Trump sets 2-week deadline to decide on Iran strike

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TRANSCRIPT:
The White House says President Trump will decide in two weeks whether to strike Iran.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese contemplates a last-minute trip to The Hague.
In AFL, the Cats' Patrick Dangerfield will celebrate his 350th game tonight. The White House says United States President Donald Trump will decide within the next two weeks whether to strike Iran. Although, it also confirmed Mr Trump still sees a "substantial" chance that negotiations can achieve US and Israeli demands on Iran's nuclear program. The announcement, relayed by press secretary Karoline Leavitt, puts an extended timeline on the US leader's warnings to Iran to immediately shut down its enrichment operations and any other potential for producing nuclear weapons. REPORTER: "What makes him think there's still a substantial change, is my question." LEAVITT: "I'm not going to get into the reasoning and the rationale. The president believes that, but that's his position, and he will a decision within next two weeks." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has toured the site of a hospital in southern Israel, that was struck by Iran, saying Tehran would pay a "heavy price". The Soroka Hospital in Beersheba was left in flames, and 40 people are said to have sustained injuries. Iranian strikes also hit a high-rise apartment building in central Tel Aviv and other sites in central Israel. Paramedic Ori Lazarovich says evacuations are underway at the apartment building. "As you can see behind me, I am on the scene where a missile struck right in the centre of a building complex. We have five buildings that were hit by the missile. We have one which is the main building and all the other ones surrounding it, which were partially hit as well. We are currently evacuating. Minimal amount of patients. We have one serious patient with two more with minor injuries. We still have a lot of work behind me as you can see, extracting patients from all the buildings, going door from door. " Meanwhile, Israel has carried out strikes on Iran's Arak heavy water reactor — its latest attack on Iran's nuclear program. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is considering whether to make a last-minute trip to Europe to attend a global leaders' summit in an attempt to secure a meeting with US President Donald Trump. Mr Albanese arrived back in Sydney after attending the G7 summit in Canada on Thursday, and is weighing up whether to travel to The Hague for next week's NATO summit. It would offer a potential opportunity for a face-to-face conversation with Mr Trump, whose early departure from the G7 meant the two leaders did not meet as planned. Foreign Minister Penny Wong has told the ABC all options are being considered. "In relation to NATO, the Prime Minister has said he's considering whether to go to NATO or not, and I just want to emphasise we have a very challenging situation globally at the moment. We have a war in Europe and a war in the Middle East. Obviously, this is absolutely a time countries of the world should be working together. The Prime Minister is considering the NATO summit in the context of all that is occurring in the world." An extension to NSW anti-protest laws is being challenged in the state's Supreme Court. Activist Josh Lees has taken the NSW government to court over the new laws on behalf of the Palestine Action Group, challenging police powers to move people on during protests deemed to be near places of worship. The legislation was introduced by the state government in February as part of a suite of new racial hate laws, after a number of antisemitic attacks took place across the country. It has attracted criticism for being rushed and too broad — and granting police an unconstitutional level of power — but NSW Premier Chris Minns says they're necessary. "We haven't banned protests in New South Wales, but we have said that you've got a right to practice your religion in the state, and you've got a right to practice your religion in a place of worship, free of harassment, vilification, or intimidation. And I know that there's a right to protest, but there's also a right to practice your religion. And sometimes those rights compete only in the direct vicinity of the front door of the church or the mosque or the synagogue, but something needed to change. So we think the laws are valid." The court did not indicate when its decision would be handed down. Seven additional stores in remote Aboriginal communities will receive nearly $10 million in funding under the federal government's Food Security Resilience Package. Five communities in Western Australia, one in the Northern Territory, and one in South Australia have already received funding for their local stores under the second stage of the funding rollout. It's aimed at reducing food costs in isolated areas impacted by extreme weather and limited infrastructure, and will go towards upgrading cold storage and power supply infrastructure. Now to sport, Geelong Cats' Patrick Dangerfield will have his 350th AFL game tonight, making him the 250th AFL player to reach such a milestone. The 35-year-old will be playing against Brisbane at his team's home stadium at Kardinia Park.
He's transformed from a midfielder to a more permanent forward, which he considers "a game changer".

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