What’s making news today
Hello and welcome back to our rolling coverage of Australian and world news this Friday, November 13. Here’s what is making headlines today.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s controversial $6 million election promise to a golf club in his electorate was based on rough estimates and internet research, a Senate inquiry heard yesterday, raising fresh questions about the allocation of taxpayer funds in the PM’s seat.
- Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen has defended the cost to Australian taxpayers for his trip to this year’s COP31 summit in Turkey, including the tens of thousands of dollars spent on offering free coffees at the conference. He told reporters yesterday it was originally Opposition Leader Angus Taylor’s idea to make the offering back when he was minister for energy in 2021.
- Meanwhile, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg slammed Australia’s net zero pace as she broke her recent boycott of COP conferences to denounce this year’s leadership for losing control of rising temperatures.
- And Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has resigned after he had two extramarital affairs, including one with a suspected Chinese spy.
Trump pulls Vance off Iran talks to focus on Democrat-state ‘corruption’
Washington: US President Donald Trump said the US does not need a deal with Iran and directed Vice President JD Vance, who has played a role in efforts to resolve the war, to focus “his complete and total attention” on alleged crime and corruption in Democratic-run cities and states.
Trump’s directive came a day after The Wall Street Journal reported that Vance was considering face-to-face peace talks with a hard-line Iranian security official and a week after the vice president blamed the costly war with Iran for Republicans’ midterm elections drubbing.
“We don’t need a deal with Iran. Those days have long since passed. We’ve got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we’ve got their Strait!” Trump wrote on social media, referring to the Strait of Hormuz.
Vance has long been seen as sceptical of the war the US and Israel launched on Iran in February. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Petrol prices tumble as global oil cost falls
Australian motorists are finally seeing some relief at the petrol pump, new analysis shows, as steep falls in global oil prices start flowing through to service stations, wiping roughly 20¢ a litre off local fuel costs so far this month.
For the first time since August, average petrol and diesel prices have started to tumble nationwide, driven by a sharp 20 per cent drop in the cost of Tapis Crude, Australia’s regional oil benchmark, over the past fortnight.
NRMA figures to be released today show the national average for regular unleaded has fallen by almost 22¢ since late October to $2.23 a litre. Diesel prices, meanwhile, have fallen by more than 20¢ to $2.71 a litre. At some service stations, unleaded has now dipped back below the $2 mark.
The price retreat comes as markets are responding to a long-awaited lift in Middle East oil shipments and signs that Donald Trump wants to de-escalate the Iran war following his party’s heavy losses in the United States midterm elections.
Read the full story here.
What’s making news today
Hello and welcome back to our rolling coverage of Australian and world news this Friday, November 13. Here’s what is making headlines today.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s controversial $6 million election promise to a golf club in his electorate was based on rough estimates and internet research, a Senate inquiry heard yesterday, raising fresh questions about the allocation of taxpayer funds in the PM’s seat.
- Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen has defended the cost to Australian taxpayers for his trip to this year’s COP31 summit in Turkey, including the tens of thousands of dollars spent on offering free coffees at the conference. He told reporters yesterday it was originally Opposition Leader Angus Taylor’s idea to make the offering back when he was minister for energy in 2021.
- Meanwhile, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg slammed Australia’s net zero pace as she broke her recent boycott of COP conferences to denounce this year’s leadership for losing control of rising temperatures.
- And Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has resigned after he had two extramarital affairs, including one with a suspected Chinese spy.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
