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26m agoIS-linked woman to walk from court after bail win
46m agoNew suspected case of H5 bird flu in giant petrel near Esperance, Western Australia
2h agoSocceroos draw with Paraguay
4h ago‘Popovic is going to do it for us,’ says an optimistic Socceroos fan in Sydney’s inner west
6h agoMany Sydney beaches closed for fourth day after shark sighting
6h agoThousands of pets could die if fire ants allowed to spread across Australia, report finds
7h agoUnclear if Australians affected by Venezuelan earthquakes, Albanese says
9h ago‘I’m free, truly independent,’ Karl Stefanovic says
9h agoKarl Stefanovic to leave Nine immediately, network confirms
That’s it. It’s 0-0. If you want to relive everything that game had to offer, check out our sports blog:
A woman with Islamic State (IS) links will walk from court after winning her bid for bail, AAP reports.
Kawsar Ahmad, 54, looked relieved and her supporters gasped as Chief Magistrate Lisa Hannan granted her bail in Melbourne magistrates court on Friday afternoon.
It comes a week after her daughter Zeinab Ahmad, 31, lost her bid for bail in the same court.
In May, the two women were charged with slavery offences after they both returned to Australia with other family members of former IS fighters.
Prosecutors allege Kawsar Ahmad migrated to Syria with her husband, Mohammed, and their children to join IS around January 2015.
It’s alleged while in Syria in 2017, Mohammed bought a teenage girl as a slave and repeatedly raped and assaulted the girl.
Ahmad allegedly agreed to the purchase and treated the girl badly, allegedly threatening her with beatings although she is not alleged to have assaulted the girl herself.
David Pocock says the Socceroos represent what’s so great about Australia – multiculturalism.
The popular independent senator from Canberra spoke to Guardian Australia at half-time in the city’s main square as the Socceroos took on Paraguay at the World Cup. Australia will go through to the knock-out round of 32 teams after the match ended in a draw.
The country’s diversity has been a hot topic this week after One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, shared her vision for Australia to become a monoculture. The senator later clarified that she saw the Socceroos as an example of monoculture – one team united under one flag.
The ACT senator, who once captained Australia’s national rugby union team the Wallabies, said seeing so many people from diverse backgrounds come together to support the national team “resonates across the country”.
“That was my experience of sport, when you have that bigger purpose and something that brings you together,” he said.
We’ve never been a monoculture, we never will be. This is multiculturalism, whether it’s looking at the Socceroos or just looking around in the crowd, and that is a strength. What [Hanson is] getting at, and what people are feeling, is how do we have a more unified common purpose as a country, and we see that in the Socceroos and I think that’s what we want. And I think that’s the task. How do we talk about democratic values and what it means to be Australian? You do that by having a discussion as a country, and not wanting everyone to be the same … Having a shared identity and set of values, it’s not the same as [everyone] all being the same.
We’ve never been a monoculture, we never will be. This is multiculturalism, whether it’s looking at the Socceroos or just looking around in the crowd, and that is a strength.
What [Hanson is] getting at, and what people are feeling, is how do we have a more unified common purpose as a country, and we see that in the Socceroos and I think that’s what we want.
And I think that’s the task. How do we talk about democratic values and what it means to be Australian? You do that by having a discussion as a country, and not wanting everyone to be the same …
Having a shared identity and set of values, it’s not the same as [everyone] all being the same.
Results of earlier suspected H5 case pending, say WA government
The Western Australian government says the results of an earlier suspected case of H5 bird flu, in a giant petrel at Quindalup in the state’s south-west, is pending.
The state’s two previously confirmed cases of H5 were in migratory seabirds – a brown skua and giant petrel.
Since 19 June, there have been 375 reports to the state’s Emergency Animal Disease hotline, the government said. Of these, 43 have been prioritised for further investigation and testing based on the risk of H5 bird flu.
There is no suggestion any of these additional reports will be H5 bird flu, the statement said.
The Western Australian government has announced a new suspected case of the deadly H5 bird flu in a migratory giant petrel on the state’s west coast, about 30 kms west of Esperance.
The number of confirmed cases in the state remains at two.
In a statement, WA’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development said:
Samples from five deceased petrels were submitted to the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) laboratory with one returning a suspect positive result for H5 influenza in preliminary testing. The remaining four were all negative. Samples have been sent to CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness to confirm the results and determine if it is the H5 bird flu strain of concern.
Samples from five deceased petrels were submitted to the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) laboratory with one returning a suspect positive result for H5 influenza in preliminary testing. The remaining four were all negative.
Samples have been sent to CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness to confirm the results and determine if it is the H5 bird flu strain of concern.
That’s all from me. Adeshola Ore will take the reins from here. Enjoy the weekend!
‘It’s a beautiful day’ Craig Foster says after Socceroos advance
Craig Foster maintained he thought the Socceroos played a “near-perfect game” in their draw with Paraguay.
Foster spoke with the Guardian’s Matilda Boseley just after the match ended:
Brilliant campaign, managed the game well today, and that’s important in World Cups.
So what’s next for Australia?
They managed this game perfectly, they’re learning. You’ve gotta learn how to be at World Cups, you’ve gotta learn how to get yourself through, you’ve got to learn how to manage games, how to get the right points at the right time. … And it’s a beautiful day any time the Socceroos get through to the knockout rounds. You know how difficult that is. There are fantastic, big football teams that are going to be going home after the group stage, and Australia is not. … There’s nothing better in life.
They managed this game perfectly, they’re learning. You’ve gotta learn how to be at World Cups, you’ve gotta learn how to get yourself through, you’ve got to learn how to manage games, how to get the right points at the right time.
… And it’s a beautiful day any time the Socceroos get through to the knockout rounds. You know how difficult that is.
There are fantastic, big football teams that are going to be going home after the group stage, and Australia is not. … There’s nothing better in life.
More deepfake AI platforms shut down
Three more AI “nudifying” platforms have been taken down in Australia as the federal government flags plans to strengthen its world-first social media age restrictions, AAP reports.
The nation’s online watchdog said the services, which use existing images to generate nude pictures of real people, had withdrawn from Australia under the threat of legal action.
Such platforms would be blurred online until they introduced age verification in a bid to prevent children accessing them, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said:
Age assurance is by no means a silver bullet, but it is a critical safeguard that will help stop children accessing these services and reduce the creation of deeply harmful and non-consensual material.
Seven “nufidying” apps – which the government plans to eventually outlaw – have now withdrawn access in Australia or introduced age verification.
Socceroos secure place in World Cup last 32 after nerve-shredding draw with Paraguay
You can read my colleague Jack Snape’s report here:
For Australian football, it was far from the best advertisement for the game, even as millions watched on TVs, live sites and in bars, with the match lacking the intensity and jeopardy of the Socceroos’ opening two World Cup matches. But Tony Popovic’s team will not mind, as they secured second place in Group D.
Read his full debrief here:
Sydney crowd hopeful but nervous
After a goalless 80 minutes in San Fransisco, the mood at the Vic on the Park in Sydney’s inner west is a mixture of jubilation and fear. A few “Aussie Aussie Aussies” have rung out, and more than a few spurring cries when the ball has reached Australia’s final third.
Sophie and her year 11 son Orson were also here when Australia went down 2-0 to the USA early last Saturday morning. He’s ditching school for the last day of term, and she’s quietly working away from her phone.
I’ve been on my Slack channel just checking things, but this is of national importance. It’s important to be here. I really want Oscar to hear a goal in the pub, just to hear us lift.”
