TRANSCRIPT
- US President Donald Trump says he is considering abandoning attempts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
- Labor promises to protect penalty rates for those working during the holiday period.
- And in NRL, The Bulldogs beat South Sydney 32-nil.
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United States President Donald Trump says he is ready to abandon attempts to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal unless there are clear signs that a deal can be done soon.
It comes after U-S Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Trump was still interested in a deal but had many other priorities and was willing to move on within days unless there are signs of progress.
Mr Trump promised during his election campaign to end the war in Ukraine within his first 24 hours in the White House, going on to suggest a deal by April or May at the latest.
Now, he says he still has a good chance to end the conflict but he's also ready to "take a pass" if either Russia or Ukraine makes it too difficult to end the conflict.
"If for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say you are foolish, you are fools, you're horrible people, and we're going to just take a pass. But hopefully, we won't have to do that. Now, Marco Rubio is right in saying that we're getting - we want to see an end. Nobody's playing me. I'm trying to help . You know, this was Biden's war, by the way. By me getting involved. You know, they'll say, Oh, it's Trump. This is not Trump's war. This is a war that should have never happened."
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Labor has promised it will protect penalty rates for those working during the holiday period if it wins the next election.
This would prevent business groups, such as the Australian Retailers Association, from applying to the Fair Work Commission to cut the provisions from award agreements.
The Australian Retail Association earlier in 2025 submitted a proposal for some staff at large companies to opt out of penalty rates in exchange for a 25 per cent raise.
Employer lobby Australian Industry Group has backed a similar push for the clerks and banking awards.
Around three million workers would be affected if Labor succeeds in legislating to protect penalty rates.
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At least four people have died at the start of the Easter long weekend in separate drowning incidents across Victoria and New South Wales.
In Victoria, a woman has died and a man is missing from Punchbowl Rocks Beach at San Remo near Phillip Island.
And in New South Wales another three people have died after drowning in Eden, on the far-south coast, Wollongong, south of Sydney and Middle Head in Sydney's suburb of Mosman.
Andrew Crow is from the Woolamai Beach Surf Lifesaving club.
"You need to read the signs. If you're at the surf beach, go to a patrolled beach. If they are patrolled, there's flags up, there'll be people there to be looking out for you. Stay away from the rocks on the edges. Rivers can also be dangerous, you know - we want people to stay safe."
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An investigation into a violent kidnapping continues after police found the body of a woman inside a torched car after her eight-year-old son was severely assaulted.
Police say the discovery came after five men broke into a 45-year-old woman's Bankstown home, in Sydney's southwest on Thursday night and severely assaulted both her and her son, police said.
The kidnappers, who had firearms, assaulted an eight-year-old boy who has been placed in an induced coma after undergoing surgery for serious head injuries.
Superintendent Adam Dewberry from Fire and Rescue New South Wales says emergency workers were quickly on the scene.
"Now our firefighters were out to contain and cut that fire off. It took about 40 minutes. Now with all these sorts of fires, we always have an inspection with the vehicle including the booth or luggage areas, depending on cabin obviously to check for anyone. We do thousands of car fires each year and never locate anyone but unfortunately there was someone in the cabin of this vehicle."
