North Korean defector to sue Kim Jong-un alleging torture and sexual violence in regime’s detention facilities

Choi Min-kyung is seeking damages from the state represented by its leader and has also submitted a criminal complaint alleging crimes against humanity

A North Korean defector has filed a lawsuit against Kim Jong-un in a South Korean court, alleging torture and sexual violence in the regime’s detention facilities.

Choi Min-kyung, 53, is seeking 50m won (US$37,000) in damages from the North Korean state represented by its leader, Kim Jong-un, and six other officials. She also submitted a criminal complaint asking prosecutors to investigate crimes against humanity charges against Kim and five other officials.

Continue reading...

Eight countries back Australia’s push to add WA rock art to World Heritage list hours before crunch meeting

Committee due to make decision on inscription of the Murujuga Cultural Landscape overnight

The Australian government has secured the backing of at least eight members of the 21-country World Heritage committee as it lobbies to quell concerns about the impacts of industrial emissions on Indigenous rock art at Murujuga and have the Western Australia site inscribed on the World Heritage list.

The federal environment minister, Murray Watt, has been in Paris for the meeting since Wednesday, alongside a delegation from the WA state government and the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, which has led the nomination.

Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter

Continue reading...

Denver museum known for dinosaur displays finds fossil under its parking lot

A hole drilled 750ft deep to study museum’s geothermal potential yielded an unexpected surprise

A Denver museum known for its dinosaur displays has made a fossil bone discovery closer to home than anyone ever expected: under its own parking lot.

It came from a hole drilled more than 750 ft (230 meters) deep to study geothermal heating potential for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Continue reading...

UN Gaza investigator Francesca Albanese says US sanctions against her a sign of ‘guilt’

United Nations’ special rapporteur for Palestinian territories stresses all eyes must remain on Gaza as she urges ‘let’s stand tall, together’

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, has responded to news that she will be sanctioned by the Trump administration with a post on X saying “the powerful punishing those who speak for the powerless, it is not a sign of strength, but of guilt”.

On Wednesday, as part of its effort to punish critics of Israel’s 21-month war in Gaza, the state department sanctioned Albanese, an independent official tasked with investigating human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories.

Continue reading...

Slovakia festival hosting Kanye West cancelled after thousands sign petition condemning Heil Hitler rapper

Rubicon hip-hop gathering in Bratislava, due to be held on 20 July, says several performers and partners withdrew

The Slovakia festival due to welcome Kanye West next week has been called off after the uproar over the US rapper’s May release of a song glorifying the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Before the 20 July gig was cancelled, Bratislava’s Rubicon hip-hop festival was set to be West’s only confirmed live performance in Europe this year.

Continue reading...

Palestinian woman, 61, who fled Gaza detained by authorities after pre-dawn raid in Sydney

Maha Almassri told she had failed a visa character check and taken to Bankstown police station, then Villawood detention centre, cousin says

A Palestinian woman who arrived in Australia from Gaza has been detained by immigration authorities after a pre-dawn raid in Sydney.

Maha Almassri, 61, was woken by about 15 Australian Border Force officers at her son’s home in western Sydney at about 5.30am on Thursday, her cousin Mohammed Almassri told Guardian Australia.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

With partner finances, Ukraine ‘will shoot down everything’ amid escalating Russian drone attacks, Zelensky says – The Kyiv Independent

  1. With partner finances, Ukraine 'will shoot down everything' amid escalating Russian drone attacks, Zelensky says  The Kyiv Independent
  2. Concern that Ukraine will be split up casts shadow over reconstruction talks  The Guardian
  3. Zelenskiy discusses war supplies, Russia sanctions with US lawmakers  Reuters
  4. Ukraine: Russia attacks again as Zelenskyy meets US senators  DW
  5. Meloni Should Lead the Way on Ukraine’s Economic Recovery  Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA)
Posted in Uncategorized

At Least 13 People Died by Suicide Amid U.K. Post Office Scandal, Report Says – The New York Times

  1. At Least 13 People Died by Suicide Amid U.K. Post Office Scandal, Report Says  The New York Times
  2. At least 13 may have killed themselves over UK’s Post Office wrongful convictions scandal  AP News
  3. Self-serving Post Office bosses deserve nothing short of prison | Letters  The Guardian
  4. 'We suffered bullying, anorexia and being branded as thieves'  BBC
  5. At least 13 postmasters may have taken their own lives, public inquiry into Post Office scandal finds  Sky News
Posted in Uncategorized

Government inheriting poor value assets due to bad handling of PFI contracts, watchdog says

Public accounts committee warns UK infrastructure risked becoming ‘stony ground’ for investors without major overhaul

Bad management of private finance contracts is leading to poor quality assets being handed back to the government, including schools and hospitals, according to parliament’s spending watchdog.

Its report into the use of private finance initiatives (PFI) for infrastructure comes at a time when the government has identified private investment in projects such as power plants and transport outside London as a key part of its growth agenda.

Continue reading...

Young crewmember murdered aboard luxury superyacht in paradise destination – Fox News

  1. Young crewmember murdered aboard luxury superyacht in paradise destination  Fox News
  2. Grieving family of murdered South African superyacht 'golden girl' travel to Bahamas to face alleged killer  New York Post
  3. Crew member found dead on 43m superyacht in the Bahamas  BOAT International
  4. She Lived the Dream Life Aboard a Yacht — Until a Grisly Discovery in the Engine Room  People.com
  5. Global call for stricter background checks for yacht crews after SA woman’s murder  News24
Posted in Uncategorized

Minority ethnic and deprived children more likely to die after UK intensive care admission

Study shows such young people have higher risk of arriving at paediatric ICU severely ill and have worse outcomes

Minority ethnic children and children from deprived backgrounds across the UK are more likely to die following admission to intensive care than their white and more affluent counterparts, a study has found.

These children consistently had worse outcomes following their stay in a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU), the research by academics at Imperial College London discovered.

Continue reading...