Source: New Zealand Police
State Highway 2, Matawai Road, between Gisborne and Opotiki has re-opened after an earlier closure.
Temporary speed limits are in place and motorists are advised to take extra care when travelling through the area.
We thank motorists for their patience throughout the day.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre
Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
GUANGZHOU, June 5 (Xinhua) — Police in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong Province, on Thursday put 20 suspects on the wanted list for cyber attacks launched by an organization affiliated with Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party administration.
The statement, released by the Tianhe District branch of the Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau, also provided details of the cyber attacks carried out by Taiwan’s Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). -0-
Source: New South Wales Community and Justice
Bellerive body investigation: Police seek help of bus patrons
Thursday, 5 June 2025 – 3:48 pm.
Tasmania Police would like to speak with two women who were travelling on a Metro bus at Rokeby last Friday afternoon, as investigations continue into the discovery of a man’s body at Bellerive.
The body of Luke Jon Telega, 45, was found in an industrial-sized garbage bin at Percy Street on Monday morning.
Police are trying to piece together Mr Telega’s movements leading up to a garbage contractor finding his body.
CCTV footage obtained from Metro shows that Mr Telega caught a bus at Tollard Drive, Rokeby, on Friday, May 30, at 4.34pm.
A woman in a grey or white hoodie joins the bus at the same time and is then seen to exit the bus at the same stop as Mr Telega, in the car park of the Shoreline Hotel about 4.38pm.
While on the bus, a second woman in a red top appears to acknowledge Mr Telega with a wave.
There is no suggestion the women are involved with Mr Telega’s death, but police believe they may be able to help with inquiries. (See photos attached)
Further, police still wish to speak with a woman shown on CCTV footage standing at a shopfront on Percy Street about 7:50pm on Sunday, June 1.
Police believe the member of the public may have spoken with someone in Percy Street at the time and may be able to assist with inquiries. The woman was driving what is believed to be a light-coloured Toyota Prado.
A second woman shown on CCTV footage standing near a red SUV in Percy Street on Sunday night has contacted police and no further action is required.
If anyone has information that could assist with the investigation, please call police on 131 444 or report anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online crimestopperstas.com.au
Source: Government of India
Source: Government of India (4)
The sacred relics of Lord Buddha arrived in Sarnath on Tuesday, welcomed with traditional chants and official honours as hundreds of monks and devotees gathered at the Mulagandha Kuti Vihar.
The relics, which began their journey from the National Museum in New Delhi, were flown to Varanasi and then transported to Sarnath in a ceremonial procession. The District Magistrate of Varanasi, Satyendra Kumar, along with the Senior Superintendent of Police and other dignitaries, received the relics at the VIP Lounge of Varanasi airport before accompanying them to the final site.
The Uttar Pradesh Police presented a guard of honour, while NCC cadets and a ceremonial band participated in the welcome. Devotees, including a large number of Buddhist monks and nuns, had assembled at the vihar to pay their respects.
Speaking at the event, Most Venerable Seewali Bhante recalled his recent visit to Vietnam, where the relics were previously displayed, and described the widespread public reverence he witnessed during the month-long exposition.
Officials from the International Buddhist Confederation, National Museum representatives, and senior monks were also present. The procession and public homage underscore the significance of Sarnath—a site where the Buddha delivered his first sermon—as a centre of global Buddhist pilgrimage.
The event is part of a broader initiative to strengthen cultural and spiritual ties among Buddhist communities worldwide.
Source: New South Wales – News
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has welcomed the significant funding boost for additional resources and equipment provided in the State Budget.
Mr Stevens said the funding package over the next four years, announced today, followed numerous forthright discussions with Premier Peter Malinauskas and Police Minister Stephen Mullighan on the requirements of SAPOL to maintain community safety into the future.
“I have made it clear the increasing demands on police and what is required to keep the community safe,’’ he said.
“The demand for police assistance is increasing, taskings and investigations are now more complex and are taking longer.’’
The Government has committed $240 million over the next four years, which includes provision for almost 300 additional sworn officers including an additional 33 motorcycle patrol officers, funding for an additional 98 Police Security Officers, 20 more civilian positions and the considerable expansion of the mental health-co-responder initiative that has already started relieving pressure on frontline police. This budget is also funding the provision of new pistols and includes a commitment for a range of road safety initiatives.
As a part of this commitment, SAPOL have also been provided $7.5 million a year for our capital program, which enables us to invest in critical works on our facilities, equipment and IT needs to ensure they are fit for purpose.
Funding has also been provided to continue our accelerated recruitment efforts and the increased number of recruit and PSO courses at the police academy.
At present, 97.5 per cent of the sworn positions in SAPOL are occupied and today’s funding boost will ensure the hard work that has achieved this will continue.
Mr Stevens said he had firmly advocated for what is required to maintain police services not just now, but well into the future and this budget is clear evidence the government had responded positively.
“The additional resources moving forward will help ease the pressure on frontline officers who have been doing a magnificent job of maintaining service delivery under significant pressure,’’ he said.
“My discussions with the government have been productive and this budget today will assist in alleviating the pressures SAPOL is facing in the coming years.’’
Source: New South Wales Community and Justice
Police Taskforce Accountable to target recidivist offenders in Clarence
Thursday, 5 June 2025 – 3:04 pm.
Police launched Taskforce Accountable yesterday to target recidivist offenders in the Clarence Division.
Inspector Andrew Keane said Taskforce Accountable consists of plain clothes officers from Bellerive Police Station who will be patrolling major shopping and transit precincts in Clarence Division.
“Taskforce Accountable will target the recidivist offenders who are responsible for the majority of our violent shop stealing and assaults on retail workers,” said inspector Keane.
“The Taskforce will be supplemented by high visibility foot patrols over the coming months, and aims to detect and deter illegal and antisocial behaviours in the Clarence Division.”
Between 9am and 9pm yesterday, Taskforce Accountable and Uniform Police detected, arrested and charged nine offenders (four adults and five youths) in relation to offences at Glebe Hill, Eastlands and Lindisfarne shopping centres as well as McDonalds Rosny.
Offenders were charged with a range of offences including:
Stealing
Stealing with force
Unlawful possession
Possession of dangerous articles
Common assault
Computer related fraud
Trespass
Possession of housebreaking implements
Drug offences, and
Fail to comply with police directions and/or court bail.
Property recovered and being returned to the owners included clothing, jewellery, cosmetics, and power tools.
“Everyone has the right to be safe in our community, and illegal activities and anti-social behaviours will not be tolerated by police.”
Anyone who witnesses antisocial or illegal behaviours is encouraged to report to police on 131 444 or Triple Zero (000) in an emergency.
Information can also be reported anonymously through Crime Stoppers Tasmania at crimestopperstas.com.au or on 1800 333 000.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Chinese science fiction writers toured the Exhibition Hall of Evidences of Crime Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, late last month, with several sharing their shock and reflections on world peace with China.org.cn.
Chinese writers view displays at the Exhibition Hall of Evidences of Crime Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, May 24, 2025. [Photo courtesy of Harbin Huiwen Academy Cultural Media Group]
The visit coincided with the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.
More than 70 writers participated in the tour on May 24, many coming directly from a sci-fi-themed book fair and the 2025 Children’s Science Fiction Convention held in late May.
Renowned science fiction writer Bao Shu said he recently saw Japanese right-wing revisionist claims online that Unit 731 came to China for “epidemic prevention” and “treating Chinese people.” He said he was shocked by this clear distortion of history.
Bao said he gained a much deeper understanding of history after visiting the museum and witnessing firsthand evidence of these atrocities. He believes every Chinese person should visit the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders and the Unit 731 Exhibition Hall, instead of just learning about World War II in school.
“While Unit 731’s death toll was smaller than Nanjing’s, its horrors were equally chilling — the systematic weaponization of science against humanity,” he said. “They perverted medicine into torture, treating people as lab specimens. This nightmare shows what can happen when technology is used without ethical restraints or regard for human dignity. It forces us to reflect on the essential relationship between technological progress and human values.”
Harbin’s Unit 731 war crimes museum preserves the original site of Japan’s biological warfare operations during World War II and holds approximately 100,000 pieces of war crime evidence. Visitors can see the remaining facilities, including the old headquarters ruins, bacterial labs, special prison remains, underground animal breeding rooms, frostbite labs, boiler rooms, and gas chambers. As the largest bacterial warfare base in history, the site documents Japan’s human experimentation program, which caused the deaths of at least 3,000 test subjects and more than 300,000 victims across China.
Dong Jing, assistant to the chair of the Chinese Nebula Awards organizing committee, reflected: “This history teaches us war’s most terrible lesson — how it grotesquely distorts humanity, amplifying our darkest impulses to commit unforgivable crimes against civilization.”
He noted that the Unit 731 site serves two vital purposes: “First, it exposes Japan’s undeniable wartime atrocities during its invasion of China, serving as a warning to modern militarists to acknowledge historical truth and renounce war. Equally important, it reminds citizens of both China and Japan to cherish peace and resist being drawn into conflict by groups pursuing their own interests.”
Sci-fi writer Lu Hang believes this history offers a crucial lesson for all nations. “As the saying goes, ‘Past experience, if not forgotten, is a guide for the future.’ We learn that national strength safeguards people — through building power to deter aggression and protect citizens. This conviction grew stronger after I visited the Harbin Institute of Technology, where I saw rockets and spacecraft modules displayed on campus. That experience revealed not just technological achievement but the nation’s growing overall strength.”
Zhang Mei, a renowned children’s literature critic, said the atrocities committed by Japan’s Unit 731 were among the most heinous crimes against humanity and an “extreme evil” that stains human civilization.
“We must go beyond surface-level condemnation and examine why Japan still lacks not only remorse, but also the fundamental virtues of reciprocity and human compassion,” she said.
Writer Shi Yongming noted that only through peace can humanity progress together, and all nations — whether powerful or vulnerable — must prioritize mutual respect, compassion and seeking common ground while respecting differences.
“Yet we must remain vigilant against ideologies that threaten humanity and possess both the awareness and the ability to contain their spread,” said Shi.
Writer Qin Yingliang described the visit as profoundly shocking. A native of northeastern China, Qin emphasized that Unit 731 is a source of deep, collective trauma for people in the region. She noted that Japan’s infiltration and occupation of northeast China lasted nearly 50 years, including prewar activities, and that the effects are still felt today through emotional legacies and subconscious memories passed down through generations.
“The museum’s essential role is to present this history through meticulously documented evidence, allowing every visitor to face historical truth directly. Our present is built on countless yesterdays; only by understanding the past can we properly move toward tomorrow,” she said.
“The exit route leads through a long, sunless tunnel — that’s the darkness of historical memory. Walking gradually upward toward the light at the end represents our emergence into today’s brightness,” Qin added. “Along the walls were carved survivors’ testimonies and war criminals’ confessions. As I ran my fingers over the stone inscriptions, I was suddenly reminded of that line from ‘The Three-Body Problem’: ‘Engrave words in stone.’”
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Senior Counsel Admission Ceremony
The ceremony for the admission of Ms Catrina Lam Ding-wan, Ms Priscilia Lam Tsz-ying and Mr Timothy Edward David Parker to the rank of Senior Counsel will be held in the Court of Final Appeal on Saturday morning (June 7).
During the ceremony, Chief Justice Andrew Cheung, Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, will deliver a speech, followed by remarks from the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC; the Chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association, Mr José-Antonio Maurellet, SC; and the President of the Law Society of Hong Kong, Mr Roden Tong.
The public can view a live broadcast on the Court of Final Appeal’s website (www.hkcfa.hkIssued at HKT 12:00
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Source: New Zealand Police
Northland Police are appealing for information in relation to an aggravated robbery in Tikipunga, Whangārei, yesterday.
“Police responded to reports that a vehicle had been stolen by two offenders,” says Detective Senior Sergeant Michelle Harris, of Northland CIB.
“Members of the public were left shaken after two-armed males allegedly forced a woman from her vehicle.”
The vehicle fled at speed, damaging four other vehicles in the process.
Help from the public yesterday assisted Police to locate and arrest the pair at a nearby property.
A number of weapons were also seized.
“Police are appealing to anyone who witnessed anything at the Paramount Plaza yesterday between 1230pm and 2pm to please contact Police. We are also interested in any CCTV footage or cell phone footage of the incident”
Det Snr Sgt Harris says.
“We’d be grateful for anyone with information contacting Police as soon as possible.”
The two men appeared in the Whangārei District Court today on charges of aggravated robbery and demands to steal.
Police enquiries are ongoing, and anyone with information that can assist with our enquiries is asked to update us online now or call 105.
Please use file number 250604/4542
ENDS
Nicole Bremner/NZ Police
Source: New Zealand Police
Christchurch Police are urging residents in areas around Riccarton to search their backyards for a woman who has been missing for nearly 24 hours.
Elisabeth, 79, was last seen on Bartlett Street in Riccarton about 6pm on Wednesday 4 June. She was wearing blue pants, a dark coloured long-sleeve top, black shoes and has distinctive long blond/white hair.
Senior Sergeant Todd Webley said Police held serious concerns for her wellbeing.
“We have a large number of staff on the ground, including from Land Search and Rescue, but we really need people in the Riccarton and surrounding areas to check home security cameras, and also around their properties, in sheds and garages, in case Elisabeth is there.
Area searches have been carried out through Riccarton, nearby high schools, sport fields and retirement homes, and on both sides of the Avon River from the Botanical Gardens traffic bridge, and Hagley Park.
“This is a significant search, but we need the public’s help to locate Elisabeth as soon as possible. We know people are finishing work for the day, and the best way they can assist us is to check their properties and call 111 if they find her.”
Senior Sergeant Webley said search teams would remain on the ground into the evening “if it comes to it”, and that Elisabeth’s family were being provided updates on the search.
“It is getting cold, and everyone on the ground is focused on bringing Elisabeth home as soon as possible.”
Anyone who sees Elisabeth should ring 111 immediately and use the reference number 250604/5465. Non-urgent information can be provided online at 105.police.govt.nz, using “Update Report”, and quoting the same reference number.
ENDS
Issued by the Police Media Centre
Source: New Zealand Police
Police have arrested a man after he allegedly used Facebook Marketplace to fleece people of more than $150,000 worth of goods.
This morning officers from Waitematā West Tactical Crime Unit assisted by the Armed Offenders Squad, conducted a search warrant at a Massey address.
Detective Senior Sergeant Ryan Bunting says Police had been looking for the male who was wanted in relation to 17 dodgy deals between November 2024 and April this year.
“This man was allegedly involved in Facebook Marketplace deals for 17 different vehicles or high value items including phones and jewellery.
“We allege this person has attended public places to meet the sellers and do ‘bank transfers’ described as looking very real, including using fake IDs and fake drivers licenses.
“Unfortunately the sellers have let the vehicles/goods go with the offender before later realising no transfer has occurred.”
Detective Senior Sergeant Bunting says the alleged offender has obtained goods to the tune of $150,000.
“Several vehicles have been recovered and further enquiries are ongoing.”
He says Police are not ruling out further charges.
“While it is a very effective buy and sell platform, it’s also a successful hunting ground for criminals to buy items using a fake bank transfer or sell items that don’t exist and don’t deliver.
“These types of scams can be difficult for Police to investigate so we are urging those who use the buy and sell platform to exercise caution and do their due-diligence first.”
Police encourage anyone choosing to use the buy and sell platform to follow the following advice:
• Insist on meeting to conduct transactions and examine the item before completing the transaction
• Meet in a public place and take a friend. DO NOT go into someone’s house or allow them into yours
• DO NOT deposit money into another person’s account before you have received the item
• Ensure that cleared funds have arrived in your account, don’t rely on sellers ID, screenshots or viewing funds being transferred on an app
• Learning more about the person you are buying from or selling to. Note: You can tap on a person’s profile on the product listing page to see if you have any friends in common, their marketplace activity, and any ratings they
may have received
• Ensure friends and family, especially anyone vulnerable, understand what to do to protect themselves. Be the person to provide that ongoing support and advice
• Trust your instincts – if it’s too good to be true or sounds like a scam, it probably is
If you believe you are or have been a victim of fraud, contact Police at www.police.govt.nz/use-105, or call Police on 105 and report the matter.
If you have handed over your bank details, contact your bank and immediately suspend your account.
A 36-year-old man will appear in Waitākere District Court today facing 17 charges of obtaining by deception.
ENDS.
Holly McKay/NZ Police
Source: US FBI
BOSTON – A Boston man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Cess Frazier, 32, was charged with one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Frazier was arrested and charged by complaint on April 29, 2025. The defendant was subsequently released on conditions following a detention hearing and will be arraigned in federal court in Boston at a later date.
According to the charging documents, on or about Feb. 20, 2025 through April 29, 2025, Frazier knowingly received and possessed files that depicted CSAM from unknown users on Telegram. It is alleged that the CSAM files depicted the sexual abuse of minor victims who appeared to be between approximately three and 10 years old.
The charge of receipt of child pornography provides for a sentence of at least five years and up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Boston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allegra Flamm of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
A Chinese envoy on Wednesday blasted the United States for its veto on a Security Council draft resolution that would have demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the lifting of restrictions on humanitarian aid.
China is deeply disappointed by the result of Wednesday’s vote, said Fu Cong, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations. The draft resolution reflects the most pressing demands of the people in Gaza and the overwhelming voice of the international community, he added.
“The United States has once again abused its veto power, extinguishing the glimmer of hope for the people in Gaza and ruthlessly continuing to leave over 2 million people in darkness. It must face the questioning from the international community,” he said.
As the primary body for the maintenance of international peace and security, the Security Council has been striving to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, and has long reached an overwhelming consensus. Wednesday’s vote result once again exposes that the root cause of the council’s inability to quell the conflict in Gaza is the repeated obstruction by the United States, said Fu in an explanation of the vote.
Washington has vetoed the Security Council’s request for a Gaza ceasefire multiple times. And because of its shielding of Israel, several resolutions adopted by the council on Gaza have yet to be effectively implemented, he noted.
The U.S. claim that Security Council action at the moment would interfere with diplomatic efforts is completely untenable, he said. “As long as diplomatic efforts are genuinely aimed for peace, the council’s action will only provide strong support.”
The international community will never cease its efforts to pursue fairness and justice, uphold the international rule of law, and safeguard the authority of the Security Council. A veto by a single permanent member cannot stop the march toward peace, he said. “We urge the United States to face up to its responsibilities as a permanent member of the Security Council, abandon its political calculations, and adopt a just and responsible attitude in supporting the council to take all necessary actions.”
Since the outbreak of the conflict, the world has witnessed the weaponization of humanitarian aid, the targeting of civilian infrastructure, and the ruthless killing of journalists and humanitarian workers. Israel’s actions have crossed every red line of international humanitarian law and seriously violated Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, as well as the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice, said Fu.
Yet due to the shielding by one certain country, these violations have not been stopped or held accountable, he noted.
Observing international humanitarian law is an obligation. Any double standards or selective application will only erode the foundation of the international rule of law and must be firmly rejected, he warned.
China stands ready to work with the international community to help end the conflict in Gaza, alleviate the humanitarian disaster, implement the two-state solution, and ultimately achieve a comprehensive, just, and lasting solution to the Palestinian question, said Fu.
Source: South Australia Police
A groundbreaking virtual reality film that invites Australians to step into the past and uncover the history of one of Perth’s most iconic wetlands – Lake Monger – has landed in Wanneroo.
The Galup VR Experience was created by Ian Wilkes and artist/filmmaker Poppy van Oorde-Grainger, with an oral history from Elder Doolann-Leisha Eatts and guided by a team of supportive Noongar Elders.
This immersive experience transports audiences to Galup (Lake Monger), revealing a powerful story of Noongar culture, colonial impact and truth-telling. Viewers are taken on a sunset journey around the lake, where the layers of time peel back for a retelling of one of its most important and largely untold stories.
Produced by Same Drum, the experience is more than a film – it’s an invitation to all Australians to learn more about our collective past and shed light on tragic events that occurred in and around Lake Monger.
“Galup is both powerful and timely,” said Alec Coles, CEO of the Western Australian Museum. “Truth-telling is a critical step towards reconciliation for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples.”
“This experience is a wonderful and powerful opportunity for our community to walk together through history, and to listen, learn and honour the stories of our past and present,” said Mayor Linda Aitken.
Dive into the Galup VR Experience, free at the Wanneroo Library and Cultural Centre with multiple sessions on Wednesday 18 June 2025.
Bookings are essential: Register on Eventbrite.
Suitable for ages 13+.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander audience members are advised that this production includes names, images and voices of people who have passed away. Names, images and voices of the deceased are used with permission.
Acknowledgements
Created by Ian Wilkes and Poppy van Oorde-Grainger with an oral history from Doolann-Leisha Eatts.
Produced by Same Drum and guided by a team of supportive Noongar Elders.
Assisted by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.
Project Partners: Viewport XR, Museum of Freedom and Tolerance, Community Arts Network, Town of Cambridge Library, City of Vincent Local History Centre and Sandbox Productions.
Galup VR Experience is based on the Galup site-specific performance originally commissioned by International Art Space as a part of the Know Thy Neighbour #2 program. The performance was remounted in 2021 for Perth Festival, co-produced by Same Drum and Performing Lines WA.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
NEW ORLEANS, June 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until July 22, 2025 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Organon & Co. (NYSE: OGN), if they purchased the Company’s securities between October 31, 2024 and April 30, 2025, inclusive (the “Class Period”). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Get Help
Organon investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nyse-ogn/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options.
About the Lawsuit
Organon and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.
On March 10, 2025, pre-market, the Company announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2025, disclosing, among other things, that management had reset the Company’s dividend payout, from $0.28 to $0.02, contradicting its prior statements assuring investors that the regular quarterly dividend was a number one priority and that the Company was committed to its capital allocation strategy through the aforementioned dividend. On this news, the price of Organon’s shares fell more than 27%, from a closing market price of $12.93 per share on April 30, 2025, to $9.45 per share on May 1, 2025.
The case is Hauser V. Organon & Co., et al., No. 25-cv-05322.
About ClaimsFiler
ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations.
To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com.
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on June 5, 2025.
Final counting shows polls understated Labor in 2025 election almost as much as they overstated it in 2019
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne With almost all primary votes now counted to two-party preferred (as I explained on May 29), Labor has won the national two-party vote by a 55.3–44.7 margin,
Resignation of PM’s press secretary highlights gaps in NZ law on covert recording and harassment
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassandra Mudgway, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Canterbury Getty Images The sudden resignation this week of one of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s senior press secretaries was politically embarrassing, but also raises questions about how New Zealand law operates in such cases. A Stuff investigation revealed the
One year ago, Australia scrapped a key equity in STEM program. Where are we now?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Vieira, Lecturer, Education Futures, University of South Australia ThisIsEngineering/Pexels In June 2024, the Australian government ended the Women in STEM Ambassador program. The decision followed a report that urged a broader, intersectional approach to diversity in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). For
The pursuit of eternal youth goes back centuries. Modern cosmetic surgery is turning it into a reality – for rich people
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Margaret Gibson, Associate Professor of Sociology, Griffith University The Conversation, CC BY-SA Kris Jenner’s “new” face sparked myriad headlines about how she can look so good at 69 years old. While she’s not confirmed what sort of procedures she’s undergone, speculation abounds. As a US reality TV
Woodside’s North West Shelf approval is by no means a one-off. Here are 6 other giant gas projects to watch
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Hepburn, Professor, Deakin Law School, Deakin University GREG WOOD/AFP via Getty Images The federal government’s decision to extend the life of Woodside’s North West Shelf gas plant in Western Australia has been condemned as a climate disaster. The gas lobby claims more gas is needed to
Unprecedented heat in the North Atlantic Ocean kickstarted Europe’s hellish 2023 summer. Now we know what caused it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew England, Scientia Professor and Deputy Director of the ARC Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science, UNSW Sydney Westend61/Getty Images In June 2023, a record-breaking marine heatwave swept across the North Atlantic Ocean, smashing previous temperature records. Soon after, deadly heatwaves broke out across large areas
Bowel cancer rates are declining in people over 50. But why are they going up in younger adults?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Mahady, Associate Professor, Gastroenterologist & Clinical Epidemiologist, Monash University Thirdman/Pexels Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in Australia, with more than 15,000 cases diagnosed annually. It’s also the second most common cause of cancer-related death. Recently, headlines have warned of an uptick in cases
Australian kids BYO lunches to school. There is a healthier way to feed students
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liesel Spencer, Associate Professor, School of Law, Western Sydney University Getty Images/ courtneyk Australian parents will be familiar with this school morning routine: hastily making sandwiches or squeezing leftovers into containers, grabbing a snack from the cupboard and a piece of fruit from the counter. This would
Australia’s charity sector is growing – but many smaller charities are doing it tough
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Margaret Faulkner, Senior Marketing Scientist, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, University of South Australia Revenue for Australia’s charity and not-for-profit sector has reached record highs, and total donations have grown. But the story isn’t the same everywhere, and some smaller charities may be struggling. That’s according to the latest edition
Taylor Swift now owns all the music she has ever made: a copyright expert breaks it down
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wellett Potter, Lecturer in Law, University of New England On Friday, Taylor Swift announced she now owns all the music she has ever made. This reported US$360 million acquisition includes all the master recordings to her first six albums, music videos, concert films, album art, photos and
The secret to Ukraine’s battlefield successes against Russia – it knows wars are never won in the past
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Sussex, Associate Professor (Adj), Griffith Asia Institute; and Fellow, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University The iconoclastic American general Douglas Macarthur once said that “wars are never won in the past”. That sentiment certainly seemed to ring true following Ukraine’s recent audacious attack on
Politics with Michelle Grattan: historian Emma Shortis warns against falling into Trump’s trade traps
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to have his first face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump this month, against a background of increased steel and aluminium tariffs and US pressure on Australia to boost its defence spending. How Australia
Extreme weather events have slowed economic growth, adding to the case for another rate cut
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stella Huangfu, Associate Professor, School of Economics, University of Sydney Australia’s economy slowed sharply in the March quarter, growing by just 0.2% as government spending slowed and extreme weather events dampened demand. That followed an increase of 0.6% in the previous quarter. The national accounts report from
Young people who witness domestic violence are more likely to be victims of it. Here’s how we can help them
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kristin Diemer, Associate Professor of Sociology, The University of Melbourne In our national discussions on domestic and family violence, much of the focus is rightly on the women experiencing the violence and how best to help them. But another vital, less acknowledged part of the puzzle is
Gluten intolerance and coeliac disease can both cause nausea, bloating and pain. What’s the difference?
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How physicists used antimatter, supercomputers and giant magnets to solve a 20-year-old mystery
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Finn Stokes, Ramsay Fellow in Physics, University of Adelaide Cindy Arnold, Fermilab Physicists are always searching for new theories to improve our understanding of the universe and resolve big unanswered questions. But there’s a problem. How do you search for undiscovered forces or particles when you don’t
Ahead of the Brisbane Olympics, it’s time for Australia to get serious about esports
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ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for June 4, 2025
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on June 4, 2025.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)
June 04, 2025
Washington D.C.— U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said today he has joined Senate and House colleagues in pressing for answers from the Trump administration about its decision to end Temporary Protected Status for Afghan nationals living in the United States.
The lawmakers note the devastating impact of this decision, including on the many Afghans who supported the U.S. military during the war in Afghanistan and who face significant danger upon their return.
“We write with deep concern about the Department of Homeland Security’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghanistan, which is scheduled to take effect on July 14, 2025,” the lawmakers wrote to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “This decision is devastating for resettled Afghan nationals in the United States who have fled widespread violence, economic instability, challenging humanitarian conditions, and human rights abuses in their home country.”
“Many of these Afghans fearlessly served as strong allies to the United States military during the war in Afghanistan, and we cannot blatantly disregard their service,” they wrote. “We respectfully ask that you redesignate Afghanistan for TPS to ensure Afghan nationals in the U.S. are not forced to return to devastating humanitarian, civic, and economic conditions,”
“The grave conditions that forced Afghan nationals to flee and seek refuge in the U.S. following the return of the Taliban to power remain,” they wrote. “Because of this harsh reality, forcing Afghan nationals in the U.S. to return to Afghanistan would be reckless and inhumane, and would threaten the safety and well-being of thousands of individuals and families, especially women and girls.”
The lawmakers close the letter urging the administration to reverse course and seeking the following information:
· Please provide any reports that credibly determine conditions have improved in Afghanistan since 2023.
· The TPS termination announcement stated “there are recipients who have been under investigation for fraud and threatening our public safety and national security.” Please provide additional details on how the Administration made this determination and how widespread these allegations of fraud and threats are.
· Describe the collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State to reach the determination that Afghanistan no longer meets the conditions for designation for TPS.
· Please provide any reports that indicate the Taliban is no longer a threat to Afghan nationals that assisted the United States military during the war in Afghanistan.
· What steps are you taking to ensure Afghan nationals who previously had TPS will not be sent back to persecution or torture in Afghanistan?
The letter was led by Senators Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Congressman Glenn Ivey, D-Md. In addition to Wyden, the letter was signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Chris Coons, D-Del., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., John Fetterman, D-Pa., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Tim Kaine, D-Va., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Andy Kim, D-N.J., Angus King, I-Maine, Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Tina Smith, D-Minn., Mark Warner, D-Va., Rev. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Representatives Gabe Amo, D-R.I., Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., Rebecca Balint, D-Vt., Wesley Bell, D-Mo., Don Beyer, D-Va., Nikki Budzinski, D-Ill., Salud Carbajal, D-Calif., Troy Carter, D-La., Sean Casten, D-Ill., Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, Judy Chu, D-Calif., Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., Joe Courtney, D-Conn., Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., Diana DeGette, D-Colo., Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., Sarah Elfreth, D-Md., Dwight Evans, D-Pa., Cleo Fields, D-Ga., Robert Garcia, D-Calif., Jesus García, D-Ill., Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., Vincente Gonzalez, D-Texas, Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., Jonathan Jackson D-Ill., Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., Hank Johnson, D-Ga., Julie Johnson, D-Texas, Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, Bill Keating, D-Mass., Robin Kelly, D-Ill., Tim Kennedy, D-N.Y., Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, John Larson, D-Conn., George Latimer, D-N.Y., Mike Levin, D-Calif., Ted Lieu, D-Calif., Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., April McClain Delaney, D-Md., Jennifer McClellan, D-Va., Betty McCollum, D-Minn., Jim McGovern, D-Mass., Greg Meeks, D-N.Y., Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., Seth Moulton, D-Mass., Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., Johnny Olszewski, D-Md., Frank Pallone, D-N.J., Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., Scott Peters, D-Calif., Jaime Raskin, D-Md., Linda Sánchez, D-Calif., Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., Brad Sherman, D-Calif., Eric Sorensen, D-Ill., Suhas Subramanyam, D- Va., Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., Dina Titus, D-Nev., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., Juan Vargas, D-Calif., Marc Veasey, D-Texas, and Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J.
The full text of the letter is here.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Alaska Lisa Murkowski
06.04.25
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-AK and a senior member of the Committee on Appropriations, today secured a commitment from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to convene a meeting with Alaska seafood stakeholders on trade issues with Russia and ways the administration can help bolster the industry.
Speaking at hearing held by the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, Murkowski emphasized the importance of fair-trade practices for Alaska’s fishermen. Secretary Lutnick agreed with the Senator’s assessment, reinforcing that the administration’s trade policy “is to protect our fisherman, which are a key resource of the United States of America.” The Secretary committed to join the Senator in sitting down with leaders of the Alaska seafood industry to chart a path forward.
Click here to watch the full exchange.
The full transcript of Senator Murkowski’s conversation with Secretary Lutnick can be read below.
TRANSCRIPT
Murkowski: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, welcome. I’m glad to follow the Ranking Member as well as the Chairman of the committee in talking about fisheries. You know I’ll never disappoint you, when you come before the committee, we’re going to talk about fish, and I appreciate what you have shared with Senator Collins about the administration’s desire to protect our fisherman. We’re pleased with the executive order relating to American seafood competitiveness.
I had an opportunity, just yesterday, to visit with one of our seafood industry leaders in the state of Alaska. I thought we were going to be talking about some of the tax provisions that are included in the reconciliation package, but he basically said if we can’t deal with trade issues when it comes to Alaska’s seafood, we are not even going to have to worry about the tax pieces because the trade implications are going to kill us. In Alaska, Russia has declared war on Alaska seafood and they have been very direct, and very open about it. They are using their dominance in the seafood market to help fund their war against Ukraine. And the effort is one that we are looking at, and needing to make sure, I mean really desperate to make sure, that the administration fully understands the implications of what is happening right now.
We’ve got the largest federal fisheries in the nation, about sixty percent of America’s harvest by volume. Seafood processing is 70 percent of Alaska’s manufacturing employment. The Alaska seafood industry generates $6 billion in economic output for that state, it employs 48,000 people in Alaska. Right now, we have Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator of EPA up in the state, all focused on aspects of our resources. But the other great resource for our state is our fisheries, and they are in peril.
I would ask for your commitment to sit down with leaders of the Alaska seafood industry, those important stakeholders, so that we can talk about a path forward on some of these issues that are really harming our industry right now. Can you give me that commitment, that we can work with your team to identify a time to do just that?
Lutnick: Why don’t you organize it, and it would be my pleasure to come and do it together with you, so we can make sure every topic is on the table, and we address it. Because our trade policy is to protect our fisherman, which are a key resource of the United States of America. We are on it and we know about it, I know all about the Russian issues. They’ve been attacking us for years, this is nothing new, sadly. But let’s do it together and this administration is on your side and is on it.
Murkowski: Excellent, I look forward to that, and we’ll be working with you on that.
A couple more issues, there has been a lot of discussion about NOAA, and the budget cuts, as well as with the impact on the National Weather Service.
We’ve been working with the Secretary of Transportation, Secretary Duffy, on aviation safety. We’re going to make some headway, there’s good support within the budget now to do that. But we have a connection here with the Department of Commerce, in that the Automated Surface Observing Systems, the ASOS systems as they are known, which provide for aviation safety, are managed by the National Weather Service. So, right now we’re looking at about a 40 percent staffing shortage. I’ve heard what you’ve said to other colleagues, about you know, you’re not cutting in key areas. I need to make sure that we are looking critically at the National Weather Service staffing in Alaska, to make sure that we are not compromising in any ways, the systems that are vital to transportation, commerce, and safety. We need them to stay operational, so if you can just commit to me that you’ll look at?
Lutnick: That sounds sensible to me.
Murkowski: Another one that works on the safety side, and again it ties into our extraordinary oil resources. We have to move that oil by ship out of Valdez, it has to go through Prince William Sound, and they rely on the National Data Buoy Center to manage, not only the buoys there in Prince William Sound, but over a thousand buoys that are operated by both domestic and international partners. Right now, we have a buoy, the Seal Rocks Weather Buoy, that’s right outside of Valdez. But the tankers can’t leave Valdez unless they get the wave height information from the buoy, the weather buoy that’s sitting out there, right? This buoy has been out of commission for months, and we’re told it’s due to funding for operation and maintenance in NOAA’s budget.
Lutnick: It’s really old.
Murkowski: It is old!
Lutnick: It needs to be replaced! Oh my god, if I showed you what that looked like, you and I would hold our heads in our hands.
Murkowski: We all look at them, and the problem it’s not just the buoy out there at Seal Rock, it is this system, this constellation, that is designed to be the information source, the protectorate for the safety. So, let’s work on this, but I highlight how….
Lutnick: How to modernize it, we’ve got to.
Murkowski: I highlight because we’ve got some work to do, but it all knits together. So, I’ve highlighted a couple of specific instances….
Lutnick: I promise you, we are in it together. I promise I agree with you.
Murkowski: I won’t make you go out there, if you’ll commit to me that we’re going to upgrade these systems. But in the meantime, we’re going to get them operational, so that we’re not compromising safety.
Lutnick: Absolutely.
Murkowski: I appreciate it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
***WATCH: Murray’s Q&A at nomination hearing *****
Washington, D.C. — Today, at a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing to consider pending nominations, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, questioned Cheryl Mason, President Trump’s nominee to be Inspector General (IG) of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), on how—as a political appointee for President Trump and an advisor to VA Secretary Doug Collins—she can be trusted to serve as an independent and nonpartisan watchdog for VA, as is the job of the VA Inspector General. Under Secretary Collins’ leadership, VA is stonewalling members of Congress on critical oversight requests and has rolled out controversial policies to dramatically limit Congressional engagement with veterans and VA employees.
Senator Murray began by probing Ms. Mason on her time serving as a senior advisory to Secretary Collins at VA, including even after she was nominated to be Inspector General: “Ms. Mason, you did say on your questionnaire that you continued to be a senior adviser to Secretary Collins after you were nominated to become the Inspector General monitoring his agency. While you were senior advisor to Secretary Collins, what discussions were you involved in related to abruptly canceling contracts, or ending DEI efforts, or eliminating outreach to LGBTQ [veterans]?”
“At the time I answered the questionnaire, I was senior advisor to the Secretary. That role ended very quickly after I submitted that questionnaire,” Ms. Mason replied. “So as for your question as to those roles, the only roles I had with contracts were ensuring that the organizations that were in my portfolio knew that they needed to justify the contracts and ensured that they responded timely. I did not review contracts; I was not involved in those. As far as in the DEI situation, that was an Executive Order, and shortly after the senior advisors came in, they were followed by more senior advisors, and that was not something that was on my plate. That belonged to General Counsel and the senior advisor who was charged with EOs.”
“What substantive work were you doing if you weren’t involved in any of that?” Senator Murray pressed.
“My role as senior advisor was to look into actions that were going on in the administration—,” Ms. Mason said.
“But a lot of the actions that were going on in the administration that we know about were about ending DEI, about firing employees, about canceling contracts. So that was most of the activity that was going on there,” Murray replied.
“That was not in my portfolio. There were separate senior advisors assigned to that. My portfolio was looking at the way those organizations operated and how they served veterans, particularly VBA, because it’s such a large organization. There were challenges with the digital GI Bill, challenge with disability compensation backlog and inventory, with both the Board and VBA, challenges with loan guarantees. There were a variety of challenges within VBA that I was looking at,” said Ms. Mason.
Senator Murray followed up: “Let me ask you differently: What was your engagement with DOGE and the White House outside of the Presidential Personnel Office?”
“I had no engagement with DOGE,” Ms. Mason said.
“None, zero? No contact?,” Murray asked.
“No. The only contact I had was a swearing-in—I attended a swearing-in for a person who has since, I guess, has left the department in DOGE. That person, I attended the VA swearing-in. That was it,” Ms. Mason replied.
Senator Murray continued her questioning by asking whether Ms. Mason would Congressional oversight of the OIG. “As you know, Congress has a responsibility to conduct oversight over the Office of Inspector General to make sure that they are properly conducting their role, so it’s really crucial, as you well know, that the OIG is transparent. If you are confirmed, will you provide us with a list of every ongoing OIG investigation within 30 days?”
“Yes, Senator, I will do so,” replied Ms. Mason.
“The budget for VA proposed the elimination of ‘unnecessary’ outreach activities. From a Congressional perspective, it is really critical to make sure that any canceled outreach doesn’t impact veterans’ ability to receive care that is necessary to provide. If confirmed, will you hold the Department responsible for conducting all outreach that is in statute or policy, even if the political leadership—meaning your former boss, Secretary Collins—doesn’t want to reach out to those groups?” Senator Murray pressed.
Ms. Mason responded, “Senator Murray, I will look into all those situations and I will see where there are statutory require[ments] and they will be held accountable under my watch as OIG if confirmed.”
Senator Murray continued, “Congress was very clear in 1978 when it passed the law governing Inspectors General. The law states, and I want to quote it, ‘each Inspector General shall be appointed without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of integrity.’ Do you believe that an Inspector General should be entirely independent from the administration in which they serve?”
“I do,” Ms. Mason replied.
“Well, you were a political appointee for President Trump in his first term, and as we said on your questionnaire, you said you continued to be an advisor to Secretary Collins after you were nominated for this. Do you believe that this demonstrates the kind of nonpartisanship it takes to successfully execute this job?” asked Senator Murray.
“Yes, I do believe I have that,” said Ms. Mason, referencing her prior experience in VA serving under different administrations.
Senator Murray was the first woman to join the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the first woman to chair the Committee—as the daughter of a World War II veteran, supporting veterans and their families has always been an important priority for her. Senator Murray has been a leading voice in the Senate speaking out forcefully against President Trump and Elon Musk’s mass firing of VA employees and VA researchers across the country and Elon Musk and DOGE’s infiltration of the VA, including accessing veterans’ sensitive personal information.
Last month at a hearing on veterans’ mental health, Senator Murray pressed administration officials on the importance of transparency and communication with Congress and how the Trump administration’s mass firings might undermine care for veterans who have dealt with sexual trauma. In February, Murray grilled Trump’s then-nominee for VA Deputy Secretary, Dr. Paul Lawrence, on the mass firings of VA employees and VA researchers. After pressing Doug Collins on EHR and protecting women’s access to VA health care, including lifesaving abortion care, at his nomination hearing, Senator Murray voted against Doug Collins’s nomination to be VA Secretary in early February, sounding the alarm over Elon Musk and DOGE’s activities at the VA and making clear that the Trump administration’s lawlessness is putting our national security and our veterans at risk.
Source: New South Wales Community and Justice
Motorists urged to drive to the conditions ahead of long weekend
Thursday, 5 June 2025 – 12:08 pm.
Tasmania Police is urging motorists to slow down and drive to the conditions this coming long weekend.
With more traffic expected on the roads across the weekend, motorists can expect to also see police.
Acting Inspector Martin Parker from Western Road Policing Services said police across the state would be conducting a range of high-visibility and covert patrols.
“With winter now upon us, and rain forecast for the long weekend, motorists should ensure their vehicles are roadworthy, drive to the conditions and allow extra time for their journeys,” he said.
“We will have a presence in both urban and rural areas, where the potential combination of unfamiliar roads, unpredictable weather and increased traffic can pose significant risks.
“We want everyone to enjoy their long weekend, but we also want them to return home safely. That is why police and the community need to continue to work together – road safety is a joint effort.
“Please, plan your journey, take regular breaks, and avoid any risky behaviours. We are asking people to consistently make good decisions, whether you are driving a vehicle, bicycle, or attempting to walk across a road. Bad choices can lead to serious consequences.”
Anyone who witnesses dangerous driving behaviour should contact Tasmania Police on 131 444, or 000 in case of an emergency.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
NEW ORLEANS, June 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until July 22, 2025 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Red Cat Holdings, Inc. (NasdaqCM: RCAT), if they purchased the Company’s securities between March 18, 2022 and January 15, 2025, inclusive (the “Class Period”). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Get Help
Red Cat investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nasdaq-rcat/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options.
About the Lawsuit
Red Cat and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.
On January 16, 2025, Kerrisdale Capital reported that the Company had overstated the value of its SRR Contract, which was only worth approximately $20 million to $25 million based on U.S. Army budget documents, and that the Company had been misleading investors about the production capacity of its Salt Lake City Facility for years, while also raising concerns about the timing of executive departures and insider transactions that took place shortly after Red Cat announced it had won the SRR Contract.
On this news, the price of Red Cat’s shares fell $2.35 per share, or 21.54%, over the following two trading sessions, to close at $8.56 per share on January 17, 2025.
The case is Olsen v. Red Cat Holdings, Inc., No. 25-cv-05427.
About ClaimsFiler
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassandra Mudgway, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Canterbury
The sudden resignation this week of one of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s senior press secretaries was politically embarrassing, but also raises questions about how New Zealand law operates in such cases.
A Stuff investigation revealed the Beehive staffer allegedly recorded audio of sessions with sex workers, and whose phone contained images and video of women at the gym, supermarket shopping, and filmed through a window while getting dressed.
The man at the centre of the allegations has reportedly apologised and said he had sought professional help for his behaviour last year.
The police have said the case did not meet the threshold for prosecution. And this highlights the difficulties surrounding existing laws when it comes to non-consensual recording, harassment and image-based harm.
Describing his “shock” at the allegations against his former staffer, the prime minister said he was “open to revisiting” the laws around intimate audio recordings without consent. If that happens, there are several key areas to consider.
New Zealand law prohibits the non-consensual creation, possession and distribution of intimate visual recordings under sections 216H to 216J of the Crimes Act 1961. These provisions aim to protect individuals’ privacy and bodily autonomy in situations where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
The definition of “intimate visual recording” under these sections is limited to visual material, such as photographs, video or digital images, and does not extend to audio-only recordings.
As a result, covert audio recordings of sex workers engaged in sexual activity would fall outside the scope of these offences, even though the harm caused is similar.
If such audio or video recordings were ever shared with others or posted online, that may be a criminal offence under the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 – if it can be proved this was done with the intention to cause serious emotional distress.
Covert recording of women working out or walking down a road, including extreme closeups of clothed body parts, would unlikely meet the definition of “intimate visual recording”.
That is because they do not typically involve nudity, undergarments or private bodily activities, and they often occur in public places where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy.
Even extreme closeups may not meet the threshold unless they are taken from beneath or through clothing in a way that targets the genitals, buttocks or breasts. While they are invasive and degrading, they may remain lawful.
By contrast, it is more likely that covert filming of women dressing or undressing through a window would satisfy the definition, depending on where the women were. For example, were they in a place where they would have a reasonable expectation of privacy?
If the non-consensual recording captures a person in a state of undress, then the creation of such images or videos could be considered a crime.
Under the Harassment Act 1997, “harassment” is defined as a pattern of behaviour directed at a person that involves at least two specified acts within a 12-month period, or a single continuing act.
These acts can include following, watching, or any conduct that causes the person to fear for their safety. Although covert filming or audio recording is not expressly referenced, the acts of following and watching within alleged voyeuristic behaviour, if repeated, could fall within the definition.
But harassment is only a crime where it is done with the intent or knowledge that the behaviour will likely cause a person to fear for their safety. This is a threshold that might be difficult to prove in voyeurism or similar cases.
Covert recording of women’s bodies, whether audio or visual, is part of a broader pattern of gender-based violence facilitated by technology. Feminist legal scholars have framed this as “image-based sexual abuse”. The term captures how non-consensual creation, recording, sharing or threatening to share intimate content violates sexual autonomy and dignity.
This form of harm disproportionately affects women and often reflects gender power imbalances rooted in misogyny, surveillance and control. The concept has become more mainstream and is referenced by law and policymakers in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Some forms of image-based sexual abuse are criminalised in New Zealand, but others are not. What we know of this case suggests some key gaps remain – largely because law reform has been piecemeal and reactive.
For example, the intimate visual recording offences in the Crimes Act were introduced in 2006 when wider access to digital cameras led to an upswing in covert filming (of women showering or “upskirting”, for example).
Therefore, the definition is limited to these behaviours. But the law was drafted before later advances in smartphone technology, now owned by many more people than in 2006.
Generally, laws are thought of as “living documents”, able to be read in line with the development of new or advanced technology. But when the legislation itself is drafted with certain technology or behaviours in mind, it is not necessarily future-proofed.
There is a risk to simply adding more offences to plug the gaps (and New Zealand is not alone in having to deal with this challenge). Amending the Crimes Act to include intimate audio recordings might address one issue. But new or advanced technologies will inevitably raise others.
Rather than responding to each new form of abuse as it arises, it would be better to take a step back and develop a more principled, future-focused criminal law framework.
That would mean defining offences in a technology-neutral way. Grounded in core values such as privacy, autonomy and consent, they would be more capable of adapting to new contexts and tools.
Only then can the law provide meaningful protection against the evolving forms of gendered harm facilitated by digital technologies.
Cassandra Mudgway does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Resignation of PM’s press secretary highlights gaps in NZ law on covert recording and harassment – https://theconversation.com/resignation-of-pms-press-secretary-highlights-gaps-in-nz-law-on-covert-recording-and-harassment-258274
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne
With almost all primary votes now counted to two-party preferred (as I explained on May 29), Labor has won the national two-party vote by a 55.3–44.7 margin, although this may drop to a 55.2–44.8 margin once the remaining votes from Bradfield come in.
Labor’s two-party share is over two points higher than in any poll taken in the final week before the election.
Final primary votes were 34.6% Labor (up 2.0% since the 2022 election), 31.8% Coalition (down 3.9%), 12.2% Greens (steady), 6.4% One Nation (up 1.4%), 1.9% Trumpet of Patriots (down 2.2% from United Australia Party in 2022), 7.4% independents (up 2.1%) and 5.7% others (up 0.6%).
The table below shows the primary vote and two-party estimates of all ten polls conducted in the final week before the election, with the election results at the bottom. When polls gave a breakdown for Trumpet of Patriots, independents and others, I’ve combined these for an all Others total. Bold numbers in the table represent estimates that were within 1% of the result.
Fieldwork dates for the Ipsos poll were not released, but it was published in The Daily Mail on election day, so it was presumably taken in the last week. Published primary votes in this poll included 5% undecided, which I have redistributed proportionally to the parties listed.
In 2019, all the polls gave Labor between a 51–49 and a 52–48 lead. The actual result was a Coalition win by 51.5–48.5.
This year, all polls had Labor between a 51–49 and a 53–47 lead and the actual result was a Labor win by 55.3–44.7. The two polls (Freshwater and Ipsos) that had Labor below a 52–48 lead were particularly poor.
The polls understated Labor’s primary vote and overstated the Coalition’s. Labor won the primary vote by 2.7 points, when nearly all polls had the Coalition ahead (Redbridge was tied). The Freshwater and Ipsos polls performed badly in overstating the Coalition’s vote.
The Greens were mostly overstated, while One Nation was overstated by every pollster except Morgan.
Preference flow assumptions compounded the polls’ problems. If I plug the election primary votes into my 2022 preference flows spreadsheet, I get a Labor two-party lead of 55.3–44.7, the same as the actual result.
Newspoll had higher One Nation preference flows to the Coalition than in 2022. If they’d used 2022 flows, Labor would have led by about 53–47. YouGov used data from its MRP polls that gave the Coalition both a higher share of One Nation and Greens preferences than in 2022. If they’d used 2022 flows, Labor would have led by 54.2–45.8.
We won’t have data on preference flows by party for some time, but it’s likely that One Nation preferences did become more pro-Coalition. However, Greens and independent preferences compensated by becoming more pro-Labor.
Respondent-allocated polls from Essential, Resolve, Freshwater, Redbridge and Spectre all suggested this would be the case. YouGov may have used MRP polls earlier in the year to allocate preferences. Labor was doing badly on preferences earlier.
The poll graph that I used in my pre-election articles is below. There was a surge to Labor in March and April. Labor had been polling poorly from December to February and may have lost an election held then. The polls told us that Labor had recovered to an election-winning position, but they understated the magnitude of that win.
The best two polls were not the final polls, but a Morgan poll taken two weeks from the election that gave Labor a 55.5–44.5 lead. Morgan’s final two polls both gave Labor a 53–47 lead. The other good poll was a Redbridge poll of 20 marginal seats that gave Labor a 54.5–45.5 lead a week before the election (actual result 54.8–45.2 to Labor across these seats).
Redbridge would have been better if they’d stuck with their 54.5–45.5 to Labor in the marginal seats in this poll, but they dropped back to 53–47 to Labor in the poll published on election day.
The final YouGov MRP poll predicted Labor would win 84 of the 150 seats, understating Labor by ten seats. An exit poll of early voters from the first two days of early in-person voting correctly had swings to Labor.
While public polling was poor at this election, Liberal internal polling was worse. This article in The Australian published the day before the election said the Coalition was confident of gaining ten seats from Labor. Labor actually gained 14 seats from the Coalition.
I’m not going to relate every seat poll in this election, but there were some seat poll stinkers.
I referred to JWS seat polls of Ryan, Brisbane and Griffith on April 18. These polls gave the Liberal National Party a 57–43 lead over Labor in Ryan, with the Greens a distant third on primary votes. In Brisbane, Labor led the LNP by 51–49. In Griffith, Labor led the LNP by 51–49, but the LNP led the Greens by 53–47.
In Ryan, the Greens made the final two and defeated the LNP by 53.3–46.7. If Labor had made the final two, they would have won by 57.8–42.2. In Brisbane, Labor crushed the LNP by 59.0–41.0. In Griffith, Labor and the Greens made the final two, and a two-party count between Labor and the LNP had Labor winning by 65.9–34.1.
I referred to a Compass seat poll of McMahon on April 11. This poll gave right-wing independent Matt Camenzuli 41% of the primary vote, the Liberals 20% and Labor incumbent Chris Bowen just 19%. Bowen actually won 45.5% of the primary vote, the Liberals 26.8% and Camenzuli just 9.8%.
I referred to KJC polls of four seats on April 27. These polls gave the Liberals a 49–45 lead including undecided in Tangney and a 46–41 lead in Blair. In Richmond, the Greens led Labor by 39–34. In Hunter, Labor led the Nationals by 45–41.
Labor actually won Tangney by 57.0–43.0 and Blair by 55.7–44.3. In Richmond, the Greens did not make the final two, and Labor would have beaten them easily if they had. In Hunter, One Nation instead of the Nationals made the final two, with Labor winning by 59.0–41.0. Had the Nationals made the final two, Labor would have won by a similar 59.5–40.5.
In Liberal-held Bradfield, Teal Nicolette Boele defeated the Liberals by 26 votes after a recount, overturning an eight-vote Liberal lead on the original count. The Liberals could challenge this result in the courts, but Boele will be seated until the courts decide.
In Goldstein, the partial recount of primary votes for Teal incumbent Zoe Daniel and Liberal Tim Wilson was completed on May 31. Wilson won by 175 votes, down from 260 before the recount started.
With these results, the final seat outcome of the election is 94 Labor out of 150, 43 Coalition and 13 for all Others. That’s a Labor majority of 38 by the UK method.
Western Australian Greens Senator Dorinda Cox, who was elected in 2022, defected to Labor on Monday. This gives Labor 29 of the 76 senators and the Greens ten. Labor will still need either the Coalition or the Greens to reach the 39 votes required for a Senate majority. Cox’s six-year term will expire in June 2028.
On Tuesday the centre-left candidate won the South Korean presidential election that had been called early after the previous right-wing president was impeached and removed from office. On Sunday the Law and Justice (PiS) candidate won the Polish presidential election, defeating a pro-Western centrist.
Donald Trump’s US national ratings have improved since his nadir in late April. I wrote about these events for The Poll Bludger on Wednesday.
Adrian Beaumont does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Final counting shows polls understated Labor in 2025 election almost as much as they overstated it in 2019 – https://theconversation.com/final-counting-shows-polls-understated-labor-in-2025-election-almost-as-much-as-they-overstated-it-in-2019-256981
Source: New South Wales Community and Justice
Enjoy Dark Mofo and stay safe
Thursday, 5 June 2025 – 11:24 am.
As thousands of people descend on Hobart for the Dark Mofo festival, Tasmania Police is urging pedestrians and motorists to prioritise safety, particularly during the darker hours of the event.
Tasmania’s popular Dark Mofo winter festival is back with a full program of events in Hobart including the opening night of the Winter Feast, on Castray Esplanade, on Thursday.
There will be road closures and traffic disruptions across the Hobart CBD during the two-week festival, with further information available at www.darkmofo.net.au/info/road-closures
While it is an amazing time of the year for locals, and our interstate and international visitors, police are urging everyone to enjoy it safely and responsibly.
“Pedestrians are among our most vulnerable road users, especially during busy events such as Dark Mofo,” Hobart Police Inspector John Toohey said.
“This year already, three pedestrians have died on Tasmanian roads, with a further 14 seriously injured.
“We’re asking everyone to stay alert, avoid distractions such as phones or headphones, and only cross at designated crossings.
“With many festival events taking place at night and in low-light conditions, we’re hoping to see responsible behaviour, that is, people looking out for each other, obeying traffic signals and being visible in the dark.”
Supporting Inspector Toohey, Tasmania Police State Road Safety Co-ordinator Inspector Justin Lawson urged motorists and pedestrians to take extra care in Hobart’s city and waterfront precincts.
“Our message is, we are just as excited as you that Dark Mofo is back,” Inspector Lawson said.
“And while savouring all that is on offer in our city, please be mindful of each other’s safety on our streets and footpaths.
“With thousands anticipated to move between different venues, there will be a marked increase in pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
“Please cross the road only when safe and if driving, be alert to festival-goers on foot.”
CAPTION: Tasmania Police officers (from left) Constable Scott Hill, Constable Erin McNamara, Constable Tess Allanby and Constable Aaron Eaton urge locals and visitors to Hobart to enjoy the Dark Mofo festival safely. Picture: Tasmania Police
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced the Protecting Law Enforcement from Doxxing Act to make it illegal to dox federal law enforcement officials following the dangerous actions of Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell and his office to publicly release the names of law enforcement officers last week. This puts them at a higher risk of being targeted by criminal gangs, including MS-13 and Tren De Aragua.
“Blue city mayors are doing everything they can to obstruct the Trump administration’s efforts to deport criminal illegal aliens,” said Senator Blackburn. “Just last week, Nashville Mayor O’Connell and his office doxxed federal law enforcement officers after the Trump administration worked with Tennessee Highway Patrol to arrest criminal illegal aliens. My Protecting Law Enforcement from Doxxing Act would make this illegal and hold blue city mayors accountable for obstructing enforcement of our immigration laws by putting law enforcement officers in harm’s way.”
BACKGROUND
Last year, an illegal alien from Mexico was charged with criminal homicide and evidence tampering after Nashville restaurant owner, Matt Carney, was tragically killed in a hit-and-run crash. Just a few months earlier, another illegal alien was charged with attempted kidnapping, sexual battery, public intoxication, and evading arrest after he followed a woman into the bathroom and groped her at the Nashville Sundae Club in the Gulch.
Click here for a list of examples of the criminal illegal aliens who were arrested during a joint operation in Nashville by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Tennessee Highway Patrol, including convicted rapists, drug dealers, and individuals affiliated with MS-13. Senator Blackburn praised this operation in a recent column published by The Tennessean.
Following this operation, Mayor O’Connell and his office doxxed federal law enforcement officers, putting them at risk of being targeted by criminal gangs.
Senator Blackburn has called on the U.S. Department of Justice to launch an investigation into the actions of Mayor O’Connell and his office for attempting to undermine President Trump and ICE’s work to get dangerous criminals out of Tennessee communities.
THE PROTECTING LAW ENFORCEMENT FROM DOXXING ACT
The Protecting Law Enforcement from Doxxing Act would make it illegal to publish the name of a federal law enforcement officer with the intent to obstruct a criminal investigation or immigration operation.
Under this legislation, an individual found guilty of doxxing a federal law enforcement officer would face a fine and/or imprisonment of five years.
Click here for bill text.
RELATED
Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Matthew Sussex, Associate Professor (Adj), Griffith Asia Institute; and Fellow, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University
The iconoclastic American general Douglas Macarthur once said that “wars are never won in the past”.
That sentiment certainly seemed to ring true following Ukraine’s recent audacious attack on Russia’s strategic bomber fleet, using small, cheap drones housed in wooden pods and transported near Russian airfields in trucks.
The synchronised operation targeted Russian Air Force planes as far away as Irkutsk – more than 5,000 kilometres from Ukraine. Early reports suggest around a third of Russia’s long-range bombers were either destroyed or badly damaged. Russian military bloggers have put the estimated losses lower, but agree the attack was catastrophic for the Russian Air Force, which has struggled to adapt to Ukrainian tactics.
This particular attack was reportedly 18 months in the making. To keep it secret was an extraordinary feat. Notably, Kyiv did not inform the United States that the attack was in the offing. The Ukrainians judged – perhaps understandably – that sharing intelligence on their plans could have alerted the Kremlin in relatively short order.
Ukraine’s success once again demonstrates that its armed forces and intelligence services are the modern masters of battlefield innovation and operational security.
Western military planners have been carefully studying Ukraine’s successes ever since its forces managed to blunt Russia’s initial onslaught deep into its territory in early 2022, and then launched a stunning counteroffensive that drove the Russian invaders back towards their original starting positions.
There have been other lessons, too, about how the apparently weak can stand up to the strong. These include:
attacks on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s vanity project, the Kerch Bridge, linking the Russian mainland to occupied Crimea (the last assault occurred just days ago)
the relentless targeting of Russia’s oil and gas infrastructure with drones
attacks against targets in Moscow to remind the Russian populace about the war, and
its incursion into the Kursk region, which saw Ukrainian forces capture around 1,000 square kilometres of Russian territory.
On each occasion, Western defence analysts have questioned the wisdom of Kyiv’s moves.
Why invade Russia using your best troops when Moscow’s forces continue laying waste to cities in Ukraine?
Why hit Russia’s energy infrastructure if it doesn’t markedly impede the battlefield mobility of Russian forces?
And why attack symbolic targets like bridges when it could provoke Putin into dangerous “escalation”?
The answer to this is the key to effective innovation during wartime. Ukraine’s defence and security planners have interpreted their missions – and their best possible outcomes – far more accurately than conventional wisdom would have thought.
Above all, they have focused on winning the war they are in, rather than those of the past. This means:
using technological advancements to force the Russians to change their tactics
shaping the information environment to promote their narratives and keep vital Western aid flowing, and
deploying surprise attacks not just as ways to boost public morale, but also to impose disproportionate costs on the Russian state.
In doing so, Ukraine has had an eye for strategic effects. As the smaller nation reliant on international support, this has been the only logical choice.
Putin has been prepared to commit a virtually inexhaustible supply of expendable cannon fodder to continue his country’s war ad infinitum. Russia has typically won its wars this way – by attrition – albeit at a tremendous human and material cost.
That said, Ukraine’s most recent surprise attack does not change the overall contours of the war. The only person with the ability to end it is Putin himself.
That’s why Ukraine is putting as much pressure as possible on his regime, as well as domestic and international perceptions of it. It is key to Ukraine’s theory of victory.
This is also why the latest drone attack is so significant. Russia needs its long-range bomber fleet, not just to fire conventional cruise missiles at Ukrainian civilian and infrastructure targets, but as aerial delivery systems for its strategic nuclear arsenal.
The destruction of even a small portion of Russia’s deterrence capability has the potential to affect its nuclear strategy. It has increasingly relied on this strategy to threaten the West.
A second impact of the attack is psychological. The drone attacks are more likely to enrage Putin than bring him to the bargaining table. However, they reinforce to the Russian military that there are few places – even on its own soil – that its air force can act with operational impunity.
The surprise attacks also provide a shot in the arm domestically, reminding Ukrainians they remain very much in the fight.
Finally, the drone attacks send a signal to Western leaders. US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, for instance, have gone to great lengths to tell the world that Ukraine is weak and has “no cards”. This action shows Kyiv does indeed have some powerful cards to play.
That may, of course, backfire: after all, Trump is acutely sensitive to being made to look a fool. He may look unkindly at resuming military aid to Ukraine after being shown up for saying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would be forced to capitulate without US support.
But Trump’s own hubris has already done that for him. His regular claims that a peace deal is just weeks away have gone beyond wishful thinking and are now monotonous.
Unsurprisingly, Trump’s reluctance to put anything approaching serious pressure on Putin has merely incentivised the Russian leader to string the process along.
Indeed, Putin’s insistence on a maximalist victory, requiring Ukrainian demobilisation and disarmament without any security guarantees for Kyiv, is not diplomacy at all. It is merely the reiteration of the same unworkable demands he has made since even before Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
However, Ukraine’s ability to smuggle drones undetected onto an opponent’s territory, and then unleash them all together, will pose headaches for Ukraine’s friends, as well as its enemies.
That’s because it makes domestic intelligence and policing part of any effective defence posture. It is a contingency democracies will have to plan for, just as much as authoritarian regimes, who are also learning from Ukraine’s lessons.
In other words, while the attack has shown up Russia’s domestic security services for failing to uncover the plan, Western security elites, as well as authoritarian ones, will now be wondering whether their own security apparatuses would be up to the job.
The drone strikes will also likely lead to questions about how useful it is to invest in high-end and extraordinarily expensive weapons systems when they can be vulnerable. The Security Service of Ukraine estimates the damage cost Russia US$7 billion (A$10.9 billion). Ukraine’s drones, by comparison, cost a couple of thousand dollars each.
At the very least, coming up with a suitable response to those challenges will require significant thought and effort. But as Ukraine has repeatedly shown us, you can’t win wars in the past.
Matthew Sussex has received funding from the Australian Research Council, the Atlantic Council, the Fulbright Foundation, the Carnegie Foundation, the Lowy Institute and various Australian government departments and agencies.
– ref. The secret to Ukraine’s battlefield successes against Russia – it knows wars are never won in the past – https://theconversation.com/the-secret-to-ukraines-battlefield-successes-against-russia-it-knows-wars-are-never-won-in-the-past-258172
Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Olivera Simic, Associate Professor in Law, Griffith University
Pinochet and Rauff? They were alike. Each had two faces. One gentle, the other hard. They were joined.
And they both got away with it … Sort of.
Philippe Sands loves to tell stories. A master of historical non-fiction, he has become known for his unique blend of deeply personal, legal and historical narratives, which weave together incredible coincidences with moving stories of human courage in the face of mass atrocities and horror.
Sands is a leading practitioner of international law, a professor at University College London, an author, a playwright, and the recipient of numerous literary awards. He is also someone whose family was murdered in the vortex of the Holocaust in Ukraine.
With his previous two books, East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity (2016) and The Ratline: Love, Lies and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive (2020), he demonstrated his unique skill in presenting complex legal cases to avid readers.
His latest book, 38 Londres Street: On Impunity, Pinochet in England and a Nazi in Patagonia, rounds out the trilogy.
If it weren’t based on facts, one might think it was a brilliantly crafted thriller.
Review: 38 Londres Street: On Impunity, Pinochet in England and a Nazi in Patagonia – Philippe Sands (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
38 Londres Street weaves together several narratives, but at its heart is the story of the legal attempts to end impunity for two accused criminals. One is Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. The other is Walther Rauff, a former SS officer who fled to South America and allegedly worked with Pinochet’s Secret Intelligence Service.
Sands brings these two men into a single narrative to highlight the legal struggle against impunity for mass atrocities, though he never loses sight of the victims and their human stories of suffering, courage and persistence.
These were people whose lives were abruptly and violently taken. Sands includes many of their names and tragic fates in his book. He informs his readers that the Cementerio Sara Braun in Punta Arenas, Chile, has a memorial bearing the names of Pinochet’s many victims. He clearly wants these individuals never to be forgotten.
The building at 38 Londres Street in Santiago was once a site of pain. At this secret interrogation centre, one of many across Santiago and the rest of Chile, Pinochet’s agents imprisoned, tortured, executed and disappeared tens of thousands of people deemed leftists, socialists, communists or “other undesirables”.
Pinochet came to power on September 11, 1973, overthrowing the democratically elected socialist government of President Salvador Allende in a military coup. He would rule Chile with an iron fist until 1990.
Chile’s youth became the targets of his murderous regime. Sands notes that most victims were between 21 and 30 years old. The majority of them were workers; the rest mainly comprised academics, professionals and students. The atrocities were committed with impunity.
Like all dictators, Pinochet believed himself untouchable. But in October 1998, while visiting the UK, he was arrested in London. Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón was seeking Pinochet’s extradition to Spain in order to try him for human rights abuses.
Garzón was acting under the then-controversial legal principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows courts in one country to prosecute grave human rights violations committed outside its borders, regardless of the nationality of the accused.
Never before had a former head of state of one country been arrested by, and in another, for committing international crimes.
Sands would become involved in one of the most famous cases in international law since the Nuremberg trials more than 50 years earlier. Pinochet’s lawyers offered him an opportunity to participate in the case, arguing for the former dictator’s immunity as a former head of state. His wife threatened to divorce him if he accepted.
He declined the offer. Instead, Sands represented Human Rights Watch when the Pinochet case was considered by the Law Lords.
Pinochet had been indicted for crimes against humanity and genocide. At issue was the question of whether Pinochet, as a former head of state, had immunity before the English courts for acts committed in another country while he was in office. Should there be a legal protection for former dictators?
The proceedings in London were novel and remarkable, writes Sands, because this was an open legal question when Pinochet was arrested. His arrest raised an unprecedented issue: was there an exception to the rule of immunity for a former head of state when a crime in international law was involved? And did the exception apply before a national court, rather than an international one?
Many believed Pinochet’s immunity should be lifted and extradition proceedings should go ahead, so that he could answer for the deaths of Spanish nationals and others. If that did not happen, it was argued, the travesty of justice would signal that any dictator could get away with genocide. As Sands writes, immunity and impunity often go hand in hand.
In this landmark case, Pinochet was stripped of the immunity from prosecution he had enjoyed as a former president. He was ordered to stand trial on charges of human rights abuses.
For the next 16 months, he remained in the UK, awaiting extradition to Spain. But it never happened. The initial judgement on immunity was quashed, due to concerns about possible bias of one of the judges. The case returned to square one. New hearings took place.
In January 2000, the UK eventually decided not to proceed with extradition, claiming that Pinochet was too ill to stand trial and that “it would not be fair”. He was allowed to return to Chile as a free man, thanks to medical doctors rather than lawyers.
Political leaders in Europe generally welcomed the ruling. Margaret Thatcher, former British prime minister and Pinochet’s longstanding ally, was adamant that the lengthy legal wrangle had been a waste of public money. Seemingly agitated, she said in front of the cameras:
Senator Pinochet was a staunch friend of Britain throughout the Falklands War. His reward from this government was to be held prisoner for 16 months. In the meantime, his health has been broken, his reputation tarnished, and vast funds of public money have been squandered on a political vendetta.
Subsequent attempts to prosecute Pinochet in Chile were unsuccessful. He died in 2006 at the age of 91, without ever being tried for the human rights abuses that occurred while he was in power. Retributive justice, in the end, was not served. But Pinochet’s case opened the gates for efforts to bring other former and serving heads of state to justice.
Today, the 38 Londres Street serves as a place of national memory where visitors can walk through its halls and learn about its dark past.
Running parallel with Pinochet’s story is that of Nazi fugitive Walther Rauff.
Rauff invented the mobile gas chambers that were precursors to the gas chambers in Nazi concentration camps. At the end of the second world war, he escaped to South America, settling in Chile. Germany made numerous attempts to have Rauff extradited to face charges, but the Chilean government refused these demands. He spent his days in the backwaters of Patagonia, running a king-crab cannery business.
Sands travels to Patagonia and meets people who remember Rauff, whose identity seems to have been common knowledge among his neighbours and co-workers: “everyone knew rumours and stories of his past”; they knew about “the gas vans” and that he “once killed many people”. But no one seemed to be bothered. They describe Rauff as “cultivated and kind”. To many of Sands’ interlocutors, the stories about Rauff “were long ago and far away”.
While dealing with the failed attempts for his extradition, Rauff put his energies into “harvesting crabs, making sure the tins were packed tight, [and] managing the workers”. He continued to do so, enjoying the company of his dog Bobby, when Pinochet became Chile’s new leader.
Pinochet was an old friend. Sands records that the two men met in the 1950s in Quito, Ecuador, where Rauff was staying, having fled an Italian prison camp at the end of the war. The men shared a contempt for communism and an affinity for German culture. Pinochet encouraged Rauff to move to Chile.
Rauff delighted in Pinochet’s murderous regime. Sands tell us that Pinochet used Rauff’s “expertise” to help with the murder and disappearance of thousands of people. But the controversy over whether Rauff worked for the Chilean military, becoming “chief advisor” to its intelligence services, or perhaps even its “head”, remains unresolved. Definitive and provable evidence about the assistance Rauff may have given to Pinochet was never obtained.
One of the many coincidences Sands stumbles upon is that Rauff lived in Punta Arenas in southern Chile on a street called “Jugoslavija”, named after the country where I was born, which disintegrated in the 1990s in a brutal civil war marked by mass atrocities and genocide.
Former Yugoslavian and Serbian president Slobodan Milošević would become the first-ever serving head of state to be charged with international crimes and extradited to an international court.
Milošević was extradited to The Hague in 2001 after he was indicted for war crimes committed in Kosovo and Croatia, and for genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina following an order from the Serbian government. His trial is widely hailed as a landmark moment in the development of international criminal law, though he died in his cell before his trial ended, dying “innocent” like his counterparts Pinochet and Rauff.
In 38 Londres Street, Sands brings to light the behind-the-scenes struggles to hold Pinochet and Rauff accountable. The book explores the intricacies and politics of international law. Despite its bitter ending, Pinochet’s case remains one of the most far reaching and important in the field of human rights. It caused other countries to reflect on their own legal immunities.
As a researcher and academic, I found the book significant because it also offers insight into what it takes to conduct such expansive archival and qualitative research. Over several years, “in between work and life”, Sands travels to different corners of the globe and speaks to informants from all walks of life, including descendants of the perpetrators. He visits the sites of the events he recounts, most of them places marked by pain. He seeks to see and feel a past that still lingers.
His method requires stamina, passion and unwavering diligence. His strong commitment to neutrality, decency and impartiality makes him stand out not only as a highly skilled writer, but a survivor who continues to unpack and share the legacy of the Holocaust. There is much to respect and learn from in Sands’ account, not least about the intricacies of writing a compelling story.
Holding dictators to account is hard. Pinochet and Rauff deprived victims of the retributive justice they needed and deserved. Yet justice and reparations have many different meanings. They can be symbolic too, and still profoundly meaningful to victims. As one of the survivors of Pinochet’s regime replied to Sands when asked whether he believed his case was one of total impunity: “Not quite total […] Dawson [an island detention camp] has been recognised as a site of national memory, a protected monument, and that means something.”
Pinochet and Rauff were never convicted, but they were not free. Pinochet spent years under house arrest, bitter and devastated, unable to walk the streets. Rauff lived in constant fear of being arrested and extradited. They were both haunted. This, after all, may have brought some satisfaction to the victims.
Sands was once asked: “Do you believe in justice?” He replied: “Sort of.” Sands comes to understand that justice is “uneven in its delivery”. He has learned “to tamper expectations”. Maybe we all need to learn that skill from him too. Ultimately, justice remains a work-in-progress, just like the process of learning from a dark past.
Olivera Simic does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Getting away with it … sort of. How a dictator and a fugitive Nazi advanced international human rights law – https://theconversation.com/getting-away-with-it-sort-of-how-a-dictator-and-a-fugitive-nazi-advanced-international-human-rights-law-257241
Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Wellett Potter, Lecturer in Law, University of New England
On Friday, Taylor Swift announced she now owns all the music she has ever made. This reported US$360 million acquisition includes all the master recordings to her first six albums, music videos, concert films, album art, photos and unreleased material.
The purchase of this catalogue from private equity firm Shamrock Capital is a profoundly happy event for Swift. She has expressed how personal and difficult it was not to own these works.
In her announcement, Swift acknowledged that it was due to her fans purchasing her rerecorded music (known as “Taylor’s Version”) and the financial success of the record-breaking Eras Tour which enabled this purchase.
The story behind “Taylor’s Version” and why she didn’t own the catalogue to her original six albums is due to copyright, music industry practices and contractual terms. Let’s break it down.
When it comes to valuing a music catalogue, it largely comes down to two types of rights: master rights and publishing rights.
Master rights are rights pertaining to the ownership of the actual sound recordings – the final recorded version. These are called “masters” because they’re the original source from which all copies are made.
Under traditional music industry contracts, record labels usually hold ownership of masters and associated materials. This can be music videos, tour videos, unreleased works, photographs and album covers.
Through licensing, the label controls the use of this material and retains the majority of the royalties. In return, the label provides the artist with financial backing, recording resources and marketing.
Publishing rights, on the other hand, relate to the underlying composition – the music and lyrics. The rights to music publishing usually belong to the songwriter, regardless of who performs the song.
Publishing rights govern how a song can be used and who earns royalties from that use. For example, a song may be played on a streaming platform, covered in a live performance or licensed for a commercial or film.
Swift was 15-years-old when she was signed to Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine record label.
The agreed contractual terms were typical of the music industry. In exchange for the financial support to make, record and promote her subsequent albums and tours, Big Machine held the rights to Swift’s master recordings and associated materials in her first six albums. Her relationship with the label lasted 13 years.
As a songwriter, Swift retained separate publishing rights to her songs (the music and lyrics) from her first six albums, which she licensed through Sony/ATV Music Publishing.
In 2018, Swift was reportedly offered to re-sign with Big Machine, in a deal which would involve her “earning” the rights to one original album for each new one she produced.
Swift did not renew her contract and moved to Republic Records (Universal Music Group), who allow her to own her masters. She also moved to Universal Music Publishing Group for her music publishing.
In June 2019, Big Machine’s catalogue was sold to Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, for a reported US$330 million, with US$140 million representing Swift’s catalogue.
Swift described this as her “worst case scenario”, as she had a tumultuous history of alleged bullying from Braun. She also alleged she found out about the acquisition at the time it was announced to the world, without being given the opportunity to purchase her catalogue.
Throughout 2019 and 2020 it was reported she attempted to regain ownership, but negotiations fell through.
In October 2020, Swift’s catalogue was sold to Shamrock Capital, a private equity firm, for an estimated US$300+ million. In recent years, private equity firms have been purchasing music catalogues as profitable long-term financial assets, rather than for artistic or cultural reasons.
These events led Swift to rerecord her first six albums, branding them “Taylor’s Version”. Four have been released.
She was able to create new versions of her songs, with their own intellectual property rights attached.
As owner of these new masters, she has control over where these songs are used, and she receives a greater portion of the income from the streams, downloads and licensing.
The decision was enormously successful. Mobilising her fans’ support via social media, they prioritised purchasing “Taylor’s Version” over the original masters, diluting the value of the originals.
Swift has repeatedly emphasised the need for artists to retain control over their work and to receive fair compensation. In a 2020 interview she said she believes artists should always own their master records and licence them back to the label for a limited period.
This would mean the label could monetise, control and manage the recordings for a certain time, but the artist retains the ownership. They eventually gain back full control, rather than handing over permanent rights to the label.
Swift’s experience has sparked conversations within the industry, prompting emerging artists to approach record labels with caution and advocate for fairer deals and ownership rights. Olivia Rodrigo negotiated her contract with Swift’s saga as a cautionary tale.
Purchasing her catalogue and masters gives Swift autonomy about how the rights to all of her music is used. Her fans are likely to continue to support her and purchase both the originals and “Taylor’s Version”, so the value of her original albums may rise.
And, in the long-run, her new acquisition will likely make her much wealthier.
Wellett Potter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Taylor Swift now owns all the music she has ever made: a copyright expert breaks it down – https://theconversation.com/taylor-swift-now-owns-all-the-music-she-has-ever-made-a-copyright-expert-breaks-it-down-257965
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today released Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) records revealing the Biden FBI’s anti-Catholic Richmond Memo was widely distributed to over 1,000 FBI employees across the country before it was publicly disclosed by a whistleblower in 2023.
Per the Grassley-obtained records, the Biden FBI’s targeting of Catholics based on biased sources was more widespread than previously known. In fact, Grassley found the FBI produced at least 13 additional documents and five attachments that used anti-Catholic terminology and relied on information from the radical far-left Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). One FBI agent admitted over email, “[O]ur overreliance on the SPLC for hate designation [of traditional Catholics] is … problematic.”
A second FBI memo, released by Grassley, was drafted by the FBI Richmond field office for Bureau-wide distribution. The draft memo repeated the unfounded link between traditional Catholicism and violent extremism, but was never published due to backlash following the Richmond Memo’s public disclosure. The existence of this second memo contradicts former-FBI Director Christopher Wray’s testimony that the Richmond field office only produced “a single product.”
Grassley is urging FBI Director Kash Patel to continue producing records related to the Richmond Memo’s origins, as well as former-FBI Director Christopher Wray’s misleading and obstructive response to Grassley’s oversight of the memo.
“I’m determined to get to the bottom of the Richmond memo, and of the FBI’s contempt for oversight in the last administration,” Grassley wrote. “I look forward to continuing to work with you to restore the FBI to excellence and prove once again that justice can and must be fairly and evenly administered, blind to whether we are Democrats or Republicans, believers or nonbelievers.”
Find Grassley’s letter and the released FBI documents HERE.
Related:
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US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today led 10 Republican colleagues in introducing legislation to strengthen violent crime statutes and help prevent future crime. The Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime Act would resolve conflicting court decisions by clarifying penalties for violent offenses like carjacking, robbery and kidnapping.
“Under the Biden-Harris administration, our nation saw a massive spike in violent crime. As the Trump administration works to clean up the previous administration’s mess, Congress has a duty to resolve any legal ambiguities that may weaken our ability to hold criminals fully accountable,” Grassley said. “Our bill includes several modest, but meaningful, reforms to tamp down on future crime and ensure justice is served.”
The Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime Act addresses ambiguity and conflicting applications of existing law by clarifying congressional intent. Among other provisions, the bill would:
Grassley is joined by Sens. John Boozman (R-Ark.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho).
Read the full bill text HERE. Read the section-by-section HERE.
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