Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians escalated dramatically on Monday as militant groups in Gaza fired rockets into Israel and Israel responded with strikes on the Palestinian territory following a police raid on the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem that left hundreds injured.
Those testifying say they want the state to recognise the impact abuse has on future generations“For me, healing is not possible, because of what has happened,” Tyrone Marks told New Zealand’s royal commission into abuse in care on Monday. “I still carry on however, as normally as possible.”Over the last two weeks, the commission has held hearings, gathering testimony from those held as children in residential state care. A sprawling independent investigation put in motion by the Labour government in 2018, it is tasked with revealing the extent of abuse in state care and its ongoing effects. Continue reading...
Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians escalated dramatically on Monday as militant groups in Gaza fired rockets into Israel and Israel responded with strikes on the Palestinian territory following a police raid on the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem that left hundreds injured.
As the credits rolled on Jia Ling’s hit comedy, Rebecca Zhuang saw her father crying for one of the first times in her lifeSitting in the dimly lit cinema, I reach for my parents’ hands on either side of me.My Dad (Ba) sits to my left and my Mum (Ma) to the right. The credits roll past in the usual blur – but instead of focusing on the names I glance between my parents, each bearing tear-soaked faces just like mine. Continue reading...
Hundreds of Indonesian soldiers have been deployed to West Papua in the past month, and journalists and activists have been targetedViolence has flared in West Papua, with journalists and activists targeted, an internet blackout, and villagers forced to flee into the jungle.Hundreds of additional Indonesian soldiers have been deployed to West Papua in the last month and thousands of people have reportedly been displaced in the Puncak regency. Continue reading...
Callum Wheeler charged with murder of woman whose body was found in Kent woodlandA 21-year-old man has been charged with the murder of PCSO Julia James, whose body was found in Akholt Wood near her home in Snowdown, Kent on 27 April.Callum Wheeler, 21, from Aylesham, has been charged with the murder of Julia James, PCSO, Kent police said on Monday evening. Continue reading...
Move expands inoculation program as vaccination rates slowUS regulators on Monday authorized Pfizer and its partner BioNTech’s Covid vaccine for use in children as young as 12, widening the country’s inoculation program even as vaccination rates have slowed significantly.The vaccine has been available under an emergency use authorization (EUA) to people as young as 16 in the United States. Today’s decision means the FDA is amending the EUA to include children aged 12 to 15. The vaccine makers said they had started the process for full approval for those ages last week. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker, Aubrey Allegretti and Lisa O'Carroll on (#5HP7E)
Levelling up agenda accompanied by bills bringing in voter ID and banning conversion practicesMinisters are to unveil a legislative programme aimed at its new electoral strongholds in northern England and the Midlands, with a Queen’s speech focused on adult education and homeownership.It also features proposals to bring in mandatory voter ID, which has been condemned by US civil rights groups as akin to Republican-style voter suppression. Another plan will pave the way to outlaw conversion practices. Continue reading...
Tuesday: Budget to pump billions into the economy as the government attempts to cement recovery. Plus: enjoying the return of colder weatherGood morning. It’s Tuesday 11 May, which means one thing – budget day! So hold on tight as economic news will be dominating the headlines this week. We’ve also got plenty on the controversial India travel ban, which looks set to remain in place until 15 May, and more on the increasing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.The federal budget drops today, and will pump billions of dollars into the economy as the government attempts to cement Australia’s economic recovery after last year’s downturn. Aged care, infrastructure and childcare will be some of the major focuses – here’s what we know to expect so far. There will also be a raft of policies aimed at addressing housing affordability. But the Morrison government’s incentives to help people become homeowners may come to nothing without an increase in housing supply. Continue reading...
In an exclusive interview, the legendary manager and son Jason reflect on the brain haemorrhage that nearly killed him and the film they have just made, his upbringing in Scotland, the lows and highs at Manchester United, his admiration for Steven Gerrard … and that Champions League final“You’re lying on your bed and you are on your own,” Sir Alex Ferguson says as he remembers being in hospital exactly three years ago this week when, after suffering a brain haemorrhage, he came close to death. “It can become lonely and frightening,” the greatest manager in the history of British football continues as he relives that raw memory.Ferguson and I are just starting an interview which is shaped by so many layered and rollicking recollections. Memories of the ghostly shipyards of Glasgow and his teeming life as a boy in Govan ripple through him. He relives the pain and sectarianism he experienced at Rangers, the fire and transformation he generated at Aberdeen and the early abuse and enduring glory of his 27 years at Manchester United. Memories of his father, with whom he fell out until football reunited them, merge into an evocation of everything his wife Cathy has done for him. Continue reading...
Deal values ‘yet to be formed’ technology division of THG at $6.3bnThe Hut Group (THG), the online retailer empire run by billionaire Matthew Moulding, has struck a complex joint venture deal with Japanese investment giant SoftBank that values a “yet to be formed” technology division of THG at $6.3bn (£4.5bn).The deal, announced on Monday, values THG Ingenuity, which Moulding described as a “social media influencer platform” used to promote products, at about the same amount that the whole company floated at last year. Continue reading...
The presence of armed civilians attacking protesters has added a worrying dimension to a wave of unrest that has claimed 47 livesOn a recent evening, Andrés pulled on his gas mask and helmet and headed for the barricades at the entrance to his rundown neighbourhood in Cali, a city which has become the center of Colombia’s anti-government protests.But as he approached the roadblock of rocks, rubble and barbed wire, he saw a motorcycle speeding towards him. In an attempt to turn the vehicle back, another demonstrator shone a laser pen in the driver’s eyes. Continue reading...
Social distancing between family and friends is to be left up to 'personal choice' from next week and gatherings of six people from different households will be allowed indoors again, Boris Johnson announced, as he laid out the next phase of England's lockdown easing. However, he urged people not to 'throw caution to the wind', and to continue social distancing in public spaces.
Hundreds of asylum seekers forced to sleep outside as Lampedusa reception centre reaches capacityMore than 2,000 people have arrived on Lampedusa in 24 hours as people smugglers took advantage of calm seas to launch at least 20 boats, pushing the reception centre on the tiny Italian island to its limit.Hundreds of asylum seekers, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, Pakistan and Syria, were forced to sleep on the dock after the centre rapidly surpassed its capacity. Hundreds more were being transferred to an unused passenger ferry offshore for quarantine until they can be tested for Covid-19. Another commercial passenger ship was being dispatched to Lampedusa to take on more. Continue reading...
State fund trying to recover billions in alleged losses from corruption scandal, according to court filingsMalaysia’s now-defunct 1MDB state fund is suing subsidiaries of Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and Coutts & Co to recover billions in alleged losses from a corruption scandal at the fund, according to court documents seen by Reuters.1MDB is claiming $1.11bn (£785bn) from Deutsche Bank (Malaysia) Bhd, $800m from JP Morgan (Switzerland) Ltd and $1.03bn from a Swiss-based Coutts unit, and interest payments from all of them, according to the lawsuit. Continue reading...
Undercover officer Vince Miller accused of lying after saying he slept with ‘Madeleine’ only onceAn undercover police officer has been accused of lying to a public inquiry by a woman who said that he deceived her into a sexual relationship that she regards as rape.The woman, known only as Madeleine, told the inquiry that the police spy, Vince Miller, deceived her into a sexual relationship that lasted a couple of months. He has claimed that they had a sexual encounter that lasted one night. Continue reading...
Inquest told security services should have shared intelligence about threat from Fishmongers’ Hall attackerThe chief probation officer for England and Wales has accused MI5 of failing to sound the alarm about Usman Khan attending an event in London where he killed two people, an inquest has heard.Sonia Flynn, the executive director of the probation service, said the security services should have stepped in when Khan’s possible attendance at the event in Fishmongers’ Hall was raised at a series of public protection, or “Mappa”, meetings MI5 attended. Continue reading...
UK settlement scheme closes on 30 June, but Home Office has 320,000 applications to processHundreds of thousands of European citizens could find themselves in limbo after 30 June and left without documented legal rights to remain in the UK if the Home Office does not clear a backlog of more than 320,000 applications for post-Brexit residency status, campaigners have warned.There are just 50 days to go before the government’s EU settlement scheme closes and the most recent government statistics show that of the 5.3m applications, 4.98m have been processed so far. Continue reading...
Maurice Kirk allegedly sent letter containing white powder to government minister Rebecca PowA former vet stalked a Conservative MP for more than a year and sent a letter containing white powder to her home, a jury has heard.Maurice Kirk, 76, was apparently upset at what he regarded as Rebecca Pow’s failure to help him in a legal battle against South Wales police. Continue reading...
Israeli police published dramatic CCTV video from a road near the Old City in Jerusalem of a white car being pelted with stones by Palestinian demonstrators, before the driver reverses and hits one of them. The car then speeds forward, hitting another person and colliding with a wall.An armed Israeli police officer runs in to protect the driver, believed to be Israeli, who faces more rock-throwing.Tensions have soared in recent days in advance of the now-delayed Israeli court ruling on whether authorities were able to evict dozens of Palestinians from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, just outside the Old City, and give their homes to Jewish settlers
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#5HNFX)
West Midlands Trains workers discover email promising one-off payment is ‘phishing simulation test’A rail union has hit out at a “cynical and shocking stunt” after a train company emailed staff to promise a bonus to workers who had run trains during the pandemic – only to reveal it was in fact a test of their cybersecurity awareness.West Midlands Trains emailed about 2,500 employees with a message saying its managing director, Julian Edwards, wanted to thank them for their hard work over the past year under Covid-19. The email said they would get a one-off payment as a thank you after “huge strain was placed upon a large number of our workforce”. Continue reading...
Man rescued after sudden gusts shattered panels on bridge in Longjing cityA man was left stranded on a glass-bottomed suspension bridge in north-eastern China after sudden gale-force winds shattered the transparent panels around him.The man was on the 100-metre-high bridge at Piyan Mountain in Longjing city, when it was hit by sudden strong weather, the local tourism department said. Continue reading...
Molly Stuart’s film about a woman imprisoned for refusing to do military service paints a fascinating portrait of a country riven by conflictIn this rousing, unabashedly left-inflected documentary, we meet Atalya Ben Abba, a young Israeli woman staring down the barrel of the mandatory military service everyone in the country must do when they come of age. But Atalya doesn’t want to play any part in the state apparatus that makes the occupation of Palestine possible. Instead, she proclaims herself a conscientious objector, and must face time in prison. While her brother Amitai gets where she’s coming from, others in her family – her mother Alona, sister, father, grandparents – find it harder to understand Atalya’s point of view, especially the members of the older generation who grew up in the shadow of the Holocaust.On the other hand, footage here proves that Zionist extremism permeates every generation: frothy-mouthed young Israeli rightwingers show up at the demonstrations where Atalya speaks only to counterprotest and demand that Atalya and other objectors “go back to Berlin”. Still, Atalya’s story and the testimony of some of her fellow objectors who hope for a political and diplomatic solution to the conflict suggests that the younger generation’s attitudes may be shifting, even if Atalya’s nephew learns about joining the army as early at the first grade. Continue reading...
Indian Americans scramble to secure oxygen canisters for family members, desperately work to raise funds and pressure US legislators to lift vaccine patentsSince the pandemic began, Fatima Ahmed has lost 29 of her family members in India and one in the US to Covid-19.A few days ago, her uncle died in his car as he was driving back home from a hospital in Hyderabad, a city in southern India. “All the hospitals were at capacity, so they couldn’t take him in,” said Ahmed. “He pulled over and he called the rest of the family, the khandan – before he passed.” Continue reading...
Judge sides with health minister, meaning almost 10,000 Australians in India cannot return until ban ends on FridayThe federal court has rejected an urgent bid to overturn the India travel ban, meaning 9,500 Australians stranded there will not be able to return until after it is repealed on Friday.On Monday Justice Thomas Thawley dismissed the first two grounds seeking to overturn the ban after hearing the first half of the challenge brought by 73-year-old Gary Newman, an Australian man stranded in Bangalore since March 2020. Continue reading...
by Calla Wahlquist (now) and Amy Remeikis (earlier) on (#5HMWX)
Judge declines to overturn flight ban after hearing first half of legal challenge; Morrison government promises $4bn in infrastructure spending in budget; NSW Covid ‘missing link’ eludes authorities. Follow the latest updates
Officers in riot gear clashed with Palestinian demonstrators outside al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem, in ongoing violence that has raised international concern.Tensions were particularly high as Israel marked Jerusalem Day, its annual celebration of the capture of the city, including the walled Old City that is home to Muslim, Jewish and Christian holy places, in 1967.Al-Aqsa, an Islamic holy site, has been a focal point of violence in Jerusalem at the height of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Video showed Palestinians hurling rocks at police and police firing stun grenades
Photojournalist Hugh Kinsella Cunningham has been embedded with Congolese soldiers in the DRC’s ‘triangle of death’. The elusive insurgents they are hunting have pledged allegiance to Islamic StateAt the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, in a vast territory that ranges from the lofty Rwenzori mountains to the lush rainforest of the Semliki valley, one of the world’s most active militant groups is responsible for the massacre of hundreds of civilians.The ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) was originally an opposition rebel group from Uganda rooted in a radical agenda of religious militancy. Taking advantage of the regional power vacuum, the group fled to Beni territory in neighbouring DRC to find shelter from the Ugandan army. Continue reading...
Prime minister Jacinda Ardern said there was no evidence the attack at a Countdown store was an incident of domestic terrorismFour people have been injured, three critically, after a stabbing attack at a supermarket in the New Zealand city of Dunedin.Police said a suspect had been arrested and taken into custody after the incident at a Countdown supermarket on Monday afternoon. Two supermarket staff members were among those injured. Continue reading...
Bus attack comes after jihadist group denies atrocity at secondary school that killed at least 50 peopleAt least 11 people have been killed and dozens injured in the bombing of a bus in Afghanistan’s southern Zabul province.The blast took place late on Sunday night, said Zabul’s provincial governor’s spokesman Gul Islam Sial, adding that 25 people were injured including women and children who were in critical condition. Continue reading...
Mayor overseeing a green regeneration in city where temperatures can already surpass 40CLike every Athens mayor, Kostas Bakoyannis is acutely aware of the illustrious heritage of one of the world’s oldest cities. After all, he says, it is busts of Pericles and his mistress Aspasia that adorn the entrance of the neoclassical town hall. From the windows of his cavernous office, he can glimpse the Parthenon through the jumble of concrete buildings and antennas.But Bakoyannis prefers to talk about the present, not least his plans for fountains, parks and trees – antidotes to the afflictions of more modern times. Continue reading...
Brad Hazzard says AFR story that identified man was ‘appalling’, and warned it would undermine public health• NSW restrictions: what you can and can’t do under new coronavirus rules
Singer-songwriter recognised for her ‘immense impact on music across the world and incredible repertoire’Taylor Swift is to become the first female artist to win the global icon Brit award.The US singer will be presented with the prize on Tuesday during the ceremony at the O2 Arena in London. Continue reading...
Row between leader and deputy holds up reshuffle while Rachel Reeves’ promotion looks set to inflame tensions with party’s leftKeir Starmer handed his deputy, Angela Rayner, a major promotion on Sunday night after a day of fraught negotiations and power battles. He also sacked his shadow chancellor and promoted his close ally, Rachel Reeves, to the role in a move likely to further inflame tensions with the party’s left.The reshuffle of Starmer’s shadow cabinet was derailed by a prolonged standoff with Rayner, who was locked in talks with the party leader’s team for hours on Sunday. It came after leaked plans to sack her as party chair and national campaigns coordinator triggered an outcry. Continue reading...
Thursday: federal government to pledge $4bn for major projects to aid economic recovery. Plus, why are sperm counts declining among western men?Hello, and happy Monday. Sydney is on Covid standby, China’s rocket (or parts of it) landed, and the federal budget comes out tomorrow (which people already have plenty to say about). It’s Imogen Dewey with the main stories for you this morning, plus a podcast about those plummeting sperm counts.The Morrison government will allocate more than $4bn to infrastructure projects in Tuesday night’s budget as part of efforts to lock in economic recovery after the pandemic and drive down unemployment. While such investments improve the productive capacity of the Australian economy, the program will also help lay the groundwork for an election contest either late in 2021 or early next year. New analysis meanwhile shows the government last year spent just 16 cents out of every $100 addressing the climate crisis, and that spending on the environment and climate programs has fallen by nearly a third since the Coalition was elected eight years ago. (The Australian Conservation Foundation is calling for policy reform matched by investment.) The government preannounced a number of measures on Sunday, including $353.9m in spending for women’s health initiatives, and signalled that more than $10bn will be committed to aged care. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg yesterday told the ABC the royal commission had confirmed the sector was “in dire need of reform”. Continue reading...
Tory Jonathon Seed, who was running in Wiltshire, was told 30-year-old offence debarred him, contradicting earlier assurancesA Tory candidate to be a police and crime commissioner (PCC) has withdrawn on the eve of counting after it emerged he had a 30-year-old conviction for drink-driving.Jonathon Seed has been debarred from becoming a PCC due to a historical driving offence that had come to light, the Conservative party said in a statement. Continue reading...
Scotland’s first minister makes assertion in phone call with Boris Johnson on Sunday evening• Elections 2021 live - latest news and reactionNicola Sturgeon has told Boris Johnson that a second independence referendum is “a matter of when, not if” after the Scottish National party secured a historic fourth term at Holyrood on Saturday with a pro-independence majority of MSPs returned despite tactical voting by pro-union supporters.Scotland’s first minister made the assertion in a telephone call with the prime minister on Sunday evening, despite senior Conservative figures questioning her mandate. Continue reading...