Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Thursday 23 November. Top stories
The former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladić, known as the "butcher of Bosnia", has been convicted of war crimes and genocide at a UN tribunal. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, more than 20 years after Srebrenica massacre in which more than 7,000 Bosnian men and teenage boys were tracked down and killed. Mladić was found guilty at the UN-backed international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague of 10 offences involving the extermination, murder and persecution of civilian populations. As he entered the courtroom, Mladić gave a broad smile and thumbs up to the cameras – a gesture that infuriated victims' relatives. His defiance shifted into detachment as the judgment was handed down and, when he was refused a break from proceedings requested because of high blood pressure, he stood up shouting and was forcibly removed from the courtroom. The verdicts were read in his absence.
Mladić, 74, was chief of staff of Bosnian Serb forces from 1992 until 1996, during the ferocious civil wars and ethnic cleansing that followed the breakup of the Yugoslav state. The trial in The Hague took 530 days across more than four years, and is arguably the most significant war crimes case in Europe since the Nuremberg trials, in part because of the scale of the atrocities involved. Almost 600 people gave evidence for the prosecution and defence, including survivors of the conflict. Delivering the verdicts, the judge, Alphons Orie, said Mladić's crimes "rank among the most heinous known to humankind". In Bosnia, the reaction to the convictions was as divided as the country itself. Australia's race discrimination commissioner has rejected the characterisation of the same-sex marriage survey no vote as being dominated by migrants who are intrinsically hostile towards the LGBTI community. Tim Soutphommasane delivered a speech arguing that the real driver of the no vote was religious belief, not ethnicity. It has been argued in some quarters since the vote that the high no vote in western Sydney was driven by multicultural communities featuring many relatively recent migrants, which Soutphommasane characterised as an outbreak of crass, cultural stereotyping. Britain's chancellor, Philip Hammond, has reduced stamp duty for first homebuyers and pumped an extra £2.8bn into England's NHS in the autumn budget, the government's first major economic announcement since Theresa May lost the Conservatives' majority at the election. He also unveiled a £1.5bn package to ease problems with the universal credit benefit payment, including a seven-day reduction in the wait for a first payment, now set at up to six weeks. Amid a sharp cut in forecasts for economic growth, Hammond also set aside an additional £3bn for any unforeseen consequences for the economy arising from Brexit. The Labour leader, eremy Corbyn, hit back at Hammond's claim of economic prudence, saying: "They're missing their major targets but the failed and damaging policy of austerity remains." Read Guardian writers' analysis of the budget: "Help for housing or a kick in the teeth for the young?". Renewables would drive the first wave of price reductions under the national energy guarantee, according to modelling commissioned by the Turnbull government as part of its efforts to get states to back the policy. The work by Frontier Economics, obtained by Guardian Australia, says a steep decline in wholesale electricity prices forecast between 2018 and 2022 is due to the entry of 6,000MW of renewable capacity that has already been driven by the existing renewable energy target. The modelling also raises the need for substantial regulatory intervention to stop the electricity market becoming even more concentrated. It acknowledges that the policy could also lead to further market concentration in states like South Australia. An open letter signed by prominent pro-renewables business leaders, academics, economists and investors urges state and federal energy ministers to set a more ambitious emissions reduction target in any potential national energy guarantee. Energy ministers will meet tomorrow to discuss the government's proposed national energy guarantee, and consider commissioning further work on the proposal. The open letter says that to restore investor confidence in the electricity sector, the emissions target must be "well above" the 26% proposed by the Turnbull government. Sport The waiting is finally over. The 2017-18 Ashes begins at the Gabba in Brisbane this morning but Australia have some last-minute fitness concerns over Shaun Marsh and David Warner. We'll follow every ball of every over with our live blog, which launches at 9.30am with Geoff Lemon at the helm. Geoff, along with Adam Collins, has previewed the series in the first episode of our Ashes podcast, The Final Word, but if that's a bit too much for you, and your knowledge doesn't quite match that of your average Wisden reader, our handy beginner's guide is here to help. Will the Ashes bring "gold, gold, gold for Australia"? Businesses certainly seem to think so – not necessarily on the pitch, but in terms of their bottom lines. Anne Davies reports on the companies betting big on a bounce from hosting the Ashes. Sam Kerr did it again as the Matildas' scorching hot form continued with a 3-0 win over China in Melbourne last night. Two goals from the star striker, including a sensational second, sandwiched a Tameka Butt effort as Alen Stajcic's side recorded their sixth straight victory and ensured confidence remained high before Sunday's second friendly against their Asian rivals. Thinking time |
Meet the major and the father seeking salvation for the refugees of Manus Island. Ben Doherty spoke to the Catholic priest Father Clement Taulam and the retired Papua New Guinean army major Michael Kuweh, who are defying the Papua New Guinean and Australian governments in calling for assistance for the refugees and asylum seekers on Manus, and for a peaceable solution to the standoff inside the condemned detention centre. "Australia seems to be saying, 'Papua New Guinea, this is your responsibility,'" says Taulam. "And Papua New Guinea is saying to Australia, 'Do your work, clean up your mess.' And while this is going on, these people are suffering." If your idea of a good Christmas film is more slasher than Dasher (sorry), the new Australian-US co-production Better Watch Out may be up your alley: a meta and cheeky twist on horror, with gnarly thrills, deranged mind games, and the "faultless" performances of three young Australians who play kids left home alone. While Malcolm Turnbull's offer of personal tax cuts is a nice little sentence in a speech that gets the desired headlines, it is unlikely to become anything close to reality until at least after 2020-21, writes Greg Jericho. "And it is worth remembering that the reality will also contain the other side of the equation. You can either cut taxes and increase the deficit, or you can cut taxes while also cutting spending or raising other taxes in order to keep the budget unaffected. You cannot do both." What's he done now? Donald Trump has continued his blistering attack on LaVar Ball, the father of one of the UCLA basketball players held for shoplifting in China, calling him an "ungrateful fool". In a series of overnight tweets Trump has gone out all guns blazing, with CNN saying Trump has crossed a line – even for him. The president of the US tweeted: "It wasn't the White House, it wasn't the State Department, it wasn't father LaVar's so-called people on the ground in China that got his son out of a long term prison sentence - IT WAS ME. Too bad! LaVar is just a poor man's version of Don King, but without the hair. Just think.." Media roundup The Financial Review splashes with Julie Bishop and the headline "Alarm bells on China's rise", revealing the government's increasing concern about the strength of Beijing, and its "increasing belligerence" over territorial disputes, which the government plans to tackle by strengthening ties with neighbouring democratic countries and supporting US influence in Asia. The Mercury says Hobart city council is proposing a crackdown on the rise of Airbnb, with large homes turning spare rooms into self-contained accommodation for visitors – making it harder for locals to find rooms to rent in the seaside city. And the Conversation has an interesting long read detailing how parents' obsession with infant growth charts might be fuelling rising obesity rates among Australian children. Although most children are praised for growing big and quickly when they are babies, researchers reveal that such traits are a strong risk factor for obesity all the way into adulthood. "Unfortunately, many parents interpret growth charts incorrectly – or have not had growth charts properly explained to them – and think a baby tracking above the 50th percentile is good, and below is bad," the article states. Coming up In the Queensland election campaign today, Labor and the LNP are set to release the costings for their respective promises. Queensland is headed towards $81bn in debt, so there haven't been a lot of big-ticket items – the biggest issue will be how each party plans to pay down that debt. The federal government releases its foreign policy white paper today. The document – its first since 2003 – is intended to guide Australia's international interests for the next five to 10 years. Supporting the Guardian We'd like to acknowledge our generous supporters who enable us to keep reporting on the critical stories. If you value what we do and would like to help, please make a contribution or become a supporter today. Thank you. |
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Bosnian Muslim victims on a banner at The Hague. Photograph: Pierre Crom/Getty Images 
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