TRANSCRIPT
The director of the CIA, John Ratcliffe, says the US has cut off some aspects of intelligence sharing with Ukraine for the first time since 2022.
It is unclear the extent of the restrictions.
It comes two days after the Trump administration also paused military aid shipments to Ukraine, following the heated exchange at the Oval Office over the weekend between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian President's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, says he has had a phone call with US national security adviser Mike Waltz to schedule a meeting between Ukrainian and US officials to discuss the next steps towards a just and lasting peace.
Mr Waltz says he is feeling positive about the upcoming meeting.
"But I just got off the phone before I walked out here with my counterpart, the Ukrainian national security adviser. We are having good talks on location for the next round of negotiations, on delegations. I think we've seen movement in the last 24 hours that the Ukrainian side will actually come to the table a partial truce, a full truce and then a permanent peace."
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The United States and Israel have rejected a five-year $53 billion plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip without displacing its Palestinian population.
This comes after the 22 countries that make up the Arab League adopted the Egyptian initiative to work toward reconstruction of the Palestinian territory, as negotiations for the second phase of an Israel-Hamas ceasefire continue to stall.
The plan, also endorsed by the United Nations, aims to counter U-S President Donald Trump's proposal to seize Gaza, displace its residents to surrounding countries, and develop the region as a real estate opportunity.
But the scheme has put the U-S at odds with its close ally in the region, Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud says they will never accept President Trump's vision for Gaza.
(Arabic then translated into English): "We in the Kingdom categorically reject any infringement of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, whether through settlement policies, annexation of Palestinian lands, or attempts to displace Palestinians from their lands. We also stress the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination on their land and to establish their independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital."
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More than four million people in south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales are being urged to finalise their preparations, ahead of the expected arrival of Tropical Cyclone Alfred - now expected on Friday [[7 Mar]].
The system is expected to make landfall as a category two cyclone between Maroochydore and Coolangatta in the early hours of Friday morning.
The warning zone stretches from Double Island Point in Queensland, to Grafton in New South Wales.
That takes in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Byron Bay and Ballina - a distance of about 450 kilometres.
Residents in the city of Lismore in northern New South Wales are preparing for the cyclone, even as many are still recovering from one of Australia's worst flooding disasters three years ago.
These residents say the trauma from the 2022 flood is front of mind.
"I think there's a concern that that will happen again so everyone's just taking precautions so it doesn't."
"It's always going to play in your mind when it comes to these kinds of weather situations."
"We're getting everything out and packing up, leaving. Taking off, getting out of here."
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The federal government has released a 10-year national strategy to improve food security for remote First Nations communities.
The plan is a partnership with state and territory governments and aims to increase access to affordable and nutritious food.
Everyday groceries can be twice as expensive in remote communities compared to urban areas.
The plan aims to redress this by reducing the cost of 30 essential items in 76 remote stores.
The Minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, says it builds on existing measures.
"We have committed $50 million towards subsidising at least 30 essential items in almost up to 100 different stores. We've made that announcement, now is the plan to identify those stores across remote and regional Australia. We're also looking at $20 million that goes into 120 positions across those same areas to upskill workers about food nutrition."
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New analysis has revealed the true scale of a rise in First Nations Australians dying by suicide may still be under-reported, with concerns about gaps in data and barriers to culturally safe care.
A new report by the Victorian coroner reveals some 27 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people died by their own hands in 2024 in the state, a 42 per cent jump in two years.
This translates to a suicide rate three times higher than the rest of the population.
56.6 per cent of victims were aged under 35; and more than half of these suicides from 2020 to 2024 took place in regional areas.
This contrasts with the rest of the population, where two-thirds of suicides occurred in metropolitan areas.
Sheree Lowe, the executive director of the Aboriginal health body VACCHO [[vah-cho]], says the figures are alarming but not surprising.
If you or someone you know needs crisis support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25).
For culturally appropriate Indigenous support call 13 YARN.. a 24 hour national telephone helpline on 13 92 76 which provides support across a range of issues including mental health.
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In cricket, New Zealand has defeated South Africa by 50 runs to earn a spot in the final of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
The New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat first, making 362 in Lahore.
Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson were the stars, hitting 108 and 102 respectively.
In reply, South Africa could only muster 312, despite 100 not out from David Miller.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner took three wickets.
New Zealand will play India in the final in Dubai on Sunday night [[9 mar]].
India qualified for the final with victory in the other semi-final yesterday [[5 Mar]] over Australia, after which Australia captain Steve Smith announced his retirement from one-day internationals.
