☕️ NSW to trial pill testing

It’s a big day today. Is it because we only have one working day left of the year? Perhaps because it’s less than a week until Christmas?

Nope.

It’s a big day because Vanity Fair’s annual interview with Billi Eilish has dropped. If you’re not familiar, Vanity Fair interviews the pop star every year and asks her the same questions - this is now the eighth year in a row! It’s part social experiment, part exploration of what makes someone happy, and I couldn’t recommend it more. You can watch it here.

“Like most families, sometimes we have fights around the holidays. But of course, like most families, we find our way through it.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaking at an event for his party, the Liberals, after his Deputy Prime Minister resigned from the Cabinet earlier this week.

41%
The percentage of Americans aged 18-29 who believe the alleged killing of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangione was “acceptable”, according to a survey of 1,000 people by Emerson College.

2016
Donald Trump formally won the U.S. election 304 to 227 electoral votes.

The NSW Government has announced it will trial pill testing at some music festivals in 2025.

Attendees will be able to have samples of their drugs analysed for free and anonymously.

The initiative was recommended at the state’s Drug Summit, held earlier this year.

Premier Chris Minns said the first-of-its-kind trial in NSW was intended to “reduce harm and save lives.”

Under the year-long trial, attendees at certain music festivals will have access to drug-checking services to find out what’s in their drugs and how powerful they are.

Staff will be able to give attendees harm minimisation advice.

The trial will be open to people testing drugs they intend to use themselves, not distribute to others.

The Government is working with the festival industry to decide which events will host the trial.

Premier Chris Minns emphasised that illicit drugs remain illegal in NSW, warning that “if you commit a crime, you may be charged and prosecuted.”

The trial was introduced following advice from health experts at the recent NSW Drug Summit.

The conference was held across regional and metropolitan areas, with discussions held in November and earlier this month to address key issues faced by people affected by drugs and alcohol.

The Summit’s co-chairs recommended a pill testing trial as an interim measure. A final report is due next year.

Last week, The Sydney Morning Herald reported the Coalition Opposition had “no plans” to support pill testing.

When the Coalition was in Government, it repeatedly rejected recommendations from experts including the state Coroner to introduce pill testing in the state.

Following the death of a 26-year-old man at a NSW music festival in early 2023, then-Premier Dominic Perrottet said his message to young people was: “Don’t do drugs”.

Last month, the Victorian Government passed legislation allowing drug-checking trials to take place at music festivals this summer.

Queensland established its first fixed pill-testing centre in Brisbane earlier this year. The service was expanded to include drug-checking for the recent Schoolies celebrations.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

A senior Russian military official has been assassinated in Moscow.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and his assistant were killed when a bomb exploded near an apartment building on Tuesday.

Kirillov was the head of Russia’s nuclear defence forces. The day before his death, Ukraine accused the 54-year-old of war crimes involving the use of banned chemical weapons.

Ukrainian media and some international news outlets have reported the attack was carried out by Ukraine’s Secret Service.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was appointed to lead Russia’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons protection forces in 2017.

This week, Ukraine announced criminal proceedings against Kirillov over alleged war crimes committed since Russia’s 2022 invasion.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claims Kirillov ordered more than 4,800 incidents of chemical warfare, including sending chemical poisons to Ukrainian military hospitals.

Russia has denied the claims.

The SBU argues Kirillov acted in violation of Russia’s obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

Russia and 192 other states signed the CWC in 1993.

The convention defines “chemical weapons” as toxic chemicals, devices and any equipment designed/used to “cause death, temporary incapacitation or permanent harm to humans or animals.”

According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, 98% of the world’s population lives under the protection of the CWC.

Hours after the SBU announced its investigation against Kirillov, the Russian general and one of his aides died in an explosion in Moscow.

Russian authorities said they are investigating “the murder of two servicemen,” after a bomb planted in a scooter detonated outside a block of units.

According to reports by The New York Times, the BBC and several other news outlets, an SBU official has confirmed Ukraine was responsible for the killings.

A source within the SBU told the Kyiv Independent newspaper that Kirillov “was a war criminal and a completely legitimate target”.

Russia’s peak investigative committee has described the incident as an act of terrorism and said it was continuing with its initial inquiries.

The Ukrainian Government has not yet commented on the incident.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

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Bluey, which first aired on the ABC in Australia, follows the life of a loveable blue heeler dog as she goes on adventures with her family in Brisbane. Available in over 140 countries, Bluey is 2024’s most-watched series globally on Disney+. Speaking of the new film, Bluey creator Joe Brumm said “I’ve always thought Bluey deserved a theatrical movie. I want this to be an experiential event for the whole family to enjoy together.” It will land in cinemas in 2027.

Want more good news? Sign up to our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!

Reporting by Rosa Bowden.

A man in the U.S. state of Virginia has died after a bear fell on him (no, it wasn’t a drop bear).

According to wildlife officials, one of the man’s hunting partners shot the bear, which had run up a tree.

As a result, the bear fell out of the tree and onto the hunter who was standing near the base of the tree.

The 58-year-old man died of his injuries in hospital.

Reporting by Nandini Dhir.

Australia is heading to the moon for the first time. The Australian Space Agency has unveiled a prototype of a rover bound for the lunar surface on a NASA mission this decade.

‘Roo-ver,’ as it’s been nicknamed by the public, will explore the moon to help experts learn more about establishing a “sustainable human presence" there. The project is being developed by the ELO2 consortium — a group of companies and universities selected by the Australian Space Agency.

Mechanical Engineer Chloe Chang has been working with Lunar Outpost Oceania, the technical lead of the ELO2 consortium, and she joins us in the deep dive to explain the announcement.