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Australian spy chief under pressure to name ex-politician who ‘sold out’

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Australian spy chief under pressure to name ex-politician who ‘sold out’

The spy chief said a team from an unidentified country had cultivated and recruited a former Australian politician.

Australia’s spy chief is facing calls to name a former politician accused of having “sold out” the country to a foreign power.

Director-general of security for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), Mike Burgess, said in an annual speech on Wednesday evening that a spy team from an unidentified country had cultivated and recruited a former Australian politician.

“This politician sold out their country, party and former colleagues to advance the interests of the foreign regime,” Burgess said in a speech in the capital, Canberra.

In his address, Burgess said a foreign intelligence service unit, named “the A-Team”, had made Australia its “priority target” and specifically targeted those with access to “privileged information” by using social networking sites and promising financial rewards.

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Burgess added that the unidentified former politician had been recruited “several years ago” and had suggested a plot to introduce a family member of the prime minister into the spy’s orbit, but the plan did not go ahead.

He said police had not charged the person because they were no longer active.

Following the unexpected revelations, Alex Turnbull, the son of former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, said in an interview on Thursday with news.com.au that he had been approached about an infrastructure project by a group of suspected Chinese agents in around 2017 when his father was in government.

He said the group had links to a former New South Wales state Labour Party parliamentarian without naming the person.

However, current and former members of the opposition party have pushed for the name of the ex-politician to be released to avoid speculations.

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Former parliamentary treasurer, Joe Hockey, who also served as the ambassador to the United States, echoed the demands for the ex-politician to be named.

“Mr Burgess, having gone this far, must name that person rather than potentially smear everyone who has served their country,” Hockey wrote on X.

Opposition party leader, Peter Dutton, also said on radio station 2GB: “The trouble is, if he does not indicate the name then there is a cloud hanging over everybody else.”

Australia is a current member of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing group, which includes the United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand, making it a target for operatives from countries such as China and Russia.

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In 2018, under former Prime Minister Turnbull’s leadership, foreign interference laws were introduced, of which the “key purpose” of the measures was to expose China’s activities.

A Chinese-Australian businessman was sentenced to years and nine months in jail on Thursday for attempting to win favour with a minister – the first sentence given under the interference laws, according to state broadcaster ABC.

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Couple publicly caned after alleged TikTok kiss sparks outrage in Indonesia

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Couple publicly caned after alleged TikTok kiss sparks outrage in Indonesia

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A young couple in Indonesia was publicly caned Thursday after allegedly kissing during a TikTok livestream.

The couple — a 22-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman — each received 21 lashes, according to The Associated Press.

They were reportedly convicted of violating local morality laws under an Islamic Sharia court in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province. 

The pair, who were detained in March, had already spent four months in prison prior to the punishment, which ultimately reduced their sentence from 25 lashes to 21, the AP said. 

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Shariah law officials assist an unmarried woman, convicted of violating Islamic law by kissing during a TikTok livestream, to get up after being publicly caned, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah)

According to local authorities, the couple filmed a TikTok video inside a car one night in March.

As the video went viral, they were subsequently apprehended for what officials described as an “immoral act.” 

“Their actions were uncovered thanks to reports from residents who were disturbed by their immoral livestream content,” Sharia police said in April. 

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“The trigger was their livestream on TikTok while engaging in immoral acts in the car,” Head of the Sharia Police Muhammad Rizal added in his statement. “This sparked criticism from netizens and local residents, who then reported them to the authorities.”

THREE HIKERS KILLED AFTER CLIMBING RESTRICTED INDONESIAN VOLCANO TO CREATE ONLINE CONTENT, POLICE SAY

A man is publicly caned after he was convicted of violating Islamic law by kissing during a TikTok livestream in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah)

The court also confiscated a cellphone and a USB flash drive containing the TikTok video, which authorities promised to destroy, according to the AP.

A Banda Aceh resident who attended the caning, 22-year-old Aini Nadhirah, said she believed the punishment was “entirely justified.”

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“In my opinion, this caning is entirely justified because it serves as a warning to other Aceh residents to be more careful when using social media,” Nadhirah said, according to the AP.

“It also raises awareness that such actions are unacceptable, thereby educating the public.”

STUNNING PHOTOS CAPTURE MOMENT ONE OF INDONESIA’S MOST ACTIVE VOLCANOES ERUPTS

Aceh is the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia that enforces its own Islamic Criminal Code governing moral conduct. 

The province’s right to implement Islamic law was granted by Indonesia’s secular central government around 2005 as part of a peace deal to end a separatist insurgency. The policy was later expanded to apply to non-Muslims. 

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Under the law, moral offenses — including adultery and same-sex relations — can carry penalties of up to 100 lashes. Caning is also used for individuals accused of gambling, drinking, adultery and premarital intimacy. 

Shariah law officials escort a woman convicted of violating Islamic law by kissing a man, both unmarried, during a TikTok livestream after her public caning, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah)

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Public caning in Aceh has long drawn criticism from human rights groups, including Amnesty International Indonesia, which has called the practice cruel and degrading.

Despite Indonesia having ratified international conventions prohibiting cruel punishment, authorities in Aceh defend the practice, arguing it does not fall under such a definition. 

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Watch: Following the money—the EPPO investigation into defunct far-right EU group

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Watch: Following the money—the EPPO investigation into defunct far-right EU group

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This week, The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched a fresh wave of raids across France, Spain, Italy and Belgium. They are digging into the 4.3 million euros of EU funds allegedly misused by the European Parliament’s Identity and Democracy group between 2019-2024. What’s going on?

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The prosecutors are scrutinising whether the party breached public tender rules when awarding public contracts and issued irregular donations using those taxpayer funds.

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Importantly, that political group is dead. It has been rebranded into the new “Patriots for Europe” coalition, led by the rising star Jordan Bardella. They are currently the third-largest force in the European Parliament.

It seems like the name on the office door has changed, but the paper trail remains. And the European prosecutors are conducting searches at the offices and homes of communication providers tied to that old group.

Last year when the investigation was announced, Bardella claimed it was “a new harassment operation.”

At the same time, the timing for the National Rally, so Bardella’s party, could not be more brutal.

Next week, Marine Le Pen discovers if a Paris court will uphold a five-year ban from public office on allegations of, well, embezzling public funds. If she is out, Bardella is the designated successor.

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Will the National Rally maintain its political momentum? After all, the party relies on its image as the “voice of the people” against a distant Brussels elite.

Watch the Euronews video in the player above for the full story.

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US Resumes Dollar Transfers to Iraq, NYT Reports

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US Resumes Dollar Transfers to Iraq, NYT Reports
July 2 (Reuters) – The United States ⁠has ⁠resumed some air ⁠shipments of U.S. dollars to Iraq, several months after suspending them, the New York Times ‌reported on Thursday, citing ‌two aides to Iraq’s prime minister. “The dollar ⁠shipments ⁠to Iraq have resumed,” Haider al-Aboudi, a spokesman …
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