AAP Rolling News Bulletin for May 26 at 0700
Ukraine (KYIV)
Russian authorities have urged foreigners to leave Kyiv before the launch of a "series of systematic strikes" against military targets in Ukraine's capital.
Russia's foreign ministry said the strikes were a response to what the Kremlin says was a deliberate drone strike on a student dorm in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine's military denied the Russian accusations and said it had struck an elite drone command unit in the area.
A Ukrainian attack on a residential building in the Russian-controlled town of Starobilsk in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine left more than 20 people dead, local authorities said.
Russian authorities said at least 18 students from a teacher training college were killed.
A total of 48 people were reported injured.
Iran (DUBAI)
Iran's top negotiator and its foreign minister are in Doha for talks with Qatar's prime minister on a potential deal with the United States to end the three-month-old war, an official briefed on the visit says after both sides played down hopes for an imminent breakthrough.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in New Delhi earlier the United States would give diplomacy every chance to succeed before considering whether to deal with Iran in "another way".
There was a "pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the strait (of Hormuz), get the strait open, enter into a very real significant time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matter and hopefully we can pull it off," Rubio said.
Mideast (GAZA)
An Israeli air strike on a tent in the southern Gaza Stri has killed two people including a six-year-old girl and wounded 17 other people, including children, Palestinian health officials say.
Medics said the Israeli air strike on a tent encampment of displaced families in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave, had killed six-year-old Mennatallah Abu Libda and a 31-year-old woman, Hanan Mahmoud.
The attack was carried out by two helicopters, witnesses said.
The Israeli military told Reuters it had struck militants in the area but provided no further information.
Relatives of the victims arrived at the hospital to bid farewell.
Men and women who were related to the dead girl wept beside her white-shrouded body.
Federal (CANBERRA)
Creating a formal teal party could lead to messy leadership disputes or force members to vote for policies they don't agree with, one of Australia's first teal independents has warned.
Kerryn Phelps, who won the Sydney seat of Wentworth when former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull resigned in 2018, said having a party structure would allow teal independents to share resources and work together on policies but suggested the move could also alienate some supporters.
Multiple independent MPs have left the door open to creating a more formal political alliance - whether that be a party or a more closely aligned grouping - with Mr Turnbull reported to be involved in bringing them together.
Asked about the speculation, Professor Phelps said while some voters wanted independent MPs to remain independent, the political impact of creating a new party would largely depend on its structure.
Legal: Freeman (MELBOURNE)
Dezi Freeman's months on the run and the final moments before his death will form the basis of a much-anticipated inquest.
Freeman led police on one of the nation's largest manhunts after he killed two police officers serving a warrant at his home in rural Victoria in August 2025.
Questions still remain about the deaths of Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart and Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, and how Freeman was able to evade police for months after fleeing his Porepunkah property, 310km northwest of Melbourne.
The officers were executing a warrant after disclosure of Freeman allegedly sexually assaulting a child, as well as attempting to involve a child in the production of child abuse material, a Coroners Court was told on Monday.
Ebola (KAMPALA)
The head of the World Health Organisation says the fast-moving Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda is outpacing response efforts, giving the latest number of suspected deaths as 220.
Addressing an online meeting of the African Union about the outbreak, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a delay in detecting Ebola cases meant responders were now "playing catch-up" and the epidemic was likely to get worse before it gets better.
Tedros said he would travel to DR Congo - the epicentre of the outbreak - on Tuesday with another senior WHO official responsible for addressing health emergencies, Chikwe Ihekweazu.
Earlier on Monday neighbouring Uganda reported two more Ebola cases, taking its total number of confirmed cases to seven, and Tedros said other countries bordering DR Congo were at high risk and should take immediate action.
Pope Encyclical (VATICAN CITY)
Pope Leo has urged governments to slow down the development of AI systems in his first major document, warning that they spread misinformation, prioritise conflict and risk leading the world down a path of unending war.
Leo, who has adopted a more forceful tone in recent months and has drawn the ire of US President Donald Trump after criticising the Iran war, made a range of impassioned appeals to world leaders in the lengthy text, known as an encyclical.
The first US Pope called for ownership of AI data not to be left solely in private hands, for policy-makers to protect the rights of workers and keep children safe from the technology, and urged the cooling of competition between AI companies.
Federal (CANBERRA)
An increasing number of independents have ruled out forming a teal political party to give voters an alternative to Labor and the coalition, insisting they answer only to their communities.
Independent MP Zali Steggall, who holds former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott's old seat of Warringah in Sydney, confirmed the group was discussing how to be more effective in parliament as Australia entered a time of "political flux".
"It is beholden on me ... as a community independent to take responsibility and look at what are the options and how do we evolve ... there has to be an alternative choice from the major parties and One Nation," she told reporters in Canberra on Monday.
It comes in response to an analysis published by RedBridge Group and Accent showing One Nation could become the federal opposition if an election were held today.
In finance ...
AI CBA (SYDNEY)
The day is coming when Australians will be able to apply for a home or business loan via artificial intelligence without even speaking to a human.
That's the view of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which is already eying agents that can complete the income verification and other stages of a borrowing application.
They aren't quite there yet, but the nation's biggest bank has taken a step forward after revealing it's been pilot testing the Commbank Companion, an agentic AI-powered tool that will live inside its mobile banking app.
The tool, the bank says, will allow retail and business customers to ask questions and find information about their goals - like buying a home, financial health, cash flows and savings - using the customers' own readily available information, completely human-free.
Markets Aust (SYDNEY)
Australia's share market has started the week higher, as hopes for a deal to end the the US-Iran conflict bolstered investor confidence and pushed oil prices below $US95 a barrel.
The S&P/ASX200 rose 35 points on Monday, up 0.4 per cent, to 8,692, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 38.2 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 8,915.4.
Miners led the charge as the gold sub-index rallied by almost five per cent, as six of 11 local sectors ended the session higher.
Energy stocks were under pressure as Brent crude dropped below $US94.50 a barrel, weighing on Woodside, Santos, and refinery operators Ampol and Viva.
The Australian dollar is buying 71.65 US cents, up from 71.36 US cents on Friday at 5pm, as improving risk sentiment supported the local currency.
In entertainment ...
Elordi (LONDON)
Jacob Elordi says the shocking death of his controversial Euphoria character, Nate Jacobs, was a "cool way to go" but it's bittersweet to leave the hit show.
The Australian actor, who has played the character since the first series of the show, said it had been a huge part of his life.
His character suffered a gruesome fate in the most recent episode, when he was buried alive in a coffin by a gangster to whom he owed a million dollars.
He was able to breathe through a pipe to the surface, giving his wife Cassie, played by Sydney Sweeney, 72 hours to get the money together.
However, a rattlesnake slithered down the pipe and fatally bit him.
Speaking in an HBO video going behind the scenes of the episodes, Elordi said: "It was a cool way to go. Nate is somebody who's made so many mistakes and so many dark choices, it's cool to see it all come to what it's come to."
Lizzo (LONDON)
Lizzo has "never talked shit about Taylor Swift".
The 38-year-old singer has denied badmouthing Taylor, 36, insisting she has no interest in talking negatively about any other artist.
The Truth Hurts hitmaker made the comments in response to an X user, who referred to Taylor's latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, and Lizzo's 2025 mixtape.
The post read: "The Life Of A Showgirl + MY FACE HURTS FROM SMILING — 4.005M. ICEMAN + MAID OF HONOUR + HABIBTI — 683k. (sic)"
Lizzo reshared the post and asked fans to explain its meaning.
The chart-topping star wrote: "Can someone explain what this means?"
One X user then explained to Lizzo that "it means all that shit talking you did about Tay finally caught up to you".
In sport ...
Ten Abdo (PARIS)
Pat Cash has delivered a brutal and gloomy message about the state of grass roots tennis in Australia, urging the new Tennis Australia boss Andrew Abdo to work on "saving the heart and soul" of the sport at home.
The former Wimbledon champion says that he was told by one tour player on Monday that "tennis in Aus is gonna die" if there's not a complete change in the tennis authorities' priorities.
While Alex de Minaur was left enthusing at the French Open in Paris on Monday about news of Abdo's appointment, hours after the 47-year-old official's shock resignation as the NRL chief executive, former Wimbledon champion Cash was offering a far more downbeat and pointed message on Instagram.
Abdo has been much lauded for his influence in rugby league, with Australian Rugby League Commission chair Peter V'landys suggesting he'd been so influential that only "Superman and Jesus added together" could possibly replace him.
Obit Daniher (MELBOURNE)
Former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon has called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to write a "dirty big cheque" for FightMND in honour of Neale Daniher.
And Lyon wants the PM to head down the slide into a pool of iced water at what looms as the most significant Big Freeze event of all in a tribute to Daniher.
The former AFL player and coach died of motor neurone disease (MND) - which he campaigned against for 13 years - on Monday, aged 65.
A huge crowd is expected for the Big Freeze 12, which raises funds for research into MND, at the MCG before the Demons play Collingwood in their traditional King's Birthday blockbuster on June 8.
"It's incumbent upon all of us to make sure we're there and that we continue this fight in the manner that he (Daniher) fought," Lyon said on Fox Footy on Monday night.
Ends Bulletin
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