AAP Rolling News Bulletin for May 30 at 1530
Epstein (WASHINGTON, D. C.)
Former US attorney general Pam Bondi has refused to answer questions from Congress on whether President Donald Trump was aware of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's activities that led to his criminal indictments, Democratic lawmakers say.
In a closed-door interview before the House of Representatives Oversight Committee on Friday, Bondi also said Todd Blanche, who now serves as acting attorney general, had been responsible for the documents' release.
"I did not lead every aspect of this effort or conduct that document review myself. I delegated oversight over this process to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche," Bondi said in a prepared statement obtained by Reuters.
Representative Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the committee, told reporters Bondi refused to answer questions pertaining to Trump, saying a Justice Department lawyer sitting next to her "stepped in and told the former attorney general that she was not going to answer those questions".
Ukraine (MOSCOW)
Russian President Vladimir Putin says it is too early to say if a drone which crashed into an apartment block in Romania was Russian and suggested it could have been a Ukrainian drone.
NATO accused Russia on Friday of reckless behaviour and pledged to "defend every inch of allied territory" after Romania said a Russian drone had crashed into an apartment block in the military alliance member state during an attack on neighbouring Ukraine.
"Who in Romania says that this is a Russian drone?" Putin asked reporters at a news conference in Astana, Kazakhstan.
He said he had only just heard of the incident as he had been in talks all day.
"No one can say what the origin of this or that drone is until an examination has been carried out," he said.
Liberals (MELBOURNE)
The Liberal Party is hoping to rebuild its identity as a viable alternative government during a key national meeting of party leaders and powerbrokers.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor will front the Liberal Party federal council meeting in Melbourne on Saturday.
Deputy leader Jane Hume and outgoing federal director Andrew Hirst will also address the gathering.
Senior party leaders told the meeting's first session on Friday while there were challenges ahead, the party could regain the trust of voters.
"It takes character to rebuild when the work is hard and the path is long," outgoing federal president John Olsen told the meeting.
Key party policies, including stemming migration and opening the door to nuclear power, were passed by delegates with almost no opposition.
Economy (SYDNEY)
Australian businesses are under fire from both sides as conflict in the Middle East drives up prices and weakens demand.
After first lighting a fire under fuel costs, the impacts of the US-Israeli-led war in the Middle East have begun flowing through the rest of the Australian economy, adding to price pressures, the most recent Deloitte Access Economics Retail Forecast found.
Fuel, energy, plastics and fertiliser prices have surged while the rising cost of living is squeezing household budgets and dampening consumer spending.
All of this is set to temper retail sector growth, with retail turnover expected to increase by 1.8 per cent in 2026, down from 2.3 per cent in 2025, the report found.
"Events over the first half of 2026 mean Australian retailers are facing a simultaneous attack from both flanks - rising costs and weakening demand," Deloitte Access Economics partner David Rumbens said.
Iran (WASHINGTON, D. C.)
US President Donald Trump says in a social media post he is attending a meeting in the White House Situation Room to make a final decision on a deal with Iran.
He also listed what a potential deal would need to include: Iran agreeing not to develop a nuclear weapon, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the removal of any sea mines, the lifting of the US blockade on Iran and the removal and destruction by the United States of Iran's highly enriched uranium.
"No money will be exchanged, until further notice. Other items, of far less importance, have been agreed to. I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination," Trump posted on Truth Social.
Ukraine (BUCHAREST)
NATO has accused Moscow of reckless behaviour and pledged to "defend every inch of Allied territory" after Romania reported a Russian drone had crashed into an apartment block in the alliance member state during an attack on neighbouring Ukraine.
Romania's defence ministry said a woman and a child suffered minor injuries in Galati near the border with Ukraine overnight after radar tracked a Russian drone entering Romanian airspace and reaching the southeastern city.
Photos from the scene showed charred and damaged brickwork on the roof of the 10-storey apartment block which Romanian authorities said was hit by a drone that exploded on impact, causing a fire in a top-floor flat.
Russia did not immediately comment.
It was the first time a densely populated area in a NATO country had been hit causing injuries during Russia's war in Ukraine, and the incident is likely to increase tensions on the alliance's eastern flank as member states worry about the war spilling over their borders.
Ebola (BUNIA)
The World Health Organization says there are 906 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including 223 suspected deaths that are being investigated.
An outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola is continuing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with cases also reported in Uganda.
There have been 125 confirmed cases of Ebola in the DRC, including 17 confirmed deaths in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu.
There have also been seven confirmed cases of Ebola in Uganda, three of which were imported from the DRC, and one death.
However, no community transmission has been reported, the WHO said.
The rate of people who died among those confirmed to have the infection ranges from 30 per cent to 50 per cent, said Anais Legand from the High Threat Pathogens Team which is part of WHO Health Emergencies Programme.
China Aust (SINGAPORE)
China's decision to send only academics to Asia's biggest defence forum is a missed opportunity at a moment when countries need more "strategic reassurance" from Beijing, Defence Minister Richard Marles says.
Speaking ahead of the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Mr Marles said the meeting was an "incredible opportunity" for defence ministers and policymakers from around the world to exchange ideas and develop relationships.
"We've seen China engage in the biggest conventional military build-up in the world since the end of the Second World War, and that has not happened with a strategic reassurance for other countries," Marles told Reuters in an interview.
Officials in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
For the second year running, China's Defence Minister Dong Jun has skipped the meeting and Beijing has said it planned to send a delegation consisting mainly of experts and scholars from the People's Liberation Army.
In finance ...
KPMG (SYDNEY)
A top-tier consultancy firm whose Australian boss resigned over the treatment of a whistleblower was hosting whistleblower support services for some of the nation's biggest corporations.
The revelation came to light during a federal parliamentary joint committee hearing into the activities of the corporate regulator chaired by Labor senator Deborah O'Neill.
Senator O'Neill told the hearing in Canberra on Friday that she had come across the National Australia Bank's Whistleblower Protection Policy of April this year.
The policy refers potential whistleblowers to KPMG's Fair Call Service, which is described as an "independently monitored external hotline and reporting services".
The evidence came as KPMG, one of the Big Four accounting firms, on Friday revealed its Australian head Andrew Yates had resigned along with audit head Julian McPherson.
Markets Aust (SYDNEY)
Australia's share market has edged higher after a volatile week, supported by hopes of a US-Iran deal and softer-than-expected local inflation that took some pressure off the Reserve Bank.
The S&P/ASX200 gained 138.8 points on Friday, up 1.62 per cent to 8,731.7, as the broader All Ordinaries improved by 145.4 points, or 1.65 per cent, to 8,965.
The top-200 ended the week 0.86 per cent higher, wrapping up two straight months of modest gains but ultimately down more than five per cent since the Persian Gulf conflict began on February 28.
"Helped along by the reports of a peace deal nearing agreement, global share markets rose over the last week, albeit there were a few gyrations along the way as prospects for a deal looked questionable mid-week in the face of renewed US strikes on Iran," AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said.
In entertainment ...
Aerobatics (SYDNEY)
Tumbling through the sky at 400km/h means leaving all ego outside the cockpit, even for Australia's top aerobatic pilot.
Paul Bennet has spent decades carving up the skies, as he pulls off torque rolls, double hammerheads and flips to the delight of audiences hundreds of metres below.
Growing up at Old Bar on the NSW mid-north coast, Bennet later moved to Newcastle where he truly fell in love with the sport and began to stretch his wings.
"When you close the cockpit, the world changes," he told AAP.
"It's just you, the air and the airplane.
"You become one with the plane and your wings become your arms - it's pretty cool."
Bennet began competing in aerobatic championships during the 2000s.
Mirren (LONDON)
UK police are "reviewing footage" showing Helen Mirren being called a "evil Zionist bitch" by a man in London.
The footage started circulating on social media showing the Oscar-winning actor walking along a street in Tower Hill with her husband, American film director Taylor Hackford.
The video, which was filmed last year, showed the 80-year-old smiling and greeting the man filming and asking if he was OK.
However, he can then be heard swearing at Mirren over her support for Israel.
In the footage, the man said: "And there is Helen Mirren the avowed Zionist. You said Israel should last forever because of the Holocaust. And she was very happy the Palestinians' houses were gone.
"You are an evil Zionist bitch. And you (Hackford) as well, f*** you as well."
In sport ...
WC26 Aust (PASADENA)
Fresh Socceroos convert Cristian Volpato could debut as soon as Australia's pre-World Cup friendly against Mexico, with coach Tony Popovic insisting there's no risk adding the latecomer to the national set-up.
The Socceroos pulled off one of the more stunning moves in recent history by landing Volpato, who defected from Italy.
The Italy-based attacking midfielder will join the pre-camp in Los Angeles on Saturday morning, ahead of the international friendly against the World Cup co-hosts Mexico that night (Sunday AEST).
Volpato, who was born and raised in Sydney and played his junior football at Sydney United 58, Sydney FC and Western Sydney before moving to Italy, represented Italy at U19 and U20 level.
He famously knocked back Graham Arnold's pitch for him to join the Qatar 2022 squad and said in March he was "waiting for Italy", who subsequently didn't qualify for the World Cup.
SOC FACup Women (LONDON)
When Dario Vidosic walks out at Wembley Stadium for the Women's FA Cup final at the head of his Brighton & Hove Albion team it will be a proud but bittersweet moment for the 39-year-old Australian.
Instead of looking to the bench he will be looking to the heavens as he thinks of his father and mentor Rado, who passed away in January aged 64.
Rado had been working alongside Dario on England's south coast as the club's head of women and girls coaching, and would have been a sounding board as Dario plotted a path to victory against Mary Fowler's Manchester City, the newly-crowned Women's Super League champions.
"There's lots of moments where it just hits you," Dario told AAP. "He was someone that I spoke to a lot when we were here working together and living together and enjoying that, but also throughout.
Ends Bulletin
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