31-07-2025
HECS debt bill passes through parliament
Millions of students will have their debts reduced, after a HECS debt bill passed through parliament
Israel under increasing pressure over Gaza, ahead of US talks in coming hours...
Harrison Turner claims Australia's first-ever world championship medal for 200 metre butterfly
Three million Australian students will have their education debts reduced, after Labor's highly-anticipated student debt bill passed through Parliament today. The Albanese government introduced the HECS debt bill to cut 20 per cent from existing university and TAFE debts as its first order of business last week. The laws aim to reduce student debt as well as reform the repayment system. The cut will apply to debt levels retrospectively, before the 1 June indexation, but will take a few months for the Australian Tax Office to implement. Balances are expected to be revised by the end of the year, saving students and graduates roughly $16 billion. Israel is under increasing pressure to ease the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with Canada the latest country to move to recognise Palestinian statehood and a U-S envoy en route to the Middle East. The Trump Administration's representative, Steve Witkoff, is due to arrive in Israel later today for talks on the situation in Gaza. The Israeli military has reported that 220 aid trucks have entered Gaza on Tuesday. UN agencies are calling for 500 to 600 a day, to meet the needs of a population aid agencies say is starving. Canada's intention to recognise Palestinian statehood was announced in recent hours and Prime Minister Mark Carney says it is subject to conditions. "This intention is predicated on the Palestinian Authority's commitment to much-needed reforms, including commitments by its president, Mahmoud Abbas, to reform its governance and to hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can take no part and to demilitarize the Palestinian state. Canada will increase its efforts to support strong democratic governance in Palestine and contributions of its people to a more peaceful and hopeful future." The World Health Organisation says it has helped evacuate 47 critically ill patients and 129 of their companions from Gaza this week. United Nations spokesperson Farhan Haq says the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is alarmed by an increase in hunger, disease and displacement in famine-stricken regions of Sudan. The Sudan Doctors Network says thirteen children died of malnutrition-related causes last month in a camp for displaced people in the western Darfur region of Sudan, where civil war has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis. UNICEF reports a 46 per cent increase in the most deadly form of malnutrition among children in Darfur, compared with the same period last year. Aid groups have pleaded for the warring sides to allow in more humanitarian assistance. Mr Haq says the besieged city of Al-Fashir in Darfur is one of the worst-affected sites. "In the besieged city of Al-Fashir, the state capital of North Darfur, local sources report that people are dying from hunger and malnutrition. Community-run kitchens have shut down due to lack of food stocks, and some residents have reportedly resorted to consuming animal feed. These cascading crises demand increased international support. The 2025 response plan seeking $4.2 billion to assist 21 million of the most vulnerable people across Sudan is currently 23 per cent funded.' Millions of people on coastlines across 12 countries, have returned home after being evacuated overnight. A tsunami warning has been downgraded in Japan and Hawaiian authorities are reporting minimal damage, after one of the strongest ever earthquakes was recorded off Russia. Parts of Japan, including Hokkaido Prefecture and the Tohoku region, recorded a 60 centimetre swell. There had been fears of a life-threatening tsunami for a number of countries after the 8.8 magnitude quake, but so far there have been only few minor injuries reported. What could be Australia's heaviest insect has been identified in northern Australia's high altitude rainforests. The supersized stick insect, which is about 40cm long, was discovered in high altitude trees in Millaa Millaa in Queensland's Atherton Tablelands. Identified by James Cook University researchers, the female specimen weighed 44g, significantly heftier than Australia's heaviest insect, the up-to 30g giant wood moth. The next step in identifying and eventually naming the species is finding a male, which is proving difficult, due to the male's significantly smaller size. To sport now and in swimming, 21 year-old Harrison Turner has made history, securing Australia's first world championship medal in the mens' 200-metre butterfly. Taking the bronze medal, Turner toppled a 16-year national record, despite only just scraping into the finals of the event. "If you told me I was gonna win a, sorry a bronze medal at the start of the year with a pb (personal best) of 1.57 (minutes) I would have said nah you're dreaming. So, I am lost for words."
Fellow Australian Mollie O'Callahan has also claimed her 10th world title in the 200 metres freestyle.
