Midday News Bulletin 18 March 2024

SBS NEWS OK AUDIO 16X9 DAY.png

Source: SBS News

The federal government under pressure again on immigration detention; Vladimir Putin reveals Navalny swap plan; and Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz win at Indian Wells


Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.

TRANSCRIPT

Immigration detention is set to dominate Australian politics this week, as the government prepares for another High Court case that could see more than 100 people released.

An Iranian man, known as A-S-F 17, who is detained for refusing to cooperate with Iranian authorities will argue he should be released from detention in the High Court next month. If successful, his case could lead to 151 other people being released.

Last year, the government scrambled to introduce legislation to manage 149 people released from detention on strict visa conditions, after the successful High Court case known as NZYQ.

Liberal Senator Jane Hume says the government has bungled immigration detention issues.

"They've already issued the wrong visas, which means that those in breach their visa conditions have been set free again, there's just chaos and incompetence. There is mistake after mistake here. Why weren't the preventative detention orders that were legislated last year strong enough? And if they're not strong enough, well, what is it that they can do? We've already sat for three weeks. Why haven't there been amendments passed to make them stronger? The coalition will help them pass those amendments. But quite frankly, the government has to do the work, not the coalition here."
——

Newly elected Russian President Vladimir Putin says there were discussions to exchange former Opposition leader Alexei Navalny with other imprisoned Russians from western countries before his death.

In his first speech following the Presidential election results, Mr Putin addressed the issue of Mr Navalny's death, saying it was unfortunate.

Mr Navalny, who was Vladimir Putin's fiercest opponent, was killed in an Arctic prison, with some saying he had been wrongfully incarcerated.

Mr Putin says the main condition for Mr Navalny's exchange was that he would never be allowed to returned to Russia.

"The person who spoke to me hadn't finished his sentence yet, and I said: "I agree." But unfortunately, what happened is what happened. On one condition only, I said: "We'll change it so he doesn't come back, let him sit there." But things happen, there's nothing you can do about it."
—-

The government has urged Australians to be careful with their data online, as the United States moves closer to banning TikTok

The U-S House of Representatives last week passed a bill to ban the social media platform, sparking discussion about the safety of TikTok in Australia.

Liberal Senator James Paterson has called for Australia to follow suit.

Tanya Plibersek told the Seven Network the government is listening to the advice of security agencies.

"We've got a ban here in Australia on government devices. But there are 8.5 million Australians who are using it. We'll take the advice of our security and intelligence agencies on anything we need to do around TikTok. I think people should be careful of the data that they put online in general. And like I say, if the security intelligence agencies give us advice on TikTok, we'll take it."
————-


Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Tel Aviv calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas.

The protestors blocked one of the key highways in Tel Aviv, creating congestion and traffic issues.

A number of people related to the hostages were among the protestors' group.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly declared his intention to continue with the war until his country has achieved total victory over Hamas.
—-

Greens Senator Jordan Steele-John has called on the federal government and the Opposition to condemn Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip.

It comes as the number of people killed in Gaza since the start of Israel's offensive has exceeded 31,000.

Both the government and Opposition have stated their support for Israel's right to defend itself following the October 7 Hamas attacks that started the war.

Senator Steele-John says the Australian Parliament must change its stance on a war that has caused the death of many children.

"These crimes, these cruel acts, cannot continue to be perpetrated with the support of he Australian Parliament. These crimes, these cruel acts, must be condemned. The government must now take the opportunity, the Opposition must now take the opportunity, to join with the Greens and to join with the vast majority of the Australian community who say not in our name."
—-

Rideshare giant Uber has agreed to pay out a total of $272 million to taxi drivers and car hire owners following its aggressive move in the Australian market.

A high number of workers in the industry were set to take their case against Uber to the Supreme Court of Victoria yet decided to drop their case after the company agreed to compensate them.

In what would've been the fifth biggest class action lawsuit in the country, over 8000 workers were set to hold Uber into account for making them lose a large portion of their income.

Uber's strong presence in the market de-valued the licenses of taxi drivers and car hire owners, with the company refusing to pay them back them for their losses.
—-

A man from Victoria has died after jumping out of a hot air balloon in Melbourne.

Paramedics were called at the scene in Preston on Monday morning after the man was found, with police taking statements from witnesses.

The balloon landed in Yarra Bend Park, many kilometres away from where the body of the man was found.

A report is being prepared for the coroner.
——

In tennis,

Carlos Alcaraz has defeated Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-1 to take the men's singlwes title at Indian Wells in California.

World number one Iga Swiatek [[svee-OHN-tek]] has dominated Greece's Maria Sakkari 6-4 6-0 in the women's.

The Polish star came out guns blazing and built a 3-0 lead, before the young Athenian fought her way back into the game and leveled things at 4-4.

Swiatek reclaimed the lead soon after, winning the first set 6-4 as Sakkari showed she had no response for the dominant backhand of the number one ranked player.

Swiatek then went on to win the second and final set of the tournament 6-0, in a game that lasted a little over 60 minutes.










Share

Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world