Penny Wong urges Iran to show restraint as war with Israel rages | Midday News Bulletin 15 June 2025

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Penny Wong urges Iran to show restraint as missile exchanges with Israel escalate regional crisis; The PM to raise US tariffs and Middle East conflict in meeting with Donald Trump at G7 summit; And in cycling, Tadej Pogacar wins stage seven of the Critérium du Dauphiné.


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TRANSCRIPT
  • Penny Wong urges Iran to show restraint as missile exchanges with Israel escalate regional crisis
  • The PM to raise US tariffs and Middle East conflict in meeting with Donald Trump at G7 summit
  • Tadej Pogacar wins stage seven of the Critérium du Dauphiné
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says she has spoken with the Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi in a bid to de-escalate tensions between Iran and Israel.

The countries have continued to bombard each other with missiles and air strikes since Friday when Israel launched what it called pre-emptive strikes aimed at destroying Iran's nuclear capabilities.

The attacks have killed at least 80 people in Iran and four people in Israel.

Ms Wong told ABC's Insiders program, de-escalation has to be the option going forward.

"After liaising with partners, I directly put to the Iranian Foreign Minister: we are saying to you, exercise restraint. Return to diplomacy and dialogue because continuing to escalate this has consequences for all peoples of the region. I think that is a position that so many countries in the world are putting to - not only to the Iranians, but also to the Israelis."

**

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he is looking forward to meeting with the US President on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada.

Mr Albanese has confirmed the meeting is set for Tuesday local time.

He says US tariffs will be on the agenda, but there will also be discussion on what's happening in the Middle East.

"I expect to see as well President Trump as part of the G7 - and I will be engaging there; and I am sure that the events obviously that are occurring in the Middle East will be a topic of conversation."

**

Washington–based global tech company Amazon has announced it will invest A$20 billion over four years until 2029 to expand and operate its data centre infrastructure in Australia.

The money will support the data centres in Sydney and Melbourne and underwrite the creation of three new large solar farms [[two in Victoria and one in Queensland]] to help generate the huge amounts of energy required to keep the centres running.

Amazon Web Services chief executive Matt Garman says the funding pledge was always planned by the company, but it has come ahead of schedule.

"To support the digital economy, to support artificial intelligence and cloud computing for many of the largest customers in Australia. Now AWS has been operating in Australia since 2012, where hundreds of thousands of organisations use AWS cloud technology. Customers like Atlassian and Canva were start-ups when they started building with AWS. And we have allowed them to scale their ambitions globally."

**

Tens of thousands of Americans have taken part in the largest outpouring of opposition to Donald Trump's presidency since he returned to power in January.

Organisers of the so-called 'No Kings' protest planned nearly 2,000 demonstrations across the country to coincide with a military parade in Washington marking the 250th anniversary of the US Army.

The parade, which falls on Mr Trump's 79th birthday, includes 84 military vehicles and more than 6,000 soldiers.

An estimated 30,000 protesters gathered in downtown Los Angeles to protest against President Donald Trump's immigration policies, including raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers; and Donald Trump's mobilisation of troops in LA.

In Los Angeles, Margie Hakel, says she is concerned for her neighbours and their families.

"My biggest concern, of course, is for our democracy and our people. We have neighbours that have family members that have been here for a long, long time. They're grandparents and it hurts my heart. They're scared, they're scared. This is not the United States and it makes me ashamed almost, really."

**

Australian pop star Kylie Minogue has postponed a run of European shows, after completing the UK leg of her tour.

The Padam Padam singer performed more than a dozen shows in the country as part of her Tension Tour, with her final date a performance at Glasgow's OVO Hydro on June 6.

In a statement on social media, Minogue says she is postponing her shows in Germany, Poland, Lithuania and Estonia due to her contracting laryngitis, an inflammation of the voice box.

**

In cycling, Tadej Pogacar has cemented his grip on the yellow jersey, after winning stage 7 of the the Critérium du Dauphiné.

It is his second successive stage win, and the 98th of his career.

The Slovenian took the overall lead on Friday and has now extended the gap between him and Jonas Vingegaard to 61 seconds, ahead of the final stage.

He says his strategy paid off in deciding to attack with 12 kilometres remaining to go in stage 7.

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Penny Wong urges Iran to show restraint as war with Israel rages | Midday News Bulletin 15 June 2025 | SBS News