TRANSCRIPT
- Jewish community puzzled after police reveal a supposed antisemitic incident was a 'fabricated terrorist plot'
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu testifies in his long-running corruption trial
- World number 349 Yosuke Watanuki beats Frances Tiafoe n shock win at Indian Wells
A leading member of Australia's Jewish community says the police announcement that a caravan full of explosives was a fake terror plot is not entirely reassuring.
Deputy commissioners of New South Wales Police and the Australian Federal Police say they believe the caravan, discovered in the Sydney suburb of Dural in January, was not in fact an antisemitic plot but was planted by organised criminals.
They say the criminals tipped the authorities off to the fabricated plot to barter for softer criminal sentences.
Co-chief executive officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Alex Ryvchin says the announcement raises more questions for the Jewish community.
"Well I guess we can take some measure of comfort from knowing there was no active plot to blow up a Jewish target. That seems to be what the police are saying in this case. But at the same time some criminal enterprise in Australia saw fit to pack a caravan full of explosives -- a large quantity -- in order to terrorise the Jewish community or frighten the Jewish community."
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke says the plot caused fear and fractures in the Australian community.
"This is something where organised crime have managed to cause the Jewish community in Australia to feel genuine fear and, at the same time, caused other communities, including the Muslim community to receive a level of blame and suspicion they did not deserve."
**
The Syrian-Australian community is calling for action from the Australian government after over 800 civilians were reportedly killed in fighting in Syria's northwest.
The U-K-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported that over 1,300 Syrians have been killed in a matter of days amid fighting between pro-government forces and those loyal to the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad.
The war monitor also says at least 830 Alawite civilians have been killed in executions carried out by security personnel or pro-government fighters.
The Alawites are an ethnoreligious minority to which the former president belongs.
Syrian-Australian woman Tima has lost 14 people in the violence, including her cousin Ibrahim.
"Ibrahim was outside of his house looking for his sister as he was looking for her, they approached him and they started yelling at him to run back into his house. As he was trying to go back in they started shooting him. First shot was in the leg. As he's run inside screaming they've shot him again and again and again until he fell to the floor and they just kept shooting into him. They approached the house, they shot the mom and dad and then they shot the little girl in her head in cold blood. No feelings, nothing, just gone... the whole family."
**
United States President Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack against former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull as he weighs up whether to give Australia an exemption from tariffs on steel and aluminium.
In a statement on his social media platform Truth Social, the President called Mr Turnbull a "weak and ineffective leader", arguing that he "never understood what was going on in China, nor did he have the capacity to do so."
The post follows comments made by the former prime minister in an interview on Bloomberg television, where he argued that Mr Trump's foreign policy is not only damaging to the world, but harmful to the U-S economy.
"I don't think Americans will be happy if inflation starts to go up or they go into a recession. People are very pessimistic about the consequences of his policies. I mean, if this triggers a global wave of protectionism around the world, that's clearly going to be bad for business everywhere. Trump seems to have a view that America can prosper at the expense of everyone else but that's not going to work."
Malcolm Turnbull has since responded to the U-S President's online tirade, telling the ABC the Australian government must be honest about Mr Trump's impact on the world instead of joining what he called a "conga line of sycophants".
**
Protesters in Israel are rallying against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv as he testifies in his long-running corruption trial.
Mr Netanyahu is facing multiple corruption charges in Israeli courts, including allegations of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.
He has denied any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty.
The testimony is a low point for Israel's controversial longest-serving leader, who also faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes amid Israel's assault on Gaza.
This protester says it's time for Mr Netanyahu to resign.
"We've been in the streets for years and years and he has not left his position. His corruption is connected with a straight line to the abandonment of our hostages, our families, and he thinks this is not important. He wants war, he wants war, he wants war. All of us have kids that fought in the war in Gaza, in Lebanon. We don't want anymore war. We want him out of government. He's corrupt, he's a danger for democracy, he's a danger to our people."
**
In tennis, Japanese qualifier and world-number-349 Yosuke Watanuki has pulled off a major shock at the Indian Wells tournament in California, beating home favourite and 16th seed Frances Tiafoe, 6-4, 7-6.
Watanuki is the lowest-ranked man to make the fourth round of Indian Wells since tournament director Tommy Haas in 2004.
The 26-year-old dominated Tiafoe with nearly 50 winners including 16 aces in the two-hour match.
Here's the moment the Japanese challenger secured the upset victory, as seen on Tennis TV.
"California dreaming for the Japanese qualifier Yosuke Watanuki. He takes down a home hope in Frances Tiafoe and he does it with a smile on his face. A star performance tonight."
