Morning Briefing: Final leaders' debate roundup, Al Jazeera journalist killed in Israel, and Sweden a step closer to NATO

From the key takeaways of what was a mild final leaders' debate, the killing of veteran Al Jazeera journalist in Israel and Ukraine stamping down on Russian oil, here's what's making news around the world right now.

Colleagues react as the corpse of veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqla is brought to the offices of the news channel in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Source: Getty / ABBAS MOMANI

Good morning. It’s Thursday 12th May, and here’s a round up of the latest news.

Cost of living and wages leads final debate agenda

The final leaders' debate before the federal election has been dominated by wages and the cost of living.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition leader Anthony Albanese took part in the third and final debate on Channel 7, before the federal election on 21 May.

Mr Albanese was pressed on his pledge to increase wages, to which he backed a 5.1 per cent boost to the minimum wage.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (right) and Australian Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese shake hands during the third leaders' debate, in Sydney, on Wednesday, 11 May, 2022. (AAP) Source: AAP / LUKAS COCH/AAPIMAGE

"Because people are doing it really tough out there. The cost of everything is going up. The cost of everything is going up; the cost of food and vegetables and meat, the essentials in life," he said.

"The idea that after everything we've been through in the pandemic, minimum wage workers would get a real wage cut is something that I don't support."

But Scott Morrison has argued that small businesses could not afford a wage increase.

"Small businesses are doing it incredibly tough. They're the ones who employ people, and we want to ensure that they can keep employing people," Mr Morrison rebuked.

Al Jazeera accuses Israel of deliberately shooting journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

Al Jazeera has accused the Israeli military of deliberately targeting journalists after one of its correspondents was shot dead in the occupied West Bank.

Shireen Abu Akleh died after being shot in the head as she had arrived to cover an Israeli army raid at Jenin refugee camp.

Veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Credit: Al Jazeera

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has rejected the network's accusation, saying that dozens of Palestinian militants were firing indiscriminately towards Israeli soldiers during the journalist's shooting.

He said in a statement there was “a considerable chance that armed Palestinians, who fired wildly, were the ones who brought about the journalist’s unfortunate death".

That account is disputed by eyewitnesses, who say Ms Akleh was not in an area where Palestinian shooters were present.

Ms Akleh was wearing a bullet-proof vest clearly marked with the word 'PRESS', and also wore a helmet.

Ukraine moves to halt Russian gas passing through the east

Ukraine has moved to stop the flow of Russian gas through the east of the country, amid concerns Russian forces have been interfering with the operation of the network.

About one-third of all Russian gas, which passes through Ukraine to Western Europe, passes through a hub in the Luhansk region.

Sergiy Makogon, who heads the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine, says there has been siphoning detected which meant that the network would have to "compensate for the stolen volumes."

"We discovered that these occupation authorities [in rebel-controlled parts of Luhansk region], they decided to steal gas from transit in order to send it to other places. And definitely, we could not tolerate that because it's huge losses for us," he said.

Analysts say much of the gas can be redirected through another pipeline from Russia that crosses Ukraine, and preliminary data suggested that was already happening.

It's not yet clear if Russia would take any immediate hit, since it has long-term contracts and other ways of transporting gas.

Sweden and UK sign security pact

The Prime Minister of Sweden has signed a security agreement with her UK counterpart in what could be Stockholm's first step towards NATO membership.

The agreement comes in the wake of Russia's destabilising attack on Ukraine, which has led several European nations to consider joining the alliance.

Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson says the agreement includes security pledges and trade and research partnerships, which are considered critical during periods of global unrest.

"In times of crisis, cooperation becomes even more important and this applies not least for our international defence partnerships," Ms Andersson said.

"Sweden's partnerships with the UK and with NATO have been crucial during these exceptional times."

Yemen at risk of environmental disaster: UN

The United Nations has pleaded for donations to rescue a decaying tanker off the coast of Yemen that is feared could cause an environmental disaster if left unchecked.

The pledging conference has sought US$144 million (A$207.49 million) to fund the salvage operation of the FSO Safer, which would involve transferring more than one million barrels of crude oil to storage.

It has been more than two months since the UN and Yemen’s Houthi rebels reached an agreement to transfer the tanker's contents to another vessel.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the funds are now needed to implement their agreement.

"The UN has worked closely with all stakeholders to get a clear way forward that enjoys widespread support," Mr Guterres said.

"Now we need the funds to implement the plan. Today’s event is a critical step to preventing a catastrophe that would affect Yemen, the region and the world."

With AAP, AFP, Reuters.