TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to SBS News In Easy English. I'm Catriona Stirrat.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dismissed calls for a national task force to help address antisemitism, following a string of attacks targeting the community over the weekend.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry is urging the government to adopt a 15-point action plan including the establishment of a national task force, and the Opposition has supported calls for a national cabinet to address the issue.
Mr Albanese says the federal government has provided action and funding to address antisemitism.
"Every time an issue comes up, people say let's have a national cabinet. Let's be clear, what people want is not a meeting, they want action. Indeed on Saturday one of the reasons why this gentleman has been caught so quickly is because the CCTV that was in place there was as a direct result of federal government funding. In addition the reinforcement of that door of the synagogue was done with that Commonwealth security funding."
Executive Council of Australian Jewry President Daniel Aghion has also asked Victorian authorities to introduce protest zones to confine weekly pro-Palestine protests.
A 34-year-old man Angelo Loras has been charged with arson and reckless conduct endangering life over the alleged firebombing of the East Melbourne synagogue on Saturday night.
The same evening, a group of protesters disrupted diners and damaged property at Israeli restaurant Miznon.
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Economists are expecting the Reserve Bank will deliver its third interest rate cut of the year when it meets this afternoon.
Money markets have priced in a 75 per cent chance official interest rates will fall to 3.6 per cent.
Analysts say this is because both headline and underlying inflation are firmly within the Reserve Bank's 2 to 3 per cent target band.
Rabobank Senior Strategist Benjamin Picton says that is a result of lower demand.
"Business are telling us there is not enough demand out there to soak up higher prices, so they no longer have pricing power, they no longer have the ability to pass on cost increases, so as a result we are starting to see discounting popping up in certain sectors of the economy, most notably home construction costs, we're starting to see discounting there."
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US President Donald Trump has confirmed he will send additional weapons to Ukraine, after the White House announced a pause to some arms shipments for Kyiv the previous week.
Speaking during a dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of their respective staffs, Trump was asked if he planned to send more weapons for use by Kyiv.
JOURNALIST: "On Ukraine, Mr President, are you planning to send more weapons to Ukraine?"
TRUMP: "We're going to send some more weapons. We have to. They have to be able to defend themselves. They're getting hit very hard now. They're getting hit very hard. We're going to have to send more weapons, yeah, defensive weapons, primarily. But they're getting hit very, very hard. So many people are dying in that mess."
Russia has launched some of the largest missile and drone attacks of the three-year war, and the Trump administration's pause on sending munitions posed a potentially serious challenge for Kyiv.
Under former president Joe Biden, Washington provided more than $65 billion in military assistance to Ukraine.
President Trump didn't follow suit upon his election, announcing no new military aid packages for Kyiv since he took office in January of this year.
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And in cycling,
Belgian rider Tim Merlier has won the third stage of the Tour de France after edging ahead of Italian Jonathan Milan in a chaotic sprint chase.
A photo finish confirmed the line result in the coastal city of Dunkerque.
The stage also saw another dramatic turn 60 kilometres from the end, when Belgian Jasper Philipsen was forced to withdraw from the race following a brutal collision with Bryan Coquard.
His team says he has fractured his collarbone and broken at least one rib and will require surgery.
That was SBS News In Easy English. I'm Catriona Stirrat.
