Kia ora and welcome to your Tuesday summary of the key international business and political stories making headlines.
First, militant group Hamas has reportedly agreed to a ceasefire proposal in Gaza, according to sources on Al Jazeera. The draft agreement included a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 10 captives along with the bodies of several more people in return for Palestinian prisoners.
Five Israeli captives will be released at the beginning, with the other five freed on the 60th day.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN that Hamas should accept the proposal. “Israel will agree to a temporary ceasefire [and] hostage deal that would see half of the living and half of the deceased return and lead to substantive negotiations to find a path to a permanent ceasefire, which I have agreed to preside over.”
US President Donald Trump.
US President Donald Trump agreed to extend a deadline to negotiate tariffs with the European Union, the BBC reported.
Last week, Trump was frustrated with the pace of talks and threatened to raise the tariff to 50% from June 1. On Sunday, he pushed the deadline to July 9, after a "very nice" call with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.
Von der Leyen said the bloc was ready to advance talks “swiftly and decisively”.
CNBC reported that European stocks rebounded on Monday local time after a weak Friday session in response to Trump’s tariff threats.
An EU official told CNBC that European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic was due to speak with his US counterparts this week.
Meanwhile, Trump condemned the largest Russian aerial and drone attacks in the Ukraine war, the BBC reported.
Russia launched 355 drones and nine missiles overnight on Monday local time while, the previous night, 298 drones and 69 missiles were launched, killing at least a dozen people and injuring scores of others.
Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin "absolutely crazy" and criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "Everything out of his mouth causes problems. I don't like it, and it better stop."
Over the Ditch, Australian private hospital operator Healthscope collapsed into receivership and was guaranteed an additional A$100 million loan from the Commonwealth Bank to help keep the lights on, the ABC reported.
Healthscope said its 37 hospitals with 19,000 staff will operate as usual while it searches for a buyer. Receivers McGrathNicol will oversee the sale of Healthscope's hospitals to repay its lenders.
It is owned by private equity firm Brookfield, which bought it in 2019.
Finally, cheeky tourists in the Belgium city of Bruges were warned to stop stealing historic cobblestones from its Unesco-recognised medieval streets, CNN reported.
An estimated 50 to 70 cobblestones disappear every month and costs authorities about €200 per square metre to replace and fix.
Politician Franky Demon said the consequences were serious. “Missing or loosened stones create tripping hazards, and city workers must frequently be dispatched to carry out repairs.”
