Homeless women and children offered car park to sleep in through NSW pilot program

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NSW homelessness minister acknowledges program is direct response to housing crisis but says ‘it’s not acceptable this is what we have come to’ for those fleeing domestic violence

Women and children in New South Wales are being offered a car park to sleep in overnight as part of a pilot program aimed at keeping those experiencing homelessness and domestic violence safe.

The program is being run by an organisation in Newcastle, which has not disclosed its name, for fear of giving away the location. But Nova, the housing assistance service for women and children fleeing domestic violence, has been referring people to the pilot, which began in April and will run until June.

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Key takeaways as early local election results indicate major losses for Tories

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With fewer than a third of council elections declared so far, the Conservative party appears on course to lose up to 500 seats

At the start of a long weekend of election results, the first outcomes have been every bit as dire for the Conservatives and Rishi Sunak as analyst had predicted. With fewer than a third of the council elections declared, and none of metro mayoral yet in, here is the current state of play.

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UK general election opinion poll tracker: Labour leading as election looms

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Find out who’s up and who’s down in the latest polls – and how many seats each party is likely to win in the next general election

The next UK general election is looming, with most analysts expecting it to be called late this year.

After 13 years of Conservative rule, Keir Starmer’s Labour has been consistently ahead in the polls since the start of 2022.

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US ‘very close’ to bilateral deal with Saudis, but it hinges on Israel normalization – The Times of Israel

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  1. US ‘very close’ to bilateral deal with Saudis, but it hinges on Israel normalization  The Times of Israel
  2. Blinken met Netanyahu in Israel as US ramps up push for a ceasefire deal  CNN
  3. Jane Harman on Ceasefire Talks, Saudi Arabia  Bloomberg
  4. Gaza war must end for Washington-Riyadh defense pact to become reality  The Jerusalem Post
  5. Blinken meets with hostage families and Netanyahu in Israel  NBC News
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Australian universities reject calls for police to break up Gaza protests

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Group of Eight chief says campuses don’t want to see ‘escalation’ like what is occurring in the US

Vice-chancellors have rejected calls to shut down the pro-Palestine encampments at Australian universities, saying campuses don’t want to see an “escalation” of the kind that is happening in the US.

A snap meeting was held on Thursday between the Group of Eight (Go8) vice-chancellors, the Australasian Union of Jewish Students, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) and the secretary of the education department to discuss the safety of students and staff amid the protests.

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Damage, injury to Philippines in South China Sea is ‘irresponsible behaviour’, says US Defense Secretary – Reuters

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  1. Damage, injury to Philippines in South China Sea is 'irresponsible behaviour', says US Defense Secretary  Reuters
  2. China fires water cannons at Philippine ships in South China Sea  NavyTimes.com
  3. China Releases Own Video of 'Dangerous' Territorial Confrontation  Newsweek
  4. Philippines summons China envoy over water cannon incident  Voice of America - VOA News
  5. China collides with Philippines ship, hits it with water cannon: video  Business Insider
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Trump trial to continue after vivid testimony from Stormy Daniels lawyer

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Court hears that Keith Davidson texted National Enquirer editor on night of Trump’s 2016 victory to say ‘What have we done?’

Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial enters its 11th day following raucous testimony about his increasingly unhinged underling and the tawdry business of celebrity sex scandals.

Keith Davidson, the attorney representing Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, returned to the witness stand on Thursday. Davidson was grilled on his communications with former National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard around the 2016 election and Michael Cohen, Trump’s then fixer.

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Husband of stabbing victim Emma Lovell says he hopes killer will be jailed for life

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Sentencing to depend heavily on whether the judge considers the murder to be ‘particularly heinous’

The husband of murdered Queensland woman Emma Lovell wants the young man who fatally stabbed his wife in the heart to be jailed for life, he told a court on Friday.

Lovell, 41, was killed during a late-night attack at her home in North Lakes, north of Brisbane, by two youths on Boxing Day 2022. Her husband, Lee Lovell, was also stabbed twice in the back and kicked in the head in the attempted robbery.

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Starmer hails Blackpool South win as result points to big Labour victory at general election

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Pollsters say early results suggest Tories could lose half of council seats contested, putting party on course for as many as 500 losses

Keir Starmer has hailed Labour’s “seismic” win in Blackpool South in a night of local elections that provided further evidence that the party is heading for a large majority at this year’s general election.

The Labour leader called the result in the Blackpool South byelection “truly historic” after the party’s candidate, Chris Webb, won the seat with the third biggest swing from the Conservatives to Labour in postwar history.

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Ukraine can strike inside Russia with British weapons, UK’s Cameron says – POLITICO Europe

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  1. Ukraine can strike inside Russia with British weapons, UK's Cameron says  POLITICO Europe
  2. Ukraine war: Kyiv can use British weapons inside Russia, says UK's Cameron  BBC.com
  3. Ukraine war briefing: Ukrainians 'have the right to strike inside Russia', says David Cameron  The Guardian
  4. NATO Ally Gives Ukraine Green Light to Cross Putin's Red Line  Newsweek
  5. Britain's Cameron, in Kyiv, promises Ukraine aid for 'as long as it takes'  Reuters UK
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Concerns as cross-sex hormones available online for just £11 a month

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Experts fear children questioning their gender may turn to hidden economy to obtain hormones illegally

Cross-sex hormones designed to masculinise or feminise a person’s body are available to buy online for less than £11 a month, with experts warning that growing numbers of under-18s may turn to the medicines hidden economy.

Last month the landmark Cass review of children’s gender treatment in England concluded there was a lack of reliable evidence supporting the use of cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers by young people questioning their gender identity.

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Orangutan seen treating wound with medicinal plant in world first – Al Jazeera English

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  1. Orangutan seen treating wound with medicinal plant in world first  Al Jazeera English
  2. Orangutan Seen Healing His Facial Wound With Medicinal Plant  The New York Times
  3. Wild orangutan engaged in never-before-seen wound-healing behavior  New Atlas
  4. Orangutan seen treating wound with medicinal herb in first for wild animals  The Guardian
  5. In a first, an orangutan was seen treating his wound with a medicinal plant  Yahoo! Voices
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UK whistleblower ‘morally compelled’ to speak out on Afghan withdrawal

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Civil servant Josie Stewart spoke to media after government presented ‘dishonest account’, tribunal told

A Foreign Office civil servant felt “morally compelled” to speak to the media about the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan after the government presented a “dishonest account” of what happened, an employment tribunal has heard.

Josie Stewart was sacked by the Foreign Office (FCDO) after blowing the whistle on the failures of the withdrawal from Kabul and disclosing emails indicating Boris Johnson’s involvement in an “outrageous” decision to prioritise the evacuation of staff from the animal charity Nowzad, despite his denials.

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UN urges Georgia to withdraw ‘foreign influence’ bill – DW (English)

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  1. UN urges Georgia to withdraw 'foreign influence' bill  DW (English)
  2. EU, US urge Georgia to halt 'foreign agents' bill as protests continue  Reuters
  3. Georgian Protesters Beaten Amid Police Crackdown At Rallies  Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
  4. To Russia's South, Georgians Protest Against Moscow-Inspired 'Foreign Agents' Bill  The Wall Street Journal
  5. Opinion | Georgia’s democratic opposition is begging for our help  The Washington Post
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Residents to continue fighting demolition of Melbourne public housing towers despite court setback

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Pledge comes after Victoria’s supreme court dismisses residents’ class action against government, saying it has ‘no real prospect of success’

Victoria’s supreme court has dismissed a class action that was attempting to stop the demolition of Melbourne’s 44 public housing towers, saying it had no real prospect of success.

But the Inner Melbourne Community Legal service, which is leading the case, said it was determined to continue the fight using fresh legal tactics.

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Brazil floods: Dam collapses and death toll rises in Rio Grande do Sul – BBC.com

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  1. Brazil floods: Dam collapses and death toll rises in Rio Grande do Sul  BBC.com
  2. Torrential Rain in Brazil Kills at Least 29, With More Missing  The New York Times
  3. At least 29 people killed as heavy rain and flooding lashes Brazil  CNN
  4. Heavy rains in big Brazil farm state disrupt soy, corn harvests in final stages  Reuters.com
  5. Death toll from heavy rains, flooding rises to 13 in southern Brazil  Fox News
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Ruined centuries-old town re-emerges as Philippines dam dries up during heatwave

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After a long spell of intense heat and little rain, water levels have fallen to reveal parts of a sunken church, tombstones and foundations at Pantabangan

Ruins of a centuries-old town have emerged at a dam parched by drought in the northern Philippines.

After a prolonged spell of intense heat and little rain, water levels in the dam have fallen to reveal parts of a sunken church, tombstones and the foundations of structures from the 300-year-old town in Nueva Ecija province.

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Eric Adams under pressure to divulge details on ‘outside agitators’ at campus protests

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The New York City mayor has claimed police arrested protesters after non-student elements escalated the situation

The New York City mayor, Eric Adams, remains under pressure to divulge how many of the 282 people arrested at campus protests in Manhattan on Tuesday night were non-students after repeatedly claiming that “outside agitators” were responsible for escalations that prompted an overwhelming law enforcement crackdown.

Adams, a Democrat and former city police officer, was asked by local reporters on Thursday morning to give a breakdown of the arrest numbers. He repeatedly declined to provide details.

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