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The Briefing

Albo’s budget backdown + 'I heard the screams': Inside Israeli detention

26 May 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What are the latest headlines impacting Australia?

2.63 - 4.032 Unknown

A listener production.

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8.497 - 19.551 Chris Beer

Hey, it's Chris Beer with you. Welcome to The Briefing. Days after being locked up by Israeli forces, Melbourne student Niamh O'Connor is back in Australia and she wants people to know exactly what she went through.

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19.832 - 33.393 Niamh O'Connor

The most harrowing experience for my entire mission... was in that tent and it was when I was listening to the national anthem and the screams of people being beaten to the point of them like screaming for their life.

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33.694 - 46.896 Chris Beer

That chat with Niamh, one of 11 Aussies on board the global Samud flotilla that was intercepted by Israel on its way to Gaza is coming up in the second half of this episode. First though, let's get into the headlines with Sasha Bar-Bagat on Wednesday the 27th of May.

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49.492 - 68.53 Unknown

Hey Chris, 19 Australian women and children linked to Islamic State have returned home from Syria and all of them have been released into the community with no arrests made. The group landed in Melbourne and Sydney yesterday afternoon and into the evening after more than seven years in the notorious al-Raj detention camp in northern Syria.

68.51 - 87.08 Chris Beer

Two so-called ISIS brides and their seven children first touched down in Melbourne just after 4.30pm, followed by four women and their six children at Sydney Airport about an hour later. Both flights came via Doha. This group of women were met by joint counter-terrorism teams both in Sydney and Melbourne.

87.361 - 95.614 Chris Beer

They were searched and had their devices downloaded before being quietly processed and released through side exits away from media waiting at the main arrival gates.

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Now, there had been speculation about whether anyone in this group would be charged, given we saw three ISIS-linked women arrested on arrival earlier this month. But New South Wales and Victorian Police later confirmed in a joint statement that no one in this cohort has been charged, though investigations are continuing.

112.621 - 135.473 Chris Beer

Yeah, and according to reports, another woman who is subject to a temporary exclusion order banning her from re-entering Australia was stopped before boarding her flight after she had reportedly booked her tickets home. It's understood her daughter, who isn't subject to that temporary exclusion order, did choose to stay with her. Now, as to what will happen with these women and their children...

Chapter 2: What happened during the Global Sumud Flotilla mission?

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That was Chief Health Officer Dr Paul Burgess speaking there.

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336.805 - 356.406 Chris Beer

Now, the response from a bunch of governments has ramped up significantly, especially in the Northern Territory. More than 10,000 vaccinations have been administered since late March with pop-up clinics running in Darwin, Catherine and Alice Springs. Authorities are particularly urging teenagers and adults to get their booster shots.

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356.426 - 372.346 Chris Beer

So, you know, where most of us are vaccinated against diphtheria when we're kids and when it runs through when we're in school and It's up to us to then go and get booster shots. So they're saying that that's a big part here, especially post-COVID, as to why we're seeing this outbreak happen.

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373.087 - 385.425 Chris Beer

Last week, Australia's chief medical officer declared diphtheria a communicable disease incident of national significance, and the government has committed $7.2 million to boost vaccinations and resources in affected areas.

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386.317 - 406.03 Unknown

To the US now, and there are serious questions being asked of the President's health as he is booked in for his third doctor's visit in 13 months. Donald Trump, who is the oldest in US history to be inaugurated, will have his routine annual medical and dental appointment at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre six months after his last check-up.

406.01 - 417.527 Chris Beer

Yeah, and you might remember that visit in particularly sparked a flurry of questions as to the president's health after it was revealed that he had an MRI, but no reason was given as to why.

417.687 - 427.701 Unknown

What part of your body was the MRI looking at? I have no idea. It was just an MRI. What part of the body? It wasn't the brain because I took a cognitive test and I aced it. I got a perfect mark.

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I mean...

428.302 - 431.908 Chris Beer

I love that he's equating MRI scans with cognitive testing.

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