AAP Rolling News Bulletin for May 24 at 1400
Tax (CANBERRA)
Investor incentives should be increased, not cut, a senior Liberal says, as Labor moves to rush its once-in-a-generation tax overhaul through parliament.
Business leaders have warned the measures, laid out in the federal budget earlier in May, will lead to talent and funding moving offshore as the existing 50 per cent capital gains discount is axed in favour of a minimum 30 per cent tax rate.
The Albanese government is expected to introduce legislation to federal parliament within a fortnight that would end the discount and negative gearing for investors buying existing properties.
Opposition housing spokesman Andrew Bragg said he would increase the discount rather than remove it to get money flowing where it was needed.
"We should be looking to cut taxes," he told Sky News on Sunday.
Economy Preview (CANBERRA)
The Strait of Hormuz is still closed and supply disruptions are still pushing global prices up yet fresh data is expected to show Australia's headline inflation is on the way down.
Even so, the Reserve Bank won't be declaring mission accomplished, if the forecasts are borne out.
Economists at NAB, CBA and ANZ are tipping the consumer price index to drop from the 4.6 per cent annual rate clocked in March when fresh figures are released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday.
That's largely because of a temporary reduction in fuel taxes, rather than a softening in the underlying impulse.
Petrol prices fell about nine per cent over the month but because diesel prices still rose, NAB senior economist Taylor Nugent has pencilled in a seven per cent fall in automotive fuel.
Federal (CANBERRA)
Australia's major political parties face a "huge amount of grievance" as a leading Liberal figure concedes his party's decade of flawed policies has helped fuel the rise of One Nation.
Polling from RedBridge Group and Accent Research shows Pauline Hanson's One Nation could win up to 59 lower house seats if a federal election were held today.
The result would leave Senator Hanson's anti-immigration party as the official opposition, reducing the coalition to a handful of seats and forcing Labor into minority government.
But RedBridge analyst Alex Fein said people should reject the "reflexive interpretation" the poll - backed up by others showing a surge of support for One Nation - was lurching towards the far right.
Rather, many people were experiencing deteriorating living standards and public services, while trust in institutions such as government, media and businesses had collapsed.
US Shots (WASHINGTON, D. C.)
FBI Director Kash Patel says law enforcement authorities are responding to shots that were fired near the White House grounds.
Journalists working there on Saturday evening reported hearing a series of gunshots and were told to seek shelter inside the press briefing room, where US Secret Service officers prevented them from leaving.
Patel posted on X the FBI was is "on the scene and supporting Secret Service responding to shots fired near White House grounds".
There were no immediate reports of any injuries. The Secret Service and the Metropolitan Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for information.
Patel said officers were responding to shots fired and said he would "update the public as we're able".
President Donald Trump was inside the White House at the time.
Violence (BRISBANE)
Queensland police have shot dead an alleged domestic violence perpetrator who was armed with a firearm at a home north of Brisbane.
After midnight on Sunday morning, officers responded to an alleged domestic violence incident at a house in Narangba following reports that a man was armed and making threats.
The man made threats towards the police while holding the weapon and an officer shot at him.
Officers immediately conducted first aid and resuscitation, but the man died at the scene.
No-one else was injured in the incident.
The Police Ethical Standards Command, with oversight from the Crime and Corruption Commission, will investigate the incident
Investigations are ongoing.
Iran (ISLAMABAD)
The United States and Iran are close to agreeing on a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war, officials say, as America weighs a new round of attacks on the Islamic Republic.
Iran signalled "narrowing differences" in negotiations with the US after Pakistan's army chief held more talks in Tehran.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told journalists in India that "there's been some progress made" and "there may be news later today".
The officials and a diplomat expressed hope that a final decision on the Pakistan-prepared draft could come within 48 hours as both sides review it. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media.
They said Vice President JD Vance and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner played significant roles in helping bridge remaining gaps, and that Qatar played a key role by sending a senior official to Tehran to support Pakistan's mediation efforts.
Ebola (BUNIA, CONGO)
A tent used for treatment of the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo has been set on fire for the second time this week and 18 people suspected of infection escaped, a local hospital director says.
Unidentified people arrived at the clinic in Mongbwalu, a town at the centre of the outbreak of the Bundibugyo virus, a rare type of Ebola, on Friday night.
They set fire to a tent set up by the Doctors Without Borders charity for suspected and confirmed Ebola cases, Dr Richard Lokudi, director of the Mongbwalu General Reference Hospital, told The Associated Press.
"We strongly condemn this act, as it caused panic among the staff of the Mongbwalu Referral Hospital and also resulted in the escape of 18 suspected cases into the community," he said.
Ukraine (MOSCOW)
The death toll from a drone strike on a student dorm in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine has risen to 16, with most of the victims young women, Russian officials say, after a heated UN debate on the incident.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military to prepare options for retaliation against Ukraine on Friday after Moscow accused Kyiv of what it described as a deliberate drone strike on a college in the town of Starobilsk.
Ukraine's military denied responsibility for the attack, saying it had struck an elite drone command unit in the area and that its forces complied with international humanitarian law.
Putin said there were no military facilities in the area. Reuters was not able to independently verify what happened.
In entertainment ...
Nazir (CHAGUANAS)
A prize-winning Caribbean writer from Trinidad and Tobago is embroiled in the latest controversy involving the use of AI for a creative work, after allegations artificial intelligence was used to write a short story.
The case went viral after the publisher issued a statement saying it asked Claude, an AI chatbot, whether AI was used to create The Serpent in the Grove by Jamir Nazir.
He was one of five writers who on May 14 were declared regional winners of the prestigious 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, awarded by the London-based Commonwealth Foundation.
The final winner will be announced in June.
One judge described Nazir's language as "sublime - precise yet richly evocative - conjuring vivid, lush imagery with remarkable economy."
But people quickly began questioning whether his story and others were written by or with help from AI.
Elba (LONDON)
Idris Elba is "not in the race" to play James Bond - and never was.
The 53-year-old actor was tipped to replace Daniel Craig as 007 for years, but Elba has insisted he was never a serious candidate for the role.
Amazon/MGM Studios recently announced the search for the next James Bond is under way.
"My name's not getting thrown out, no way," the Luther star told People.
"They're going younger. And I wish them all the luck of the world. I can't wait - it's going to be amazing."
Elba insisted he was never among the contenders for the role, even though he was suggested as a possible Bond by many of his former co-stars.
"I'm honestly not in the race ever," he said.
In sport ...
Mot F1 (LONDON)
Oscar Piastri has lost more ground in the championship race after finishing fourth in the Canadian Grand Prix sprint - but McLaren could take heart from an extraordinary bust-up between Mercedes' pacesetting drivers as George Russell celebrated victory.
The gloves really looked to be off at the German team in Montreal on Saturday after young championship leader Kimi Antonelli ended up raging about what he called a "naughty" move from Russell which he felt had shoved him off the track.
The furious teenager, who went off the track twice while battling for the lead with Russell, even demanded his teammate get a penalty, and ended up being scolded by team principal Toto Wolff to "stop the radio moaning".
Ultimately, though, Russell took the victory and the eight points to Antonelli's six, which reduces the third-placed Italian's championship lead to 18 points,
Super Reds (PERTH)
Jock Campbell has scored a try with just two minutes remaining as the Queensland Reds overcame a huge scare to beat Moana Pasifika 33-31 and secure a Super Rugby Pacific finals berth.
The Reds led 26-7 early in the second half of Saturday's match in Auckland, but Moana piled on the next three tries to take the lead as a boilover loomed.
Down by five points and with the clock ticking over to the 79th minute, the Reds made the most of a scrum by swinging the ball wide before cutting it back inside to fullback Campbell for the levelling try.
Ben Volavola made no mistake with the conversion from straight in front, with the Reds holding firm for victory.
Ends Bulletin
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