Latest news with #ChristopherHarris
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Australia news LIVE: Coalition infighting continues; Pressure builds on Israel; Car crashes into fans in Liverpool
Posts area Go to latest Good morning, here is what's making headlines By Christopher Harris Good morning and welcome to our live blog coverage this morning. Here is what's making headlines this morning: A car ploughed into a crowd of Liverpool fans during a parade celebrating their side's Premier League soccer title on Monday, and police arrested a 53-year-old local man shortly afterwards. Private hospital operator, Healthscope, has three months to find a backer for its network of 37 Australian hospitals before its $100 million lifeline provided by Westpac and The Commonwealth Bank runs out. In Sydney, underworld tensions have again spilled onto the city's streets, sparking fears of retaliation in a 'tit-for-tat' gang war after the attempted assassination of a senior figure in the notorious Alameddine crime clan. In Victoria, the trial of mushroom lunch cook Erin Patterson continues. Yesterday, the health boss who was probing the cause of an outbreak of illness, said Patterson's responses had changed, and she would respond only by text message and not take phone calls. A video has emerged of French president Emmanuel Macron showing his wife, Brigitte, pushing her husband away with both hands on his face before they disembarked from their plane to start a tour of South-East Asia this weekend. Macron has played down the incident. 'We are squabbling and, rather, joking with my wife,' he said 6.56am Influencers to teach school children about consent A first of its kind consent education initiative aims to meet young Australians where they're at - on social media. Teach Us Consent, the organisation founded by youth advocate Chanel Contos, has launched the Promoting Consent Initiative, which aims to teach young people about respectful relationships and prevent sexual harm. Ms Contos, 26, founded the organisation four years ago after an Instagram post went viral and alerted her to the dire need for mandated consent education in Australian schools. 'Australia is really leading the way in terms of focusing on preventing sexual violence,' she told AAP. 'There is an important message to be shared overseas about what is happening in Australia and what lessons can be learned for other countries.' It has been funded by the Department of Social Services as part of the ten-year National Plan to End Gender Based Violence launched in 2022. The initiative is the first of its kind in Australia to use social media to reach young people through users they know and trust. More than 25 influential young Australians from footballers to beauty vloggers have signed up to demonstrate the importance of having vulnerable and open conversations about consent. China calls in debts of developing nations Developing nations, including those in the Pacific, will pay China $34 billion this year as Beijing comes calling for repayments on project funding. China is now 'the world's largest single destination for developing country debt payments' and outstripping the whole of the West, says a new report shows from Australian think tank The Lowy Institute. Under its Belt and Road Initiative, China has rapidly increased investments in infrastructure since 2013, partnering with dozens of nations primarily in the developed world. In more recent years Beijing has changed tack, providing a heavier portion of grants - which do not need to be repaid - into its mix of development assistance. However, with standard lending terms including the delay of payments for several years before a maturation of loans at 15-20 years, it appears crunch time has arrived for repayments. 'China's earlier lending boom, combined with the structure of its loans, made a surge in debt servicing costs inevitable,' report author Riley Duke said. 6.56am King Charles arrives in Canada King Charles III arrived Monday in Ottawa on a visit that Canada's leader says will underscore his nation's sovereignty amid US President Donald Trump's talk of the United States annexing its northern neighbour. Trump's repeated suggestion that the US annex Canada prompted Prime Minister Mark Carney to invite Charles to give the speech from the throne that will outline his government's agenda for the new Parliament. The king is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies. 'This historic honour matches the weight of our times. It speaks to our enduring tradition and friendship, to the vitality of our constitutional monarchy and our distinct identity, and to the historic ties that crises only fortify,' Carney said in a statement. 'Canada's strength lies in building a strong future while embracing its English, French, and Indigenous roots — the union of peoples that forms our bedrock.' Carney, the new prime minister and a former head of the Bank of England, and Canada's first Indigenous governor general, Mary Simon, the king's representative in Canada, greeted the king and Queen Camilla at the airport. A 25-member honour guard from the Royal Canadian Dragoons, for which the king is colonel-in-chief, was also on hand. The King also dropped the ceremonial first puck or ball during a street hockey game at a community event. Charles and Camilla's presence 'reaffirms the enduring constitutional bond that has shaped Canada's journey into a proud and independent nation,' Simon said in a statement Monday. 6.55am Good morning, here is what's making headlines By Christopher Harris Good morning and welcome to our live blog coverage this morning. Here is what's making headlines this morning: A car ploughed into a crowd of Liverpool fans during a parade celebrating their side's Premier League soccer title on Monday, and police arrested a 53-year-old local man shortly afterwards. Private hospital operator, Healthscope, has three months to find a backer for its network of 37 Australian hospitals before its $100 million lifeline provided by Westpac and The Commonwealth Bank runs out. In Sydney, underworld tensions have again spilled onto the city's streets, sparking fears of retaliation in a 'tit-for-tat' gang war after the attempted assassination of a senior figure in the notorious Alameddine crime clan. In Victoria, the trial of mushroom lunch cook Erin Patterson continues. Yesterday, the health boss who was probing the cause of an outbreak of illness, said Patterson's responses had changed, and she would respond only by text message and not take phone calls. A video has emerged of French president Emmanuel Macron showing his wife, Brigitte, pushing her husband away with both hands on his face before they disembarked from their plane to start a tour of South-East Asia this weekend. Macron has played down the incident. 'We are squabbling and, rather, joking with my wife,' he said
The Age
3 days ago
- The Age
Australia news LIVE: Coalition infighting continues; Pressure builds on Israel; Car crashes into fans in Liverpool
Go to latest Good morning, here is what's making headlines By Christopher Harris Good morning and welcome to our live blog coverage this morning. Here is what's making headlines this morning: A car ploughed into a crowd of Liverpool fans during a parade celebrating their side's Premier League soccer title on Monday, and police arrested a 53-year-old local man shortly afterwards. Private hospital operator, Healthscope, has three months to find a backer for its network of 37 Australian hospitals before its $100 million lifeline provided by Westpac and The Commonwealth Bank runs out. In Sydney, underworld tensions have again spilled onto the city's streets, sparking fears of retaliation in a 'tit-for-tat' gang war after the attempted assassination of a senior figure in the notorious Alameddine crime clan. In Victoria, the trial of mushroom lunch cook Erin Patterson continues. Yesterday, the health boss who was probing the cause of an outbreak of illness, said Patterson's responses had changed, and she would respond only by text message and not take phone calls. A video has emerged of French president Emmanuel Macron showing his wife, Brigitte, pushing her husband away with both hands on his face before they disembarked from their plane to start a tour of South-East Asia this weekend. Macron has played down the incident. 'We are squabbling and, rather, joking with my wife,' he said 6.56am Influencers to teach school children about consent A first of its kind consent education initiative aims to meet young Australians where they're at - on social media. Teach Us Consent, the organisation founded by youth advocate Chanel Contos, has launched the Promoting Consent Initiative, which aims to teach young people about respectful relationships and prevent sexual harm. Ms Contos, 26, founded the organisation four years ago after an Instagram post went viral and alerted her to the dire need for mandated consent education in Australian schools. 'Australia is really leading the way in terms of focusing on preventing sexual violence,' she told AAP. 'There is an important message to be shared overseas about what is happening in Australia and what lessons can be learned for other countries.' It has been funded by the Department of Social Services as part of the ten-year National Plan to End Gender Based Violence launched in 2022. The initiative is the first of its kind in Australia to use social media to reach young people through users they know and trust. More than 25 influential young Australians from footballers to beauty vloggers have signed up to demonstrate the importance of having vulnerable and open conversations about consent. AAP 6.56am China calls in debts of developing nations Developing nations, including those in the Pacific, will pay China $34 billion this year as Beijing comes calling for repayments on project funding. China is now 'the world's largest single destination for developing country debt payments' and outstripping the whole of the West, says a new report shows from Australian think tank The Lowy Institute. Under its Belt and Road Initiative, China has rapidly increased investments in infrastructure since 2013, partnering with dozens of nations primarily in the developed world. In more recent years Beijing has changed tack, providing a heavier portion of grants - which do not need to be repaid - into its mix of development assistance. However, with standard lending terms including the delay of payments for several years before a maturation of loans at 15-20 years, it appears crunch time has arrived for repayments. 'China's earlier lending boom, combined with the structure of its loans, made a surge in debt servicing costs inevitable,' report author Riley Duke said. 6.56am King Charles arrives in Canada King Charles III arrived Monday in Ottawa on a visit that Canada's leader says will underscore his nation's sovereignty amid US President Donald Trump's talk of the United States annexing its northern neighbour. Trump's repeated suggestion that the US annex Canada prompted Prime Minister Mark Carney to invite Charles to give the speech from the throne that will outline his government's agenda for the new Parliament. The king is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies. 'This historic honour matches the weight of our times. It speaks to our enduring tradition and friendship, to the vitality of our constitutional monarchy and our distinct identity, and to the historic ties that crises only fortify,' Carney said in a statement. 'Canada's strength lies in building a strong future while embracing its English, French, and Indigenous roots — the union of peoples that forms our bedrock.' Carney, the new prime minister and a former head of the Bank of England, and Canada's first Indigenous governor general, Mary Simon, the king's representative in Canada, greeted the king and Queen Camilla at the airport. A 25-member honour guard from the Royal Canadian Dragoons, for which the king is colonel-in-chief, was also on hand. The King also dropped the ceremonial first puck or ball during a street hockey game at a community event. Charles and Camilla's presence 'reaffirms the enduring constitutional bond that has shaped Canada's journey into a proud and independent nation,' Simon said in a statement Monday. 6.55am Good morning, here is what's making headlines By Christopher Harris Good morning and welcome to our live blog coverage this morning. Here is what's making headlines this morning: A car ploughed into a crowd of Liverpool fans during a parade celebrating their side's Premier League soccer title on Monday, and police arrested a 53-year-old local man shortly afterwards. Private hospital operator, Healthscope, has three months to find a backer for its network of 37 Australian hospitals before its $100 million lifeline provided by Westpac and The Commonwealth Bank runs out. In Sydney, underworld tensions have again spilled onto the city's streets, sparking fears of retaliation in a 'tit-for-tat' gang war after the attempted assassination of a senior figure in the notorious Alameddine crime clan. In Victoria, the trial of mushroom lunch cook Erin Patterson continues. Yesterday, the health boss who was probing the cause of an outbreak of illness, said Patterson's responses had changed, and she would respond only by text message and not take phone calls. A video has emerged of French president Emmanuel Macron showing his wife, Brigitte, pushing her husband away with both hands on his face before they disembarked from their plane to start a tour of South-East Asia this weekend. Macron has played down the incident. 'We are squabbling and, rather, joking with my wife,' he said
Sydney Morning Herald
4 days ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Australia news LIVE: Ley mulls Coalition front bench overhaul; Bradfield in the balance as amid informal vote surge; 3500 make insurance claims after wild weather
Latest posts Latest posts 7.03am Some NSW schools reopen after floods as cleanup continues By Christopher Harris NSW is cleaning up after major flooding which inundated about 10,000 homes last week. About 3500 have made claims across the mid north coast and the upper Hunter region, The Insurance Council of Australia says. About 32,000 people in 14 towns across the upper Hunter and mid north coast were isolated yesterday. Insurance Council of Australia chief executive Andrew Hall said as people returned to their properties, insurance claims were climbing at 1000 a day. 'This is our fourth flood for 2025... they're underscoring each and every month, we have 220,000 homes which have been built in high-risk flood zones,' he told the ABC's Radio National program. The frequency of floods across the East Coast coupled with the steep increase in building costs of about 40 per cent in recent years, was driving up insurance costs, he said. 'They're becoming a real challenge to provide affordable insurance to,' CEO said. He said Australia needed to have a flood defence plan which could help local governments deliver timely flood studies and reduce the devastation communities face. The Department of Education says 60 schools will remain closed while 120 will reopen this morning. 6.58am Russia and Ukraine swap hundreds of prisoners By Christopher Harris Russia and Ukraine swapped hundreds more prisoners on Sunday, the third and last part of a major exchange that reflected a rare moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire in the more than three years of war. Hours earlier, the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and other regions came under a massive Russian drone-and-missile attack that killed at least 12 people and injured dozens. Ukrainian officials described it as the largest aerial assault since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia's Defense Ministry said each side exchanged 303 soldiers, following the release of 307 combatants and civilians each on Saturday, and 390 on Friday — the biggest total swap of the war. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Sunday's exchange, saying on X that '303 Ukrainian defenders are home.' He noted that the troops returning to Ukraine were members of the 'Armed Forces, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, and the State Special Transport Service.' Nataliya Borovyk, the sister of released Ukrainian soldier Ihor Ulesov, was overwhelmed when she learned of her brother's return. 'My uncle had to calm me down and put me in a taxi so I could get here,' she told The Associated Press. 'A moment like that stays with you forever.' Borovyk said the family had been waiting anxiously for news, and that she had hoped her brother might be released in the first part of the exchange on Friday. 'We were worried about all the guys. He wasn't there on Friday, but I was here — I at least greeted them, I stood there until the very end and waited, (hoping) maybe he would appear after all.' In talks held in Istanbul earlier this month — the first time the two sides met face to face for peace talks — Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1000 prisoners of war and civilian detainees each. The exchange has been the only tangible outcome from the talks. AP.
The Age
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
'Australia news LIVE: Ley mulls Coalition front bench overhaul; Bradfield in the balance as amid informal vote surge; 3500 make insurance claims after wild weather
Latest posts Latest posts 6.58am Russia and Ukraine swap hundreds of prisoners By Christopher Harris Russia and Ukraine swapped hundreds more prisoners on Sunday, the third and last part of a major exchange that reflected a rare moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire in the more than three years of war. Hours earlier, the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and other regions came under a massive Russian drone-and-missile attack that killed at least 12 people and injured dozens. Ukrainian officials described it as the largest aerial assault since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia's Defense Ministry said each side exchanged 303 soldiers, following the release of 307 combatants and civilians each on Saturday, and 390 on Friday — the biggest total swap of the war. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Sunday's exchange, saying on X that '303 Ukrainian defenders are home.' He noted that the troops returning to Ukraine were members of the 'Armed Forces, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, and the State Special Transport Service.' Nataliya Borovyk, the sister of released Ukrainian soldier Ihor Ulesov, was overwhelmed when she learned of her brother's return. 'My uncle had to calm me down and put me in a taxi so I could get here,' she told The Associated Press. 'A moment like that stays with you forever.' Borovyk said the family had been waiting anxiously for news, and that she had hoped her brother might be released in the first part of the exchange on Friday. 'We were worried about all the guys. He wasn't there on Friday, but I was here — I at least greeted them, I stood there until the very end and waited, (hoping) maybe he would appear after all.' In talks held in Istanbul earlier this month — the first time the two sides met face to face for peace talks — Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1000 prisoners of war and civilian detainees each. The exchange has been the only tangible outcome from the talks. AP.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tampa's Racial Reconciliation Committee looking for more support from city officials
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Tampa's Racial Reconciliation Committee has been making strides over the last six months, but they say a holdup in effective progress is due to a lack of responsiveness from city officials. Tampa's Racial Reconciliation Committee was formed after a commitment from Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera on WFLA's Rooted in Progress Black History Month Special. Ultimately, 13 community members were recommended and all city council members supported the RRC's efforts. The RCC is an effort to confront the history and legacy of racial injustice and inequality. The committee is tasked with reviewing Tampa's past, studying injustices and making recommendations to Tampa's Mayor and City Council. They are focusing on the five designated areas: Affordable and accessible housing Economic development, empowerment, and entrepreneurship, including training/apprenticeships, capital access, and municipal contracting Opportunity for youth Ignored history and efforts to create a public discussion on the same Citizens returning to society after completing sentences and restoration of rights Committee meetings began in December. Upon meeting, committee members began requesting missing data, subject matter experts, content experts and more. The committee said they have not heard back from the Mayor or her administration. 'In the age that we are in now, where you can clearly see when someone is passionate and committed, you know what it feels like when they're all in,' said Pastor Christopher Harris, Vice Chairman of the RCC. 'A part of what the committee has said is that we have not gotten the sense that the executive branch of our city government has been all in on what we have been working toward. All we are asking is for the mayor and the administration to be all in. This wasn't an aim. This was us waving the flag, saying we're over here. You all put resources, money, statements together to advocate for these issues. Let us do our jobs, but we need your help to do our job.' Tuesday night, the committee held what was supposed to be their second-to-last meeting before preparing a report to give to the Mayor and City Council. City staff, the Mayor's Chief of Staff and community members attended. John Bennett, Tampa's Chief of Staff, said the Mayor did follow up, but there may have been some miscommunication. 'The Mayor did approve the Ad-Hoc committee, which is her executive power to do so, and she did,' Bennett explained. 'The Mayor supplied to logistics and the facility and opened her arms to any of the data you needed. Our expectations were to see motions come from that data, but that may have been a misunderstanding. I would have been happy to be here every single meeting and help shape some of those testimonials to actionable analysis data and we are still willing to do that, whether it's housing, or economic opportunity, workforce, etc.' Tuesday's meeting analyzed the city's past. They discussed ways the city can learn from its historical mistakes, but also educate future generations. There was also a recommendation for the city to allocate 25% of its $1.9 billion budget to the Black community. The RCC is still gathering data and filling in gaps, they say they are missing in order to create a complete and effective report. With the delay in receiving information, the RCC may request an extension. Their next meeting is on June 17 at the City Center on Hanna Avenue. The public is welcome to attend. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
