1. Asylum seekers on Nauru transferred to Australia for abortions because they do not want to bring up a child in detention
Three pregnant asylum seekers have been transferred to Australia since the start of this year after electing to have abortions because they did not want to raise children in detention, The Guardian reports. The first woman was transferred in February, while two other women have been transferred to Darwin over the past eight weeks. These two women have reportedly yet to make their decision regarding termination.
Advocacy group for children in detention Chilout has confirmed that the transfers have occurred. The organisation’s spokesperson Sophie Peer told The Guardian: “The actions taken by these families indicate just how dire the situation is on Nauru. From maternal health through to paediatric care and basic living conditions, the entire facility on Nauru is inappropriate for women and children.”
2. Baby tested for HIV in Queensland after breastmilk mix-up
A baby has been tested for HIV in a southeast Queensland hospital, after being given breastmilk from the wrong mother. The three-week-old was receiving milk from Caboolture Hospital when the mix-up occurred. Results of the test will be available within a week, while a confirmation test will not occur for another 12 weeks.
3. Turkey foreshadows support for ISIS in Iraq
The likelihood of Turkey supporting ISIS in Iraq has increased, with a government spokesperson saying that it is clear to the government that the country has split. Speaking to a Kurdish media network, Huseyin Celik,spokesman for Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said that although Turkey currently supported the unified Iraqi state “it has become clear for us that Iraq has practically become divided into three parts.”
4. PM Abbott vows to ensure Australians fighting with extremist groups overseas cannot come home
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said that Australia will “do our damnedest” to ensure that Australians fighting with extremist groups overseas cannot come home, or will be detained if they do. Speaking on Friday, Mr Abbott told Radio 2GB: “What we can’t have is trained killers – who hate our way of life, who hate us – making mischief with the potential to cause mayhem in our country.” Fairfax Media estimates that over 100 Australians are fighting overseas alongside extremist groups, such as the ISIS in Iraq.
His comments come after ISIS recruitment videos featured men with Australian accents.
5. Ukraine declares unilateral ceasefire
Ukranian President Petro Poroshenko has announced a 7-day unilateral cease fire in the region. The cease fire, effective immediately, is designed to give pro-Russian separatists a chance to surrender, following a significant bolstering of Russian defences over the past 24 hours.
6. Opera Australia pressured to fire soprano over homophobic slur
Opera Australia has been pressured to fire a Georgian soprano currently rehearsing with the company after she made comments comparing gay and lesbian people to faeces. Tamar Iveri, who will start performances of Otello in July, made the comment in response to the Georgian President’s condemnation of anti-gay violence at LGBT protests. Iveri wrote a letter to the President in which she told him to “stop vigorous attempts to bring West’s ‘fecal masses’ in the mentality of the people by means of propaganda”.
7. Pope Francis weighs in on the ‘legalise it’ debate
Pope Francis has spoken out against the legalisation of marijuana. Speaking at a drug enforcement conference in Rome, the Pope said that he opposed the legalisation of recreational drugs saying that such measure are “not only highly questionable from a legislative standpoint, but they fail to produce the desired effects.”
The Pope’s comments come after Florida became the 23rd US state to legalise medical marijuana overnight.
8. The man with the handsome mugshot speaks out (oh, and he’s married)
Jeremy Meeks, the man with the photogenic mugshot, has given his first interview to a local news station. Speaking from prison to KXTV, Meeks said: “Well, I appreciate [the attention]. But I just want them to know, I’m really not some kingpin.” The interview revealed that Meeks is married with a three-year-old son.
Meeks’ family has been using the mugshot’s attention to raise money for his bail. A Facebook page run by Meeks’ mother reads: “Please help him to get a fair trial or else he’ll be railroaded…He has a job and he was on his way to work. With no gang affiliations, as per two of the charges—he has old tattoos, which causes him to be stereotyped.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxK98W91Io0
Top Comments
Who cares what the Pope thinks? His views are irrelevant.
I would also have an abortion if I lived somewhere that required me to leave to seek asylum. I doubt they have access to abortions in their home countries though. Maybe these women are just smart enough to realise that bringing a baby into the world when you don't have the resources to take care of it is horrible and unfair on the baby. You know, like the thousands of Western women who can't afford to have and raise a baby on their own.