Warlpiri girl went missing on Saturday 25 April from a town camp and was found dead five days laterWarning: This article contains images of and references to Indigenous Australians who have diedNorthern Territory police have charged Jefferson Lewis with murder and two counts of sexual assault over the death of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby.The Warlpiri girl went missing on Saturday, 25 April, from her bed in a town camp near Alice Springs.Indigenous Australians can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for information and crisis support; or call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Mensline on 1300 789 978 Continue reading...
Five-year-oldās grandfather and senior Warlpiri elder appeals for calm, saying: āIt is time now for sorry businessā⢠Warning: This article contains references to and images of Indigenous Australians who have diedNorthern Territory police say one person is facing charges and more are expected over unrest in Alice Springs after the arrest of a man in connection with the death of five-year-old girl.The grandfather of Kumanjayi Little Baby, whose body was found on Thursday 5km from the Old Timers town camp where she was last seen alive on Saturday night, called for calm in the central Australian town on Friday, saying the violent confrontation between police and others at Alice Springs hospital was not āour wayā. Continue reading...
Dozens of people gathered outside the hospital where the 47-year-old was being treated five days after the five-year-old girl disappearedā¢Warning: This article contains references to and images of Indigenous Australians who have diedGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn angry crowd has clashed with police outside a hospital in Alice Springs where a 47-year-old man arrested by police in connection with the death of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby was being treated.The arrest of Jefferson Lewis was confirmed in a brief statement by Northern Territory police just before 10pm local time on Thursday night. Continue reading...
Article 42.7 had languished in obscurity for decades ā until Donald Trump began casting doubt on US commitment to Nato⢠Donāt get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereMost people have heard of Natoās article 5. The āone for all, all for oneā clause states an armed attack on one member country should be considered an attack on all, requiring member states to come to the victimās aid ā including with āthe use of armed forceā.Not so many, till this week, had heard of the EUās own mutual defence clause, article 42.7 (pdf), which says that if a member state comes under armed attack, the others āshall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their powerā. Thatās perhaps because there hadnāt, until recently, been much need for Europeans to consult article 42.7. More than 40 US military bases and 85,000 troops across the EU (and UK) were testament to Washingtonās defence commitment to the old continent. Continue reading...
Where Olly Robbins relied on recollections, Cabinet Officeās top civil servant was at pains to link her account to paper trail Seen through the Westminster bubble, the Peter Mandelson vetting affair looks like an age-old conflict pitting ministers against mandarins. Yet the latest top civil servant to testify to parliament over what some are now calling āMandygateā gave an intriguing account that suggested it has never been as simple as that.Cat Little, the top civil servant at the Cabinet Office, did not put it in these terms, but what she revealed was an extraordinary dispute between the countryās most senior civil servants. Continue reading...
Top civil servant reveals more details of vetting process and lack of paper trail for approval of Mandelsonās appointment UK politics live ā latest updatesIn more than 90 minutes of evidence to the foreign affairs select committee about the Peter Mandelson scandal, Cat Little, the head civil servant in the Cabinet Office, was low key and often cautious.But she did reveal several pieces of new information ā or at times information different to that given to the same committee by Olly Robbins, the former permanent secretary at the Foreign Office. Continue reading...
In evidence to MPs, Cabinet Officeās top civil servant disputes claim her department suggested vetting might not be neededUK politics live ā latest updatesOlly Robbins refused to hand Peter Mandelsonās vetting summary to the Cabinet Office, the civil servant who leads the department has said.The summary ā which would have revealed that Robbins, the now-sacked Foreign Office head, had granted Mandelson clearance against the advice of security officials ā was instead provided to Cat Little by UK Security Vetting, she said. Continue reading...
Republicans had hoped that Trumpās 2025 tax cuts would be at the forefront of votersā minds, but many have reportedly not noticed a differenceSign up for the Breaking News US emailHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.It is Tax Day and Republicans are ramping up their efforts to highlight last yearās sweeping tax cuts and turn them into political capital.Eric Swalwell officially resigned from Congress amid the threat of an expulsion vote and other misconduct allegations he has denied. A special election to fill his vacant seat will be held 18 August. At a Los Angeles press conference this morning, Lonna Drewes accused Swalwell of drugging and raping her in 2018, telling reporters she ādid not consent to any sexual activity.āThe House still needs to pass a bill to fund several Department of Homeland Security (DHS) subagencies, like the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Coast Guard, amid a record-breaking partial government shutdown. The Senate advanced measure that remedies this funding lapse, but doesnāt include money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and border patrol, has stalled in the lower chamber.Meanwhile, House Democrats on Tuesday proposed creating a commission that would work with JD Vance to remove Donald Trump from office under the 25th amendment, should they determine he is no longer fit to serve. The measure, introduced by Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House judiciary committee, follows a series of statements from Trump, including his recent warning that Iranās āwhole civilization will dieā if it did not capitulate to his demands, and a social media post that depicted him as Jesus Christ.Donald Trump has said that talks with Iran could resume in Pakistan over next two days, according to an interview with the New York Post. āYou should stay there, really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and weāre more inclined to go there,ā Trump was quoted as saying.The US state department said Tuesday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed-upon time and place. The state department āexpressed hopeā that the meeting between Israel and Lebanon would ālead to peace agreementā.The Senate will hold its confirmation hearing for Kevin Warsh, the presidentās pick to fill the vacant seat of Federal Reserve chair, next week, on 21 April. Both Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee are expected to probe Warsh about his wealth and ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as well as his views on the Fedās independence.The justice department has asked a federal appeals court to throw out the seditious conspiracy convictions of several leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, who were involved in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. In a court filing today, the department asked the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to vacate the convictions ā a step further than moves Donald Trump made to commute the leadersā prison sentences last January when he granted clemency to all defendants charged in the attack. Continue reading...
Chancellor faced with fundās forecast that impact of Iran war will leave Britain as G7ās biggest loserIran war escalation could trigger global recession, IMF warnsThe Iran war is bad news for the global economy. But for some countries, the unfolding conflict is having a bigger impact than for others. The International Monetary Fundās verdict is that Britain is the G7ās biggest loser.Amid the rising damage from the Middle East war, the Washington-based fund warned UK economic growth rate would be 0.5 percentage points lower this year than it had predicted back in January ā the biggest downgrade among the club of wealthy nations. Continue reading...
Chief inspector for England and Wales says prison remains in āprecarious stateā more than year after urgent notificationThe Prison Service has made āvery little progressā in enforcing a formal demand to stop drones from delivering drugs into one of its worst performing jails, a watchdog has concluded.Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons for England and Wales, said HMP Manchester remained in a āprecarious stateā after a failure to fix broken windows and install security to stop contraband being delivered to gangs. Continue reading...