TRANSCRIPT
- Ukraine's President says territorial integrity is the 'biggest challenge' in peace talks
- Australia's race discrimination commissioner says Pauline Hanson is fuelling Islamophobia
- Usman Khawaja's fitness for the second Ashes Test in doubt
Ukraine’s president is optimistic about efforts to revise the Trump administration’s proposed peace plan, saying work is accelerating after talks with France’s Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine now has what he calls concrete details from both the US and Europe, though he warned that territorial questions remain the hardest to resolve.
At their joint press conference, President Zelenskyy stressed that any settlement must come with firm Western backing, especially on security guarantees.
"The territorial issue is the most difficult. The issues of money and reconstruction, in my view ... are, of course, hard to finalise without the presence of our European partners, because the money is in Europe. To me, this does not seem entirely fair. And the issue of security guarantees is also crucial: we need concrete commitments from the United States and concrete commitments from Europe."
He also acknowledged recent Russian advances, while insisting Russia has suffered its heaviest losses since October.
His comments follow what US officials called productive talks on refining a plan criticised in Ukraine as too accommodating to Russia.
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The death toll from flooding in Indonesia has now reached more than 500, with another 500 missing and thousands more injured.
The floods were caused by a cyclone which, unusually, formed over the Malacca Strait.
The Indonesian government says nearly one-and-a-half million people were affected in three provinces.
The government's response to the flooding has been criticised as too slow and bureaucratic.
President Prabowo Subianto says his country will face the disaster with 'resilience and solidarity'.
Flooding has also killed nearly 400 people in Sri Lanka and nearly 200 in southern Thailand.
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The race discrimination commissioner has warned that One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson's burqa stunt in Parliament will fuel rising Islamophobia.
Pauline Hanson has been banned from parliament for a week for wearing a burqa in the Senate after failing to move a bill to ban the religious covering in public.
In Senate estimates on Monday, Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi cited a recent study from the Scanlon Foundation which showed negative attitudes towards Muslims has risen from 27 per cent to 35 per cent in the last two years.
When asked if Pauline Hanson was feeding the negative attitudes, race discrimination commissioner Giridharam Sivaraman said they were - and would continue to do so.
"For women and women who were the hijab or who were the niqab, there is a higher likelihood of racism, including physical violence, and that came through in consultations. And I raised that because that is connected to what Senator Hanson did. And I've said this previously. I think it was very disappointing, because the the standard that politicians hold and particularly in the public arena is, and the behaviour that they exhibit is the behaviour that often is seen as what is appropriate for the rest of our society."
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New housing data from property firm Cotality shows rents are rising across every capital city.
The national rental index is five per cent higher over the past year, marking the highest annual rate of growth in a year.
Greens Senator Barbara Pocock says too many Australians are struggling to keep up.
She blames Australia's tax system for contributing to the problem by giving them a financial advantage over first home buyers through negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts.
"They're facing the lowest, historically low vacancy rates and rising rent there are solutions out there for our housing crisis. We know we can make a difference. We can end the tax breaks. We can build the public housing. We can end unlimited rent increases making a difference for 1000s and 1000s of Australian families, putting a roof over our heads. Housing is a human right, and we need a response from a Labor Government to make a difference."
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The Albanese government is set to release a National AI Plan today.
The plan will include a road-map for building an economy enabled by artificial intelligence, which the government says will harness the full potential of AI to benefit all Australians.
Minister for Industry and Innovation Tim Ayres says the plan is about making sure technology serves Australians, not the other way around.
The plan's release comes amid growing concerns about AI, with recent research* from KPMG showing 64 per cent of Australians fear the loss of personal or societal control due the rise of AI.
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In cricket, Usman Khawaja remains short of full fitness, days out from the second Ashes Test at the Gabba.
Khawaja retained his place in the extended squad for the second Ashes Test but is no guarantee to open the batting.
His fitness has been a point of concern after back spasms forced him from the field in the victorious first Test, meaning he could not open as planned.
Beau Webster and Josh Inglis are the reserve batting options in Australia's 14-man squad.
