AUSTRALIA TO FOLLOW TRUMP IN AFGHANISTAN?

Australia may once again take a combat role in Afghanistan, with sources telling Fairfax it is expected the US will request further assistance as part of its new strategy in the country. Australia currently has 300 training and advisory staff in place, but Defence Minister Marise Payne did not rule out a return to combat missions when asked.

In a much anticipated speech yesterday, President Donald Trump said the US would pivot away from its nation building mission in Afghanistan and pursue a military victory over the Taliban. While vague on details, Trump indicated this would involve putting more pressure on Pakistan and boosting the number US troops in the country, reportedly by around 4,000. The war in Afghanistan is now the longest in US history.

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, meanwhile, has quietly departed on a mission to the Middle East.

FACEBOOK AND GOOGLE UNDER THE PUMP

Executives from Google, Facebook and other major companies have faced scrutiny at two separate public inquiries probing corporate tax avoidance and the future of public interest journalism in Australia.

Google’s Jason Pellegrino went toe-to-toe with Senator (and reluctant Brit) Nick Xenophon, who pushed the executive on whether Google had under-reported its Australian advertising revenue. The company says its gross revenue in Australia is $1.1 billion, but some analysts believe it to be closer to $3 billion, according to The Australian.

In the other hearing it emerged that Microsoft had reached a confidential “last-minute” settlement with the ATO and that Facebook is facing an audit looking back over several years of its operations. ATO boss Chris Jordan said recent legislation had forced companies to return $7 billion in sales to Australia and that reviews had exposed $4 billion in assets.

HE REALLY SAID THAT

“I am one of the most pure Australians that you could ever find.” — That was MP Bob Katter, who faced questions over his citizenship thanks to the fact his grandfather was born in Lebanon. “There’s as much chance of my father being a citizen of Lebanon as me becoming a left Greenie,” Katter added.

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WHAT’S ON TODAY

Tumut: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will reportedly join billionaire Anthony Pratt, who is announcing an expansion to his regionally based paper mill.

Canberra: Directions hearing for the High Court challenge against Liberal MP David Gillespie‘s eligibility to serve in parliament.

Canberra: AMA President Dr Michael Gannon speaks at the press club.

Sydney: Western Force will seek to appeal the Australian Rugby Union’s decision to terminate the WA team, to be heard in the NSW Supreme Court.

Brisbane: Hearing to determine whether Clive Palmer will have $200 million in assets frozen. 

THE COMMENTARIAT

Someone has to pay to make the National Broadband Network add up — Jennifer Hewett (Australian Financial Review $): “The catch for Malcolm Turnbull is that most consumers don’t know and don’t care what a connectivity virtual circuit (CVC) charge is. Just like their power, they just want their broadband to turn on and work reliably without suffering sticker shock from the bills.”

Let Cook and Macquarie stand: Grant and Taylor are wrong — Keith Windschuttle (The Australian $): “In saying Cook was the one who ‘discovered this territory’ it is perfectly accurate, if we take the word ‘territory’ to mean the eastern coast of the Australian continent. Cook was in fact the first person in history to traverse the whole of this coastline and view its 2000 miles (3200km) of shores and hinterland.”

How to respond to the worldwide upswing in racism — Tim Soutphommasane (Sydney Morning Herald): “The reality is that racism’s return also reflects a public debate where there is more accommodation of bigotry. Our multicultural society faces a paradox. For all our success on race relations in recent decades, some believe it is acceptable again to vent racial hostility openly.”

THE WORLD

One of the fours surviving suspects of the Las Ramblas terror attack has told a Spanish court that the attackers intended to detonate explosive devices at major landmarks in Barcelona, including the iconic Sagrada Familia church. — BBC

India’s top court has banned the practice of “triple talaq”, which allows Muslim men to immediately dissolve their marriages. The practice often leaves women destitute and is banned in parts of the Muslim world. Feminist campaigners hailed its demise while Indian PM Narenda Modi tweeted the ruling “grants equality to Muslim women”. — The Guardian

WHAT WE’RE READING

‘It’s a hard problem’: Inside Trump’s decision to send more troops to Afghanistan (Washington Post): “One of the ways McMaster tried to persuade Trump to recommit to the effort was by convincing him that Afghanistan was not a hopeless place. He presented Trump with a black-and-white snapshot from 1972 of Afghan women in miniskirts walking through Kabul, to show him that Western norms had existed there before and could return.”

How I became fake news (Politico): “While some people in Facebook messages, tweets and comment boards were calling for my head, others were tweeting at various conservative leaders, including Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump and Sean Hannity, to open an investigation into my alleged role in the attack. On Thursday, Hannity broadcast claims on his radio show that the protesters in Charlottesville were paid.”

Nick Kyrgios continues to be hated by many Australians, but he’s never behaved as badly as some footballers (ABC): “It’s funny, because the rest of the world finds him fascinating. The New Yorker and the New York Times have both done major profiles of the Australian in the past year, while the British press loves to splash attention on him ahead of every Wimbledon.”

Imagine if the media covered alcohol like other drugs (Vox): “An ongoing drug epidemic has swept the US, killing hundreds and sickening thousands more on a daily basis. The widespread use of a substance called ‘alcohol’ — also known as ‘booze’ — has been linked to erratic and even dangerous behaviour, ranging from college students running naked down public streets to brutal attacks and robberies.”

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