Key Points
- White House moves to exclude computers and smartphones from tariffs
- Marking the first anniversary of the Bondi Junction stabbing attack
- McLaren's Lando Norris plays down talk of team's superiority
TRANSCRIPT
US President Donald Trump has decided a new 125 per cent tariff on Chinese imports will not apply to electronics, including smartphones and computers.
The administration did not give a reason for the exclusion, which will also include semiconductor devices, memory chips and a broad range of other items.
The move is a relief to major American tech companies including Apple, who would be severely impacted by the import fee.
It is the latest in a series of reversals by Mr Trump in the past week.
The US president has also declared a 90-day pause on most country-specific tariffs, after days of volatility on financial markets.
---
Iran's foreign minister says talks with the US on its nuclear program have been "constructive" with "no sharp words exchanged".
Abbas Araghchi met with Mr Trump's diplomatic envoy Steve Witkoff in Oman.
The talks are seen as an important first step in establishing whether a new deal can be struck, after President Trump pulled the US out of a previous nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers in 2018.
Mr Araghchi says negotiators plan to meet again on 19 April.
"Both sides demonstrated their commitment to advancing these negotiations until reaching an agreement that is desirable for both parties and conducted on equal terms."
---
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has shared a broadcast message on the anniversary of the Bondi Junction stabbing attack, which took place a year ago today [[13 Apr]].
He has said today is a day where we think of those who live with the memories - from store staff to the shoppers and first responders at the scene.
Mr Albanese says cruelty was met with courage during the attack that saw six people lose their lives.
"We pause to remember those whose lives were stolen on what should have been just another Saturday. Hold on to all they were and all they had ahead of them. This should not be an anniversary. They should still be here – with their families, their friends and in their communities, with all their hopes and dreams and joys that are the very essence of life."
---
Labor will build 100,000 homes for first-time buyers under a plan set to cost taxpayers $10 billion if it wins the federal election.
A re-elected Labor government would work with states and territories to use vacant or under-utilised government land to fast-track release and planning approvals to build the 100,000 homes from 2026, with buyers moving in by 2028.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Australians would also be able to buy their first home with a five per cent deposit, with the government guaranteeing the other 15 per cent.
His government would expand the existing help-to-buy scheme by increasing property price limits to reflect the average in each state's capital city and removing caps on places and incomes.
The move would mean a Sydney first homebuyer could buy a $1 million apartment with a $50,000 deposit, or a Queenslander could purchase a $850,000 home with a $42,500 deposit.
---
Opposition leader Peter Dutton's campaign in Western Australia has been overshadowed by a frontbencher stating the Coalition will Make Australia Great Again.
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has referenced the US President's Make America Great Again slogan in a rousing speech in Perth.
"We can make Australia great again, we can bring Australia back to its formal glory, that we can get Australia back on track."
But Ms Price has been quick to reject any comparison with Donald Trump, saying the media is obsessed with Mr Trump and the Coalition is not.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described the statements odd.
"They've been here making rather strange comments and policies as well, trying to borrow from another country."
---
April's full moon is expected to appear on the night skies tonight.
Matt Woods from the Perth Observatory says there are about two or three micromoons each year, and the April full moon is known as a pink moon, even though it's not pink.
Alain Brizard is an astrophysicist in the US state of Vermount.
He says a micromoon is when it's at its furthest point to the Earth.
"When the moon then continues its orbit around Earth it reaches a point called apogee, where it is the farthest away from Earth. So consequently, in the night sky, as a full moon, the moon would be smaller in size."
---
To sport and in Formula 1, McLaren's Lando Norris is playing down talks of any McLaren superiority ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix [[1am AEST, Mon 15 April]].
His teammate Oscar Piastri has clocked the fastest practice time ahead of the race, finishing the day 15 hundredths of a second quicker than Norris.
But Mr Norris says it's their performance on the day that will count.
"We've had a great start to the season, and I know a lot of things are amazing - which is a much lower speed circuit you know, a much lower speed circuit than the last few weekends. We still know that's one of our weakest areas so I'm not expecting bad things, I'm just expecting a trickier weekend than the last week."
