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Australia charges woman with terrorism over IS links

In a major counter-terrorism development unfolding in Australia, federal law enforcement has levied formal terrorism charges against a 34-year-old woman accused of ties to the Islamic State (IS) extremist group, marking the latest high-profile case in a string of recent actions against IS-linked returnees from conflict zones in the Middle East. On Thursday, Australian authorities announced the woman faces two serious charges: membership in a proscribed terrorist organization and unlawful entry into a recognized active conflict zone, offenses that each carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years if she is convicted.

Counter-terrorism investigators allege the accused woman traveled to war-torn Syria between 2013 and 2014 alongside a male companion to join the then-expanding IS network. The man who accompanied her is currently confirmed to be in custody in the Middle East, police confirmed. Following the territorial defeat of IS in 2019 at the hands of Kurdish-led ground forces backed by a U.S.-led international coalition, the woman was captured by Kurdish security personnel and detained for years in the al-Hawl Internally Displaced Persons camp, a facility that holds thousands of relatives of suspected IS fighters in northeastern Syria. She was finally repatriated to Australia in September 2023, and was scheduled to make her first court appearance on the same day charges were announced.

This latest arrest comes amid a wave of repatriations of Australians with IS connections that have unfolded over the past month. Shortly after this month’s first group of returnees arrived in the country, two women – a mother and daughter – were taken into custody immediately upon landing in Melbourne. Australian police have leveled serious allegations against the pair, claiming they traveled to Syria in 2014 to pledge support to IS and held another woman as an enslaved person during their time in the conflict zone. A third woman was arrested on arrival in Sydney, where she faces matching charges of entering a restricted conflict zone and joining a banned terrorist organization.

Earlier this week, another cohort of 13 IS-linked Australians – four adult women and their nine minor children – completed repatriation flights from Syria to return to Australia. As of the announcement of Thursday’s new charges, none of the 13 returnees from this most recent group have been formally charged with any criminal offenses. However, senior Australian counter-terrorism officials have made clear that the absence of immediate charges does not mean the cases are closed. “It is important to note that a period of time without charges being laid is not an indicator that investigations have ceased,” Hilda Sirec, Deputy Commissioner for National Security Investigations at the Australian Federal Police, said in an official statement Thursday. “Investigations are continuing into all the recent adult female returnees from Syrian camps,” she added.

The cases of these female IS-linked returnees, widely labeled in public discourse as “ISIS brides”, have ignited fierce and divisive public debate across Australia over the past several years. Human rights groups and government bodies including the Australian Human Rights Commission have pushed for compassionate policy, urging the federal government in March 2024 to prioritize repatriation for all remaining Australians held in Syrian displacement camps, citing the poor humanitarian conditions and uncertain legal status facing detainees. On the opposite side of the debate, many critics argue the women voluntarily severed ties with Australia to join a terrorist movement, and argue they should be forced to face the consequences of their choices outside of the country’s borders.

27 5 月, 2026
Japan woos visiting Philippine leader during state visit with arms sales and China in mind

During a high-stakes four-day state visit to Tokyo that wraps up this week, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been greeted with extraordinary diplomatic hospitality, underscoring Japan’s urgent push to deepen strategic and defense cooperation with the Southeast Asian nation at a moment of growing concern over Chinese military activity across the Indo-Pacific.

The visit, which will conclude with Marcos’s departure on Friday, has already included a formal audience with Japanese Emperor Naruhito, who conferred the Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum — one of Japan’s most prestigious national honors — on the Philippine leader. A state banquet hosted at the imperial palace capped off the first three days of engagements, ahead of key formal talks Thursday between Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Analysts and government officials frame the warm welcome as a clear signal that Japan views the Philippines as a critical defense partner and a landmark client for its emerging defense export industry, following Tokyo’s historic break from decades of postwar pacifist policy earlier this year. In April, Takaichi’s administration lifted a long-standing ban on lethal weapons exports, opening the door for Japanese defense manufacturers to sell military hardware to international buyers for the first time, and Marcos is positioned to be the first head of state of a major prospective client nation to visit since the policy shift.

Already, the two countries have launched negotiations for the sale of multiple retired Abukuma-class destroyers and TC-90 training aircraft from the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. has also publicly confirmed Manila’s interest in acquiring Japanese Type-88 surface-to-ship missiles, after he joined his Japanese counterpart to observe joint bilateral live-fire exercises earlier this month.

On the diplomatic agenda for Thursday’s bilateral summit, the two leaders are set to finalize frameworks that will further deepen defense and weapons industrial cooperation, alongside progress on a formal military intelligence-sharing agreement. Japanese government sources note that the intelligence pact will streamline secure communication between the two defense forces and strengthen trilateral security coordination with the United States, a mutual ally of both nations. This cooperation builds on existing security assistance: Japan has already donated five coastal surveillance radars to the Philippines to boost maritime monitoring capabilities, a capability that would be further enhanced by formal intelligence sharing.

The deepening security alignment between Tokyo and Manila comes with a shared focus on countering growing Chinese assertiveness in the East and South China Seas, as well as stability around Taiwan — the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its sovereign territory. The United States has repeatedly welcomed closer bilateral defense ties between Japan and the Philippines, framing the partnership as a key bulwark to defend regional rules-based order against Chinese expansion.

Marcos echoed the warm tone of the visit during an address to Japanese lawmakers Wednesday, noting that the push to elevate bilateral relations to a new strategic level reflects an “exceptional level of trust” between the two countries. Since taking office, Marcos has taken a firm public stance against Chinese territorial claims in disputed areas of the South China Sea, a sharp shift from the more conciliatory policy pursued by his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte. Japan’s leadership is eager to lock in long-term strategic cooperation with Manila that outlasts Marcos’s presidency, which ends in 2028, to avoid the policy flip-flops on China that have marked past Philippine administrations.

The past year has already seen rapid progress in bilateral defense cooperation: in 2024, the two sides signed a visiting forces agreement that allows military personnel from each nation to easily enter the other to conduct joint training exercises, clearing the way for Japan to deploy 1,400 troops to regular joint drills in the region. A second supplemental defense pact signed this year streamlines logistics support for joint training, allowing for tax-free transfers of ammunition, fuel, food and other essential supplies for participating forces.

Beyond defense cooperation, the summit will also address pressing regional energy security challenges. The two leaders are set to discuss details of a Japanese-led multinational infrastructure funding framework launched in April, which is designed to help Southeast Asian nations including the Philippines build out strategic oil reserve infrastructure. The initiative comes in response to ongoing market and supply disruptions caused by the Iran war, which has severely disrupted oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global chokepoint for energy trade.

Japanese officials also note that the state visit coincides with two key diplomatic milestones: 2024 marks the 70th anniversary of formal diplomatic relations between Japan and the Philippines, and the Philippines currently holds the rotating annual presidency of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), positioning Tokyo to deepen its engagement with the broader regional bloc through its relationship with Manila.

27 5 月, 2026
Woman, 50, to appear in court charged with snatching tip jars from Gold Coast cafes

A sweeping investigation into a series of petty thefts targeting small hospitality businesses on Australia’s Gold Coast has concluded with the arrest of a 50-year-old Greenslopes woman, who is set to appear before Southport Magistrates Court Thursday to answer multiple criminal charges.

Queensland Police confirm the woman was taken into custody during a targeted operation at a Surfers Paradise hotel Wednesday evening, though authorities have not yet clarified if she was staying at the accommodation as a guest. The charges laid against her include six counts of stealing, one count of common assault, and one count of unlawful possession of a knife in a public space.

The alleged crimes unfolded between April and May 2024, according to police accounts. Investigators allege the woman targeted five separate cafes spread across five Gold Coast and South East Queensland locations: Surfers Paradise, Biggera Waters, Coolangatta, Brisbane’s central business district, and Inala. In each incident, she is accused of stealing cash-filled tip jars and charity donation boxes from the businesses.

Security camera footage from multiple venues, which was circulated widely across local media and social platforms prior to the arrest, appears to show the suspect waiting for cafe staff to be distracted before slipping the tip jars into her handbag and exiting the premises undiscovered. In the weeks leading up to the arrest, small business owners across additional Gold Coast suburbs including Broadbeach, Miami and Kirra also filed similar reports of stolen tip jars, though it is not yet clear if the accused will be linked to those additional incidents.

The case has drawn local attention because of the disproportionate impact tip jar thefts have on small, independent cafes, where the extra cash often goes directly to frontline hospitality workers who rely on tips to supplement their incomes.

27 5 月, 2026
Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ Oman despite centuries of US ties

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump issued an extraordinary public threat to militarily destroy Oman if the sultanate chooses to cooperate with Iran on a ship transit fee scheme for the Strait of Hormuz, a proposal Iran is pushing as part of any potential negotiated settlement to end the ongoing US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic.

In his remarks, Trump asserted unchallenged open access to the strategic waterway, declaring, “The strait is going to be open to everybody. Nobody is going to control it…it’s international waters.” He doubled down on his aggression, adding, “Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow them up.”

The geographic and legal position of Oman makes its cooperation a critical component of any Iranian plan to implement a transit fee. Alongside Iran, Oman is the only country that holds territorial waters spanning the narrow strait, a critical chokepoint for global oil and maritime trade. At its narrowest point, the Strait of Hormuz measures just 21 nautical miles across, and under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), coastal nations are permitted to claim territorial rights up to 12 nautical miles from their coasts. While UNCLOS explicitly bars nations bordering international straits from restricting transit or charging general tolls, legal experts interviewed by Middle East Eye note that Iran could structure charges as service or piloting fees – a workaround that would require Oman’s cooperation to move forward.

Earlier this month, Iranian ambassador to France Mohammad Amin-Nejad told Bloomberg that Tehran and Muscat were already developing a framework to advance such a plan as part of talks to end the war. Notably, the US is not a signatory to UNCLOS, despite frequently referencing international law of the sea norms to advance its own regional interests.

Oman has a long-standing reputation as one of the Persian Gulf region’s most reliable neutral mediators, a role that has put it directly at odds with the Trump administration’s war agenda. Before the June 2025 joint US-Israeli attack on Iran, Oman served as the primary backchannel interlocutor between Washington and Tehran, with negotiations scheduled to take place in Muscat that were ultimately overtaken by the offensive. Muscat also made a last-ditch mediation effort ahead of the February 28 US-Israeli strike that launched the full-scale war.

Unlike more vocal Gulf powers including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, Oman has long favored quiet diplomacy – but its leadership has broken with that tradition to openly criticize the conflict. On the eve of the initial attack, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Albusaidi made an urgent public appeal on CBS News for additional time for diplomatic talks to proceed. In March, Albusaidi penned a high-profile op-ed in *The Economist* warning that the US was putting its long-term regional standing at grave risk by continuing the war alongside Israel, writing bluntly that “America has lost control of its own foreign policy.” He later took to social media to refute the Trump administration’s core justification for the war, which frames Iran as an imminent threat to US and allied interests. “Whatever your view of Iran, this war is not of their making,” Albusaidi wrote.

Multiple current and former US officials have confirmed to Middle East Eye that the Trump administration has grown increasingly frustrated with Oman’s public anti-war messaging for months. This friction comes amid a shift in alignment among other Gulf powers: Middle East Eye was the first outlet to reveal that Saudi Arabia granted the US expanded military access, basing rights, and overflight permissions at the height of the conflict, a move later confirmed by Reuters and other outlets that also reported Saudi and UAE participation in US strikes against Iran.

While the US does not maintain permanent military bases in Oman as it does in Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, the US Navy holds a long-standing agreement for regular access to Omani infrastructure, specifically the strategic Port of Duqm on Oman’s southern coast. In recent weeks, Oman has stepped back from its mediation efforts, ceding public roles to Qatar, which leverages significant financial resources, and Pakistan, which brings regional military influence to the negotiating table.

The current tension between Washington and Muscat cuts against centuries of shared history and diplomatic ties. Oman has maintained balanced, open relations with both the US and Iran for decades, a unique regional position rooted in its long history as an independent maritime power. Unlike neighboring Gulf states such as the UAE and Qatar, which only gained independence in 1971, the Sultanate of Oman is a centuries-old state that once controlled a vast maritime empire stretching across the Indian Ocean to the east coast of Africa. Oman also shares the oldest continuous diplomatic and trade relationship with the US of any Gulf state, with formal ties dating back to 1790.

Like many other Gulf nations, Oman has also cultivated economic ties to the Trump family: the Trump Organization, led by the president’s adult children, holds a franchise agreement for a luxury hotel and golf course currently under development in the sultanate.

27 5 月, 2026
Sinner, Sabalenka aim to stay hot at French Open

The 2025 French Open at Roland Garros enters its second round of matches on Thursday, with the world’s top two male and female players gunning to secure their spots in the final 32 of the clay-court Grand Slam, bringing high stakes to the packed schedule under Paris’ unseasonably scorching skies.

Leading the men’s draw is Italian world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who arrives in Paris with unprecedented momentum heading into his quest for a first career French Open title and a completed career Grand Slam. Fresh off becoming only the second player in tennis history — after Novak Djokovic — to claim all three clay-court Masters 1000 titles, wrapping up a full set of nine 1000-level tournament trophies, Sinner has entered the tournament as the overwhelming favorite to lift the trophy.

Sinner is already looking to improve on a standout 2024 Roland Garros run, where he pushed eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz to an epic five-set final before falling just short. This year, the path to the title is far clearer: Alcaraz, the defending champion, is sidelined with an injury, leaving few competitors capable of challenging Sinner’s red-hot form. He kicked off his 2025 campaign with a clinical first-round win under the lights on Court Philippe Chatrier on Tuesday, and will open Thursday’s main draw action on centre court against Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo, ranked 56th in the world. The pair have only met once before, a straight-sets win for Sinner in the opening round of Wimbledon three years ago.

Addressing the ongoing heat wave that has dominated the opening week of the tournament, Sinner downplayed concerns over his ability to cope with soaring temperatures. “I’m happy to play night. I’m happy to play day, whenever they put me,” he said. “I think I handled the heat very well in Indian Wells, was very hot this year, so I didn’t have issues there. We prepared in a good way. Of course here, different heat, but the humidity is not as tough as maybe in Australia or US.”

On the women’s side of the draw, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will also take to Court Philippe Chatrier on Thursday seeking to lock in her third-round spot, but the Belarusian arrives in Paris after a shaky start to the European clay-court season. Fresh off a dominant Sunshine Double win at Indian Wells and Miami in March, Sabalenka has looked surprisingly vulnerable on red dirt this spring: she suffered a shock quarter-final exit to Hailey Baptiste in Madrid, followed by a third-round loss to Sorana Cirstea at the Italian Open. Sabalenka blamed unfavorable wet and cold conditions in Rome for her underperformance, and has had no such complaints about the Paris heat, which suits her aggressive power game.

After a commanding straight-sets opening win over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Tuesday, the 28-year-old joked about the rapid shift in conditions: “I’d say that it was a bit warm. Especially compared to the first days when I first got here, it was… freezing. Now it’s boiling hot and balls are flying, everything is much faster. But physically I feel strong, so I feel like it can benefit me.” Scheduled as the third match on centre court, with temperatures again forecast to top 30°C, Sabalenka will face French wildcard Elsa Jacquemot, ranked 67th, and is heavily favored to advance.

Thursday’s schedule also features a host of other top contenders seeking second-round wins. Defending women’s champion Coco Gauff, the American No. 4 seed, will take on Egyptian qualifier Mayar Sherif on Court Suzanne Lenglen. The 2020 Roland Garros debut marked the only time Gauff has been eliminated before the quarter-final stage here, when the 16-year-old Gauff fell to Martina Trevisan.

Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka of Japan will face Croatia’s Donna Vekic on Court Simonne Mathieu, while rising Canadian teen Victoria Mboko will test her skills against Czech Katerina Siniakova. American teen sensation Iva Jovic will go head-to-head with compatriot and former world No. 8 Emma Navarro, while Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime will look to avoid another grueling “roller-coaster” match like his opening-round thriller when he faces Argentina’s Roman Andres Burruchaga. American fifth seed Ben Shelton and French 17-year-old wildcard Moise Kouame will bookend the day’s play on Court Suzanne Lenglen, Roland Garros’ second-biggest showcourt.

27 5 月, 2026
Trump boosts prediction markets as his family profits

On a Tuesday post to his social media platform, former President and 2024 candidate Donald Trump launched a fierce verbal attack on state leaders pushing for regulation of the fast-growing prediction market industry — a sector where members of his own family hold direct financial stakes. In the post, Trump labeled regulators in Illinois, New York and other states pursuing oversight of the platforms as “scum”, and argued that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) should hold exclusive federal authority over all prediction market rules. Calling the emerging space a “major industry”, Trump emphasized the need for federal protection of the sector, echoing the position staked out earlier this year by CFTC chair Mike Selig, who said the agency would block all state-level restrictions on prediction market operations.

Critics have widely labeled the Trump administration as one of the most openly corrupt in modern U.S. history, and political opponents immediately seized on the social media post as proof of improper self-dealing. Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat who co-sponsors federal legislation to ban prediction markets from accepting wagers on government actions, called Trump’s comments damning evidence of systemic corruption tied to the industry.

“Trump and his family are making tons of money off these new prediction markets—and so of course he is leading the charge against consumer protections and for preferential regulatory treatment of his companies,” Murphy explained. The lawmaker’s comments reference clear public ties between the Trump family and the prediction market sector: the New York Times reported one month prior that Trump’s publicly traded media company launched its own proprietary prediction market product in 2025, while Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., sits on the advisory board of Polymarket, the world’s largest prediction market platform. Prosecutors have also linked Polymarket to improper, well-timed bets placed by a former U.S. soldier on political events, raising questions about the platform’s vulnerability to exploitation.

The backlash to Trump’s comments extended quickly to Democratic governors leading states that have moved to crack down on prediction markets, which critics argue are often unregulated gambling operations disguised as financial exchanges to evade state gaming laws. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker responded directly to Trump’s social media post, noting that his state had already moved to ban insider trading tied to online prediction markets. “The most corrupt president in our nation’s history wants to make sure states like ours can’t regulate prediction markets so his family and administration can keep profiting,” Pritzker wrote.

The conflict over prediction market regulation is already playing out in the federal courts: the Trump administration, which has sidelined federal regulators that raised ethical and legal concerns about the sector, has already filed lawsuits against Illinois and multiple other states over their regulatory efforts. Watchdog groups have joined the fight against the Trump administration’s position, with progressive financial reform organization Better Markets filing an amicus brief this week in support of Tennessee’s regulatory push against major prediction market platforms including Kalshi.

Dominick Freda, legal director of Better Markets, argued that Congress never authorized the CFTC to act as a national gambling regulator, nor did it intend to legalize widespread unregulated gambling across the U.S. “The CFTC continues to waste its resources and focus on cheerleading these unpoliced, unregulated casinos when it should focus on its real job: regulating the multi-trillion-dollar commodities and derivatives markets,” Freda said. He added that stable commodity and derivatives regulation is critical to protecting American consumers from volatile prices for essential goods ranging from gasoline to groceries, and that state governments have long held the responsibility of regulating gambling to protect the public. “The CFTC should leave gambling regulation to Tennessee and the other states whose laws and regulations have protected the American public for decades, and must be allowed to continue to do so,” Freda concluded.

27 5 月, 2026
Australian household spending plunges by most in three years as families tighten budgets

In a surprising turn that underscores growing financial strain on Australian consumers, national household spending posted its sharpest decline in three years during April 2024, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveals. The 1.1% month-on-month plunge follows a solid 1.6% expansion in March, with multiple overlapping factors — from temporary federal tax policy to the ongoing Middle East conflict and persistent cost-of-living challenges — combining to pull overall spending lower.

The single largest contributor to the overall drop was a 4.7% collapse in transportation spending, a shift directly tied to the federal government’s temporary halving of the national fuel excise, alongside state and territory governments forgiving associated GST revenue. The policy change, which took effect on April 1, delivers an average saving of 26 cents per litre at the pump through the excise cut, plus an additional 5.7 cents per litre from the returned GST, pushing down total nominal spending on fuel even as consumption rose.

“Even though Australians purchased more fuel volume in April compared to March, the tax cut offset that increase,” explained Callam Pickering, senior economist at Indeed APAC. “Ultimately, consumers drove more but spent less out-of-pocket on fuel for the month.” Beyond fuel savings, transportation spending also fell as Australians scaled back air travel, with some trip cancellations tied to market uncertainty stemming from the Middle East conflict further reducing discretionary travel expenditure.

Beyond transportation, discretionary spending across multiple key sectors also pulled back, with declines recorded in out-of-home dining, recreation, and retail categories including clothing and footwear. Industry analysts note this pullback reflects a broader trend of Australian households tightening their budgets in response to mounting financial pressures.

“Consumers are increasingly retreating to spending only on essentials and hunkering down against a growing list of economic headwinds, including mortgage stress, softening consumer confidence, rising unemployment, and lingering uncertainty following the release of the recent federal budget,” said Marc Jocum, senior product and investment strategist at Global X. “Discretionary spending has become the first casualty of this more cautious approach.”

The Middle East conflict that erupted in late February has driven extreme volatility in global oil markets, pushing prices from roughly $US56 per barrel in pre-conflict January to a temporary peak of $US120 per barrel. Prices moderated to around $US110 per barrel by the end of April, but the volatility has created ongoing uncertainty for domestic fuel prices. Every $US10 increase in global crude prices translates to an extra 10 cents per litre for Australian motorists, adding consistent pressure to household budgets.

A key wildcard for coming months is the upcoming expiration of the temporary fuel excise cut on July 1. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has all but confirmed the policy will not be extended, meaning fuel prices are set to rise sharply just as households are already pulling back on spending. Economists warn that the combination of expiring tax relief, elevated global oil prices, lingering high inflation, and recent interest rate hikes will continue to weigh on household spending in the short to medium term.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has implemented three consecutive interest rate hikes, lifting the official cash rate to 4.35% to curb persistent inflation. Jocum notes that these higher borrowing costs are already reshaping household behavior, particularly for mortgage holders. “For the RBA, the core risk is that even while inflation remains sticky in some parts of the economy, households are already behaving as if an economic slowdown has arrived,” he added.

Pickering echoed this cautious outlook, noting that ongoing headwinds will continue to pressure spending in coming months. “If fuel prices stay elevated, that gradually erodes the ability of many households to spend on non-essential items, likely dragging down discretionary spending growth further,” he said. “Higher interest rates are also weighing heavily on household budgets, and the overall economic outlook is far less positive than it was just a few months ago.”

27 5 月, 2026
ABC managing director Hugh Marks defends AI radio news trial

Senior leadership at Australia’s national public broadcaster the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has defended a new artificial intelligence trial that converts on-air radio news bulletins into text-based online content, pushing back against concerns that the project could lead to widespread job cuts and erode local journalism standards.

ABC Managing Director Hugh Marks outlined details of the pilot program during testimony before a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday, noting the trial has already been rolled out in the Gippsland region of western Victoria. The core goal of the initiative, Marks explained, is to extend the shelf life of local radio news by making it accessible to digital audiences, rather than limiting it to a single live broadcast. He added that the public broadcaster is also developing a feature to customize digital content based on individual users’ preferences for localized local news, a key competitive advantage only the ABC can deliver for Australian communities.

Extensive consultations with local ABC teams across multiple regional operations preceded the launch of the pilot, Marks confirmed, framing the project as a major step forward in strengthening the broadcaster’s connection with local audiences, a core mission that no other media organization in Australia can fulfill at the same scale.

The trial faced questions from Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, who asked whether the AI project was just the first phase of a broader push to automate newsroom operations and whether the tool would be used to justify cutting journalist roles. In response, Marks clarified that while the adoption of AI may lead to shifts in job functions over time, the program was never designed to replace existing positions. “This is about making the most of the jobs that exist,” he told the committee, emphasizing that the tool is built to complement rather than replace the work of ABC journalists.

Marks added that the ABC already uses artificial intelligence to support emergency broadcasting operations, and this news repurposing trial is just one more way the broadcaster is leveraging technology to improve its services. Once radio content is converted to written text, it can also be shared with other local media outlets, boosting the depth and quality of regional news coverage across the country, he noted.

Crucially, Marks stressed that all AI-generated content will still undergo full human editorial review before publication, and the pilot remains staff-led, with no plans to replace the work of entry-level or junior reporters. “We’re really largely responding to things that staff are doing,” he said. “We’re early in the adoption, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.”

ABC Editorial Director Gavin Fang echoed Marks’ comments, noting that the public broadcaster has already begun integrating AI into specific newsroom workflows, most notably for processing and analyzing large datasets that would be impractical for human journalists to work through manually. Fang emphasized that AI remains a support tool rather than an independent creator: “Overall, what we’re seeing is that it’s still relying on the journalists to be able to know what the story is and to know where to point the AI.”

27 5 月, 2026
Australia sues US giant 3M for $2bn over ‘forever chemicals’ in firefighting foam

On Thursday, the Australian federal government announced one of the most significant legal actions in its history, filing a AU$2 billion (US$1.4 billion) damages lawsuit against U.S. manufacturing conglomerate 3M over widespread toxic contamination linked to per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the persistent “forever chemicals” used in the company’s firefighting foam. The legal claim targets contamination that has impacted 28 separate Australian Department of Defence bases across the nation, marking the largest civil claim ever brought by the Australian government, according to Attorney-General Michelle Rowland.

PFAS, a family of man-made chemical compounds prized for their water and grease-resistant properties, appear in a wide range of consumer and industrial products from non-stick cookware to waterproof clothing and electronics. But their defining trait — resistance to natural environmental breakdown — has turned them into a persistent public health and environmental threat: the chemicals accumulate in soil, groundwater, and food chains, and can remain in the human body for years, with peer-reviewed research linking long-term exposure to a range of serious health conditions including multiple forms of cancer. In 2022, 3M publicly announced it would phase out all production and use of PFAS globally in response to growing public and regulatory concern over these health risks.

The Australian government’s lawsuit alleges that 3M engaged in deliberate misconduct spanning decades: the company knowingly withheld critical information about the toxicity and environmental persistence of PFAS found in its aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), a product widely used by Australian defence forces for firefighting training and emergency response. According to the claim, 3M deliberately misrepresented the safety of the product, repeatedly reassuring Australian authorities that the foam posed no environmental risk even when internal company data confirmed the opposite. The contamination has already imposed massive costs on Australian taxpayers, with more than AU$1 billion spent to date on investigations, site remediation, and risk mitigation across the contaminated defence estate.

“This misconduct has contributed to substantial costs for defence and the Australian taxpayer,” Rowland said in her official announcement of the suit. “Make no mistake, this legal action against 3M is significant. The government is committed to holding 3M and 3M Australia to account for the economic and environmental harms associated with PFAS contamination.”

In its official response to the claim, 3M pushed back against the allegations, noting that the company never manufactured PFAS within Australia’s borders and halted all sales of PFAS-containing firefighting foam in the country 20 years ago. The company also pointed out that the Australian Department of Defence continued to use its existing stockpiles of the foam for two decades after 3M stopped sales. A company spokesperson confirmed that 3M intends to vigorously contest the government’s claims through the formal legal process.

27 5 月, 2026
Australia charges IS-linked woman who returned from Syria with terrorism offences

Australian federal law enforcement authorities have announced terrorism charges against a woman with documented connections to the Islamic State (IS) group, following her repatriation to Australia from a detention camp in northeastern Syria. The development comes just weeks after the final two groups of Australian women and children, who had been held for years in the al-Roj camp, arrived back on Australian soil earlier this month.

Al-Roj camp, established in 2019 after the territorial collapse of the IS caliphate, has held thousands of family members of alleged IS fighters from countries across the globe. Tuesday’s arrivals in Sydney and Melbourne marked the end of repatriations for all known Australian citizens held in the facility, with other groups having returned to Australia in staggered waves over preceding months and years.

As of Thursday morning, Australian police had not released additional details about the charged woman, including her identity or the specific parameters of the terrorism allegations, with a formal press briefing scheduled for later that day to disclose further information. This latest charge marks the fourth legal action taken against repatriated Australian women this month: three other women who returned from Syria have already been hit with a range of allegations, including crimes against humanity and unlawful presence in a declared active conflict zone.

The repatriation and legal processing of these Australian citizens has ignited fierce political and public debate across Australia. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has repeatedly reiterated the federal government’s stance that it provided no official assistance to facilitate the group’s return, doubling down on a long-held government position with the remark: “if you make your bed, you lie in it.”

However, human rights advocates and legal organizations have pushed back against this hardline approach, arguing that all Australian citizens hold a fundamental right to return to their home country. They have emphasized that many of the repatriated people are children, who had no choice in being brought to the region by family members, and require targeted support and rehabilitation rather than punitive action. The unfolding legal process is now being closely watched as a test case for how Australia will handle future repatriations of citizens with links to extremist groups.

27 5 月, 2026