☕️ NSW police try to stop protests

Here’s a riddle for your Thursday (nobody tell Billi I forgot yesterday).

I add five to nine, and get two. The answer is correct, but how?

Answer in the tidbit!

“The ministry must find a measure… if possible, for passenger vehicles like this to be banned from using this type of fuel because it’s extremely risky.”
Thailand’s Transport Minister, Suriyahe Juangroongruangkit, after a school bus fire killed 20 children and three teachers outside Bangkok. The Minister told reporters the bus was powered by an “extremely risky” compressed natural gas.

100
The age of former U.S. President, Jimmy Carter. He has become the first American President to live for more than a century.

1995
O.J. Simpson was acquitted (found not guilty) of the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson.

A judge in Georgia has overturned the state’s six-week abortion ban, ruling it violates the U.S. Constitution.

Critics of the act noted many people don’t know they are pregnant before the six-week mark. Advocacy groups have now successfully argued against it, claiming the ban infringes on American’s freedom and privacy rights.

Abortion is a key campaign issue ahead of next month’s Presidential election. Georgia is one of a few crucial swing states.

Georgia’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp signed the “Living Infants Fairness and Equality” (LIFE) Act into law in 2019.

Also known as the “heartbeat law,” the legislation bans abortions from the point at which a fetal heartbeat is first detected, typically around six weeks.

It was initially blocked by a state court but came into effect in 2022 — after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The ruling gave individual states the power to enforce their own abortion regulations.

A women’s rights group called ‘SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective’ launched legal action against the six-week abortion ban.

The group argued the ban violates a provision of the U.S. Constitution that states: “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property except by due process of law.”

SisterSong Women’s action was initially overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court. However, it was revisited by a lower court this year.

This week, Georgia district court Judge Robert McBurney declared the LIFE Act was unconstitutional.

In his ruling, McBurney said: “This dispute is fundamentally about the extent of a woman’s right to control what happens to and within her body.”

The ruling means abortions would be allowed in Georgia up to 22 weeks of pregnancy — “when society can assume care and responsibility for that separate life, then and only then may society intervene,” McBurney argued.

State legislators have announced they will appeal the ruling in Georgia’s Supreme Court — the state’s top court.

A spokesperson from the state’s Attorney General’s office said: “We believe Georgia’s LIFE Act is fully constitutional, and we will immediately appeal the lower court’s decision.”

If McBurney’s decision is overturned, the six-week ban could be upheld.

SisterSong Women’s Executive Director Monica Simpson welcomed McBurney’s decision, and said she was ”encouraged” that a Georgia court had “ruled for bodily autonomy.”

Simpson added: “At the same time, we can’t forget that every day the ban has been in place has been a day too long”.

Advocates said they hope the Georgia ruling would improve abortion access for women in neighbouring Southern states, who have to travel interstate to have a termination.

While the appeal is pending, abortion clinic officials in Georgia told The Associated Press that they will offer procedures past six weeks gestation.

However, the ban could be reimposed within a matter of days.

Justice McBurney also ruled to strike down the abortion ban in 2022.

However, the ban was upheld by the Supreme Court, which took seven days to overturn McBurney’s first ruling within seven days.

Reporting by Chloe Christie.

NSW Police have made a legal bid to stop planned protests going ahead this long weekend in Sydney on October 6 and 7.

Organisers of the protest, the Palestine Action Group Sydney, called it an “attack on fundamental democratic rights” and said it would proceed with the planned action.

It comes days after the Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed it’s investigating Hezbollah flags that were on display at rallies last weekend.

This weekend, the Palestine Action Group Sydney planned to stage demonstrations in the CBD to mark one year since the Israel-Hamas war began.

State rules specify organisers need to inform police about their plans to hold a rally, including details about expected crowd sizes and duration of the rally.

NSW Police said officials negotiated with the group – who had submitted the relevant details of the protest – who concluded they “are not satisfied that the protest can proceed safely.”

Police have now applied to the NSW Supreme Court to stop the two days of protests from going ahead.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has backed the decision, saying: “It's our responsibility to work together to ensure we keep this cohesive, harmonious, safe community that we have in New South Wales.”

The punishment for knowingly attending a banned protest risks includes a $550 fine and six months imprisonment.

The Palestine Action Group said it will “refuse to concede to political attacks“, declaring it will defend its right to protest.

Last Sunday, cities across Australia held rallies organised by the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN), including Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth.

Thousands of people attended the protests, labelled ‘Day of Action for Gaza’, carrying Palestinian and Lebanese flags.

However, footage and photos showed some protesters waving Hezbollah flags and holding portraits of Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who had been killed by Israeli forces hours earlier. Hezbollah is classified as a terrorist organisation in Australia.

The AFP confirmed it had received “six reports” of possible hate symbols appearing at rallies in Melbourne.

NSW police have also arrested a 19-year-old woman for allegedly carrying a banned symbol during a Sydney protest.

Legislation banning public displays of symbols linked to terrorist organisations passed last year and came into effect in January.

In a statement to TDA, the AFP confirmed last weekend’s protests were the first time it had used its powers to investigate under the new terrorist symbol laws.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Government was “concerned about some of the terrorist symbols”, adding “there’s no place for mourning a terrorist leader”, in reference to portraits of Nasrallah at the rallies.

In response to questions from the media, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed the Government had the power to cancel any visas of people who had attended the protests and carried hate symbols.

Burke later clarified authorities hadn’t confirmed if any protest attendees had been visa holders.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said any public display support for Hezbollah was “unacceptable”.

He questioned whether the AFP needed extra powers to arrest anyone who had been allegedly carrying hate symbols during public protests.

“If the laws are inadequate then... the Parliament should deal with it as a matter of urgency.”

In a statement to TDA, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the Government “has faith in our police forces to enforce the law”.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

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Visit Smartraveller.gov.au, act on its travel advice, subscribe for free updates, and follow their social media to stay informed.

According to findings published in the journal Nature, researchers from the University College London developed a hand-held scanner that can create 3D images of blood vessels below the skin. The new scanners can generate images more quickly than scanning technology currently used in medical clinics for things like MRIs. Co-author of the research, Paul Beard, said the new tech could help scientists look at “aspects of human biology and disease that we haven’t been able to before”.

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

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

A massive statue of the former President (and current candidate) Donald Trump has been erected in the U.S. state of Nevada by an anonymous artist.

The 13-metre-tall sculpture is made of foam and is hanging from a crane outside Las Vegas and depicts Trump…nude.

A public statement released by the Nevada Republican Party called the statue “deplorable”, “offensive”, and “designed intentionally for shock value rather than meaningful dialogue.”

According to The Wrap, the statue is on tour, as the artist (or artists) said they hope to encourage discussions around “transparency—or lack thereof—in politics, [and] challenging viewers to think critically about political influence.”

Reporting by Nandini Dhir.

Riddle answer: When it’s 9am, add 5 hours to it and you will get 2pm!

Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance met for yesterday’s Vice Presidential debate. The VP hopefuls debated on issues including climate, the economy, immigration, abortion and gun rights. With just over a month until the U.S. election, what do we know about the men hoping to become second-in-command to the future president? We'll take you through the highlights from the VP debate in today's deep dive