TRANSCRIPT
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will not be pressured following mass protests
- A former childcare worker pleads guilty to more than 300 child sex offences
- Australian triathlete Lauren Parker wins gold after an upset in Tokyo
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing back against new waves of pressure after hundreds of thousands of Israelis protested and went on strike across the country.
In a public address, Mr Netanyahu has said he will continue to insist on Israel's demand to control the Philadelphi corridor, a narrow strip between Rafah and Egypt, during ceasefire negotiations.
Israel says Hamas uses the corridor to smuggle weapons into Gaza, which Hamas denies.
Israeli troops retaining control of the corridor would mean Israel continues part of its occupation of the Gaza Strip and is they key issue halting negotiations from moving forward.
Protesters in the country are blaming their Prime Minister for prolonging the conflict for political gains and say a hostage deal must be secured as soon as possible.
Mr Netanyahu says the corridor is Hamas' oxygen.
“This (Philadelphi) corridor is different from other corridors, from other places, it is central, it determines our entire future. It's importance to us is great, but the world that wants the war to end, the last it wants is for us to enter it, and immense pressure will be put on us.”
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A former Queensland childcare worker has pleaded guilty to hundreds of child sex offences including charges of rape, sexual abuse and making child exploitation material.
Several victims and their families have watched on as Ashley Paul Griffith faced Brisbane's District Court, arraigned on more than 300 charges.
The 46-year-old has admitted to committing the offences in childcare centres across Brisbane between January 2008 and August 2022, as well as distributing material to locations in Italy.
Griffith was arrested in August 2022 by Federal Police and charged with multiple Commonwealth child exploitation material offences.
He remains in custody and will be sentenced at a later date.
Anyone seeking information or support relating to sexual abuse can contact Bravehearts on 1800 272 831 or Blue Knot on 1300 657 380.
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A new health campaign is encouraging people to tap into their cultural roots as a way of enhancing home-prepared lunches.
New South Wales Multicultural Health Week says a more diverse approach to the types of food offered to children can help create lifelong eating habits.
A key theme is to increase whole fruit and vegetables to lunch boxes and draw more inspiration from the kinds of food diverse communities eat at home.
Lisa Woodland from New South Wales Health yesterday helped launched the campaign.
"Food really brings people together. Celebrating culture really brings people together. It's a fantastic opportunity for us to do that but also deliver those really important health messages around healthy eating."
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Extreme weather across three states is expected to ease as clean-up begins after strong winds left one woman dead, damaged homes, and triggered flood alerts.
The storm, which started Sunday night, killed a 63-year-old woman when a tree fell on her cabin at a Moama holiday park on the New South Wales-Victoria border.
New South Wales police will prepare a report for the coroner.
A 63-year-old man was also injured and taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Over 120,000 Victorians lost power, and 660 homes were damaged during the night of intense winds and high tides.
The Bureau of Meteorology's senior meteorologist Sarah Scully says that while the worst of the weather has taken place, some damage was still to come.
"We're expecting the winds to gradually ease from the west ... and for all of the wind warnings to be cancelled by late (Monday), However, winds of this strength do have the potential to bring down trees, branches that may cause property damage, that may cause power outages and hazardous driving conditions."
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An Australian woman has died in Bali after resurfacing from a diving trip led by a local tour company.
The 64-year-old was reportedly under the water for eight minutes.
She became short of breath when helped back onto the boat – falling unconscious.
The crew performed CPR and rushed the woman to hospital, but she did not survive.
The Department of Foreign Affairs says it's providing consular assistance to the woman's family.
**
Recent data says it's now more expensive to buy a home in Adelaide or Perth than in Melbourne.
According to new CoreLogic figures, gains in the less populated cities drove national prices half a per cent higher last month.
The median value of an Australian home also rose – topping $800,000 for the first time.
CoreLogic Head of Research Tim Lawless says, despite this, demand is still outstripping supply – keeping prices elevated for both buyers and renters.
"Some of the factors now starting to weigh on the market will be affordability constraints, we're seeing vendors becoming more active selling properties - and that will probably pick up further in the spring. Of course, we're still seeing the lending sector quite cautious as well."
**
To the Paralympics, Australian triathlete Lauren Parker has redeemed herself after heartache in Tokyo, by sealing a gold medal in a dominant PTWC triathlon win.
Parker had to settle for silver in Japan three years ago after losing to American Kendall Gretsch by just one second.
But after poor water quality had postponed the triathlon event by 24 hours, the 35-year-old's victory sealed Australia's seventh gold medal of the 2024 Games.
Parker cruised through the opening leg of the triathlon - a 750m swim through the Seine - to establish an early lead of 52 seconds.
