SBS News In Depth

Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil has announced a crackdown on migration agents exploiting Australia's visa system, including human trafficking and organised crime. The new measures are in response to an inquiry into the exploitation of the country's migration system which found 'grotesque abuses'.

Outgoing House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has declared he will not be seeking to regain his post after a historic vote of no confidence ousted him from one of the country's highest offices.The vote, instigated by far-right Republican representative Matt Gaetz, was supported by all 208 democrats present, along with eight republicans, allowing it to pass with 216 votes against 210. To find out more, SBS's Catalina Florez spoke to Jared Mondschein, Director of Research at the United States Studies Centre.

The burden on calling out abuse and harassment in workplaces will soon no longer fall on women under new laws to be enforced by Australia's new sex discrimination commissioner. Doctor Anna Cody told Rashida Yosufzai she wants to consult diverse communities and LGBTIQ+ Australians on their concerns as she begins to shape her priorities.

The Sydney Gateway Project has been acknowledged for achieving the rare 'Mates in Construction' accreditation in a Sydney event. Mates in Construction is a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting greater mental health and suicide prevention within the construction industry and other blue-collar sectors.

Armenia's parliament has voted in favour of joining the International Criminal Court. The move's irritated the former-Soviet country's traditional ally, Russia.

Amid a surge in small boat arrivals, European leaders are set to reveal a new plan to deal to tackle migration and asylum seekers. Italy and other frontline countries believe they’re bearing too much of the burden as other nations put in place measures to stop migrants crossing the European Union’s internal borders. Many migrants head to the Italian border city of Ventimiglia, the final stop on the road to France. But French authorities are cracking down and pushing migrants back into Italy, to the frustration of local residents.

Across the nation, voting in the once-in-a-generation referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament has entered its second day. While the No campaign is promising to investigate how federal money is being spent, a new poll has given those pushing for constitutional change hope there is still time to secure a Yes result

New RBA Governor Michele Bullock has held official interest rates at 4.1% at her first meeting, but has warned rates may still rise. Rhayna Bosch speaks with Westpac Senior Economist Matthew Hassan to find out more, plus SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves discusses the market implications with George Boubouras from K2 Asset Management Ltd.

The federal government is cracking down on compliance in the vocational and education training sector, launching a new integrity unit. It seeks to strengthen the framework to allow students, particularly from overseas, to report dodgy providers if something goes wrong.

Its iconic sails have been a landmark of Sydney harbour for half a century, and to celebrate the Sydney Opera House is hosting an array of festivities this month. There's also a lesser known rich Aboriginal history that marks the site where the landmark now stands, and one artist is trying to reclaim that knowledge through her work.

The number of volunteer firefighters around the country is continuing to fall year on year. With hot and dry El Nino conditions forecast for the season ahead, it's migrants who are stepping up in northwest Victoria. SBS News travelled to the town of Swan Hill to file this report.

The World Health Organisation has authorised a new malaria vaccine. The R-21 vaccine, developed by Oxford University scientists, is only the second to be created. The WHO has said while the previous vaccine is also effective, the new vaccine can be manufactured at a much larger scale, and would offer countries a cheaper option.

Two scientists have won the Nobel Prize for medicine for discoveries that enabled the development of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. The prize has been awarded to Katalin Karikó, a professor at Sagan’s University in Hungary and an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and Drew Weissman, who performed his prizewinning research together with Professor Karikó at the University of Pennsylvania.

A United Nations delegation has arrived in Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, after a takeover by the country's military of the territory. More than 100,000 ethnic Armenians have fled the region since the takeover, after fears that ethnic cleansing would take place, which Azerbaijan has denied. Hundreds of Armenian-Australians have taken to the nation's capital, calling on the Federal Government to provide humanitarian assistance.

East Africa is one of the world’s worst-hit regions by climate change and is now experiencing its worst climate-induced extreme weather, fuelling an alarming hunger crisis, despite contributing almost nothing to global carbon emissions. As a result more than 26 million people are currently facing acute hunger across Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and South Sudan, because of a two-year drought and years of flooding, compounded by displacement and conflict. SBS's Catalina Florez talks to the CEO of Oxfam Australia, Lyn Morgain, who is in Nairobi having spent a few days touring the region.

Early voting about an Indigenous voice in Parliament has started in the Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia, with New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland and South Australia starting on Tuesday. As polls show a potential No victory, campaigns are continuing strongly across the country.

Elections in Slovakia saw the party of former Prime Minister Robert Fico win the largest share of the votes, making him the most likely candidate to form a government. He was elected on a populist campaign widely seen as pro-Russian, but still has to form a coalition.

Türkiye says it's carried out over 20 air strikes on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, hours after a suicide bombing at the interior ministry in the capital, Ankara. The Kurdistan Workers' Party, known as the PKK, had claimed responsibility for the suicide blast saying it was carried out by a group linked to them.

Australia's consumer watchdog has revealed the enormous burden of childcare fees on households. The ACCC report is the second in a series, drafting recommendations to government to improve outcomes in the sector.

An Israeli tech start-up is hoping to help beekeepers maintain their bee colonies with a smart touch. Using sensors and real-time data analysis, the tech allows keepers to track the health of their hives and prevent die-offs that are blamed on a combination of parasites, pesticides, starvation and climate change.