The Briefing

Wednesday Headlines:
Another interest rate hike now twice as likely as tensions flare in the middle east
Pauline Hanson hits back at White Australia claims
Interim report into Kumanjayi Little Baby's death finds child protection failings
Victorian teachers to strike after rejected pay offer
Aussie mum of 1 in 15 million quadruplets shares social media update
Deep Dive: Victoria's Premier has spent the past few days taking on some of the biggest companies on the planet.
Jacinta Allan wants to force tech giants to reveal who's behind anonymous accounts spreading hate. She wants to clear the way for families to drag those same companies into court. And she wants to stop employers using artificial intelligence to monitor staff - right down to how often they visit the toilet.
But none of it’s been written yet, parliament is almost out of time, and some experts say the tools to fix this already exist.
In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou puts those questions to Jacinta Allan and asks whether one state government can actually take on Silicon Valley.
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Tuesday Headlines:
Israel criticises proposed Labor policy on even of national conference
Melbourne ‘ISIS bride’ granted bail
Andy Burnham sworn in as the new UK Prime Minister
Australia's ski resorts set new winter heat record
Aussie mum's 1 in 15 million birth sees her deliver identical quadruplets
Barnaby Joyce with the top contender for TV blooper of the year
Deep Dive: Now in its fifth year, it seems like there is no end in sight to the war between Russia and Ukraine, especially on the back of another round of deadly strikes on Kyiv over the weekend.
But conflict in the middle east is having an impact on how this war is being fought, and there is a sense that Putin's army is slowing down.
In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou and Dr Malcolm David discuss the latest in the Ukraine war and try to figure out what might happen next.
Further listening from the headlines:
How Australia funds Israeli settlements
Who is Andy Burnham, the man who could lead the UK next?
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Monday Headlines:
One Nation rebounds in the polls and Pauline Hanson criticised by Albo
Fighting continues in Iran as two US personnel killed
Tate brothers arrested
New rules for gov departments using AI
2026 FIFA World Cup final plays this morning
Deep Dive: More than half a million Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank - in settlements the UN's top court considers illegal, and which have kept expanding while the world's focus has been on the wars in Iran, Lebanon and Gaza.
Australia’s noticed. Last month, the government sanctioned three Israeli settlers over escalating violence against Palestinians.
But our connections to the settlements may run deeper than sanctions suggest - from West Bank wines in local bottle shops to allegations Australian charities are helping finance settlement projects.
In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Rawan Arraf, Executive Director of the Australian Centre for International Justice, to unpack life under the settlements - and whether Australia's response goes far enough.
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One and a half billion sets of eyes will be on New Jersey come Monday morning, when Spain and Argentina face off to decide who takes home football's biggest prize.
In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Ed Kavalee - co-host of SBS's nightly show Santo & Ed's Cup Fever - to get you across everything you need to know before kick-off.

They unpack Ed's theory on how both finalists made it this far, whether the World Cup is rigged, plus:
the Ronaldo-Messi era reaching its final chapter,
Donald Trump's phone call to FIFA's president, and
an honest post-mortem on the Socceroos' performance this year.
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Georgie Tunny has spent more than a decade working her way through Australian newsrooms, from an ABC cadetship to Network 10's flagship desk.
In this episode of The Weekend Briefing, Helen Smith asks Georgie what it took to carve out a place in sports journalism as a woman when the industry offered few seats at the table, the exhaustion of breakfast TV and the long road to trusting her own instincts.

She also reflects on turning 35, her time on The Project, taking on The Amazing Race Australia with her fiancé Rob Mills and her debut novel set inside the cutthroat world of television, inspired by the friendships and rivalries she's lived firsthand.
You can get your hands on Georgie’s debut novel ‘Over to You’ here.
THE WEEKEND LIST:
Listener Bec’s to-do: Phase 10 + guac for six hours with friends
To read: Angel Down by Daniel Kraus
To do: Delete Pinterest
To do: Start a Spotify account and only listen to Powderfinger
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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.