AUSTRALIA
Family ordered to pay tax
A Christian family that refuses to pay rates and taxes because it is “against God’s will” has been ordered to pay A$2.3 million (US$1.62 million) by the Tasmanian Supreme Court. Fanny and Rembertus Beerepoot, who previously owned the Melita honey farm in northern Tasmania, have refused to pay income tax since 2011. The pair, who represented themselves, told the court they did not need to pay a A$930,000 bill because everything they owned belonged to God and the nation’s tax law fell under the jurisdiction of the Bible, Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) reported. Rembertus Beerepoot said “the law of the almighty God” was “the supreme law of this land.” On Wednesday, Associate Justice Stephen Holt disagreed. He told the pair that there was no passage in the Bible that said “thou shalt not pay tax.”
AUSTRALIA
Bottle found after 50 years
A boy who discovered a message in a bottle on a remote beach might have a new pen pal after the Englishman who dropped it from a ship 50 years ago was tracked down, but Jyah Elliott, 9, might have to wait some time as the message’s now 63-year-old author is once again at sea — this time on a cruise in the Baltic, ABC reported. Jyah discovered the decades-old treasure in sand dunes on an Eyre Peninsula beach on Tuesday and by the next day the writer had been located. Paul Gilmore was just 13 when on Nov. 17, 1969, he dropped the bottle into the Indian Ocean hoping to reach a new friend. Although Jyah initially thought the letter was a fake, he was quick to post a reply on Wednesday. “He was so excited,” his mother, Carla Elliott, told ABC. Gilmore’s sister, Annie Crossland, told ABC that her brother was on a cruise, but would be sure to contact Jyah when he returns home. “It’s amazing, absolutely incredible,” Crossland said. “He’ll be chuffed to bits.”
AUSTRALIA
Toad captured near Sydney
A toxic cane toad prevalent in the tropical north has been captured near Sydney, sparking fears the invasive species could be adapting to cooler weather and spreading south. A family caught the adult male toad about 50km north of Sydney on Tuesday, the first time one of its kind had been found wild in the area, the Australian Reptile Park said. The toad has a highly poisonous venom that kills predators that try to eat it, causing catastrophic declines in native wildlife populations in the northeast. Conservationists are concerned that the tough and adaptable pest, introduced from Central America in 1935, might be adjusting to the climate in the southeast. “To find one in the middle of winter at a dam croaking ... is a concerning sign,” park manager Tim Faulkner said.
UNITED STATES
Spacey charges dropped
Prosecutors on Wednesday dropped sexual assault proceedings against Kevin Spacey after the case against the Hollywood star collapsed over his alleged victim’s refusal to testify. William Little had accused the 59-year-old Oscar winner of groping him in a bar in Nantucket in July 2016, but Massachusetts prosecutors filed a formal notice of abandonment of an indecent assault and battery indictment due to “the unavailability of the complaining witness.” Little chose to plead the fifth amendment, which allows witnesses not to testify so as not to incriminate themselves, after it was revealed that his smartphone — a key piece of evidence — could have been compromised. Little said he took a video of the incident, but the phone has disappeared.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number