Israel and Iran commit to immediate ceasefire

1.

Terminated talks: Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah agreed to halt fighting in southern Lebanon that threatened the interim agreement between the US and Iran to end the war, according to officials. However, journalists from Reuters and AP saw airstrikes in Lebanon after the truce. On X, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted that following his orders, “the IDF struck powerfully 150 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon”. “Hezbollah and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire,” a US official told Reuters. “We understand that after the exchange of fire earlier today, Israel and Hezbollah are now in a ceasefire.” Earlier, planned talks set for Friday (US time) between the US and Iran in Switzerland were cancelled at the last minute. Iranian officials did not travel to Switzerland as they insisted the fighting in Lebanon needed to stop before talks could take place. US Vice President JD Vance also pulled out of the meeting and the cancellation was so abrupt that Vance’s staff were at the airbase ready to fly before the trip was called off. However, on Friday Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said consultations through mediators were ongoing to draft a final agreement. He noted that because the initial deal was signed earlier this week, the talks in Switzerland were not urgent and there were plans to hold a meeting in coming days. (Reuters) (AP) (Reuters) (The Guardian)

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Discord dip: Global markets fell while oil rose following the cancelled peace talks between the US and Iran. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 dipped 0.2%, the CAC decreased 0.55%, the DAX dropped 0.6%, while the FTSE fell 0.35%. Gold also tumbled 1.72% to USD4155 an ounce for a third straight weekly loss. Stock markets in the US were closed on Friday for public holiday Juneteenth but S&P 500 futures declined 0.19%. Markets in Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan were also closed for the Dragon Boat Festival. Meanwhile, Brent crude rose 0.9% to above USD80 ($114) a barrel, clawing back some losses from earlier in the week. West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped 1.23% to USD77 a barrel. While oil tankers started moving through the Strait of Hormuz after the US lifted its blockage on Thursday, analysts predict it will not be smooth sailing. “We concede that there will be a number of ships eager to leave the Gulf's warm waters, and ​we think crude will struggle to find its footing amid a flurry of 'open for business' headlines, and yet we question the durability of ​the deal,” RBC Capital Markets analysts in a note to clients. (Reuters) (Bloomberg)

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Whistleblower reality: KPMG’s whistleblower has accused the accounting giant of circulating their identity inside the firm and other acts of retaliation after they aired allegations of client data being used inappropriately to win business. According to documents submitted by the whistleblower and released by the senate committee investigating KPMG’s scandal, they said in hindsight they would not become a whistleblower due to these reasons. “If I were asked, genuinely, whether I would do this again, my answer would be no.” Other reasons also included the “full range of tools available to KPMG that it was prepared to use”, inadequate legal protections, and ASIC’s limited scope to protect them given KPMG is a partnership and not a corporation. During the senate hearing on the scandal, ASIC chair Sarah Court said current protections are “deficient” and an amendment to provisions would allow a whistleblower to confidentially give ASIC books and confidential information without fear of retribution and retaliation. (Capital Brief)

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Baird Bites: Former NSW premier Mike Baird put KPMG chair Mike Sheppard on the back foot after firmly declaring that legal privilege should not apply on reports by Ashurst and Allens into whistleblower claims. Baird was one of almost 40 witnesses who fronted the Senate hearing on KPMG’s failure to address whistleblower allegations that it misused confidential client information to win contracts on Friday. Sheppard said legal privilege was needed on the documents to protect client confidentiality. Baird joined the KPMG board as an independent director in January 2024, but left in September 2025. He made clear on Friday that the board’s response to the whistleblower’s claims was a big reason. “The presentation from management was that ‘we don’t think there’s any substance to what’s been raised’. Now, were we too trusting in that position? Clearly, we were. [And] that trust stayed until we got to April,” Baird said. Baird also revealed that before leaving KPMG he offered help to the board sub-committee overseeing it after he left. KPMG said thanks but no thanks. However, later in the day Sheppard said KPMG would provide the documents after Labor Senator Deborah O’Neill said the committee had received thousands of pages of confidential material which was only put on the public record in very rare cases. (Capital Brief) (AFR)

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Leadership pathway: UK Labour MP Andy Burnham has won the Makerfield by-election by a huge margin, paving the way to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s leadership. Labour won 55% of the vote, beating Reform UK at 34.5%, Restore Britain at 7% and the Conservative Party at 2.2%. In May, Makerfield Labour MP Josh Simons resigned from the role to allow Burnham, the popular outgoing Greater Manchester mayor, a pathway to Westminster. Burnham now has the ability to challenge Starmer who has been facing a leadership crisis due to unpopular policies and his determined appointment of Peter Mandelson, who was a friend of paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, as the UK ambassador to the US. On his victory, Burnham said people had “voted for change, they have voted for more power for the north and everywhere forgotten by Westminster”. “There will be no second chance, but it is a chance now from this result tonight to build a new politics based on unity and hope, turning away from the path that takes us to a divided politics of the kind we see in the United States.” On Friday, Starmer said he would not walk away and vowed to fight any challenge from Burnham. “If there is a contest...I will stand, and I've said repeatedly I'm not going to walk away,” Starmer told reporters ​in London. (The Guardian) (BBC) (Reuters)

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World Cup: This morning, the Socceroos were defeated 2-0 against the US in Seattle in a bid to qualify for the knockout stages of the World Cup for the third time. The US team dominated the first-half with two goals leading Socceroos coach Tony Popovic to make three changes at half time to bring on Jason Geria, Connor Metcalfe and Nestory Irankunda. Despite the changes the team could not challenge US goalkeeper Matt Freese. Popovic said the team looked “sluggish and heavy-legged”. “They were quicker and more powerful. They won every duel and every second ball. When they do that it makes it difficult to gain any momentum.” But qualifying for the next round is not out of the picture. Last week, the Socceroos first round was a 2-0 win against Turkey. Their next game is on Friday against Paraguay in San Francisco and whether they progress depends on this game. With Turkey playing Paraguay later today, a win by the Socceroos on Friday should be enough to secure a knockout spot — though it could come down to a goal difference. (ABC) (The Guardian) (SMH)

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Startup carveout: Labor revealed capital gains tax carveouts for startups and small businesses minutes before On The Call went live. During the episode, ideas editor James Hennessy, VC and startup correspondent Bronwen Clune and host Harshdeep Kaur discussed the changes including how the government defines a startup eligible for concessions. The government has faced weeks of pressure, particularly from the startup sector in response to the CGT overhaul announced in the federal budget. The fight has brought startups to a level of public attention the sector hasn't previously enjoyed. But Bronwen explained, the challenge for the sector moving forward is how it deepens its ties with Canberra. The conversation also turned to Bronwen’s story this week about Canva’s first investor Bill Tai and his candid comments about the bear case for the company. In leaked communications, Tai conceded Canva is facing challenges on the path to its IPO, and revealed it had knocked back acquisition approaches from Adobe “countless times”. (Spotify) (Apple)