Good morning. It’s Friday 13th May, and here’s a round-up of the latest news.
Children impacted by Russia-Ukraine war face immense suffering: UN
The United Nations says the war in Ukraine is causing "immense human suffering", especially for children.
UNICEF's deputy executive director Omar Abdi says 15 of the 89 schools it supports in eastern Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed, and hundreds more have been hit with heavy weaponry across the country.
He said children are also amongst those impacted by the fighting, with nearly 100 children losing their lives - and fears the number could be much higher.
"The war in Ukraine, like all wars, is a child protection and child rights crisis," Mr Abdi said.
Sri Lanka appoints new prime minister
A new prime minister has been appointed in Sri Lanka, as the country's embattled president looks for a way out of the country's worst economic crisis since independence.
Sri Lanka's new prime minister Ranil Wickramasinghe. Source: Getty / NurPhoto
He must now try to address financial chaos and heal political divisions as he sets out to form a coalition government.
The 73-year-old is an economic liberal who has experience dealing with the International Monetary Fund, which is currently in discussions to bail out Sri Lanka.
Finland to apply for NATO, Sweden to follow
Finland says it will apply to join NATO "without delay", with Sweden expected to follow suit, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues.
The decision by the two Nordic countries to abandon the neutrality they maintained throughout the Cold War would be one of the biggest shifts in European security in decades.
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (l), Minister of the Interior Krista Mikkonen (c) and Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen (r) discuss NATO membership in Parliament. Source: AAP / MAURI RATILAINEN/EPA
"We are part of the EU sanctions and so forth, but I think we have to look at this with a longer perspective," Mr Haavisto said.
Melbourne charged over neo-Nazi symbol use
Two men have been charged with posting neo-Nazi symbols on buildings in Caulfield, in Melbourne's southeast.
The pair allegedly posted up to 50 stickers of Nazi swastikas on the Beth Weizmann Community Centre in Melbourne, and on telegraph poles and transport shelters along the road.
Newspaper Australian Jewish News has reported the Community Centre was hosting a meeting between Israeli ambassador Amir Maimon and a number of Jewish organisations at the time of the alleged incident.
The arrest of the men comes just days after the state government announced it was introducing legislation to outlaw the display of Nazi signs in Victoria.
Inspector Cath Wilkins from Victoria Police has told Seven News there is no place for Nazi symbols in society.
"Victoria Police is disgusted by this behaviour and will not tolerate it... Hate symbols cause anxiety and pain," Inspector Wilkins said.
The battle to legalise abortion rights is not over
The Democratic Party in the United States says they will continue to fight to enshrine abortion rights into law, after a bill to do just that was defeated in the Senate this week.
The bill was designed to codify into federal law the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade precedent that legalised abortion nationwide, after a draft US Supreme Court opinion suggested the court is about to overturn that ruling.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said the Democratic Party will not give up their efforts.
"This is not a public policy debate that is isolated from the personal impact that it has on the lives of women. It is personal between a woman, her doctor, her God, her family, not the Supreme Court or the Congress of the United States," Ms Pelosi said.
With AAP, AFP, Reuters.
