BTN Newsbreak 24/06/2025
Early this morning, President Donald Trump announced on social media that Israel and Iran have agreed to a "complete and total" ceasefire that would begin later in the day. The post came soon after Iran launched missiles at a US Military base in Qatar, in retaliation for the US bombing three of Iran's nuclear sites over the weekend. The news of a ceasefire was welcomed by leaders around the world. In the hours leading up to President Trump officially announcing the ceasefire had begun, Iran launched a number of deadly attacks on Israel. However, many are hoping President Trump's declaration of a ceasefire will now lead to a more permanent end to the fighting.
SOCIAL MEDIA BAN
Australia's eSafety Commissioner wants YouTube to be added to the government's social media ban. The ban is set to come into effect in December of this year, but some of the details are still being hashed out. YouTube was initially going to be part of the ban, but then was made exempt, with the government saying it helped young people access education and health support they needed. But now E-Safety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant wants the government to reconsider.
LAB GROWN MEAT
Food regulators say we're now allowed to eat meat made from a lab, and surprisingly, it doesn't look as weird as you'd think. The meat on that plate was created by Sydney company Vow. They collected individual cells from a Japanese Quail, which is a small bird, without harming it, and put them in a large tank of liquid like this one. It's turned into a paste, which then gets made into a meat product. Meat has been made this way for over a decade, but only handful of countries like Singapore and the Netherlands approved it as safe for sale. After a 2 year approval process, this quail meat from Vow has been approved in Australia, and could hit restaurant menus in a couple months. So is it something you'd be keen to try?
LARGEST DIGITAL CAMERA
First to the air with the world's largest digital camera at an observatory in Chile, designed to help us learn more about space. This animation has been made from the camera's first 1,100 images, revealing around 10 million galaxies.
WHALE TOOLS
Now to the sea where some very clever Orcas, who for the first time ever, have been caught on camera using tools! Yep, these two whales have rolled a bunch of kelp together, which scientists believe they designed to help groom each other.
FINKE CRASH
And finally to... land. Yeah these guys were recently racing in the Northern Territory's Finke Desert Race, when their car took a tumble. Now, they've released footage of the crash from inside the vehicle. No-one was injured at all, thank goodness, and the drivers involved say it's all thanks to careful planning and safety systems.
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ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Advisors inside the Trump-Putin Alaska meeting reveal 'crux of the deal' being negotiated
Vladimir Putin and his Russian delegation may have been welcomed on United States soil, but sanctions meant that when it came time to pay for the refuelling of their aircraft, they offered to pay in cash. Speaking about the summit and the current state of negotiations, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended Donald Trump's decision to not impose further sanctions on Russia despite Mr Putin not agreeing to a ceasefire. "Every single sanction that was in place on the day he took over remains and the impact of all those sanctions remains," Mr Rubio told NBC. "When the Russians landed in Alaska … they had to offer to pay in cash to refuel their airplanes because they can't use our banking system. "They face consequences every single day, but the bottom line is that has not altered the direction of this war. That doesn't mean those sanctions were inappropriate, it means it hasn't altered the outcome of it." Mr Putin and his team were on the ground in Alaska for about five hours on Friday, and departed shortly after a joint press conference between the Russian president and Mr Trump. The US president said "no deal" was done, but yesterday it was revealed that there is an offer from Russia on the table and some reporting suggested Mr Trump was leaning on Ukraine to consider it. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be in Washington on Monday, local time, to have his own meeting with Mr Trump. Mr Zelenskyy and European leaders have pressed the United States to consider further sanctions on Russia, but today Mr Rubio said that was not the current strategy. "Those options remain to the president. The minute he takes those steps, all talks stop. The minute we take those steps, there is no-one left in the world to go talk to the Russians and try and get them to the table to reach a peace agreement," he said. "We may very well end up in that place. I hope not because that means that peace talks failed." Speaking to the Sunday morning political programs in the United States, Mr Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff were repeatedly asked what concessions Russia might be willing to make without the threat of new sanctions. Both men were beside Mr Trump as he met with Mr Putin on Friday as part of the three-on-three discussion. And today, both suggested there would have to be compromise on both sides. "We all the know the elements of such a deal: there has to be talk about what the territories are going to look like … there has to be talk about Ukraine's legitimate desire for security in the long term, to make sure they don't get invaded again, there has to be talk about how Ukraine is rebuilt," Mr Rubio told NBC. "If there is going to be a deal, each side is going to have to give up on something." The current state of negotiations suggest the most significant area of compromise right now is around security guarantees, and how Ukraine deters Russia after any peace agreement is signed. Mr Witkoff, who has also travelled to Moscow several times to discuss its war in Ukraine, said it was now possible that the US could provide a NATO-like guarantee for Ukraine. "We were able to win the following concession, that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection … which was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that," Mr Witkoff told CNN. Mr Witkoff was referring to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which regards any attack against one of its 32 members as an attack on all. He suggested the US would play that role instead and work as a security guarantee offered to Ukraine in lieu of NATO membership, which Mr Putin has ruled out. He said the American delegation in Alaska did not think they "were anywhere close" to achieving that in the meeting with Russia. Mr Witkoff characterised it as a "concession". He said as well as the NATO-like guarantee, Russia also agreed to "legislative enshrinement in the Russian Federation" to not invade Ukraine again or other European nations. It is worth noting that in 2022, eight months after Russia launched its invasion, its parliament rubber-stamped legislation to designate four regions of Ukraine as Russia under its constitution. In that sense, it does not consider those regions a different nation. In a meeting of European leaders and Mr Zelenskyy on Sunday, local time, security guarantees were discussed, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen saying, "Ukraine must become a steel porcupine, indigestible for potential invaders." Giving further insight into the status of the negotiations with Russia, Mr Witkoff said the "crux of the deal" at this point, was where territory lines could be drawn. There is no appetite from Ukraine for its borders to be redrawn and its territory to be ceded to Russia, but Mr Witkoff said this would be a focus of the discussions in the White House tomorrow. He gave some insight into where that conversation may begin. "The fundamental issue, which is some sort of land swap, which is obviously ultimately in the control of the Ukrainians, that could not have been discussed at that meeting. We intend to discuss it on Monday," he said. There has been reporting in the United States that Mr Trump is encouraging Mr Zelenskyy to strike a deal with Russia that would see his nation lose some, if not all, of the Donbass. Mr Witkoff said that was "the crux of the deal". "There are five regions, [that have] always in our view has been the crux of the deal. Those five regions the Russians have previously said they wanted it at the administrative lines. The administrative lines are the actual legal boundary lines as compared to the contact lines," he said. "The Russians made some concessions at the table with regard to all five of those regions. "There is an important discussion to be had with regard to Donetsk and what would happen there and that discussion is going to specifically be detailed on Monday [local time] when president Zelenskyy arrives with his delegation and other European leaders." It is likely the regions he is referring to are Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea. After his meeting with European leaders on Sunday, local time, Mr Zelenskyy said: "Everyone agrees that the borders of states should not be changed by force." "Everyone supports that key issues should be resolved with the participation of Ukraine in a trilateral format: Ukraine, the United States, the Russian leader." Mr Witkoff said it was his view that the negotiations would get to a point where the three leaders, Mr Trump, Mr Zelenskyy and Mr Putin could meet. There has been no indication from Mr Putin that he has changed his position on that. ABC
West Australian
3 hours ago
- West Australian
Australian news and politics live: Plibersek says Australia should embrace AI for economic opportunity
Scroll down for the latest news and updates. European leaders said Sunday that they would join President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine when he meets with President Donald Trump on Monday at the White House, as they strive to show solidarity against Russia and avoid being sidelined in peace talks. 'Our goal tomorrow is to present a united front between Europeans and Ukrainians,' President Emmanuel Macron of France told reporters. 'I don't believe Putin wants peace. I believe he wants Ukraine's capitulation.' Mr Macron will be one of at least six European leaders — including Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain and President Alexander Stubb of Finland, two of Mr Trump's favoured counterparts — travelling to Washington. The trip highlights the continent's effort to smooth relations between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky, whose last White House meeting in February descended into a public clash. Read the full story. The percentage of voters happy with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's performance outnumbers those dissatisfied for the first time in two years, a new poll shows. The Newspoll, published in The Australian on Monday, indicates Mr Albanese's federal Labor party retains a solid two-party-preferred lead over the coalition at 56 per cent to 44 per cent. The previous Newspoll, taken in July, had Labor ahead by 57 per cent to 43 per cent. The latest survey said Labor's primary vote was unchanged at 36 per cent while the coalition's support rose one percentage point to 30 per cent. The Greens were steady on 12 per cent, One Nation was up one point to nine per cent and backing for the independents and minor parties category dipped two points to 13 per cent. Read more. Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek has called for a responsible uptake of artificial intelligence that can realise the economic upsides without causing mass job losses, mirroring remarks from Treasurer Jim Chalmers ahead of this week's economic reform roundtable, starting Tuesday. Ms Plibersek said it would be essential for new jobs to be created following the uptake of the emerging technology. 'A lot of ... the repetitive work will be done by AI in the future and what we need to do is make sure there are good jobs available for Australians in new and emerging industries,' she told Sunrise on Monday morning. 'We've got real capacity to develop some of those AI tools right here.'
SBS Australia
3 hours ago
- SBS Australia
European leaders to join Zelenskyy in Washington as Trump pushes quick Ukraine deal
European leaders will join Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet Donald Trump in Washington, seeking to shore up Zelenskyy's position as the US president presses Ukraine to accept a quick peace deal to end Europe's deadliest war in 80 years. Trump is leaning on Zelenskyy to strike an agreement after he met Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin in Alaska and emerged more aligned with Moscow on seeking a peace deal instead of a ceasefire first. Trump and Zelenskyy will meet on Tuesday AEST. "If peace is not going to be possible here and this is just going to continue on as a war, people will continue to die by the thousands ... we may unfortunately wind up there, but we don't want to wind up there," secretary of state Marco Rubio said in an interview with US broadcaster CBS. Trump on Sunday promised "BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA" in a social media post without specifying what this might be. Putin agreed to Ukraine security protections at summit, US envoy says Sources briefed on Moscow's thinking told Reuters news agency the US and Russian leaders have discussed proposals for Russia to relinquish small pockets of occupied Ukraine in exchange for Kyiv ceding a swathe of fortified land in the east and freezing the front lines elsewhere. Top Trump officials hinted the fate of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region — which incorporates Donetsk and Luhansk and which is already mostly under Russian control — was on the line, while some sort of defensive pact was also on the table. "We were able to win the following concession, that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection," Trump envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN on Sunday, suggesting this would be in lieu of Ukraine seeking NATO membership. He said it was "the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that." Article 5 of NATO's founding treaty enshrines the principle of collective defence, the notion that an attack on a single member is considered an attack on them all. That pledge may not be enough to sway leaders in Kyiv to sign over Donbas. Ukraine's borders were already meant to have been guaranteed when Ukraine surrendered a Soviet-era nuclear arsenal in 1994, and it proved to be little deterrent when Russia absorbed Crimea in 2014 and then launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. The war has now dragged on for 3-1/2 years and killed or wounded more than 1 million people. Witkoff told Fox News that Russia had also agreed to passing a law against taking any more of Ukraine by force. "The Russians agreed on enshrining legislatively language that would prevent them from — or that they would attest to not attempting to take any more land from Ukraine after a peace deal, where they would attest to not violating any European borders," he said. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted a meeting of allies on Sunday to bolster Zelenskyy's hand, hoping in particular to lock down robust security guarantees for Ukraine that would include a US role. The Europeans are keen to help Zelenskyy avoid a repeat of his last Oval Office meeting in February. That went disastrously, with Trump and Vice President JD Vance giving the Ukrainian leader a public dressing-down, accusing him of being ungrateful and disrespectful. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also travel to Washington, as will Finland's President Alexander Stubb, whose access to Trump included rounds of golf in Florida earlier this year, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is an admirer of many of Trump's policies.
