President Trump says US isn't obliged to support NATO countries | Evening News Bulletin 28 March 2026

In this bulletin, President Trump says US doesn't have obligation to support NATO countries.

The coalition eruders consideration of fuel excise cut, and in football Iran's men's national

team stage symbolic protest against strike on girls' school.

With all the latest from the SBS Newsroom, I'm Katrina Sterent.

United States President Donald Trump says the US does not have an obligation to support

NATO countries, raising further questions about US commitment to the mutual defense provisions

in the alliance.

Speaking at an investment forum in Miami, Mr. Trump expressed his disappointment that NATO

was not providing material support for the US in its war with Iran.

Because we spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year on NATO, hundreds of protecting them.

And we would have always been there for them, but now based on their actions, I guess we

don't have to be.

Do we?

That sounds like a breaking story, yes, sir.

Is that breaking news?

I think we just have breaking news.

But that's the fact.

I've been saying that why would we be there for them if they're not there for us?

They weren't there for us.

European allies were not consulted ahead of the unprovoked US-Israeli attacks last month,

if many leaders opposed to the action.

Federal opposition leader Angus Taylor is urging the Prime Minister to adopt a coalition proposal

to halve the fuel excise for three months.

While the Albanese government has not flatly rejected the idea, Treasurer Jim Charmer

said on Tuesday, it's not something that we have been considering.

Mr. Taylor says the move will potentially save motorists 26 cents a litre.

For a hard working family, that is a tradey family, for instance, they'll be spending

up to $50 a week, that they won't have to spend if our proposal is put in place.

And that's around $16 million every single day that Australians are paying.

They wouldn't have to pay if this government did its job and made sure that fuel was

affordable for all Australians.

However, the OECD has warned against such measures, saying there will come at a greater

cost to the budget than more targeted measures.

They must say the move would cost taxpayers $6 billion over six months and increase demand

for fuel.

Indonesia has started to implement new regulations to ban children under 16 from access to digital

platforms, following similar measures introduced by Australia last year.

After approval in March, Indonesia has become the first country in Southeast Asia to ban

children from having accounts on social media platforms, such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

Indonesia's government says the restrictions will be implemented gradually until all platforms

are in compliance with the measure.

In Jakarta, Mother Lenny Senuria says she understands why the measure is needed.

Nowadays when we see kids sitting in a restaurant, they have a phone right in front of them.

It's clear that they're addicted.

They won't eat unless they're given a phone and they throw tantrums if they aren't.

Maybe this is one of the reasons the government sees that children are focused on mobile phones

and not talking.

People time is supposed to be a time for us to chat with the people around us.

And in football, Iran's men's national football team wore black armbands and held school bags

as their anthem played ahead of a friendly match against Nigeria in Turkey.

The players held pink and purple bags with ribbons on them in protest of strikes that killed

over 175 people, children and teachers at a girl's school on the first day of US-Israeli

strikes on Iran.

Iran were playing a friendly against Nigeria ahead of the World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada

with their participation in the tournament still in doubt due to the conflict.

Mehdi Mohamed Nabi, a vice president of the Iranian Football Federation,

says the players decided to stage the protest as a symbolic gesture of solidarity with the victims.

Our youth in Minab were bombed twice in a row in a brutal manner.

This not only caused grief for families, but the whole country,

including our national team players, were all deeply affected.

Today, through this symbolic act, they expressed solidarity with the children of Minab.

They also sent a message to the world that genocide and the killing of children are profoundly wrong

and that it is a grave injustice.

And that's all this evening's latest from the SBS Newsroom. I'm Katrina Starritz.