AAP Rolling News Bulletin for May 27 at 1100
Legal: Westpac (MELBOURNE)
Westpac has been fined $26 million for grossly negligent conduct after failing to respond to customers in financial hardship.
Federal Court Judge Tim McEvoy on Tuesday found that while the bank's conduct was not deliberate, it occurred over a relatively lengthy period, from 2017 to 2023.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission pursued Westpac in 2023 after it was found the bank had failed to respond to more than 200 online hardship requests from its customers over the six-year period.
Justice McEvoy found the requests were made by customers of Westpac and its subsidiaries St George Bank, Bank SA and Bank of Melbourne.
The customers were struggling to keep up with repayments on home loans, credit cards, personal loans, car loans and other responsibilities.
Climate Europe (LONDON)
Britain has smashed a century-old temperature record for the second time in 24 hours, as a spring heatwave scorches parts of Western Europe, triggering government warnings.
Several drownings were reported in Britain and France as people tried to cool down.
A temperature of 35.1C was recorded in London on Tuesday, Britain's Met Office weather service said, breaking the 34.8C record set a day earlier.
The provisional readings smashed the long-standing record of 32.8C set in 1922.
London also recorded a rare "tropical night", defined as one in which the temperature does not fall below 20C.
Records also fell in France, where temperatures reached 36C on Monday and remained above 20C at night.
The national weather service, Météo-France, said a "heat dome" with heat held in place by a high-pressure weather front, was producing temperatures more than 10C above what is usual.
Mideast (CAIRO)
Israeli strikes have killed at least seven Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including five in a refugee camp and two in a car, health officials said.
Medics and residents said an Israeli drone fired a missile at people who came out of their homes when an Israeli-backed Palestinian militia tried to storm an area east of Maghazi camp on Tuesday. As well as at least five fatalities, several people were injured.
Asked for comment on the incident around Maghazi camp, the military said troops identified what it described as "armed terrorists" near its armistice line with Hamas, and that they carried out a strike to remove the threat.
Incursions by Israeli-backed armed gangs, whom Hamas brands "Israeli collaborators", have escalated in past weeks.
Iran (TEHRAN)
Iran said the United States has violated a ceasefire after the US conducted what it called defensive strikes in southern Iran, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said negotiating a deal to halt the conflict could "take a few days".
Iran's foreign ministry said US strikes in Iran's southern Hormozgan province, where Iranian media reported sounds of explosions early on Tuesday, represented a "gross violation" of a tenuous ceasefire in place for nearly seven weeks.
Both sides had previously indicated progress on a memorandum of understanding that could halt the war and restart shipping through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, while giving negotiators 60 days to tackle more complex issues including Iran's nuclear program.
Iranian media reported that the country's negotiators had been pushing for the memorandum to include the release of billions of dollars of frozen assets at talks in Qatar.
Economy (CANBERRA)
Inflation pressures are heating up, despite an expected fall in the consumer price index.
Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday is likely to show headline inflation cooled in April.
AMP economist My Bui has tipped the annual rate to fall to 4.4 per cent, from 4.6 per cent the month prior.
The slowdown is largely due to the government's decision to temporarily cut the fuel excise in half.
As a result, the Reserve Bank will likely look through the drop in the headline measure and instead focus on trimmed mean inflation, which gives a better sense of the underlying pulse, Ms Bui said.
AMP forecasts the trimmed mean edged up to 3.4 per cent year-on-year.
"We also see a lot more price rises (through) what we would call the secondary round impacts," she told AAP.
IRAN (WASHINGTON, D. C.)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says negotiating a deal with Iran could "take a few days", quashing hopes for an imminent end to the conflict after US forces conducted what Washington called defensive strikes in southern Iran.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they reserved the right to retaliate against any ceasefire violations, while Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said countries in the region could no longer be a shield for US bases.
Both sides had indicated progress on a memorandum of understanding that could halt the war and restart shipping through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, while giving negotiators 60 days to negotiate more complex issues including Iran's nuclear program.
Referring to the strikes against targets including boats attempting to lay mines and missile launch sites, Rubio told reporters on his plane in India's Jaipur that the Strait of Hormuz has to be open "one way or the other".
Terror Aust (CANBERRA)
A group of women and children linked to the Islamic State terror group has been searched and their devices downloaded by police on arrival at city airports after returning to Australia from years in detention.
The so-called "ISIS brides" travelled from a refugee camp in northern Syria for families of killed or detained Islamic State militants.
The first group of two women and their children touched down in Melbourne shortly after 4.30pm on Tuesday, having flown with Qatar Airways via Doha.
A group of four women and their children arrived at Sydney airport, where they were taken out a back entrance, avoiding waiting media.
Members of the Victoria and NSW Joint Counter Terrorism teams awaited the groups.
"The cohort was subject to a range of operational responses, including the searching of belongings and the downloading of their devices for investigative purposes," NSW and Victoria police said in a statement.
Brereton (CANBERRA)
The first head of Australia's national corruption watchdog rejects suggestions he should have been more transparent about connections with the defence establishment that led to his resignation.
But National Anti-Corruption Commissioner Paul Brereton has conceded the issue had become a distraction.
A day after announcing plans to step down in July after a turbulent three years as commissioner, Mr Brereton said he did not need to give the government more details about his defence ties because it was like asking what church he attends.
During an at times tense appearance before a parliamentary inquiry, Mr Brereton said questions about his ongoing work with the Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force - one of the agencies the National Anti-Corruption Commission had the power to investigate - had made it hard for the commission to get clear air.
In finance ...
BP (LONDON)
BP's board has ousted chair Albert Manifold and expressed serious concerns about his governance standards, oversight and conduct in the latest leadership turmoil to rock the oil major, driving its share price down as much as 10 per cent.
Four sources with knowledge of the matter said Manifold had acted aggressively with different colleagues across the company, citing that as one reason for his firing on Tuesday.
The board had received enough information following a whistleblower report to ascertain that there was a pattern of unacceptable behaviour, said one of the sources, who is close to BP's board. The sources declined to be identified because they were not authorised to speak publicly.
A BP spokesperson declined to give further details. In an emailed statement to Bloomberg News, Manifold disputed accusations of wrongdoing.
Water (SYDNEY)
Australia's $50 billion water market is booming, drawing global investors and offering farmers flexibility, but ongoing scarcity and record-high permanent plantings are raising the stakes of the next drought.
Australia has one of the few markets in there world where water rights can be separated from land, capped and traded, something that still causes angst in parts of the farming community, National Farmers Federation water committee chair and Finley dairy farmer Malcolm Holm said.
"But in essence, what it's enabled the whole thing to do is actually give farmers and industries flexibility," Mr Holm told AAP.
Selling water rights can take the pressure off farmers' and farming organisations' balance sheets when upgrading equipment, transitioning crops or undertaking succession planning.
However, with water-trading pushing growers towards higher value permanent plantings and government buybacks significantly reducing the volume of water available, the next drought could leave some producers high and dry.
In entertainment ...
Styles (LONDON)
Harry Styles has defended the controversial staging for his Together, Together tour after some fans branded the design "offensive" and complained parts of the show left them unable to see the singer perform.
The former One Direction star, 32, is midway through a 10-night run at Amsterdam's Johan Cruijff Arena, where the latest leg of his world tour began on May 16.
Styles has faced mounting criticism from some concertgoers over the stage's large walkway structures, which circle the stadium floor and have reportedly obstructed views for sections of the audience.
Addressing the criticism during Saturday night's concert in Amsterdam, Styles explained the thinking behind the stage design directly to fans.
"The reason why we made the stage like this is because I wanted to be in it with you.
Andrews (LONDON)
Dame Julie Andrews has made a rare public appearance in a video for the World Parkinson's Congress.
The 90-year-old legend, who became a global star in the film world with her roles in the likes of Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music, appeared in a video message shared on YouTube by the World Parkinson Coalition, as they addressed attendees at the event and commented that she knows "well how devastating" the disease can be.
She said in the clip: "Good evening, everyone, I'm Julie Andrews and I'm pleased to welcome you to the seventh World Parkinson's Congress.
"Your participation is invaluable as we seek to find a cure to this terrible disease. I know well how devastating it can be.
In sport ...
AFL Bombers (MELBOURNE)
James Hird wants to return as Essendon coach, apologising again for his role in their decline and promising he has learned from the debacle that nearly killed him.
Once news of Brad Scott's sacking from the AFL club broke on Tuesday morning, speculation immediately started about whether Hird would return.
President Andrew Welsh said he had not contacted Hird, but added no-one had been ruled in or out to be the senior coach next season.
Hird then confirmed on Tuesday night he was keen to coach the Bombers again.
"The most important thing for me as an Essendon person and what I want to see the football club to do … is for them to go through the most exhaustive process possible for them to find the best person to coach Essendon," he told the Nine Network.
RL Origin (SYDNEY)
Laurie Daley believes Nathan Cleary is unfairly judged for his State of Origin record, claiming NSW's fortunes don't rest solely on the halfback's fortunes.
Cleary will play his 18th Origin game on Wednesday night at Sydney Accor Stadium, with the pressure turning up on the halfback on Tuesday after halves partner Mitchell Moses was ruled out with a hamstring injury.
The 29-year-old will be expected to do the majority of the Blues' kicking alongside rookie Origin five-eighth Ethan Strange, who is not known for having a boom boot, giving Queensland an easy focal point to defend.
Cleary, the Blues most-capped No.7 of all time, has been peerless at NRL level in crunch games over the last six years of Penrith's dominance.
Ends Bulletin
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