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The Sydney Morning Herald;Young voters slip away from Greens after year of cost-of-living clashes;https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/young-voters-slip-away-from-greens-after-year-of-cost-of-living-clashes-20241219-p5kzog.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 04:00:00 +1100 | Those aged 18 to 34 have shifted their support towards the two major parties over the past three months. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Liam Payne’s manager, hotel staff failed ‘vulnerable’ singer before death, judge says;https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/liam-payne-s-manager-hotel-staff-failed-vulnerable-singer-before-death-judge-says-20241231-p5l1ai.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 03:30:00 +1100 | Payne’s manager, the manager of the hotel and its head of reception are charged with manslaughter in relation to the former pop star’s death. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;United Cup Highlights: Siegemund & Zverev (GER) v S. Zhang & Z. Zhang (CHI);https://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/united-cup-highlights-siegemund-and-zverev-ger-v-s-zhang-and-z-zhang-chi-20241231-p5l1ak.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 03:22:30 +1100 | Watch the match highlights between Siegemund & Zverev (GER) & S. Zhang & Z. Zhang (CHI) on Day 4 of the 2025 United Cup Tennis. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;The eye-watering amount police seized from WA criminals in 2024;https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/the-eye-watering-amount-police-seized-from-wa-criminals-in-2024-20241230-p5l189.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 02:30:00 +1100 | Thanks to our cops, being a criminal in WA is no longer a profitable enterprise as nearly $18 million in cash, items and proceeds of crime were confiscated in the last 12 months alone. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;United Cup Highlights: Laura Siegemund (GER) v Xinyu Gao (CHI);https://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/united-cup-highlights-laura-siegemund-ger-v-xinyu-gao-chi-20241231-p5l1ag.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 01:28:27 +1100 | Watch the match highlights between Laura Siegemund (GER) & Xinyu Gao (CHI) on Day 4 of the 2025 United Cup Tennis. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Brisbane International Highlights: Ons Jabeur v Saisai Zheng;https://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/brisbane-international-highlights-ons-jabeur-v-saisai-zheng-20241231-p5l1af.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:08:17 +1100 | Watch the match highlights between Ons Jabeur & Saisai Zheng on Day 2 of the 2025 Brisbane International Tennis. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;‘I hated magic’: The moment that broke, and made, a Penn & Teller star;https://www.smh.com.au/culture/theatre/i-hated-magic-the-moment-that-broke-and-made-a-penn-and-teller-star-20241222-p5l09o.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +1100 | He’s one half of the world’s biggest comedy-magic act, but Penn Jillette owes his career to a moment of heartbreak. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;You won’t sleep in this gloriously alive jungle, but you won’t care;https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/inspiration/you-won-t-sleep-in-this-gloriously-alive-jungle-but-you-won-t-care-20241230-p5l17b.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +1100 | There’s an exquisitely thin line between creatures and creature comforts in the Peruvian Amazon. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Superquiz, Tuesday, December 31;https://www.smh.com.au/national/superquiz-tuesday-december-31-20241220-p5l01j.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 23:59:00 +1100 | Trivia buffs: test your knowledge with today’s interactive superquiz. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;United Cup Highlights: Swiatek & Zielinski (POL) v Eikeri & Ruud (NOR);https://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/united-cup-highlights-swiatek-and-zielinski-pol-v-eikeri-and-ruud-nor-20241230-p5l1ae.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 23:33:15 +1100 | Watch the match highlights between Swiatek & Zielinski (POL) & Eikeri & Ruud (NOR) on Day 4 of the 2025 United Cup Tennis. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Kyrgios hails ‘iconic Novak moment’ in popular doubles win;https://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/kyrgios-hails-iconic-novak-moment-in-popular-doubles-win-20241230-p5l17z.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 23:01:45 +1100 | It took one moment of Novak Djokovic brilliance in the 10th game of the night for the magic to finally be unleashed. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Brisbane International Highlights: Ana Bogdan v Anastasia Potapova;https://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/brisbane-international-highlights-ana-bogdan-v-anastasia-potapova-20241230-p5l1ad.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 22:47:51 +1100 | Watch the match highlights between Ana Bogdan & Anastasia Potapova on Day 2 of the 2025 Brisbane International Tennis. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;United Cup Highlights: Alexander Zverev (GER) v Zhizhen Zheng (CHI);https://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/united-cup-highlights-alexander-zverev-ger-v-zhizhen-zheng-chi-20241230-p5l1ac.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 22:38:22 +1100 | Watch the match highlights between Alexander Zverev (GER) & Zhizhen Zheng (CHI) on Day 4 of the 2025 United Cup Tennis. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;The new year, by the numbers;https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-new-year-by-the-numbers-20241230-p5l16g.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 22:34:32 +1100 | It all adds up. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Best of cartoons, December 31, 2024;https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/best-of-cartoons-december-31-2024-20241230-p5l1ab.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 22:31:31 +1100 | The news of the day as interpreted by our talented artists, illustrators and cartoonists. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;The latest illustrations from artist Matt Golding;https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-latest-illustrations-from-artist-matt-golding-20230608-p5df5o.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 22:31:15 +1100 | Illustrations by the artist from The Age. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;The latest illustrations from artist Cathy Wilcox;https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-latest-illustrations-from-artist-cathy-wilcox-20230608-p5df54.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 22:29:35 +1100 | The latest work by the acclaimed Sydney Morning Herald editorial cartoonist. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Two teens charged over alleged police assault;https://www.smh.com.au/national/two-teens-charged-over-alleged-police-assault-20241230-p5l1aa.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 22:17:38 +1100 | Two teenagers are facing serious charges over an out-of-control "ride out" event, where a police officer was allegedly bashed. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Magistrate criticises driver caught hooning near fatal Perth crash;https://www.smh.com.au/national/magistrate-criticises-driver-caught-hooning-near-fatal-perth-crash-20241230-p5l1a8.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 22:17:36 +1100 | A magistrate has slammed the actions of a man caught hooning near the scene of a crash that killed his friend. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;WA rolling out AI cameras to crack down on drivers;https://www.smh.com.au/national/wa-rolling-out-ai-cameras-to-crack-down-on-drivers-20241230-p5l1a9.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 22:17:36 +1100 | Western Australia is turning to AI to crack down on bad drivers, rolling out six new high-tech cameras. |
ABC News;Russia and Ukraine exchange 150 prisoners each, Moscow says;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-31/russia-and-ukraine-exchange-150-prisoners-each/104772870;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 15:06:03 +0000 | Russia and Ukraine have conducted a prisoner swap, with each side freeing 150 prisoners of war in an exchange deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates. |
ABC News;Świątek makes blistering start to United Cup as Poland defeats Norway;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/united-cup-iga-swiatek-poland-defeats-norway/104772848;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 12:33:52 +0000 | World number two Iga Świątek shows no signs of concern following a one-month doping ban by dropping just a single game in her opening match at the United Cup in Sydney. |
ABC News;South Korean president orders emergency inspection of nation's airline system;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/emergency-safety-inspection-for-south-korean-airline-system/104772748;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 11:13:46 +0000 | South Korea's acting president Choi Sang-mok has ordered an emergency inspection into the country's airline operations, after 179 people died in a crash. |
ABC News;Couple's drownings at treacherous WA beach prompt calls for education, signage;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/conspicuous-cliffs-drowning-deaths-more-education-signage-needed/104772300;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 10:33:58 +0000 | A Bangladeshi-Australian mother and father who drowned at Conspicuous Cliff beach in WA are remembered as generous community members, amid calls for action to prevent similar tragedies in the future. |
ABC News;Dominique Pelicot will not appeal 20-year sentence;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/dominique-pelicot-will-not-appeal-20-year-sentence/104772730;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 10:23:16 +0000 | The Frenchman convicted of drugging and raping Gisele Pelicot and soliciting dozens of men to do the same for more than a decade will not appeal his verdict, his lawyer has said. |
ABC News;Driver rescued from floodwaters as Queensland inundated;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/queensland-kingaroy-flash-flooding-severe-thunderstorm-warning/104772480;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 08:27:05 +0000 | More than 80 millimetres has fallen in parts of Queensland in an hour with the bureau forecasting heavy rain and damaging winds. |
ABC News;Bangkok hotel fire kills three foreigners, authorities say;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/bangkok-ember-hotel-fire-kills-foreigners-thailand-authorities/104772452;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 07:43:29 +0000 | The fire injured at least seven others after igniting on the fifth floor of the six-storey Ember Hotel near to Bangkok's popular backpacker district. |
ABC News;Australia battles to victory in MCG epic, controversial and captivating to the last;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/australia-india-mcg-test-day-five-pat-cummins-yashasvi-jaiswal/104771942;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 07:32:55 +0000 | It took every last sinew of energy and self-belief, but Australia battled its way to a sorely needed victory over India in an MCG Test that will be forever remembered for its theatre, skill and controversy. |
ABC News;Former top umpire says controversial Jaiswal dismissal was correct;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/controversial-dismiss-yashasvi-jaiswal-in-boxing-day-test/104772370;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 07:26:36 +0000 | A controversial dismissal that helped Australia win the Boxing Day Test was the correct decision according to a former top international umpire. |
ABC News;Pilot killed in Yamba plane crash remembered as 'dedicated' family man;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/coffs-harbour-pilot-jim-auld-killed-yamba-plane-crash/104771546;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 07:00:07 +0000 | Coffs Harbour father-of-four Jim Auld was killed when his light plane crashed in northern NSW. |
ABC News;Ethiopian truck crash kills dozens returning from wedding;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/ethiopia-truck-crash-kills-dozens-in-sidama-region/104772188;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 06:22:38 +0000 | Images from the crash scene released by local authorities appear to show first responders trying to pull the vehicle out of a river. |
ABC News;Family of hiker missing for five days 'hopeful' he will be found;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/missing-man-bushwalker-kosciuszko-national-park/104771934;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 06:17:18 +0000 | Hadi Nazar's family last heard from the 23-year-old on Wednesday, with police confirming he had a tent, sleeping bag and a bottle of water with him. |
ABC News;A-League Women losing stars to 'unsustainable' part-time competition;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/aleague-womens-players-retiring-unsustainable-semi-professional/104771714;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 05:09:26 +0000 | Star players are opting to retire because of the part-time nature of the A-League Women competition, choosing to focus on a career outside football. |
ABC News;Driver caught 41 times by SA mobile phone detection cameras, fined $27,000;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/mobile-phone-detection-camera-fines-down-overall/104771074;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 04:55:51 +0000 | Thousands of drivers continue to be caught using their phones while at the wheel by new overhead cameras in SA, including one man who allegedly racked up fines of more than $27,000, with police warning that smart watches could also soon be in their sights. |
ABC News;Drivers using phones and passengers holding babies targeted by new WA cameras;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/new-wa-road-safety-cameras-rolled-out-culture-problem-concerns/104771784;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 04:55:34 +0000 | Western Australia's road safety commissioner says the state has a "culture problem" involving mobile phones being used behind the wheel, with new cameras being installed across Perth to catch offenders. |
ABC News;Calls for ACCC inquiry over 'artificially inflated' petrol prices;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/petrol-prices-accc-nrma/104771126;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 04:10:09 +0000 | The NRMA says there's "no justifiable reason" for Australia's biggest cities to be among the most expensive. |
ABC News;A fishing trip, a US president, and an animal gone 'berserk' — here's how Jimmy Carter's 'killer rabbit' incident unfolded;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/jimmy-carter-killer-rabbit-1979/103527688;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 04:01:30 +0000 | In April 1979 the Bee Gees are playing on the radio, Deer Hunter has just swept the Oscars — and for one afternoon in Georgia, the biggest threat to US president Jimmy Carter is a "killer rabbit". |
ABC News;Family fears for Gaza hospital boss as Israel claims arrest of Oct 7 attackers;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/family-fears-for-safety-of-gaza-hospital-director/104770266;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 03:58:13 +0000 | The Israel Defense Forces' latest raid on the crippled Kamal Adwan Hospital, and the detention of medical staff, leaves the facility out of operation. |
ABC News;Ballarat woman appears in court charged with murder;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/ballarat-woman-cheryl-lucas-in-court-charged-with-murder/104770870;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 03:17:15 +0000 | Cheryl Lucas, 38, appears in Ballarat Magistrates Court, following the death of a 47-year-old man at a Mount Helen property on Saturday. |
ABC News;Kyrgios, Djokovic enjoy winning doubles debut at Brisbane International;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/australian-open-build-up-brisbane-international-united-cup/104771492;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 03:06:09 +0000 | Once foes but now close friends, Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic team up to claim a stylish first-up victory in the men's doubles at the Brisbane International. |
ABC News;Police continue search for criminals involved in Jacana drive-by shooting;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/jacana-drive-by-shooting-lunar-taskforce/104771302;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 02:58:43 +0000 | Police are searching for further suspects involved in an attempted underworld hit at a busy Melbourne intersection in May that left a man fighting for his life. |
ABC News;How Bendigo teacher Andy Buchanan ran fastest Aussie marathon time ever;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/how-bendigo-teacher-ran-fastest-aussie-marathon-time-in-history/104770816;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 02:45:45 +0000 | School teacher Andy Buchanan learned a lot to become Australia's fastest marathon runner, but a powerful lesson came from a former AFL player in his classroom. |
ABC News;Man shot by police after allegedly threatening officers with knife in Brisbane;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/man-shot-by-queensland-police-in-brisbane/104771116;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 01:30:42 +0000 | Police allege the man in his 40s threatened two officers with a knife on Brisbane's southside. |
ABC News;When their only childcare centre closed, this small town built its own;https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2024-12-30/remote-community-of-mungindi-digs-deep-to-build-new-childcare/104572208;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 01:25:28 +0000 | Farmer and agronomist Ashlee Johnston had to juggle early mornings, late nights and 300km of travel each day if she wanted child care for her daughter. Then locals took action. |
ABC News;Sikh volunteers tackle disaster, one warm meal at a time;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-30/sikh-volunteers-australia-free-meals-melbourne-holiday-season/104739812;Mon, 30 Dec 2024 00:56:51 +0000 | It's a tough Christmas season for many struggling with the cost of living, so a group of volunteers has stepped in to make sure no-one goes without a warm meal. |
The Guardian;New Year’s Eve celebrations: Sydney welcomes 2025 with spectacular fireworks display – live;https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/dec/31/new-years-eve-celebrations-2024-2025-live;2024-12-31T15:41:47Z | Celebrations are ongoing ahead of the next set of countries who will see in the new year. A fireworks display in Taiwan has been attended by thousands in Taipei. Meanwhile it may be several hours until Europe begins entering the new year, but there are already partygoers in the Spanish capital, Madrid. In an earlier post we said that all of Australia had entered 2025. That has now been corrected. Perth, WA, will celebrate the new year in just under 25 minutes A number of new years events across the United Kingdom have been cancelled because of bad weather. The most notable casualty is Hogmanay celebrations in Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh. A fireworks display from the city’s castle at the top of the Royal Mile has been cancelled, as has a gig nearby by Texas. A street party alongside Princes Street has also been scrapped. About 50,000 people were due to attend. Other events indoors are still scheduled to go ahead. Public firework displays in Blackpool, Newcastle, the Isle of Wight, and Ripon have also been called off. City Hall in London said it is monitoring the weather forecast “closely” ahead of the showpiece fireworks display over the River Thames. Transport, including ferries to the Isle of Man, has also been affected by the weather. As of half an hour ago, more cities in Australia are now in 2025, with Darwin, Adelaide and Brisbane among those to see the clock strike twelve. More than 1 million people watched Sydney’s fireworks, while hundreds of thousands took to the banks of the Yarra River in Melbourne to watch the midnight displays. Perth, capital of the Western Australia state, does not reach midnight for another 25 minutes. Tokyo is among the cities that will see in the new year in about 15 minutes’ time. The Japanese capital has had festivities under way all evening ahead of the clock striking midnight. South Korea will enter 2025 at the same time as their Japanese neighbours. On a day where protests continue after the impeachment of the country’s president Yoon Suk Yeol, some have already been celebrating the impending new year. There’s more new year’s messages from world leaders, as German chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for unity amid political pressure due to a poorly performing economy and the fall out from a deadly attack on a Christmas market. Scholz, who faces an election in February that could see him removed from power, said that Germany was a country should remain united. “Strength comes from solidarity. And we are a country that sticks together,” Scholz said in his New Year’s address, which will be broadcast Tuesday night. “We have it in our hands together: we can make 2025 a good year.” He acknowledged that Germany is still reeling from the Christmas market attack that killed five and injured more than 200 people in the eastern city of Magdeburg when a Saudi doctor drove his car into a crowd. He was arrested on murder charges. “We are stunned by this inhuman act. How can an insane assassin cause so much suffering?” Scholz said. “And it is not only in Magdeburg that many are asking themselves: Where can we find the strength to carry on after such a catastrophe?” Ahead of the election on 23 February, Scholz called on Germans to go vote and took a swipe at tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, who twice this month called on people to choose the far-right Alternative for Germany party. “You, the citizens, decide what happens in Germany. It’s not up to the owners of social media,” Scholz said. President Vladimir Putin used his new year address to tell Russians that the country would move forward with confidence in 2025. Putin‘s seasonal message was being broadcast at midnight in each of Russia’s 11 time zones, starting with Kamchatka and Chukotka in the far east, Reuters reports. His message comes 25 years since he was named acting president on New Year’s Eve in 1999, when predecessor Boris Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned and apologised for the country’s post-Soviet turmoil in a speech that stunned Russians. In his message, Putin said Russia had strengthened its unity in the first quarter of the 21st century, achieving significant goals and overcoming trials. “And now, on the threshold of the new year, we are thinking about the future. We are confident that everything will be fine, we will only move forward. We know for sure that the absolute value for us was, is and will be the fate of Russia, the well-being of its citizens,” he said. Putin paid tribute to Russian soldiers fighting in the war in Ukraine, describing them as “true heroes”, but did not refer in detail to the state of the conflict or make predictions for how the battlefield situation would evolve in 2025. It’s now 2025 in Queensland – where they’re one hour behind the rest of the Australian east coast. There are round 80,000 individual fireworks going off across the city’s skyline at the minute. There are also big displays to the south of Brisbane on the Gold Coast and to the north on the Sunshine Coasts. And there’s this earlier pic from Newcastle, New South Wales… More pictures from the fireworks in Sydney. On a slightly different note, Chins’s president, Xi Jinping, has sent out a positive new year message about the country’s sluggish economy. Despite fears of growth well below the government’s targets, Xi claimed in a speech that the official growth targets of 5% for 2025 would be met. His message rebutted concerns that Donald Trump’s incoming US administration will harm Beijing’s prospects in the new year. “The current economic operation faces some new situations, challenges from the uncertainty of the external environment and pressure of transformation from old drivers of growth into new ones, but these can be overcome through hard work,” Xi said. Here’s our full story: And there are many events are taking place around the world ahead of the midnight celebrations. There is already a massive crowd in Chongqing in western China ahead of midnight. Here are some nice countdown clips of the Sydney show. More than one million people are watching a spectacular fireworks display over Sydney Harbour Bridge to see in the new year. With clear skies and a balmy temperature of 22C, the famous celebrations got into full swing a few seconds ago as the clocks hit midnight in Australia’s two most populated states of New South Wales and Victoria. It’s not quite such a lovely picture in the UK where high winds and heavy rain are forcing the cancellation of some New Year’s Eve events. Edinburgh called off its official street parties yesterday because of the prospect of some nasty weather and the curse has spread further south today. Firework displays have been called off inBlackpool, Newcastle, the Isle of Wight and Ripon, North Yorkshire. Here’s the full story. Sydney is the self-appointed “world capital of new year’s eve” but there are also large crowds out in Melbourne to see in 2025. Families and groups gathered early along the banks of Melbourne’s Yarra River, to secure a good view of the city’s skyline in anticipation of the 14 tonnes of fireworks shot from 27 buildings along with 60 lasers. Domenic Adami and a group of friends picked their spot in Alexandra Gardens near the Yarra and set up a picnic before settling in for the midnight light show. “I heard, this year, they’re going to be bigger than Sydney, but usually they’re pretty good,” Adami told Australian Associated Press. “Even when I sit and watch it at home or from somewhere else on TV, it looks amazing. “Each year has just gotten better and better, and this year seems like it’s going to be the best.” The family-friendly fireworks went off over Sydney Harbour earlier before the main display at midnight (1pm GMT). Another visitor to Sydney is British tourist who used to watch the images of harbourside fireworks a sa child and vowed one day to visit the harbour city. The 28-year-old has found a vantage point in Balmain with friends and looking forward to the show. “It is a bit of a bucket list thing for me,” she told AAP. “At home the Sydney fireworks is always all over the news, it is one of the first places that brings in the New Year.” Auckland has become the first major city to welcome 2025 a short while ago, with thousands of people counting down to the new year and cheering at fireworks launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, and a spectacular light show. Thousands also thronged to downtown or climbed the city’s ring of volcanic peaks for a fireworks vantage point, and a light display recognizing Auckland’s Indigenous tribes. It follows a year marked by protests over Māori rights in the nation of 5 million. Countries in the South Pacific are the first to ring in the New Year, with midnight in New Zealand striking two hours before midnight in Sydney, 13 hours ahead of London and 18 hours before the ball drop in New York. The countdown is well and truly under way in Australia – at least in the country’s eastern cities where it is less than a hour to go before midnight. Hundreds of thousands of people have already packed themselves into the best vantage points around Sydney harbour to wait for the famous New Year’s Eve fireworks show. Many of those who will be bringing in the new year in Sydney are tourists such as Roman and Monica Gezernek from Germany who have been waiting for hours for the Sydney pyrotechnics. “They’re world famous apparently so we have to see them,” Roman Gezernek told Australian Associated Press. The pair will fly out to New Zealand on New Year’s Day to continue the trip of a lifetime. “We’re pensioners so we’re just taking our time around the world,” he said. Hello and welcome to our live coverage of New Year’s Eve celebrations from around the world as 2025 begins. We will bring you some of the best photos as people around the globe ring in the new year – well at least those parts of the world that use the Gregorian calendar. Other new years are available. |
The Guardian;Israel’s hospital attacks have put Gaza healthcare on brink of collapse, says UN;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/31/israel-hospital-attacks-gaza-healthcare-on-brink-of-collapse-says-un;2024-12-31T15:39:08Z | Israel’s pattern of sustained attacks on Gaza’s hospitals and medical workers has brought the coastal strip’s healthcare system to the brink of “total collapse”, according to a report by the UN’s human rights office. The report, which catalogues the besieging and targeting of hospitals and their immediate grounds with explosive weapons, the killing of hundreds of medical workers, and the destruction of critical life-saving equipment, said that in certain circumstances the attacks could “amount to war crimes”. Israel has consistently denied committing war crimes in Gaza. The UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, said the report’s findings pointed to “blatant disregard for international humanitarian and human rights law”. “As if the relentless bombing and the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza were not enough, the one sanctuary where Palestinians should have felt safe in fact became a death trap,” Türk said in a statement. While the Israeli military has repeatedly sought to justify its attacks on Gaza’s hospitals, accusing armed groups including Hamas of using medical facilities as command posts, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said the evidence provided by Israel to back up its assertions had been “vague”. This week Israel ordered the closure of the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza, which has been attacked repeatedly in recent weeks, and detained its injured director, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, who has reportedly been interned in the notorious Sde Teiman detention camp. Israel’s campaign in Gaza, which has killed more than 45,500 Palestinians, was triggered by the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 taken hostage. Covering the period from 12 October 2023 to 30 June 2024, the rights office said: “The situation has deteriorated to a catastrophic level since October 2023, as this already damaged health system has been targeted, resulting in the killing of hundreds of health and medical professionals. “The attacks on hospitals often followed a similar pattern, involving missile strikes on hospital buildings, the destruction of hospital facilities, shooting of civilians, sieges, as well as temporarily taking over hospital buildings.” It added: “A fundamental rule of international humanitarian law is that the wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for. All wounded and sick persons, including civilians and persons hors de combat, are afforded protection. Furthermore, IHL [international humanitarian law] provides specific protections to medical personnel and medical units where the wounded and sick are cared for, including hospitals.” It concluded: “The destruction of the healthcare system in Gaza, and the extent of killing of patients, staff and other civilians in these attacks, is a direct consequence of the disregard of international humanitarian and human rights law.” Noting that about 80% of Gaza’s healthcare system had been destroyed, the report said this had led to preventable deaths, including of mothers, and to newborn babies being denied care. Responding to claims that Israeli forces had directed sniper fire at hospitals, the report said: “Another feature of attacks on hospitals has been the apparent precision targeting, by long-barrel weapons, of people inside hospitals, including medical staff. “In most cases it has been difficult to determine attribution, particularly where there were reports of armed clashes in the vicinity.” The Israeli military did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the report. The UN said that, responding to its report, the Israeli government had said its military took extensive measures to mitigate civilian harm and minimise disruption, including the provision of aid and evacuation routes, and the setting up of field hospitals. Israel has in the past few days conducted operations against hospitals in Gaza that drew criticism from the head of the World Health Organization. The report said deliberately directing attacks against hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are would, provided they are not military objectives, be war crimes. “In each operation on a hospital documented by OHCHR, after multiple strikes on structures in the vicinity, the Israeli military besieged the premises. The siege cut off access and isolated those inside, including patients, medical staff and IDPs [internally displaced people], while preventing the entry of medical supplies and other necessities of life, negatively impacting individuals’ rights to health and life,” the report said. “The siege of Kamal Adwan hospital in north of Gaza and al-Amal hospital in south of Gaza are two of six emblematic cases monitored and documented by OHCHR.” “If any of the strikes on at least 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities, totalling 136 strikes between 7 October 2023 and 30 June 2024, were deliberately targeting civilians including doctors, nurses and medics not taking a direct part in hostilities, or civilian objects not being used to commit acts harmful to the enemy, rather than military objectives, these would amount to war crimes,” the report concluded. Israel has consistently rejected such claims from multiple organisations, including human rights groups. The report was released as Gaza health authorities said 45 patients and wounded people, accompanied by more than 100 relatives, were evacuated to receive treatment in the United Arab Emirates. |
The Guardian;South Korea plane crash investigators turn to black boxes in search for vital clues;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/31/south-korea-plane-crash-investigators-turn-to-black-boxes-in-search-for-vital-clues;2024-12-31T13:18:13Z | As investigators set to work unpicking the cause of Sunday’s devastating plane crash in South Korea, the black boxes carried on the aircraft will be of prime importance. All but two of the 181 people onboard died in the disaster, with the victims aged from three to 78. The Korean airline’s chief executive, Kim E-bae, said he wanted “to bow my head and apologise”, according to a statement on the company’s website, adding it was “difficult to determine the cause of the accident”. Experts will be hoping the flight recorders offer crucial insights. Often called black boxes despite being orange in colour, these shoebox-sized electronic devices are often found at the rear of an aircraft to minimise damage in the case of a crash. However, while the devices are built to withstand extreme temperatures and underwater immersion, they are not immune from the effects of a crash. The devices store flight data such as speed, altitude and fuel levels, as well as voice recordings from the cockpit and other sounds including engine noise and radio transmissions. In some aircraft, both types of data are stored in the same device, while in others the data is stored in two separate devices, as appears to be the case for Jeju Air’s flight 7C2216. With both devices having been reported as discovered, they could provide vital clues as to how the Boeing 737-800 aircraft ended up skidding along a runway and colliding with an antenna array. Reports in South Korean media suggest the cockpit voice recorder is partially damaged, potentially delaying its analysis, and officials say decoding the flight data recorder alone could take a month or more. Among key questions are why the plane stopped broadcasting automated tracking data shortly before it hit the runway, why the plane’s landing gear failed to deploy as it prepared to land, and whether the crash could have been down to a bird strike, given air traffic controllers had issued a warning about just such a hazard as the plane approached the runway. It has already emerged that the aircraft aborted its first attempt at landing and issued a distress call before its second, while video footage suggests flaps on the wings were not deployed to slow the aircraft. Flight recorders have proved crucial to solving such conundrums before: among other examples, it was the retrieval of the black boxes from deep beneath the waves that allowed experts to finally piece together what happened to Air France flight 447 – an Airbus A330 that crashed into the Atlantic in June 2009, killing all onboard. The final report concluded that the plane crashed after a catastrophic series of events that began with the failure of speed sensors and led to the pilots pulling the aircraft up to 37,500ft to slow it down, resulting in the aircraft stalling. According to the Korea Times, Joo Jong-wan, the director of aviation policy at the transport ministry, said at a briefing on Monday that the damaged device would be transported to Gimpo airport the following day so that experts could assess the extent of the harm and determine how much data could be extracted. According to the Yonhap news agency, the second black box containing the cockpit voice recorder was in better condition. While the investigation continues, South Korea has launched an emergency safety inspection of its entire airline operations, and a separate check of all Boeing 737-800s. |
The Guardian;France carried out bombing raid on Islamic State targets in Syria, defence minister says – as it happened;https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/dec/31/middle-east-crisis-live-israel-houthis-rocket-attacks-yemen-latest-updates;2024-12-31T12:55:37Z | As the time approaches 3pm in Tel Aviv, Israel, here’s a roundup of today’s news in the Middle East. A UN report has said Israel’s attacks on hospitals in and around Gaza have led the area’s healthcare system to the brink of “total collapse”. The UN Human Rights Office says its report raises concerns about how much Israel is complying with international law. Meanwhile The head of Unrwa – the UN agency for aid in Gaza – Philippe Lazzarini says “horrors continue unabated” 15 months since the war broke out between Israel and Gaza, triggered by the Hamas terror attack. More than 250 members of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (Unrwa) had been killed since the start of the conflict, and more than two-thirds of Unrwa buildings have been damaged or destroyed, he said. The president of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Ola Awad, said the Gaza Strip’s economy crumbled this year during the continued Israeli operations in the territory. Palestinian news agency Wafa reported: “By the end of 2024, estimates indicate that the unprecedented sharp contraction in the GDP in the Gaza Strip will continue by more than 82%, accompanied by an increase in the unemployment rate to 80%.” The Palestinian Civil Defence agency said it has received hundreds of distress calls from displaced people whose tents and shelters have been flooded by rainwater after heavy rain. Palestinian health authorities say 45 people have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip for general hospital treatment in the United Arab Emirates. They include a 10-year-old boy suffering from kidney failure. French aircraft have bombed Islamic State positions in Syria, the country’s defence minister Sebastien Lecornu has announced. The strikes are the first on Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Syria’s new rulers have confirmed the appointment of Murhaf Abu Qasra as defence minister in the new interim government, according to a statement released on Tuesday. The new Syrian government has reportedly appointed former foreign fighters to its armed forces, Reuters has reported. The new figures include Uyghurs, a Jordanian and a Turk as Damascus tries to shape a patchwork of rebel groups into a professional military, two Syrian sources told the news agency. Israel has warned Yemen’s Houthi rebels that they face the same “miserable fate” as Hamas and Hezbollah if they continue with rocket attacks. A UN report has said Israel’s attacks on hospitals in and around Gaza have led the area’s healthcare system to the brink of “total collapse”. The report by the UN Human Rights Office, titled Attacks on hospitals during the escalation of hostilities in Gaza, examines attacks between October 2023 and June 2024 and said successive attacks raise “serious concerns” about the extent to which Israel is complying with international law. It says there had been 136 strikes on 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities, leading to “significant” casualties among doctors, nurses, medics and other civilians. It warns that under international law, the “deliberate” destruction of healthcare facilities may constitute a war crime. The UN high commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said it had led to hospitals becoming a “death trap”. He said: “As if the relentless bombing and the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza were not enough, the one sanctuary where Palestinians should have felt safe in fact became a death trap. The protection of hospitals during warfare is paramount and must be respected by all sides, at all times. “This report graphically details the destruction of the healthcare system in Gaza, and the extent of killing of patients, staff, and other civilians in these attacks in blatant disregard for international humanitarian and human rights law.” French aircraft have bombed Islamic State positions in Syria, the country’s defence minister Sebastien Lecornu has announced. The strikes are the first on Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad. “Our armed forces remain engaged in battling terrorism in the Levant,” Lecornu posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, while on a New Year visit to French UN peacekeepers in Lebanon. “On Sunday, French air assets carried out targeted strikes against Daesh on Syrian soil,” he added, using the Arabic name for IS. The defence ministry told AFP that France’s Rafale fighter jets and US-made Reaper drones “dropped a total of seven bombs on two military targets belonging to Daesh in central Syria”. France has belonged to the Inherent Resolve international coalition against IS since 2014 for Iraq and 2015 for Syria. French troops involved in the operations are based in the region, including in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As Assad’s fall to a shock offensive by Syrian rebels led by a radical Sunni group rapidly reshapes the country, observers fear space could be left for IS to regather its strength. The group has survived in both Iraq and Syria despite the destruction of its so-called caliphate that lasted from 2014-19. Washington said in mid-December that it had doubled American troop numbers fighting jihadists in Syria, to about 2,000. Its Central Command – responsible for the Middle East – said it wanted to ensure that IS “does not seek to take advantage of the current situation to reconstitute in central Syria”. The president of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Ola Awad, said the Gaza Strip’s economy crumbled this year during the continued Israeli operations in the territory. According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, Awad said there had also been a sharp decline in the productivity in the West Bank. Wafa reported: “By the end of 2024, estimates indicate that the unprecedented sharp contraction in the GDP in the Gaza Strip will continue by more than 82%, accompanied by an increase in the unemployment rate to 80%.” The West Bank’s economy shrunk by more than 19%, with unemployment now standing at more than 35%. Among the sectors affected were external trade, construction and industry. Palestinian health authorities say 45 people have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip for hospital treatment in the United Arab Emirates. They left the European hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis early on Tuesday, Associated Press reports, and travelled through the Kerem Shalom Crossing into Israel. The patients are accompanied by over 100 of their relatives, according to the hospital. Among them was a 10-year-old boy, Abdullah Abu Yousef, suffering from kidney failure. The child was accompanied by his sister after the Israeli authorities rejected his mother’s application to join him. Israel says it screens escorts for security. “The boy is sick,” said his mother, Abeer Abu Yousef. “He requires hemodialysis three to four days a week.” The Health Ministry says several thousand Palestinians in Gaza need medical treatment abroad. Israel has controlled all entry and exit points since capturing the southern city of Rafah in May. Israel’s offensive, launched after Hamas’ attack in October 2023 has gutted the territory’s health care system and forced most of its hospitals to close. Those that remain open are only partially functioning. Syria’s new rulers have confirmed the appointment of Murhaf Abu Qasra as defence minister in the new interim government, according to a statement released on Tuesday. Reuters had initially reported the appointment of Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency which toppled Bashar al-Assad, on 21 December after speaking to an official source. The head of the UN aid agency for Gaza said “horrors continue unabated” 15 months since the war broke out between Israel and Gaza, triggered by the Hamas terror attack. Philippe Lazzarini said more than 250 members of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (Unrwa) had been killed since the start of the conflict, and that more than two-thirds of Unrwa buildings have been damaged or destroyed. Lazzarini, in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, said at least 20 Unrwa staff are in Israeli prisons. Those who have been released have reported “mistreatment, humiliation and torture”, he said. He added: “I reiterate my call for independent investigations into the systematic disregard for the protection of humanitarian workers, premises and operations. This cannot become the new standard and impunity cannot become the new norm.” He called for the release of all detained humanitarian staff, and hostages, and for Israel to facilitate humanitarian access and lift the “siege” on Gaza. The Palestinian Civil Defence agency said it has received hundreds of distress calls from displaced people whose tents and shelters have been flooded by rainwater after heavy rain. “Our crews can only evacuate citizens from their damaged shelters to other places that are mostly unsuitable to shelter, and they remain in the open – under the rain and bitter cold,” it said on Telegram, Al Jazeera reports. “We appeal to people of conscience to rush to save these families and help them move to suitable shelters that protect them from rainwater,” it added. The statement added that displaced people in the refugee camps in central Gaza City, al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, Rafah and western Deir el-Balah, in particular, need help. UN agencies estimate that some 1.6 million people in Gaza are living in makeshift shelters that do not protect them from the cold of winter, with nearly half a million in flood-prone areas. On Monday Reuters reported a baby had died in a tent amid freezing temperatures and heavy rain. His brother was being treated in intensive care. The new Syrian government has reportedly appointed former foreign fighters to its armed forces, Reuters has reported. The new figures include Uyghurs, a Jordanian and a Turk as Damascus tries to shape a patchwork of rebel groups into a professional military, two Syrian sources told the news agency. The move to give official roles, including senior ones, to jihadists may alarm some foreign governments and Syrian citizens fearful about the new Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) administration’s intentions, despite its pledges not to export Islamic revolution and to rule with tolerance towards Syria’s large minority groups. Syria’s new rulers, drawn mainly from HTS, have indicated that foreign fighters and their families may be given Syrian citizenship and be allowed to stay in the country because of their contributions to the fight against Assad. A Syrian government spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment on the thinking behind the appointments. The sources said that out of a total of almost 50 military roles announced by the Defence Ministry on Sunday, at least six had gone to foreigners. Reuters and the Guardian have not been able to independently verify the nationalities of the individuals appointed. Ahmed al-Sharaa, the HTS-leader-turned de facto ruler of Syria, has purged dozens of foreign jihadi fighters as part of a campaign to Syrianise and moderate his group. In remarks broadcast on Sunday, Sharaa said the new Syria “cannot be run by the mentality of groups and militias” Israel has warned Yemen’s Houthi rebels that they face the same “miserable fate” as Hamas and Hezbollah if they continue with rocket attacks. Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said the Iran-backed group would be targeted by Israeli military after recent attacks by the Houthis on Israel. Hours after the warning by Danon, Israel’s military said it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, as air raid alarms were sounded. The Houthis targeted Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv and a power station south of Jerusalem using a hypersonic ballistic missile and a Zulfiqar ballistic missile, respectively, the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree said. Danon told the United Nations: “To the Houthis, perhaps you have not been paying attention to what has happened to the Middle East over the past year. “Well, allow me to remind you what has happened to Hamas, to Hezbollah, to Assad, to all those who have attempted to destroy us. Let this be your final warning. This is not a threat. It is a promise. You will share the same miserable fate,” Danon said. Before the meeting, Danon told reporters: “Israel will defend its people. If 2,000 kilometres is not enough to separate our children from the terror, let me assure you, it will not be enough to protect their terror from our strengths.” |
The Guardian;‘I just ran a lot’: the Strava user whose runs became a viral art phenomenon;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/31/i-just-ran-a-lot-the-strava-user-whose-runs-became-a-viral-art-phenomenon;2024-12-31T11:41:11Z | Paused on a busy Toronto street, eyes glued to a map on his phone, Duncan McCabe could easily be mistaken for a lost tourist. Within moments, however, he’s on the move again. “I think, at this point, we’re along the belly of the whale,” he says. “The fin is coming up soon.” McCabe is midway through his latest work, using the outline of his running route as shown on the fitness app Strava to create a cartoonish whale. The cetacean, spout and all, comes as he enjoys online fame from his previous work of running art, a dancing stick figure that has accrued nearly 100m views. It all started for the 32-year-old accountant after he posted a 27-second video to TikTok. Virtually all art on Strava, the popular app used by athletes to record the details of their workouts, comprises a single, at times immensely detailed, frame. McCabe’s contribution to the genre was in making something that moved – or in this case, danced. The video, set to the beat of Purple Hat by Sofi Tukker, has the stick figure dancing and shuffling along the streets of Toronto’s West End – a feat that involved 1,100km of running. Every second of the video is a marathon and a half. The idea, which plays out like a flip book, came from his wife, Andrea Morales. “I love working with video. And over the years I’ve come to appreciate that one of the most powerful and underused tools is the passage of time,” he said. “And motion is just time unfolding.” The stick figure wasn’t McCabe’s first attempt at Strava art. Last year, he made a collection of blocky animals by running through the city’s streets. He admits they were amateurish, but served as a useful exercise in learning both the quirks of Strava and the level of fastidiousness needed to execute a grander vision. Initially, the now-famous TikTok post went unnoticed, racking up dozens of views in the first few days. “The reality is you have to go into these things assuming that they’ll fall flat, that they’ll fail.” It was only after Ben Steiner, a Toronto-based sports journalist, reposted McCabe’s video that a broader audience took notice. In the weeks since, he’s appeared on daytime talkshows, waded through a frenzy of media interviews and emerged with a level of virality that has exceeded anything he imagined would be possible. With that level of internet fame, he now occupies a rare space few creatives ever attain: a chance to build on success and to address the ever-lingering question of what comes next. The whale, run on a recent December morning before sunrise, is part of that answer. Holding a detailed map on his phone in one hand and a 360-degree camera in another, he jogs up and down the quiet pre-dawn streets, past the clatter of road construction and at times, dodging incoming traffic. “If I let Strava plan this route out for me, it would put me at crosswalks. That doesn’t work for something like a whale.” Occasionally, he abruptly stops and begins walking, the secret for the most controversial element of his famed dancing stick figure: the diagonal lines. It’s the question he’s asked most online: how did he pull off this impossible feat, in a city laid out on a grid, without cutting through yards or even through entire buildings? McCabe uses a quirk of Strava whereby if a user pauses the run, and then moves to another location, the program smooths out the route using a straight line. But his explanation isn’t enough to satisfy a minority of armchair internet contrarians. “They say that instead of running four times a week, I flew a drone, lied to my friends and family in the hopes that a novel idea takes off,” he said. “Because that’s oddly more satisfying than accepting I just ran a lot for a long time.” Instead, he wishes viewers had noted the deliberate subtleties of the animation, including when the stick figure struts along the screen – a feat that required shifting the whole piece further and further away from his home. When it came to assembling the video, McCabe had to fiddle with the smallest details, including dozens of stray lines and frame rates. The resulting art, in a way, comes in spite of – not because of – the programs used to create it. Art and running both require propulsive internal force to complete. For McCabe, it was a vision in his head – of a dancing stick figure – he couldn’t shake. “It’s simple, I know it sounds silly, but I got goosebumps thinking about what it could be.” There were days he was soaked through from torrential downpours. When he needed to access his phone to see the route, he realised wet fingers can’t operate a touch screen. “You find yourself praying you can find a bit of dry sock to maybe clear a bit of the screen,” he says. “Or else you just spent the last hour for nothing.” For 10 months, he toiled alone. “I was doing this with no feedback. All I had was my wife. I’d come home and she’d ask how my stick man was, and I’d tell her: ‘Oh, tonight was a great stick man.’” His online fame, however, has not brought him many tangible rewards. “I thought brands would want to reach out and maybe want to be a part of this,” he said. “All I’ve got is a pair of shoes and a few protein bars.” Even with all the miles logged, McCabe doesn’t think of himself as a runner. “I don’t have a fancy kit. I don’t go fast. If anything, running is just a way of making the art.” The sun has risen, the streets are growing busier and McCabe is nearly done with the whale. He’s working through the lower pectoral fin. When he can, he edges towards patches of greenery. “I like to avoid the sharp turns when I can. I love the lazy, meandering angles, especially on something like a whale. Not everyone will notice it. Most won’t,” he said. “But, I do.” |
The Guardian;Netherlands to open archive on people accused of wartime Nazi collaboration;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/31/netherlands-to-open-archive-on-people-accused-of-wartime-nazi-collaboration;2024-12-31T10:28:54Z | For 80 years, details of their ancestors’ collaboration with the Nazis have been buried in spotless rows of filing cabinets in The Hague. But thousands of Dutch families face having their relatives’ history laid bare later this week when an archive opens on 425,000 people accused of siding with the occupier during the second world war. On Thursday, the central archives of the special jurisdiction courts (CABR), established after the allies liberated the Netherlands to bring collaborators to justice, will open under national archive rules. Until now, the most visited war archive in the Netherlands has been accessible only to researchers, those involved and direct descendants. But from Thursday the physical archive will open to general visitors. For the first three months of 2025, researchers and descendants of victims and alleged perpetrators will also have digital access to a quarter of this extraordinary database – on site at the national archive in The Hague – for the first time. Relatives have mixed feelings about the move. “It’s a bit uncomfortable,” said Connie, 74, one of three sisters whose family history is contained in the archive. “I don’t know what could come out of it eventually, if people Google our surname.” But some in the Netherlands believe that openness about the country’s wartime past, including its economic and bureaucratic collaboration, is crucial. Three-quarters of the Dutch Jewish population – more than 102,000 people – were murdered by the Nazis, with antisemitic collaboration from the state, police and some of the Dutch population. It is a past that the country is only now coming to terms with, opening a national Holocaust museum, making a public apology and funding research into the role of institutions and transport firms. “This is part of the repression by the Dutch of their memories of collaboration, after we had punished our military and political collaborators,” said Johannes Houwink ten Cate, an emeritus professor of Holocaust studies at Amsterdam University. “I can understand the children and grandchildren of collaborators now fear possible consequences, but my personal experience is that their feelings come to rest once they have seen the files. Making this open is an important step.” Initially, the intention had been to put the archive online at the website Oorlog voor de Rechter (“war before the judges”) on Thursday. But the prospect sparked public disquiet and the Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) issued a warning that putting the archive of suspected collaborators online would breach privacy laws. “In the spring of 2024, the AP had a signal from a surviving relative that the planned publication of the CABR was possibly not being organised in a lawful way,” it announced. “The national archives must now start working on an alternative method.” Online publication is delayed and the culture minister, Eppo Bruins, says the archive should not be indexable by search engines such as Google. But eventually it is hoped that 30m pages of witness reports, diaries, membership cards for the Dutch fascist party, medical records, court judgments, pardon pleas and pictures will all be searchable. At a recent event at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam, the director, Martijn Eickhoff, said the special court archive from 1944 and 1952 was a valuable historical resource. But it was also a period of wild accusation, he said: fewer than 15% of suspects were punished by tribunals and extraordinary courts, and two-thirds not at all. “It is important to look at this archive carefully,” he told the Guardian. “If a text is misleading, people become critical about the source, and this is what you learn to do as a historian … But because it contains so many personal documents, this affects people enormously.” He compared the Dutch archive with modern-day Syria, where global experts are working to preserve evidence of crimes under the toppled dictator Bashar al-Assad. “We hope to lead this experiment [opening the archive] on the right tracks. Not to open the door again to collective hatred,” he told a room of descendants, including Connie and her sisters Jolanda and Mieke. The sisters, who asked for their surname not to be published, have different feelings about the opening of the archive. While Connie is concerned, Jolanda, 70, said she did not mind and Mieke, 68, said she was keen to see her grandfather’s dossier. He had a building company that carried out work for the Nazis, and in the reckoning after the war he was punished for it. The sisters’ father worked there too. “But he was 18,” said Jolanda. “I don’t know what other things my grandfather believed, but Dad believed in a better world, not in Nazi ideology … But you can make choices, like my father’s family. Sometimes it’s a bad choice.” |
The Guardian;South Korea plane crash investigations intensify as questions raised over airport embankment;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/31/south-korea-plane-crash-cause-investigation-muan-airport-embankment;2024-12-31T10:13:42Z | The investigation into Sunday’s plane crash in South Korea, in which all but two of the 181 people onboard died, has intensified as authorities come under pressure to explain how the jetliner lost control. Families of the dead – 175 passengers and four crew – remained at Muan international airport, the scene of the deadliest plane crash on South Korean soil, to demand more information from authorities, while the government announced it was reviewing the regulations relating to a concrete wall near the runway that has been blamed for the huge loss of life. The National Police Agency said it had enlisted additional officials and would use rapid DNA analysers to speed up the identification of five bodies. All of the other victims have been identified but most remain at a temporary morgue at the airport. The exact cause of the crash is still unknown. Early theories centred on a bird strike, although some experts do not believe a collision of that kind – a relatively common occurrence in aviation – would have been forceful enough to prevent the pilot from lowering the Boeing 737-800’s landing gear as it approached the runway. Bird strikes aside, investigators are trying to establish if any of the aircraft’s control systems were disabled, as well as why the pilot apparently attempted to land so soon after declaring an emergency. The plane, powered by two CFM 56-7B26 engines, appeared to be travelling at great speed when the pilot attempted a “belly landing”. “I can’t think of any reason for being forced to make a landing like this,” said John Nance, an aviation safety expert and former military and commercial pilot who flew 737s for Alaska Airlines. Jeju Air’s chief executive, Kim Yi-bae, said maintenance staff had not flagged any problems with the aircraft when it was inspected before takeoff on Sunday. Speaking at a televised press conference, Kim said no abnormalities had been identified with the landing gear, which failed to deploy as the plane prepared to land at Muan. “The question of whether the landing gear was working properly or not is related to the accident investigation,” Kim said. He added that the airline would reduce its winter services by between 10-15% and strive to win back the trust of the travelling public. Kim said that all safety protocols had been followed on the day of the accident, saying a plane would not be allowed to take off if the maintenance team had not signed off on its safety. Criticism was mounting of Muan airport’s layout, with aviation experts questioning why a large dirt-and-concrete embankment used to support navigation equipment had been built about 250 metres from the end of the runway. The victims are thought to have died after Jeju Air flight 7C2216, arriving from Bangkok, crashed into the barrier, throwing passengers into the surrounding fields. South Korean officials said the embankment was built according to industry standards, adding that airports in other countries had similar features. The government said on Tuesday it was reviewing whether the wall met regulations. Asked it was it was permissible for the airport to have used concrete – which some experts described as unsafe – the director-general for airport policy, Kim Hong-rak, said the government would “review the relevant regulations and their application”. Experts have also questioned the need to build the wall so close to the end of the runway. The runway design did not meet industry best practices, which preclude any hard structure such as a berm – a raised bank – within at least 300 metres of the runway’s end, claimed John Cox, the chief executive of Safety Operating Systems and a former 737 pilot. The crash poses a serious challenge to South Korea’s new acting president, Choi Sang-mok, who has ordered an emergency safety inspection of the county’s entire airline operation, while the transport ministry will inspect all 101 Boeing 737-800s in operation in the country by the end of the week. Choi, who replaced the impeached former president Han Duck-soo at the weekend, said the priority was to identify the remaining victims and support the passengers’ families. “Even before the final results are out, we ask that officials transparently disclose the accident investigation process and promptly inform the bereaved families,” he said at a disaster management meeting. Choi immediately declared a seven-day period of mourning and paid his respect at a memorial at the crash site. Similar memorials have been set up at other locations around the country, and flags were flying at half mast. Representatives from the US National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, and aircraft manufacturer Boeing have joined the investigative body and planned to meet in Muan, 186 miles south-west of Seoul, on Tuesday. Establishing the cause of the accident could prove more complicated and time-consuming than usual, after the ministry said the plane’s damaged flight data recorder was missing key pieces, making it more difficult to extract its data. The second “black box” containing the cockpit voice recorder was in better condition, the Yonhap news agency said. Park Han-shin, whose brother died in the crash, said he had been told by authorities that his brother had been identified but added he had not been able to see his body. South Korean authorities will be under pressure to avoid a repeat of the aftermath of the Sewol ferry disaster in April 2014, in which more than 300 people, mostly high school students, died. Many relatives of the victims complained it took authorities too long to identify the dead and to establish the cause of the accident. The bodies of four of the identified victims in Sunday’s crash have been handed over to their families, Yonhap said, citing local officials. |
The Guardian;Tuesday briefing: How public celebrations like New Year’s Eve became private events;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/31/first-edition-crowds-dan-hancox;2024-12-31T06:45:00Z | Good morning. If you’re planning to go out in a big city on New Year’s Eve, it is more likely than ever that your festivities will be sponsored, guarded, overpriced and restricted. In London, Edinburgh – although not this year, as Hogmanay celebrations have been cancelled because of forecast storms – and many other cities in the UK and around the world, public squares that were once understood to be a shared space for anyone who cared to use them are now often under the control of private companies, contracted by the authorities to keep people safe, keep them spending money – and even keep them away. This change is predicated on the idea that an unmanaged crowd is a dangerous, mindless thing that can lead even the most upstanding citizen into some sort of barbarism. In his superb new book, Multitudes: How Crowds Made The Modern World, Dan Hancox argues that this isn’t true – and that, instead, being part of a free-roaming festive crowd is among the best things about being a human being. For today’s newsletter, I spoke to Dan about the fascinating, bleak changes to how new year crowds are allowed to assemble, and what those changes reveal about modern society. I hope you find an unbranded celebration that lets you roam wherever you want tonight, and here are the headlines. In depth: ‘There is something instinctive about congregating with strangers when something exciting happens’ Thanks so much for doing this, Dan. One thing that might be a useful way to begin is by explaining the distinction you make in the book between “closed” and “open” crowds. What’s the difference? And which kind is a New Year’s crowd? A closed crowd is something like a concert hall or a football stadium – somewhere with secure perimeter fencing with paid-for tickets nearly always as a condition of entry, and with a bunch of other conditions of entry as well. You’re entering into, usually, a private space, and you’re paying for the privilege to do so, and your behaviour sort of responds accordingly. You’re more likely to sit still in the seat that has been assigned to you and to comport yourself according to the social norms of that particular space. Open crowds in the modern city are increasingly rare. And New Year’s Eve crowds are a very good example – a rare example – of a substantial urban open crowd in which there is theoretically no boundary, that people freely leave and join and move around in without any kind of authority. You get this at Notting Hill carnival [in west London]. You might get it when, say, the Lionesses win the Euros and people spontaneously gravitate towards the city centre to celebrate, but nobody has particularly summoned them there to do so. Most protests are open crowds too, even if they have stewards in yellow jackets, marshalling the edges. It’s about your freedom of movement to join and leave. In recent years, as part of a wider change in the way people in cities are policed, new year celebrations have become more likely to be closed crowds with particular areas that you’re allowed to be in, and ticketing and more heavy-handed security. What does that change about the experience? That is absolutely the trend of the last decade, to turn those open crowds into closed crowds, and New Year’s Eve is a prime example of that. In cities like London and New York and Sydney, you have what was hitherto an assembly of up to a million people, sprawled quite messily across the city in an attempt to join the throng, being quite heavily securitised. In London, it was Boris Johnson in 2014 who introduced ticketing for the fireworks for the first time. And with the ticketing, you get a cavalcade of other conditions – fencing, stewarding, security guards, closer surveillance, and now also stratified ticketing, where you can pay more for a “better” service. It has the effect of compartmentalising the crowd, because an open crowd is viewed as dangerous and suspicious by people in power. It’s a very clear hierarchy of wealth and class that revives the way cities were constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries. The current mayor, Sadiq Khan, was critical of it at the time, saying that this was purportedly about safety but was really about monetising people’s good time – but then when he was elected, he kept it. Ticket prices start at £20 and go up to £50 for a better view. They’re already sold out for this year. There’s also a company offering new year packages where you get a boat for 12 people to float down the Thames for £5,775. One of the big consequences of this, which I think is a real demerit, is that you just get many fewer people coming – in London, it’s down from a million to 100,000. The same thing is true in Sydney and in other places where the same thing has happened. It works quite consciously as a dispersal method, which should be antithetical to what they want, which is a thriving, buzzing city. You quote Elias Canetti, who wrote a book called Crowds and Power in 1960, and says that what people want in a crowd is a “blessed moment, when no one is greater or better than another”. I would say that it cuts against the spirit and the fun of joining the crowd. The new year’s crowd is essentially the carnival crowd, by which I don’t mean Notting Hill or Rio but this ancient spirit of carnival – the moment where the pauper is the king and vice versa, and everyone in the village is allowed to escape the bonds of the usual hierarchy in the name of a good party. If you’re being compartmentalised according to taste, wealth, mobility that goes against something innate in us. There’s this brilliant Finnish expression, torilla tavataan, which literally means “to the town square”, but is used figuratively as an expression of joy, say when your team has just won the ice hockey. It reveals something really important: the crowd belongs in the public square and the public square belongs to the crowd, and there is something instinctive about congregating with strangers when something exciting happens. A thread through a lot of what you’re talking about is the growth of the events industry. One of the most memorable examples of how they have changed things was the story in 2019 about festival organisers Underbelly making people in Edinburgh apply for access to their own homes if they lived within the “street party area”, and restricting whether they could have their own New Year’s Eve parties. That’s like a hyperbolic example of the kind of thing we see more generally – where a very heavily commercialised events industry traps something free and organic. There have always been events, and there have always been people organising them, and often monetising them. But the growth of the urban events industry in the past two decades is extremely striking, and it’s now a key part of the post-industrial city’s economic mix – both in attracting tourism, but also just encouraging people who live there to spend their disposable income. It’s also important to say that this isn’t just about the organisation – it’s also about how the city is constructed. Most cities in the west have more and more fences, metaphorically and literally, and there are more and more spaces that appear to be public and are actually owned by private developers. They’re known as privately owned public spaces, or POPs for short. And that has had a huge impact on how crowds behave and where they are able to assemble. But although it’s accelerated significantly, it’s also not a new phenomenon. Trafalgar Square is a great example: when it was first laid out in the early 19th century, the Chartists were on the rise, and there was real clamour and public protest about the extension of the electoral franchise. And because of the concern of the vast amount of space Trafalgar Square offered, after a year or so they added the vast fountains – they take up almost half the entire space, and the only reason they are so big is because it reduces the space available for the crowd by half. So the authorities have always been concerned about large crowds, and will try to mitigatethat by designing them out. Is there any truth to the idea that the only way to make a crowd safe is to make it smaller – or that you need this level of oversight to look after people? It is a genuine and important concern – over 150 people died in Seoul in South Korea only a couple of years ago in a horrendous Halloween tragedy on very narrow streets. But the leading crowd safety experts say that all crowd crushes are avoidable with the right preparations. And I wonder if, with New Year’s Eve, safety is being used as a bit of an excuse. The best counter example is Notting Hill carnival, where about a million people a day throng, generally safely, in a tiny little web of streets where 40,000 people normally live. I spoke to the CEO of the carnival trust, Matthew Phillip, and he told me that the first thing he did when he took over was remove a lot of the barriers. That may sound counterintuitive, but the evidence is that the best way to ensure safety is to give them freedom of movement. Bottling people up just makes crushes more likely. You cite Barbara Ehrenreich, who argued that in the 20th century “a truly participatory, popular, cultural and festive life was transformed into pure rock’n’roll spectacle”, and that you could view that as the conclusion of a centuries-long effort to tame audiences. Do you see the new year crowd as an extension of that phenomenon? The trend of the past 50 years is of the capture and containment of public festivities. They are just too unruly to make enough money from to be allowed to continue. But that attempt to bring the festive crowd to heel should be pushed back against. Yes, what’s happened in cities like London has made the crowd smaller, perhaps made it better behaved, but also made it less free. That’s a shame, because we have an evolutionary imperative to get together with strangers for a good time, and it’s what we should all be doing on New Year’s Eve, whether or not we can afford a ticket. Reading this online or on the Guardian app? Over Christmas period the headlines and sport will not appear, so to get the First Edition experience in your inbox every morning, sign up here |
The Guardian;South Korean court issues arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/31/arrest-warrant-south-korea-president-yoon-suk-yeol-martial-law-ntwnfb;2024-12-31T02:06:10Z | A court in South Korea has approved an arrest warrant for the country’s suspended president, Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached over his ill-fated decision to impose martial law early this month, investigators said. Yoon’s decision to declare martial law late on 3 December plunged Asia’s fourth-biggest economy into its worst political crisis for decades and caused concern in Washington. Yoon was forced to lift the order just six hours later after MPs forced their way into parliament to vote it down. The corruption investigation office confirmed that a court in Seoul had approved the warrant, but it was not clear if police would be able to execute it. “The arrest warrant and search warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol … were issued this morning,” the Joint Investigation Headquarters said in a statement. Yoon Kab-keun, a lawyer for Yoon, condemned the move. “The arrest warrant and search and seizure warrant issued at the request of an agency without investigative authority are illegal and invalid,” he said in a statement. Soon after investigators said they had raided the army’s counterintelligence offices as part of the growing martial law probe. “The emergency martial law investigation team of the Corruption Investigation Office is conducting a search and seizure operation at the Counterintelligence Command this afternoon,” investigators said in a statement. Yoon has so far refused to cooperate with the investigation into his martial law order. He has failed to report to investigators for questioning over allegations of abuse of authority and orchestrating a rebellion, and his presidential security service has prevented court-ordered searches of his office and residence. Yoon also faces charges of insurrection – a crime that can carry life imprisonment or the death penalty and one of the few charges from which a South Korean president does not have immunity. An official from the corruption investigation office said Yoon’s refusal to be questioned had prompted the warrant request. “The reason for the warrant is that there is a concern that the individual may refuse to comply with summons without justifiable reasons, and there is sufficient probable cause to suspect the commission of a crime,” the official said. The warrant is valid until 6 January, he said, adding that Yoon could be held at a police station or the Seoul detention centre. Media reports said an imminent arrest or search of the presidential residence was unlikely, as investigators would seek to coordinate with the presidential security service. Technically, anyone obstructing the execution of an arrest warrant could be arrested. But under South Korean law, locations potentially linked to military secrets cannot be seized or searched without the consent of the person in charge, and it is unlikely that Yoon will voluntarily leave his residence if he faces arrest. It is the first time an arrest warrant has been issued for an incumbent president in South Korea, according to local media. Police were deployed early on Tuesday outside Yoon’s residence in central Seoul in an attempt to prevent unrest. Yoon’s supporters and protesters calling for his removal have staked out his residence, with local media showing images of altercations between the two camps overnight. “Unless Yoon voluntarily lets them detain him, there is no way to detain him,” said Choi Jin, director of the Seoul-based Institute of Presidential Leadership. “Should investigators have hand-to-hand fights with the security service?” Choi said that investigators were still likely to visit Yoon’s residence to show they were doing their work diligently and fairly. Park Sung-min, president of the Seoul-based political consulting firm MIN Consulting, said the push for an arrest warrant was probably an attempt to pressure Yoon to cooperate with the investigation. The acting leader of South Korea’s ruling People Power party, Kweon Seong-dong, said on Tuesday that attempting to detain a sitting president was inappropriate, according to Yonhap news agency. Yoon’s presidential powers were suspended after the national assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December over his imposition of martial law. The constitutional court has 180 days from that date to decide whether to confirm the impeachment or reinstate Yoon, whose two-and-a-half years in office have been marred by scandal and policy deadlock. The martial law order triggered weeks of political and market turmoil. Yoon’s replacement, Han Duck-soo, was also impeached last week for refusing to approve bills to facilitate the investigation into his predecessor. Han’s successor as interim president, Choi Sang-mok, had been in office for just two days when he was confronted with the fatal plane crash at Muan international airport, the worst aviation disaster on South Korean soil. On Tuesday Choi called for national harmony and unity and for trust in the government in a New Year’s address. “The Republic of Korea is in an unprecedentedly serious situation,” Choi said in a written statement, citing changes around global trade, diplomacy and security, as well as domestic political uncertainty. “The government will do its best to run state affairs stably in all areas of defence, diplomacy, economy and society for the people to feel relieved,” he added. Agencies contributed reporting |
The Guardian;Ukraine war briefing: US grants $6bn in aid to Ukraine before Trump inauguration;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/31/ukraine-war-briefing-us-grants-6bn-in-aid-to-ukraine-before-trump-inauguration;2024-12-31T01:36:14Z | The US has unveiled almost $6bn in military and budget aid for Ukraine, as the Biden administration works quickly to spend all the money it has available to help Kyiv fight off Russia before president-elect Donald Trump takes office next month. “I’ve directed my administration to continue surging as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible,” Biden said in a statement. “At my direction, the United States will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine’s position in this war over the remainder of my time in office.” The package includes nearly $2.5bn more in weapons, as well as $3.4bn in economic assistance to help pay for critical government services, including salaries for civilian government and school employees, healthcare workers and first responders. Ukrainian forces have staged a new attack on the town of Lgov in southern Russia’s Kursk region, badly damaging a two-storey apartment building, the region’s acting governor said on Monday, a week after four people were killed in another strike. Alexander Khinshtein, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said one person was injured in the latest attack in the region, where Ukrainian forces have seized a chunk of territory after launching an incursion in August. “Their purpose is to frighten people, sow confusion, panic and chaos,” Khinshtein said of the Ukrainian attack. “And to deny children the chance to enjoy the forthcoming New Year.” Russia and Ukraine have carried out a major prisoner exchange, with at least 150 people from each side returning home before New Year’s Eve, in a swap partly brokered by the United Arab Emirates. “The return of our people from Russian captivity is always very good news for each of us,” the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said in a message posted on Telegram on Monday. “My son is 5 years old now, the last time I saw him he was 2 years old,” said Serhii, who was captured by Russian forces at the Azovstal steel mill in the southern port Mariupol, which withstood a siege for nearly three months in 2022. Ukraine is pledging support for the new authorities in Syria, which was once a key Russian ally in the Mideast. Ukraine’s foreign minister met with Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on Monday, days after Kyiv announced the delivery of a large shipment of wheat flour to the country after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, who has been granted asylum in Moscow. Foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said he hopes “that a new Syria would become a country that respects international law”. “The Russian and Assad regimes supported each other because their foundation is violence and torture,” he added. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has vowed to step up bilateral relations with Russia in a letter to President Vladimir Putin on Monday, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday. In the message, Kim sent New Year greetings to Putin and all Russians, including their troops and “wished that the New Year 2025 would be recorded as the first year of victory in the 21st century when the Russian army and people would defeat neo-nazism and achieve a great victory,” KCNA said. Kim and Putin signed a mutual defence treaty at a summit in June, which calls for each side to come to the other’s aid in the event of an armed attack, and Pyongyang has since dispatched tens of thousands of troops to Russia to support its war effort, according to Ukraine, the US and South Korea. |
The Guardian;Live Aid campaigner Bob Geldof was ‘scathing about African leaders’, files reveal;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/31/live-aid-campaigner-bob-geldof-was-scathing-about-african-leaders-files-reveal;2024-12-31T00:01:51Z | The Live Aid campaigner Bob Geldof urged Tony Blair not to appoint an African co-chair to the UK-led organisation working to overhaul international aid to the continent because he thought African leadership was “very weak” on the issue, newly released government documents suggest. The singer was “scathing about the ability and worthiness of virtually all African leaders” before the establishment in 2004 of Blair’s Commission for Africa, which would produce a report, Our Common Interest, and prompt a landmark pledge by rich nations to boost aid and write off debt. Geldof was instrumental in persuading the then prime minister to set up a “Brandt II” report, similar to the 1980 Brandt report on international economic development, which would lead to a “Marshall plan” for Africa, a reference to the US plan to rebuild Europe after the second world war. It would coincide with the UK’s presidency of the G8 nations group and the 20th anniversary of Live Aid. But behind the scenes, Geldof and the government had different ideas on how it should be set up, official papers released to the National Archives show. Geldof stressed in one letter to the prime minister that Blair’s personal leadership was vital if it was to succeed. “I do think this needs to be a direct commission from you personally – your vision, your authority, your weight,” he wrote. He also called for speed so it could report back in time for the G8 summit that Blair was hosting at Gleneagles in July 2005. “I know I’m pushy, and I know you’re up to your neck, but something short of the normal seven-week delay response would be welcome (do you use Royal Mail?). Seriously though, this must be implemented almost immediately,” Geldof wrote. A No 10 letter from October 2003, reporting on a telephone conversation between Blair and Geldof, said: “The PM spoke with Bob Geldof today. Geldof argued that unless we found a way to allow Africans to make livelihoods at home they would come to our shores, resulting in massive social upheaval. African leadership had been very weak.” Other Downing Street officials urged caution. One said they could face “opprobrium” from Geldof and his fellow Live Aid campaigner Bono if they were unable to deliver on the plan. Liz Lloyd, a senior adviser on international development, expressed concern over Geldof’s desire that the commission, while being chaired by Blair, should also be independent, and she stressed the government must have oversight. “If this document is going to have your name and be sold by you, [Geldof] must accept that we have the final editing role,” she wrote to Blair. The fact Geldof was opposed to a chair from Africa was particularly “tricky”, she added. “He is scathing about the ability and worthiness of virtually all African leaders and sees the audience as primarily the US,” she noted. “He therefore does not want an African co-chair, content to ride with your name to give it credibility.” She continued that they would need “prominent African involvement” and suggested Blair “talk carefully” to the then South African president, Thabo Mbeki, to secure his support. The ensuing pledge at Gleneagles to double aid and extend debt relief was hailed by Geldof as “mission accomplished”, although some anti-poverty campaigners complained that he had got too close to the government and that it did not go far enough. |
The Guardian;Olaf Scholz: German election ‘will not be decided by social media owners’;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/30/olaf-scholz-german-election-will-not-be-decided-by-social-media-owners;2024-12-30T23:01:48Z | The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has urged voters not to let the “owners of social media channels” decide next year’s snap election, after Elon Musk repeatedly endorsed the far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). In a New Year’s Eve address recorded for television and made available before its broadcast on Tuesday, Scholz said German citizens alone had the power to decide “where Germany goes from here” after the general election on 23 February. “It will not be decided by the owners of social media channels,” Scholz said of the country’s future. “In our debates, one can be forgiven for sometimes thinking the more extreme an opinion is, the more attention it will garner.” Rather, Scholz said, the fate of German society “will be up to the vast majority of reasonable and decent people”. Without mentioning Musk or his platform, X, explicitly, Scholz urged Germans to resist manipulation and to stand up for their democracy. “After all, it’s customary to make wishes on New Year’s Eve. What I wish for is that we will not let ourselves be played off each other,” he said. Scholz noted there had been a surge of disinformation on social media after the Christmas market attack in Magdeburg on 20 December in which five people were killed and more than 200 injured. The car ramming was allegedly committed by a Saudi-born assailant with far-right sympathies. “No small number of these rumours and conjectures, though, have meanwhile been debunked. These things divide and weaken us,” he said. “This is not good for our country.” On Monday, a spokesperson for Scholz, Christiane Hoffmann, accused Musk of trying to meddle in the country’s election campaign with a series of declarations backing the anti-Muslim, anti-migration AfD party. “It is indeed the case that Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election,” Hoffmann said at a regular media briefing. Musk had the right to free speech, she said, adding: “After all, freedom of opinion also covers the greatest nonsense.” Musk has often weighed in on German politics, even calling Scholz a “fool” on X last month. However, his more recent open calls for German voters to support the AfD, which federal authorities classify as a suspected extremist party, have sparked outrage and accusations of troubling interference in Europe’s top economy. The South African-born entrepreneur, a close adviser to Donald Trump who has been named by the incoming president to co-lead a commission aimed at reducing the size of the US federal government, wrote on X earlier this month: “Only the AfD can save Germany.” In the post, Musk shared a video by a German rightwing influencer, Naomi Seibt, who criticised Friedrich Merz, the conservative frontrunner in the German election, and praised Javier Milei, Argentina’s self-styled “anarcho-capitalist” president. He followed up at the weekend with a guest editorial in the broadsheet Welt am Sonntag arguing that Germany was teetering on the brink of economic and cultural collapse, defending the AfD against accusations of radicalism and praising the party’s approach to the economy, including regulation and tax policy. The editor of the centre-right newspaper’s opinion section, Eva Marie Kogel, posted on X that she had submitted her resignation in protest at the decision to run the article. Politicians from across the political spectrum criticised Musk’s attempts to put his thumb on the scales of German democracy, with the health minister, Karl Lauterbach, of Scholz’s Social Democratic party (SPD), calling his intervention “undignified and highly problematic” and Merz saying it was “intrusive and presumptuous”. Merz told the Funke media group: “I cannot recall in the history of western democracies a comparable case of interference in the election campaign of a friendly country.” Scholz’s centre-left-led coalition collapsed last month, prompting him to call a confidence vote in order to trigger a general election in February, seven months ahead of schedule. His SPD is widely expected to lose to Merz’s CDU/CSU bloc amid voter anger over the cost of living and meagre economic growth. AfD members have been working for months to make inroads with the Trump camp, seeking to harness his electoral momentum for the German campaign. Alice Weidel, the party’s co-leader, was one of the first foreign politicians to welcome Trump’s victory. A small group of AfD activists posed for pictures with Trump at his private club Mar-a-Lago on US election day last month, chanting “Fight! Fight! Fight!” in English and German. Musk’s endorsement in Die Welt cited Weidel’s “same-sex partner from Sri Lanka” as evidence that the portrayal of the AfD “as rightwing extremist is clearly false”. “Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!” he wrote. The AfD is polling second on about 19%, behind the CDU/CSU on 31%. A strong showing for the party could complicate coalition building, requiring the election winner to seek up to two partners to build a ruling majority. All mainstream parties have ruled out collaborating with the AfD at state or federal level. |
The Guardian;Israel sets out case to UN security council for full assault on Yemen’s Houthis;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/30/israel-sets-out-case-to-un-security-council-for-full-assault-on-yemens-houthis;2024-12-30T18:45:05Z | Israel has set out its case to the UN security council for a full assault on Houthi forces in Yemen, claiming the Iranian-backed group now represents a well-armed terrorist army that threatens not just the regional economy but the entire global order. The Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, also called for the Houthis to be designated as a foreign terrorist organisation, a step that may make it more difficult for Iran to provide material support without facing further economic sanctions. Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the UN – who had called for the UN security council meeting to discuss the recent escalation in Houthi attacks on Israel – said the Houthis “were nothing more than part of Iran’s war against peace”. The group, he said, had an annual budget of $1.2bn (£0.95bn) and came dangerously close to strangling the Suez canal by its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen. He added that “millions of Israelis are waking up every night to the sound of sirens across the country”, accusing the Houthis of launching 300 attacks on Israel this year. He said: “Let me make one thing absolutely clear; we have had enough. Israel will not stand by and wait for the world to react. We will defend our citizens.” The Houthis were no longer a regional threat but a threat to the world order, he said. While almost all security council members at Monday’s meeting condemned the Houthi attacks on Israel mounted a week ago, many also condemned the Israeli threat to Yemeni civilians represented by the air raids on key power stations, the air traffic control tower at the airport in the capital of Sana’a, and ports which are critical to the delivery of aid. Nine Yemeni civilians were killed in the attacks that Israel said were retaliation for what Danon described as “a relentless Houthi bombardment of Israeli population centres”. Barbara Woodward, the UK envoy to the UN, reiterated Israel’s right to self-defence but warned: “Israel’s action must be consistent with their obligations under international law including protection of civilians.” She said she was “concerned by the attack on Sana’a airport that endangered Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus”. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) was at Sana’a airport when Israeli warplanes struck on Thursday. A crew member from Tedros’s plane was injured in the strike and Tedros said he and his colleagues “escaped death narrowly”. “Humanitarian aid workers must be able to carry out their important work safely and securely,” said Woodward, adding the director general had been in Yemen to seek the release of a group of UN staff held hostage by the Houthis. Israel’s latest remarks appear to be part of a strategic decision to launch further decisive attacks on the Houthis, a strategy it hopes will be endorsed by the incoming Trump administration. Danon portrayed the UN as morally compromised and unwilling to take the steps necessary to enforce an arms embargo on Yemen. Israel wants the UN to interdict ships carrying Iranian weapons to the Houthis though ports such as Hodeidah. The US and the UK governments think the current weak mandate of the UN verification and inspection mechanism needs review. Referring to the narrow escape of the WHO director general and his delegation, Danon said: “We have no control over who is where. We have no intention to bomb to harm NGO or the UN, on the contrary, but if they are in areas where Houthis are, they should be careful because we will not sit idly by.” Vasily Nebenzya, the Russian ambassador to the UN, went further in criticising Israel, saying the attacks were not owing to self-defence, but “are part of military aggression against a sovereign state by the collective west”. He said it was irrelevant if the attack was regarded as retaliation since the scope of destruction was a deliberate escalation, and disproportionate. He accused the US and the UK of being involved in the attacks on civilian infrastructure. The Houthi leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, and the group’s spokesperson, Yahya Qasim Sare’e, have made it clear that as long as the war in Gaza continues, the Houthis will continue to attack shipping and Israel. Some Houthi activists have said on social media that recent attacks on Jaffa are a prelude to an attack on Israeli nuclear sites. |
The Guardian;Russia and Ukraine swap at least 300 prisoners in exchange deal;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/30/russia-ukraine-swap-prisoners-exchange-deal;2024-12-30T18:43:35Z | Russia and Ukraine have carried out a major prisoner exchange, with at least 150 people from each side returning home before New Year’s Eve, in a swap partly brokered by the United Arab Emirates. “The return of our people from Russian captivity is always very good news for each of us. And today is one of such days: our team managed to bring 189 Ukrainians home,” the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said in a message posted on Telegram on Monday. The Russian defence ministry said 150 prisoners from each side had returned home, and there was no immediate explanation for the difference in numbers. Ukraine’s coordinating centre on exchanges said those returning to Ukraine included 87 soldiers from the army, 43 from the national guard, 33 border guards, 24 from the navy and two civilians. It said 14 officers were among the group. The centre said those Ukraine sent back to Russia were prisoners captured during Ukraine’s offensive in the Kursk region, which began in late summer and resulted in Kyiv occupying a small chunk of Russian territory. Among the stated goals of the Kursk operation were having a bargaining chip to play at potential future negotiations, and seizing prisoners to trade for Ukrainians held by Russia. Some of those who Russia returned on Monday had been held since the early months of the war, which began when Russia invaded in February 2022. The exchange, the 11th this year, brought the total number of Ukrainian prisoners returned by Russia this year to 1,358, the coordination centre said, but added there were many more remaining in Russia. “We are working to free everyone from Russian captivity. This is our goal. We do not forget anyone,” Zelenskyy said. Returning prisoners have told the Guardian of physical and psychological brutality while in captivity, including repeated beatings, humiliating strip-searches, threatening interrogations and orders to sing the Russian national anthem or recite Russian poetry. Maria Klymyk, of the Media Initiative for Human Rights in Kyiv, whose organisation has conducted interviews with more than 100 returning prisoners, said many came home with injuries caused by malnourishment, neglect or abuse and some even needed amputations. “Almost everyone we have spoken to was tortured,” she said last year. Zelenskyy shared photographs of some of those exchanged on Monday, who were sitting on a coach and holding up Ukrainian flags. Russia’s human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, published video of Russian soldiers gathered outside buses. “Very soon our guys will embrace their relatives and friends and celebrate the new year in their native land,” she wrote in a Telegram message accompanying the video. The exchange is a rare piece of good news for Ukraine as the country heads towards New Year’s Eve, when traditionally families gather together in one of the biggest holidays of the year in Ukraine and Russia. Kyiv is warily awaiting the return of Donald Trump to the White House, and to see what his stated goal to bring a quick peace to the conflict will look like in practice. Some hope Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, may soon realise that Vladimir Putin has little interest in a deal and push for further military backing for Ukraine. Others fear Trump, given his longstanding admiration for the Russian president, may throw Ukraine under the bus. On Monday, Joe Biden’s administration announced nearly $6bn (£4.8bn) in military and budget aid for Ukraine, part of a rush to increase assistance before Trump takes over as president. “Today, I am proud to announce nearly $2.5bn in security assistance for Ukraine, as the Ukrainian people continue to defend their independence and freedom from Russian aggression,” Biden said in a statement. The package will allow the Pentagon to take weapons from US stocks and send them quickly to Ukraine. At the same time, the US Treasury announced $3.4bn in direct budgetary support for Ukraine. |
The Guardian;Church of England must open up its governance to scrutiny | Letters;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/30/church-of-england-must-open-up-its-governance-to-scrutiny;2024-12-30T17:53:49Z | It is difficult to comprehend why the Anglican Church allowed known abusers into positions of trust, and continued to tolerate situations that should have been impossible (C of E must ‘kneel in penitence’ after difficult year, says archbishop of York, 25 December). A church has no knees but those of its members, most of whom, in this case, were surely oblivious of the situation. That the archbishop of York chose to use figurative language at such a portentous moment offers a small clue to the problem. Why did Stephen Cottrell need an adviser to tell him that a known abuser should not hold any office in the church? What is the point of high office in the church if its holders cannot act in favour of victims and against perpetrators? The Anglican church into which I was baptised as a helpless baby and confirmed as an ignorant teenager has had much to commend it over the centuries. The Church in Wales was “separated and disestablished” in 1914, and I wish that the Church of England had taken a corresponding decision later in the 20th century. Arguably, this would have been better for the church. It would certainly be better for the UK constitution now to separate itself, the electorate and the public from an organisation that is so pitiably unable to manage its affairs. I doubt that a great hierarchical institution can really “demonstrate the power of love”. But such an organisation can, and surely should, demonstrate the significance of timely, appropriate action. Janet Dubé Peebles, Scottish Borders • It’s taken me a lifetime to realise that the physical invasion and abuse I received as a teenager by a priest of the Church of England, and the rapes by his friends, and the acceptance of such behaviour by this unaccountable priest, was exactly that – rape and abuse. Nothing protected you in the 1960s. I doubt if the bishops at the time could imagine what went on, though such ignorance or naivety didn’t prevent others in the town being suspicious. My mother challenged this priest on account of the rumours, but who else could she turn to? Turn a blind eye, was the attitude of many in the church. The religious nonsense of this priest and his nomenclature, “Father”, protected him. His outburst in a sermon that “we were all drains and came to mass for divine disinfectant” went unchallenged, projecting his unresolved guilt on to young minds. It just seems laughable today; at the time it was dangerous. The bishop of Newcastle made it plain: “there was a “generation of bishops in the C of E” who were “very much in the mould of it being an old boys’ club”. My priest died unchallenged, unrepentant, full of pride in his religious gobbledegook, his shield from shame at invading young vulnerable lives, their minds and bodies. Name and address supplied • About 15 years ago, I attended a safeguarding symposium where the emphasis was on sharing best practice when working with vulnerable children and adults, and how best to have effective safeguarding policies and structures within organisations. Several Church of England parish groups were present. During the day, members of these groups talked about the church “reaching out” to support other organisations. At the plenary meeting I referenced these comments, and wondered to the audience if the C of E ever allowed other organisations to “reach in” to see how it operated and offer appropriate feedback. This was met with blank incomprehension by church members, although one approached me afterwards to say I’d given him something to think about. The Church of England has resisted any meaningful examination of how it operates, and is an example that it’s not enough to have policies and procedures – there have to be effective actions. Name and address supplied • Do you have a photograph you’d like to share with Guardian readers? If so, please click here to upload it. A selection will be published in our Readers’ best photographs galleries and in the print edition on Saturdays. |
The Guardian;South Korea in mourning after plane crash kills all but two onboard;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/29/south-korea-jeju-air-plane-crash-mourning;2024-12-29T18:04:05Z | Distraught family members gathered at Muan international airport in South Korea on Sunday after a plane carrying 181 people from Bangkok crashed, killing all but two people onboard, in the country’s worst domestic civil aviation disaster. Officials said all 175 passengers and four of the six crew members were killed when the Boeing 737-800 attempted an emergency landing, smashed into a wall and burst into flames at 9am local time at the airport, about 185 miles south-west of Seoul. Two flight attendants who survived are being treated in hospital. One was in an intensive care unit with fractures to his ribs, shoulder blade and upper spine, said Ju Woong, the director of the Ewha Womans University Seoul hospital. The man told doctors he “woke up to find [himself] rescued”. A stench of kerosene hung over the airport on Sunday night and scattered plane seats, suitcases and twisted bits of metal were visible close to the wrecked fuselage of Jeju Air flight 2216, which had been carrying mainly Korean passengers returning from winter holidays, as well as two Thai passengers. Joe Biden said in a statement that he and First Lady Jill Biden were “deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life” and noted that “as close allies” of South Korea whose people “share deep bonds of friendship” with Americans, “our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted”. A team of US team air accident investigators led by the NTSB, FAA and Boeing, makers of the 737-800 that crashed, would be assisting Korean air investigators, the NTSB said Sunday, as air safety experts questioned why the plane had not been able to lower its undercarriage after one engine was hit by what appeared to be a bird strike. Footage of the crash showed the aircraft skidding along the runway and veering off across a buffer zone before striking a concrete barrier at high speed and bursting into flames as parts of the fuselage flew into the air. A local fire official said the crash could have been caused by a bird strike and weather conditions, but the exact cause was not yet known. By late Sunday afternoon, floodlights illuminated the twisted wreckage as a huge yellow crane lifted the fuselage and officials continued the search and rescue mission. AFP reported that behind police cordon tape stretched across the wire fence at the edge of the runway there were plane seats and other chunks of metal, offering a glimpse of the catastrophic impact of the crash. Inside the airport terminal, more than 100 family members gathered to receive updates about their loved ones, many looking stunned and tearful. When a fire chief told families that most passengers were presumed dead, the room erupted in wails of grief. “Is there absolutely no chance of survival?” one family member asked. The fire chief could only bow his head and reply: “I’m so sorry, but that’s what it’s looking like.” One woman was carried away on a stretcher, apparently having passed out from shock. Later in the day, boards typically used for arrival and departure information were instead displaying the names, dates of birth and nationalities of the victims. “I had a son onboard that plane … he has yet to be identified,” one elderly man waiting in the airport lounge told AFP. The sounds of people wailing and screaming echoed through the two-story airport building as the names and identities of victims were confirmed. “My younger sister went to heaven today,” a 65-year-old woman who gave only her surname, Jo, told AFP. Her sister had been on holiday with friends in Bangkok, the woman said. “My husband is now trying to check whether she’s been identified.” Authorities said the youngest passenger was a three-year-old boy and the oldest was 78. Five of the dead were children under the age of 10. The only sounds near the crash site were the whirring of cameras and the murmur of reporters broadcasting live, as relatives lost for words awaited news of their loved ones. In the area around the runway, AFP reporters could see duty-free booklets and sanitary gloves worn by the flight crew scattered across the field, not far from the charred tail of the aircraft. Heartbreaking stories of family members were shared online, with one person saying his mother and his five aunts were on the plane. “I was told they would arrive around 8.50am today, so I came to the airport to pick up my mother and aunts, but I’ve heard no word from them,” he told local media. A screenshot of a final KakaoTalk message exchange between a passenger and their family was widely reported in local media. The message from the parent onboard the plane said: “Wait, a bird is stuck in the wing. Unable to land now … should I leave a will?” It was the last message, sent at 9.01am. Their child replied: “Why can’t I make a call with you?” It was delivered at 9.37am and has remained unread. A moment of silence was held at sporting events including volleyball and basketball games on Sunday. All major South Korean broadcasters changed their schedules to emergency news programming. End-of-year entertainment awards shows and comedy shows were cancelled. Transport ministry officials said an early assessment of communication records showed that the airport control tower issued a bird strike warning to the plane shortly before it intended to land and gave its pilot permission to land in a different area. The pilot sent out a distress signal shortly before the plane went past the runway and skidded across a buffer zone before hitting the wall, the officials said. “The cause of the accident is presumed to be a bird strike combined with adverse weather conditions,” Lee Jeong-hyun, the chief of Muan fire station, told a media briefing. “However, the exact cause will be announced following a joint investigation.” Lee later said the tail section was the only part of the plane to have retained “a little bit of its shape. The rest is almost impossible to recognise.” Joo Jong-wan, a transport ministry official, said workers had retrieved the plane’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders. They would be examined by government experts, Joo said, adding that the runway would be closed until 1 January. US investigators are to help with the inquiry into the crash. The accident comes as South Korea is in the midst of political chaos after the suspended president, Yoon Suk Yeol, was impeached earlier this month over an attempt to declare martial law. South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, arrived at the crash scene on Sunday and said the government was putting all its resources into dealing with the incident. It is the first major test for Choi, who assumed office on Friday. Some families voiced anger at what they saw as a delayed response from authorities and the airline. They had pleaded to be allowed near the crash site since the morning but were denied access because of the restricted nature of the airport zone. One relative used a microphone to plead for more information. “My older brother died and I don’t know what’s going on,” he said. “I don’t know.” Thick plumes of smoke could be seen rising into the sky after the crash at 9am on Sunday. Some photographs showed fire engulfing parts of the aircraft. Yoo Jae-yong, 41, who was staying near the airport, told the Yonhap news agency he saw a spark on the plane’s right wing before the incident. “I was telling my family there was a problem with the plane when I heard a loud explosion,” Yoo said. Another witness, Kim Yong-cheol, 70, said the plane failed to land on the first attempt and circled back for another attempt. Kim said he heard the sound of “metallic scraping” twice about five minutes before the crash. He saw the plane rising after failing to make a landing, before he heard a loud explosion and saw black smoke billowing into the sky. The national fire agency said the initial fire in the wreckage of the plane was brought under control at 9.46am, 43 minutes after the first emergency call was received at 9.03am. The country declared a seven-day national mourning period effective from Sunday, with memorial altars to be set up nationwide. |
NPR;NEW TECHNOLOGY GIVES HOPE TO SAVE ENDANGERED RIGHT WHALE;https://www.npr.org/2024/12/31/nx-s1-5214493/technology-gives-hope-save-endangered-right-whale-monitoring-ships;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 09:50:44 -0500 | Conservationists are getting better at monitoring the movement of the highly endangered Right Whale. They hope it will help encourage ships to slow down in an effort to save the species. |
NPR;9 unexpected things we learned about mental health and our brains in 2024;https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/12/31/nx-s1-5243328/discoveries-mental-health-brains-neuroscience-2024;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 09:00:00 -0500 | NPR's health reporters followed the emerging science on what keeps our brains and our minds healthy. Here are highlights of the studies that piqued our readers' interest the most. |
NPR;Examining Biden's presidential legacy. And, north Gaza's last key hospital shut down;https://www.npr.org/2024/12/31/g-s1-40590/up-first-newsletter-joe-biden-legacy-north-gaza-hospital-jimmy-carter-funeral-plans;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 08:06:46 -0500 | President Biden signed significant legislation that his backers say will leave a lasting impact. And, north Gaza's last major hospital has been shut down with no ceasefire in sight. |
NPR;From Taylor Swift tickets to social media bans, here are new 2025 state laws;https://www.npr.org/2024/12/31/nx-s1-5241035/2025-state-laws-taylor-swift-social-media;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 05:59:43 -0500 | It's almost the new year, which means states across the country will enact thousands of new laws from new tax structures to prenatal leave. |
NPR;Reporters' notebook: revisiting Afghan refugees starting anew in the U.S.;https://www.npr.org/2024/12/31/g-s1-39751/reporters-notebook-revisiting-afghan-refugees-starting-anew;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 05:04:00 -0500 | NPR reporters revisit Afghans who fled their home country after Taliban's takeover in the summer of 2021. |
NPR;8 questions for President Biden, if he'd take them;https://www.npr.org/2024/12/31/nx-s1-5218292/president-biden-questions-legacy;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0500 | Here's what NPR's White House correspondents would ask Biden at a press conference as his presidency comes to a close. |
NPR;What to know about Finland, Russia's 'shadow fleet' and a severed undersea cable;https://www.npr.org/2024/12/31/nx-s1-5243302/finland-russia-severed-undersea-cable-shadow-fleet;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0500 | Finland says a ship affiliated with Russia's "shadow fleet" is linked to a 60-mile-long anchor drag mark on the seafloor. A power cable in the Baltic Sea was severed last week. |
NPR;Tiger-cats, sea squirts and beetles, oh my! Meet some species identified in 2024;https://www.npr.org/2024/12/31/nx-s1-5234468/tiger-cats-sea-squirts-and-beetles-oh-my-meet-some-species-identified-in-2024;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0500 | From charismatic macrofauna to tiny sea squirts, here are some species formally identified by scientists in 2024. |
NPR;Should you be worried about bird strikes during your next flight?;https://www.npr.org/2024/12/31/nx-s1-5243325/bird-strikes-plane-crash-south-korea;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0500 | Bird strikes occur daily for commercial flights, costing airlines millions in damages each year. Although rare, these incidents can result in injuries and fatalities. |
NPR;Why do we drop a ball on New Year's Eve? The Times Square tradition, explained;https://www.npr.org/2024/12/31/nx-s1-5235245/new-years-eve-ball-drop-times-square;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0500 | Watching a huge ball descend down a pole in Times Square has been a beloved New Year's Eve tradition for over a century. Here's how the spectacle started and what's changed over the years. |
Al Jazeera;Maduro and Trump: Two inaugurations for two rivals on a collision course;https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/31/maduro-and-trump-two-inaugurations-for-two-rivals-on-a-collision-course?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 15:20:48 +0000 | During his first term as US president, Donald Trump was a fierce critic of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro. Will that change? |
Al Jazeera;Surviving 2024 in Gaza;https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/12/31/surviving-2024-in-gaza?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 15:12:02 +0000 | This year, I survived genocide. It burned my soul, but it also planted a seed of hope. |
Al Jazeera;Biden’s ‘Netanyahu first, US second’ strategy was a total disaster;https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/12/31/bidens-netanyahu-first-us-second-strategy-was-a-total-disaster?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 15:10:16 +0000 | The Biden administration's unconditional support to Israel has upended the whole US national security strategy. |
Al Jazeera;South Korea’s Muan turns into mass funeral site after deadly plane crash;https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/12/31/south-koreas-muan-turns-into-mass-funeral-site-after-deadly-plane-crash?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 14:55:54 +0000 | A sea of people wearing black, waiting for the remains of their loved ones, throng Muan's airport, two days after crash. |
Al Jazeera;Norovirus is spiking in the US: What do we need to know?;https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/31/norovirus-is-spiking-in-the-us-what-do-we-need-to-know?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 14:18:49 +0000 | The CDC has already reported a significant rise in clusters of infections, just two months into norovirus season. |
Al Jazeera;Know their names: The Palestinian journalists killed by Israel in Gaza;https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2024/12/31/know-their-names-the-palestinian-journalists-killed-by-israel-in-gaza?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 13:56:53 +0000 | Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, at least 217 journalists and media workers have been killed. |
Al Jazeera;Sde Teiman: Israel’s notorious detention facility;https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2024/12/31/sde-teiman-israels-notorious-detention-facility?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 13:49:51 +0000 | Gaza doctor Hussam Abu Safia from Kamal Adwan Hospital is believed to be detained at Israel’s infamous Sde Teiman. |
Al Jazeera;A Year of Censorship: Social Media Crackdown;https://www.aljazeera.com/program/the-stream/2024/12/31/a-year-of-censorship-social-media-crackdown?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 13:46:19 +0000 | On the Stream, we look at how censorship on the internet has increased and ask what freedom of expression means online. |
Al Jazeera;Gaza hospitals on ‘brink of total collapse’ from Israel attacks: UN;https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/31/gaza-hospitals-on-brink-of-total-collapse-from-israel-attacks-un?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 13:14:56 +0000 | UN report says 136 strikes on Gaza hospitals have caused critical damage and casualties among medical personnel. |
Al Jazeera;How Pakistan changed in 2024;https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/12/31/how-pakistan-changed-in-2024?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 13:08:01 +0000 | Violent attacks soared. Political instability grew. Censorship deepened. Economic green shoots, gold medal gave hope. |
Al Jazeera;China’s Xi highlights ‘world peace’ in New Year’s message to Russia’s Putin;https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/31/chinas-xi-highlights-world-peace-in-new-years-message-to-russias-putin?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 12:26:43 +0000 | Chinese leader underscores 'rapidly evolving changes not seen in a century and the turbulent international situation'. |
Al Jazeera;Video: Ethiopia truck crash kills at least 70 wedding party guests;https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2024/12/31/video-ethiopia-truck-crash-kills-at-least-70-wedding-party-guests?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 12:26:38 +0000 | A truck carrying wedding party guests has crashed in Ethiopia, killing more than 70 people. |
Al Jazeera;How the world voted in 2024;https://www.aljazeera.com/program/by-the-numbers-3/2024/12/31/how-the-world-voted-in-2024-2?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 12:24:21 +0000 | In the biggest election year in history, almost 1.7 billion people voted worldwide. |
Al Jazeera;Trinidad and Tobago imposes state of emergency over gang wars. What to know;https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/31/trinidad-and-tobago-imposes-state-of-emergency-over-gang-wars-what-to-know?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 12:20:25 +0000 | The dual island nation has recorded hundreds of murders linked to gang violence this year. |
Al Jazeera;Panic at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport during Houthi missile attack;https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2024/12/31/panic-at-israels-ben-gurion-airport-during-houthi-missile-attack?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 12:20:22 +0000 | Video shows the moment sirens ring in Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion airport as Houthis launch missiles at Israel from Yemen. |
Al Jazeera;Russia, Ukraine trade dozens of attacks as sea drone downs Mi-8 helicopter;https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/31/russia-launches-slew-of-attacks-on-ukraine-kyiv-downs-moscow-air-target?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 11:42:22 +0000 | Flurry of attacks on Kyiv and elsewhere comes as Ukraine says it shot down a Russian Mi-8 helicopter for the first time. |
Al Jazeera;Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,041;https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/31/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-1041?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 11:06:20 +0000 | Here are the key developments on the 1,041st day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. |
Al Jazeera;Family of Gaza doctor Hussam Abu Safia calls on Israel to release him;https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2024/12/31/family-of-gaza-doctor-hussam-abu-safia-calls-on-israel-to-release-him?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 10:39:51 +0000 | Dr Hussam Abu Safia’s family is calling for his immediate release, as Israeli attacks on other Gaza hospitals continue. |
Al Jazeera;Video: Longest-held Guantanamo Bay detainee repatriated to Tunisia;https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2024/12/31/video-longest-held-guantanamo-bay-detainee-repatriated-to-tunisia?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 10:34:02 +0000 | The US military has released Ridah bin Saleh al-Yazidi from the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison camp. |
Al Jazeera;The pope is right about Israel and Gaza. This is cruelty, not war;https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/12/31/the-pope-is-right-about-israel-and-gaza-this-is-cruelty-not-war?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 10:03:00 +0000 | The pontiff simply says what needs to be said. |
Al Jazeera;Israel’s war on Gaza: 12 months, 12 pictures;https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2024/12/31/israels-war-on-gaza-12-months-12-pictures?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 09:45:13 +0000 | Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 45,541 Palestinians and wounded 108,338 since October 7, 2023. |
Al Jazeera;‘Moral imperative’: WHO presses China to share COVID origins data;https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/31/moral-imperative-who-presses-china-to-share-covid-origins-data?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 09:20:37 +0000 | Beijing insists it has shared information on the coronavirus 'without holding anything back'. |
Al Jazeera;US military releases long-held Guantanamo detainee to Tunisia;https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/31/detainee-held-since-guantanamo-bay-opened-repatriated-to-tunisia-pentagon?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 08:43:10 +0000 | Transfer from the US military prison is the fourth in two weeks by the outgoing Biden administration. |
Al Jazeera;Runway design may have cost lives in South Korean air disaster, experts say;https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/31/flight-2216-landing-gear-and-runway-problems-flagged-as-reasons-for-crash?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 08:12:49 +0000 | Jeju Air Flight 2216 exploded into flames after slamming into a concrete structure at the end of the runway. |
Al Jazeera;‘Something has been taken away’: Pakistan’s well-kept FGM secret;https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/12/31/something-has-been-taken-away-pakistans-well-kept-fgm-secret?traffic_source=rss;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 05:47:12 +0000 | Pain. Betrayal. Nightmares. For thousands of Pakistani women, genital mutilation is a reality rarely talked about. |
BBC News;Watch: New Zealand and Australia celebrate the start of a new year;https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/cql51k3rgzpo;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 13:52:39 GMT | Celebrations are being held as countries welcome in the new year. |
BBC News;Knighthood for London Mayor Sadiq Khan prompts Conservative criticism;https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gj7n5l376o;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 09:54:48 GMT | Politicians joining Sir Sadiq on the New Year Honours list include Emily Thornbury and Andy Street. |
BBC News;Jewel raid victims offer up to £1.5m in rewards;https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj0rg7j8dz9o;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 15:01:19 GMT | The victims, believed to include Shafira Huang, had £10m of jewellery stolen in the raid. |
BBC News;Why did it take Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt eight years to reach divorce deal?;https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg9dvr408do;Tue, 31 Dec 2024 14:31:15 GMT | The pair were married for two years - but it has taken four times that time to reach a divorce deal. |