AAP Rolling News Bulletin for June 8 at 0330
Iran (BEIRUT)
Israeli forces have struck the outskirts of Beirut for the first time since the United States announced a truce plan for Lebanon last week as an Iranian MP threatened to retaliate, putting talks to end the wider war into new jeopardy.
Iran has long said any peace deal with the US would depend on a ceasefire also holding in Lebanon, which Israel invaded in March in pursuit of Iran-aligned Hezbollah fighters who fired across the border.
There was no immediate formal response from Iran to Sunday's Israeli strikes on the southern outskirts of Beirut but influential Iranian MP Ebrahim Rezaei posted on X that Iran would deliver a "decisive and painful response".
"Look at the sky of the occupied territories tonight," wrote Rezaei, who serves as the spokesman for parliament's national security committee.
Obit Scolyer (SYDNEY)
Scientist Richard Scolyer has died following a lengthy public battle with brain cancer, saying in a statement that he would like to be remembered as "a proud everyday Aussie who 'gave it a crack',".
The renowned melanoma pathologist and father of three, who died aged 59 on Sunday, helped save thousands of people's lives during his career through groundbreaking skin cancer research.
Along with Professor Georgina Long, he took the disease from being a death sentence to largely curable through treatment that activates a patient's own immune system, bringing hope and healing to many.
Born in Tasmania, Professor Scolyer was diagnosed with an incurable and aggressive stage four brain cancer named glioblastoma in June 2023, aged 56, and given just six to eight months to live.
Mideast (CAIRO)
An Israeli air strike on a Hamas-led police station in the Gaza Strip has killed five Palestinians and wounded at least 16 others, health officials say, as mediators begin new efforts to salvage a fragile US-brokered ceasefire deal.
Medics did not say how many of the casualties were police.
The strike on Sunday hit a police post adjacent to a large tent encampment of displaced families in Khan Younis in the south of the enclave.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incident.
Israel has stepped up attacks against police headquarters and personnel in the past several months, killing dozens of them, according to Hamas security officials.
Major fighting has been paused since October under a ceasefire after two years of war, but no agreement has been reached to implement a further US-backed plan for Israeli troops to withdraw, Hamas to disarm and Gaza to be rebuilt.
Honours (CANBERRA)
Will Hodgman was working as a child protection prosecutor when the "fire" in his heart was first lit to get into politics to better protect society's most vulnerable.
Mr Hodgman, who led Tasmania between 2014 and 2020, considers the implementation of his state's plan to reduce family violence during his government's term as one of its most important changes.
"Seeing how governments cannot adequately protect and care for vulnerable people in communities right across the world, but including in my home state, was something I thought I'd like to improve," he told AAP.
"It was that fire in my heart to seek to enter our parliament and pursue what were one of the most significant reforms."
The former Liberal premier has been awarded Australia's highest civil honour, the Companion of the Order (AC), for eminent service to the people and parliament of Tasmania, to economic growth and policy reform, to the law and to the community.
Honours Sport (MELBOURNE)
For more than two decades, Michael Kennedy helped Australia's winter athletes chase Olympic dreams.
Now, the veteran sports administrator has set out on a journey of his own.
After calling time on a 23-year career as chief executive of Snow Australia, which came off the back of the country's record-breaking Winter Olympics campaign in Italy in February, Kennedy headed back overseas to tick off a personal goal.
Kennedy received the news about being appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia in the King's Birthday Honours while walking the 790km-long Camino Frances with his wife, Shannah.
He said the walk, averaging 25km per day for 40 days from France to Spain, had given him time to reflect on his career as an architect of Australia becoming a global winter sports powerhouse.
NZ Aust (CANBERRA)
Labor has laughed off the New Zealand prime minister's criticism of the capital gains tax, arguing the two nations have very different systems.
After Kiwi leader Christopher Luxon said introducing a tax on capital gains would be disastrous for New Zealand's economy, Australia's employment minister Amanda Rishworth denied it was a dig at the Albanese government's tax shake-up.
"I don't think you can compare apples with oranges when we're talking about different tax systems and different countries," she told Sky News on Sunday.
"I would suggest that neither leader would seek to get involved in domestic politics.
"I wouldn't suggest it was a shot across the bow. I would suggest that both leaders are operating in a completely different tax system in their country."
AUKUS (CANBERRA)
The AUKUS agreement is "full steam ahead", Prime Minister Anthony Albanese insists, despite renewed criticism over the nuclear submarine deal.
In the latest alteration to the defence agreement with the United States and the UK, Australia will receive three second-hand Virginia-class nuclear submarines from the US, despite the original terms of the arrangement stipulating two used and one new boat.
The setback has reignited scrutiny over the mega-money deal.
It showed the greatest strategic risk Australia faced at the moment was losing sovereignty to Washington over the defence of the nation, Greens defence spokesman David Shoebridge told the ABC's Insiders program on Sunday.
Australia risked being dragged into a conflict between the US and China as a result, Senator Shoebridge said, and questioned the need for nuclear submarines to defend Australia's maritime approaches.
Ukraine (KYIV)
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to discuss ongoing support for Ukraine.
The Ukrainian leader will visit the United Kingdom on Sunday with the two other leaders, officials in Downing Street said.
It comes after a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack targeted St Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, on Saturday, underscoring the country's growing ability to hit deep inside Russia.
Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday its anti-aircraft units had intercepted and destroyed 339 Ukrainian drones over a 13-hour period in various Russian regions including Moscow.
The ministry, posting on Telegram, listed 13 regions where the interceptions took place, plus areas over the Black Sea, between 7am and 8pm.
In entertainment ...
Tonys (NEW YORK CITY)
The Tony Awards are capping a record Broadway season, with no clear frontrunner among the leading nominees and a mix of star-driven shows and new works signalling sustained momentum for the New York theatre industry.
Pop singer Pink will host the televised ceremony at Radio City Music Hall in New York on Sunday from 8pm local time (10am Monday Sydney time).
New musicals The Lost Boys and Schmigadoon! lead all nominees with 12 nods each, followed by the revival Ragtime with 11, with 24 shows vying for wins across 26 categories.
Alongside leading contenders The Lost Boys and Schmigadoon!, Titaníque and Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) have built strong followings, making the best musical category one of the most competitive in recent memory.
Noise (SYDNEY)
Gigs at one of Australia's most famous landmarks are set to get louder.
Along with lifting capacity limits, sound regulation for late-night concerts at the Sydney Opera House's forecourt will be raised to be consistent with settings for daytime gigs.
NSW ministers labelled the tweaks as common sense and said sound restrictions would no longer be determined by residents of the 'Toaster' - the nearby luxury apartment building whose residents have regularly complained about noise.
Notably, the Opera House copped a $15,000 fine after residents complained about the volume of a performance from English band Florence and The Machine in 2015.
"Over the decades it became a Sydney sport to move in next door to a pub and then campaign to close it down," Arts and Night-time Economy Minister John Graham said on Sunday
In sport ...
Mot F1 (LONDON)
Formula One's new boy wonder Kimi Antonelli has won his fifth-straight race, and the biggest of them all, as he dominated a chaotic Monaco Grand Prix from start to finish.
The 19-year-old built a huge lead after starting from pole in his Mercedes but his 30-second advantage was wiped out after a late red flag to inspect a crumbling surface at the final corner on the celebrated street circuit which had taken out third-placed Charles Leclerc on Sunday.
After a 40-minute delay while repairs were carried out, Antonelli proved just as supreme from another standing start, powering away to become the youngest ever winner of the great race from runner-up Lewis Hamilton, who enjoyed a record eighth podium finish in Monaco.
RL Tigers (SYDNEY)
Nathan Cleary has inspired NRL juggernaut Penrith to the biggest win in the club's history - a 68-0 mauling of insipid Wests Tigers at CommBank Stadium.
Penrith's State of Origin stars excelled on return from a week off to reiterate the yawning chasm between the ladder leaders and their NRL challengers in 2026.
Cleary shone brightest of all with three try assists and a four-pointer of his own as the Panthers rode their largest halftime lead since 2010 - 36-0 - to a huge win.
Nine different Panthers scored tries on Sunday and with six and a half minutes to play, left winger Tom Jenkins crossed for his second to push the margin beyond 60 points.
The end result surpassed a 72-12 defeat of Manly in 2004 to become the biggest Penrith have posted since entering the competition in 1967.
Ends Bulletin
Rolling News Desk inquiries : 02 9322 8611
