Radio National Breakfast

American civil rights activist and two-time presidential hopeful - the Reverend Jesse Jackson - has died at the age 84.

From voting rights and job opportunities to education and health care for decades, Jesse Jackson pushed for a more equitable society.

• GUEST: Dr Nadia Brown, Professor of Government at Georgetown University and Director of the Women and Gender Studies program
• PRODUCERS: Oscar Coleman and Katie McAllister

American civil rights activist and former politician, Jesse Jackson has died at the age of 84.

The Baptist minister ​a ‌close associate of fellow civil rights icon, Martin Luther ​King Junior and ran for ‌the Democratic ‌presidential nomination twice.

In a statement, his family says Jackson was a leader "⁠to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the ⁠world".

The Federal Government has ruled out providing assistance to a group of Australian families — with links to Islamic State fighters — who are trying to leave the Al-Roj camp in north-eastern Syria.

The group of 34 women and children tried to head to Syria's capital, Damascus, with plans to head back to Australia but they were turned back by Syrian authorities.

Guest: Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin KC, member of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic. She is also a former UN Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights (2017-2023).

The Federal Government has ruled out providing assistance to a group of Australian families - with links to Islamic State fighters - who are trying to leave the Al-Roj camp in north-eastern Syria.

Senator James Paterson has been announced as the Shadow Minister for Defence. He argued that temporary exclusion orders (TEOs) could be appropriate for some of these families. 

TEOs allow the government to block Australians aged 14 and above from entering Australia without a permit for up to two years if they are deemed to be a national security threat.

• GUEST: James Paterson, Shadow Minister for Defence
• PRODUCER: Isadora Bogle

Complaints about a mobile or internet service not working have increased by more than 40%.

That's according to the latest report from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.

The report comes five months after the Optus outage which left hundreds of people unable to reach Triple Zero. 

• Guest: Cynthia Gebert, Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman
• Producer: Tyler Hall

A landmark report into racism at Australian universities has found racism is deeply embedded in the educational institutions.

Of the 76,000 students and staff that took part in the 'racism at uni' study, more than 70% said they either experienced or witnessed racist behaviour.

Jewish and Palestinian students were the most affected, with 90% reporting experiences of racism at university.  

• Guest: Luke Sheehy, CEO Universities Australia
• Producer: Grace Stranger

NATO leaders are taking stock after the weekend's Munich Security Conference exposed frictions in the transatlantic alliance.

European countries are debating how they will better defend themselves if they can no longer rely on the US.

Germany has called on its neighbours to spend more on defence, while UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is reportedly considering a significant increase.

With President Donald Trump's threats of taking over Greenland still hanging in the air, and the war in Ukraine nearing its fourth year, Europe is facing an uncertain future.

• Guest: Baiba Braže, Latvia's minister of foreign affairs
• Producer: Pip Cook

More than a fortnight after the kidnapping of an American TV personality's mother, we hear from a former FBI special agent about why this is such an unusual case. 

Then, we head to Syria, for the latest on the IS-linked families trying to return to Australia. A journalist speaking to the families shares her insights. 

And we question a Liberal politician over an alleged draft proposal to restrict migration from certain regions.

Recap the morning's news, politics and global affairs with the Breakfast Wrap.

The property group Stockland is hoping its 19.2 per cent jump in profit announced yesterday is a sign of things to come.

It's latest half-yearly result came off the back of strong residential housing demand. But the company's healthy result also comes with a warning to multiple levels of government over their housing targets.

• GUEST: Tarun Gupta, Stockland's CEO 
• PRODUCER: Carrington Clarke, Radio National Breakfast Business and Economics Correspondent 

When Dr Marlene Kanga first came to Australia in the late '70s, she had to apply for jobs advertised for "men and boys" and it would take more than 200 attempts before she landed a role. 

She would go on to become one of the country's most influential engineers, including as president of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations, a champion of diversity and leader of the creation of UNESCO's World Engineering Day. 

• Guest: Dr Marlene Kanga AO, former president of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations, former National President of Engineers Australia