What’s making news today
Hello and welcome to our national news live blog for Monday, August 3. Here’s what is making headlines today.
- The national property market is in its deepest downturn since 2022 as interest rates, high cost of living and the May budget’s changes to property taxes combine to wipe thousands of dollars off property values.
- The government has finalised its News Bargaining Incentive legislation, increasing its digital advertising levy to 2.5 per cent in a move Labor hopes will encourage deal making with news publishers and result in more funding for journalism.
- Minister for Agriculture Julie Collins and Minister for Environment Murray Watt will provide a bird flu update later today, as the H5N1 strain spreads across five Australian states and authorities say eradicating the virus in open wildlife is now unfeasible.
- Australia has dominated the medal tally at the Commonwealth Games, and will see out the closing ceremony today in Glasgow with a staggering 70 gold medals after an extraordinary 10 days of action.
- US President Donald Trump has said the US would hold off on a fresh attack on Iran as long as a deal could be reached quickly to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
- And Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza for a second straight day on Sunday, killing at least 18 Palestinians, medics said, despite Trump’s announcement of a breakthrough in efforts to implement last year’s ceasefire agreement.
Authorities warn of first bird flu mass mortality event off SA coast
Authorities are warning there is nothing they can do to stop the spread of H5N1 bird flu through Australia’s wildlife, after another 20 cases of the deadly virus were recorded nationwide.
A cluster of nearly 50 dead birds off the South Australian coast is being probed for links to the current outbreak as fears of the first H5N1 mass mortality event grow.
As of 5pm yesterday, Australia has 62 confirmed detections of H5 bird flu in wild seabirds.
The risk to human health remains low, authorities say, but experts are concerned about the impacts that widespread infection could have on the poultry industry.
There have been no detections of the strain in the agriculture industry so far.
Israeli strikes kill 18 in Gaza, minister says no deal to halt attacks
Cairo/Jerusalem: Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza for a second straight day on Sunday, killing at least 18 Palestinians, medics said, despite US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a breakthrough in efforts to implement last year’s ceasefire agreement.
From dawn, Israeli warplanes hit Gaza City in the north, the central city of Deir al-Balah and the southern area of Khan Younis, causing the biggest daily death toll in weeks, according to Palestinian health officials.
Trump’s assertion on Thursday that Palestinian Hamas militants and other armed groups had agreed to disarm had raised hopes of a turning point in efforts to end the conflict.
On Sunday, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen – a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet – said the government would give Hamas the opportunity to disarm but that he was “very sceptical” that it would happen.
What’s making news today
Hello and welcome to our national news live blog for Monday, August 3. Here’s what is making headlines today.
- The national property market is in its deepest downturn since 2022 as interest rates, high cost of living and the May budget’s changes to property taxes combine to wipe thousands of dollars off property values.
- The government has finalised its News Bargaining Incentive legislation, increasing its digital advertising levy to 2.5 per cent in a move Labor hopes will encourage deal making with news publishers and result in more funding for journalism.
- Minister for Agriculture Julie Collins and Minister for Environment Murray Watt will provide a bird flu update later today, as the H5N1 strain spreads across five Australian states and authorities say eradicating the virus in open wildlife is now unfeasible.
- Australia has dominated the medal tally at the Commonwealth Games, and will see out the closing ceremony today in Glasgow with a staggering 70 gold medals after an extraordinary 10 days of action.
- US President Donald Trump has said the US would hold off on a fresh attack on Iran as long as a deal could be reached quickly to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
- And Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza for a second straight day on Sunday, killing at least 18 Palestinians, medics said, despite Trump’s announcement of a breakthrough in efforts to implement last year’s ceasefire agreement.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
