AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 22 at 1500
Metcash (SYDNEY)
Food and liquor sales have picked up and there are signs a national crackdown on illegal smoking products is working, a leading retail supplier says.
Metcash, which supplies goods to 6,500 independent stores including IGA, Mitre 10, Bottle-O and Cellarbrations, says trading was down in May as consumer sentiment softened in response to geopolitical uncertainty and cost-of-living pressures.
But food and liquor sales bounced back well in June, recovering to the same growth levels of 2025/26, chief executive Doug Jones told a results briefing on Monday.
Trading overall for the first seven weeks of Metcash's new financial year, which began May 1, had been steady, he said.
Total sales were up 1.9 per cent, with food sales climbing 1.6 per cent, liquor sales rising 1.3 per cent and hardware sales increasing 5.8 per cent.
Canada Aust (CANBERRA)
Australia will provide Canada with over-the-horizon radar technology in the largest defence export deal in the country's history.
The $2.5 billion agreement is the first time the Australian technology has been sold overseas.
The technology allows for a radar system to detect targets at a longer distance than traditional radars.
The deal was signed in Canberra on Monday between the two countries.
Canada's Secretary of State for Defence Procurement, Stephen Fuhr, said the deal formalised Canada and Australia's commitment to deeper co-operation in defence and security, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, energy, and investment.
"We've stood shoulder to shoulder for generations as the world adjusts to its new strategic and economic realities," Mr Fuhr told reporters in Canberra.
"I can't think of a stronger partner to work with more than Australia."
Legal: Ridley (SYDNEY)
A man accused of stealing a camera from one of the Bondi massacre victims has refused to answer questions after facing court for the first time.
Danny James Ridley was present moments before gunmen opened fire on a crowd of people celebrating Hannukah at Bondi Beach on December 14.
The 35-year-old is accused of using the chaotic aftermath of the alleged terror attack to steal a set of camera equipment worth $3500.
The gear belonged to 61-year-old Peter Meagher, a retired police officer who was one of 15 people killed in the attack at the Jewish festival of lights.
NSW Police allege Ridley pawned the equipment - which was later recovered - along with an SD card containing Mr Meagher's last photographs, from a home in Sydney's northwest.
Ukraine (KYIV)
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called on Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko to take concrete steps towards de-escalation of the war in Ukraine.
Lukashenko recently called on Moscow and Kyiv to end the war, saying a military victory was unrealistic for either side. At the same time, he said Ukraine had nothing to fear from Belarus and apologised to Zelenskiy for harsh comments in the past.
"Lukashenko must demonstrate de-escalation beyond just words," Zelenskiy said in an interview with Ukrainian media. A mere apology from Moscow's closest ally was not enough, he said.
"He can keep his 'I apologise' to himself - that hasn't worked since the first day of the war."
Belarus is considered Russia's closest ally.
When Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022, they also attacked in the direction of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv from Belarusian territory, but were forced to withdraw after suffering heavy losses.
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.
Iran (ZURICH/DUBAI/WASHINGTON)
US Vice President JD Vance has arrived for peace talks with Iran at a Swiss mountaintop resort as foreseen in a tentative peace deal, but the diplomacy was overshadowed by Iran's announcement it had reimposed its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
A memorandum of understanding on a path to end the war, agreed a week ago, calls for the Strait to be reopened and a halt to all hostilities, including in Lebanon, which Washington's ally Israel invaded in March.
But with little sign of an end to fighting there, Iran said on Saturday it had shut the Strait again.
US officials have disputed the Strait is closed and said 55 merchant ships had crossed it on Saturday. But on Sunday Iran's Fars news agency cited a military source as saying no new permits were being issued for ships to cross until further notice.
In finance ...
Markets Aust (SYDNEY)
Australia's share market is breaking even to start the week, as oil prices fluctuate amid tense US-Iran negotiations in Switzerland.
The S&P/ASX200 rose 1.6 points by midday on Monday to be up 0.02 per cent, to 8,828.8, as the broader All Ordinaries fell by 0.8 points, down 0.01 per cent, to 9,046.5.
"Despite the US-Iran peace deal being signed on Thursday, geopolitical risk is likely to dominate the newsflow," Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda said.
"Peace talks commenced between the US and Iran in Switzerland amidst threats to close the Strait of Hormuz after tensions flared between Israel and Hezbollah."
Energy stocks fell 0.8 per cent as oil prices eased from an overnight spike, weighing on Woodside and refinery operators Viva and Ampol.
Accent (SYDNEY)
Australia's largest shoe store chain has branded a takeover attempt by a major British retailer trying to gain more influence over its board as inadequate.
Frasers Group's on-market buy-up offer of 65 cents per share valued The Athlete's Foot, Platypus, and Hype DC owner at $390 million.
But Accent Group on Monday told investors not to sell their shares into the offer, saying that if they did they wouldn't see any price upside from its ongoing strategy to boost profits.
Its independent board also warned that the current offer offered no premium to the share price, which on Friday closed at 74 cents, and was "highly" opportunistic.
"The offer price is materially inadequate and does not appropriately reflect Accent's strategic position, medium-term growth potential or the benefits expected from Accent's strategic growth plan," it said.
In entertainment ...
Payne (LONDON)
Liam Payne's son Bear will inherit the late British singer's multi-million dollar estate.
New probate documents have confirmed the tragic One Direction star's fortune will pass to his only child following his death in Argentina from a hotel balcony fall in 2024.
The former One Direction singer, who died aged 31 after falling from his third-floor room at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires on 16 October 2024, left no will.
But under UK intestacy rules, his son Bear, now nine, was always expected to inherit the estate because Liam was not married or in a civil partnership at the time of his death.
Newly released British High Court documents revealed on Sunday by the Daily Mail now allow parts of the estate to be used for Bear's benefit before he reaches adulthood.
Arts Darwin (MELBOURNE)
Festival impresario Ben Graetz remembers dressing up as a rollerskating mosquito for Darwin's annual parade when he was a kid.
Back then, it was part of the Bougainvillea Festival, and Graetz's tradie dad would lend his truck to be transformed into a parade float each year.
The event has since evolved into the Darwin Festival, and Graetz has been appointed its next director, making him the only First Nations artistic director of a major city arts festival and the event's first homegrown leader.
"It's really exciting and a bit daunting, but I'm just so happy that I can be a locally born person leading that festival," he said.
Graetz will take the helm for the 2027 event and program its 50th anniversary celebrations in 2029.
In sport ...
Com26 Ath (MELBOURNE)
Australian sprint sensation Eddie Nketia is talking up his potential to run even faster at the Commonwealth Games after a succession of eye-catching times.
Nketia will make his Australian debut in Glasgow after switching late last year from New Zealand. He is one of the headline names in the 86-athlete track and field team named on Monday.
The 25-year-old's performances in the last few months have featured a wind-assisted 9.74 seconds for the blue-riband 100m. The Commonwealth Games record is Usain Bolt's 9.88 seconds, set at Glasgow in 2014.
Bolt set the world record of 9.58 in 2009.
Asked at the team announcement if he can run faster, Nketia replied: "I would love to - I want to run as fast as I can. If we can get a 9.6, we get a 9.6, if we can get the world record, we get the world record.
Box Paro (BRISBANE)
Liam Paro has questioned the mindset of champion Lewis Crocker and revealed he was reduced to sleeping in a car to chase his boxing dream ahead of his historic title fight chance.
The Queenslander (27-1) will seek to become a multiple-division world champion when he takes on the Northern Irishman (22-0) at Brisbane's Pat Rafter Arena on Wednesday.
Paro's shot at the IBF welterweight crown comes almost two years to the day since he upset Subriel Matias in his Puerto Rican stronghold to win the IBF super lightweight belt.
Victory would see the 30-year-old become the first Australian-born fighter since Jeff Fenech, 39 years ago, to win world titles involving the four major boxing organisations in more than one weight division.
Ends Bulletin
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