TRANSCRIPT:
- An elderly man charged with his wife's murder almost three decades ago;
- New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Luxon keen to talk tough with Anthony Albanese;
- Kylian Mbappe's new teammates celebrating his debut for Real Madrid.
An elderly man has been charged with the murder of his wife more than 26 years ago.
Police allege the now 81 year old Aaron Govendir fabricated a story about a home invasion to hide his involvement in her death.
Denise Govendir was killed in Dover Heights, in Sydney's east, on March 10 in 1998.
Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty says new analysis has led police to allege that there was a staged break-in to cover Mr Govendir's tracks.
"What we'll allege in the facts is that there was no break-in, there was no bogus police officer. The circumstances which we'll outline is that this man was responsible for violently assaulting Denise and then staged a robbery in terms of putting things out in place to make it look like a robbery when, in fact, nothing was actually stolen. There were circumstances that were inconsistent with versions provided and even the car going missing and only being found a short distance away was quite unusual."
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The bodies of two men have been recovered following a boat capsizing in waters off Kangaroo Island, southwest of Adelaide.
The police Water Operations Unit is expected to try to retrieve the boat itself this afternoon.
Kangaroo Island Mayor Michael Pengilly says the men were sailing through thick fog when the boat overturned.
The pair were understood to have worked together as professional anglers, and knew the area well.
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New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Luxon has arrived in Australia and is set to put Australia's deportation reversal on the agenda in talks this week.
Australia's practice of deporting Kiwi criminals who have grown up in Australia remains the biggest obstacle in the Australia-New Zealand relationship.
In the past decade, Australian ministers have sent more than 3000 criminals to New Zealand using powers under section 501 of the Migration Act.
Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was able to convince the Albanese government to soften the policy in 2023 but this June, Australia back-flipped and issued a new directive to harden the deportation policy.
Mr Luxon is in Sydney today for talks with New South Wales Premier Chris Minns - but he says he'll be raising the issue when he goes to Canberra tomorrow for the annual Australia New Zealand Leaders Meeting.
"Australia's free to make its own decisions but also we want to make sure that we have a common sense approach to that. That people who have very little affiliation with New Zealand shouldn't be sent back to New Zealand frankly, and we'll continue to advocate very strongly for it. We have a difference of opinion on it and we'll articulate that."
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Opposition leader Peter Dutton has been accused of racism and stoking division by a range of MPs who have condemned calls to block Palestinians trapped in Gaza from entering Australia.
Almost 3,000 visas have been granted for people fleeing Gaza since October 7th, with more than 7,000 visas rejected.
Peter Dutton argues Palestinians sympathetic to Hamas may pose a risk to Australia's national security.
But Independent M-P Zali Steggall says Mr Dutton is seeking to paint the victims of bombings as terrorists.
"These are families that you are seeking to paint that somehow they are all terrorists, that they should all be mistrusted and that they are not worthy of humanitarian aid. We heard you in silence, you can hear me in silence. Stop being racist!"
Meanwhile, Albanese frontbencher Tanya Plibersek has disputed claims that security checks on Gazan refugees are not adequate.
"The same personnel that were there when they were in government are somehow now incompetent to make those assessments. What Peter Dutton is doing is seeking to frighten and divide Australians in order to win votes and that's not how our politics should work in Australia."
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The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra says it made an error in cancelling the concert of pianist Jayson Gillham after he dedicated a piece to journalists who have been killed in Gaza.
The M-S-O had decided to remove him from a concert that was scheduled for today [[15 Aug]], but the move generated public outcry including an open letter from the Australian Music Students' Association that called the decision "intensely disappointing."
The orchestra has now released a statement saying it was a mistake to remove Mr Gillham and they are seeking to reschedule the concert with his management.
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In football,
Kylian Mbappe's new teammates have celebrated his impressive debut for Real Madrid after he scored a goal to help them beat Atalanta two-nil and win the UEFA Super Cup trophy.
The France captain pulled on the famous white jersey for the first time and played 82 minutes at the National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland.
Goalkeeper, Thibault Courtois says Mbappe is an exciting addition to the team.
"He is different. He has great velocity, dribbling and is a good shooter. He is a unique player that has joined our team. We will have to seize him as best as we can.”
