ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess says encryption protects terrorists, spies, saboteurs and "abhorrent criminals”. This comes amid the expansion of end-to-end encryption by tech companies in recent years and their plan to continue this in the future. Mr Burgess also acknowledged encryption as a “good thing” that “protects privacy”. “I am not calling for an end-to-end encryption ... I’m asking for the tech companies to do more," he added. “The gap In ASIO's ability to lawfully intercept the use of encrypted communications by terrorists and spies is such a concern, particularly in the current security environment. “I’m calling on big tech to establish lawful access solutions that can be applied in very tightly controlled and targeted situations.”

Independent economist Chris Richardson explains how the slight decrease in inflation will affect Australians. The March quarter inflation rate fell less than expected to an annual rate of 3.6 per cent. “They weren’t pretty – they were higher than expected,” Mr Richardson told Sky News Australia. “The IMF regularly says governments should help their central banks fight inflation and to do that, they need some combination of winding back spending or increasing taxes. “I’m hopeful, very hopeful, that we don’t raise interest rates anymore, but I would not be hopeful that we are cutting interest rates in Australia anytime soon."

President Javier Milei has proudly announced in a televised address Argentina's first quarterly fiscal surplus since 2008. The surplus, exceeding 275 billion pesos in March, marks a significant achievement for the libertarian leader's "shock therapy" approach in battling the country's triple digit inflation. The surplus represents 0.2 per cent of the nation's GDP for the quarter. "We're going to give everything to pull this country out of the hell we inherited," Milei said during an address on Monday. Milei warned of the tough economic challenges ahead for the Argentine people. "To us, inflation is a robbery and the fiscal deficit is the cause of inflation. Therefore, the zero deficit is not only a marketing slogan to this government but an order," he said. "Therefore, don’t expect any public spending." He also praised their resilience as the government aims to achieve a zero deficit. "There isn’t any other alternative than surrendering to the feet of a people who decided to abandon slavery and take a long way through the desert to the promised land."

Former Brexit leader and GB News host Nigel Farage says Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial “isn’t a crime” but an “accounting misdemeanour”. Donald Trump is accused of falsifying business records to conceal a payment to keep an affair secret. Mr Trump denies the allegations and rejected claims of wrongdoing in other cases against him. “The opening arguments are that a couple of women were paid off using Trump organisation money, to which I have to say so what,” Mr Farage told Sky News host Paul Murray. “That isn’t a crime; it’s an accounting misdemeanour. “Why is this in court?”

Sky News Political Contributor Chris Uhlmann praised Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s decision to “reaffirm Australia’s deep, deep friendship with Papua New Guinea”. These comments come as Mr Albanese walks the Kokoda Track with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape. Mr Uhlmann told Sky News Australia the importance of “remembering those Australians and Papua New Guineans who fought,” he added. “There are certain parts of our history which are really important to give credit to.” Mr Uhlmann also stressed the timing of the visit “when we’re seeing China on the rise in that neck of the woods”.

Sky News Business Reporter Ed Boyd says the Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to keep rates on hold for the “foreseeable future" following the latest inflation figures. Mr Boyd’s remarks come as the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed on Wednesday that the annual inflation rate dropped to 3.6 per cent in March. “The Reserve Bank needs to get inflation down to its target band of two per cent to three per cent, and right now, with inflation in the March quarter at 3.6 per cent – it’s a bit higher than they would like,” Mr Boyd said. “They are obviously going to need to keep interest rates elevated for a longer period of time. “So inflation today is a little bit more than expected, which basically means the cash rates at 4.35 per cent. “Expect the RBA to keep interest rates on hold for the foreseeable future.”

Joe Biden may have just uttered his worst ever gaffe and he is getting roasted for it. The President of the United States is no stranger to humiliating word salads but his recent outright lie that his late uncle was eaten by cannibals is a new low that has shocked the world. Sky News All Stars James Morrow, Rita Panhi and James Macpherson take a deep dive into this, plus other gaffes that have Democrats very concerned.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has been pressed on the Coalition’s calls for age limits to be mandated on social media platforms. The Coalition has called for age limits to be mandated on social media sites so that children cannot access them. The plan would be done through the use of age verification technology. “These are some of the issues that are being examined right now as part of the Online Safety Act review,” Ms Rowland told Sky News Australia. “No one wants vulnerable people, especially children, seeing certain content and certainly not content that is age-inappropriate.”

The Australian Media Writer Sophie Elsworth says Joe Biden is “not always the man” Americans would want in the “top job”. The US is trying to avert a full-blown war in the Middle East as tensions continue to escalate. “He’s the man in charge, and his tenure could well be up at the upcoming election,” Ms Elsworth told Sky News host Caroline Di Russo. “How he handles this is very critical, but we know that there was a lot of issues after those deaths of the aid workers and whether the US would be wavering in its support of Israel. “This is up to Biden to sort of lead here and show that he can be authoritative in these situations. “I think his track record has shown that when it comes to these tough challenges, he’s not always the man you want there in the top job.”

The US Senate is expected to vote on a bill to ban TikTok this week after it passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan majority. The updated bill is part of the foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The Senate could still shut down the bill, but it is unlikely as both sides of the aisle support more funding for the US allies. If the TikTok ban makes it out of the Senate along with the foreign aid, US President Joe Biden is expected to sign it. The app won’t go away immediately; the matter is sure to be tied up in court, as TikTok plans to claim the potential ban is a violation of free speech.

Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson says X “should comply” with Australian legislation as the country can decide what its “permissible limits of free speech” are. X owner Elon Musk has taken another swipe at the Australian government, saying, ‘The Australian people want the truth. X is the only one standing up for their rights.’ It follows the Federal Court ordering the social media platform to remove footage of last week’s Sydney church stabbing. “Elected or unelected, I don’t want foreign governments deciding what Australians can access on X or any other social media platform, particularly I don’t want authoritarian governments requiring Twitter or X or any other company to take down things,” Mr Paterson told Sky News Australia. “It’s for democracies to decide what’s accessible within our own borders and what our permissible limits of free speech are. “We’ve done so; we’ve passed legislation; X should comply with that.”

Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell says X owner Elon Musk’s row with the Australian government is “not about freedom of speech”. The X owner is challenging a takedown order of graphic footage. “It’s outrageous,” Mr Clennell said. “As publishers with this sort of stuff, we have obligations we adhere to. “This guy’s a rogue – Meta will at least attempt to take the stuff off.”

The Prince and Princess of Wales have released a new photo of Prince Louis to mark his sixth birthday. The photograph of the young royal was taken in Windsor in the "last few days", according to the Palace. The royal couple posted the portrait taken by the Princess of Wales on social media, which the Palace assures has not been edited. The message attached to the post reads: "Happy 6th Birthday, Prince Louis!" "Thank you for all the kind wishes today."

Prosecutors in the hush money trial of former US president Donald Trump say the 2024 frontrunner should be punished for violating his gag order. They have asked a judge to fine Mr Trump for criticising expected trial witnesses, including Stormy Daniels and his former lawyer, Michael Cohen. Judge Juan Merchan claimed Mr Trump’s legal team was losing credibility after they claimed a series of social media posts were just responses to political attacks on Mr Trump. Mr Trump appeared a short time after day two of the trial, reiterating his belief the case is an unconstitutional “sham”. “They can talk about me, they can say whatever they want, they can lie, but I’m not allowed to say anything,” he said. “I don’t think anybody has ever seen anything like this.”

Nationals leader David Littleproud has defended taking a taxpayer-funded flight to see family in 2023. The Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority found the leader had contravened parliamentary laws by claiming expenses for a private visit to the Gold Coast. It's understood the trip took place days after the settlement of his $1,000,000 ­Surfers Paradise apartment. Mr Littleproud said he only made the mistake of flying back into Brisbane rather than the Gold Coast. "I wasn't aware that was wrong; I thought I could come to either two because they're similar in price, and I paid not just the price of the flight coming back but I paid for the flight going back to Canberra and any other associated costs," Mr Littleproud said "But I didn't claim any nights I wasn't there on the taxpayer, I came home to be with my family, which is what most MPs do between sitting weeks," he said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape have begun walking the Kokoda Trail side by side, setting out “in the footsteps of giants”. Children serenaded the leaders as they embarked on a rare political pilgrimage ahead of ANZAC Day. The first leg of the trip the prime ministers are embarking on is from Kokoda village to Deniki, about eight kilometres south of Kokoda. It is 82 years since the Battle of Kokoda occurred in 1942. Bomana War Cemetery in Port Moresby is the largest resting place of Australian war dead in any country, with 3,826 graves.

X owner Elon Musk has taken another swipe at the Australian government. According to Wall Street Silver, X has become the number one downloaded news app in the country – moving up by two spots. That is despite the Federal Court ordering the social media platform to remove footage of last week’s Sydney church stabbing. Mr Musk has responded to his app’s success. “The Australian people want the truth. X is the only one standing up for their rights,” he said.

Sky News host Liz Storer has broken another election promise of continuing the search for lost World War One Diggers’ graves. Ms Storer joined Sky News hosts Caleb Bond and James Macpherson to discuss the broken promise. “This government which promised to uphold what had been initiative of the Morrison government to find unmarked graves of those who had died … and marked them out and have people know this is one of the Diggers’ graves, so that they could come so that they could pay their respects. “The Labor government’s said ten days out to the election ‘oh we too will keep this up’. “Since Labor’s been in power just 42 veterans graves have been recommended for grants after Labor took over.”

Sky News host Caleb Bond says a mob of pro-Palestinian protesters have “continued their rampage” against Columbia University. The lawn at the university located in New York is covered in tents as activists continue to protest the war in Gaza. New England Patriots team owner Robert Kraft chose to withdraw any further donations from the university and called the anti-Israeli mob “f****** crazy”. “We need to see people stand up and put their money where their mouth is,” Mr Bond said. “Because the only thing left that can talk on this is money.”

Sky News host Liz Storer says Labor is “not a patriotic government” when it comes to veterans. Her comments follow the Labor government’s broken promise of finding unmarked World War One veterans’ graves and marking them, to which they have only found 42. Under the Morrison government 1,189 World War One graves were marked. “They do nothing to even pretend. “The sooner our nation stops electing who clearly aren’t proud of this country or having an undying love for the people they’re in, the better for all of us.”