Midday News Bulletin 20 January 2025

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Source: SBS News

Aid trucks arriving in Gaza as the ceasefire takes effect; The bodies of two teenagers found at a Queensland waterfall; A fan remains in hospital in South Australia after a crash in the Tour Down Under cycling race.


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TRANSCRIPT:
  • Aid trucks arriving in Gaza as the ceasefire takes effect;
  • The bodies of two teenagers found at a Queensland waterfall;
  • A fan remains in hospital in South Australia after a crash in the Tour Down Under cycling race.
Two teenagers have died after an accident at a waterfall on the Sunshine Coast.

Queensland Police say a 17-year-old girl fell off the waterfall at Wappa Falls on Sunday, and a 17-year-old boy jumped into the water to help her when she did not resurface.

Wappa Falls remains closed while police conduct their investigation.

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The first aid trucks from the World Food Program have crossed into Gaza from Egypt as the ceasefire takes effect.

The ceasefire deal requires 600 truckloads of humanitarian assistance to be allowed into Gaza every day, 50 of them carrying fuel, and 300 of them allocated to the north, where conditions for civilians are particularly difficult

World Food Program Country Director Antoine Renard says the immense needs in Gaza require a full-scale response.

“You can see it behind me. We have now goods coming. We can make sure that 1.1 million people that are on food crisis can get the right assistance with the fact that now, no looting when we were coming from the crossing. We hope that in the next coming days, weeks, we will have the same security. Our staff will be safe. The population will be safe. They are able to go back to where they belong and we will be able to serve them and follow them with what needs to be a long lasting ceasefire.”

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A man has been arrested in India over the stabbing of a Bollywood star last week.

Police in Mumbai have described the man as the prime suspect in the attack on Saif Ali Khan.

54 year old Khan was stabbed six times by an intruder during a burglary attempt at his home.

He has now been released from hospital.

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Defence Minister Richard Marles says the AUKUS partnership is still on course to proceed, once Donald Trump is sworn in as the new US President.

Concerns have persisted over the capacity of American facilities to produce the minimum three Virginia-class submarines due to be delivered to Australia by the early 2030s, and the new nuclear-powered fleet to follow in the 2040s.

There's also worries about Trump's stance on the Biden-era deal - but Mr Marles says none of these issues are news.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has backed his position, telling reporters in Washington ahead of Trump's inauguration that the concerns are unwarranted.

"I was very pleased to see the very positive comments that the nominee for Secretary of State Senator Rubio made about Aukus... And I have been very pleased to see, over many months now, the bipartisan support in the Congress for AUKUS."

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A tropical cyclone has formed off the coast of Western Australia.

It's brought iron ore exports to a halt across much of the Pilbara, home to about 43 per cent of the global trade, and prompted communities to bunker down to ride out the intense rain and wind.

The storm - dubbed Tropical Cyclone Sean - is now classified as a category three and is expected to remain offshore.

"Then it'll continue to move further away, thankfully, but continue to intensify as we move into the Monday time frame, and by Monday afternoon, we could have a category three system sitting well offshore, the WA coast, but still could see some heavy rain and strong and gusty winds through parts of the Pilbara coast."

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Pregnant women in Australia will soon have access to free vaccination against R-S-V.

Immunisations against the respiratory syncytal virus will be available to women who are between 28- to 36-weeks pregnant from February 3rd.

Health Minister Mark Butler has told Channel 9 the virus is the leading cause of hospitalisation for babies, and the government expects the vaccination program will cut admissions by around 10,000.

"It's recommended that they take in their third trimester. We want them to consider doing that at the same time they will usually get the whooping cough vaccine. Those antibodies then pass through to the through the placenta to the fetus and the babies are born with antibodies that protect them for the first precious few months of their life."

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A woman remains hospitalised with serious injuries after a weekend crash during the Tour Down Under cycling race [[in South Australia]].

She was hurt after a rider went over the top of a barrier and into the crowd at high speed on the last corner of the street circuit event.

Race organisers have released a statement saying they are in contact with the spectator's family and offering support.

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