AUSTRALIA
Most shun Bondi Beach
Poor weather and the COVID-19 pandemic yesterday kept beachgoers away from Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach, a traditional Christmas destination for thousands of people each year. At midday, only about 100 people were swimming, surfing and posing for photographs in front of a Christmas tree set up by lifeguards. “We have got to be present with the moment,” local Celio Agostinho said. “Bring a bit of happiness to the situation, bring a bit of light, bring a bit of hope, bit of craziness and that’s it. That’s what Bondi is, that’s what Christmas is all about.”
HONG KONG
Travel quarantine extended
The government extended its compulsory quarantine to three weeks for almost all international travelers from yesterday. Experts suggested that the incubation period of a new variant of COVID-19 could be longer than 14 days — so passengers must undergo compulsory quarantine in designated hotels for three weeks, rather than two, the government said, adding that only travelers arriving from Taiwan, Macau and mainland China would be exempt. It also announced that people who have stayed in South Africa in the past 21 days would be banned from entry.
CHINA
Millions in port tested
Authorities in the northeastern port city of Dalian are testing millions of residents after seven new COVID-19 cases were reported there in the past 24 hours. The cluster has grown to 12 cases. In five neighborhood divisions, authorities have shut schools and public spaces and are restricting anyone but essential workers from leaving their residential compounds. Beijing is on high alert after two asymptomatic cases were reported on Thursday, in addition to two confirmed cases last week, with mass testing being conducted in the neighborhood.
UNITED KINGDOM
No. 10 cat trumps Brexit
Larry the Downing Street Cat, always a favorite of camera crews waiting for news outside the home of the prime minister, found himself captivating the world’s media on Monday as they waited in vain in for a Brexit breakthrough. However, much like the negotiators, who had been promising an imminent deal for almost a day, he flattered to deceive as he smoothly stalked a pigeon, pounced on it — and then let it slip from his grasp. Larry, officially the “Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office,” has been in residence since 2011. He was recruited from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and the government’s Web site has a picture of him sitting on the Cabinet table, wearing a national flag as a bow around his neck. “Larry spends his days greeting guests to the house, inspecting security defences and testing antique furniture for napping quality,” the Web site says.
Thousands gathered across New Zealand yesterday to celebrate the signing of the country’s founding document and some called for an end to government policies that critics say erode the rights promised to the indigenous Maori population. As the sun rose on the dawn service at Waitangi where the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed between the British Crown and Maori chiefs in 1840, some community leaders called on the government to honor promises made 185 years ago. The call was repeated at peaceful rallies that drew several hundred people later in the day. “This government is attacking tangata whenua [indigenous people] on all
A colossal explosion in the sky, unleashing energy hundreds of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. A blinding flash nearly as bright as the sun. Shockwaves powerful enough to flatten everything for miles. It might sound apocalyptic, but a newly detected asteroid nearly the size of a football field now has a greater than 1 percent chance of colliding with Earth in about eight years. Such an impact has the potential for city-level devastation, depending on where it strikes. Scientists are not panicking yet, but they are watching closely. “At this point, it’s: ‘Let’s pay a lot of attention, let’s
UNDAUNTED: Panama would not renew an agreement to participate in Beijing’s Belt and Road project, its president said, proposing technical-level talks with the US US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday threatened action against Panama without immediate changes to reduce Chinese influence on the canal, but the country’s leader insisted he was not afraid of a US invasion and offered talks. On his first trip overseas as the top US diplomat, Rubio took a guided tour of the canal, accompanied by its Panamanian administrator as a South Korean-affiliated oil tanker and Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship passed through the vital link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. However, Rubio was said to have had a firmer message in private, telling Panama that US President Donald Trump
The administration of US President Donald Trump has appointed to serve as the top public diplomacy official a former speech writer for Trump with a history of doubts over US foreign policy toward Taiwan and inflammatory comments on women and minorities, at one point saying that "competent white men must be in charge." Darren Beattie has been named the acting undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, a senior US Department of State official said, a role that determines the tone of the US' public messaging in the world. Beattie requires US Senate confirmation to serve on a permanent basis. "Thanks to