Nick Kyrgios charged with assaulting ex-girlfriend.

This post deals with assault, and could be triggering for some readers.

Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has been charged with assaulting his ex-girlfriend. He is due to face court in Canberra next month.

He has reportedly been accused of allegedly grabbing his former partner Chiara Passari.

In a statement today, police said: “ACT Policing can confirm a 27-year-old Watson man is scheduled to face the ACT Magistrates Court on the 2nd of August in relation to one charge of common assault following an incident in December 2021.”

The charge could carry a maximum sentence of two years in jail.

As per the Canberra Times, barrister Jason Moffett confirmed that Kyrgios is aware of the charge and the matter at hand is in “the context of a domestic relationship”.

So far, Kyrgios has not made a statement about the charge. 

More to come.

If this post brings up any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. It doesn’t matter where you live, they will take your call and, if need be, refer you to a service closer to home.

You can also call safe steps 24/7 Family Violence Response Line on 1800 015 188 or visit www.safesteps.org.au for further information.

The Men’s Referral Service is also available on 1300 766 491 or via online chat at www.ntv.org.au.

Image: Getty. 

A dozen members of a religious cult have been arrested after an eight-year-old Queensland girl was allegedly left to die by her parents. Elizabeth Rose Struhs died six months ago after her parents allegedly withheld her diabetes medication, denying her medical treatment for six days.

Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, 46, and Jason Richard Struhs, 50, have been charged with murder, torture and failure to provide necessities of life. The girl died on January 7 and her body was found in the family home in Rangeville, Toowoomba, on January 8.

Queensland Police will allege in court that instead of calling paramedics, the parents gathered members of their church to pray over the girl's body. Seven women and five men, aged 19 to 64, are now accused of being aware of her declining health but failing to call for medical help or alert authorities. Regional Crime Coordinator Detective Acting Superintendent Garry Watts said arrests followed a six-month investigation.

“It will be alleged that 14 people in total made the choice to deny this young girl her right to medical care,” Superintendent Watts said. “In my nearly 40 years of policing, I haven’t been faced with a matter like this. It’s a very complex investigation and I'm not aware of a similar event in Queensland, let alone Australia.”

All 12 are expected to be charged with murder, taking the number of people now charged over the child’s death to 14. The men and women are expected to face court on Wednesday.

Superintendent Watts said the members were arrested at a Homestead Avenue property, in the suburb of Harristown on the outskirts of Toowoomba, west of Brisbane. All 12 were allegedly members of the religious group, comprising three families.

The girl’s adult sister, Jayde Struhs, has claimed the parents were members of a “fear-driven cult” that she fled at age 16.

“They take the religion to its extremes – separating us from the real world and extended family who did not believe,” Ms Struhs wrote on her GoFundMe page. “I made the decision to run away from home and leave my family behind due to the fear-driven and controlling beliefs the cult my parents are a part of.”

Elizabeth’s death left her “shattered and heartbroken” but Ms Struhs was determined to keep her memory alive.

“Elizabeth Rose Struhs was taken from us far too soon, and a lifetime of memories that we never got to have with her was gone in a moment. Her brave spirit in the face of medical adversity was inspiring. She was a bright light on all that met her.”

With AAP.

Jayde and Elizabeth Rose Struhs. Image: GoFundMe.

Do you find the news cycle overwhelming? Depressing? Confusing? Boring? Endless? Then you need The Quicky. Mamamia’s daily podcast that gets you up to speed on the top stories

Listen to tonight’s episode of The Quicky now!

The NSW government is overfunding well-off private schools by hundreds of millions of dollars while underfunding the state’s public schools by billions per year, according to a new report.

The NSW Teachers Federation-commissioned report estimates the state government will overfund private schools by around $850 million in the five-year period from 2019 to 2023.

The report, compiled by economist Adam Rorris, found 28 private schools had been overfunded by more than $1 million in 2021.

The largest amounts went to Barker College, William Clarke College and Oakhill College Castle Hill, which were each overfunded by more than $2 million. Its calculations are based on Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) benchmark, used by state and federal governments to estimate the amounts of taxpayer funding each school should receive to meet their needs.

The report found that nearly two-thirds of the 367 private schools included in its study were overfunded by the NSW government in 2021, while 35 per cent received the same as or less than their SRS entitlement.

At the same time, public schools were being underfunded 10 per cent (around $2 billion per year) based on the same benchmarks.

NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos said the most overfunded schools were the ones that needed the extra money the least.

“This funding inequity is making it harder to ensure every child gets the education they need,” he said. “A decade ago, governments agreed that there needed to be a minimum resource standard that all schools were funded to in order to meet the needs of their students and yet we still have this profound inequity.”

With AAP.

In news that will have grown adults reaching for their childhood CDs, it’s been confirmed The Wiggles will be featured on an upcoming cover of Rolling Stone and it’s a move that has actually made history.

Plus, Victoria Beckham is Vogue Australia’s new cover star and in an extensive interview she addresses David Beckham’s controversial interview about her diet and her relationship with the Spice Girls fame. So here’s a question, when did Victoria Beckham get so self-aware?

And Lindsay Lohan has confirmed she’s now a married woman, just months after her fellow early noughties It Girls Paris Hilton and Britney Spears also shared their joyful wedding images. And while their collective happy news is cause for celebration, we’ve noticed a troubling trend fuelling the media coverage and commentary about their ‘happy endings’.

Listen to The Spill below:

Morning all, 

Let's jump straight into the news this morning. 

Here are the biggest stories you need to know today, Tuesday July 5. 

1. 35,000 evacuated as Sydney suburb battles fourth flood this year.

35,000 people have evacuated their homes and a natural disaster has been declared in 23 communities, as Sydney braces for more flooding.

The SES carried out 61 flood rescues overnight after a new mum and her six-week-old baby were rescued from Gronos Pointon on Sunday.

With significant rainfall over many catchments in the past three days, some areas are expected to approach or exceed flood levels from March 2021, and March and April of this year.

About 100 millimetres of rain could fall in the next 24 hours stretching from Newcastle to southern Sydney.

Camden, in Sydney's far southwest, has received 197.4 mm for the month to date, with residents enduring their fourth flood this year already.

Meanwhile, the Hawkesbury River at North Richmond may remain around 14m until this morning, with major flooding expected.

FLOOD EMERGENCY: A natural disaster has been declared in 23 communities as intense rain lashes the city. Thousands have now been evacuated from their homes as flood waters isolate suburbs and threaten lives. #9Today pic.twitter.com/Q4c5nZiLB1

— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) July 4, 2022

Minister for Emergency Management, Senator Murray Watt, said the federal and New South Wales governments were working together to ensure affected areas get financial and other assistance as soon as possible.

"We have seen some of these impacted communities being hit by floods for a third and fourth time in 18 months, which is extremely distressing to the residents," Senator Watt said.

Assistance provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements has been announced for 23 LGAs, including Camden, Hawkesbury, Penrith, Blue Mountains, The Hills and Wollongong. 

The prime minister, who is expected to arrive in Australia today after travelling to Ukraine, will visit flood devastated communities in NSW on Wednesday.

2. Lyn Dawson set husband up, court told.

Lynette Dawson allegedly made a deliberate decision to leave home in 1982 without taking any belongings to make it seem like her husband had killed her, a court has been told.

Giving evidence in Chris Dawson's murder trial yesterday, Paul Steven Cooper said he had met a woman he was sure was Lynette early in 1982 at a pub in Warners Bay, in Lake Macquarie.

Cooper claimed to have struck up a conversation with the woman who said she had left her husband and children, and was working up the courage to see her sister.

Telling the woman that the police might think she had been killed by her husband because she had left all her belongings, Cooper said he was shocked by the response. 

"When I looked back at her, she had a different demeanour at that time and it shocked me because I thought that might have been the intent," he told Justice Ian Harrison.

Image: AAP.

Cooper claimed the woman was waiting for a passport and was planning to fly first to Bali and then onto another overseas country. She allegedly asked Cooper to book a motel for her because she had no identification.

Cross-examined by crown prosecutor Craig Everson SC, Cooper admitted that he had spent time in prison for possessing cannabis and heroin, armed robbery, theft, and break and enter. He had also appeared before court for breaching apprehended violence orders.

Dawson, now 73, is accused of murdering his wife and disposing of her body on January 9, 1982. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

3. Aged care home where 45 people died from COVID-19, charged. 

A Melbourne aged care home where 45 people died from COVID-19 has been charged by the workplace safety watchdog, but some family members believe managers should be jailed.

WorkSafe Victoria announced yesterday it has charged St Basil's Homes for the Aged in Victoria with nine breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

It alleges that in July 2020, after the home was notified a worker tested positive to COVID-19, St Basil's failed to require workers to wear personal protective equipment. 

It also allegedly failed to train workers how to safely don and remove protective equipment, to verify that staff were competent using it, tell staff when it should be used and supervise its use.

St Basil’s Homes for the Aged has been charged by WorkSafe with failing to provide a safe working environment for its staff and others during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://t.co/f8v8EoHFgf

— The Age (@theage) July 4, 2022

Ninety-four residents and the same number of staff tested positive for COVID-19, with 45 people subsequently dying of complications from the virus.

The maximum penalty for each of St Basil's alleged offences is a fine of $1.49 million.

4. Australia removes tariffs on Ukraine goods.

Taxes on Ukrainian goods being imported into Australia have been scrapped following Anthony Albanese's tour of the war-torn nation. 

The prime minister visited the towns of Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel on Sunday, before meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the capital Kyiv.

President @ZelenskyyUa has shown bravery and leadership emblematic of his people in the face of Russia’s brutal and illegal invasion. My visit to Ukraine sends a clear message that democratic nations like Australia will stand with the Ukrainian people in their time of need. pic.twitter.com/lHVPJvPx7y

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) July 4, 2022

The federal government pledged an extra $99.5 million in military aid, in addition to the previously announced $285 million package which included 40 Bushmasters and artillery pieces. 

Trade Minister Don Farrell announced the measure would come into immediate effect on Sunday, with tariffs removed for 12 months for goods produced or manufactured in Ukraine. 

5. 'Rooftop shooter' kills six at US parade

Six people have been killed and at least 24 injured after a man with a high-powered rifle opened fire at a Fourth of July parade, likely from a rooftop, in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, police say.

Police said they were searching for a white male about 18 to 20 years old and asked the public for tips and mobile phone images and surveillance video to help find him.

"We are aggressively looking for the individual responsible," sheriff's department spokesman Christopher Covelli told journalists. "He could be in the city; he could be somewhere else."

At least six people are dead after a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park ended in gunfire. The shooter is still at large.

Read more: https://t.co/2YfmwvRaND pic.twitter.com/rLY8xGdZAK

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) July 4, 2022

The shooting comes with gun violence fresh on the minds of many in the United States after a massacre on May 24 killed 19 school children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and the May 14 attack that killed 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.

"Jill and I are shocked by the senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community on this Independence Day," US President Joe Biden said in a statement. 

"I have spoken to Governor Pritzker and Mayor Rotering, and have offered the full support of the federal government to their communities. I also surged Federal law enforcement to assist in the urgent search for the shooter."

That's everything you need to know this morning. We'll be back with more of the top news stories throughout the day.

- With AAP. 

We're all aware that sometimes our image is captured on CCTV as we go about our daily lives, but what you might not realise is that when you enter some of Australia's biggest stores, facial recognition technology is capturing your digital data.

So which shops are currently doing this and why? And can you opt out it?

The Quicky speaks to an expert in digital privacy to find out what is going on with this data collection, and how concerned (or not) we need to be.

READ: 

• What women were talking about on Monday

Feature Image: GoFundMe.