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- Ukraine crisis: deadline to withdraw from eastern cities passes - live
- Oscar Pistorius trial live blog - 14 April
- Longest-serving independent senator Brian Harradine dies aged 79
- More competition on the table in education, health and disability care
- MH370: Underwater drone to aid search for missing plane
- Russia calls on UN security council as Ukraine issues deadline to rebels
- Bill to ban investor-state dispute settlements garners support
- MH370 search to shift focus to underwater scan
- ABC apologises for Chris Kenny 'dog sex' skit on the Hamster Decides
- Woolworths breached fuel discount deal with ACCC, court finds
- Cyclone Ita leaves residents north of Townsville stranded by floodwaters
- Syrian president Bashar al-Assad says civil war is turning in regime's favour
- Icac: Barry OFarrell called to give evidence at AWH inquiry
- US woman accused of killing seven babies after bodies found in house
- Tony Abbott: 'Where are the ladies'? - video
- Russia spends more of its wealth on arms than US in 2013
- Three killed after shootings in suburban Kansas
- Coalition slips four points behind Labor while Greens surge in latest poll
- The criminalisation of anti-fascist protest | @guardianletters
- Ohio man sentenced to display 'I am a bully' sign for harassing neighbour
- Moscow accuses Kiev of issuing 'criminal orders' and warns of civil war
- Bus crash kills at least 36 in Mexico after collision with truck sparks fire
- Ukraine warns of 'large-scale operation' against pro-Russian forces after clashes
- Democrat leader says Republican base has 'elements animated by racism'
- UN ambassador: Ukraine unrest has 'tell-tale signs of Moscow's involvement'
| Ukraine crisis: deadline to withdraw from eastern cities passes - live Posted: 14 Apr 2014 01:31 AM PDT Ukrainian acting president Oleksander Turchinov has given pro-Russian separatists in the eastern city of Slaviansk a deadline of 0600 GMT to lay down their weapons, with a threat of a dawn attack if the deadline is not met
There has been no immediate comment from the Ukraine government on the deadline passing, but Serhiy Taruta, governor of the Donetsk region where government buildings have been seized by pro-Russian gunmen, has said an anti-terrorist operation is under way, according to the Interfax news agency. This from the Press Association: Taruta did not give any details of what the anti-terrorist operation would entail. The governor usually does not have authority to launch anti-terrorist measures on his own and he was likely acting on the orders of top security officials in Kiev. Taruta said the anti-terrorism measures were aimed at "protecting the peace and order on our land, which today is being taken away from us by armed, aggressive fanatics cynically and cold-bloodedly". He added: "They are terrorists and we will not let them rule on our land." He did not provide any details of the operation.
.@StateDept with another rebuttal of #Russian authorities claims. April 17 meet seems meaningless with current gaps. http://t.co/AuBRoZH9gS The US-based, Russia-born analyst Natasha Mozgovaya draws our attention to the US state department's rebuttal of Russian authorities' claims: No amount of propaganda can make right something that the world knows is wrong. President Obama, March 26 1. Russia claims: Russian agents are not active in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government has arrested more than a dozen suspected Russian intelligence agents in recent weeks, many of whom were armed at the time of arrest.
The Prime Minister has urged the EU to give a "firm and united" response to the Ukraine crisis. This from David Hughes and Dominic Harris of the Press Association: The UK will call for a "firm and united" response from European Union countries in response to the Ukraine crisis. Pro-Russian forces showed little sign of complying with a deadline set by the administration in Kiev to withdraw from occupied government buildings in eastern Ukraine. Satellite images show between 35,000 and 40,000 Russian troops in the vicinity of the border with Ukraine, along with combat aircraft, tanks and artillery, in addition to the 25,000 Russian troops already illegally in Crimea, he said. While the Kremlin denied it was behind the attacks in eastern Ukraine, Sir Mark said the events "point clearly to Russia once again interfering directly in the internal affairs of Ukraine using manufactured pretexts and military force", calling recent events in eastern cities "a well-orchestrated campaign designed to destabilise the country".
In an updated report, Reuters say that the Russian flag is still flying over the police headquarters in Slaviansk. The report says that masked men are guarding the building and more equipment has been delivered to enforce the barricade. Overnight the US department of state issued a briefing that describes the 12 April building seizures across eastern Ukraine as a "coordinated and professional operation" by pro-Russian militias that were likely "planned in advance". In an indication that the April 12 operations were planned in advance, the takeovers have occurred simultaneously in multiple locations in eastern Ukraine: Donetsk, Slavyansk, Krasnyi Liman, Kramatorsk, Chervonoarmiysk, and Druzhkovka. There are reports that additional attempts to seize buildings in other eastern Ukrainian towns failed. Inconsistent with political, grassroots protests, these seizures bear the same defining features and tactics across diverse locations, including takeover of government administration buildings and security headquarters, seizure of weapons in the targeted buildings, forced removal of local officials, rapid establishment of roadblocks and barricades, attacks against communications towers, and deployment of well-organized forces. In Slavyansk, armed units have now also moved beyond the seized buildings to establish roadblocks and checkpoints in the nearby area.
The deadline has now passed and Reuters report that there are no signs of separatist rebels in Slaviansk complying with the order to lay down arms. Continue reading...       |
| Oscar Pistorius trial live blog - 14 April Posted: 14 Apr 2014 01:29 AM PDT Cross-examination of Pistorius resumes Athlete not allowed to confer with defence over weekend Nel: 'You knew Reeva was behind the door and you shot at her'
Pistorius says he can see blood spatter on the carpet, when asked by Nel, who says it came from Pistorius carrying Steenkamp's body. "As you argue, I get more questions," says Nel as they go back and forth on the position of the duvet. Pistorius says it was on the bed. This is about whether police moved items about in the bedroom. Now Pistorius is asked how he spoke to Steenkamp when he heard a noise. He says "in a low tone". Nel goes to previous evidence where Pistorius said he had whispered to Steenkamp. Nel asserts that Pistorius wants to avoid "whisper" because that means that Steenkamp may not have heard.
Pistorius sounds very weary, which is hardly surprising as this is his fourth day of cross examination. Pause, as Nel seeks to retrieve some evidence. Chance for Pistorius to get a breather. Nel apologises for the delay. He buys tie asking about whether TV had a red light. Pistorius says it didn't bother him. Now it's back to the duvet as Nel asks "let's see if we can see blood spatters there".
Nel to #Pistorius: You have to create time for Reeva to go to bathroom. "That's why you invented what you're doing now."
Picture of Pistorius' stereo flashes up on monitor screens. Pistorius says there are lots of other lights on the amp. If the lights were bright, why not not switch off the amp. Pistorius says he doesn't remember why he didn't switch it off. He insists he wanted to cover the blue light with the jeans.
We return to the blue LED light on the amplifier, which Pistorius was only source of light in otherwise pitch black room. Pistorius says he used Steenkamp's jeans to cover the light. Nel says blue light indicates the amp was on. If it had been off, there would have been a red light. This goes to Nel's contention that the couple were awake and not asleep before the shooting.
#OscarPistorius Nel says when police first got up to bedroom, Van Rensberg says curtain was open, fan in front of sliding doors
Nel returns to the state of the room, open curtain, position of the fans. Pistorius disputes state's assertion.
The New Yorker's Amy Davidson on Pistorius and guns: "Guns behave strangely in Pistoriuss hands. As he tells it, they have an eerie autonomy."
Nel refers to a witness saying she heard a woman's voice about 2am. "Arguing is not good for your case," says Nel. Pistorius says they ate after 7 and went to bed. Nel says evidence shows that Steenkamp ate later. Pistorius says unlikely she ate after the 7pm dinner, but Nel says evidence shows athlete's version is impossible. According to Pistorius dinner would have finished well before 8pm.
Pistorius restates that he slept on the left because of a sore shoulder. Nel says the jeans are out of place because she wanted to leave. Why are they out if everything else was in her bag, the prosecutor asks. Nel says the state's case is that Steenkamp wanted to leave and that they weren't sleeping, they had an argument. "That's not true," says Pistorius. Nel says evidence show Steenkmap must have eaten up to two hours before her death.
Judge Thokozile Masipa asks Pistorius to speak up as Nel asks the athlete about Steenkamp's neatness. Nel wondering why Reeva left her shoes on left side of bed if she was sleeping on the right. More space that side, says #OscarPistorius
Nel has begun fourth day of cross-examination. 'Your version is so improbable that it cannot be true.. You have a concocted version"
Enter the pit bull. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel walks in to court, looking like he's had a relaxing weekend. #OscarPistorius less so.
#OscarPistorius heads towards the witness box now. He spends several minutes apparently contemplating and readying himself before it begins
The court convened at a cliffhanger moment on Friday, when Gerry Nel, the prosecutor summed up in his case by bluntly saying: "In fact, you knew Reeva was behind the door and you shot at her. It's the only thing that makes sense." Under the rules, as Pistorius was under cross-examination when the trial adjourned, he was not allowed to discuss the case with his defence over the weekend. He has now been been under cross-examination for three days, and it has been brutal. On Friday, after several mistakes, Judge Thokozile Masipa asked the athlete whether he was making mistakes because he was tired and whether he was able to continue. Read David Smith's account of the last session here. In another article, Smith writes how the trial has turned Nel and his defence counterpart, Barry Roux into reluctant celebrities. The BBC's Andrew Harding writes how the last few days have been "close to a disaster" for Pistorius. Continue reading...      |
| Longest-serving independent senator Brian Harradine dies aged 79 Posted: 14 Apr 2014 01:18 AM PDT Tasmanian served for 30 years and held balance of power at the beginning of John Howard's government The longest-serving independent senator in Australian history, Brian Harradine, has died aged 79 after a long illness. Harradine served for 30 years as senator for Tasmania and held the balance of power at the beginning of John Howards government. Continue reading... |
| More competition on the table in education, health and disability care Posted: 14 Apr 2014 12:14 AM PDT Competition review will also consider fewer restrictions on pharmacies, taxi operators and release of development land More private-sector competition in education, health and disability care, and fewer restrictions on pharmacies, taxi operators and the release of land for development are among the sweeping issues to be considered by the Abbott governments competition review. When the terms of reference were unveiled earlier this month the scope of the review of competition laws was described as sprawling, but just how wide has become clear with the release of an issues paper to help shape public consultation and comment. Continue reading...      |
| MH370: Underwater drone to aid search for missing plane Posted: 13 Apr 2014 11:59 PM PDT First submarine mission to cover 40 square kilometres in attempt to detect black box pings, as authorities reveal oil slick found in search area Authorities will deploy an underwater drone to conduct sonar searches for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane. The joint agency co-ordination centre chief, Angus Houston, said on Monday that no pings had been detected since last Tuesday and it was now time for the next step in the search. Continue reading...      |
| Russia calls on UN security council as Ukraine issues deadline to rebels Posted: 13 Apr 2014 11:57 PM PDT
The United Nations security council held an emergency session on Sunday night to discuss the escalating crisis in Ukraine as the war of words between its western allies and Russia continued. Just hours before a deadline by Ukraine for pro-Russian separatists in eastern cities to disarm by Monday morning or face all-out attack, the security council convened at Russia's request. Moscow called Kiev's plans to mobilise the army "criminal". Continue reading...      |
| Bill to ban investor-state dispute settlements garners support Posted: 13 Apr 2014 11:44 PM PDT Pensioners and religious groups back Senator Peter Whish-Wilson's move to outlaw ISDS clauses in trade agreements Pensioner and religious groups have supported a bill to ban investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clauses in international trade and investment agreements, raising concerns including higher medicine prices and loss of Australian sovereignty. The Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association of New South Wales (CPSA) has joined the Catholic organisation the Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes NSW (CLRI), which represents 3,500 nuns, priest and brother members, to condemn the use of ISDS clauses in its submissions to a Senate committee. Continue reading...      |
| MH370 search to shift focus to underwater scan Posted: 13 Apr 2014 11:28 PM PDT In absence of black box detections, autonomous underwater vehicle Blue Fin 21 will be deployed to scan sea floor Australian authorities will deploy an underwater vehicle on Monday evening to continue the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, as it is now believed unlikely there will be any further sonar detections of the black boxes. The search for the missing plane, which is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean, claiming the lives of all 239 passengers on board, will enter a new phase now on the 38th day since the plane went missing, involving an underwater search vessel known as Blue Fin 21 that will be deployed from the Australian defence vessel Ocean Shield. Continue reading...      |
| ABC apologises for Chris Kenny 'dog sex' skit on the Hamster Decides Posted: 13 Apr 2014 09:56 PM PDT Managing director Mark Scott said mocked-up depiction of the conservative commentator was 'very strong' Mark Scott has made a belated apology to the conservative News Corp columnist and ABC critic Chris Kenny for a Chaser skit which the ABC managing director has now said should never have been broadcast. Scott apologised for a mocked-up image depicting Kenny in a sexual act with a dog which was flashed across the screen during an episode of the satirical election program the Hamster Decides, from the Chaser team in September 2013. Continue reading...      |
| Woolworths breached fuel discount deal with ACCC, court finds Posted: 13 Apr 2014 09:26 PM PDT Competition watchdog had alleged supermarket was in breach of deal by offering larger discounts than agreed Supermarket giant Woolworths breached an agreement it had with the competition watchdog over its fuel discount scheme, the federal court has found. Woolworths and its rival Coles agreed to limit their fuel discounts for shoppers to four cents per litre in a deal struck with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in December last year. Continue reading...      |
| Cyclone Ita leaves residents north of Townsville stranded by floodwaters Posted: 13 Apr 2014 09:18 PM PDT Threat recedes as tropical cyclone passes out to sea, but 5,000 residents in Ingham remain cut off after Herbert river peaks Residents in a sugar cane farming town north of Townsville remain stranded by floodwaters as Cyclone Ita loses intensity. The Queensland premier, Campbell Newman, is touring Ingham on Monday afternoon a day after the Herbert river peaked near 13 metres, leaving 5,000 people cut off as the Bruce Highway was split in half. Continue reading...      |
| Syrian president Bashar al-Assad says civil war is turning in regime's favour Posted: 13 Apr 2014 08:42 PM PDT Leader says recent routing of opposition near Lebanese border is a decisive moment in the three-year conflict President Bashar al-Assad has said that the country's three-year civil war is turning in the government's favour, state news agency SANA reported. "This is a turning point in the crisis, both militarily in terms of the army's achievements in the war against terror, and socially in terms of national reconciliation processes and growing awareness of the truth behind the (attacks) targeting the country," he said. Continue reading...      |
| Icac: Barry OFarrell called to give evidence at AWH inquiry Posted: 13 Apr 2014 07:41 PM PDT NSW premier will give evidence on Tuesday in final week of inquiry into Australian Water Holdings The NSW premier, Barry O'Farrell, has been called to give evidence before a corruption inquiry into a water company. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) has reached the final week of an investigation into Australian Water Holdings (AWH) and allegations the company corruptly billed Sydney Water for lavish salaries, limousine travel and luxury hotel stays. Continue reading...      |
| US woman accused of killing seven babies after bodies found in house Posted: 13 Apr 2014 07:37 PM PDT Mother of three arrested after police discovered bodies in cardboard boxes at house near Salt Lake City An American woman accused of killing seven babies she gave birth to over a decade has been arrested after police discovered the tiny bodies stuffed in cardboard boxes in the garage of her former home. Megan Huntsman, 39, who lived in the house in Utah until three years ago, had the infants between 1996 and 2006, investigators said on Sunday. Continue reading...      |
| Tony Abbott: 'Where are the ladies'? - video Posted: 13 Apr 2014 05:19 PM PDT Australian prime minister Tony Abbott tries and fails to muster female members of his business delegation to Asia for a photo call, 'Where are the ladies, by the way?' he asks. 'There are some ladies in this delegation.' When none appears, the PM adds, 'They've been frightened off by the media.' Continue reading...       |
| Russia spends more of its wealth on arms than US in 2013 Posted: 13 Apr 2014 04:02 PM PDT Russian defence spending rises by 4.8% to $88bn, devoting larger share of GDP on military than US for first time since 2003 Russia spent a higher proportion of its wealth on arms than the US last year for the first time in more than a decade, according to figures published on Monday by a leading international research body that highlights Moscow's resurgent military ambition as it confronts the west over Ukraine. Western countries, including Britain and the US, reduced defence budgets, but Russia increased arms spending by 4.8% in real terms last year to almost $88bn (£52m), devoting a bigger share of its GDP to the military than the US for the first time since 2003, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri). Continue reading...      |
| Three killed after shootings in suburban Kansas Posted: 13 Apr 2014 03:52 PM PDT Two die at Jewish community centre, including a 14-year-old boy, where high school singing contest was due to be held and woman killed at retirement village A 73-year-old man opened fire outside a Jewish centre and nearby retirement community in Kansas City on Sunday, killing three people including a 14-year-old boy, police said. The suspect was identified as Frazier Glenn Cross by authorities in Kansas, and by the Southern Poverty Law Center as Frazier Glenn Miller, a longtime anti-Semite who is the former grand dragon of the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Continue reading...      |
| Coalition slips four points behind Labor while Greens surge in latest poll Posted: 13 Apr 2014 03:36 PM PDT Regional backing for the Coalition suffering as agenda becomes mired in debates including changes to race discrimination laws The Greens have soared to their highest ever primary vote as disenchanted voters move away from the major parties, according to a Fairfax Nielson poll. Tony Abbott has returned from a trip to Asia, in which he reached a free-trade agreement with Japan and signed one with South Korea, to polls that have the government trailing Labor on a two-party preferred basis and nosediving in regional areas, according to Fairfax Media. Continue reading...      |
| The criminalisation of anti-fascist protest | @guardianletters Posted: 13 Apr 2014 01:00 PM PDT Tomorrow, 14 April, the Metropolitan police and CPS will prosecute five anti-fascists arrested on 1 June 2013 while trying to stop the British National party from marching on the Cenotaph. Police decided the anti-fascist protest was a "threat to public safety" and imposed a dispersal order under section 12 of the Public Order Act 1986; 59 people were arrested. A few months later 286 protesters against the English Defence League, which had declared its intention to march on a park named after Altab Ali, who was murdered in a racist attack, were arrested in Tower Hamlets. In both cases those arrested were put on bail conditions banning them from attending future anti-fascist protests. Yet of the 345 arrested overall, only seven have been charged. In both cases these tactics appear designed not to safeguard the public, but to gather information on protesters and deter people from joining protest movements. UN special rapporteur Maina Kiai, for example, recently reported that the threshold for using section 12 and 14 was "too low" and presented a threat to the right to protest. Continue reading...      |
| Ohio man sentenced to display 'I am a bully' sign for harassing neighbour Posted: 13 Apr 2014 12:41 PM PDT Judge orders 62-year-old Edmond Aviv to sit outside with a sign as punishment for 15-year feud with neighbour A man accused of harassing a neighbour and her disabled children for the past 15 years sat at a street corner on Sunday morning with a sign declaring he's a bully, a requirement of his sentence. Municipal court judge Gayle Williams-Byers ordered 62-year-old Edmond Aviv to display the sign for five hours. It said: "I am a bully! I pick on children that are disabled, and I am intolerant of those that are different from myself. My actions do not reflect an appreciation for the diverse South Euclid community that I live in." Continue reading...      |
| Moscow accuses Kiev of issuing 'criminal orders' and warns of civil war Posted: 13 Apr 2014 12:35 PM PDT Russia orchestrating latest violence in east Ukraine and is staging another Crimea-syle intervention, claims US and Nato The crisis in Ukraine escalated dramatically on Sunday night as Russia accused Kiev of issuing a "criminal order" against protesters and warned of a civil war in the country, which has been hit by a wave of unrest that America believes has been orchestrated from Moscow. Continue reading...      |
| Bus crash kills at least 36 in Mexico after collision with truck sparks fire Posted: 13 Apr 2014 12:29 PM PDT Passenger bus en route to Mexico City slammed into a truck Sunday, catching fire and reportedly killing most on board A passenger bus slammed into a broken-down truck and burst into flames, killing at least 36 people on Sunday in southern Mexico, the Veracruz state government reported. The accident came two days after 10 people died in a similar crash between a truck and a bus in California. Continue reading...      |
| Ukraine warns of 'large-scale operation' against pro-Russian forces after clashes Posted: 13 Apr 2014 11:56 AM PDT President sets deadline for pro-Russia militiamen to lay down arms as minister says state security officer killed in Slaviansk Ukraine is to launch a "large-scale anti-terrorist operation" to resist pro-Russian forces, the country's president warned on Sunday following a shootout that claimed one victim in the eastern city of Slaviansk. The threat came after gunmen seized control of government buildings and fuelled international alarm about the escalating crisis. Events on the ground suggested that the authorities in Kiev anticipating a repeat of the Russian takeover of Crimea were rapidly losing control of the situation, while Moscow, which denies any direct involvement in Ukraine, warned of the danger of civil war. Continue reading...      |
| Democrat leader says Republican base has 'elements animated by racism' Posted: 13 Apr 2014 11:52 AM PDT Steve Israel's comments reiterate party leader's suggestion An overhaul to the broken US immigration system remains stalled because "the Republican base does have elements that are animated by racism," the head of the committee to elect Democratic lawmakers to the House said Sunday. Representative Steve Israel's comments are in line with those from House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi earlier this week, in which she blamed racial issues for Republicans' failure to act on comprehensive immigration legislation. Asked about Pelosi's comments, New York's Israel said he agreed with her assessment. Continue reading...      |
| UN ambassador: Ukraine unrest has 'tell-tale signs of Moscow's involvement' Posted: 13 Apr 2014 11:45 AM PDT Samantha Power: protests are 'professional, co-ordinated' Ukrainian forces engaged in a deadly gun battle with unknown armed men in the countrys eastern region on Sunday, prompting a senior US diplomat to accuse Moscow of staging another Crimea-style intervention. In the first exchange of gunfire in eastern Ukraine since armed protesters began seizing control of government buildings, at least one security officer was killed and five others wounded in Slovyansk, around 100 miles from the Russian border. Continue reading...      |
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