- Kipyegon wins again, Tebogo and Crouser upset at Diamond League finals
- Bednarek hands Tebogo first 200m defeat since Olympics
- Juventus held at Empoli ahead of Champions League return
- Comoros president's attacker found dead in prison: prosecutor
- De Zerbi's Marseille continue strong start in Ligue 1
- Italian prosecutors seek six-year sentence for Salvini
- England's women deliver World Cup warning to champions New Zealand
- Farrell watches Farrell as Racing begin post-Kolisi era with Clermont win
- Peru bids farewell to polarizing ex-president Fujimori
- Forest stun Liverpool to end Slot's honeymoon
- Liverpool stunned by Forest, Haaland hits another two in Man City win
- UN official says staff fear they are 'a target' as Israel hits Gaza shelters
- Korda rally keeps US ahead of Europe by four at Solheim Cup
- France bid final farewell to Olympics with Champs-Elysees parade
- Brilliant Boniface helps Leverkusen bounce back
- In Springfield, Ohio, chaos, bomb threats -- and English lessons
- Storm Boris wreaks havoc across eastern and central Europe
- Norris stays hopeful despite Baku qualifying flop
- LPGA to launch inquiry into Solheim Cup fan transport mess
- Climate demo shuts down Hague motorway during police strike
- Man Utd lift mood by easing to victory at 10-man Southampton
- Ferrari's Leclerc claims fourth straight pole in Baku
- Russia, Ukraine swap 206 POWs in UAE-brokered deal
- 'Shame must change sides': France's mass rape plaintiff becomes feminist icon
- Fiji beat USA to reach Pacific Nations Cup final
- Guardiola convinced rivals eager for Man City sanctions
- Turkey buries activist shot in West Bank
- Uganda holds funeral for murdered Olympian Cheptegei
- Spanish star Juan Mata eager to kickstart career in Australia
- Cash-strapped Maldives says no need for IMF bailout
- France to bid final farewell to Olympics with Champs-Elysees parade
- Reynolds' Wrexham face Brady's Birmingham in 'Hollywood derby'
- Germany's parks plant a way forward on climate change
- Sauna masters mesmerise audiences at world championships
- N. Korea pledges deeper ties with Russia as security chief visits
- Turkey to bury activist shot in West Bank
- Tunisia fisherwomen battle inequality and climate change
- Beware 'deepfakes' of famous doctors promoting scams: experts
- 'Slave to fear': Ghosts of the Gulag haunt modern Russia
- Uganda to bury murdered Olympian Cheptegei
- Hiroyuki Sanada: actor and producer driving TV's 'Shogun'
- 'Groundbreaking' realism key to 'Shogun' success
- Forced out of business in China, a bookseller turns the page
- Myanmar junta makes rare request for foreign aid to cope with deadly floods
- Hawaii wildfire tragedy was 'years in the making,' probe says
- Trump sharpens anti-migrant attacks as both candidates visit key states
- Fujimori 'never asked forgiveness': families of Peru massacre victims
- France's Garcia into Guadalajara semis as Bouzkova withdraws
- Former world No. 1 Osaka announces split with coach
- Celebrated ballerina Michaela DePrince dead at 29
Australian PM condemned for 'shocking' response to sexual abuse claims
Two prominent advocates for sexual abuse survivors pilloried Australia's prime minister Wednesday, decrying "weasel words" and a response to widespread abuse that had not "measured up".
Former government aide Brittany Higgins -- whose allegation she was raped by a colleague, in parliament, sparked national protests -- said "too little has changed" since she went public a year ago.
In a widely watched speech, Higgins was sorrowful and withering about the actions of a conservative government she once served.
Higgins said Prime Minister Scott Morrison's response, which invoked his own daughters and wife, had been "shocking and at times, admittedly, a bit offensive".
"I didn't want his sympathy as a father. I wanted him to use his power as prime minister," she said.
"But his words wouldn't matter if his actions had measured up."
Higgins said the national conversation about ending abuse, harassment and assault had not progressed beyond "trading off offensive, tone-deaf statements for a convoluted mix of appeasing weasel-words".
Higgins was joined in her address by child sexual abuse survivor Grace Tame, the 2021 "Australian of the Year", who also took aim at the prime minister's leadership over the past year.
"It rots from the top," Tame said.
"Unless our leaders take full responsibility for their own failings, abuse culture will continue to thrive inside parliament, setting a corrupt standard for the rest of the nation."
The plight of both women had fuelled national debate and soul searching in Australia, as well as multiple government investigations.
One of those, the 450-page Jenkins Review, found that one in three people currently working in parliament and other federal government workplaces have experienced sexual harassment while there.
- Political pressure -
Tame piled further pressure on the government during her speech by alleging she was asked not to publicly criticise the prime minister.
She recalled a "threatening phone call from a senior member of a government-funded organisation asking for my word that I wouldn't say anything damning about the prime minister" at a recent award ceremony.
Tame said the caller told her the prime minister "would have a fear... with an election coming soon".
Australia's next federal election must be held by mid-May.
Minister for families Anne Ruston said the government was looking into Tame's claim, adding that, if true, such a warning would be "completely unacceptable".
Morrison did not attend Higgins and Tame's address, citing other commitments, but several members of his government including Ruston were in the audience.
Speaking in parliament later Wednesday, Morrison was asked about the progress his government had made on the issue of women's safety.
He cited an upcoming 10-year plan for women's safety, among other measures.
Higgins said the plan's "aims are so lofty and vague that it's impossible to disagree with and equally difficult to examine".
Tame called for more funding for consent training in schools. She said between 2020 and 2022, the government "planned to spend 11 cents per student per year on prevention education".
Both women ruled out any plans to run for political office.
J.Pereira--PC