Category Archives: World News

President review – an intimate look at Zimbabwe’s collective cry for democracy freedom

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Camilla Nielsson’s thrilling documentary takes a behind-the-scenes look at the 2018 election that followed the ousting of Robert Mugabe

“A free, fair and credible election.” These words of promise echo throughout Camilla Nielsson’s riveting documentary, capturing the fervour of the 2018 presidential vote in Zimbabwe, the country’s first without Robert Mugabe since its independence.

While opening with the rip-roaring rallies for Nelson Chamisa, who is running for the presidency against the incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s former aide, President is more than an intimate portrait of a charismatic opposition leader. Considering the fraudulent electoral practices that existed under Mugabe’s 30-year reign, this election concretises a collective cry for democracy to triumph over decades of corruption and lies. Such a desire, alas, comes with blood, sweat and tears.

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EU parliament president David Sassoli’s Christmas message, the last before his death – video

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David Sassoli, the president of the European parliament, has died at the age of 65, his spokesperson has said, after a serious illness for which he was hospitalised for more than two weeks. In December, Sassoli posted what would be his last video message, in which he expressed hope for women's rights and solidarity

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Heathrow demands end to Covid testing for vaccinated as 600,000 cancel flights

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Airport says passengers abandoned plans because of Omicron variant and uncertainty on restrictions

Heathrow airport has said at least 600,000 passengers cancelled their travel plans from the airport in December because of Omicron, warning aviation would take years to recover from the pandemic.

Only 19.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2021 – less than a quarter of 2019 levels and below even 2020, the year when the Covid-19 pandemic started in March.

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Meet Mr Trash Wheel – and the other ingenious tools that eat river plastic

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From ‘bubble barriers’ to floating drones, a host of new projects aim to stop plastic pollution before it ever reaches the ocean

The Great Bubble Barrier is just that – a wall of bubbles. It gurgles across the water in a diagonal screen, pushing plastic to one side while allowing fish and other wildlife to pass unharmed.

The technology, created by a Dutch firm and already being used in Amsterdam, is being trialled in the Douro River in Porto, Portugal, as part of the EU-supported Maelstrom (marine litter sustainable removal and management) project.

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Australian Border Force investigating whether Novak Djokovic made false travel claim

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Djokovic declared he had not travelled for 14 days before entering Australia, a claim apparently contradicted by social media posts. His visa was cancelled, then reinstated on Monday

The Australian Border Force is investigating whether Novak Djokovic incorrectly declared he had not travelled and would not do so for two weeks before his flight to Australia, in the latest twist in the tennis star’s visa cancellation saga.

Questions have been raised about the declaration completed by an agent for Djokovic, with social media posts seemingly showing he was in Belgrade on Christmas Day before flying to Australia from Spain on 4 January.

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Voters move to block Trump ally Madison Cawthorn from re-election

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North Carolina group files candidacy challenge, citing Republican congressman’s alleged involvement in 6 January attack

A group of North Carolina voters told state officials on Monday that they want Republican congressman Madison Cawthorn to be disqualified as a congressional candidate, citing his involvement in the 6 January attack on the Capitol.

Cawthorn questioned the outcome of the presidential election during the “Save America Rally” before the Capitol riot later that day that resulted in five deaths.

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Will Covid-19 become less dangerous as it evolves?

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Analysis: experts warn that viral evolution is not a one-way street and a continuing fall in virulence cannot be taken for granted

The pandemic has been awash with slogans, but in recent weeks, two have been repeated with increasing frequency: “Variants will evolve to be milder” and “Covid will become endemic”. Yet experts warn that neither of these things can be taken for granted.

Those stating that viruses become less deadly over time often cite influenza. Both of the flu viruses responsible for the 1918 Spanish flu and 2009 swine flu pandemics eventually evolved to become less dangerous. However, the 1918 virus is thought to have become more deadly before it became milder. And other viruses, such as Ebola, have become more dangerous over time.

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Pacific faces ‘strategic surprise’, says US official, alluding to China

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US Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell says bases and other agreements could be on the cards

The Pacific may be the part of the world most likely to see “strategic surprise”, the US Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell has said, in comments apparently referring to possible Chinese ambitions to establish Pacific island bases.

Campbell told Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies that the United States has “enormous moral, strategic, historical interests” in the Pacific but had not done enough to assist the region, unlike countries such as Australia and New Zealand.

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GPs warn over children’s vaccine rollout ‘failings’; 3,500 cases in hospital nationwide – as it happened

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‘Serious failings’ in children’s vaccine rollout, GPs warn; 2,186 Covid cases in NSW hospitals, 816 in Victoria, 502 in Qld and 211 in SA; NSW reports 25,870 new Covid cases and 11 deaths, Victoria 37,944 cases and 13 deaths, Qld 20,566 cases after testing glitch fixed, SA 2,921 cases, ACT 1,508 cases and one death, Tasmania 1,379 cases, NT 594. This blog is now closed

The Health Services Union has warned the aged care sector is experiencing an “unprecedented crisis” with “chronic understaffing, excessive workloads and extended shifts” hitting the sector amid the Omicron wave of Covid-19.

According to a survey of more than 1,000 HSU members:

The Morrison government comprehensively failed to plan before allowing Omicron to rip through the community and modestly paid workers, and residents in aged care facilities who built this country, are paying the price. Only just over a third of members surveyed have received their booster shot, despite working overtime in high risk settings.

There are active outbreaks in almost 500 aged care facilities across the country. Yet workers can’t access RATs, they can’t access PPE. They are on the front line with very little protection. Not only are staff at risk but vulnerable residents are at a heightened risk of severe disease or death.

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North Korea conducts fresh ‘hypersonic missile’ launch

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Second launch in less than a week designed to put pressure on US and follows condemnation at UN

North Korea has test-fired a suspected ballistic missile that may be an improved version of a “hypersonic missile” it launched only last week, in a move designed to increase pressure on the US amid stalled nuclear talks and mounting economic problems for the regime.

Tuesday’s launch was detected at 7.27am on Tuesday from an inland area of North Korea toward the ocean off its east coast, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff (JCS) said in a statement.

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Democrats look to renew push for voting rights protections bill – live

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Joe Biden spoke today to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, as the country continues to suffer through a bloody civil war that has attracted international condemnation for alleged war crimes.

“President Biden commended Prime Minister Abiy on the recent release of several political prisoners, and the two leaders discussed ways to accelerate dialogue toward a negotiated ceasefire, the urgency of improving humanitarian access across Ethiopia, and the need to address the human rights concerns of all affected Ethiopians, including concerns about detentions of Ethiopians under the state of emergency,” the White House said in a readout of the call.

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US CDC warns against travel to Canada amid rising Covid numbers

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Agency elevates recommendation to ‘level four: very high’ and says Americans should avoid travel to northern neighbour

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned against travel to Canada as Covid-19 cases surge across the country and rampant infections threaten to once again overwhelm fragile healthcare systems.

The CDC on Monday elevated its travel recommendation to “level four: very high” for Canada, telling Americans they should avoid travel to its northern neighbour. The CDC currently lists about 80 destinations worldwide at level four.

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‘This is an evolving crisis’: New York mayor Eric Adams revises Bronx fire death toll to 17 – video

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The mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, on Monday revised the death toll from a high-rise fire in the Bronx on Sunday, saying 17 people were killed, two fewer than originally thought.

Adams said nine adults and eight children had died. He did not immediately provide a reason for the lower count

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US-Russia talks over Ukraine ‘useful’ but no progress made

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Diplomats stress they have not made progress towards resolving fundamental disagreements

US and Russian diplomats have emerged from a day of negotiations in Geneva over the fate of Ukraine, describing the talks as “useful” and “very professional” – but also stressing they had not made progress towards resolving fundamental disagreements.

The two sides largely spent the eight hours of talks presenting their points of view on the situation in Ukraine, currently hemmed in by some 100,000 Russian troops, and on European security in general, and deferred further debate on them to a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday between Russia and all Nato members.

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In today’s New Zealand, it’s not about being just Māori or Pākehā – everyone must belong | Philip McKibbin

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While some of us are both, many of us are neither. The urge to separate us out is used to marginalise people around the world

It took me a long time to embrace my Māori identity.

On my mother’s side, I whakapapa (relate, through ancestry) to Kāi Tahu, the largest iwi (tribe) of Te Waipounamu (the South Island of New Zealand), but I grew up believing I was only Pākehā (NZ European). I spent most of my childhood living with my Pākehā father. Even though my Māori ancestry was mentioned occasionally, I resisted the suggestion that I was Māori. I didn’t grow up on a marae (Māori village), or speak te reo – and I didn’t look like the Māori kids I knew.

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‘It’s our house’: mood in Kyiv calm despite threat of Russian attack

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Residents in Ukraine’s capital defiant, with many ready to fight – but they also have other concerns

At weekends Yevgeny Tereshchenko goes to the woods outside Kyiv and practises his shooting. “We need to be ready, morally and physically,” Tereshchenko explained, showing off a video in which he springs athletically into action and fires a rifle several times.

A Ukrainian army officer until two years ago, Tereshchenko is preparing for a possible Russian attack. If Moscow does launch a further military operation against Ukraine, assuming diplomatic talks fail this week, he and his friends are ready to fight, he said. “There are a lot of us. It’s our house, our country,” he pointed out.

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Calls for release of Kabul University professor detained by Taliban

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Prof Faizullah Jalal, an outspoken critic of Afghanistan’s ruling group, was arrested for alleged remarks on social media

Supporters of a prominent university professor, and one of Afghanistan’s most vocal critics of the Taliban, are calling for his release after he was arrested on Saturday.

Faizullah Jalal, a professor at Kabul University, was detained by the Taliban after the group claimed he was responsible for a series of messages on social media attacking them.

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What would be Russia’s military options in Ukraine?

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Analysis: Military advantage is overwhelming but full invasion and occupation are different matter

A full invasion of Ukraine, with the aim of pacifying the capital, Kyiv, would result in Vladimir Putin starting a war on a scale not seen since Iraq in 2003 – prompting western experts to question whether a lasting Russian victory could be achieved.

Estimates suggest about 100,000 Russian troops are massing near Ukraine’s borders. Yet, experts following the crisis closely say that for an invasion of the whole country that number would need to nearly double again, and would almost certainly involve forces passing through Belarus.

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Venezuelan opposition defeats Maduro candidate in Chávez’s home state

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Regime suffers symbolic blow as little-known Sergio Garrido secures victory in Barinas governorship election

Venezuela’s opposition has claimed a rare and highly symbolic victory over Nicolás Maduro’s regime after defeating the government candidate for the governorship of Hugo Chávez’s home state of Barinas.

Maduro had hoped his former foreign minister Jorge Arreaza would win control of the region, which is considered the cradle of Chávez’s “Bolivarian revolution”, in Sunday’s election.

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Protesters on French island pelt MP with seaweed over Covid pass

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Fellow politicians condemn attack on Stéphane Claireaux outside his home in St-Pierre-et-Miquelon

Protesters opposed to Covid regulations pelted a French MP with seaweed and stones outside his home in the overseas territory of St-Pierre-et-Miquelon at the weekend.

Stéphane Claireaux, a member of the governing La République en Marche (LREM) said he had made an official police complaint after the attack, which fellow MPs described as a “lynching”.

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