TRANSCRIPT
- Australia remembers the Lindt Cafe siege, ten years on
- At least 18 Palestinians killed in Gaza
- Arsenal miss out as 10-man Liverpool draw at Fulham
Australians are marking the 10 year anniversary of the Sydney Lindt cafe siege with a memorial at the site.
Ten years ago today, Man Haron Monis held 18 hostages at gunpoint making false false claims of several bombs placed around the city.
He claimed to have ties to Islamic State and forced hostages to display a Jihadist flag.
The Martin Place siege ended in a deadly shootout leaving two hostages, Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson, dead.
Monis was shot and killed by New South Wales Police Officer Ben Besant.
Mr Besant who suffered PTSD as a result of the incident has appeared on Channel Seven calling for a national inquiry into first-responder Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
"There needs to be a serious discussion, because the police force is just haemorrhaging numbers, and has been for a long time, and that it hasn't been taken seriously any police officer, including myself. You just feel like you're just another number despite giving such a big part of your life to the job. It essentially becomes who you are. So a parliamentary inquiry need needs to happen, the discussion needs to happen right across the country."
**
Payments to veterans are set to increase budget pressures as the federal government tackles a backlog of claims.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says an additional $1.8 billion would be included in the mid-year budget update to ensure veterans are paid what they're owed for their service.
This comes on top of $6.5 billion in extra veterans' payments in the 2024/25 budget.
"We're proud to be providing this extra support for veterans. When we came to office, there was a shameful backlog of veterans claims, and we've been working through that. In the last budget, we spent an extra six and a half billion dollars because we've been processing these claims more quickly, and in this mid year budget update, there'll be another $1.8 billion for veterans. This is all about providing Australian veterans with the help that they need and deserve after they had been stuffed around for too long under the Morrison government."
The government has blamed the coalition for under funding the Department of Veterans' Affairs, leading to a backlog of 42,000 unprocessed claims.
**
One person has died and four others have been injured after a car ploughed into a group of cyclists participating in a race in regional New South Wales.
Emergency services were called to Long Swamp Road just outside of Armidale at about 3:30pm on Saturday following reports of a crash.
New South Wales police say the driver crashed into the cyclists before hitting a tree.
The driver of the vehicle was trapped and released shortly following the arrival of emergency services.
**
Medics say at least 18 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes in Gaza, while the Israeli military says it targeted gunmen operating from shelters and aid storages.
At least 10 people died in an air strike near an administration building in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, where people had gathered to receive aid.
Spokesman for the Civil Emergency Services in Gaza, Mahmoud Bassal, says two schools were struck.
"The Israeli occupation is still carrying out the policy of bombardment on Gaza and its last target was the A'aila Muqadasa school and Majda Wasila school. This led to the martyrdom of a number of people. We are talking about women and children, seven people were martyred and more than 30 injured."
Earlier, Israel's military said its aircraft targeted militants and weapon caches (cash) near an aid warehouse after gunmen fired rockets into Israel from there.
According to a Hamas source, one of the strikes killed the head of the Hamas-run administrative committee in central Gaza.
**
In sport...
Liverpool, down to 10 men, had to fight back twice to secure a 2-2 draw against Fulham at Anfield.
Despite salvaging a point, it marked their second consecutive match without a win, giving their title rivals fresh hope.
Arsenal, however, couldn’t capitalise.
A goalless draw against struggling Everton at home kept the third-placed Gunners six points behind Liverpool, missing a chance to close the gap.
Liverpool’s task became harder after Andy Robertson’s red card in the 17th minute for a last-man foul on Harry Wilson.
Fulham had already taken the lead in the 11th minute through Andreas Pereira’s deflected volley.
Despite the setback, Liverpool fought hard, with Diogo Jota’s 86th-minute equaliser nearly paving the way for a late winner amid heavy pressure.
