What you need to know today
Welcome to our live and rolling coverage of news around Australia and the world.
Here’s what you need to know today.
- The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has revealed the NSW firearms registry had no in-house intelligence capability in the years before the Bondi Beach terror attack.
- A NSW man with a “serious history of violence” has become the first charged under the state’s Serious Domestic Abuse Prevention Orders.
- An analysis of Defence spending warned AUKUS has become the “centre of gravity” for the defence program and up to 80 per cent of spending in 12 priority areas remain unapproved.
- Five villagers who became trapped in a flooded cave in central Laos more than a week ago have been found alive by divers, but two others are still missing.
Divers find 5 villagers alive in a flooded cave in Laos
Bangkok: Five villagers who became trapped in a flooded cave in central Laos more than a week ago have been found alive by divers who discovered them sitting on a rock in the darkness, but two others are still missing.
The seven villagers entered the cave in Xaisomboun province on May 19, but heavy rain triggered flash flooding that blocked the exit, according to Lao and Thai rescue teams involved in the operation.
Thai rescuer Chakkit Taengtang posted video of himself in the cave saying divers were delivering food and water to the five and planning to extract them as soon as possible.
All of the villagers are men, according to a Facebook post by the Lao group Rescue Volunteer for People.
What you need to know today
Welcome to our live and rolling coverage of news around Australia and the world.
Here’s what you need to know today.
- The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has revealed the NSW firearms registry had no in-house intelligence capability in the years before the Bondi Beach terror attack.
- A NSW man with a “serious history of violence” has become the first charged under the state’s Serious Domestic Abuse Prevention Orders.
- An analysis of Defence spending warned AUKUS has become the “centre of gravity” for the defence program and up to 80 per cent of spending in 12 priority areas remain unapproved.
- Five villagers who became trapped in a flooded cave in central Laos more than a week ago have been found alive by divers, but two others are still missing.
Defence ‘trade-off’ as $53b spending spree back loaded
Facing the most threatening geopolitical environment since the end of World War II, Australia’s defence force is set to carry the load of deterrence with less in the short term.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute released its analysis of the 2026/27 defence budget on Thursday after the 2026 National Defence Strategy earmarked an additional $53 billion in funding over the next decade.
It found about four cents of every extra dollar stemming from the announcement was appropriated for next financial year.
The remaining 96 cents sat in forward estimates promises, decade out-year profiles, contingency reserves and unspecified alternative financing plans.
Matthew Perry’s assistant, who injected him with ketamine, jailed
Los Angeles: The personal assistant who injected Friends star Matthew Perry with a fatal dose of the hallucinogenic drug ketamine was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison, bringing to a close the prosecution of five people who admitted to playing roles in the actor’s death.
Judge Sherilyn Garnett delivered the sentence for Kenneth Iwamasa, who found Perry floating face down and lifeless in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home in October 2023.
Federal prosecutors said Iwamasa injected Perry with ketamine at the actor’s request before leaving the residence to run errands. Perry was dead when Iwamasa returned.
“I am so sorry to all of you,” Iwamasa said in court, turning to face the Perry family.
Former US attorney-general reveals cancer diagnosis
Former US attorney-general Pam Bondi has revealed she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer after she was sacked by President Donald Trump in April.
Bondi told CNN she was “doing well” and undergoing treatment, including having surgery a few weeks ago. Axios first reported her diagnosis.
Bondi oversaw the Justice Department’s release of the so-called Epstein Files and is due to be questioned about the matter by the House Oversight Committee on Friday (Washington time).
Intelligence gaps in firearms registry posed major risk to safety
The troubled NSW Firearms registry had no in-house intelligence capability in the years before the Bondi Beach terror attack, which prompted internal warnings of a significant risk to public safety, the royal commission has heard.
The firearms registry, which NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley described as a “shambles” in the weeks after the December 14 massacre, was left without a senior intelligence analyst from November 2021, when the position was terminated, until December 2023.
When the role was reintroduced, it remained unfilled until February 2025, the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion was told on Wednesday.
Gun ownership laws have been the focus of state and federal governments following last year’s Bondi attack, where 15 mostly Jewish people were gunned down at a Hanukkah festival. One of the gunmen, Sajid Akram, legally owned six guns at the time of the massacre.
Akram applied for a NSW gun permit in 2020, which was granted three years later even though he lived with his son, Naveed, who had been investigated by ASIO for his suspected links to terrorist sympathisers in 2019.
Read more: Intelligence gaps in firearms registry posed major risk to safety
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
