Listen to Australian and world news and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.
TRANSCRIPT
- A group of women and children linked to IS Group fighters returning to Australia.
- Donald Trump pauses US efforts to guide vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz.
- Cameron Smith upbeat about the future of LIV golf.
A group of women and children linked to the IS Group are returning to Australia after years in a Syrian camp.
The government has confirmed their return after years in the al-Roj camp in north-east Syria, where Australian families linked to former Islamic State fighters have been trying to leave for years.
But Labor says it has played no role in the repatriation of the four women and nine children, and that monitoring arrangements are already in place, with security agencies preparing for possible returns since 2014.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says any members of the group who have committed crimes will not be exempt from the law.
"These are people who've made what is a horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an extraordinary situation, as we've said many times, any members of this cohort who have committed crimes can expect to face the full force of the law and that will occur."
.
United States President Donald Trump has paused US efforts to guide stranded vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz, saying he wants to finalise a deal with Iran.
In a Truth Social post, President Trump said Project Freedom was halted, but the US blockade of the Iranian ports will remain in place.
He says he is making the move at the request of Pakistan and other countries.
Earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had maintained a ceasefire in the Middle East was still holding and that the initial major US military operation against Iran was over.
"Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation. I'm not going to, you know, we're not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace."
.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says he knows the Reserve Bank’s latest decision on interest rates will add to cost-of-living pressures for Australians.
The Treasurer says next week’s federal budget, to be handed down on Tuesday [[12 May]] night, will accordingly focus on restraint, with significant savings and no large-scale stimulus.
The Reserve Bank of Australia says it lifted rates because inflation remains a concern, and that a tight policy stance is necessary as global factors continue to push up prices.
Dr Chalmers has rejected suggestions government spending is driving inflation.
"Australians are already paying a very hefty price for this war in the Middle East, and the decision taken by the independent reserve bank will make that harder, rather than easier. Now, the decision that the reserve bank took was not about government spending. It wasn't a factor and the decision that they announced yesterday, it wasn't a feature of the statement that the Reserve Bank Board released afterwards. And that's because government spending and budgets are not the primary driver of this inflation that we're seeing in our economy."
.
A fireworks factory explosion in China has killed at least 26 people and injured 61.
The blast in an area known as China’s fireworks capital, flattening buildings and forcing authorities to evacuate nearby areas.
President Xi Jinping has ordered a full investigation, calling for strict accountability over the disaster.
The head of the company has already been detained, and all fireworks manufacturers in the city have been ordered to suspend production for safety checks.
.
The federal government will set up a new centre to monitor extremist activity online, as part of next week’s budget.
The centre will bring together specialist investigators and analysts to identify and disrupt potential threats, as authorities warn of an increase in onkine radicalisation.
The $74 million program will be jointly run by ASIO and the Australian Federal Police, targeting high-risk spaces including gaming platforms and social media.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke says Australia already has dedicated centres tackling issues like child protection and cybercrime, and this new initiative is the next step in responding to rapidly evolving online threats.
"Up until now, threat actors, if they're wanting to engage with them on whatever chat app they might be using alongside or adjacent to the game that they're playing, have had to always been genuine people, well not genuine, like bad actors, but they've had to be people. Now with artificial intelligence, the conversations that are happening in the first instance may well be with bots. They may well be with somebody whose voice is being mimicked to sound younger and even being translated in real time."
.
To sport and in golf news,
Cameron Smith has dismissed retirement rumours, and says he has been given every assurance that LIV Golf will continue beyond this year.
He has declined to confirm who had provided those assurances, saying the news would come from others.
The future of the Saudi-backed breakaway league has been questioned after reports its funding has been withdrawn.
But Mr Smith says he is used to speculation since joining LIV, and remains confident about its future.
