Latest / NewsCard® Australia Daily News / Riyadh airport attack, Sumatra forest fires, Nobel Peace Prize
Transcript
- [warm] This is NewsCard Daily for Saturday October 10, 2026 ... the biggest stories from Australia and around the world in just minutes. [serious] We begin in Canberra where the government backs down on a controversial plan to stop accepting credit-card payments to the tax office. The ban was due to begin in December. Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government will now cover processing costs until the end of June next year ... a response to fierce pressure from small businesses worried about cash flow. — — [serious] Also in Canberra, the Coalition pitches major cuts to temporary migration. Its revised policy aims to reduce the number of temporary visa holders by six-hundred-and-fifty thousand over four years ... including cuts to graduate, refugee and bridging visas. Business groups warn the plan could worsen labour shortages, while the Coalition says it will ease pressure on wages, housing and public services. — — [curious] In the economy, investors pull the plug on what was expected to be one of Australia’s biggest stock-market listings. Data-centre operator Firmus abandons plans for an ASX float valued at around five billion US dollars. The decision highlights caution in global markets ... especially around expensive technology and infrastructure projects. — — [serious] In Western Australia, a chronic shortage of secure psychiatric beds means a mentally impaired prisoner is being held unlawfully. Officials say they are forced to break the law because the state’s only specialist facility for prisoners has no capacity. The case puts renewed focus on mental-health services, prison conditions and the rights of vulnerable people. — — [urgent] Now to our region where haze from major forest fires in Sumatra disrupts flights across Indonesia. More than thirty-six thousand hectares have burned this year, with smoke affecting airports in Palembang, Pekanbaru and Jambi. The fires bring health risks for local communities ... and renewed concern about cross-border air pollution in Southeast Asia. — — [serious] Overseas in the Middle East, attacks on Riyadh’s international airport kill three Saudi citizens, according to regional reports. The violence comes as the United States and Iran remain locked in a wider conflict, pushing oil prices sharply higher. For Australia, the risk is felt through fuel costs, shipping and pressure on global markets. — — [hopeful] And in Europe, South African-born jurist Navi Pillay wins the Nobel Peace Prize for her work promoting human rights and international law. The former United Nations human-rights chief is now an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice ... recognised for a career focused on accountability and peace. — — [warm] That's NewsCard Daily. For more top stories and quick summaries that keep you informed in minutes, download NewsCard ... available in the App Store.