AAP Rolling News Bulletin for May 30 at 1930
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.
Afghan Truck (KABUL)
At least 18 people are dead after a truck carrying Afghan refugees returning from neighbouring Pakistan overturned on a highway in eastern Afghanistan.
Officials say among the dead were 10 children and five women with 35 people injured.
The accident occurred in Laghman province on the main highway linking Kabul, the Afghan capital, with Nangarhar province, said Abdul Malik Niazai, the spokesperson for the provincial governor.
He said the injured were taken to hospitals in Nangarhar for medical treatment.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government spokesperson expressed his sorrow over the incident and offered condolences to the victims' families.
Traffic accidents are common across Afghanistan, where roads are poorly maintained and drivers routinely ignore traffic regulations.
The passengers were among thousands of Afghans who recently returned from Pakistan, which launched a crackdown on undocumented migrants in 2023 and has since deported or pressured many to leave.
Cyber (CANBERRA)
Australia's vulnerability to attacks on subsea cables that internet traffic flows through has been underlined by the deputy prime minister at an Asian security summit.
Richard Marles, also Australia's defence minister, has highlighted the "historically unprecedented" attacks on critical infrastructure on the ocean floor.
"It is striking that several cables have been severed across the Baltic and the Taiwan Strait since November 2024," he said at 2026 Shangri-La Dialogue, without levelling accusations at individual countries.
"Now, maybe these were accidents," he added at the Singapore defence meeting on Saturday.
"But even if they were, it highlights the vulnerability of this crucial part of the globe's infrastructure."
With roughly 99 per cent of Australia's internet flowing through just 15 subsea cables, Mr Marles said Australia was among the most exposed nations in the world to this "documented pattern of behaviour".
Legal: Canada Lethal (NEWMARKET)
A Canadian man accused of selling lethal products across 40 countries to hundreds of people who bought them to end their own lives has pleaded guilty to 14 counts of counselling or aiding suicide.
Kenneth Law, dressed in a dark blazer and white shirt, stood in the prisoner's box of a Newmarket, Ontario court to enter his guilty pleas. Under the terms of the agreement, Canadian prosecutors will withdraw 14 murder charges against him.
Sentencing is scheduled for September.
In the courtroom gallery, family members of the victims dabbed away tears as a prosecutor detailed the final moments of almost 100 people who died after using the lethal products purchased from Law.
Police in Canada and around the world have been investigating more than 100 suicides linked to Law. The charges against him in the Canadian court are related to 14 people across Ontario who were between the ages of 16 and 36.
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.
US Inflation (WASHINGTON, D. C.)
Tomatoes, ubiquitous in everything from fast-food burgers to haute cuisine, are taking on a new role beyond the plate in the United States: a nagging reminder of rising costs.
Prices for those red orbs have soared more than any other food product over the past year for US consumers.
"The tomato has become a symbol of something much deeper," said Isaac Bernal Carbajo, a New York City chef who lamented life's "simplest pleasures" falling victim to price increases.
"Something as basic as buying fresh vegetables is starting to become a serious financial decision for many families."
Tomato prices are up about 40 per cent over a year ago, according to the latest US Consumer Price Index, dwarfing increases for other groceries, including coffee (up 18.5 per cent), beef roasts (up 17.8 per cent) and frozen fish and seafood (up 12 per cent).
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.
Freud (LONDON)
A painting of Sue Tilley, who found fame after artist Lucian Freud depicted her in the nude, will be auctioned next month with a price estimate of up to $US47 million ($A65 million).
Sleeping by the Lion Carpet (1995-1996) is the last of four portraits the late British artist painted of Tilley, a benefits supervisor and considered among his greatest works.
Depicting her naked and sleeping in an armchair, the painting has been part of businessman Joe Lewis's family collection since 1996. It is being offered at auction for the first time at Sotheby's with a price estimate of $US33.56 million to $US46.99 million.
"It's made my life exciting," Tilley told Reuters at Sotheby's in London.
"I think that people can't believe that such a fat woman would take her clothes off and let someone paint her... I'm not really a vain person... everybody in the world is all different, all different shapes and sizes, so it's nice to have a nice big one up there."
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
Rolling News Desk inquiries : 02 9322 8611
