TRANSCRIPT
- Family and children's rights groups call for return of Australian women and children being held in Kurdish-controlled Syria
- Opposition leader condemns what authorities are now calling a likely 'terrorist attack' on Melbourne synagogue
- Saudia Arabia expected to earn the rights to 2034 FIFA World Cup
Family members and a children's rights group are calling for the return of Australian women and children being held in Kurdish-controlled Syria, following the fall of Syria's Bashar al-Assad government.
The 42 Australian citizens are detained in camps in a north-eastern pocket of Syria controlled by US-backed Kurdish forces.
This region was not taken by the rebel forces that captured the capital, Damascus.
The future of the Kurdish-controlled region, however, is uncertain but faces potential threats from the Islamist rebels and their Turkish backers.
Kamalle Dabboussy, whose daughter and grandchildren were repatriated from Syria in 2022, says the remaining Australian women and children there are "terrified".
C-E-O of Save the Children Australia, Mat Tinkler, says he’s "deeply concerned" about their deteriorating security situation.
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A man is reportedly being questioned in Pennsylvania in relation to the killing of a healthcare insurance boss in New York last week.
UnitedHealthcare Chief Executive Brian Thompson was killed last Wednesday outside a hotel in Manhattan.
The search for the unnamed individual has spanned across multiple states and days.
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Opposition leader Peter Dutton has condemned what is now being considered by authorities to be a likely terrorist attack on a Melbourne synagogue.
Victoria and Australian Federal police have decided to investigate the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne's southeast on Friday using the Joint Counter Terrorism Team.
Police are looking for three suspects following the attack but the motive for the incident has not been revealed.
Two of the synagogue's three buildings were gutted in the fire that erupted in the early hours of Friday morning.
On a visit to the place of worship, Mr Dutton has called for antisemitism to be extinguished from Australian society.
"This is obviously now a terrorist attack, as has been acknowledged eventually by the Prime Minister. I think we all need to come together and make sure that we can call out evil where we see it and this really is evil and we need to make sure that the antisemitism that has now become commonplace in our society is repelled at every opportunity and we need to make sure that, as a society, we stand united with the Jewish community and let them know that we will not tolerate any act of antisemitism in our country."
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Britain is trying to reset its relations with the European Union following years of hostility over Brexit.
Visiting Brussels to attend the Eurogroup meeting, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves says the occasion is a chance for Britain to restate its desire to reset relations with their friends and neighbours within the European Union.
But while the UK focuses on efforts to move closer to the Bloc, it risks angering the incoming US President Donald Trump, who is hostile toward the EU and has threatened to impose tariffs on European goods
Ms Reeves says it's time to get the relationship with the EU back on track.
"Economic growth is not a zero-sum game. Countries right across Europe, inside and outside the European Union, including the UK, have struggled with low growth, poor productivity and stagnant living standards these last few years. Competitiveness and trade, crucially are really important for driving productivity and growth. And so as we reset our relations, it says with the purpose of growing our economy and improving living standards for ordinary working people."
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Musical thriller Emilia Perez and historical epic The Brutalist have led the nominations for the 2025 Golden Globes.
The netflix thriller Emilia Perez scored 10 nods and independent film The Brutalist earned seven.
Both movies are competing for the top honour of best film drama, alongisde papal selection story Conclave, Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, sci-fi epic Dune: Part Two, historical drama Nickel Boys and sports journalists story September 5, covering a hostage crisis at the Olympics.
Box office smash Wicked, adapted from a long-running Broadway play about the witches in The Wizard of Oz, landed four nominations.
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A decision to award Saudi Arabia the rights to the 2034 FIFA World Cup is expected to be ratified at the football body's extraordinary congress.
It comes despite concerns from human rights groups who have sought assurances on the treatment of workers.
Saudi Arabia is the only nation to bid for the tournament and runs uncontested.
Yet fears of human exploitation, spurred by the abuse of thousands of migrant workers in the lead up to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, have raised questions on FIFA's accountability.
But the peak football body says the Saudi Arabian bid report maintains a commitment towards respecting internationally recognised human rights.
