TRANSCRIPT:
- Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin meet in Alaska in an effort to end the Ukraine war
- Hundreds dead in flooding in India and Pakistan
- St Kilda beat Essendon by two points in the Bombers' 11th straight defeat
Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Alaska and greeted US President Donald Trump ahead of a summit that could determine whether a ceasefire can be reached in Europe's deadliest war since World War Two.
The Kremlin says the Putin-Trump Ukraine talks which are set to begin shortly, could last at least six to seven hours.
US President Donald Trump appeared to be upbeat ahead of his Alaska summit with Russia’s president, saying he believes it’s going to work out very well.
But when Fox News anchor Bret Baier pressed him on whether he would leave if talks falter, Mr Trump was direct.
"I think we're going to do very well. Our country is doing very well, we're setting records economically like we never have before, including the stock markets are all at a record high. We're taking in trillions and trillions of dollars with tariffs. We're going for a meeting with President Putin in Alaska, and I think it's going to work out very well, and if it doesn't, I'm going to head back home real fast."
Critics fear Ukraine's exclusion from the negotiation table may lead to a deal favouring Moscow, while Mr Trump has already ruled out U-S security guarantees in the form of NATO.
**
Parts of South Asia have been hit hard by monsoon conditions and heavy flooding, leaving at least 60 dead in India and almost 200 dead in Pakistan.
The floods swept through the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir region, with dozens still missing.
Chief Minister Omar Abdu says rescue efforts are underway.
“Many people have been injured. Sixty dead bodies have been recovered. Many are still missing, around 60 to 70.”
Across the border, floods and landslides killed at least 194 people in the past 24 hours, most in Pakistan's mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Thirty homes were destroyed, and a rescue helicopter crashed, killing five crew.
More rain is forecast until the 21st of August, with several areas declared disaster zones.
**
Federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland says a national system of checks for people who work with children should close existing loopholes.
Calls for a unified system for Australia's Working with Children Check laws have been growing following multiple reports of abuse in childcare centres.
In one instance, a Victorian childcare worker was still allowed to retain his Working with Children Check and work in the industry despite substantiated grooming allegations against him.
The country's attorneys-general have met and agreed to establish a nationwide system , which Michelle Rowland says should prevent known child abusers from avoiding detection simply by changing jurisdictions.
"Attorneys general also agreed to stronger information sharing, to ensure that changes in criminal history are captured and shared in near-real time. This will be known as the National Continuous Checking Capability and it will be established by the Commonwealth. I'm pleased that the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission is already working on a pilot to deliver this capability. It is notable that nefarious individuals have been shopping around the Working With Children Check System, and exploiting loopholes."
**
A $2.5 million project is aiming to overcome the factors limiting cervical screening among First Nations women.
The funding has been granted over three years to Southern Cross University in partnership with Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations.
In Australia, the death rate for cervical cancer among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women is four times greater than for non-Indigenous women.
Dr Marilyn Clarke says the project, named Sister-Screen, aims to reduce that statistic by co-designing strategies to increase cervical screenings during pregnancy and after babies are born.
"It's really important that any health-care intervention or strategy or screening program involves First Nations people from the ground up. So with this project we're planning to start from the ground in the Aboriginal community with First Nations women to develop strategies as to what they think is going to work best."
**
To sport now and in AFL, St Kilda have done it again, hanging tough in the final minutes to beat Essendon by two points.
Bombers defender Mason Redman had a flying shot with less than 10 seconds left but could manage only a behind as the Saints scored their fourth-straight win, 77 to 75.
Essendon's shocking luck with injuries this season continues, losing defender Jayden Laverde to a hip inury and new forward Liam McMahon to a hand injury.
Coach Brad Scott had mixed emotions post-match, proud of the performance of his undermanned squad but saying they had to be careful not to be too happy given they suffered their 11th-straight loss.
