Israel ramps up efforts in Gaza, Trump and Putin to meet
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1News
5 hours ago
- 1News
Luxon and Albanese discuss 'geopolitical tensions' during annual talk
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Queenstown this afternoon at the annual Australia-New Zealand Leaders' Meeting. The two leaders have spoken about "geopolitical tensions, issues of trade and economic relationships, and conflict in the world," Albanese said. Albanese — accompanied with his fiancée Jodie Haydon — was welcomed with a pōwhiri by Ngāi Tahu, which he thanked as "warm" and "generous". He said it was his third visit to New Zealand as Prime Minister but had been "many more times than that" over "many, many years". Saying the last time he was in Queenstown, he came with a backpack on "to this extraordinary, beautiful part" of not just New Zealand, but the world. ADVERTISEMENT Economic challenges, security and defence, and regional and global issues were on the agenda for the two leaders. (Source: 1News) Albanese agreed with Luxon "about the uncertain world that we're in, and there's no question that that is the case". "There is one thing that's certain, that is Australia and New Zealand stand together." He said the two countries have a "seamless economic relationship" between "our family, the Pacific Island family". New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon welcoming Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the annual Australia New Zealand Leaders' Meeting in Queenstown. (Source: 1News) Luxon has said Australia is our only ally and a vital economic partner, "with two-way trade of $32 billion, I look forward to discussing what more we can do as we tackle economic challenges on both sides of the Tasman". Albanese said he hoped "this is the first of many very successful meetings that will happen here to advance the interests of New Zealanders here domestically, but also in international forums as well." ADVERTISEMENT Luxon later said in a statement that he "valued the discussion about our respective economic plans. The crossover between New Zealand's Going for Growth agenda and Australia's productivity agenda provides plenty of cooperation opportunities". Luxon answers questions on Gaza and China Luxon and Albanese both agreed that they wanted to see a ceasefire in Gaza and a two-state solution when asked about the ongoing conflict with Israel. When asked if Australia would recognise Gaza as a state Albanese responded, "it's a matter of when not if". He said Australians "want to see a ceasefire, they want the killing to stop they want to see the hostages released and they want to see peace in the region". Luxon agreed, saying the military action and lack of humanitarian aid "violates humanitarian law". "The military action we've seen in not the answer... it comes through diplomacy and dialogue." ADVERTISEMENT "That's why you've seen both of our foreign ministers sign a statement today... to make that very clear". Luxon also spoke about both countries "successful visits" to China recently which is a "significant player in the world and a prominent feature in global affairs". "We have an approach of co-operating where we can agree and disagree where we must. "We have different systems, different values and we'll stand up for those at different times, but partners talk about the difficult stuff and talk the differences too, that was the nature of my conversations with the Chinese leadership."
Otago Daily Times
13 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Trump and Putin to meet to discuss Ukraine peace deal in Alaska
US President Donald Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15 in Alaska to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, Trump said on Friday. Trump made the highly anticipated announcement on social media after he said that the parties, including Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, were close to a ceasefire deal that could resolve the three-and-a-half-year conflict, one that could require Ukraine to surrender significant territory. Addressing reporters at the White House earlier on Friday, Trump suggested an agreement would involve some exchange of land. "There'll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both," the Republican president said. The Kremlin subsequently confirmed the summit in an online statement. The two leaders will "focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful resolution to the Ukrainian crisis," Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said. "This will evidently be a challenging process, but we will engage in it actively and energetically," Ushakov said. In his evening address to the nation on Friday, Zelenskiy said it was possible to achieve a ceasefire as long as adequate pressure was applied to Russia. He said he had held more than a dozen conversations with leaders of different countries and his team was in constant contact with the United States. Putin claims four Ukrainian regions – Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – as well as the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which he annexed in 2014. His forces do not fully control all the territory in the four regions. Earlier, Bloomberg News reported that US and Russian officials were working towards an agreement that would lock in Moscow's occupation of territory seized during its military invasion. A White House official said the Bloomberg story was speculation. A Kremlin spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Reuters was unable to confirm aspects of the Bloomberg report. Ukraine has previously signaled a willingness to be flexible in the search for an end to a war that has ravaged its towns and cities and killed large numbers of its soldiers and citizens. But accepting the loss of around a fifth of Ukraine's territory would be painful and politically challenging for Zelenskiy and his government. Tyson Barker, the US State Department's former deputy special representative for Ukraine's economic recovery, said the peace proposal as outlined in the Bloomberg report would be immediately rejected by the Ukrainians. "The best the Ukrainians can do is remain firm in their objections and their conditions for a negotiated settlement, while demonstrating their gratitude for American support," said Barker, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council. Under the putative deal, according to Bloomberg, Russia would halt its offensive in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions along current battle lines. TRUMP AND PUTIN The last time Alaska hosted a high-stakes diplomatic gathering was in March 2021, when senior officials from the administration of Democratic former President Joe Biden met with top Chinese officials in Anchorage. The get-together involving Biden's top diplomat Antony Blinken and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi quickly turned into a stunning public clash in front of the cameras, with both sides leveling sharp rebukes of the others' policies that reflected the high tension in bilateral ties. Since his return to the White House in January, Trump has moved to mend relations with Russia and sought to end the war. In his public comments he has veered between admiration and sharp criticism of Putin. In a sign of his growing frustration with Putin's refusal to halt Russia's military offensive, Trump had threatened to impose new sanctions and tariffs from Friday against Moscow and countries that buy its exports unless the Russian leader agreed to end the conflict, the deadliest in Europe since World War Two. It was unclear by Friday evening whether those sanctions would take effect or be delayed or canceled. The administration took a step toward punishing Moscow's oil customers on Wednesday, imposing an additional 25% tariff on goods from India over its imports of Russian oil, marking the first financial penalty aimed at Russia in Trump's second term. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff held three hours of talks with Putin in Moscow on Wednesday that both sides described as constructive. Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland, a close ally of Ukraine, said earlier on Friday that a pause in the conflict could be close. He was speaking after talks with Zelenskiy. "There are certain signals, and we also have an intuition, that perhaps a freeze in the conflict – I don't want to say the end, but a freeze in the conflict – is closer than it is further away," Tusk told a news conference. "There are hopes for this." Tusk also said Zelenskiy was "very cautious but optimistic" and that Ukraine was keen that Poland and other European countries play a role in planning for a ceasefire and an eventual peace settlement.
NZ Herald
13 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Fatal crash on SH23 near Whatawhata leaves one dead, two seriously injured
Israel ramps up efforts in Gaza, Trump and Putin to meet next week about Ukraine. Australian PM Albanese arrives in NZ to talk with PM Luxon. Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. Already a subscriber? Sign in here Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen. Fatal crash on SH23 near Whatawhata leaves one dead, two seriously injured One person has died in a serious crash near Hamilton after a car smashed into a tree, which left three other people with injuries. Police confirmed one person died in the crash on State Highway 23 near Whatawhata this morning. Emergency services were called to the scene after a car crashed into a tree near Ferguson Rd around 9.10am. Two other people have serious injuries, and one person has a minor injury, police said.
