The parent company of Taco Bell Australia has announced plans to either close or sell off its national network of stores.

Collins Foods, which also operates hundreds of KFC locations in Australia, said in a statement to investors it has decided to exit the Taco Bell business.

If a buyer isn't found within a year, the group said it may consider other "exit options" for Australian Taco Bell stores. There are no plans to close any KFC locations.

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"Discussions are currently underway with Taco Bell International (TBI) regarding a potential transition of the business to new ownership," Collins Foods said in a statement.

"Collins Foods intends to complete the transition within the next 12 months, subject to formal terms being agreed.

"A further update will be provided, including estimated exit costs, as matters progress. 

"If a new operator cannot be identified and/or an agreement cannot be reached, other exit options will be explored."

There are 27 Taco Bell locations across Australia.

The US-owned Mexican fast-food giant first launched in Australia back in 1981, however a Sydney restaurant with the name Taco Bell's Casa took it to court.

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Taco Bell made a second attempt to crack into the Australian market in 1997 but it shut doors again after eight years.

In 2017, Taco Bell made its third and final venture into Australia with plans to open more than 50 stores by late 2021.

Managing director and chief executive Xavier Simonet said Collins Foods will continue to invest in its most successful operation, KFC, including expanding in Germany.

"Collins Foods has successfully operated KFC restaurants for over 50 years, building a reputation as a trusted operator," Simonet said.

"In a challenging economic environment, the customer remains at the heart of our business.

"We will continue to deliver high-quality food at accessible prices, leveraging the heritage of the KFC brand at a time when consumer trust has never been more important."

Following the announcement, former general manager of Taco Bell in Australia Krystal Zugno has been promoted to general manager of Australian operations for both Taco Bell and KFC.

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Young voters are forming a rallying cry for the federal government to address one of their greatest concerns: climate change.

The climate crisis has become so alarming to some Australians it's given rise to a little-known term called climate anxiety, also known as eco-anxiety.

Alexa Stuart, 21, has already spent years of her life anxious about the climate.

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The Newcastle environmentalist, who gate-crashed PM Anthony Albanese's campaign pitstop earlier this month to protest the federal government's climate policies, told 9news.com.au climate anxiety is a very real issue for many young Australians.

"I'd say from about 15 I've had climate anxiety," Stuart, a member of the climate advocacy group Rising Tide, explained.

"That's when things started to really sink in for me about the seriousness of the climate crisis, I remember like late nights trying to research the science of it and, and feeling quite emotional about it quite often."

Stuart recalls the devastating 2019/20 bushfires in Australia as a turning point for her passion – and horror – over the state of the environment.

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China's leader Xi Jinping said no one wins in a trade war as he kicked off a diplomatic tour of South-East Asia , presenting China as a force for stability in contrast with US President Donald Trump's latest moves on tariffs,

Although Trump has paused some tariffs, he has kept in place 145 per cent duties on China, the world's second-largest economy.

"There are no winners in a trade war, or a tariff war," Xi wrote in an editorial jointly published in Vietnamese and Chinese official media.

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"Our two countries should resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment."

Xi's visit lets China show South-East Asia it is a "responsible superpower in the way that contrasts with the way the US under President Donald Trump presents to the whole world," said Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow at Singapore's ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute.

While Trump has said he respects Xi, he interpreted the meeting between the two Asian leaders as a sign they were attempting to put the US at a disadvantage on trade.

Talking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said China and Vietnam were trying "to figure out how do we screw the United States of America."

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Xi was greeted on the tarmac by Vietnam's President Luong Cuong at the start of his two-day visit, a mark of honour not often given to visitors, said Nguyen Thanh Trung, a professor of Vietnamese studies at Fulbright University Vietnam.

While Xi's trip likely was planned earlier, it has become significant because of the tariff fight between China and the US.

The visit offers a path for Beijing to shore up its alliances and find solutions for the high trade barrier that the US has imposed on Chinese exports.

Vietnam and China signed a series of memorandums in areas including strengthening cooperation in supply chains, rail development and environmental protection, according to Associated Press footage of the signed documents.

Nhan Dan, the official mouthpiece of Vietnam's Communist Party, said that China and Vietnam will speed up a $US8 billion railway project connecting the two countries in a deal that was approved in February.

Vietnam is experienced at balancing its relations with the US and China.

It is run under a communist, one-party system like China but has had a strong relationship with the US.

In 2023, it was the only country that received both the US president Joe Biden and China's Xi Jinping.

That year it also upgraded the US to its highest diplomatic level, the same as China and Russia.

Labor and the Coalition unveiled sweeping policies over the weekend aimed at tackling the housing crisis in Australia, and young first homebuyers are firmly in each party's sights.

Peter Dutton's pitch to voters is all about maximising borrowing power with a push to let Australians draw from their superannuation accounts, while Anthony Albanese's housing scheme focused on deposit sizes.

Each plan is all about helping young people achieve the dream of home ownership without the "bank of mum and dad", however according to the experts, making mortgages easier to obtain isn't the solution.

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Using $50,000 from your superannuation

Dutton's "super for housing" policy, which he pledged earlier this year, would allow Australians to pull a maximum of $50,000 from their retirement accounts to help pay for house deposits.

"Your super is your money – not the government's," the opposition leader said on Sunday during his campaign launch in western Sydney.

But early superannuation withdrawal could have significant impacts on someone's financial future, warns executive director of The Mckell Institute Rebecca Thistleton.

Thistleton said a sudden surge in young people having a house deposit in their bank account will only drive property prices up, particularly in capital cities.

"Our analysis shows that a super-for-housing scheme would add at least $69,000 to the price of the average house in Sydney, $108,000 in Melbourne and $159,000 in Adelaide," she said.

READ MORE: The top five issues affecting young voters at this year's federal election

"We also pinpointed how much a homebuyer would need to take from their super to realistically boost buying power.

"We found that using $10,000 to $30,000 to buy a home would do little to help a first homebuyer get into the market, but would leave them worse off at retirement compared to leaving that amount in their super long-term."

Founder of Home Loan Experts Otto Dargan agrees extra borrowing power isn't the solution, and instead said both parties should invest in boosting supply.

"They're focused on the levers that they can pull easily as a federal government, whereas the issues are more to do with planning, development approvals and zoning which are the domain of the states," Dargan said.

Five per cent deposits

Labor's solution to getting young people on the property ladder is a scheme that would allow most first homebuyers to buy a property with just a five per cent, with the federal government guaranteeing a portion of the loan.

This would help a Sydneysider to purchase a $1 million property with a $50,000 deposit.

Dargan said this policy may help people who can't rely on their parents to be guarantors on a home loan.

"This policy is particularly good for immigrants and people from less affluent backgrounds, it bypasses the bank of mum and dad," he said.

However, mortgage broker Siddhartha Bajracharya said the cost of a five per cent deposit may get a lot bigger as house prices skyrocket under low supply.

"This will help more first-home buyers purchase houses as long as they can service and qualify but I think rather than this creating unmanageable home loans, it would only make the property prices go up," he said.

"I think the government should push the land and construction side as well.

"More houses will probably bring the housing prices under control and I think the economy could benefit."

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Under the scheme, first-home buyers with a 5 per cent deposit wouldn't have to pay lenders mortgage insurance (LMI), saving the average person around $23,000.

"You won't have to pay a single dollar in mortgage insurance, our government will cover it," Albanese said on Sunday.

"Australia will be better for helping people to get over this hurdle," Dargan said of this promise.

Deducting mortgage interest payments from income tax

Easing mortgage stress was the second pillar of Dutton's housing policy.

The Coalition said it would let first-time homeowners of newly built properties make mortgage interest payments tax deductible, which would save an average of $12,000 per year.

The scheme is limited to five years, is against only the first $650,000 of a home loan and is means-tested, with income caps of $175,000 for singles and $250,000 for couples.

Dargan said it would only make home ownership more accessible if banks took the scheme into account.

"The government would need to work with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) or consider amendments to the National Consumer Credit Protection Act to allow banks to include the tax-deductible interest when calculating borrowing power," he explained.

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$10 billion to build more homes

The federal government said, if re-elected, it will invest $10 billion into building 100,000 homes reserved just for first homebuyers to address the housing shortage.

Labor's package will include $2 billion in grants and $8 billion in zero-interest loans or equity investments.

Experts have consistently pointed to increasing supply as one of the only real ways to move the needle on house prices.

"Homebuyer incentives must come with more housing supply, otherwise prices will rise," Thistleton said.

"Building more homes depends on having enough workers, and while Labor's free TAFE and apprentice support will help, we need a clear construction workforce plan."

"Labor's policy appeals to people struggling to save for a deposit while paying rent.

"Importantly, Labor's policy includes new housing construction specifically for first homebuyers."

Dargan agreed and said extra housing might not look like the white picket fence dream – but it would do the job.

"It means building high rises and being unpopular with people in those suburbs," he said.

"It means letting go of the dream of the quarter-acre block.

"Let's be honest, first home buyers don't want a backyard and Hills Hoist anymore, they just want somewhere to live."

The Coalition said in March it has a plan for a $5 billion housing infrastructure fund.

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Pop superstar Katy Perry and five other women have safely completed an all-female spaceflight aboard billionaire Jeff Bezos' space tourism rocket.

She joined Blue Origin founder Bezos' fiancee, Lauren Sanchez, journalist Gayle King, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, who now heads an engineering firm, research scientist Amanda Nguyen and movie producer Kerianne Flynn on the 10-minute flight.

The New Shepard rocket lifted off on the quick up-and-down trip from West Texas to the fringes of space some 105 kilometres up about 8.30am (11.30pm AEST) today.

Squeals of joy erupted from inside the rocket as the women blasted away from Earth at supersonic speeds, exclaiming at the size of the almost-full moon.

The reusable rocket touched down in the desert about seven minutes after takeoff, followed a few minutes later by the capsule, accompanied by more exclamations of happiness.

Perry and King said the pop star sang a few bars of Louis Armstrong's What A Wonderful World after the women returned to their seats following the zero-gravity period.

"It's not about me. It's not about singing my songs. It's about a collective energy in there," she said on the Blue Origin livestream.

"It's about us. It's about making space for future women and taking up space and belonging. 

"And it's about this wonderful world that we see right out there and appreciating it."

Blue Origin announced the crew, selected by Sanchez, in February.

"When Jeff went up and came back down and I was so excited for everything," she said in an interview on the Blue Origin coverage.

"Within 24 hours, he was like, 'Would you ever go up?' I was like, 'What?" I was like, 'Yes, I would go up'. 

"And in that exact moment, I said, 'Could I take all women up?' and he goes, 'That's a great idea'."

After touchdown, Bezos opened the hatch and embraced his fiancee Sanchez on the way out. Perry held a daisy up in the air, partly in tribute to her daughter of the same name, before kissing the dirt. 

"Daisies are common flowers, but they grow through any condition," she said. They grow through cement. They grow through cracks, they grow through walls. 

"They are resilient. They are powerful. They are strong. They are everywhere."

The star power was not limited to the rocket itself, with members of the Kardashian family and Oprah Winfrey, CBS Mornings co-host King's best friend, watching on.

"[I've] never been more proud because this is bigger than just going to space," Winfrey said, before liftoff. 

" … Anytime we're on a flight, she's in anybody's lap if there's the slightest bit of turbulence, has like real, real anxiety flying, and this is overcoming a wall of fear, a barrier. 

"It's, I think it's going to be cathartic in so many ways for her."

"I am feeling so grateful and grounded and honoured to be invited and included with this incredible group of women," Perry said.

Blue Origin has flown tourists on short hops to space since 2021, after Bezos climbed aboard with his brother for the inaugural trip; Perry's trip is the company's 11th human spaceflight.

Some passengers have received free rides, while others have paid a hefty sum to experience weightlessness. The company declined to comment on who was footing the bill for the flight.

The trip has not been without critiques, most recently from actor Olivia Munn, who bemoaned the mission's cost and publicity. 

But Perry believes an all-women crew — the first since Valentina Tereshkova's solo spaceflight in 1963 — has historic ramifications. Only 14 per cent of people who have gone to space so far have been women.

"It's an important moment for the future of commercial space travel and for humanity in general and for women all around," she said. 

"I just feel like, 'Put us in coach'."

– Reported with Associated Press

Two security guards accused of bashing a young couple at a Perth nightclub have been sacked.

The alleged victims – parents of three children – say they've been left shaken by the ordeal at The Lookout in Scarborough on Sunday night.

Security tried to escort a man from the bar last night after he kicked water and skidded on the dance floor. 

Nathan Kidd claims he was turned on when he stepped in to help, allegedly hit at least seven times and left with a split lip and bumps to his head. 

Phone vision appears to show the young father trying to shelter himself from punches as one of the security guards is straddled on top of him.

As the victim's friends tried to intervene, one of the guards was seemingly seen with his hands around a woman's neck. 

"Any violence in those sort of situations, particularly when it comes to crowd control, is unacceptable," Premier Roger Cook said.

Two of the security guards, brothers 32-year-old Nazier Ibrahimovic and 37-year-old Enver Ibrahimovic, were charged with intent to harm and doing an act causing bodily harm.

They were granted bail today and not required to enter a plea.

Both men aren't allowed to work in security or crowd control while out on bail. When told also not to contact the alleged victims, Nazier Ibrahimovic said he couldn't even remember what they looked like. 

The Lookout management said it was" extremely disappointed by the behaviour".

"It goes against the values we uphold at The Lookout," the club said.

"The security guards involved … will not be returning."

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Warning: This story contains the name and images of a deceased Indigenous person.

Confronting footage has been played at an inquest into the bizarre death of a woman who went into cardiac arrest after she had a hot coffee thrown at her in Melbourne.

A coroner will need to decide whether Lisa Murphy died as a result of the 2022 altercation at a Caulfield service station or whether it was just a tragic coincidence.

Today, the woman who threw the drink gave evidence at an inquest into Murphy's death.

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"She called me a white racist Jew … I felt angry because I'm Jewish," Sarah Franklin said.

"I shouldn't have but I wanted her to stop, so I took the lid off my coffee … and I threw it at her."

The court heard Murphy lunged at Franklin inside the service station and bit her, at which point the 53-year-old punched Murphy and wrestled her to the ground.

"I was terrified, she was very strong," said Franklin.

"I was lightly restraining her."

But within minutes Murphy was unconscious. No one administered CPR until police arrived.

Officers told the court Murphy was using heavy drugs and had complex health needs.

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She died in hospital days later.

A forensic pathologist explained it was possible the scuffle could have brought on the cardiac arrest.

Franklin was sentenced to four months' jail but was allowed to walk free after she successfully appealed.

The coroner said while it was possible the altercation contributed to Murphy's death, the evidence points to multiple factors.

She will hand down her formal judgment later this year.

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Frank Dimasi, the elderly man who stabbed his well-known wife to death inside their Adelaide home, has died. 

A court was told of the 93-year-old's death today.

Maria Dimasi, known affectionately as Nonna Maria, was found stabbed 76 times in December 2023.

READ MORE: Boy and man charged after weekend away with family turns tragic

A judge ruled her 93-year-old husband was mentally competent when he stabbed his wife of 67 years to death inside their home at Findon in the city's western suburbs, and that the attack was not the result of dementia, which he was later diagnosed with.

He was found not guilty of murder, by reason of mental incompetence.

Frank Dimasi was held in supervised care until his death.

Mrs Dimasi was well-known for her work with community meal service, Nonna's Cucina.

Her family previously said they were unable to forgive the "evil act" that took place.

Mrs Dimasi "was incredible, absolutely incredible, she just had a heart of gold", loved ones said.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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Warning: This story contains the name and images of a deceased Indigenous person.

One of the men accused of murdering Cassius Turvey "saved" the Indigenous teenager as he was being attacked by a co-accused, a jury has heard.

The 15-year-old Noongar Yamatji boy died in hospital 10 days after prosecutors say he was chased, knocked to the ground and "deliberately struck to the head with a metal pole" in Perth's eastern suburbs on October 13, 2022.

Aleesha Louise Gilmore, 23, her then-boyfriend Jack Steven James Brearley, 24, and his mates, Brodie Lee Palmer, 29, and Mitchell Colin Forth, 26, are on trial in the Supreme Court of Western Australia for Cassius' murder.

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Prosecutors say Brearley delivered the fatal blows while he was "hunting for kids" because somebody had smashed his car windows and allege Forth, Palmer and Gilmore helped him, and knew his intent before the incident.

Brearley denies he struck Cassius with a pole, claiming he only punched him after the teen knifed him and that Palmer struck the fatal blows, which he denies.

Palmer told the jury on Monday he waited in his ute near bushland after Brearley ran into it with a pole in a "show of force" to deter a group of young people from coming to Gilmore's home.

He said he later heard Brearley yelling out for help, saying he had been stabbed, and got out of his car and walked into the bush across a creek towards his voice.

"I can still hear him shouting at somebody  …  asking for the name of the person who gave him the knife," he said as he recalled the events.

"I keep walking until I come across Jack standing over someone laying on the floor with their arms up."

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Palmer, who previously told the court he was recovering from a serious finger injury that impeded his ability to hold things in his left hand, said the person on the ground was attempting to defend themselves.

He said Brearley was heated and screaming at the "boy" and "it didn't look like he was going to stop either".

"I could hear the kid on the floor yelling out 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry'," he said.

Palmer said he pushed Brearley away from the person on the ground and said "what the f— are you doing?"

READ MORE: Pilot 'manipulated' wife's lawnmower death scene, judge told

"I seen his head was covered in blood," he said of the person on the ground.

"Jack made a smart arse comment 'you're lucky he came, he saved you'."

Palmer said the injured boy got up and he asked if he was alright and whether he needed help, but he said he was OK and walked off in the direction of his friends.

He said Brearley was "freaking out" and had two slash wounds to the back of one of his legs.

"He was saying 'I got to get out of here', he wanted to leave fast," he said.

Palmer said he and Brearley later drove to the younger man's uncle's home where Brearley discussed fleeing to Broken Hill to "hide out".

He also said that about three days after Cassius was fatally injured, Brearley and Forth turned up at his home about 2am.

Both were wearing balaclavas and Brearley tried to open the front door before Palmer let them inside, he said.

"That's when the shotgun came out of the sleeve of Mitchell's jacket," he said.

Palmer said the pair paced back and forth in his kitchen and told him they were looking for people connected to the incident on October 13 to "keep them quiet".

He said he was prevented from leaving his home and he "took it as – if you don't stay quiet we'll come for you too".

Asked by his lawyer, Christian Porter, why he had lied to police in his interviews with detectives, Palmer said he feared what his co-accused would do after the shotgun incident.

He also said he was concerned they might tell investigators about his cannabis-growing operation that Brearley was involved in.

The trial continues.

For 24/7 crisis support run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, contact 13YARN (13 92 76). Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyond blue on 1300 22 4636.

Channel Nine will host the third leaders' debate of the federal election campaign when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton face off next week.

The two major party leaders will go head-to-head in The Great Debate – Election 2025: Australia Decides on Tuesday, April 22, at 7.30pm (AEST), less than 12 hours after the first ballots in the election are cast when early voting begins at 8am.

The Great Debate will be moderated by A Current Affair's Ally Langdon, with expert questions from Nine's Charles Croucher, 2GB radio's Deb Knight and Phil Coorey of the Australian Financial Review.

READ MORE: Where Albanese and Dutton have been on the campaign trail

Albanese and Dutton have already had their first debate of the campaign, the "people's forum" hosted by Sky News and the Daily Telegraph which was won by the prime minister, with the second to be held this Wednesday night by the ABC.

After the third debate on Nine, the fourth and final debate to be hosted by Seven on Sunday, April 27.

The Great Debate will be live and exclusive to watch on Channel Nine, 9Now and Stan, and 9news.com.au will live blog all of the contests between the two leaders.

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