AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 22 at 0530
Federal (CANBERRA)
Labor will attempt to push through controversial changes to the tax system before parliament takes a long winter break.
Negotiations are under way between the Greens and the Albanese government on the major overhaul as parliament returns on Monday for the fortnight before the five-week recess.
A Labor-led committee handed down its final report on Friday, recommending legislation proposing changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax be passed.
On the same day, a separate parliamentary inquiry into the overhaul of the NDIS delayed its report for a second time, pushing the deadline back to Tuesday.
The Greens are withholding support for both plans, arguing the grandfathering of tax concessions is too generous while also insisting on an extension for the NDIS inquiry.
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.
Ukraine (KYIV)
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Russian forces are preparing an impending massive attack on Ukraine after strikes in different regions killed at least six people.
"Tonight and in the coming hours, it is especially important to pay close attention to air raid warnings," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address on Saturday.
"The Russians have prepared for a massive attack. Please take care of yourselves."
Russian forces have staged a series of heavy attacks on Kyiv in recent weeks and in other major cities.
Strikes on Monday killed 10 people throughout the country and badly damaged the Pechersk Lavra monastery, a 1000-year-old monastery that stands as a symbol of Ukrainian spiritual and cultural heritage.
Zelenskiy has pledged that his military would press on with its campaign of medium and long-range strikes, focused on the oil sector.
In finance ...
Economy (MELBOURNE)
Australia has the resources it needs to be a globally prosperous economy, but it is failing to convert those assets into meaningful growth, a think tank says.
Abundant renewable energy, critical minerals, a world-class research sector and ties to the world's fastest-growing region are among its advantages.
But it risks falling behind unless governments pursue more ambitious reforms to lift business investment, innovation and economic dynamism.
These were the findings of the Committee for Economic Development for Australia's inaugural State of the Nation report, released on Monday.
"We have a strong hand," the think tank said.
"However, national advantage does not convert into prosperity automatically, it requires deliberate choice."
The report found Australia's long-term economic performance was weakening across several key measures.
In entertainment ...
US Concert (NEW YORK CITY)
A 51-year-old man has fallen to his death from an upper deck of Madison Square Garden during a concert, police say.
Officers responding to a call at 9.51pm on Saturday found the man unconscious and unresponsive with injuries indicating a fall from an "elevated position," New York City Police said.
Police did not say how far the man fell but said he was in Section 300.
They declined to release his name.
The man was with his wife, according to police.
He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The rock band Goose was performing.
In a statement on Facebook, the band said it was "deeply saddened and heartbroken to learn of the tragic event that occurred".
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.
In sport ...
Wim Aust (LONDON)
It's 15 years since an Aussie kid shook up Wimbledon by reaching the quarter-finals at the tender age of 18, the youngest to get to that stage of the men's draw since the 1985 wunderkind champ himself, Boris Becker.
But now at 33 and having gone through an extraordinary undulating, polarising career during which he was once dubbed the tour 'bad boy' who'd squandered an enviable talent, Bernard Tomic is back in London, a very changed, admirable figure.
The misunderstood youngster once perceived to not care a jot about the sport is not afraid these days to admit he's a bloke who really needs his tennis as he battles on in its unglamorous hinterland, trying to return to a grand slam main draw for the first time in five years.
WC26 Aust (OAKLAND)
Watching a 10-man Paraguay eliminate Turkey has given Jackson Irvine a reminder of why the Socceroos cannot afford to get caught napping in their World Cup face-off with the South Americans.
After their loss to the United States, the Socceroos face the world's 37th ranked side in their final group D match in Santa Clara on Thursday (Friday AEST) with everything to gain.
Win or draw, and Tony Popovic's charges will finish second and head to Dallas to face the group G runners-up -- one of Belgium, Egypt, Iran or New Zealand.
Lose, and Australia face a nervous wait to discover if they're one of eight best third-placed teams to progress.
The only problem? Australia have struggled against South American opposition.
Ends Bulletin
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