AAP Rolling News Bulletin for May 23 at 1300
Senegal (DAKAR)
Senegal President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has sacked Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government, according to a statement read on the national broadcaster.
The decision follows months of mounting strains between the two allies-turned-rivals.
Sonko, a charismatic figure with a large youth following, had backed Faye in the 2024 election after a defamation conviction barred him from running.
The secretary general of the presidency said in the statement that the government had been dissolved.
The statement was read out on broadcaster RTS on Friday, local time.
Mideast (ROME)
Activists released from Israeli custody after being detained on a flotilla trying to bring aid to the Gaza Strip were subjected to abuse, organisers say, with several hospitalised with injuries and at least 15 reporting sexual assaults.
Israel's prison service denied the allegations, and Reuters was not able to verify them independently.
Germany's foreign ministry said some of the country's citizens had been injured and that some accusations were "serious".
A legal source in Italy said prosecutors there were investigating possible crimes including kidnapping and sexual assault.
"The allegations raised are false and entirely without factual basis," an Israeli prison service spokesperson said in a statement.
"All prisoners and detainees are held in accordance with the law, with full regard for their basic rights and under the supervision of professional and trained prison staff," it said.
Iran (TEHRAN)
Pakistan's military chief Asim Munir has arrived in the Iranian capital as a part of the ongoing mediation efforts between the United States and Iran, the Pakistan military says.
The visit comes after Iran's foreign ministry confirmed this week that exchanges of proposals with the US are continuing "through Pakistan".
Iran is reviewing a new US proposal aimed at ending the conflict, foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Thursday.
There is a sense of optimism within Pakistani security circles that a preliminary agreement between the US and Iran is within reach.
Sources said Munir had been due to travel to Tehran on Thursday but waited for the go-ahead from the Iranian negotiators that an initial agreement could realistically be reached.
PollVic (MELBOURNE)
Federal and state leaders of Australia's two major political parties will rally their troops as an election looms large.
Victorian Labor and Liberal faithful will gather in Melbourne on Saturday for annual state meetings ahead of the November election.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Angus Taylor are expected to attend, alongside their respective state party leaders Jacinta Allan and Jess Wilson.
In her speech, Ms Wilson will revive a 2022 election commitment to direct 25 per cent of all new Victorian government infrastructure spending to regional projects if the coalition wins government.
Recent reputable polls indicate the Victorian coalition holds a slight edge over Labor on a two-party-preferred basis as support for One Nation rises.
Ms Wilson also led Ms Allan as preferred premier, according to Resolve Strategic's latest bi-monthly poll.
Ebola (GENEVA)
The World Health Organisation has raised the risk of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola turning into an outbreak across the Democratic Republic of Congo to "very high".
The strain, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, was declared an emergency of international concern by the WHO on Sunday.
"We are now revising our risk assessment to very high at the national level, high at the regional level and low at global level," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.
So far, 82 cases have been confirmed in DR Congo, with seven confirmed deaths, 177 suspected deaths and almost 750 suspected cases.
The situation in Uganda is stable, with two cases confirmed in people who travelled from the DR Congo - one of them fatal, Tedros said.
Ukraine (MOSCOW)
Russian officials say at least six people have been killed and 39 children wounded in an overnight Ukrainian drone attack on a student dormitory in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said another 15 people were reported missing and accused Ukrainian forces of deliberately hitting the site.
Reuters was not able to verify what happened independently and there was no comment on Friday from Ukraine, which wants to recapture Luhansk, one of four eastern regions that the Kremlin unilaterally claimed as its own in 2022 in what Ukraine denounced as an illegal land grab.
Both sides deny deliberately targeting civilians.
Putin characterised the incident as a terrorist attack, accusing Ukraine of intentionally targeting civilians.
Yana Lantratova, Russia's human rights commissioner, said that 86 teenagers aged 14 to 18 had been asleep inside the hostel belonging to Luhansk Pedagogical University's Starobilsk college when Ukrainian drones attacked it during the night.
NATO (HELSINGBORG)
US President Donald Trump has surprised NATO allies by pledging to send an additional 5000 troops to Poland, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio has cautioned alliance ministers that Washington's frustration with some of them will still need to be discussed.
"The president's views of, frankly, disappointment at some of our NATO allies and their response to our operations in the Middle East are well documented," Rubio said on Friday at a gathering of NATO foreign ministers in the Swedish town of Helsingborg.
"That will have to be addressed. That won't be solved or addressed today. That's something for the leaders level to discuss," Rubio told reporters, adding that any alliance "has to be good for everyone who's involved".
It was his first meeting with NATO allies since the war on Iran sparked deep divisions inside the bloc, with Trump saying he was considering withdrawing from the alliance and questioning whether Washington was bound to honour its mutual defence pact.
Ebola (RWAMPARA)
Protesters have set fire to tents for Ebola patients after Congolese authorities refused to give them the dead body of a victim they wanted to bury themselves, a beloved local footballer suspected to have died in the ongoing outbreak, witnesses say.
Police fired warning shots and tear gas to defuse the incident in Ituri province, which highlighted the struggle that authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo could face to enforce the safe burials of people with confirmed and suspected cases that are required to help contain the outbreak.
It took place in the town of Rwampara, which has been hit hard by the latest Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment.
In finance ...
US Fed (WASHINGTON, D. C.)
Kevin Warsh has been sworn in as the new head of the Federal Reserve, marking a new chapter after a strained relationship between the world's most powerful central bank and US President Donald Trump.
Speaking after taking the oath of office at the White House, Warsh pledged to be "reform-oriented," saying he would carry out his duties with "energy and purpose".
He said the coming years could "bring unmatched prosperity that will raise living standards for Americans from all walks of life".
Trump, who selected Warsh for the post, had repeatedly and unsuccessfully pushed for lower interest rates while criticising previous Fed chair Jerome Powell.
The president argues that lower borrowing costs would boost economic growth, investment and consumer spending but critics warn that cutting rates too aggressively could further fuel inflation.
Markets Aust (SYDNEY)
Australia's share market has ended the week higher, buoyed by optimism about a solution to the US-Iran conflict and a slightly less gloomy outlook for local interest rates.
The S&P/ASX200 rose 35.3 points on Friday, up 0.41 per cent to 8,657, as the broader All Ordinaries improved 36.4 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 8,877.2.
Miners and banks helped lift the bourse in the week's final session, with strong leads from Evolution Mining, South32 and PLS.
The Australian dollar is buying 71.39 US cents, up from 71.13 US cents on Thursday at 5pm.
In entertainment ...
Legal: Gillham (MELBOURNE)
The former managing director of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has been accused of lying to the organisation's board about cancelling a concert by pianist Jayson Gillham.
The British-Australian performer dedicated a composition at a 2024 MSO performance to journalists killed in Gaza, saying they had been deliberately targeted by Israel, and the orchestra responded by cancelling his next concert.
The pianist is suing the orchestra for unfair dismissal in the Federal Court.
Former managing director Sophie Galaise was accused of lying when she told the organisation's board that Gillham had withdrawn from the upcoming concert, knowing it had actually been cancelled.
"Like any human you use words, and for me this was probably interchangeable," she said, under cross-examination by Gillham's barrister Sheryn Omeri KC.
Obit Petrini (MILANO)
Carlo Petrini, the founder of the Slow Food global grassroots movement promoting sustainable food production and local, traditional cuisine, has died at age 76.
He died in his home town in Italy's northwestern Piedmont region.
The Slow Food organisation called him "a visionary leader and a public intellectual with a profound commitment to the common good, human relationships and the natural world".
Slow Food, initially called Arcigola, grew out of opposition to the arrival of fast food in Italy, with a 1986 protest on the steps of the newly opened McDonald's at Rome's Spanish Steps announcing their mission.
Petrini was elected president on December 9, 1989, in Paris, when more than 20 delegations from around the world signed the Slow Food Manifesto.
In sport ...
RL Arrow (GOSFORD)
South Sydney captain Cameron Murray has paid tribute to Jai Arrow for his strength and courage after he was forced to retire following his diagnosis with motor neurone disease.
Former Queensland State of Origin forward Arrow, went public with his MND diagnosis earlier this week and was visibly moved when he announced his retirement with immediate effect.
Arrow, who played for Brisbane, Gold Coast and finished his career alongside Murray at Souths, has received widespread support from across the code.
"There's no better bloke and we're all behind him," Murray said on Saturday.
"We all love him, so we'll be there with him through this fight. It's cruel, life can be pretty cruel sometimes."
There has been an online push launched by fans - and backed by several high-profile players - for the NRL to introduce a 'Try for Jai' campaign to support Arrow, a 30-year-old father, in his battle with the insidious disease.
Ten Open Aust (LONDON)
Alex de Minaur will head off to Paris with thoughts of what might have been as his bid to arrive at the French Open with a maiden clay-court title under his belt crumbled in Hamburg.
The indomitable Australian had never had a better chance to land a title on the red stuff as he entered the Hamburg Open semis as comfortably the highest-ranked player left in the last-four, and then bossed Tommy Paul by a set and 3-0 on Friday.
But after a gruelling week's work for two of the fittest players on the circuit, it was the American who felt he'd "hung tough" to finish the strongest, fighting back for an exceptional 2-6 6-3 6-3 victory after a two-and-a-quarter hour dogfight.
Ends Bulletin
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