Greater Greenfield MA - Franklin County

Home affairs minister says there was joy and relief when he spoke to the five women in Queensland. Follow updates liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastBurke confirms Trump has called AlbaneseBurke has confirmed the US president, Donald Trump, has spoken with Anthony Albanese (who will be up to speak in Canberra shortly).I do know that the president called the prime minister and the views of the president put on this, I think, reflected what all good people have been thinking. Everybody’s been looking at this situation and saying, surely, is there something we can do?We’ve been making sure that we had the options, that the women had the opportunity to come forward, and there’s been a good police presence at different points … But can I say the first conversation didn’t have an immediate case of the women saying that they decided. This was a difficult decision for them, and I think we all understand exactly why.I don’t want to begin to imagine how difficult that decision is for each of the individual women, but certainly last night, it was joy, it was relief, and people were very excited about embarking on your life in Australia.They were moved from the hotel to a safe location by the Australian Federal Police … I made final confirmation with the director general of Asio Mike Burgess to make sure that he was completely comfortable in terms of security clearances for the people who I was about to make the offer to. Continue reading...

Iran’s foreign minister says ‘Iran does not want to harm ordinary Americans’; Trump criticizes choice of Mojtaba Khamenei as next supreme leaderTell us: how have you been affected by the latest events in the Middle East?Donald Trump has said a decision on when to end the war with Iran will be a “mutual” one he’ll make together with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Times of Israel has reported.It said Trump also claimed in a brief telephone interview on Sunday that Iran would have destroyed Israel if he and Netanyahu had not been around. The US president said:Iran was going to destroy Israel and everything else around it … We’ve worked together. We’ve destroyed a country that wanted to destroy Israel.I think it’s mutual … a little bit. We’ve been talking. I’ll make a decision at the right time, but everything’s going to be taken into account. Continue reading...

President says lawmakers must ‘immediately’ pass SAVE America act, which would require proof of citizenship at voter registration and significantly curtail mail-in votingSign up for Breaking US News email alertsDonald Trump has urged the Australian government to grant asylum to five members of the Iranian women’s football team, amid reports that they refused to return home following the team’s elimination from the Women’s Asian Cup and were taken into the protection of Australian police.As my colleague Martin Farrer reports, speculation had mounted for days that some of the players would try to seek asylum in Australia they had been called “traitors” for refusing to sing their national anthem before their opening game of the tournament last week. Continue reading...

Home affairs minister confirms US president Donald Trump’s overnight comments on social media that the players had been ‘taken care of’Middle East crisis – live updatesFive members of the Iranian women’s football team have been granted asylum in Australia, with the federal government offering assistance to other players.The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, confirmed the dramatic asylum offer on Tuesday morning, hours after US President Donald Trump posted about their plight on social media. Trump said he had spoken to the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, who had told him that five members of the team had been “taken care of” amid fears they could be punished if they returned home. Continue reading...

Communities secretary tells MPs that government has to act against record levels of hate crimesA new definition of anti-Muslim hate will not restrict freedom of speech, the communities secretary has pledged, as he said that “clear expectations” will still be set for new arrivals and existing communities in Britain to learn English.MPs were told by Steve Reed that the government had a duty to act against record levels of hate crime against Muslims, but that “you can’t tackle a problem if you can’t describe it”. Continue reading...