Australia news LIVE: Labor’s Digital Duty of Care to be introduced to parliament this week, but Greens will demand changes; Frydenberg says Liberals ‘need to do better’

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of national news for Monday, October 12. Here’s what is making headlines today.

A flash flood has caused significant damage in the Gorhka District in Nepal just six weeks after a catastrophic glacial collapse and debris avalanche triggered massive flash floods that devastated the Nepal-Tibet border.

The second flash flood struck when a river blocked by a landslide burst through and destroyed more than 35 homes and six bridges. At least 10 people are missing, and hundreds more have been affected.

Thousands remain unaccounted for after the August flash floods as Nepal moves from search and rescue efforts to the rehabilitation phase.

Authorities have said they require $5 billion for early recovery and rehabilitation.

Phanindra Paudel, chief of the National Emergency ​Operation Centre, told Reuters last week that authorities were considering how to legally declare the missing persons dead to allow families or relatives to move forward with formalities.

Geneva: At least 139 people, including children, have died after a boat carrying more than 300 migrants capsized off the coast of Djibouti in east Africa, the International Organisation for Migration said.

That number only includes those buried by authorities in Djibouti. Others have been buried by the migrants themselves, but they won’t be added to the official count until authorities can verify the bodies, Alexandre Coissac, IOM chief of mission in Djibouti, said on Sunday.

“What is terrible is that they were buried with no names, in a common grave, like in a war situation,” Coissac said. “They all have a mother, a father, and we may never learn what happened.”

Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson says Australia should not be promoting violence, but will have trouble blocking the livestreaming of a US execution from being streamed in Australia.

“My basic principle is we shouldn’t be promoting that sort of violence, and so my fundamental view is yes, I think it’s enormously problematic to tolerate this type of behaviour,” he told ABC Radio National earlier when asked whether the government should block it.

“But the challenge is going to be how do you do that in a way that doesn’t amount to a censorship ban on the internet? How are you going to do that without creating the artifice to be able to block content on the internet and create an online portal of censorship?”

The execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring dozens more in a shooting at the Fort Hood military base in 2009, will be the first by military firing squad since World War II. The execution was approved by US President Donald Trump last week on the recommendation of Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth who originally said it would be a public event.

London: British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Russia interfered in the 2016 Brexit vote, and he warned voters in France and Germany about Moscow-backed efforts to influence their politics.

Burnham, who took over as leader in July and said last month the UK could consider rejoining the European Union in the future, is the first British prime minister to openly say there was evidence of Russian interference in the referendum a decade ago.

“I asked the question coming to Downing Street, was there interference in the 2016 referendum from Russia? And I’ve had the clear answer that yes, there was,” Burnham said in an interview with The Rest Is Politics podcast released overnight.

Burnham did not spell out how he believed that Russia interfered in the referendum and gave no details on what evidence this statement was based.

Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson says he would welcome Josh Frydenberg back to politics, after the former member for Kooyong hinted again on 60 Minutes last night that he could make a comeback.

“I think it’s always good to have candidates who want to step up and run and make sure we pick up seats so that Angus Taylor can be prime minister of this country,” Wilson told ABC Radio National.

“What we need is people who’ve got courage in their hearts and [are] prepared to make the sacrifices necessary for public office. So I have no issue with people putting themselves forward. I encourage them to do so, so they can be part of a winning team.”

During the interview last night, Frydenberg, a former treasurer, said the Liberal Party faced an “existential threat”, and Opposition Leader Angus Taylor needed to “do better”.

Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino would not condemn a decision by the US government to livestream a firing squad execution in December after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said he would ensure the public could watch it.

The execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring dozens more in a shooting at the Fort Hood military base in 2009, will be the first execution by military firing squad since World War II. It was approved by US President Donald Trump last week.

“I don’t want to comment on the domestic politics of any other country when it comes to matters like this,” Mulino told ABC Radio National this morning.

“In terms of the specifics of whether or not this should be shown on social media, that we’ve been leaning in more generally on protections in that place. One of the things I think we need to grapple with is that we need to walk a fine line with social media between imposing protections where appropriate and making sure that people have the freedom to express themselves. This is a difficult balance at times.”

The Greens have called on the government to take whatever action is necessary to block the livestreaming of the execution from being available to watch in Australia.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called the decision to stream the execution “incredibly shocking and barbaric”.

Labor frontbencher Kristy McBain says banks should not be charging small businesses card surcharges, after the treasurer was forced to intervene to delay the Australian Taxation Office’s ban on credit card payments.

The ATO surprised small business owners earlier this month as the Reserve Bank of Australia’s ban on credit card surcharges came into effect, arguing it could not absorb surcharge fees. Labor ministers sent mixed messages over the move, and the opposition accused the government of failing to foresee the consequences of the ban.

“I think the RBA made the right decision to ban card surcharging. It costs customers about $1.6 billion every year, but they should have taken the next step and banned charging at the point of sale for small businesses,” the emergency management minister told Sunrise.

“These are banks making billions of dollars in profits every year, and small businesses are already paying account keeping fees and a range of other fees directly to their banks.”

Independent MP Monique Ryan, who ousted Josh Frydenberg from the seat of Kooyong at the 2022 election, says she is “not bothered” by reports the former treasurer could be making a return to politics.

“Josh does have a track record with the Kooyong community. He was the member for that seat for 12 years, and in 2022, our community rejected him because they were so frustrated with his inability to affect any change to government policy on climate change. People were unhappy with his economic management. People were very unhappy with the way that he punched down on Victoria during the COVID years,” she told Nine’s Today show.

Ryan suggested Frydenberg was more interested in his ambitions to be prime minister than in what was best for the electorate.

“He says he wants to be prime minister, but he doesn’t speak much about Kooyong, and that’s the part of the world that I’m most focused on,” she said.

“I will continue to fight to represent our community as best I can against whoever the Liberal Party decides to put up.”

During an interview on 60 Minutes last night, former treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the Liberal Party faced an “existential threat”, and that leader Angus Taylor needed to “do better”.

The remarks come amid renewed speculation Frydenberg could be making a return to politics. Senior Coalition figures, including Taylor, have said they would welcome him back.

“The polls are showing that the Liberal Party is at an all-time low,” Frydenberg told the program.

“Things have to change. Because there’s something existential about the threat that I think the party now faces.”

Asked whether he wanted to be prime minister, Frydenberg said:

“Look, I certainly haven’t closed the door, but I don’t need to rush to a decision. The next election is 18 months away.”

Cairo: Saudi authorities say King Fahd International Airport in Dammam has been attacked, but revealed few details.

Saudi civil aviation said overnight that efforts were underway to assess damage at the airport about 400 kilometres east of the capital, Riyadh. Dammam is on the Persian Gulf near Bahrain and Qatar.

Earlier on Sunday, a projectile struck a passenger terminal at the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh – a day after a missile hit the same terminal and killed at least 12 people, the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said. The Houthis claimed responsibility for those attacks and others.

Saturday’s missile attack was the deadliest in a Gulf Arab nation since the Iran war began – another 300 people were wounded, some critically. The airport was closed on Sunday.