United States: Senator Rand Paul is recovering from five broken ribs and bruises to his lungs, and it is unclear when he will return to Washington, aides said today, signalling that injuries he sustained at the weekend are far more severe than initially thought. The second-term Republican senator from Kentucky and 2016 presidential candidate was attacked, allegedly by a next-door neighbour, Rene Boucher, 59, who was charged with assault.
Australia: Up to 80 per cent of coral reefs in parts of Western Australia's Kimberley region were severely affected by recent global bleaching, University of Western Australia scientists say. Inshore Kimberley reefs suffered bleaching for the first time in 2016, when the most severe mass event on record damaged between 57 to 80 per cent of coral. Bleaching occurs when a spike in sea temperatures puts coral under stress, causing it to expel the tiny photosynthetic algae responsible for its brilliant colours and turning them bone white. Stressed coral struggles for food and to fight disease but can recover if the temperature drops.
Belgium: A Belgian judge has granted conditional release to sacked Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and four of his ministers, and the group is scheduled to appear at court within 15 days, Belgian prosecutors say. Puigdemont, who turned himself in to Belgian police after Spain issued a European arrest warrant for rebellion and misuse of public funds, is barred from leaving Belgium without a judge's consent. Puigdemont is wanted by Madrid for actions related to his push for the region's secession from Spain.
Britain: The scandal surrounding Britain's political class deepened with more allegations of sexual harassment, abuse of power and other misdeeds. The allegations dating back more than a decade involve behaviour that ranges from inappropriate touching and sending suggestive text messages to matters serious enough to be reported to police for possible prosecution. First Secretary of State Damian Green, a senior Cabinet figure who is in effect the prime minister's deputy, emphatically denied a Sunday Times report that police had found "extreme" pornography on his computer during an investigation nine years ago. He said he is the victim of a smear campaign. Green already was being investigated for alleged inappropriate advances on a Conservative Party activist. A rising number of legislators from the Conservative and Labour parties face allegations, and politicians in Scotland and Wales have been caught up as well.
