AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 20 at 0200
Iran (WASHINGTON/DUBAI/ZURICH)
Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon, a US official said, after an escalation in fighting there jeopardised the chances of an interim agreement on ending the war in Iran turning into a lasting Middle East peace deal.
US-Iran talks in Switzerland planned for Friday were cancelled as fighting flared in Lebanon, creating new uncertainty about the timing of negotiations vital to ensure the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to global shipping.
The senior US official said shortly before 4pm Lebanon time that a ceasefire would come into effect then.
"We understand that after the exchange of fire earlier today, Israel and Hezbollah are now in a ceasefire," the official said on background, saying that negotiators for the US and Qataris worked out the agreement with help from Iran.
Flu (SYDNEY)
A single suspected case of bird flu has triggered fears a deadly strain that has killed millions of animals worldwide has reached the Australian mainland.
Agriculture Minister Julie Collins confirmed a single migratory wild bird had been detected with a suspected case of the disease in Western Australia.
But it was too early to confirm it was the concerning H5N1 strain that has killed millions of birds around the world, the minister said, with results from further testing expected on Saturday.
Mainland Australia is the only continent yet to detect the killer strain.
"There is no evidence of any mass mortality at this time, nor is there any evidence of infection in poultry," Ms Collins said.
"If it is confirmed to be the H5 bird flu, this will be sobering, but not unexpected, given the spread globally."
NDIS (CANBERRA)
A major report into an overhaul of the National Disability Insurance Scheme has been delayed for a second time, with furious negotiations to pass the changes through federal parliament.
The government is seeking a deal with the Greens which would extend an inquiry into the controversial changes in exchange for the minor party's support for an unrelated overhaul of negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount.
Labor hopes to slash the $56 billion cost of the NDIS by moving hundreds of thousands of participants onto other state-run disability supports that are yet to be developed.
A snap parliamentary inquiry into the proposal was scheduled to hand down its report on Tuesday, but had delayed its deadline until Friday.
Two sources close to the committee have told AAP the report will not be published until Tuesday.
Surveillance (PERTH)
For the first time in Australia, police will roll out real-time facial recognition cameras in public areas to scan crowds for suspects and criminals.
The technology, which uses artificial intelligence to cross-reference faces with a database, will be deployed in Western Australia from Monday.
WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said the cameras will enable police to better protect the public by catching criminals more quickly.
"It is another tool to help police find the right people, at the right time, for the right reasons," he said on Friday.
The cameras will be mounted on or positioned in the vicinity of a marked police vehicle in designated public spaces.
It's hoped it will help identify reportable offenders, people with outstanding warrants, and suspects in serious offences.
Legal: Jones (SYDNEY)
Doubts are being raised about whether the hearing for former radio host Alan Jones' sexual abuse charges will begin on time, as a judge took aim at the "trench warfare" delaying the preparation.
The 85-year-old has pleaded not guilty to dozens of charges of indecent assault and sexual touching between 2003 and 2020.
He is set to defend the allegations against him at a four-month hearing beginning on August 3.
But Judge Glenn Walsh expressed concern at the slow nature of the legal wrangling jeopardising the start of the proceedings.
"The trench warfare is not getting us anywhere," he told Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Friday.
"This feels to me like everyone's going to try and vacate the hearing date when we get close to it, I get that distinct impression."
Tax (CANBERRA)
Labor faces tough negotiations to pass its landmark tax changes even after watering down a contentious overhaul of capital gains breaks.
Both the Greens and the coalition criticised the tax changes on Friday as the government looks to the minor, left-wing party to help it ease the reforms through the Senate.
Despite the government announcing carve-outs for startups from the new capital gains regime, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said the changes would still be toxic for Australia's prosperity and productivity.
But Greens senator Nick McKim said the changes didn't go far enough, arguing "absurdly generous" grandfathering provisions would hand $33 billion a year in tax breaks to existing investors.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Labor had been engaging with Senator McKim's party in the hope of getting the legislation passed.
Legal: Rapisarda (BRISBANE)
A man who stormed a mosque claiming he had an AK-47 assault rifle has avoided jail after telling a court: "I'm not a racist, I was off my meds".
Louis Francesco Rapisarda, 33, on Friday pleaded guilty in Brisbane Magistrates Court to disturbing the peace at a place of worship and creating a public nuisance over the incident on May 10.
The court was told Rapisarda first drove past the Mitchelton Presbyterian Church and shouted "Allahu Akbar" at people gathered outside.
He then drove to the Masjid Taqwa mosque at Bald Hills, north Brisbane, walked into the mosque and again shouted "Allahu Akbar".
He told worshippers: "I've got an AK-47 strapped to my back".
Worshippers called police and officers arrested him soon after.
Helicopter (CANBERRA)
Defence should face prosecution over a fatal army helicopter crash that killed all four soldiers on board, the nation's work health and safety regulator says.
Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs were killed when their MRH-90 Taipan chopper crashed into waters off Queensland's Whitsunday Islands during Exercise Talisman Sabre on July 28, 2023.
Comcare has referred two briefs of evidence to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions relating to fatigue management and the TopOwl helmet system worn by the pilots, chief executive Colin Radford told a parliamentary inquiry on Friday.
The regulator was informed by commonwealth prosecutors in July 2025 that they would not be prosecuting defence as they did not consider there reasonable prospects of obtaining a conviction.
In finance ...
KPMG (SYDNEY)
The ex-head of a top-tier consultancy has defended his record, saying he's no "bad apple" despite damaging allegations of an audit leak and whistleblower claims of a toxic culture at the firm.
Andrew Yates fell on his sword on May 29 when a federal joint parliamentary committee raised allegations against KPMG, which holds more than half a billion dollars of government contracts.
"I don't see myself as a bad apple," he told the committee sitting in Canberra on Friday.
"I see someone who took accountability for things that went wrong and nor do I see the firm to be full of bad apples.
"We're a large, complex organisation and we're fallible."
KPMG is feeling the heat over the alleged misuse of confidential board papers and the treatment of a staff member who raised concerns.
Markets Aust (SYDNEY)
Australia's share market is set to finish the week with little gains as a mining stock rout drags on.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 89.4 points by midday on Friday, down one per cent, to 8,821.7, as the broader All Ordinaries slipped 88.3 points, or 0.97 per cent, to 9,038.5.
The top-200 is up 0.14 per cent since Monday, after a US-Iran peace deal-fuelled rally buckled in the second half of the week.
BHP led the basic materials sector lower, falling 3.7 per cent after the mining giant flagged a $US2 billion ($A2.9 billion) cost blowout relating to its Canadian Jansen potash project.
"BHP continues to invest in its long-term growth strategy," the miner's Americas chief executive-elect Brandon Craig said.
"Jansen is an important pillar of BHP's strategy and will deliver exposure to a future facing commodity with strong demand fundamentals and portfolio diversification benefits."
In entertainment ...
Baldwin (LONDON)
Alec Baldwin would rather face "bears and wolves" trying to eat him than put his children to bed.
The 68-year-old star - who has Ireland, 30, with ex-wife Kim Basinger and Carmen, 12, Rafael, 10, Leonardo, nine, Romeo, eight, Eduardo, five, Maria Lucia, also five, and three-year-old Ilaria with spouse Hilaria - admitted the evening routine in his household can be very hectic while being grilled by one of his kids.
Speaking to daughter Carmen for Extra, he laughed when she asked him which was the most difficult out of "navigating Hollywood or getting seven kids to go to bed".
"I'd rather be on a frozen mountain in Alaska filming an adventure movie where bears and wolves and condors are trying to eat me then put kids to bed," said the actor.
CharliXCX (LONDON)
Charli XCX stays away from social media because it's "better for my brain".
In an interview with Rolling Stone, the 33-year-old singer said she has made the decision to steer clear of sites such as Instagram and Facebook for the sake of her mental health.
"I have actually been a lot more offline. I don't really look as much any more. It's just better for my brain," she said.
"I know people probably won't believe me because I am inherently, at least in the past, a very online artist.
"But I recently have been really struggling with my mental health to the point where, if I'm being real, I'm in the worst place mentally that I've been in my life."
In sport ...
Gol Open (LONDON)
Former champion Wyndham Clark has seen his four-shot overnight lead halved as the first round of the US Open concluded early on Friday morning at Shinnecock Hills.
Clark, the 2024 victor and one of four previous winners occupying the top four places heading into round two, parred his remaining two holes after returning at 6.35am local time to sign for a six-under-par 64.
Dustin Johnson, a winner at an equally-tough course in Oakmont in 2016, rolled back the years to post a 66 after he birdied two of his final three holes to move into second place.
The 41-year-old American, who plays on the LIV Golf circuit, has missed six cuts in his last 11 majors with a best finish of joint-23rd but was one of Thursday's late starters to benefit from the absence of forecasted high winds to leave the course at the most vulnerable it will be all week.
RL Bulldogs (SYDNEY)
Cameron Ciraldo has rubbished speculation linking Jacob Preston with a move away from Canterbury, after the Bulldogs forward was publicly courted by the Perth Bears.
Mal Meninga, the Bears' head coach when they enter the competition next year, was fined $20,000 by the NRL last week for declaring his desire to sign Preston and Canterbury teammate Matt Burton.
Coaches are prohibited from discussing rival players under anti-tampering rules brought in last year, ironically because of public commentary from Bulldogs football boss Phil Gould in the lead-up to Lachlan Galvin's move to Belmore from Wests Tigers.
There have also been reports back-rower Preston - touted as a future NSW Origin star - will hit the open market in November when he enters the final 12 months of his deal.
Ends Bulletin
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