French president says suspension will give ‘full strength to dialogue on the ground’ as well as opportunity to ‘return to order’
Controversial voting reforms in New Caledonia will be suspended, Emmanuel Macron has announced, after a period of deadly unrest in the French Pacific territory.
The reforms, which would have altered voting rights, are contested by the Indigenous Kanak people who say they would be marginalised further should the changes go through.
Continue reading...Liberal MP Alister Henskens used parliamentary privilege to accuse unnamed bureaucrat of using inside knowledge to purchase property for potential profit
The New South Wales government will refer claims of serious misconduct by a senior planning bureaucrat to the corruption watchdog Icac after concerns were raised by a former Coalition minister speaking under parliamentary privilege.
The Liberal MP for Wahroonga, Alister Henskens, on Thursday evening told parliament he had received “credible evidence” to suggest the planning department official had used insider information for personal gain through the government’s housing plan.
Continue reading...Dr Julio Frenk to succeed Gene Block amid scrutiny of university’s handling of pro-Palestinian protests
The president of the University of Miami was chosen Wednesday to become the next chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles, where the retiring incumbent has faced widespread scrutiny over his handling of pro-Palestinian campus protests.
Dr Julio Frenk, a Mexico City-born global public health researcher, was selected by regents of the University of California system at a meeting on the UCLA campus, where there was a swarm of security officers.
Continue reading...Labour puts economic policy and wealth creation at heart of pitch to win over former Conservative voters
Keir Starmer will put economic growth and wealth creation at the heart of Labour’s offer to voters as he launches a business-friendly manifesto targeted at former Conservative voters.
The Labour leader will launch his election manifesto in Greater Manchester on Thursday, promising to emphasise economic stability in a deliberate contrast to the Conservatives’ more policy-heavy offering earlier this week.
Continue reading...Studies sound alarm at state of cancer care with hundreds of thousands waiting months to start essential treatment
Hundreds of thousands of people are being forced to wait months to start essential cancer treatment, with deadly delays now “routine” and even children struck by the disease denied vital support, according to a series of damning reports.
Health chiefs, charities and doctors have sounded the alarm over the state of cancer care in the UK as three separate studies painted a shocking picture of long waits and NHS staff being severely hampered by a worsening workforce crisis and a chronic lack of equipment.
Continue reading...Lawyers say strategy of denying food and services to people in Ukrainian city during siege could amount to war crime
Russia engaged in a “deliberate pattern” of starvation tactics during the 85-day siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in early 2022, which amounted to a war crime, according to a fresh analysis submitted to the international criminal court.
The conclusion is at the heart of a dossier in the process of being submitted to the ICC in The Hague by the lawyers Global Rights Compliance, working in conjunction with the Ukrainian government. It argues that Russia and its leaders intended to kill and harm large numbers of civilians.
Continue reading...Advocates say president’s order restricting asylum claims differs little from Trump move blocked by courts
A coalition of immigrant advocacy groups sued the Biden administration on Wednesday over President Joe Biden’s recent directive that in effect halts asylum claims at the southern border, saying it differs little from a similar move during the Trump administration that was blocked by the courts.
The lawsuit – filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and others on behalf of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center and Raices – is the first test of the legality of Biden’s sweeping crackdown on the border, which came after months of internal White House deliberations and is designed in part to deflect political attacks against the president on his handling of immigration.
Continue reading...Police look into red paint splattered with possible symbol of Palestinian resistance and banner calling director a Zionist
Police are investigating reports of vandalism after the homes of Jewish leaders and board members, including the director, of the Brooklyn Museum were splattered with red paint early Wednesday.
In images circulating on social media, red paint is visibly splashed across the homes of director Anne Pasternak and several others affiliated with the Brooklyn Museum. Police said five homes – three in Manhattan and two in Brooklyn – were vandalized in the attack.
Continue reading...Orville Allen, second world war and Korean war veteran, died on 29 May and his liver was successfully transplanted
Orville Allen lived a lifetime of service, and when he died at age 98 he had one last thing to give: his liver.
Allen, a veteran of both second world war and the Korean war and a longtime educator in rural south-eastern Missouri, is the oldest American to ever donate an organ, transplant organizations said. He died on 29 May and his liver was successfully transplanted to a 72-year-old woman, according to Mid-America Transplant.
Continue reading...Resolution concerned attorney general’s refusal to turn over audio of Biden interview in his classified-documents case
The House voted on Wednesday to hold the attorney general, Merrick Garland, in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview in his classified-documents case, Republicans’ latest and strongest rebuke of the justice department as partisan conflict over the rule of law animates the 2024 presidential campaign.
The 216-207 vote fell along party lines, with Republicans coalescing behind the contempt effort despite reservations among some of the party’s more centrist members.
Continue reading...