TRANSCRIPT
- Australian Gaza aid flotilla activists urge the federal government to impose an arms embargo on Israel
- The Northern Territory Chief Minister defends a ban on transgender women being placed in female jails
- In football, the Socceroos unbeaten streak under Tony Popovic comes to an end
Australians who were detained by Israeli authorities after being on board a Gaza-bound aid flotilla have spoken out about their experience.
Juliet Lamont was one of seven Australians on board the Global Sumud Flotilla who were detained and then deported by Israel to Jordan.
Ms Lamont has urged the federal government to impose an arms embargo on Israel, saying the ceasefire in Gaza is fragile and more steps should be taken to ensure an end to the fighting.
She says the detention conditions she experienced were harsh - and included alleged assault during a strip search at Ashdod Port.
"Multiple humiliations and invasions and assault. And as a survivor of child sexual abuse, it is, it is unfathomable... Nobody was gievn any menstrual napkins and we were routinely woken up in the middle of the night with huge blasting lights, with Alsatians, and 20 men in riot gear."
479 activists were detained and then deported by Israeli authorities, with many reporting allegations of abuse - including sleep and medication deprivation, beatings, having automatic rifles pointed at their heads, and dogs set upon them.
Israel has rejected allegations of abuse or mistreatment as "brazen lies".
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The Northern Territory government has defended its decision to ban transgender women from being placed in female prisons.
The Northern Territory is the first Australian jurisdiction to announce such a ban.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro says the decision is about preserving the dignity of women.
She says she would like to see other states and territories also adopt the policy.
"We have very clear rules here in the Northern Territory. If you are a bloke, you go to a men's prison; if you are a woman, you go to women's prison. It's a very clear cut there and no shades of grey in this scenario and in the Northern Territory. And I'm calling other premiers and the Prime Minister to take leadership on this issue, and do the same thing to protect their vulnerable women in the custody system."
Advocates for members of the LGBTQI+ community say the policy and language used by Ms Finocchiaro is inaccurate and harmful.
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Teenagers using Instagram will soon be restricted to viewing content in line with PG-13 movie ratings, as Australia readies for a world-first social media ban.
Under the changes, Instagram will hide content that it says features strong language, risky stunts, drug paraphernalia, or promotes potentially harmful behaviours.
Meta’s Regional Policy Director, Mia Garlick, says the changes are part of a global rollout - and don't represent a last ditch effort to skirt Australia's under-16s social media ban.
She says Instagram's parent company Meta, is responding to the concerns raised during their consultations with thousands of parents.
"We recognise that no system is perfect and we're committed to improving over time. But we do hope that this updates reassures parents that we're working to show teens safe, age-appropriate content on Instagram by default, while also giving them more ways to shape their teens' experience."
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Indigenous businesses are in high demand with corporate Australia and governments.
Supply Nation says the First Nations operations they have verified recorded a $5.8 billion procurement spend within the 2024-25 financial year.
That's an increase of $1.2 billion from the previous financial year.
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Projections of slower economic growth for the Australian economy have been confirmed in an update from the International Monetary Fund.
The agency says there are risks connected to the ongoing impact from US tariffs - and the potential for a financial market bubble to form and burst, based on the investment in artificial intelligence.
IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas says the overall environment remains volatile.
"The outlook remains fragile and very sensitive to news on the trade front, as I'm sure all of us have noted, flaring up trade tensions with a potential potential for supply chain disruptions could quickly lower global output by as much as 0.3 per cent point as we explore in our downside scenario."
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In football, the Socceroos have lost to the USA 2-1 in an international friendly in Denver.
The result puts an end to the team's winning streak under coach Tony Popovic.
The Socceroos were unbeaten in 11 games, following their hard-fought 1-nil win against Canada on the weekend.
The Socceroos have already qualified for next year's FIFA World Cup, with Popovic saying the game was a chance for the new players to surprise him ahead of the finals in North America.
