Thank you for reading Need to Know this Sunday, January 21. These are some of the most sensible news of the day.
Cost of living pressures mount in first cabinet meeting: Prime Minister calls cabinet colleagues in Canberra weeks before Parliament resumes to deal with developing economic and living issues.
Haley says Trump is ‘obsessed with dictators’ as barbs fly: Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley accused her Republican rival Donald Trump of being “obsessed” with dictators and being too old to lead the Saturday (Sunday AED) in the final component of his crusade in New York. Hampshire. ahead of this week’s presidential nomination race.
Israel bombs Khan Younis town, pushing more Palestinians south: Israeli airstrikes bombed the town of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing about a dozen people, officials said. officials in Gaza, after days of attacks in the south of the enclave, where more than 1 million Palestinians have fled to escape the Israeli war.
$100 billion industry: Saudi Arabia seeks Australia’s help in desert excavation: Saudi Arabia is actively courting Australian miners and mining corporations as it tries to revive a $100 billion a year industry almost from scratch.
The oil market is making plans for Red Sea chaos to last weeks: The oil market appears to be bracing for a weeks-long disruption to shipping in the southern Red Sea, where Houthi militants have for months been attacking merchant vessels in response to Israel’s war in Gaza.
Trump suggests Haley not run for VP as insults fly: Donald Trump advised Nikki Haley not to be in the running to be his VP pick, as both men exchanged some of their sharpest criticism yet with the number one from New Hampshire just 4 days away.
Reuters
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley accused her Republican rival Donald Trump on Saturday of being “obsessed” with dictators and being too old to lead, in the final stretch of the campaign in New Hampshire before the race for this week’s presidential nomination.
The former US president ramped up his verbal attacks and targeted Ms Haley’s Indian heritage as the former ambassador to the United Nations sought to blunt Mr Trump’s momentum following his victory last week in the Iowa caucuses.
Nikki Haley enjoys a drink on her birthday while campaigning in Nashua, New Hampshire. PENNSYLVANIA.
Trump advised Haley not to be in the running to be his vice presidential pick, saying it was “fine” when his UN ambassador was not yet “presidential” material. “Now when I say that, it probably means she won’t be elected vice president,” she added.
“She’s not difficult enough. She’s not wise enough. And she didn’t have enough reputation. She can’t do this job.
New Hampshire boasts a more moderate brand of Republicanism with a semi-open primary that can attract more centrist voters, who may be turned off by Mr Trump’s four criminal cases, authoritarian language and efforts to overturn his 2020 re-election loss.
Read the full story.
Bloomberg
Elon Musk’s synthetic intelligence firm xAI has secured $500 million in investor commitments toward a $1 billion goal, according to other people familiar with the negotiations.
The company is discussing a valuation of between $15 billion and $20 billion, though it’s possible things could change in the coming weeks, said the sources, who preferred not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the investment. X, the network formerly known as Twitter, that reports “fake news. “
Elon Musk launched xAI last year as an alternative to Open AI. Bloomberg
Musk pitched the new company last year as an option for Open AI, which he co-founded, and then put aside philosophical differences over how to leverage the technology’s merit. xAI’s product, a chatbot called Grok, is an evolution of social media posts. This allows Grok to access more up-to-date insights for his answers than other chatbots.
Most likely, investors in both corporations will also overlap.
Among those who supported M. Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter are Larry Ellison, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity Management.
Read the full story.
AAP
Northern Australia is batting down its hatches as the Bureau of Meteorology warns that increased activity in the Coral Sea will likely lead to the formation of Cyclone Kirrily.
The cyclone won’t be officially named until it is properly formed. But the bureau expects Cyclone Kirrily to develop off the Queensland coast by Monday.
A coastal impact in Queensland is now considered more likely, but some uncertainty remains over the system’s movement.
The area most likely to affect the domain is between Cooktown and Mackay, probably south of Cairns.
“There’s still a day to go before a cyclone hits and until the middle of next week it looks like it’s heading towards the Queensland coast,” Dean Narramore, from the workplace, told the AAP on Saturday.
The cyclone is expected to move southwestward and strengthen as the week progresses.
A severe impact is possible, particularly if the system crosses south of Cairns.
On Saturday, citizens celebrated the reopening of the Captain Cook Highway from Cairns to Port Douglas, which was closed after Cyclone Jasper a month ago.
Also on Sunday, severe thunderstorms accompanied by heavy rain are expected in the far north and northwest of Australia.
The bureau said heavy rainfall and potential flash flooding was likely to continue through the central inland, extending west towards the WA border on Sunday, and reach the Pilbara on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Residents in parts of the Kimberley and North Interior districts have been suggested to prepare now for the severe weather expected on Sunday afternoon.
Places that could be affected include Halls Creek, Balgo, Lake Argyle, and Warmun.
Severe weather is expected to spread over eastern Kimberley and northern parts of the northern inner districts on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, with scattered rainfall totals over six hours likely between 90 and 150mm.
A flood watch is in place for the East and West Kimberley Rivers, Fitzroy and the Sturt Creek District.
The floods have already forced others to flee their homes in the Northern Territory, where flood monitoring and warnings are being issued for the North West and some central districts.
Locations most likely to be affected on Sunday include Kalkarindji, Lajamanu, Timber Creek, Top Springs, Rabbit Flat and Daguragu.
The New York Times
Israeli airstrikes hit the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis on Saturday, killing about a dozen people, Gaza officials said, after days of attacks in the southern component of the enclave, where more than a million Palestinians have fled to escape Israeli control. war.
Israeli bombardments also continued in other parts of Gaza, killing dozens of people, according to Palestinian media and health authorities.
An Israeli army tank approaches the Israel-Gaza. PA border
On Saturday, Gaza’s Public Health Ministry said at least another 160 people had been killed in the coastal enclave in the past 24 hours, bringing the Palestinian death toll from the Israeli offensive to just about 25,000. 3 months, most of whom are women and children. Array
The Israeli strikes in Khan Younis targeted spaces around two primary hospitals, where tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians had taken refuge, as well as near schools, witnesses said. Schools and hospitals have overcrowded shelters, but they have not been spared Israel’s relentless assault on the besieged territory.
A number of airstrikes and artillery shells hit the vicinity of the Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis, according to the Palestine Red Crescent, which runs the hospital.
A doctor at a second hospital in Khan Younis, the Nasser Medical Complex, said Israeli troops and tanks had taken up positions near the hospital compound and fears were developing that infantrymen would attack the hospital when they had other medical facilities, adding Shifa Hospital. Israel has accused Hamas of providing hospitals for military operations, an accusation that Hamas and hospital administrations deny.
The doctor, Mohammad Abu Moussa, said many other people had fled Nasser Hospital in recent days, taking what little they had, adding bedding and tents. Hospital staff, along with doctors and nurses, were also leaving, he said. the wounded are fleeing,” Abu Moussa said.
The Israeli military said Saturday it had killed a squad of fighters from Hamas, the armed organization that controls Gaza, in a clash in Khan Younis. The army said it carried out a “targeted raid” on Hamas’ “infrastructure,” where dozens of rocket launchers were located. located.
Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, has left nowhere safe, the United Nations, aid organisations and residents say. Even areas where the Israeli military has ordered people to go have come under attack. The overwhelming Israeli air and ground offensives came after Hamas carried out cross-border attacks into southern Israel on October 7 and killed about 1200 people, most of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
Israel’s bombing offensive has forced more than a million Palestinians back into a shrinking corner of Gaza, pinning them between a closed Egyptian border and the advancing Israeli army. They are crammed into a densely populated domain near the border in Rafah province, the United Nations said. Said. Egypt has refused to allow Palestinians from Gaza to enter Sinai, fearing that Israel will never allow them to return home.
The Israeli army has also attacked the central city of Deir al-Balah, another place where Gaza residents had fled to seek safety, forcing them towards Rafah, UN officials said.
Hans van Leeuwen
Saudi Arabia is actively courting Australian miners and mining service companies as it tries to kickstart a $100 billion-a-year industry almost from scratch.
This month, the government doubled its estimate of the country’s mineral wealth to $2. 5 trillion ($3. 8 billion) and aims to attract $200 billion in investment by the end of the decade.
Khnaiguiyah, one of the Saudi regions known as promising for mining. Bloomberg
“The mining sector was an area in which we made the decision a long time ago to leave it for later. And now, apparently, the later has come,” Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef told the Australian Financial Review on the sidelines of the conference. the World Economic Forum in Davos.
“We are looking at Australia’s extensive experience in this area. It is one of the models that has managed to create a mining sector that has an impact on the economy and society, but it is also very guilty.
Read the full story.
Reuters
Tehran has vowed revenge for attacks on Israel on Saturday after a missile strike leveled a building used as an elite base for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in Damascus, killing five guards and an unspecified number of Syrian soldiers.
Ambulances and fire trucks piled up around the site of the attack, which had been cordoned off, a journalist at the scene said. The rescue of others trapped under the rubble continued throughout the day. A crane was in position to lift concrete slabs from the rubble.
Emergency response to a building damaged by an airstrike in Damascus attributed to Israel. PA
A security source in a network of teams close to the Syrian government and its best friend Iran said the multi-story construction was used by Iranian advisers supporting the government of President Bashar al-Assad. missiles,” the source said.
The guards said an unknown number of Syrian army workers were killed, as well as the five Iranians, whom they knew without revealing their ranks. The security source said one of the slain Iranians headed the elite forces’ data unit.
There was no comment from Israel, which has long waged a bombing crusade opposed to Iran’s military and security presence in Syria, but does not speak publicly about the attacks.
Read the full story.
AAP
The prime minister is calling cabinet colleagues to Canberra weeks before parliament resumes to tackle mounting economic and cost of living issues.
The daily pressures facing Australians are expected to be discussed at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, which some MPs consider routine.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth: “We want inflation to come down. Alex Ellinghausen
The Senate is investigating food costs in supermarkets after shoppers and farmers complained that primary stores were benefiting from emerging costs.
Inflation has caused interest rates to rise particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, while energy prices have risen due to internal and external factors.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth told reporters in Adelaide on Saturday that tackling inflation is a constant focus of the government.
“We want to see inflation come down and therefore a cost-of-living relief that is not up to the challenge – the inflation challenge – is something that our government has focused on,” he told reporters in Adelaide on Saturday.
“I don’t think it’s going to end in one or two games.
“This has been a constant role that our government’s played and we’re seeing impacts.”
Rishworth rejected advice for swift action on energy costs, raising the government’s cap on fuel and coal costs in December 2022.
“We’ve also implemented our energy rebates that are now being passed on to consumers, so that’s the short-term action that’s being taken,” he said.
The minister said new figures showed 1 million people had benefited from the government’s increased rent assistance.
This was an example of a measure that eased the cost of living without adding to inflation, she said.
Bloomberg
The oil market appears to be bracing for a weeks-long disruption to shipping in the southern Red Sea, where Houthi militants have for months been attacking merchant vessels in response to Israel’s war in Gaza.
Charters of tankers to haul crude and fuels – which for some vessels are arranged up to a month in advance – reveal growing numbers of the vessels are being hired for routes that will avoid the danger zone, according to shipowners, brokers and traders.
Cargo ship Jigjiga at sea on the imperilled route in Djibouti, Djibouti, on January 17. Getty
Airstrikes in Yemen on Jan. 12 via the U. S. and U. K. added to the sense of chaos for ships in the region, especially after Western navies warned ships to stay away. The Houthis vowed to retaliate against the two countries’ advertising fleets. , many shipowners have chosen to stay away from a directorate that handles around 12% of the world’s maritime trade.
“More and more owners are avoiding the area,” says Alexander Saverys, CEO of Euronav, whose own fleet can carry more than 50 million barrels of oil. “What seemed imaginable and could be solved in a matter of weeks can now have consequences for several months. “
Tankers guilty of carrying fuel cargoes are contracted to sail to Asia and not to Europe, leading to increased revenues. At the same time, several shipments of Iraqi crude have been booked on tankers that will make a detour of several thousand kilometers around Africa.
Read the full story.
Bloomberg
Donald Trump suggested Nikki Haley was out of the running to be his vice presidential pick, as the two traded some of their sharpest barbs yet with the New Hampshire primary just four days away.
Trump, at a rally in Concord, New Hampshire, on Friday night, said Haley was “fine” when she was his ambassador to the U. N. , but that she had no “presidential” material. “Now, when I say that, it probably means ‘She’s not going to be elected vice president,'” she added.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley at a campaign event on January 18. AP
“It’s not hard enough. She’s not wise enough. And she didn’t have enough reputation. She can’t do that job. She won’t be able to deal with President Xi. She probably won’t be able to deal with Putin and Kim Jong. United Nations,” Trump said , referring to the leaders of China, Russia and North Korea.
Haley served as Trump’s ambassador to the U. N. and the two fell out after she announced she would run for the Republican nomination.
Haley’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. She has said before that she did not have interest in being Trump’s running mate.
Trump and Haley spent Friday exchanging insults as their race for New Hampshire’s No. 1 heats up. Polls released this week show Haley still trailing Trump by double digits in a state shaping up to be a watershed moment for his campaign.
Haley poured her resources into the state and spent Friday campaigning with its governor, Chris Sununu. He attacked Trump at a campaign event the day before, accusing the Republican front-runner of “telling a lot of lies. “
“If he lies about me, I’ll tell him the truth about him,” she added.
Building on the momentum of his historic victory in Iowa, Trump gained additional momentum with U. S. Sen. Tim Scott, a native of the state of South Carolina, Haley’s home, and ended his bid for the Republican nomination last year.
The endorsement is a direct blow to Haley, who has staked her crusade on New Hampshire and South Carolina, aiming to disappoint Trump in those states. Haley, as governor of South Carolina, appointed Scott to the Senate in 2012.
Scott has been one of Trump’s signature vice presidents, along with New York Rep. Elise Stefanik.
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