TRANSCRIPT
- Australia's case for an exemption from US tariffs rejected
- A proposal for a 30-day ceasefire to end the fighting in Ukraine
- Manchester United announces plans to build the biggest football stadium in the UK
The United States says Australia will not be granted an exemption from US tariffs on aluminium and steel imports.
US President Donald Trump had previously said he would consider excluding Australia from the 25 per cent tariffs.
But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has reportedly told the ABC and Nine Newspapers that Australia will not be getting an exemption from the US tariffs.
She quoted President Trump says if Australia wants to be exempted, they should consider moving steel manufacturing to the United States.
Those tariffs are due to come into effect today at 3pm AEDT.
---
United States and Ukrainian delegations meeting in Saudi Arabia say they have reached an agreement to pursue a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine.
The US proposal would be subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by Russia.
The agreement between US and Ukrainian officials come after they held a meeting in Saudi Arabia in what are the first high-level talks between Ukrainian and US officials since last month's heated exchange between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump at the Oval Office.
After the meeting, the US State Department announced an immediate end to the pause on military aid as well as restrictions on intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
In Kyiv, Radyk, a 22-year-old Ukrainian soldier who's lost both of his feet, says any negotiated peace deal needs to be just and avoid compromises.
"How could I agree with any compromise after what they have done? They (the Russians) come here to kill. And they would continue to kill us, to try to kill us. No matter how the negotiations end, we have to show Russians where their place is. Otherwise, the war would go on. I will never forgive Russia for what it did."
---
French President Emmanuel Macron has called on European and NATO military chiefs to draw up a plan "to define credible security guarantees" for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.
Military and NATO leaders from 30 countries are meeting in Paris to discuss security assurances for Ukraine.
Australian officials are also in attendance.
Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans has told leaders that care must be taken in how the increase in defence spending will be funded.
"And that's also what we see now in the Russian large scale war against Ukraine, is that in order to have a strong military you need to have a strong economy as a backbone. And we are quite afraid, given the debt levels of some European countries that if their debt becomes less sustainable because we are using instruments like Eurobonds then this could be a big vulnerability for our European economy."
---
Meanwhile, Ukraine's ambassador has issued a plea for support from the Australian government.
Australia is weighing up a proposal brought by the United Kingdom to establish a joint peacekeeping military force in Ukraine.
The Russian government sent a clear statement to Australia via its Embassy, stating: "Australia joining the so-called coalition of the willing would entail grave consequences...To those inclined to construe the above as a threat: it is not; it is a warning".
Ukraine's Ambassador Vasyl Miroshnychenko argues it is in Australia's security interests to join this coalition and ignore Russia's warning.
"If we take into account their interests, then probably everybody should abandon Ukraine and just cave in to Russia, because that's what Russia wants. So I don't think we have to be listening to Russia to be frank. Nobody should because there is a clear UN charter, there is international law, there is a rules-based system, and there is active aggression, there are crimes against humanity, there are war crimes, and Russia must be held accountable for what they have done."
---
In football, Manchester United have announced plans to build the biggest stadium in the UK.
The 100,000 seat stadium is set to cost over A$4 billion.
United's co-owner Jim Ratcliffe says it is envisioned the stadium will be among the the best in Europe.
"United is the world's favourite football club, it's arguably the biggest, and it deserves a stadium that's befitting of it's stature. The Premier League is indisputably the best football league in the world, maybe the best sports league in the world, and it must have a stadium that's at least the equal of the best of Europe."
And that's the latest from the SBS Newsroom.
