Former Cuban President Raul Castro indicted on murder charges in the US; Australia's diphtheria outbreak continues to grow; and in sport, South Sydney's Jai Arrow retires from the NRL after being diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease.
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TRANSCRIPT:
- Former Cuban President Raul Castro indicted on murder charges in the US
- Australia's diphtheria outbreak continues to grow
- South Sydney's Jai Arrow retires from the NRL after being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease
Former Cuban President Raul Castro has been indicted on murder charges in the Unites States.
Court records show the 94-year-old has been charged with one count of conspiracy to kill US citizens, four counts of murder and two counts of destruction of aircraft.
According to U-S acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the charges stem from a 1996 incident in which Cuban jets shot down planes operated by a group of Cuban exiles.
Florida congressman, Mario Díaz-Balart, who is of Cuban background, says the indictment been a long time coming.
"We expect that the day of justice is finally arriving and that these individuals, and I want to mention their names again, Mario de la Peña, Pablo Morales, Carlos Costa, and Armando Alejandre, will have their day of Justice. We are so grateful for this administration for not looking the other way for the atrocities committed in Cuba by the regime."
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US President Donald Trump says negotiations fort a peace deal with Iran are in their final stages.
It's been more than six weeks after a ceasefire paused fighting between the two sides, but there is yet to be a deal for a more lasting peace.
The US President claims Iran’s military capability has been severely weakened by recent attacks, but he says he remains prepared to escalate military action again if diplomacy fails.
"Iran, have a nuclear weapon, that sounds very simple. We will not let that happen. And we have great support. You wouldn't know that by reading the fake news, but we have great support. People don't want them to have a nuclear weapon and they will not have a nuclear weapon. And they want to make a deal so badly. We'll see what happens. But we hit them very hard, but we may have to hit them even harder, but maybe not. But we're not going to let Iran have a nuclear weapon and blow up the entire Middle East, Israel, the Middle-East."
Iran has repeatedly denied seeking nuclear weapons, maintaining its uranium enrichment program is for civilian purposes.
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Australia's worst diphtheria outbreak in decades continues to grow.
Hundreds of cases have been reported across three states and the Northern Territory, with a dip in vaccination rates blamed for the spread of the generally rare respiratory disease.
Australia has recorded more than 200 diphtheria cases in the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is urging people to get immunised against the infection.
"People need to be vaccinated if they haven't been. That is the most important thing that people can do. This is a serious outbreak. The government's taken it seriously and people do need to get vaccinated."
The Northern Territory's Chief Health Officer, Paul Burgess, says overcrowded housing is a major contributor to the outbreak.
But he says COVID-style lock-downs are not being considered.
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The Coalition says the federal government should do all it can to prevent women and children linked to the I-S group from returning to Australia.
Six Australian women, along with children and grandchildren, are expected to leave a camp in Syria within the next few days.
The federal government says it is not providing the group with any assistance.
But opposition leader Angus Taylor says the government should actively prevent their return.
"The government should be doing everything they can to prevent that from happening and I've said that from the start. I mean these are people who left our country behind to support a terrorist organisation."
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Independent MP Allegra Spender has condemned the federal Opposition Leader's latest comments around restricting migration.
In his budget reply, Angus Taylor promised to set Australia's net overseas migration level at the number of homes completed in the previous year, as well as restrict welfare payments to Australian citizens.
Ms Spender says the One Nation party, and sometimes the Liberals, have engaged in rhetoric about migrants that she describes as damaging and divisive.
Speaking to SBS News, she says her mother, fashion designer Carla Zampatti, migrated from Italy and established a life in Australia.
"My family didn't speak English when they came to Australia, my nonna never learnt. My family didn't come from a liberal western democracy because Italy was a fascist state at the time my family moved here. So the point I'm trying to make here is that people decide to come to this country because they want a better life, and because Australia has a great life to share. We should judge people on who they are, what they contribute to the country, rather than some particular label based on their ethnicity, or their religion or something else."
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To sport and in Rugby League, South Sydney and former Queensland State of Origin enforcer Jai Arrow will retire from the NRL immediately after being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.
Souths chief executive Blake Solly and coach Wayne Bennett confirmed the news in an emotional press conference, with Bennett saying the club intended to fully support Arrow.
"He deserves all the accolades and all the support that he can get. Because he has a battle on his hands. He knows that. But he also knows that he won't have to do it by himself."
The 30-year-old has played 98 games for the Rabbitohs since Wayne Bennett lured the classy forward to the club in 2021 after handing the then-20-year-old his first-grade debut at Brisbane a decade ago.
Arrow's diagnosis comes two and a half years after former Maroons hardman Carl Webb died of MND aged 42.
