The Australian government is under increasing pressure over its handling of a rape allegation against one of its most senior ministers.
On 23 February, ABC News reported that Prime Minister Scott Morrison and two senators from other parties received a letter alleging a current Cabinet minister raped a girl, 16, in Sydney in 1988.
Reports claimed in February 2020 the alleged victim, who lived in Adelaide, had reported the assault to the New South Wales Police, but the investigation was delayed by Covid-19 border closures. The woman took her own life in June last year, aged 49.
The allegation became public with the government already under fire for its handling of an alleged rape of a government staffer, Brittany Higgins, in a minister’s parliamentary office in 2019.
On Monday Mr Morrison said the allegation against the minister was a matter for the police and that it would be referred to the Federal Police – who have no jurisdiction over violations of the NSW criminal code.
Mr Morrison said the minister had categorically denied the allegation. But when asked if he believed the denial, he said: “That’s a matter for the police. I’m not the police commissioner”.
The minister has not been sacked, or publicly named.
Veteran federal politics reporter Samantha Maiden, who knew the late alleged victim, told The National that the Prime Minister and his government were trying to avoid responsibility for investigating the allegation.
“The government says leave it to the police," Maiden said. "That would be fine if the woman wasn’t dead. Her allegations can’t be tested.
"They say they will refer it to the Australian Federal Police. To suggest that referring it to the AFP is some kind of solution is nonsense.
“The options are a coronial inquest in South Australia into the circumstances leading to her death, or they could go for some sort of independent judicial inquiry.
"The prime minister doesn’t seem very enthusiastic about that idea.
“They want to flick-pass this by saying, ‘This is a matter for the police’, which relies on the fact most people will think that seems OK, but the police suspended the investigation when she died.”
Maiden said it was “an extraordinary situation” in which “this woman is reaching out from the grave because she had told so many people, and left behind so many documents when she died, and these friends of hers were not prepared to let her allegations die with her”.
“When I heard her age and that she was from Adelaide, I thought ‘I must know her’.
"I rang a couple of people and found out she was someone with whom I went to school.
“She was one of the best and brightest people of that generation that came to Adelaide University.
"There was confusion amongst some of her friends about why she never hit the heights at university.
“She was a very meticulous, very intelligent, very details-oriented person. She kept a diary, and there are many friends of hers around at the time who are prepared to speak out.
"I came across seven or eight people I know who she had told. In her final years she would tell anyone who would listen.”
Maiden said the woman had checked into a centre in Melbourne for mental healthcare reasons in 2020 and on her return to Adelaide, South Australia, spent two weeks in isolation in June.
During that time, she cut her hair in the style in which she had kept it in her final two years of high school, the same style it was in a photograph taken of her with the accused rapist, and shortly after took her own life.
A mass protest has been planned for noon on 15 March, the next sitting day of Federal Parliament.
Janine Hendry, one of the March 4 Justice organisers, told The National that at least 5,000 women would circle the Parliament and turn their backs to it in a symbolic protest.
“We are also co-ordinating with groups in every capital city," Ms Hendry said.
"The protest has emerged out of a wave of anger from women at the multiple allegations of rape [from former staffer Brittany Higgins], including child rape [by the Cabinet minister], assault and harassment, and at the federal government’s woeful response.
“It’s just incredible when you look at the government’s responses. Scott Morrison is suggesting he didn’t know about an alleged rape in his workplace, but … senior ministers and at least five people in his own office knew.
"Either the prime minister was not told because they didn’t think it was important enough, or he is lying about it.
"If that is the way they view this issue we as women have every right to be really angry.
“We are asking for transparency in every parliament. We need to know what is happening in terms of equity and for an independent review of gendered violence in parliament.
"What can I do as a single mother with a 16-year-old son trying to raise him in an environment where he grows up to respect women when the leaders of the country demonstrate the utmost disrespect?”
Results
6.30pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah – Group 2 (PA) $36,000 (Dirt) 1,600m, Winner: RB Money To Burn, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Turf) 2,410m, Winner: Star Safari, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
7.40pm: Meydan Trophy – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (T) 1,900m, Winner: Secret Protector, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 - Group 2 (TB) $293,000 (D) 1,900m, Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
8.50pm: Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Zakouski, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) $65,000 (T) 1,000m, Winner: Motafaawit, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
Blonde
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Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
The past winners
2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2010 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2011 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2012 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2013 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2014 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2015 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2017 - Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
'Nope'
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Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
Elvis
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
Results
Catchweight 60kg: Mohammed Al Katheeri (UAE) beat Mostafa El Hamy (EGY) TKO round 3
Light Heavyweight: Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) no contest Kevin Oumar (COM) Unintentional knee by Oumer
Catchweight 73kg: Yazid Chouchane (ALG) beat Ahmad Al Boussairy (KUW) Unanimous decision
Featherweight: Faris Khaleel Asha (JOR) beat Yousef Al Housani (UAE) TKO in round 2 through foot injury
Welterweight: Omar Hussein (JOR) beat Yassin Najid (MAR); Split decision
Middleweight: Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) beat Sallah Eddine Dekhissi (MAR); Round-1 TKO
Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammed Ali Musalim (UAE) beat Medhat Hussein (EGY); Triangle choke submission
Welterweight: Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) beat Sofiane Oudina (ALG); Triangle choke Round-1
Lightweight: Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Saleem Al Bakri (JOR); Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ali Taleb (IRQ) beat Nawras Abzakh (JOR); TKO round-2
Catchweight 63kg: Rany Saadeh (PAL) beat Abdel Ali Hariri (MAR); Unanimous decision
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
