SBS News In Depth

As Donald Trump’s military threats and trade wars unsettle allies, some experts are calling for a rethinking of Australia's long-standing alliance with the United States. The debate has been sharpened by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum, which urged middle power countries to resist compromising their values at the behest of major global superpowers.

The Falepili Union treaty between Australia and Tuvalu was hailed as a global first-of-its kind, with one provision of the agreement allowing up to 280 Tuvaluans to relocate to Australia each year as rising seas threaten their homeland. The first cohort of migrants under the deal are now arriving in Australia. But with just a small Tuvaluan diaspora here, they're facing a challenge to settle in to their new home, while maintaining a connection to community and culture.

New tariffs on Australian beef may cut exports to China by 30 per cent cut this year, according to industry experts. Among those affected is a fifth-generation cattle farmer.

SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves speaks with Canstar's Sally Tindall to find out if it is too late to fix your home loan interest rate ahead of what's expected to be a rise in official interest rates next week; plus Dianne Colledge from Morgans goes through the day's share market action including a preview of Donald Trump's pick of US Federal Reserve governor which is expected to be made at the weekend.

The Federal Government has finalised a landmark $219 billion health agreement with the states in a national cabinet meeting, pledging an additional $25 billion to stabilise public hospitals and cap NDIS growth over the next five years. And while the meeting has been hailed for its reforms, medical experts and state premiers warn that further investment is essential to meet the country's health needs.

The Trump Administration's border chief Tom Homan [[hoe-men]]has pledged a 'safer' Minnesota immigration crackdown. His proposed plan marks a shift in the aggressive tactics that have drawn national outrage, after two US citizens were shot dead by federal agents. Democrats are pressuring the President to scale the operation back further.

The E-U has formally designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organisation, aligning it with groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaida. Tensions between Tehran and Washington are escalating amid one of the deadliest protest crackdowns in Iran’s recent history.

.

President Trump feels the heat as ICE protests spread across the US, as Washington unveils real estate plans for Gaza - but are they based in reality? Plus, Myanmar’s military presses ahead with widely dismissed elections, and China’s panda diplomacy reaches an unbearable level.

The United States has sent what President Donald Trump has described as an armada of naval and military assets into the Middle East, placing American forces on heightened alert as tensions with Iran escalate. The move comes as protests spread across Iran, internet access is cut for millions, and a sharp exchange of threats and warnings unfolds between Washington and Tehran on social media and through diplomatic channels.

Two cases of the deadly Nipah virus have been confirmed in India's West Bengal state and at least 190 people have been quarantined. It's prompted multiple countries in Asia to step up airport screenings to prevent the spread of the infection, which at this stage has no vaccine or proven treatment. However, experts say while it's a dangerous virus with a high fatality rate, it doesn't spread easily from person-to-person.

It's been a month since one of Iran's deadliest periods of anti-government unrest in the history of the Islamic Republic. While mass protests have subsided amid a crackdown by security forces, a US-based human rights group has confirmed the deaths of more than 6,000 people, warning the total could stand at more than 20,000. Iran's official death toll is just over 3,000. There are also grave concerns for the tens of thousands who have been arrested.

As students return for a new year, Australian Federal Police are calling on schools to be on the lookout for signs of students being coerced into forced marriages.

SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves takes a deep dive into today's higher than expected inflation figures to find out what it means for interest rates and for the sharemarkets with Stephen Wu from UBS, James Gerrish from Market Partners and Stephen Miller from GSFM Funds Management.

A landmark report has revealed Services Australia knowingly bypassed child support laws for six years, internally blocking payments to over 16,000 parents who provided less than 35 per cent of their children's care. While the agency argued the law created "unintended consequences" by requiring primary carers to pay those with minimal care responsibilities, the Ombudsman ruled that ignoring legislation is not an option for public servants.

India and the European Union say they have reached "the mother of all deals" in a trade agreement that has been in the works for nearly two decades. Subjected to steep tariffs and facing threats of further increases, the two major economies are working to diversify their trade partners.

Atomic scientists have set the Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been to the theoretical point of world annihilation. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists cites aggressive behaviour by nuclear powers, fraying nuclear arms control, global conflicts and unregulated AI as the key risks driving toward global disaster.

SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves speaks with Daniel Hynes from ANZ and Michael Wayne from Medallion Financial Group to find out more about gold and silver's record rally and whether they are entering bubble territory, along with the rest of the day's market action.

Israel says it has recovered the remains of the final hostage held in Gaza, police officer Ran Gvili. The recovery fulfills a key condition of the US-proposed peace plan, and could pave the way for the reopening of the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

A baggy green cap worn by Sir Donald Bradman in Australia's 1947 test series against India has fetched $460,000 at auction. The sale of this rare piece of Australian sporting heritage and history is not quite at the level of the sale of Shane Warne's test cap, which went for just over a million in 2020 to raise money for the Australian Red Cross following the 2019 Black Saturday bushfires. But auctions like this offer a glimpse into another world, where serious money is paid for memorabilia items connected to some of the world's most iconic and historic sporting events.