Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Friday 13 April. Top stories Washington is still looking for evidence on who carried out Saturday's chemical weapons attack in Damascus, the US defence secretary, James Mattis, has said. Echoing a morning tweet by Donald Trump that appeared to walk back his threat of imminent action 24 hours earlier, Mattis said his main concern about a military response was how to stop it "escalating out of control". But the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said on Thurday his government had "proof" that the government of Bashar al-Assad was responsible for the attack. NBC and CNN quoted US officials as saying US intelligence also had evidence pointing to the regime's culpability. Analysts said the more measured tone suggested the US and allies were prepared to take longer to prepare a more comprehensive, multi-phase attack. At the UN, the Russian envoy, Vassily Nebenzia, said Russia's "immediate priority is to avert the danger of war". Asked if he was referring to a war between the United States and Russia, Nebenzia told reporters: "We cannot exclude any possibilities unfortunately because we saw messages that are coming from Washington. They were very bellicose." The Australian government has no plan to save an endangered Australian turtle species that received global attention on Thursday for its green mohawk and its unique ability to breathe through its genitals. The Mary river turtle, found only in that one river in Queensland, attracted worldwide headlines as one of the standout species on a new list of the most vulnerable reptile species compiled by the Zoological Society of London. But there is no national recovery plan to protect it from extinction and it is unclear whether any federal funds have been allocated for its protection. The international chemical weapons watchdog has backed the UK's findings on the identity of the chemical used to poison the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. The findings by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons will be a relief to the UK government, which has said novichok, a military-grade nerve agent developed by Russia, was used in the attack. The UK foreign minister, Boris Johnson, said in a statement: "There can be no doubt what was used and there remains no alternative explanation about who was responsible – only Russia has the means, motive and record." The Australian government is pushing ahead with controversial legislation it says will create "back doors" into encrypted communication services – but still can't say when it will introduce the bill. After originally aiming to have the legislation before parliament in the first quarter of this year, the government has delayed its introduction. A spokesman for the acting attorney general, Marise Payne, said it was in "the advanced stages of development" and "the government is continuing to consult with key stakeholders". The former attorney general George Brandis first floated the idea last year, in response to law enforcement frustrations that encrypted communication services such as Whatsapp, Wickr, iMessage and Snapchat remained out of their reach. Tests on Captain Cook's sweet potato have shed light on how the crop reached Polynesia. Scientists say they have solved the longstanding puzzle, with their research proving the sweet potato evolved just once, probably in central or northern South America, and originated from a single ancestor. Analysis of part of a 250-year-old sweet potato plant collected during Cook's voyage to the South Pacific on HMS Endeavour suggests the species arrived in Polynesia by means of ocean currents. The findings cast further doubt on the idea that people in the Americas were in touch with Polynesians before Europeans arrived in the New World in the 15th century. Sport Where are the people at the empty Commonwealth Games? There are deserted streets, empty cafes and angry taxi drivers in the Gold Coast, as local businesses battle the unexpected downturn. A lot of the anger stems from an impression that Commonwealth Games organisers convinced some people to stay away. Kyron McMaster's 400m hurdles win gave the British Virgin Islands a first ever Commonwealth gold, and came months after his coach Xavier Samuels was killed in Hurricane Irma. Thinking time |
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