AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 16 at 1500
Legal: Ahmad (MELBOURNE)
An accused ISIS bride is still a threat to the community because there is no compelling evidence that she renounces the terror group, a prosecutor has claimed.
Lawyers for Zeinab Ahmad, 31, on Monday told Melbourne Magistrates Court she rejected Islamic State and held deep anger towards the men who enforced its ideals upon her.
But prosecutor Andrew Sprague on Tuesday argued the only "clear and objective" evidence available to the court showed Ahmad's support for IS.
He pointed to social media posts Ahmad allegedly made in 2015 and 2016 where she called for violence against non-believers and the destruction of the US and its allies.
"(Her statements) have endorsed and supported an ideology and a terrorist organisation that is fundamentally opposed to the freedom and safety of all those who do not share its views," Mr Sprague said.
Legal: RobertsSmith (SYDNEY)
Decorated former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith will apply to a court to move home and be with his children while he fights allegations of war crimes.
The 47-year-old was arrested in April and charged with murdering or ordering the murders of five unarmed detainees while deployed in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.
He appeared before Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday, when his lawyers applied to vary his bail.
"Today is just about being able to see my children and moving back to where we actually live," he told reporters outside court.
"That's what we're focused on today."
The Victoria Cross recipient is also expected to ask the court if he can attend two formal military ceremonies and a social function afterwards.
PollVic (MELBOURNE)
Jacinta Allan will live to fight another day as Victorian premier after a leadership challenge failed to materialise despite weeks of speculation and falling support in the polls.
Victorian Labor MPs filed in on Tuesday morning for a final caucus meeting before parliament rises until late July.
It was considered the final chance for MPs to roll their leader, unless a special meeting was called over the mid-winter break.
But momentum for a spill ground to a halt after Ms Allan's main internal rival, Deputy Premier Ben Carroll, ruled out a challenge on Monday.
Ms Allan, who has been heavily criticised for rising state crime rates and allegations of corruption on government project worksites, walked into the meeting with Mr Carroll and others trailing behind her in a show of support.
Legal: Waden (BRISBANE)
A man accused of killing his American girlfriend and burying her body in a backyard trench before later disposing of it at a rubbish tip has been found guilty of murder.
Mark Sheridan Waden was charged after the disappearance of Priscilla Brooten, a 46-year-old US citizen who was living in Australia without a valid visa.
The 50-year-old was found guilty by a jury on Tuesday after weeks on trial in Brisbane Supreme Court. He faces a mandatory life sentence.
"It wasn't me," Waden said when the jury handed down its verdict on its second day of deliberation.
The prosecution alleged he killed Ms Brooten at the home they shared in Brisbane's north, making up stories about why she suddenly disappeared.
Mideast (CAIRO)
Israeli strikes and gunfire have killed at least four Palestinians in Gaza, as mediators prepare for further ceasefire talks in Cairo to safeguard a US-brokered peace plan for the tiny war-ravaged Palestinian enclave.
Medics said an Israeli airstrike on Monday killed a woman in the town of Zawayda in the central Gaza Strip, while another strike killed one person in the nearby Nuseirat refugee camp.
Later on Monday, an Israeli airstrike targeted the rooftop of a building in Gaza City, killing two people, a medic and his son, health officials said.
The Israeli military said it killed two Hamas militants in separate strikes in the Gaza Strip. It said the militants were planning to carry out attacks against Israeli troops, without providing further details.
Tax (CANBERRA)
The federal government's planned tax changes will dump compliance costs on taxpayers and their advisers, an accounting body warns.
Under Labor's reforms, the capital gains tax discount of 50 per cent will be replaced with an inflation-indexed calculation and a 30 per cent minimum rate.
Negative gearing of investment properties will also be scaled back to only apply to new houses from July 2027.
The Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand will tell a senate inquiry on Tuesday a statutory review of the legislation should take place within 12 months due to the short consultation time and complexity of the changes.
This would act as a safeguard mechanism to ensure the legislation was operating as intended and to provide an opportunity for any "fixes" that needed to be made.
Ukraine (KIEV)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says he had proposed a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France this week but that the Kremlin had rejected the idea.
"Before the start of the G7 summit, we made it clear that we were prepared to meet with Putin during the G7 summit, as (US President Donald) Trump and (French President Emmanuel) Macron would be present there," Zelenskiy told reporters in Kyiv.
He made the remarks while inspecting damage to the main cathedral of the Pechersk Lavra monastery complex following a major Russian air attack.
The damage to the Kyiv monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site founded in 1051, drew international condemnation.
France's foreign minister said the attack was akin to bombing Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.
Economy (CANBERRA)
Borrowers can be reassured interest rates are likely to remain on hold for now, but with the inflation dragon still rampant, they should not expect the Reserve Bank to come to their rescue any time soon.
During economic slowdowns, the central bank has often been the "knight in shining armour" for households, cutting interest rates when times are tough to give the economy a boost, HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham said.
A sluggish GDP print for the March quarter and rising unemployment suggest Australia is already in a downswing.
But while he predicted no more hikes from the Reserve Bank this cycle, mortgage holders were unlikely to receive any rate relief until at least 2027, Mr Bloxham said.
The board should take a lesson from 2025, when it cut interest rates three times as inflation was still coming down, and not turn its back on the inflation dragon until it is sufficiently tamed, he said.
In finance ...
Tax (CANBERRA)
Parliamentarians are being urged to pass laws limiting tax breaks for property investors and not "let the perfect be the enemy of the good".
Looming tax reforms would help make the tax system more equitable, independent economist Saul Eslake said on day one of a snap two-day inquiry into the tax changes on Monday.
While he had reservations about the proposal to replace the 50 per cent discount for capital gains tax with a rate tied to inflation and a 30 per cent minimum and limit negative gearing, Mr Eslake said other criticisms of the changes were unwarranted.
"I'm never one to let the perfect, in my eyes, be the enemy of the good, and I think that the changes that the government has proposed would be an improvement," Mr Eslake told a Senate committee hearing.
FUEL (CANBERRA)
Ski holidays and other far-flung winter road trip destinations will suffer when tax relief for drivers runs out during one of the biggest domestic travel periods, advocates warn.
A fuel excise cut and GST rebate designed to ease surging costs for drivers amid the conflict in Iran are both set to expire on June 30.
It will mean the median cost of filling a 65-litre tank in capital cities will jump by about $14.30 for petrol and $34.13 for diesel as drivers absorb a 32 cents per litre price hike.
But regional tourist destinations will also likely bear a knock-on effect as school holiday drivers elect to stay home, according to the Tourism and Transport Forum.
"We know the costs and the availability of fuel is radically impacting on people's travel plans," the forum's chief executive Margy Osmond told AAP.
In entertainment ...
Tyler (LONDON)
Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler is "no longer in a coma" but remains "very unwell" in intensive care, according to a post on her official website.
She has also cancelled or postponed all her remaining shows this years.
It had been announced that the 75-year-old was taken to a hospital near to her home in Faro, Portugal for emergency intestinal surgery earlier this month.
"Bonnie's family and team would like to update everyone on how she is progressing with her recovery," the statement said.
"Bonnie is no longer in a coma but remains very unwell and in intensive care in hospital in Portugal. Although her condition is improving it is a slow process.
"Her doctors remain confident that she will make a good recovery but it is going to take time.
Dylan (LONDON)
Bob Dylan has broken his customary silence via The New York Times, contributing to an op-ed tied to US President Donald Trump's 80th birthday.
The 85-year-old rock legend offered some words of wisdom with selection of octogenarians on what it means to reach the milestone age.
"The old fire in your heart still tells you to do this and that, but your body says we already did it. Also, nothing surprises you," Dylan wrote in the New York Times.
"It sounds like a luxury but it's not, and also you've run out of illusions.
"The really worst part about being 80 is that you find, at last, you've got an understanding of something that might have altered everything in the past, had it come at a time when something could still be altered.
In sport ...
RU Foketi (BRISBANE)
Lalakai Foketi doesn't think he's earned a phone call from Joe Schmidt, but as the lone Australian left standing in the Super Rugby Pacific season hasn't closed the door on a Wallabies return.
As the Wallabies gather in Sydney ahead of a July 4 Test against Ireland, the Chiefs centre will complete a rollercoaster 12 months when he runs out against the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday.
A World Cup player in 2023, Foketi was repeatedly injured - he avoided spinal damage but feared his career was over after a scary training injury in 2024 - and sapped of confidence when he eventually left the NSW Waratahs last season.
The messy exit prompted ongoing legal action, with the 31-year-old claiming he was wrongfully dismissed when his contract was terminated because he'd breached terms by travelling to Hamilton for promotional duties with his new club.
WC26 Aust (OAKLAND)
The Socceroos don't have to look too far back to know the danger of getting ahead of themselves at the World Cup.
Australia has one foot in the knockout stage after a brilliant opening 2-0 win over Turkey.
But the coaches and players are well aware things could easily change with a poor result against co-hosts the United States in Seattle on Friday (Saturday 0500 AEST).
Assistant coach Hayden Foxe pointed to Saudi Arabia's famous opening win over eventual champions Argentina at the 2022 tournament - and what happened next.
"It's one game, and you winning the first game doesn't dictate where you go in the tournament," assistant coach Hayden Foxe said.
"There was a good example of Saudi doing that in the past tournament, they beat Argentina first game, and we're talking about Saudi - 'how fantastic' ... which is great.
Ends Bulletin
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