TRANSCRIPT
- The Prime Minister marks ANZAC Day with a four-day visit to Papua New Guinea
- An independent review says Israel yet to provide evidence of allegations against UNRWA
- Australia's longest-serving Matilda discusses preparations for the Olympics
A scholar on Pacific relations says the decision by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to be in Port Moresby for the Dawn service on Anzac Day is significant in deepening bilateral ties.
Mr Albanese has flown to Papua New Guinea for a four-day visit, where he will mark the start of the day on Thursday, after trekking the Kokoda Track with PNG Prime Minister James Marape today and tomorrow.
Oliver Nobetau is the Foundation for Development Corporation (FDC) Pacific Fellow at the Lowy Institute.
He says the gesture serves the interests of both countries.
"It's not an official trip this time around, but Albanese is going as a bit of a show of faith for the relationship he sees between the PNG people as well as Australia. We can see this from what happened last year when Albanese was the first Australian prime minister to address the floor of parliament in PNG. And Marape was accorded the same sort of opportunity earlier this year. And this is sort of just a build on from what both governments I think are trying to do to firm the relationship up moving forward."
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China is set to to sign a free trade agreement with PNG, in its attempt to widen its scope to the broader Pacific region.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has met with his Papuan counterpart in Port Moresby to iron out the details of the FTA
The deal is set to include several development opportunities for the Pacific nation, giving it access to the Chinese market.
Foreign Affairs Minister of Papua New Guinea Justin Tkatchenko says this agreement will benefit his nation.
"This is something that will open up many doors, open up the markets for many different commodities and for our people. So I've been told by the foreign minister, 'let's hurry up and get it done'. They have already done this side and completed. So it is up for us to do ours quickly."
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New South Wales Police have made a further arrest over the riot incidents in Wakeley that took place after the stabbing of a prominent local bishop.
Police say they have arrested a 23-year-old who appeared at Fairfield police station on Monday night.
He is now facing multiple charges and is set to appear at Fairfield Court later today.
New South Wales are on the hunt for at least 12 more men who took part in the riot and have released their images to the public.
They are calling for anyone who might have information about them to come forward.
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Social media platform X has been given an order from the Federal Court of Australia to remove all graphic content involving the Wakeley stabbing incident.
The eSafety Commissioner had previously told both X and Meta to take down the content from their platforms.
Meta complied with the order, but X responded by geo-blocking all videos relating to the incident for Australian users.
X's Global Government Affairs teams says the posts did not violate its rules on violent speech and that it will legally challenge the order.
Following the takedown order from the Australian court, X will be given two days to respond before a final decision is made.
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An independent review into the neutrality of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has found some issues, but says Israel is yet to provide evidence staff members collaborated with militant groups.
Former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna has delivered her 54-page report, requested by the agency following Israeli allegations staff participated in the October the 7th attacks.
She has said UNRWA remains "irreplaceable and indispensable" for Palestinians.
An Israeli spokesperson has described the report as "insufficient".
Ms Colonna says Israel was not obligated to provide evidence of its allegations, the subject of a separate UN investigation, saying the review had "good relations" with the country.
She says most neutrality breaches related to social media posts incidents of violence affecting colleagues or relatives, but the agency did have neutrality mechanisms in place.
"Actually it probably has a more developed system than other U.N. organizations or agencies, which is a necessity considering the very difficult environment, complex and difficult situation in which they operate and the uniqueness of their mission. There's always room for improvement and some issues related to neutrality persist, this is why this mission was created."
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Long-serving Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams says preparations are going well for the Paris Olympics.
The proud Noongar woman has competed in two Olympic Games and five World Cups.
She says team spirits are still high after last year's World Cup, with the team almost being back to full strength.
But she told Living Black nerves still creep in before the global competition.
"I definitely still get nervous. I think that's a good thing. It shows me to myself that I still care; and I really enjoy playing. We don't want to leave wherever we go without anything to show. And I think everyone is at that age when the next phase, we might be too old for it. There will be this hunger and desire like probably nothing else I think."
