Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the new powers -- which mean officers at airports would no longer need a reason to ask for ID -- were necessary in "dangerous times". He said recent suicide bombings in Indonesia's second city Surabaya were a reminder that authorities "need to be ever vigilant" in Australia and elsewhere. Screening will be strengthened for inbound air cargo and international mail, with some 190 Australian Federal Police officers either deployed at airports or providing tactical and intelligence support. Authorities say they have prevented 14 attacks in recent years. Several other terror attacks have occurred, including the 2014 siege of a central Sydney cafe in which two hostages were killed.

Source: The Nation Bangkok May 15, 2018 04:07 UTC