AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 9 at 0830
Mideast (CAIRO)
Israeli strikes have killed six Palestinians, including a child, in the Gaza Strip, health officials say, as Israel's military expanded the area under its control, according to residents.
The reports came as mediators in Cairo said they were pressing on with efforts to salvage a fragile US-brokered ceasefire deal that has ended major clashes but left many key points unresolved.
Medics said two people were killed when an Israeli strike hit near a tent encampment in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis in the south of the enclave.
In the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, medics said three Palestinians, including an eight-year-old boy, were killed and others were wounded in an Israeli air strike that hit near a group of people digging a well. Later on Monday, an Israeli air strike near the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip, killed one person and wounded three others, medics said, taking Monday's death toll to six.
Quake Phil (MANILA)
At least 35 people have been killed after a powerful earthquake struck the southern Philippines, prompting tsunami warnings across parts of the region which were lifted again a few hours later.
The quake struck at 7.37am on Monday and registered a magnitude of 7.8, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
The tremor's epicentre was located southwest of Maasim town in Sarangani province, on the southern island of Mindanao, Phivolcs said.
Four people remain missing and a total of 144 were injured, according to official figures.
Thirty-one of the fatalities were from the Sarangani region, General Santos City and South Cotabato while four were from the Davao region.
The tremor was also felt in parts of Indonesia, particularly on the island of Sulawesi where a tsunami warning was also issued.
Ukraine (BERZGALE)
A French military Rafale fighter jet has shot down a drone that entered NATO member Latvia's airspace from Russia, the latest in a series of such security incidents along Europe's eastern border regions.
The Latvian army, without saying who launched the drone, said it entered from Russia "as a result of Russian electromagnetic warfare".
Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, in a post on X, hailed "swift decision-making and professional action" over the incident.
A French army spokesperson confirmed French warplanes had shot down an unidentified drone and a NATO official said: "It shows once again NATO's determination and ability to deter and defend."
The final decision to shoot down the drone was taken by NATO command, Latvian defence minister Raivis Melnis told reporters.
Iran (DUBAI/JERUSALEM)
Iran and Israel say they have halted attacks on each other following an appeal from US President Donald Trump that they immediately "stop shooting".
The wave of attacks over the past 24 hours marked the most direct confrontation between Iran and Israel since an April ceasefire, threatening to wreck US efforts to reach an agreement with Iran to end their more than three-month war.
Oil prices pared gains when Iran's military said its first wave of strikes on Israel was over.
The US dollar retreated from its highest level in nearly two months.
A source briefed on the matter told Reuters that Israel had also decided to halt its attacks on Iran.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that the final objective in the peace negotiations between Iran and the US is "just about to be achieved," asking all sides in the conflict to exercise restraint.
Legal: Waden (BRISBANE)
A man accused of murdering his American girlfriend gave different reasons for why she stopped going to gym classes, claiming she fled creditors or immigration enforcement, a jury has heard.
Mark Sheridan Waden, 50, allegedly killed Priscilla Brooten and buried her body in a trench before dumping it at a Brisbane rubbish tip almost a year later.
Ms Brooten, a 46-year-old US citizen who was staying in Australia without a valid visa, vanished from the home she shared with Waden in Brisbane's northern suburbs in July 2018.
A Brisbane Supreme Court jury heard testimony from several of Ms Brooten's friends on Monday during the second week of Waden's murder trial.
Laetitia Penfold said she met the American for yoga and Zumba classes three or four times a week up until June or July 2018.
Federal (CANBERRA)
Australians don't feel like the system is working for them, the prime minister says, as fresh polling shows Pauline Hanson's One Nation is the most popular party for the first time.
The Newspoll survey recorded a four-point rise in One Nation's primary vote to 31 per cent, while Labor dipped one point to 30 per cent and the coalition fell two points to 18 per cent.
It follows fierce criticism of Labor's controversial tax reform in the May budget, with the coalition opposing the changes, and the Greens yet to indicate they will support the legislation.
Anthony Albanese said his government will continue to focus on making a practical difference to people's lives.
"Many people feel that the system isn't working for them, that they're working for the economy, not the economy with them," he told reporters in Canberra on Monday.
Obit Scolyer (SYDNEY)
The family of a world-renowned pathologist say his legacy will live on through his melanoma research and the inspirational way he dealt with his own brain cancer diagnosis.
Richard Scolyer, the 2024 Australian of the Year, will be honoured with a state funeral after his death on Sunday at the age of 59.
He helped save the lives of thousands of people through his groundbreaking work on skin cancer.
Along with colleague Georgina Long, he took melanoma from being a common death sentence to a disease that was largely curable through treatment that activated a patient's immune system, bringing hope and healing to many.
Professor Scolyer's brother-in-law Charlie Nicoll reflected on the leading researcher's three-year battle with an incurable and aggressive brain cancer, glioblastoma, after he was given as little as six months to live in 2023.
Iran (DUBAI)
Israel has launched airstrikes targeting central and western Iran in response to missile fire.
Iranian state television reported the sound of explosions being heard in Isfahan, Tabriz and Tehran, without immediately elaborating.
Iran closed the airspace around Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, the country's main airfield, after the Israeli attack.
Israel's Defense Force confirmed the strikes early on Monday on a post on X.
The attacks further strain efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire in the war between Iran and the United States.
Earlier, Iran launched missiles at Israel in the first such bombardment since a fragile ceasefire took effect in early April.
The exchange raised the possibility of a return to heavy fighting and complicating mediation efforts to end the war.
In finance ...
OpenAI (NEW YORK CITY)
ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has confidentially filed for a US initial public offering, joining rival Anthropic in a push toward the stock market as investors seek exposure to the artificial intelligence boom.
OpenAI did not disclose the size or terms of the offering, and said a timeline has not yet been determined.
"It may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company," it said in a statement.
Reuters had reported that the AI giant is targeting a valuation of up to $1 trillion in a stock market debut that could come as early as September.
At that valuation, OpenAI would set the stage for a trio of trillion-dollar valuation companies debuting rapidly and is seen as the most consequential test of investor appetite for high-growth technology stocks in the recent decade.
Economy Preview (CANBERRA)
Central bankers in Australia will scrutinise consumer and business confidence figures amid a dearth of hard economic data this week.
Sentiment has plummeted amongst households and employers since the outbreak of the Middle East conflict in late February.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer confidence survey, due to be released on Tuesday, will give a sense of how much global uncertainty and the federal budget continue to weigh on spending decisions and inflation expectations.
Also on Tuesday, NAB's business sentiment survey will provide a read on the extent to which businesses are passing on cost pressures.
Financial markets are fully priced in for the Reserve Bank to hold the cash rate at 4.35 per cent at its June meeting, but one more rate hike is still expected by the end of the year.
In entertainment ...
Tonys (NEW YORK)
John Lithgow has won best leading actor in a play at the Tony Awards for Giant, which depicts a crisis in the life of author Roald Dahl as he faces fallout from remarks deemed anti-Semitic and must weigh apologising against risking his reputation.
It was the 80-year-old Lithgow's third Tony, having won his first 53 years ago for his Broadway debut in The Changing Room.
"At every point we had to figure out, 'Why is this man doing this?'" he told reporters.
"Anti-Semitism, cruelty of all kinds ... these are things that we're dealing with these days up front and personal ... that's what makes Giant so important and such a success."
Rose Byrne is also hoping to pick up her first Tony for her starring role in a Broadway revival of a century-old Noel Coward play.
Arts Festival (MELBOURNE)
Capital city arts festivals are usually evening affairs, but in a city of early risers, this one kicks off at dawn.
Brisbane Festival artistic director Ebony Bott's inaugural program features 160 productions across three weeks in September, of which almost 120 events will be free to attend.
"The beautiful thing about different festivals in each city across Australia is that they need to respond to the rhythm of the city they're in," Bott said.
The program begins each day as the sun rises, with attractions such as yoga and early morning DJ sets from New York's DAYBREAKER movement.
The festival is also re-establishing its former hub at South Bank with a temporary village in the riverside forecourt, designed as a nod to the 2032 Olympic Village.
In sport ...
RL Origin NSW (SYDNEY)
NSW coach Laurie Daley is rolling the dice on the fitness of Mitchell Moses after recalling the Parramatta captain to his Blues side for game two of the State of Origin series.
Moses was named in Daley's squad on Monday despite having failed to play for the Eels since he was ruled out of the May 27 series opener in Sydney less than 48 hours before kick-off.
The Parramatta playmaker suffered a minor hamstring strain in the lead-up to game one and was replaced at five-eighth by Canberra's Ethan Strange.
Strange played a key role in the Blues' 22-20 victory but Moses' inclusion is expected to force the Canberra youngster to the bench for next Wednesday's clash at the MCG.
AFL Freeze (MELBOURNE)
Collingwood and Melbourne players have formed a circle in the middle of the MCG as a tribute to Neale Daniher.
After a video tribute on the giants screens, the capacity crowd erupted in applause ahead of the AFL Kings' Birthday clash.
The pre-game 12th Big Freeze was held in perfect sunny conditions, a fortnight after Daniher died from motor neurone disease.
It was 13 years since he had been diagnosed with MND. A state memorial service will be held for him on Wednesday, also at the MCG.
The former AFL player and coach became an inspiration for fronting the FightMND charity, with the Big Freeze its annual centrepiece. In 2025 he was named Australian Of The Year.
The impact of Daniher and the FightMND campaign means that the King's Birthday game is the biggest AFL game this year outside the grand final - a status traditionally reserved for the MCG Anzac Day blockbuster.
Ends Bulletin
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