Australia news LIVE: More aid for Gaza announced after Harbour Bridge protest; evacuation warnings issued after NSW flooding
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6.48am
TikTok ads drive defence enrolment surge
By Matthew Knott
Advertising on computer games and social media platforms like TikTok has helped drive the biggest surge in Defence Force recruitment in 15 years, a major turnaround that the federal government says has put the military on track to achieve ambitious growth targets.
The Australian Defence Force has been plagued by a recruitment and retention crisis in recent years, but in the past financial year, the military enlisted 7059 permanent personnel, the highest annual intake since 2009.
The full-time ADF workforce has now reached 61,189, slightly below its authorised strength of 62,700 permanent members but significantly up on previous estimates.
More than 75,000 people applied to join the ADF in the past year, the highest number in five years and a 28 per cent increase on the previous year.
6.45am
Israeli minister triggers condemnation after praying at flashpoint holy site
A far-right Israeli minister has visited and prayed at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site, triggering regional condemnation and fears that the provocative move could further escalate tensions.
The visit on Sunday came as hospitals in Gaza said 33 more Palestinians seeking aid were killed by Israeli fire.
Photos and videos showed Itamar Ben-Gvir leading Jewish prayers at the compound, which is known by Jews as the Temple Mount, in the walled Old City of occupied East Jerusalem.
The hillside area is the most sacred site in Judaism and was home to the ancient biblical temples. Muslims call the site the Noble Sanctuary. Today, it is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam.
6.41am
What's making news today
By Daniel Lo Surdo
Hello and welcome to the national news live blog. My name is Daniel Lo Surdo, and I'll be helming our live coverage this morning.
Here's what is making news today:
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has committed a further $20 million to the Gaza humanitarian response one day after some 90,000 pro-Palestine protesters walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to demand an end to a worsening crisis in the Middle East. It takes Australia's total contribution to $130 million, and will support humanitarian organisations to provide food and medical supplies.
Evacuation warnings have been issued in the NSW Hunter and Mid North Coast region amid major flooding on the Peel and Namoi Rivers. The flooding has prompted emergency warnings for parts of Gunnedah and Raymond Terrace after inundation occurred in areas adjacent to the river. The NSW State Emergency Service said they had responded to 18 flood rescues on Sunday night, with about 1500 volunteers activated.
The Australian sharemarket is expected to slide after Wall Street suffered its worst day since May after President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on US trading partners. Trump left trade penalties on Australian goods at its previously announced 10 per cent rate, and pushed back the beginning date to August 7, adding increasing uncertainty to the global trade picture.
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AU Financial Review
an hour ago
- AU Financial Review
Netanyahu leaning toward seizing Gaza, Israeli TV says
Jerusalem | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leaning toward expanding the offensive in Gaza and seizing the entire enclave, Israel's Channel 12 cited an official from his office as saying on Monday (Tuesday AEST). Netanyahu will be convening his cabinet on Tuesday to make a decision on the matter, Israeli media reported, following the collapse of indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas.
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Rare earths miners see opportunity in US trade war
Trade tensions between the US and China are playing into the hands of Australian rare earths miners. The weapons and electronics ingredients with hard-to-pronounce names such as praseodymium and neodymium have become the centre of a geopolitical tussle between the two largest world powers. For aspiring vertically-integrated rare earths producer Australian Strategic Minerals, that presents an attractive opportunity. The ASX-listed firm is busy working on getting its construction-ready Dubbo mine online, but has already been inundated with orders for its South Korea processing plant. It all kicked off when China retaliated to US tariffs by cutting off its near-total supply of rare earth minerals. That sent a wake-up call to American policymakers who realised they needed to take control of their supply chains, ASM chief executive Rowena Smith said on Monday. "The Korean metals plant, particularly in recent months since those restrictions that we saw imposed by China, has had a huge influx of inquiry. So we're busy ramping up our facility there," she told the Diggers and Dealers mining forum in Kalgoorlie. The plant, located 115kms south of Seoul, is one of a few facilities outside of China capable of refining rare earths into the high-tech metals and alloys that are then turned into magnets essential for making electronic devices. In July, the US Department of Defence invested $US400 million in rare earths miner MP Materials, including a generous guaranteed price floor of $US110 per kilogram for neodymium and praseodymium. The decision put a rocket under rare earth prices and put the market on notice that the US government was looking to do business. "At the moment, we've been talking to the DoD about funding support" for a US-based facility, Ms Smith said. "What we're seeing in the US is that the policy is extremely supportive of putting this facility into that jurisdiction. "And we are seeing that, not just at the Trump administration - the federal - but actually at the state level, very strong competition to having this facility put into their own jurisdiction." Another Australian company that has benefited from the Americans' determination to achieve supply chain independence is Lynas, the biggest producer of rare earths outside of China. The Perth-based company has been awarded funds by the DoD to construct a processing facility in Texas, which will add to its current facilities in Malaysia and Kalgoorlie. More details about the project are likely to be revealed on Tuesday morning, when Lynas general manager development Alex Logan takes to the Diggers and Dealers stage. Trade tensions between the US and China are playing into the hands of Australian rare earths miners. The weapons and electronics ingredients with hard-to-pronounce names such as praseodymium and neodymium have become the centre of a geopolitical tussle between the two largest world powers. For aspiring vertically-integrated rare earths producer Australian Strategic Minerals, that presents an attractive opportunity. The ASX-listed firm is busy working on getting its construction-ready Dubbo mine online, but has already been inundated with orders for its South Korea processing plant. It all kicked off when China retaliated to US tariffs by cutting off its near-total supply of rare earth minerals. That sent a wake-up call to American policymakers who realised they needed to take control of their supply chains, ASM chief executive Rowena Smith said on Monday. "The Korean metals plant, particularly in recent months since those restrictions that we saw imposed by China, has had a huge influx of inquiry. So we're busy ramping up our facility there," she told the Diggers and Dealers mining forum in Kalgoorlie. The plant, located 115kms south of Seoul, is one of a few facilities outside of China capable of refining rare earths into the high-tech metals and alloys that are then turned into magnets essential for making electronic devices. In July, the US Department of Defence invested $US400 million in rare earths miner MP Materials, including a generous guaranteed price floor of $US110 per kilogram for neodymium and praseodymium. The decision put a rocket under rare earth prices and put the market on notice that the US government was looking to do business. "At the moment, we've been talking to the DoD about funding support" for a US-based facility, Ms Smith said. "What we're seeing in the US is that the policy is extremely supportive of putting this facility into that jurisdiction. "And we are seeing that, not just at the Trump administration - the federal - but actually at the state level, very strong competition to having this facility put into their own jurisdiction." Another Australian company that has benefited from the Americans' determination to achieve supply chain independence is Lynas, the biggest producer of rare earths outside of China. The Perth-based company has been awarded funds by the DoD to construct a processing facility in Texas, which will add to its current facilities in Malaysia and Kalgoorlie. More details about the project are likely to be revealed on Tuesday morning, when Lynas general manager development Alex Logan takes to the Diggers and Dealers stage. Trade tensions between the US and China are playing into the hands of Australian rare earths miners. The weapons and electronics ingredients with hard-to-pronounce names such as praseodymium and neodymium have become the centre of a geopolitical tussle between the two largest world powers. For aspiring vertically-integrated rare earths producer Australian Strategic Minerals, that presents an attractive opportunity. The ASX-listed firm is busy working on getting its construction-ready Dubbo mine online, but has already been inundated with orders for its South Korea processing plant. It all kicked off when China retaliated to US tariffs by cutting off its near-total supply of rare earth minerals. That sent a wake-up call to American policymakers who realised they needed to take control of their supply chains, ASM chief executive Rowena Smith said on Monday. "The Korean metals plant, particularly in recent months since those restrictions that we saw imposed by China, has had a huge influx of inquiry. So we're busy ramping up our facility there," she told the Diggers and Dealers mining forum in Kalgoorlie. The plant, located 115kms south of Seoul, is one of a few facilities outside of China capable of refining rare earths into the high-tech metals and alloys that are then turned into magnets essential for making electronic devices. In July, the US Department of Defence invested $US400 million in rare earths miner MP Materials, including a generous guaranteed price floor of $US110 per kilogram for neodymium and praseodymium. The decision put a rocket under rare earth prices and put the market on notice that the US government was looking to do business. "At the moment, we've been talking to the DoD about funding support" for a US-based facility, Ms Smith said. "What we're seeing in the US is that the policy is extremely supportive of putting this facility into that jurisdiction. "And we are seeing that, not just at the Trump administration - the federal - but actually at the state level, very strong competition to having this facility put into their own jurisdiction." Another Australian company that has benefited from the Americans' determination to achieve supply chain independence is Lynas, the biggest producer of rare earths outside of China. The Perth-based company has been awarded funds by the DoD to construct a processing facility in Texas, which will add to its current facilities in Malaysia and Kalgoorlie. More details about the project are likely to be revealed on Tuesday morning, when Lynas general manager development Alex Logan takes to the Diggers and Dealers stage. Trade tensions between the US and China are playing into the hands of Australian rare earths miners. The weapons and electronics ingredients with hard-to-pronounce names such as praseodymium and neodymium have become the centre of a geopolitical tussle between the two largest world powers. For aspiring vertically-integrated rare earths producer Australian Strategic Minerals, that presents an attractive opportunity. The ASX-listed firm is busy working on getting its construction-ready Dubbo mine online, but has already been inundated with orders for its South Korea processing plant. It all kicked off when China retaliated to US tariffs by cutting off its near-total supply of rare earth minerals. That sent a wake-up call to American policymakers who realised they needed to take control of their supply chains, ASM chief executive Rowena Smith said on Monday. "The Korean metals plant, particularly in recent months since those restrictions that we saw imposed by China, has had a huge influx of inquiry. So we're busy ramping up our facility there," she told the Diggers and Dealers mining forum in Kalgoorlie. The plant, located 115kms south of Seoul, is one of a few facilities outside of China capable of refining rare earths into the high-tech metals and alloys that are then turned into magnets essential for making electronic devices. In July, the US Department of Defence invested $US400 million in rare earths miner MP Materials, including a generous guaranteed price floor of $US110 per kilogram for neodymium and praseodymium. The decision put a rocket under rare earth prices and put the market on notice that the US government was looking to do business. "At the moment, we've been talking to the DoD about funding support" for a US-based facility, Ms Smith said. "What we're seeing in the US is that the policy is extremely supportive of putting this facility into that jurisdiction. "And we are seeing that, not just at the Trump administration - the federal - but actually at the state level, very strong competition to having this facility put into their own jurisdiction." Another Australian company that has benefited from the Americans' determination to achieve supply chain independence is Lynas, the biggest producer of rare earths outside of China. The Perth-based company has been awarded funds by the DoD to construct a processing facility in Texas, which will add to its current facilities in Malaysia and Kalgoorlie. More details about the project are likely to be revealed on Tuesday morning, when Lynas general manager development Alex Logan takes to the Diggers and Dealers stage.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Rare earths miners see opportunity in US trade war
Trade tensions between the US and China are playing into the hands of Australian rare earths miners. The weapons and electronics ingredients with hard-to-pronounce names such as praseodymium and neodymium have become the centre of a geopolitical tussle between the two largest world powers. For aspiring vertically-integrated rare earths producer Australian Strategic Minerals, that presents an attractive opportunity. The ASX-listed firm is busy working on getting its construction-ready Dubbo mine online, but has already been inundated with orders for its South Korea processing plant. It all kicked off when China retaliated to US tariffs by cutting off its near-total supply of rare earth minerals. That sent a wake-up call to American policymakers who realised they needed to take control of their supply chains, ASM chief executive Rowena Smith said on Monday. "The Korean metals plant, particularly in recent months since those restrictions that we saw imposed by China, has had a huge influx of inquiry. So we're busy ramping up our facility there," she told the Diggers and Dealers mining forum in Kalgoorlie. The plant, located 115kms south of Seoul, is one of a few facilities outside of China capable of refining rare earths into the high-tech metals and alloys that are then turned into magnets essential for making electronic devices. In July, the US Department of Defence invested $US400 million in rare earths miner MP Materials, including a generous guaranteed price floor of $US110 per kilogram for neodymium and praseodymium. The decision put a rocket under rare earth prices and put the market on notice that the US government was looking to do business. "At the moment, we've been talking to the DoD about funding support" for a US-based facility, Ms Smith said. "What we're seeing in the US is that the policy is extremely supportive of putting this facility into that jurisdiction. "And we are seeing that, not just at the Trump administration - the federal - but actually at the state level, very strong competition to having this facility put into their own jurisdiction." Another Australian company that has benefited from the Americans' determination to achieve supply chain independence is Lynas, the biggest producer of rare earths outside of China. The Perth-based company has been awarded funds by the DoD to construct a processing facility in Texas, which will add to its current facilities in Malaysia and Kalgoorlie. More details about the project are likely to be revealed on Tuesday morning, when Lynas general manager development Alex Logan takes to the Diggers and Dealers stage.
