03-07-2025
Kremlin: Putin tells Trump Russia will ‘pursue its goals' in Ukraine
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts . The Russian government says President Vladimir Putin has reiterated to US President Donald Trump that Russia will keep pushing to solve the conflict's root causes. The comments come as Mr Trump has been pushing for a quick halt to the Ukraine war in a nearly hour long phone call with Mr Putin. Mr Putin's aide says the two leaders did not discuss the U-S decision to halt some weapons shipments to Ukraine during the call. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he hopes to speak to President Trump today (Friday) about the pause in weapons shipment. "We supported it from the very beginning, the idea of President Trump, unconditional ceasefire. I said it not once that we are ready for any kind of format of meeting, and I think that in Russia, only Putin, real decision makers, that's why we need meeting on the level of leaders if we really want peace." Justice advocates in the Australian Capital Territory say the territory's decision to raise the age of criminal responsibility should serve as an example to other states and territories. The ACT has become the first jurisdiction in Australia to raise the age at which a child can be held responsible for a crime to 14. Rather than facing charges, children will now be referred to a therapeutic support panel to help address their offending. Serious crimes such as murder, serious violence and sexual offences will be exempt. Jonathan Hunyor of the Justice and Equity Centre says locking up ten-year-old children only creates worse social problems. "Well the ACT has looked at the evidence, and the ACT is obviously serious about making their community safer because we know that locking up kids makes the community less safe. What locking up kids does is it cruels their chances, it takes them away from positive influences and what they talk about, building social capital... and instead what do is place kids in a situation where they build criminal capital. They go to the university of crime, they get taught that they're criminals." Gaza's health ministry says Israeli airstrikes and shootings have killed 94 Palestinians in Gaza in a single night, including 45 who were attempting to get much-needed humanitarian aid. Five people were killed while outside sites associated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the privately-run American aid organisation backed by Israel, while 40 others were killed waiting for aid in other locations across the Gaza Strip. 15 people were in strikes that hit tents in the sprawling Mawasi zone, where many displaced Palestinians are sheltering, and a separate strike on a school in Gaza City sheltering displaced people also killed 15 people. Intisar Abu Assi lost her son and daughter in the strikes. "My son and daughter and their children, my children, my children (Camerawoman's asking: How old are the children?) They are all small children, no older than 12, 10, 8, 5, 2 years old, my beloved ones. (Camerawoman's asking: How many people have you lost?) 13 individuals, 13 people from one family." Airlines are being warned to tighten security after a hack affecting millions of Qantas customers leaves the aviation giant exposed to possible legal action. The cyber attack targeted a third-party platform used by one of the airline's call centres, exposing the personal details of up to six million customers. Names, phone numbers, dates of birth and email addresses are among the data believed to be leaked. Legal experts have suggested the incident could lead to a class action in a repeat of compensation claims lodged following major breaches at Optus and Medibank in 2022. Analysts say the Medibank hack could end up costing the health insurer $700 million or more. Gaza's Health Ministry says the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza has passed 57,000, including 223 missing people who have been declared dead since October 7th, 2023. Liverpool fans have paid tribute to star Portuguese forward Diogo Jota, who has died in a car crash near Zamora in northwestern Spain with his brother Andre Silva. According to local authorities, Jota and his brother died when the car they were in veered off the road and burst into flames. Spanish police say evidence at the scene of the crash suggests Jota's car suffered a burst tyre while overtaking. Fans have gathered to honour the player, leaving cards and flowers in his memory. "The way he played football with a smile on his face all the time. He was the epitome of enjoying what you do. Every time he went out on the pitch he gave his all. You don't know these people personally, but when you do lose somebody in this fashion, it's devastating. It's going to affect everyone. It's like losing someone really, really close to you." Jota, who was married on June 28th, helped Liverpool win the Premier League last season and also won the FA Cup and League Cup with the team. (Liverpool Football Club has issued a statement, saying it's devastated by the death of Jota and his brother. The Portuguese Football Federation has also paid tribute to the brothers, saying their deaths are an irreparable loss for Portuguese football.)
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