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Charges flagged as women and children from IS-linked families set to fly from Syria to Australia

6 May 2026 at 06:14

Home affairs minister Tony Burke says government continues to refuse to help the group of 13

Some of the Australian women linked to Islamic State fighters may face arrest and possible criminal 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 more than a decade of planning by a joint Asio and Australian federal police counter-terrorism taskforce.

The Guardian World news

Philip Morris uses secret Senate hearing to warn that illegal tobacco in Australia could wipe out legal trade by 2030

By: Tom McIlroy and Nino Bucci

5 May 2026 at 15:00

Exclusive: Company pushes for lower excise and claims threats warrant secrecy, while critics say it has ‘no interest in public health or safety’

The tobacco giant Philip Morris told a secret Senate hearing that soaring trade in illegal cigarettes would wipe out legal products in Australia as soon as 2030, claiming executives’ identities should be kept secret because of threats from organised crime.

Labor criticised Coalition MPs for allowing the company to give evidence to an inquiry on illegal tobacco in a closed-door session in Canberra on Monday, ending more than 15 years of precedent under a World Health Organization (WHO) agreement.