Council staff dubbed the ‘Pink Ops’ allegedly surveilled other workers, NSW anti-corruption watchdog hears

Proposal comes after seven states drawing water from drought-stricken river failed to come to an agreementThe US government has proposed a plan for the drought stricken Colorado River that could cut up to 40% of current supplies to Arizona, California and Nevada, as the waterway’s reservoirs continue to plunge to critically low levels.A top Arizona water official shared details of the Trump administration’s plan at a state meeting on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Criticism of budget funding comes amid warnings the Australian National Audit Office will struggle to meet its targets for independent reviewsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor has been accused inadequately funding one of the central institutions safeguarding public administration, with transparency advocates and independent David Pocock criticising commitments for the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in this week’s budget.Parliament’s Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit has previously warned the Albanese government that the auditor general’s financial position is unsustainable and of “serious concern” – even as the number of government agencies and functions subject to oversight expands significantly. Continue reading...

Politicians still care about traditional media, but winning over people spending more of their lives online is the challenge for modern MPsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHe’s up before sunrise, pounding the pavement in a cap and running shorts. He’s still up late into the night, having slipped into a comfortable sweater while he checks figures in a darkened office by lamplight, fuelled by sugar-free Red Bull.It’s “decision week”, Jim Chalmers declares of the annual federal budget in a video that pinged around political group chats this week. The treasurer was keen to take people behind the scenes on social media. Continue reading...

Order, issued without any noted dissent, is the latest twist in the nation’s mid-decade redistricting competitionThe supreme court on Friday rejected Virginia’s bid to restore a congressional map that would have given Democrats a chance to pick up four seats in the closely divided House of Representatives.The court’s order, issued without any noted dissent, is the latest twist in the nation’s mid-decade redistricting competition . It was kicked off last year by Donald Trump urging Republican-controlled states to redraw their lines and was supercharged by a recent supreme court ruling severely weakening the Voting Rights Act that opened up even more winnable seats for the Republican party. Continue reading...

Change reflects both transformation of US in Trump era and China’s increasing confidence on world stageAsked before he departed for Beijing if he would raise with the Chinese president the case of Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy activist jailed in Hong Kong, Donald Trump said: “I’ll bring him up.”But, the US president added: “It’s like saying to me, ‘If Comey ever went to jail, would you let him out?’ It might be a hard one for me.” Trump was referring to James B Comey, a former FBI director and a frequent target of Trump’s ire. Continue reading...

Chaotic week in which enforcer of ‘war on drugs’ flees senate building leaves government looking ‘incompetent’The wanted man outran security agents, rallied protesters and even serenaded the media with a military hymn. Then, after a sudden exchange of gunfire, the Philippines’ most controversial lawmaker slipped out of the heavily guarded senate building in the middle of the night.Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who is wanted by the international criminal court for crimes against humanity, is now nowhere to be seen. Continue reading...

Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi appeared in US federal court to face six terrorism-related chargesThe US justice department has arrested and charged an Iraqi national accused of involvement in nearly 20 alleged terror attacks and attempted attacks across the US and Europe.The wave of violence attributed to Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi has caused huge concern in many European countries but especially the UK, where Jewish community centres, charities, synagogues and other sites have been targeted in recent weeks. Continue reading...

Trump administration accused of cutting military’s civilian harm program in light of US strike on girls school in IranThe Pentagon has quietly dismantled a program it is legally required to operate to prevent and respond to civilian deaths in US military operations, according to its internal watchdog.A report released by the department’s inspector general concluded the US military no longer has the people, tools or infrastructure needed to comply with two federal statutes requiring it to maintain a functioning civilian casualty policy, and operate a Civilian Protection Center of Excellence (CP CoE). Continue reading...

With third-highest number of books banned, state removes renowned work about slave trade from library shelvesA Tennessee school district has banned Roots, the author Alex Haley’s groundbreaking novel and one of the most renowned and influential works about the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade.Knox county schools (KCS) took that step under a state law that has disappeared hundreds of titles from school libraries and alarmed advocates of free expression. Continue reading...

Former election clerk who allowed unauthorized access to voting systems was convicted and sentenced to nine years The Colorado governor, Jared Polis, commuted the nearly nine-year prison sentence of a former Colorado clerk who allowed unauthorized people to access her county’s voting systems in a case that had been an intense focus of Donald Trump and other allies who sought to overturn the 2020 election.Peters, who is currently incarcerated, will be released on parole on 1 June after Polis reduced her sentence from eight and a half years in prison to about four and a half. “This is an extremely unusual and lengthy sentence for a first time offender who committed non-violent crimes,” Polis wrote in a clemency letter to Peters. Continue reading...

Police investigate incident on Thursday after witness claims seeing Raise the Colours logo on side of vehiclePolice are investigating an incident where a man was run over by a van after a group of people were taking down union flags put up by Raise the Colours campaigners in Birmingham.A man, in his 30s, suffered a broken leg that required surgery. He remains in hospital after the incident on Thursday evening in the Birmingham suburb of Stirchley, police said. Continue reading...

Officials of Social Circle, population 5,000, file lawsuit over plan to turn warehouse into 10,000-capacity facilityOfficials in the small Georgia town of Social Circle have filed a lawsuit against federal immigration agencies over plans for a huge immigration detention facility, arguing the project threatens to overburden local services and damage the environment.The complaint, filed on Wednesday in US district court for the middle district of Georgia, accuses US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of moving ahead with the project without completing mandatory environmental assessments. Continue reading...