AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 17 at 1700
G7 (EVIAN-LES-BAINS)
The leaders of the G7 countries have announced they stand united to support Ukraine, including its territorial integrity, and have agreed to increase the pressure on the Russian war economy.
"In this context, we will strengthen our sanctions (against Russia), including those on the oil and gas sectors," the leaders said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
Separately, the leaders, who are meeting for a summit in the French town of Evian-les-Bains, have also welcomed the deal between the United States and Iran and said they are ready to contribute to its implementation.
They said they would make efforts to diversify energy supply routes and reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz and increase energy stocks.
Polymiadis (ADELAIDE)
A diabetic woman was recorded confessing to God she had killed her elderly parents days before being accused of murdering them with insulin, a court has heard.
Raelene Polymiadis, 65, is on trial in the South Australian Supreme Court charged with murdering Brenda and Lynton Anderson, who were both aged 94 when they died in March 2022 and May 2023 respectively.
Prosecutor Michael Foundas said a police listening device recorded her alone in her car praying to God on two separate occasions confessing to God that she had killed her parents.
"Please, Lord, you know, yes, I have sinned. I have. Thou shall not kill," she allegedly says in the recordings.
"I have sinned twice in my life, and I hate it, but I also know … your blessing, Lord, that they did not want to go to a nursing home, that was their wish."
Legal: Ahmad (MELBOURNE)
An accused "ISIS bride" has been refused bail after a magistrate found she posed an unacceptable risk of endangering the community.
Zeinab Ahmad, 31, looked straight ahead as Chief Magistrate Lisa Hannan handed down her decision in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Ahmad was charged with slavery offences in May after returning to Australia with other family members of former Islamic State fighters.
Ahmad moved to Syria with her first husband Dawod in January 2015 and he became a member of Islamic State before he was killed in a drone strike in May 2016, the court was told.
Federal police allege it was while she was living with her family in 2017 that Ahmad's father Mohammad bought a teenage girl as a slave for $US10,000.
Legal: Explosives (BRISBANE)
A teenager accused of plotting a terrorist attack on then-opposition leader Peter Dutton had a "how to make a bomb in the kitchen" manual, a court has been told.
The boy had also sketched a picture of a shrapnel-filled improvised bomb left on a city street and exploding, a jury heard.
The boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty to acts in preparation for a terrorist attack and is facing trial in Brisbane Supreme Court.
The jury on Wednesday heard the teen had downloaded an explosives manual from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a group proscribed as a terrorist organisation.
The manual was titled "how to make a bomb in the kitchen of your mum", former counter-terror officer at Queensland Police Steven Gibb said.
Legal: Porter (ORANGE)
The mother of a child killer did not believe in mental illness and consulted a naturopathic herbalist about concerns for her teenage daughter, an inquest has been told.
Two weeks after the 14-year-old confessed to her mother she thought about killing people "all the time", the girl killed 10-year-old Biddy Porter at a property in rural NSW.
Biddy, remembered as a vibrant, clever and creative child, died of multiple injuries while staying at the property in the school holidays on July 8, 2020.
The NSW Supreme Court found Biddy's killer, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was not criminally responsible due to mental illness in 2021.
She has been in custody since her arrest and is overseen by the Mental Health Review Tribunal.
Legal: Star (SYDNEY)
The ex-chief of Star has been fined $700,000 for ignoring criminal risks from overseas gamblers after a judge slashed the sought penalty due to a previous lenient deal.
Former Star chief executive Matthias Bekier failed to inform the company's board of suspicious conduct committed by Chinese junket operator Suncity in 2018 and 2019, the Federal Court found in March.
Mr Bekier and former Star general counsel Paula Martin have been successfully sued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for breaches of their duties.
On Wednesday, Justice Michael Lee imposed the penalty on Mr Bekier, finding the casino boss headed an organisation that had been allowed to operate despite its inherent risks as long as it remained vigilant.
"When it came to Star, that vigilance was found wanting," the judge said.
Qantas (TOULOUSE)
Qantas is set to unveil the first destination for the world's longest non-stop flights from eastern Australia to London or New York, tackling one of the few unbroken barriers of air travel after years of delays.
The "Project Sunrise" plan will bypass Middle Eastern and Asian hubs on London flights and offer direct services on modified Airbus long-haul jets has been in the works since 2017 and is due to enter service by the end of next year.
The aim is to compress what was once a five-day trek on the "Kangaroo Route" to London to 22 hours at most, depending on routes and winds. The trip now takes 24-to-25 hours via Singapore.
New York, which Qantas currently serves from Sydney via Auckland, is also among the initial destinations, but the airline has so far not said which will be introduced first.
One Nation (CANBERRA)
Top coalition MPs insist they're not worried about Pauline Hanson's skyrocketing popularity as analysts say the populist party is on the cusp of a political breakthrough.
Ahead of the One Nation leader's closely watched address to the National Press Club, her surging political fortunes have sent the opposition and the government scrambling to respond.
Nationals Leader Matt Canavan, whose Senate seat could be at risk from One Nation if recent opinion polls are borne out at the next election, said Senator Hanson's rise presented a "massive opportunity".
"What we can see at the polls is people want change," he told Nine's Today program on Wednesday.
"What we've got to do is convince people in the next year-and-a-half or two years that the Liberal and Nationals parties the one that can offer the change that will lift living standards, secure our border, get our energy resources going again and get industry back to this country.
In finance ...
G7 (EVIAN-LES-BAINS)
G7 leaders have discussed a plan to grant select "trusted partners" access to advanced AI models from US firms such as Anthropic, three diplomatic sources say, potentially opening a path around restrictions on non-American use.
Anthropic on Friday disabled access for all users to Fable 5 and Mythos 5, its most advanced AI models.
The company made that move after US President Donald Trump ordered Anthropic to block foreign nationals from accessing its most advanced AI models, citing national security concerns.
One of the diplomatic sources said a number of country representatives attending the annual summit of leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy nations discussed the idea of widening access to advanced AI models with US representatives.
This was mainly with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, on the sidelines of the opening G7 summit dinner on Monday in the French lakeside resort of Evian-les-Bains.
Legal: Mine (SYDNEY)
Despite an open-cut mine explosion landing two workers in hospital, the miner has been cleared of criminal charges.
Maules Creek Coal and its parent company Whitehaven Coal had four convictions successfully overturned in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal on Wednesday after the court found explosives were handled appropriately.
The miner was found guilty of breaching environmental protection laws in 2024 after an August 2020 blast at the Maules Creek open-cut coal mine in Boggabri in northern NSW.
It had used nearly 900,000kg of explosives in its bid to extract coal, which was about 50,000kg more than its modelling had called for.
The resulting explosion exceeded noise limits and left two workers at a different coal mine more than a kilometre away needing hospital treatment.
In entertainment ...
Clarkson (LONDON)
Jeremy Clarkson has revealed he has been diagnosed with cancer.
The former Top Gear host shared the news in the latest episodes of the fifth season of his series Clarkson's Farm, saying the disease was "aggressive" but had been discovered early.
"I've got cancer," Clarkson told farm manager Kaleb Cooper and farmhand Charlie Ireland during discussions about harvest planning.
The TV presenter said he expected to be "fine" but would be out of action "for a while".
Speaking from a hospital bed at the end of the season finale, Clarkson revealed he had experienced complications during treatment.
"We started season five with me in a hospital bed and here we are at the end of season five and I'm back in a hospital bed," he said.
Dench (LONDON)
Judi Dench is to be immortalised in London's West End with a theatre renamed in her honour.
The Shaftesbury Theatre will be known as the Judi Dench Theatre from February 2027 to recognise her "extraordinary talent and extensive contribution" to the arts while the renaming also celebrates Dench's links to the venue.
"The Shaftesbury Theatre has always held a special place in my heart. My relationship to the Theatre of Comedy and to the Taffner family goes back many years, and to have this beautiful theatre renamed after me is truly overwhelming," Dench said in a statement.
"Live theatre continues to be so important as a way of telling stories and entertaining audiences, something I have aimed to do all my working life."
In sport ...
WC26 Argentina (KANSAS CITY)
Lionel Messi has equalled Miroslav Klose's record of 16 World Cup goals with a hat-trick as Argentina began their title defence with a 3-0 win over Algeria in Kansas City.
Argentina had started their ultimately successful 2022 campaign with defeat to Saudi Arabia, but avoided any such upset on this occasion thanks to Messi's first World Cup treble on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST).
Messi's second took him level with Brazil great Ronaldo on 15 goals across his six World Cup appearances.
He was denied in a one-on-one by Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane and had a penalty appeal turned down before joining Germany's Klose in a share of the record.
"When I'm in good shape, I give it my all," Messi, who had been hampered by a hamstring problem in the lead-up to the tournament, said through an interpreter.
Gol Open Aust (SYDNEY)
Australia's golf stars are adopting a "pick your battles" mindset as they brace for the most brutal test of the year at the 125th US Open in New York.
The beautiful but beastly Shinnecock Hills will host the sport's most gruelling annual major championship for a sixth time and the first since Brooks Koepka ground out a one-over par winning total in 2018.
Part of the genius of the William Flynn-designed layout on Long Island are three sections of holes that form a triangle, ensuring players face a different wind for each of them.
The USGA has done its part to make sure conditions don't become unplayable, like they almost did eight years ago when six-times US Open runner-up Phil Mickelson infamously putted a moving ball on the green while racking up a 10.
Ends Bulletin
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