Independent MP Dai Le has slammed Anthony Albanese for “another headline-grabbing announcement” with the potential cost of living relief in the May Budget. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dropped a new hint about the potential cost of living measures in the May Budget during a speech to small businesses in Sydney. “I shouldn’t be so cynical, but I can’t help being cynical – there must be something happening in 12 months’ time; an election time perhaps,” Ms Le told Sky News Australia. “To me, this is another headline-grabbing announcement, as usual. “I’ve got local businesses here whose energy bills have gone from $4,000 to about $11,000; will that $650 help? I don’t know, but anything will help a small bit.”

NASA has reportedly been ordered to create a lunar unified standard of time. According to Reuters, the White House has ordered NASA to set a luna unified standard of time. “Time on the moon is different to earth and not just in the way we kind of experience time as in the days in rotation, but really as a physical way we measure time is slightly different,” ANU Astrophysicist Brad Tucker said. Different due to gravitational and other forces a clock on the moon would move around 60 microseconds slower than on Earth. Having a standard lunar time is vital as navigation equipment like GPS relies on precise timekeeping.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has hinted at further energy bill relief in the upcoming May budget. The Prime Minister spoke at an event in Sydney on Thursday. He said small businesses and families will be front of mind in the budget. “Energy bills remain a source of financial pressure,” he said. “That’s why the energy bill relief package that I negotiated with the states and territories delivered up to $650 in savings for around one million small businesses.”

Former Spanish Football Federation President Luis Rubiales has been arrested as part of a corruption investigation. Mr Rubiales was detained briefly at Madrid Airport after arriving back from the Dominican Republic. The 46-year-old is being investigated for business dealings regarding the Spanish Super Cup football competition in Saudi Arabia. Mr Rubiales has denied any wrongdoing. Last month police searched his home and the football federation headquarters, where they made several arrests.

Sky News host James Morrow says Peter Dutton’s push for nuclear is forcing the Albanese government to “confront the reality” of its renewables promise which “doesn’t really stack up”. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has flagged higher-paying jobs and energy subsidies for coal-fired power stations which move to nuclear energy. Sky News Australia understands Dutton could release part of his party’s nuclear energy plan within weeks after flagging more potential sites along the east coast. “One of the things that people in the industry have told me, though, is that if you were to build a nuclear power plant … an awful lot of what goes into a nuclear reactor [is the] same stuff that happens at a coal-fired power plant or a gas turbine,” Mr Morrow told Sky News host Steve Price. “It’s just something that heats up, boils water, steam comes out, it spins a turbine. “I just think that the interesting thing about Peter Dutton pushing the nuclear debate … [is] the fact that it is forcing Labor to confront the reality of its promise which … doesn’t really stack up.”

Sky News host James Morrow says the “green transition” will not “wash politically”. Net Zero Economy Agency head Greg Combet, during his speech at the National Press Club this week, said governments should fund big green energy projects needed in the transition from fossil fuels. “If you look at what’s happening here with a lot of the talk around the green transition, the net zero thing, the renewables race,” Mr Morrow told Sky News host Steve Price. “People who are sharpening their pencils and doing the numbers on it are realising that this simply isn’t going to wind up providing the same economic opportunities for people that the fossil fuel economy did. “Greg Combet is not the only one saying this. “This isn’t going to wash politically.”

US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell has moved to quell concerns the AUKUS submarine deal could be under threat if there is a change of government at the next US election. Dr Campbell told a US think tank that the submarine deal still enjoys strong bipartisan support in Washington DC. “I believe from my conversation and engagements on Capitol Hill that those sentiments are widely shared,” he said. “I think they are completely shared in the Democratic Party, and I think they are shared largely in the Republican Party. “There is a strain in American politics that is isolationist and nationalistic, and I think tempted to go it alone and seeing foreign partnerships rather as encumbering, and many of these allies are not to be trusted. “I do not believe those views comport with the sentiments of the American public or the general policy platforms of either parties.”

At least nine people have been killed and around 900 others have been injured after Taiwan was shaken by one of the strongest earthquakes in a quarter of a century. The Japanese Meteorological Agency reported the quake at 7.58am local time (10.58am AEDT), about 18 kilometres southwest of Hualien City. The 7.2 magnitude earthquake is the strongest tremor to hit the island in at least 25 years. Several aftershocks struck the capital of Taipei, while most of the damage has been recorded in the eastern city of Hualien, where 100 remain trapped in tunnels. The earthquake sparked a tsunami warning for southern Japan and the Philippines, but was later lifted.

Republican lawmakers in the United States have proposed renaming an international airport. House Republicans have introduced a bill to rename Dulles International Airport near Washington DC after former president Donald Trump. The bill would need to pass through a Democrat majority Senate. It will also need to pass the House of Representatives, where the Republicans hold a slender majority. Democrats claim a federal prison would be a more appropriate namesake for the 2024 presidential frontrunner.

The Megyn Kelly Show host Megyn Kelly says suburban women who use to vote Republican “left for a reason” and it was former US President Donald Trump’s “temperament”. Ms Kelly says they “don’t like him” and that’s what “drove them away”. “Most pollsters are saying even though he’s improved margins … they’re not going to make up for the loss of women,” Ms Kelly told Sky News host Paul Murray. “He’s got to get a fair amount of the women who have left him. “He needs to be more disciplined as he was for about two minutes when he launched this campaign.”

The Megyn Kelly Show host Megyn Kelly says the problem with former United States President Donald Trump is he “doesn’t have discipline”. Ms Kelly said it is the reason he “didn’t get re-elected in 2020”. “Him going off screen has been good for him, people remember the policies … and not the drama,” Ms Kelly told Sky News host Paul Murray. “He gets these obsessions, and he can’t get off of them. “Politically he’s a genius, he doesn’t have the discipline to check his temper and temperament to check his message.”

There are growing fears Scotland’s new hate crime laws will be weaponised against its citizens. Scotland recently passed new hate crime laws which have received tremendous criticism due to fears it may affect freedom of speech. “If you want the state to become the ultimate authority you break down every other social relationship,” says Sky News host James Macpherson. “The easiest way to do that is to promise people you can complain about your neighbour, your family member, your workmate anonymously, and we promise we will investigate. “What if I say something offensive to you and you retaliate with something offensive to me, do we both get arrested?”

Sky News host Liz Storer says Scotland’s new hate crime laws are going to be a “trend across the Western world”. Ms Storer joined Sky News hosts Caleb Bond and James Macpherson to discuss Scotland’s new hate crime laws which have received tremendous criticism for potential breaches of freedom of speech. “Clearly you see differently on an issue,” she said. “But is that any reason to report someone to the authorities. “Clearly 3,800 people within 24 hours in Scotland did think so.”

Sky News host James Macpherson says “you won’t believe” what a new study is now telling us is bad for the environment. A study published in the Nature Portfolio Journal warns that Australia’s soil is becoming a net carbon emitter and threatens to ruin the country’s net zero goals. “They claim that over the next 80 years, Australian soil ... will release up to 100 megatons of CO2 into the atmosphere,” Mr Macpherson said. “There you have it ... dirt is now a major threat to the future of planet Earth. “I reckon some greenie councillor is going to make you concrete everything now that they know dirt is a climate criminal.”

Sky News host Steve Price says Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is engaging in “smart politics” by promoting how nuclear power stations would bring more job opportunities. Mr Price was joined by Shadow Environment Minister Jonathon Duniam and Menzies Research Centre Senior Fellow Nick Cater to discuss the ongoing push from the Opposition for nuclear energy. “He’s now really put a stake in the ground … on nuclear energy as the solution for cheap reliable power,” Mr Price said. “He’s going to tell us more before the budget apparently and I think rather cleverly, what he’s done is said ‘okay if you live in a coal town, and you’ve worked in a coal-fired power station, we’re going to say that’s where we’re going to put our nuclear reactors and that’ll mean jobs’. “That’s pretty smart politics isn’t it?”

GXO Strategies Director Cameron Milner has questioned why Labor politicians aren’t “jumping up and down” over the 100 hostages still being held in Gaza. Foreign Minister Penny Wong expects Israel to ensure there is a “full, transparent investigation” and “full accountability” after their attack in Gaza killed Australian Zomi Frankcom. Israel has admitted the attack on the vehicles belonging to the World Central Kitchen was a tragic mistake, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israel will do everything for this not to happen again. “Hamas is using civilian infrastructure, they are using school and hospitals to shoot from,” Mr Milner told Sky News host Andrew Bolt. “It was awful there was a tragic loss of life but Hamas are the reason for the person’s death, ultimately.”

CIS Indigenous Forum Director Warren Mundine says people who want to change the date of Australia Day just “hate Australia”. “People know that I was a bloke who wanted to move the date so we could all celebrate,” Mr Mundine told Sky News host Rita Panahi. “But I’ve come to the conclusion now, even if we move the date, these people don’t want to celebrate. “They just hate Australia. “They’re just trying to pull this country apart.”

Former NSW Labor treasurer Michael Costa says Hamas will not “accept the terms” for a proper ceasefire which involves the release of the hostages. Foreign Minister Penny Wong expects Israel to ensure there is a “full, transparent investigation” and “full accountability” after their attack in Gaza killed Australian Zomi Frankcom. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is demanding “full accountability” and has called on the Israeli Ambassador to Australia to explain. “Hamas doesn’t want a ceasefire and that’s the bottom line here,” Mr Costa told Sky News host Andrew Bolt. “Penny Wong is walking that tightrope that now exists in the Labor Party between the traditional position on Israel and those branches and those electorates that are full of people that are sympathetic to Hamas. “Unfortunately, that’s where the Labor Party finds itself.”

Shadow Environment Minister Jonathon Duniam has slammed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for continuing to play the “blame game”. Mr Albanese has refused to guarantee when the $31 billion Inland Rail project will be completed and make it to Queensland. The Prime Minister instead put the blame on former infrastructure minister Barnaby Joyce for failing to deliver the rail project when the Coalition was in government. Mr Albanese said that the rail project “mess” is what the Coalition left “unfunded, unplanned thought bubbles”. “It’s a ridiculous proposition to continue to blame the last government,” Mr Duniam told Sky News host Steve Price. “It’s just a joke to continue to see this blame game played by the PM and his ministerial colleagues.”

Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell says he and his European counterpart are both committed to “having another go” at a Free Trade Agreement. Mr Farrell revealed he recently met with the European Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis. “We’re both committed to having another go at this – that won’t happen before the European elections in June,” Mr Farrell told Sky News Business Editor Ross Greenwood. “I’m willing to have another go ... but the reality of it is that they have to understand that if they really want a free trade agreement, then they have to engage in free trade. “That means greater access ... into the European market if they want greater access to our markets.”