A confidant of Russian president Vladimir Putin has offered to meet with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Mr Zelenskyy has visited Ukrainian troops in the battered frontline city of Bakhmut in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, a city which Russia has persistently tried to capture.
The government of the Australian Capital Territory is launching an independent inquiry into the handling of the prosecution in the case of Brittany Higgins.
A major economic predictor says the Australian economy is heading towards a slower pace of growth in 2023- and possibly a patch of stagnation in the second half of the year. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute leading index specialises indicating the likely pace of economic activity three to nine months in advance. It has recorded a fourth consecutive month with a negative growth rate.
