Good afternoon. Benjamin Netanyahu has ignored pleas from Australian Jewish groups to calm his feud with Anthony Albanese, further criticising the prime minister and escalating an ugly spat between the two leaders.
In a new interview with Sky News, the Israeli prime minister, who is wanted by the international criminal court over allegations of war crimes in Gaza, again labelled Albanese “weak” over the government’s recognition of a Palestinian state.
“I’m sure he has a reputable record as a public servant, but I think his record is forever tarnished by the weakness that he showed in the face of these Hamas terrorist monsters,” Netanyahu said in a clip broadcast by Sky News.
Australia’s peak Jewish group, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, on Wednesday labelled Netanyahu’s attack on Albanese as “inflammatory and provocative”, and a “clumsy intervention” which had affected Australia’s Jewish community.
Meanwhile, world leaders have condemned Israel’s announcement it was calling up an extra 60,000 reservists ahead of an offensive to conquer Gaza City, one of the last places of refuge in northern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering.
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In video
JD Vance was booed and heckled with chants of “Free DC!” during a photo op with national guard troops in Washington DC on Wednesday afternoon. Handing out burgers to troops deployed last week by Donald Trump alongside the defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, the US vice-president told soldiers “we brought some law and order back”, as a crowd of demonstrators protested outside.
What they said …
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“It was like, ‘OK, guys, you can do that in question time, the rest of us here don’t really get to do that’.” – Sally McManus
The ACTU secretary was in the room as the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and the Coalition frontbencher Ted O’Brien clashed at the government’s economic reform roundtable. During a heated debate about Labor’s spending commitments in the federal budget, Chalmers told O’Brien “this is not question time”. McManus also claimed a “breakthrough” agreement with the Tech Council of Australia to work together on a model for payment for the use of creative content in training artificial intelligence.
Full Story
Can the government keep kids safe in childcare?
After revelations about alleged abuse at childcare centres, Kate Lyons talks to Reged Ahmad about whether the government can restore faith in the sector.
Before bed read
Feeding native wildlife is a divisive topic. While some throw mince to kookaburras with wild abandon, others insist it’s best to let them fend for themselves. So when a sick possum showed up in Phoebe Loomes’ garden, her heart overtook her head. Is it ever OK to feed urban wildlife?
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: SORB. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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