Australia’s second-hottest summer in 2024-25 ‘not possible without climate change’, scientist says

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2024-25 summer at 1.89C above long-term average ‘will be one of the coolest in the 21st century’, according to one expert

Last summer was Australia’s second-hottest on a record going back to 1910, at 1.89C above the long-term average, according to data from the Bureau of Meteorology.

The second-hottest summer – coming after the second-hottest winter and the hottest spring on record – included the second-hottest January and the third-hottest December.

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Sniffer dogs deployed as NSW pill-testing trial begins in Wollongong

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Attenders able to check what substances are in their illicit pills and powders at two-day Yours and Owls music festival

Festival goers using NSW’s first pill testing service won’t be subjected to sniffer dog searches but that doesn’t apply to people on their way to have their substances checked.

Authorities warned taking drugs remains illegal and police vowed to maintain a highly visible presence around the long-awaited trial site, insisting safety was the top priority.

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Two boys including son of Blaxland candidate taken to hospital after alleged hit-and-run in western Sydney

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Ahmed Ouf, Cumberland councillor tilting at federal seat held by Jason Clare, shares thanks for ‘outpouring of community support’

Two school-age boys, one the son of a local councillor, were taken to hospital on Friday afternoon after an alleged hit-and-run incident in Auburn in western Sydney.

One of the children is the son of Ahmed Ouf, a Cumberland councillor and an independent candidate for the federal seat of Blaxland.

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Albanese sidesteps questions on Trump as he backs Zelenskyy after White House confrontation

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PM pledges support for Ukraine but declines to directly comment on US president’s approach as community rallies in Sydney

Anthony Albanese has reiterated Australia’s support for Ukraine after a fiery meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But even as Sydney’s Ukrainian community rallied in protest, the prime minister declined to comment directly on how the confrontation might affect Australia’s relationship with the US.

US military support for Ukraine hangs in the balance and talks over a minerals deal deteriorated after a disastrous interchange at the White House that also included the US vice-president, JD Vance. The US president claimed his Ukraine counterpart was not “ready for peace” and accused him of “gambling with world war three”, before Zelenskyy left the White House early.

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Two Australian men charged in global investigation into AI-made child abuse images

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Dozens including man from Queensland and man from NSW arrested as part of international operation

Two Australian men have been charged during a global operation into a criminal group distributing artificial intelligence-generated child abuse images.

A 38-year-old NSW man and 31-year-old Queensland man have been arrested alongside a total of 25 linked to the investigation into child sexual exploitation.

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Zelenskyy admits Trump White House meeting ‘not good for both sides’

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Ukraine president expresses regret over contentious meeting but says relationship with Trump can be salvaged

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed regret that an Oval Office meeting with Donald Trump devolved into a shocking display of acrimony between the leaders of two historically allied nations, while insisting that their relationship could be salvaged.

Hours after the public confrontation in which Trump and Vice-President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy, accusing him of “gambling with world war three,” the Ukrainian leader defended himself during an in-studio interview on Fox News, while also agreeing that the dispute was “not good for both sides”.

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“His people are dying”: Trump asks Zelenskyy to be less “negative” about Putin – Salon

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  1. "His people are dying": Trump asks Zelenskyy to be less "negative" about Putin  Salon
  2. Trump expresses hope Russia's war in Ukraine is nearing an endgame as he meets with France's Macron  The Associated Press
  3. The Latest: Trump calls for ‘ceasefire now’ between Russia and Ukraine  Yahoo
  4. Trump trusts Putin to 'keep his word' and more takeaways from Starmer talks on Ukraine  ABC News
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Rose Girone, believed to be oldest living Holocaust survivor, dies aged 113

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Born in 1912 in Poland, Girone was one of about 245,000 survivors living across more than 90 countries

Rose Girone, believed to be the oldest living Holocaust survivor and a strong advocate for sharing survivors’ stories, has died. She was 113.

She died on Monday in New York, according to the Claims Conference, a New York-based Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

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Alabama governor commutes death sentence of man convicted for 1991 murder

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Kay Ivey says Robin ‘Rocky’ Myers, who maintains he was innocent, will serve life in prison without parole

The Alabama governor, Kay Ivey, on Friday commuted the death sentence of Robin “Rocky” Myers to life in prison after noting questions about his case.

Ivey said Myers, who was facing execution this spring, will instead spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. She noted that was the sentence jurors at his 1994 trial had recommended. A judge overruled that recommendation and imposed a death sentence, a maneuver that has since been outlawed in Alabama, according to the human rights advocacy organization Amnesty International.

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The 50 public schools in Australia where parents pay the highest voluntary fees

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At all of these schools, parents paid on average $1,800 a student, according to data from the national education and curriculum authority

Many parents with children in public school are paying thousands of dollars a year in fees and contributions at levels rivalling the compulsory fees paid to attend some private schools, leading to concerns the principle of a free, government-funded education is being undermined.

At the 50 public schools where parents paid the most in fees and contributions, parents paid an average of more than $1,800 a student, an analysis of the latest funding data from the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, provided to Guardian Australia by the Greens, reveals.

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Locked in a Jungle Camp, Migrants Deported to Panama Face Uncertain Future – The New York Times

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  1. Locked in a Jungle Camp, Migrants Deported to Panama Face Uncertain Future  The New York Times
  2. With the US closed, migrants start the perilous journey back home  The Times
  3. Panama government official describes his country’s role in Trump’s immigration crackdown  PBS NewsHour
  4. Turned away at the U.S. border, migrants make a dangerous trek in reverse  The Washington Post
  5. US deportees in ‘black box’ in Panama with no access to counsel, lawyers say  The Guardian US
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