David Crisafulli promised to set serious KPIs for his ministers. Are they worth the paper they’re printed on?
Queensland’s new premier vowed to sack cabinet members who didn’t meet public targets. A month in, accountability questions are being raised
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David Crisafulli staked his government’s success – and his own future – on meeting targets.
During last month’s election he vowed to resign if crime figures didn’t decline and to sack ministers who couldn’t deliver on key performance indicators (KPIs) set for each portfolio.
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Continue reading...Trump names Pam Bondi as attorney general pick after Gaetz steps aside
Ex-Florida attorney general is longtime Trump ally and was one of his lawyers during first impeachment trial
Donald Trump announced that he would nominate for attorney general Pam Bondi, the former Florida state attorney general, hours after the former representative Matt Gaetz withdrew in the face of opposition from Senate Republicans who had balked over a series of sexual misconduct allegations.
The move to name Bondi reflected Trump’s determination to install a loyalist as the nation’s top law enforcement official and marked another instance of Trump putting his personal lawyers in the justice department.
Continue reading...California man arrested after climbing into hospital ceiling and getting stuck
Police say man, believed to be under influence of drugs, walked into ER restroom in Upland and did not come out
A patient believed to be under the influence of drugs caused chaos at a California hospital when he climbed into the ceiling of an emergency room, got stuck and had to be freed by firefighters.
The Latin Times reported that the unnamed man was a walk-in patient who entered San Antonio regional hospital in Upland and was last seen on surveillance footage entering a restroom.
Continue reading...How Adani’s US fraud charges impact India’s economy and politics
The charges could jeopardise the ambitions of one of the world’s richest men, both at home and abroad.
Alabama executes third man this year with controversial nitrogen gas
Carey Dale Grayson was killed on Thursday for 1994 murder by technique that previously caused visible signs of distress
Alabama carried out its third execution this year using the controversial new method of nitrogen gas, a technique that in previous state killings caused visible signs of distress.
Carey Dale Grayson was put to death on Thursday evening for the 1994 murder of a hitchhiker. The prisoner had a mask strapped to his face through which nitrogen was pumped, causing fatal oxygen deprivation.
Continue reading...Town council in Canada at standstill over refusal to take King’s oath
The council has refused to take the oath due to the Crown’s history with Canada’s indigenous people.
Woman gets first double lung transplant done by robot
The surgical feat was performed on a New York medic who says she got her 'life back' because of the procedure.
UN chief calls for de-escalation after Russian strike on Ukraine – as it happened
UN secretary general António Guterres’s spokesperson says Russia’s use of a new ballistic missile is ‘yet another … worrying development’. This blog is now closed
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has issued a statement on X after Vladimir Putin said Russian forces had hit the Ukrainian city of Dnipro with a new experimental mid-range ballistic missile.
The Russian leader has “admitted” to taking a step “toward escalating and expanding this war” by using a new ballistic missile on Ukraine, Zelenskyy wrote.
Putin struck our city of Dnipro, one of Ukraine’s largest cities. This is a clear and severe escalation in the scale and brutality of this war — a cynical violation of the UN Charter by Russia.
Putin alone started this war—an entirely unprovoked war — and he is doing everything to prolong it, now for over a thousand days.
Continue reading...Tests for year 1 pupils in England should be dropped, headteachers urge
NAHT says early checks on phonics, arithmetic and English in primary schools are potential waste of time and funding
Primary school pupils in England should not face compulsory tests on phonics, times tables or grammar and punctuation, an influential headteachers’ union has advised the government.
The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) told the government’s national curriculum and assessment review that there was an “urgent need” to reconsider the phonics check of reading ability, along with the multiplication check and tests of spelling, grammar and punctuation, as a potential waste of school time and funding.
Continue reading...Yvette Cooper to set out crackdown on antisocial behaviour including jail terms
Persistent offenders will face up to two years in prison under Respect orders, as police get powers to seize vehicles
People who persistently demonstrate antisocial behaviour will face up to two years in jail under Labour’s Respect orders, the home secretary will say on Friday.
Yvette Cooper will also announce that police will be given new powers to immediately seize off-road bikes, e-scooters on pavements and street-racing cars as part of the clampdown.
Continue reading...U.N. Watchdog Censures Iran Over Nuclear Program Secrecy – The New York Times
- U.N. Watchdog Censures Iran Over Nuclear Program Secrecy The New York Times
- Iran says it is activating new centrifuges after being condemned by UN nuclear watchdog CNN
- IAEA Board passes Iran resolution as West pushes Tehran towards talks Reuters
- Iran defies international pressure, increasing its stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium, UN says The Associated Press
- For second time in months, UN atomic watchdog censures Iran for failing to cooperate The Times of Israel
What are the ICC countries where Netanyahu and Gallant may face arrest?
More than 120 countries that are part of the International Criminal Court are obliged to enforce the arrest warrants.
US kayaker who faked own death thought to have fled to Europe
US police appeal for a missing man to come back home for Christmas with his family.
Brazil’s Bolsonaro and allies indicted in 2022 coup plot probe – CNN
- Brazil’s Bolsonaro and allies indicted in 2022 coup plot probe CNN
- Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro charged with plotting coup d’état The Guardian
- Lula Was Target of Assassination Plot, Brazilian Police Say The New York Times
- Brazil police accuse Bolsonaro and ex-ministers of 2022 coup plot Reuters Canada
- Brazilian Police Accuse Former President Bolsonaro of Plotting Coup The Wall Street Journal
Russia gives N Korea million barrels of oil, breaking sanctions: report
Satellite image analysis shows several North Korean tankers visiting Russia dozens of times since March.
All to know about Man Utd’s manager Ruben Amorim before first EPL match
Al Jazeera takes a closer look at Portuguese coach as he takes charge of his first Manchester United match on Sunday.
Brazil police formally accuse Bolsonaro of alleged coup plot
Former President Bolsonaro says he will mount a legal "fight" against the accusations.
Can Colombia’s talks with the Comuneros del Sur help achieve ‘total peace’?
Government talks with armed groups have stalled. Experts say a smaller-scale ‘territorial’ approach might be the answer.
Those who try to emulate Teflon Trump often come unstuck – just ask Gaetz
The fall of the Florida congressman who was accused of sexual misconduct proves there is one rule for Trump and another for everyone else
When he ran for US president in 2016, Donald Trump boasted that he would “surround myself only with the best and most serious people”, adding: “We want top-of-the-line professionals.”
Second time around, Trump appears to have quality control issues. On Thursday Matt Gaetz, his pick to be attorney general, withdrew from consideration amid allegations including sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl, drug use and misappropriating campaign funds.
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