AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 22 at 0330
UK Starmer (LONDON)
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is considering his political future after rival Andy Burnham's decisive by-election victory to parliament prompted more ministers in the governing Labour Party to call for him to go.
Struggling with some of the lowest popularity ratings for any United Kingdom prime minister in modern political history, Starmer could decide as soon as Monday whether to step aside or fight a leadership contest against Burnham, one source said.
The scale of victory Burnham won for a parliamentary seat in northwestern England on Friday has piled pressure on Starmer, with dozens of MPs and some ministers privately calling for him to set out a timetable for his departure to clear the way for the former Greater Manchester mayor.
Iran (BUERGENSTOCK)
US Vice President JD Vance says "great progress" has already been made at talks between US and Iranian officials in Switzerland aimed at hammering out a long-term peace deal.
"What the president has asked us to do is turn over a new leaf to transform our relationship with the people of Iran," Vance said in the mountain resort of Burgenstock, where the talks kicked off just hours earlier on Sunday.
"We've already made great progress over just the last few hours, and I expect that we'll make additional progress," Vance said.
The talks - dubbed the "Lake Lucerne Summit" - began on Sunday afternoon on the shore of Lake Lucerne.
According to the foreign ministry of Qatar, which is mediating between the warring countries alongside Pakistan, the initial high-level meeting involved representatives from the US and Iran as well as delegations from Pakistan and Qatar.
Flu (SYDNEY)
Australia's poultry industry is on high alert after the nation's first mainland detection of a deadly bird flu stain that could devastate the sector.
The H5N1 variant of the virus was confirmed in a sick brown skua found on a remote beach near Esperance in Western Australia, about 700km southeast of Perth.
Esperance Poultry Association president Gavin Millard said local growers and backyard bird owners were shaken by the detection and had already moved to tighten precautions.
"Everyone's quite shocked with the discovery of it," he told AAP.
The association has cancelled a poultry show planned for July and is urging owners to restrict bird movements and reduce contact with wild birds.
"There are a lot of people throughout the Esperance district and town especially who have got backyard chooks," Mr Millard said.
Economy Preview (CANBERRA)
Oil and dairy prices will shed light on Australia's inflation fight in a big week for domestic economic data.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures are expected on Wednesday to show headline and underlying inflation edged up in May as the Middle East conflict continued to impact supply chains across the economy.
Importantly, it will reveal how quickly and widely the second-round impacts of higher oil, gas and fertiliser prices were being passed on by businesses.
One item to watch will be milk.
Perishable goods tend to be first to record price increases and the prices of home-brand milk increased in very late April, said ANZ economists Madeline Dunk and Adam Boyton.
"We expect prices to have been a little higher than usual in some of the fresh food expenditure classes, such as milk, fruits and vegetables," the duo said in a research note.
Fuel (MELBOURNE)
Motorists will benefit as a cut to fuel taxes is extended for another month, although at half the previous discount.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a scaled-back extension of the fuel excise reduction, meaning petrol and diesel will be 16 cents per litre cheaper in July than they would be without the discount.
The current saving at the bowser is 32 cents per litre, brought into effect three months earlier in response to the conflict in the Middle East, which sent global oil prices surging due to the de facto closure of key shipping channel the Strait of Hormuz.
The full discount will end after June 30, having cost the federal budget an estimated $2.9 billion in lost revenue.
Mr Albanese said gradually scaling back fuel relief was the sensible thing to do.
Mideast (CAIRO)
Israeli strikes and gunfire have killed at least nine people, including a child and a journalist from Al Jazeera, in the Gaza Strip.
An Israeli airstrike killed four Palestinians, including two women and a child, in an apartment building in Gaza City, health officials said.
The attack on the building in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City on Saturday destroyed the apartment and wounded several other people, medics said.
The Israeli military said it struck a militant, without elaborating.
In another incident, Israeli forces shot and killed a woman in Beit Lahiya town further north, medics said.
An Israeli airstrike killed at least one person and wounded eight others in Khan Younis, south of the enclave.
Later on Saturday, an Israeli airstrike killed three people, medics said, including Ahmed Wishah, a journalist working for Al Jazeera, in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
IRAN (ZURICH/DUBAI/WASHINGTON)
A high-level Iranian team has arrived in Switzerland for peace talks with the US, Iranian state media reported, as US Vice President JD Vance left Washington for meetings.
The Iranian delegation was led by chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and included Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi as well as senior security, central bank and oil officials, Iranian media said.
Although the US and Iran had agreed to a 60-day ceasefire while negotiations take place, Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Saturday declared the Strait of Hormuz shut.
This could complicate talks in which both sides seek to advance an interim deal brokered by Pakistan and signed on Wednesday by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to end their almost four-month war.
UK Starmer (LONDON)
British Prime Minster Keir Starmer is expected to resign and set out a timetable for his departure, the Observer newspaper reports.
The newspaper said Starmer would quit on Monday after reaching the conclusion that his position was no longer tenable after speaking to cabinet minister, advisers, donors and trade union leaders.
Starmer was discussing the matter with his wife Victoria at his Chequers country residence before making a final decision, but that senior Labour figures expected a clear statement on his future as early as Monday, the report said.
In finance ...
Super (SYDNEY)
Superannuation is set for its most significant change in decades but a week ahead of implementation, many businesses - and potentially the clearance system itself - aren't ready.
From July 1, employee superannuation contributions must land in members' accounts within seven days of payday instead of every quarter.
Australian Tax Office data suggests as many as two in five businesses already pay contributions more often than quarterly.
For Waterfalls Cafe and Gallery owner Rachel Power in Tasmania's Mt Field National Park, the vagaries of regional tourism pushed her towards early payments well ahead of schedule.
"We've actually been paying super weekly for probably a year or two now, only because for cash flow we're very seasonal here," Ms Power told AAP.
"The market forces are pretty insane in Tasmania."
In entertainment ...
Hockney (LONDON)
The funeral of David Hockney has taken place in private with just his partner Jean-Pierre Goncalves de Lima and great-nephew Richard in attendance.
A number of memorial services for the British artist will take place from next year after Hockney, best known for works such as The Splash, A Bigger Splash, and Portrait Of An Artist (Pool With Two Figures), died peacefully at his London home aged 88 on June 11.
"We have been overwhelmed by your tributes which have meant so much to us and we wanted to thank you," his publicist Erica Bolton said.
"As we have already received so many inquiries about David Hockney's funeral arrangements and memorials, we would like to clarify that it was David's clear wish that his funeral should be attended only by his partner, JP, and his great-nephew Richard; and that their privacy would be respected.
Stewart (LONDON)
Sir Rod Stewart paused a concert to use an oxygen tank after nearly fainting onstage.
The Maggie May singer - who cancelled a number of concerts earlier this month due to health reasons - appeared unwell and was doubled over in pain while performing at the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre in West Valley City, Utah, on Friday.
Video footage shared by TMZ showed the 81-year-old star leaning on a piano and grabbing other parts of the set for support during Young Turks before staff came out with an oxygen tank.
Stewart later told the crowd he had almost fainted and made a few jokes, before finishing the show sitting in a chair.
The Hot Legs hitmaker previously cancelled his May 29 and 30 The Encore Shows residency gigs at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas at the last minute after a vocal rest order from doctors.
In sport ...
RL Roosters (SYDNEY)
Mark Nawaqanitawase has returned from his whirlwind State of Origin debut to star in the Sydney Roosters' 27-8 defeat of Cronulla at Allianz Stadium.
Sunday's win lifts the Roosters back into the top four and snaps an unconvincing run of form. Their only win in the previous five weeks had been against 16th-placed Canberra.
The Roosters' returning Origin contingent were in the thick of the action in a clash of top-eight hopefuls.
NSW fullback James Tedesco played through a broken nose suffered in a collision with Sione Katoa that required constant attention from the Roosters' trainer.
Queensland's game two man of the match Sam Walker threw the last pass for Billy Smith to touch down, then came up with a try-saving tackle on Billy Burns.
AFL Saints (MELBOURNE)
St Kilda's 22-point defeat to the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium has been compounded by injuries to key duo Jack Sinclair and Tom De Koning.
Smashed in their last three outings against the Bulldogs, the Saints were forced to deal with adversity from the start on Sunday when Sinclair went down in the first quarter and De Koning in the second.
St Kilda battled on bravely and stayed in the contest until late but the Bulldogs' early buffer was enough as they secured a crucial win, 12.11 (83) to 8.13 (61).
St Kilda insisted Sinclair hurt his calf, but they would have serious concerns over an achilles injury after they put his foot in a moon boot when he hobbled from the field in pain.
Ends Bulletin
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