defect and represent his birth country, Britain, prompted a bitter rebuke from Australia's peak cycling body.
In a review released Monday AusCycling says Richardson acted in a way that "conflicted with the values of AusCycling, the Australian national team and the broader cycling community".
The 25-year-old athlete maintains he remains thankful to AusCycling but derided the ban as "words on a piece of paper (that) don't carry much weight".
