‘That's real starvation stuff': Trump disputes Israel's Gaza claims, slashes Putin's Ukraine deadline
'I'm going to make a new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today,' Trump said in Scotland.
'There's no reason in waiting, there's no reason in waiting. It's 50 days, I want to be generous, but we just don't see any progress being made.'
Repeating his previous exasperation with Putin, the president said the Russian leader would make claims about peace in their conversations but continue bombing Ukraine at night.
'Russia could be so rich, instead they spend all their money on war,' he said. 'I thought he'd want to end this thing quickly, but every time I think it's going to end, he kills people.'
Asked if he wanted to meet Putin to end the war, Trump said he was 'not so interested' in talking. If he acts on his new deadline, the secondary tariffs could begin on or around August 9.
Putin ally and former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, in a social media post, said Trump was playing 'a game of ultimatums' that could lead to a war involving the US.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, however, welcomed the new timing. 'I thank President Trump for his focus on saving lives and stopping this horrible war,' he posted.
On Gaza, the joint remarks in Scotland marked another escalation in the calls on Israel to help civilians when the British Red Cross estimates that 470,000 people in Gaza face starvation – equivalent to 22 per cent of the population.
Trump said Israel had a 'lot of responsibility' to help the situation despite being hampered by Hamas, which still holds 20 Israeli hostages from the October 7 attacks, when the terrorist group killed 1195 people and took more than 250 captive.
Trump suggested it was up to Netanyahu to ensure civilians were fed.
'We're giving money and things. He's got to sort of, like, run it,' he said.
'I want them to make sure they get the food. I want to make sure they get the food, every ounce of food ... Because food isn't being delivered.'
Loading
Starmer wanted Gaza to be a major topic in his private talks with Trump on Monday, as widespread images of starving children shape public opinion on the war.
'It's a humanitarian crisis. It's an absolute catastrophe,' the prime minister said before the meeting, as he and Trump stood together Turnberry.
'Nobody wants to see that. And I think people in Britain are revolted at what they're seeing on their screens.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
a few seconds ago
- ABC News
ASIO disrupted 24 'major espionage and foreign interference' operations in three years
Australia's domestic spy chief has used a major speech in Adelaide to warn foreign espionage is costing the nation at least $12.5 billion a year, while revealing ASIO has disrupted 24 "major espionage and foreign interference" operations in the last three years alone. ASIO director-general Mike Burgess has also confirmed that Australia expelled "a number" of undeclared Russian intelligence officers in 2022, whilst berating some public officials for "head-spinning" complacency about the threats posed by overseas intelligence agencies. Mr Burgess has struck an increasingly urgent tone about the threats posed by foreign interference in recent years, but tonight's speech — delivered at the annual Hawke Lecture at Adelaide University — is his most detailed account laying out the scale of the threat. The spy chief again listed China, Russia and Iran as three of the main nations behind espionage in Australia but said Australians would be "shocked" by the number of other countries that were also trying similar tactics. He said the 24 major operations disrupted over the past three years were "more than the previous eight years combined" and that strategic competition was driving a "relentless hunger for strategic advantage and an insatiable appetite for inside information". "Nation states are spying at unprecedented levels, with unprecedented sophistication," he said. "ASIO is seeing more Australians targeted — more aggressively — than ever before." He gave multiple examples, such as spies who "convinced a state bureaucrat to log into a database to obtain the names and addresses of individuals considered dissidents by a foreign regime" and a foreign intelligence service that "directed multiple agents and their family members to apply for Australian government jobs — including with the national security community — to get access to classified information". He also said foreign companies connected to intelligence services had "sought to buy access to sensitive personal data sets; sought to buy land near sensitive military sites; and sought to collaborate with researchers developing sensitive technologies". The spy chief also told a story about an overseas delegation visiting a "sensitive Australian horticultural facility" who snapped branches off a "rare and valuable variety of fruit tree" in order to steal them. "Almost certainly, the stolen plant material allowed scientists in the other country to reverse engineer and replicate two decades of Australian research and development," he said. Mr Burgess also said that foreign spy agencies were taking an "unhealthy interest" in accessing military technology secrets shared through the AUKUS pact. "In recent years, for example, defence employees travelling overseas have been subjected to covert room searches, been approached at conferences by spies in disguise and given gifts containing surveillance devices. "Defence is alert to these threats and works closely with ASIO to counter them." Mr Burgess didn't name any of the countries behind the new plots he identified, but released a new report that ASIO developed with the Australian Institute of Criminology, which tries to count the cost of espionage. He said while calculating the cost was "challenging", the report found espionage cost the Australian economy at least $12.5 billion in the 2023-2024 financial year — an estimate Mr Burgess called "conservative" and which likely "significantly underestimates" the true cost of espionage. "Many entities do not know their secrets have been stolen, or do not realise they've been stolen by espionage, or do not report the theft," he said. The spy chief also once again took aim at businesses and officials who he suggested were complacent or deeply naive about the threat of espionage, saying he'd "lost count of the number of times senior officials and executives have privately downplayed the impacts of espionage". "I've watched corporate leaders literally shrug their shoulders when told their networks are compromised," he said. In unusually frank remarks, Mr Burgess also heaped scorn on an unnamed Australian trade official. "Most recently, a trade official told ASIO there's no way the Chinese intelligence services would have any interest in his organisation's people and premises in China," he said. And he once again rounded on Australian public servants who reveal details about their work online — including on professional networking sites — saying about 7,000 of them "reference their work in the defence sector" and "close to 400 explicitly say they work on AUKUS". "Nearly two and a half thousand publicly boast about having a security clearance and 1,300 claim to work in the national security community," he said. "While these numbers have fallen since I first raised the alarm two years ago, this still makes my head spin … surely these individuals, of all people, should understand the threat and recognise the risk? "I get that people need to market themselves but telling social media you hold a security clearance or work on a highly classified project is more than naive; it's recklessly inviting the attention of a foreign intelligence service." Mr Burgess said that 'thousands of Australian students, academics, politicians, business people, researchers, law enforcement officials and public servants at all levels of government' have been targeted for espionage through networking sites. "The vast majority resist, report or ignore the approaches," he said. "Unfortunately, though, some are sucked in and end up being used — recklessly or consciously — to gather information for a foreign country."
Perth Now
a few seconds ago
- Perth Now
Lebanese president calls for Hezbollah to disarm
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has repeated calls for the militant group Hezbollah to give up its weapons, a day after the group's chief doubled down on its refusal to disarm. Aoun's comments on Thursday during a speech marking Army Day in Lebanon came as pressure increases from Washington to disarm Hezbollah. The US presented Lebanon with "draft ideas to which we have made fundamental amendments that will be presented to the cabinet early next week", Aoun said. Under the Lebanese proposal, there would be an "immediate cessation of Israeli hostilities" in Lebanon, including air strikes and targeted killing, a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and the release of Lebanese prisoners held in Israel, Aoun said. Lebanon, for its part, would implement the "withdrawal of the weapons of all armed forces, including Hezbollah, and their surrender to the Lebanese Army", he said. The comments came after a speech on Wednesday by Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem that called the group's weapons "part of Lebanon's strength" and said "anyone who demands the delivery of weapons is demanding the delivery of weapons to Israel". Hezbollah officials have said they will not discuss giving up the group's remaining arsenal until Israel withdraws from all of Lebanon and stops its strikes. Aoun said Lebanon's proposal also calls for international donors to contribute $US1 billion ($A1.6 billion) annually for 10 years to beef up the Lebanese army's capabilities and for an international donor conference to raise funds in the fall for reconstruction of Lebanese areas damaged and destroyed during the 2024 war between Israel and Hezbollah. The war nominally ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November calling for Hezbollah and Israeli forces to withdraw from the area south of the Litani River in Lebanon, which would be patrolled by a beefed-up Lebanese army, along with UN peacekeepers. The agreement left vague how Hezbollah's weapons and military facilities north of the Litani River should be treated, saying Lebanese authorities should dismantle unauthorised facilities starting with the area south of the river. Hezbollah maintains the deal only covers the area south of the Litani, while Israel and the US say it mandates disarmament of the group throughout Lebanon. Since the the ceasefire took effect, Israel has continued to occupy five border points in Lebanon and carry out almost daily air strikes that Israel says are aimed at preventing Hezbollah rebuilding its capabilities.
Perth Now
a few seconds ago
- Perth Now
Lax Aussies making themselves easy spy targets: ASIO
Australia's intelligence boss has warned that people who boast about their access to sensitive information are openly painting themselves as targets for foreign spying operations. ASIO director-general Mike Burgess revealed details of multiple espionage operations as he used a keynote speech to warn officials, businesses and the general public about interference threats and the impact of lax security. Russian spies were deported in 2022 after an ASIO investigation found they were "recruiting proxies and agents to obtain sensitive information, and employing sophisticated tradecraft to disguise their activities", he said on Thursday. Russia, China and Iran were singled out as adversaries but "you would be genuinely shocked by the number and names of countries trying to steal our secrets", he said at the annual Hawke lecture at the University of South Australia. ASIO, the nation's domestic intelligence agency, disrupted 24 major espionage and foreign interference operations in the last three years, more than the previous eight years combined. Mr Burgess said spies used a security clearance-holder to obtain information about trade negotiations and convinced one state bureaucrat to log into a database to obtain details of people a foreign regime considered dissidents. The director-general also detailed how a foreign intelligence service ordered spies to apply for Australian government jobs, including at national security institutions, to access classified information. Another example included a visiting academic linked to a foreign government breaking into a restricted lab with sensitive technology and filming inside, he said. "They are just the tip of an espionage iceberg," Mr Burgess said. Foreign companies tied to intelligence services had also tried to access private data, buy land near military sites and collaborate with researchers developing sensitive technology. "In recent years, for example, defence employees travelling overseas have been subjected to covert room searches, been approached at conferences by spies in disguise and given gifts containing surveillance devices," Mr Burgess added. Hackers had also broken into the network of a peak industry body to steal sensitive information about exports and foreign investment, as well as into a law firm to take information about government-related cases, he said. The director-general chided people who held security clearances or who had access to classified information openly promoting themselves on social media, making it easier for them to be targeted by foreign agents. More than 35,000 Australians indicated they had access to classified or private information on a single professional networking site, he said, adding 7000 referred to working in the defence sector and critical technologies. Nearly 2500 boasted about having a security clearance, he said. "All too often we make it all too easy," he said. Almost 400 people explicitly said they worked on the AUKUS project, under which Australia will acquire nuclear-powered submarines as the keystone of its military power. Mr Burgess put the cost of espionage - including the theft of intellectual property resulting in lost revenue and responding to incidents - at $12.5 billion in 2023/24. This included cyber spies stealing nearly $2 billion of trade secrets and intellectual property from Australian companies. The number came from a conservative Australian Institute of Criminology analysis that took into account details for ASIO investigations, he said. Hackers stealing commercially sensitive information from one Australian exporter gave a foreign country a leg up in a subsequent contract negotiation, "costing Australia hundreds of millions of dollars", Mr Burgess said.
