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- Three women linked to former IS group fighters arrested after returning to Australia
- Iran says it's still reviewing a US peace proposal
- Pressure builds on the AFL Giants ahead of their clash with Essendon
Three Australian women with ties to the so-called Islamic State group are expected to face court on slavery, crimes against humanity and terror charges, after returning home from years held in a Syrian refugee camp.
The trio is part of a group of more than a dozen women and children who landed in Sydney and Melbourne last night.
The families were greeted at the airport by police, supporters and media.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Counter Terrorism Stephen Nutt says two women were arrested in Melbourne and one in Sydney, and will face charges carrying maximum sentences of 10 and 25 years in jail.
"Operational planning for these matters started in 2015...All I can say is safety of the community is the number one priority for all agencies involved."
The federal government says it played no role in organising the repatriation.
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Iran is still reviewing messages from the United States via Pakistani mediators and has not yet finalised its response to a US proposal to end the war, according to Iranian media.
Tensions remain around control over the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran's Foreign Minister saying navigation will only return to normal if the US ends its naval blockade and sanctions are lifted.
In a 14-point proposal, the US has reportedly urged Iran to enable free transit through the Strait, and proposed a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations.
US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Walz has urged support for a US-proposed UN resolution demanding Iran halt its attacks and stop laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
"We drafted this resolution together with Bahrain and we've worked closely with the rest of our friends in the Gulf and throughout the U.N. because we believe in some basic fundamental principles, namely the freedom of navigation for the entire world's economies - and that's what's at stake here - nothing less than a cornerstone of worldwide stability and commerce. And those who abuse it or seek to throw it out are setting a very, very dangerous precedent."
Diplomats say the resolution is likely to face Chinese and Russian vetoes in any vote.
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Candlelit vigils have been held across Australia for five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby, one week after her body was found in Alice Springs.
People were asked to wear pink, which was her favourite colour, at the request of her family.
The girl’s body was found on April 30, five days after she went missing from an Aboriginal town camp near Alice Springs.
A 47-year-old man, Jefferson Lewis, has been charged with her murder.
First Nations woman Dixie Link-Gordon attended in Sydney to pay her respects.
“I come tonight with the many people that are here and light a candle of remembrance and love for our children across this country. And I would say that we all take a moment all our children, Australian children who deserve a beautiful life of safety and love. Thank you.”
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Australia’s largest survey of migrant working conditions has uncovered stark details of widespread, systematic underpayment.
The study from the Migrant Justice Initiative reveals International students alone are being underpaid $3.18 billion in wages every year.
Report authors say the survey also offers important new data on how employers are concealing exploitation.
Co-executive director of the Migrant Justice Institute, and associate professor at the UNSW Faculty of Law and Justice Bassina Farbenblum is one of the report's authors.
"We found that two in three migrant employees were paid less than the hourly wage they were owed under Australian law. We also found that three quarters were hired in insecure arrangements, either on an ABN or as casual workers. And the ABN rate was really high. There was one in three, migrant workers were on an ABN. That's more than four times the rate in the general workforce."
She says misuse of ABNs has become a core strategy for paying migrants ‘off the books’ and concealing non-compliance.
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AFL Giants coach Adam Kingsley says the club is working through a frustrating stretch as it tries to keep its season on track.
The Giants have struggled for consistency in recent weeks, with pressure building to stay in touch with the top eight.
Kingsley says the side just needs to manage its way through the rough patch.
'Yeah it's a little frustrating but that's the game and you go through patches like this but you just have to manage it and we'll do that."
The Giants face Essendon this weekend as they try to steady their AFL campaign.
