SBS News In Depth

Diplomatic efforts to help end the war in Ukraine are picking up speed but a number of important obstacles remain, keeping peace out of reach. Following a meeting between United States President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy there are now efforts to call a trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the issue of control over Ukraine's eastern territories, post-war security assurances and the fate of tens of thousands of abducted Ukrainian children remain unresolved.

A senior Israeli official says the government stands firm on its call for the release of all hostages in any future Gaza ceasefire deal, after Hamas accepted a new truce proposal. Mediators are awaiting Israel's official response to the proposal that Qatar says is "almost identical" to one already accepted by Israel.

Ukraine and its European allies have been buoyed by Donald Trump's promise of security guarantees for Kyiv to help end the war in Ukraine but face many unanswered questions, including how willing Russia will be to play ball. Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed Monday's extraordinary summit at the White House with the U.S. president as a "major step forward" towards ending Europe's deadliest conflict in 80 years and towards setting up a trilateral meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin and Trump in the coming weeks. But Academy associate for the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House, Olga Tokariuk, says the position of U.S. President Donald Trump can be manipulated and that he still sees Russia as a potential partner.

SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves speaks with Woodside Energy CEO Meg O'Neill and BHP CFO Vandita Pant following their profit results, while FTSE Russell Julia Lee goes through the day's market action including why investors slammed CSL.

The latest diplomatic crisis between Israel and Australia is threatening to undermine a 76-year relationship. The Albanese government's decision to recognise a Palestinian state in an upcoming meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, combined with its denial of a visa for an Israeli politician, has led to significant backlash. The Israeli government is accusing the Australian government of inciting antisemitism and has now revoked visas for Australian diplomats in the occupied West Bank.

United States President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have held a meeting at the White House. The leaders have expressed hopes that trilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin could be on the cards in the hope of ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Wednesday August 20th is World Mosquito Day - and it may seem strange to set aside a day for an insect which accounts for around a million deaths a year. Nearly 700 million people contract mosquito-borne illnesses every year. The mosquitoes act as vectors, carrying bacteria, viruses, and parasites that cause illness in humans. Malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, Zika virus, West Nile virus, and Japanese encephalitis are some of the most prominent diseases spread by mosquitoes. Things have improved, however - according to one survey, nearly half the world population was at significant risk from malaria in the 19th century with a 10% mortality among those infected. Today, it's feared global warming could potentially lead to a wider spread of mosquito-borne diseases due to increased mosquito populations and geographic range. Professor Beth McGraw is the head of biology at Penn State University in the US - she admits having a special day for such a killer seems odd at first glance.

SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves takes a look at the stock that surged 2900 per cent in one day, and discusses the day's market news with David Walsh from Sarto Advistory.

Top economists, business leaders and unions will gather in Canberra this week to attend a national roundtable on boosting Australia's productivity. It comes as Australia has followed other advanced economies and recorded consistently low productivity growth in the past several decades. Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers says has a realistic, but also optimistic expectation of the roundtable’s outcomes

European leaders are set to join a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and United States President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine. The UK, Italy, Finland and France will attend the meeting in support of Ukraine's President, who is under pressure from the U-S to accept a quick peace deal. It follows Mr Trump's face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, which did not include Ukraine, and ended without achieving a ceasefire.

AI systems can do amazing things, but they can sometimes suffer from a drawback called “catastrophic forgetting”. Researchers at Arizona State University hope to learn how to solve the problem by probing the brains of sleeping bees. The pay-off could be more reliable, more memory-efficient artificial intelligence. When AI systems learn one task — say, how to recognize dogs — and are later trained on a new task — like identifying cars — they often forget the first thing they learned. This is called ctastrophic forgetting. Ted Pavlic is an associate professor of computer science and engineering in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU, with a joint appointment in the School of Life Sciences. He leads a unique interdisciplinary research project that blends biology and computer science.

The suffering caused by the war in Gaza has grabbed the world's attention. But that suffering isn't just limited to the enclave's human inhabitants.

A team of researchers say they’ve found fossils that add two new ancestors to our human family tree. While these two creatures appeared to have lived at the same time - and in the same place - they are two distinct, different hominins. The team says one set of fossils appears to be a fit for the genus Homo. That’s the same genus as modern humans. The other seems to fit Australopithecus, the same genus as the famous Lucy fossil. Fossil teeth and bones from both creatures were found at Ledi-Geraru in Ethiopia. It’s a desert site about 30 miles from where the famous Lucy fossil was found. But the research team concluded that the Ledi-Geraru Australopithecus teeth are a new species, rather than belonging to Lucy’s species, Australopithecus afarensis. The new Homo teeth also don’t appear to match any known Homo species. These new fossils date between 2.6 and 2.8 million years ago, and shed new light on human evolution. They are younger than the Lucy fossil, which is dated as being about 3.2 million years old. In this edition of Weekend One on One we hear from two members of the research team, Chris Campisano and Kaye Reed from Arizona State University in the US.

After an almost three-hour meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Donald Trump emerged with no deal to end the war in Ukraine. Mr Trump says he sees the next step as a three-way meeting with Mr Putin, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy - and potentially himself.

Junior rodeo riders from New Zealand, the US and Australia have been competing in this year's Mount Isa Rodeo in outback Queensland. These young athletes are among the 700 competitors taking part in the biggest rodeo in the Southern Hemisphere.

As international aid dwindles, refugees worldwide face worsening food insecurity. Among thousands displaced by ongoing conflict in Myanmar, experts warn a humanitarian crisis is looming. Those who’ve found refuge in Australia are working to keep culture alive.

SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves speaks with Cochlear CEO Dig Howitt after the group's full-year results annoucement about the future of implants, while Stephanie Youssef discusses the role of EVs with CAR Group CEO William Elliott; while Grady Wulff from Bell Direct goes through the numerous records the Australian sharemarket hit during the week.

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin face off for the first time in six years, with the future of Ukraine hanging in the balance. Anthony Albanese announces Australia will recognise a Palestinian state, sparking praise and condemnation. Plus, the Haitian gang leader with a US$5 million bounty on his head, and the world’s worst would-be assassin?

Experts are warning of the dangers of battery fires. They say there were more than 500 battery fires globally in electric bikes, scooters and skateboards just in the first six months of 2023, causing 138 injuries and 36 deaths.

Wildfires continue to rage across southern Europe, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes. In Spain, a third volunteer firefighter has died from severe burns, and as residents across the continent grapple with the loss of homes and possessions, the E-U has sent assistance to Greece, Spain, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania.

Thousands of people have gathered in Tel Aviv for a concert to honour the victims of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on the Nova music festival in Israel. The event comes as international aid agencies continue to call for more essential humanitarian relief to reach people struggling in Gaza as the war between Israel and Hamas militants continues.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, Australian time, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will sit down for a one-on-one meeting in Alaska, talks the US President hopes will lead to a ceasefire in Ukraine. The Russian leader has praised what he called ‘sincere efforts’ by the US to end the war… and floated the prospect of a nuclear arms deal. Kyiv and its European allies have urged Trump not to make any deals that carve up Ukrainian territory and put the continent’s long-term security at risk.

Advocates in Australia are calling on the federal government to expedite and conclude the outstanding visa applications filed by Afghans who were employed with Australia's mission in Afghanistan.

SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves speaks with Origin Energy CEO Frank Calabria following the company's profit results and discusses everthing from the direction of power prices, the energy transition and electric vehicles; Justin Smirk from Westpac goes through the day's labour force data; and Damien Boey from Wilson Asset Management look through the day's market action including the deluge of profit reports released.

Wildfires fanned by an intense heatwave and strong winds continue to rage across Europe. The fires have ripped through villages across the continent, forcing thousands to flee their homes in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Albania.

Aid convoys are trickling into Gaza through the Rafah crossing amid mounting claims of Israeli obstruction, with drivers reporting repeated rejections over minor issues. The slow deliveries are deepening the humanitarian crisis and leaving displaced residents to endure the summer heat, as the death toll rises and calls for an immediate ceasefire grow louder.

Donald Trump has warned of ‘severe consequences’ if Vladimir Putin blocks peace in Ukraine, while also suggesting Friday’s Alaska meeting could be followed by a second summit that includes Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But there are already signs the Russian leader’s not in the mood for compromise and President Zelenskyy has warned Putin is ‘bluffing’. European leaders, who had feared the American President could sell out Ukraine, now say they’re confident he will push for a ceasefire.

Ahead of the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, a Chatham House analyst is saying Ukraine will not accept any deal imposed without its participation. U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to discuss a possible deal to end the war in Ukraine when they meet on Friday. Jaroslava Barbieri, Research Fellow at the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House, points out that Trump has said any peace deal would involve "some swapping of territories to the betterment of both" Russia and Ukraine, prompting consternation in Kyiv and European capitals as virtually all the territory in question is Ukrainian.

The federal government has announced there'll be 22 grants made to social enterprises to help support marginalised communities. It's part of an $11 million investment aimed at tackling issues like long-term unemployment and discrimination.

SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves speaks with Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn about the bank's record $10.3bn full-year cash profit and finds out what it means for investors, plus his future AI plans for the bank; David Rumbens from Deloitte Access Economics goes through the latest wages data from the ABS including why productivity is key; and Jun Bei Lui from TenCap goes through the sharemarket action including her take on the latest corporate profit results.

Donald Trump is pulling hard on the levers of power to strengthen Republicans through redistricting in Texas and other states. The president's efforts have lit a fuse in multiple states, triggering a high-stakes tussle over election law that could up-end what is expected to be a fierce fight for control of the House of Representatives in 2026.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ruled out ceding territory to Russia, and says a lasting peace deal cannot be secured without Ukraine. His remarks come ahead of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Alaska later this week.

Public health experts have raised concerns about the beliefs and behaviours of individuals of reproductive age on social media. In a recent study, La Trobe University researchers looked into the rise of contraceptive misinformation on TikTok.

Last summer's marine heat wave was the largest and most intense on record in Western Australia, says a new report from the Australian Institute of Marine Science. The sustained heat has caused unprecedented bleaching across Western Australia's reefs, with experts saying it could take months to uncover the full extent of the damage.

As Australia prepares to recognise a Palestinian state, some hold concerns that it's a distraction from what is happening on the ground in Gaza. Other groups have criticised the move, which they say rewards Hamas for the October 7 attacks.

SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves speaks with NAB's Gareth Spence to find out why the RBA cut interest rates and if there are more to come, Sally Tindall from Canstar looks through the impact for borrowers, while Michael Jenneke from UBS Wealth Management discusses what it means for investors.

Protesters have marched through Ramallah in the West Bank, after Israel's military confirmed it had targeted and killed Al Jazeera journalist, Anas Al Sharif in Gaza. The 28 year old journalist was killed in an airstrike along with four Al Jazeera colleagues, and two others. As Palestinians mourn the deaths, Israel's plan to take control of Gaza City continues to draw condemnation from leaders both outside and within Israel.

United States President Donald Trump has begun a federal takeover of Washington D-C, seizing power over local law enforcement and deploying 800 National Guard troops to the US capital. The President claims his actions are necessary to, as he put it, "rescue" Washington from a purported wave of lawlessness, despite statistics showing violent crime is rapidly declining.

A chikungunya outbreak in China has infected more than 7,000 people. Chikungunya causes fever and joint pain, but in some cases can be fatal. There is no vaccine or real treatment. Epidemiologist Jason Rasgon, from Penn State University, explains how the disease is transmitted, and why it seems to be spreading to new areas. The chikungunya virus is not currently endemic in Australia. There have been no locally acquired cases, though mosquitoes capable of spreading the virus are present in some areas of Queensland, and travellers can become infected with the chikungunya virus if travelling to a region of the world where chikungunya is found.

SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves speaks with Elio D'Amato from EnviroInvest about the day's market action including why lithium miners sizzled and goes through profit results from JB Hi-Fi and CAR Group.

Wildfires fuelled by scorching temperatures and strong winds continue to rage through parts of Europe including in Scotland, Italy and Spain. More than 1,400 people have been evacuated from the Spanish regions of Castille and Leon in the country's northwest.

Australia will recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly Meeting in September. It follows similar declarations from France, Canada, and the United Kingdom in recent weeks.

Russian attacks on Ukraine's eastern regions escalate ahead of peace talks between United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. European leaders are pushing for Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to be included in the negotiations.

United Nations ambassadors have condemned Israel's plan to take control of Gaza City during an emergency Security Council meeting. The meeting was called after Israel’s Security Cabinet approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed plan on Friday, which he says will defeat Hamas and end the war. The Israeli Defence Force says it is fully mobilised and preparing for the expanded military operation, despite urgent calls for Israel to reverse the decision.

An expert is warning that U.S. President's Donald Trump "astonishing U-turn" after agreeing to meet with Putin to discuss ending the war in Ukraine is an "alarming development". In this edition of Weekend One on One, Nigel Gould-Davies, a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, explains that the symbology of holding the summit in Alaska was clear, and that the location “naturally favors Russia.”

For Jolly Duong, the goal of being a Paralympian is now in his sights.

Australia's youngest senator thinks her perspective makes her particularly qualified for the job, after a a surprise win at the election. The 21-year-old has gone from uploading make-up tutorials to sitting in parliament and chatting policy while playing Minecraft to reach electorally important younger voters. SBS News spoke to Labor Senator for South Australia, Charlotte Walker.

The International Criminal Court – or ICC - is tasked with investigating war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. But a retired Australian lawyer whose work helped establish the ICC in 2002, says some world leaders are undermining the court’s ability to hold those responsible to account. Graham Blewitt AM was the deputy prosecutor of a war crimes tribunal in The Hague for a decade, and he reflects on how alleged atrocities in conflicts such as Gaza and Ukraine could be investigated.

Around the world, fertility rates are dropping. The rate for each generation to replace itself is an average of 2.1 births per woman - and many countries are well below that figure. Does it matter? Surely reducing the population will make the Earth's resources go further? In this edition of Weekend One on One we hear from Associate Professor Michael Giarrusso from the University of Texas, who says unless this trend is reversed, the world’s population will peak in the next 40 to 60 years and then plummet, causing major global issues.

There are calls for more low-cost housing following a surge in the number of women and girls experiencing homelessness. A mother-of-two - who has lived through hardship - hopes a new project can finally get her into a place of her own.