SBS News In Depth

As the festive shopping rush begins, vendors are bracing for a surge in shoplifting. Australia-wide, theft has hit a 21-year high. Experts say it’s part of a broader trend.

SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves speaks with Harry Morrow from Loftus Peak to find out more about OpenAI's new Australian intitiative including plans for a $7bn hyper data centre with NextDC; plus the day on the sharemarket with Omkar Joshi at Opal Capital Management.

Starting next Wednesday, Australia will become the first country in the world to ban under-16s from having social media accounts, forcing major platforms to comply with the law or face fines of up to $50 million. The Albanese government says the move will protect young people from harmful algorithms and negative mental-health impacts. Many parents support the change, while critics warn that tech-savvy teens are likely to find workarounds to the measures.

Europe’s largest cultural event is once again confronting the tension between entertainment and geopolitics. After the European Broadcasting Union formally confirmed Israel’s eligibility for the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, four countries - Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Slovenia - immediately withdrew. Their walkout has triggered one of the most serious disputes in the contest’s modern history, raising questions about neutrality, artistic expression and how far Eurovision can distance itself from real-world conflicts.

A group of around 900 asylum seekers who came to Australia by boat nearly 13 years ago remain stuck in visa limbo, fighting for permanency. Despite living and working in Australia for nearly a decade, they have no pathway to permanent residency thanks to a hardline 2013 immigration policy on boat arrivals. They're pleading with the Australian government to grant them leniency, as a last hope. And a warning - this story contains descriptions of self harm that some may find distressing.

A boost to the copper price and weaker US jobs data improving rate cut sentiment has helped lift the Australian share market, despite stronger than expected household spending data dampening hopes of future interest rate cuts locally. In fact, markets are increasingly pricing-in rate hikes in 2026. For more on this, Stephanie Youssef spoke with Morningstar chief investment officer Matt Wacher. Plus, ASFA CEO Mary Delahunty on the superannuation peak body’s latest Retirement Standard.

Devastating floods and landslides wreak havoc across much of south-east Asia. No compromise reached after the Russian President and the US try to iron out a revamped peace proposal for Ukraine. Plus, the asylum seekers living in limbo – why they’re pleading with the Australian government to grant them leniency - and the rebel nuns refusing to give up their social media accounts.

A new European Union initiative to store carbon dioxide beneath the North Sea is set to launch its operations next year. But environmental activists are concerned carbon capture technologies dissuade industries from acting to reduce fossil fuel emissions.

.The EU plans to increase aid to Ukraine, by using frozen Russian assets to increase the costs of war for Russia. Meanwhile, Ukraine is preparing to hold talks with US President Donald Trump’s team in coming days.

SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves speaks with Stephen Halmarick from Economists Unchained and Alice Shen from VanEck to find out what today's official GDP data really says about the economy, implications for interest rates, and how the sharemarket reacted.

Teenagers are more concerned than ever about the cost of living, according the annual Mission Australia Youth Survey of more than 17,000 young people. Financial worries have jumped significantly in survey results in recent years, with climate change falling as an issue of concern, and mental health still having a large impact.

The United States faces mounting accusations of extrajudicial killings after launching lethal airstrikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the waters of the Caribbean and East Pacific Ocean. A follow-up strike on survivors from a disabled boat on September the 2nd has sparked particular outrage, with legal experts and the U-N saying the attacks violate international law, and the Pentagon’s own rules against targeting the shipwrecked.

.Russian President Vladimir Putin has been meeting with President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff for talks on a possible way to end the deadliest European conflict since World War Two. Just before the meeting, President Putin warned Europe that it would face swift defeat if it went to war with Russia, and he dismissed European counter-proposals on Ukraine as being absolutely unacceptable to Russia.

The Australian share market has closed higher ahead of tomorrow’s key GDP data, where a strong economic growth figure could further complicate the Reserve Bank’s interest rate decision next week. Plus, silver’s rally continues with the precious metal breaking above US$58 an ounce overnight. For more, Stephanie Youssef spoke with MPC Markets CEO Mark Gardner.

Australia's immigration detention regime is under United Nations scrutiny this week. The U-N Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is examining how the country deprives people of their liberty — from prisons to offshore detention facilities. And for people like Muhammad, who spent six years in detention, this review is one that's long overdue.

United States President Donald Trump has threatened a ground invasion of Venezuela to disrupt what he claims is a vast drug-trafficking network. The U-S military has already deployed thousands of troops and dozens of warships to the Caribbean as a U-S air campaign that has killed at least 83 people continues. But how likely is an all-out war with their South American neighbour, really?

Ukrainians are cautiously optimistic that an end to the war could come soon, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says a revised U-S peace plan for Ukraine is looking more acceptable. This comes as French President Emmanuel Macron says this may be a turning point for Europe’s security, as Ukraine doubles down on long-term defence with a large French fighter-jet deal.

New data reveals that surging home prices have wiped away the benefits of three interest rate cuts to new buyers. Rent prices are also rising in every capital city, prompting more and more Australians to form larger households or move back to their family home. The rising prices have left economists predicting a possible rate hike in 2026.

SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves speaks with Chris Weston from Pepperstone about the day's market action including another outage at the ASX. Plus Eliza Owen from Cotality Australia takes a look at the latest property price data and future moves.

Israel is facing a political shock wave after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally asked President Isaac Herzog for a pardon in his ongoing corruption trial. The unprecedented move has triggered fierce protests, legal warnings and a deeply polarised public debate over whether clemency would unify the nation or erode the rule of law.