TRANSCRIPT
- US court rules Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported
- Coalition to invest $1.5 million to support the Stop the Coward Punch campaign
- Oscar Piastri looks like he could become first F1 driver to win two grand prix in 2025
A United States immigration judge has ruled that Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported, following President Donald Trump's efforts to remove the Columbia University student from the country a month after his arrest.
The ruling by Judge Jamee Comans of the LaSalle Immigration Court in Louisiana does not mean Mr Khalil will definitely face deportation, but represents a victory for President Trump who is looking to deport foreign pro-Palestinian students who reside in the US legally and have not been charged with any crime.
Mr Khalil is a prominent figure in the pro-Palestinian student protest movement on Columbia's New York City campus, and was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, becoming a US lawful permanent resident last year.
Representative of Mahmoud Khalil's support team, Sabrine Mohammed, says the decision intimidates those speaking on behalf of Palestinian liberation.
"A decision as unjust as it is alarming. Despite the government's failure to prove that Mahmoud broke any law, the court has decided that lawful permanent residents can have their status revoked for pro-Palestine advocacy. This is a blatant violation of the First Amendment and a dangerous precedent for anyone who believes in free speech and political expression."
Judge Comans gave Mr Khalil's lawyers until the 23rd of April to appeal.
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The Coalition government is to invest $1.5 million to support a campaign to prevent violence in Australian communities.
The funding will go towards the Stop the Coward Punch Campaign, which was founded in 2012 by Australian world boxing champion Danny Green, to raise awareness about the devastating effects the coward punch has on victims and their families.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton met with Danny Green and announced the commitment in Perth, saying it was part of his party's plan to keep Australia safe and remove needless violence on our streets.
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Opposition leader Peter Dutton describes talk of his seat being taken as a scam.
Media reports referencing a UComms poll, commissioned by Queensland Conservation Council, shows Labor's Ali France ahead of Mr Dutton 52-48 on a two party preferred basis.
But Mr Dutton dismissed this polling speaking to Channel Nine, saying he's seen this kind of messaging in the past.
"I've held my seat, it's a marginal seat, and I've never taken it for granted. And I've worked hard in my seat from day one. But it's an email going around from the Labor party, saying donate to the Labor party so we can get rid of Peter Dutton, so it's a marketing, you know, plot."
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United States billionaire Elon Musk has been tasked with improving the efficiency of shipbuilding processes, sparking fears for the future of Australia's submarine deal with the US.
Mr Trump signed an executive order aimed at bolstering America’s commercial and military shipbuilding industry.
Mr Musk, leader of the White House Department of Government Efficiency, was ordered to review the vessel procurement process.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese insists he's not concerned about the AUKUS submarine deal Australia shares with the United States and the United Kingdom, even amid tariffs threatening an increase in manufacturing costs.
US Political scientist Simon Jackman told Channel Nine
"The downside of course for Australia is that it opens a Pandora box that a lot of people inside the United States, who are sceptical of this deal, it's another opportunity for them to slow this down or pump the brakes on it, which isn't in Australia's interests."
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Western Australia is expected to be hit with a tropical cyclone developing off the coast today.
If it does form, the cyclone will be named Errol and the latest projections show it could intensify to a category three system by Tuesday morning.
The Bureau of Meteorology says the system has not developed into a tropical cyclone yet, still sitting as a tropical low, but is forecast to intensify today.
Angus Hines from the Bureau of Meteorology told ABC News Breakfast a tropical cyclone could hit in the next 12-24 hours off the northern part of the west coast.
"Then a little bit of good news in coming days. The latest modelling, the latest computer projections suggest it's going to veer away from the coastline through the first half of next week, Monday through Wednesday. But it does remain a weather system to watch because there is a chance that the latter half of next week, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, it could veer to the South once again and potentially return to the Pilbara or the Kimberly Coast."
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And in sport, Oscar Piastri looks like he could become the first F1 driver to win two grand prix in 2025 after finishing as the quickest driver in practice at the Bahrain GP.
The Australian, who's already won in China this year, edged out his teammate Lando Norris in Friday's key second practice session at the Sakhir circuit as McLaren again looked the team they all have to beat.
Piastri was 10th in the first session as Norris led the time-sheets, but in the evening the Australian was electric, edging out Norris by 0.154 seconds while no other driver could get within half-a-second of his time.
George Russell was third fastest in his Mercedes, 0.527 behind.
