AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 6 at 0700
Ukraine (ST PETERSBURG)
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he currently sees no reason to meet Volodymyr Zelenskiy after the Ukrainian president published an open letter proposing they hold face-to-face talks to agree an end to the war.
The Kremlin chief said Zelenskiy's letter was rude in parts and did not come across as a sincere offer to hold talks.
"This letter contains some rather rude remarks. Was it a way to create the conditions for a face-to-face meeting or a way not to set up a face-to-face meeting? I think it was the second," Putin said.
Asked on stage at Russia's annual economic forum whether he would meet the Ukrainian leader, Putin said: "I don't see any point for now."
In a meeting with international media a day earlier, Putin stuck to his hardline stance on the war and said his troops were advancing on the battlefield every day.
NZ Aust (CANBERRA)
New Zealand is making a pitch for its infrastructure businesses to win lucrative contracts before the Brisbane Olympics, as Prime Minister Christopher Luxon prepares to sit down with Anthony Albanese.
Mr Albanese and his New Zealand counterpart will hold the annual leaders' meeting in Noosa, Queensland, on Saturday.
Mr Luxon arrived in Australia on Friday for a two-day visit.
The prime minister and his wife Jodie Haydon hosted a reception for Mr Luxon and Amanda Luxon on Friday evening, with business leaders from the two nations in attendance.
Mr Luxon earlier met with members of Brisbane's 2032 Olympic Committee where he spruiked his nation's businesses for massive construction projects.
He said his government would make the most of the event to promote New Zealand as a tourist destination, with the eyes of the world on the region.
Iran (DUBAI)
Iran has reaffirmed support for its Lebanese ally Hezbollah and demanded Israel withdraw from southern Lebanon, underscoring complications facing an interim deal to end the broader conflict between the US and Iran.
Iran has made a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah a condition for any peace deal with Washington to resolve the regional war, now in its fourth month, and restart shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest round of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel erupted at the start of March, two days after the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran.
Hezbollah said its actions were in support of Tehran.
"This war will end only when it ends in Lebanon as well," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Lebanese TV station Al Mayadeen late on Thursday.
Legal: Ahmad (MELBOURNE)
The uncle of an accused Islamic State bride has told a magistrate he hates the "evil" terrorist group as he supported his niece's bid for bail.
Abraham Abbas gave evidence in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday as Zeinab Ahmad's bail application went into a second day.
Ahmad, 31, is accused of using a teenage girl as a slave while living in Syria with her family in 2017.
It's alleged she moved to the country with her husband Dawod in January 2015 and he became a member of IS before he was killed in a drone strike in May 2016.
Ahmad and her mother Kawsar, 52, were among a group of alleged "ISIS brides" and their children who returned to Australia in May.
Tax (CANBERRA)
Controversial tax reforms in the federal budget will help protect Australia's democracy and social cohesion as more voters look for solutions from populist parties, the prime minister says.
When asked why he was not up front about changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax before the last election, Anthony Albanese told an economic summit the federal government was forced to act in the May budget.
"If people think the economy isn't working for them and they're working their guts out and they're not getting an opportunity, I'll tell you what, they will turn to more simplistic, grievance-based politics," he told the Australia's Economic Outlook summit, hosted by News Corp, on Friday.
"That is the context in which my government is saying, 'no, we're going to deliver real change for the better'."
Hollingworth (MELBOURNE)
The family of a former governor-general who resigned over his handling of child sexual abuse in the Anglican church has reflected on the shadow cast over his final years.
Peter Hollingworth served as the Archbishop of Brisbane for more than a decade before being appointed governor-general in 2001.
He died after a fall on May 19, aged 91, and was farewelled at a requiem eucharist at Christ Church, in Melbourne's South Yarra, on Friday.
Friends, former colleagues and family paid tribute to Dr Hollingworth's years of service as a cleric and social welfare advocate and organiser.
The funeral was attended by Governor-General Sam Mostyn, Victorian Governor Margaret Gardner and former prime minister John Howard.
Delivering a eulogy on behalf of the family, Deborah Hollingworth reflected on the "long shadow" overhanging her father's final years.
Legal: Graham (BRISBANE)
A woman jailed for orchestrating a horrific woodchipper murder plot claims she is the victim of a miscarriage of justice.
Sharon Graham is serving a life sentence after being found guilty of murder following her grisly plan to kill her ex-partner Bruce Saunders for insurance money.
Graham has appealed against her conviction, years after Mr Saunders was fed into an industrial woodchipper on a Sunshine Coast property in Queensland.
In an attempt to make it look like an accident, all that was left of his body were the legs.
Graham's partner Greg Roser is also serving a life sentence for murder after he beat Mr Saunders with a metal bar and fed the body into the machine with the help of another man, Peter Koenig, in November 2017.
Legal: Bryant (SYDNEY)
A wail has rung out through a court room as a police officer was sentenced for killing an Indigenous teenager in a NSW-first.
Benedict Bryant was found guilty in November of dangerous driving occasioning death after he parked his unmarked car in front of a stolen trail bike ridden by Jai Wright in 2022.
The 16-year-old Bunghutti man was thrown off the bike when he collided with the car, sustaining critical head injuries. He died in hospital the following day.
An overflow court room in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court was required to accommodate Wright's family and friends as they gathered to hear Bryant sentenced on Friday.
Many were wearing T-shirts bearing the teenager's face.
An emotional cry rang out from the teeming gallery as the officer was sentenced to a two-year intensive corrections order - a term of imprisonment served outside jail.
In finance ...
US Economy (WASHINGTON, D. C.)
The US economy has posted a third straight month of strong job gains in May, confirming the labour market was gaining traction after stumbling last year and giving the Federal Reserve more room to keep interest rates unchanged amid rising inflation due to the war in the Middle East.
The closely watched employment report from the US Labor Department on Friday painted an upbeat picture of the jobs market.
The economy added 93,000 more jobs in March and April than previously estimated and the unemployment rate held at 4.3 per cent for a third consecutive month.
While financial markets boosted the chances of an interest rate hike in December, economists said the bar remains high for monetary policy tightening.
Economists say fiscal stimulus, in the form of tax and import tariff refunds, has cushioned the effect of the US-backed war with Iran, which has stoked inflation through a surge in oil prices.
Scams (SYDNEY)
Australians lost almost a quarter of a billion dollars in the first three months of 2026, with online cons driving the largest losses.
Scammers cheated Aussies out of $248.3 million in the period, according to 60,657 reports received by Scamwatch and ReportCyber.
However, the number of scam reports and losses fell by roughly a sixth compared to the same three months in 2025, in a sign that efforts by governments, regulators, industry, and police are working.
"That said, we caution against drawing too much from one quarter of data as reports and losses typically move around somewhat," the consumer watchdog, which oversees Scamwatch, said in a statement.
"We will continue to monitor closely to see whether this quarter's data represents the beginning of a trend."
In entertainment ...
France Otis (PARIS)
Former US supermodel Carre Otis has filed a complaint at a Paris court alleging she was raped and trafficked by Gerald Marie, the former European head of Elite Model agency, in a move her lawyer says is meant to encourage other potential victims to come forward.
Marie has denied the allegations and cannot be prosecuted over Otis' case because of France's statute of limitations.
But the complaint could allow other women, whether their cases are time-barred or not, to join the proceedings, Otis' lawyer Mathias Darmon said in a statement to the Associated Press.
The complaint, seen by AP, alleges rape of a minor and human trafficking.
Sent to Paris in 1986 by Elite Model agency, Otis, who was then 17, was housed in Marie's apartment, "mistakenly believing that he wanted to support her modelling career," according to the complaint.
Obit Handy (LOS ANGELES)
Police have arrested the son of actor James Handy's girlfriend in his death after he was found stabbed in the chest in Los Angeles.
Officers responded to a home on Wednesday morning after an emergency caller said: "I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin," according to the The Los Angeles Police Department.
They found the 81-year-old who appeared in films such as Jumanji and Top Gun: Maverick in the front yard stabbed in the chest and unconscious, according to police.
He was taken to the hospital and later pronounced dead.
Michael Gledhill, 44, who is the son of Handy's girlfriend and lives at the home with his mother, told officers he was the person they were looking for, according to police.
In sport ...
AFL Hawks (MELBOURNE)
Tim English and Marcus Bontempelli produced inspirational displays as the Western Bulldogs came from behind to pinch a six-point win over Hawthorn in another heart-stopper.
The Bulldogs overturned a 29-point deficit when adding eight goals to one after halftime in their 12.5 (77) to 9.17 (71) victory at the MCG on Friday night.
It was the Dogs' fourth win by a single-figure margin in their past five games, and sixth this season.
The result lifted the Bulldogs (8-5) into fifth spot, just two points behind the third-placed Hawks (8-4-1).
Bontempelli (23 disposals, two goals) starred alongside fellow midfielders Ryley Sanders (23 touches) and Ed Richards (28), while English was influential in the ruck.
Jordan Croft kicked three crucial goals and unheralded defender Michael Sellwood, who was tormented by Nick Watson (11 touches, three goals) in the first half, fought back to blunt his opponent after the main break.
RL Storm (MELBOURNE)
Melbourne's mid-season resurgence has continued with the Storm taking another big scalp in as many weeks with a thrilling 32-30 victory over Newcastle.
In an action-packed Friday night match at AAMI Park, superstar halfback Jahrome Hughes piloted his team to the win to continue their climb back up the competition ladder after last round's win over the Sydney Roosters.
The Storm haven't lost to the Knights in Melbourne since 2015 but with the visitors arriving on the back of a four-game winning streak they had to fight hard to maintain that dominance.
Queensland backrower Trent Loiero secured the win when he planted the ball across the line after running on to a Harry Grant pass out of dummy half, with the 70th minute conversion giving the Storm an eight-point buffer.
Ends Bulletin
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