Rates rise again as RBA warns inflation pain isn’t over The Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate to 4.35% and warned inflation relief is still at least six months away, with the Iran war-driven oil shock pushing up prices and weighing on growth. The decision sharpens pressure on households and sets up a tense pre-budget debate about whether governments can afford more spending without prolonging high rates. Covered by: Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Financial Review, The West Australian. Bullock to Chalmers: stop the handouts or risk higher inflation RBA governor Michele Bullock explicitly cautioned Treasurer Jim Chalmers and state governments that new handouts and “cash splash” budgets could add to demand and make inflation harder to tame. Several papers frame it as a direct political clash ahead of the federal budget, with the central bank warning fiscal policy could undermine the inflation fight. Covered by: The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Courie

Senior journalist Pradeep Tiwari, former editor of the Delhi edition of The Pioneer Hindi, died of a cardiac arrest in Ghaziabad on Sunday. He was 57. According to The Pioneer, Tiwari had been facing health issues since the Covid pandemic. Over a career spanning three decades, he worked with Devgiri, JVG Times, Amar Ujala, Hindustan and The Pioneer Hindi, building a strong editorial presence in North India.

Image: A man takes down an election billboard bearing a portrait of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Monday. AP   Tuesday, 5 May 2026 #1  ·  Pure Politics  ·  In-depth feature BJP Nails Mission Purvodaya — Most Consequential Leap Since 2024, Even Bigger Than the 2017 Victory in Uttar Pradesh By Subir Roy, Arvind Mohan   ·   The Economic Times  ·  Page 2 The Economic Times provides an in-depth analysis of the BJP's sweeping performance across the 2026 Assembly elections, particularly its historic win in West Bengal, a state considered a Hindu-heartland fortress for TMC. The report contextualises the result as the most consequential electoral shift for BJP since 2024, explaining how the NDA's expanding footprint now covers chief ministers in states governed by NDA, and draws connections to ideological consolidation across east and northeast India. It also examines how within-NDA results

A week after two journalists were allegedly assaulted in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh for questioning state Health Minister Irfan Ansari over the recent air ambulance accident, no FIR has been registered, triggering anger among journalists and press bodies in the state. The delay has raised fresh concerns over the safety of journalists and the police response to attacks on media professionals. Journalist Sushant Soni said that despite submitting a formal written complaint on April 28, no action has been taken so far. “Despite a formal written complaint given to police officials on April 28, 2026, no action has been taken.” Questioning the police inaction, Soni added: “What is the intention of the police? Are they waiting for something untoward to happen before registering an FIR and taking action?” The second journalist involved in the incident, Ashish Sav, said the assault and the lack of response afterwards had deeply affected him. “Journalists are assaulted in front o

PayDay News founder Warwick Ponder says Australia’s fast-changing payments sector was missing a dedicated media outlet – and early audience growth suggests he may have been right. PayDay News was founded in January 2025 and launched two months later to fill what Ponder described as “a massive hole in the market”. He explained that while it was a slow start when launching, the publication had seen a 560 per cent increase in subscribers in the last nine months.  “There are many thousands of people coming to the website every week to have a look at the stories. We are growing our subscriber base at a rapid rate weekly, and we hope that momentum continues as people start to see value in the publication,” Ponder told Influencing.  Senior Business Correspondent Michael Sainsbury added that LinkedIn had also been a key social media outlet, with the publication’s page racking up 5000 followers. The publication has begun to look at expanding its social media presence to Fa

Skanderup up sticks Vihan Mathur in Mediaweek reported Publicis Groupe ANZ has appointed Marie Skanderup as Client Partner for Publicis Production ANZ. Skanderup joins from Ogilvy, where she was most recently APAC Transformation Director across the agency’s social business units and Program Director for a major FMCG brand across Singapore and APAC. Her appointment strengthens Publicis Production’s leadership as clients seek more agile, technology-enabled production models connecting data, automation, creativity and content at scale. Managing director Neil Duncan said Skanderup brings the experience needed to implement bespoke production models for clients.   Iconic opportunity Andrea Hart has posted on LinkedIn that ICON Agency is hiring a PR Senior Account Manager for its Melbourne team. The hybrid, full-time role will suit someone with five-plus years’ consultancy or in-house experience across corporate PR, reputation, issues management, crisis communi

Kerry Stokes appears to be regaining control over Southern Cross/Seven West Media covering the departure of Southern Cross chairman Heith Mackay-Cruise left no uncertainty - this was Kerry Stokes flexing his muscles and taking back control of the media conglomerate. Stokes merged Network Server owner Seven West into Southern Cross earlier this year in return for $180 million in tax credits. Sam Buckingham Jones at The Financial Review wrote that at the time Stokes “suggested he was happy to walk away from the business, where he had wielded outsize influence for three decades”. However, maybe Stokes was just biding his time. Colin Kruger at The Sydney Morning Herald reported today that “it was hard for seasoned observers to believe Stokes was really walking away from media, and they appear to have been correct” Mackay-Cruise, who had been chairman of Southern Cross before the merger, is now gone with his place assumed by Teresa Dyson, who Kruger described as a “Seven