Network Seven owner Kerry Stokes has been left on the hook for a $13.5 million payout to rival Nine after disgraced war hero Ben Roberts-Smith lost his marathon defamation lawsuit. 

The disgraced special air forces veteran sued Nine newspapers for defamation over reports published in 2018 that claimed he was complicit in the murder of four unarmed civilians in Afghanistan.

Justice Anthony Besanko’s decision that the allegations were substantially true was upheld by a panel of judges who struck down Roberts-Smith’s appeal in May. 

Roberts-Smith and his financier, Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes, will now have to fork out almost $13.5 million to cover the legal costs incurred by Nine during the trial. 

The Federal Court ordered on Tuesday that Nine’s costs payable by the war veteran and Mr Stokes’ private firm Australian Capital Equity would be fixed at more than $13.27 million. 

They have also been directed to cough up almost $225,000 amassed in relation to analysing the costs of the 110-day trial.

Seven West Media and ACE have been contacted for comment.

Roberts-Smith has also been ordered to pay Nine a lump sum to cover some of its appeal costs but the figure is yet to be determined. 

The $13.5m costs order adds credence to estimates that the trial and appeal cost both sides more than $30 million in total. 

Roberts-Smith – the recipient of Australia’s highest two military honours, the Victoria Cross and Medal for Gallantry – paid $910,000 to the court as security so he could lodge his appeal.

Nine has issued a subpoena to Australia’s richest woman Gina Rinehart, who has publicly declared her support for the former corporal. 

Ms Rinehart has been contacted for comment.

The hefty legal bill comes after the High Court declined to entertain an appeal by Roberts-Smith. 

The decision marked the end of a seven-year legal battle and leaves Roberts-Smith in a strange limbo as a probable war criminal who has not been charged over the offences.

Justice Besanko found the allegations contained in Nine’s reports were proven on the balance of probabilities – a lower standard than its criminal counterpart. 

He determined Roberts-Smith machine-gunned a man with a prosthetic leg, which he then encouraged soldiers to use as a drinking vessel.

On the same day in 2009, he ordered the execution of an elderly prisoner to “blood the rookie” during a raid on a compound known as Whiskey 108.

The judge found Roberts-Smith kicked a handcuffed prisoner off a cliff in the village of Darwan before ordering his execution on September 11, 2012.

The former SAS corporal was found to have ordered the killing of another prisoner after a weapons cache was discovered in the village of Cinartu.

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NAB has joined a big four banking rival by shedding jobs in response to mounting share price pressure and artificial intelligence advances.

The bank was accused of betraying its workers and their families by a union after announcing the loss of 410 jobs, while more than 300 others from its technology and enterprise operations are affected by changes to their employment.

A total of 127 roles will be created in India and Vietnam.

NAB said having a global workforce would lead to better outcomes for customers through extended operating hours, speeding up processes and improving turnaround times.

“The environment we operate in is constantly changing and we need to have the right structures alongside the right skills and capabilities in the right locations to help us deliver for our customers,” a spokesperson said. 

ANZ on Tuesday announced 3500 staff and 1000 contractors would be laid off by September 2026 in a major restructure.

The bank said it was part of a push to simplify operations, focus on the “priorities of customers” and cut consultant spending, with limited impact on frontline-facing roles.

The 410 jobs lost at NAB represent about one per cent of its workforce, while ANZ shed about eight per cent of its staff without including the 1000 contracting jobs lost.

University of Sydney management professor Angela Knox pointed to tough competition for investors, pressure to increase share prices and the rollout of artificial intelligence.

She said it was “no coincidence” labour costs were lower in Vietnam and India.

“They’re trying to reduce costs to improve performance outcomes, particularly for their investors,” Professor Knox told AAP.

NAB’s share price rose by 1.6 per cent on Wednesday.

Finance Sector Union national president Wendy Streets accused NAB of betraying hundreds of workers and their families.

“Cuts this deep don’t just hurt staff, they hollow out services for customers and communities who rely on NAB,” she said.

“Two banks in two days slashing jobs, it’s shameful.

“This isn’t one rogue bank, it’s the whole sector driving the same agenda at the expense of workers and communities.”

Macquarie University Business School Professor Elizabeth Sheedy wasn’t surprised by the cuts as the industry regularly had restructures, which she said was considered a reason why Australian banks were among the most profitable in the world.

She said while two banks announcing cuts at the same time could provide cover or share scrutiny, it may also be because many banks recently completed technology upgrades.

“They’re not really saying too much about AI in in terms of their strategy, but I think everyone suspects that that’s an underlying issue,” Prof Sheedy said.

Both institutions have fairy new chief executives, with ANZ boss Nuno Matos appointed in May, while NAB boss Andrew Irvine stepped into the role in April 2024.

“Three of the big four banks have new CEOs. It’s kind of the fairly typical playbook that a new CEO wants to make their mark and make a lot of changes to get the organisation operating in a way that matches their vision,” she said.

Israel’s attack in Qatar jeopardises the chances of a speedy end to the war in Gaza and release of of hostages held by Hamas, Australia warns.

Israel struck the capital Doha on Tuesday targeting the leadership of Hamas, which Australia designates a terror group, and said five of the group’s members were killed.

Qatar has served as a negotiator in peace talks between Israel and Hamas during the war in Gaza.

Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles said the Israeli strikes were a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty.

“They risk a ceasefire in Gaza, they do not help in terms of a return of the hostages and they also risk an escalation in what’s occurring in the Middle East,” he told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.

“For all those reasons, we are deeply concerned about Israel’s strikes on Qatar.”

Israel has taken full responsibility for the attack, but the strike has angered many of its international allies.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Qatar had been playing a crucial role in the region and the strike undermined peace prospects.

“We don’t think it was the right thing to do,” she told Seven’s Sunrise program.

“They’ve been tireless in those negotiations, that’s the context in which this strike has occurred.”

US President Donald Trump said the strike “does not advance Israel or America’s goals”, while UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned Israel’s actions.

Qatari leaders have said they remain committed to brokering a ceasefire agreement despite the attacks.

Australia was not given any specific information by Israel about the attacks before they took place, while the US was given a heads-up.

Israel’s action demonstrated its government was not serious about having hostages returned, Greens foreign affairs spokesman David Shoebridge said.

“This latest gross breach of international law proves Israel does not want a negotiated ceasefire and that the US will continue to enable their lawless violence,” he said.

Hamas, which controls Gaza, invaded Israel’s south in October 2023 and killed more than 1200 Israelis while taking about 250 more hostage, some of whom are still being held.

Almost 63,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israel’s military response  and many more face starvation in the war zone.

Not many franchises have fuelled society’s timeless fascination with the boundless possibilities of a utopian future like Star Trek.

Next year the sprawling franchise will add more shows, Lego sets and even a Rose Parade Float in a year-long celebration of its 60th anniversary. 

The hefty lineup of “fan-centric” celebrations was announced by the franchise on its 59th anniversary on Monday, known as Star Trek Day. The projects are the first wave, Paramount said in its announcement.

“The 60th anniversary celebrates Space for Everybody, extending an open invitation to celebrate the future that Star Trek aspires to — a future of HOPE, a future of EXPLORATION and a future where we rise to the challenge to BE BOLD,” the announcement read. 

The sci-fi franchise began with the TV series created by Gene Roddenberry that debuted in 1966 and has since sprawled into a multi-billion dollar cultural phenomenon.

Today, fans, known as Trekkies, have enjoyed countless movies, spinoff shows and video games based on the original series. 

Set in the Milky Way a couple hundred years in the future, the series followed the crew behind the starship USS Enterprise. 

Their journey led them to, “Boldy go where no man has gone before”, as William Shatner, who played Captain James T Kirk, famously said at the top of every episode. 

The year-long celebration will kick off on New Year’s Day, with a float in the Rose Parade in California. The float “will reflect values of hope, inclusivity, exploration and unity”, the franchise representatives wrote in a statement. 

The float will also feature the upcoming new series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, set to launch in early 2026 on Paramount+. 

The show will centre on a group of young cadets who navigate the responsibilities of becoming Starfleet officers all the while juggling new friendships, love interests and enemies. 

Paramount gave a first look of the show, which starts actors Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti, during a Comic-Con event in July.

The franchise also announced Star Trek: Scouts a new original, animated YouTube-first series. 

Created by Nickelodeon Digital Studio in association with CBS Studio, the show is the first preschool extension of the franchise. It follows three eight-year-old friends as they train to become future Starfleet Explorers. 

The first two episodes of the 20-episode run were released Monday, and the rest will roll out into the next year. 

A new scripted podcast, Star Trek: Khan also released its first episode Monday. New episodes will air weekly and chronicle Khan’s descent into the iconic villain introduced in a 1967 Star Trek episode and the Enterprise crew’s nemesis in the 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Australia risks getting left behind by the AI wave because of red tape stopping firms from building essential digital infrastructure, the head of the nation’s biggest telco warns.

The telecommunications sector will be essential to supporting the rollout of artificial intelligence but is being hampered by more than 500 pieces of legislation and regulation, Telstra boss Vicki Brady will say in an address to the National Press Club in Canberra.

Backing Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ push to remove unnecessary red tape and lift productivity, Ms Brady will urge the government to keep cutting away clutter and develop a national digital infrastructure plan.

Telcos had placed big bets on strong financial returns in deploying the capital-intensive infrastructure that drove the internet boom.

That included flying helicopters across the continent to bring in the materials and personnel required to build 3G towers and make mobile internet connectivity possible.

But as the industry embarked on the next phase of infrastructure build, like connecting Australia’s far-flung cities with a web of fibre cables, regulation was getting in the way.

To roll out 1000km of fibre between Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, Telstra has had to issue 3000 land access activity notices and 1128 construction certificates and complete 1723 land access surveys and 171 cultural heritage and environment surveys.

“This is all part of deploying infrastructure in a country as large as Australia, and there are good reasons why these processes are in place,” Ms Brady will say.

“But the volume of legislation, regulation and different requirements across states and territories has added significant cost and complexity.”

She supports the Business Council of Australia’s calls to reduce business compliance costs by a quarter by 2030.

“This would mean looking at what regulation may no longer be needed – like our obligation to publish and distribute paper copies of the White Pages.”

Not only did Australia need to get cables in the ground faster, it also needed to build out the “connectivity superhighway in the air” by opening up access to new bands of mobile spectrum, to improve coverage in the bush and enable the roll-out of 6G, Ms Brady will say.

But Australia was simply not building as quickly as international competitors.

On a recent visit to the US, Ms Brady was struck by the pace and scale of their digital infrastructure rollout – how much investment was being attracted, how fast approvals were getting through, how big they were thinking.

“I came away thinking we’ve got the get aligned and we’ve got to move fast if we’re going to remain competitive as a country,” she will say.

AI has the potential to almost double productivity growth over the next decade, but along with greater investment in data centres and renewable energy, Australia needs to involve the public to build trust in the technology, she will say.

Announcing Telstra’s annual financial results in August, Ms Brady revealed more than 20,000 employees had completed at least one course at the company’s AI academy and teams were considering how to implement AI in every job at the telco.

The company insists AI is being deployed to boost the skills of its workforce, not replace it.

Telstra cut 2800 jobs in the past financial year and plans to shed 550 more as part of a major restructure to its Telstra Enterprise arm, but it denied the changes were a result of adoption of AI.

Hundreds of NAB workers are set to be laid off, adding to job losses in the banking sector following a rival’s decision to shed thousands of roles.

NAB has cut 410 jobs from its technology and enterprise operations division, while more than 300 others are affected by changes to their employment.

Some 127 new roles will be created in India and Vietnam.

A NAB spokesperson said having a global workforce would lead to better outcomes for customers through extended operating hours, speeding up processes and improving turnaround times.

“We regularly look at the way we work and how we’re structured to deliver the best experience we can for our customers,” the spokesperson said.

“The environment we operate in is constantly changing and we need to have the right structures alongside the right skills and capabilities in the right locations to help us deliver for our customers.”

Staff were told on Tuesday and offered support including through career transition services and redeployment options.

Other new roles will created in Australia but no details have been given.

It comes after ANZ on Tuesday announced 3500 staff and 1000 contractors would be laid off by September 2026 in a major restructure.

The bank said it was part of a push to simplify operations, focus on the “priorities of customers” and cut consultant spending, with limited impact on frontline-facing roles.

Finance Sector Union national president Wendy Streets accused NAB of betraying hundreds of workers and their families.

“Cuts this deep don’t just hurt staff, they hollow out services for customers and communities who rely on NAB,” she said.

“Two banks in two days slashing jobs, it’s shameful.

“This isn’t one rogue bank, it’s the whole sector driving the same agenda at the expense of workers and communities.”

Australia says Israel’s attack on Qatar risks undermining any ceasefire agreement in the Middle East.

Israel struck the capital Doha on Tuesday, targeting the leadership of the Australian-designated terror group Hamas, which says five of its members were killed.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the latest attack risks an escalation of conflict in the region.

“This is a clear violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and flies in the face of what we all want, which is a ceasefire and the return of the (Israeli) hostages (held by Hamas in Gaza),” she told Seven’s Sunrise program on Wednesday.

“We don’t think it was the right thing to do.

“It undermines or potentially damages the possibility of ceasefire and the release of hostages and obviously it risks escalation.”

Qatar has served as a negotiator in peace talks between Israel and Hamas during the latest war in the Middle East.

Israel has taken full responsibility for the attack, but the strike has angered many of its international allies.

US President Donald Trump said the strike “does not advance Israel or America’s goals”.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also condemned Israel’s actions in a statement on social media.

Qatari leaders have said they remain committed to brokering a ceasefire agreement despite the attacks.

Australia was not given any specific information by Israel about the attacks before they took place, while the US was given a heads-up.

Senator Wong said Qatar had been playing a crucial role in the region.

“Qatar has been working with the United States to try and deliver a ceasefire and the return of hostages,” she said.

“They’ve been tireless in those negotiations, that’s the context in which this strike has occurred.”

Hamas, which controls Gaza in Palestine, invaded Israel’s south in October 2023 and killed more than 1200 Israelis while taking about 250 more hostage, some of whom are still being held.

Almost 63,000 Palestinians in Gaza have since been killed in Israel’s military response, according to local health authorities, and many more face catastrophic levels of food insecurity.

First home buyers will have more choice thanks to expanded government scheme but some markets are likely to be pushed out of reach again, analysis has found.

The federal government is fast tracking an expansion to its Home Guarantee Scheme which allows those eligible to buy with a five per cent deposit and no lenders mortgage insurance.

Come October, the scheme will also remove income and place limits and raise property price caps across most regions.

Of the 4848 house and unit markets analysed by property data company Cotality, only about a third were accessible under the old scheme’s price caps.

This will expand to almost two thirds with the updated scheme, including 51 per cent of house markets and 93 per cent of unit markets.

Under the higher price caps, houses in 130 Adelaide suburbs will qualify, compared to just eight suburbs previously, while units in 153 Brisbane suburbs will qualify, up from 58.  

Most regions will have a significant boost, bringing those caps closer in line with their median house values, Cotality economist Kaytlin Ezzy said.

“For those first-time buyers that have been struggling to get into the market for a while and seeing options dwindle as prices increase, these increased caps will definitely be something that they’re happy about,” she told AAP.

“It will mean that they are able to access the market that little bit earlier than they otherwise would have.”

She said the people will be able to get into a home earlier without having to save a 20 per cent deposit or didn’t have access to the “bank of mum and dad”.

“It helps level that playing field,” Ms Ezzy said.

But as more first-home buyers take advantage of the boosted scheme, demand will also rise, pushing about 100 suburbs outside the scheme’s caps by the end of the year.

Price caps in Sydney will lift from $900,000 to $1.5 million, Melbourne from $800,000 to $950,000 and Brisbane from $700,000 to $1 million.

Adelaide, Perth and Hobart’s caps will increase from $600,000 to $900,000, $850,000 and $700,000, respectively.

Darwin’s cap will remain unchanged at $600,000 while the ACT will have its cap increased from $750,000 to $1 million.

Climate finance and regional security will dominate discussions when the Australian prime minister touches down in the Solomon Islands for major talks with Pacific leaders.

Anthony Albanese skipped the first full day of the 54th Pacific Islands Forum in Honiara opting for a detour to Vanuatu where a keenly-anticipated security pact failed to materialise.

Australia has been stumping up big sums to bolster ties with its Pacific neighbours and affirm its position as a security partner of choice on the backdrop of intense geopolitical competition with China.

The federal government is expected to tip about $500 million into security, economic and development programs in Vanuatu and while no deal was finalised, Mr Albanese reported “good progress” towards the Nakamal agreement and was confident it would eventually go ahead.

Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat confirmed some of his ministerial colleagues were concerned securing infrastructure funding from other nations would be more difficult under the agreement, with China among the island nation’s top lenders.

Tess Newton Cain, adjunct associate professor at Griffith Asia Institute in Brisbane, was not surprised by the delayed agreement given Vanuatu’s “friends to all, enemies to none” foreign policy.

“We do know Vanuatu, and this prime minister, Jotham Napat, has made it very clear he doesn’t want to sign anything that would involve any kind of dilution or erosion of Vanuatu’s sovereignty,” she told reporters at the Pacific Islands Forum in Honiara.

A significant slice of funding under the agreement is expected to flow to climate adaptation and resilience programs for the tropical archipelago, which is vulnerable to cyclones and sea level rise.

Wesley Morgan, research associate at the Institute for Climate Risk and Response at UNSW and Climate Council Fellow, said the climate crisis was Vanuatu’s top security threat.

“It is clear if Australia wants to be a credible security partner for Pacific countries, Australia needs a credible plan to be tackling their clear security threat,” Dr Morgan told AAP.

Pacific nations would be expecting Australia to set the strongest possible emissions-reduction goal for 2035, he said.

Australia could also be pressed to chip in more money for the region’s new climate fund, set to be signed and ratified on Wednesday.

The regional heavyweight has already committed $100 million to the Pacific Resilience Facility, a regionally-specific institution set up following logistical challenges accessing global climate funds.

The “Ocean of Peace” declaration, a Fiji-led agreement intended to spell out collective high-level principles to underpin lasting peace and security across the entire region, is also expected to feature in the multi-day summit.

Mr Albanese said Australia would be pursuing a “resilient, sovereign and connected region” during his talks with fellow leaders.

Nepal’s prime minister has resigned following violent protests against a ban on social media platforms and government corruption.

Khadga Prasad Oli said he was stepping down immediately.

His resignation came after protesters set fire to the homes of some of Nepal’s top political leaders in opposition to a social media ban that was lifted early on Tuesday, a day after deadly anti-government protests when police opened fire and killed 19 people.

Local reports and videos shared on social media showed protesters attacking residences of the top political leaders in and around Kathmandu.

A curfew was imposed in the capital and other cities, and schools in Kathmandu were closed.

The houses set on fire included those of Sher Bahadur Deuba, leader of the largest party Nepali Congress, President Ram Chandra Poudel, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak and leader of the Communist party of Nepal Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

A private school owned by Deuba’s wife Arzu Deuba Rana, who is the current foreign minister, was also set on fire.

The mass protest and attack on parliament on Monday began as opposition to the ban on social media platforms but were fuelled by growing frustration and dissatisfaction against the political parties among the people who blame them for corruption.

Several protests were reported on Tuesday despite the indefinite curfew in the capital.

“Punish the murders in government. Stop killing children,” the protesters chanted while police used loudspeakers urging them to return home.

The protesters’ anger turned towards the government led by Oli, who has become increasingly unpopular.

Several widely used social networks, including Facebook, X and YouTube were blocked in the Himalayan nation last week after failing to comply with a new requirement to register and submit to government oversight.

Monday’s rallies against the ban swelled to tens of thousands of people in Kathmandu and crowds surrounded the parliament building before police opened fire on the demonstrators. Nineteen people were killed.

“Stop the ban on social media. Stop corruption, not social media,” the crowds chanted, waving national flags.

Seven of those killed in Monday’s protests and scores of the wounded were received at the National Trauma Centre, the country’s main hospital.

“Many of them are in serious condition and appear to have been shot in the head and chest,” Dr Badri Risa said.

Families waited for news of their relatives while people lined up to donate blood.

Oli said in a statement he was forming an investigating committee to submit a report in 15 days and that compensation would be given for the lives lost and free treatment for the wounded.

Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak also resigned at an emergency cabinet meeting late on Monday.

The violence unfolded as Nepal’s government pursues a broader attempt to regulate social media with a bill aimed at ensuring the platforms are “properly managed, responsible and accountable”.

The proposal has been widely criticised as a tool for censorship and for punishing government opponents who voice their protests online.

The bill includes asking the companies to appoint a liaison office or a point of contact in the country.

Rights groups have called it an attempt by the government to curb freedom of expression and fundamental rights.

The registration requirement applied to about two dozen social networks widely used in Nepal.

Google, which owns YouTube; Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp; and Elon Musk’s X platform did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

TikTok, Viber and three other platforms have registered and operated without interruption.

Nepal in 2023 banned TikTok for disrupting “social harmony, goodwill and diffusing indecent materials”.

The ban was lifted in 2024 after TikTok’s executives pledged to comply with local laws, including a ban of pornographic sites that was passed in 2018.