AAP Rolling News Bulletin for May 26 at 1030
Terror Aust (CANBERRA)
A second group of women and children linked to Islamic State are expected to face charges when they arrive back in Australia.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed seven women and 12 children have made plans to travel from Syria to Australia, after spending years in a Syrian refugee camp.
The so-called "ISIS brides", who are due to arrive in Australia on Tuesday evening, are expected to face charges upon their return.
"The government has not and will not provide any assistance to this group," Mr Burke said in a statement.
"These are people who have made the horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an unspeakable situation.
"Any members of this cohort who have committed crimes can expect to face the full force of the law."
Energy (CANBERRA)
Energy bills for households and small businesses are forecast to fall by up to 10 per cent across parts of the eastern states.
The final Default Market Offer, which set out the maximum amount retailers can charge on plans, shows price reductions for households and even bigger drops for small businesses.
Household standing offer time-of-use prices will fall by up to 10.7 per cent across South Australia, NSW and Queensland's southeast.
Small business standing offer time-of-use prices are set to fall by up to 20.9 per cent.
The Australian Energy Regulator sets the default market offer as a benchmark for residential and small business electricity bills in NSW, southeast Queensland and South Australia.
The government said the 2026/27 determination is the first under a reformed framework designed to bolster protections for customers and deliver a better deal.
Federal (CANBERRA)
Creating a formal teal party could lead to messy leadership disputes or force members to vote for policies they don't agree with, one of Australia's first teal independents has warned.
Kerryn Phelps, who won the Sydney seat of Wentworth when former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull resigned in 2018, said having a party structure would allow teal independents to share resources and work together on policies but suggested the move could also alienate some supporters.
Multiple independent MPs have left the door open to creating a more formal political alliance - whether that be a party or a more closely aligned grouping - with Mr Turnbull reported to be involved in bringing them together.
Asked about the speculation, Professor Phelps said while some voters wanted independent MPs to remain independent, the political impact of creating a new party would largely depend on its structure.
Ukraine (KYIV)
Russian authorities have urged foreigners to leave Kyiv before the launch of a "series of systematic strikes" against military targets in Ukraine's capital.
Russia's foreign ministry said the strikes were a response to what the Kremlin says was a deliberate drone strike on a student dorm in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine's military denied the Russian accusations and said it had struck an elite drone command unit in the area.
A Ukrainian attack on a residential building in the Russian-controlled town of Starobilsk in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine left more than 20 people dead, local authorities said.
Russian authorities said at least 18 students from a teacher training college were killed.
A total of 48 people were reported injured.
Iran (DUBAI)
Iran's top negotiator and its foreign minister are in Doha for talks with Qatar's prime minister on a potential deal with the United States to end the three-month-old war, an official briefed on the visit says after both sides played down hopes for an imminent breakthrough.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in New Delhi earlier the United States would give diplomacy every chance to succeed before considering whether to deal with Iran in "another way".
There was a "pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the strait (of Hormuz), get the strait open, enter into a very real significant time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matter and hopefully we can pull it off," Rubio said.
Mideast (GAZA)
An Israeli air strike on a tent in the southern Gaza Stri has killed two people including a six-year-old girl and wounded 17 other people, including children, Palestinian health officials say.
Medics said the Israeli air strike on a tent encampment of displaced families in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave, had killed six-year-old Mennatallah Abu Libda and a 31-year-old woman, Hanan Mahmoud.
The attack was carried out by two helicopters, witnesses said.
The Israeli military told Reuters it had struck militants in the area but provided no further information.
Relatives of the victims arrived at the hospital to bid farewell.
Men and women who were related to the dead girl wept beside her white-shrouded body.
Legal: Freeman (MELBOURNE)
Dezi Freeman's months on the run and the final moments before his death will form the basis of a much-anticipated inquest.
Freeman led police on one of the nation's largest manhunts after he killed two police officers serving a warrant at his home in rural Victoria in August 2025.
Questions still remain about the deaths of Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart and Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, and how Freeman was able to evade police for months after fleeing his Porepunkah property, 310km northwest of Melbourne.
The officers were executing a warrant after disclosure of Freeman allegedly sexually assaulting a child, as well as attempting to involve a child in the production of child abuse material, a Coroners Court was told on Monday.
Ebola (KAMPALA)
The head of the World Health Organisation says the fast-moving Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda is outpacing response efforts, giving the latest number of suspected deaths as 220.
Addressing an online meeting of the African Union about the outbreak, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a delay in detecting Ebola cases meant responders were now "playing catch-up" and the epidemic was likely to get worse before it gets better.
Tedros said he would travel to DR Congo - the epicentre of the outbreak - on Tuesday with another senior WHO official responsible for addressing health emergencies, Chikwe Ihekweazu.
Earlier on Monday neighbouring Uganda reported two more Ebola cases, taking its total number of confirmed cases to seven, and Tedros said other countries bordering DR Congo were at high risk and should take immediate action.
In finance ...
AI CBA (SYDNEY)
The day is coming when Australians will be able to apply for a home or business loan via artificial intelligence without even speaking to a human.
That's the view of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which is already eying agents that can complete the income verification and other stages of a borrowing application.
They aren't quite there yet, but the nation's biggest bank has taken a step forward after revealing it's been pilot testing the Commbank Companion, an agentic AI-powered tool that will live inside its mobile banking app.
The tool, the bank says, will allow retail and business customers to ask questions and find information about their goals - like buying a home, financial health, cash flows and savings - using the customers' own readily available information, completely human-free.
Markets Aust (SYDNEY)
Australia's share market has started the week higher, as hopes for a deal to end the the US-Iran conflict bolstered investor confidence and pushed oil prices below $US95 a barrel.
The S&P/ASX200 rose 35 points on Monday, up 0.4 per cent, to 8,692, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 38.2 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 8,915.4.
Miners led the charge as the gold sub-index rallied by almost five per cent, as six of 11 local sectors ended the session higher.
Energy stocks were under pressure as Brent crude dropped below $US94.50 a barrel, weighing on Woodside, Santos, and refinery operators Ampol and Viva.
The Australian dollar is buying 71.65 US cents, up from 71.36 US cents on Friday at 5pm, as improving risk sentiment supported the local currency.
In entertainment ...
Royals Ferguson (LONDON)
Sarah Ferguson may be trying to secure a "nice pension" from the Royal Family in exchange for avoiding a bombshell tell-all interview about Jeffrey Epstein.
The former Duchess of York, 66, has widely been reported to be weighing up apparent offers for a big-money TV chat or memoir about the fallout from her and her ex-husband the former Prince Andrew's joint scandal over their ties to late pedophile Epstein.
Now, according to royal biographer Andrew Lownie – whose updated book on the House of York has reignited scrutiny surrounding the former Duke and Duchess of York - Sarah could be trying to get a lifetime of financial security from the royals in exchange for her silence.
Lownie told the Daily Mirror Sarah could be looking for a royal payday.
Elordi (LONDON)
Jacob Elordi says the shocking death of his controversial Euphoria character, Nate Jacobs, was a "cool way to go" but it's bittersweet to leave the hit show.
The Australian actor, who has played the character since the first series of the show, said it had been a huge part of his life.
His character suffered a gruesome fate in the most recent episode, when he was buried alive in a coffin by a gangster to whom he owed a million dollars.
He was able to breathe through a pipe to the surface, giving his wife Cassie, played by Sydney Sweeney, 72 hours to get the money together.
However, a rattlesnake slithered down the pipe and fatally bit him.
Speaking in an HBO video going behind the scenes of the episodes, Elordi said: "It was a cool way to go. Nate is somebody who's made so many mistakes and so many dark choices, it's cool to see it all come to what it's come to."
In sport ...
Bkb Aust (MELBOURNE)
Australian basketball great Joe Ingles believes the new-look Boomers are capable of anything as they set their sights on Olympic medals in Los Angeles and Brisbane.
Ingles, a veteran of five Olympics and four World Cups, is yet to completely shut the door on his own Boomers career.
But after returning to the NBL with Melbourne United following 12 seasons in the NBA, the 38-year-old is realistic about his prospects of featuring in LA in two years time.
Regardless of whether he gets there, Ingles is adamant a group now led by NBA stars Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels, alongside Jock Landale, Matisse Thybulle and Josh Green, can do damage on the global stage.
The Boomers are set to head to next year's FIBA World Cup and the LA Olympics under new head coach Adam Caporn - a Washington Wizards assistant and former NBL guard - who has taken the reins from coaching legend Brian Goorjian.
RL Origin NSW (SYDNEY)
Mitchell Moses has been ruled out the State of Origin opener with Ethan Strange set to make his debut for NSW at five-eighth.
Moses trained with the Blues in Gosford on Monday but complained of soreness in his hamstring at the conclusion of the session.
The Parramatta playmaker was sent for scans with the results ruling him out of game one at Sydney's Accor Stadium on Wednesday.
"It's nothing major but it's too risky 48 hours out from the game," said Blues coach Laurie Daley.
"It's a big loss but Origin you expect nothing different, there's always unexpected things that happen.
"We've got a really good strong group of young men and nothing fazes them."
Canberra five-eighth Strange will partner Nathan Cleary in the halves in his Origin debut.
Ends Bulletin
Rolling News Desk inquiries : 02 9322 8611
