AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 17 at 1500
Legal: Explosives (BRISBANE)
A teenager accused of plotting a terrorist attack on then-opposition leader Peter Dutton had a "how to make a bomb in the kitchen" manual, a court has been told.
The boy had also sketched a picture of a shrapnel-filled improvised bomb left on a city street and exploding, a jury heard.
The boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty to acts in preparation for a terrorist attack and is facing trial in Brisbane Supreme Court.
The jury on Wednesday heard the teen had downloaded an explosives manual from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a group proscribed as a terrorist organisation.
The manual was titled "how to make a bomb in the kitchen of your mum", former counter-terror officer at Queensland Police Steven Gibb said.
Legal: Porter (ORANGE)
The mother of a child killer did not believe in mental illness and consulted a naturopathic herbalist about concerns for her teenage daughter, an inquest has been told.
Two weeks after the 14-year-old confessed to her mother she thought about killing people "all the time", the girl killed 10-year-old Biddy Porter at a property in rural NSW.
Biddy, remembered as a vibrant, clever and creative child, died of multiple injuries while staying at the property in the school holidays on July 8, 2020.
The NSW Supreme Court found Biddy's killer, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was not criminally responsible due to mental illness in 2021.
She has been in custody since her arrest and is overseen by the Mental Health Review Tribunal.
Legal: Star (SYDNEY)
The ex-chief of Star has been fined $700,000 for ignoring criminal risks from overseas gamblers after a judge slashed the sought penalty due to a previous lenient deal.
Former Star chief executive Matthias Bekier failed to inform the company's board of suspicious conduct committed by Chinese junket operator Suncity in 2018 and 2019, the Federal Court found in March.
Mr Bekier and former Star general counsel Paula Martin have been successfully sued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for breaches of their duties.
On Wednesday, Justice Michael Lee imposed the penalty on Mr Bekier, finding the casino boss headed an organisation that had been allowed to operate despite its inherent risks as long as it remained vigilant.
"When it came to Star, that vigilance was found wanting," the judge said.
Qantas (TOULOUSE)
Qantas is set to unveil the first destination for the world's longest non-stop flights from eastern Australia to London or New York, tackling one of the few unbroken barriers of air travel after years of delays.
The "Project Sunrise" plan will bypass Middle Eastern and Asian hubs on London flights and offer direct services on modified Airbus long-haul jets has been in the works since 2017 and is due to enter service by the end of next year.
The aim is to compress what was once a five-day trek on the "Kangaroo Route" to London to 22 hours at most, depending on routes and winds. The trip now takes 24-to-25 hours via Singapore.
New York, which Qantas currently serves from Sydney via Auckland, is also among the initial destinations, but the airline has so far not said which will be introduced first.
Sandilands (SYDNEY)
Radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands has reached a settlement with his former employer, bringing half of a bitter legal battle to an end.
ARN Media revealed it would pay Sandilands $12 million in an ASX announcement published on Wednesday.
He will also receive $1.5 million worth of advertising services on the radio network's partner platforms, while ARN will be given a 19.9 per cent contribution from any of his new ventures for up to three years.
Though the former KIIS FM radio host has said he intends to pursue independent media opportunities, he will not be able to engage with any of ARN's direct competitors for up to nine months from the date of settlement.
"This agreement brings certainty for ARN and resolves the legal dispute," ARN chief executive officer Michael Stephenson said.
Mideast (CAIRO/GAZA)
An Israeli strike has killed at least two Palestinians in the central Gaza Strip, as residents of an area in the north of the enclave flee their homes after Israeli forces expanded their control in the territory.
Medics said an Israeli strike near a residential building in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, killed two brothers, Ahmed and Mahmoud Abu Heen. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.
An October 2025 truce brokered by US President Donald Trump has so far failed to halt Israeli attacks in Gaza or to secure the disarmament of Hamas militants.
The new deaths brought to nearly 1000 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since October, according to the Gaza health ministry. Israel says four of its soldiers have been killed by militants in that period.
G7 (EVIAN-LES-BAINS)
G7 leaders have discussed a plan to grant select "trusted partners" access to advanced AI models from US firms such as Anthropic, three diplomatic sources say, potentially opening a path around restrictions on non-American use.
Anthropic on Friday disabled access for all users to Fable 5 and Mythos 5, its most advanced AI models.
The company made that move after US President Donald Trump ordered Anthropic to block foreign nationals from accessing its most advanced AI models, citing national security concerns.
One of the diplomatic sources said a number of country representatives attending the annual summit of leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy nations discussed the idea of widening access to advanced AI models with US representatives.
This was mainly with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, on the sidelines of the opening G7 summit dinner on Monday in the French lakeside resort of Evian-les-Bains.
Ukraine (KYIV)
A Ukrainian drone attack has started a fire at the refinery that is the largest fuel supplier to the Moscow region and two industry sources have told Reuters it had halted operations.
The sources said the strike on Gazprom Neft's refinery in southeast Moscow damaged a primary refining facility that accounts for 53 per cent of the plant's capacity.
A second unit is expected to resume operations soon, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Witness footage verified by Reuters showed a fierce blaze and dense black smoke rising from the refinery after the attack.
Local emergency services later said the fire had been put out and had not affected operations - information that was contradicted by the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In finance ...
Economy (CANBERRA)
Australia's economy is heading for the slowdown it had to have.
With the nation's decades-long productivity growth malaise showing no sign of improving, Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock admitted the harsh reality after the central bank's monetary policy board held interest rates steady on Tuesday.
Inflation is still too high and the only way it will subside is if economic growth slows and households wear the cost.
"We are not forecasting that the economy is going to shrink this quarter," Ms Bullock told reporters after the RBA's first meeting of the year which did not result in a rate rise.
"We are forecasting that growth is going to slow, but growth has to slow.
"The key reason for that is that we have excess demand, and unless demand grows more slowly than the supply side of the economy for a time, we're not going to get inflation down."
Legal: Mine (SYDNEY)
Despite an open-cut mine explosion landing two workers in hospital, the miner has been cleared of criminal charges.
Maules Creek Coal and its parent company Whitehaven Coal had four convictions successfully overturned in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal on Wednesday after the court found explosives were handled appropriately.
The miner was found guilty of breaching environmental protection laws in 2024 after an August 2020 blast at the Maules Creek open-cut coal mine in Boggabri in northern NSW.
It had used nearly 900,000kg of explosives in its bid to extract coal, which was about 50,000kg more than its modelling had called for.
The resulting explosion exceeded noise limits and left two workers at a different coal mine more than a kilometre away needing hospital treatment.
In entertainment ...
Styles
British popstar Harry Styles says he's "so aware" he's in the middle of a "career highlight" with string of sold-out London shows.
The 32-year-old left the glitter and sparkle at Wembley to perform an intimate orchestral show during his headline set at London's Meltdown festival.
The singer, who curated the Southbank Centre's 2026 festival, was joined by Jules Buckley Orchestra for the fundraising event on Tuesday evening.
It comes days after Styles' kicked off his record-breaking residency at London's Wembley Stadium where he is set to play 12 nights.
"Thank you so much for being here tonight," he said.
"Feels both present and incredibly not present to be so aware that you're in the middle of your career highlight for me."
Toy Story (LONDON)
Tim Allen sought help from a voice coach after being told his Buzz Lightyear sounded "old" when he started working on Toy Story 5.
The 73-year-old actor - who was 42 when the first film in the franchise opened - admitted he "didn't know how to take" the notes he received after his first recording session, but learned the importance of warming up his voice.
"Early on when we did this first radio plug for this one, T5, in a nice way some of the engineers were going, 'Buzz sounds a little old,' and I didn't know how to take that," he told Entertainment Weekly.
"So I got together with a voice coach from New York City Opera [that] they put me with. She said, 'You're not old. Don't get that in your head. You do have to warm up at your age. You can't just get right into [it].'"
In sport ...
WC26 Argentina (KANSAS CITY)
Lionel Messi has equalled Miroslav Klose's record of 16 World Cup goals with a hat-trick as Argentina began their title defence with a 3-0 win over Algeria in Kansas City.
Argentina had started their ultimately successful 2022 campaign with defeat to Saudi Arabia, but avoided any such upset on this occasion thanks to Messi's first World Cup treble on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST).
Messi's second took him level with Brazil great Ronaldo on 15 goals across his six World Cup appearances.
He was denied in a one-on-one by Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane and had a penalty appeal turned down before joining Germany's Klose in a share of the record.
"When I'm in good shape, I give it my all," Messi, who had been hampered by a hamstring problem in the lead-up to the tournament, said through an interpreter.
Gol Open Aust (SYDNEY)
Australia's golf stars are adopting a "pick your battles" mindset as they brace for the most brutal test of the year at the 125th US Open in New York.
The beautiful but beastly Shinnecock Hills will host the sport's most gruelling annual major championship for a sixth time and the first since Brooks Koepka ground out a one-over par winning total in 2018.
Part of the genius of the William Flynn-designed layout on Long Island are three sections of holes that form a triangle, ensuring players face a different wind for each of them.
The USGA has done its part to make sure conditions don't become unplayable, like they almost did eight years ago when six-times US Open runner-up Phil Mickelson infamously putted a moving ball on the green while racking up a 10.
Ends Bulletin
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