AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 2 at 1530
AUKUS (CANBERRA)
A Labor MP has broken ranks to call for a rethink of the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal as a former party minister launches a "people's inquiry" into the agreement.
After asking whether Labor's original commitment to the deal still stood during a private caucus meeting in Canberra on Tuesday, Labor backbencher Ed Husic went public with his reservations about the military pact after it was announced Australia would only get second-hand submarines from the US.
"You do wonder whether or not we will get the deal, even the reconfigured one that we have got," Mr Husic told reporters at Parliament House.
Originally, Australia was set to get a mix of new and used Virginia-Class vessels before eventually building its own in Adelaide, but now the defence force will only get used submarines.
Legal: Jones (SYDNEY)
Ex-shock jock Alan Jones has had a minor win in court as one of the dozens of abuse charges against him was dropped as he prepares for a lengthy court fight.
The 85-year-old faces a four-month-long hearing in August having pleaded not guilty to 26 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching.
But prosecutors indicated one incident from 2013 would no longer form part of the case.
A charge of indecent assault was to be withdrawn, the prosecutor said in court on Tuesday.
The charge arose from an event in Tamworth in northwest NSW where Jones was alleged to have grabbed the complainant's bottom.
"The director (of public prosecutions) has indicated there will be no further proceedings on (that charge)," prosecutor James Staples told Downing Centre Local Court.
Legal: RobertsSmith (SYDNEY)
Former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith will not know of the full suite of war crimes allegations against him for months due to classified information included in the case.
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.
But the case against him is mired in delays stretching to September due to national security issues, Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court was told on Tuesday.
Crown prosecutor Chelsea Brain said Roberts-Smith could not be given the full brief of evidence against him until certain orders protecting sensitive information were made by the court.
The application over this top secret material was made by the federal government.
Legal: Catalano (MELBOURNE)
Media mogul Antony Catalano can return to his Byron Bay home after his bail conditions were varied to allow interstate travel.
Catalano, 59, watched the Melbourne Magistrates Court hearing on a video link from his Victorian home on Tuesday, two months after he was charged over an alleged attack against his wife Stefanie.
The co-owner of Australian Community Media is accused of intentionally choking, strangling or suffocating the woman at a St Kilda property in the early hours of March 13.
It's also alleged Catalano unlawfully imprisoned his wife and detained her against her will.
Catalano is facing eight criminal charges, including recklessly cause injury, making threats to kill and assault.
His lawyer Tony Hargreaves on Tuesday sought an adjournment to July, telling the court the case had yet to resolve.
Ebola (KINSHASA)
The head of the World Health Organisation has concluded his visit to Democratic Republic of Congo by briefing the president on the response to the Ebola outbreak, which an aid agency warns is likely much larger than official figures show.
The outbreak, already the third-largest on record, persisted for weeks undetected, say health officials, who are now behind the curve and struggling to bring it under control.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for more international support to stop the disease's spread before he travelled to Congo's Ituri province where the first cases were confirmed.
There he said he saw some encouraging signs - including five certified recoveries - as well as the need to ramp up testing and treatment capacity and promote trust in health workers.
Hantavirus (AMSTERDAM)
A cruise ship that was at the centre of a hantavirus outbreak has been disinfected and is ready to set sail again with passengers, its operator says.
The Hondius is to depart on Saturday for the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.
From there, it is due to set off on June 13 on a voyage through the Arctic Ocean, the Dutch cruise line Oceanwide Expeditions said.
Specialists from Dutch health authorities carried out a comprehensive cleaning and disinfection of the ship.
Authorities cleared the vessel for service over the weekend, and there is no longer any risk of infection, the company said.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the hantavirus was brought aboard by passengers and did not originate on the ship, Oceanwide Expeditions said.
Iran (WASHINGTON, D. C.)
US President Donald Trump says Israel and the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon have agreed to halt their attacks on each other for the time being.
Trump also said Israel would not send troops into the Lebanese capital Beirut, despite earlier threats to do so.
The US president said the development followed a "very productive" phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a "very good" conversation with senior Hezbollah representatives.
"I had a very productive call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel, and there will be no Troops going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back," he wrote on Truth Social.
"Likewise, through highly placed Representatives, I had a very good call with Hezbollah, and they agreed that all shooting will stop - That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel."
Ukraine (KYIV)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov says he believes agreeing a deal to end the war against Russia by the northern hemisphere winter is a "realistic" outcome.
Zelenskiy said in an interview aired on Sunday that he wanted to press on with talks on securing peace with Russia, which have stalled in recent months, before the onset of winter to take account of Ukraine's improved strategic position.
Talks brokered by the United States on moving toward a peace accord have ground to a halt as US officials have focused on the conflict in Iran.
Budanov said he expected a US delegation to visit Moscow and Kyiv in the near future, without giving details.
"This is the president's instruction: to try to end this war as soon as possible ... preferably before winter," he told reporters at a press conference.
In finance ...
Wages (CANBERRA)
Almost three million workers will learn how much their pay packets will increase as the industrial umpire hands down its highly anticipated annual wage review.
The Fair Work Commission's decision, to be revealed on Tuesday, sets the increase for minimum and award wage scales from July 1.
With the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz exacerbating already high inflation pressures, unions have been pushing the commission for a bumper pay rise to ensure workers don't go backwards.
Peak body the Australian Council of Trade Unions has called for an increase of six per cent, which would be the biggest increase to award wages on record.
"The Fair Work Commission must not allow low-paid workers like those in the hospo, retail and care industries to go backwards," said ACTU secretary Sally McManus.
Star (MELBOURNE)
Players were allowed to gamble non-stop for more than a day and a half at Sydney's Star casino, exceeding legal time limits by more than 24 hours.
Star Sydney has been hit with $10 million in fines for regulatory breaches, including exceeding gaming time limits and failing to properly vet patrons for links to criminal and terrorist activity.
The casino will be required to set aside a further $5 million to bolster its financial crime risk management operations by the independent body behind the fines, the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC).
A $1.5 million fine was imposed for allowing customers to exceed gaming time limits on multiple occasions between May 2024 and April 2025, the commission revealed on Monday.
In some cases, patrons were able to gamble for more than 36 hours straight despite regulations limiting gambling to no more than 12 hours in 24 hours.
In entertainment ...
Legal: Lively (NEW YORK CITY)
The legal battle between actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni has returned to centre stage in a New York court despite a deal to end Lively's claims that she suffered retaliation after making sexual harassment claims over the making of their 2024 film It Ends With Us.
Lawyer Ellyn Garofalo, representing Baldoni, told US District Judge Lewis J. Liman that Lively was trying through an application for legal fees to do "an end run around the jury trial" that was voided when a deal was reached before a May trial was set to start.
At a hearing without the actors, Garofalo told Liman it was wrong for Lively to seek damages and legal fees after agreeing to a settlement in which she dismissed her claims without Baldoni and his production company "paying a cent of the $US300 million in damages she was demanding."
Stones (LONDON)
Mick Jagger says he "can't wait" to get back on the road with The Rolling Stones but admits there are not likely to be any live dates in 2026.
Raising fresh hopes the veteran rockers could yet embark on another tour, Jagger made the declaration while appearing on BBC Radio 2's Tracks of My Years alongside fellow Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood.
Jagger, 82, was asked whether fans could expect to see the band touring again in the near future, and replied: "I'd love to go on tour. Can't wait."
"I don't think it's going to be this year, but hopefully as soon as possible."
The frontman, whose career with the Stones has spanned more than six decades, made the comments as the legendary band prepare to release their 25th studio album, Foreign Tongues, on July 10.
In sport ...
Super Reds (BRISBANE)
Fraser McReight has spent all week thinking about how to win the battle of the "dark arts" as the Reds captain prepares to join one of Queensland rugby's most exclusive clubs.
Saturday's Super Rugby Pacific quarter-final in Hamilton against the Chiefs will be the No.7's 100th for the Reds.
Only two other flankers - former Wallabies captain David Wilson and tough-as-nails Test toiler David Croft - have achieved the feat for the Reds.
The milestone game shapes as one of the most defining for McReight, still just 27, and his men as they aim to end a run of four-straight quarter-final exits before coach Les Kiss departs for the Wallabies top job.
"Just to get one game, seven or eight years ago, was special ... and what better week to have it than a quarter-final," McReight said.
WC26 Aust (OAKLAND)
Mathew Leckie has been a part of a team that shocked the world once and with the likes of Nestory Irankunda and Cristian Volpato involved, has every reason to believe a young Socceroos outfit can do even better.
The veteran, who famously scored the winner over Denmark that sent Australia to the round of 16 in Qatar, is heading to his fourth World Cup.
Australia are in Group D and will play Turkey in Vancouver on June 14, the United States in Seattle six days later then Paraguay in Santa Clara on June 26 (all dates AEST).
The Socceroos are again underdogs but Leckie believes they can still do something special.
"The belief's always been there, I think it's a big driver in what we do," Leckie said.
Ends Bulletin
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