1 00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:05,600 Speaker 1: Today's biggest news from The Australian. I'm Kristanamio with the 2 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: Front's afternoon headlines. The White House says Ukraine is close 3 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:12,800 Speaker 1: to signing a peace deal that will end its almost 4 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:16,760 Speaker 1: four year war with Russia. It comes after Ukraine flagged 5 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:20,120 Speaker 1: concerns with the plan, which was drafted by Special Envoy 6 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:25,319 Speaker 1: Steve Witkoff without Ukraine's involvement. Representatives from the Wartorn nation 7 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: met with their Russian counterparts in Abadhabi on Tuesday to 8 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:33,640 Speaker 1: discuss the twenty eight point proposal. Now, Ukrainian President Vladimir 9 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:37,479 Speaker 1: Zelenski wants to negotiate the final points with Donald Trump, 10 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:40,600 Speaker 1: but the US President said he'll only meet with Zelensky 11 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:44,000 Speaker 1: and Russian President Vladimir Putin when it's a done deal. 12 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: Here's White House Press Secretary Caroline leave It. 13 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:50,239 Speaker 2: The President wants this war to end. He is a 14 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 2: peacetime president. That's what he's pursuing. And today he remains 15 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 2: optimistic and hopeful, and I know our teams are working 16 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 2: around the clock to try to get this deal to 17 00:00:58,720 --> 00:00:59,080 Speaker 2: an end. 18 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: Steve Whitcoff was dispatched for further talks with Putin amid 19 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:06,319 Speaker 1: calls for him to be sacked after details of his 20 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:10,959 Speaker 1: phone conversation with Russian officials were leaked. He reportedly advised 21 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:14,199 Speaker 1: the Kremlin to praise Donald Trump to get the deal moving, 22 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 1: but the White House defended Whitcoff, who was instrumental in 23 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: securing the Middle East peace deal, in October, saying his 24 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:25,959 Speaker 1: conduct was a standard thing and how deals are done. 25 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 1: The Albansy Labor government won't say how much it's paying 26 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:32,919 Speaker 1: a handful of high flying barristers to defend a legal 27 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 1: claim by former Senator Linda Reynolds and her former chief 28 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:40,119 Speaker 1: of staff, Fiona Brown. Reynolds is suing the Commonwealth over 29 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 1: its handling of a two point four million dollar payout 30 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,759 Speaker 1: to former staffer Brittany Higgins, who alleged she was raped 31 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:50,600 Speaker 1: by a colleague in Reynolds's ministerial office in two thousand nineteen. 32 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 1: That colleague, Bruce Lamman, has always denied any wrongdoing. Brown 33 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 1: says the Commonwealth failed to protect her in the fallout. 34 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: Attorney General Michelle Rowland hasn't disclosed if the top Silks 35 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 1: are being paid more than the standard five thousand dollars 36 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: per day threshold, or if she signed off on higher 37 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 1: fees but Ruth Higgins SC, Justin Gleeson SC and Kate 38 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:18,800 Speaker 1: Eastman SC can command up to twenty five thousand dollars 39 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:23,680 Speaker 1: per day. A twenty month battle between Andrew Twiggy Forest's 40 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 1: Fortescue Mining company and three of its former executives is 41 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: expected to reach a conclusion in the Federal Court on Wednesday. 42 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 1: Fortescue claimed Michael Masterson, Bart Klojayjik and Bjorn Winther Jensen 43 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 1: stole its intellectual property and spent millions pursuing the Element 44 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:45,520 Speaker 1: zero founders in court. They also hired private detectives to 45 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:49,360 Speaker 1: spy on the trio's families and seized millions of documents 46 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 1: in raids authorized through secret court orders. But The Australian's 47 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: Margin Call columnist Nick Evans reports the case was dismissed 48 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:03,399 Speaker 1: after Fortescue failed to turn up any incriminating evidence. Inflation 49 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: jumped to three point eight percent in October, and that 50 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:09,240 Speaker 1: means further cuts to the cache rate by the Reserve 51 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:13,640 Speaker 1: Bank are looking unlikely. The RBA likes underlying inflation to 52 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: sit between two and three percent. It's the highest inflation 53 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 1: has been in more than a year, and it's due 54 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 1: to surging electricity prices. Check out those stories live right 55 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:27,079 Speaker 1: now at the Australian dot com dot au and come 56 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:28,799 Speaker 1: back to the front first thing in the morning.