This is The Loop, your quick catch-up for Friday morning's news as it happened.
Key events
To leave a comment on the blog, please log in or sign up for an ABC account.
Live updates
That's it for The Loop today
By Felicity Ripper
Thanks for joining us on Friday morning as we covered news happening across the world.
If you're just catching up, here's a bit of what we covered (click the link to jump straight to the post):
- Australia's only Liberal government will be thrown into minority
- Australia has made the Eurovision final
- The UK is donating long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine
- A woman has been hit by a police motorbike which was escorting a UK royal
- 100k kids are at risk of starving in Haiti
- Trump has filed an appeal in the lawsuit brought by E Jean Carroll
Australia's only Liberal government will be thrown into minority
By Felicity Ripper
Two Tasmanian Liberal MPs say they will quit the party to sit as independents, pushing Australia's only remaining Liberal stronghold into minority governance.
Bass member Lara Alexander and Lyons member John Tucker plan to resign later this morning as both party members and members of the parliamentary Liberal Party.
The ABC's Bec Pridham has the exclusive story here:
The Victorian Liberal Party will vote on whether to expel MP Moira Deeming
By Felicity Ripper
The politicians are taking to a vote, a day after the MP warned she may take defamation action against party leader John Pesutto.
Ms Deeming says she’s not going to turn up to the party room meeting.
State political reporter Richard Willingham is at Spring Street as politicians begin to trickle in to Parliament House.
He's sending updates through to our team in Victoria who have all the details in a blog.
You can follow live:
Madrid Open organisers have apologised for denying women's doubles finalists speeches
By Felicity Ripper
Singles world number three Jessica Pegula, who partnered Coco Gauff in their 6-1, 6-4 defeat by Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia, said on Sunday she was left disappointed after organisers didn't allow them to address fans.
The men's doubles finalists were allowed to do so following their match a day earlier and tournament organisers apologised to players and fans "who expect more of the Madrid Open".
"Not giving our women's doubles finalists the chance to address their fans at the end of the match was unacceptable and we have apologised directly to Victoria, Beatriz, Coco and Jessica," tournament CEO Gerard Tsobanian said.
Mr Tsobanian said they made a mistake and it won't happen again.
"We are working internally and with the WTA to review our protocols and are committed to improving our process moving forward," Tsobanian said.
A suppression order over a controversial police report has been lifted
By Felicity Ripper
A suppression order over a controversial police report into the death of Warlpiri-Luritja man Kumanjayi Walker has been lifted, revealing previously redacted details about the murder investigation into former constable Zachary Rolfe.
You can read about it here:
Migrants are rushing across the US border
By Felicity Ripper
People are racing to enter the US before pandemic-related asylum restrictions are lifted.
The shift threatens to put a historic strain on the nation’s beleaguered immigration system.
The imminent end of the rules known as Title 42 stirred fear among migrants that the change would make it more difficult for them to stay in the US.
With a late-night deadline looming, migrants in Mexico shed clothing before descending a steep bank into the Rio Grande, clutching plastic bags filled with clothes.
One man held a baby in an open suitcase on his head.
On the US side of the river, migrants put on dry clothing and picked their way through concertina wire.
Many surrendered immediately to authorities and hoped to be released while pursuing their cases in backlogged immigration courts, which takes years.
It was not clear how many migrants were on the move or how long the surge would last.
Pfizer's CEO has called the US drug price plan 'negotiation with a gun to your head'
By Felicity Ripper
Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla says he expects drug makers to sue in an attempt to halt the process.
"It is not negotiation at all. It is price setting," Mr Bourla said, referring to the Biden administration’s signature drug pricing reform, part of the Inflation Reduction Act.
The law aims to save $25 billion through price negotiations by 2031 for Americans who pay more for medicines than any other country.
The pharmaceutical industry says the law, passed last year, will result in a loss of profits that will force drugmakers to pull back on developing groundbreaking new treatments.
The companies have begun laying the groundwork to fight the US plan.
A US ambassador to South Africa accuses the country of providing arms to Russia
By Felicity Ripper
The ambassador has accused South Africa of the supply via a cargo ship linked to a sanctioned company that docked secretly at a naval base near the city of Cape Town in December.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said an investigation into the visit by a Russian vessel named Lady R to his nation's main naval base was already underway behind the scenes with the help of US intelligence services before ambassador Reuben Brigety went public at a news conference in the South African capital, Pretoria, that the cargo was weapons and ammunition.
Mr Brigety said the US was certain that military equipment was loaded onto the Lady R at the Simon’s Town naval base between December 6 and December 8 and then transported to Russia.
He said it brought into question South Africa’s supposed neutral stance on the war in Ukraine and its calls for the conflict to end.
Adidas to sell Yeezy shoes and donate proceeds months after Kanye West split
By Jessica Riga
Adidas will sell some of the merchandise from its defunct Yeezy partnership with rapper Kanye West and donate part of the proceeds to international organisations, its chief executive has announced.
The German sportswear giant has been in a predicament over the Yeezy stock since it cut ties with West over his anti-Semitic comments late last year.
Millions of Yeezy shoes with a retail value of 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) have been sitting in storage after their sale was put on hold.
"Burning those shoes cannot be the solution," Adidas CEO Bjoern Gulden said, adding the brand was going to try to sell part of the remaining Yeezy inventory and "donate money to the organizations that help us and were harmed by what [he] said".
Former US marine to be charged with manslaughter in choking death on subway
By Felicity Ripper
CNN has cited sources saying the former marine, Daniel Penny, is expected to be charged with manslaughter today.
He put a man in a chokehold that killed him on the New York City subway.
There have been protests across the city since footage of Jordan Neely being restrained emerged.
Australia reaches the Eurovision finals!
By Jessica Riga
WOOHOO! Australia has made it to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Australia is represented this year by Perth-based metal-synth band Voyager.
The global music spectacle is being held in the British city Liverpool, in place of last year's winner Ukraine.
Some of the most competitive countries, including France, Italy, and Israel, have all already secured their spot in this weekend's grand final.
It's Australia's final shot at Eurovision for now, as the deal with the European Broadcasting Union is up for renewal this year.
Musk says Twitter has found its next CEO
By Jessica Riga
Twitter boss Elon Musk says he's found a replacement CEO for the social media platform, who will be starting in about six weeks.
Musk hasn't named the candidate, but says he'll take on the roles of executive chair and chief technology officer.
Tesla shares jumped 2.4 per cent when Musk shared the news.
Critics say Musk's tenure as chief executive has sullied the platform's integrity, and its regulation has been grossly undermined by thousands of job cuts.
Trump has filed an appeal in the lawsuit brought by E Jean Carroll
By Felicity Ripper
Former US president Donald Trump has filed a notice of appeal after a New York jury on Tuesday found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E Jean Carroll.
The nine-member jury in Manhattan federal court awarded Ms Carroll about $US5 million ($7.4 million) in compensatory and punitive damages.
Although the finding of sexual abuse was enough to establish his liability for battery, the jury did not find that Mr Trump raped her, as it was also alleged.
After the verdict, Ms Carroll said her victory was "not just for me but for every woman who has suffered because she was not believed".
In an all-capital-letters post on social media, Mr Trump said the verdict was a "disgrace", and he was quick to flag that he would appeal against the verdict.
News Australians are searching for
By Felicity Ripper
-
Piers Morgan
The English broadcaster is in the spotlight after his name was mentioned in the phone-hacking trial initiated by Prince Harry and other well-known figures.
David Sherborne, the barrister acting for the prince and others, told the High Court in London that Mr Morgan was among the figures who must have known about the alleged "industrial-scale" hacking.
Mr Morgan was the Daily Mirror editor from 1995 to 2004 and a former presenter on CNN.
In his written court submission, Mr Sherborne said former Mirror employees had recounted how Mr Morgan knew about the alleged activities.
But Mr Morgan, in an interview with the BBC, said he had never told anyone to hack a phone.
"There is no evidence that I knew anything about any of it," he said.
Asked if he was worried about the legal action, he said, "No, not at all."
A woman has been hit by a police motorcycle which was escorting a UK royal
By Felicity Ripper
A woman in her 80s is in a critical condition after being hit by a police motorcycle that was escorting Sophie, the wife of Prince Edward.
The Metropolitan Police said the motorcycle collided with a pedestrian on Wednesday afternoon at an intersection in west London.
Sophie, known as the Duchess of Edinburgh, says her “heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the injured lady and her family", according to a statement from Buckingham Palace.
The statement added that Sophie was grateful for the "swift response by the emergency services".
Sophie, 58, is a full-time working royal married to Edward, the younger brother of King Charles III.
The crash is being investigated.
The UK is donating long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine
By Felicity Ripper
Britain is donating Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine to help it protect Ukrainian territory against Russian forces, UK Defence Minister Ben Wallace says.
"The use of Storm Shadow will allow Ukraine to push back Russian forces based within Ukrainian sovereign territory," Mr Wallace told parliament.
Mr Wallace says Britain has assessed how to minimise the risk of escalation caused by its donation.
"The key here is to give Ukraine that capability. To defend itself," Mr Wallace says.
"What I can say is, throughout this process, we always make sure we gift having examined minimising escalation and provocation unnecessarily to the Russian state."
The UN says conflict in Haiti is putting more than 100k kids at risk of starving to death
By Felicity Ripper
More than 115,600 children in Haiti are expected to suffer severe wasting from malnutrition this year.
That figure came out of the United Nations children's agency UNICEF on Thursday, as an escalation of armed violence worsens food insecurity and a cholera outbreak.
It's more than 30 per cent higher than the 87,500 children UNICEF registered as suffering from the condition last year.
The agency warned of a severe funding gap that "could put the lives of more than 100,000 children at risk of immediate death".
Heavily armed gangs have taken control of large swathes of the Caribbean island nation, with much of the violence centered in the capital Port-au-Prince, where the UN estimates more than 600 people were killed in April alone.
"The results of this study come at a key time since they will certainly be useful to us in planning our interventions on all fronts, in our fight against food insecurity," Prime Minister Ariel Henry says.
One more thing
By Felicity Ripper
The Academy of Country Music Awards is being held in Frisco, Texas today.
Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks are hosting.
"It’s fun for me as a fan because I’ve always loved this woman from distance, but we’ve never got to work like this before," Brooks said.
"So trust me, ... whether the show goes on the air or not, I’m having the best time on the planet."
