AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 2 at 2030
Ebola (NAIROBI)
Two people have died in central Kenya during a protest against a planned US Ebola quarantine facility, a protest organiser and security source say, as President William Ruto rebuffs criticism it will endanger Kenyans.
Protest organiser Patrick Wahome said both had died of gunshot wounds after police opened fire on hundreds of demonstrators on Monday in the town of Nanyuki, where the air force base intended to accommodate the facility is located.
The security source did not specify how the two died.
Police spokesman Michael Muchiri said he was not aware of the deaths.
The plan to set up a 50-bed unit to house Americans who have been exposed to the virus in Democratic Republic of Congo or Uganda has angered many Kenyans who accuse the US of offloading the public health risk of caring for patients.
Legal: Mother (SYDNEY)
A mother accused of killing her two children left a note asking for forgiveness, a court has been told.
The mother was charged with the children's murder after they were found dead in the family home in NSW years ago.
The trio cannot be identified for legal reasons.
The mother appeared in NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday for a hearing over whether she should be found not criminally responsible for the deaths due to mental impairment.
The course of action was endorsed by both the woman's lawyer and the prosecutor, but Justice Richard Cavanagh questioned the strength of the evidence about her mental health impairment.
The mother's internet search history, a suicide note and seemingly contradictory psychological reports cast doubt on the extent of her impairment, he said.
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.
Ukraine (KYIV)
Russian air attacks on Ukrainian centres including Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv has killed at least five people after days of warnings that Moscow was planning a major assault.
Four people were killed and 16 injured in a Russian attack on Dnipro, in Ukraine's east, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on Telegram.
All those injured were hospitalised and were reported to be in moderate condition, he said, posting pictures of heavily damaged residential buildings, burnt-out vehicles and a destroyed children's playground.
In Kyiv, at least one person was killed and 29 others were injured across the capital, according to Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the capital's military administration.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a suspected missile strike on a 24-storey apartment building triggered a collapse, with people likely trapped under the rubble.
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.
Wages (CANBERRA)
Workers deserve a decent pay rise, the treasurer says, as the industrial umpire prepares to hand down its decision on how much the minimum wage will increase by.
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.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said while the federal government does not nominate an exact figure for how much wages should increase, workers should still experience a tangible benefit.
"Workers on the minimum wage and on awards need and deserve a decent real wage increase," he told ABC TV on Tuesday.
In finance ...
Legal: Rex (SYDNEY)
The corporate watchdog's case against regional airline Rex and its former directors over an optimistic and ultimately incorrect profit forecast has major evidence gaps, a court has heard.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has alleged four former Rex directors misled the market in statements claiming the board was confident of a strong financial result, months before handing down a $31.7 million operating loss.
In delivering his closing argument for two of the directors on Tuesday, barrister David Thomas SC argued the commission's case leaned heavily on evidence against the company rather than the board itself.
"I'm drawing attention to a notable and unexplained gap between the course of expert evidence against the company and the complete absence of it against my clients," he told the NSW Supreme Court.
Westpac (SYDNEY)
More and more Australians are finding artificial intelligence so useful they are willing to pay for it.
An analysis of 8.3 billion Westpac customer credit card and debit card transactions has found more than 150,000 retail customers in March paid for at least one AI subscription a month, with an average monthly spend of $37.
That's a nearly 14-fold increase from the 11,000 Australians that paid to use AI in March 2023, and a 145 per cent jump from those paying to use it a year ago.
There was a rapid growth in the use of AI, Westpac's chief AI officer Dan Jermyn said.
"Year-on-year, the pick-up is accelerating, not just progressing at the same rate,'' he said.
"So I think we're really just at the start of this."
In entertainment ...
Swift (LONDON)
Taylor Swift is stepping into the world of Toy Story for the first time, revealing she has written an original song for Disney and Pixar's upcoming Toy Story 5.
I Knew It, I Knew You was written and produced with longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff and will be released globally on June 5 across all major streaming and download platforms.
The single will also appear on the official Toy Story 5 soundtrack when it arrives on June 19.
Swift has also launched three exclusive CD editions through her official website, each featuring a different version of the song - the film version, an acoustic take, and a piano rendition.
Swift's new track draws directly from Jessie's storyline in the film, tapping into the cowgirl's emotional highs and lows.
Farnham (MELBOURNE)
Premium tickets to a blockbuster charity tribute concert for John Farnham are selling for $1650, with fans voicing their disappointment.
Tickets for the gig at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena on September 20 went on sale on Tuesday, with the cheapest available seats priced at $179 by the evening and many more on sale for about $1000.
Farnham fans trying to buy tickets online have complained on social media about long virtual queues and having to pay more for expensive seats.
"Wow, who can afford that?" commented one Farnham fan online, while another described the cost as an absolute joke.
"Looks like dynamic pricing will be happening, which is awful considering it is a charity event," said another.
Farnham himself won't be performing at the gig, which is being held to raise funds for Head and Neck Cancer Australia.
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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