By Nelson Bocanegra, Oliver Griffin and Julia Symmes Cobb BOGOTA, May 25 (Reuters) – Miguel Botache Santillana, better known as Gentil Duarte, who leads one faction of former FARC rebels who remained armed after a peace deal with Colombia’s government, is presumed killed in Venezuela, Colombia’s Defense Minister Diego Molano told journalists on Wednesday. Though […]
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By Allison Lampert MONTREAL, May 25 (Reuters) – A sweeping law adopted by Quebec on Tuesday to promote French language usage is elevating already simmering tensions with indigenous groups, who see the move as an imposition and have vowed to fight it. Bill 96, passed by a majority of Quebec legislators, sets stricter rules […]
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HAVANA, May 25 (Reuters) – A boat carrying 842 Haitian migrants bound for the United States strayed off course and washed ashore along the north coast of Cuba instead, according to Cuban state media reports on Wednesday, leaving island authorities scrambling to provide the group with humanitarian aid. State broadcaster Telecubanacan showed images of a […]
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By Leo Sands BBC News Fossilized remains from a giant flying reptile the size of a bus have been discovered in Argentina. The Dragon of Death, as scientists have dubbed the new species, hunted prey from Earth’s skies around 86 million years ago. When fully extended, its wings measured a massive nine metres (30 ft) […]
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By Vanessa Buschschlüter BBC News Online Latin America editor Two indigenous activists from Ecuador who successfully fought against mining on their ancestral lands have won an international environmental prize. Alex Lucitante and Alexandra Narváez were awarded the Goldman Prize, which recognises grassroots activism. They used drones and camera traps to document mining on their land. […]
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NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS — Mr. Jamir Claxton, Director of the Department of Sports, in the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Nevis, says he plans to use his recent appointment to the newly-established Advisory Board for the Boys’ Mentorship Programme to spur primary schoolers on Nevis to keep their interest in sports. The Sports Director who […]
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Newly minted Foreign Minister Penny Wong has delivered her first address in the office, with a keynote speech at the Pacific Islands Forum.
Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna noted it was Wong's first bilateral visit just four days into the job.
"Your visit to Fiji, indeed, your first bilateral visit, represents a very strong shift in Australia's regional outlook," Puna said.
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He said the forum welcomed the Labor government's pledges to act on climate change and to adopt the Uluru Statement From The Heart.
Wong said the "new Australian government" signalled a "new Australia" that would work cooperatively and in partnership with Pacific nations – particularly on climate change.
"I know the imperative we all share to take serious action to reduce emissions and transform our economies," she said.
"Nothing is more central to the security and economies of the Pacific."
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She threw a jab out at previous Coalition governments, saying Australia had "neglected its responsibility".
"But whether it manifests in rising sea levels, or in disastrous bushfires and catastrophic flooding, climate change is happening across the Pacific family," she said.
Wong also took the opportunity to lay out the advantages of Australia as a strategic partner in the Pacific, even as China embarks on a diplomatic blitz in the region.
"We understand the security of any one Pacific family member rests on the security of all, and we have a collective responsibility as we face these challenges to secure our region's interest today and in the future," she said.
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"And as Australia's foreign minister, I commit to working with you and to listening to you.
"We will remain a critical development partner for the Pacific family in the years ahead.
"And Australia will be a partner that doesn't come with strings attached.
"Nor imposing unsustainable financial burdens. We're a partner that won't erode Pacific priorities or Pacific institutions."
Wong said the government would provide increased support and more work opportunities for Pacific Island people.
In the following question-and-answer session, Wong was forced to confront "the China question" directly, with Fiji media asking how Australia would work to counter Chinese influence in the Pacific, and how it might "discourage" Pacific nations from joining Beijing.
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The Foreign Minister worked carefully to strike a restrained tone – but didn't give away much on specifics.
"I don't approach the discussion about China and China's activities by looking at the Pacific as if it is abstract from Australia," she said.
"I look at this and think of what it is we need to do to work together, to ensure that regional security is fostered and supported by the region."
"Ultimately, Pacific Island nations will make their choices about what agreements, what partnerships they engage in.
"What we would urge, as Australia, is consideration of where a nation might be in three or five or 10 years."
On China's criticism of Australia's climate change policy, Wong said it was true Australia exported "a lot" of coal to China.
But she said the world economy was going through a transition to clean energy, and Australia would too.
"I hope you get to ask as many questions of the (Chinese) foreign minister as you get to ask me," she said, prompting a rumble of laughter.
An old friend of Lynette Dawson has claimed the mother was bruised, distressed and desperate for company just two weeks before she vanished.
Roslyn McLoughlin told the NSW Supreme Court that Lynette begged her to come for a coffee at Bayview just before Christmas in 1981.
"She was very adamant that she needed someone with her… that has stuck with me because… she disappeared," McLoughlin told the court on Thursday in the murder trial of Chris Dawson.
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The women had been playing tennis when McLoughlin said she noticed a "grapefruit-sized bruise" on Lynette's thigh and "some bruises on her arms".
McLoughlin regrets not asking about the bruises but told the judge family matters weren't discussed back then.
A former nanny to the Dawsons, who cannot be identified because she was a teenager at the time, also took the stand today.
She claimed Lynette was "a full on loving mother" and Dawson, who is on trial for her murder, was "friendly and approachable, someone I looked up to".
"I also saw some awful things that left some scars on me," the woman told the court.
She alleges Dawson "got a tea towel and flicked it across Lyn's back" all because of a dirty glass and that the mother "had tears in her eyes".
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The Supreme Court also heard about a time when the carer says Dawson ordered Lynette to re-iron a pile of clothes that weren't up to his standard.
The former nanny claimed the final straw was when she saw Dawson grab Lynette by the arm and swing her into a bedroom in an angry forceful act which she claims left the mother looking like a rag doll.
The family's next babysitter was JC, the woman Dawson is accused of getting rid of Lynette for.
Dawson maintains his wife ran away and denies killing her.
The trial continues.
A short, sharp burglary spree left children in a small village so frightened they hid their pocket money under their pillows, afraid “the bad man would come back”.Today the man responsible was sent to prison for three years and…
New Zealand’s legal aid system has been bolstered in the latest Budget, with maximum income thresholds lifted and hourly rates for lawyers increased, Justice Minister Kris Faafoi announced today.The boost comes after strong criticism…
