europe european world trending daily news Australia's Cardinal George Pell found guilty of child sex abuse
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Australia’s Cardinal George Pell found guilty of child sex abuse

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George Pell, Australia’s most senior Catholic cardinal found guilty for child sexual assault after a trial in Melbourne. A jury found that he had sexually abused two 13-year-olds in 1996 and 1997, in the rooms of a Melbourne cathedral. George Pell, the Vatican treasurer is the third most senior Catholic in the world.

The verdict was handed down in December but due to some existing legal reasons, it could not be reported till now. Pell, is on leave from his role in Rome as Vatican treasurer. The abuse was happened months after Pell was inaugurated as archbishop of Melbourne.

George Pell is due to be sentenced next week but may be taken into custody at a plea hearing on Wednesday, having been out on bail since the verdict and recovering from knee surgery.

Pope Francis had not yet been revealed his response in public, regarding this issue. But just two days after the unreported verdict in December the Vatican announced that Pell and two other cardinals had been removed from the pontiff’s council of advisers.

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europe times european world trendy daily world news Julian Assange granted new passport by Australia
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Julian Assange granted new passport by Australia

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Julian Assange gets a new Australian passport, clearing one of several hurdles keeping the wanted WikiLeaks publisher from exiting the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and returning home.

The new passport that allows Assange to return to Australia was issued in September 2018, but it was unreported till Saturday. The previous passport of Assange, who is weakening in health, had been expired.

On Thursday, the officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) told that that Assange had a valid passport, reiterating a statement from last October.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade official confirmed in a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday that Mr Assange’s 2018 application for a new passport had been accepted. Consular and Crisis Management Division first assistant secretary Andrew Todd said, “Mr Assange does have an Australian passport”.

Mr. Assange, 47, was born in Townsville, Australia, in 1971. He has lived in the Ecuadorian Embassy since 2012, however, when he sought asylum in the face of the U.S. investigating his WikiLeaks website over its publication of classified State and Defense Department material. British authorities issued a warrant for his arrest in the interim, and he fears he will be apprehended if he leaves the embassy and extradited to the U.S. to face charges related to releasing hundreds of thousands of secretive documents.

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europe times european news Gay Austrian policeman wins long fight for justice
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The Austrian gay policeman wins long fight for justice

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Austria must give compensation to an ex-policeman who was dismissed in 1976 for sexual indecency with two minor boys aged 14 and 15 . He had lost 25% of his police pension, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled. The age of consent was 18 for male homosexuals at the time.

The man also got a three-month suspended jail term. Although the penalty was not challenged, the ECJ said that he was owed his lost pension, going back to December 2003. This case is a reminder that the anti-gay prejudice was rife in 1970’s. The Policeman had a service of 13 years before he got dismissed.

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