Welcome, readers, to Afternoon Update.
Ben Roberts-Smith has been granted bail under strict conditions while he awaits a possible trial on five counts of war crime murder.
The Victoria Cross recipient, once Australia’s most decorated soldier, faces five charges of war crime murder, over allegations he killed unarmed civilians in Afghanistan. Roberts-Smith has not yet entered a plea but has always strenuously denied any wrongdoing.
In a Sydney court on Friday, Judge Greg Grogin said the risk Roberts-Smith would flee Australia, or that he would interfere with witnesses or evidence, could be mitigated by strict reporting requirements.
These include that he report to a police station three times a week and must only use a single phone and computer, to which police will have access.
Top news
Prince Harry and Meghan meet with survivors of Bondi terror attack
UK Tory MP who defected to Reform advises One Nation in Australian byelection campaign
Zohran Mamdani still making money from fleeting rap career, filings show
Iran footballers granted asylum in Australia vow to continue chasing sporting dream
In pictures
Australian photographer Elle Leontiev has been named Open Photographer of the Year at the 2026 Sony world photography awards, for a surreal portrait of “barefoot volcanologist” Phillip Yamah at Mount Yasur on the Vanuatu island of Tanna. Check out the rest of the winners here.
What they said …
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“How do I know if I’ve definitely ended a call?”
One of the common concerns expressed among the four women and one man attending a beginner’s smartphone class at a public facility for older residents in Tokyo’s north-west suburbs. Yasushi Nishioka has been patiently them guiding through the myriad functions and settings that can make the smartphone a portal into a new world of hyper-connectivity, but also a vortex for digital dystopia.
Full Story
How Gina Rinehart lost hundreds of millions of dollars in court
In this bonus episode of the Walkley-nominated series about Australia’s richest person, Guardian Australia senior correspondent Sarah Martin and producer Joe Koning examine Wednesday’s landmark court ruling that ends a 15-year-court battle between Gina Rinehart and rival heirs.
Before bed read
In what feels like less of a trend and more like the correct way to do something, people on social media have discovered “slow vacuuming”. When it comes to vacuuming, slow and steady wins the rug race, according to social media users. But experts caution against overdoing the method, Isabella Lee writes.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: MIS. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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