NDIS overhaul will ‘harm’ Australians with disabilities, government’s own committee warns

• The Albanese government is facing increasing pushback over proposed reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), with critics warning that cuts could cause significant harm to participants. • In the Middle East, Israel continued its overnight offensive, while Tehran announced it is halting peace talks and intends to fully close the strait of Hormuz.

• UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed released a report detailing the impact of the UN development system's efforts through 2025. • Key achievements include providing food aid to 121 million people, measles vaccinations to 191 million children, and social protection to 84 million individuals.

• A summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping took place, characterized by significant pageantry but lacking in substantive policy outcomes. • The event occurred amidst a shifting global landscape, featuring reported cracks in Vladimir Putin’s dictatorship and evolving tensions between major powers.

Court decision that represents win for Republicans comes after lengthy battle over state’s congressional mapSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailAlabama can use a redrawn congressional map that eliminates one of the state’s two majority-Black districts in this year’s midterm elections, the US supreme court ruled in a 6-3 decision on Tuesday, another major blow to Black voters and a win for Republicans.The court’s emergency ruling is the most consequential decision it had issued since its landmark ruling in late April that struck down a critical provision of the Voting Rights Act. In that case, Louisiana v Callais, the court’s majority made it nearly impossible to win Voting Rights Act claims, saying that plaintiffs had to prove intentional discrimination. But on 26 May, a three-judge panel said the map Alabama wants to use for this year’s midterm was enacted with discriminatory intent. Continue reading...

Two-time Grammy winner was best known for songs from Beauty and the Beast and AladdinPeabo Bryson, the R&B singer best known as the voice behind the Oscar-winning Disney film duets Beauty and the Beast with Regina Belle, and A Whole New World with Celine Dion from Aladdin, has died. He was 75.His family said in a statement that Bryson, who won two Grammy awards, died Tuesday, days after having a stroke. Continue reading...

People urged to avoid downtown as man, reportedly with bomb strapped to body, inside bank with number of peopleA man barricaded himself inside a bank in the southern California city of Bakersfield with an unknown number of people, police said on Tuesday.The unidentified man had a bomb strapped to his body, according to Bakersfield Now. Continue reading...

The US military said aircraft disabled the engine room of the unladen Botswana-flagged M/T Lexie as it passed through international watersUS forces fired a Hellfire missile to disable a tanker attempting to break through the American blockade and reach Iran, amid an enduring standoff in the strait of Hormuz and stalling efforts by Washington to secure a new ceasefire agreement with Tehran.The US military’s Central Command (Centcom) said its aircraft disabled the engine room of the unladen Botswana-flagged M/T Lexie on Tuesday as it passed through international waters toward Kharg Island, north of the strait near Kuwait, after the crew ignoring repeated warnings over a 24-hour period. Continue reading...

Members of Jalisco New Generation cartel used fake retail store in San Diego as a front for trafficking drugsFederal prosecutors have charged four suspects with trafficking more than one ton of cocaine for the Jalisco New Generation cartel using a fake retail store in San Diego as a front for a sophisticated tunnel that ran across the border to Tijuana, Mexico.The defendants include two Mexican nationals and two Americans charged with conspiring to traffic drugs across the US-Mexico border. The suspects, who range in age from 18 to 32, all face sentences that could land them in prison for life. One of them, Gregorio Epifanio Hernandez Lopez, also faces the charge of “constructing, financing or using unauthorized tunnels”. Continue reading...

Bank of England says updated imagery will celebrate native wildlife while bolstering anti-counterfeit featuresPuffins, dolphins and bumblebees are among the wildlife that could feature on new banknotes in the UK as the Bank of England announces its shortlist.There has been controversy over the decision, with figures including Nigel Farage criticising the Bank for, he claimed, wanting to replace Winston Churchill with a beaver. The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, said it was “a silly thing to do”, and Reform UK’s Farage called it “absolutely crackers”. In the end, no beaver appeared on the shortlist. Mammal options include bottlenose dolphins and red foxes. Continue reading...

NHS bosses giving evidence to public accounts committee admit current position is unacceptableGPs in England are so “overloaded” that they cannot help older people who are at risk of falling in what NHS bosses accept is an unacceptable failure of care, the House of Commons’ public accounts committee has said.Pressure on GPs’ time has intensified as a result of the government’s decision to give patients online access to their services, according to a report by the influential cross-party group of MPs. Continue reading...

Alarm after Elias Irizarry is hired to position in office that manages highly classified military operationsThe Pentagon has appointed a rioter convicted for his role in 6 January, 2021 insurrection to a sensitive national security role dealing with counterterrorism, overriding insiders’ concerns about his past record.Elias Irizarry, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in connection with the storming of the US Capitol, has been appointed to a position in the US Department of Defense’s special operations and low intensity conflict office which manages highly classified military operations, causing alarm among Pentagon officials. Continue reading...