AAP Rolling News Bulletin for May 25 at 0300
Sci China Space (JIUQUAN)
China has sent three astronauts to its space station, one of whom will stay for a year, a record length for the country, enabling the study of long-duration human physiology in space as Beijing works towards its ambition of a crewed moon landing by 2030.
The Shenzhou-23 vessel launched at 2308 local time (0108 AEST) using the Long March-2F Y23 carrier rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China, with three Chinese astronauts on board.
Payload specialist Li Jiaying, a former Hong Kong police inspector, is the first astronaut from the city to take part in a Chinese space mission.
The other crew members are commander Zhu Yangzhu and pilot Zhang Yuanzhi, both from the People's Liberation Army's astronaut division.
Iran (WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD)
US President Donald Trump does not want to rush into any deal with Iran, appearing to dampen hopes of an imminent breakthrough in the three-month-old war that had been raised by both sides a day earlier.
The US blockade on Iranian ships on the Strait of Hormuz would "remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed", Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Negotiations are progressing and the US relationship with Iran has become more professional and productive, he said.
"Both sides must take their time and get it right. There can be no mistakes!"
A day earlier, Trump said Washington and Iran had "largely negotiated" a memorandum of understanding on a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which before the conflict carried one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
Mideast (JERUSALEM)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told US President Donald Trump Israel would remain free to act against threats in Lebanon during a phone call about an emerging agreement between Washington and Iran.
Trump said Washington and Iran had "largely negotiated" a memorandum of understanding on a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping passage that has been effectively closed since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in February.
"In last night's conversation with President Trump, the prime minister emphasised that Israel will maintain freedom of action against threats in all arenas, including Lebanon, and President Trump reiterated and supported this principle," the Israeli political source told Reuters on Sunday, asking not to be named.
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.
Ukraine (KYIV)
Ukraine's capital Kyiv has been hit by a massive strike of missiles and drones, shortly after its air force warned Russia might launch a hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile.
Explosions reverberated through the city shortly after 1am local time after the air force announced a threat of an Oreshnik launch on its Telegram channel.
At least three people were injured and several residential buildings were damaged across the city early on Sunday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.
Debris was on fire on the premises of a school in the city centre, he added on Telegram.
On Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned Russia was preparing a strike against Ukraine using the Oreshnik missile, citing intelligence from Ukraine, the US and Europe.
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.
In entertainment ...
Murray (LONDON)
Hannah Murray found the wellness business to be "seductive and addictive" during her younger years.
The 36-year-old actress - best known for playing Gilly in the fantasy series Game of Thrones - became drawn into a wellness cult in her 20s, and after surviving life in the "the underbelly of the wellness and spiritual world", Murray now stays away from the industry altogether.
"Even the tame stuff can feel quite distressing," the actress told the Guardian newspaper.
"I don't meditate any more. I wouldn't go into a crystal shop. I don't do yoga, because I don't quite know what might come up that might feel a bit too woo-woo for my personal threshold. But I realise now how pervasive it is.
"How often people you don't know will offer it as a remedy. You'll say, 'I'm not really sleeping,' and they'll say, 'Have you tried meditation?' It's everywhere, seen as an inherently positive solution. And there are harmless or positive versions.
Cyrus (LONDON)
Miley Cyrus has always found fame felt "really natural".
The 33-year-old pop star - who first found fame as a child - is the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, and Miley insists she's never really struggled with the pressures of success.
The chart-topping singer emerged as a teen idol with her portrayal of Miley Stewart in the Disney series Hannah Montana between 2006 and 2011.
"Because I grew up around my dad, being on tours and being on sets, it felt really natural to me. I never felt like a fish out of water," she told Variety.
"People were really shocked about that, like, 'When you got to Los Angeles, was your mind blown?' I never like to think I was jaded, but being around show business, I had less of an infatuation with Hollywood.
In sport ...
TEN OPEN AUST (SYDNEY)
James Duckworth has become the first Australian to advance at this year's French Open after his opponent Gabriel Diallo pulled out injured in the second set of their opening-day encounter.
The 82nd-ranked Duckworth took the first set 6-3 against his 49th-ranked rival in 43 minutes at Roland Garros on Sunday.
Duckworth then raced out to a 4-1 lead in the second set, but Diallo was struggling to keep up as his fitness issues deepened.
The Canadian had been battling lower back problems leading into the tournament and had reportedly cut a finger on a glass bottle just days before this first-round match.
Duckworth will now meet 29th-ranked Spanish young gun Rafael Jodar or American Aleksandar Kovacevic, who's ranked No.67.
The 34-year-old Duckworth and 24-year-old Diallo each held their serve early in the first set before Duckworth secured the first break - to 15 - to go up 4-2, after Diallo put a backhand into the net under pressure.
afl giants (SYDNEY)
A record-breaking 14-goal third-quarter blitz has powered GWS to an extraordinary 78-point win over two-time defending AFL premiers Brisbane.
The Giants held a six-point lead at halftime, but their tsunami style swamped Brisbane in the third quarter, outscoring the Lions 14.2 to 0.3 on their way to a 26.10 (166) to 13.10 (88) win at Engie Stadium on Sunday.
The onslaught eclipsed the 13.4 Essendon kicked in the third term against Footscray in 1982, and was the fourth-highest scoring quarter in VFL/AFL history.
They also registered their biggest ever score, going past the 162 points they posted against Essendon in 2023.
Captain Toby Greene kicked five goals, four of them in the third quarter, and Jake Stringer pitched in with a handful of his own.
Ends Bulletin
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