Cardinal Pell: Vatican treasurer denies Australia sex offences
The Vatican treasurer, Cardinal George Pell, has vehemently denied any wrongdoing after being charged with sex offences in his native Australia.
He complained that he had been subjected to "relentless character assassination" during a two-year investigation into the "false" claims.
He said the Pope had granted him a leave of absence to fight the charges.
The charges relate to alleged "historical" incidents, police in the state of Victoria said.
The allegations were made by a number of people, said Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton.
Cardinal Pell, 76, who is based in the Vatican, is considered the third-ranking official in the Holy See.
Security lockdown in Hong Kong as Xi Jinping marks anniversary of handover
About 11,000 officers will be deployed during Chinese president’s visit as areas of the city are made off limits to the public
Swaths of Hong Kong have been placed under an unprecedented security lockdown as Chinese president Xi Jinping arrived in the city to mark 20 years since the UK handed the city back to China.
Mass protests are expected to greet Xi on the 1 July anniversary, an annual tradition amplified by his presence in the city. Prominent Hong Kong democracy activists, including Joshua Wong and lawmaker Nathan Law, were arrested after they staged a sit in the night before Xi’s arrival.
The UK handed Hong Kong back to China on 1 July, 1997, ending over 150 years of colonial rule. The city was allowed to remain autonomous from mainland China, and maintains separate laws, government and freedoms under a framework known as “one country, two systems”.I’m a paramedic, and this is what it’s like to respond to emergencies and attacks in London
Paramedics have worked tirelessly to save lives on the streets of London in recent weeks – so is it really justified to keep their retirement age at 65 when every other emergency service can retire at 60?
The last few weeks have seen some truly horrific events in England, culminating in the devastating fire in Grenfell Tower. Our emergency services have rightly been praised for the bravery and professionalism they have displayed under the most arduous of conditions while helping the public.
I myself was a serving frontline paramedic for over 36 years, spending most of that time working on and helping to develop the rapid response unit capability for London Ambulance Service.
Like my peers in the Fire Brigade and Police force, no day was the same. Most frequently, it was spent dealing with elderly fallers, heart attacks, strokes and road traffic collisions.
South Africans outraged by photos appearing to show strippers performing for prisoners
Photos showing what appeared to be female strippers performing in front of a group of inmates in a high-security prison in Johannesburg, South Africa, has stirred up outrage on social media in the past few days. In light of the scandal, the South African prison administration has threatened to suspend at least 13 prison guards.
The photos show at least two scantily-clad women, dressed in black leotards and tall leather boots, with men in what seem to be orange prison uniforms in the courtyard of a detention centre. Other prisoners watch the scene. In one photo, two women surround a prisoner, and seem to be undressing him. Many people shared the photos with the hashtag #PrisonStrippers, which was trending on South African Twitter on June 26, 2017. One popular Twitter account, The SA Crime Fighters, called the photos “an outrage and a slap in the face to victims of crime!”.
JUNE 29 2017 - 12:17PM
Indonesia imposes travel ban on Donald Trump's business partner Hary Tanoesoedibjo
Indonesian authorities have imposed a travel ban on tycoon and politician Hary Tanoesoedibjo, who is building resorts to be managed by Trump hotels, over an investigation into allegations he threatened a prosecutor via a text message.
Tanoesoedibjo has been given a 20-day overseas travel ban starting on June 22 based on a request by Indonesian police's criminal investigation unit Agung Sampurno, a spokesman at the immigration directorate said on Wednesday.
Soaring Olympic costs threaten future of Games, IOC warns
Tokyo (AFP) - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday praised Japanese organisers for slashing costs for the 2020 Tokyo Games, but warned that soaring Olympic budgets could see future bids dry up.
Tokyo 2020 coordination commission chairman John Coates noted that significant progress had been made since the IOC ordered local organisers to keep costs below $20 billion but added that more needed to be done.
"Apart from the fact you've got the budget down now to around $13 billion, the emphasis that you are continuing to work together to further reduce costs and optimise resources is not only important to you and taxpayers, but also very important to the IOC," he said at the start of a three-day visit to Tokyo.
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