International
The trial of an Australian Instagramer accused of overmedicating her baby to get donations begins
An Australian Instagrammer accused of poisoning her one-year-old baby to gain followers and obtain donations administered her daughter a medicine against seizures in disobeying medical recommendations, as reported this Tuesday before the Australian court that judges the case.
In today’s hearing, the prosecution exposed before the Magistrates’ Court of the city of Brisbane, in east of Australia, that the girl had been diagnosed with tuberous sclerosis, a genetic disorder that caused benign tumors, according to the public channel ABC.
Last year, doctors prescribed the girl the drug “Carbamazelina”, used by people who suffer from epilepsy, but when they detected that it caused seizures in the baby, they withdrew the treatment.
However, the mother, 34 years old and who, according to what was exposed today by the prosecution, still had the prescription for the drug, would have ignored the opinion of the doctors and continued to administer the medicine to the little girl with the aim of obtaining donations and followers.
According to the Australian authorities, the accused thus obtained about 60,000 Australian dollars (37,500 US dollars or almost 36,000 euros).
“There really is no valid explanation for why… (the woman) did not go once, not twice, but three times… to a pharmacy to obtain a medicine that she knew she should no longer give her daughter because it caused her harm,” Police prosecutor Jack Scott said during the session.
Scott indicated during the hearing that on one occasion the seizures caused by the drug caused the girl a cardiac arrest that required medical intervention, according to information collected by the Australian Press Agency (AAP).
The court told EFE today in a statement that during the session a request for bail was also submitted for the detainee, which will continue to be evaluated at a hearing on Wednesday at 9:00 local time (23:00 GMT on Tuesday).
This case has shocked the southern country, very firm in its policies of control over social networks with recent measures that restrict access to them for adolescents, and maintained a tough battle with X for a video showing the knife attack of a teenager against a religious in Sydney in April 2024.
The woman, who has not been identified for legal reasons, was arrested on January 16 following a police investigation based on suspicions that the parent provided the baby with medicines without medical approval.
According to the Queensland Police investigations, between August 6 and October 15, 2024, the woman allegedly administered several prescription and unauthorized medications to the baby and tried to hide this behavior.
The mother also recorded her daughter “while she suffered anguish and immense pain” and published the videos on social networks “to attract monetary donations and online followers,” according to the Police.
In mid-October, medical staff at a hospital in southern Brisbane detected what happened and informed the police while the girl was admitted.
The blood tests carried out then detected that the baby had unauthorized medications in her blood.
After her arrest, the woman was charged with five crimes of poisoning with the intention of causing harm, three of preparation to commit crimes with dangerous objects and a crime of torture, one of manufacturing child exploitation material and one of fraud, which add up to more than two decades in prison if she was found guilty.
International
Trump signs order to end federal funding for NPR and PBS
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to halt federal funding for two public media outlets, PBS television and NPR radio, accusing them of being biased.
NPR and PBS are partially funded by American taxpayers but rely heavily on private donations.
Trump has long maintained a hostile relationship with most media outlets, which he has referred to as the “enemy of the people.”
An exception is the conservative Fox News channel, some of whose hosts have played important roles in the administration of the Republican magnate.
“National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) receive taxpayer funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB),” Trump said.
“Therefore, I direct the CPB board and all executive departments and agencies to cease federal funding for NPR and PBS,” he added.
The Republican leader argued that “neither of these entities provides a fair, accurate, or impartial portrayal of current events to the taxpayer citizens.”
At the end of March, Donald Trump called on Congress to end public funding for these two “horrible and completely biased networks.”
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
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