Australian prisoner gave birth alone in 'degrading' cell incident Image copyright Getty Images A woman in Australia was forced to give birth alone in a locked prison cell in a "degrading and high risk" incident, a report has found. The woman, identified only as Amy, had told staff two hours earlier that she believed she might be in labour. There were no complications at the birth. The March incident was in a maximum security cell in Western Australia's only women's prison.A review found the event had exposed a series of failures. One of them was that no alarm had been raised. Amy had been sent to Bandyup Women's Prison in the late stages of pregnancy after failing to meet the conditions of her bail, Australian media reported. At 17:30 local time (09:30 GMT) on 11 March, she called from her cell to inform staff that she was distressed and possibly in labour. After being taken for a health assessment, she reported abdominal pain but did not say she was in labou..

Meng Wanzhou: Trump could intervene in case of Huawei executive Image copyright Reuters Image caption Meng Wanzhou has said she will contest allegations of fraud Donald Trump says he could intervene in the case of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou if it helps to avoid a further decline in US relations with China. "Whatever's good for this country, I would do," the US president said. Ms Meng, the chief financial officer of the Chinese telecoms giant, was granted bail on Tuesday by a Canadian court. She was arrested on 1 December and could be extradited to the US to face fraud charges linked to the alleged violation of sanctions on Iran. Ms Meng, 46, denies any wrongdoing and has said she will contest the allegations. She is the daughter of Huawei's founder and her detention, which comes amid an increasingly acrimonious trade dispute between Washington and Beijing, has angered China and soured its relations with both Canada and the US. Life of Huawei's high-flying heiress W..

Grace Millane: Backpacker's body returned to family Image copyright Lucie Blackman Trust Image caption The University of Lincoln graduate arrived in New Zealand in mid-November The body of British backpacker Grace Millane has been formally identified and returned to her family. The 22-year-old disappeared in Auckland on 1 December. Police ended their search on Sunday after finding a body on the outskirts of the city. Det Insp Scott Beard said: "Grace has been returned to her family and they are in the process of organising to take her home in the next few days. "Work continues to piece together exactly what happened to Grace." Det Insp Bird said his team was building "a timeline of the circumstances". Officers are looking for a shovel believed to be connected to the inquiry. Image caption David Millane, Grace's father, visited the place where her body was found and took part in a traditional Maori blessing David Millane has flown to New Zealand and visited the place where h..

Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou released on bail in Canada Image copyright Reuters The chief financial officer of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has been granted bail by a Canadian court. Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei's founder, could be extradited to the US to face fraud charges linked to the alleged violation of sanctions on Iran. A judge in Vancouver set bail at C$10m (£6m; $7.4m). She will be under surveillance 24 hours a day and must wear an electronic ankle tag. Ms Meng, 46, was arrested in Vancouver on 1 December. Her detention has angered China and threatened to worsen its trade war with the US. At the three-day hearing in Vancouver, her lawyers sought to provide guarantees that she would not pose a flight risk if granted bail. The application was opposed by Canadian prosecutors. Ms Meng is accused in the US of using a Huawei subsidiary called Skycom to evade sanctions on Iran between 2009 and 2014. US prosecutors say she had publicly misrepresented Skycom as being a..

China to 'cut US car tariff to 15%' Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption US President Donald Trump says he has a good relationship with President Xi Jinping China has reportedly proposed cutting tariffs on US-made cars to 15%, the same tax levied on car imports from other countries. Bloomberg reported that China's cabinet will review the plans, which would undo the 40% import duty China imposed on US cars this summer. The proposal, the timing of which remains uncertain, comes as the two countries restart trade talks. President Donald Trump said earlier this month China would cut the tariffs. However the claim has not yet been confirmed by Chinese officials, sowing confusion. US-China trade war: Deal agreed to suspend new trade tariffs The Trump and Xi deal: A temporary truce Tuesday's reports in US media, which were based on anonymous sources including a car executive briefed on the proposal, said China outlined the plan on a recent telephone call between top t..

Grace Millane: Police in search for long-handled shovel Image copyright Lucie Blackman Trust Image caption The University of Lincoln graduate arrived in New Zealand in mid-November Police investigating the murder of British backpacker Grace Millane are looking for a shovel believed to be connected to the inquiry. The 22-year-old disappeared in Auckland on 1 December. Police ended their search on Sunday after finding a body on the outskirts of the city. Det Insp Scott Beard said the body was found "intact". A 26-year-old man has appeared in court in New Zealand charged with Miss Millane's murder. Det Insp Beard said he believed the long-handled shovel could be "anywhere between the Scenic Drive and central Auckland areas." "Someone may have come across it, picked it up and taken it home. "We need to speak to that person or anyone who has seen it," he said. 'Solo backpacking didn't kill Grace' Police find body in backpacker search Backpacker murder accused in cour..

Michael Kovrig: Canadian ex-diplomat 'held in China' Image copyright International Crisis Group Image caption The International Crisis Group says it is working for Mr Kovrig's release A former Canadian diplomat has reportedly been detained in China and his current employer says it is working for his "prompt and safe release". The International Crisis Group said it was "aware of reports" of Michael Kovrig's detention. Details are not yet clear. The news comes days after Canadian authorities arrested a top executive of the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei in Vancouver. It is not known if there is a link between the two cases. Tensions between Canada and China have been high over the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief financial officer and daughter of its founder, on Saturday 1 December. Mr Kovrig had previously worked as a diplomat in Beijing, Hong Kong and at the UN in New York. Canada's ministry of foreign affairs has not confirmed the report by Reute..

Time Magazine Person of the Year 2018 honours journalists Image copyright Time Killed and imprisoned journalists - "The Guardians'" - have been named 2018's "Person of the Year" by Time. Four different Time covers feature journalists from around the world. Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the Saudi embassy in Turkey earlier this year, appears alone in one, while staff from the Capital Gazette, the US newspaper where five people were killed this year, feature in another. Pictures of Maria Ressa, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo appear on the final two. Ms Ressa is the editor of Rappler, a Philippine news website critical of the country's leadership, while Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were imprisoned in Myanmar for investigating the massacre of Rohingya Muslims. According to Time, they were chosen "for taking great risks in pursuit of greater truths, for the imperfect but essential quest for facts, for speaking up and for speaking out". Image copyright Time Last ..

Truck drivers face prison in Singapore for $1 bribes Image copyright AFP Image caption The forklift truck drivers could face up to five years in jail Singapore has charged two Chinese migrant workers with soliciting one-dollar bribes from lorry drivers. The forklift truck drivers allegedly took S$1 bribes (£0.58; $0.73) multiple times, in return for not delaying the loading and unloading of vehicles. If convicted, Chen Ziliang, 47, and Zhao Yucun, 43, face up to five years in prison and a S$100,000 fine. Singapore takes pride in its reputation as one of the world's least corrupt countries. Inside Singapore's megachurch scandal Singapore profile Both drivers allegedly committed the offence while working at the Cogent Container Depot. Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau said in a statement that employees are expected to work "fairly". "Even if the bribe amount is as low as $1, they can be taken to task," the agency said. "Bribes of any amount or any kind w..