Submit your Article

Australian police have defended their actions after violent clashes with protesters in Sydney during a demonstration against a visit by the Israeli president, BBC reported. 

Officers showed "remarkable restraint", NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said, adding that they "did what they needed to do".

His comments came after police arrested 27 people at a rally in Sydney on Monday night. Earlier, rally organisers had failed in their court bid to overturn police powers that limited their right to demonstrate, according to BBC. 

King Charles has made his first intervention in the latest round of revelations in the Epstein scandal, saying Buckingham Palace is ready to support the police as they consider allegations against his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, BBC reported. 

"The King has made clear, in words and through unprecedented actions, his profound concern at allegations which continue to come to light in respect of Mr Mountbatten-Windsor's conduct," a Palace spokesman said.

"While the specific claims in question are for Mr Mountbatten-Windsor to address, if we are approached by Thames Valley Police we stand ready to support them as you would expect," he said, according to BBC. 

Thousands gathered across Australia on Monday to protest the arrival of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who is on a multi-city trip aimed at expressing solidarity with Australia's Jewish community following a deadly mass shooting last year, Reuters reported. 

Herzog is visiting Australia this week following an invitation from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the December 14 shooting at a Hanukkah event at Sydney's Bondi Beach that killed 15. 

The visit has attracted the ire of some people in Australia, who accuse Herzog of being complicit in civilian deaths in Gaza. Pro-Palestine groups have organized protests ‌in cities and ‌towns across the country on Monday evening, according to Reuters. 

Norway's foreign ministry on Sunday said a prominent ambassador, Mona Juul, would step down due to a "serious failure of judgement" over ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, part of a growing scandal in the Nordic country and across Europe, Reuters reported. 

The ministry earlier this week suspended Juul from her position as ambassador to Jordan and Iraq pending an internal inquiry of links to Epstein found in a massive set of files released by the United States government.

"Juul's contact with convicted sex offender Epstein has shown a serious failure of judgment. The case makes it difficult to rebuild the trust that the role requires," Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement, according to Reuters ​​​​​​.