L'enquête a révélé que Botstein — qui affirmait ne pas être l'ami d'Epstein — a effectué 25 visites dans sa maison de ville. Leon Botstein a annoncé qu'il quittait la direction de Bard College, après qu'un examen indépendant de ses contacts avec Jeffrey Epstein a conclu que les interactions fréquentes du président de l'université avec le délinquant sexuel condamné « auraient pu l'alerter » sur la possibilité que lui et Bard facilitent les abus commis par Epstein envers des femmes. Une enquête du cabinet d'avocats WilmerHale, mandatée par le conseil d'administration de Bard plus tôt cette année pour examiner les interactions de Botstein avec Epstein, a révélé que le président de Bard — qui avait précédemment affirmé ne pas être l'ami d'Epstein — a effectué environ 25 visites dans la maison de ville d'Epstein, un séjour de deux jours sur Little St James Island, et qu'Epstein s'est rendu à deux reprises à Bard. Ces visites, selon WilmerHale, incluaient « plusieurs femmes » qui ont depuis été identifiées comme des victimes d'Epstein. Lire la suite...
La commissaire aux droits de l'homme affirme que l'emprisonnement présumé met en évidence les « risques croissants de répression transnationale » en AustralieRecevez nos alertes d'information par e-mail, notre application gratuite ou notre podcast d'actualités quotidienLa commissaire australienne aux droits de l'homme a déclaré que le cas de l'étudiant chinois qui aurait été emprisonné durant six ans par les autorités chinoises pour avoir rejoint des manifestations à Sydney souligne les « risques très réels et croissants de répression transnationale affectant les personnes en Australie – y compris les étudiants internationaux ». La commissaire Lorraine Finlay a déclaré au Guardian Australia que, bien qu'elle ne puisse pas se prononcer sur les circonstances de cas individuels, « personne ne devrait craindre de sanctions à l'étranger pour avoir exercé ses droits légaux à la liberté d'expression et à la manifestation pacifique ici ». Lire la suite...
• Le vote a tourné en faveur du Premier ministre, mais celui-ci fait face à la colère de ses propres députés qui l'accusent de créer l'impression d'un « camouflage ».
• Keir Starmer a repoussé une tentative de l'opposition de le traduire devant un comité des normes suite à la nomination de Peter Mandelson, après que Downing Street a déployé tout son poids pour forcer les députés travaillistes à soutenir le Premier ministre.
• Cependant, le leader du Labour a essuyé les critiques de certains de ses propres députés de base, qui l'ont accusé d'avoir instauré une situation où ils seraient perçus comme complices d'une « tentative de dissimulation ».
Australia is dependent upon UK’s ability to deliver new submarines, but report finds ‘cracks are already beginning to show’ “Cracks are already beginning to show” in the UK’s funding for the Aukus agreement that could derail the ambitious nuclear submarine plan, a British parliamentary inquiry has found, highlighting a threat to Australia’s security.UK shipbuilding has been under-funded for decades and the country’s submarine availability is “critically low”, the House of Commons defence committee’s report found. Continue reading...
Commons speaker to grant application by Tories for vote on investigation into whether PM misled MPs, say sourcesUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer will face a vote on whether to launch an investigation into claims he misled the Commons over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.Sources have told the Guardian that the speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, is expected to allow a debate on Tuesday on potentially referring the prime minister to the privileges committee. Continue reading...
Alan Johnson and David Blunkett say Tory proposal for a privileges committee inquiry is a ‘nakedly political stunt’Good morning. Kemi Badenoch is trying to get Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker, to give MPs a vote on a proposal to get the Commons privileges committee to investigate allegations that Keir Starmer lied to MPs in statements he made to them about the vetting of Peter Mandelson. Other opposition parties may be backing her, but we don’t know for sure because the process is relatively secret; MPs have to write a private letter to the speaker, who then decides whether this is a serious request that should be decided by the Commons as a whole, or a frivolous complaint that should be ignored. (We do know that Karl Turner has written to the speaker about this too, but only because he was daft enough to post his letter on social media last week.) Today we are likely to find out whether or not Hoyle is agreeing to a Commons vote.Boris Johnson was referred to the privileges committee over allegations that he lied to MPs about Partygate (allegations the committee concluded were justified). Badenoch wants to make the case that Starmer is just as dishonest as Johnson. He isn’t, by any stretch, and the claims that Starmer lied to MPs about Mandelson are spurious; they relate to contest intepretations of political language of the kind that are commonplace in parliamentary debate. But the fact that this has even become a live consideration for the speaker is a big win for the Tories.The fact that Kemi Badenoch has changed the accusations she is levelling against the PM on an almost daily basis as her claims have failed to stand up to scrutiny shows what this is really about. This is a nakedly political stunt with no substance ahead of the May elections.Any comparison with Boris Johnson is absurd. When parliament referred that matter to the privileges committee, a police investigation had directly disproved his categoric statements that he knew nothing about the breach of lockdown rules.I suppose our constituents might ask [if a privileges committee goes ahead], have we got the balance right between holding the government to account and seemingly squabbling amongst ourselves when there is so much else going on that perhaps parliament ought to be focusing on as well.I have to say, a really truthful position is, why the rush at the moment? Has it got anything to do with local elections? Continue reading...
Force says it is ‘confident there was no offence’ and condemns ‘shameful’ behaviour by protestersThe investigation into reports of a rape outside a church in Epsom that led to widespread public disorder will close as police are “confident there was no offence”.Surrey police received a report on Saturday 11 April that a woman had been raped near a church in the early hours of the morning after leaving Labyrinth nightclub in Epsom. Continue reading...
Federal Communications Commission will look into the TV ratings system and whether shows with transgender or non-binary characters demand a warning for parentsThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is launching a new inquiry into the TV ratings system, including whether content related to gender identity is not adequately flagged for parents, in the latest warning shot to broadcasters from the agency headed by the Trump loyalist Brendan Carr.The new proceeding, announced on Wednesday, asks for public comment on the transparency of the TV Oversight Management Board, which oversees the rating system and guidelines. That system was developed after Congress passed a law in 1996, leading to the creation of numerous ratings such as TV-Y, for programs deemed appropriate for all children, and TV-MA, for mature audiences. Continue reading...
Shell Australia says campaign needed to ‘counter-balance’ claims by levy advocates – but Ed Husic urges industry ‘do not spend millions defending the indefensible’The gas giants are mounting a multi-million dollar advertising campaign to fight against a new export tax, prompting Labor MP Ed Husic to accuse the industry of “defending the indefensible”.Shell Australia is among half-a-dozen oil and gas companies contributing around $1m to an Australian Energy Producers (AEP) campaign that attempts to justify the amount of tax the industry pays, a parliamentary inquiry heard on Wednesday. Continue reading...
Disgraced financier’s links to politicians and civil servants as far back as 30 years ago to be examined The Epstein files have shaken Norway’s faith in democracy, the head of the Norwegian parliament’s oversight committee has said, as a sprawling investigation into the connections between its foreign office and the late sex offender gets under way.An independent commission to look into information brought to light by the Jeffrey Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice was launched on Wednesday after the Norwegian parliament voted unanimously last month for it to be set up. Continue reading...
