TRANSCRIPT
- Queensland's parliament passes tough new youth crime laws
- South Korea's president Yoon Suk Yeol faces fresh calls to resign, from his own party
- PNG residents say they are proud to be entering Australia's National Rugby League
Tough new youth crimes laws have passed through the Queensland Parliament, lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 10 .
The laws mean youth offenders will now be sentenced as adults for more than a dozen serious crimes, including a life sentence for murder.
The so-called "adult time, adult crime" laws were a key plank of the new Liberal government's election pitch, and Premier David Crisafulli says he hopes they will receive royal ascent as soon as possible.
As the laws passed through paliament late Thursday [[13 December]], Mr Crisafulli was asked about concerns the laws would put strain on youth detention centres and watchhouses.
"This is the first strike back after a generation of weakening the laws. In the short term, there will be some real pressure, but by sending a stronger message around consequences for action, by doing early intervention to a level we've never done before, by working on rehabilitation when a young person is inside and when they're released, we believe that there will be fewer victims of crime."
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Large tech companies with more than $ 250 million dollars in revenue such as Google and Facebook's parent company Meta, could be forced to pay up to have Australian news on their platform.
It comes as the Federal Government announced its plans on Thursday to update the News Media Bargaining Code, established in 2021.
Dr Sora Park, a Communications Professor at the University of Canberra says social media platforms often don't understand the value of news.
"Social media companies may not think news is important to them because they have plenty of other content that people consume, but for consumers news is incredibly important even though it might not be the major thing they see on social media, it's a very important element of why they are on social media. So I don't think social media companies can ignore that."
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The family of an Indigenous 16-year-old who died decades ago have rallied outside the New South Wales Coroners Court calling for a coronial investigation to be re-opened.
Lewis "Buddy" Kelly was found dead on railway tracks outside of Kempsey in New South Wales in 1983.
In 2020, Buddy’s body was exhumed with the permission of his family by the New South Wales Coroner to be forensically examined.
His sister Monica Kelly is hoping for an investigation into new evidence believed to be reported to the state's police and coroner.
"What our family has gone through has been four decades and four generations of trauma. We have not received updates from the Coroner about the investigation, and for four years we have had to live with the freshly opened wound of Buddy’s death. If there is any information that can be provided to us, then it should be. Our lives are passing by while waiting for the results of this investigation that started more than four years ago."
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South Korea's president Yoon Suk Yeol is now facing calls from his own party to resign.
The calls come as the leader of the ruling party, Han Doong-hon declared President Yoon could no longer fulfil his duties.
Trade union members had also rallied in Seoul [[on Thursday]], demanding for his immediate arrest and impeachment.
In a speech, Yoon Suk Yeol has vowed to fight to the end - defending his shock move to declare martial law last week.
"I try to protect the liberal democracy and constitutional order of the republic of Korea against the opposition party's parliamentary dictatorship. How can the President's constitutional decision and act of governance become a rebellion."
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More than 20,000 people are under evacuation orders in Malibu, California.
This comes as fast-moving wildfire has burnt through around 16-hundred hectares in the area.
Authorities in the US are warning it could take several days to contain the blaze.
About 1,500 firefighters have been deployed to contain the fire.
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Romania and Bulgaria will become full members of the open-border Schengen area from January 1, 2025, following a decision by the European Union home affairs ministers.
The border-free Schengen Area guarantees free movement to more than 425 million EU citizens, along with non-EU nationals living in the EU, tourists, exchange students and business travellers.
Known for having no border controls - the area last expanded in January 2023 to include Croatia.
The Deputy Prime Minister of Romania, Marian-Catalin Predoiu, has welcomed her countries inclusion in the border-free zone.
"Romania will be a strong partner for Schengen. We will strengthen the Schengen area. Our border protections are among the first in Europe and we are ready to continue as a loyal and solid partner of (the) Schengen area."
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Papua New Guinea residents say they are proud of their new rugby opportunity in Australia's top league.
It follows Australia's deal of investing $ 600 million dollars into PNG's long-held hopes of joining the National Rugby League competition from 2028.
Ivan Ravu, a resident from the country's capital Port Moresby says it will boost the country's tourism.
"The impact that it’ll bring to the country is enormous in terms of tourist dollars, kina-wise, and the excitement that is going to filter out around the country will be really exciting. A lot of opportunities for our youth and senior players, going through Hunters (rugby football club PNG Hunters) and other players overseas in Australia or in UK. It’s good to see that we can have PNG (Papua New Guinea) on the NRL scoreboard."
The agreement requires PNG loyalty as a security partner, as part of the exchange for its sporting inclusion.
