TRANSCRIPT
- Donald Trump's 10 per cent tariff comes into effect for Australia and other countries
- Labor pledges $2.3 billion for a household batteries plan to reduce power bills
- Brawling NRL fans face stadium bans
US customs agents have begun collecting President Donald Trump's 10 per cent tariff on all imports from many countries, including Australia.
Higher levies on goods from 57 larger trading partners due to start next week.
Hidetoshi Tashiro is the chief economist at Infinity LLC, a Japanese consulting firm advising stock trading and real estate management.
He says the 24 per cent tariff announced for Japan will be very damaging - not only for Japanese companies, but also for the US economy.
"This tariff policy will only add fuel to the fire, rather than extinguishing it. In the current environment of severe high prices in the US, the life of US citizens will become even more difficult. The production of exported goods from various countries will decrease. This tariff policy is completely unreasonable for the development of the global economy, and even for the development of the US economy itself."
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised that if re-elected, Labor will reduce the cost of installing a typical home battery by 30 per cent from July 1.
Batteries store power from solar panels for households and businesses to use when needed.
The proposed discount would reduce the upfront cost of the 11.5-kilowatt-hour battery purchased for a household by $4,000.
Small businesses and community facilities would also be eligible for a battery discount.
Labor says it expects the discount to help see 1 million new batteries installed by 2030 under the plan.
The measure is estimated to cost $2.3 billion over the forward estimates, including in the 2025-26 budget.
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Footage from a slain Palestinian medic appears to contradict Israeli claims about the deaths of 15 medics in southern Gaza on the 23rd of March.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society recovered the mobile phone of one of the men killed which shows an almost seven-minute interview filmed from inside the moving vehicle.
It shows clearly marked ambulances driving at night, using headlights and flashing emergency lights. The vehicle is stopped, pulling up alongside an ambulance that had come under fire earlier.
Then gunfire erupts and the screen goes black.
Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani says troops opened fire on vehicles that had no prior clearance to enter the area, and were driving with their lights off.
Paramedic Munzer Abed survived the attack.
He confirmed the veracity of the video - and says he rejects Israel's account of what happened.
"There was heavy shooting directly at us in the vehicle. I took cover, going down in the cabin, in the backseat to protect myself from the shooting. I didn't hear a sound from my colleagues . I didn't see them because I was then surprised by people speaking Hebrew, who turned out to be special forces from the Israeli army, wearing their uniforms, and with guns and night vision goggles. They opened the side door, in the back, (leading) to me and they kicked me out of the vehicle. They made me take off all my clothes, then they let me put on my underwear."
The Israeli military says it did not randomly attack any ambulances, insisting they opened fired on who they believed were Hamas militants approaching them in suspicious vehicles.
Israel says a review is being conducted into the incident.
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Aid organisations have been praised for their humanitarian response to Myanmar's devastating earthquake as the death toll continues to climb - now reaching over 3300.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights says aid groups have been acting with courage, skill and determination to help the survivors, despite reports the junta has been restricting aid supplies to quake-hit areas where communities did not back its rule.
The UN's aid chief Tom Fletcher says the population has already been struggling to cope with widespread food insecurity and displacement caused by the post-coup civil war.
Volunteer aid worker Zaw Win says they are also concerned about how to prevent disease.
“We are concerned that diseases like cholera could break out in the community. The big issue is to manage trash properly as people are staying on the street and throwing away a lot of waste. That is the concern for people in the city.”
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Brawling NRL fans could face the prospect of stadium bans following a clash between supporters at Friday night's classic match between rivals South Sydney and the Sydney Roosters.
A Venues New South Wales spokesman says anyone found to be committing brawling offices will be dealt with by police, and face being stopped from coming to future events.
New South Wales Police have confirmed officers were called to a section of Accor Stadium during the second half of the game.
Footage on social media also shows a number of those allegedly involved trading blows in the stands before several security guards stepped in.
