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Australia's big four banks will pass on yesterday's interest rate rise in full, with ANZ, NAB, Westpac and the Commonwealth Bank set to raise rates by 25 basis points mid-way through this month.
The official cash rate now sits at 3.85 per cent after the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy board reached the unanimous decision to raise rates in response to rising inflation.
It was the first hike to interest rates for more than two years, and a second increase is being widely tipped by economists.
RBA Governor Michele Bullock has acknowledged the pain many will feel, but says rates are at least going up for the right reasons.
"This interest rate rise, it sort of comes across quite negatively. We're actually in a really good position. The labour market is really strong, and domestic demand is recovering. These are good things, but it's just that we're supply constrained, and we think we're even a little more constrained than we thought back a little while ago. So, yes, the strategy still is trying to bring the economy back into balance and the labour market back into balance, without over overshooting."
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The Race Discrimination commissioner is warning the use of the phrase “social cohesion” by politicians is undermining progress towards a harmonious society.
Giridharan Sivaraman says the phrase is being used as code for assimilation, and to avoid talking about the problem of racism, which he says Australians find hard to talk about.
Mr Sivaraman says people calling out racism get attacked more than racists.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has used the term “social cohesion” more than 35 times in public speeches since the Bondi massacre in December.
Opposition leader Sussan Ley has used the term at least 24 times since she assumed her job in May of last year.
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A coalition of eleven disability groups have cautiously welcomed a three-month delay to the Thriving Kids program, which will begin in October, three months later than planned.
The Thriving Kids program aims to increase the role of states in providing services for children with mild to moderate autism, or developmental delays.
Details of the delivery model and funding arrangements have only been revealed, months after families first raised their concerns.
The National Ethnic Disability Alliance's Sadikshya [[Sa-dik-sha]] Dulal says the uncertainty has been tough diverse families.
"It's not just navigating disability systems. They're doing so across language barriers, cultural differences and how disability is understood, and they do this often with limited prior knowledge of available support. So when information isn't available in community languages, or when co-design does not actively engage diverse communities, or when workforce training does not include cultural competency, these families fall through the gaps, and this is where we feel the delay must be used to build equity into the foundations."
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The U-S military says it has shot down an Iranian drone after it flew towards the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.
It says the Shahed-139 drone approached the carrier at speed with unclear intent, prompting an F-35 fighter jet to bring it down in what it called a defensive move to protect the ship and its crew.
No personnel were injured and no equipment was damaged.
Hours later, Central Command reported a second confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz, saying Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats and a drone closed in on a U-S-flagged merchant vessel at high speed and threatened to seize it, before pulling away.
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U-N Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has reaffirmed the inalienable rights of Palestinians, warning that 2026 could prove decisive for peace as Gaza and the West Bank continue to endure deepening hardship.
His remarks came as the Rafah crossing reopened on a limited basis, with Mr Guterres calling for rapid and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
He also warned that continued Israeli settlement expansion, demolitions and displacement in the occupied West Bank threaten territorial contiguity and deal a serious blow to the viability of a two-state solution.
Addressing the UN’s Economic and Social Council, Mr Guterres said the world faces a critical moment
“For 50 years, this committee has stood firm in defending a simple truth: the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people – including the right to self-determination – must be realised and respected, fully, consistently and without delay. We enter 2026 with the clock ticking louder than ever. Will the year ahead bend towards peace – or slip into the abyss of despair?”
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The Sudanese army says it has broken a years-long siege on the city of Kadugli, potentially providing tens of thousands of people a reprieve from famine.
The conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces ((RSF)) has displaced millions, drawn in regional powers and caused a vast humanitarian crisis since it broke out in April 2023.
The end of the seige at Kadugli signals a shift in the war's momentum.
The army said in a statement that they succeeded in opening the Kadugli-Dalanj road, after what they called 'a heroic battle'.
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In skiing, one of the United States' most-celebrated Olympic athletes claims she can makes one of sport's most remarkable comebacks from injury at the Winter Olympics next week.
2010 gold medal winner Lindsey Vonn tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee competing in Switzerland four days ago.
That's an injury that usually requires six to nine months of rehabilitation.
But Vonn believes she can compete in the women's downhill event at the Olympics in Italy next Monday.
The 41-year-old claims her knee actually feels better than it has at times in the past.
"I still need to do the downhill training run. But I also know what my knee has felt like with previous injuries in the gym and what it's felt like during all the physical tests. And I can say that I feel a lot better right now than I have in the past. I feel a lot better right now than I did in 2019 for the last World Championships."
The Milan-Cortina Winter Olmypics begin on Saturday.
