The government vows no support for a group of suspected Australian IS group fighters in Iraq; 13 people killed returning from a wedding in Indonesia; and in cycling, Mathieu van der Poel wins stage nine of the Tour de France.
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TRANSCRIPT
- The government vows no support for a group of suspected Australian IS group fighters in Iraq
- More than a dozen people killed returning from a wedding in Indonesia
- Mathieu van der Poel wins stage nine of the Tour de France
The Minister for Home Affairs says the government will not provide any support to a group of Australian men suspected of being former IS Group fighters, who are being held in an Iraqi prison.
It follows a report in the Australian newspaper claiming 13 Australian men held in a prison in Baghdad were slated for interviews with Iraqi and US officials to determine their involvement, and possible release.
Minister Tony Burke says there will be no government backing for their repatriation.
He says the decisions the men have made show a rejection of Australian values.
"We are doing nothing to assist any of them. Our view is citizens of a country are able to return to the country of their citizenship. But given what these individuals decided they wanted to join, we will do absolutely nothing. We will not lift a finger to be able to bring them back or to get them back here."
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The federal government is urging Australians concerned about loved ones following a deadly fire at a Bangkok bar to contact the consular assistance line.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has said it is continuing to make urgent enquiries with local authorities to determine if any Australians have been affected.
Thailand Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul says the cause of the fire, which killed at least 27 people, is still under investigation.
Bangkok resident Natcha Rattanaja says she feared the fire would engulf surrounding buildings.
"I saw videos and the fire was blazing quite strongly, so I was worried about my office. I hurried to get here. I was quite shocked."
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A pick-up truck carrying wedding guests has been crushed between two trucks on a busy highway in Indonesia, killing 13 people and injuring five others.
The crash has occurred on the main island of Java.
Local traffic police chief Undang Syarif Hidayat says the group was returning home in an open bed pickup truck after attending a wedding.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
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The federal government says its move to replace handwritten passenger arrival cards with a digital option at all Australian airports will improve the country's biosecurity.
The national rollout of the Australia Travel Declaration from next year, follows a trial involving more than 450,000 passengers on Qantas international flights into Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne since October 2024.
The federal government says the change is aimed at streamlining processes for arriving passengers ahead of the expected large number of tourists for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games.
Agriculture Minister Julie Collins says the changes will also speed up the collection of information in the case of global disease outbreaks.
"What this information coming electronically will mean is, is that we're able to get more information, but importantly, we're also able to be dynamic and adapt to challenging and changing biosecurity needs. So if there's an additional question or more information, we're able to update that really quickly without having to reprint these traveler declaration cards."
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Wildlife advocates are calling for the mass rollout of a new chlamydia vaccine implant that has recently been administered to wild koalas for the first time.
The implant uses two doses of vaccine that can now be applied using only one examination.
Five wild koalas from Burleigh in Queensland have now received the implant with two of the koalas both testing negative for chlamydia a month later.
Senior Veterinarian Dr Michael Pyne says it's a major step forward for helping the koala population.
"I guess we are getting to this point now where we are using a modified implant and we are making this breakthrough it is truly exciting. It gives us so much for the future and what can be achieved."
The project is led by Queensland's University of Technology and Currumbin Wildlife Hospital.
The World Wide Fund for Nature Australia is backing the research.
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To sport and in cycling, Mathieu van der Poel has earned his nickname as the Flying Dutchman, after securing victory in stage nine of the Tour de France.
It is the rider's first Grand Tour win this year, and he says the intense 34-degree heat provided an extra challenge.
"Yeah, it was, wow, a super hard day. Yeah, start of the Tour was not great for our team, but, I think, like, always we stayed calm, we have a really nice group here, and we kept believing that it will turn around, and maybe not today, maybe second week, maybe third week, but yeah, it’s really nice to go to the first rest day with a win."
Four-time champion Tadej Pogacar remains the overall race leader.
