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R Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, following the multiplatinum R&B singer's conviction for exploiting his stardom and wealth over decades to lure women and underage girls into his orbit for sex.

The sentence was imposed nine months after Kelly, 55, was convicted of racketeering and sex crimes, in a trial that amplified accusations that had dogged the singer of the Grammy-winning hit I Believe I Can Fly for two decades.

US District Judge Ann Donnelly in Brooklyn federal court said the evidence reflected Kelly's "indifference to human suffering" and "sheer brutality" toward his victims.

"This case is not about sex. It's about violence and cruelty and control," Donnelly told Kelly.

"You left in your wake a trail of broken lives."

Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is among the most prominent people convicted of sexual misbehavior during the MeToo movement against such conduct by prominent men.

He did not speak during Wednesday's hearing but has repeatedly denied sexual abuse accusations.

The sentencing came after several accusers, some of whom were tearful, told the judge about how Kelly promised to mentor them and help them attain stardom, only to subject them to degrading sexual treatment and physical harm.

Many said the abuse led to mental health problems that persist.

"As a teenager, I didn't know how to say no to R Kelly when he asked me to perform oral sex on him," said a woman identified as Jane Doe No. 2.

She then paused, looked at Kelly, and asked, "Do you remember that?".

Kelly wore a black face mask and beige prison clothing to his sentencing.

Several accusers testified during the five and a half week trial about how Kelly would demand that his victims strictly obey his rules

These included needing his permission go to the bathroom, calling him "Daddy" and writing "apology letters" that purported to absolve Kelly of wrongdoing, among others.

The alleged victims included the singer Aaliyah, who prosecutors said Kelly fraudulently married when she was 15 to conceal earlier abuse.

Aaliyah died in 2001.

He was convicted on nine criminal charges including one count of racketeering and eight counts of violating the Mann Act, which bars transporting people across state lines for prostitution.

Prosecutors had urged a prison sentence of more than 25 years, saying Kelly had demonstrated a "callous disregard" for his victims and shown no remorse.

Defence lawyers said Kelly deserved no more than 10 years, the mandatory minimum, arguing that his history as an abused child may have led to his adult "hypersexuality" and that he no longer posed a threat.

"This court must distinguish between what is boorish and bad behaviour, and what is criminal conduct," Kelly's lawyer Jennifer Bonjean said prior to the sentencing.

Kelly has been in jail since July 2019.

He will likely be transported soon to a jail in Chicago, where he faces an August trial in federal court on child pornography and obstruction charges.

He also faces various state charges in Illinois and Minnesota.

© RAW 2022

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A French court has handed a life sentence to the lone survivor of the Islamist squad that killed 130 people in a night of carnage across Paris, bringing some closure to survivors and a country whose psyche was left scarred.

Salah Abdeslam was found guilty on terrorism and murder charges, with no possibility of early release, the most severe criminal sentence possible in France and one handed out only four times previously.

Nineteen other men judged for helping organise the November 13, 2015, attacks that targeted the Bataclan music hall, six bars and restaurants and the Stade de France sports stadium were also all found guilty.

"Justice has been served," Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said on Wednesday.

"Against inhumanity, it's our democracy's strength to respond with justice to the attacks that plunged our city and our country in mourning. Paris remembers and will always stand by the victims and their families."

Arthur Denouveaux, a survivor of the Bataclan attack, where 90 people died, called it a fair ruling.

"It will help us," Denouveaux, who heads a victims' association, told reporters, while adding: "it's not healing everything."

A defiant Abdeslam had said at the start of the trial that he was a "soldier" of Islamic State, which has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

He later apologised to the victims and said at trial he had chosen at the last minute not to detonate his explosive vest. But, based on the investigations and hearings, the court ruled otherwise.

"The court considered that the explosive vest malfunctioned," judge Jean-Louis Peries said. Abdeslam was "guilty of being a member of a terrorist network", he said.

Lawyers of the accused hinted they would appeal.

It has been a trial like no others, not only for its exceptional length of 10 months, but also for the time it devoted to allowing victims to testify in detail about their ordeal and their struggles in overcoming it, while families of those killed spoke of how hard it was to move on.

Thirteen other defendants, 10 of whom were also in custody, were also in court alongside Abdeslam at the hearings.

The court found them guilty of crimes ranging from helping provide the attackers with weapons or cars to planning to take part in the attack. Six more, tried in absentia and believed to be dead, were also found guilty.

Some of those judged in absentia were also sentenced to life in prison, as was Mohamed Abrini, who was meant to be the 10th member of the commando unit until he backed off a few days before the attacks. Unlike Abdeslam, Abrini will qualify for possible early release after 22 years.

The other defendants were sentenced to shorter jail terms. Several will not go back to prison as the time spent in preventive custody will be deducted from their sentence.

"This is important for the victims," Catherine Szwarc, a lawyer representing some of the victims, said of the guilty verdicts.

But for some victims, the end of a long, intense trial stirred some mixed feelings.

"There is also a little bit of fear," Denouveaux had told Reuters before the verdict. The trial "filled our lives for the past 10 months and what will replace it? But we have overcome a terrorist attack, it will be easier to overcome the emptiness following the trial."

© RAW 2022

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Thousands of NSW public and Catholic schools are striking for 24 hours while industrial action by rail workers is affecting the frequency of train services.

Teachers will descend on Sydney's CBD on Thursday, angry at a NSW budget that offered no more than a three cent pay rise this year, with the possibility of 3.5 per cent the following year.

It's the third strike in six months called by the NSW Teachers Federation and Independent Education Union NSW/ACT, representing 85,000 teachers.

The strike is expected to affect about a million families, just a day before a two-week school break.

It's the first time in more than 25 years both unions have joined forces to strike for 24 hours.

"We have a crisis in the form of a teacher shortage, a crisis that is the government's own making," NSW Teachers Federation President Angelo Gavrielatos told reporters on Wednesday.

"The government has known for years the causes of this crisis: uncompetitive salaries and unsustainable workloads.

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell is disappointed by the decision to strike and says it's politically motivated.

Most schools will have some minimal supervision but a percentage of schools will be closed for the day.

Ms Mitchell defended the government's public sector wages policy, calling it the most generous in the country.

Meanwhile, the rail union says industrial action will continue this week despite a verbal commitment from Transport Minister David Elliott to spend $264 million on safety modifications of a Korean-made fleet.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union has been locked in long-running stoush with the government over the modifications.

RTBU Secretary Alex Claassens said the union wants to see the complete package and commitment in writing, and discuss it with members, before any action is called off.

"Rail workers and commuters have been burnt too many times to believe what one minister in one meeting says," Mr Claassens said.

Sydney Trains CEO Matt Longland said the network was operating at reduced capacity, resembling a weekend timetable.

He advised commuters to avoid train travel or allow extra time as services will be less frequent and carriages more crowded.

"Normally in the peak period customers wait one or two, maybe three minutes for a train," he told Sydney radio 2GB on Thursday.

"This morning it will be closer to 10, maybe 15 minutes."

The rail union began industrial action on Tuesday by cutting train speeds to 60 km/h. On Friday, speeds will be reduced by 70 per cent during peak periods.

© AAP 2022

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Thousands of NSW public and Catholic schools have rallied in Sydney's CBD demanding better wages and working conditions.

Dressed in red shirts emblazoned with the text "More than Thanks", teachers are calling on the government to offer them more than a three per cent pay rise.

The NSW Teachers Federation is asking for a pay rise of between five and seven per cent.

Many protesters held up satirical placards poking fun at inflation, such as "Thanks won't buy lettuce", to make the point that living costs have soared.

It is the third strike in six months called by the NSW Teachers Federation and Independent Education Union NSW/ACT, representing 85,000 teachers.

The strike is expected to have affected about a million families statewide, just a day before a two-week school break.

Peter Kitonga, 50, a legal studies teacher at Sir Joseph Banks High School in Revesby in western Sydney, said he was fed up with deteriorating working conditions.

"I have been working as a public school teacher for 13 years and our salaries have not kept up with inflation," he told AAP.

"It's the duty of the government to ensure that students have a qualified teacher in front of them. You can bring teachers on board by giving them better pay."

It was the first time in more than 25 years that both unions have joined forces to strike for 24 hours.

"We have a crisis in the form of a teacher shortage, a crisis that is the government's own making," NSW Teachers Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos said.

"The government has known for years the causes of this crisis: uncompetitive salaries and unsustainable workloads."

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell is disappointed by the decision to strike and says it is politically motivated.

Most schools will have some minimal supervision, but a percentage of schools will be closed for the day.

Ms Mitchell defended the government's public sector wages policy, calling it the most generous in the country.

Meanwhile, the rail union says industrial action will continue this week, despite a verbal commitment from Transport Minister David Elliott to spend $264 million on safety modifications of a Korean-made fleet.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union has been locked in a long-running stoush with the government over the modifications. Negotiations are continuing on Thursday.

Sydney Trains CEO Matt Longland says the network is operating at reduced capacity, resembling a weekend timetable.

He advised commuters to avoid train travel or allow extra time because services will be less frequent and carriages more crowded.

"Normally in the peak period customers wait one or two, maybe three minutes for a train," he told Sydney radio 2GB on Thursday.

"This morning it will be closer to 10, maybe 15 minutes."

© AAP 2022