Radio National Breakfast

A blood test could soon diagnose Alzheimer's - even decades before symptoms appear.

Neuroscience Research Australia says the development of new technology will enable earlier and more accurate diagnosis of the degenerative disease which researchers say could help people to manage their symptoms before they become a problem.

Around 447,000 Australians live with dementia - which includes Alzheimer's disease.

Alecia Staines has become a voice for change she is a mother of 6 and co-founder of the Maternity Consumer Network - now the largest organisation of its kind in Australia.

Authorities are desperately searching for any survivors following an earthquake which struck the southern city of Kumamoto on Tuesday.

The country's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has promised a full government response into the disaster which has killed at least 18 people. The quake comes a decade after the same city was hit by twin quakes killing more than 270 people and prompting a significant reconstruction effort.

Some good news yesterday on the Closing the Gap targets with more than 95 per cent of First Nations children enrolled in pre-school. But a Productivity Commission report shows outcomes are worsening in four other areas - early childhood development, children in out-of-home care, adult incarceration, and suicide rates.

Government cautiously welcomes latest inflation data. 

There was a grim milestone in the fight against the H-5 bird flu outbreak yesterday with federal authorities confirming the first cases of local transmission. 

In South Australia 11 new cases have been confirmed taking the national toll to 27. The H-5 strain hasn't yet been detected in poultry or other agricultural industries with state authorities to determine if up-scaled mitigation measures are necessary.

ng international concern over the human toll of Sudan's brutal civil war with infants being caught up in the conflict. UNICEF has reported sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war in the country with conflict-related cases increasing by 160 per cent in the past year. 

Iran has launched a barrage of missiles at American forces in the Middle East. It comes as the U.S. has partnered with Saudi Arabia to strike Iran-backed militias in neighbouring Iraq.

Yesterday's inflation result was lower than what the Reserve Bank and other forecasters had feared and has dampened expectations of a rate hike this year. Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson is calling for governments to spend less saying 'underlying inflation persists and that government spending continues to be the driver of inflation'. 

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan is out and the state has a new leader pledging to crack down on alleged corruption in the construction sector.

New Premier Ben Carroll, who was unanimously voted in by the Labor caucus, said his first action would be to call a royal commission into the construction sector promising to do things "differently" from his predecessors.

We hear from former Victorian Labor Premier Steve Bracks, also the ex-commissioner of the state's anti-corruption watchdog Robert Redlich KC. 

And we'll finish in Washington DC as the US President meets with the Israeli Prime Minister on Iran. 

Recap the morning's news, politics and global affairs with the Breakfast Wrap.