Source : the age
In an unprecedented move, the embattled chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court was suspended from his duties after the court’s oversight body referred British barrister Karim Khan for disciplinary proceedings.
The 56-year-old is facing allegations of sexual misconduct with a female aide, in a scandal that has dragged on for more than two years. He has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing.
A final decision on Khan’s fate is now up to the Assembly of States Parties, the body that oversees the ICC, which will hold a special session to decide if he can remain in his job at the global court.
The assembly’s executive committee said Khan’s suspension pending its meeting was “not an indication of the final outcome”.
Nine has sold youth publisher Pedestrian to independent publisher Vinyl Group for an undisclosed fee, the company’s chief executive, Matt Stanton, told staff this morning.
The decision to sell the company came after a strategic review of the business and several years in a tough advertising market, Stanton said.
“Through this process it has been determined that the Pedestrian Group will be best placed for growth by finding a new home with Vinyl Group. They are eager to work with Pedestrian Group to continue the momentum built up as a result of the team’s hard work.”
Nine slashed jobs from Pedestrian in 2024, with the latter’s then chief executive Matt Rowley leaving during the cost-cutting exercise. Pedestrian and Nine also exited many of its third-party publishing deals with outlets such as Gizmodo, Vice and Refinery29 at the time.
Stanton also said the company has sold its stake in Future Women, a professional women’s workplace platform, to its managing director, Helen McCabe.
Italian prosecutors have put Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir under investigation over the treatment of activists who were part of a Gaza flotilla last month, a judicial source said.
The source, who asked not to be named, confirmed earlier reports by Italian news agencies and said that Ben-Gvir was being investigated on suspicion of torture and kidnapping of Italian citizens who were among the activists.
If the probe determines charges are warranted, prosecutors could lodge a formal request for trial.
In response to the Italian investigation, Ben-Gvir said in a statement: “I will not shy away from one investigation or another and will continue to stand proudly alongside our fighters.”
Sticking with the ABC managing director, Hugh Marks defended the broadcaster’s collaboration on a podcast about autism with former Australian of the Year Grace Tame.
Marks said he understood why people objected to the project, but that it had begun before Tame chanted “globalise the intifada” at a rally earlier this year.
“When we engaged her for the project … it was before those particular comments that were made,” he told Radio National.
“I understand why people feel Grace shouldn’t have a program on the ABC, given you know the controversy that’s reported and associated with many of her comments, but I think if you look at the program itself, you know, it’s a great podcast that she’s done, a great job on a topic that I’m sure will be of real interest and real importance to many Australians who suffer from those conditions.”
Asked whether it was appropriate for radio presenter Charlie Pickering to weigh into the debate, Marks said: “He did express that they were his own views. They weren’t represented at the ABC. It was a little bit on the hop and a little bit not, so I think you know we felt comfortable that we were able to accept that his comments weren’t a breach of the ABC code of conduct.”
ABC managing director Hugh Marks said disagreement with outgoing news director Justin Stevens on the future of the broadcaster’s news division led to the veteran leader’s departure.
“Maybe we felt there were different directions to pursue,” Marks told ABC Radio National.
“A lot of people, particularly in the live news area of the ABC, I think, feel stretched and pressured, and that’s because we’ve added services to what we do.
“That’s a problem that I know I’ve got to solve.”
The Labor Party has rolled out social media ads asking for donations to counter the rise of One Nation as polls begin to show the minor party overtaking the government.
The ads ask Labor supporters to donate between $10 and $27 to “take on” One Nation and stop the minor party turning polling support into seats.
“This is still early but we can’t let them gain any more momentum,” one post says.
“99 per cent of people reading this won’t contribute. We hope you’ll be different,” another says.
A recent Redbridge poll projected that Labor could lose as many as 18 seats in a One Nation flood if an election were held today. The next election will be called before May 2028.
Staying with Thistlethwaite’s appearance on ABC TV this morning, the minister has said the government strongly backs a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Iran as the conflict continues to wreak havoc on the Australian economy.
His remarks follow a flare-up of violence between the two countries, who traded strikes earlier in the week, threatening to derail peace negotiations.
“It’s a fragile ceasefire, and we want it to become a permanent ceasefire. Australians are becoming increasingly frustrated with the stop-start of this conflict and its ongoing effects on our economy and the international economy,” Thistlethwaite said.
“They’re paying for it at the petrol bowsers, and it’s starting to flow through to household owners, particularly food and groceries.”
Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Matt Thistlethwaite said US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a new 12.5 per cent tariff on imports from 60 countries, including Australia, is “unjustified”.
Washington has justified the threat by claiming the countries have violated anti-slavery laws on imported goods.
Thistlethwaite called the threat unfair this morning, as he defended Australia’s record of enforcing “some of the most stringent and strongest anti-forced labour and modern slavery laws in the world”.
“These tariffs are completely unjustified,” he told ABC’s News Breakfast program.
“We will continue to try and negotiate and work with the United States to have them removed as quickly as possible.”
Nationals leader Matt Canavan has rejected suggestions this morning that One Nation is the new opposition in waiting, after another poll showed Pauline Hanson’s party leading the Coalition in popularity.
“It doesn’t stand up because the opposition is the one with the second-most seats in the parliament … We’ve got to get rid of this government. I think the polls show that very clearly,” he told Sky News.
Canavan said he would not be distracted by polls so far out from the next federal election.
“It’s a long way to the next election, and I’m not going to get distracted by polls that will come out. There’ll be hundreds of polls between now and an election.”
Satisfaction with life among Australians is lower now than during the depths of the pandemic as financial pressures and housing costs squeeze people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, with Anthony Albanese admitting the cost of living is contributing to the splintering of the nation’s politics.
Research made public this morning by consultancy KPMG shows life satisfaction – a measure that tracks whether a person is content with their circumstances – is now substantially lower than it was in the mid-2010s across all age groups, while it has nose-dived among people facing the biggest financial hit.
Large proportions of people would struggle to find $2000 in an emergency, a key measure of financial stress, while household wealth levels have stalled since the start of the decade.
KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley said unlike during the pandemic, when many Australians had their income levels boosted by government schemes such as JobKeeper and ultra-low interest rates, people today were under sustained financial pressure.
“These factors have left many average Australians in a precarious financial position for the better part of five years and is undoubtedly affecting how they feel about their lives,” he said.
