Australia news live: Penny Wong begins Middle East visit amid fresh tensions; flash floods warning for north

Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Live feed Key events 12m ago Welcome 3m ago 14.32 EST More forecast rain and strong winds will likely mean ongoing flooded homes, submerged streets, and belongings damaged by fallen trees in multiple states and territories, AAP reports Parts of the Northern Territory and Queensland are due to experience dangerous winds and flash flooding today.

A monsoon trough extending from the northern Kimberley of Western Australia to the Cape York Peninsula, as well as a tropical low over the NT is making for a big wet in Australia’s north. The Bureau of Meteorology expects the tropical low to move southeast today, with continued rain. Flood warnings have been issued for the Cape York Peninsula and Gulf of Carpentaria, and for the NT’s northwest.

“We’re already starting to see river rises in some of these areas and further river rises are anticipated over the coming days,” Ms Bradbury said. There’s also more rain forecast at centres including Darwin, Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra on Tuesday. Winds in some metropolitan areas could reach up to 50km/h.

12m ago 14.23 EST Welcome Good morning and welcome to our rolling news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll be bringing you the best of the overnight news before my colleague Emily Wind takes the reins. The Middle East crisis deepened overnight when a US cargo ship was hit by Houthi missiles , making Penny Wong’s visit to the region beginning today even more sensitive.

It follows remarks by Anthony Albanese last night declaring that the Australian government won’t participate in the international court of justice (ICJ) proceedings initiated by South Africa against Israel, and that his government is seeking a “political solution”. Our top domestic story is an exclusive report that a senior psychologist treating children in the Cairns police watch house sent a “cry for help” letter detailing “horrendous” conditions and alleged human rights abuses in the lockup.

The letter, seen by Guardian Australia, includes claims young people are not being provided adequate food, medical attention or legal support. More than half of people trying to access emergency financial support for domestic and family violence are having their claims rejected, new data has revealed .

Between July and September last year, 57,041 applications were made for the escaping violence payment (EVP) but only 29,437 were found eligible. And we will be keeping a close eye on northern Australian, with parts of the Northern Territory and Queensland forecast to experience dangerous winds and flash flooding – more on that soon.

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