SBS News In Depth

Today is International Women's Day, with the theme of 'Balancing the Scales' which calls for accelerated progress toward gender equity. SBS World News Chief Political Correspondent Anna Henderson has spoken with Irish Ambassador Fiona Flood, German Ambassador Beate Grzeski, and Croatian Ambassador Betty Pavelich on their experiences as senior diplomats. The conversation covers a range of important issues, including gender equality in world diplomacy, the conflict with Iran, and the struggles women have in getting ahead in a traditionally man's world of diplomacy.

A warning - the following story contains elements that may distress some people. In 2025, New South Wales alone recorded the highest number of women murdered in domestic violence situations. Advocates say it's not a one-off situation - and that women's safety remains an ongoing concern.

More than three thousand kilometres off the Western Australian coast lie the Cocos Islands — a tiny archipelago of 27 coral islands scattered across the Indian Ocean. Just two are inhabited. One of them is Home Island, a kampong of about 460 people, where the overwhelming majority are Cocos Malays — and where Islam has shaped daily life for generations. As Western Australia Correspondent Christopher Tan reports, it is here that the month-long fast of Ramadan has reached the halfway mark on one of Australia’s most remote communities.

Families in Australia are bracing for a cost-of-living hit, as energy prices soar. Charities are increasing gifts of free food during Ramadan, to help those already struggling. SBS Arabic takes a look at how one group is trying to help.

The S&P/ASX 200 has recorded its worst weekly drop since Donald Trump’s so-called Liberation Day tariffs shocked global markets in April last year. That’s as investors weigh the prospect of a drawn-out war in the Middle East, with the rising oil price prompting further inflation concerns. Meanwhile, the US Pentagon has formally labelled AI company Anthropic a supply chain risk, escalating its dispute over AI safeguards. For more, Stephanie Youssef spoke with capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda.