Category Archives: headline

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Brisbane toddler could be deported after Child Safety tell foster mother she can't adopt him

A two-year-old Brisbane child is facing deportation and being ripped away from the care of his foster mother, despite her being told she would be his long-term guardian.

While 9News can't reveal their real names or show their faces due to legal reasons, the two-year-old's foster carer has told of the potential heartbreak both she and her foster son are facing.

Initially born in Brisbane to a mother on a student visa from India, the little boy was placed into foster care at four days old after his birth parents couldn't care for him. The toddler has lived with his foster mother ever since.

READ MORE: Prime Minister's nephew faces new charges

A two-year-old Brisbane child is facing deportation and being ripped away from the care of his foster mother, despite her being told she would be his long-term guardian. Correspondence from the state government confirming the toddler would be under care.

However, despite being told as recently as a few months ago that the boy would be in her care until he was 18, the Department of Child Safety has now told the boy's carer he will be taken away and put up for adoption – and she can't apply for him.

"This is a child's life; this is his life we are talking about, taking him from a loving, caring home to an unknown, to strangers," the boy's carer said.

"They said to me in a meeting, in front of about five or six people, and they said to me child safety has stuffed up."

Initially born in Brisbane to a mother on a student visa from India, the little boy was placed into foster care at four days old after his birth parents couldn't care for him.

Additionally, the two-year-old is also facing deportation as he is not considered an Australian resident. When 9News approached Federal Immigration Minister Alex Hawke's office on the matter, it was given this statement:

"A child born in Australia to a visa holder will generally be considered to hold the same visa as their parent held when the child was born."

Due to the toddler's birth mother being on a student visa, he has no rights to permanent residency.

"I have been told it'll be like the death of a baby, it will be the same as the death of a baby," the foster mother said when asked if she was prepared for the day when the boy might be taken away.

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Mining to be 'pin-up industry' in drive to cut carbon emissions, PM says

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the mining industry will lead Australia's efforts to combat climate change rather than holding them back.

In a Wednesday night speech to industry leaders, he said the resources sector was a "key part" of the nation's economy bouncing back to and beyond its pre-pandemic size and that it would continue to thrive for years to come.

Highlighting a range of initiatives in emerging areas such as hydrogen production and rare earth and lithium mining, the Prime Minister said he wanted Australia to show the world how to maintain strong resource, manufacturing and heavy industries sectors in a net-zero carbon emissions economy.

READ MORE: Aussie house prices 'at risk' from China shift on iron ore

Prime Minister Scott Morrison

The resources sector would become a "pin-up industry" for how the nation would meet and beat its commitments, he said.

"Australia is going to lead the world in lower emissions production in the resources sector," he told the Australian Minerals Industry Parliamentary Dinner.

"And the very sector, the very sector that many far from here might suggest … is a reason why Australia, they would allege, is not making the commitments that are necessary, quite the reverse will be the proof."

The Morrison government is yet to commit to a net-zero target by 2050, as major emitters such as the United States and the European Union have done.

Australia's current target is to cut emissions by 26 to 28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, a goal that was reportedly criticised by the Biden administration before the President's virtual global climate summit earlier this year.

"It's insufficient to follow the existing trajectory and hope that they will be on a course to deep decarbonisation and getting to net zero emissions by mid-century," Nine newspaper quoted a senior administration official as saying during an anonymous briefing call.

Mr Morrison insisted Australia would forge its own path to net-zero in a way that would suit Australia's national interests and guarantee jobs rather than having it "determined by others".

The Prime Minister also sought on Wednesday night to wedge Labor on support for reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, which would transfer development approval powers to the states.

"If they don't support this bill that actually bring forward investment decisions, that means jobs in the resources sector, that uphold the environmental standards, they don't support, they do not support, the resources sector," he said.

Labor has criticised the proposal for not doing enough to protect the environment.

A 2019 study by University of New South Wales Professor of Political Philosophy Jeremy Moss found while Australia was the world's 16th biggest greenhouse gas emitter, emissions from the coal extracted by Australia's six top producers were greater than the country's entire domestic carbon footprint.

Minerals Council of Australia chairwoman Helen Coonan told the dinner the mining industry paid a record $39.3 billion in taxes and royalties in 2019-20.

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World View: Biden & Voting Rights, Russian Hack, Gene Therapy Advances, More

June 2, 2021

Alternate text

 

The Associated Press

The Rundown

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden used the 100th anniversary of Tulsa’s race massacre to make a plea for sweeping legislation in Congress to protect the right to vote as Republican-led governments in Texas and other states pass new restrictions…Read More

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CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A ransomware attack on the world’s largest meat processing company disrupted production around the world just weeks after a similar incident shut down a U.S. oil pipeline. …Read More

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SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A gunman who killed nine co-workers at a Northern California rail yard shot himself twice in the head as sheriff’s deputies raced into a building, according to authorities who on Tuesday released body-camera footage of the t…Read More

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Tuesday suspended oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, reversing a drilling program approved by the Trump administration and reviving a political fight over a remote region th…Read More

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HONG KONG (AP) — For decades, Hong Kong has been one of just two cities in China allowed to mark the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. In 1989, hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in the square cal…Read More

OTHER TOP STORIES

Jordan Janz knew his gamble on an experimental gene therapy for his rare disease might be paying off when he returned to work and a friend sniffed him. “He said, ‘you have a…Read More

Most athletes are comfortable talking about injuries, so long as they can point to a bruise, a bandage, a cast or a spot on an X-ray. Their mental health is a different stor…Read More

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The al-Kawlaks, a family of four generations living next door to each other in downtown Gaza City, were utterly unprepared for the inferno….Read More

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Ten years after their first date, Debby Neal-Strickland put on a cream-colored lace gown and married her longtime sweetheart at their Florida ch…Read More

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Athletes Show Support for Haitian Tennis Champ Osaka

Haitian-Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka has received an outpouring of support from athletes across the world following her decision to withdraw from the French Open, citing mental health concerns.

The four-time Grand slam champion stunned the tennis world on May 31 when she pulled out of the French Open tournament after being fined $15,000 for skipping an obligatory post-match interview the day before. Osaka said she believed that the post-match interviews adversely affected the mental health of many athletes. After being fined and threatened with expulsion, Osaka announced her withdrawal on Twitter.

“I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can go back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris,” she wrote.

“I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer. More importantly, I would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly.”

In the wake of her announcement, scores of past and present tennis champions showed her their support.

“So proud of you,” multiple Grand Slam winner Venus Williams posted on Twitter. “Take care of yourself and see you back winning soon!”

Another tennis champion, Venus’s sister, Serena Williams also voiced her support for Osaka during a post-match interview.

“Not everyone is the same. I’m thick. Other people are thin. Everyone is different and everyone handles things differently. You just have to let her handle it the way she wants to and the best way she thinks she can. That’s the only thing I can say: I think she is doing the best she can,” Williams said. “I feel like I wish I could give her a hug, because I know what it’s like. Like I said, I’ve been in those positions,” she told the Associated Press.

Billie Jean King, a former Number 1 tennis player, also echoed comments from the Williams sisters.

“It’s incredibly brave that Naomi Osaka has revealed her truth about her struggle with depression,” King wrote on social media. “Right now, the important thing is that we give her the space and time she needs. We wish her well.”

There were also messages of support posted on social media from athletes in other sports, including NFL player Russell Wilson and Jamaican Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt who sent her positive comments on social media.

“You shouldn’t ever have to make a decision like this — but so damn impressive taking the high road when the powers that be don’t protect their own. Major respect” wrote NBA All-Star Steph Curry.

Scores of Osaka’s sponsors including Nike, Nissin Foods, TAG Heuer, and Mastercard have also shown their support for the 23-year-old tennis champion, who said she will be taking some time away from the court.

It is not yet known if she will participate in the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, which start on June 28.

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Barbados: Illegal Guns at Center of Island’s Growing Crime Rate

BY CHRIS DALBY

Insight Crime

With its homicide rates higher than ever in 2019 and 2020, Barbados is now confronting a difficult question: Will it be able to bring the violence down or will it catch up with some of its Caribbean neighbors?

On May 22, police officer Newton Lewis responded to a robbery in progress near his home in Barbados’ northern parish of Saint Peter. He was shot dead on arrival at the scene, and his service weapon was taken, according to Barbados Today.

Lewis, who had been the driver of Barbados’ police commissioner, was the first police officer to be killed in at least 20 years in the country.His death came as the island nation struggles with a rising homicide rate and the increasing presence of illegal guns.

The numbers can seem paltry when compared to some of its Caribbean neighbors. In 2019, the island saw a record 49 murders, dropping to 42 in 2020. But homicides have still more than doubled since 2012.

The government has pointed to the influx of illegal guns as helping to facilitate the increase in violence. While it has a much smaller population, the country sees the most gun-related crimes among English-speaking Caribbean nations after Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, according to a report by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force.

InSight Crime Analysis

Barbados has so far avoided the major risk factors that have seen homicides soar in other Caribbean nations. But these advantages do come with some important caveats.

Firstly, it has little presence of international organized crime. Its gangs are highly localized and involved primarily in micro trafficking, as the island is not part of any significant overseas drug trafficking routes, a major cause of violence in Jamaica or the Dominican Republic.

However, these gangs are far from harmless. They are behind many of the country’s homicides and members reportedly rent guns to each other for 10,000 Barbadian dollars ($5,000), according to Cheryl Willoughby, director of Barbados’ National Task Force on Crime Prevention.

Secondly, the country has been a regional leader for having low rates of official corruption, police brutality and criminal impunity, according to a 2020 US State Department report.

But its response to gang violence has seemed inconsistent, with sweeping pledges for tougher sentencing laws often failing to pass Parliament or containing loopholes.

In 2017, anti-gang legislation was proposed by the Attorney General’s Office, pledging sentences of 20 years for gang members and 25 years for gang leaders. In 2018, this was dropped by the new government of Prime Minister Mia Mottley. The current administration then began considering its own version of anti-gang laws, which also were never implemented. In late 2020, one of the country’s top prosecutors called for a life sentence for a gang member on trial for murder.

In July 2020, Barbados did pass the Integrity in Public Life Bill, seeking to enforce similar standards of conduct for public officials and private entrepreneurs. This was motivated by several reports of officials facilitating criminal acts. In 2019, border officials were caught accepting bribes to allow illegal guns into the country, according to the country’s police commissioner.

However, the bill came in for criticism. One controversial clause stated that no investigations into alleged acts of corruption could take place if an official had left public service for more than two years.

Thirdly, most murders do not involve firearms. Guns are only used in around 40 percent of murders in Barbados, as opposed to over 70 percent in Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, according to a report by the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance.

But the problem of illegal firearms appears to be on the rise. The country has regularly held amnesty periods where unregistered guns can be surrendered without consequences. But with only a few dozen guns turned in each time, this is not a long-term solution to bring in Barbados’ estimated 7,000 illegal firearms, according to Small Arms Survey.

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Colombia: Troops Sent In Amidst Rising Protests Death Toll

Bogota (CNN) More than a month since Colombians first took to the streets this year to protest against a botched tax overhaul and the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, tensions across the country are escalating rapidly with more than a dozen deaths over the weekend — and a risky new government tactic.

On Friday, the southern city of Cali witnessed new scenes of panic when several people in civilian clothing appeared to open fire against protesters, social media footage shows. Colombia’s Attorney General Francisco Barbosa later confirmed that one of the shooters was an off-duty employee of his office’s investigative unit.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the man killed two protesters before the surrounding crowd lynched him, Barbosa said. Footage of the man beaten to death has since gone viral on Colombia social media.

In another episode, a civilian was photographed aiming his gun towards protesters while standing next to uniformed police officers who did not intervene. The man, Andres Escobar, later published a video on social media saying he was shooting non-lethal rubber bullets and asking for forgiveness for his actions.

In an interview with local radio station BluRadio, Escobar said he was prompted to action by seeing “vandals” running wild in his neighbourhood, and did not intend to kill anybody.

Colombia’s police director Jorge Vargas Valencia has announced his office is investigating the incident.

In Cali alone, at least 13 people were killed over the weekend, according to Colombia’s Defense Ministry. In response to escalating violence around the country, President Ivan Duque has deployed the military to thirteen cities to reinforce local police. Defense Minister Diego Molano even posted a video of 500 infantrymen on their way to Cali, set to triumphant music.

Duque said he was pushed to send the military in order to lift dozens of protester roadblocks that since early May have brought the country to a standstill — but critics and some analysts see the deployment as a risky bet destined to add fuel to the fire.

 

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Alaska: Biden to Suspend Trump Arctic Drilling Leases

BBC- US President Joe Biden’s administration will suspend oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge pending an environmental review.

The move reverses former President Donald Trump’s decision to sell oil leases in the refuge to expand fossil fuel and mineral development.

The giant Alaskan wilderness is home to many important species, including polar bears, caribou and wolves.

Arctic tribal leaders have welcomed the move but Republicans are opposed.

Covering some 19 million acres (78,000 sq km), the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is often described as America’s last great wilderness.

How did we get here?

The push for exploration in the park has been the subject of a decades-long dispute.

The oil-rich region is a critically important location for many species and is considered sacred by the indigenous Gwich’in people.

One side argues that drilling for oil could bring in significant amounts of money and provide jobs for people in Alaska, while the other has raised concerns over environmental and climate threats.

Days before his presidential term ended in January, Mr Trump went ahead with the first sale of oil leases in the region’s coastal plain as part of his push to develop more domestic fossil fuel production.

His supporters said it would boost jobs and revenue for the state.

But the sale received little interest from the oil and gas industry. Companies said they were focusing their spending on renewable energy, amid a huge slump in oil prices. Several large US banks said they would not fund exploration in the area.

In total, 11 tracts were auctioned off, covering just over 550,000 acres, according to the Washington Post newspaper. The sale raised less than $15m (£11m) – far less than the government had hoped.

Most went to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a state agency.

Map

While estimates suggest around 11 billion barrels of oil lie under the refuge, it has no roads or other infrastructure, making it a very expensive place to drill.

During his campaign Mr Biden pledged to protect the habitat. Once in office, he directed the Interior Department to review the leases.

In a statement on Tuesday, the department said it had “identified defects in the underlying record of decision supporting the leases, including the lack of analysis of a reasonable range of alternatives”, required under environmental law.

White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy said Mr Biden “believes America’s national treasures are cultural and economic cornerstones of our country”.

“He is grateful for the prompt action by the Department of the Interior to suspend all leasing pending a review of decisions made in the last administration’s final days that could have changed the character of this special place forever,” she added.

Since taking office, Mr Biden has signed executive orders aimed at freezing new oil and gas leases on public land, and has pledged to drastically cut carbon emissions.

But his administration disappointed environmental groups last week when the Justice Department defended a Trump-era decision to approve a major oil project on Alaska’s North Slope in the former Naval Petroleum Reserve.

How have people reacted to the suspension?

Arctic tribal leaders praised the decision.

“I want to thank President Biden and the Interior Department for recognising the wrongs committed against our people by the last Administration, and for putting us on the right path forward,” Tonya Garnett, special projects coordinator for the Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, said in a statement.

“This goes to show that, no matter the odds, the voices of our Tribes matter.”

Kristen Miller, acting executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League, said suspending the leases was “a step in the right direction”.

A demonstrator holds a sign against drilling in the Arctic Refuge on the 58th anniversary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, during a press conference outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, December 11, 2018.
Arctic tribal leaders and environmental groups have welcomed the move

 

But the Biden administration’s move was criticised in a joint statement by Republican senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski along with representative Don Young and Governor Mike Dunleavy.

“This action serves no purpose other than to obstruct Alaska’s economy and put our energy security at risk,” said Ms Murkowski, who has represented Alaska in the Senate since 2002.

Mr Dunleavy added that the leases sold by the Trump administration “are valid and cannot be taken away by the federal government”.

Oil revenues are critical for Alaska, with every resident getting a cheque for around $1,600 every year from the state’s permanent fund.

Mr Dunleavy has previously said that opening the refuge for “responsible resource development” could “put more oil in our pipeline, put Alaskans to work, bring billions of dollars of investment to our state, support American energy independence, and provide critical revenues to our state and local communities”.

The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority said it was disappointed by the decision, and had no reason to believe that the environmental analysis was inadequate.

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Biden Uveils Racial Equity Plan at Tulsa Massacre Centennial

President Joe Biden speaks as he commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre, at the Greenwood Cultural Center, Tuesday, June 1, 2021, in Tulsa, Okla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

By Marty Johnson and Brett Samuels

The Hill

President Biden traveled to Tulsa, Okla., to meet with the survivors of the city’s 1921 race massacre, unveiling a broad plan to drive racial equity throughout the country while holding up the city’s past as evidence of the pervasive effects of racism.

Monday and Tuesday marked the centennial of the race massacre in which an angry mob of white Tulsans burned and looted Tulsa’s thriving Black neighborhood of Greenwood. Biden is the first president to visit the neighborhood in recognition of the massacre in 1921, a point he highlighted in his remarks.

The president spent a significant portion of his speech giving a historical recounting of the events of 100 years ago in Tulsa. The massacre has gained attention in recent years after being an often overlooked instance of racism and violence.

“The history of what took place here was told in silence, cloaked in darkness,” Biden said. “But just because history is silent, it doesn’t mean that it did not take place.”

“And while darkness can hide much, it erases nothing,” he continued. “Some injustices are so heinous, so horrific, so grievous, they can’t be buried no matter how hard people try.”

President Biden in Tulsa:

“Just because history is silent, it doesn’t mean that it did not take place. And while darkness can hide much, it erases nothing … Some injustices are so heinous, so horrific, so grievous, they can’t be buried no matter how hard people try.” pic.twitter.com/zS5zO4R88U

President Joe Biden in Tulsa: “My fellow Americans, this was not a riot. This was a massacre… among the worst in our history, but not the only one, and for too long forgotten by our history. As soon as it happened, there was a clear effort to erase it from our memory.” pic.twitter.com/4xpLplHL1b

Biden on Tuesday announced plans to expand and target federal purchasing power to benefit more minority-owned businesses. His administration will also submit in the coming days multiple rules that strengthen anti-discrimination housing measures rolled back during the Trump administration.

The president pointed to Tulsa as an illustration of the ways in which highways segregated cities, Black Americans face a more difficult path to home ownership, and impoverished communities haven’t been given the resources to climb into the middle class.

“There’s greater recognition that for too long we’ve allowed a narrow, cramped view of the promise of this nation to fester,” Biden said. “The view that America is a zero sum game, where there’s only one winner.”

The success of Greenwood’s business district in 1921 was well-known and referred to as Black Wall Street as it featured a trove of successful Black businesses such as medical practices, law offices, restaurants and hotels.

Located in the northern section of Tulsa, Greenwood prospered at a time when Jim Crow laws and the Ku Klux Klan rampantly discriminated against and terrorized Black Americans in the south.

But, in a span of less than 24 hours, the white mob destroyed 35 city blocks, razing more than 1,200 homes and pillaging hundreds more. The cost of the property damage totaled nearly $2 million, which translates into almost $30 million today.

As many as 300 people died during the massacre, roughly 10,000 Greenwood residents were displaced and the community has never come close to recovering.

Today, white Tulsans are twice as likely to own a home compared to Black Tulsans. White households have a median income of $55,448, while the median income of Black households is significantly lower at $30,463.

And despite an Oklahoma-sanctioned commission recommending in 2001 that reparations in the form of direct payment should be paid to the massacre’s survivors and their descendants, such remittance has never materialized.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have asserted that not only do the three remaining survivors of the massacre deserve justice, but that what happened in Tulsa 100 years ago is a perfect example of why the discussion of federal reparations needs to move forward.

“The idea of Tulsa, and the idea of continued disparities in the African American community, are ones that need to be repaired,” Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) said Tuesday morning during a virtual caucus press conference.

Jackson Lee is the current sponsor of H.R. 40, a bill that would create a federal commission to study the need for reparations for Black Americans.

The idea of reparations has gained more traction in recent years and the long-standing bill passed out of committee for the first time in April. However, it has yet to receive a floor vote in the House.

“I want to commend the president for coming to Tulsa to bring additional awareness, and the need for racial equity, healing and justice,” Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), the caucus’s first vice chair, said during the virtual press conference.

“This has been a cornerstone of what he has talked about in his administration, and not just talked about, but actually taken action to implement.”

The White House has repeatedly said that the president supports the purpose of H.R. 40, but has stopped short of fully backing direct payments or other forms of reparations.

Biden has also faced pressure to forgive up to $50,000 per person in student loan debt, which groups like the NAACP have said would do more than any other measure to narrow the wealth gap in the country. But the White House made no mention of student loan forgiveness in Tuesday’s announcements, and Biden has said he’s uncomfortable canceling more than $10,000 per person in outstanding student loan debt.

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Woman arrested after allegedly failing to stop at border checkpoint

A woman has been arrested after driving through a border checkpoint at Yamba, South Australia.

Police will allege patrols on the Sturt Highway checkpoint attempted to stop a red Nissan Pulsar as it approached the checkpoint from Victoria at 4.12pm today.

The driver allegedly refused to stop and was pursued by patrols, with road spikes being used to stop the car on Stanitzki Road close to Bookpurnong Road.

READ MORE: 'Don't touch the ball' plea from South Australian doctor

The driver and sole occupant, a 37-year-old Renmark woman was arrested soon after.

She will face numerous charges including engaging in a police pursuit and other offences relating to failure to stop at the checkpoint.

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US Sec. of State: Central America Must Do More to Stop Mass Immigration

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Central American governments to do more to help contain illegal immigration and voiced concerns about the health of local democracy and human rights during a visit to the region on Tuesday.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado, Blinken said the United States wanted to hear from its partners in the region about their shared commitment to managing migratory pressures.

“Good governance is crucial for confronting the challenges and seizing the opportunities of this moment, and yet we meet at a moment when democracy and human rights are being undermined in many parts of the region,” Blinken told reporters.

Blinken cited erosion of judicial independence, crackdowns on independent media and NGOs, as well as the suppression of anti-corruption efforts to illustrate his point, noting that the United States had also suffered its own setbacks.

U.S. President Joe Biden has been under pressure to reduce a sharp increase in undocumented immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border since taking office in January.

Regional cooperation to address the issue was now more important than ever, said Blinken, who traveled to Costa Rica, to hold talks with leaders from Central America and Mexico.

Many immigrants stopped at the U.S. border are from three violent and impoverished Central American countries, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, which Washington has pledged aid in return for commitments to improve local governance.

That drive has been clouded by concern about graft, cronyism, signs of authoritarianism and efforts to block the appointment of judges with track records of tackling corruption.

The United States has promised to help poorer countries in the fight against COVID-19 with vaccines, and Blinken said the government would in the next week or so set out plans for how millions of doses would be distributed. read more

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