— Russian politician Iosif Kobzon, pondering life on the EU's naughty-list
Home | David Hicks' hearing happened
THE GIST. David Hicks, the Australian man who spent several years imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, has won the appeal against his terrorism conviction.
CRIME & TIME. Hicks was captured by the US military in Afghanistan in 2002, and was given a one-way ticket to Guantanamo Bay for being a 'foreign fighter'. He plead guilty to charges including 'providing material support for terrorism' in 2007. He was sent back to Australia to serve the last nine months of his sentence, and was released at the end of the year.
TORTUROUS. Hicks claims that while he was at G-Bay, he was subject to various abuses like sleep deprivation, beatings and forced to take unknown medication. He said his original guilty plea was made under duress, because he thought it was the only thing that would get him home
APPEALING. Hicks' original guilty plea included an agreement not to appeal his conviction, but a US court held that this deal was invalid. The court said, the "conviction cannot stand on its merits."
Abroad | Ukraine retreating
THE GIST. Ukraine's troops have started to pull out of the town of Debaltsteve, one of the key towns bordering Russia and the site of heavy conflict with so-called Russian 'rebel' forces.
RECAP. Ukraine and Russian forces (officially 'rebels' because the government hasn't taken responsibility for them) have been at war since last year's 'Crimean crisis' - when Russia basically stole the territory of Crimea from Ukraine. There was a referendum held in Crimea on whether to join team-Putin, but with about 97% voting for the change, it is widely believed to have been rigged.
CEASEFIRE CEASED. Both sides signed a ceasefire on Sunday, which was supposed to see them withdraw heavy weapons, release prisoners and start the peace process in rebel areas. The US accused Russia of breaking the agreement by continuing to attack Debaltsteve, who claim that the ceasefire didn't count there, because they were already controlling the town. Ukraine disagrees.
Small-talk
Vitamin D. A Minnesota man has been released from prison after the drugs he was arrested for possessing were revealed to be harmless vitamins, rather than amphetamines. Vitamin manufacturer Swisse has distanced themselves from the product, saying "if these pills tested positive for anything that could remotely affect human health, then there's no way we had anything to do with it."
Vealthy Vlad. The CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, formerly the biggest foreign investor in Russia, has claimed that Vladimir Putin could secretly be the richest man in the world, with a (stolen) net worth of over $200 billion. The world's 'official' richest man, Bill Gates thinks that the rich-list should ignore plundering dictators, arguing that it "should be reserved for people who get there legitimately. You know, by born into privilege and riding a giant monopoly through a tech boom."
Captain's cringe. Liberal Minister John Alexander thinks he has a found a solution to the recent 'Knighthood' controversy: the country's highest honours should be replaced with 'mateships', he argues, and the "official greeting should be 'g'day mate'." Alexander reportedly said it "passed the pub test", meaning the idea came to him after a "liberal consumption of the local inn's finest ale."
The word
Assiduous. noun. Persistent in application or effort: A Pakistani man was arrested for conspiring to breach UK immigration law via a sham marriage, after he was unable to remember the name of his 'fiancée'. Such a scheme would have benefited from a slightly more assiduous preparation.
