AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 10 at 0830
NIreland Stab (BELFAST)
Police in Northern Ireland appealed for calm after arresting a Sudanese man over a knife attack that left one person in a serious condition and prompted calls online for protest.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the incident as "sickening" after video of the attack, which took place in north Belfast late on Monday evening, was shared widely on social media.
The incident, which is currently not being treated as terrorism, comes at a time of heightened tensions in Britain following the murder of a student who was handcuffed by police as he lay dying from stab wounds after his killer, a Sikh man, falsely alleged a racist attack.
It also follows repeated protests about immigration, with populist parties saying Britain's asylum policy had allowed dangerous men into the country. Northern Ireland saw anti-immigrant rioting last year amid anger over an alleged sexual assault.
Iran (WASHINGTON/BEIRUT/DUBAI)
US President Donald Trump says Iran had shot down a US Apache helicopter that was patrolling the Strait of Hormuz overnight and vowed to respond, deepening doubts about prospects for a truce announced in April in the war in the Gulf.
"I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz," Trump wrote in a social media post.
He said the two US pilots involved in the incident were both safe and uninjured.
"Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack," he added.
The episode adds further strain to efforts to broker a peace deal to end the wider Middle East war and reopen Hormuz, a vital conduit for international trade in energy and other commodities.
BudgetACT (CANBERRA)
First home buyers in the ACT will no longer have to pay stamp duty, the territory government will reveal, as it hands down a budget mired in debt.
Housing is central to Treasurer Chris Steel's second budget, to be unveiled on Wednesday.
The latest milestone in ACT Labor's long-term project to abolish stamp duty in favour of higher property rates will extend the exemption to all first home buyers from July 1.
Currently, only homes under $1 million are exempt and purchasers must be below income eligibility thresholds.
The ACT will become the first jurisdiction in Australia to fully abolish stamp duty for people entering the property market.
"The elimination of stamp duty for first home buyers compliments the federal government's tax reforms by supporting younger generations of Canberrans to own their own home," Mr Steel said.
Daniher (MELBOURNE)
AFL great and motor neurone disease crusader Neale Daniher will be farewelled at a state funeral in front of legions of fans he inspired over his decade-long battle.
The man who became the symbol of the fight against MND died at home on May 25, aged 65.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will lead tributes at Daniher's funeral on Wednesday, held on the same hallowed grounds of the MCG where he played for and coached Melbourne and Essendon.
Family, friends and former colleagues will also offer tributes to the much-loved football figure before he is sent off with a guard of honour.
Daniher was diagnosed with the incurable and fatal disease which he dubbed The Beast in 2013.
The average life expectancy was 27 months, but he resisted for 13 years.
Ukraine (TALLINN)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has arrived in Estonia to attend a summit of Nordic and Baltic leaders, a visit that comes amid friction over Ukrainian drones straying into the region in recent months.
The drones have crashed into the chimney of a power plant in Estonia, hit empty fuel tanks in Latvia and been shot down by Romanian fighter jets stationed in Lithuania.
Ukrainian officials apologised, saying the drones had been aimed at military targets inside Russia but were sent off course by Russian electronic interference.
Estonia is hosting the summit in its capital, Tallinn.
The country holds the rotating presidency of the NB8, a regional grouping of the five Nordic countries and the three Baltic states.
It brought together the bloc's prime ministers, along with Zelenskiy.
Legal: Starling (SYDNEY)
Whether a NRL star was pulled down from a stage by police officers or jumped on them from a height is a key question in the trial of two officers charged with assault.
Evan Huw Prowse and Steven Lockwood Brown have both pleaded not guilty to the common assault of Canberra Raiders hooker Tom Starling at a 21st birthday party in December 2020.
Starling, his brothers Jackson and Josh and friend Jesse Byrne, had originally been charged with assaulting police and resisting arrest after a drunken night out on the NSW Central Coast.
But those charges were later dropped, and Brown and Prowse were subsequently charged with assaulting the NRL player, who suffered concussion and a bloodied face in the incident.
NDIS (CANBERRA)
Disabled Australians have slammed a huge overhaul of funding that would give a single minister the power to cut support as they see fit.
People have been given just over a fortnight to respond to laws which would deliver the largest ever cuts to the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Disabled people are at risk of losing their independence and enjoyment as a result, a senate inquiry into proposed changes was told on Tuesday.
The Albanese government maintains the cuts are needed to curb a $50 billion spending blow out in the scheme.
About $11 billion of the $16.6 billion savings forecast for 2029/30 will come from eligibility changes, including more detailed assessments, modelling from the Grattan Institute shows.
The changes are likely to reduce the number of NDIS participants to 598,000 in 2030/31 - a third of the expected cohort if no changes were made.
CFMEU (BRISBANE)
A senior public servant braced for a physical assault during an "unhinged" CFMEU boss's frightening tirade, an inquiry has been told.
Andrea Fox fought back tears as she described the meeting, saying former CFMEU state leader Michael Ravbar threatened to have her "physically dragged downstairs" and thrown into the street.
But Mr Ravbar has denied scaring Ms Fox, saying he was "blunt" but never raised his voice in an exchange he claimed lasted only a few minutes.
An emotional Ms Fox said a "menacing" Mr Ravbar blocked her only exit as he stood over her, saying she disgusted him and the union would not work with her.
She broke down on Tuesday as she told an inquiry into the Queensland CFMEU about what was meant to be a routine meeting at the rogue construction union's office in January 2018.
In finance ...
SpaceX (SYDNEY)
Australian investors are lining up to jump aboard one of the world's hottest initial public offerings, the launch of Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The spaceflight and artificial intelligence company will go public on the US Nasdaq exchange on Friday after raising up to $US75 billion ($A106 billion).
It will have a mammoth $US1.75 trillion ($A2.5 trillion) valuation, making it among the 10 most valuable companies in the world.
CommSec, the lead Australian broker on the float, said on Tuesday it was "experiencing extremely high call volumes" and advised customers to submit an application for the share offer online ahead of the 5pm Wednesday deadline.
CommSec also cautioned hopeful Australian buyers to beware of fake "SpaceX IPO" emails that are phishing scams purporting to be from the broker.
Economy (CANBERRA)
The Reserve Bank's next interest rate move is more likely to be down than up, economists at National Australia Bank say.
NAB has joined Commonwealth Bank and ANZ in forecasting the cash rate to stay on hold at 4.35 per cent for the rest of 2026, having previously predicted one more hike in August.
Westpac is the last of the big four banks to hang onto its rate rise call, with two more hikes pencilled in for the year.
Recently released GDP data and NAB's business survey, published on Tuesday, showed momentum in the economy has slowed, NAB's chief economist Sally Auld and head of Australian economics Gareth Spence said in a research note.
"The backdrop for the RBA when we look back to February - when they started hiking - was one of growth above its trend pace, or its sustainable pace, with the economy operating above capacity and inflation above target," Mr Spence told AAP.
In entertainment ...
Reiner (LOS ANGELES)
Rob Reiner's son Nick Reiner is seeking unpaid money from a trust his parents established for him, saying he needs it to help in his defence against charges that he killed them.
A petition filed by the 32-year-old Nick Reiner's civil lawyers in a Los Angeles County court on Monday says that trustees overseeing the funds have denied them to him without legal justification, and he needs and should get them now.
"Nick loved his parents, and he is devastated by their deaths. But the facts about what did and did not happen to them are not at issue in this Trust litigation," the petition says.
"Like anyone accused of a crime, Nick is presumed innocent, and he is entitled to mount his defence with the resources that are lawfully his own."
Laurie (LONDON)
Hugh Laurie has apologised for a "drunk" brutal outburst over someone criticising House.
The 66-year-old actor, who played grumpy doctor Gregory House in the medical drama, responded with a scathing retort after freelance journalist Janet Murray poked fun at the show's formulaic episodes, which the journalist claimed led to her being heavily trolled online.
In response, Laurie wrote on X: "I'm sorry if people have been having a go at you because of my tweet.
"Not at all the plan. I was very slightly drunk and already upset about something that had nothing to do with you.
"If it's any comfort, I got it in the neck too. I'm a thin-skinned twat, apparently, even though it wasn't my skin. I was sticking up for the writers who I adored.
In sport ...
RL Origin Qld (BRISBANE)
Queensland debutant Kulikefu Finefeuiaki credits giving up a family favourite Tongan dish as one reason why he is now a streamlined wrecking ball set to unleash his best in State of Origin.
The 22-year-old Dolphin and Tonga international wasn't always the athletic beast and 80-minute second-rower he is now.
"Young Kuli was a bit chubbier back then," the new Maroons forward chuckled.
"Looking back, every time I was running on the field I was getting a bit too tired so I had to lay off the food."
One particular dish - Lu Sipi - was his go-to, expertly prepared by his father.
"Lu Sipi is tarot leaves with lamb, onions and coconut cream. I was having it a bit too much, credit to my dad," he said.
Com26 Swi (SYDNEY)
Can Australian swim star Cam McEvoy go even faster in front of a home crowd?
All eyes will be on the world's fastest 50m freestyle swimmer when McEvoy competes for a Commonwealth Games spot at Sydney Olympic Park.
Wednesday's splash-and-dash at Australia's swim trials will be the 32-year-old's first meet since he stamped himself as the fastest swimmer of all time at the China Swimming Open in March.
In Shenzhen, McEvoy powered to an extraordinary 50m freestyle world record of 20.88 seconds to obliterate the 17-year-old benchmark.
The Paris Olympic gold medallist clipped three-hundredths of a second off the record of 20.91 set by Brazilian Cesar Cielo back in the sport's 'supersuit' era in 2009.
McEvoy will take the spotlight on Wednesday night but he's not the only Australian looking to raise the bar, with Sam Short eyeing four individual gold medals at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games starting next month.
Ends Bulletin
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