That’s all for todayBy Isabel McMillanThanks for reading the national news blog for today, Thursday, September 3. This is where we will end the rolling updates.Here’s a quick recap of some of the day’s biggest stories:Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her thoughts remained with the loved ones of the 38 Australians who are still unaccounted for in Nepal and Tibet following catastrophic flash flooding last week. A specialist team of drone operators will be deployed to Nepal to help the search and rescue effort. The team will include members of Fire and Rescue NSW and the Queensland Fire Department and is set to depart to Nepal in the coming days.Treasurer Jim Chalmers said improving productivity in Australia’s economy would be a “two-decade problem”, not one that could be fixed in a year, after fresh data on the June quarter released by the ABS yesterday indicated a decline.Meta released its most powerful artificial intelligence model yet. Its chief AI officer said its capabilities were edging closer to top competitors. Developers would be able to access and pay for Muse Spark 1.3, an updated version of its most advanced model, the company said.Shadow home affairs minister Jonathon Duniam dismissed suggestions that the Coalition is copying One Nation in its plan to slash the tobacco excise, saying it would also invest in more law enforcement to target crime gangs. He said the Coalition’s plan to cut the excise differed from that of One Nation because it would also look to “cripple the crime gangs” and “invest in a surge in law enforcement”.The deadline to deliver the findings of the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has been pushed back four days so the final report does not overshadow the first anniversary of the Bondi terror attack.And overseas, Cassandra Wilson, the two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz singer, songwriter and producer, has died. She was 70. Dubbed America’s best singer by Time magazine in 2001, Wilson was best known for her genre-bending voice, which expanded the boundaries of traditional blues-based jazz and worked effortlessly across folk, pop, R&B, country and beyond.Thanks again for tuning in. We’ll be back again with live news tomorrow morning.Latest Posts5.06pm on Sep 3, 2026‘We want people to stop smoking’: Duniam on proposed tobacco excise cutsBy Isabel McMillanThe shadow home affairs minister has dismissed suggestions that the Coalition is copying One Nation in its plan to slash the tobacco excise, saying it would also invest in more law enforcement to target crime gangs.Jonathon Duniam told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing that the Coalition’s plan to cut the excise differs from that of One Nation because they would also look to “cripple the crime gangs” and “invest in a surge in law enforcement”.Liberal senator Jonathon Duniam.Catherine Strohfeldt“We’d actually clamp down and drive these people out of town,” Duniam said. “Their policy doesn’t go anywhere near that.“You got the Labor Party who are investing only in enforcement in a piecemeal way. You’ve got One Nation who are investing only in, or announcing only a policy to cut excise. We think you need to have the whole package together, and that’s why we announced what we did today.”4.42pm on Sep 3, 2026Turkish rescue teams search for 10 missing after cargo ship sinks off IstanbulBy Istanbul: Turkish authorities continued searching on Thursday for 10 crew members missing after a cargo ship sank off the coast of Istanbul following a collision with another vessel, state-owned Anadolu Agency reported.Two Turkish-flagged commercial vessels collided in the Sea of Marmara off Istanbul on Wednesday (Istanbul time).Authorities said one of the ships, carrying 10 crew members, is believed to have sunk within about 11 minutes of the accident.Search operations involving the coast guard, navy, disaster management agency and other emergency services were continuing on Thursday.4.03pm on Sep 3, 2026Bondi anniversary priority as antisemitism findings delayedBy Michelle GriffinThe deadline to deliver the findings of the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has been pushed back four days, so the final report did not overshadow the first anniversary of the Bondi terror attack.“The 14th of December will be a solemn occasion marked by memorials. I am aware of concern within the Jewish community that delivery of the report on the anniversary would be a distraction. I welcome this short extension,” commissioner Virginia Bell said in a short statement.The Coalition’s push to extend the antisemitism royal commission’s public hearings was not backed by key Jewish community leaders, and was not successful in calling government ministers to give evidence.3.34pm on Sep 3, 2026Cassandra Wilson, the two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz singer, dies at 70By New York: Cassandra Wilson, the two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz singer, songwriter and producer has died. She was 70.Dubbed America’s best singer by Time magazine in 2001, Wilson was best known for her genre-bending voice, which expanded the boundaries of traditional blues-based jazz and worked effortlessly across folk, pop, R&B, country and beyond. At the heart of all her work was her idiosyncratic contralto, a soulful sound distinctly tied to her roots.Cassandra Wilson performs at the JVC Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island, in 2003. AP Photo/Stew MilneAs Jon Batiste put it in a eulogy on Wednesday, Wilson sounded like the South.She died in her native Jackson, Mississippi, on Tuesday morning, the Hinds County Coroner Jeramiah Howard confirmed.“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Cassandra Wilson, the Grammy Award-winning and legendary jazz artist. Cassandra Wilson transitioned peacefully at home, surrounded by family, close friends, and her manager,” said a statement from her manager to jazz radio station WBGO.AP2.37pm on Sep 3, 2026Qatar Airways reassures passengers on Russian airspaceBy Chris ZapponeQatar Airways has reassured passengers about the safety of its flight routes, after Ukraine warned aviation authorities that civilian flights in Russia may no longer be safe.Virgin-partner Qatar, like Emirates and Etihad Airways, fly to destinations in Russia, or over the country’s airspace.A Qatar Airways plane at Melbourne Airport, pictured here in March 2026.Wayne TaylorA spokesperson for Qatar said that the safety of passengers and crew was the airline’s “highest priority”.“Our flight planning and operational decisions are guided by rigorous and continuous monitoring of airspace security, safety assessments, and geopolitical developments, in close coordination with the relevant authorities,” a spokesperson said.2.10pm on Sep 3, 2026‘No-brainer’: Tobacco tax-cut idea could crush crime, economist saysBy Noah SecombMaking cigarettes cheaper and removing economic incentives for organised crime to peddle illicit tobacco is a “no-brainer”, according to an economist.As the Coalition announces a policy to slash taxes on cigarettes and make a legal pack about $30 cheaper, University of NSW economist Richard Holden is advocating for the removal of the tobacco excise for a period to knock the illicit industry out of the market.“Then you can start again and think about an appropriate level of excise that generates revenue, but doesn’t provide an incentive for them to come back into the market,” Holden told AAP.About 80 per cent of all tobacco consumed in 2025 was illegal, up from 12 per cent in 2017, according to estimates from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. At the same time, the tobacco excise has more than tripled.1.51pm on Sep 3, 2026Albanese slams China missile testing, rejects US comparisonBy Matthew KnottKoror City, Palau: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the chair of the Pacific Islands Forum have rejected any equivalence between American and Chinese missile testing in the Pacific as they struggle to convince regional leaders to unite in condemnation of Beijing’s recent ballistic missile tests.Albanese, who will return to Australia from Palau on Thursday afternoon, said China had shown “no respect” to Pacific nations by firing a nuclear-capable missile in their direction with minimal notice.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaking to reporters on the final day of the Pacific Islands Forum in Koror, Palau, on Thursday.AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLayAlbanese said in July the Pacific Islands Forum was drafting a “very strong” joint statement condemning China’s surprise missile test-firing, but division within the grouping has prevented a forceful statement from being issued.As he prepared to host Pacific leaders at his family home for a private retreat before concluding this year’s forum, Palau President Surangel Whipps jnr said he believed it was “important that we have a unified position” about China’s missile testing activities.Read the full story here. 1.25pm on Sep 3, 2026‘Sailor’s disease’ scurvy linked to young boy’s deathBy Robyn WuthA six-year-old Brisbane boy has died from scurvy, the so‑called “sailor’s disease” common in the convict era.Connor Dean died after a cardiac arrest under general anaesthetic at Queensland Children’s Hospital in 2024.Two years later, deputy State Coroner Stephanie Gallagher has released her findings, ruling the child’s fatal brain damage was most likely triggered by vitamin C deficiency and scurvy.“Although the precise mechanism leading to the cardiac arrest could not be definitively determined, the treating clinicians and forensic pathologist considered vitamin C deficiency to be the most likely underlying factor,” she determined.Read the full story here. AAP1.06pm on Sep 3, 2026Venezuela’s Maduro asserts immunity, urges US judge to dismiss chargesBy New York: Ousted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has urged a US judge to dismiss criminal drug-trafficking charges against him, arguing he should be immune from prosecution as the head of a sovereign country.The charges, filed in Manhattan federal court, formed the basis for the US military’s raid on Caracas and capture of Maduro on January 3. The Venezuelan leader, who has been held in a Brooklyn federal jail since his seizure, has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go on trial on June 1 next year, if his effort to dismiss the case is unsuccessful.The principle that sitting heads of state are immune from prosecution abroad is a longstanding tenet of international law seen as fundamental to diplomacy. Maduro’s push to persuade Manhattan-based US District Court judge Alvin Hellerstein to dismiss the case will test US courts’ general reluctance to apply international law in criminal cases.Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, made the assertion of immunity in a motion to dismiss Maduro’s indictment. Hellerstein had given Pollack a deadline of Wednesday (New York time) to file the motion.1 of 3