Welcome to SBS News in Easy English, I am Essam Al-Ghalib.
Former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann has lost his bid to overturn a court finding that he probably raped his colleague Brittany Higgins in Parliament House.
The Federal Court has dismissed the appeal filed by Lehrmann, who argued the decision by the judge in April of 2024 was unfair to him.
The appeal loss means Lehrmann - who is nearly bankrupt- could be forced to pay $2 million in damages to Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson, as originally directed by Justice Michael Lee.
Justice Michael Wigney says the original judgement is upheld.
"The full court has found that the way that the primary judge dealt with and determined the proceedings was not procedurally unfair to Mr Lehrmann. The facts as found by the primary judge held within the terms of Network Ten and Ms Wilkinson's truth defence. Mr Lehrmann was also well and truly aware that the case against him included a claim that he had been reckless as to Mr Higgin's consent."
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Social media apps Lemon8 and Yope may be added to Australia's social media ban for those under 16-years-old which is going to start next week on the 10th of December.
The eSafety Commission has told the apps they need to check whether they fall under the new laws, which require all tech companies to always monitor if they are likely to be captured by the restrictions at any time.
Communications Minister Anika Wells will be addressing the National Press Club today to outline expectations the federal government has for tech companies as the ban takes effect.
Meanwhile, companies have already moved to reduce access to children on its platforms, with Meta Instagram and Facebook making the changes from Thursday.
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A senior Kremlin adviser says talks between Russia and the US on ending the nearly four-year war in Ukraine were positive but no agreement has been reached.
Yuri Ushakov says a lot of work remains after five hours of discussions in Moscow involving President Vladimir Putin, US envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
He said issues regarding land were spoken about but no agreement was reached, and without one the Kremlin sees no way to ending the conflict.
Other disagreements also remain.
Pressed on whether the talks brought peace closer or further away, Mr Ushakov said they had not moved backwards.
"Not further. Not further, that’s for sure. But there’s still a lot of work to be done, both in Washington and in Moscow. That’s about it. And contacts between Moscow and Washington will continue."
He adds that any meeting between Presidents Putin and Trump depends on how the talks go.
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The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) faces a n important vote this week on whether Israel can compete in Eurovision 2026, as pressure mounts from several member states.
Spain, Slovenia and Ireland say they will withdraw if Israel takes part, saying the reason is the Gaza death toll and accuse Israel of making the contest political.
Austrian host broadcaster ORF says it wants all countries included, but Germany is expected to pull out if Israel is excluded, potentially taking the broadcast off air there.
Slovenian fan Jan Vehar says other nations were removed when their governments violated core principles, and the same rules should apply to all.
"I think there should be rules for everyone. And there should be, if that was the case for Russia and Belarus, I think that should be the case for Israel as well.”
Israeli officials argue the country is being unfairly targeted as part of what they call a broad campaign to ruin its reputation.
The EBU will now decide whether recent voting changes are enough, or whether Israel’s participation goes to a full membership vote.
I’m Essam Al-Ghalib, this is SBS News in Easy English.
