TRANSCRIPT
- Donald Trump has welcomes Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House for high-stakes talks
- A warning on the pitfalls of A-I ahead of a productivity summit in Canberra
- An Adelaide Crows star defends the club, as another player is investigated over an alleged homophobic slur .
US President Donald Trump has welcomed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House for high-stakes talks aimed at restoring peace in Ukraine.
The meeting is the first since an acrimonious row between the two men in the Oval Office in February, and comes just days after Mr Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Despite an apparent gulf over concessions that President Trump has pushed Ukraine to make peace with Russia, the US leader said there was a "good chance" of ending the conflict.
"We've had a lot of good discussions, a lot of good talks, and I think progress is being made, very substantial progress in many ways. We had a good meeting as you know just a short while ago with the president of Russia and I think there's a possibility something could come out of it."
President Zelenskyy said he was grateful for the opportunity to meet President Trump and his fellow European leaders.
"After our meeting we can have the leaders who are around us, the U-K, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, E-U, Nato, all partners around Ukraine, supporting us. Thanks to them and thank you very much for the invitation."
Mr Trump said he would be talking to President Putin by telephone shortly and hoped for a three-way meeting with the Kremlin leader and Mr Zelenskyy.
Hamas has accepted the latest proposal for a 60-day ceasefire with Israel that includes the return of half the hostages the group holds in Gaza, and Israel's release of some Palestinian prisoners, an Egyptian official source says.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim wrote on Facebook: "The movement has handed over its approval to the new proposal presented by the mediators".
There was no immediate response from Israel.
The Egyptian official source said the latest proposal included a suspension of Israeli military operations for 60 days and a path to a comprehensive deal to end the nearly two-year war.
An unnamed source says the proposal was nearly identical to one put forward previously by US special envoy Steve Witkoff, which Israel had accepted.
The head of the Australian Council of Social Service has warned of the danger of replacing people with technology in the social services sector, ahead of a wide-ranging summit on productivity.
The three-day economic roundtable, hosted by the federal government in Canberra will consider how AI can be harnessed to boost productivity in business and government services.
ACOSS CEO Cassandra Goldie says recent problems with the Targeted Compliance Program - an automated system which unlawfully cancelled the payments of nearly 1000 jobseekers - is as example of how technology can fail.
"We've stripped out the human discretion that we need on critical decisions that fundamentally affect people's lives and in many cases have driven people to desperation. We should be using technology for good, we should be using A-I for good - but we need to make sure that the people most at risk are front and centre in the design of it, not people who are looking to make a profit out of it."
The roundtable meeting will also consider how regulatory and tax reforms could help boost Australia's stalled productivity.
Rescue and relief work has resumed in Pakistan's northwest where flash floods have killed more than 300 people, after heavy rain forced the suspension of operations for several hours.
The National Disaster Management Authority says heavy rain that started on Friday has spread destruction in several northern districts, with most people killed in flash floods.
In the AFL, Adelaide Crows star Darcy Fogarty denies the competition has a homophobic culture, despite star team mate Izak Rankine being accused of a homophobic slur that could stop him participating in this year's finals series.
The AFL has confirmed it is investigating allegations a Crows player made a homophobic comment to a Collingwood player during Saturday's nights game between the two teams.
The AFL hasn't named Rankine, but he is being universally reported as the player who is accused.
Three players in the last two years have been suspended for homophobic comments during games.
But Fogarty says that's not fair reflection of how the sport, and its players, view gay people.
"I don't think so. I think, as far as what I can comment on, through my lense, from what I've seen, it's been positive and supportive."
Collingwood player Brayden Maynard says this kind of incident is happening too often.
