ABC News Daily

Donald Trump says “help is on its way” for the Iranians who have taken to the streets in the biggest uprising against the regime since the 1979 Islamic revolution. 

But what does he mean by help? Is Trump ready to order US military strikes as the death toll climbs into the thousands? 

Today, Hussein Ibish from the Arab Gulf States Institute on what to expect in the days ahead and the signals that a new Iranian revolution is underway. 

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Hussein Ibish, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington DC

This year’s Adelaide Writers’ Week has been cancelled following a debacle that involved a boycott by more than 180 participants, board members quitting and the event’s director stepping down. 

There was outrage about the board’s decision to remove Palestinian Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah from the rundown citing cultural sensitivities in the wake of the Bondi terror attack. 

Today, Denis Muller from the Centre for Advancing Journalism at Melbourne Uni on the damage done and what it means for free speech.    

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Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne and co-host of the Truth, Lies and Media podcast 

The former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will finish up his posting as Australia's ambassador to the United States a year earlier than expected.

He’s received thanks and praise from the Prime Minister for his work, but it’s raised questions about whether Mr Rudd's past critical comments about the US President have hastened his departure from the role. 

Today, former Australian ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos on the challenges of the posting, and Director of the ANU Australian Studies Institute, Mark Kenny on whether Mr Rudd’s position was still tenable. 

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Mark Kenny, Director of the ANU Australian Studies Institute 

Arthur Sinodinos, former Australian ambassador to the United States 

Violent anti-government protests in Iran have entered a third week, with fears more than 500 people have been killed and thousands more arrested as the regime cracks down on the unrest.

Donald Trump is now weighing-up military options and Tehran has warned of retaliation. 

Today, how seriously Iran's leaders are taking US threats, and why so many Iranians are now calling for the regime to end.

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Negin Shiraghaei, British-Iranian activist and founder of the Azadi network

Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East Correspondent for The Economist

More than three weeks since the Bondi terror attack, the federal government has announced a royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion.

Since the massacre, Anthony Albanese has resisted calls to establish an inquiry. 

But after widespread pressure continued to mount, the PM has reversed course, now defending his decision to not call an inquiry sooner.

Today, ABC political editor Jacob Greber on how the government was forced to act, and the CEO of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, Michelle Goldman on the reaction from the Jewish community.

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Michele Goldman, CEO of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies

Jacob Greber, ABC political editor 

As the Trump administration focuses on its actions abroad, political tension is escalating at home.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has shot dead a US citizen in the city of Minneapolis. 

The shooting has intensified bitter political debate over Donald Trump’s controversial immigration policy which has seen ICE raids in cities across America.

Today, advocacy and outreach director for The Advocates for Human Rights, Madeline Lohman on the reaction from residents after thousands of people took to the streets of Minneapolis.

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Madeline Lohman, Advocacy and Outreach Director at The Advocates for Human Rights

Greenland’s sovereignty could be under threat, after the White House declared using the US military to take control of the island is ‘always an option.’

It comes after President Donald Trump revived his long-running push to seize the Arctic island.

European leaders have hit back issuing a rare joint statement rejecting any threat to Greenland’s sovereignty.

Today, an expert on Arctic politics on what’s really behind Donald Trump’s long-term desire to annex Greenland and what it could mean for the future of NATO.

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Stephen Lamy, Professor Emeritus of International Relations at the University of Southern California

The deposed Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, has appeared in a New York court, facing charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy and conspiracy to import cocaine.

Both he and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

Meanwhile, the US has been blasted for the attack on Venezuela by both allies and adversaries at a meeting of the UN Security Council, as well as over President Donald Trump’s threats to expand military action in Latin America and beyond. 

Today, the ABC’s Americas Editor John Lyons on what message the US President is sending the rest of the world with his Venezuelan attack. 

We also hear from the former Chief of Operations for the US Drug Enforcement Administration on the United State’s long-held goal to arrest Nicolas Maduro for alleged drug crimes.

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John Lyons, ABC’s Americas Editor

Ray Donovan, former Chief of Operations for the US Drug Enforcement Administration

After a dramatic US military operation capping off months of escalating tensions, the former president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro is now in a New York prison.

With Maduro gone, the Venezuelan military has endorsed the interim presidency of his former Vice President Delcy Rodriguez but Donald Trump has warned she could suffer a fate worse than Maduro if she doesn’t comply with American demands.

He’s also signalled other Latin American nations could be next.

Today, a local journalist on how Venezuelans are reacting to Maduro's arrest, and a legal expert on what this brazen US military action could mean for international law.

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Professor Ben Saul, Challis Chair of International Law at the University of Sydney 

Tony Frangie Mawad, Venezuelan journalist and political scientist

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BMI, or body mass index, has long been used as a simple calculation to determine if someone is underweight, a ‘healthy’ weight or obese.

But when it was devised by a Belgian mathematician almost 200 years ago, it was never supposed to be a tool to measure health.

Now, researchers are challenging the way obesity is defined and diagnosed. Today, a look at the new approach and why there’s a global push away from BMI.

First published 10 February, 2025

Featured: Willow Moscarda, Perth studentDr Louise Bauer, Professor of child and adolescent health, University of Sydney