AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 8 at 2200
Legal: Waden (BRISBANE)
A man accused of murdering his American girlfriend gave different reasons for why she stopped going to gym classes, claiming she fled creditors or immigration enforcement, a jury has heard.
Mark Sheridan Waden, 50, allegedly killed Priscilla Brooten and buried her body in a trench before dumping it at a Brisbane rubbish tip almost a year later.
Ms Brooten, a 46-year-old US citizen who was staying in Australia without a valid visa, vanished from the home she shared with Waden in Brisbane's northern suburbs in July 2018.
A Brisbane Supreme Court jury heard testimony from several of Ms Brooten's friends on Monday during the second week of Waden's murder trial.
Laetitia Penfold said she met the American for yoga and Zumba classes three or four times a week up until June or July 2018.
Dalamangas (SYDNEY)
Police are working with their Greek counterparts following reports one of Australia's most wanted men has been arrested after three decades on the run.
James Dalamangas was taken into custody on Sunday in the Peloponnesian town of Aigio, according to local media reports.
The 55-year-old had been living under a pseudonym in Greece since a warrant was issued for his arrest over the death of father-of-two George Giannopolous, who was fatally stabbed on Anzac Day in 1999 after intervening in a fight at a suburban Sydney night club.
NSW Police have said they are "encouraged" by the reports and are working with Hellenic police.
The underworld figure has evaded Australian authorities for decades.
Police had tried to extradite him in 2003 and attempts to prosecute him by their Greek counterparts were suspended in 2007.
Tonys (NEW YORK)
John Lithgow has won best leading actor in a play at the Tony Awards for Giant, which depicts a crisis in the life of author Roald Dahl as he faces fallout from remarks deemed anti-Semitic and must weigh apologising against risking his reputation.
It was the 80-year-old Lithgow's third Tony, having won his first 53 years ago for his Broadway debut in The Changing Room.
"At every point we had to figure out, 'Why is this man doing this?'" he told reporters.
"Anti-Semitism, cruelty of all kinds ... these are things that we're dealing with these days up front and personal ... that's what makes Giant so important and such a success."
Rose Byrne is also hoping to pick up her first Tony for her starring role in a Broadway revival of a century-old Noel Coward play.
Tonys (NEW YORK CITY)
Rose Byrne has walked the red carpet at Radio City Music Hall, hoping to pick up a Tony Award for her starring role in a Broadway revival of a century-old Noel Coward play.
The Australian is nominated for best actress in a leading role in a play for her critically-acclaimed portrayal of Jane Banbury in a the 1925 comedy of manners, Fallen Angels.
The Tony Awards are capping a record Broadway season, with no clear frontrunner among the leading nominees and a mix of star-driven shows and new works signalling sustained momentum for the New York theatre industry.
Pop singer Pink will host the televised ceremony in New York on Sunday from 8pm local time (10am Monday Sydney time).
New musicals The Lost Boys and Schmigadoon! lead all nominees with 12 nods each, followed by the revival Ragtime with 11, with 24 shows vying for wins across 26 categories.
Federal (CANBERRA)
Labor insists it's implementing "big changes" as voters abandon the major parties, with new polling showing Pauline Hanson's right-wing party is the most popular for the first time.
The Newspoll recorded a four-point rise in One Nation's primary vote to 31 per cent, while Labor dipped one point to 30 per cent and the coalition fell two points to 18 per cent.
The poll comes after fierce criticism of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government following its bid to introduce controversial tax reforms in the May budget. The laws face an uncertain future, with the Greens yet to indicate if they will back them through the Senate.
''We see those polls and we get the message, which is we need big changes in this country, and that's exactly what Labor is delivering,'' Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said, even as she took aim at One Nation as a protest party.
Ukraine (LONDON)
The leaders of Britain, Germany and France want direct talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin to try to secure a ceasefire, with Europe playing a role.
In a joint statement after a meeting in London, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron said they commended Zelenskiy's call for an end to the war and supported the proposal for direct dialogue between Ukraine and Russia - with active US and European participation - to that end.
The leaders called on Putin to agree "an immediate and complete ceasefire" with the current line of contact as a starting point for any negotiations, Downing Street said on Sunday.
"They condemned Russia's large-scale missile and drone attacks - including the repeated use of the Oreshnik missiles - on Ukrainian cities with a tragic toll on civilians, as well as irresponsible and dangerous Russian drone incursions into NATO territory," a statement said.
Obit Scolyer (SYDNEY)
World-renowned melanoma pathologist Richard Scolyer has died following a lengthy public battle with brain cancer, after saying he would like to be remembered as "a proud everyday Aussie who gave it a crack".
The 2024 Australian of the Year, who died aged 59 on Sunday, helped save thousands of people through his groundbreaking skin cancer research.
Along with Professor Georgina Long, he took the disease from being a death sentence to largely curable through treatment that activates a patient's own immune system, bringing hope and healing to many.
Born in Tasmania, Professor Scolyer was diagnosed with an incurable and aggressive stage four brain cancer named glioblastoma in June 2023 and given just six to eight months to live.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to the "remarkable man" who shared his cancer battle with the public.
Iran (TEHRAN)
Israel says Iran has launched missiles at it in the first such bombardment since a fragile ceasefire took effect in early April, complicating mediation efforts for a deal to end the war.
Iran's state broadcaster confirmed the launch of missiles and multiple explosions were heard in northern Israel.
Israel's military said it was working on intercepting the missiles but "the defence is not hermetic," adding that sirens sounded in several areas of the country.
Iran had warned of retaliation after Israel on Sunday struck Beirut's southern suburbs without warning in defiance of a US request days ago to stand down.
Israel called it retaliation for the Iranian-aligned Hezbollah firing at northern Israel earlier in the day.
Iranian officials had warned that an attack on Beirut would renew full-scale war across the Middle East, even as Pakistan tries to restart talks between Iran and the United States.
In finance ...
Economy Preview (CANBERRA)
Central bankers in Australia will scrutinise consumer and business confidence figures amid a dearth of hard economic data this week.
Sentiment has plummeted amongst households and employers since the outbreak of the Middle East conflict in late February.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer confidence survey, due to be released on Tuesday, will give a sense of how much global uncertainty and the federal budget continue to weigh on spending decisions and inflation expectations.
Also on Tuesday, NAB's business sentiment survey will provide a read on the extent to which businesses are passing on cost pressures.
Financial markets are fully priced in for the Reserve Bank to hold the cash rate at 4.35 per cent at its June meeting, but one more rate hike is still expected by the end of the year.
Markets (NEW YORK CITY)
Wall Street's nine-week winning streak has ended with a thud as red-hot technology stocks suffered their largest daily decline since April 2025 after a hot May jobs report fuelled fears of a hawkish policy pivot from the US Federal Reserve.
Selling was concentrated among chip stocks and other technology favourites that have surged higher in recent weeks as the Nasdaq Composite Index and S&P 500 rose repeatedly to fresh highs.
All three major US stock indices closed sharply lower, with plunging chip stocks dragging the tech-laden Nasdaq down by its largest one-day per centage loss since April 2025.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index suffered its largest one-day percentage plunge since March 2020, erasing more than $US1 trillion ($A1.4 trillion) in stock market value.
In entertainment ...
King (LONDON)
Mollie King was rushed to hospital after "collapsing unconscious" in her bathroom.
The Saturdays singer explained that she had got back from work late, and had gone into the bathroom of her London home to get ready for bed when the incident happened.
Calling it a "huge shock", King wrote on Instagram: "After coming home late from work, I suddenly collapsed unconscious on the bathroom floor at 4am, hitting my head and face as I fell ... I ended up being rushed to A E."
She took to the social media site to share an update to fans after being absent from the BBC Radio 1 show she co-hosts with Matt Edmondson.
King admitted the scary incident had been a "real wake-up call" that she needed "to take some time to get my strength back, not just for my own health but so I can be the best version of myself for my family too".
Obit Riley
Stormzy, Oritse Williams and Wretch 32 are among the artists who have paid tributes to singer-songwriter Talay Riley, who was stabbed to death in east London.
The musician, real name Mark Orabiyi, 35, was found with stab wounds by paramedics on the morning of June 5 and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Grammy winner Riley worked on tracks for artists including Dua Lipa, Zendaya, Khalid, Flo and Chipmunk.
His brother Michael Orabiyi, better known as record producer and songwriter Scribz Riley, wrote on Instagram: "My heart is shattered! This doesn't feel real. It feels like a bad dream.
"Just before he went to sleep we spoke about the future, staying positive and about everything we still had left to do. I never imagined that would be our last conversation."
In sport ...
RL Origin NSW (SYDNEY)
NSW coach Laurie Daley is rolling the dice on the fitness of Mitchell Moses after recalling the Parramatta captain to his Blues side for game two of the State of Origin series.
Moses was named in Daley's squad on Monday despite having failed to play for the Eels since he was ruled out of the May 27 series opener in Sydney less than 48 hours before kick-off.
The Parramatta playmaker suffered a minor hamstring strain in the lead-up to game one and was replaced at five-eighth by Canberra's Ethan Strange.
Strange played a key role in the Blues' 22-20 victory but Moses' inclusion is expected to force the Canberra youngster to the bench for next Wednesday's clash at the MCG.
AFL Freeze (MELBOURNE)
Collingwood and Melbourne players have formed a circle in the middle of the MCG as a tribute to Neale Daniher.
After a video tribute on the giants screens, the capacity crowd erupted in applause ahead of the AFL Kings' Birthday clash.
The pre-game 12th Big Freeze was held in perfect sunny conditions, a fortnight after Daniher died from motor neurone disease.
It was 13 years since he had been diagnosed with MND. A state memorial service will be held for him on Wednesday, also at the MCG.
The former AFL player and coach became an inspiration for fronting the FightMND charity, with the Big Freeze its annual centrepiece. In 2025 he was named Australian Of The Year.
The impact of Daniher and the FightMND campaign means that the King's Birthday game is the biggest AFL game this year outside the grand final - a status traditionally reserved for the MCG Anzac Day blockbuster.
Ends Bulletin
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