Australian court to rule on defamation suit in parliament rape case

An Australian court will rule on Monday in a defamation suit brought by a former government adviser accused of raping a colleague on the grounds of parliament, in a case that has gripped the nation. Bruce Lehrmann, a staffer in a previous government headed by the Liberal Party, which is now in opposition, was accused of raping Brittany Higgins in a ministerial office in the capital, Canberra, in 2019. The criminal trial collapsed in 2022 after a juror was found conducting individual research into the case, and a proposed retrial abandoned after prosecutors said it would severely harm Higgins' mental health.