Latest news with #Confidential
Irish Independent
11-07-2025
- Irish Independent
Gardaí interview 179 sex workers in 92 brothels as part of human trafficking crack down
The force revealed how they interviewed 179 sex workers in 92 brothels and inspected 5,421 passengers on 37 flights at Dublin Airport over the course of just one week last month. One man was arrested for sexual exploitation and forced criminality. 'This person was detained at Monaghan Garda Station under Organised Crime legislation,' a Garda spokesperson said. 'At the conclusion of his detention, a charge for Human Trafficking Contrary to Section 4(1) of the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 was directed by the DPP. 'He appeared before Monaghan District Court on Wednesday, June 11 where he was remanded in custody. A full file is now being compiled for the DPP.' Between June 1 and 6, gardai along with other law enforcement partners worldwide, participated in Operation Global Chain. The operation focused on detecting and disrupting organised crime groups involved in trafficking of human beings, 'in particular child trafficking, sexual exploitation, forced criminality and forced begging'. Gardai added: 'Over the week, the Garda National Protective Services Bureau liaised with Divisional Protective Services Units across Ireland and coordinated an intensive week of welfare visits to suspected brothels to detect potential incidents of sexual exploitation. The 179 sex workers who were interviewed were from Brazil, Romania, Spain, China, Dominican Republic, Poland, Latvia, Colombia, Taiwan, Panama, Czech Republic, Malaysia and Ireland. 'No victims of human trafficking were detected,' gardai added, 'however they were provided with information and advice should they wish to speak to An Garda Síochána further.' ADVERTISEMENT As part of the operation, 37 flights were monitored at Dublin Airport on Thursday, June 5 and Friday 6. Members of the Human Trafficking Investigation and Coordination Unit and the Organised Prostitution Investigation Unit carried out 'enhanced law enforcement checks with the Border Management Unit of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration'. A total of 5,421 passengers were inspected arriving at Dublin Airport. Gardai added that they will continue to work closely with Europol and other law enforcement partners in the identification of new victims 'so they can be also removed from harm'. Gardai are also appealing to any person who may be the victim of human trafficking or sexual exploitation to come forward and speak with them. They can do this, either at a local Garda station, or by calling the Garda Confidential Phone Number on 1800 666 111. 'An Garda Síochána appeals to any person with any information on these heinous crimes or suspects to come forward,' the spokesperson added. 'Any contacts with An Garda Síochána will be treated in the utmost confidence.' Further details on human trafficking and sexual exploitation can be found at Gardai added: 'Human trafficking is a crime and a serious human rights violation. It occurs all over the world, including in Ireland. It takes many different forms and may be present in any community, nationwide. Ireland is taking significant steps to combat human trafficking and respond to the needs of victims, at home and with our partners.'
The Hindu
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Include SC, ST, and OBC judges in Supreme Court, High Court collegiums to ensure social diversity: advocate forum
An advocates' forum based in Chennai has sent a representation to Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai to consider bringing in social diversity even among members of the collegium in the Supreme Court and High Courts through the inclusion of senior-most judges from Other Backward Classes (OBC), Scheduled Castes (SC), and Scheduled Tribes (ST). The lawyers' forum led by K. Balu, also the co-chairman of Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, said representation of OBCs and SC/STs within the collegium was essential for three reasons: corrective justice, perspective in deliberations, and constitutional legitimacy. It said, their representation would serve as an institutional correction to decades of structural exclusion of certain communities. Secondly, judges from socially disadvantaged backgrounds would enrich the process of collegium deliberations by bringing in depth of experience. Thirdly, it would help in fulfilling the constitutional goal of ensuring social justice. The forum also stated that the process of ensuring social diversity within the collegium could be done through internal reform, without requiring any legislative intervention. 'At least one judge from OBC and SC/ST could be included in the collegium discussions, either formally or through consultative inclusion with regard to considering social diversity... The judiciary, which demands transparency and equity from all others, must also be the first to exemplify it... The collegium, which decides who enters and rises within the judiciary, must not remain a closed chamber of privilege,' the forum said. At present, the names of lawyers and district judges for elevation as judges of the High Courts emanates from the respective High Court collegiums, comprising the Chief Justice and the next two senior judges. The three-member High Court collegiums were expected to recommend names of lawyers on the basis of consultations with eminent members of the Bar and other judges of the High Court. In so far as recommendation of names of district judges for elevation to the High Court was concerned, the High Court collegiums were required to shortlist names primarily on the basis of merit and integrity while maintaining their inter se seniority in service. The collegiums also take into consideration the district judges' Annual Confidential Reports, disciplinary proceedings, case disposal record, and so on. An advance copy of the recommended names gets forwarded to the Supreme Court collegium comprising the Chief Justice of India and four senior judges of the top court. The five-member Supreme Court collegium, in turn, seeks the views of colleagues who were conversant with the affairs to the High Court concerned and also makes independent inquiries before submitting its recommendation to the Centre. For quite sometime, there had been calls from various quarters for ensuring social justice while recommending names for elevation to the higher judiciary. Now, the demand has been taken a step further by seeking social diversity even within the collegium system.
Herald Sun
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Herald Sun
Ex-AFL star Barry Hall stars in music video for Melbourne band Playlunch
Don't miss out on the headlines from Confidential. Followed categories will be added to My News. Former footy hard man Barry Hall has flexed his acting muscles to play a grumpy neighbour with an unhealthy sense of ownership over a parking bay in a music video for a Melbourne 'bogan funk' band. Hall plays the titular character in the wild music clip for the song 'Keith' by the band Playlunch. The song is inspired by an angry neighbour and the name 'Keith' is bestowed on the cranky resident in a nod to him being a male version of the dreaded 'Karen'. The track captures the moment battlelines are drawn in Aussie streets and a stand-off escalates over who parks where. It is the suburban territorial showdown over car spots outside homes that are free, but over which ownership is often assumed. Known as an AFL premiership player and a boxer, Hall shapes up well as an actor. His Keith character has a short fuse that is lit every time someone innocently parks in the car spot on the street outside his house. The inconvenience of not being able to park at will his white Volkswagen Amarok and steel two-wheel trailer in the public parking space, sends Keith into regular meltdowns, told in the lyrics of the song. Hall, in a blue singlet, black shorts and black wrap around shades, turns up Keith's tantrums to 11. Lyrically the song is a riot with the parking dispute described as starting 'World War III', Keith's chorus warning that he was 'about to lose the plot' and demands to 'move your sh-t heap of a car to the other f---ing side.' The song even namechecks Tracy Grimshaw and A Current Affair. Keith is the latest offering from Playlunch with some of their other songs being Station Rat, Boys and Foxtel Girl. Hall, who these days describes himself as a lover not a fighter, is married to former Hi-5 star Lauren Brant. The couple has four sons, Miller, Houston, Samson and Clay.
Sky News AU
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
Ex-Sunrise host Samantha Armytage shares holiday snaps during United Kingdom trip ahead of Golden Bachelor premiere
Samantha Armytage has popped up in the United Kingdom just weeks after sharing a major update on her 'love life' following her high-profile split from Richard Lavender. The beloved TV host is currently enjoying a getaway in London and posted several photos taken in the English capital on Monday. 'It's good to be back,' Armytage captioned a photo of a street decorated with Union Jack flags. Armytage's jaunt coincides with the city's iconic RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Armytage, 48, posted several snaps while wandering around the floral displays, including a flower installation in the shape of a prancing horse. The ex-Sunrise presenter famously married Lavender - an equestrian businessman - at a private ceremony on his Highlands property on New Year's Eve 2020 but split in late 2024. Armytage announced her separation from Lavender, 61, in December just weeks before their fourth wedding anniversary. 'My love life is pretty quiet, not much to write home about there,' Armytage told The Daily Telegraph's Confidential earlier this month. 'I am living vicariously through my show at the moment.' The split shocked some industry insiders, especially after Armytage herself told Woman's Day that she quit her plum role hosting breakfast television show Sunrise to live at Lavender's 40-hectare estate in New South Wales' Southern Highlands. Following the break up, sources told Daily Mail Australia that a contributing factor to the split was allegedly tension between Lavender's adult children and Armytage. It is understood the TV star has left the countryside and decamped back to Sydney's eastern suburbs amid her split. Armytage is currently back in the media spotlight fronting her latest project, hosting The Golden Bachelor, after defecting to Channel 9. The Golden Bachelor is a new twist on the popular Bachelor dating franchise and will see a group of older Australians competing for the hearts of Barry 'Bear' Myrden, a widower in his 50s from Manly in Sydney's Northern Beaches. Reportedly, Armytage beat out the likes of Sonia Kruger for the hosting gig on the highly-anticipated series.
Hindustan Times
17-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Musk's fondness for sex and drugs made him prime Russian target in blackmail plot: Ex-FBI
A former FBI agent recently admitted that Tesla CEO Elon Musk and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel have been prime Russian targets since the Ukraine conflict started. Ex-Counterintelligence Special Agent Jonathan Buma further added that intelligence was gathered on the two men to be used as blackmail later. Burma was speaking on a documentary released by German Television Broadcaster ZDF. He said that Musk's susceptibility to women, sex, and drugs made him a prime Russian target. The billionaire's apparent fondness for the desert rave scene Burning Man, adult entertainment and gambling was a 'possible entry point' for agents to reach him, he explained. 'Musk's susceptibility to promiscuous women and drug use, particularly ketamine… were seen by Russian intelligence as an opportunity for an agent to exploit,' Burma told the documentary makers. The former FBI agent served 16 years as a counterintelligence officer for the FBI before being arrested in March and charged by federal prosecutors with one count of 'Disclosure of Confidential Information'. He was accused of sharing classified information with a publishing company. He posted a $100,000 bail. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Musk and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been in direct contact since at least 2022, when the conflict with Ukraine started. Jonathan Burma added that Putin was behind the contact with Musk and Thiel. The agents would not have gotten involved in the blackmail plot had the Russian president not known about the action and approved it, he noted. Burma, however, did not reveal his source. Musk has had a complicated history with Ukraine. The Tesla founder initially supported Kyiv in its war with Russia by offering his Starlink satellite internet service free of charge to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He, however, later threatened to revoke the access. In 2024, Elon Musk, along with President Donald Trump, questioned Ukraine's leadership. The 53-year-old currently serves as Trump's senior adviser and leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is running a cost-cutting operation across federal agencies.
