Australia whistleblower who exposed war crime allegations loses bid to reduce prison sentence
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian army whistleblower David McBride, who leaked allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan to the media, lost a court bid to have his prison sentence reduced on Wednesday.
The Australian Capital Territory Court of Appeal rejected the 61-year-old former army lawyer's appeal against the severity of a five years and eight months prison sentence imposed a year ago.
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Toronto Star
38 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Global LGBTQ+ advocates gather ‘on Trump's doorstep' at World Pride despite travel anxiety
WASHINGTON (AP) — Days before she was to deliver opening remarks to World Pride's human rights conference in Washington, Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, the co-founder of UK Black Pride, said she was denied entry to the United States after her visa was revoked due to her travels to Cuba earlier this year. Opoku-Gyimah, widely known as Lady Phyll, said she applied immediately for a nonimmigrant visa. The earliest date she was given: September. 'I've called. I've written. I've pleaded,' she said over a video livestream. 'And the answer was a cold, bureaucratic 'No.'' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Many LGBTQ+ travelers have expressed concerns or decided to skip World Pride due to anxieties about safety, border policies and a hostile political climate. Yet cross-national strategizing has still been central to the gathering as international attendees echoed that they wanted to send a clear message of opposition to U.S. officials with their presence. 'This is World Pride on Trump's doorstep,' said Yasmin Benoit, a British model and asexual activist. 'And that's all the more reason to be here. We want to show the U.S. that there's a lot of eyes on what's happening here.' New policies make visiting more complex World Pride gathers LGBTQ+ advocates from around the globe and has taken place most recently in Australia, Sweden and Denmark. This year, which marks the 50th anniversary of Washington's Pride festival, is the first time the city is hosting the gathering. Yet for many, the global celebration has been complicated by President Donald Trump's policies targeting transgender people and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Trump, a Republican, has said that whether a person is a man or woman is determined by that person's biological characteristics at birth, and about two-thirds of U.S. adults agree with him, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. He has denounced DEI policies as a form of discrimination that threatens merit-based decision-making. Several countries, including Denmark, Finland and Germany, issued cautions for LGBTQ+ travelers visiting the U.S. for World Pride, culminates in a closing festival this weekend with a parade, a rally and concerts. Capital Pride Alliance, which organized World Pride D.C., included an advisory for transgender and nonbinary international travelers alongside security protocols. Egale Canada, one of the country's largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, announced in February that its members would not attend any events in the U.S. through June, including World Pride. It cited concerns for transgender and nonbinary staff members. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'I didn't feel it was safe to have our staff crossing into the U.S. with the current hostilities, through legislation and rhetoric,' said Helen Kennedy, the organization's executive director. The African Human Rights Coalition, meanwhile, called for a boycott of World Pride in Washington 'because the event is being held in a venue ... governed now by an antagonistic fascist regime which presents distinct dangers to foreign LGBTQI+ attendees,' the organization said in a statement. Jessica Stern, a former U.S. special envoy for the human rights of LGBTQI+ people, acknowledged that many potential attendees decided to skip World Pride as they 'wonder if they'll be safe in U.S. airports and on our streets.' 'Thank you for coming to the U.S. amid a time of great uncertainty,' she said in her opening remarks before an emcee later instructed attendees to shout out where they had traveled from. Answers included New Zealand, Sweden, England, Zimbabwe, Australia, Nigeria and India. As an increasing number of international travelers have expressed anxiety, John Tanzella, president of the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association, said he has assured people that Washington is an inclusive city but advised them to stay informed of local policies, connect with LGBTQ+ organizations on the ground and book with trusted businesses with track records of inclusion. The organization is working on guidance for transgender and nonbinary travelers in the U.S. for the World Pride parade and march. 'Safety always comes up, especially in the current climate, but there's also a deep desire to bring our community together,' he said. 'For many, World Pride in Washington, D.C., feels extra meaningful given its location. There's caution, yes, but above all, people want to show up, be seen and be heard.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW A bad experience while trying to enter Benoit's friends had warned her not to travel to the U.S., and her anxiety was mounting in the days leading up to her flight. She planned to avoid telling customs agents she was traveling for World Pride. But when that information surfaced, she said agents took her passport and asked her questions for an additional hour about where she was staying and for how long. Still, she said, it is more important now than ever to 'send a message to Trump in his own backyard' and to embrace the global nature of World Pride. 'The ability to bring people together to understand how interconnected everything is, how this harmful rhetoric may bleed over to other countries, is really important,' she said. 'And it's an opportunity to access resources and people you may not have access to back home.' Essy Adhiambo, executive director of the Initiative for Equality and Non Discrimination, deleted all the social media apps on her phone before her 35-hour journey from Mombasa, Kenya, worrying that her phone might be searched. Still, Adhiambo said being visible as an international LGBTQ+ community is powerful amid threats to the community across the globe. 'We must continue to protest in the current context we are in,' she said. 'Those of us who are able to make this journey have to hold space for those who could not, especially our trans siblings. We want to amplify our message on the land of the people who are supporting homophobia.' Nikki Phinyapincha, co-founder of Trans Pride Thailand, set off on a 25-hour journey to World Pride from Thailand after issuing a travel advisory from her organization for Thai LGBTQ+ people. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'The political climate and instability is not new, but it makes it more important that we are here,' she said. 'We need to keep doing this work, strategizing together and being adaptive.' For people from marginalized communities, Opoku-Gyimah said, 'just traveling to speak truth can often feel like a mountain.' 'We have to prove our worth at every border, every checkpoint,' she said. Yet Opoku-Gyimah applauded the international nature of World Pride amid 'connected, coordinated ... and increasingly violent' attacks against LGBTQ+ communities across the globe. She said the U.S. government's rolling back of DEI initiatives, protections for the transgender community and reproductive rights have had ripple effects abroad, including in the U.K. 'When the U.S. sneezes,' she said, 'other parts of the world catch that cold.'
Toronto Star
38 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in the New Jersey primary
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly a dozen candidates will compete in New Jersey on Tuesday for the chance to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. Voters will also pick nominees for the state General Assembly. New Jersey is one of only two states, along with Virginia, with a gubernatorial race on the ballot this year. Historically, presidential politics has cast a long shadow over the two contests, with the president's party frequently losing one or both seats. Although Democrats have long dominated New Jersey's federal offices as well as the state Legislature, the governor's office has changed hands regularly between the two major political parties for most of the last century. The last time a party held the governorship for more than two consecutive terms was in 1961. The race for the Democratic nomination for governor features a crowded field of prominent current and former officeholders: U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Mikie Sherrill, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, New Jersey Education Association president and former Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller and former state Senate President Steve Sweeney. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Gottheimer has had a slight edge in fundraising, with about $9.1 million in contributions, followed by Sherrill and Fulop, each with about $8.9 million raised for their campaigns. Immigration has been a major issue in the campaign. In May, the state's top federal prosecutor dropped a trespassing case against Baraka, who was arrested earlier in the month at a protest outside a new federal immigration detention center. In the Republican primary, former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli makes his third attempt for the state's highest office. He had a strong showing as the 2021 Republican nominee against Murphy, coming within about 3 percentage points of unseating the Democratic incumbent. He also ran in 2017 but lost the nomination to then-Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno. Also seeking the Republican nomination Tuesday are state Sen. Jon Bramnick, former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac, talk radio host Bill Spadea and general contractor Justin Barbera. President Donald Trump has been a key figure in the primary, as he has been in other GOP contests across the country in recent years. He endorsed Ciattarelli in May and campaigned for him in a virtual rally on Monday, despite the candidate having said in 2015 that he was not fit to serve as president. Bramnick is the only current Trump critic in this year's GOP primary field. The state's most populous counties — Bergen, Middlesex, Essex and Hudson — tend to play a larger role in Democratic primaries than in Republican primaries. For example, Essex County, which is home to heavily Democratic Newark, had the largest turnout in the last competitive Democratic primary for governor in 2017, but it did not crack the top 15 counties in the last competitive Republican primary in 2021. That year, Ciattarelli received just shy of a majority of the Republican primary vote. He was the top vote-getter in all 21 counties and nearly doubled the vote count of his nearest competitor. The counties that contributed the most Republican primary votes that year were Ocean, Morris and Monmouth. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Further down the ballot, all 80 state General Assembly seats are up for election this year, although only 25 districts face contested races. Primary voters may select up to two candidates per district, and each race will have two winners. Democrats have a lopsided majority in the chamber. State Senate seats will not be up for election until 2027. Some voters in Bergen and Passaic counties in northern New Jersey will pick nominees for a special state Senate election in District 35, although neither the Democratic nor Republican primary is contested. Democrats also have a decisive majority in the state Senate. The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it's determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why. Recounts are very rare in New Jersey. The state does not have automatic recounts, but candidates and voters may request and pay for them, with the cost refunded if the outcome changes. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome. Here's a look at what to expect Tuesday: Primary day New Jersey's state primary will be held Tuesday. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET. What's on the ballot? The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in the primaries for governor, state General Assembly and the uncontested special primaries in state Senate District 35. Who gets to vote? Registered party members may vote only in their own party's primary. In other words, Democrats can't vote in the Republican primary or vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may participate in either primary, but voting in a party's primary will enroll them in that party. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW What do turnout and advance vote look like? As of Sunday, there were about 6.6 million registered voters in New Jersey. Of those, 37% were Democrats, or about 2.4 million voters, and about 25% were Republicans, or 1.6 million voters. An additional 2.4 million voters were not affiliated with any party. In the 2021 primaries for governor, overall turnout was about 6% of registered voters in the Democratic primary and about 5% in the Republican primary. Nearly 383,000 ballots were cast in the Democratic primary and about 339,000 in the Republican primary. Ballots cast before primary day in 2021 made up about 38% of the total vote in the Democratic primary and 19% in the Republican primary. In the state primary two years later, 55% of the Democratic primary vote and 29% of the Republican primary vote was cast before Election Day. As of Thursday morning, more than 248,000 Democratic primary ballots and more than 91,000 Republican primary ballots had been cast before primary day. How long does vote-counting usually take? In the 2024 presidential election in New Jersey, the first results the AP reported came from Hudson County at 8:01 p.m. ET, one minute after polls closed. Vote tabulation ended for the night at 4:21 a.m. ET in Burlington County with about 95% of votes counted. Are we there yet? As of Tuesday, there will be 147 days until the November general election. ___ Follow the AP's coverage of the 2025 election at Read more on the U.S. Election at
Winnipeg Free Press
43 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Global LGBTQ+ advocates gather ‘on Trump's doorstep' at World Pride despite travel anxiety
WASHINGTON (AP) — Days before she was to deliver opening remarks to World Pride's human rights conference in Washington, Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, the co-founder of UK Black Pride, said she was denied entry to the United States after her visa was revoked due to her travels to Cuba earlier this year. Opoku-Gyimah, widely known as Lady Phyll, said she applied immediately for a nonimmigrant visa. The earliest date she was given: September. 'I've called. I've written. I've pleaded,' she said over a video livestream. 'And the answer was a cold, bureaucratic 'No.'' Many LGBTQ+ travelers have expressed concerns or decided to skip World Pride due to anxieties about safety, border policies and a hostile political climate. Yet cross-national strategizing has still been central to the gathering as international attendees echoed that they wanted to send a clear message of opposition to U.S. officials with their presence. 'This is World Pride on Trump's doorstep,' said Yasmin Benoit, a British model and asexual activist. 'And that's all the more reason to be here. We want to show the U.S. that there's a lot of eyes on what's happening here.' New policies make visiting more complex World Pride gathers LGBTQ+ advocates from around the globe and has taken place most recently in Australia, Sweden and Denmark. This year, which marks the 50th anniversary of Washington's Pride festival, is the first time the city is hosting the gathering. Yet for many, the global celebration has been complicated by President Donald Trump's policies targeting transgender people and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Trump, a Republican, has said that whether a person is a man or woman is determined by that person's biological characteristics at birth, and about two-thirds of U.S. adults agree with him, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. He has denounced DEI policies as a form of discrimination that threatens merit-based decision-making. Several countries, including Denmark, Finland and Germany, issued cautions for LGBTQ+ travelers visiting the U.S. for World Pride, culminates in a closing festival this weekend with a parade, a rally and concerts. Capital Pride Alliance, which organized World Pride D.C., included an advisory for transgender and nonbinary international travelers alongside security protocols. Egale Canada, one of the country's largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, announced in February that its members would not attend any events in the U.S. through June, including World Pride. It cited concerns for transgender and nonbinary staff members. 'I didn't feel it was safe to have our staff crossing into the U.S. with the current hostilities, through legislation and rhetoric,' said Helen Kennedy, the organization's executive director. The African Human Rights Coalition, meanwhile, called for a boycott of World Pride in Washington 'because the event is being held in a venue … governed now by an antagonistic fascist regime which presents distinct dangers to foreign LGBTQI+ attendees,' the organization said in a statement. Jessica Stern, a former U.S. special envoy for the human rights of LGBTQI+ people, acknowledged that many potential attendees decided to skip World Pride as they 'wonder if they'll be safe in U.S. airports and on our streets.' 'Thank you for coming to the U.S. amid a time of great uncertainty,' she said in her opening remarks before an emcee later instructed attendees to shout out where they had traveled from. Answers included New Zealand, Sweden, England, Zimbabwe, Australia, Nigeria and India. As an increasing number of international travelers have expressed anxiety, John Tanzella, president of the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association, said he has assured people that Washington is an inclusive city but advised them to stay informed of local policies, connect with LGBTQ+ organizations on the ground and book with trusted businesses with track records of inclusion. The organization is working on guidance for transgender and nonbinary travelers in the U.S. for the World Pride parade and march. 'Safety always comes up, especially in the current climate, but there's also a deep desire to bring our community together,' he said. 'For many, World Pride in Washington, D.C., feels extra meaningful given its location. There's caution, yes, but above all, people want to show up, be seen and be heard.' A bad experience while trying to enter Benoit's friends had warned her not to travel to the U.S., and her anxiety was mounting in the days leading up to her flight. She planned to avoid telling customs agents she was traveling for World Pride. But when that information surfaced, she said agents took her passport and asked her questions for an additional hour about where she was staying and for how long. Still, she said, it is more important now than ever to 'send a message to Trump in his own backyard' and to embrace the global nature of World Pride. 'The ability to bring people together to understand how interconnected everything is, how this harmful rhetoric may bleed over to other countries, is really important,' she said. 'And it's an opportunity to access resources and people you may not have access to back home.' Essy Adhiambo, executive director of the Initiative for Equality and Non Discrimination, deleted all the social media apps on her phone before her 35-hour journey from Mombasa, Kenya, worrying that her phone might be searched. Still, Adhiambo said being visible as an international LGBTQ+ community is powerful amid threats to the community across the globe. 'We must continue to protest in the current context we are in,' she said. 'Those of us who are able to make this journey have to hold space for those who could not, especially our trans siblings. We want to amplify our message on the land of the people who are supporting homophobia.' Nikki Phinyapincha, co-founder of Trans Pride Thailand, set off on a 25-hour journey to World Pride from Thailand after issuing a travel advisory from her organization for Thai LGBTQ+ people. 'The political climate and instability is not new, but it makes it more important that we are here,' she said. 'We need to keep doing this work, strategizing together and being adaptive.' For people from marginalized communities, Opoku-Gyimah said, 'just traveling to speak truth can often feel like a mountain.' 'We have to prove our worth at every border, every checkpoint,' she said. Yet Opoku-Gyimah applauded the international nature of World Pride amid 'connected, coordinated … and increasingly violent' attacks against LGBTQ+ communities across the globe. She said the U.S. government's rolling back of DEI initiatives, protections for the transgender community and reproductive rights have had ripple effects abroad, including in the U.K. 'When the U.S. sneezes,' she said, 'other parts of the world catch that cold.'
