AAP Rolling News Bulletin for May 25 at 1200
Ebola (DAKAR)
The Congolese government says suspected Ebola cases in the nation have passed 900.
Since the start of the outbreak, 904 suspected cases have been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo, of which 101 were confirmed, the Congolese Ministry of Communication said in a post on social media platform X.
The ministry revised the number of suspected deaths to 119, down from 204 a day earlier, with 10 Ebola deaths confirmed in laboratory tests.
The Ebola epidemic remains active in the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu, the ministry said on Sunday, local time.
In neighbouring Uganda, five confirmed cases were reported in connection with the outbreak in eastern Congo. Uganda does not publish figures for suspected cases.
Federal (CANBERRA)
The teal independents are mulling forming a new political party to present voters with an alternative to the major parties, as polling shows surging support for One Nation.
Independent MP Zali Steggall, who holds former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott's old Sydney seat of Warringah, confirmed the group was discussing how they could be more effective in parliament as Australia entered a time of "political flux".
"I'm always open ... I've made my third term, and after seven years in parliament, I can see how there are many things we could do politics better and differently," she told ABC radio on Monday.
"There's huge frustration and unhappiness with the major parties.
"You see the coalition lurching to the right. The rise of One Nation is really concerning for many in our community."
US Shots (WASHINGTON DC)
A bystander who was struck by gunfire after a man fired on a checkpoint outside the White House and was fatally shot by US Secret Service officers remains in serious but stable condition.
The Secret Service said the bystander, who has not been identified, suffered a gunshot wound described as not life-threatening. It was not clear how he was shot.
Authorities have released few additional details about the shooting that took place early on Saturday evening, local time.
The District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department said the suspect, identified as 21-year-old Nasire Best, started shooting toward a White House security checkpoint when Secret Service officers returned fire.
Best, of Dundalk, Maryland, was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
US President Donald Trump was in the White House at the time of the shooting.
Ukraine (STAROBILSK)
Forensic experts have sifted through the ruins of a dormitory largely destroyed in what Russian authorities say was a Ukrainian drone attack in Ukraine's Luhansk region, seized and placed under Russian control in the four-year-old war.
Authorities said search operations concluded late on Saturday and put the death toll in the strike on the teacher training college at 21, many of them young women.
The building's facade was gashed by gaping holes and smashed windows.
Piles of twisted metal and concrete lay outside the building looking onto what was once a courtyard, with wrecked desks and cupboards piled up inside.
A worker in protective gear examined pieces of metal and other debris laid out on a tarpaulin as workers from Russia's Investigative Committee compiled data from the incident on Friday.
Antisemitism (MELBOURNE)
What police and intelligence agencies knew leading up to the Bondi terror attack will be the focus of a second round of public hearings at a wide-ranging inquiry.
After hearing first-person accounts of rising anti-Semitism within the community, a royal commission will on Monday begin looking at potential failures of security agencies to stop the December 14 mass shooting, which left 15 innocent people dead.
The first witness due to give evidence is ASIO director-general Mike Burgess, followed by senior officers from the Australian Federal Police and NSW Police.
Two representatives from Jewish security organisation CSG NSW are also due to appear.
Among the issues under scrutiny will be security arrangements for the Chanukah by the Sea event that was targeted by two gunmen and what was known by counter-terrorism agencies and police about the shooters.
Legal: Freeman (MELBOURNE)
Inquests into the deaths of fugitive Dezi Freeman and the two police officers he shot dead are set to begin.
Freeman led police on one of the nation's largest manhunts after he killed Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart, who were among a team of officers serving a warrant at his home in the Victorian High Country in August 2025.
The seven-month search for the 56-year-old ended when he died in a hail of police bullets on a remote property in Thologolong, near Walwa on the Victoria-NSW border on March 30.
State Coroner Liberty Sanger will hold directions hearings for the cases of the police officers on Monday morning before turning her attention to Freeman's case in the afternoon.
It is expected the dates and the scope of the inquests will be set and the witnesses to be called to give evidence will be decided.
Sci China Space (JIUQUAN)
China has sent three astronauts to its space station, one of whom will stay for a year, a record length for the country, enabling the study of long-duration human physiology in space as Beijing works towards its ambition of a crewed moon landing by 2030.
The Shenzhou-23 vessel launched at 2308 local time (0108 AEST) using the Long March-2F Y23 carrier rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China, with three Chinese astronauts on board.
Payload specialist Li Jiaying, a former Hong Kong police inspector, is the first astronaut from the city to take part in a Chinese space mission.
The other crew members are commander Zhu Yangzhu and pilot Zhang Yuanzhi, both from the People's Liberation Army's astronaut division.
Iran (WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD)
US President Donald Trump does not want to rush into any deal with Iran, appearing to dampen hopes of an imminent breakthrough in the three-month-old war that had been raised by both sides a day earlier.
The US blockade on Iranian ships on the Strait of Hormuz would "remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed", Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Negotiations are progressing and the US relationship with Iran has become more professional and productive, he said.
"Both sides must take their time and get it right. There can be no mistakes!"
A day earlier, Trump said Washington and Iran had "largely negotiated" a memorandum of understanding on a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which before the conflict carried one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
In finance ...
Scams (MELBOURNE)
In the already difficult to navigate world of online trading, young people are being lured in by the promise of easy money trading cryptocurrency.
The problem - the sites, trades, and profits are all entirely fake and any money paid goes straight into the pockets of scammers.
The scams work by inviting young people to join trading advice chat groups on messaging services such as WhatsApp, sometimes posing as high-profile figures who the scammers impersonate.
Scammers then recommend victims invest via a fake crypto asset trading platform which shows profits and trades, when in reality no real trading is taking place.
When the victim tries to withdraw their supposed profits, scammers ask for even more money via "withdrawal fees".
Once money has been transferred via the scam there is often no way to get it back.
US Economy (NEW YORK/WASHINGTON)
President Donald Trump's resolve on Iran is being tested by a force largely beyond his control: the bond market.
As yields rose rapidly over the last week, a White House official said there was significant anxiety among staff over petrol prices and where the bond market is headed, with fuel prices the biggest source of anxiety right now.
Higher yields mean elevated borrowing costs for businesses and consumers, while rising oil prices push up inflation expectations.
That mixture can cause headaches for the administration as it prepares for midterm elections in November.
"The markets are showing him pain, and he has to figure out how to unwind that — and it's not that easy," said Greg Faranello, head of US rates strategy at AmeriVet Securities in New York.
In entertainment ...
Styles (LONDON)
Harry Styles is reportedly planning a "small" winter wedding in the UK with Zoe Kravitz.
As speculation surrounding the couple's engagement and future ceremony intensifies following months of reports about possible celebrations in Europe and New York, Styles, 32, and Kravitz, 37, are said to be considering an intimate ceremony around Christmas.
They were previously linked to plans for a larger wedding in Paris or on the French Riviera.
According to Page Six, the couple are now discussing a smaller event attended only by close friends and family in Britain, although reports have suggested a second ceremony in New York could also take place because of Kravitz's close ties to the city through her father, musician and actor Lenny Kravitz.
Murray (LONDON)
Hannah Murray found the wellness business to be "seductive and addictive" during her younger years.
The 36-year-old actress - best known for playing Gilly in the fantasy series Game of Thrones - became drawn into a wellness cult in her 20s, and after surviving life in the "the underbelly of the wellness and spiritual world", Murray now stays away from the industry altogether.
"Even the tame stuff can feel quite distressing," the actress told the Guardian newspaper.
"I don't meditate any more. I wouldn't go into a crystal shop. I don't do yoga, because I don't quite know what might come up that might feel a bit too woo-woo for my personal threshold. But I realise now how pervasive it is.
"How often people you don't know will offer it as a remedy. You'll say, 'I'm not really sleeping,' and they'll say, 'Have you tried meditation?' It's everywhere, seen as an inherently positive solution. And there are harmless or positive versions.
In sport ...
Sur World (MELBOURNE)
A water photographer is in hospital with bite wounds after an apparent seal attack at the New Zealand Pro World Surf League event.
Australian Ed Sloane had puncture wounds to an ankle and had a flipper ripped off in the attack.
Organisers suspect a seal, rather than a shark, attacked Sloane.
The wounds are minor and Sloane was in good spirits.
A code red was called immediately after the attack and the men's semi-final between Brazilians Yago Dora and Italo Ferreira was put on hold.
The incident comes 11 years after Australian great Mick Fanning fought off a shark in his final at the South African J-Bay Pro.
"It was our beloved water photographer, Ed - thank God, he's in good spirits, he's well considering what happened, minor, small puncture wounds," WSL commissioner Renato Hickel said.
Ten Abdo (SYDNEY)
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo has announced his mid-season resignation and is expected to accept a position at Tennis Australia.
TA had been on the lookout for a new chief executive after Craig Tiley stepped down in February to become head of the US Tennis Association.
Abdo took charge of the NRL in April 2020 and helped the league navigate the competition's COVID-enforced shutdown and subsequent resumption that May.
Under Abdo's leadership, the NRL has executed its daring plan to open the season with matches in Las Vegas, a deal that runs out after 2027.
The league has also introduced major changes to its rule-book on Abdo's watch, most notably introducing the divisive set-restart rule.
Abdo's resignation means he will not be on hand to oversee the NRL's next broadcast deal nor collective bargaining agreement with the rugby league players association.
Ends Bulletin
Rolling News Desk inquiries : 02 9322 8611
