Duke Cunningham, Vietnam flying ace and congressman convicted of bribery, dies at 83

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Decorated navy pilot who served in House of Representatives pleaded guilty to accepting illegal gifts

Randy “Duke” Cunningham, whose feats as a US navy flying ace during the Vietnam war catapulted him to a House of Representatives career that ended in disgrace when he was convicted of accepting $2.4m in bribes, has died. He was 83.

Cunningham died Wednesday at a hospital in a Little Rock, Arkansas, according to former representative Duncan L Hunter, who spent time with him a week before his death.

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Zelenskyy seeks talks with Trump and European leaders on slow progress of peace efforts with Russia – NBC News

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  1. Zelenskyy seeks talks with Trump and European leaders on slow progress of peace efforts with Russia  NBC News
  2. Trump admin live updates: Trump says 'I don't know' if bilateral Zelenskyy-Putin meeting will occur  ABC News
  3. Witkoff meets Ukraine officials in New York ahead of emergency UN Security Council meeting: 'Very productive'  Fox News
  4. Zelenskyy Seeks New US, Europe Meeting, Says Fresh Russian Offensive Imminent  Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
  5. Top Zelensky adviser invites Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff to Ukraine after latest Russia attack  New York Post
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El Fasher: Barrier being built around besieged Sudan city, satellite images show – BBC

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  1. El Fasher: Barrier being built around besieged Sudan city, satellite images show  BBC
  2. Sudan's Rapid Support Forces shell a besieged Darfur city, killing 24 and wounding 55, group says  AP News
  3. Sudan: Guterres calls for ceasefire in El Fasher, deplores ‘relentless’ militia attacks  UN News
  4. Sudan's RSF traps el-Fasher inside network of earth walls  Middle East Eye
  5. Anglican priest, the last pastor in blockaded Darfur city, holds out for remaining Christians  Episcopal News Service
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Court blocks Trump bid to end protections for 600,000 Venezuelans

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Appellate panel upholds lower court’s ruling as homeland security spokesperson attacks ‘activist’ judges

A federal appeals court on Friday blocked Donald Trump’s plans to end protections for 600,000 people from Venezuela who have permission to live and work in the US, saying that plaintiffs are likely to win their claim that the president’s administration’s actions were unlawful.

A three-judge panel of the ninth US circuit court of appeals unanimously upheld a lower court ruling that maintained temporary protected status for Venezuelans while TPS holders challenge actions by the Republican president’s administration in court.

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Protective dykes blown up to save Punjab cities as raging waters head southwards – Dawn

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  1. Protective dykes blown up to save Punjab cities as raging waters head southwards  Dawn
  2. Watch: Luxury neighbourhood in Lahore submerged in floods  BBC
  3. Half a million people stranded by heavy flooding evacuated in Pakistan  Al Jazeera
  4. ‘The water left nothing’: Pakistan’s Punjab province reels from deadly floods  The Guardian
  5. Pakistan on 'exceptionally high' flooding alert, says India released water from dam  Reuters
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Suspected Porepunkah gunman Dezi Freeman had no convictions for violence or firearm offences, court record shows

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The 56-year-old made a series of threats against police and had a long history of minor offences, culminating in the loss of his driver’s licence in 2022

The suspected Porepunkah gunman had a criminal record stretching more than 30 years, but had not been convicted of any serious offences, court extracts show.

Dezi Freeman, 56, made a series of threats against police, and had his firearms licence cancelled, in the years before allegedly killing two police officers at a remote property in north-eastern Victoria on Tuesday. Victoria police is now investigating whether its risk assessment before the incident was adequate.

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Former NSW police officer who lost her arm after a car accident awarded $2.3m by the court

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County court judge found physical and psychological injuries from the accident caused ‘complete destruction of her capacity for any form of meaningful remunerative work’

A former police officer has been awarded $2.3m after a car accident during a cannabis clearing operation that led to the amputation of her arm and the “complete destruction” of her earning capacity.

In a district court decision handed down in Sydney on Friday, acting judge Leonard Levy SC found the state of New South Wales had breached its duty of care to the former officer Jillian Oliver, and that its negligence had resulted in the accident, her injuries, and her “catastrophic” physical and psychological situation.

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