Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott yesterday said that the nation is set to introduce new counterterrorism laws, with the package expected to include stripping dual nationals who are linked to terrorism of their citizenship.
There has been speculation that the plan to amend citizenship laws, which was disclosed in February, could also affect second-generation Australians who carry only one passport.
At the same time, the government is considering introducing a “jihadi watch” program in schools, which would keep tabs on pupils whose behavior suggests they might have been radicalized, it was announced yesterday.
“It’s long been the case that if you have served with the armed forces of a country at war with Australia, you automatically lose your citizenship,” Abbott said.
Australia raised its threat level to high in September last year and has since carried out a series of counterterrorism raids, with several alleged plots foiled this year.
Canberra has also taken a tough stance against radicalized citizens amid alarm at the departure of more than 100 of its nationals to Iraq and Syria to fight alongside jihadists, including the Islamic State group, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Abbott on Tuesday ruled out any leniency for returning jihadists following reports three citizens suspected of fighting with the Islamic State group were negotiating with the government to come home.
Today, an inquest resumes into a Sydney cafe siege in December last year in which two hostages and the shooter, Iranian-born self-styled cleric Man Haron Monis, died.
The first two weeks of the inquest are to explore Monis’ background.
Abbott would not comment on a report on Thursday that his government was also exploring the possibility of stripping second-generation Australians of their citizenships if they are linked to terrorist activity, saying further details of the legislative changes would be released in a few days.
The possible measures, which were raised in the Australian newspaper, would force such nationals to take on citizenship of their parents’ birth nations.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is to visit Russia next month for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said on Thursday, a move that comes as Moscow and Beijing seek to counter the West’s global influence. Xi’s visit to Russia would be his second since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but it has backed the Kremlin’s contentions that Russia’s action was provoked by the West, and it continues to supply key components needed by Moscow for
Japan scrambled fighter jets after Russian aircraft flew around the archipelago for the first time in five years, Tokyo said yesterday. From Thursday morning to afternoon, the Russian Tu-142 aircraft flew from the sea between Japan and South Korea toward the southern Okinawa region, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said in a statement. They then traveled north over the Pacific Ocean and finished their journey off the northern island of Hokkaido, it added. The planes did not enter Japanese airspace, but flew over an area subject to a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia, a ministry official said. “In response, we mobilized Air Self-Defense
CRITICISM: ‘One has to choose the lesser of two evils,’ Pope Francis said, as he criticized Trump’s anti-immigrant policies and Harris’ pro-choice position Pope Francis on Friday accused both former US president Donald Trump and US Vice President Kamala Harris of being “against life” as he returned to Rome from a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region. The 87-year-old pontiff’s comments on the US presidential hopefuls came as he defied health concerns to connect with believers from the jungle of Papua New Guinea to the skyscrapers of Singapore. It was Francis’ longest trip in duration and distance since becoming head of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics more than 11 years ago. Despite the marathon visit, he held a long and spirited
China would train thousands of foreign law enforcement officers to see the world order “develop in a more fair, reasonable and efficient direction,” its minister for public security has said. “We will [also] send police consultants to countries in need to conduct training to help them quickly and effectively improve their law enforcement capabilities,” Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong (王小洪) told an annual global security forum. Wang made the announcement in the eastern city of Lianyungang on Monday in front of law enforcement representatives from 122 countries, regions and international organizations such as Interpol. The forum is part of ongoing