The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control published the list of sanctions on Thursday that included three nephews of Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

It is the latest move by the US in its ongoing political conflict with the Venezuelan regime and it comes a day after it seized an oil tanker off the country’s coast.

Known in Venezuela as the ‘narco-nephews’ for their involvement in drug trafficking,Franqui Flores, Carlos Flores and Efrain Campo have all been denied access to any property or financial assets held in the US, and US companies and citizens can now be penalized for doing business with them.

Panamanian businessman Ramon Carretero, six firms and six Venezuela-flagged ships accused of transporting Venezuelan oil, were also included in the sanctions list.

The Treasury Department alleged that Carretero has had business dealings with Maduro’s family and has also facilitated oil shipments on behalf of the Venezuelan government.

What the Treasury statement said

“Nicolas Maduro and his criminal associates in Venezuela are flooding the United States with drugs that are poisoning the American people,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, Treasury is holding the regime and its circle of cronies and companies accountable for its continued crimes,” he added.

Flores and Campo had been jailed for years in the US on narcotics convictions. Flores had already been sanctioned in July 2017, but he was removed from Treasury’s list in 2022 during the Biden administration, during an effort to promote negotiations for democratic elections in Venezuela.

US plans more tanker seizures, sources say

Meanwhile, sources familiar with the matter said the US was preparing to seize more oil tankers from Venezuela.

Wednesday’s tanker seizure was the first of its kind of an oil cargo or tanker from Venezuela, and it comes as the Trump administration has led a large military buildup in the Caribbean.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters she did not comment on the reports of future actions on oil tankers, focusing instead on the sanctions package.

“We’re not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel narcoterrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world,” Leavitt said.

A reduction or halt in Venezuelan oil exports would certainly strain the Maduro government’s finances.

Edited by: Roshni Majumdar

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NEED TO KNOW

• Bad Bunny slipped and fell on stage during a concert in Mexico City
• After the Grammy winner’s fall, the crowd helped him finish singing “Efecto”
• Bad Bunny is set to headline the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show on Feb. 8, 2026

Bad Bunny took a fall in Mexico City, but his fans had his back.

During his Wednesday, Dec. 10 concert in the capital of Mexico, the Grammy winner, 31, was dancing across the stage while singing “Efecto,” when he appeared to slip and fall.

Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, sat on the stage for a few moments after his tumble, but his fans helped keep the concert’s momentum going as they belted out the lyrics until he got back to his feet, as seen in fan videos from the event.

After a few moments, Bad Bunny stood up and resumed singing, while also giving a shout out to the Mexico City crowd.

The “Tití Me Preguntó” singer’s tumble comes two months before he takes the stage at the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show on Feb. 8. Bad Bunny was confirmed as the 2026 headliner in September, during a game between the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers.

At the time, the musician shared a video on Instagram featuring him wearing a straw hat and sitting on a goal post at the beach as the waves crashed behind him. “Super Bowl LX. Bay Area. February 2026. #AppleMusicHalftime,” he captioned the announcement.

He also posted about the show on X, writing, “I’ve been thinking about it these days, and after discussing it with my team, I think I’ll do just one date in the United States.” His comment was in reference to his decision not to tour the U.S. for his Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour, due to President Donald Trump cracking down on immigration via the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Bad Bunny on Dec. 10 in Mexico City.

 Alfredo ESTRELLA / AFP via Getty

The choice of Bad Bunny as the Halftime headliner has received criticism from some conservatives due to the Puerto Rican singer only performing songs in Spanish. He addressed the criticism when he hosted Saturday Night Live in October.

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“I’m very happy, and I think everyone is happy about it — even Fox News,” he joked as clips spliced together from the network’s shows were edited to say, “Bad Bunny is my favorite musician, and he should be the next president.”

“But really, I’m very excited to be doing the Super Bowl, and I know that people all around the world who love my music are also happy,” Bad Bunny said, then he added in Spanish, “Especially all of the Latinos and Latinas in the world here in the United States who have worked to open doors. It’s more than a win for myself, it’s a win for all of us. Our footprints and our contribution in this country, no one will ever be able to take that away or erase it.”

He concluded his monologue, “If you didn’t understand what I just said. You have four months to learn.”

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Sunrise host Natalie Barr has slammed Health Minister Mark Butler in an on-air clash over controversial travel perks for politicians.

It comes after Communications and Sports Minister Anika Wells referred herself to the parliamentary expenses authority following revelations that she repeatedly billed the public purse for chauffeured cars and family travel.

The flights were all claimed under ‘family reunion’ rules, which allow politicians to claim three business-class airfares a year for family members to join them while they are travelling on official business.

Barr opened the segment with a blunt reality check about the spending.

‘Have you seen what the public is saying?’ she asked Butler.

Butler claimed the public sympathised with politicians who don’t get to spend much time with their families due to the demands of the role.

‘I think they recognise that these jobs are tough on families, but any rules around trying to keep families together from time to time, of course, have to be reasonable. And they have to be used in a sensible way.’

Barr fired back: ‘They are not saying that, Mark. They’re actually saying that it stinks.’ 

Nat Barr unleashed at Albanese government health minister Mark Butler about travel allowances

Albanese brushed off questions about whether travel perks were too generous, but didn’t shut the door on reforms to the system 

In recent days, Barr said she’s been flooded with hundreds of messages from viewers who believe the spending doesn’t pass the ‘pub test’ during a cost-of-living crisis. 

Butler said that it wasn’t up to the government to decide whether the system needed tightening, pointing instead to the independent authority tasked with overseeing parliamentary entitlements.

‘I think having the independent authority take the opportunity to look at these rules and provide advice… would give the public some assurance,’ he said.

Barr pushed harder, reminding him that the Parliamentary Business Resources Act of 2017, the very law governing these entitlements, was created and voted on by politicians themselves.

‘If politicians wanted to change this, you actually could. Do you think that’s a good idea?’ she asked.

Butler said he would welcome a full review, not just into individual claims referred by Wells, but into whether the entire system genuinely meets the test of being reasonable and used sensibly.

‘We would welcome those recommendations, and if they have to be enacted through legislation, then I’m sure that’s what we would do.’

With more politicians being roped into the spiralling expenses furore, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said she was happy to consider changes to the rules, but urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to investigate whether Wells breached the ministerial code of conduct.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley called for a formal probe into the ‘family reunion’ allowance

‘She needs to step aside while this review happens,’  Ley told 2GB radio on Thursday.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese brushed off questions about whether travel perks were too generous, but didn’t shut the door on reforms to the system.

‘We’re aware that issues are there and that taxpayers have a right to expect value for money,’ he told reporters in Canberra.

‘It’s important … that I don’t influence that from the top.’

Politicians are allowed to claim travel expenses if their official duties are the ‘dominant purpose’ of the trip.

This means they can still attend other, non-political events, as long as their parliamentary duties are the main focus of their travel.

Asked if her husband should be able to enjoy big sporting games, Wells said the family travel guidelines weren’t new.

‘No one expects any forgiveness for the political class. I understand that,’ she said.

‘Yes, I always think about how this is going to look to people when we make decisions about when we use the family travel entitlement.’ 

Wells charged taxpayers almost $1000 for a chauffeur for seven hours the day she attended the Australian Open in 2023 and more than $1200 for nine hours the day of the NRL and NRLW grand finals in 2022, according to the parliamentary expenses register.

The minister had her electorate office fitted with a secure communications facility in October 2024 when she was Sports and Aged Care Minister, despite a similar room being about a 20-minute drive away.

The minister also spent $3000 on flights and allowances for her husband and children to join her at Thredbo in June 2024 while she attended meetings with Paralympics Australia and Adaptive Festival organisers.

Wells first came under fire over flights for herself and two others that cost almost $100,000.

She flew to New York during the United Nations General Assembly, where she promoted the Albanese government’s world-first social media ban for under-16s.

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Mohamed Salah has been publicly encouraged to join MLS by commissioner Don Garber, with the Liverpool star’s future at Anfield unclear following his interview hinting at an exit

Mohamed Salah faces an uncertain future at Liverpool(Image: PAUL ELLIS, AFP via Getty Images)

Mohamed Salah is facing calls to reject the Saudi Pro League amidst ongoing speculation about his future at Anfield. The Egyptian has found himself on the bench for the Reds’ Premier League matches against Leeds United, Sunderland and West Ham United in recent weeks.

Following a thrilling 3-3 draw with the latter last weekend, Salah gave a surprise interview to reporters at Elland Road, revealing a rift with head coach Arne Slot. In the interview, he also suggested that this weekend’s match against Brighton & Hove Albion could be his last for Liverpool.

He is due to leave for the Africa Cup of Nations next week, which will run until mid-January, should Egypt advance deep into the tournament. However, it remains uncertain whether the 33-year-old will return to play for the Reds in the second half of the season.

READ MORE: Liverpool could repeat £25m transfer trick as FSG ‘closing in’ on Celtic signingREAD MORE: Liverpool star Mohamed Salah told to apologise as Gary Lineker raises suspicions

Following the player’s explosive interview, numerous links with foreign clubs have resurfaced over the past week. Those only increased after he was not involved as Liverpool defeated Inter in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

The Saudi Pro League has long been considered as Salah’s most likely landing spot when he eventually ends his Anfield career. However, Major League Soccer has recently emerged as a viable alternative, with The Athletic reporting this week that a move to the United States is possible.

Part of the appeal stems from Egyptian-British billionaire Mohamed Mansour owning San Diego FC, which could make it a natural destination for Salah. The club, established in 2023, finished first in the Western Conference during the 2025 MLS campaign.

Mo Salah faces an uncertain future at Liverpool following his comments after the draw against Leeds United(Image: Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

MLS commissioner Don Garber has now openly urged Salah to cross the pond, despite the enormous financial rewards on offer in Saudi Arabia. He pointed to Barcelona and Bayern Munich icons Lionel Messi and Thomas Muller as proof of the league’s rising stature.

Garber said: “Obviously, if [Salah] ever decides to come to Major League Soccer, we’d welcome him with open arms. I’d say he should reach out to Leo [Messi] and reach out to Thomas Muller and see how happy they’ve been and how successful they’ve been and how much they’ve really embraced being in Major League Soccer.”

Don Garber has spoken about Mohamed Salah potentially moving to Major League Soccer(Image: Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)

Messi arrived at Inter Miami as a free agent in the summer of 2023 after his stint with Paris Saint-Germain. Earlier this month, the Argentine played and provided two assists against Muller’s Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS Cup final, guiding his team to a 3-1 triumph.

Salah will link up with his Egypt squad next week, with their Africa Cup of Nations opener scheduled for 22 December against Zimbabwe. South Africa and Angola complete the group as the Pharaohs aim to win the tournament for the first time since 2010.

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Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.

Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.

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The US will not “stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas”, the White House has warned, after American forces seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.

Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters she would not speak about future ship seizures, but said the US would continue to follow Donald Trump‘s sanction policies.

“We’re not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel narcoterrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world,” she said.

Image:
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt briefing the press. Pic: Reuters

The US is gearing up to intercept more ships, six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

One source said several more sanctioned tankers had been identified by the US for potential seizure.

Two of the people said the US Justice Department and Homeland Security had been planning the seizures for months.

American forces were monitoring vessels in Venezuelan ports and waiting for them to sail into international waters before taking action, one source added.

It comes after a crude oil tanker, named Skipper, on Wednesday was stormed by US forces executing a seizure warrant.

The ship left Venezuela’s main oil port of Jose between 4 and 5 December after loading about 1.1 million barrels of oil, according to satellite info analysed by TankerTrackers.com and internal shipping data from Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.

Image:
A still from a video of US forces seizing a Venezuelan oil tanker, posted by Pam Bondi. Pic: X/@AGPamBondi

The real reason for Donald Trump’s Venezuela exploits

Ed Conway

Economics and data editor

@EdConwaySky

Donald Trump wants you to know that there is one leading reason why he is bearing down militarily on Venezuela: drugs.

It is, he has said repeatedly, that country’s part in the production and smuggling of illegal narcotics into America that lies behind the ratcheting up of forces in the Caribbean in recent weeks. But what if there’s something else going on here too? What if this is really all about oil?

In one respect this is clearly preposterous. After all, the United States is, by a country mile, the world’s biggest oil producer. Venezuela is a comparative minnow these days, the 21st biggest producer in the world, its output having been depressed under the Chavez and then Maduro regimes. Why should America care about Venezuelan oil?

For the answer, one needs to spend a moment – strange as this will sound – contemplating the chemistry of oil…

Read more

US attorney general Pam Bondi said on X, formerly Twitter, that the ship was “used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran”.

“For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organisations,” she added.

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Ms Leavitt said that “the United States does intend to get the oil” that was onboard the vessel.

The government in Caracas, led by dictator Nicolas Maduro, branded the ship’s seizure a “blatant theft” and an “act of international piracy”.

Read more:
Analysis: Is this what the beginning of a war looks like?
The US-Venezuela crisis explained
Why tanker seized by US was ‘spoofing’ its location

The US has been ramping up the pressure on Mr Maduro and is reporting considering trying to oust him. It has piled on sanctions, carried out a military build-up in the southern Caribbean, and launched attacks on suspected drug vessels from Venezuela.

Now America has issued new sanctions targeting Franqui Flores, Efrain Antonio Campo Flores, and Carlos Erik Malpica Flores – three nephews of Mr Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores – as well as on six crude oil tankers and six shipping companies linked to them.

Image:
Skipper. Credit: TankerTrackers

By seizing oil tankers, the US is threatening Mr Maduro’s government’s main revenue source: oil exports.

The sources said the US was focusing on what’s been called the shadow fleet – tankers transporting sanctioned oil to China, the biggest buyer of crude from Venezuela and Iran.

They said one shipper had already temporarily suspended three voyages transporting six million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil.

“The cargoes were just loaded and were about to start sailing to Asia,” a source said.

“Now the voyages are cancelled and tankers are waiting off the Venezuelan coast as it’s safer to do that.”

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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that the United States is pushing for Ukraine to withdraw its forces from the Donetsk region to establish a “free economic zone” in the Kyiv-held parts of eastern Ukraine that Moscow wants to control.

Zelenskyy confirmed on Thursday that his country had presented the US with a 20-point set of counter-proposals for peace amid discussions on security guarantees with top US officials, making it clear that any territorial concessions would have to be put to a referendum in Ukraine.

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“They see it as Ukrainian troops withdrawing from the Donetsk region, and the compromise is supposedly that Russian troops will not enter this part of … region. They do not know who will govern this territory,” said the Ukrainian president.

He said that Russia had referred to the proposed buffer area as a “demilitarised zone” and that the US team was describing it as an “economic free zone”.

“I believe that the people of Ukraine will answer this question. Whether through elections or a referendum, there must be a position from the people of Ukraine,” he said.

Zelenskyy is under mounting US pressure to secure a deal with Russia, with reports that US President Donald Trump wants an agreement by Christmas. The general peace plan includes the 20-point framework and separate documents on security guarantees and on rebuilding Ukraine.

The full details of the framework, which revises a US draft seen as heavily weighted in Russia’s favour, have not been released. Zelenskyy said the main issues of contention were control of the Donetsk region in the Donbas, and future governance of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control.

Zelenskyy pushed back against the idea of a unilateral withdrawal of troops from the Donetsk, where Ukraine controls one-fifth of the territory. “Why doesn’t the other side of the war pull back the same distance in the other direction?” he said, adding there were “a great many questions” still unresolved.

After talks on Thursday with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and special envoy Steve Witkoff, the Ukrainian president said that security guarantees were “among the most critical elements for all subsequent steps.

The document on security guarantees would, he said, have to provide “concrete answers” on actions that would be taken if “Russia decides to launch its aggression again”.

Today, we have had a constructive and in-depth discussion with the American team on one of the three documents we are currently working on – the one on security guarantees. The U.S. was represented by Secretary Marco Rubio @SecRubio, Secretary Pete Hegseth @SecWar, @SteveWitkoff,… pic.twitter.com/gztUJHBOqn

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 11, 2025

‘Conflict is at our door’

On Thursday, NATO chief Mark Rutte warned that Russia could be ready to use military force against the alliance within five years, urging members to “rapidly increase defence spending and production”.

“Conflict is at our door,” he said in a speech in Berlin. “We are Russia’s next target. I fear that too many are quietly complacent. Too many don’t feel the urgency. And too many believe that time is on our side. It is not. The time for action is now.”

In other developments, Ukraine’s allies in the so-called Coalition of the Willing discussed progress on mobilising frozen Russian sovereign assets during a virtual meeting on Thursday, according to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office.

The European Commission is pushing to tap some 200 billion euros ($232bn) of Russian central bank assets immobilised in the bloc after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine to provide Kyiv with much-needed funding.

The sanctions freezing the Russian funds currently require unanimous renewal twice a year, leaving them vulnerable to a veto from Hungary, the EU country closest to Russia.

But a majority of ambassadors from the European Union’s 27 nations agreed on Thursday on a way of keeping Russian funds frozen as long as required without the need for renewal every six months.

The idea, which still needs formal approval by the finance ministers meeting on Friday, is not a done deal. Belgium, which, as the home of Euroclear – the organisation holding most of the funds, fears legal or financial retribution from Moscow.

Trump has largely sought to sideline European nations from the peace process, preferring to deal directly with Moscow and Kyiv in shuttle diplomacy led by special envoy Witkoff and, lately, his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

On Thursday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who met Rutte in Berlin, said further talks with the Americans were planned this weekend, and an international meeting on Ukraine could happen at the start of next week.

Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s Audrey MacAlpine said Merz and Rutte “agreed that Ukraine was closer to a ceasefire than has ever been”.

“They also agreed that any territorial concessions to be made by Ukraine must be approved by Kyiv, and that in any peace negotiations moving forward, that European leaders must be involved,” she said.

The White House said Trump would send a representative to talks in Europe this weekend if there was a real chance of signing a peace agreement.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the US president was “extremely frustrated with both sides” and “sick of meetings just for the sake of meeting”.

Russia claims to hold ‘strategic initiative’

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who wants to portray himself as negotiating from a position of strength, claimed on Thursday in a call with military leaders that Russian armed forces were “fully holding the strategic initiative” on the battlefield.

In 2022, Russia claimed to formally annex the Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, despite not having full control over them. Putin has said that Moscow is ready to fight on to seize the land it claims if Kyiv does not give it up.

Lieutenant General Sergei Medvedev told Putin on Thursday that troops had taken the city of Siversk in the Donetsk region, where fighting has been fierce in recent months.

The claim was denied by the Ukrainian military’s Operation Task Force East unit, which said Russia was “trying to infiltrate Siversk in small groups, taking advantage of unfavourable weather conditions, but most of these units are being destroyed on the approaches”.

The task force also said Ukrainian forces were holding the northern districts of Pokrovsk, a key former logistics hub in Donetsk that Russian commanders said came under Moscow’s control last month.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian long-range drones hit a Russian oil rig in the Caspian Sea belonging to Russian oil company Lukoil, according to a report by The Associated Press, citing an anonymous official in the Security Service of Ukraine.

The rig reportedly took four hits, halting the extraction of oil and gas from more than 20 wells, according to the official. Russian officials and Lukoil made no immediate comment.

Ukraine also launched one of its biggest drone attacks of the war overnight, halting flights in and out of all four Moscow airports for seven hours.

Zelenskyy told the Coalition of the Willing meeting that a ceasefire was needed for elections to be held in Ukraine. The leader, whose term expired last year, is facing renewed pressure from Trump to hold a vote.

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State Library of Victoria scraps controversial restructure plan after public outcry

Stephanie Convery

The State Library of Victoria has canned a controversial restructure proposal, saying it had “created unintended concerns” after public outrage.

Many of Australia’s most prominent writers, researchers and artists and thousands of members of the public had expressed alarm over the proposal, which would have cut jobs – including more than halving the number of public-facing reference librarians – and refocused the 171-year-old institution on tourist-oriented digital experiences that staff had described as “digital vanity projects”.

In a statement issued this morning, SLV management said:

After careful consideration of feedback received during the consultation period, the Library has decided to withdraw the Reorganisation Proposal, so that we can refine our approach and ensure it best supports our community, our staff and our long-term vision.

Any revised proposal will be informed by what we have heard throughout this consultation. Our focus will remain on strengthening services, modernising operations and ensuring the Library continues to thrive as a leading home for history, arts, culture and knowledge for the next generation.

The La Trobe Reading Room at the State Library of Victoria. Photograph: Jui-Chi Chan/Alamy

The turn-about comes after more than 220 writers, scholars and researchers – including Nick Cave, Helen Garner, Pulitzer, Booker and Nobel prize for literature winners – signed an open letter to the library’s board and executive expressing alarm about the proposal and calling for more public accountability, alongside a CPSU Victoria petition that had collected more than 4,600 signatures, and a separate public petition that had nearly 10,000 signatories as of Friday morning.

The reversal also comes just one day before a planned rally in support of State Library staff and against the proposed changes.

State Library management said in the statement that its “commitment to the people of this state has never been stronger”.

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‘The whole thing disgusts me’: Australians ditch US travel as new rules require social media to be declared

Australians are abandoning travel to the US, and boycotting World Cup matches there next year, as the Trump administration flags new rules that will soon require visitors to hand over their social media history when applying to enter the country.

In a notice published on Tuesday, the US Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) said tourists to the US from 42 countries including Australia would have to reveal all of their social media activity over the past five years under the new rules, which are up for a 60-day review before coming into effect. It would be a part of the application for a visa waiver under the ESTA application process.

Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

The rules were drawn up in response to an executive order made by Donald Trump on the day of his inauguration in January which purported to “protect” the US from visitors, instructing that visas should be denied to anyone with “hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles”.

Australian tourists have described the US mandate to sweep social media posts, as well as collect comprehensive “high-value data” on family members such as phone numbers, dates of birth and residencies, as “horrifying” and “draconian”.

Read more here:

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State Library of Victoria scraps controversial restructure plan after public outcry

Stephanie Convery

The State Library of Victoria has canned a controversial restructure proposal, saying it had “created unintended concerns” after public outrage.

Many of Australia’s most prominent writers, researchers and artists and thousands of members of the public had expressed alarm over the proposal, which would have cut jobs – including more than halving the number of public-facing reference librarians – and refocused the 171-year-old institution on tourist-oriented digital experiences that staff had described as “digital vanity projects”.

In a statement issued this morning, SLV management said:

After careful consideration of feedback received during the consultation period, the Library has decided to withdraw the Reorganisation Proposal, so that we can refine our approach and ensure it best supports our community, our staff and our long-term vision.

Any revised proposal will be informed by what we have heard throughout this consultation. Our focus will remain on strengthening services, modernising operations and ensuring the Library continues to thrive as a leading home for history, arts, culture and knowledge for the next generation.

The La Trobe Reading Room at the State Library of Victoria. Photograph: Jui-Chi Chan/Alamy

The turn-about comes after more than 220 writers, scholars and researchers – including Nick Cave, Helen Garner, Pulitzer, Booker and Nobel prize for literature winners – signed an open letter to the library’s board and executive expressing alarm about the proposal and calling for more public accountability, alongside a CPSU Victoria petition that had collected more than 4,600 signatures, and a separate public petition that had nearly 10,000 signatories as of Friday morning.

The reversal also comes just one day before a planned rally in support of State Library staff and against the proposed changes.

State Library management said in the statement that its “commitment to the people of this state has never been stronger”.

Share

Updated at 22.57 CET

Officials investigating after Victoria police memorial vandalised overnight

Victoria police are investigating the vandalism of the Victoria Police Memorial in Melbourne this morning.

Officials said they believed unknown offenders used red paint to vandalise the memorial sometime overnight. Phrases such as “good cop, dead cop” and “shame” were spray-painted on the memorial, as well as the acronym “ACAB”.

The police are urging anyone with information to come forward.

Local council will attend to remove the graffiti.

Police are investigating the circumstances after the Victoria Police Memorial was vandalised in Melbourne this morning. Photograph: John McLaughlan/VIC PoliceShare

NSW SES urges commuters to beware of waterlogged roads and flash flooding

The NSW State Emergency Service is warning commuters to use extra caution this morning amid heavy rainfall, urging caution around flooded roads.

The agency said the BoM is advising flash flooding remains a risk for parts of metropolitan Sydney, the Central Coast, the Hunter and central tablelands.

Nicole Hogan, the NSW SES assistant commissioner, said the heavy rain could overwhelm drainage systems and cause water over roads:

If you don’t need to be on the roads during heavy rainfall, we ask the community to delay their travel until the storm passes.

If you do come across flash flooding, the best thing to do is turn around and find another way – it’s not worth putting your life or your loved ones at risk. It doesn’t take much for vehicles to become stuck in water or washed away as you don’t know what damage has been done to the road surfaces.

Weather conditions are expected to ease later today but many areas in the state may face more thunderstorms over the weekend.

Photograph: SES/ FacebookShare

Updated at 22.28 CET

Beetaloo Energy reaches final sign-off for NT fracking project

Beetaloo Energy, a gas company operating in the NT’s Beetaloo basin, said it has reached a final investment decision (a developer’s formal approval to proceed with a specific project) for its Carpentaria fracking project after the Northern Territory government recently signed an agreement to see gas flow from mid-next year.

Earlier this week, the NT deputy chief minister, Gerard Maley, said the project would help “save the territory” and would “literally keep the lights on”.

In a letter to the ASX, Beetaloo Energy, formerly known as Empire Energy, said the investment decision was a “landmark moment” for the company. The managing director, Alex Underwood, said:

This is a landmark moment for Beetaloo Energy, allowing the Company to commence gas sales from EP187 in 2026.

This [final investment decision] follows the incredible efforts of the Beetaloo Energy team whose tireless work is bringing this project to life.

We deeply appreciate the support of our shareholders, financiers, the NT Government, the Traditional Owners of the land on which we operate, and our many supporters across the Northern Territory. They all understand the critical importance of the Beetaloo Basin to drive energy security and economic prosperity for the NT, Australia and the broader region for decades to come.

A map of the Beetaloo sub-basin, located 500km south-east of Darwin, Northern Territory. Composite: Guardian graphic/Department of Industry, Science and ResourcesShare

Updated at 22.14 CET

Mark Butler hopes additional billions for health deal will help strike agreement by Christmas

The health minister, Mark Butler, said the job of health ministers is to “narrow the points of difference” so the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the chief ministers of states and territories can reach a deal on hospital funding.

Butler is speaking to RN Breakfast this morning after Albanese pressed state and territory leaders to accept more than $20bn in extra spending for public hospitals to end a standoff over health funding.

Butler said:

[It is a] very substantial increase, first of all, on what they would have got under the longstanding existing agreements but also on the latest offer that had been made … So I hope that that’s going to lead the premiers and chief ministers to consider that position very seriously because we do want to strike an agreement before Christmas.

Butler also said states and territories did not make a mistake giving wage rises to healthcare workers.

Read more here:

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the health minister, Mark Butler. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare

Updated at 21.52 CET

Summer heatwave conditions predicted for Great Barrier Reef

The northern stretches of Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef are tracking towards moderate marine heatwave conditions over summer, AAP reports.

While Australia might not experience as severe heatwaves as last summer, the outlook still poses coral bleaching risks for world heritage-listed reef if newly developed long-range forecasts are accurate.

Australia’s oceans clocked their warmest 12 months on record in 2024-25, with above-average sea temperatures hitting Western Australia particularly hard, causing unprecedented coral bleaching and fish kills.

The Great Barrier Reef in far north Queensland. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

The Great Barrier Reef experienced its sixth mass bleaching event since 2016, with the northern region struck most acutely.

Marine heatwave conditions, characterised by the Bureau of Meteorology as the top 10% of above-average sea surface temperatures, are expected to be most prevalent in the Coral Sea from January to April.

Moderate heatwave conditions are also predicted for patches of south-east Tasmania this summer.

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Updated at 21.31 CET

Good morning, and happy Friday. Nick Visser here to round out the week’s news. Let’s get to it.

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South Australia’s corrections officers on strike

South Australia’s legal and prison systems remained in limbo overnight, AAP reports, as staff consider ending a strike that has shut down courts and forced a 96-hour lockdown for prisoners.

Corrections officers are striking over what they say is an inadequate pay offer, a surge in violence in prisons and a crisis in staffing levels caused by low wages.

More than 1,000 corrections officers across the state voted to strike on Monday and on Thursday voted to extend it to 96 hours.

The strike plunged the prison system into a four-day lockdown, with more than 2,000 inmates confined to their cells since 7.30am on Monday.

Union delegates were consulting members late on Thursday and striking staff will reconvene this morning to decide whether to take further action, or reach an agreement with the government.

– with AAP

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Updated at 21.05 CET

Tom Silvagni to face court

Convicted rapist Tom Silvagni will face court today for the first time since a suppression over his identity was lifted.

The 23-year-old son of AFL great Stephen Silvagni and television personality Jo Silvagni was found guilty of two counts of rape on 5 December after a two-week trial in the Victorian county court.

He is due to face a pre-sentence hearing this morning.

There had been a suppression over his identity since he was first charged with rape in June 2024, with his lawyers arguing publication could lead to the deterioration of his mental health.

Read more here:

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Updated at 20.52 CET

Tom McIlroy

You can read more on the context of Mark Butler’s meeting with state health ministers today here:

Butler and Anthony Albanese are pushing for a deal before the end of the year, ending a funding row dating back to December 2023 when states agreed to help address cost blowouts in the National Disability Insurance Scheme in exchange for more money for public hospitals.

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Updated at 20.53 CET

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Nick Visser will take the controls.

State health ministers will meet their federal counterpart, Mark Butler, today as advocates for elderly Australians say shortages in aged care facilities are putting further pressure on overcrowded hospitals. The federal government is urging them to accept a $20bn boost.

More coming up.

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The European Commission on Thursday sent Hungary a formal letter of notice announcing its intent to open infringement proceedings against the government in Budapest for failing to comply with a number of EU media statutes.

Referring to the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), the Commission said Hungary “fails to comply with requirements relating to the public service media,” adding that it, “does not comply with provisions regarding interference in the work of journalists and media outlets in Hungary, restricting their economic activities and editorial freedom.”

A statement on the Commission’s website said, “Hungarian law does not offer an adequate protection of journalistic sources and confidential communications, nor effective judicial protection when these rights are breached.”

Lack of transparency regarding media ownership, market concentration and the allocation of state advertising were also cited as problematic.

The Commission said “Hungary is also in breach of certain requirements relating to national media regulatory authorities” under the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive.

Fidesz tightens grip on media

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What happens next?

Budapest has two months to respond and address the concerns raised by the Commission. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.

Should that not be enough, the Commission could take the issue to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which could impose fines on Budapest.

The European Media Freedom Act went into effect in August with the aim of protecting a free, independent and diverse EU media landscape.

Orban’s grip on Hungarian media

Hungary has found itself at odds with the EU on a wide range of issues. But one particular area of contention has long been Prime Minister Victor Orban’s grip on the media.

Much of Hungary’s media market is consolidated in the hands of friends of Orban and his Fidesz party.

Orban, who has been in power since 2010 and proudly refers to his country’s illiberal democracy, has wielded the media to his advantage during elections, as will be the case in the coming weeks.

With Hungary set to hold national parliamentary elections by April, Orban’s sway over the media will come into focus once again.

He and Fidesz are facing their biggest challenge yet as Peter Magyar and the center-right Tisza party have begun to capitalize on a growing weariness of the government and its policies of late and managed to jump out to a lead in recent polling.

Hungary’s Orban slumps in polls, 6 months before election

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Edited by: Sean Sinico

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Syria’s minister of social affairs and labor on Wednesday approved the registration of a Jewish organization for the first time in the country’s history.

Hind Kabawat, the first woman appointed to Syria’s transitional government cabinet, registered the Jewish Heritage in Syria Foundation (JHS), marking a milestone for the country’s Jewish community.

The move allows JHS to fully operate in Syria, including establishing an office, working officially with the government and local communities and serving as the recognized entity responsible for protecting Jewish sites. 

The registration also enables the foundation to coordinate the return of Jewish properties and to bring Jewish delegations to the country on a regular basis.

TRUMP DECLARES IMPORTANCE OF NOT DERAILING ‘SYRIA’S EVOLUTION INTO A PROSPEROUS STATE’

Henry Hamra, right, reads the Torah next to his son Joseph Hamra inside the Faranj synagogue in Damascus Dec. 10, 2025, as a newly licensed Jewish-Syrian organization begins work to reclaim previously confiscated properties. (Louai Beshara/AFP via Getty Images)

“Judaism and Syrian Jews have long been part of Syria’s religious and cultural landscape. Restoring their right to belong, to visit and to live back in their homeland is a natural step toward a more just, tolerant and inclusive society,” Kabawat told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“For decades, Syrian Jews were denied the right to celebrate their own cultural and religious heritage, and today we take a step toward long-term peace, security and stability. We wish the organization success in its efforts to preserve Jewish heritage in Syria, and we look forward to deeper cooperation and a stronger relationship going forward.”

Syria’s Jewish community, once numbered in the tens of thousands, dwindled dramatically after 1948 as restrictions and regional tensions pushed most families to emigrate.

SYRIA’S INTERIM PRESIDENT AL-SHARAA EXPECTED TO MEET WITH TRUMP IN FIRST VISIT BY SYRIAN LEADER TO WHITE HOUSE 

Rabbi Henry Hamra, right, and Syrian Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Kabawat receive the charter of the newly formed Jewish Heritage Association in Damascus Dec. 10, 2025. (Bakr Al Kasem/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Only a handful remain in the country today, and most synagogues have since been destroyed after 14 years of civil war.

Henry Hamra, a Syrian American Jew and president of JHS, and his son, Joseph, spoke with Fox News Digital from the Jewish quarter in Damascus about the landmark moment.

“We’re ready to start working on the synagogues and to start getting all the people to come see what we have here — a beautiful place. And we’re ready for everybody to come,” he said.

TRUMP’S PUSH FOR ISRAEL-SYRIA PEACE GETS MAJOR BACKING AS ACTIVIST BRINGS MESSAGE TO JERUSALEM

“Being able to regularly travel to Damascus and Aleppo brings me so much joy. Syria was closed off to us for so long. The Assad regime would arrest anyone who even met with a Jew or hosted a Jewish person. Today, Syria is finally back to its people regardless of faith or ethnicity.”

Rabbi Henry Hamra performs a prayer as he receives the charter of the newly established Jewish Heritage Association in Damascus on Dec. 10, 2025. (Bakr Al Kasem/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Hamra told Fox News Digital he has returned to Syria four times since former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s government was overthrown last year in a lightning offensive that ended five decades of family rule.

Monday marked the first anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime, and tens of thousands of Syrians took to the streets of Damascus to mark the momentous occasion.

WHY SYRIA PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN TRUMP’S PLANS FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE

The long-standing Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, viewed as the United States’ most restrictive sanctions on Syria since its enactment in 2019, is on the verge of being rolled back, with a full repeal written into the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The NDAA passed the House on Wednesday and now returns to the Senate for final approval before heading to President Donald Trump’s desk for signature.

A Syrian Jewish man looks over the ruins of the Eliyahu Hanavi (Jobar) Synagogue outside Damascus on Feb. 18, 2025, during a visit from the United States. (Louai Beshara/AFP via Getty Images)

Hamra told Fox News Digital there are 22 synagogues in Damascus but most have been destroyed.

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During a recent visit, he and his team saw the rubble of the Jobar Synagogue, also known as Eliyahu Hanavi, one of the oldest synagogues in the world.

The Faranj Synagogue, he added, is the only one largely intact. 

“It still [has] their books [and] Torah scrolls,” Hamra said. “It’s a work of art, really.”

Ashley Carnahan is a writer at Fox News Digital.

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Officials in the Georgia Department of Corrections have released details of the last meal requested by a death row inmate convicted of murdering two real estate agents in 2003.

Stacey Humphreys murdered Cynthia Williams and Lori Brown at a model home in Powder Springs, Georgia. He was handed a death sentence, and is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection next Wednesday, December 17, at 7 p.m. at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison.

State officials released his robust final meal request on Thursday ahead of his expected execution. Humphreys has requested barbecue beef brisket, pork ribs, a bacon double cheeseburger, french fries, coleslaw, cornbread, buffalo wings, meat lovers pan pizza, vanilla ice cream, and two lemon-lime sodas.

Humphreys argued he should be spared execution based on a Covid-19-era agreement that established the conditions for resuming executions. His defense attorney argued the agreement was still being used by some death-row inmates to delay their executions, but that Humphreys was being denied those same protections.

The agreement applies only to inmates whose requests for a rehearing of their appeals were denied by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals when a judicial emergency called due to the pandemic was in place.

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Stacey Humphreys is scheduled to be executed through lethal injection next Wednesday, for the 2003 murders of two real estate agents — Cynthia Williams and Lori Brown — in Georgia (Georgia Department of Corrections)

A federal judge ruled on Wednesday against halting Humphreys’ execution, citing his failure to show that his due process rights would be violated by an execution.

On November 3, 2003, investigators said that Humphreys visited the sales office for a model home where the real estate workers were employed.

Evidence presented to the court showed Humphreys made the women strip naked and give him their bank PIN numbers before shooting and killing them both. Prosecutors said the Humphreys used their IDs and credit cards to pull thousands of dollars from their bank accounts.

open image in gallery

Real estate agents Cynthia Brown and Lori Williams were murdered in Georgia in 2003 by Stacey Humphreys. He’s scheduled to be executed by lethal injection for their murders next Wednesday (Cobb County Superior Court handout)

He was later arrested after a high speed chase in Wisconsin.

Humphreys attempted to appeal his case to the Supreme Court but the judicial body declined to adjudicate.

His execution will be Georgia’s first in 2025. He’s expected to be the 55th inmate to be executed by lethal injection. There are 32 men and one woman in Georgia prisons who are currently facing a death sentence.

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