Australia news LIVE: Trump flags imminent attack on Iran; Alzheimer’s blood test to transform early detection

Today’s headlines at a glanceBy Cindy YinHello and welcome to our national news live coverage for Thursday, July 30. Here’s what’s making headlines today.Middle East at War: US President Donald Trump has signalled an imminent retaliatory attack on Iran after the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps launched missiles at a Jordanian base hosting American forces.Healthcare: Australians will soon have access to the first diagnostic blood test for Alzheimer’s disease that researchers say will transform early detection, treatment and potentially prevention.North America: Former US chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci could face contempt charges after he refused to answer questions about the origins of COVID-19 at a heated Senate hearing, invoking his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself.NDIS: The agency that runs the National Disability Insurance Scheme rejected more than 4000 claims from NDIS middlemen in just nine months because they requested funding for services that were never actually delivered.Commonwealth Games: The action continues in Glasgow with the last day of the swimming, more Aussie netball and basketball medals up for grabs and the return of the mile race at the track. Follow it all in our live coverage here.KPMG whistleblower scandal: The embattled consulting firm said no decision has been made about job cuts following a report that up to one thousand employees will lose their jobs in response to the whistleblower scandal. The Australian Financial Review reported that the firm is preparing to shed around 10 per cent of its workforce and dozens of its 600 partners.Latest Posts7.30amSurprising inflation drop an ‘encouraging’ sign: Finance ministerBy Cindy YinFinance Minister Katy Gallagher said inflation figures released yesterday which showed a surprising drop in prices was an “encouraging” sign, but would not speculate on whether this would mean the Reserve Bank would hold rates steady next month. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Wednesday that prices eased for a second successive month in June, taking annual inflation down to 3.8 per cent from 4 per cent, while the key measure of underlying inflation was steady at 3.6 per cent.The surprising drop in prices on everything from eggs to furniture meant the nation’s four largest banks have predicted the Reserve Bank has finished with interest rate rises and will start cutting as early as May next year“It was encouraging to see inflation is coming down in a headline sense – in monthly and quarterly terms,” Gallagher told Nine’s Today show.Asked whether she thought the RBA would hold rates steady next month, Gallagher said it would be up to the bank’s independent board, and that the government “would not speculate” on their decisions. 7.11am‘Disappointed’: Trump responds to reports China is sending shoulder-fired missiles to IranBy US President Donald Trump said he would be “disappointed” in China if they provided weapons to Iran, repeating assurances he said Xi Jinping had made to him that Beijing would not sell arms to Tehran.Trump was asked Wednesday about a report from Reuters that Iran was expected to receive a shipment of up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired missiles within weeks.“That was surprising. I mean, things like that happen, but that would be surprising,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.“He told me very strongly he wouldn’t partake, but he knows I’d be quite disappointed. He’s coming here, I think, on September 24th,” he added, referring to Xi’s plans to visit the US for a summit later this year.Trump has previously expressed concern about potential Chinese weapons sales to Iran during the war. He has also previously threatened a 50 per cent tariff on goods from countries that arm Tehran, a move that could upend the US-China economic relationship if he followed through.More broadly, the Iran war has been a strain on relations between the world’s two largest economies, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupting energy flows to China, which is a major customer of Iranian oil.Bloomberg6.53amSaudis seek international coalition to protect ships from Houthis, sources sayBy Saudi Arabia is seeking to build an international coalition to protect shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks, two people familiar with the deliberations said.The composition of the coalition has not yet been finalised and is being discussed with dozens of countries, the sources said.The Saudi Centre for International Communication did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.The Iran-aligned Houthis said on July 20 they would impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea in response to what they described as a Saudi siege on Yemen, an allegation Riyadh has denied.Since then, the Houthis said they have launched attacks on Saudi vessels in the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia has responded with air strikes on what it said were Houthi military facilities at Yemen’s Hodeidah port, used to threaten commercial shipping.6.36amForeigner among victims as Japan quake toll risesBy Soldiers and emergency workers combed through a badly damaged shopping mall and collapsed houses looking for trapped survivors on Wednesday after a powerful earthquake that killed at least 18 people, including a foreigner, in south-western Japan.The 7.1-magnitude earthquake that hit a day earlier in the Kumamoto area on the southern main island of Kyushu also left at least 62 people injured, six of them seriously, the prefectural government said. The tally has been steadily growing, fanning fears it may continue to rise.The explosion at Aeon Mall was believed to be caused by the 7.1-magnitude earthquake on July 28.Getty ImagesSome of the most serious damage was at the Aeon Mall shopping centre in the town of Kashima, which was bustling with thousands of people when the quake happened. The company said some 3000 customers were evacuated to a parking lot before a gas explosion happened in another part of the mall, where some people were still working.AP6.20amFirst diagnostic blood test for Alzheimer’s will soon be availableBy Rachel Rasker and Kate AubussonAustralians will soon have access to the first diagnostic blood test for Alzheimer’s disease that researchers say will transform early detection, treatment and potentially prevention.The Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved a blood plasma test known as pTau217, paving the way for a blood test for Alzheimer’s disease to become part of routine GP health checks.John Gethin-Jones with his wife, Felicity Nicholson. John was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2021.Eddie JimOn Thursday, Health Minister Mark Butler will launch the new Asia-Pacific Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Diagnosis in Sydney, capable of running the pTau217 test in 18 minutes, as well as processing a suite of other biomarkers linked to Alzheimer’s disease.“I think it’s going to transform Alzheimer’s disease and eventually dementia,” said neurologist Dr Emma Devenney, who will oversee the new centre at Randwick – a collaboration between Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and Roche.“It’s going to very quickly transform the field in terms of how we move towards prevention [and] move us much closer to early diagnosis, early treatments; and dementia and Alzheimer’s disease will become treatable.”6.16am‘They know it’s coming’: Trump flags imminent attack on IranBy Michael KoziolWashington: US President Donald Trump has signalled an imminent retaliatory attack on Iran after the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps launched missiles at a Jordanian base hosting American forces.“We’re going to be hitting them very hard, because its our turn to hit ’em. They know it’s coming, they’re asking us not to do it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon (US time).US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday.AP Photo/Julia Demaree NikhinsonHe said five Iranian rockets were intercepted yesterday, and US forces were unharmed. “But they nevertheless took a shot, so it’s our turn.”Earlier, Trump put it in blunt terms when he spoke to Fox News. “We’re going to beat the f--ing shit out of them,” he said.The renewed fire comes after several days of relative calm in which both sides explored opportunities for a fresh ceasefire deal.Trump said he was still interested in pursuing an agreement, but the latest aggression required a response.Today’s headlines at a glanceBy Cindy YinHello and welcome to our national news live coverage for Thursday, July 30. Here’s what’s making headlines today.Middle East at War: US President Donald Trump has signalled an imminent retaliatory attack on Iran after the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps launched missiles at a Jordanian base hosting American forces.Healthcare: Australians will soon have access to the first diagnostic blood test for Alzheimer’s disease that researchers say will transform early detection, treatment and potentially prevention.North America: Former US chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci could face contempt charges after he refused to answer questions about the origins of COVID-19 at a heated Senate hearing, invoking his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself.NDIS: The agency that runs the National Disability Insurance Scheme rejected more than 4000 claims from NDIS middlemen in just nine months because they requested funding for services that were never actually delivered.Commonwealth Games: The action continues in Glasgow with the last day of the swimming, more Aussie netball and basketball medals up for grabs and the return of the mile race at the track. Follow it all in our live coverage here.KPMG whistleblower scandal: The embattled consulting firm said no decision has been made about job cuts following a report that up to one thousand employees will lose their jobs in response to the whistleblower scandal. The Australian Financial Review reported that the firm is preparing to shed around 10 per cent of its workforce and dozens of its 600 partners.1 of 1