This is The Loop, your quick catch-up for this morning's news as it happens — here are our key stories from this morning (click on the link to jump to the post):
- Brittany Higgins's lawyers intend to launch court action against at least one MP, senator Linda Reynolds
- An 18-year-old has died after being stabbed near St Kilda beach
- Donald Trump's "termination" call about the US Constitution has been condemned by a top Republican
- And Taylor Swift fans are *suing* Ticketmaster after a "ticket sales disaster"
Key events
Live updates
Higgins's lawyers intend to launch court action against at least one MP
By Peta Fuller
Lawyers for former political staffer Brittany Higgins intend to launch legal action against at least one Liberal minister in relation to her alleged rape inside Parliament House in 2019.
On Friday, prosecutors abandoned the criminal case against Bruce Lehrmann out of concern for Ms Higgins's health.
Mr Lehrmann had pleaded not guilty and has denied any sexual intercourse took place.
Senator Linda Reynolds — who was Brittany Higgins's employer at the time of allegations — has confirmed to the ABC that lawyers for Ms Higgins advised her of their intention to progress a civil claim.
Coming up: Belgium begins terrorism trial over 2016 suicide bombings
By Peta Fuller
Ten men are set to go on trial in Brussels later today in connection with suicide bombings in the Belgian capital in 2016.
Thirty-two people died in the attacks at the main airport and on the metro.
They were the deadliest attacks on Belgian soil since World War II.
Nearly 1,000 survivors and relatives of victims will be represented in court.
World's largest radio telescope in WA launches construction today
By Peta Fuller
News Breakfast's Nate Byrne was out very early in WA this morning, talking about this one.
It's part of two separate telescope projects (the other is in South Africa) with this one being built at the CSIRO's Murchison radio astronomy observatory:
"This project will be looking at low-frequency radiowaves. It means that we're going to be able to peer deeper into space and time right back to some of the first moments after the Big Bang, which is just incredible.
There will eventually be 130,000 plus of these (arrays) on this site spread over some 70-odd kilometres. This is going to be an absolutely huge project."
You can watch more on it here:
Tsunami warning lifts for Pacific after powerful quake hit the region
By Peta Fuller
Good news — an earlier warning for American Samoa has been lifted after a powerful, 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck the region.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says that based on all available data, there's no further tsunami threat.
There have been no immediate reports of damages or injuries.
The Goonies house up for sale in the US
By Peta Fuller
This ring any bells for film fans?
The $1.7 million Oregon home is (probably) going to a fan of The Goonies film — the agent selling it says it should close in January and the new owner promises to preserve the home.
Since the movie came to theatres in 1985, fans have flocked to the home in northwestern Oregon’s historic port of Astoria.
The city celebrates Goonies Day on June 7, the film’s release date, and welcomes thousands of people for the event.
Based on a story by Steven Spielberg, the film features a group of friends fighting to protect their homes from an expanding country club — and then they find an old treasure map.
- AP
England's Raheem Sterling in London after armed break-in at his home
By Peta Fuller
The English soccer forward left the team's World Cup squad in Qatar after armed intruders broke into his home while his family were inside.
England manager Gareth Southgate confirmed the news after their 3-0 win over Senegal, in which Sterling did not play.
Southgate says Sterling's family comes first and they will see in the next few days whether he will return for their quarter-final against France:
French hospital cancels operations after cyberattack, investigation into attempted extortion underway
By Bridget Judd
A hospital in Versailles, near Paris, has been forced to cancel operations and transfer some patients after being hit by a cyberattack.
Six patients were transferred over the weekend, three from intensive care and three from the neonatal unit, France's Health Minister Francois Braun said.
Extra staff had to be called in to the intensive care unit because, while the machines there were still functioning, more people were needed to watch the screens as they were no longer working as part of a network, Mr Braun said.
The cyberattack had led to a "total reorganisation of the hospital", the minister added.
The Paris prosecutors office has opened a preliminary investigation into hacking state data and attempted extortion.
AFP
US county's power cut off after substations hit with gunfire
By Peta Fuller
Multiple power substations in a North Carolina county were damaged by gunfire in an apparent act of criminal vandalism, leaving tens of thousands of people without electricity, authorities said.
It's being investigated as a criminal act — Southern Pines Fire Chief Mike Cameron said two substations were damaged, and a possible motive wasn't clear.
- AP
A $1 million reward for information on 1982 Sydney bombing
By Peta Fuller
NSW's government has dramatically increased the reward, from $10,000 to $1 million as a coronial inquiry opens today.
The people behind the bombings of the Israeli Consulate and the Hakoah Club in Sydney (just before Christmas in 1982) have never been identified.
A number of people were injured in the explosion at the Consulate on William St, then later that day, a bomb exploded at the club in Bondi (no one was injured there).
At the time, they were deemed to be acts of international terrorism motivated by Palestinian nationalism.
GPs concerned about 'fragmentation' of care under Grattan Institute plan
By Peta Fuller
GPs have weighed in on a new Medicare report — with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners claiming its suggestions will add more red tape and reduce care quality.
If you missed it, the Grattan Institute has released its report into universal healthcare, with additional clinicians like nurses and physiotherapists and team-based chronic disease care.
College president Nicole Higgins agrees with a need for more funding, but says more clinicians may result in less quality care:
"Clinicians that are led by a GP certainly help with complex chronic care. My concern is the fragmentation of care and siloing of care."
'Wakanda' continues to top the box office, but the biggest talking point wasn't in the cinema
By Bridget Judd
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has kept the box-office crown for the fourth-straight weekend, while the comic holiday thriller Violent Night debuted with $US13.3 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
But the biggest talking point on the weekend was a movie conspicuously absent from the cinema.
Had Netflix kept Rian Johnson’s whodunit sequel Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery in theaters, it would have been one of the weekend’s top draws.
Last weekend, the streamer — in its first such pact with North America’s top chains — released Glass Onion in about 600 cinemas.
While significantly less than the 4,000-plus cinemas most big movies open in, the Netflix film reportedly grossed about $US15 million — an enviable total for a medium-scale release.
Did you know one of the World Cup stadiums was built to disappear?
By Bridget Judd
Of the seven stadiums Qatar has built for the World Cup, one will disappear after the tournament.
That’s what the Cup organisers have said about Stadium 974 in Doha — a port-side structure with more than 40,000 seats partially built from recycled shipping containers and steel.
Qatar says the stadium will be fully dismantled after the World Cup and may be shipped to countries that need the infrastructure.
Outside experts have praised the design, but say more needs to be known about what happens to the stadium after the event.
“Designing for disassembly is one of the main principles of sustainable building,” said Karim Elgendy, an associate fellow at the London-based Chatham House think tank who previously worked as a climate consultant for the World Cup.
“It allows for the natural restoration of a building site or its reuse for another function,” he said, adding that a number of factors need to be considered “before we call a building sustainable.”
England advances at the World Cup
By Peta Fuller
Is it … is it coming home?
They'll have to take out France first — but England have booked a quarterfinal clash against the defending champions in Qatar, after claiming a fairly comprehensive 3-0 win over Senegal.
You can recap it all with our bloggers over here.
George Clooney, Gladys Knight to be honoured for artistic contributions
By Bridget Judd
They'll join composer and conductor Tania León, singer Amy Grant and the entire crew of U2 in being honoured by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The organisation honours a select group of people every year for their artistic influences on American culture.
US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their respective spouses are slated to attend.
18yo dies after being stabbed on St Kilda beach
By Peta Fuller
Two teenagers have been stabbed, one fatally, in separate incidents in Melbourne overnight.
The ABC's Joshua Martin reports that police were called at about 7:30pm after reports of a brawl in St Kilda — the 18-year-old man from Tarneit was found with stab wounds near Pier Road.
And another teenager was stabbed in the city's outer west in a fight during an aggravated burglary in Melbourne's outer-west:
"Investigators say a group of people broke into the home just before 5am, one of the residents ran to a nearby property for assistance and the suspected offenders fled the area.
The boy has non-life-threatening injuries and is currently in hospital. Police are searching nearby locations, with an investigation ongoing."
Trump's 'termination' call condemned by top Republican
By Peta Fuller
If you missed it overnight, Donald Trump called for the "termination" of parts of the US Constitution, posting this on his social media:
"A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.
Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!"
But he's been roundly criticised — by both sides of politics in the past few hours.
Mike Turner, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said he "vehemently" disagreed and "absolutely” condemned the remarks, saying they should be a factor as Republicans decided who should lead their party in 2024.
Incoming House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Republicans had to decide if:
"They’re going to break from him and return to some semblance of reasonableness or continue to lean into the extremism."
And the White House said in a statement:
"You cannot only love America when you win … Attacking the Constitution and all it stands for is anathema to the soul of our nation."
You can read more on the original comments from Mr Trump here:
Chinese astronauts return to Earth after 'successful' six-month mission
By Bridget Judd
If you missed it over the weekend, three Chinese astronauts have safely returned to Earth after six months aboard the Tiangong space station.
The three astronauts — Commander Chen Dong and teammates Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe — who had been overseeing the final, pivotal period of construction at the space station, all said they were feeling well after landing in audio aired on CCTV.
The capsule landed at the Dongfeng site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous region at 8:09pm on Sunday, with staff from the space agency declaring the entire mission a "complete success", CCTV reported.
US intel boss says Putin might be getting 'more informed' on reality for Russia in Ukraine
By Peta Fuller
The head of US intelligence says fighting in Russia’s war in Ukraine is running at a "reduced tempo" and suggests Ukrainian forces could have brighter prospects in coming months.
Avril Haines also alluded to past allegations by some that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s advisers could be shielding him from bad news — for Russia — about war developments, and said he "is becoming more informed of the challenges that the military faces in Russia."
"But it’s still not clear to us that he has a full picture of at this stage of just how challenged they are," she said.
The ABC's Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop is in Ukraine, and says with the war now in its ninth month, Russia has lost more than half the land it seized after a series of humiliating retreats.
Tsunami warning after quake in Pacific
By Peta Fuller
A strong earthquake has struck American Samoa and a tsunami warning has been issued.
The 6.9-magnitude quake was at a depth of about 30 kilometres.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre says they are evaluating the tsunami threat and warn it could soon impact nearby coasts:
Coming up: Australian MPs arriving in Taiwan this morning
By Peta Fuller
Six MPs will fly into Taipei today, including former deputy PM Barnaby Joyce.
There'll also be three other coalition backbenchers and two from Labor — while the PM has already said it's not a government trip.
The ABC's East Asia correspondent, Bill Birtles, says Taiwan's government is likely to lobby for Australian support to join a regional trade pact.
Here's what he had to say about the visit:
"Such unofficial visits by Australian politicians to Taiwan were semi-regular before the pandemic.
This one comes just weeks after Mr Albanese met China's leader Xi Jinping, breaking a 5-year long diplomatic freeze at the highest level.
Taiwan's government has welcomed the visit of the MPs."
