Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators:

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Iron (SGX): $119.55 USD (down $2.05)

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Gold: $2,328.55 USD (down $49.93)

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Bit-coin: $68,245.28 USD (down 1.22%))

Dow Jones: 39,065.26 (down 605.78 pts)

All changes compared to 7am yesterday.

Republicans appease Trump by raising 2024 voter fraud fears:

Top Republicans are already rushing to buy into a new 2024 election fraud narrative sown by ex-President Donald Trump in their zeal to appease their party’s presumptive nominee.

Leading party figures are increasingly warning they will only recognize the result of November’s presidential vote if there is no fraud.

But there is no indication that there will be irregularities in the election.

And their warnings come despite many Republican state legislatures taking steps to tighten voting rules — based on Trump’s lies about fraud in 2020.

The new Republican trend of casting doubt on the integrity of the 2024 election in advance was exhibited by Sen. Ted Cruz (Above center) on Wednesday in an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins (Video #1).

The Texas lawmaker, who in 2016 fell in line behind Trump despite the ex-president’s insults about his father and his wife, falsely stated that the 2020 election was tainted by fraud.

Despite Trump’s claims of voting irregularities, multiple courts, including the US Supreme Court, rejected the former president’s claims he was cheated out of power.

And Trump’s then-attorney general, William Barr, looked into his claims and decided that there was no widespread fraud that would have changed the result of the election.

But Cruz told Collins that a question about whether he would accept the results of the 2024 election was “ridiculous.”

“So you’re asking, ‘Will you promise, no matter what, to agree an election is legitimate regardless of what happens?,’ and that would be an absurd thing to claim,” Cruz said. “We have an entire election law system: that people challenge elections, elections get overturned, voter fraud gets proven. That happens all the time.” Cruz, who objected to election results in Arizona, which Trump narrowly lost to Biden, on January 6, 2021, went on to suggest there was significant fraud in 2020. And he implied the same could happen this year.

Say 'Hello' to FLiRT, the new COVID-causing subvariants sweeping the US & now in Australia:

Just when you thought it was OK to toss the face masks - A new family of COVID-causing subvariants is sweeping through the US & has arrived here in Australia.

Nicknamed FLiRT, the name is derives from JN.1 and is even more transmissible but less severe than the early variants we saw in 2020 and 2021.

As the weather gets colder, a new family of COVID-causing subvariants has arrived just in time for Australia's sniffles season. 

The family has been nicknamed FLiRT and is made up of several similar subvariants — namely KP.1 and KP.2 — but they are not as playful or amorous as the name would suggest.

FLiRT derives from the much more boringly named JN.1 variant, which is more transmissible than previous iterations of the coronavirus but usually causes less severe illness than those earlier versions.

In the United States, FLiRT has raced up the charts to overtaken JN.1 as the dominant strain — a scenario likely to play out here too, with cases already on the rise.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is tracking several of these JN.1 descendants and said it would soon classify some of these as Variants Under Monitoring (VUM).

VUM is a term used to signal when a variant may require increased attention and monitoring because of its potential impact on global health.

‘Jaw-hit-the-floor-bad’ portrait of Kate sparks uproar:

A new portrait of the Princess of Wales has sparked a stir, with online critics blasting it as everything from a high-school art project to a parody.

The picture of Kate, wife of heir-to-the-throne Prince William, adorns the cover of the latest edition of British high society magazine Tatler.

t shows the 42-year-old princess in one of her most famous looks – wearing a designer gown and the Lover’s Knot tiara, famously also worn by Princess Diana, for a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in 2022.

It has drawn a divisive reaction on social media.

“It looks like a bad GCSE project!” wrote Fi on X.

“Is this a parody? Love the artist … she’s very stylish … but the painting, while lovely … doesn’t look like the Princess of Wales,” said Aleisha.

“What a horrible portrait for a beautiful woman,” wrote a third unhappy critic.

The chief art critic of Britain’s Daily Telegraph, Alastair Sooke, labelled it “jaw-hits-the-floor bad”.

More chaotic than coherent: PM under fire on ICC

The Australian - Page 1 & 2 : 24 May 2024 - Original article by Ben Packham, Lydia Lynch - Portmac.News Summary

The federal government continues to attract scrutiny over its response to the International Criminal Court's move to seek an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes.

PM Albanese has declined to state whether the federal government would enforce an arrest warrant against Netanyahu or Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant if they visited Australia.

Albanese indicated that he will not comment on "Hypothetical" situations, given that no warrants have as yet been issued. However, shadow foreign affairs minister Simon Birmingham says it is a test of how to respond to a difficult issue, and Albanese is "Failing miserably".

Uni vows research transparency

The Australian - Page 2 : 24 May 2024 - Original article by Jordan McCarthy, Tricia Rivera - Portmac.News Summary

Pro-Palestine protesters have announced they plan to end their occupation of the University of Melbourne's Arts West Building if the university agrees to disclose all research partnerships with weapon manufacturers within one month.

The university has promised to be more transparent about such partnerships, while noting that disclosure was subject to various confidentiality and national security obligations, as well as the safety and security of its researchers.

Meanwhile, Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim said the protesters achieved "nothing", and that they should "Hang their heads in shame".

PM points finger at Coalition over release of former detainee

Brisbane Times - Page Online : 24 May 2024 - Original article by Andrew Probyn - Portmac.News Summary

Former immigration detainee Emmanuel Saki is accused of fatally stabbing Bosco Minyurano in Brisbane on 12 May, with it being confirmed he was released from detention in April after the Administrative Appeals Tribunal ruled he was "now a low risk of reoffending" and reinstated his visa.

The federal opposition has claimed that Immigration Minister Andrew Giles should have been sacked for failing to overrule the decision by AAT deputy president Stephen Boyle, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has hit back by pointing out that the former Coalition government had appointed to Boyle to the role.

Albanese to voters "I feel your pain"

The Sydney Morning Herald - Page Online : 24 May 2024 - Original article by James Massola - Portmac.News Summary

PM Albanese will use a keynote address to the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue on Friday to tell voters impacted by cost-of-living pressures that he shares their pain and that he knows what it is like to "Struggle and strive".

His speech comes three days after the second anniversary of his government's election and could prompt speculation of an early election, although Albanese has previously insisted he plans to serve a full term.

He will use his speech to urge voters to stick with Labor, with Albanese to say that "The stakes right now are too high for the shallow and shambolic approach we see too often from the opposition".

Government plan to fix 'robotax fiasco' doesn't go far enough, critics say

The Guardian Australia - Page Online : 24 May 2024 - Original article by Jonathan Barrett - Portmac.News Summary

The 2024 budget papers revealed that the federal government is planning legislation to permit the commissioner of taxation to keep tax debts incurred before 2017 on ice indefinitely, rather than extract them from tax refunds as was planned under the Australian Taxation Office's much criticised 'robotax' scheme.

The scheme involved the ATO trying to recoup as much as $15.2 billion by pursuing historical tax debts.

There are claims that the government's plans do not go far enough.

Federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie says what is needed is legislation that puts time limits on the pursuit of old tax debts, and that those who have been pressured to pay already should be compensated.

Labor, Coalition warned over 'quick fix' migrant cuts

The Australian Financial Review - Page 4 : 24 May 2024 - Original article by Tom McIlroy, James Hall - Portmac.News Summary

The National Farmers' Federation has urged both Labor and the Coalition against cutting back on skilled migrants to achieve "Politically convenient" arrival numbers.

NFF president David Jochinke saying the agricultural sector relies heavily on skilled overseas workers.

Other sectors that could be hurt by a cutback on skilled overseas workers include health, education, aged care and tourism, while Australian National University Migration Hub director Alan Gamlen has urged politicians not to tweak migration targets to attract specific occupation groups, such as building and construction workers.

Liberal factions an 'absolute curse' says Howard

The Australian - Page 7 : 24 May 2024 - Original article by Simon Benson - Portmac.News Summary

Ex-PM John Howard says he is unhappy about the slow pace of reform in the NSW Liberal Party, while he believes it should cease its involvement in local government.

Speaking ahead of a speech he will give at event on Thursday night to mark the 50th anniversary of his election to parliament, Howard says that "factionalism is an absolute curse".

An internal review of the Liberal Party following the 2022 federal election found that the factional "corrosion" of its state divisions could cost it the next election, and a senior NSW Liberal source has claimed that "factionalism and sectarian conflict" between moderates and conservative members had become more entrenched since that election.

New tax hit could push up cost of dentist visits

The Australian Financial Review - Page 9 : 24 May 2024 - Original article by Tom McIlroy - Portmac.News Summary

State revenue officials began treating GPs and other medical providers as employees rather than contractors in 2022 and began to seek to impose payroll tax dues on them.

However, a backlash by lobby groups such as the Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has seen some states move to backdown on the tax as regards GPs.

So far South Australia is the only state to exempt dental services provided by large medical centres from payroll tax dues, resulting in the likelihood that the cost of visting the dentist could soon increase.

Bank customers face $370m hit for rural branches

The Australian Financial Review - Page 16 : 24 May 2024 - Original article by Lucas Baird - Portmac.News Summary

A Senate inquiry into the impact of branch closures on regional communities is due to release its findings and recommendations today, with committee chairman Matthew Canavan having regularly flagged the possibility of a higher tax on banks to keep rural bank branches open.

He got the Parliamentary Budget Office to model a 10% increase in the 10% to the bank levy to fund community banks, with the PBO estimating this would raise $495.8 million between 2024 and 2027.

The PBO assumed that 75% of the increase in the levy would be passed onto bank customers in the form of higher fees and interest rate increases.

Heart in good shape? Jury's still out on fish oil supplements

The New Daily - Page Online : 24 May 2024 - Original article by John Elder - Portmac.News Summary

A study published in the British Medical Journal has concluded that the use of fish oil supplements by people with healthy hearts increases the risk of heart disease.

However, for people with an existing heart disease, their use reduces the risk of a major catastrophic cardiac event, while the study also found that people without a history of heart disease who had begun taking fish oil supplements had a 5% heightened risk of having a stroke; the study involved tracking the dietary habits and health records of 415,737 UK Biobank study participants, of which nearly a third regularly consumed fish oil supplements.

Aussies lash 'shonky' Prime Video move forcing ads on pre-paid accounts

The New Daily - Page Online : 24 May 2024 - Original article by Sezen Bakan - Portmac.News Summary

Amazon Prime Video has been accused of 'Shonky' behaviour, after users who had taken out pre-paid subscriptions for ad-free streaming were suddenly informed that ads will soon begin to interrupt their viewing.

Amazon has stated that the introduction of "Limited advertisements" will allow it to spend more on content, while a new add-free subscription tier will be available for an extra $2.99 a year.

Consumers Federation of Australia chair Gerard Brody says cases such as this are why consumer groups have called for a ban on unfair trade practices to be added to Australian consumer law.

Anglo buy-out 'now more likely'

The Australian - Page 13 & 20 : 24 May 2024 - Original article by Nick Evans, Mohammad Alfares - Portmac.News Summary

BHP has reiterated that its third offer for Anglo American is final, and it will not make any further concessions with regard to the pricing and structure of the proposed takeover deal.

However, analysts believe that Anglo American's decision to give BHP an extra week to lodge a formal bid will increase the likelihood that the deal will proceed.

Tribeca Global Natural Resources portfolio manager Ben Cleary says the fact that Anglo American's board is starting to engage with BHP is a positive sign.

He suggests that a fourth "knockout" bid may prompt the board to support BHP's proposal.

Alexander Pearce of BMO Capital Markets agrees that one more improved offer may be sufficient.

ASX slides as Fed talk sparks metals rout

The Australian Financial Review - Page 22 : 24 May 2024 - Original article by Joshua Peach - Portmac.News Summary

The Australian sharemarket lost ground on Thursday, following a sharp fall in the price of gold and copper in response to the release of the minutes of the US Federal Reserve's board meeting for May.

BHP was down 2.9% at $44.91 and Regis Resources shed 7.5% to end the session at $1.96.

However, Xero rose 8.7% to $134.84, Inghams Group was up 2.5% to $3.69 and Origin Energy advanced 1.9% to $10.35.