AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 1 at 1000
Iran (DUBAI)
Talks and message exchanges with the United States are ongoing, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has told state media.
We should not give importance to speculation and we can not judge the talks until we get to a clear result, Araqchi added.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said earlier on Sunday that Iran would only sign a framework agreement with the US once concrete concessions - including the release of billions in frozen accounts - had been secured.
Ghalibaf, Iran's chief negotiator, reiterated during an online parliamentary session that Iran would not accept any agreement until there was certainty that the rights of the Iranian people were safeguarded, state news agency IRNA reported.
"We trust neither guarantees nor words - only actions count. No measures will be taken until the other side acts," Ghalibaf said on Friday on X.
Ebola (BUNIA)
Five patients have recovered from a rare type of Ebola virus, the head of the World Health Organisation says during a visit to Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a city at the heart of an outbreak.
"Four people will be discharged today and there was one that was discharged the day before yesterday," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during the opening of a new Ebola treatment centre in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province.
"Of course, we're still working on vaccines and treatments but that doesn't mean that people cannot recover from Ebola," he added.
The WHO said on Friday a patient had recovered from the Bundibugyo virus, the current species of Ebola, which has no approved treatment or vaccine.
Ukraine (KYIV)
Ukrainian drones have struck targets across several Russian regions including an oil pipeline pumping station, a refinery and a fuel depot, Russian and Ukrainian authorities say in an escalating campaign of strikes against energy infrastructure often hundreds of kilometres inside Russia.
Ukraine's General Staff said it had struck the Saratov oil refinery on the Volga river, causing a large fire.
Saratov regional governor Roman Busargin said on Telegram that "civil infrastructure" had been damaged in the strike but gave no more details.
"During the night, our soldiers applied Ukraine's long-range sanctions against an oil refinery in Saratov, Russia. This is about 700km from the front line," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
Not all the drones struck their targets.
Russia's defence ministry said it had downed 216 drones overnight.
One Nation (CANBERRA)
Pauline Hanson's One Nation is the most popular political party in the country, a survey suggests.
A Redbridge Group/Accent Research poll, published on Monday by The Australian Financial Review, shows support for One Nation has risen four points to 31 per cent.
Labor's primary vote is at 28 per cent, down three points since the poll firm's last survey a month ago and the government's budget that was announced on May 12, and the coalition dropped two points to 20 per cent.
Support for the Greens dipped one point to 12 per cent and backing for the "other" category of parties rose two points to nine per cent.
Labor leads One Nation 51 per cent to 49 per cent on the Redbridge poll's two-party-preferred basis, calculated by asking respondents how they would direct their preferences.
Federal (CANBERRA)
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has launched a political broadside against the coalition, accusing it of planning a half-trillion-dollar hit to the budget bottom line.
Labor has found itself under increasing pressure in recent weeks over its decision to wind back tax concessions for investments in property, shares and trusts.
But costings released by Dr Chalmers show repealing the changes - as the coalition has promised - would cost the federal budget tens of billions of dollars in lost revenue.
The opposition's policies would cost a total of $544.4 billion over the next nine years, according to the analysis.
That includes $212 billion in lost revenue from indexing income taxes, $43.1 billion from repealing the CGT and negative gearing reforms, $44.2 billion from scrapping the new tax on trusts, $93.5 billion on increased defence spending and $50 billion from slashing Australia's migrant intake.
Housing (CANBERRA)
Home prices are falling in Australia's two largest cities as high interest rates and investor tax changes put pressure on an already soft market.
Dwelling values fell 0.9 per cent in Sydney, 0.8 per cent in Melbourne and 0.2 per cent in the ACT during May, according to data released by research agency Cotality on Monday.
While prices rose in other state and territory capitals, the growth was weaker than previously seen.
Cotality research director Tim Lawless said some of the weakness was part of the regular housing price cycle, but other factors were also playing a role.
"Late last year it was more about affordability and serviceability challenges as housing prices were outpacing incomes," he told AAP.
"Then towards the end of last year we started to see inflation accelerating, the RBA taking a more hawkish stance - that was a blow to confidence - and from there we saw interest rates starting to rise, global oil shock and now a budget has been handed down."
Oly32 (SYDNEY)
Demonstrators have returned to the site of a planned Olympics stadium as the countdown begins for bulldozers to turn sods at the contested park.
Tensions boiled over on Friday as residents of an on-site tent embassy were forcibly moved on from Brisbane's Victoria Park.
Five people were arrested, including a man tackled to the ground by officers, in what critics described as a surprise raid by police and council staff.
But it was a tamer affair on Sunday with no clashes reported when hundreds of people rallied at the sprawling park in the city's north.
Bulldozers are expected to begin clearing the way for construction of the $3.6 billion 2032 Olympics main arena as early as Monday.
Indigenous elders have declared the park a place of significance to many First Nations peoples and are calling for their concerns to be heard.
Housing (CANBERRA)
Contentious changes to taxes on property investments won't be the main driver of expected falls in prices, the housing minister says.
As auction clearance rates hit lows not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic, Clare O'Neil said it was unclear how much the planned changes to negative gearing and capital gains taxes would drive down values.
She would not guarantee a key measure of housing construction would improve under Labor's policies.
Levelling the playing field for first home buyers has been a prominent selling point of the government's tax reform package, but ministers are still putting out fires weeks after announcing the overhaul in the budget.
Asked about suggestions house prices could fall as much as 10 per cent under the plan, which pares back concessions for property investors, Ms O'Neil said the government's policies were not the main driver of the property market.
In finance ...
Economy Preview (CANBERRA)
Australia's economic growth story this year would be pretty lacklustre if not for one saving grace.
With rising interest rates and the Iran war suppressing growth across the economy, a boom in data centre investment has bucked the trend.
March quarter gross domestic product figures to be released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday are expected to show a moderate slowdown to 0.5 per cent, with annual growth tracking for 2.6 per cent.
But the figure would have been even lower without a record $8.6 billion in data centre expenditure - a rise of 96 per cent.
The national accounts data will likely show new investment accelerated to six per cent in the quarter and 10.3 per cent annually - the strongest quarterly growth since 2012 - said Westpac senior economist Pat Bustamante.
Arafura (DARWIN)
A groundbreaking rare earths project has been given the green light for fast-track development to help Australia and its allies secure crucial supplies of critical minerals.
The Arafura Rare Earths Nolans Project 135km north of Alice Springs has been declared the first Significant Project under the Northern Territory Coordinator Act.
That provides a clear and faster pathway through NT government processes for projects of profound economic significance.
The open-cut mine and rare earths processing plant will be the first integrated project of its kind in Australia, with construction expected to begin in September.
Arafura's final investment decision on May 21 to build its Nolans Project marked a major milestone as the West seeks to reduce its economic reliance on China.
In entertainment ...
Trump Centre (WASHINGTON, D. C.)
President Donald Trump has branded the federal judge who blocked his renovation of the Kennedy Center as "an anti Trump Hater" and predicted the nation's premier performing arts centre he wanted to shutter for a two-year overhaul will "soon be closed, probably never to open again".
In a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform, Trump fumed about the Friday decision from US District Judge Christopher Cooper who also ordered Trump's name removed from the centre.
Clearly angered by his latest legal setback, he said it was "impossible for me to be treated fairly", tying Cooper's ruling to earlier losses, including the Supreme Court's rejection in February of his sweeping tariffs.
His post aimed to make the case for the project even as he says he's giving up on it.
Lipa (LONDON)
Dua Lipa has tied the knot with Callum Turner in an intimate ceremony.
The singer, 30, and her actor partner, 36, married at Old Marylebone Town Hall in London on Sunday before a star-studded three-day celebration in Sicily next week, with the pair joined only by close family members as they officially became husband and wife after first striking up a romance in early 2024.
Lipa and Turner kept the legal ceremony understated despite preparations for what insiders have described as one of the biggest showbusiness weddings of the year.
The performer, whose recent Radical Optimism world tour became the biggest tour of her career and followed the success of hits including Levitating, Houdini and Dance The Night, arrived at the registry office in a Green Land Rover before exchanging vows with Callum, best known for roles in Masters of the Air, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore and The Boys in the Boat.
In sport ...
Cri IPL (PARIS)
Josh Hazlewood has again proved why he's the worldwide master in white-ball finals, spearheading Royal Challengers Bengaluru's successful defence of their IPL crown with another magnificent display in their triumph over Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad.
Hazlewood's fellow Aussie Tim David played his part in RCB's successful pursuit too on Sunday, helping Virat Kohli, the peerless 'chasemeister' himself, in a key stand as they pulled off a five-wicket victory with 12 balls remaining.
Kohli was unbeaten on 75 off 42 balls, steering RCB to their target on 5-161, but his embrace of fellow veteran Hazlewood demonstrated just how much the Bendemeer 35-year-old had earlier done to pave the way, amazingly, for his eighth successive victory in a white-ball final.
Indeed, 'Hoff' is yet to lose one.
Cyc Giro (PARIS)
Jai Hindley has roared again in the "pinnacle of cycling", making history as just the second Australian ever to enjoy three overall podium finishes in Grand Tours as he rode home for a valiant third place in the Giro d'Italia.
As new champion Jonas Vingegaard confirmed his place among the sport's all-time elite in Rome by completing his set of the three Grand Tour triumphs and dominating the 109th Giro with five magnificent stage wins, Hindley underlined why he's one of Australia's greatest.
The 30-year-old had been ill during the race, needing to take antibiotics in the second of the three weeks, yet recovered spectacularly to complete his own set of Giro podium finishes, having famously won in 2022, been runner-up in 2021 and now third.
Ends Bulletin
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