Listen to Australian and world news and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.
TRANSCRIPT
A captain of a ship in the Strait of Hormuz says he sees reports of fresh attacks on merchant ships in the region as quite disturbing.
The US military says it sank six Iranian small boats that tried to interfere with commercial shipping as it started an operation to open the Strait of Hormuz, reports Iran has denied.
Raman Kapoor has told Sky News that the vessel he is on has been stationary in the strait since the war in Iran began in February.
He says his crew's morale is once again being affected by the uncertainty over when a resolution will be found to allow the ships to proceed.
"We are a total of 24 crew members on board and we are stuck here ever since the war started on 28th February. And the situation has been, you know, various ups and downs are there ever since the war started. But ever since there was a ceasefire announced, situation was pretty normal. No attacks were there. But past few days, it's been choppy again, you know."
+++
NDIS Minister Mark Butler says work is being done on cultural safety before Indigenous participants are transitioned off the NDIS under reform measures announced to contain the growing cost of the program.
The First Peoples Disability Network Australia has called for culturally safe and appropriate alternatives to be in place.
Almost 160,000 people are expected to be removed from the program, under changes designed to curb spending growth.
Mr Butler has told SBS that an advisory group will be set up to ensure a First Nations strategy is implemented.
"With First Nations communities, there is not just the cultural needs that we need to have front of mind. There is also whether or not frankly, there is a market for the some of the remote and very remote communities in Australia to provide a service that a participant is entitled to. So again, we have got a really strong engagement with First Nations communities. We have had hundreds of sessions with them over the last little while to develop a First Nations Strategy, which will feed into this reform process."
+++
Australian workers were short-changed nearly 25 billion dollars [[$24.4 billion]] in superannuation payments - in the five years to 2023.
That's according to analysis by Super Members Council, which has found about a quarter of workers were affected.
New South Wales has recorded the biggest losses of any state or territory, at 8- point- 1 billion dollars.
The Northern Territory, meanwhile, had the highest average annual underpayment of 2,140 dollars per worker - followed by the A-C-T and WA.
+++
The three people who died in a boat mishap off the New South Wales north coast have been identified as two marine volunteers and a person they were trying to save.
Marine Rescue NSW says they sent out a six-person volunteer team to respond to a yacht in distress at the Ballina Bar.
The conditions proved difficult to navigate, with 2.5 metres of swell and strong winds causing their rescue vessel to capsize.
Four members of the team made it back to shore.
+++
Four Australians are among the 149 people aboard a luxury cruise ship that is dealing an outbreak of a deadly virus.
Cape Verde's Health Ministry says that for now, it will not allow the ship to dock because of public health concerns and that it would stay in open waters close to shore.
Seven cases of the deadly hantavirus have now been identified in a suspected outbreak on a luxury cruise ship off West Africa that has killed three people, a Dutch couple and a German national.
Associate Professor Steven Bradfute - from the University of New Mexico's Centre for Global Health - says there are many questions that will need to be investigated.
"So what's interesting about this is it's occurring on this cruise ship where there's people that have been isolated together for quite a bit of time. The cruise ship originated in Argentina. So one of the main questions with this case is this, and these are a hantavirus that came from South America that was brought on the cruise ship or it was something on the cruise ship and the rodents, if there were rodents on that ship or did it get picked up along the way at the different stops? So that's where some of the investigations are gonna be looking at now."
+++
U-S President Donald Trump says his country is leading China in the effective use of artificial intelligence, as he prepares to meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
Tensions over technology and trade are expected to be addressed when Mr Trump and Mr Xi meet over two days in Beijing next week [[May 14-15]].
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said China must do more to help re-open the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping, and says this topic will also be on the agenda at the meeting in Beijing.
But, despite the tensions over those, and other, issues, Mr Trump says the US-China rivalry is not a hostile one.
"We're leading China in AI. And I'm going to go see President Xi in two weeks. I look forward to that. But I'll say ‘I'm leading’. We have friendly, we have very friendly competition. But it'll be, actually it'll a very important trip.”
+++
In football, Arsenal have taken firm control of the English Premier League race - without even playing.
Manchester City have drawn, three-all, with Everton, giving Arsenal a five-point lead at the top of the ladder, with three games to play.
City led Everton one-nil with 25 minutes to play, but gave up three goals in the space of 14 minutes, and had to scramble just to salvage a draw.
That means if Arsenal win their three remaining games, they will be champions of England for the first time in 22 years.
