2021-05-05 09:35:36 GMT2021-05-05 17:35:36(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
CANBERRA, May 5 (Xinhua) The Australian federal government s ban on its own citizens returning from India has been under criticism, and a man is challenging the decision over COVID-19 in court.
According to report on The Australian newspaper, 73-year-old Gary Newman who was stranded in India has filed a lawsuit against Health Minister Greg Hunt on Wednesday. The man traveled to India last year, and wanted to return, before being prevented by the ban.
His lawyer challenged the validity of the government s decision to criminalize Australian citizens traveling home from India.
Fining and imprisoning Australians returning from India is more than just an extreme effort to discourage travel from the subcontinent during its calamitous surge in Covid cases. It’s emblematic of a siege mentality that politicians, sadly, see as a winning electoral strategy. Australia has temporarily banned its citizens from entering if they have been in India within two weeks of their arrival. Breaches could lead to a fine of A$66,600 ($51,000), five years in jail, or both. The Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported there about 9,000 Australians living in India who want to come home. While many countries have suspended arrivals from India, where infections recently soared to 400,000 daily cases, Australia’s health system isn’t exactly at a breaking point. The nation has come close to eliminating local transmission of the virus, largely by closing its international border to non-residents. The prospective criminalization and incarceration of citizens for returning to the
International recognition of Palestine would not be mere symbolism
Yossi Mekelberg
May 04, 2021 23:19
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations, in New York. (Reuters/File)
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Since the collapse of John Kerry’s peace initiative in 2014, the peace process between the Israelis and Palestinians has entered a prolonged hibernation. Both the Israeli and Palestinian political systems are preoccupied with internal discord, and the international community has either lost interest or the belief that it can make any difference in terms of ending this intractable conflict.
Periodically, the idea of the formal recognition of a Palestinian state by other states or international bodies such as the UN or the EU is floated as a game-changer that will break the impasse. So far, it has been more of a trickle than a flood of countries and institutions recognizing Palestine as a state most notably the decisions b
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Subscriber only An iconic attraction in the central west has reopened its new cafe, retail outlet and children s area as part of a multimillion-dollar upgrade, creating a better experience for visitors and tourists. The new and improved Australian Workers Heritage Centre (AWHC) in Barcaldine officially reopened on Sunday, just in time for Monday s 2021 Labour Day celebrations. Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe was in Barcaldine for the official opening. He said the new entry building was designed to welcome tourists into the facility directly from the main street. The new building features a themed entry to draw guests inside, a cafe-restaurant, a retail outlet, children s activity area, rest room facilities, covered and easy access for disability parking, and environmental utilities such as solar power and water efficient devices, Mr Hinchcliffe said.
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Union chants echoed down Goondoon Street as hundreds took part in Gladstone’s Labour Day parade on Monday.
Members from Australian and Central Queensland unions like the CFMEU, AMWU and United Workers Union took part. Marchers young and old took to the streets of Gladstone as part of the Labour Day celebration for 2021.
The march concluded at the Gladstone Ports Corporation’s marina parklands where a free Labour Day event took place.
Gladstone Mayor and new Australian Labor Party candidate for Flynn Matt Burnett took to the stage and addressed the hundreds in attendance about mining, manufacturing and agriculture.