Police detect driver 56kmh over the speed limit in road work zone
Monday, 30 September 2024 – 3:40 pm.
A 42-year-old man from Newstead will face a 4-month disqualification from driving, has been issued with a $1,161.50 infringement notice and has had his vehicle seized after a silver Nissan X-trail was detected by police travelling at 96km/h in a sign posted 40km/h active road work zone on the East Tamar Highway at Long Reach this afternoon. Inspector Aleena Crack said that speeds such as this in active road work zones pose a significant risk of serious injury and death to road workers and other road users. “By targeting motorists travelling through roadworks we’re making sure the employees at those worksites get to go about their jobs in a safe environment,” she said. “In many cases, speeding in these sorts of areas is due to driver inattention. “We’ll continue to target this sort of behaviour to make sure people are getting the message about being safe on our roads. “Just a few seconds of distraction while you’re driving can have devastating results. “Pay attention, don’t speed and help us keep all road users safe.”
Headline: Paramedics to work alongside emergency department teams in innovative new trial
Published: 30 September 2024
Released by: Minister for Regional Health
An innovative, 10-week trial starting today will see paramedics working alongside doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals to improve access to care in regional healthcare settings.
Mudgee Hospital’s emergency department (ED) will be the first in the state to participate in the Integrated Paramedic Workforce Model Pilot, which will see paramedics integrate into the multidiscplinary team within the ED and support existing staff to provide care.
The trial will see up to three NSW Ambulance paramedics rostered on in the ED, in addition to the regular, full suite of ED staff at Mudgee.
During the trial, triage will continue to be performed by a Registered Nurse in the ED, and hospital staff will inform patients if a paramedic is involved in their care.
How a paramedic works with existing ED staff as part of the multidisciplinary team in treatment areas will depend on each patient’s individual needs.
The trial, which was open to NSW Ambulance paramedics across the state, will demonstrate how paramedics may be able to complement existing workforces in healthcare settings, with a second rural health service participating in the pilot in the coming weeks.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Regional Health Ryan Park:
“Integrating paramedics into emergency departments is something which has been done effectively overseas, and this trial will give us insight into how it could be done in NSW to complement our regional health workforce.
“Our EDs across NSW are grappling with unprecedented pressure, which is why the NSW Government is investing in a range of measures including creating alternative pathways to care, all with the goal of relieving our busy and stretched emergency departments.
“Paramedics will provide additional support by working alongside our dedicated doctors, nurses and allied health teams to provide treatment, and improve access to care.
“Attracting and retaining healthcare workers in regional settings is a longstanding challenge faced by every state and territory in Australia, and the NSW Government is committed to building a more supported regional health workforce through innovative initiatives like the Integrated Paramedic Workforce Model Pilot.”
Quotes attributable to Labor Spokesperson for Dubbo Stephen Lawrence:
“We know that regional and rural health services face unique pressures, and this trial is all about exploring innovative solutions.
“This collaborative effort is an important step to see how we can improve access to care for patients in our regional communities.”
Quotes attributable to WNSWLHD Chief Executive Mark Spittal:
“As a large rural centre, the wide range of presentations we see at Mudgee Hospital will see paramedics utilise their extensive skillsets in the ED setting, within their scope of practice.
“Clinical procedures have been rigorously reviewed and adjusted for the pilot. We have worked together with NSW Ambulance to investigate how and when paramedics will provide support, to ensure all patients receive appropriate care from appropriate staff.
“Patients will know if a paramedic is involved with their care. Hospital staff will let patients know, but NSW Ambulance paramedics involved in the trial will also be in different uniforms to ED staff, making paramedics identifiable.”
“This is an exciting opportunity for our award-winning ED team at Mudgee Hospital, and for our Local Health District as a whole. To be selected for this trial reflects our willingness and capability to support innovation which could help regional healthcare settings across NSW in the future.”
The latest issues, decisions and proposed changes impacting business and workplace risk5 min read
Fair Work Act changes have now commenced
By: Tarsha Gavin, Lawrence Mai, Ruby Evans
Time to review contractual arrangements and processes
As foreshadowed in our August Insight, the second tranche of changes introduced by the Closing Loopholes amendments commenced on 26 August 2024. Some of the key changes that are now in force include:
The right to disconnect
The new right permits an employee to refuse to respond to contact (or attempted contact) from their employer or third parties when that contact is made outside of their working hours, unless the employee’s refusal is unreasonable.
Changes to the definition of employment
The new definition of an employment relationship requires an assessment of the ‘real substance, practical reality and true nature of the working relationship’ (now known as the ‘whole of relationship’ test).
Rights for independent contractors
Contractors who earn above the contractor high income threshold of $175,000 are now eligible to voluntarily opt out of the new definition of an employment relationship (if it would otherwise apply to them). Those who opt out of the ‘whole of relationship’ test will instead be governed by the ‘start of relationship test’, which assesses what the parties agreed about the nature of their relationship.
Casual employment changes
A new definition of a ‘casual employee’ has been introduced, and a new ’employee choice’ process for conversion to permanent employment has also come into effect.
Key takeaway
As the latest tranche of legislative changes impact permanent employees, casual employees and contractors, it is important that employers review contractual arrangements and processes across their workforce to ensure they are compliant with the recent changes.
Implementing a key Closing Loopholes amendment, all modern awards now include a workplace delegates’ rights clause.1 Newly made enterprise agreements must now also include an equivalent or more favourable clause.
Key takeaways
From 1 July 2024, all modern awards contain a term that sets out the rights of workplace delegates (being workers elected or appointed by their union to represent the interests of union members and employees eligible to be union members) in a workplace.
Any enterprise agreements put to a vote post-1 July 2024 must contain a delegates’ rights term. If an enterprise agreement does not contain a delegates’ rights term or the proposed term is less favourable than the modern award term, the more favourable modern award term is taken to form part of the agreement.
What does the new delegates’ rights clause say?
In summary, the new delegates’ rights clause provides workplace delegates with the following rights:
Category of right
What does the clause say?
Representation
Workplace delegates may represent the interests of eligible employees who wish to be represented in matters including:
consultation about major workplace changes and changes to rosters or hours of work;
resolution of disputes and disciplinary processes;
enterprise bargaining; and
any process or procedure that eligible employees are entitled to be represented for under an award, enterprise agreement or workplace policy.
Reasonable communication
Workplace delegates may communicate with eligible employees for the purpose of representing their industrial interests, including by discussing union membership and representation. Workplace delegates may communicate with eligible employees during working hours or work breaks, or before or after work.
Reasonable access to the workplace and workplace facilities
Workplace delegates must be provided with access to, or use of, an appropriate room or area to hold discussions with eligible employees, a physical or electronic noticeboard, an electronic means of communication to communicate with eligible employees (including access to WiFi), a secure document storage area and various office facilities and equipment.
Reasonable access to training
Subject to various conditions set out in the clause, employers must provide workplace delegates with access to up to five days of paid time during normal working hours to attend initial training related to the representation of industrial interests of eligible employees. Each subsequent year, the employer must provide at least one day of paid training time.
How does this affect you?
We expect that the new delegates’ rights term will result in increased union activity and involvement in a wide variety of workplace matters.
To ensure your organisation is prepared for the changes, we recommend:
if your organisation is bargaining for a new enterprise agreement, reviewing the model delegates’ rights clause and considering whether it is appropriate to adopt the modern award term or bargain for a different term (noting that any term must be at least as favourable as the modern award term);
notifying employees and managers of the rights available to workplace delegates; and
reviewing current practices and considering whether to introduce a protocol to support consistent, reasonable and appropriate management of workplace delegates.
Fair Work Commission alters flexible working arrangement
By: Tegan Ayling, Anastasia Hatzisarantinos
Decision highlights the importance of articulating reasonable business grounds
In a recent decision, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) ordered an employee to work in the office one day per week, at the same time highlighting the importance of adequately explaining reasonable business grounds if an employer refuses a request.
Key takeaway
Employers should clearly outline their reasonable business grounds for refusing flexible working requests. This involves not only explaining the benefits to the employer’s proposed working arrangement, but also explaining how the approval of the working arrangement requested by the employee would be detrimental to the employer’s business.
Background
FedEx gradually introduced hybrid arrangements that involved employees working back in the office post COVID-19. From July 2023, employees were required to work in the office three days per week.
FedEx refused an employee’s request to work from home three days per week to care for his two teenage children who have an intellectual disability and autism, and his wife who suffers a debilitating illness. However, it agreed that the employee could continue his existing arrangement to work in the office two days per week and two days from home. While that arrangement was in place, the employee was in practice working in the office one day per week, taking leave one day per week and working two days from home.
In January 2024, the employee made another request to work entirely from home. FedEx sought further information from the employee and suggested alternative arrangements, but no agreement was reached. FedEx subsequently rejected the employee’s request, and he lodged a dispute with the FWC.
Following conciliation, FedEx agreed to trial three days at home and one day in the office, but the employee never returned to the office.
Decision
Since the matter could not be resolved between the parties, the FWC ultimately ordered the employee to work in the office one day per week and allowed FedEx to also direct him to work in the office in specific circumstances. This included if the employee did not attend the office for two consecutive weeks, there were performance concerns or there were genuine operational requirements that required his attendance.
In its decision, the FWC emphasised the importance of following proper process when responding to a request for flexible working arrangements. In particular, the FWC criticised FedEx for failing to sufficiently articulate its reasonable business grounds in rejecting the employee’s request. The grounds FedEx relied on during the proceeding had not been clearly articulated to the employee in FedEx’s refusal of his request.
The FWC also took into account that the employee had not followed FedEx’s lawful and reasonable direction to return to the office, noting that employees are not entitled to a flexible working arrangement without an approved request. The employee’s actions to ‘avoid working in the office at all costs‘ before the flexibility request was decided was a factor in the FWC decision to permit FedEx to direct the employee to work in the office, including in the specific circumstances outlined above.
Employer not required to produce investigation report under terms of enterprise agreement
By: Tarsha Gavin, Sayomi Ariyawansa and Steve Hatzipavlis
Confidentiality does not automatically prohibit provision of documents
The Full Bench of the FWC ruled that Aurizon Operations Limited (Aurizon) was not required under the terms of its enterprise agreement to produce an investigation report to an employee following an investigation into their alleged misconduct.2
Key takeaways
The FWC will consider the process set out in the relevant enterprise agreement when determining the requirements of natural justice and due process in relation to an investigation, and any subsequent process relating to the determination of a disciplinary outcome.
Even if an investigation is confidential, the requirements of procedural fairness include informing an employee of the substance of the adverse material against them so the employee can provide a response before findings are made.
A clause stating that an investigation is confidential does not necessarily prohibit an employer from providing a copy of an investigation report to the employee.
Decision
Following an investigation by Aurizon into allegations of misconduct by an employee, an investigation report was prepared outlining the substantiated conduct, and the employee was provided with an opportunity to put forward their submissions on the appropriate disciplinary outcome. The Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) on behalf of the employee requested a copy of the investigation report for the purposes of making these submissions. This request was refused.
The RTBU brought an application in the FWC claiming that Aurizon’s failure to provide the report breached the applicable enterprise agreement which relevantly provided the following terms:
Process: any investigation that may lead to the disciplinary action against an employee must apply the principles of natural justice and due process, including the employee being made fully aware of allegations subject to an investigation and being provided with sufficient information to provide an informed response.
Confidentiality: disciplinary inquiries and investigations shall be confidential.
Disciplinary outcomes: following the investigation procedure, the employee may be subject to various disciplinary outcomes, following a process that includes providing the employee with a reasonable opportunity to provide reasons regarding what the appropriate disciplinary outcome should be.
The RTBU alleged that the principles of procedural fairness, as set out in (a), required Aurizon to provide the investigation report to the employee to assist with the employee’s response in (c) concerning the disciplinary outcome. The RBTU also alleged there was no utility in keeping the investigation confidential as the employee was already aware of the complainant’s identity and allegations. Aurizon claimed that because of the confidentiality requirements, the Full Bench of the FWC could not order Aurizon to produce the report.
The Full Bench of the FWC found that:
the confidentiality clause did not prevent Aurizon from providing a copy of the investigation report to a worker. If this were the case, Aurizon would be unable to provide information to the employee subject to the investigation as required by (a) and it would make the disciplinary regime unworkable. Rather, the confidentiality clause prohibited workers from disclosing information obtained during the investigation and prohibited Aurizon from disclosing investigation information to any person not involved during the inquiry.
at the point the RTBU sought the investigation report, the investigation process was complete, and Aurizon was at the stage of assessing the appropriate disciplinary outcome. At this point of the disciplinary process, there was no requirement in the enterprise agreement for Aurizon to apply the general principles of natural justice and due process outlined in (a), as these did not apply in the assessment of disciplinary outcomes outlined in (c). As such, Aurizon was not required to produce the investigation report.
natural justice and due process had not been afforded to the employee under (a), as the substance of the adverse material in the report was not put to the employee for their response during the investigation process. The Full Bench recommended that it would be prudent for Aurizon to re-open the investigation to put the substance of the report findings to the employee, but did not make an order to this effect as the grounds of appeal in the matter were limited to dealing with the production of the completed report.
Employees retain redundancy pay because of move to ‘dusty, noisy and malodorous’ office
By: Sarah Lunny and Bella Busby
Connection between redundancy pay and alternative employment
After accepting that an employer had obtained ‘acceptable alternative employment’ for two former employees, the FWC allowed the two employees to keep 30% of their redundancy pay because of the inferior quality of their new office space.3
Key takeaways
Employers can apply to the FWC to vary the amount of redundancy pay that would otherwise be payable to an employee under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) if the employer obtains other acceptable employment for the employee. The FWC has a broad discretion to vary redundancy pay to an amount it considers appropriate, including reducing the amount payable to zero.
Even if an employer has arranged a new role for a former employee, the FWC may determine that the employee is entitled to receive part of their redundancy pay entitlement if there is a difference in working conditions between the employee’s previous role and the new one.
Background
An employer in the recycling industry made an application to the FWC to reduce the redundancy pay entitlements of two administrative employees after the employer arranged comparable roles with another recycling business. Both office-based employees had been made redundant after the original employer’s business suffered a significant downturn, resulting in 100 employees being laid off.
Both employees argued that their redundancy pay entitlements should not be reduced because the new roles the employer had arranged for them did not constitute acceptable alternative employment, including because:
the new employer had a less professional, more ‘blue collar’ work culture than the previous workplace; and
the new office was noisier and dirtier than their previous workplace, as it was physically attached to the recycling facility, where trucks would enter and unload rubbish several times a day.
After comparing each employee’s role with the new employer to their role with the old employer, the FWC decided that both employees had been provided with ‘other acceptable employment’ because the work and conditions were sufficiently similar to those of their previous employment, even if there were some factors that made the new jobs less attractive to the employees.
In considering whether to reduce the employees’ redundancy pay, the FWC weighed the ‘significant effort’ the employer had made to obtain other acceptable employment for the employees against ‘the disadvantage of the quite different work environment’ at the new employer. The FWC ultimately decided to reduce each employee’s redundancy pay by 70%, allowing each employee to keep 30% of their redundancy pay in consideration of the ‘marked difference’ between performing their administrative work in an office attached to a recycling warehouse compared to previously working in an office removed from the actual process of recycling.
Resurrecting the dead: breathing life into a zombie agreement
By: Andrew Wydmanski and Samuel Jackson
Extensions remain viable during ongoing bargaining of enterprise agreements
The Full Bench of the FWC has extended the default period of a ‘zombie agreement’, for a second time, rejecting the employer’s request to transition employees onto the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (SCHADS Award) while bargaining for a new agreement was ongoing.4
Key takeaways
The FWC is open to extending the life of zombie agreements during enterprise bargaining if it considers that extending the agreement would ‘minimise disruptions or changes to terms and conditions’ and where it might be expected that ‘a replacement agreement will be reached in the near future’.
Employers covered by a zombie agreement that has been extended by the FWC should prepare for the possibility that the FWC may grant further extensions if bargaining for a new enterprise agreement is ongoing.
Background
A ‘zombie agreement’ is an old industrial workplace agreement made before the commencement of the FW Act. Under the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 (Cth), all zombie agreements were set to automatically end on the ‘default period’ of 7 December 2023, unless an application was made to the Commission to extend it.
In September 2023, the Health Service Union (HSU) made an extension application in respect of the Kirinari Community Services Ltd Hume Riverina Branch Certified Agreement 2006-2008 (Agreement). The Full Bench of the FWC decided it was reasonable to extend the operation of the Agreement to 6 April 2024.
The HSU again applied under the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 (Cth) (Transitional Act) to extend the default period of the Agreement, this time until 6 December 2024.
The employer, Kirinari Community Services Ltd (Kirinari), opposed the HSU’s application on the basis that:
from an administrative and payroll perspective, it would be more efficient and fairer for all of its employees to be covered by the SCHADS Award;
the terms of the SCHADS Award would provide employees with greater flexibility should they wish to work in Kirinari’s operations outside of the Hume Riverina region; and
given that bargaining for the new enterprise agreement was based on the SCHADS Award, transitioning remaining employees to the SCHADS Award would mean all employees would be familiar with rostering arrangements and other terms and conditions of the SCHADS Award.
The Commission rejected Kirinari’s arguments, finding that moving employees from the Agreement to the SCHADS Award at a time when a replacement agreement was expected to be reached in the near future could disturb current bargaining.
The Commission considered that more progress should have been made since its decision in September last year. It also noted that the parties had not sought the Commission’s assistance to finalise the replacement enterprise agreement. As a result, the Commission was satisfied that it was appropriate to extend the default period for a further four months.
Former manager awarded $1.5 million following unlawful summary dismissal
By: Anthony Hallal and Matt Stark
Penalties can be severe for breaches of the general protections regime
The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCA) recently ordered an employer to pay a former manager over $1.5 million after summarily dismissing him in breach of the general protections regime in the FW Act and their employment contract.
Key takeaway
This case is a recent example of the substantial damages that can be awarded under the general protections regime where employees have been found to be unlawfully terminated.
Background
An employee of Laing O’Rourke Australia Management Services Pty Ltd (LOA), Mr Haley worked for LOA and other companies in LOA’s group for over 15 years. From 2018 he was the Commercial Team Leader in charge of cleaning up bushfire-damaged properties from the previous Christmas period (Bushfire Project).
In early July 2020, Mr Haley and other LOA employees invited their colleagues to a property LOA was leasing while working on the Bushfire Project for a social event. Following noise complaints from neighbours, the owners of the property attended twice, which culminated in a verbal altercation between the LOA employees and the owners (the Incident).
LOA subsequently conducted an investigation into the Incident, following which Mr Haley had a show cause meeting with LOA. Later in July 2020, Mr Haley was summarily dismissed by LOA on the basis that he had engaged in serious misconduct. Specifically, LOA alleged that Mr Haley had lied in the course of the investigation, and that Mr Haley’s conduct during the Incident breached LOA’s policies in a manner that ’caused imminent and serious risk to the reputation of [LOA]’.5
The FCFCA decided that LOA had not established it was entitled to summarily dismiss Mr Haley from his employment. Further, LOA had taken adverse action by summarily dismissing Mr Haley in circumstances where it could not establish Mr Hayley’s complaints and inquiries in relation to his employment were not a reason for his dismissal.6
Decision on damages
Following this finding that Mr Haley had been unlawfully terminated, the most recent decision7 of the FCFCA concerned the assessment of damages to which Mr Haley was entitled.
LOA was ordered to pay Mr Haley a sum of more than $1.5 million in respect of the summary dismissal, accounting for Mr Haley’s:
loss of income up to the date of judgment;
present value of Mr Haley’s loss of future income until March 2025 (accounting for likely promotions/pay increases throughout this period);
relocation costs back to the UK after the termination of his employment;
break fees for car rental and lease agreements; and
an amount of $50,000 for Mr Haley’s hurt, distress and humiliation.
Today marks the end of an era for South Australia Police (SAPOL) with the final handover of the Thebarton Barracks site after more than 100 years.
Following a final walkthrough this afternoon, SAPOL handed over the keys to builders behind the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital project.
Commissioner of Police Grant Stevens acknowledged the goodbye felt “bittersweet”.
“For over a century, Thebarton Barracks has been a cornerstone of our operations, witnessing countless milestones and serving as a testament to SAPOL’s enduring legacy,” he said.
“As we turn the page on this chapter of our history, we have an opportunity to weave cherished traditions into new and innovative ways of operating.
“While Thebarton Barracks was state-of-the-art when it was built in 1914, we had outgrown the stables and buildings, and this move has allowed us to acquire modern facilities.”
The Thebarton Barracks Project Team has been collaborating with the government for the past two years to ensure staff have modern, fit-for-purpose accommodation that meets SAPOL’s operational requirements.
Throughout August and September remaining units at Thebarton Barracks vacated the site for their new locations. While some are in temporary accommodation, as their new facilities are not yet complete, work is progressing as a priority to ensure they receive the same high-quality, fit-for-purpose sites soon.
Last week, the first stage of new state-of-the-art facilities at Gepps Cross, housing Mounted Operations Unit, was unveiled, and the new Road Safety Centre at West Beach will soon be formally opened to the public.
As a final goodbye, a short commemorative video has been prepared which can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/rtd_FdEpEXI
Project Sponsor Chief Superintendent John De Candia handing over the Thebarton Barracks keys to Senior Project Manager of the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital James Patrick on Monday 30 September.
Lendlease Site Manager Nathan Peal ready to get to work after Project Sponsor Chief Superintendent John De Candia handed over the Thebarton Barracks keys to Senior Project Manager of the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital James Patrick on Monday 30 September.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Missing woman in Sheung Shui located Missing woman in Sheung Shui located ************************************
A woman who went missing in Sheung Shui has been located. Cheung Ching-man, aged 35, went missing after she was last seen at Luen Wo Hui on September 9 morning. Staff of a caring home made a report to Police on the next day (September 10). The woman was located near Kwai Foo Road, Kwai Chung, this afternoon (September 30). She sustained no injuries and no suspicious circumstances were detected.
Ends/Monday, September 30, 2024Issued at HKT 14:44
Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE
Headline: Third Meeting of the Interagency Steering Committee on Combating Cybercrime in Kazakhstan
Third Meeting of the Interagency Steering Committee on Combating Cybercrime in Kazakhstan, Astana, 18 September 2024 (OSCE/Akbota Sarzhanova) Photo details
On 18 September 2024, the OSCE Programme Office in Astana held the third and final meeting of the Interagency Steering Committee on the development of Kazakhstan’s first Comprehensive Action Plan to Counter Cybercrimes and Crimes using Information and Communication Technologies for 2025-2029 (hereinafter, Action Plan). The initiative is part of the extrabudgetary project “Supporting the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Development of Effective Policies to Counter Cybercrimes (Phase I)”, implemented by the Office in co-operation with the Ministry of Interior of Kazakhstan, and with the support of the Presidential Administration of Kazakhstan.
The meeting brought together over 80 representatives from law enforcement and government agencies, including representatives from 20 police departments, leading national and international experts in combating cybercrime, as well as representatives from the private sector. Discussions focused on finalizing the draft of the Action Plan, refining the plan’s activities, and determining the methods and timelines for implementation.
Dr. Volker Frobarth, Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, addressed the meeting, stating, “I would like to extend my gratitude to our key partner, the Ministry of Interior. Your staff are on the front lines of the daily fight against cybercrime. We recognize the significant challenges they face in investigating these crimes and bringing offenders to justice. Rest assured, both as an organization and as the Office, we are committed to providing full support to your Ministry in advancing initiatives aimed at combating cybercrime.”
This expert-level meeting builds on the progress made during the first and second meetings in this format, where participants reviewed key findings and recommendations for improving the country’s ability to combat cybercrime, based on the analysis of the current situation in Kazakhstan and the international experience of OSCE and OECD countries in effectively combating cybercrime. Special attention was paid to discussing mechanisms and methods to increase the effectiveness of countering new challenges and threats, improving the cybercrime prevention system, and ensuring respect for human rights and freedoms throughout the project’s implementation.
Deputy Minister of the Interior, Aidos Rysbaev, noted the importance of this collaborative effort, stating, “Since last year, we have launched a joint initiative with the OSCE Programme Office in Astana and other government agencies to develop effective policies for combating cybercrime. The Interagency Steering Committee has been established under the Ministry of Interior, and a draft Action Plan is already in place.”
A key outcome of the meeting was the recognition of the need to strengthen and expand international co-operation, establish mechanisms for interagency interaction, and enhance partnerships within a “whole-of-society” approach, thereby improving the effectiveness of identifying, investigating, preventing, and mitigating cybercrimes.
The extrabudgetary project is supported by the governments of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Kingdom of Norway, and aligns with Kazakhstan’s ongoing efforts to join the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. As Kazakhstan advances its cybercrime policies, the Action Plan will serve as a vital roadmap, ensuring the country is well-equipped to navigate the escalating challenges of the digital age.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
The Lord Chancellor has approved the appointment of a legal adviser member to the Family Procedure Rule Committee.
The Lord Chancellor has approved the appointment of Helen Sewell as a legal adviser member of the Family Procedure Rule Committee (FPRC) from 30 September 2024 until 29 September 2027.
FPRC was set up, in October 2004, to make Family Procedure Rules. Its aim is to make clear, easily understandable rules to create an accessible, fair and efficient family justice system. FPRC makes rules of court that govern the practice and procedure followed in family proceedings in the High Court and family court.
Appointments, to FPRC, are made by the Lord Chancellor after consulting the President of the Family Division, under section 77(2) of the Courts Act 2003. The appointment of non-judicial members is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments and recruitment processes comply with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
Biography
Helen Sewell was admitted Solicitor in 1991. Since 2020, she has worked as a Legal Team Manager for HMCTS. Previously, from 2002-2020, she worked for HMCTS as a Justices’ Legal Advisor for Wiltshire Magistrates’ Court, Swindon.
This article contains minor spoilers for episode one of Joan.
The new six-part ITV crime series, Joan, opens with The Pretenders’ rebellious rock anthem Brass in Pocket. It’s a fitting choice that immediately sets the tone for the series. As Chrissie Hynde’s vocals kick in, we’re introduced to our protagonist – a woman who, like the song, will soon exude self-assurance and a touch of defiance, even in the face of overwhelming adversity.
Sophie Turner stars as Joan Hannington, whose journey from impoverished victim to notorious jewel thief unfolds in 1980s London. Based on true events, the series chronicles Hannington’s transformation into “the godmother” – the most infamous woman in the city’s criminal underworld.
The first episode establishes Hannington’s dire circumstances and the spark that ignites her criminal career. She is trapped in an abusive marriage to a violent man who physically abuses her and neglects their six-year-old daughter, Kelly. When he goes on the run, Hannington seizes the opportunity to escape, but not before facing the harsh realities of her situation – from being assaulted by gangsters to whom her husband owes money, to being pressured by undercover police to inform on him.
Circumstances force Hannington to place Kelly with an emergency foster family. This decision is made all the more poignant by the revelation of Joan’s own childhood in care, which explains her fierce determination to provide a better life for her daughter. Their relationship forms the first episode’s emotional core. It is why Joan takes her first tentative steps into illegality, beginning with stealing a car to visit Kelly at her new home.
The trailer for Joan.
This initial transgression evolves into more sophisticated cons. Her method of learning about jewellery by eavesdropping on wealthy women before landing a job at a jeweller’s offers a pointed commentary on class barriers. Hannington’s ability to mimic the accents and mannerisms of the affluent underscores the performative nature of social class and foreshadows her future success in high-end theft.
Joan doesn’t shy away from the darker aspects of its world, where the threat of male violence is a constant shadow. From her husband’s brutal abuse to the unwelcome advances of her new boss at the jewellers, the series portrays a reality where Hannington’s safety is perpetually at risk.
Yet these very threats fuel her determination to carve out a safer life for herself and Kelly. We watch as she takes increasingly bold steps, culminating in a scene where she swallows several diamonds to smuggle them out of the store. This moment marks a turning point for Hannington, signalling her commitment to her new life of crime.
Anti-heroines in British crime drama
Joan takes its place in a rich tradition of anti-heroines in British crime TV, a lineage that has been slowly but steadily growing since the turn of the millennium.
As noted by professor of television studies, Milly Buonanno in Television Antiheroines: Women Behaving Badly in Crime and Prison Drama (2017), it wasn’t until the noughties that “the rule of male prominence and power [was] challenged by a wave of anti-heroines who have made inroads into the criminal underworlds and have provided evidence of women’s capacity to be ‘good at being bad’ against the myth of female innocence”.
Hannington joins this pantheon of complex female characters, trail-blazed in the 90s by Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren) from Prime Suspect (1991). As TV critic Rebecca Nicholson has observed, Tennison’s influence “looms larger than is often acknowledged within modern television”. More recent additions to this lineage include characters such as Alice (Ruth Wilson) in Luther (2010) and Villanelle (Jodie Comer) in Killing Eve (2018) – each pushing the boundaries of how female characters are portrayed in British crime dramas.
Speaking about bringing Hannington to life on screen, Turner has said that she “was captivated by the character of Joan, she’s such a complex and extraordinary woman, both vulnerable and strong. She makes some terrible choices, unfortunately, but I think someone that a lot of people can relate to, and I just wanted to read more and more about her.”
Turner’s words encapsulate the hallmarks of the anti-heroine archetype – moral ambiguity, inner conflict, and a strange magnetism that draws viewers in despite (or perhaps because of) the character’s flaws. Her emphasis on Hannington’s relatability – even in the face of “terrible choices” – speaks to the human core of these anti-heroine stories.
But it’s crucial to approach these characters with a sense of discernment. As Buaonanno cautions, we should refrain from “uncritically celebrating characters of women in the business of crime”. The mere presence of criminal anti-heroines doesn’t equate to feminist achievement. But Joan does offer an opportunity for a nuanced exploration of themes such as gender, class and morality.
Whether Hannington’s journey will serve as a cautionary tale or a celebration of resilience remains to be seen. One thing is certain: Joan will challenge audiences to grapple with moral ambiguities as it explores the story of a working-class woman who forges her own path in the ruthless world of organised crime.
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Laura Minor 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.
A 21-year-old South African woman has been arrested for drug trafficking at the OR Tambo International (ORTIA) Airport.
This is the 11th drug mule to be arrested at the airport in a period of two months.
“The drug mule was profiled and intercepted as she was arriving on a flight from São Paulo, Brazil, on Sunday morning, just before 9am. She was taken to a local hospital where an X-ray confirmed that she had foreign objects in her stomach,” said the police in a statement.
The woman has already released a number of bullets from her body and is in police custody where they are closely monitoring the release of further drug bullets. The process is still unfolding, said SAPS.
National Commissioner of the Police, General Fannie Masemola, commended the vigilance of members of SARS and SAPS at the airport.
“Our men and women in blue working closely with SARS customs and various stakeholders continue to assert the authority of the state at all our ports of entry.
“We appreciate the hard work and dedication of our members and urge them to do more to squeeze the space for criminals. Drug traffickers are feeling the heat and there is nowhere to hide,” said Masemola.
Every week in the last month, SAPS and SARS customs, immigration and the Border Management Authority (BMA) have been intercepting drug traffickers at OR Tambo International Airport.
On Sunday, 22 September 2024, a 30-year-old Namibian drug mule was arrested after arriving from São Paulo.
She too was taken for medical examination and released more than 60 drug bullets. She has already appeared in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on a charge of dealing in drugs.
On Friday, 13 September 2024, a Nigerian drug mule was arrested after he was found in possession of cocaine that was concealed in aircraft head phones. He had just landed from São Paulo.
He has already appeared before the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court on a charge of dealing in drugs. – SAnews.gov.za
Council of Ministers meeting no. 97 was held at Palazzo Chigi today, after which Undersecretary of State to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers Alfredo Mantovano, Minister for Civil Protection and Marine Policies Nello Musumeci, Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio and Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso held a press conference.
A prolific and historic child abuser has been jailed, demonstrating the Metropolitan Police Service’s commitment to investigating child abuse and protecting the public from harm.
Christopher George Pearce, 59 (06/11/1965) of Cale Street, Chelsea was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday, 27 September.
The shocking sexual abuse by Pearce began in 1984 in Hammersmith, when his two victims were aged just 5 and 7 at the time. Pearce’s crimes continued until 1988 when he sexually abused another two children, aged 6 and 7 in Chelsea.
Specialist officers began investigating Pearce in 2020 after he was caught trying to groom what he believed to be a child online in March 2020. After Pearce’s arrest was posted online, two of his victims bravely came forward years after Pearce’s terrible crimes had taken place.
As part of officers’ determination to build a case against Pearce, officers were able relocate evidence dating back as far as 1988, before carefully conducting interviews with Pearce’s previous victims.
Detective Superintendent Tony Larkin for the Metropolitan Police, who led the investigation said: “I want to thank the victims for coming forward, speaking to and working with officers through a long and complex investigation. I hope the bravery and willingness of the victims serves as an inspiration to those who may otherwise fear reporting this kind of abhorrent abuse.
“I am in no doubt that since 1984 Pearce has been an incredibly dangerous child sex offender and is now no longer free to commit offences against children.
“The officers in this case showed true determination in securing justice for all the victims – they are a credit to the Met.
“I would urge anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse – no matter how long ago – to please come forward to police. We assure you that you will be listened to and we will help you get support you so rightly deserve.”
Children and young people are the most vulnerable in society, and the Met is committed to keeping them safe in person and online.
As part of the A New Met for London plan, officers are working closely with third sector partners, including The Children’s Society to help young people, parents and carers spot the signs of sexual abuse and predatory behaviour online and offline.
Crimes of this nature can be reported online or on the telephone or in person to the police by calling 101 or 999 in an emergency.
If you’ve been a victim of rape or sexual assault, charities and support agencies can offer help and guidance:
National Association for People Abused in Childhood NAPAC helpline: 0808 801 0331
Rape Crisis: 08085002222
Childline : 0800 1111
National Rape and Sexual Abuse Helpline : 0808 802 9999
1. In order to comply with the judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU in Case C-661/20, Slovakia must provide for appropriate assessment of inter alia sanitary logging to comply with Article 6(3) Habitats Directive[1]. It also must prevent forest management activities from deteriorating Capercaillie habitats and disturbing the species and adopt conservation measures for seven Natura 2000 bird sites designated for the Capercaillie. Slovakia informed the Commission about the measures taken, e.g. zonation of national parks Muránska Planina and Veľká Fatra and designation of Pralesy and Stolica nature areas, thus improving protection of Capercaillie habitats, and about the adoption of conservation measures for the Volovské vrchy site. Slovakia also informed about the envisaged measures, e.g. zonation of national parks Nízké Tatry, Vysoké Tatry and Malá Fatra and adoption of management plans for them. However, the Slovak legislation has not yet introduced sufficient legislation submitting sanitary logging to appropriate assessment. Slovakia has thus not yet taken all necessary measures to comply with the ruling.
2. If Slovakia does not make substantive progress to comply with the Court’s judgment, the Commission may initiate the infringement procedure under Article 260(2)[2] of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and subsequently, refer Slovakia to Court of Justice of the EU for the second time while proposing financial penalties.
[1] Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7-50.
Priority question for written answer P-001801/2024 to the Commission Rule 144 Jadwiga Wiśniewska (ECR)
The German Government’s introduction of controls at all borders on 16 September 2024 is a legal measure that is incompatible with the principles of proportionality and non-discrimination, as well as with the rules laid down in the Schengen Borders Code, and it is resulting in discrimination against EU citizens. Neighbouring countries are particularly affected, leading to a decline in trade, delays and disruption to border regions.
Member States may bring a matter before the Court of Justice of the European Union if they consider that another Member State has failed to fulfil one of its obligations under the Treaties. This act must be preceded by a complaint to the Commission, as guardian of the Treaties.
In light of the above, could the Commission please clarify the following:
1.What serious threat to public policy or internal security, within the meaning of Article 25 of the Schengen Borders Code, has the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany indicated to justify the temporary reintroduction of border controls at internal borders?
2.Has the German Government provided the Commission with evidence that the introduction of controls is necessary and justified and that the measure complies with the principles of proportionality and non-discrimination?
3.Has a complaint been lodged with the Commisson against Germany in respect of the violation of obligations under the Treaties under Article 259 TfEU? If so, which Member State lodged the complaint, and is the Commission preparing a reasoned opinion on it?
NHRC takes Suo Motu cognizance of the reported death of two students due to electrocution while cleaning the water tank of a Government run hostel in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh Allegedly they were asked to clean the water tank by the hostel superintendent
Issues notices to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, Government of Madhya Pradesh, calling for a detailed report within two weeks
Posted On: 30 SEP 2024 2:49PM by PIB Delhi
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report that two students, belonging to a Scheduled Tribe, got electrocuted to death while cleaning a water tank on the instructions of the Superintendent of a government-run hostel in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh on 25th September 2024. According to the media report, carried on 26th September, 2024, the students came into contact with a live wire connected to a water pump inside the tank while cleaning it. They were spotted lying in the tank by the villagers, who reportedly informed the hostel authorities.
The Commission has observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise a serious concern about human rights violations of the victim students. Going by the media reports, it appears that the hostel authorities have acted in an insensitive manner by asking the young boys to execute such a hazardous task resulting in their deaths.
Accordingly, the Commission has issued a notice to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, Government of Madhya Pradesh, calling for a detailed report within two weeks. It is also expected to include the status of the police investigation and compensation, if any, paid to the aggrieved families of both victims.
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that he has signed the following bills:
AB 98 by Assemblymember Juan Carrillo (D-Palmdale) – Planning and zoning: logistics use: truck routes.
AB 347 by Assemblymember Philip Ting (D-San Francisco) – Household product safety: toxic substances: testing and enforcement.
AB 772 by Assemblymember Dr. Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley) – Child day care facilities.
AB 796 by Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber (D-San Diego) – Athletic trainers.
AB 801 by Assemblymember Joe Patterson (R-Rocklin) – Student privacy: online personal information.
AB 866 by Assemblymember Blanca Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) – Juveniles: care and treatment.
AB 977 by Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez (D-Pomona) – Emergency departments: assault and battery.
AB 1755 by Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) – Civil actions: restitution for or replacement of a new motor vehicle. A signing message can be found here.
AB 1810 by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) – Incarcerated persons: menstrual products.
AB 1824 by Assemblymember Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) – California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018: opt out right: mergers.
AB 1825 by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) – California Freedom to Read Act.
AB 1841 by Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber (D-San Diego) – Student safety: opioid overdose reversal medication: student housing facilities.
AB 1843 by Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez (D-Pomona) – Emergency ambulance employees.
AB 1907 by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz) – California Child and Family Service Review System: Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) assessment.
AB 1934 by Assemblymember Tim Grayson (D-Concord) – Digital financial asset businesses.
AB 2074 by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) – Pupil instruction: English Learner Roadmap Policy: statewide implementation plan. A signing message can be found here.
AB 2096 by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine) – Restraining orders: educational institutions.
AB 2119 by Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber (D-San Diego) – Mental health.
AB 2123 by Assemblymember Diane Papan (D-San Mateo) – Disability compensation: paid family leave.
AB 2129 by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine) – Immediate postpartum contraception.
AB 2132 by Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Campbell) – Health care services: tuberculosis.
AB 2164 by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) – Physicians and surgeons: licensure requirements: disclosure.
AB 2192 by Assemblymember Juan Carrillo (D-Palmdale) – Public agencies: cost accounting standards.
AB 2215 by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) – Criminal procedure: arrests.
AB 2224 by Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) – Special immigrant juvenile status: court orders and guardianship.
AB 2245 by Assemblymember Juan Carrillo (D-Palmdale) – Certificated school employees: permanent status: regional occupational centers or programs operated by single school districts.
AB 2318 by Assemblymember Diane Papan (D-San Mateo) – State Water Pollution Cleanup and Abatement Account: receipts and expenditures: report.
AB 2343 by Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo (D-Chatsworth) – CalWORKs: childcare programs.
AB 2357 by Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains (D-Bakersfield) – University of California: school of medicine: University of California Kern County Medical Education Endowment Fund. A signing message can be found here.
AB 2377 by Assemblymember Luz Rivas (D-Sylmar) – Pupil instruction: physical education: accommodation: religious fasting.
AB 2443 by Assemblymember Juan Carrillo (D-Palmdale) – Transactions and use taxes: Cities of Lancaster, Palmdale, and Victorville.
AB 2458 by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) – Public postsecondary education: student parents.
AB 2475 by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) – Parole.
AB 2483 by Assemblymember Philip Ting (D-San Francisco) – Postconviction proceedings.
AB 2484 by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) – Courts: juveniles: remote proceedings.
AB 2493 by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz) – Tenancy: application screening fee.
AB 2499 by Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo (D-Chatsworth) – Employment: unlawful discrimination and paid sick days: victims of violence.
AB 2531 by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) – Deaths while in law enforcement custody: reporting.
AB 2738 by Assemblymember Luz Rivas (D-Sylmar) – Labor Code: alternative enforcement: occupational safety. A signing message can be found here.
AB 2741 by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) – Rental car companies: electronic surveillance technology.
AB 2843 by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine) – Health care coverage: rape and sexual assault.
AB 2883 by Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Campbell) – California State University: University of California: Lunar New Year holiday.
AB 2988 by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) – Courts.
AB 2998 by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood) – Opioid overdose reversal medications: pupil administration.
AB 3059 by Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber (D-San Diego) – Human milk.
AB 3145 by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) – Family preservation services: standards.
AB 3206 by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood) – Alcoholic beverages: hours of sale: arenas in the City of Inglewood. A signing message can be found here.
AB 3258 by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) – Refinery and chemical plants.
SB 285 by Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) – Criminal procedure: sentencing.
SB 379 by Senator Thomas Umberg (D-Santa Ana) – Victim services: restorative justice.
SB 442 by Senator Monique Limόn (D-Santa Barbara) – Sexual battery.
SB 504 by Senator Bill Dodd (D-Napa) – Wildfires: defensible space: grant programs: local governments.
SB 551 by Senator Anthony Portantino (D-Burbank) – Beverage containers: recycling.
SB 575 by Senator Aisha Wahab (D-Silicon Valley) – Marriage: underage marriage.
SB 918 by Senator Thomas Umberg (D-Santa Ana) – Law enforcement contact process: search warrants.
SB 940 by Senator Thomas Umberg (D-Santa Ana) – Civil disputes.
SB 946 by Senator Mike McGuire (D-North Coast) – Personal Income Tax Law: Corporation Tax Law: exclusions: wildfire mitigation payments.
SB 958 by Senator Bill Dodd (D-Napa) – Surplus state property: County of Napa.
SB 1143 by Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) – Paint products: stewardship program.
SB 1174 by Senator Dave Min (D-Irvine) – Elections: voter identification.
SB 1303 by Senator Anna Caballero (D-Merced) – Public works.
SB 1379 by Senator Bill Dodd (D-Napa) – Public Employees’ Retirement Law: reinstatement: County of Solano.
SB 1386 by Senator Anna Caballero (D-Merced) – Evidence: sexual assault.
The Governor also announced that he has vetoed the following bills:
AB 637 by Assemblymember Dr. Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley) – Zero-emission vehicles: fleet owners: rental vehicles. A veto message can be found here.
AB 1111 by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz) – Cannabis: small producer event sales license. A veto message can be found here.
AB 1122 by Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains (D-Bakersfield) – Commercial harbor craft: equipment. A veto message can be found here.
AB 1296 by Assemblymember Tim Grayson (D-Concord) – Bar pilots: regulation of vessels. A veto message can be found here.
AB 1890 by Assemblymember Joe Patterson (R-Rocklin) – Public works: prevailing wage. A veto message can be found here.
AB 1895 by Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber (D-San Diego) – Public health: maternity ward closures. A veto message can be found here.
AB 1973 by Assemblymember Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) – Personal Income Tax Law: Corporation Tax Law: Bobcat Fire: exclusions. A veto message can be found here.
AB 2058 by Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber (D-San Diego) – Devices: disclosures. A veto message can be found here.
AB 2178 by Assemblymember Philip Ting (D-San Francisco) – Prisons: bed thresholds. A veto message can be found here.
AB 2447 by Assemblymember Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) – California State University: fiscal transparency: internet website. A veto message can be found here.
AB 2693 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) – Childhood sexual assault: statute of limitations. A veto message can be found here.
AB 2773 by Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) – Elders and dependent adults: abuse or neglect. A veto message can be found here.
AB 2892 by Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Campbell) – Vehicles: financial responsibility: self-insurance. A veto message can be found here.
AB 3179 by Assemblymember Juan Carrillo (D-Palmdale) – Emergency telecommunications medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles. A veto message can be found here.
AB 3245 by Assemblymember Joe Patterson (R-Rocklin) – Coverage for colorectal cancer screening. A veto message can be found here.
AB 3282 by the Committee on Judiciary – Courts. A veto message can be found here.
SB 299 by Senator Monique Limόn (D-Santa Barbara) – Voter registration: California New Motor Voter Program. A veto message can be found here.
SB 336 by Senator Thomas Umberg (D-Santa Ana) – State grant programs: negotiated indirect cost rates. A veto message can be found here.
SB 542 by Senator Brian Dahle (R-Bieber) – Personal Income Tax Law: Corporation Tax Law: wildfires: exclusions. A veto message can be found here.
SB 615 by Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) – Vehicle traction batteries. A veto message can be found here.
SB 782 by Senator Monique Limόn (D-Santa Barbara) – Gubernatorial appointments: report. A veto message can be found here.
SB 984 by Senator Aisha Wahab (D-Silicon Valley) – Public agencies: project labor agreements. A veto message can be found here.
SB 1022 by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) – Enforcement of civil rights. A veto message can be found here.
SB 1066 by Senator Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas) – Hazardous waste: marine flares: manufacturer responsibility. A veto message can be found here.
SB 1155 by Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) – Political Reform Act of 1974: postgovernment employment restrictions. A veto message can be found here.
SB 1281 by Senator Caroline Menjivar (D-San Fernando Valley/Burbank) – Advancing Equity and Access in the Self-Determination Program Act. A veto message can be found here.
For full text of the bills, visit: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.
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President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his condolences to the families of the 18 people tragically killed in a mass shooting over the weekend in Ngobozana village, in Lusikisiki, in the Eastern Cape.
The President has also extended his sympathies to the survivors of the two separate attacks, which took place on the same street and predominantly claimed the lives of women.
President Ramaphosa assured the grieving families that the South African Police Service (SAPS) has mobilised all available resources to bring the perpetrators to justice. A specialised team of detectives and forensic experts has been deployed to the crime scene to expedite the investigation.
In addition, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, along with the national SAPS leadership, will visit the affected families and engage with the community to offer support and address the tragedy.
The President noted that this incident is part of a troubling pattern, with 38 people having been killed in similar attacks over the past two years. To date, 25 suspects remain in custody in connection with these incidents.
“I feel deeply for all the families and members of the broader community affected by this attack and on behalf of all of us as South Africans, I offer you our deepest sympathies.
“While we are united in our grief, we are also united in our outrage and condemnation of this excessive criminal assault which will not go unpunished.
“The South African Police Service has proven its effectiveness in dealing with random and organised crime and I am confident the Lusikisiki case will be added to the successes recorded recently by our police service,” the President said.
President Ramaphosa added that community members should therefore feel free to provide investigators with information that can help police apprehend the attackers and prepare a watertight case for the courts to process.
“We will not allow criminals to prevail,” the President said. – SAnews.gov.za
Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, has condemned the heinous acts of crime that have resulted in the death of 18 family members in Lusikisiki, Eastern Cape.
A total of 18 people were killed in a gruesome mass shooting over the weekend in Ngobozana village.
Reacting to the incident, Chikunga emphasised that every human being has the inherent right to life, as it is enshrined by the constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
“This right shall be protected by law, and no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or her life. It is for this reason that we are encouraged by the work of SAPS and other law enforcement agencies that are ensuring the total protection of life.
“The death of the 18 family members must be investigated and those who are responsible should be held accountable, as they have collaborated to suspend the lives of innocent people,” Chikunga said.
The Minister added that families serve as the primary socialisation agents, helping individuals to develop social skills.
She called on the preservation of the family structure, which continues to provide a stable and secure environment.
“The department also welcomes the psycho-social support and the intervention by the traditional leaders and the community members in the search for those responsible for this act of criminality,” Chikunga said.
Meanwhile, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and the National Police Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, are currently visiting the bereaved families and are expected to address the communities in the afternoon.
According to the police, the suspect in connection with the murder is still at large. – SAnews.gov.za
Mayor announces further investment to counter hate crime and extremism as Middle East crisis deepens
New £875,000 investment by Mayor will empower grassroot groups to tackle hate, intolerance and extremism in their communities.
Mayor calls for Londoners to stand united and not let the appalling escalation in the conflict in Lebanon and Israel lead to an increase in hate crime here.
Action will work to counter steep rises in antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crime and the growth of far-right narratives online.
Latest funding forms part of the Mayor’s record £15million investment to tackle hate and extremism as new figures show record-breaking numbers of young people being arrested for terrorism offences.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today announced a further £875,000 investment for grassroots community projects to tackle hate, intolerance, extremism, radicalisation and terrorism in the capital.
The funding will empower grassroot groups across London to bring communities together and counter steep rises in antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crimes1 and the growth of far-right narratives online over the past year.
The action comes amid calls for unity from the Mayor who continues to work closely with the police and community leaders to ensure everyone in the capital feels safe and is safe amid the appalling escalation in the conflict in Lebanon, Israel, Gaza and the wider region.
The announcement forms part of the Mayor’s record £15million investment2– more than any other mayor – to support victims of hate crime and tackle hate and extremism in London’s communities. It comes as new Home Office figures show record-breaking numbers of young people aged below 17 are being arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences. 3
The funding will support 20 groups including The Anne Frank Trust UK to deliver workshops that challenge anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate; Stand Up! – an interfaith project which brings Jewish and Muslim educators into the classroom to facilitate informal conversations with young people and empower them to act against racism and discrimination with a specific focus on antisemitism and Islamophobia; and EXIT Hate UK which works with young people aged 14-18 to help them understand the dangers posed by extreme right-wing ideologies.
The Mayor’s Shared Endeavour Fund is working to empower Londoners of all ages to challenge hateful views in their communities, better protect those vulnerable to radicalisation and stop the spread of growing hateful ideologies including the far-right. Since the grassroots fund was launched in 2020, £4million has been invested in 95 completed projects which has included delivery in each London borough with more than 140,000 Londoners having benefited. A further 20 projects will be delivered over the next 6 months with more than 50,000 Londoners expected to benefit as a result of the Mayor’s latest investment which will deliver workshops, educational activities and interfaith community programmes.
The latest independent evaluation of the Shared Endeavour Fund found that the Mayor’s investment is working to build Londoners’ resilience to radicalisation and extremist recruitment as well as reducing racism, intolerance, hate and extremism in the capital. 4
The funding comes just ahead of the first anniversary of the horrific Hamas attacks on October 7th, actions of the IDF in Gaza, the devastating ensuing conflict and appalling humanitarian and hostage crisis which continues to impact so many Londoners – particularly those with family and friends in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank and the wider region.
It also follows recent disorder in the UK this July which was largely fuelled by misinformation, racism and extremism promoted by far-right groups online.
The latest action is part of a package of measures by the Mayor to tackle rising hate crime and misinformation and is being delivered alongside continued work with the Met Police and community leaders to ensure all of London’s communities feel safe and are safe.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “We know that an escalation in conflict in the Middle East often leads to an increase in hate crime here in London. With the appalling further escalation of the conflict in Lebanon, Israel, Gaza and the region, I’m appealing to Londoners to continue to look out for their friends and neighbours whatever their faith and backgrounds and stand united against all forms of hate.
“We have seen an abhorrent and completely unacceptable rise in hate crime over the last year – particularly antisemitism and Islamophobia which has profoundly impacted our Jewish and Muslim communities in London. I’m determined to continue to work in partnership with community, faith and police leaders to ensure everyone in the capital feels safe and is safe.
“Hate crime comes in many forms and I’m determined to tackle it head on by investing in grassroots projects which empower our communities to stand up to hate and intolerance where they are, so that we can stop the spread of hateful narratives, reject extremist ideologies and do more to safeguard vulnerable young Londoners from radicalisation and misinformation online.
“At a time of rising tension and online hate, this scheme will continue to build bridges across communities, embrace what we have in common and help ensure Londoners of all backgrounds and faiths feel welcome, safe and can thrive.”
Met Assistant Commissioner, Matt Twist, said: “Nobody should feel unsafe or in fear going about their lives in this city, certainly not on the basis of their race or religion.
“Since October last year we have seen a really concerning rise in hate crime with both antisemitic and Islamophobic offences increasing significantly. For the past year we have had a dedicated policing operation tackling hate crime in communities, responding to significant protest, countering extremism and terrorism, and working to provide reassurance particularly in parts of London with significant Jewish and Muslim populations.
“As the situation in the Middle East becomes less certain once again, we know that fears and tensions will rise here at home too. Our work, which is underpinned by engagement with community representatives and with our key partners, will continue. Together, we are determined to demonstrate that there will be no tolerance for hate crime in London.”
Ruth Martin, Grants Team Manager at Groundwork London, said: “Groundwork London supports London’s diverse communities to ensure the capital is a vibrant, safe, and respectful place for everyone. We are proud to continue working with MOPAC to support the Shared Endeavour Fund, which is now in its fifth year. So far, the fund has supported over 90 initiatives across London, which has impacted over 140,000 Londoners. We look forward to working with new and returning grant recipients as they deliver their projects to counter hate, intolerance and radicalisation in their communities and reach those most in need.”
Zaynab Albadry, Project Manager, Stand Up Education Against Discrimination, said: “The Stand Up! Education Against Discrimination project has been awarded funding by the Mayor’s Shared Endeavour Fund for 5 consecutive years. Tens of thousands of young people have participated in free anti-discrimination workshops raising awareness about racism and prejudice and empowering them to act against hate, discrimination, antisemitism, and anti-Muslim hate.
“Our partners, the CST and Tell MAMA have warned of the growth in both anti-Muslim hate and antisemitism, with incidents targeting these communities worryingly becoming more aggressive. Thanks to this latest funding, even more young Londoners will meet our Jewish and Muslim facilitators to breakdown misconceptions and stereotypes targeting minority communities. Through this project participants will be assisted to navigate difficult climates and issues to feel empowered becoming the leaders of tomorrow, modelling a respective and welcoming environment for their communities and wider British Society.”
Tim Robertson, Chief Executive of The Anne Frank Trust UK, said: “Educating against prejudice is an urgent national priority, and we’re experts at it here at the Anne Frank Trust UK. But finding the necessary funding is really tough right now. So I’m massively grateful to the Mayor of London’s Shared Endeavour Fund for enabling us to bring our programme to thousands of young Londoners. This is totally the right initiative at exactly the right time.”
Nigel Bromage, Founder of EXIT Hate UK, said: “Funding from MOPAC’s Shared Endeavour Fund is crucial to combating hate, extremism and terrorism. Through the Mayor of London’s funding we have been able to deliver impactful projects year on year which challenge Far Right hate narratives and boost the capacity of frontline practitioners and family members to keep those vulnerable to radicalisation safe.
“This year’s delivery is more important than ever with the risk of Far Right extremism increasing in the aftermath of horrific recent disorder across parts of the country. We will be working with even more frontline practitioners and young Londoners to provide awareness raising on the dangers of Far Right radicalisation whilst also providing non-judgemental help and support to those that need it.”
Mr Ladislav Hamran, the President of the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation since 2017, presented to LIBE Committee Members the Agency, its role and current activities.
How do you cast Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte’s 1847 novel about a child so brutalised by his adoptive family that he drives his pregnant love to death? Not, it would seem, like Emerald Fennell, the latest director to attempt it.
Fennell’s previous projects include the Oscar-winning A Promising Young Woman (2020) and Netflix hit Saltburn (2023), but she has been under fire for casting Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in the lead roles of Heathcliff and Catherine, two teenagers on the wild, 19th-century Yorkshire moors. As tanned Australian actors aged 27 and 34, best known for playing Elvis and Barbie, it is hard to imagine how they can pull this off.
But has anybody ever got Heathcliff and Catherine right?
Lawrence Olivier was nominated for an Oscar for playing Heathcliff in 1939, but his clipped, Royal Shakespeare Company gentlemanliness hardly befitted the “savage vehemence” of the role. Heathcliff is an orphan, probably picked up on the Liverpool docks, bullied for looking like “a dark-skinned gypsy”, “a little Lascar, or an American or Spanish castaway” (a lascar was a sailor or militiaman often from Asia). Among his many eventual crimes, he tortures puppies and beats children. But the Olivier movie staged the novel as a classic Hollywood romance.
Until very recently other directors followed suit, cutting the story’s more brutal elements (including most of its second half) and casting dashing (white) leads like Timothy Dalton (1970) and then-newcomer Ralph Fiennes (1992). In the latter film, Juliette Binoche’s Catherine had a notably French accent. (Maybe best not to mention Cliff Richard’s 1996 musical, in which, at 56, he was panned for playing a teenage Heathcliff as a pop idol.)
As the director of a 2011 BBC Radio Three adaptation put it, Wuthering Heights is not supposed to be “a Vaseline-lensed experience”. But it has been mostly sold that way.
Perhaps the only director to capture the nightmarishness of Bronte’s text is Andrea Arnold, who in 2011 cast untrained actors in the central roles, including a black actor, James Howson, as Heathcliff. At the time, some critics even found that decision controversial. But the casting was a turning point, and Arnold’s bleak, almost wordless, adaptation changed the game.
In 2024, audiences are more aware that casting a white actor like Elordi as Heathcliff is not only to undersell the novel as romance, but to wilfully ignore the imperialism in the text.
There is evidence to suggest that Heathcliff’s story was at least partly inspired by a local slave-owning family, the Sills, who, as well as making their money from sugar plantations in Jamaica, had 30 enslaved Africans working on their home estate in Yorkshire.
Also, as mentioned, characters speculate about Heathcliff’s race throughout. For instance, Nelly Dean, Cathy’s family’s servant, wonders whether “[his] father was Emperor of China, and [his] mother an Indian queen.” He is clearly not white.
Still, in going in the opposite direction to Arnold, Fennell’s film might offer us something new.
The novel is difficult to film not only because it depicts human beings at their most primal, but also because it is so strangely told. Bronte rarely shows us Catherine or Heathcliff firsthand. We learn their tale through an uninitiated southerner, Lockwood, who himself hears much of the story from a servant with unreliable passions of her own.
Key scenes in the novel have an emotional realism drawn not only from the rough-hewn Yorkshire rocks but also from gothic melodrama: Catherine’s ghost literally bleeds as it grasps Lockwood through a window; Heathcliff digs up Catherine’s grave just “to have her in my arms again”. If this is realism, it is so extreme it borders on the theatrical.
And this is where Fennell excels. Saltburn’s bathtub scene is infamous for body horror, but mostly it depicts an urgent need to consume and be consumed by another. Saltburn also has its own graveside scene, which clearly echoes Heathcliff’s necrophiliac desires in Wuthering Heights.
I would argue there can be no justification for casting a white actor as Heathcliff, and it is to be hoped that Fennell rethinks this decision. But perhaps there is also something to be gained from having a Heathcliff and Catherine with the glitzy theatricality of Elvis and Barbie. Fennell isn’t going to give us the Catherine and Heathcliff we have come to expect, but it is possible she will evoke the passion the characters deserve.
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Adelene Buckland 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.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Kweisi Mfume (MD-07)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Victims of food stamp theft will continue to be reimbursed thanks to a provision in a stop-gap funding bill secured by a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger. H.R. 9747, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2025, passed in the U.S. House of Representatives today in a 341-82 vote, keeping the government funded – and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits flowing – through December 20, 2024. It is expected to be taken up in the U.S. Senate quickly.
Last month, Ruppersberger, along with Representatives Kweisi Mfume (D-Maryland), Mike Lawler (R-New York), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Oregon), James P. McGovern (D-Massachusetts), Dan Goldman (D-New York), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania), Anthony D’Esposito (R-New York), Marc Molinaro (R-New York), Brittany Pettersen (D-Colorado) and Grace Meng (D-New York) sent a letter to Congressional leadership urging them to allow victims of SNAP theft to continue to be reimbursed from federal and state coffers.
Reports of SNAP theft – in which perpetrators use skimming devices to steal SNAP benefits distributed on electronic debit cards (EBT) – are skyrocketing across the nation. States are currently required to replace stolen benefits under a measure included in the 2023 omnibus funding bill passed by Congress at the end of 2022. But that provision was set to expire on September 30.
“It is appalling that Americans are being targeted at record rates in major SNAP benefit theft. These sickening crimes are carried out against veterans, families, low-income workers, children, the elderly, and the disabled – all of whom are just trying to put food on their table,” said Congressman Kweisi Mfume (MD-07). “Our letter represented a unified effort, across the political aisle, to bring justice to victims in all our respective Congressional Districts. Today’s triumph was a culmination of fierce collaboration between both Democrats and Republicans and boldly fighting for justice on behalf of all households that rely on SNAP,” he concluded.
“I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who recognize the dire straits that SNAP theft leaves its victims, which often include veterans, families, low-income workers, children, the elderly and the disabled,” said Congressman Ruppersberger (MD-02). “While Congress continues to work toward its long-term and strategic spending bills, I am relieved to know these innocent constituents will not lose their primary source of healthy food.”
“Ensuring that SNAP recipients who have their benefits stolen are made whole is my top priority and is deeply important to New York families,” said Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17). “That’s why I joined colleagues in both parties and chambers to introduce the Enhanced Cybersecurity for SNAP Act to protect these programs from fraud, and it’s why I have been adamant about the need to include SNAP protections in FY25’s appropriations. I was pleased to see these provisions in the CR being voted on this week. We must complete our appropriations work while protecting the most vulnerable in our society.”
“I was proud to join this bipartisan group of my colleagues in urging congressional leaders to prevent critical SNAP theft reimbursements from ending,” said Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05). “I’m glad our message was heard and an extension was included in this stopgap funding bill. I’ll keep working to ensure victims of SNAP theft are protected.”
“I am proud to have helped secure an extension that will allow states to use existing federal funding to reimburse vulnerable victims of SNAP theft so that families in need can put food on the table,” Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) said. “SNAP theft can be devastating for working families and these reimbursements are a critical lifeline that allows working families to make ends meet. I will continue fighting alongside my colleagues to ensure that states retain this authority when Congress passes its final budget at the end of the year.”
“Families that rely on SNAP to put food on the table each day should never go hungry, especially as a result of their benefits being stolen,” said Congresswoman Grace Meng (NY-06), a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee. “That’s why I fought to help over 36,000 New Yorkers recover more than $17.5 million in stolen SNAP benefits. I’m glad to see that this provision was included and extended in this critical government funding bill. I’ve also been fighting to make EBT benefit cards more secure to deter scams, and I’m excited that this bill includes language that will hopefully lead to more secure EBT cards. Many beneficiaries in Queens and across the country continue to be targeted by these scams, and we must continue fighting for the families in our communities experiencing the greatest needs.”
“Because of our bipartisan push, victims of SNAP theft will continue to be protected through the SNAP Reimbursement Extension,” said Congressman Marc Molinaro (NY-19). “I’m proud to have helped lead the effort to ensure Upstate New York families who rely on SNAP benefits always have access to the meals they deserve.”
“Thousands of Bucks and Montgomery County residents depend on SNAP to put food on their tables, which is why I was proud to join my colleagues in the critical fight to prevent SNAP theft reimbursements from ending. This common-sense reimbursement provision is essential to safeguarding the integrity of the SNAP program and ensuring families in my community and nationwide who have fallen victim to SNAP theft can quickly recover their benefits. Today’s victory is a powerful reminder that when we unite across party lines, we can achieve meaningful change and stand firm in our commitment to uplift our communities and safeguard the well-being of those who need it most,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1).
“SNAP recipients who had their food benefits stolen—through no fault of their own, I would add—should not be kicked while they’re down by an indifferent government that tells them ‘too bad’ and leaves them to fend for themselves,” said Congressman Jim McGovern (MA-02). “Especially when the average SNAP benefit is barely over $2 per person, per meal. We’re talking about people who rely on these benefits to feed themselves and their families. When they are stolen, people go hungry. I’m glad that because of our continued advocacy, Congress is making sure that food insecure families are protected through the end of the year.”
Source: United States Senator for Minnesota Amy Klobuchar
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), a senior member of the Senate Commerce Committee, announced that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) at the U.S. Department of Commerce approved Minnesota’s plan for broadband infrastructure deployment. This development advances Minnesota to the next step in their planned affordable broadband rollout across the state.
Klobuchar’s Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act was incorporated into the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and was the basis for the significant federal funding to Minnesota for expanding high-speed internet access.
“Internet access is necessary for everything from education to healthcare, not to mention for keeping in touch with friends and family. However, many households in Minnesota currently don’t have a reliable broadband connection,” said Klobuchar. “That is why I fought to secure this game changing investment that will deliver affordable and reliable high-speed internet to everyone in Minnesota. With the approval of Minnesota’s rollout plan, we are one step closer to connecting every corner of our state.”
Klobuchar has long led efforts to expand broadband access, support rural broadband, and bridge the digital divide.
In June 2023, Klobuchar announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce had awarded major federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to bring reliable, affordable, high-speed internet access to every household in Minnesota. The Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act, Klobuchar’s legislation with Former House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) to expand high-speed internet nationwide, served as the basis for the program created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
In March 2023, Klobuchar and Senators John Thune (R-SD), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to expand broadband access to rural communities. The Reforming Broadband Connectivity Act would strengthen funding mechanisms for the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Universal Service Fund (USF), which promotes universal access to broadband and other telecommunications services. Currently, the USF is primarily funded through landline fees, disproportionately impacting seniors, who are more likely to use landlines than other Americans.
In February 2023, Klobuchar introduced bipartisan legislation with Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to strengthen broadband access for rural communities. The Rural Broadband Protection Act would ensure that providers applying for federal funding can reliably deliver broadband to underserved, rural communities.
In July 2021, Klobuchar introduced bipartisan legislation with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to expand rural broadband access by streamlining the funding process and removing barriers for broadband connectivity in hard-to-serve rural areas.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – John Oathout, age 54, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on Friday to 25 years in prison for transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.
As part of his guilty plea, Oathout admitted that after a romantic relationship ended with the victim’s mother, the victim’s mother permitted the defendant to take her daughter on overnight trips to Virginia and New York. During the week of Thanksgiving 2021, the defendant arranged to pick up the 5-year-old child from her home in Delaware and transport her to a hotel in Kingston, New York, where he subjected the child to sexual contact.
In addition to sentencing Oathout to serve 25 years in prison, Chief United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes also imposed a 20-year term of supervised release, which Oathout will begin serving after he is released from prison, at which time Oathout will also be required to register as a sex offender.
The FBI’s Albany Division Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated this case. The Task Force includes members of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Assistant United States Attorney Carling Dunham prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Childhood.
Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locates, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Bay Roberts RCMP is investigating the theft of a truck that occurred last night in Clarke’s Beach. The stolen vehicle was recovered from a nearby body of water.
Shortly before 8:00 p.m., Bay Roberts RCMP received a report of theft of a truck in Clarke’s Beach. The vehicle, a black 2008 Chevrolet Silverado, was stolen from the parking lot of the post office while the operator was inside the business.
Approximately ten minutes later, Bay Roberts RCMP received a report that a truck had departed the road and entered a body of water in Clarke’s Beach. An occupant of the truck swam to shore and was picked up by an unknown male operating an all-terrain vehicle. Both individuals departed prior to police arrival.
An extensive search of the area and the water was conducted with no other occupants located. The truck was recovered from the pond and was confirmed as being the stolen truck.
The investigation is continuing.
Bay Roberts RCMP is looking to identify the individual involved in the theft of the truck, as well as the ATV operator, and asks the public to check for any available surveillance footage that may assist with this investigation.
Anyone having information about either of these incidents is asked to contact Bay Roberts RCMP at 709-786-2118. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers: #SayItHere 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), visithttp://www.nlcrimestoppers.comor use the P3Tips app.
Bay Roberts RCMP thanks those involved in the search of the water last evening, including Avalon North Wolverines Search and Rescue and Bay De Grave Fire Department.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)
ST. LOUIS – The owner of a nonprofit was indicted Wednesday and accused of fraudulently obtaining more than $2 million in funds intended to feed low-income Missouri children, both before and during the coronavirus pandemic.
Cymone McClellan, 31, of St. Louis, was indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on four felony counts of wire fraud.
The indictment says McClellan owned and ran a non-profit organization called Sister of Lavender Rose (S.O.L.R.). From about January 2019 to June 2022, McClellan and her nonprofit submitted false and fraudulent meal reimbursement claims to Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). S.O.L.R. submitted reimbursement claims to the Food and Nutrition Programs for Children claiming that she served 860,876 meals to children but only bought enough food and milk to serve fewer than one-quarter of those meals, the indictment says. According to the indictment, McClellan defrauded the State of Missouri out of more than $2 million through her fraudulent reimbursement claims.
The indictment says McClellan attempted to cover up her crime by providing bogus sign-in sheets to DHSS falsely claiming to have taken the attendance of meal recipients at certain food distribution locations. S.O.L.R. submitted management plans to DHSS falsely asserting that state meal reimbursement dollars were spent only in connection with the provision of meals to low-income children, and that the nonprofit did not use meal money to make purchases over $5,000. The indictment says McClellan spent $60,000 on a down payment on a house in Collinsville, Illinois and also bought five vehicles and a house in Florissant, Missouri.
One of the addresses where McClellan informed the State of Missouri that she was purportedly preparing food for low-income children belonged to an adults-only nightclub called Elmo’s Love Lounge, the indictment says.
The indictment seeks the forfeiture of the real estate, as well as a 2021 Chevrolet Traverse, a 2012 Chevrolet Express G3500 van, a 2020 Mercedez-Benz Metris van, a 2012 Ford E350 box truck and a 2018 Lexus RX SUV.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty. The wire fraud charges carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)
DETROIT – United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced today a series of three civil settlements, totaling over $8 million, related to, among other allegations, kickbacks that medical device company Ra Medical Systems, Inc. (Ra Medical), paid to various physicians across the country related to Ra Medical’s DABRA laser.
Ison was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Mario M. Pinto of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Chicago Regional Office, Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Hegarty, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Northeast Field Office.
Ra Medical was a medical device company that was formerly headquartered in Carlsbad, California. From 2017-2019, Ra Medical manufactured and sold a device known as the DABRA Laser. The settlement with Ra Medical resolves the following alleged violations of the False Claims Act:
Ra Medical marketed the DABRA Laser for use in atherectomies, a procedure whereby plaque is mechanically removed from occluded blood vessels in patients suffering from peripheral artery disease. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, however, had not approved the DABRA Laser for use in atherectomy procedures.
Additionally, Ra Medical knowingly marketed the DABRA Laser despite product performance issues causing frequent calibration and overheating problems, which posed a risk to physicians and patients, and prompted a recall in August 2019.
Ra Medical also knowingly offered and paid illegal remuneration to certain physicians to induce them to use the DABRA Laser in violation of the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute. The United States contends that the illegal remuneration consisted of cash payments and fees paid in connection with purported training events and consulting services. The United States further contends that RMS tracked utilization of its high-volume physician customers using an internal document titled “Who Deserve[] Love,” which was used to identify physicians that RMS should target with offers of improper remuneration. Two of the recipients of the alleged kickback payments were Elias Kassab, M.D. (Kassab), of Dearborn, Michigan, and David Allie, M.D. (Allie), of Lafayette, Louisiana.
The Federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering or paying anything of value to induce referrals of items or services covered by Medicare and other federally funded programs. The statute is intended to ensure that a medical provider’s judgment is not compromised by improper financial incentives.
Under the terms of the agreement with Ra Medical, which was entered into pursuant to DOJ’s inability to pay settlement guidelines and was executed in December 2020, Ra Medical paid $2.5 million up front and would pay up to $28 million more if future financial contingencies were met. In January 2023, Ra Medical paid an additional $5 million, after its reverse merger with Catheter Precision, Inc., triggered one of the contingencies.
The settlement with Ra Medical remained under seal while the United States continued its investigation into Kassab and Allie, among others, who were alleged to have received improper kickbacks. In a separate settlement, Kassab and two of his companies agreed to pay $450,000 to resolve the allegations against them. In the third settlement, Allie and his consulting company agreed to pay $250,000 to resolve the allegations against them.
“The United States will not allow doctors to hold out their hands expecting to be paid to use and promote a device,” said U.S. Attorney Ison. “The millions of people who depend on our federal healthcare programs deserve and expect medical decisions untainted by kickbacks, and this settlement reflects our commitment to pursuing not just the companies that pay illegal kickbacks, but also the physicians who willingly extract and accept them.”
“The payment of kickbacks to induce referrals can undermine the trust in our nation’s providers and result in costly reductions to our federal health care programs,” said Special Agent in Charge Mario M. Pinto of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “We will continue to work diligently with our law enforcement partners to ensure the appropriate use of taxpayer dollars.”
“Healthcare services are being unlawfully influenced by medical providers engaging in criminal kickback schemes, significantly impacting programs such as Medicare and Medicaid,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “Our office is fully committed to investigating and holding accountable those individuals and organizations involved in illegal profit-driven practices that harm our medical system.”
“Protecting TRICARE, the healthcare system for military members and their dependents, is a top priority for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the law enforcement arm of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General,” stated Special Agent-in-Charge Patrick J. Hegarty, DCIS Northeast Field Office. “The settlement agreement announced today demonstrates our ongoing commitment to work with our law enforcement partners and the Department of Justice to investigate allegations of healthcare fraud.”
The civil settlements resolve the claims brought by Robert Gruber, under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Under these provisions, a private party may file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Gruber v. Ra Medical Systems, Inc., et al., No. 19-12044 (E.D. Mich.). The whistleblower will receive a combined $1,722,000 from the three settlements. The claims resolved by the settlements are allegations only; there has been no determination or admission of liability.
The matter was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonny Zajac of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, with assistance from HHS-OIG, the FBI, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News
Salt Lake City, Utah – Thomas Fairbanks, 71, of Cache County, Utah, was sentenced today to an additional 30 days’ imprisonment for failure to appear in court for a sentencing hearing in a securities fraud case. The one month sentence will be served consecutively to his 27 months’ securities fraud sentence, which was imposed in April 2024.
According to court documents and statements made at the change of plea hearing, on May 24, 2023, Fairbanks failed to appear in front of U.S. District Court Judge Jill N. Parrish for his sentencing in a 2019 securities fraud case, after he was convicted by a jury on August 30, 2022. After his failure to appear, a warrant was issued for his arrest, and he was later arrested in February 2024. According to court documents in the 2019 case, the defendant was convicted of a securities fraud scheme in connection with his fraudulent company SupplyLine Partners. As part of the scheme, Fairbanks created a pitch deck to advertise the entity, ran seminars to find investors, and ultimately convinced at least two individuals to invest with him in his fake entity. SupplyLine was never a registered company nor was Fairbanks authorized to sell securities.
Fairbanks took victims’ money and did not invest as he said he would, never returned the money and did not pay out the promised 6% interest. In total, Fairbanks defrauded two victims out of $270,232.
The case was investigated jointly by the Utah Division of Securities and the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office.
Assistant United States Attorneys Ruth Hackford-Peer and Kevin Sundwall of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)
ST. LOUIS – A Texas businessman has been indicted in St. Louis and accused of fraudulently seeking more than $4.5 million from Medicare for COVID test kits and obtaining more than $1.9 million.
Rashid Naqvi, 51, of the Houston area, was indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on September 4 on four counts of wire fraud conspiracy and one count each of obstruction of a federal audit and conspiracy.
He appeared in court Wednesday and pleaded not guilty.
The indictment accuses Naqvi of fraudulently obtaining $1,974,479 from Medicare from March 2023 through September 2024 by billing for numerous COVID-19 test kits that were sent to patients who had never requested them. Many of the patients were dead, the indictment says. Naqvi obtained victims’ Medicare Numbers and identifiers without their knowledge or consent by paying a total of $488,435 in illegal kickbacks to co-conspirators, the indictment says. It says Naqvi used two laboratories that he owned to submit the false claims to Medicare, Elite Diagnostics Inc. in Missouri and Astro Diagnostics Inc. in the Southern District of Texas.
The indictment says Naqvi attempted to conceal his scheme by disguising kickback payments as payments for COVID test kits, creating a sham contract with one of the companies supplying the information and submitting false documents to Medicare investigators during an audit. He continued submitting false claims to Medicare even after patients called to tell him that they did not request or want the test kits, the indictment says. Naqvi sought a total of $4,579,850 from Medicare.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. Obstruction of a federal audit and conspiracy are each punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
“Today’s indictment reflects our unwavering commitment to safeguarding Medicare and ensuring that its resources are used appropriately,” said Linda T. Hanley, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “There are serious consequences for individuals who seek to manipulate federal health care programs by exploiting enrollees’ personal information and participating in illegal kickbacks. HHS-OIG is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to hold those accountable who undermine the integrity of our health care system.”
The FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)
DETROIT – The former Mayor of the City of Inkster pleaded guilty to bribery, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced today.
Ison was joined in the announcement by Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Patrick Wimberly, 50, of Inkster, served as the Mayor of the City of Inkster, Michigan, from 2019 through 2023. In the spring of 2022, Wimberly demanded $100,000 in cash payments to facilitate the sale of property owned by the City to an outside party (referred to as “Person A”). Over several months, Person A provided Wimberly with monthly cash bribes to secure the purchase of this property. The monthly payments started at $5,000 but the parties agreed to eventually increase that amount. After the initial bribes, Wimberly explained that he was ready to increase the payments. Person A agreed. But when Person A later did not provide the amount Wimberly expected, Wimberly complained that he was due “10$ a month.” Person A then increased the monthly payments to $10,000. In total, Person A provided $50,000 in cash to Wimberly for the purpose of winning the bid for subject property. The Federal Bureau of Investigation intervened before the property could be transferred to Person A.
The bribery charge, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 666, carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.
“Public officials who act in their own best interests, motivated by greed, betray the trust of their communities and the general public,” United States Attorney Ison said. “ We will continue to aggressively prosecute corrupt public officials for their illegal actions.”
“Investigating public corruption is a primary concern and priority of the FBI in Michigan,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. The former City of Inkster mayor, Patrick Wimberly’s guilty plea is a step forward in reminding public officials that they will be held accountable for their actions and should always operate with the highest level of integrity. Members of the FBI’s Detroit Area Corruption Task Force will continue to investigate any allegations of criminal misconduct from our public officials, in an effort to maintain the public’s trust.”
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eaton P. Brown.