Wong meets Rubio; but issues of tariffs, Trump sit-down, remain elusive
Published 2 July 2025, 8:05 am
The Foreign Minister has dodged questions about whether Australia can trust the United States as she met her QUAD counterparts in Washington DC. The trip's aim - to push for the removal of US tariffs and a leader-level meeting - so far fruitless.
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SBS Australia
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Donald Trump says TikTok sale is 'pretty much' finalised, only needing China's sign off
President Donald Trump says the United States "pretty much" has a deal on the sale of popular short-video app TikTok. Trump told reporters on Saturday (AEST) that he would start talking to Chinese President Xi Jinping "or one of his representatives" early next week. When asked how confident he was that China would agree to the deal, he said: "I'm not confident, but I think so." "I think the deal is good for China, and it's good for us" Trump said. "And for us, it's money ... we make a lot of money if the deal goes through." The TikTok saga started after bipartisan legislation to ban the app on national security grounds unless it was sold to American buyers was signed early last year under the Biden administration. What do we know about the potenial buyers? ByteDance has previously confirmed talks with the US government, saying key matters needed to be resolved and that any deal would be "subject to approval under Chinese law". For the deal to comply with US law, ByteDance cannot own more than 20 per cent of TikTok. Late last month, Trump told Fox News a buyer had been found and could be disclosed in about two weeks. He didn't name the potential buyers, but said they are "very wealthy people". In May, Trump also mentioned that a group of buyers was prepared to pay "a lot of money" for TikTok. The previous month he said China would have agreed to a deal on the sale of TikTok if it were not for a dispute over Trump's tariffs on Beijing . Several US media outlets reported earlier this year that TikTok's US technology partner, Oracle, could take over in a deal that would potentially include the app's American investors. And there have also been reports that a group called The People's Bid for TikTok might also be a potential buyer. The group is owned by billionaire Frank McCourt, who is known as the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team. With reporting by the Reuters and Agence France-Presse news agencies.
The Advertiser
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Pacific-Aust 'commonality' important in uncertain times
Anthony Albanese has hailed the importance of personal relationships with Pacific nations at a time when other powers are seeking to increase their influence. The prime minister, who will host Fijian counterpart Sitiveni Rabuka when the Wallabies take on Fiji in their one-off Rugby Union Test in Newcastle on Sunday, reiterated the importance of soft diplomacy in the region. "Relationships between nations essentially come down to relationships between people," he told ABC Radio on Saturday. "It is a great way in which our nations can show our commonality. We are all members of the Pacific family." Australia has provided $10 million over seven years for the Fijian Drua women's and men's teams in the Super Rugby Pacific and Australia Super W competitions. Some $600 million over a decade for a PNG NRL team had also cemented the relationship between the two neighbouring nations, Mr Albanese said. He said investments in sports were linked with education and economic development, resulting in better health outcomes and stronger, more secure and smarter Pacific populations. At a time when the United States is pulling away and China and Russia are trying to increase their influence, the prime minister stressed the importance of positioning Australia as the partner of choice. "We have a considerable defence and security presence throughout the Pacific and that's very much, in these uncertain times, in Australia's interests," he said. "One of the ways that we cement that is through those personal relations." Mr Albanese was keen to highlight Australia's upgraded defence and security relationships with Fiji, PNG, Tuvalu, Nauru and other smaller nations in the Pacific. "We are family and we assist each other as friends, not with strings attached," he said. "What we do is we help each other out because of our common interests and our common values." Mr Rabuka met with Governor-General Sam Mostyn at Government House in Canberra earlier this week. In a keynote address at the National Press Club on Wednesday, he spoke glowingly of bilateral ties between Suva and Canberra in a deteriorating world. "Unfortunately for now, I contest the region's outlook is more uncertain than at any time since Fiji's independence in 1970," he said. "Perhaps we have reached a point in our Fiji-Australia relationship where a renewed and elevated Vuvale partnership needs a further step-up to an agreement for a treaty." Anthony Albanese has hailed the importance of personal relationships with Pacific nations at a time when other powers are seeking to increase their influence. The prime minister, who will host Fijian counterpart Sitiveni Rabuka when the Wallabies take on Fiji in their one-off Rugby Union Test in Newcastle on Sunday, reiterated the importance of soft diplomacy in the region. "Relationships between nations essentially come down to relationships between people," he told ABC Radio on Saturday. "It is a great way in which our nations can show our commonality. We are all members of the Pacific family." Australia has provided $10 million over seven years for the Fijian Drua women's and men's teams in the Super Rugby Pacific and Australia Super W competitions. Some $600 million over a decade for a PNG NRL team had also cemented the relationship between the two neighbouring nations, Mr Albanese said. He said investments in sports were linked with education and economic development, resulting in better health outcomes and stronger, more secure and smarter Pacific populations. At a time when the United States is pulling away and China and Russia are trying to increase their influence, the prime minister stressed the importance of positioning Australia as the partner of choice. "We have a considerable defence and security presence throughout the Pacific and that's very much, in these uncertain times, in Australia's interests," he said. "One of the ways that we cement that is through those personal relations." Mr Albanese was keen to highlight Australia's upgraded defence and security relationships with Fiji, PNG, Tuvalu, Nauru and other smaller nations in the Pacific. "We are family and we assist each other as friends, not with strings attached," he said. "What we do is we help each other out because of our common interests and our common values." Mr Rabuka met with Governor-General Sam Mostyn at Government House in Canberra earlier this week. In a keynote address at the National Press Club on Wednesday, he spoke glowingly of bilateral ties between Suva and Canberra in a deteriorating world. "Unfortunately for now, I contest the region's outlook is more uncertain than at any time since Fiji's independence in 1970," he said. "Perhaps we have reached a point in our Fiji-Australia relationship where a renewed and elevated Vuvale partnership needs a further step-up to an agreement for a treaty." Anthony Albanese has hailed the importance of personal relationships with Pacific nations at a time when other powers are seeking to increase their influence. The prime minister, who will host Fijian counterpart Sitiveni Rabuka when the Wallabies take on Fiji in their one-off Rugby Union Test in Newcastle on Sunday, reiterated the importance of soft diplomacy in the region. "Relationships between nations essentially come down to relationships between people," he told ABC Radio on Saturday. "It is a great way in which our nations can show our commonality. We are all members of the Pacific family." Australia has provided $10 million over seven years for the Fijian Drua women's and men's teams in the Super Rugby Pacific and Australia Super W competitions. Some $600 million over a decade for a PNG NRL team had also cemented the relationship between the two neighbouring nations, Mr Albanese said. He said investments in sports were linked with education and economic development, resulting in better health outcomes and stronger, more secure and smarter Pacific populations. At a time when the United States is pulling away and China and Russia are trying to increase their influence, the prime minister stressed the importance of positioning Australia as the partner of choice. "We have a considerable defence and security presence throughout the Pacific and that's very much, in these uncertain times, in Australia's interests," he said. "One of the ways that we cement that is through those personal relations." Mr Albanese was keen to highlight Australia's upgraded defence and security relationships with Fiji, PNG, Tuvalu, Nauru and other smaller nations in the Pacific. "We are family and we assist each other as friends, not with strings attached," he said. "What we do is we help each other out because of our common interests and our common values." Mr Rabuka met with Governor-General Sam Mostyn at Government House in Canberra earlier this week. In a keynote address at the National Press Club on Wednesday, he spoke glowingly of bilateral ties between Suva and Canberra in a deteriorating world. "Unfortunately for now, I contest the region's outlook is more uncertain than at any time since Fiji's independence in 1970," he said. "Perhaps we have reached a point in our Fiji-Australia relationship where a renewed and elevated Vuvale partnership needs a further step-up to an agreement for a treaty." Anthony Albanese has hailed the importance of personal relationships with Pacific nations at a time when other powers are seeking to increase their influence. The prime minister, who will host Fijian counterpart Sitiveni Rabuka when the Wallabies take on Fiji in their one-off Rugby Union Test in Newcastle on Sunday, reiterated the importance of soft diplomacy in the region. "Relationships between nations essentially come down to relationships between people," he told ABC Radio on Saturday. "It is a great way in which our nations can show our commonality. We are all members of the Pacific family." Australia has provided $10 million over seven years for the Fijian Drua women's and men's teams in the Super Rugby Pacific and Australia Super W competitions. Some $600 million over a decade for a PNG NRL team had also cemented the relationship between the two neighbouring nations, Mr Albanese said. He said investments in sports were linked with education and economic development, resulting in better health outcomes and stronger, more secure and smarter Pacific populations. At a time when the United States is pulling away and China and Russia are trying to increase their influence, the prime minister stressed the importance of positioning Australia as the partner of choice. "We have a considerable defence and security presence throughout the Pacific and that's very much, in these uncertain times, in Australia's interests," he said. "One of the ways that we cement that is through those personal relations." Mr Albanese was keen to highlight Australia's upgraded defence and security relationships with Fiji, PNG, Tuvalu, Nauru and other smaller nations in the Pacific. "We are family and we assist each other as friends, not with strings attached," he said. "What we do is we help each other out because of our common interests and our common values." Mr Rabuka met with Governor-General Sam Mostyn at Government House in Canberra earlier this week. In a keynote address at the National Press Club on Wednesday, he spoke glowingly of bilateral ties between Suva and Canberra in a deteriorating world. "Unfortunately for now, I contest the region's outlook is more uncertain than at any time since Fiji's independence in 1970," he said. "Perhaps we have reached a point in our Fiji-Australia relationship where a renewed and elevated Vuvale partnership needs a further step-up to an agreement for a treaty."
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Fadumo (not her real name), a widowed mother of three, walked for two days in searing heat with her children to reach a displacement camp on the outskirts of Baidoa in Somalia's south — a region already overwhelmed by need. "The reason I was displaced is because of hunger and my inability to feed my children. Their father has passed away, so I moved here in search of support. I recently arrived here and have been living here for two months, but I haven't received any support yet," she told SBS News. Like thousands of others, Fadumo is now stuck in limbo, caught between a past she fled and a future that depends entirely on whether help will come. For decades, USAID — the US Agency for International Development — formed the backbone of Somalia's humanitarian aid. At its peak, the agency accounted for 65 per cent of the country's foreign assistance, according to Dr Abdiqani Sheikh Omar, a former health ministry director and current government adviser. In 2019 alone, the US contributed nearly half of all humanitarian aid to Somalia — $455 million out of $934 million — with USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance playing a key role in funding frontline services like Save the Children's malnutrition programs. Now, those lifelines are vanishing following USAID's official shutdown, which was announced on Tuesday. The dismantling of the agency , which Donald Trump had described as being "run by a bunch of radical lunatics", began soon after the US president commenced his second term. Critics, including authoritarian governments and some conservatives, have long viewed USAID as a tool for pushing US geopolitical interests and spreading socially progressive values — specifically through support for LGBTIQ+ and women's rights. To its its defenders, USAID is an essential humanitarian agency, whose work also boosts America's soft power and champions democratic values. 'Fadumo' says she is displaced because of hunger and her inability to feed her children. Source: SBS News / Danielle Robertson The human cost of USAID cuts Mu'awiye Mohamed is in charge at a camp for internally displaced people and says thousands will be left with nowhere to turn. " This situation is not good. The aid was supporting a large number of internally displaced people, so the recent aid cuts of USAID by Donald Trump have had a negative impact on vulnerable communities," he said. In Somalia, international aid is not just about food and medicine. It holds up an entire system of camps that provide care, especially for families displaced by conflict and drought. At malnutrition clinics in Baidoa, mothers like Layla (not her real name) wait for hours in the sweltering heat, desperate to get their children seen. "I was told he's malnourished," she said quietly, cradling her baby, Bilal. "If I hadn't brought him here, he could have died at home." This is one of the few remaining lifelines, and it's slipping away fast, as US aid cuts force critical nutrition centres to shut their doors. At malnutrition clinics in Baidoa, mothers like 'Layla' wait for hours in the sweltering heat, desperate to get their children seen. Source: SBS News / Danielle Robertson Save the Children says all of its nutrition centres in Baidoa will shut down by the end of this month. More than 120 centres have already closed, leaving over 55,000 children at risk of dying from preventable hunger. Dr Binyam Gebru, deputy country director for Save the Children in Somalia, says there was no fallback plan. "This is a very dangerous turning point," he said. "All the services have been totally withdrawn, we were not prepared for it. These are sick children because of malnutrition and now if you do not provide services they will die." According to the United Nations, around 1.7 million children in Somalia under the age of five are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition by the end of the year. 'Sometimes we pool our money to help patients' With formal support systems collapsing, local health workers — often unpaid, under-equipped, and overwhelmed — are stepping in to fill the void. They are now propped up by volunteers like Sahra Abdullahi Aden, a nurse who keeps showing up even without pay. "Many families can't afford medicine," she said. "When the clinic runs out of drugs, sometimes we pool our own money to help the patients." Local leaders are now sounding the alarm. Among them, Somalia's vice-minister for humanitarian and disaster management, Abdullahi Isak Ganay. " If the aid is cut during this crisis, we could end up in a situation like we did in 1991," he said. That year, famine swept across Somalia, driven by a deadly mix of civil war, drought and governmental collapse. An estimated 300,000 people died — most of them children — in what became one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes of the 20th century. "There is a serious difficulty. Al-Shabaab controls a large part of the country, making it unsafe for people to farm freely. This, combined with repeated rainy season failures, has led to frequent crop failures. Now, people don't know what to do," he said. Some experts say US aid cuts in Somalia are fuelling a resurgence of al-Shabaab — the al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group that has long waged an insurgency against the Somali government. The militant group is exploiting the collapse of essential services to regain territory, while the withdrawal of US support for elite Somali forces has weakened security operations. Al-Shabaab has launched its most aggressive offensive in years, edging closer to the capital, Mogadishu. "If you look at what al-Shabaab has gained of late, it is a huge concern for us," Gebru said. The end of USAID Gebru believes the USAID cuts will change the humanitarian aid sector forever. "There is a lesson to be learned: we have been too dependent on one resource, he said. "We are looking at diversification and other funding instead of relying on aid." Founded in 1961 as then-US president John F Kennedy sought to leverage aid to win over the developing world in the Cold War, the USAID has now been incorporated into the State Department — after secretary of state Marco Rubio slashed 85 percent of its programs. In a farewell to remaining staff on Monday (local time), former presidents George W Bush, a Republican, and Democrat Barack Obama — as well as U2 frontman Bono — saluted their work and said it was still needed. LISTEN TO SBS News 20/06/2025 06:35 English Obama, who like Bush has been sparing in openly criticising Trump, said that ending USAID was "inexplicable" and "will go down as a colossal mistake". "Gutting USAID is a travesty and it is a tragedy because it's some of the most important work happening anywhere in the world," Obama said. Rubio has painted a drastically different picture of USAID. He's said USAID's "charity-based model" has fuelled an "addiction" among developing nations and argued that trade was more effective. "Beyond creating a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War," Rubio wrote in an essay. With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse. Save the Children helped provide security while this reporter filmed at internally displaced people camps and assisted with local transport.
