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Tag: Australia

  • Australia moves to ban anti-racism protest citing virus

    Australian police on Friday moved to ban a Black Lives Matter protest planned in Sydney, citing the risk of spreading the coronavirus.

    Around 10,000 people are expected to march in Sydney on Saturday to express solidarity with US protestors and demand an end to frequent Aboriginal deaths in custody in Australia.

    On the eve of the protest, the police — backed by prominent local conservatives — launched legal action to ban the rally on health grounds.

    Australia has detected a sustained drop in the number of COVID-19 cases, but social distancing rules remain in force and mass gatherings are not permitted.

    The New South Wales Supreme Court was asked to declare the protest illegal.

    “We have commenced legal action on the basis that we don’t believe the protest can be conducted in a safe way,” NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said.

    Civil rights protests shaking the United States have resonated with many in Australia — a country that also wrestles with the legacy of a racist past.

    Several protests have already taken place across Australia and the planned march in Sydney is one among several due to take place on Saturday.

    Organisers hope to highlight the high levels of imprisonment for First Nations Australians and the large number of indigenous deaths in custody — more than 400 in the last three decades.

    The legal action was a U-turn for the police — who initially granted the Sydney event the green light — and follows heavy criticism of the protest in the country’s conservative media.

    Organisers were determined to go ahead, using a groundswell of public opinion to press for long-stalled reforms.

    “Tomorrow, we are going to march if they like it or not, because this is our land and nothing is going to stop any of us,” said Latona Dungay, whose son David died in prison in 2015.

    Green party parliamentarian David Shoebridge attacked the move as heavyhanded, calling for police to take a more nuanced approach.

    “This is not what’s needed. This needs cooperation and understanding, not force,” Shoebridge said.

    Protesters in Melbourne were similarly warned they could face fines for attending a rally in the city, with authorities urging people to stay home.

    Earlier on Friday, hundreds of protesters gathered in the nation’s capital Canberra even as Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged people to stay home.

    “Let’s find a better way and another way to express these sentiments rather than putting your own health at risk,” Morrison said.

    He admitted there was more to be done to address indigenous inequality but continued to reject parallels with the United States.

    “Australia is not other places, so let’s deal with this as Australians and not appropriate what’s happening in other countries to our country at this time.”

    Source: france24.com

  • Australia PM calls for probe into ‘assault’ on journalist

    PM Scott Morrison has spoken to US President Donal Trump after an Australian TV crew was allegedly assaulted by police in Washington, reports say.

    Mr Morrison has also asked the Washington embassy to investigate the incident.

    Channel 7’s US correspondent Amelia Brace and cameraman Tim Myers were attacked while covering Monday’s protest outside the White House.

    Police used tear gas to disperse the protests, leading to a stampede of sorts as the crowds fled – and that’s when the attack appears to have occurred.

    The incident was caught on live TV, and the footage was shared on Twitter.

    It shows an officer hitting Mr Myers with his shield and then punching him. But another officer intervened and the two reporters escape, just as a third officer swings a baton at them from behind.

    The news comes amid a slew of similar reports during protests – of police assaulting journalists, arresting them and even damaging their equipment.

    Disclaimer : “Opinions expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not in any way reflect those of backend.theindependentghana.com. Our outfit will hereby not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article.”

    Source: bbc.com

     

  • Malka Leifer: Rape-accused ex-principal fit for extradition to Australia

    An Israeli woman facing 74 child sex charges in Australia is mentally fit to face extradition, a court has ruled.

    Malka Leifer, the former principal of a Jewish girls’ school in Melbourne, fled to Israel in 2008 after accusations were raised against her.

    Extradition hearings were delayed for two years as Ms Leifer, 54, said panic attacks prevented her coming to court.

    But a Jerusalem district court judge said expert opinion was followed in ruling Ms Leifer fit for the process.

    Judge Chana Lomp set 20 July 2020 as the date for a renewal of the extradition process to take the suspect back from Israel to Australia.

    The case has dragged on for more than five years, damaging relations between the two countries.

    Dave Sharma, Australia’s former ambassador to Israel, said in October the delay in extraditing Ms Leifer was “not only an affront to justice but deeply traumatic for the victims of this abuse”.

    Ms Leifer, who was not in court on Tuesday, allegedly raped and indecently assaulted girls at the ultra-Orthodox Adass Israel School in Melbourne, Australia.

    Australia attempted to extradite her between 2014 and 2016, but the attempt failed after Ms Leifer was found mentally unfit for trial.

    Undercover private investigators later filmed her shopping and depositing a cheque at a bank, leading Israeli authorities to investigate and arrest her in February 2018.

    In January this year, a panel of psychiatrists found that Ms Leifer was faking her mental illness to avoid extradition, paving the way for Tuesday’s decision.

    In a 40-page ruling, Judge Lomp said Ms Leifer’s mental problems “were not psychotic problems of mental illness as in its legal definition”.

    “My impression is that the defendant is exacerbating her mental problems and pretending to be mentally ill,” Judge Lomp wrote. “Therefore, my conclusion is that the defendant is fit to stand trial and the extradition process on her case should be renewed.”

    The decision was welcomed by the former teacher’s alleged victims. One, Dassi Erlich, said the ruling was “huge”.

    “This abusive woman has been exploiting the Israeli courts for six years! Intentionally creating obstacles with endless vexatious arguments that have only lengthened our ongoing trauma!”, Ms Erlich said in a statement.

    One of Ms Leifer’s lawyers, Tal Gabay, however told reporters the decision was “not clean of doubt”. “It’s not a black-and-white case,” he said.

    Yehuda Fried, another member of the defence team, said they hoped Israel’s supreme court would overturn the decision.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Australia curve nearly flat for five weeks

    Australia – one of the world leaders in containing the virus – says its flat virus curve has been successfully sustained.

    The growth rate of new cases has now been under 0.5% for five consecutive weeks.

    “That’s an extraordinary national achievement and I want to say to Australians, thank you,” Health Minister Greg Hunt said.

    Only six new cases were reported today – adding to the total of around 7,000. Some 101 people have died.

    The nation has re-opened restaurants and schools and aims to have most lockdown measures removed by July.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Australia threatens WTO action as dispute with China deepens

    Australia threatened Tuesday to take China to the World Trade Organisation to counter a fresh round of punitive sanctions, as the two countries clashed over an investigation into the origins and spread of the coronavirus.

    Canberra said it may seek remedial action to overturn almost 81 percent in tariffs on barley exports – the latest in a series of Chinese sanctions that many believe are politically motivated.

    Beijing on Monday announced the measures – earmarked to last five years – after finding Australian subsidies and dumping had “substantially damaged domestic industry”.

    Both sides have insisted that barley is a technical trade issue, and Australian officials have played down fears of a trade war, saying there would be no “tit-for-tat” response.

    “To say that I’m disappointed is an understatement,” agriculture minister David Littleproud said.

    “This is something that we will strongly reject, the premise that the Australian barley farmer is subsidised in any way, shape or form.”

    “We will now work through the determination by Chinese officials, calmly and methodically, and reserve our right to go to the World Trade Organisation to get the independent umpire to make that determination.”

    The move has worsened a relationship that has become increasingly troubled as Beijing has become more assertive in flexing its growing military, economic and diplomatic power in the Asia-Pacific region.

    Beijing reacted with fury to Australia’s recent calls for an independent investigation into the origins and spread of the coronavirus from an initial outbreak in China’s central Wuhan province.

    In response, the Chinese ambassador in Canberra threatened a widespread consumer boycott of Australian products – a warning followed up by a bar on imports from four major Australian beef producers.

    A full independent COVID-19 investigation would heap scrutiny on China’s handling of the crisis, something that unelected Communist Party leaders deem intolerable.

    Weihuan Zhou, an international economic law expert at the University of New South Wales, said China’s decision to impose tariffs was a “natural consequence” of a Chinese anti-dumping investigation into Australian barley launched in November 2018.

    But, he told AFP, the timing was telling.

    “The fact that it’s come out now and the fact they have increased the dumping duty by about 20 percent beyond what was initially requested by China’s industry – this would be related to Australia’s position.”

    ‘A new low ‘

    Tensions between Beijing and Canberra have escalated several times in recent years, including over a ban on Huawei building Australia’s 5G network and Australia closing its border to Chinese citizens early in the coronavirus pandemic.

    Darren Lim, a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at the Australian National University, said the trade dispute brought relations between the two countries to “a new low”.

    “While these actions also hurt the Chinese economy, China’s size and its political system make the Chinese government better able to deal with the fallout of these economic losses, at least in the short term,” he told AFP.

    “Having made its initial point, I’ll bet Canberra understands it’s unwise to escalate a fight Australia ultimately does not have the firepower to win.”

    Australia’s trade and agriculture ministers admit they are now being frozen out by Chinese counterparts, who are refusing to take their calls.

    However, trade minister Simon Birmingham said Australia would not retaliate against China, the country’s biggest trading partner.

    “We don’t pursue our trade policies on a tit-for-tat basis. We will continue to operate as we always do,” he said.

    A joint statement from five Australian grain growers’ organisations said the dispute was likely to halt exports to China, costing the industry at least Aus$500 million (US$327 million) a year.

    Australia said its barley farmers will now seek to pursue other export markets, including in the Middle East, but filling the hole left by Beijing will not be easy.

    China imported 2.5 million tonnes of Australian barley last financial year, more than 50 percent of Australia’s barley exports, with the next-biggest importer – Japan, buying less than 800,000 tonnes.

    Source: france24.com

  • Australia coughing politician being tested for virus

    Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is being tested for Covid-19 after suffering a coughing fit during a lengthy address to parliament today.

    As we reported earlier, the treasurer was giving an economic update which included projections of Australia’s GDP falling over 10% by June.

    Frydenberg was overcome by coughs halfway through his speech and jokingly wheezed out “too long a speech” as he tried to finish his sentences.

    In a statement just released he said he was getting tested “out of an abundance of caution” and would isolate. His results are due tomorrow.

    Source: bbc.com

  • How will Australia reopen workplaces?

    With the virus now relatively contained in Australia, the government is forging ahead with plans to restart the economy safely.

    They’ve set a target of July for getting people back into the office. But how do you get a “coronavirus-safe” workplace?

    Chief medical officer Dr Brendan Murphy said workplaces would need to stagger employee shifts and increase cleaning. Hand sanitiser should be in every office, meetings held via video, and handshakes are still banned.

    Offices could learn from the other workplaces kept open throughout the lockdown: construction sites, childcare centres, retail shops and even hair salons.

    Those running industries helped cushion the economy, which has still lost about A$4bn (£2bn; $2.5bn) every week, the treasury said yesterday.

    More than 1 million people have lost their jobs, while a further five million sought out the government’s subsidy for employers. That means 40% of the workforce has needed welfare to survive.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Australia: No support for US lab claim

    Australia, along with the US, has been one of the loudest voices calling for an investigation into the virus’ origins and spread in China.

    US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has claimed the virus originated in a Chinese lab – a claim rubbished by Beijing.

    Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says his country is working closely with the US, but it isn’t endorsing the lab theory.

    “We can’t rule out any these arrangements… but the most likely has been in a wildlife wet market.”

    He reiterated: “But what really is important is that we have a proper review that looks into the sources of these things.”

    Source: bbc.com

  • Almost third of Australians have tracing app

    That’s five million people of the targeted 16 million mobile phone users in Australia, says Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

    He said this was a good response, but “we would like to see a bit more”. The government had previously said a 40% uptake is needed.

    The app, released just over a week ago, shares users’ codes with each other via a Bluetooth signal. It’s designed to speed up the contact-tracing process and quickly isolate at-risk people.

    “The first job of the COVIDSafe app is to keep you safe and that is its best reason why I would encourage people to continue to do that,” Mr Morrison said.

    “The more people we get, the better protection we all have as we go back to work.”

    Mr Morrison has stressed that wide usage is almost a prerequisite to the nation exiting lockdown. A review of freedoms is due this Friday. For over a month now, Australia has reported very low daily case numbers after success in containing the spread.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Coronavirus: Northern Territory first in Australia to lift major restrictions

    Australia’s vast Northern Territory will become the first in the nation to move out of lockdown on Friday with the lifting of major restrictions.

    Group limits will be removed for weddings, funerals and sport while parks and pools will also open.

    Australia’s least populated territory – which counted 28 cases – says it will ease all lockdown measures by June.

    The rest of the nation is also beginning to open up after success in containing the virus.

    The most-populous state, New South Wales, which includes Sydney, will allow some socialisation to resume on Friday, with households allowed to have two adult visitors at a time.

    There are currently around 6,700 cases nationally, but in recent weeks the daily increase rate has dropped to under 1% compared to more than 25% in mid-March.

    Australia had “pretty much crushed” its virus curve, said deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly on Friday.

    However, both federal and state authorities say they will be cautious in lifting restrictions. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged citizens to download a contact-tracing app to make the process safer.

    What are the changes in the NT?

    The territory has reported zero new infections for more than three weeks now.

    “Because we are the safest place in Australia, we can do this before the rest of Australia,” said NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner in the state capital, Darwin, on Thursday.

    Locals must maintain a 1.5m (5ft) distance from others, but from Friday they can visit parks and swimming holes and play non-contact sport.

    In mid-May, restaurants and pubs will be able to open for dining while gyms, nail salons and libraries will also resume service. All other restrictions will be removed in early June.

    Summarising the changes, Mr Gunner described it as: “May 15 date night, June 5 Sunday sesh [pub drinking session]”.

    However he said opening state borders would happen “dead last” to prevent any chance of a second wave. Officials will also keep an existing travel ban to the dozens of vulnerable Aboriginal communities in the outback.

    What’s happening in the other states?
    Victoria, the second most-populous state, says it will stick with its restrictions until 11 May, saying the situation remained “very fragile” despite low numbers.

    However NSW – the state with the highest number of reported cases – began allowing household visits on Friday and has already re-opened beaches.

    Movement restrictions have also eased in several states – including Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia – which have all reported no community transmission and zero new cases on several days this week.

    On Thursday, the Australian Capital Territory – which holds the nation’s capital Canberra – also announced it had no more known active cases.

    Source: GNA

  • Ghanaians in Western Australia offer food assistance during coronavirus pandemic

    The negative impact of Coronavirus Pandemic on families, students, and migrants with no permanent residency in countries where they live is huge and easy to miss.

    This has been recognized by the Ghana Association of Western Australia where an effort is being made to assist students and families who currently have no reliable sources of income or support.

    A message sent out to members of the association said “The Ghana Association of Western Australia is creating a platform for Ghanaians, especially those who may be challenged economically by the COVID-19 pandemic to receive some assistance”

    Those in need were encouraged to contact the association for some help.

    Dr. Albert Amankwaa, President of the Ghana Association of Western Australia says the Australian government has extended significant help to citizens and permanent residents, but many Ghanaians who are temporary residents or students have not benefited. Having heard of the plight of many, the association decided to organised some assistance.

    As of the time of filing this report, the number of people infected by COVID-19 in Western Australia is less than 600 with a significant daily decrease in new cases.

    However, social and economic activities are still on hold with no guaranteed income for some families, temporary residents, and students.

    Full economic recovery appears to be nowhere near the horizon, but Ghanaians in this community who have benefited from the modest assistance offered by the Ghana Association of Western Australia are grateful that some help could be so close.

    This AfricanPod Business Forum report was produced while keeping the necessary social distancing rules being observed worldwide to combat the Coronavirus pandemic.

     

    Source: Phillip Nyakpo, Contributor

  • Australian billionaire exempt from quarantine

    Since late March, all Australians who return from overseas have been required to spend 14 days in quarantine in hotels – or almost all of them that is.

    Billionaire and media mogul Kerry Stokes and his wife were given an exemption from these quarantine rules on medical grounds by Western Australian police, meaning they could self-isolate in their home rather than be shut up in a hotel room, say local media reports.

    The couple had reportedly returned to Perth from the United States on their private jet two weeks ago.

    WA Premier Mark McGowan had earlier said the quarantine rules applied “for all Australians”.

    However, according to Australia’s Department of Health, it is possible for people to be granted a quarantine exemption on medical grounds on a case by case basis.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Coronavirus: Australia police seize cruise ship’s black box

    Australian police are investigating why the Ruby Princess cruise ship allowed ill passengers to disembark in Sydney amid mounting Coronavirus fears, according to local media.

    Public broadcaster ABC News reported that Police Commissioner Mick Fuller confirmed the raid on Wednesday night.

    “Ships have a black box very similar to that of international planes and that and other evidence has been seized for further investigation,” report cited Fuller as saying.

    Fuller added that there were still more than 1,000 crew members on the ship, with three-quarters intending to remain there.

    The Ruby Princess, currently docked at Port Kembla, south of Sydney, is at the center of a criminal investigation into whether its operator downplayed the number of potential coronavirus cases on board before it was allowed to dock in Sydney on March 19, according to the broadcaster.

    So far, around 2,700 passengers have disembarked from the ship with over 600 coronavirus cases and 15 deaths linked to the vessel.

    Since last week, the Australian Border Force have denied requests by several cruise ship operators to remain in Australian waters, forcing many of them to undertake returning crew members to their home countries in Asia, according to Chinese news agency Xinhua on Wednesday.

    The agency also reported that the vessels “were able to refuel and resupply” and by Tuesday the majority had either left or were preparing to leave, “with four more expected to be gone by Thursday.”

    The coronavirus death toll in Australia rose to 51 after more fatalities were reported Thursday.

    The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country is now up to 6,052, while 2,813 people have recovered so far.

    Cruise ships account for a large portion of COVID-19 related deaths and confirmed cases in the country.

    Australia has taken several measures to stem the spread of the virus, including a ban on gatherings of more than two people in open or closed public areas.

    Funerals can be attended by a maximum of 10 people and no more than five are allowed at weddings.

    Pubs, clubs, restaurants, cafes, gyms and places of worship remain closed across the country, while new arrivals must remain in quarantine for 14 days.

    Since the virus emerged last December in the Chinese city of Wuhan, it has spread to at least 184 countries and regions.

    There are more than 1.48 million confirmed infections worldwide and more than 88,500 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins. Nearly 330,000 have recovered.

    Source: www.aa.com.tr

  • George Pell: Court quashes cardinal’s sexual abuse convictions

    Cardinal George Pell has been freed from jail after Australia’s highest court overturned his convictions for child sexual abuse.

    The ex-Vatican treasurer, 78, was the most senior Catholic figure ever jailed for such crimes.

    In 2018, a jury found he abused two boys in Melbourne in the 1990s.

    But the High Court of Australia quashed that verdict on Tuesday, bringing an immediate end to Cardinal Pell’s six-year jail sentence.

    The Australian cleric had maintained his innocence since he was charged by police in June 2017.

    His case rocked the Catholic Church, where he had been one of the Pope’s most senior advisers.

    A full bench of seven judges ruled unanimously in Cardinal Pell’s favour, finding that the jury had not properly considered all the evidence presented at the trial.

    It was the cardinal’s final legal challenge after his conviction was upheld by a lower court last year.

    “I have consistently maintained my innocence while suffering from a serious injustice,” Cardinal Pell said in a statement on Tuesday before he left prison.

    Why was Pell jailed?

    In December 2018, a jury found him guilty of sexually abusing two 13-year-old choir boys in private rooms of St Patrick’s Cathedral in the mid-90s – when the cleric was Archbishop of Melbourne.

    The convictions included one count of sexual penetration and four counts of committing indecent acts.

    The trial heard testimony from a man alleged to be the sole surviving victim. Dozens of other witnesses provided alibis and other evidence.

    Cardinal Pell appealed against the verdict in Victoria’s Court of Appeal last year, but three judges upheld the decision by a 2-1 majority.

    Why did his appeal succeed this time?

    The cardinal argued that the jury relied too heavily on one person’s evidence. The judges agreed, saying the jury did not properly assess other information.

    “The jury, acting rationally on the whole of the evidence, ought to have entertained a doubt as to the applicant’s guilt,” said the court in its judgement.

    What’s been the reaction?

    Cardinal Pell said an injustice had been “remedied”, and said he held “no ill will to my accuser”.

    “I do not want my acquittal to add to the hurt and bitterness so many feel; there is certainly hurt and bitterness enough,” he said in a statement before.

    “However my trial was not a referendum on the Catholic Church; nor a referendum on how Church authorities in Australia dealt with the crime of paedophilia in the Church.”

    The father of the deceased choir boy was in shock at the decision, his lawyer said.

    “He says he no longer has faith in our country’s criminal justice system,” said Lisa Flynn.

    Victoria Police said it respected the court’s decision, adding: “Victoria Police remains committed to investigating sexual assault offences and providing justice for victims no matter how many years have passed.”

    Who is George Pell?

    Cardinal Pell was among the highest-ranking figures in the Church’s global hierarchy.

    Made a cardinal in 2003, he was summoned to Rome in 2014 to help clean up the Vatican’s finances.

    He forged a reputation as a disciplined Church leader who held strict conservative views against same-sex marriage, abortion and contraception.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Troops deployed across fire-hit Australia after horror weekend

    Reserve troops were deployed to fire-ravaged regions across three Australian states on Monday after a torrid weekend that turned swathes of land into smouldering, blackened hellscapes.

    The bushfires have now destroyed an area the size of Ireland, according to official figures, and authorities warned the months-long crisis is not over as another heatwave looms.

    Firefighters joined by fresh teams from the US and Canada were taking advantage of rainy and cooler conditions to tackle out-of-control blazes ahead of soaring temperatures forecast later this week.

    Australia declares state of emergency for New South Wales amid bushfires and record temps

    Military teams, in the biggest-ever call up of reserves, fanned out across eastern Australia to help emergency services assess the damage, restore power and deliver supplies of food, water and fuel to cut-off communities.

    For the first time in Australian history the government also deployed its medical assistance team — normally sent to other nations to lend support in the aftermath of their disasters — to help evacuees.

    “There is no room for complacency, especially as we have over 130 fires burning across (New South Wales) state still,” New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said early Monday.

    Almost five million hectares (50,000 square kilometres) have been razed across the state since late September, New South Wales Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons added.

    Australia endures hottest day on record

    That took the total amount of land burnt close to eight million hectares — the size of the island of Ireland or South Carolina.

    Twenty-four people have lost their lives so far, with over 1,500 homes damaged.

    Two people are missing in New South Wales, the vast nation’s most populous state.

    ‘Creeping disaster’

    The chair of the newly established Victoria state’s bushfire appeal fund, Pat McNamara, said this year’s summer bushfire season was a “creeping disaster”.

    “We’re still not even into what we would regard as the peak of the fire season,” McNamara told national broadcaster ABC.

    “So we’ve probably got at least another four to five weeks of this sort of weather and we’ve got to deal with it.”

    In the usually picturesque southeastern town of Eden, Holly Spence said she spent more than 12 hours defending her family’s farm on Saturday, less than a week after saving it on New Year’s Eve.

    “If we weren’t here the spot fires would have taken all our sheds and the house and everything,” the 28-year-old told AFP.

    “We don’t want to go through this for a third time.”

    Fiona Kennelly, 50, who evacuated with 24 members of her extended family to a motel outside Eden, said she was relieved the easing conditions allowed them to get some respite from the crisis.

    “It’s good to see daylight at the right time again,” she told AFP, adding that the skies had been turning pitch-black in the afternoons.

    Authorities were also grappling with the health impacts of heavy smoke engulfing cities and towns in or near fire-hit regions, including the country’s second-largest city Melbourne and the national capital Canberra.

    In Canberra, some government departments were shut as the city’s air quality was once-again ranked the poorest in the world, according to independent online air-quality index monitor Air Visual.

    Source: France24

  • Blood-red skies loom over southeast Australia after deadly bushfires bring ‘one of worst days ever’

    Skies turned blood red above parts of southeast Australia on Sunday as residents sought refuge from deadly bushfires, and a senior firefighter described the previous 24 hours as “one of our worst days ever.”

    Photographs of Pambula, in the state of New South Wales, showed an eerie, smoke-filled landscape, with deserted streets illuminated by an otherworldly, blazing red sky.
    About 30 kilometers (19 miles) south, blood-red skies loomed over the town of Eden. There, hundreds of residents were seeking shelter on the beach on police advice, one Eden resident told CNN. Many houses have been destroyed in the area, and officials said they feared there would be fatalities.
    A total of 146 fires are burning across the state, with 65 uncontained, according to the NSW Rural Fire Service (NSWRFS). About 2,700 firefighters were tackling the blazes on Sunday.
    “Conditions have eased today and firefighters have gained the upper hand on several dangerous fires. There are no total fire bans in place for Monday,” the NSWRFS posted on Twitter.

    A blood-red sky looms over Eden, New South Wales, on January 5, 2020.

    A blood-red sky looms over Eden, New South Wales, on January 5, 2020.
    Earlier, NSWRFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told a news conference that Saturday was “one of our worst days ever on record.”
    A “considerable number” of properties were lost across NSW on Saturday, Fitzsimmons said, adding that a 47-year-old man had died from cardiac arrest while fighting a fire threatening his friend’s home in Batlow. The man is the 24th person to die nationwide this fire season.
    Separately, four firefighters in NSW were hospitalized due to smoke inhalation, heat exhaustion and hand burns. They have since been released.
    Fitzsimmons said that conditions could worsen again in the coming days. “Today will be a relief — psychological relief but not what we need,” he said.

    Fire-induced thunderstorms over New South Wales, seen from a flight on January 5, 2020.

    Fire-induced thunderstorms over New South Wales, seen from a flight on January 5, 2020.
    Australia’s flag carrier Qantas canceled all flights to and from the country’s capital, Canberra, on Sunday due to smoke and hazardous weather conditions.
    An airline passenger spotted huge clouds caused by the fires over NSW during a flight from Sydney to Melbourne on Sunday. They are pyrocumulonimbus clouds — fire-induced thunderstorms — which form when hot air rises from a ground based fire, according to CNN meteorologists. The air cools and condenses as it ascends, causing a cloud to form.
    “This process is similar to the development of a thunderstorm,” said CNN Weather’s Derek Van Dam. “As such, a downdraft forms within the base of the pyrocumulonimbus cloud, allowing for embers to be picked up and carried to form new fires.”
    In the neighboring state of Victoria, three fires have combined to form a single blaze bigger than the New York borough of Manhattan. The fires joined overnight Friday in the Omeo region, creating a 6,000-hectare (23 square mile) blaze, according to Gippsland’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
    The country’s capital, Canberra, smashed its heat record of 80 years, reaching 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday afternoon, according to the country’s Bureau of Meteorology. In the western Sydney suburb of Penrith, the mercury climbed to 48.9 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) — setting a new record for the whole Sydney basin.
    Victoria has declared a state of disaster, and NSW has declared a state of emergency — both granting extraordinary powers and additional government resources to battle the fires.
    It marked the first time Victoria has activated these powers since the 2009 Black Saturday fires, the deadliest bushfire disaster on record in Australia with 173 people killed and 500 injured.
    Speaking at a news conference Sunday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was another difficult night across the country — in particular in NSW, Victoria and South Australia.
    Morrison — who in December faced criticism for taking a vacation to Hawaii during the fires — said the government’s response was the most significant and comprehensive ever to a natural disaster.

    An eerie, smoke-filled landscape in Pambula, New South Wales, on January 5, 2020.

    An eerie, smoke-filled landscape in Pambula, New South Wales, on January 5, 2020.
    “I believe that’s where we need to focus our attention, and we are seeking to communicate that directly to Australians to ensure they have comfort that the response is matching the need,” he said.
    “Sure there’s been a lot of commentary, there’s been plenty of criticism. I’ve had the benefit of a lot of analysis on a lot of issues. But I can’t be distracted by that, and the public, I know, are not distracted by that.
    “What they need us to focus on, all of us actually, all of us focusing on the needs there and getting the support where it needs to go. That’s very much where my focus is, and that’s where it will continue to be.”
    In a news release on Sunday, the Australia Defence Force (ADF) said it was significantly increasing its support in fighting the massive fires and had called up 3,000 army reserve forces and others with specialist capabilities.

    An Australian army soldier helps people evacuate onto a Black Hawk helicopter in Omeo, Victoria on January 5, 2020.

    An Australian army soldier helps people evacuate onto a Black Hawk helicopter in Omeo, Victoria on January 5, 2020.
    They will also provide aircraft, ships and its largest vessel, HMAS Adelaide, with helicopter landing capabilities.
    One priority for the ADF will be to assist in evacuations of people in isolated communities. HMAS Adelaide, the Australian Navy’s largest ship, arrived off the coast of Eden on Sunday as evacuations took place there.
    Some ADF bases will be opened to house those displaced by the fires. Troops will also help move material and supplies, support recovery centers, and aid in fire trail clearance.
    New Zealand and Singapore have also offered military support, and the ADF is assessing where they can help, the news release said.
    Members of the UK royal family sent their “thoughts and prayers” to Australians affected by the massive bushfires through social media accounts on Saturday. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip issued a message of condolence expressing thanks to emergency services. “I have been deeply saddened to hear of the continued bushfires and their devastating impact across many parts of Australia,” the Queen wrote in a statement published on Twitter.
    On their Instagram account, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge said they were “shocked and deeply saddened” by “the fires that are destroying homes, livelihoods and wildlife across much of Australia,” posting a photo of a kangaroo with a burning building in the background.

    Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex urged support for those affected by the environmental crisis in an Instagram post linking to a number of Australian fundraisers, such as the Australian Red Cross, the Country Fire Authority and the New South Wales Rural Fire Service.
    Source: edition.cnn.com

  • Australia endures hottest day on record

    Australia has experienced its hottest day on record with the national average temperature reaching a high of 40.9C (105.6F), meteorologists say.

    The Bureau of Meteorology (Bom) said “extensive” heat on Tuesday tipped the mercury past the previous record of 40.3C set on 7 January 2013.

    Taking the average of maximum temperatures across the country is the most accurate measure of a heatwave.

    The record comes as the nation battles a severe drought and bushfire crisis.

    Forecasters had predicted the most intense heat would come later in the week, meaning the record could be broken again.

    Read:Australia weather: January was hottest month on record

    As hundreds of fires rage, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been criticised for his response to the natural disasters and his government’s climate policies.

    Why has this happened now?

    Australia heated up this week as a mass of hot air swept east across the continent, with meteorologists forecasting “severe to extreme heatwave conditions”.

    Several individual heat records for towns and cities have already been shattered. On Tuesday, several areas across the nation’s centre recorded temperatures above 45C.

    At the start of the week, Perth, the capital of Western Australia, recorded three days in a row above 40C – a record for December.

    The dominant climate driver behind the heat has been a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) – an event where sea surface temperatures are warmer in the western half of the ocean, cooler in the east.

    Read:Japan heatwave declared natural disaster as death toll mounts

    The difference between the two temperatures is currently the strongest in 60 years. The warmer waters cause higher-than-average rains in the western Indian Ocean region, leading to flooding, and drier conditions across South East Asia and Australia.

    But Australia has been enduring a drought for a long time – several years in some places. Bom says the dry soil has meant less evaporation – which would normally exert a cooling influence on the landscape.

    What is climate change doing to Australia?

    According to Bom, Australia has warmed overall by just over 1C since 1910, with most of the heating occurring since 1950.

    Nine of Australia’s top 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 2005.

    Officials predicts that 2019, on the temperatures recorded so far, will be among the four warmest years on record. Bom says it’s expecting national mean temperatures to be at least 1.3C above the long-term average of 27.5C.

    That heat has helped create the conditions for natural disasters like bushfires, droughts and floods – which have always happened in Australia – to be more frequent and more severe.

    Read:Europe heatwave expected to peak and break records again

    “Australia’s climate is increasingly influenced by global warning and natural variability takes place on top of this background trend,” says Bom.

    Vast areas of the nation are struggling through a second and third year of drought. According to the measurements for 2019 so far, the year has been Australia’s driest in over a century.

    Australia’s conservative government has been criticised both at home and internationally for what’s seen as an inadequate climate record and a reliance on coal.

    Australia is one of the highest emitters of carbon pollution per capita, largely because it is still heavily reliant on fossil fuel power. The UN has also said it is among the minority of G20 nations falling short on its emissions cuts goals.

    As the bushfires, and other natural crises, have raged on there has been growing public anger towards the government’s inaction, and demands for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to properly acknowledge the impact of climate change.

    How damaging can heatwaves be in Australia?

    Heatwaves are Australia’s deadliest natural disaster and have killed thousands more people than bushfires or floods.

    Read:Dangerous heatwave starts hitting US and Canada

    Last summer (2018-2019) was recorded as the nation’s hottest on record, as average temperatures soared past 30C (86F) for the first time.

    At least five of the days were recorded among the nation’s top 10 hottest on record.

    The heat, which was concentrated over one fortnight in January, caused mass wildlife deaths, sparked bushfires and led to a rise in hospital admissions.

    It also sparked furious political discussion about the nation’s energy grid, after densely populated city areas were forced to endure blackouts amid the heat.

    What does this mean for the fires?

    More than 100 blazes are still burning across Australia’s east coast – with the high temperatures escalating dangerous conditions.

    Bom and fire authorities warned that the record temperatures had made the fires more volatile and harder to fight.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Two dead, at least 150 homes lost in Australia bushfires

    Catastrophic bushfires have killed at least two people and forced thousands from their homes in eastern Australia, with the death toll expected to rise as firefighters struggle toward hard-to-reach communities.

    In the normally picturesque coastal town of Forster — one among dozens hit along a swathe of the eastern seaboard — vast plumes of smoke shot out from multiple blazes as water bombers swooped in overhead.

    Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that, if needed, the military could be called on to help some 1,300 firefighters who are tackling around 100 separate blazes.

    Several people are still said to be unaccounted for and 30 more have been injured — mostly firefighters forced to work for hours on end in smokey, hot and smouldering scrubland and blazing forests of towering eucalyptus.

    Read:New South Wales battles dozens of winter bushfires

    “Sadly, we have lost two Australians and I fear that we will lose more before the day is out,” Morrison said as hundreds of civilians also volunteered to help their hard-hit neighbours.

    Emergency services said they had found the remains of one person in a car and a woman died despite medics struggling for several hours to save her.

    As hot and windy weather eased slightly on Saturday, the number of most serious fires fell from an unprecedented 17 on Friday to just three.

    But across an area spanning almost 1,000 kilometres (600 miles), schools were burned, at least 150 homes were destroyed, while the authorities were forced to evacuate detention centres and old people’s homes.

    Read:European heatwave: Spain battles major Catalonia wildfire

    Bushfires are common in Australia and a vast corps of firefighters had already been tackling sporadic blazes for months in the lead-up to the southern hemisphere summer.

    But this was a dramatic start to what scientists predict will be a tough fire season ahead — with climate change and unfavourable weather cycles helping create a tinderbox of strong winds, low humidity and high temperatures.

    New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian warned that next week’s weather forecast “could mean we’re not through the worst of it”.

    Morrison, whose government has played down the threat of climate change sought to deflect questions about what impact it may have had.

    “My only thoughts today are with those who have lost their lives and their families,” he said.

    “Australia has been battling ferocious fires for as long as Australia has been a nation, and well before. And we will continue to do so.”

    Read:Wildfires tear through Chile

    ‘Too late to leave’

    Firefighters had described the conditions Friday as “difficult” and “dangerous”.

    “Unfortunately, many people have called for help but due to the size and speed of the fires we couldn’t get to everyone, even by road or helicopter,” New South Wales firefighters said.

    In some areas, residents were stuck and told to simply “seek shelter as it is too late to leave”.

    Local radio stopped normal programming and provided instructions about how to try to survive fires if trapped at home or in a vehicle.

    Across the central coast, smoke could be seen billowing high into the sky and residents took to social media to post photos and videos of smoke-laden tangerine skies and flames engulfing storeys-tall eucalyptus within sight of their homes.

    Authorities said some of the fires were creating their own weather conditions — pyrocumulus clouds that enveloped entire towns.

    Read:Firefighters battle massive wildfires in Portugal

    Meanwhile, high winds flung embers and burnt debris far ahead of the fires’ front lines, depositing the dangerous detritus on the balconies and front yards of unsuspecting residents.

    Despite easing conditions, a prolonged drought and low humidity levels will continue to make circumstances combustible.

    Earlier this month, some of the same fires cloaked Sydney in hazardous smoke for days. On Saturday it was Brisbane’s turn, with the fires enveloping the city centre in a veil of acrid fog.

    Swathes of Australia have gone months without adequate rainfall, forcing farmers to truck in water, sell off livestock or leave their land to lie fallow.

    Jim McLennan of La Trobe University said the bushfires were “unprecedented”, coming so early in the season and in areas that usually have moist soils and vegetation.

    “However, the fire situation is consistent with our new world of bushfire threat associated with climate change”.

    Source: France24

  • Australian brothers guilty of IS plane bomb plot

    Two men linked to the Islamic State (IS) group have been convicted in Australia of plotting to blow up a flight using a concealed bomb.

    Mahmoud Khayat, 34, aimed to bring down the Sydney to Abu Dhabi flight in July 2017, a jury found on Thursday.

    His brother, Khaled Khayat, 51, was found guilty of the same offence in May. Both men had pleaded not guilty.

    Their plan failed when the bag carrying the bomb could not be checked in at the airport because it was overweight.

    Prosecutors said they had aimed to blow up the flight carrying 400 passengers with military grade explosives concealed inside a meat grinder.

    Read:Australian cyclist dies while fleeing swooping bird

    After it failed, the brothers also planned to carry out a chemical gas attack in Sydney, prosecutors said. They were arrested 11 days after the airport incident.

    A third brother, Amer Khayat, had carried the bag to Sydney Airport but was not part of the plot. Authorities said his brothers had planted the bomb in luggage without his knowledge.

    Mahmoud and Khaled Khayat face maximum sentences of life in prison. They will be sentenced at a later date.

    Amer Khayat had been detained in a Lebanese prison since 2017 but was released by authorities on Thursday after his brother’s conviction, Lebanese news agency NNA reported.

    “It took time for the truth to be revealed, for his innocence to be revealed,” his lawyer, Jocelyne Al-Rai, told reporters in Beirut.

    Read:Australia drug bust: Four UK men arrested over huge MDMA haul

    During the trial of the two brothers in Australia, prosecutors said the accused men had received guidance from a fourth brother – Tareq Khayat – an IS militant who has since been jailed in Iraq.

    Police said the explosives used to make the bomb had been sent by air from Turkey as part of a plot “inspired and directed” by IS.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Three Australians detained in Iran

    The Australian government on Wednesday said three citizens had been detained in Iran, the latest in a series of Westerners to be seized by authorities in Tehran.

    “The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to the families of three Australians detained in Iran,” a spokesperson told AFP.

    “Due to our privacy obligations, we will not comment further.”

    The Times of London earlier reported that two British-Australian women were being kept in Tehran’s Evin prison.

    Read:Australia drug bust: Four UK men arrested over huge MDMA haul

    Australian public broadcaster ABC said that the Australian boyfriend of one of the women had also been detained.

    It is not clear if the three have been charged. One of the women is reported to have been in detention for up to a year.

    The news of the trio’s detention comes after Australia announced that it would join a US-led mission to protect shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

    Prime Minister Scott Morrison in August announced a “modest” contribution to the controversial mission — including a frigate, a P8 maritime surveillance aircraft and support staff — which will also involve British forces.

    Read:Australian kids take stolen car on 1,000-kilometre road trip

    Earlier this week the Australian government updated its travel advice for Iran to “reconsider your need to travel” and “do not travel” to areas near the border with Iraq and Afghanistan.

    Already difficult relations with Iran have threatened to boil over since US President Donald Trump abandoned a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear programme in 2018.

    Iran has responded by resuming some prescribed nuclear activities.

    Meanwhile, a rising number of dual nationals have been detained, in what many see as a ruthless diplomatic strategy.

    Analysts see the arrests as a tactical ploy to gain leverage, or as part of the murky politics in Iran — with hardliners in the judiciary and the security apparatus scuttling the more conciliatory approach of moderates.

    Source: France24