Christmas Island riot images emerge as detainees flown to Australia
The Australian government has released pictures showing the riot at Christmas Island migrant detention centre earlier this week and its aftermath.
Police used tear gas on Tuesday to end three days of unrest sparked by the death of an Iranian asylum seeker.
CCTV images appear to show two detainees, one armed with a machete, lighting and throwing a petrol bomb.
Photos of the aftermath show broken windows, ransacked offices and smashed equipment.
The unrest began on Sunday after an escaped detainee was found dead. Inmates started fires and barricaded themselves inside a compound with weapons.
Meanwhile, a Border Force spokesperson confirmed that seven detainees who allegedly participated in the unrest were being transferred from Christmas Island to Australia’s mainland.
“The detainees are travelling on a charter flight accompanied by security officers. Restraints are used where appropriate for the safety and security of detainees, staff and the aircraft,” a statement provided to the BBC said.
New Zealand female MPs thrown out of parliament after disclosing sexual assaults
Women ruled out of order by Speaker for demanding prime minister John Key apologise for accusing opposition of ‘backing the rapists’
Several female MPs were ordered to leave the New Zealand parliament on Wednesday after their declarations that they had been victims of sexual assault were ruled out of order by the Speaker.
The women’s intervention came after prime minister John Key on Tuesday accused opposition Labour and Green MPs of “backing the rapists” in a row over the detention of New Zealanders by the Australian government.
Opposition politicians had raised concerns in parliament over the detention of New Zealand citizens awaiting deportation after the Canberra government cancelled visas for those convicted of certain crimes.
Key went on a tirade after being questioned by Labour leader Andrew Little, telling Little “you back the rapists”, before being cut off by the Speaker, David Carter.
Artist arrested for setting fire to Russian secret service HQ
A performance artist managed to strike at the heart of Russia’s security establishment this week. Petr Pavlensky set fire to the doors of Russia’s secret service headquarters (the FSB) and even had time to pose for a photo with a petrol canister before he was arrested on Sunday night. Our Observer says the artist was trying to denounce the FSB’s increasing encroachment on Russian society.
The Loubianka is the historic headquarters of the Russian secret service. Once known as the KGB, it was renamed the FSB after the fall of the Soviet Union. According to Pavlensky, the infamous spy service is responsible for depriving Russians of their freedom: “The threat of immediate reprisals hovers over citizens who know that they risk being spied on, having their phone calls recorded, or even being eavesdropped on.” The commentary accompanies a video showing Pavlensky’s latest exploit, uploaded to a Vimeo account in his name created barely hours before he set fire to the door. The account appears to have been taken offline since then. The artist accuses the Russian secret service of using “unending terror” to “hold power over 146 million people.”
Pavlensky was arrested moments after setting fire to the door, as well as two journalists who were filming and taking photos of him. The two journalists were released on Monday morning. Pavlensky is accused of vandalism and could face up to five years in prison if convicted.
Don’t complain to the media about tensions, Indonesian Minister tells Australia
November 11, 2015 – 8:02PM
One of Indonesian president Joko Widodo’s most trusted ministers has urged the Australian government not to complain to the media when problems arise between the two nations.
Speaking ahead of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s first visit to Indonesia on Thursday, Luhut Panjaitan said he hoped Australia could understand more about the culture of the Javanese.
“I mentioned before to Prime Minister (Tony) Abbott, I think when we have a problem with Indonesia and Australia it is better not to talk to the media,” Mr Luhut said.
“Maybe send a special envoy to discuss – I think that can bring the tension down instead of complaining to the media.”
Mr Luhut, who is the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Social Affairs, formerly served as Mr Joko’s chief of staff.
India’s Cow Protection Squad: Mobs rule as religious debate rages
TARANAGAR: As a truck screeches to a halt on an Indian highway in the middle of the night, devout young Hindus armed with sticks scramble inside, searching for cows they consider sacred.
Almost every night, the vigilantes lie in wait for suspected cattle smugglers in the desert state of Rajasthan, ready to fight to protect the animals, a revered symbol of India’s majority Hindu religion.
“Smugglers often open fire or try to run us over. I even get death threats but nothing bothers me,” said Babulal Jangir, a leader of the Gau Raksha Dal (Cow Protection Squad).
“My heart beats only for my dear cow mother.”
Cow slaughter and consumption of beef are banned in Rajasthan and many other states of officially secular India, which has substantial Muslim and Christian populations.
Former soldier arrested over Northern Ireland’s ‘Bloody Sunday’ killings
The arrest of an ex-soldier Tuesday over the 1972 “Bloody Sunday” killings is the first in a renewed investigation announced by Northern Irish police in 2012.
BELFAST — A 66-year-old former soldier was arrested on Tuesday in relation to the killing by British soldiers of 13 Roman Catholic civil rights marchers in Northern Ireland over 40 years ago, Northern Irish police said on Tuesday.
The arrest is the first in a renewed murder investigation announced by police in 2012 into the “Bloody Sunday” killings in Londonderry, one of the most notorious episodes during 30 years of sectarian violence in the British-ruled province.
The questioning “marked a new phase in the overall investigation which could continue for some time,” the officer leading the probe, Detective Chief Inspector Ian Harrison, said in a statement.
Britain’s Ministry of Defence said it was aware an ex-soldier had been arrested in connection with the investigation and that it would be inappropriate to comment further.
Afghans protest decapitations of ethnic Hazara by ISIL
Thousands demonstrate for security after seven people beheaded – including women and children – allegedly by ISIL.
Shereena Qazi | | Human Rights, War & Conflict, Afghanistan
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Afghanistan’s capital on Wednesday with coffins carrying the bodies of seven ethnic Hazara demanding justice after their beheadings.
The protests included women and men from Afghanistan’s different ethnic groups – Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, and Hazara – as they marched on the Presidential Palace to urge the government to take action against rising violence against Afghan civilians.
According to Afghan officials, the Hazara hostages were captured by ISIL fighters more than a month ago and held in Arghandab district of Zabul province.
Three women, two children, and two men had been beheaded with razor wire. Their bodies were discovered by the Taliban who handed them over to tribal elders on Saturday in Ghazni province, from where they were abducted.