Donald Trump predicts Iran war will end after US midterm elections; Reports North Korea is building a new range of nuclear facilities; And in tennis, Elena Rybakina beats Zheng Xinwen in the US Open quarter-finals.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Donald Trump predicts Iran war will end after US midterm elections
- Reports North Korea is building a new range of nuclear facilities
- Elena Rybakina beats Zheng Xinwen in the US Open quarter-finals
US President Donald Trump says he expects the war with Iran to end immediately after November's midterm elections.
His comments come as renewed fighting has pushed oil prices above A$138 [[US$100]] dollars a barrel, with Iran attacking shipping near the Strait of Hormuz after the US struck five Iranian oil tankers.
Mr Trump claims Tehran is trying to influence the midterm vote and is increasingly struggling under US military and economic pressure.
“I think the war is going to end immediately after the election. I think the war will end immediately after the election. Because they can't hold out any longer. They're desperate to try and affect the election so that we could get a nice, weak group of people in there and leave them alone and let them have their nuclear weapons. All they want is a nuclear weapon."
Mr Trump says negotiations with Iran remain possible, although Washington is not currently seeking talks.
He has also predicted oil prices will fall after the election, once the conflict ends.
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Meanwhile, fighting has intensified in Yemen between Saudi-backed government forces and Iran-aligned Houthi fighters.
Video released by Yemen's armed forces is said to show clashes near Al-Hazm.
Reuters has not independently verified when or where it was filmed.
Government forces have launched an offensive into Houthi-held areas, while the Houthis have also struck Saudi cities and declared a blockade of Saudi-linked shipping in the Red Sea.
The wider conflict has pushed oil prices above $138 [[US$100]] a barrel.
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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says he's sceptical proceedings to ban the far right Alternative for Deutschland party would succeed.
The Chancellor clashed with the leader of AfD, Alice Weidel, labelling her party a "destructive force" and saying their migration policy amounts to "ethnic cleansing."
The party secured 44 per cent of the vote in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt and is three seats short of an outright majority, while the chancellor's conservatives saw their vote halved.
Chancellor Merz says he is willing to consider options, but had doubts about enforcing a ban.
"I remain sceptical about whether a ban like that can be successful. We can certainly keep trying, but I believe it is a far-reaching measure and I don't think with these banned parties that the problem is seeing them exist in Germany. And so my answer to the issue is that we manage the dispute with the AfD in the political realm and fight to regain ground for the centrist movement and the CDU by creating a compelling political platform for those who have reservations against that party."
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There has been a steady expansion of North Korea's nuclear infrastructure at multiple locations.
The International Atomic Energy Agency says North Korea has built a new uranium enrichment facility at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex that could house up to 28 centrifuge cascades, and that it's started operating an expanded annex at its Kangson enrichment site.
The Vienna-based nuclear regulator says it has relied on satellite imagery and open-source material, including photographs published by North Korean state media, to track Pyongyang's nuclear activities because no inspectors have been allowed in since 2009.
The agency says the developments violate UN Security Council resolutions.
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The feud between Andrew Hastie and One Nation's Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce has escalated.
There has been tension between SAS veteran Hastie and Senator Hanson since he spoke out against Ben Roberts-Smith who is accused of committing war crimes while serving in Afghanistan.
Ms Hanson has denied suggesting Mr Hastie is a traitor.
But Mr Hastie claimed in an email to supporters this week that Senator Hanson had branded him as such following a cartoon video posted to the One Nation leader's X account - and he's now unleashed his fury in a press conference.
"Today I'm calling them lying cowards.... I'm proud of my service to this country, in uniform and in this parliament. It's a slur on me; it's a slur on other veterans who have given - under oath - evidence to the Federal Court. And I'm calling on Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce to either own this - don't be weak, don't be cowards - own it and explain why I'm a traitor and why other veterans are traitors, or delete it."
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The boss of oil and gas industry giant Santos has given a major speech to the National Press Club in Canberra, arguing demand for fossil fuels and renewable energy can and should exist side by side.
Kevin Gallagher says in countries like Japan and Vietnam, demand for coal-generated power has gone up in direct response to LNG supply shortage fears.
But the Santos boss says demand for renewable energy is also surging, amid a legitimate effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"This matters enormously for public policy. Because if we prematurely withdraw supply of something the world still needs we do not eliminate demand; we simply changes who supplies it. Last year, demand for every single energy source grew - oil, gas, coal, nuclear at a record output, renewables at record deployment levels, emissions at a record high."
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To sport and in tennis, Elena Rybakina has defeated Qinwen Zheng 1-6 4-6 to progress to the semi finals at the US Open.
She'll face either Mirra Andreeva or Coco Gauff.
Meanwhile in the men's competition, Ben Shelton has ended Carlos Alcaraz's US Open title reign in a game that ran for four-and-a-half hours.
It ends an 18-match winning streak for Alcaraz.
Shelton will face American Frances Tiafoe in the last four, after he came back from two sets down against fellow American, Alex Michelsen.
