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SBS News in Easy English 9 July 2025

SBS News in Easy English 9 July 2025

SBS Australia09-07-2025
Victoria's new anti-hate taskforce has met for the first time following a series of incidents against Jewish institutions in Melbourne. Premier Jacinta Allan says the group heard from Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush, who says the force is ready to act. The taskforce has also listened to members of the Jewish community. The meeting follows the firebombing of East Melbourne Synagogue and an attack on an Israeli restaurant. The Premier says the government will respond to the incidents in a strong manner. "I will not rest - will not rest - and will continue to take every action necessary - to not just strengthen the law but to respond and lead, in terms of how we as a community need to act. To say very, very clearly that acts of hate, acts of violence, acts of antisemitism have no place here in Melbourne and Victoria." Millions of Qantas customers are being notified about the extent of a data breach that exposed personal details, including meal preferences, after a cyberattack on a third-party system used by an offshore call centre. The airline says 5.7 million customer records were compromised. Of those, four million had names, email addresses and frequent flyer details accessed. For the remaining 1.7 million, additional data was taken, including dates of birth, phone numbers, addresses, gender and meal preferences - around 10,000 of which were accessed. Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson says customers will now be contacted with details of the specific data affected and offered support services. The airline says there's no evidence the stolen data has appeared on the dark web, but cybersecurity experts are monitoring for any breaches. A member of the Rebels bikie gang has been charged over the alleged fatal shooting of a cat. The 29-year-old man is expected to face court today. New South Wales Police allege they discovered a video of the shooting after the man's phone was seized during a roadside stop in the Sydney suburb of Villawood in June. US President Donald Trump will visit a Texas flood zone on Friday that has now killed over 100 people. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has also planned to make another visit to Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 campers and counselors died during the floods. Officials say no one has been found alive since Friday. Sheriff Larry Leitha says dozens of children are among the dead. "As of 8:00 am central time, 87 deceased have been recovered in Kerr County, including 56 adults and 30 children. Identification is pending for 19 adults and seven children, with one additional person still unidentified. At present, five Camp Mystic campers and one counselor still remain unaccounted for." A man has been extradited from Queensland over his alleged involvement in so-called spiritual blessing scams that targeted people of Asian backgrounds. The 62-year-old is expected to face court today, charged with the alleged defrauding of a 77-year-old woman in Parramatta last month. Police say the scam involves elderly Chinese women being convinced that their families are at risk from spirits, and that their wealth needs to be blessed to protect them from curse or illness. Investigators have received reports of over 80 incidents across Sydney, with more than $3 million in cash and valuables stolen. Carlos Alcaraz has breezed into the Wimbledon semi-finals with a straight-sets win over Britain's Cameron Norrie, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3. He will face fifth seed Taylor Fritz in the next round. Top seed Jannik Sinner, who remains under an injury cloud ahead of his quarter-final against American Ben Shelton.
Sinner underwent an M-R-I on Tuesday morning and cancelled his planned training session that afternoon, raising questions about his fitness for the rest of the tournament.
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Victorian department's secrecy bid over how it manages 12yo girl involved in Melbourne killing
Victorian department's secrecy bid over how it manages 12yo girl involved in Melbourne killing

ABC News

time13 minutes ago

  • ABC News

Victorian department's secrecy bid over how it manages 12yo girl involved in Melbourne killing

Victoria's child protection department is waging a legal battle to suppress details of its care of a vulnerable teenage girl who stabbed a woman to death in Melbourne, in a case the state's children's commissioner previously described as a systemic failure. The former Victorian children's commissioner last year made a scathing assessment of the girl's care before the killing, saying she had been "failed" by the system designed to keep her safe. The girl, known by the pseudonym WD, had run away from state care hundreds of times and was "sexually exploited" in the lead-up to the fatal stabbing of the 37-year-old woman in 2023. WD's murder charge was eventually dropped, because prosecutors could not prove the 12-year-old had the mental capacity to be criminally responsible for her actions. The girl is being held in a "secure residence" where she is supposed to receive education and ongoing medical treatment with a view to her eventual release. On Tuesday, lawyers for the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing fronted Victoria's Supreme Court, asking for all court documents related to WD's care to be kept "confidential" and for the public and media to be shut out of the courtroom. The secretary's barrister, Joanna Davidson, said the department was also seeking a new court-ordered pseudonym, because "it's known that WD is the girl who was charged with a murder". Ms Davidson said the girl had "significant mental health issues" and a closed court was "necessary to protect her interests". However, Justice James Elliott decided to keep the court open for Tuesday's hearing, but is yet to rule on whether future hearings will be conducted in closed court. "It will take some convincing to say, well, how this child should be dealt with by the state should just become a secret," he said. Barrister Albert Dinelli, representing the Commission for Children and Young People, called on the judge to keep the court open, in line with the legal principle of open justice. In 2023, Justice Elliott rejected a closed court and suppression application by the department, who wanted to prevent media reporting of key aspects of WD's criminal case. On Tuesday, the judge said he was concerned a teacher had not been appointed for the girl. "How that happened I don't know, why that happened I don't know," he said. According to court documents released in June, the girl's stay at the secure residence has been marred with problems. Current children's commissioner Meena Singh wrote that two of WD's male foster carers were stood down for allegedly bullying the girl and calling her stupid, in incidents she managed to secretly record. "To hear two men arguing with and belittling WD is very distressing and there is no excuse for their behaviours," Ms Singh wrote. "Overall, I hold significant concern for WD's treatment. I say this because I think that there has been insufficient focus on fostering and supporting WD's journey to recovery." A lawyer representing the teenage girl said a conversation he had with her last week reflected "a loss of faith and trust in the system". Last year, former commissioner Liana Buchanan tabled a report to state parliament, saying an investigation into WD's care "exposed some of the most profound service system failures I have seen". "WD's case is a tragic example of how Victoria's most vulnerable children can be failed by the systems designed to protect and support them," she wrote. Justice Elliott adjourned the case until next Thursday after requesting more information from the parties.

‘Life of the party': Gilbert Shino, 39, fatally shot outside Sydney pub
‘Life of the party': Gilbert Shino, 39, fatally shot outside Sydney pub

News.com.au

time26 minutes ago

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‘Life of the party': Gilbert Shino, 39, fatally shot outside Sydney pub

A man shot dead outside an inner-Sydney pub in what police believe was a targeted attack has been identified. Gilbert Shino, 39, was shot outside The Harold Hotel in Forest Lodge at about 6.40pm on Sunday. He and another man - identified as Maradona Yalda, 31 - were walking back from the pub at the time of the shooting. Leichhardt Police Area Commander Superintendent Alf Sergi said numerous bullets were sprayed in the street, with one hitting a window and narrowly missing a female staff member. 'It's a narrow street there, and also the pub nearby - obviously the bullets were fired in that direction at the pub,' he said. 'It would have been very, very frightening.' Medical students who were inside the pub at the time of the shooting treated both Mr Shino and Mr Yalda at the scene. Mr Shino died from his injuries, and Mr Yalda was rushed to hospital in a serious condition. A family friend has paid tribute to Mr Shino in setting up an online fundraiser, describing him as the 'life of the party' who was 'always smiling' and 'touched every person who had the blessing of knowing him'. 'He truly was an amazing human being, and his absence leaves a hole in all of our hearts,' it read. Mr Shino's wife Natasha shared a tribute to her late husband online, saying he was her 'life'. 'How am I going to live without you? You were my life,' she wrote as per The Daily Telegraph. 'Since school, life's up and downs … even though days are work you were there making the days full of fun and laughter.' Those behind the shooting fled the scene in a dark vehicle, which police later identified as a dark blue Mustang. On Monday about 9.50pm, police were called to Primrose Ave in Rydalmere after reports a car was on fire. 'Fire and Rescue NSW extinguished the fire and there are no reports of injuries,' a police statement read. The car fire is being treated as suspicious, with investigations to determine whether the vehicle is linked to the fatal shooting ongoing. 'Any links to recent incidents will be examined as part of the investigation, though none have been confirmed at this stage,' they said. Speaking to 2GB on Monday, Superintendent Sergi said the shooting was an 'outrageous, brazen, callous attack'. ' (Mr Shino) suffered gunshot wounds and fell to the ground,' he said. 'Police were nearby … they treated the man with the help of a doctor that was a resident nearby, and also paramedics, but unfortunately he succumbed to his wounds. He said Mr Yalda was chased by the gunman and was 'shot a number of times' before he slumped down at the back of the hotel. 'Again, police rendered first aid, assisted by some medical students who were in the pub as well, and an ambulance came and took him to hospital. He's in a stable condition at this point in time,' he said. Superintendent Sergi said the incident was likely targeted, with police alleging Mr Yalda's background had 'possible links to organised criminal networks'. He said he was not aware of any criminal links to Mr Shino. On Monday, NSW Premier Chris Minns said the incident was a 'horrifying, violent criminal act'. 'It's deplorable, it's disgusting, it's the kind of thing that you don't expect to see in a reasonably safe city like Sydney,' he said. He said while he could not 'promise an end to this despicable and horrific violence', he said there would be a 'comprehensive police response'. 'NSW Police have locked up and put in jail for decades the people who are responsible for these violent, public gangland crimes," he said.

Police compiling hundreds of documents in case against Pheobe Bishop's accused murderers
Police compiling hundreds of documents in case against Pheobe Bishop's accused murderers

ABC News

time43 minutes ago

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Police compiling hundreds of documents in case against Pheobe Bishop's accused murderers

The police brief of evidence for the case against the alleged murderers of 17-year-old Pheobe Bishop will include 155 exhibits, a court has been told. Tanika Bromley, 33, and James Wood, 34, are each charged with murder and interfering with a corpse. The pair did not appear when their matters were mentioned in the Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Tuesday. Pheobe went missing from Bundaberg in May, having failed to check in for a flight to Brisbane. Her disappearance sparked a major search and police found her remains in bushland in early June. Prosecutor Vicki Kennedy-Grills told the court police officers had been working "at length" to gather the brief of evidence, which included 135 statements. The brief will also include CCTV footage, telephone and message data, photographs and post-mortem documents. Sergeant Kennedy-Grills said there were delays preparing the brief as officers waited for DNA testing and a ballistics report and worked through the "sheer volume" of material and "multiple crime scenes". Pheobe's family was in court and protested when Ms Bromley's defence lawyer Nick Larter proposed adjourning the matters to October 27. That is the date of Pheobe's 18th birthday. The court heard her family would be unavailable on the day. The two cases have been adjourned until November 3. Ms Bromley and Mr Wood remain in custody.

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