Morning News Bulletin 5 May 2024

SBS NEWS OK AUDIO 16X9 DAY.png

Source: SBS News

Three people charged after the disappearance of two Australian brothers in northern Mexico; Police investigating after Queensland MP says she was drugged and sexually assaulted; and Sydney FC claim a record fifth title in their A-League Women grand final against Melbourne City.


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

TRANSCRIPT
  • Three people charged after the disappearance of two Australian brothers in northern Mexico.
  • Police investigating after Queensland MP says she was drugged and sexually assaulted.
  • Sydney FC claim a record fifth title in their A-League Women grand final against Melbourne City.
Three people have been charged in relation to the two Australian brothers and their American friend who went missing during a surfing trip in northern Mexico.

Ther are reports that Mexican officials have laid criminal charges against three people who were being questioned in the case of the disappearance of Jake and Callum Robinson and their friend Jack Carter Rhoad.

This comes after the discovery of a number of bodies in a pit close to the last known location of the men.

Local journalist Mario Munoz has told SBS there were signs of gunshot wounds on the bodies which were deep in the ground.

"They also found a fourth body. So, there were four bodies found inside. The well was ten meters deep. There were authorities from all different departments working together to retrieve them."

The bodies have been sent to be forensically tested by Mexican authorities and have not yet been formally identified.

The parents of Jake and Callum Robinson have travelled from Perth to the region ahead of any further announcements.

Queensland Police say they're aware of another claim of sexual assault similar to the allegation made by Labor MP Brittany Lauga.

They've confirmed officers are investigating a complaint regarding an incident in Yeppoon, in addition to the allegation made by Ms Lauga.

The assistant health minister says she went to the police and the hospital on April 28 after being allegedly drugged and assaulted on a night out in Yeppoon, a town in her central Queensland electorate.

Ms Lauga says she has been contacted by other women who say they were also drugged on the Saturday evening.

The federal government has announced it will be cutting the student debt of three million Australians to make amends for the 2023 indexation hike.

Education Minister Jason Clare says the government will cap the Higher Education Loan Program indexation rate which will eliminate around $3 billion of student debt.

The government says it will backdate the changes, which formed part of the May federal budget, back to student loans from June last year.

Mr Clare says the changes will wipe out what happened with the indexation hikes and ensure it doesn't happen again.

A Hamas official says negotiators have arrived in Cairo for intensified talks on a possible Gaza truce.

An Egyptian security source has told Reuters that the results of new talks will be "different", after mediators had helped Israel and Hamas reach agreement on several points.

The talks have stumbled over Hamas' long-standing demand for a commitment to end the almost seven-month-old offensive by Israel, which has killed more than 34,600 Palestinians and wounded more than 77,000, according to Gaza's health ministry.

Israel has insisted that after any truce it would resume operations designed to disarm and dismantle Hamas, after Hamas' October the 7th attack on southern Israel in which Israel says 1200 people were killed and 250 hostages taken.

But signalling a possible breakthrough, Hamas said on Friday it would come to Cairo in a "positive spirit" after studying the latest proposal for a deal, while Israel has said it is open to the new terms.

The Albanese government has continued to defend itself following the alleged assault of an elderly Perth couple by a man freed from immigration detention after a High Court ruling in November.

The prime minister and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles have criticised the government-appointed community protection board, which was set up following the decision, after it reportedly recommended the detainee not be required to wear an ankle bracelet.

The 43-year-old man, who was on bail at the time of the alleged assault, is one of three people who have been charged in connection with the incident.

He has been remanded in custody and will appear in court again later in May.

Health Minister Mark Butler says the government shares the public's frustration with the consequences of the High Court decision.

"We're doing every thing we can, putting every resource we can to implement the laws that the parliament passed last year, and we put into place this community protection board because we thought it was appropriate to have best possible advice from people with very deep law enforcement experience."

In football,

Sydney FC have beaten Melbourne City 1-nil to claim a record fifth A-League Women championship, and their second-in-a-row.

City dominated possession but super-substitute Shea Connors struck in the 69th minute, brilliantly assisted by teen sensation Indiana Dos Santos, to seal the Sky Blues' victory.

Both teams were on four titles heading into Saturday's clash at AAMI Park in Melbourne, which took place in front of 7671 fans.

It was the second-highest grand final attendance ever, after the 9519 in Sydney last year.

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