AUSTRALIA
‘No jab, no pay’ proposed
Prime Minister Tony Abbott yesterday said that his nation will adopt a “no jab, no pay” policy to block parents who refuse to vaccinate their children from accessing some government benefits. The policy change comes amid a debate over immunization for children, with some parents believing vaccines against deadly diseases are dangerous. The anti-vaccination movement has coincided with the resurgence of measles in some European countries as well as in parts of the US. “It’s essentially a ‘no jab, no pay’ policy from this government,” Abbott told reporters in Sydney. “It’s a very important public health announcement. It’s a very important measure to keep our children and our families as safe as possible.” Under current laws, parents who have “conscientious objections” about immunization can claim childcare and welfare payments. If the measures are passed, such parents would be denied the payments — which include childcare rebates, benefits and family tax benefit supplements — and could miss out on up to A$15,000 (US$11,500) per child annually. Parents unwilling to vaccinate the children on medical or religious grounds will still be allowed to tap into the benefits, although under tighter requirements.
IRAN
State TV accounts hacked
The Arabic-language state TV network al-Alam yesterday said its Twitter account had been hacked and a false report was posted that a rebel leader in Yemen allied with Tehran had died. Al-Alam has covered the crisis in Yemen since Saudi Arabia and Arab allies launched air strikes against the Shiiite Houthi movement this month. The false news on Houthi leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi’s death was tweeted by al-Alam’s account on Saturday, and several later posts published contact information for the channel’s reporters around the region. The channel said it was working on restoring its account. Al-Alam’s YouTube channel also appeared to be hacked, and a video was posted of a song praising Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz with the Saudi flag as a backdrop.
INDIA
Rebels kill police in ambush
Maoist rebels attacked a group of policemen patrolling in a forest in Chhattisgarh state, killing seven and wounding another 10, police said. The ambushed policemen were part of a special task force out searching for rebel activity early on Saturday when the militants opened fire, according to R.K. Vij, a top police official in Chhattisgarh.
CAMBODIA
Land activists pardoned
Ten female land activists jailed over protests last year have been pardoned and released from prison, a rights group said yesterday, following an outcry over their arrests. King Norodom Sihamoni granted a royal pardon to the activists — including a 75-year-old woman known locally as “Mommy” — who were released on Saturday, said Am Sam Ath of rights group Licadho, which provided legal assistance to the women. “We regret that they made no mistake, but were convicted and jailed,” he said. The women and a defrocked Buddhist monk were each sentenced to a year in prison in November last year for blocking traffic or obstructing the work of officials during protests in Phnom Penh. The Appeal Court later reduced eight of their jail terms to 10 months while the sentence for the eldest campaigner was cut to six months. The one-year sentences for prominent rights activist Tep Vanny and the former monk were upheld.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese