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Some of the Australian women linked to Islamic State fighters may face arrest and possible charges on their return from Syria this week, with the government and federal police promising a hardline response when the group touches down.
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, confirmed that the government was aware that four Australian women and nine of their children had begun the journey home, after leaving al-Roj in Syria and travelling to Damascus last month. They all hold Australian passports.
“These are people who have made the horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an unspeakable situation,” Burke said. “As we have said many times – any members of this cohort who have committed crimes can expect to face the full force of the law.”
Australian citizens cannot legally be prevented from returning to the country unless a formal exclusion order is in place. Burke has issued a single order to prevent one woman in Syria from returning, based on Asio advice about a national security risk.
Top news
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Kumanjayi Little Baby vigils: where you can pay your respects to the five-year-old across Australia
Horrified Wagga residents call for proper sanitation at homeless camp where baby was found dead
In pictures
“As a kid I would do his voice, put on my dad’s work shirt and host my own nature documentaries in the back yard”, writes Guardian Australia cartoonist Jess Harwood. “Thank you, David Attenborough, for 100 incredible years of life on Earth.” Check out Jess’s cartoon dedicated to Attenborough here.
What they said …
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“You don’t just want to sit on what you’ve done before. We put it together, we love to do it, and there is always something more in there.” – The Rolling Stones lead guitarist, Keith Richards.
The Rolling Stones gathered friends, journalists and fellow artists for a preview of their forthcoming 25th album, Foreign Tongues. Host Conan O’Brien deadpanned that perhaps, finally, this is the album where the band will “finally make it after decades of obscurity”.
Full Story
Everyone is talking about Farrer: here’s what you need to know
This weekend’s byelection in the NSW regional electorate of Farrer could yield a historic result that signifies a shift in Australia’s political landscape. Since its creation, the seat has always been held by a Liberal or National candidate – the last being former opposition leader Sussan Ley, whose resignation triggered this vote.
But the frontrunners this time are not from any of the major parties. Instead, it’s tipped to be a hotly contested battle between an independent and a One Nation candidate who could be the party’s first ever elected to the lower house. Political reporter Sarah Basford Canales speaks to Reged Ahmad about why this election matters.
Before bed read
“Gender equality isn’t women v men or a zero-sum game,” Ged Kearney tells Guardian Australia’s Tory Shepherd. As the assistant minister for the prevention of family violence sets off on a national listening tour with the special envoy for men’s health, Dan Repacholi, they are up against a pervasive and very different conception of how men and women relate, fostered by the loud voices of the manosphere and men’s rights activists.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: GET. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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