Australian state to establish more refuges to support victims

Authorities of Australia's state of New South Wales (NSW) on Monday announced to establish more refuges to provide support services for domestic violence victims.

The 39 new refuges will be designed in the new Core and Cluster model, an innovative approach that provides independent living and access to critical services such as counselling, legal assistance and further education on site, said NSW Minister for Women's Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Sexual Violence Natalie Ward. The refuges, to be established in areas where there is high unmet demand for services, are expected to support 2,900 more women and children each year who have escaped domestic abuse.

The Monday announcement is part of the NSW government's funding of more than 426 million Australian dollars (about 283 million U.S. dollars) being invested in the Core and Cluster program to deliver new refuges that will be operational by the end of 2025-2026.

NSW Minister for Disability Services Natasha Maclaren-Jones said in addition to the Core and Cluster program, approximately 200 social and affordable homes for women experiencing domestic and family violence will be provided, as well as dedicated support for up to 3,200 accompanied children and young people experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness.

Domestic and family violence was the leading cause of homelessness for women and children in NSW, with 39 percent of all people who accessed specialist homelessness services in 2019-2020 reporting that they had experienced domestic and family violence, according to the authorities.

Tokyo's key Nikkei index gave up earlier gains and ended lower as investors locked in profit while searching for fresh cues. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.11 percent, or 30.80 points, to 27,899.77, while the broader Topix index only just remained in the black, inching up 0.04 percent, or 0.75 points, to 1,967.03.

Shares enjoyed a healthy ascent in the morning as investors cheered the gains of the

US Semiconductor Sector Index, despite falls in major Wall Street indices. But lingering concerns over the speed and scale of US rate hikes, which investors fear could trigger a recession, continued to weigh on the market.

"Worries over US tightening prompted sales among profit-takers, driving down the market," Daiwa Securities said. The dollar stood at 139.91 yen in Asian trade, hovering near 140.20 yen in New York on Thursday.

The Japanese government said that core consumer prices rose 3.6 percent year-on-year in October, the highest level in four decades due largely to rising energy costs and a weak yen. Sony Group trimmed gains and ended higher by 0.22 percent to 11,220 yen. Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing

82,360 yen.

Nintendo rose 0.70 percent to 5,920 yen. Semiconductor-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron fell 0.98 percent, erasing gains seen in the morning.

But chip-testing equipment maker Advantest added 0.56 percent to 8,990 yen.

Toyota ended down 0.03 percent to 1,993 yen. Nissan managed to keep its gains and ended up 1.96 percent to 498.4 yen.

Japan's economy shrank in the three months to September, official data showed Tuesday, due to high import costs and weak private consumption despite the end of Covid-19 restrictions.

fell 0.12 percent to