Former Ecuadorian president to be extradited
An Ecuadorian court ordered the arrest of former president Rafael Correa on charges of the alleged kidnapping of a political opponent in 20-12.
Former lawmaker Fernando Balda accused the then-president of masterminding his brief kidnapping, allegations Correa has denied.
Judge Daniella Camacho said she has alerted Interpol in an effort to have Mr Correa extradited from Belgium, where he currently lives with his wife.
Infinite Void: Endless Waves
- Six years on from their debut album, Melbourne's Infinite Void are back with Endless Waves, a second album of reverb-soaked moody post-punk. Not that they have been sitting around for the last half a decade. There have been a couple of split singles released with overseas bands and Infinite Void members Jacquie Hynes and Alicia Sayes are both active in the more raucous Deep Heat, who released an album a couple of years ago.
Kaidi Tatham: It's A World Before You
- Kaidi Tatham has just released a new album titled It’s A World Before You. Kaidi has been kicking around the UK for years – having been part of The Herbaliser's live band in the '90s, a member of Bugz In The Attic and a part of the original broken beat scene. He’s worked with an innumerable list of legends – from Amy Winehouse to Mulatu Astatke and Jazzy Jeff. His sound is distinctive, his music blurring the lines between hip-hop, jazz and dance modes to maximal effect.
Florence + The Machine: High As Hope
- High As Hope is the fourth album from English alternative band Florence +The Machine. Fronted as always by the enigmatic Florence Welch, this offering is a surprisingly open and honest record compared to their overly anthemic and nebulous previous works.
Former Ipswich councilor denies knowledge of corruption
A former Ipswich deputy claims he did not know of the corruption which is alleged to have gone on in the city, denying allegations of incompetence and ignorance.
Paul Tully said he could not take responsibility for the alleged actions of two former mayors and chief executives prior to an ongoing corruption investigation.
The investigation has so far led to fifteen people with council ties, including former Mayors Andrew Antoniolli and Paul Pisasale, being charged with around 73 criminal offenses.
Bricking up recycling holes
The effective Chinese ban on recycling materials has prompted a Gold Coast businessman to invest in tyre recycling technology.
Adrian Fuller, who owns Adrian's Metal Recyclers, has invested in a Canadian invention which turns discarded tyres into bricks to be used as paving, retaining walls and house foundations.
Mr Fuller said the days of buying material from the public and putting it into a container and sending it overseas are over
GST carve up rejigged
Today the federal treasurer, Scott Morrison, is expected to make an announcement about changes to how the GST take is divided between the states.
The changes are rolled out in stages, with the West Australian government to receive top-ups after the millennial mining boom has dried up, in the first stage of the plan.
The federal government will then commit hundreds of millions of dollars to the GST pool to ensure no state will receive less than seventy-five cents for each dollar they contribute.
Medicare rebates hurting those it’s supposed to help
Bulk-billing doctors surgeries are reportedly turning away the vulnerable in the community, with children and the mentally ill most at risk.
As the rebates fall in real terms, frozen at thirty-seven dollars and sixty cents, bulk-billing surgeries are churning through patients at up to ten per hour which earns them three hundred and eighty dollars.
Doctors that see four patients an hour, will only earn one hundred and fifty two dollars an hour, a rate that could see them losing money.
UN Envoy in Yemen unsuccessful
In Yemen, a UN envoy met with Houthi leaders in the rebel-occupied capital of Sanaa in an effort to negotiate a cease-fire, but could not resolve the ongoing dispute.
Houthi negotiator Salem Moghlek said the envoy’s meeting brought nothing new, and the Houthis did not recognise a cease-fire in the city of Al Hudaydah for there was no agreement on one with the United Arab Emirates.
The UN hopes to prevent a full-scale assault from the Saudi-led coalition in Al Hudaydah, with current fighting limited to the outskirts of the city.
Offshore Processing predicted to start in Europe
French President Emmanuel Macron has told the BBC that EU plans to create migrant processing centres in North Africa will not work unless the process is led by those countries.
Mr Macron said that Europe would be dealing with migration from Africa for decades due to what he called the fundamental problem of unplanned population growth in Africa.
He has been criticised for saying similar thing in the past, with some accusing him of repeating colonial sentiments.