TRANSCRIPT
- Further changes to knife laws being considered in New South
- Permanent residency for the French national who confronted the Bondi Junction attacker
- The Olympic torch flame lit, marking 68 days until the Paris Games
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New South Wales Premier Chris Minns says he is considering introducing tougher knife laws, after two stabbing incidents in Sydney in less than a week.
A 16-year-old boy has been arrested after Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley on Monday night.
The Bishop is in hospital in a stable condition.
Mr Minns told Radio 2GB he is considering all options to keep people safe.
"We increased knife laws about six months ago after the terrible death of Steven Tougher - a NSW paramedic. I am not prepared to rule anything out right now. Obviously, when people are being killed and you have a situation where a knife is being used. It would be irresponsible not to look at it."
The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils has condemned the stabbing and is calling for unity.
In a statement, the councils say a meeting with the state government and faith leaders was positively received, including calls for a " a thorough and fitting inquiry and response".
Australia's domestic spy agency ASIO says the country's security threat level will be kept at "probable", even as it assists New South Wales Police with the investigation into the incident, which has been declared a religiously motivated terrorist incident.
Federal MP for Fowler, Dai Le, whose electorate includes Wakeley, says safety is the number one concern.
"So if the intention was to make people feel safe by declaring it as a terrorist event, it has done the opposite in my interpretation. Because for me, if you say something was a terror event, am I going to be safe walking the street. And I hope this is not going to dent what we have here."
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The French national who held off the attacker in the Bondi stabbing, using a bollard, has reportedly been offered permanent Australian residency.
Lawyer Belinda Robinson says Damien Guerot has been formally contacted and told he would be granted permanent residency.
Ms Robinson, who started a petition for Mr Guerot after reports his visa was due to expire in July, says he is "really happy" with the outcome and hadn't expected anything, because he is "such a humble guy".
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The end of a three-week youth curfew this week in Alice Springs has raised questions about the outback town's long-term future.
Chief Minister Eva Lawler and Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson have called the policy a success, with police reporting a positive impact in the reduction of youth crime, as well as domestic violence.
But advocates and some First Nations residents have criticised the measure, under which children aged under 18 were prohibited from entering central Alice Springs between 6pm and 6am.
18-year-old Alice Springs woman Shanaya McAdam-Bray says she'd like to see a focus on more long-term solutions.
"It's not really addressing the problem in Alice Springs, because obviously when the curfew's done stuff, everything's going to go back to normal. So it's just a band-aid at the moment. They need to come up with a real solution or at least some other ideas to help actually get to the core of the issue with the youth and the crime and everything like that."
Extra police patrols will be on the streets to allay fears of a return to the violence which saw the emergency curfew imposed on March 27th.
Mayor Paterson has said creating safe spaces for young people sleeping rough is essential and has urged the establishment of permanent youth accommodation.
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Gaza's Health Ministry says an Israeli air strike on a refugee camp in Gaza has killed at least 11 people.
It says the Maghazi urban refugee camp was struck and the dead were taken to a nearby hospital in Deir al-Balah.
The health minstry says Israel's operation since October 7 has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 76,000.
Israel says it has killed over 12,000 militants during the war.
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Politicians in the United Kingdom have voted to ban anyone born after 2009 from buying cigarettes, which effectively ensures it will become law.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill pased by 383 votes to 67.
The Health Secretary Victoria Atkins says the plan should create a 'smoke free generation'.
Several Conservative MPs, including former prime minister Liz Truss, say it will limit personal freedom.
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The torch for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has been lit at the site of the ancient games in southern Greece.
Greek actress Mary Mina lit the torch using a backup flame due to cloudy skies to mark the start of the torch relay.
The torch's journey will last 68 days and will end in Paris with the lighting of the Olympic flame on July 26th.
The International Olympic Committee (has cleared the way for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at the Olympics despite the ongoing war in Ukraine.
But they will do so as neutral athletes with no national flag or anthem, a decision that angered Russia.
IOC president Thomas Bach says the Games sends a powerful message at a time of great turbulence in the world.
"This power of sport will make the Olympic Games Paris 2024 a great symbol of human excellence and unity of all humankind in all our diversity. In these difficult times we are living through, with wars and conflicts on the rise, people are fed up with all the hate, the aggression. We are longing for something that gives us hope. The Olympic flame that we are lighting today is this symbol of hope."
