Normal view

Australian women accused of slavery in Islamic State territory in Syria face Melbourne court

11 May 2026 at 05:13

Kawsar Ahmad, 53, also known as Abbas, and her daughter Zeinab Ahmad, 31, did not apply during brief hearing

Two Australian women charged with slavery offences that allegedly occurred while they lived under Islamic State rule in Syria have faced a Melbourne court.

Kawsar Ahmad, 53, also known as Abbas, and her daughter, Zeinab Ahmad, 31, were arrested by officers from the Victorian joint counter-terrorism team at Melbourne airport on Thursday.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Anita Lester/AAP

© Photograph: Anita Lester/AAP

© Photograph: Anita Lester/AAP

  • ✇The Guardian World news
  • Australian woman accused of joining Islamic State in Syria refused bail Nino Bucci and Jordyn Beazley
    Janai Safar, 32, will remain in custody in Sydney. Two other women facing separate charges are expected to apply for bail in Melbourne on MondayFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn Australian woman charged with joining Islamic State in Syria has been refused bail despite concerns expressed by her lawyer over the loss of connection it would cause with one of her family members.Janai Safar, 32, appeared before New South
     

Australian woman accused of joining Islamic State in Syria refused bail

8 May 2026 at 06:18

Janai Safar, 32, will remain in custody in Sydney. Two other women facing separate charges are expected to apply for bail in Melbourne on Monday

An Australian woman charged with joining Islamic State in Syria has been refused bail despite concerns expressed by her lawyer over the loss of connection it would cause with one of her family members.

Janai Safar, 32, appeared before New South Wales bail court on Friday after she was arrested at Sydney airport on Thursday evening, after almost a decade in a Syrian refugee camp. She was one of four women allegedly linked to IS who returned to Australia with children this week.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Rocco Fazzari/AAP

© Photograph: Rocco Fazzari/AAP

© Photograph: Rocco Fazzari/AAP

Woman charged with joining Islamic State after arriving back in Australia

7 May 2026 at 13:47

Two more women arrested and expected to be charged after a group of 13 with family links to IS landed back from Syria on Thursday

A woman who arrived back in Australia after spending more than seven years in Syrian detention camps has been charged in Sydney with allegedly entering a declared conflict zone and joining Islamic State.

Janai Safar, 32, was a member of a group of 13 women and children who arrived back in separate flights – one into Sydney and one into Melbourne – on Thursday evening.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images

© Photograph: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images

© Photograph: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images

‘We just want our children to be safe’: two Australian states prepare to resettle children from Syrian detention camp

7 May 2026 at 00:09

Four women and nine children expected to return to Australia on Thursday with all apart from a mother and her child expected to go to Victoria

Authorities in two Australian states are preparing to resettle children returning from squalid detention camps and life under Islamic State rule, as at least some of their mothers face possible criminal charges.

Four women and nine children are expected to return to Australia on Thursday, with all of them apart from a mother and her child bound for Melbourne.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Baderkhan Ahmad/AP

© Photograph: Baderkhan Ahmad/AP

© Photograph: Baderkhan Ahmad/AP

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.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Baderkhan Ahmad

© Photograph: Baderkhan Ahmad

© Photograph: Baderkhan Ahmad

Suspect in UK Stabbing Attack on Jewish Men Faces Third Attempted Murder Charge

1 May 2026 at 14:23
A man appeared in court charged with the attempted murder of two Jewish men in Golders Green, in north London, and of another man, an acquaintance, elsewhere in the city.

Friday briefing: How rising antisemitism is striking fear into the everyday lives of British Jews

1 May 2026 at 06:18

In today’s newsletter: The events in Golders Green this week are the latest in a line of attacks on the Jewish community that have led many to question their future in the UK

Good morning. It is a terrible fact of life for British Jews that few were surprised by Wednesday’s knife attack in Golders Green, north London, in which two men were stabbed in an area home to a large Jewish community. A 45-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder.

The incident is the latest in a string of antisemitic attacks, on people and property, that have struck fear into many British Jews in recent years. John Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, said many in the community are at “breaking point” and feel the UK is no longer a safe place for them to live.

Iran | Iran’s supreme leader has broken his recent silence with a defiant statement hailing Iran’s control over shipping in the strait of Hormuz and vowing to guard the country’s nuclear and missile programmes.

Environment | Governments have been asked to develop national “roadmaps” setting out how they will end the production and use of fossil fuels, after a landmark climate meeting involving nearly 60 countries.

UK news | Winston Marshall, a former member of the band Mumford & Sons and the son of the GB News co-owner Paul Marshall, has said Britain should construct a mine-laden “floating wall” to stop small boat crossings on the Channel.

Counter-terrorism | More and more young people are being drawn into the world of violent extremism, a senior police officer has warned, as a young neo-Nazi was convicted of planning a mass gun attack after being caught in an undercover MI5 sting.

UK economy | The Bank of England has left interest rates unchanged at 3.75% but said the UK may need to brace for increases later this year, as “higher inflation is unavoidable” as a result of the war in the Middle East.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Kin Cheung/AP

© Photograph: Kin Cheung/AP

© Photograph: Kin Cheung/AP

❌