Trump, Albo do $8.5b deal; major outage hits internet; space debris in WA
Published: October 20, 2025
Trump, Albo do $8.5b deal; major outage hits internet; space debris in WA
News in brief
Websites and apps including Canva, Snapchat, Roblox and Amazon itself are coming back online after a major outage hit Amazon Web Services late yesterday, disrupting internet services for millions of users worldwide.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose almost half a per cent to 9032 points yesterday, led by the bourse’s biggest company, the Commonwealth Bank, which jumped 2.6 per cent. Westpac and NAB rose by one per cent, and another financial, QBE, surged by nearly four per cent.
Independent candidates with the biggest financial backing did not always get elected at the May federal election, and Climate 200 and individual donors provided a record $27 million into independent community campaigns.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration has raised concerns about the reliability of sun protection testing from a well-used British laboratory, with several popular brands not achieving their advertised SPF 50 rating.
Suspected space debris has been found burning near an outback West Australian mine site. Authorities don’t know where it came from, though they are confident it wasn’t from a domestic aircraft.
French police are searching for four suspects believed to have stolen royal jewellery of “inestimable” historical value from Paris’s Louvre Museum on Sunday night.
Fear-o-meter
After four phone calls, a brief encounter in New York and one cancelled meeting in Canada, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese finally got his formal meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House this morning.
He didn’t get everything he wanted, with the $US368 billion AUKUS deal not getting the full green-light, although Trump indicated it would go ahead.
But Albanese did get the all-important photo opportunity and plaudits from Trump, who said he was a great friend of the US and doing a great job as Prime Minister.
Trump got what he wanted – a rare earths and critical minerals deal, though details of that are sketchy. What we do know is the deal is worth $8.5 billion and will involve joint projects between the two countries, and investments by the US in Australia and vice versa. Its goal is to improve the supply of rare earths and critical minerals to the US.
Albanese will head home this week happy he can ward off criticism that he hasn’t done enough to appease Trump. Job done.
Fear & Greed Q+A today
On the 'third industrial revolution', the role of government in helping Australia harness the power of AI, and what it means for human creativity:
Zhao: I think I want to separate our creativity from taste. Creativity is kind of like... people always think drawing is creativity, but an AI image model can draw better than humans can. I would say my definition is the point of view of the world. The one direction you want to create a piece of art or piece of business that's unique in the world. If you get something written by ChatGPT, it feels like something just run-of-the-mill. But you have a new unique idea that you want to push out - that's your taste. I think that will be valued. And if you hold on to your taste, then you need your agency and drive to make that happen. That's innately human. And that AI cannot do that today.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump’s first formal meeting this morning was full of praise for each other and ended with the signing of a rare earths and critical minerals deal. Trump offered plenty of platitudes for Albanese, describing him as a friend who was doing a great job as prime minister. He also said Australians were amazing allies to the United States. Albanese said it was a great honour to be invited to the White House and praised Trump for “an extraordinary achievement” in bringing about a ceasefire in the Middle East.
Greed-o-meter
| Rank | Celebrity |
|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Irwin |
| 2 | Andy Lee |
| 3 | Hamish Blake |
| 4 | Rebecca Gibney |
| 5 | Dr Chris Brown |
| 6 | Glenn Robbins |
| 7 | Manu Feildel |
| 8 | Marcia Hines |
| 9 | Todd Woodbridge |
| 10 | Poh Ling Yeow |
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Robert Irwin has topped the list of the most popular broadcast personality for the second year in a row. The Australian Talent Index is used by the marketing industry to measure appeal of public individuals. And the most controversial personality? That would be radio presenter Kyle Sandilands.
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Source: The Australian Talent Index by TalentCorp