Australia Archives - TPR: The Public's Radio

FILE - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II greets Corp. Ben Roberts-Smith from Australia, who was recently awarded the Victoria Cross, during an audience at Buckingham Palace in London, Nov. 15, 2011.

NPR

Australia charges ex‑soldier with 5 war‑crime murders in Afghanistan

by The Associated Press April 7, 2026April 7, 2026

Roberts-Smith is only the second Australian veteran of the Afghanistan campaign to be charged with a war crime.

Family members of suspected Islamic State militants who are Australian nationals board a van heading to the airport in Damascus during the first repatriation operation of the year, at Roj Camp in eastern Syria, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. Thirty-four Australian citizens from 11 families departed the camp.

NPR

Australia bans a citizen with alleged IS links from returning from Syria

by The Associated Press February 18, 2026February 18, 2026

The Australian is among a group of 34 women and children who had planned to fly from Damascus to Australia on Monday but were turned back by Syrian authorities to the Roj detention camp due to procedural problems.

Family members of suspected Islamic State militants who are Australian nationals sit in a van heading to the airport in Damascus during the first repatriation operation of the year, at Roj Camp in eastern Syria, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. Thirty-four Australian citizens from 11 families departed the camp.

NPR

Australia won’t repatriate 34 women and children from Syria

by The Associated Press February 17, 2026February 17, 2026

The Australian government will not repatriate from Syria a group of 34 women and children with alleged ties to the Islamic State group, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tuesday.

Family carry the coffin following a service for Bondi Beach mass shooting victim 10-year-old Matilda, whose last name is being withheld at the request of her family, in Sydney, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025.

NPR

Mourners grieve 10-year-old slain in Bondi mass shooting as Australia’s leader pledges new hate laws

by The Associated Press December 18, 2025December 18, 2025

Hundreds of mourners bearing bright bouquets and clutching each other in grief gathered at a funeral in Sydney on Thursday for a 10-year-old girl who was gunned down in an antisemitic massacre during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach.

Australian Jews and others hold a vigil in Tel Aviv for the victims of the Bondi beach massacre, on Sunday, Dec 14.

NPR

Bondi Beach attack casts a shadow on Hanukkah celebrations in Israel

by Jerome Socolovsky December 16, 2025December 16, 2025

People of all ages had been looking forward to celebrating — especially this year, as a ceasefire in Gaza has held since October and all but one of the hostages taken by Hamas-led militants have been returned.

A mass shooting during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Australia follows a wave of antisemitic incidents in the country over the last two years.

NPR

Deadly attack on Bondi Beach follows rise in antisemitic incidents in Australia

by Scott Horsley December 14, 2025December 15, 2025

Australia, like other countries, has seen a rise in antisemitic attacks since the start of the war in Gaza.

In this undated photo provided by Saffrine Duggan her husband Daniel Duggan poses for a photo at an unknown location in Australia.

NPR

Ex-Marine fights extradition from Australia to U.S. over training Chinese pilots

by The Associated Press October 17, 2025October 17, 2025

Daniel Duggan, an ex-Marine, is accused of conspiring with others to train Chinese military pilots between 2010 and 2012.

A koala and joey climb a tree in bushland located near central Brisbane on Dec. 14, 2024.

NPR

Australia approves vaccine to protect koalas from chlamydia

by Chandelis Duster September 14, 2025September 14, 2025

Chlamydia in koalas can cause blindness, infertility and even death.

Convicted triple murderer Erin Patterson leaves the Supreme Court of Victoria following her sentencing in Melbourne, Australia, on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025.

NPR

Australian woman is sentenced to life for poisoning relatives with mushrooms

by The Associated Press September 8, 2025September 8, 2025

An Australian judge sentenced triple-murderer Erin Patterson to life in prison with a non-parole period of 33 years for poisoning four of her estranged husband’s relatives with death cap mushrooms.