Australia politics live: MPs to consider new ‘nature positive’ environment law; NSW emergency hospital visits hit record high

Albanese government hopes legislation will help measure progress towards climate goals. Follow today’s news headlines live

Social services minister Amanda Rishworth has been asked about the powerful statement Ariel Bombara released yesterday, claiming Western Australian police had ‘ignored” warnings from her and her mother that their lives were under threat.

Ariel said she spoke with WA police on three different occasions about her concerns over her father, Mark Bombara, ahead of his murder of Jenny and Gretl Petelczyc on Friday.

By that point we felt completely helpless and I had to focus on getting mum to safety. I did everything I could to protect my mother, and when my father couldn’t find us he murdered her best friend and her best friend’s daughter.

Rents have surged in Australia’s capital cities, with only 5.9% of city overall rentals now costing less than $400 a week.

At the start of the pandemic, one in five house rentals in Sydney cost less than $400 a week – that figure is now one in 50.

In Melbourne, one in 25 house rentals now costs less than $400.

The national share of rentals available under $400 dropped by one third annually to just 10.4%.

ACT had the smallest share of properties listed to rent under $400 at 2.1%, followed by Sydney (3.8%) and Perth (5.6%).

Melbourne saw the largest annual decline in the share of houses listed for less than $400 a week, followed by Adelaide and Sydney.

In regional markets, only 16.3% per cent of houses were advertised for under $400 a week in April.

Regional WA (14.8%) had the smallest portion of homes listed to rent below $400 of the regions, followed by regional Queensland (15.8%) and regional NSW (21.5%).

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Prosecutor argues each story Trump tried to have buried amounts to unlawful campaign contribution – live

Former president in court for closing arguments in trial charging him with 34 counts of felony falsification of business records

Donald Trump is entering the courtroom. He’s wearing a red tie and a suit that appears to fall somewhere between black and slate gray.

Tiffany Trump is here as well as two of Trump’s sons.

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Labour pledges to clear NHS waiting list backlog in England in five years

Wes Streeting says another Conservative term could result in waiting list swelling to 10m cases

Labour has promised to clear the NHS waiting list backlog in England within five years, with Wes Streeting warning that the health service risks becoming “a poor service for poor people” while the wealthy shift to using private care.

In an interview with the Guardian, the shadow health secretary said that in another Conservative term the total waiting list in England could grow to 10m cases, with healthcare becoming as degraded as NHS dental services.

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Election conspiracies are ‘done all the time’, Trump lawyer tells trial jurors

Hush-money trial enters final stages as defense makes closing argument in case centered on allegedly falsified business records

Donald Trump’s secret plot to bury negative press ahead of the 2016 election deprived Americans of their right to choose a candidate at the ballot box, said the prosecution in its summation on Tuesday at the former president’s New York hush-money trial.

Steinglass’s closing statement reminded jurors of a summer 2015 meeting at Trump Tower where the real estate mogul sat with then consigliere Michael Cohen and tabloid honcho David Pecker.

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Nikki Haley writes ‘finish them’ on IDF artillery shells during Israel visit

Ex-governor also criticises Biden administration for temporarily withholding weapons to discourage attack on Rafah

Nikki Haley, the failed Republican presidential nominee, signed Israeli artillery shells with the inscription “Finish Them!” on a Memorial Day visit to Israel.

The former South Carolina governor’s graphic display of support came on a trip to Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where she was accompanied by Danny Danon, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations and a noted hawkish member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party in the Knesset.

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Bankruptcy trustee should take over Giuliani’s assets, creditors’ attorneys say

Former mayor repeatedly lied and deceived creditors about his finances to avoid money going to them, lawyers say in court filing

A bankruptcy judge should appoint a trustee to immediately take control of Rudy Giuliani’s financial affairs after the former mayor repeatedly lied and deceived creditors about his finances, lawyers for the creditors said in a Tuesday court filing.

Among other things, the lawyers said Giuliani was funneling money into his businesses to avoid it going to creditors, undervalued his jewellery, and refused to disclose what several Apple and Amazon purchases were for. Giuliani filed for bankruptcy in December, shortly after a jury in Washington DC ordered him to pay $148.1m in damages to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss – two Atlanta, Georgia, election workers he spread lies about after the 2020 election.

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Rishi Sunak promises to create 100,000 high-skilled apprenticeships a year

Conservatives’ policy would be funded by scrapping ‘rip-off degrees’ with high drop-out rates and low job progression

Rishi Sunak has promised to create 100,000 high-skilled apprenticeships a year by scrapping “rip-off degrees” if he wins the general election.

In the latest of a flurry of announcements as the Conservatives try to narrow Labour’s 20-point poll lead, the party pledged to replace “low-quality” university degrees with apprenticeships.

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Bournemouth beach stabbing: man arrested on suspicion of murder

Dorset police make arrest after fatal stabbing of Amie Gray, 34, on Friday evening

A 20-year-old man from south London has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was fatally stabbed on a beach in Bournemouth, police have said.

Two women from Poole in Dorset were stabbed on Durley Chine beach at about 11.45pm last Friday. A 34-year-old woman died at the scene while a 38-year-old woman sustained serious injuries and remains in hospital.

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Nikki Haley pictured writing ‘finish them’ on IDF artillery shells in Israel visit – as it happened

This blog is now closed. You can read our full story here:

Up next was Harry Dunn, a former Capitol police officer.

He referenced his campaign for Congress representing a Maryland district, which ended last week when he lost the Democratic primary.

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Pope Francis apologises over reported homophobic slur – BBC.com

  1. Pope Francis apologises over reported homophobic slur  BBC.com
  2. Pope Apologizes After Reports That He Used an Anti-Gay Slur  The New York Times
  3. Pope Francis used offensive slur for gay men; Vatican apologizes  NBC News
  4. Pope used vulgar Italian word to refer to LGBT people, Italian newspapers report  Reuters.com
  5. Pope apologizes after being quoted using vulgar term about gay men in talk about ban on gay priests  The Associated Press
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US aid to Gaza stalls after temporary pier breaks apart in heavy seas

Crucial supply line for aid deliveries to starving Palestinians cut off and will take at least a week to repair, Pentagon says

US aid efforts for Gaza have suffered an embarrassing setback after the temporary pier built by the military broke apart in heavy seas, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

The $320m pier was intended to provide a crucial supply line for aid deliveries by sea to reach starving Palestinians and alleviate a humanitarian catastrophe. Now the effort is on hold for at least a week.

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U.S. Pier for Gaza Aid Damaged by Rough Seas – The New York Times

  1. U.S. Pier for Gaza Aid Damaged by Rough Seas  The New York Times
  2. US forced to halt Gaza aid deliveries after Biden admin’s $320 million ‘floating pier’ starts to sink  Fox News
  3. U.S. aid deliveries to Gaza by sea suspended after damage to temporary pier  NBC News
  4. Pentagon suspends aid deliveries via Gaza pier after repeated mishaps  The Washington Post
  5. Aid deliveries suspended after rough seas damage US-built Gaza pier  Yahoo! Voices
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Former spy chief Dick Schoof chosen as Netherlands’ new prime minister – The Washington Post – The Washington Post

  1. Former spy chief Dick Schoof chosen as Netherlands' new prime minister - The Washington Post  The Washington Post
  2. Former intelligence chief Dick Schoof proposed as Dutch PM  Reuters.com
  3. Former intelligence chief to become Dutch PM as part of ‘business cabinet’  The Guardian
  4. Former spy chief to become Dutch prime minister  Financial Times
  5. Dutch Coalition to Pick Former Spy Chief Dick Schoof as Premier Candidate  Bloomberg
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Trump judge in Mar-a-Lago case denies prosecutors’ request for gag order

Setback for special counsel Jack Smith as Aileen Cannon denies motion filed after Trump falsely claimed FBI was ready to kill him

The judge handling Donald Trump’s classified documents case has rejected a request by prosecutors to impose a gag order on the former president over his false claims that FBI officers were prepared to shoot him when they raided his Mar-a-Lago estate.

The ruling, by Aileen Cannon, Florida federal district judge, is the latest in a series of setbacks for Jack Smith, the special counsel who has spearheaded the prosecution into Trump’s alleged mishandling of documents from his time in the White House.

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Sussex university students warned they may not graduate if fees remain unpaid

Those struggling to pay debts include students from overseas who have seen the value of their currency crash

Hundreds of students at the University of Sussex have been warned they may be unable to graduate or re-register for the next academic year if they fail to pay outstanding debts.

Those affected include students from Nigeria and Iran who have been struggling to pay their fees after the value of their currencies crashed. Other international students, as well as UK students, are also among those in debt.

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David DePape apologizes for attacking Paul Pelosi and gets 30-year sentence – again

DePape, who didn’t get to speak in court in original trial on assault of Nancy’s Pelosi’s husband, gets no change to original sentence

The man who was convicted of assaulting then US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in 2022 was re-sentenced to 30 years in prison on Tuesday, with no change in the original sentence after the case was reopened so he could speak during his sentencing hearing, local news reported.

David DePape was originally sentenced to 30 years in prison on 17 May for forcibly entering Pelosi’s home in San Francisco early on 28 October 2022 and clubbing her husband, Paul, in the head with a hammer in a politically motivated attack.

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Israel-Hamas war: Spain, Norway, Ireland recognize Palestine – DW – 05/28/2024 – DW (English)

  1. Israel-Hamas war: Spain, Norway, Ireland recognize Palestine – DW – 05/28/2024  DW (English)
  2. Spain, Ireland and Norway have recognized Palestinian statehood. Where does Europe stand on the issue?  CNN
  3. Simon Harris urges Western countries to recognize Palestine  The Jerusalem Post
  4. Arab States Implore Senior EU Officials to Recognize a Palestinian State - Israel News  Haaretz
  5. Three More Nations Roll Out the Red Carpet to Hamas  Newsweek
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Biden official says more sanctions are needed to counter Russia war economy

Daleep Singh said that sanctioning third parties that trade with Russia is needed, in addition to seizing assets for Ukraine

Russia’s shift towards a full-fledged war economy requires the west to extend its sanctions policy, including by sanctioning third-party entities that trade with Moscow, a senior White House official signalled on Tuesday.

Daleep Singh, deputy national security adviser for international economics, said the United States would consider export controls to prevent China-Russia trade that threatens American security and take further action to increase the cost of Russia using a shadow fleet to evade the G7 countries’ oil price cap.

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Kenya begins public hearings into alleged abuses by UK troops

British soldiers stationed in Kenya have been accused of rights violations and offences including murder

Kenya has launched public hearings into allegations of human rights violations and abuses of power by British troops based in the former colony.

The British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk) is an economic lifeline for many in the central town of Nanyuki, where it maintains a permanent base, but soldiers stationed there have also been accused of committing offences including murder.

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