Hamas leader killed

Did you know there is an election in the ACT tomorrow?

Elizabeth Lee is hoping to lead the Canberra Liberals out of 23 years in Opposition, while Chief Minister Andrew Barr is seeking Labor’s seventh consecutive term.

I also have to mention, one of the most unexpected moments of the campaign was when Lee was caught on camera flipping off a journalist. I guess you could say it was… one of the more… authentic moments I’ve seen from a politician. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You can watch here.

“I’m the father of IVF.”
U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump to an all-female audience at a campaign event on Fox News. Trump’s party, the Republicans, have repeatedly voted against a federal bill that would protect access to IVF.

5.3 million kgs
The number of kilos of meat that has been recalled in the U.S. following a suspected listeria outbreak. Listeria is a bacteria that can cause very serious illness if consumed by some people.

1922
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was officially founded as a radio station.

Liam Payne, a former member of One Direction, has died in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

State police have confirmed to local media that the 31-year-old fell from a hotel balcony. The circumstances surrounding the fall are unclear, and are under investigation.

According to local newspaper La Nación, police responded to an emergency call from the hotel manager, citing “an aggressive man who could be under the effects of drugs and alcohol”.

In 2010, Payne auditioned for the UK talent show The X Factor. He and four other teenage boys – Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Harry Styles – were put into a group called One Direction.

The group came third on the show. Their debut single ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ catapulted them to international fame.

The band went on to release five albums, with ‘Take Me Home’, released in 2012, being their most successful.

They were one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. They announced an ‘indefinite hiatus’ in 2016.

Following the group’s split, Payne released several singles and an album, LP1. His debut single ‘Strip That Down’ was his most successful.

He most recently released ‘Teardrops’ earlier this year.

Payne has a seven-year-old with former partner, singer Cheryl, who was a judge on Payne’s season of The X Factor.

A different former partner told UK tabloid The Sun this week she was planning to take legal action against Payne for repeatedly contacting her.

In July of last year Payne posted a video to YouTube titled ‘I’m Back’.

“I just needed to take a little bit of time out for myself actually because I kind of became somebody who I didn’t really recognise,” Payne said.

He also revealed he had been sober from alcohol for six months.

“It’s good to be in this position and I definitely don’t need those things anymore,” he said. “Party’s over.”

Payne attended his former bandmate Niall Horan’s concert in Argentina two weeks ago.

For more on the life of Liam Payne, listen to today’s podcast.

Reporting by Chloe Christie.

The leader of Hamas, who was considered the architect of Oct 7, has been killed overnight in Gaza.

Earlier this week, the U.S. called on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza or risk having some of its weapons supply cut over concerns of a “deteriorating humanitarian situation” in Gaza. It comes as Israel has intensified its attacks on northern Gaza over recent weeks.

At the same time, travel warnings have been updated for Australians in Israel amid concerns about an “ongoing threat of missile and rocket attacks [into] Israel“.

On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched an attack on Israel. According to data cited by the UN, roughly 1,200 people were killed. Hamas, which Australia lists as a terrorist organisation, captured about 240 hostages. 101 people remain captive today.

Israel responded by declaring war and bombarding Gaza. According to data cited by the UN, more than 42,300 Palestinians have now been killed since 7 October. Israel’s war in Gaza has caused a humanitarian crisis, with most of Gaza’s population now displaced.

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in an Israeli attack in Rafah, Gaza.

Sinwar became the leader of Hamas earlier this year after the group’s former political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in Iran. Previously, he had been Hamas’ leader in Gaza.

Over the last year, it had been reported that Sinwar was hiding with Israeli hostages, taken captive on Oct 7, to lessen the likelihood of being killed.

In May, the ICC requested Sinwar, alongside other Hamas and Israeli leaders, be arrested for war crimes. Sinwar was accused by ICC prosecutors of crimes including murder, taking hostages, and sexual violence.

In a statement, Israel’s Foreign Minister said: “Sinwar's elimination opens the door for the immediate release of the hostages and paves the way for the end of Hamas' rule and a new reality in Gaza.”

Over the past fortnight, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have focused on attacking parts of northern Gaza, where approximately 400,000 Palestinians remain. Gaza’s biggest refugee camp, Jabalia, is in this area.

According to the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator for the Palestinian Territories, sustained Israeli attacks have resulted in 50,000 people being displaced in the Jabalia area.

The IDF claim they have “eliminated dozens of terrorists and confiscated numerous weapons” in the area.

This week, an Israeli strike hit the Al-Aqsa Hospital compound in central Gaza, killing at least five people.

The airstrike set the tents of Palestinians who were sheltering in the hospital’s car park ablaze.

The IDF said it targeted a Hamas control centre in the car park adjacent to the hospital.

A U.S. National Security Council spokesman called the images “deeply disturbing” and urged Israel to do more to protect civilians.

On 12 October, the World Food Programme (WFP), which is part of the United Nations, warned a key entry point for aid into northern Gaza had been cut off, and that no food aid had entered the north since the beginning of the month.

In a statement, the WFP said: “Escalating violence in northern Gaza is having a disastrous impact on food security for thousands of Palestinian families.”

The next day, the U.S. Government wrote to the Israeli Government, threatening to pause its weapons supply if Israel did not allow more aid to enter Gaza.

The letter urged Israeli leaders to open four border crossings into Gaza within 30 days. Failure to comply could impact U.S. arms shipments to Israel, it warned. Brown University estimates U.S. military aid to Israel cost $US17.9 billion ($AU26.7 billion) in the year to September 2024.

An Israeli official said authorities were reviewing the letter and taking the matter “seriously”.

On Wednesday, Israel said 50 trucks carrying humanitarian aid had entered northern Gaza via two crossings.

While the Israel-Hamas war continues in Gaza, a parallel war between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified.

On October 8 last year, Hezbollah, which Australia classifies as a terrorist organisation, began firing rockets at northern Israel. Since that time, cross-border attacks have continued.

Hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli strikes across Lebanon in recent weeks, with the IDF intensifying its attacks on the south and the capital Beirut. The Lebanese Health Ministry says 2,300 people have now been killed since October last year.

An Israeli airstrike on the majority-Catholic village of Aitou in Lebanon’s north has killed around 23 people and injured more than 100 others.

UN Human Rights spokesman, Jeremy Laurence, has since called for a “prompt and thorough investigation” into the airstrike, which had killed at least two children and hit residential buildings.

The IDF has not commented on the Aitou strike.

UN peacekeepers, who have been situated at the Israel-Lebanon border for decades, have this week claimed IDF strikes damaged their headquarters in southern Lebanon and injured five peacekeepers.

A joint statement from 40 countries “strongly condemned” the strikes.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied targeting the headquarters and said the Israeli military had told UN forces to leave the area before it advanced into Lebanon.

Earlier this week, Hezbollah launched a missile strike on an Israeli army base, killing four soldiers and penetrating the country’s air defence systems.

Israel’s air defence system has intercepted most of the thousands of missiles Hezbollah has launched since last year.

Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced due to these Hezbollah attacks.

This week, the U.S. announced it will send an anti-missile system to Israel to “help bolster” its defences. It follows an Iranian missile attack on Israel earlier this month.

According to the Pentagon, U.S. military personnel will be deployed to operate the system on the ground in Israel.

It is widely expected that Israel will retaliate against Iran imminently. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week that any response will be “based on [Israel’s] national interest”.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong this week announced financial sanctions and travel bans on five Iranians who had contributed to Iran’s missile program.

In a statement, she said: “Australia will continue to hold Iran to account for its reckless and destabilising actions.”

Australia also updated its travel advice for Israel to “do not travel”. According to Smartraveller, there is an “ongoing threat of missile and rocket attacks in Israel”. Australians in Israel have been encouraged to leave “while it’s safe to do so”.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

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Ardern was made a Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit by Prince William and Princess Kate in a ceremony at Windsor Castle, officially giving her the title of ‘Dame’.

In a social media post, William and Kate said it was a privilege to give the award to “a friend and an extraordinary advocate”. Ardern said she was humbled by the “huge honour”, calling it an acknowledgment of everyone who supported her during her years of leadership.

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Reporting by Achol Arok.

Thousands of NSW students started their HSC exams this week, commencing with the two-part English exam. In the first exam paper, students are typically asked to respond to creative pieces like poems or artworks.

This year, an image used in the first exam caught one student’s eye because it appears to be AI-generated.

In a post to Reddit, the student said it was difficult to “analyse the composer’s intent” because the composer is an AI generator.

Another student took to TikTok to point out the ‘tells’ that the image is likely AI, including a mass of cables stemming from an unknown object on the left side, and “warped” keys on a laptop.

Reporting by Lucy Tassell.

A former band member of One Direction, Liam Payne, has been found dead in Bueno Aires, the capital of Argentina.

Payne is survived by his seven-year-old son, who he shared with former partner, singer Cheryl Tweedy.

Today we trace the rise of the British musician, his remarkable success with one of the world's most popular boy bands of all time, his solo career, and the struggles he faced in the spotlight.