What’s making headlines this morning
Good morning, and welcome to our live national news coverage for Monday July 13. Here’s what’s making headlines today.
One Nations slips in poll: Support for Pauline Hanson’s party has fallen for the first time in four months and shifted to the Coalition as women and immigrants turn their backs on One Nation.
Thai restaurant fire: A huge fire engulfed a pub in Bangkok early on Monday morning, killing at least 27 people before firefighters brought the blaze under control, officials said.
US-Iran war: US and Iranian forces have exchanged heavy missile and drone assaults, with Tehran targeting US facilities in states across the Gulf and saying it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz.
Project manager’s side hustle: In Victoria, a high-ranking project manager on Big Build projects used his position to promote a new workwear company headed by his wife that he part-owned via a family trust.
Bureaucrats’ perks kept secret: In NSW, a government department is refusing to say how much taxpayers will spend for hundreds of bureaucrats to attend a three-night “gold, grit and greatness” conference in Bathurst.
Sinner wins Wimbledon: Jannik Sinner has defended his men’s Wimbledon title to end a run of grand slam heartache and match great rival Carlos Alcaraz’s feat as a back-to-back champion on the hallowed grass.
Missile strikes resume in Strait of Hormuz
US and Iranian forces have exchanged heavy missile and drone assaults, with Tehran targeting US facilities in states across the Gulf on Sunday and saying it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.
The strikes were the latest in a cycle of attacks and counter-attacks as Iran seeks to assert control over shipping through the strait. However, the barrage marked an escalation in pace and range.
The strikes extended to Qatar, a mediator in ceasefire talks that had not come under attack since April, while the United Arab Emirates, which had not been targeted since early May, said its air defences had engaged missiles and drones from Iran.
Financial markets are facing more uncertainty after US President Donald Trump ordered a wave of strikes on Iran over the weekend and Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz to shipping.
Futures markets are pointing to a climb of 43 points or 0.49 per cent for the local bourse following markets closing higher in the US on Friday, but that was before the latest wave of strikes in Iran. The dollar was fetching US69.50¢ on Monday at 6am AEST.
Follow the latest news on the ASX here.
Trump, Netanyahu pay tribute to Lindsey Graham
World leaders are mourning the death of a giant of American politics, Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who has been remembered for his humour, staunch commitment to the Israeli alliance and friendships across the political aisle.
US President Donald Trump revealed he had spoken with Graham in the hours before his death on Saturday night US time and the senator showed no sign of ill health, other than being tired after returning from a trip to Ukraine that day.
“It could have been his last call,” Trump told NBC’s Meet the Press.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also appearing on Meet the Press, said he was in a state of shock following Graham’s sudden death.
“He was so full of energy and dedication that it’s hard to accept the fact that he is no more,” the Israeli prime minister said.
Read more here.
Mass casualties in Thai restaurant fire
A huge fire engulfed a pub in Bangkok early on Monday morning, killing at least 27 people before firefighters brought the blaze under control, officials said.
Footage shared online by first responders shows a huge blaze raging and plumes coming out of the front door of the Na Ladprao pub – also known as Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao, according to Thai media – in the Chatuchak district in the northern part of the capital.
People are seen trying to flee as thick black smoke billows into the sky. Rescuers said the fire was reported around midnight Thailand time.
Thailand Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters at the scene that 27 people died and that several of the injured have been taken to the hospital. He said the cause of the fire was under investigation.
Read more here.
Project manager’s secret side hustle
In Victoria, a high-ranking project manager on several key Labor Big Build projects used his position to promote a new workwear company headed by his wife that he part-owned via a family trust, sparking fresh calls for the state government to call a royal commission into the mega infrastructure scheme.
In what an anti-corruption and transparency expert described as a potentially blatant conflict of interest, Mathew Quinlan, a general superintendent on Big Build sites, encouraged subcontractors on government worksites to use a firm called Salus Workwear – without revealing he owned half the company.
Salus has supplied dozens of Big Build subcontractors on select rail and road projects between its founding in 2022 and 2026, when Quinlan left his role with international construction giant and Big Build contractor Laing O’Rourke.
Read the full story here.
Gloss comes off One Nation in latest poll
Support for Pauline Hanson’s party has fallen for the first time in four months and shifted to the Coalition as women and immigrants turn their backs on the One Nation leader over key elements of her policy agenda.
An exclusive Resolve Political Monitor poll shows support for One Nation has slipped three points in July to 26 per cent while support for the Coalition has risen by the same amount to 23 per cent. Labor support was steady at 28 per cent while the Greens were unchanged at 12 per cent.
One Nation enjoyed a five-point surge in support in June, with the party more popular than either the Coalition or Labor. Hanson was the preferred prime minister, her support being double that of Opposition Leader Angus Taylor.
But after a month in which Hanson delivered her first speech to the National Press Club and outlined policies including her support for an Australian “monoculture”, key metrics of her personal standing also slipped in the poll of 2252 people taken between July 6 and 11.
Read more here.
What’s making headlines this morning
Good morning, and welcome to our live national news coverage for Monday July 13. Here’s what’s making headlines today.
One Nations slips in poll: Support for Pauline Hanson’s party has fallen for the first time in four months and shifted to the Coalition as women and immigrants turn their backs on One Nation.
Thai restaurant fire: A huge fire engulfed a pub in Bangkok early on Monday morning, killing at least 27 people before firefighters brought the blaze under control, officials said.
US-Iran war: US and Iranian forces have exchanged heavy missile and drone assaults, with Tehran targeting US facilities in states across the Gulf and saying it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz.
Project manager’s side hustle: In Victoria, a high-ranking project manager on Big Build projects used his position to promote a new workwear company headed by his wife that he part-owned via a family trust.
Bureaucrats’ perks kept secret: In NSW, a government department is refusing to say how much taxpayers will spend for hundreds of bureaucrats to attend a three-night “gold, grit and greatness” conference in Bathurst.
Sinner wins Wimbledon: Jannik Sinner has defended his men’s Wimbledon title to end a run of grand slam heartache and match great rival Carlos Alcaraz’s feat as a back-to-back champion on the hallowed grass.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
