TRANSCRIPT
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake has struck just off the coast of Vanuatu in the South Pacific Ocean, triggering landslides and destruction across the island nation.
The quake occurred at a depth of 57 kilometres, centred near Vanuatu's capital and largest city Port Vila.
Footage on social media shows broken windows as well as collapsed concrete pillars on a building hosting foreign missions in the capital, including the U-S, British, French and New Zealand embassies.
The U-S Geological Survey has called off an earlier tsunami warning for Vanuatu and authorities in New Zealand and Australia say there are no tsunami threats to their countries.
***
The principal of an Islamic school in Adelaide whose bus was destroyed by arsonists one week ago says he's not satisfied with the result of a short-lived police investigation into the incident.
The school bus, belonging to a local Islamic college IQRA [[ick-rah]], was set alight on a suburban street in the suburb of Reynella.
The incident came two days after a synagogue in Melbourne was firebombed and sparked concerns of Islamophobia within the Adelaide community.
South Australia Police say they have closed the investigation for now, having not been able to identify any suspects or further leads.
They say there has been no information supporting a racial motivation for the attack so far.
IQRA principal Dr Hani Abul Khair told S-B-S he's not sure whether the incident was targeted against the Muslim community but he doesn't believe the investigation did much to calm these concerns.
"So I believe the investigation should have been more rigorous and more comprehensive to actually reach a conclusion to settle the minds of the Muslim community that calm down, this is not being racially driven. This is some random person who came and this is the evidence of it so they can calm down. But it did not. So at the moment, the investigational outcome left questions did not answer any."
***
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has celebrated sweeping new measures in Victoria targeting what he calls "lunatic" pro-Palestinian protesters.
Victorian premier Jacinta Allan has announced new anti-protest measures in what she calls an attempt to crack down on antisemitism following the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue earlier this month [[6th December]].
She says they will ban face coverings at protests as well as materials such as glue, ropes and locks that protesters use to attach themselves to public spaces.
They will also ban the flags of Hamas, Hezbollah and white nationalist extremist groups, and will be seeking to establish protest-free zones around places of worship.
Peter Dutton, who remains a staunch ally of Israel and a critic of those protesting the devastating assault on Gaza, is pleased to hear of these reforms.
But he says politicians like Jacinta Allan have themselves paved the way for antisemitism by failing to crack down on the rights of protesters.
"Of course it’s escalated, and it was always going to, and they were warned about this at the time, if you allow these lunatics to continue on their protests at university campuses and allow them to spew out their hatred and affiliate with a listed terrorist organisation and there to be no consequence."
***
A-B-C chair Kim Williams has praised former Nine Entertainment chief executive Hugh Marks who will be taking up the role as A-B-C Managing director.
He replaces David Anderson, who announced in August he would be departing from the role just one year after he was reappointed for a second five-year term.
Kim Williams, who started in the chair role in March, told A-B-C Mr Marks will help the organisation navigate the digital transformation of the national broadcaster.
"I have no doubt as to his integrity, his high moral standing and his absolute commitment to the ABC and ABC values as a national institution."
***
In football,
Melbourne Victory coach Patrick Kisnorbo has made a shock departure from the club only six months into a three-year deal to take up an opportunity overseas.
Victory are sitting third on the A-League ladder and face cross-town rivals Melbourne City on Saturday but assistant coach Arthur Diles will step in as interim coach.
Kisnorbo signed a three-year deal with Victory in June this year after a decorated playing career internationally and within Australia, including 18 caps as a Socceroo.
The Melbourne club didn't reveal Kisnorbo's next coaching move, with chairman John Dovaston saying they were disappointed by his early departure.
***
In tennis,
Nick Kyrgios will team up with Novak Djokovic later this month at the Brisbane International after crediting the former world-number-one for motivating his return from serious injury.
Once bitter rivals but now firm friends, Kyrgios and Djokovic plan to play doubles at the Queensland tournament, which gets underway on December 29.
The pair will use the event to warm up for next month's Australian Open, with Kyrgios using an injury-protected ranking to secure a direct entry at Melbourne Park.
Kyrgios has managed just one A-T-P match since the 2022 US Open quarter-finals due to career-threatening wrist and knee injuries which required three rounds of surgery.
The 29-year-old recently revealed a pep talk from 24-time grand slam winner Djokovic had helped spur his comeback.
