TRANSCRIPT
- An Australian aid worker shot at while delivering aid to Gaza.
- Liberal candidate Simon Kennedy hopeful for a straightforward victory in the Cook by-election.
- Essendon bounce back with a runaway 29-point win over the Western Bulldogs.
An Australian aid worker whose vehicle was hit by live ammunition while waiting at a checkpoint in northern Gaza says the gunfire came from the direction of the checkpoint and towards the Palestinian civilians.
Tess Ingram was in a three-car UNICEF convoy which was part of a coordinated mission to deliver fuel, food and medical supplies to starving civilians in the north of the Gaza Strip.
It's not immediately clear who fired the shots.
Ms Ingram told SBS News she's still coming to terms with what happened but remains determined to provide life-saving aid.
"I think it's going to take me time to process this. For the moment. I'm really focused on making sure that we can advocate for the problems that caused this incident and to make sure that the mission that we weren't able to complete is finalised and completed. We're going to try and go back actually this weekend with those same supplies."
This comes after Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom was killed in a series of Israeli air strikes despite having their travel route being cleared with Israeli forces prior.
A spokesperson for the Australian Government says it's urgently seeking more information about the incident and aid workers must be protected.
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Liberal candidate Simon Kennedy is bracing for a straightforward victory in the Cook by-election today (Sat 13th April) after Labor bows out of the race.
The Sydney by-election was triggered by the resignation of former Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
The south Sydney division home to 112,000 residents is considered a safe Liberal seat after Mr Morrison retained the Sutherland Shire electorate with a 12.4 per cent margin in 2022.
The Liberals will go up against the Greens and several independent parties.
Voters shared their political priorities to Sky News down at the polls.
VOXIE 1: "I care about the economy, the fact that young people today can't buy a home - particularly those under the age of 35. I think that's terrible. We keep talking about it election after election but nothing ever seems to get done."
VOXIE 2: "Safety is a big one for us at the moment, we've had lots of break-ins where we are."
VOXIE 3: "Just groceries. To go and buy food it literally makes you broke."
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Hundreds of people have taken a stand against gendered-based violence at a rally in Ballarat.
Three women have been killed in the vicinity of the regional Victorian town in the past two months, which has prompted the community to speak out.
Rally organiser Sissy Austin says women should be able to live safely and without fear.
"We're all coming together to say enough is enough in regards to men's violence against women. We've had 3 women's lives lost as a result of men's violence in the space of 62 or 63 days. The community's in shock and grieving."
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Social media giant Meta has unveiled a range of new tools it claims will help combat the growing issue of intimate abuse and extortion online, but some experts caution they don't go far enough.
The features will be tested on the company's social media platform Instagram and are aimed to protect children from being lured into sharing intimate photos.
The safety features include blurring out images detected as nudity and clearer options to block and report users.
This comes after two Nigerian men were arrested and charged with sexual extortion in relation to the death of a New South Wales teen last year.
The boy is believed to have taken his own life after engaging online with an unknown person who threatened to share personal photos of him if he didn't pay $500.
Australia's eSafety Commissioner has noted that there are close to 10,000 reports of image-based abuse last financial year alone.
Former detective and cyber crime expert Brett Lee says Meta's safety measures only go so far and parents need to look out for signs that their child may be a victim of the scams.
"It's how the child is manifesting that in the physical world, whether they're having nightmares they can't sleep, they don't want to go to school, they seem very reserved of they're getting aggressive. Now how we address this best is going back to the basics, something that's worked for us for all of time and that's continuing communication with children. That is the key."
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In AFL,
Essendon have bounced back from their AFL Gather Round horror show with a runaway 29-point win over the Western Bulldogs.
A week after being embarrassed by Port Adelaide, the Bombers were up for the fight in a 15.6 to 9.13 victory in a feisty contest at Marvel Stadium.
They trailed by 10 points midway through the second term but overwhelmed their opponents with 10 of the next 11 goals.
The result gave Brad Scott's side a 3-2 record ahead of an interstate trip to take on winless Adelaide next week.
