Bollywood superstars Deepika Padukone and Akshay Kumar bagged Dadasaheb Phalke Awards for ‘Best Actor’ in the prestigious award ceremony held on Saturday. The star-studded night that was held after a long span of time due to the COVID-19 pandemic honoured the talented artists for their outstanding contribution to the Indian cinema. Where Kiara Advani won the ‘Critic’s Best Actress’ award to Sushmita Sen who won ‘Best Actress-Web Series’, Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone and Akshay Kumar bagged the ‘Best Actor’ award for their acclaimed performances in notable movies ‘Chhapaak’ and ‘Laxmi.
The official Instagram account of Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival announced the news. For the ‘Padmaavat’ star, they wrote, “Celebrating the dedication you’ve shown on the way to this achievement. Congratulations to @deepikapadukone for winning the “Best Actress” award at Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2021. Team DPIFF wishes you the best for your future endeavors!!”
Deepika who played the protagonist in the film also marked her debut as a producer with this film. Helmed by director Meghna Gulzar, the film is based on the real-life acid attack survivor Laxmi, who at the age of 15, was attacked allegedly by a spurned lover in 2005. Laxmi had to undergo several surgeries. Later, she took up the job of helping acid attack survivors and promoted campaigns to stop such attacks. Laxmi is a well-known advocate of stricter punishments in acid attack cases. Meanwhile, for Akshay Kumar, the official Instagram account of Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival wrote, “Celebrating the dedication you’ve shown on the way to this achievement. Congratulations to @akshaykumar for winning the “Best Actor” award at Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2021. Team DPIFF wishes you the best for your future endeavors!!”
‘Laxmi is the remake of the Tamil film ‘Kanchana,’ and has been directed by Raghava Lawrence. It starred Akshay Kumar and Kiara Advani in the pivotal roles. The horror-comedy with a message for the need for equal rights for the third gender was premiered on November 9 2020 on DisneyPlus Hotstar.
Coronil, developed by yoga guru Ramdev-promoted Patanjali Ayurved has run into a controversy over claims of certification.
It is a medicine that claims to boost immunity against COVID-19.
At its launch, this product was billed by the company as the “first evidence-based medicine for COVID-19”.
On the big poster behind the delegates was written the claim that the “medicine” was CoPP and WHO GMP certified.
The WHO, however, has clarified in a tweet that it has not reviewed or certified any traditional medicine to treat or prevent COVID-19.
.@WHO has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment #COVID19.— WHO South-East Asia (@WHOSEARO) February 19, 2021
Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi citing ‘WHO’s clarification’ attacked the centre and tweeted.
I hope our Health Minister stops embarrassing the nation with such claims to promote Coronil. I strongly believe in Ayurveda but to claim it as a WHO guaranteed cure against COVID &endorse it, is nothing but cheating as well as misleading the nation. https://t.co/keneIA0pyM— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) February 21, 2021
Patanjali said in a statement:
“Coronil has received the Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (CoPP) from the Ayush section of Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation as per the WHO certification scheme.”
The press meet was also attended by Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.
Last year in July, the AYUSH Ministry had banned Patanjali from selling it as a “cure” and sought information on its trials.
National
Baba Ramdev told media:
“We are using modern medicinal and scientific protocols and evidence-based research to prove the validity of Ayurvedic practices.”
Baba Ramdev also said that Ayurveda has been accepted and established in many countries such as Australia and New Zealand.
Later, Patanjali Ayurved managing director Acharya Balkrishna tweeted:
“We want to clarify to avoid confusion that our WHO GMP compliant COPP certificate to Coronil is issued by DCGI, Government of India. It is clear that WHO do not approve or disapprove any drugs. WHO works for building a better, healthier future for people all over the world.”
World number one Novak Djokovic on Sunday defeated Russia’s Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 in the finals of the Australian Open 2021 here at the Rod Laver Arena to clinch his 9th Australian title. This is the 18th Grand Slam win for the Serbian player. The Serbian Djokovic came out all guns blazing and it seemed as if he did not want to waste time in winning his 18th Grand Slam, but Medvedev eventually came back and the set was tied at 5-5. However, in the end, Djokovic showed his class to win the first set 7-5 in about 42 minutes.
The 33-year-old Djokovic made light work of Medvedev in the second set and the Serbian won the second set with ease and as a result, he was just one more set away from winning his ninth Australian Open title. Djokovic had no trouble in winning the third set as well and with this, the Serbian ended up winning the match in straight sets. Earlier, Djokovic had defeated Aslan Karatsev in the semi-finals while Medvedev had outclassed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals.
On Saturday, Japan’s Naomi Osaka had won her second Australian Open title after she defeated America’s Jennifer Brady in the finals. Osaka outclassed Brady 6-4, 6-3 in the finals that were played at the Rod Laver Arena. With this win, Osaka registered her fourth Grand Slam title and she also improved her ranking to the second spot.
Almost 60 years after Nagaland attained statehood, the Indian national anthem was played inside its assembly for the first time.
This historical event took place during the commencement of the seventh session of the assembly.
As can be seen in the video, everyone in attendance rose in unison when the national anthem was being played.
Nagaland became the 16th state of India on 1 December 1963.
Since 1946, Nagaland has had a troubled relationship with the Indian government because of the activities of some separatist groups.
In 2015, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to various leaders after the signing of historic peace accord between Government of India and Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN).
Nagaland lawmakers proudly listened to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s “Jana Gana Mana” in the House.
The Governor of Nagaland, Shri R.N. Ravi calling on the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, in New Delhi on August 08, 2019.
This was followed by Governor R.N. Ravi’s inaugural address.
Nagaland Speaker Sharingain Longkumer told The Print:
“As long as the governor gives his address, this is the convention to be followed in the Nagaland legislative assembly, a convention I want to start.”
WATCH VIDEO: Indian National Anthem by AR Rahman and top Indian artists
World-renowned Ladakh-based engineer & education reformist Sonam Wangchuk has built a solar-powered military tent for the Indian Army at the Galway Valley.
Wangchuk built a tent that could accommodate 10 jawans and is fully portable with the weight of the tent being less than 30 kilos.
Wangchuk revealed on Twitter that his tent could sustain even under sub-zero temperatures such as minus 14 degrees Celcius.
In one photograph, he points out that it was carbon neutral, replacing kerosene and tackling pollution.
In another tweet, Wangchuk thanked people for their ‘overwhelming response to Ladakh’s little gift for Indian Army.’
He also said that ‘To answer your Qs about how it works I’m releasing a video at 11am on my YouTube channel.’
Sachin Dabarwar (CEO) and Shweta Darbarwar (CMO) of Simply Fresh, an agritech startup, are good examples of talented Indians returning from abroad to uplift India with their unique idea.
The couple started Simply Fresh with the following vison:
“Simply fresh was started with the aim of making available nutritious food that’s also free of chemicals and pesticides.”
In 2013, the duo founded their first hydroponics farm at Shamirpet.
This 9-acre farm catered to Retail and Horeca segments in local markets.
Hydroponics is a way to skip the soil and use different material to support the roots of the plant.
This way crops can be grown directly in nutrient-rich water.
The greenhouses in their farm are digitally controlled by an AI platform called ‘Farm in A Box’ (FiAB).
Sachin and Shweta, who are software engineers by profession, were based in Australia and studying modern Agriculture technology particularly plant-profiling and R&D.
They were working with a group of botanists and struck upon an idea.
In 2018, they raised USD20 million and expanded farming with a 150-acre facility in Arjunpatla, Siddipet.
The agricultural scientists at their farm have combine hydroponic soil-less farming with AI technology.
The farm also produces a full line of Nutra/pharma grade medicinal plants such as turmeric, ginger, shatavari, amaranthus, etc.
“In a country like ours, where we have scarcity of water especially for agricultural use, we can reduce our water consumption drastically by up to 1/10th of the traditional farming water consumption by using hydroponic and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.”
In 2020, they received the CMO Best Brand Of Telangana Award.
Do you think that India and Australia should work together on such sustainable farming practices?
Breaking News: Prime Minister Scott Morrison is among the first Australians to receive the Pfizer vaccine today on Sunday.
Mr Morrison wrote on social media, “Meet Jane, the first person in Australia to receive a #COVID19 vaccine. Today is a landmark day in Australia’s comeback from this pandemic. Vaccinations are free and voluntary for everyone in Australia and our own medical experts have found these vaccines to be safe and effective.”
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt told while appearing on ABC that a group of people will receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in Sydney before the vaccination program is rolled out nationally on Monday.
Advice received of zero cases of community transmission nationwide in the last 24 hours. This is thankfully the 3rd of 4 days w zero cases nationwide. Agonisingly over 10,000 people lost their lives to COVID globally on Friday. Our thoughts are with those lost & their families.
Widely belived in media circles that this move by PM Morrison is to counter the myth about the safety of coronavirus vaccine.
“Today the first group of people will be vaccinated, commencing with two of our aged-care residents, our critical aged-care staff, frontline workers,” Mr Hunt said.
“We also know that the chief medical officer and the chief nurse and the Prime Minister – in order to provide confidence, the Prime Minister will be the last of that group.”
Mr. Hunt explained, this measure is in view of a very strong focus on the need for key leaders,…across party groups to provide that confidence.
Dr. Shubham Sharma is GP in Melbourne.
He says, A lot my patients ask me about the vaccience safety and advice arround it.
“It will be so good to tell them that its safe and PM Morrison and Cheif Health officer has taken it,” said Dr.Sharma.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has identified the following people as being eligible for vaccination under phase 1a of the rollout:
Aged care and group disability care workers and residents, including:
residents of aged care and people with disability living in disability residential accommodation
Quarantine and border workers, including:
staff at entry points to the country (such as sea ports and land borders)
staff working in quarantine facilities, including those employed under Commonwealth, state or private agreements, and
Commonwealth employees (including Defence personnel) who are identified as having the potential to encounter returning travelers as part of their work.
Frontline health workers (including clinical, medical students, and administrative staff) most likely to be exposed to COVID-19 including;
frontline staff in facilities or services such as hospital emergency departments, COVID-19 and respiratory wards, Intensive Care Units and High-dependency Units
laboratory staff handling potentially infectious material
ambulance and paramedics service
GP respiratory clinics, and
COVID-19 testing facilities.
Other health workers will follow in Phase 1B
Thousands of aged care residents in Australia, at more than 240 facilities, will receive their first COVID-19 vaccine dose next week. The facilities are located across Australia in over 190 towns and suburbs in rural and urban areas in every state and territory:
Australian Capital Territory
Curtin
Farrer
Garran
Griffith
Hughes
Narrabundah
Red Hill
Stirling
Weston
New South Wales
Alstonville
Austral
Ballina
Bangor
Barden Ridge
Blacktown
Collaroy
Collaroy Plateau
Corrimal
Cronulla
Dean Park
Emu Plains
Engadine
Glenfield
Gosford West
Heathcote
Illawong
Jamisontown
Marayong
Minto
Mortdale
Mount Austin
Narrabeen
Orange
Peakhurst
Penrith
Penshurst
Point Clare
Port Macquarie
Prestons
Roselands
Springwood
Stanwell Park
Tarrawanna
Terrey Hills
Thirroul
Umina Beach
Wagga Wagga
Warriewood
Woonona
Woy Woy
Northern Territory
Alice Springs
Braitling
Coconut Grove
Fannie Bay
Farrar
Nightcliff
Tiwi
Queensland
Albany Creek
Aspley
Bald Hills
Beaconsfield
Birtinya
Bray Park
Buderim
Bundaberg
Burleigh Heads
Burleigh Waters
Carseldine
Cleveland
Glenella
Glenvale
Harristown
Hope Island
Kearneys Spring
Kepnock
Lawnton
Mackay
Meridan Plains
Millbank
Mirani
Mudgeeraba
North Bundaberg
North Mackay
North Tamborine
Palmwoods
Pimpama
Redland Bay
Robina
Sippy Downs
South Toowoomba
Thornlands
Toowoomba
Upper Coomera
Varsity Lakes
Victoria Point
Warana
West Mackay
Woombye
South Australia
Aldgate
Cowandilla
Encounter Bay
Everard Park
Goolwa
Hahndorf
Heathfield
Lockleys
Marion
Marleston
Morphettville
Mount Barker
North Plympton
Oaklands Park
Port Elliot
Uraidla
Victor Harbor
Tasmania
Burnie
Legana
Newnham
Newstead
Norwood
Penguin
Riverside
Somerset
St Leonards
Ulverstone
West Ulverstone
Wynyard
Victoria
Altona Meadows
Ballarat
Ballarat East
Bayswater
Bendigo
Blackburn
California Gully
Canadian
Cowes
Cranbourne
Cranbourne East
Creswick
Dandenong
Dandenong North
Delacombe
Drouin
Drysdale
East Bendigo
Forest Hill
Heathmont
Hoppers Crossing
Ironbark
Junction Village
Lara
Long Gully
Moe
Morwell
Mount Clear
Neerim South
Newborough
Nunawading
Ocean Grove
Point Cook
Point Lonsdale
Portarlington
Ringwood
Vermont
Vermont South
Wallington
Wantirna
Wantirna South
Warragul
Wendouree
Werribee
Western Australia
Balcatta
Bunbury
Calista
Carey Park
Cooloongup
Donnybrook
Eaton
Emu Point
Kingsley
Lockyer
Madeley
Marangaroo
Mirrabooka
Port Kennedy
Rockingham
Shoalwater
South Bunbury
Spencer Park
Waikiki
Yakamia
States and territories will initially have 16 Pfizer vaccination hubs operational across Australia. These first hubs will be at:
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (NSW)
Westmead Hospital (NSW)
Liverpool Hospital (NSW)
Monash Medical Centre Clayton (VIC)
Sunshine Hospital (VIC)
Austin Health (VIC)
University Hospital Geelong (VIC)
Gold Coast University Hospital (QLD)
Cairns Hospital (QLD)
Princess Alexandra Hospital (QLD)
Royal Adelaide Hospital (SA)
Flinders Medical Centre (SA)
Perth Children’s Hospital (WA)
Royal Hobart Hospital (TAS)
The Canberra Hospital (ACT)
Royal Darwin Hospital (NT)
The remaining phases will be rolled out as the number of vaccines grows.
The plea filed in the Madras High Court is ‘Asif Riaz v Government of India and ors’ by the petitioner’s counsel N.G.R. Prasad.
The Madras High Court issued notices to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Drugs Controller General of India and Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research.
This is returnable by March 26,2021.
In addition, Justice Abdul Quddhose ordered issuance of notices to the CEOs of Serum Institute of India Private Limited, AstraZeneca UK and the chairman of the ethics committee of Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research.
Adar Poonawala
Asif Riaz is a business consultant and has also sought ₹5 crore in compensation.
The 41-year-old litigant has a Master’s degree in management from Massey University, New Zealand.
He has urged the court in his petition to declare Covishield as “unsafe”.
“I have lost all the projects I was working on that entitled an annual earning of over $30,000 a year prior to volunteering for the vaccine. I am feeling utterly frustrated and totally lacking in confidence. I am also feeling very guilty that my two small children who get very scared when I have extreme mood swings because of my decision to volunteer for the test vaccine.”
Common short term side effects and risks associated with Covidshield were studied in the second phase. In the third phase, the therapeutic benefits were demonstrated and in the fourth phase trial of new drug was performed after necessary approvals.
The trial was conducted at Sri Ramachandra Institute and an information sheet given to volunteers which that the vaccine was previously tested in the UK and was found to be safe.
The possible reactions to Covidshield include fever, chills and fatigue.
Asif Riaz claims in his affidavit that he has suffered acute neurological encephalopathy:
“Ironically, the only time one trial sponsor (Serum Institute of India) contacted me, not to inquire about my health or to find out about my sufferance but to intimidate me stating they would file a Rs 100 crore defamation suit on me for sharing my experience with the general public!”
His adverse reactions started about 10 days after he was administered the vaccine on October 1, 2020.
Asif Riaz has also registered an objection to an expert committee set up by the Drug Controller of India.
“I believe I will get justice. There are medical experts who have told me that whatever I suffered was due to the (Covishield) vaccine that I had taken. I had no other option but to approach the court and I hope that the court will make a fair assessment based on the facts of this case. I have consulted a number of medical experts who have told me that I suffered because of the vaccine.”
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Perseverance rover on Thursday (local time) successfully touched down on the surface of Mars after surviving a blazing seven-minute plunge through the Martian atmosphere. Among the scientists who are part of this historic mission, Indian-American Dr. Swati Mohan spearheaded the development of attitude control and the landing system for the rover. “Touchdown confirmed! Perseverance is safely on the surface of Mars, ready to begin seeking the signs of past life,” exclaimed NASA engineer Dr. Swati Mohan.
A preview of what’s to come in just a couple of hours. Once I get this part behind me, I’ll finally be able to get to work. Can’t wait. #CountdownToMarspic.twitter.com/KDrOzNFats
When the world watched the dramatic landing, in the control room, calm and composed bindi-clad Dr. Mohan was communicating and coordinating between the GN&C subsystem and the rest of the project’s team. Apart from being the lead systems engineer during the development process, she also looks after the team and schedules the mission control staffing for GN&C. NASA scientist Dr. Mohan emigrated from India to America when she was just one-year-old. She spent most of her childhood in the Northern Virginia-Washington DC metro area. At the age of 9, after having watched ‘Star Trek’ for the first time, she was quite astounded by the beautiful depictions of the new regions of the universe that they were exploring. She had immediately realised that she wanted to do that and “find new and beautiful places in the universe.”
She also wanted to become a pediatrician until she was 16. It was, however, her first physics class and the “great teacher” she received, that she considered “engineering” as a way to pursue her interest in space exploration. Dr. Mohan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Cornell University and completed her MS and Ph.D. from MIT in Aeronautics/Astronautics.
Feeling the heat, and the Gs! I’m past peak heating and deceleration. Now in guided entry phase, maneuvering to zero in on my landing target.#CountdownToMarspic.twitter.com/TbNAFBRGWf
While she has been a member of the Perseverance Rover mission since the beginning at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, Dr. Mohan has also been a part of various important missions of NASA. The Indian-American Scientist worked on projects Cassini (a mission to Saturn) and GRAIL (a pair of formation flown spacecraft to the Moon). The largest, most advanced rover NASA has sent to another world touched down on Mars Thursday, after a 203-day journey traversing 293 million miles (472 million kilometers).
The agency’s Perseverance rover landed on the Red Planet at 3:55 pm (Eastern US time) Thursday, bringing an end to the “seven minutes of terror” that saw a fiery atmospheric entry and parachute-assisted descent. The rover’s landing mechanism then fired eight retrorockets to slow down and guide it to a proper landing spot before using nylon cords to lower it onto the surface.
PM Scott Morrison and Indian PM Narendra Modi in Chat: Picture Source: The Australia Today
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke with his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison and said he looks forward to working together for peace, prosperity, and security in the Indo-Pacific region. Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Modi said he discussed regional issues of common interest with Mr. Morrison and reiterated their commitment to consolidating New Delhi and Canberra Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
“Spoke with my good friend PM @ScottMorrisonMP today. Reiterated our commitment to consolidating our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Also discussed regional issues of common interest. Look forward to working together for peace, prosperity and security in the Indo-Pacific,” he tweeted.
Spoke with my good friend PM @ScottMorrisonMP today. Reiterated our commitment to consolidating our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Also discussed regional issues of common interest. Look forward to working together for peace, prosperity and security in the Indo-Pacific.
Prime Minister Modi’s tweet comes just before the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad is scheduled to hold its third ministerial meeting to discuss practical cooperation for maintaining a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific. The meeting between the foreign ministers of the group that includes India, Australia, Japan, and the US will “provide an opportunity to continue the useful exchange of views from their last meeting in Tokyo” on October 6, 2020, the external affairs ministry said in a brief statement. The foreign ministers will “exchange views on regional and global issues especially practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region”, the statement said. Indo-Pacific region is largely viewed as an area comprising the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean, including the South China Sea. China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and its efforts to advance into the Indian Ocean are seen to have challenged the established rules-based system.
China claims much of the South China Sea, but there are also overlapping claims by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. China has built bases and other outposts on shoals, reefs, and rock outcroppings to deepen its claim over 80 percent of the 3.6 sq km waterway, with Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Taiwan claim parts of the same area. In July last year, Prime Minister Modi and Morrison held a virtual bilateral summit during which they announced the elevation of bilateral ties to a “comprehensive strategic partnership'” During the summit, they upgrade their 2+2 dialogue featuring their foreign and defence secretaries to the ministerial level, sign the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA), and another pact on cooperation in the field of mining and rare earth minerals.
Australia’s COVID-19 Vaccination Program will commence from next week. People in priority groups who are most at risk and who need protection the most – will receive a vaccine first.
The rollout will begin with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and following the approval by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) on Tuesday, will include the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine from early March.
The initial priority groups include aged care and disability care residents and workers, frontline healthcare workers, and quarantine and border workers.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt reaffirmed that Australia’s vaccine strategy is strong and on schedule.
“Australia will begin rolling out the COVID-19 Vaccination program from next week,” Minister Hunt said.
“This week the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has arrived in the country and the TGA has approved the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine. These are two outstanding vaccines that will be available to people in Australia free of charge.”
Frontline healthcare workers and quarantine and border workers will receive the vaccine through Pfizer hubs run by states and territories. In addition, a Commonwealth led in-reach vaccination workforce will ensure residential aged care and disability care residents and staff receive their vaccines.
Minister Hunt said the staged approach to the rollout would ensure those who need the most protection get it first.
“Our frontline border and quarantine workers, and people living and working in residential aged and disability care facilities will be the first to receive their vaccines,” Minister Hunt said.
“The vaccination program will save and protect lives. Both of our vaccines will prevent serious illness. That is our primary goal.”
Authorised by Greg Hunt MP, Liberal Party of Australia, Somerville, Victoria.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has identified the following people as being eligible for vaccination under phase 1a of the rollout:
Aged care and group disability care workers and residents, including:
residents of aged care and people with disability living in disability residential accommodation
Quarantine and border workers, including:
staff at entry points to the country (such as sea ports and land borders)
staff working in quarantine facilities, including those employed under Commonwealth, state or private agreements, and
Commonwealth employees (including Defence personnel) who are identified as having the potential to encounter returning travellers as part of their work.
Frontline health workers (including clinical, medical students and administrative staff) most likely to be exposed to COVID-19 including;
frontline staff in facilities or services such as hospital emergency departments,COVID-19 and respiratory wards, Intensive Care Units and High-dependency Units
laboratory staff handling potentially infectious material
ambulance and paramedics service
GP respiratory clinics, and
COVID-19 testing facilities.
Other health workers will follow in Phase 1B
Thousands of aged care residents in Australia, at more than 240 facilities, will receive their first COVID-19 vaccine dose next week. The facilities are located across Australia in over 190 towns and suburbs in rural and urban areas in every state and territory:
Australian Capital Territory
Curtin
Farrer
Garran
Griffith
Hughes
Narrabundah
Red Hill
Stirling
Weston
New South Wales
Alstonville
Austral
Ballina
Bangor
Barden Ridge
Blacktown
Collaroy
Collaroy Plateau
Corrimal
Cronulla
Dean Park
Emu Plains
Engadine
Glenfield
Gosford West
Heathcote
Illawong
Jamisontown
Marayong
Minto
Mortdale
Mount Austin
Narrabeen
Orange
Peakhurst
Penrith
Penshurst
Point Clare
Port Macquarie
Prestons
Roselands
Springwood
Stanwell Park
Tarrawanna
Terrey Hills
Thirroul
Umina Beach
Wagga Wagga
Warriewood
Woonona
Woy Woy
Northern Territory
Alice Springs
Braitling
Coconut Grove
Fannie Bay
Farrar
Nightcliff
Tiwi
Queensland
Albany Creek
Aspley
Bald Hills
Beaconsfield
Birtinya
Bray Park
Buderim
Bundaberg
Burleigh Heads
Burleigh Waters
Carseldine
Cleveland
Glenella
Glenvale
Harristown
Hope Island
Kearneys Spring
Kepnock
Lawnton
Mackay
Meridan Plains
Millbank
Mirani
Mudgeeraba
North Bundaberg
North Mackay
North Tamborine
Palmwoods
Pimpama
Redland Bay
Robina
Sippy Downs
South Toowoomba
Thornlands
Toowoomba
Upper Coomera
Varsity Lakes
Victoria Point
Warana
West Mackay
Woombye
South Australia
Aldgate
Cowandilla
Encounter Bay
Everard Park
Goolwa
Hahndorf
Heathfield
Lockleys
Marion
Marleston
Morphettville
Mount Barker
North Plympton
Oaklands Park
Port Elliot
Uraidla
Victor Harbor
Tasmania
Burnie
Legana
Newnham
Newstead
Norwood
Penguin
Riverside
Somerset
St Leonards
Ulverstone
West Ulverstone
Wynyard
Victoria
Altona Meadows
Ballarat
Ballarat East
Bayswater
Bendigo
Blackburn
California Gully
Canadian
Cowes
Cranbourne
Cranbourne East
Creswick
Dandenong
Dandenong North
Delacombe
Drouin
Drysdale
East Bendigo
Forest Hill
Heathmont
Hoppers Crossing
Ironbark
Junction Village
Lara
Long Gully
Moe
Morwell
Mount Clear
Neerim South
Newborough
Nunawading
Ocean Grove
Point Cook
Point Lonsdale
Portarlington
Ringwood
Vermont
Vermont South
Wallington
Wantirna
Wantirna South
Warragul
Wendouree
Werribee
Western Australia
Balcatta
Bunbury
Calista
Carey Park
Cooloongup
Donnybrook
Eaton
Emu Point
Kingsley
Lockyer
Madeley
Marangaroo
Mirrabooka
Port Kennedy
Rockingham
Shoalwater
South Bunbury
Spencer Park
Waikiki
Yakamia
States and territories will initially have 16 Pfizer vaccination hubs operational across Australia. These first hubs will be at:
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (NSW)
Westmead Hospital (NSW)
Liverpool Hospital (NSW)
Monash Medical Centre Clayton (VIC)
Sunshine Hospital (VIC)
Austin Health (VIC)
University Hospital Geelong (VIC)
Gold Coast University Hospital (QLD)
Cairns Hospital (QLD)
Princess Alexandra Hospital (QLD)
Royal Adelaide Hospital (SA)
Flinders Medical Centre (SA)
Perth Children’s Hospital (WA)
Royal Hobart Hospital (TAS)
The Canberra Hospital (ACT)
Royal Darwin Hospital (NT)
The remaining phases will be rolled out as the number of vaccines grows.
The aim of the vaccination program is to save and protect lives. To keep people out of intensive care and off ventilators. Both vaccines approved for use in Australia do that very well.
Protecting people from serious illness is, and must, be the first priority
Find out more about the rollout and priority groups at Australia.gov.
Shabnam, a school teacher, was found guilty of murdering seven members of her family along with her lover Salim.
The Mathura Jail administration has already started preparations.
Agra’s Deputy Inspector General (Jail) Akhilesh Kumar told the Hindustan Times:
“If the death sentence is carried out as expected by jail officials, Shabnam could be the first woman convict to be hanged after Independence.”
Shabnam’s family were against her relationship with Salim due to the difference in their educational, social and economic status.
The incident had occurred on the night of April 14 and April 15, 2008.
Shabnam, a double MA (English and Geography), is the daughter of a Pathan Master Shaukat Ali while Salim belongs to the saifi fraternity.
Before going to sleep, Shabnam gave sleeping pills to her family members in their tea. After that she called her boyfriend in the house and brutally killed seven members of her family with an axe.
Both were arrested and sentenced to death by the trial court in 2010.
The death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2015.
Shabnam and Salim’s mercy plea was rejected by Rashtrapati Bhavan.
In January 2020, the Supreme Court turned down their review petitions.
The court noted that Salim “meticulously executed the killing after Shabnam administered sleeping pills in tea”.
Chief Justice of India S. A. Bobde
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India S. A. Bobde and justices S. Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna ruled.
“The devilry was with the desire to see that no legal heir except Shabnam remains alive. They wanted to grab the property of Shabnam’s parents who were against their marriage.”
The Print tried reaching Shabnam’s lawyer Shreya Rastogi, who refused to delve into details of the case.
There were nearly 404 death row convicts as of 31 December 2020.
According to data compiled by the research organisation Project 39A of National Law University, Delhi, India has sent more than 750 men to the gallows since 1947.
A 2016 survey had indicated there were only 12 women on the death row.
Meerut’s Pawan Jallad, the hangman of the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case convicts, has been asked to put Shabnam to the gallows.
Most of us would have memories of doing duty to protect mango, chili, lemon, and other fruit-vegetables when grandma or amma would make “Aachar'(pickle).
But, when in a city like Sydney you are working men/women busy with life but still want your sundried ‘red chilies’, what are your options?
Well, who so ever you are, we salute you, “What a idea sir/madam ji.”
On his way to work Aluru Rahul found this beatutiful car parked with a nostalgic story.
Busy Australian life that to without domestic help of ‘bhaiya ji’ or ‘kamta bai’ is sometimes bit too much for Indian migrants.
However, as there is a saying Indians are the best ‘Jugadu’ people on the earth, This car tells us exactly that.
Social media was quick to make its own theories about the picture posted in one of the groups.
“This person is a real foodie, only want dried chili for some specific recipe.”
“Anti-theft system .. except the owner no one knows how to drive this car with chili smell.”
“Red chili ki to baat na karo…I once dropped a green chili in my car and it turned red over time. A friend found it when she sat in my car and thought I am a damn witch “
Sonika Prasad is chartared accountant with a multinational firm.
She says I am a successful and busy working woman with two young kids to look after, but I still want to give the same food experience to my family which I had growing up in India.
“On weekends I cook all ‘Maharashtrian delicacies’, yes somtimes its hard to get few ingredients but we improvise.”
I am sure it must be a man who was told by his wife to get chili dried by the time she comes back from work, jokes Ms. Prasad.
Bhanu Murti runs his Real Estate business in Blacktown.
He says, I have done several ‘jugadu’ things when I am pressed with time and don’t want to say no to our family or friends.
“This person has taken the time management to the next level.”
Note: If you do have any “Jugadu” picture please send us on admin@theaustraliatoday.com.au
VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 Player Auction will be held at Chennai on February 18, 2021.
A total of 164 Indian players, 125 overseas players and 3 players from Associate Nations will be up for grabs as the eight franchises.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Delhi Capitals (DC), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Mumbai Indians (MI), Rajasthan Royals (RR), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are all geared up to bolster their squads with the rich talent that is on offer.
“While all the teams have several match-winners at their disposal, they will be eager to add more firepower as they eye the prestigious title.”
Khrievitso Kense, son of a carpenter, is fifth among seven siblings.
He says that he is a self-taught cricketer and not worried about the upcoming auction.
“I am ‘bindaas’ (carefree) and not thinking much about the auction (on Thursday). The team supports me well and yes we will watch it (the auction) together.”
Khrievitso Kense polished his cricketing skills by watching his guru Shane Warne’s videos on TV.
Khrievitso Kense who is like ‘Ekalavya,’ the young self-taught archer from the Hindu epic Mahabharata, with Guru Shane Warne behind him has a base price of Rs 20 lakh.
“I really liked the way he turned the ball. I never had a leg-spin coach, I learnt all by myself. There was a sir who would just guide me as I played U-16 cricket.”
In the IPL circle the buzz is that both the Mumbai Indians and the Rajasthan Royals are eyeing for this young player.
Long before the auction, he was even called by these two teams for trials.
Neiphiu Rio, Nagaland Chief Minister, on Saturday tweeted his wishes to Khrievitso Kense:
“My best wishes to Khrievitso Kense from Nagaland, the youngest Indian player to be shortlisted for #IPL2021Auction. I hope he gets picked by a great franchisee that will perform excellently in the @IPL 2021.”
It is nationwide initiative to support the development of diverse fiction writing talent in the Australian screen sector.
This is in partnership with Screen Australia, state and territory agencies Film Victoria, Screen Canberra, Screen NSW, Screen Queensland, Screenwest and the South Australian Film Corporation, and with the assistance of the Australian Writers’ Guild.
Film Victoria CEO, Caroline Pitcher, said:
“Film Victoria’s screen development internship and key talent placement programs have long demonstrated the significant impact these intensive experiences can have on the careers of screen creators. We are proud to support the Emerging Screenwriters’ Incubator to elevate new voices and to ensure that we see more diverse stories on screen.”
This is an amazing opportunity to work with some of Australia’s leading production companies.
SBS Director of TV and Online Content, Marshall Heald, said:
“Not only is this initiative an important investment in the next generation of screenwriting talent, it will help to ensure the unique perspectives and experiences of those who reflect contemporary Australia, are explored on our screens.”
The Emerging Screenwriters’ Incubator will bring provide significant work experience in drama production for 18 emerging writers from diverse backgrounds.
This includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; people who are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds; those who are living with a disability; are female or trans/gender diverse; identify as LGBTQIA+; and people located in regional and remote areas.
Ghirija Jayarraj, Creative Director & Founder at Shastram who studied Film and TV at Curtin University, says:
“Being an Australian female filmmaker with a south Asian background has been a challenging journey. Film makers such as myself; have yearned to see our stories being represented in mainstream media. Inclusivity on such primary spaces would mean inclusivity for many of us who grew up feeling almost non-existent or not belonging in mainstream Australia. This initiative by SBS and the various film groups in Australia is fantastic and I’m extremely excited to see the emerging stories that Australians from diverse backgrounds have to share. I truly believe this will lead to a more accurate representation of the real Australia we all call home. Our stories will have various flavours but will still remain uniquely Australian and this will be the most exciting part for me.”
Each year for the next three years, six successful candidates will be employed for 12 months in production companies around the country acclaimed for their delivery of Australian drama.
During their placement, they will develop ideas into treatments, work across a production company’s fiction slate of programming, participate in writers’ rooms, and work closely with development producers and others to increase their knowledge and further develop their skills.
Well-known a Portuguese Macau-born Australian screenwriter and director in television and feature film industry Tony Ayres added:
“Marshall and I have been having a great and ongoing discussion about the best ways to make long lasting and meaningful change to our industry, and to genuinely shift the needle towards a wider, truer representation of Australia. This initiative is a brilliant start and will broaden the talent pool of writers from underrepresented parts of our society. Writing is where it all starts.”
Co-funded by SBS, Screen Australia with participating state and territory screen agencies, the national initiative will launch with its first round of placements in July 2021.
Each participating state and territory screen agency will reach out to local networks and from June, the selection process will begin, with placements at production companies from July 2021.
WATCH VIDEO: In a state – Valentine’s Day Special video – Indian Classical Dance by Ghirija Jayarraj
In the first week of February, The Australia Today reported – ‘Wyndham Council concerned with trucks parked in the residential area.
Here is the impact of our story.
Cr Sahana Ramesh who is Council’s Smart Cities portfolio holder said in her Facebook post:
“This is the first time Council has installed these kinds of signs in Wyndham, so thank you to everyone who raised this with me and my fellow Councillors. I’m glad we’ve been able to come up with a solution for you all. We also know that this problem is not limited to these streets or to the Allura estate, so Council will continue to monitor the situation and will assess if more signage is needed in the future.”
Cr Adele Hegedich, the Mayor of Wyndham City, had posted on Facebook that she is taking the concerns of trucks parked in Truganina’s Allura estate seriously.
“I’VE RECENTLY HEARD FROM A NUMBER OF RESIDENTS CONCERNED ABOUT TRUCKS PARKING OVERNIGHT AND DURING OTHER OFF-PEAK TIMES ALONG RESIDENTIAL STREETS IN TRUGANINA’S ALLURA ESTATE.”
According to VicRoads, a driver of a heavy vehicle such as a truck must obey the same road rules as other drivers.
In a recent Facebook post Cr Susan McIntyre has informed the residents of Allura Estate that the Council will install signs banning trucks.
“I am very happy to be able to provide everyone with an update on the issue of trucks parking in the Allura estate. Following a safety audit and legal advice, Council has decided to install signs banning trucks from parking in residential streets, including Mainview Blvd, Elmhurst Road and Boliver Esplanade. Large electronic signage will be in place by early next week at the latest to ensure truck drivers are aware of this upcoming change, while the permanent signs will be installed over the coming weeks once they have been manufactured. If trucks over 7.5 metres continue to park in these areas, they will receive infringement notices.”
VicRoads rules state that heavy or long vehicles cannot be parked on a road in a built-up area for longer than one hour.
But the driver of a heavy or long vehicle (7.5 metres long or longer), but not a bus, can stop on a road in a built-up area for longer than one hour provided the driver is dropping off or picking up goods.
So, a driver of a heavy vehicle must read the parking sign. And for more information see the Victorian Road Safety Road Rules 2017 rule 200.
After very uncomfortable press conferences for last three days Premier of Victoria was all smiles.
Daniel Andrews announced, “Today is good news.”
He says, Because of the efforts of every Victorian – the sacrifices and the hard slog – we can be confident that slowly, and surely, we are driving the virus into the ground.
“It hasn’t been easy or straightforward. In fact, for those Victorians who are part of our health response, it’s been bloody hard work. 3,400 close contacts identified and isolated. Thousands of hours of painstaking interviews. 212,000 tests processed. 850,000 text messages into communities.”
Premier Andrews claimed that current snap lockdown was very necessary as health professionals were fighting against a more wicked enemy than we’ve known before.
I want to thank those Victorians who’ve made it possible – and I want to thank every Victorian for their patience, said Mr. Andrews.
He thanked the people of victoria for their resilience.
“Because of you, we’ve been able to track, trace and corner this mutant and more infectious strain of the virus. It also means we’re able to ease most of the restrictions, getting us back to our COVIDSafe Summer.”
From 11:59 pm tonight (Wednesday 17-02-2021), Victoria will largely return to the previous rules – while keeping a watchful eye on some of the riskier settings.
Highlight:
There’ll no longer be four reasons to leave home. The five-kilometer restriction will no longer apply.
Restaurants and retail can reopen. Same too with community facilities, entertainment venues, and all other public places – although some additional limits on crowd sizes will be in place.
Students will be able to head back to school. Workers will be able to get back to work.
For offices – both public and private – that means a return to 50 percent on-site.
So for now, it’s important to reduce the risk in some of our most vulnerable settings.
That means having no more than five visitors to your home per day. And limiting public gatherings with friends and family to 20.
Premier has cautioned that by sticking to the rules and being conscious of who we see and how often we see them, we’ll help keep our friends and families safe.
He explained that the danger of spread is not fully gone, “We can’t fully relax the rules in our hospitals and aged care homes yet either – instead, we’ll limit visits to one household per day and some specific exceptions.”
Masks will continue to be a big part of COVID19 defense and will be required everywhere indoors except at home – at the supermarket, at the office, at the pub when getting up to pay.
Masks will also be required outside if you can’t physically distance from others.
DHHS has reminded Victorians to remember primary defense against the coronavirus – checking in when we’re heading out, washing our hands, keeping our distance – will remain just as critical.
From 11:59pm 17 February 2021 Victoria returns to COVIDSafe Summer restrictions with some revised conditions.
Are you feeling anxious or depressed due to the ongoing lockdowns and disruption in your daily routine?
According to experts, it is understandable to feel distressed and anxious in times of change.
They suggest that if you feel overwhelmed, it is important to ask for help from a professional.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected our lives in many ways.
Many may feel lonely and isolated due to limited connection with others especially their loved ones.
It is important that people get help early as some challenging issues can turn into more serious conditions if they are not addressed quickly.
You can talk to your general practitioner (GP) and/or Contacting a mental health telephone, text or online counselling service or a general counsellor.
If you are struggling with complex feelings, here are some links to help you:
WATCH VIDEO: Clinical Psychologist Dr Michelle Lim explains how to deal with loss of control.
Dr Michelle Lim is a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at Swinburne University and leads the Social Health and Wellbeing (SHAW) Laboratory.
For your mental wellbeing, experts propose that there are a number of things you can do:
1. Maintain a healthy diet, exercise and sleep regime.
2. Keep the conversation going – talking to loved ones about any worries and concerns.
3. Engage in hobbies and enjoyable activities at home.
4. Be prepared – ensure you have enough food, supplies and medication on hand. Ask for help collecting these items if needed.
5. Avoid or reduce your use of alcohol and tobacco.
If you are feeling less connected as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19) you can call the Victorian Government’s Coronavirus Hotline (1800 675 398) and press 3.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has reported that they have obtained orders in the Federal Circuit Court last year requiring Kamaldeep Singh and his wife Uma Singh to pay penalties of $120,000 and $90,000 respectively.
This was in relation to their conduct relating to a Metro Petroleum petrol station they formerly operated on the Pacific Highway, Doyalson.
It is reported that the former operators of a petrol station on the NSW Central Coast underpaid two migrant workers.
The court ordered that Kamaldeep Singh and Uma Singh must pay $210,000 in penalties after their appeal was dismissed by the Federal Court.
Kamaldeep Singh and Uma Singh were the director and manager respectively of Sinpek Pty Ltd. (in liquidation).
They underpaid the two employees, a male and a female, a combined $52,722 between May 2015 and their termination in August 2016. The female employee was paid nothing for her first three months’ work.
The court found that Kamaldeep Singh and Uma Singh were involved in Sinpek’s failure to pay minimum rates to the workers for ordinary hours, penalty rates for overtime, weekend and public holidays, shiftwork loadings and various leave entitlements under the Vehicle, Manufacturing, Repair, Services and Retail Award 2010.
There was also a failure to provide payment in lieu of notice for termination and record-keeping and pay slips laws were also breached.
Kamaldeep Singh was also twice involved in Sinpek’s breach of the Fair Work Act’s prohibition on unreasonable requirements to pay an employer money relating to performance of work.
He required the male employee to cover the loss from a customer who drove off without paying for fuel, and to pay part of Sinpek’s income tax payments relating to that employee’s work for Sinpek.
Sinpek entered voluntary liquidation in July 2019, about three weeks before the scheduled Federal Circuit Court liability and penalty hearing.
Kamaldeep Singh and Uma Singh appealed the penalty decision that the Federal Court has now dismissed.
The workers were Indian nationals from non-English speaking backgrounds, who were employed by Sinpek as console operators.
Acting Fair Work Ombudsman Jeremy O’Sullivan said the significant penalties ordered – upheld by the Federal Court – reflected the seriousness and unacceptability of vulnerable worker exploitation.
“All employees in Australia have the same rights at work, regardless of citizenship or visa status. We encourage anyone with concerns about their wages or entitlements to contact us.”
The two workers were on bridging visas and applying for Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visas through Sinpek, prior to having their jobs terminated in August 2016. The male worker was underpaid $24,607 and the female $28,114.
Federal Circuit Court Judge Sandy Street said the workers were vulnerable due to both their visa and economic circumstances, and that Mr and Mrs Singh “exploited those vulnerabilities knowingly, and to their own advantage and for their own benefit”.
“[The employees] moved interstate under the inducements of [Mr and Mrs Singh] and… were placed in a position of threat of return to India or being deported if they failed to accommodate the exploitation by [Sinpek, Mr Singh and Mrs Singh]. The conduct of the respondents in the circumstances of the present case is at the most serious end of the spectrum in respect of each of the contraventions.”
Judge Street also referred to the placing of Sinpek into voluntary liquidation, saying this occurred “as a means to avoid meeting obligations under the [Fair Work] Act as to paying compensation and meeting penalties”.
“The placing of an employer into voluntary liquidation after commencement of proceedings and so shortly [three days] after penalty submissions are filed is serious aggravating conduct warranting severe sanction [by] the Court as a matter of specific and general deterrence.”
All underpayments have been rectified, with interest.
Sinpek Pty Ltd no longer owns or operates the Metro Petroleum petrol station in Doyalson. The Fair Work Ombudsman has no concerns with the current operator.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has an agreement with the Department of Home Affairs where visa holders can ask for our help without fear of their visa being cancelled.
The Indian High Commission in Ottawa has raised the issue of safety of Indian Diaspora including international students in Canada.
This has come after multiple reports that Indo-Canadians were threatened for pro-India actions.
In an outreach message to the diaspora in Canada, India’s High Commissioner to Ottawa Ajay Bisaria wrote:
“We are also concerned at reports that Indian citizen and friends of India who have expressed their views in support of the farm reforms in India have been targeted and subjected to intimidation, threats of violence and calls to boycott or disrupt their business.”
The Indian government and its High Commission has taken note of the threats faced by the Indian Diaspora and written to its leaders and community members.
High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria told members of the Indian community that “in the event that any Indian national is subjected to any such threats of violence or intimidation, they should report the matter, with all details to the local police, and also bring it to our immediate attention”.
“There have been multiple reports of Indo-Canadians, who are critical of the arguments against the laws or remain committed to improving and strengthening relations between the land of their heritage, India, and the land that has adopted them, Canada, being intimidated online, threatened with violence including rape of women their families, and this has escalated to certain elements even gathering at the residences and offices of individual Canadian citizens.”
In his statement, High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria called on the Indian diaspora to:
“encourage Indian citizens, friends of India and the Canadian public to remain vigilant against such attempts and not be swayed by false narratives and sophistry”.
The statement notes that the Indian government believes that Indian diaspora spread all over the world is a reflection of the diversity and plurality of India.
According to a report by the United Nations, International Migration 2020 Highlights’, India has the largest diaspora population in the world.
18 million people from India live outside with most settled in the United Arab Emirates (3.5 million), the United States of America (2.7 million) and Saudi Arabia (2.5 million).
These are followed by Australia, Canada, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar and the United Kingdom.
Indian-origin people living in both Canada and Australia have been participating in peaceful ‘Tiranga Yatra’ or ‘Tiranaga Rally’ in large numbers.
Cars adorned with the Indian national flag are taken out for the rally with slogans such as ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.
These rallies are in response to the Republic Day violence that occurred at the Red Fort in New Delhi.
394 police personnel were injured in the violence and Delhi Police registered 25 FIRs against the protesters.
India leveled the four-match Test series 1-1 against England after an emphatic 317-run win in the second Test here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday. Indian bowlers produced a sublime performance on day four as England only managed to score 164 runs in their second innings. Axar Patel, who made his Test debut in the match, picked a five-wicket haul during England’s second innings while Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav scalped three and two wickets respectively.
The visitors resumed their second innings from the overnight score of 53/3, chasing a target of 482 runs set by the hosts. England survived six overs before Ravichandran Ashwin struck with his first ball on day four. Ashwin fired the ball down the leg side on seeing Dan Lawrence step out and Rishabh Pant pulled off a brilliant stumping.
That winning feeling! 👌👌
Smiles all round as #TeamIndia beat England in the second @Paytm#INDvENG Test at Chepauk to level the series 1-1. 👏👏
Ben Stokes then along with skipper Joe Root played some cautious shots to rebuild the England innings. The partnership survived for 12 overs as Ashwin dismissed the all-rounder, Stokes, in the 38th over. Stokes departed after scoring eight runs off 51 balls as England lost half their side for 90 runs. Ollie Pope then stitched a 20-run stand with Root to take England over the 100-run mark before he was dismissed by Axar Patel. Kuldeep then got hold of Ben Foakes, reducing England to 116/7. England then suffered a major blow as skipper Root got out.
Root (33) was caught at slip by Ajinkya Rahane off Axar Patel’s delivery. Moeen Ali smashed three consecutive sixes to Axar Patel in the 52nd over. However, Kuldeep got hold of Moeen, who scored 43 off just 18 balls, and with this, England’s second innings came to an end. Earlier, Ashwin’s scintillating century helped India set England a target of 482 runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Monday. Ashwin played a knock of 106 runs before the hosts were bowled out for 286 in the final session of day three. Brief scores: India 329 and 286; England 134 and 164 (Moeen Ali 43, Joe Root 33; Axar Patel 5/60)
Australian National University (ANU) based researchers have suggested getting rid of traditional words such as “mother”, “father” and “breastfeeding.”
According to ANU Gender Institute’s Gender-Inclusive Handbook – ‘Every Voice Project’: “mother” should be replaced by “gestational” or “birthing parent”, “father” by “non-gestational” or “non-birthing parent” and “breastfeeding” by “chest-feeding”.
Prior to this, UK health officials had also ordered nurses at two hospitals to substitute the term “breast milk” for “human milk”.
This was part of a first-of-its-kind effort at prenatal units of Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust to be more inclusive to trans and non-binary parents.
UNICEF and other organizations recognise the importance of breast milk that helps keep a baby healthy as it supplies the necessary nutrients and protects against allergies, infections, and sickness.
The new initiative are clinical and language guidelines and not university policy.
“This document is not an official ANU policy, process or official prescription to staff and students.”
These suggestions will help support trans and non-binary birthing people. ANU Handbook notes:
“This non-gendered language is particularly important in clinical or abstract academic discussions of childbirth and parenthood, both to recognise the identities of students in the class, and to model inclusive behaviour for students entering clinical practice.”
A nonbinary parent is someone who was assigned female at birth, but their gender is neither male nor female.
On the other hand, transgender men are those who were assigned female at birth based on their biological sex.
Do you think changing the language around pregnancy and birth can make our society and healthcare more inclusive and safe?
A reader to The Australia Today story commented on Facebook page:
A peaceful Tiranga rally that was being organised by Indian-Australians to show respect towards the ‘Indian flag’ was stopped and diverted on Sunnyholt Road in Sydney.
Gayatri Sharma* was part of the rally.
She told The Australia Today, It is unfortunate, we have to change the route just because some “Khalistani” elements threatened to disrupt our peaceful rally.”
“Yes, unfortunately we had to take the other route. Cops were not ready as they have been informed 1 week ago and couldn’t arranged more sources. But, the rally is successful.”
We received many pictures from community members, which clearly show that these ‘elements’ were preparing for violence against us when we pass through a certain point, said Ms. Sharma.
Satinder Singh says while the rally was stopped and diverted by the police for our safety, I received multiple calls from my friends telling me that “certain people” were instigating others to gather at few different points notoriously famous with trouble makers.
“These miscreants covered their faces to hide their identity and were armed with base-bats and iron rods, told Mr Singh.
“You tell me, why would they gather on the rally route with all this prepartion?”
Ravi Narayan* is one of the organiser of the “Tiranga rally”.
He told The Australia Today, “We had women and children with us, and we were there to show solidarity with India amid the “Khalistani” especially terror organisation “Babber Khalsa’s” threat to the Indian Australian community.
“These attempts to disturb peace and harmony of Indian Australian community should not be ignored. The people who planned to disrupt our rally were the ones who were glorifying the “Khalistan movement” which is the real threat to the peace and harmony of Australia”, said Mr. Narayan.
NSW Police has said, “The Police command of Cumberland area gave permission for the motor vehicle procession (Tiranga rally). All activities were allowed with COVID-19 preconditions to be followed.”
Satinder Singh says, “We are thankful to the NSW Police for taking prompt action and saving us from the potential attack from these ‘terror supporters’. Australian Indian community condemns these activities including hate crimes and community harmony disruption by some players supported by overseas groups.”
Note: If you have any information or pictures regarding the incident please send us on admin@theaustraliatoday.com.au
About: * Names changed to protect the identity of the person
India's Ravichandran Ashwin celebrates his century during the 3rd day of the 2nd test match against England at MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai on Monday. (BCCI Twitter)
Ravichandran Ashwin’s scintillating century and early wickets helped India to dominate on day three of the second Test against England after setting a 482 target at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Monday. Ashwin played a knock of 106 runs before the hosts were bowled out for 286 in the final session of the day and set a target of 482 runs against visitors to take the 2-0 lead in the four-match series. At stumps on day three, England’s score read 53/3 with skipper Joe Root and Dan Lawrence still unbeaten on two and 19 runs respectively. Visitors still require 429 runs to win the game. Axar Patel bagged two scalps while Ashwin clinched one wicket in the second innings.
Openers Dom Sibley (3) and Rory Burns (25) failed to provide a solid stand for the visitors and were picked by Patel and Ashwin respectively. After losing openers early, England sent Jack Leach as nightwatchman but that move also did not work for the visitors. Leach was sent back to the pavilion on a single ball duck by Patel. Root and Lawrence played cautiously and made sure that the side did not suffer any hiccup on the day. In the final session, 31.5 overs were bowled as both the teams together scored 118 runs with a loss of five wickets. Earlier, Ishant Sharma departed after scoring seven runs when India’s score read 237 but Ashwin formed a crucial 49-run stand with Mohammed Siraj and the duo took the hosts’ score to 286 and the lead was extended to 481 runs. At the tea break on day three, India’s score read 221/8, with Ashwin and Ishant on the field. The hosts currently enjoy a lead of 416 runs.
India’s Virat Kholi and Ravichandran Ashwin during the 3rd day of the 2nd test match against England at MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai on Monday. (BCCI Twitter)
Resuming day three from 54/1, India got off to the worst possible start as the hosts lost both Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara in the first 15 minutes. While Pujara lost the grip on his bat and failed to ground it on time, Rohit got stumped off Leach’s ball courtesy of some quick glove work by Foakes. Pant was sent up the order after the fall of two wickets but he too failed to leave a mark. Foakes stumped Pant as Leach scalped his second for the day. Ajinkya Rahane and Kohli then started to rebuild India’s innings with a couple of boundaries. But Moeen Ali struck his first of the day as he dismissed Rahane to leave hosts reeling at 86/5 in the 31st over. Axar Patel too was sent back to the pavilion by Moeen in the 37th over. Kohli and Ashwin then formed a brilliant partnership. Both the players played cautiously but did not miss the opportunity to score boundaries on loose balls.
Continuing their brilliant form, Kohli and Ashwin completed their respective half-centuries as India crossed the 200-run mark in their second innings. Soon after that, England got the much-needed breakthrough as Moeen dismissed Kohli (62). Kuldeep Yadav then took the field. Ashwin and Kuldeep began adding runs to the scoreboard, with India’s lead crossing the 400-run mark. However, the partnership between the two did not last for too long as Moeen removed Kuldeep (3).
Brief scores: England 134 and 53/3 (Rory Burns 25, Dan Lawrence 19*; Axar Patel 2-15, R Ashwin 1-28); India 329 and 286.
In 2020, wealthy Indians once again topped the list of those making enquiries for ‘residence-by-investment’ or ‘citizenship-by-investment’ programmes.
As per ‘Global Wealth Migration Review’, issued by New World Wealth, Indians were the second-largest contingent among the millionaire category to move overseas.
The most popular countries for migrating High-net-worth individual (HNWI) over the past year (2019) included: Australia, USA, Switzerland, Canada, Singapore, Israel, New Zealand, UAE, Portugal and Greece. Other popular destinations for them included: Monaco, Mauritius, Malta, Bermuda and the Caribbean Islands.
About 7,000 wealthy Indians left the country during 2019.
Henley & Partners, a firm specilizing in arranging ‘residency’ and ‘citizenship’ for HNWI told the Times of India that Indians inquired about Canada Residency, Portugal Residency, Austria Residency and Citizenship programme, Malta Citizenship and Turkey Citizenship. In the past, USA, Canada, UK and Australia have been top favorites among Indians.
New World Wealth expects Australia, the United States and Switzerland to remain the preferred HNWI destinations globally over the next decade.
A cake shop in Surat, Gujarat, India, made 48-foot-long cake dedicated to Ram Setu.
It is believed that Ram Setu (Rama’s Bridge also known as Adam’s Bridge) was 48 km long.
In the ancient Indian epic Ramayana it is said that this bridge was constructed by God Rama with the help of his Vanara (ape-men) army to reach Lanka and rescue his wife Goddess Sita from King Ravana.
They also organized a ‘Cake for Corona Warriors’ event. This was world’s biggest digital cake cutting event held on 17th Sep ’20 to appreciate the efforts of our corona warriors for their priceless efforts for the society.
WATCH VIDEO: Surat bakery makes 48-ft-long ‘Ram Setu’ cake
The industrial revolution transformed cities, resulting in places of residence and work becoming more distant than ever before. This spatial segregation is still largely embedded in the design of our cities today.
But the COVID-19 pandemic might have brought our cities to a similarly dramatic turning point. Working from home has received a far-reaching fillip. Our pre-COVID survey of 277 remote-working employees and self-employed Australians shows most had a separate workspace for telework and generally felt satisfied with their home-work environment.
But levels of satisfaction among workers in home-based settings vary. We identified some key factors to explain these differences.
Teleworkers’ work motivation increased with:
having a higher income
being a single parent with children
living in an apartment
satisfaction with workspace size
quality of home office equipment
the mobility of owning a private vehicle.
For Australian sole parents, who are more likely to be women than men, telework at home can be an efficient and smart way of working. While having more time at home for caring responsibilities, they can work and earn money for household expenses.
Living and working in apartments can provide more opportunities for social interaction. It can also enable more efficient use of energy, lowering costs. Apartments and units are more likely to be located in higher-density urban areas, which offer better access to office and business services and other amenities.
At the same time, there were factors that decreased teleworkers’ motivation, including:
being in full-time employment
complicated corporate protocols
shorter time living in the current residence
feelings of isolation and distraction
having convenient access to public transport.
Access to public transport might seem counterintuitive but while enabling work-related journeys it also promotes more engagement outside the home, distractions to some extent, and so fewer feelings of isolation. Work-life balance at this micro-scale also has to be negotiated individually.
Home workplace qualities neglected
The pandemic has given new impetus to the critical rethinking of dispersed urbanisation that dates back to the sharp rise in energy prices in the early 1970s. The idea of working from home re-emerged at the dawn of the telecommunications revolution early in the 1980s.
Our latest collective experience of working from home has brought into sharp relief both the pitfalls and the positives.
The academic literature on telework from fields such as organisational psychology focuses on maximising economic and logistical efficiency. Many studies ignore the positive and negative effects being in the home has on the worker.
How to improve support for telework
To date, organisational and managerial policies have been contradictory. There are public and private organisational guidelines and supportive government tax policies to encourage teleworking. These cover matters such as ergonomics and utilities (internet, electricity and technology).
But these policies do not practically or adequately support teleworkers’ access to appropriate conditions. Teleworkers can still be left alone with a host of problems and personal challenges.
Many of these issues are rooted in place-related factors. For example, although Australian tax-deduction policies cover internet, electricity, and technology costs, they do not cover the capital costs of home renovations made to provide a home office or telework space. Yet these modifications are of great importance for successfully working from home.
The OECD has recognised the risk of policies over-promoting teleworking for economic gains. The negative consequences, such as increased social isolation, distraction, and work-family conflict, mainly affect the most vulnerable social groups. They include sole parents, people with disabilities, and older people.
Based on our research, the government should:
encourage formal agreements for working from home
support modification of homes for telework for vulnerable social groups
develop public shared work offices and spaces at the local level.
These policy suggestions are consistent with many recent Australian urban development trends.
A smart city or a wise city?
Teleworking seems set to become a more entrenched work practice than ever before. Yet factors such as the impacts of home and place on human motivation have not been dealt with.
Over time, if governments want to encourage telework, our cities will need to change. Resources and infrastructure will need to be localised where people live – and increasingly work domestically – and not just in centralised employment districts.
India's Ravichandran Ashwin appeals during the 2nd test match against England at MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai on Sunday. (BCCI Twitter)
Ravichandran Ashwin’s five-wicket haul was the highlight of the second day of the second Test as it helped India end England’s first innings on 134 runs before the hosts began to extend their lead over the visitors at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.
At stumps on Day 2, India’s score read 54/1 in the second innings and enjoy a 249-run lead.
Indian bowlers continued bowling on tight lengths and did not give any room to English batters to excel in the second session as they lost four scalps including three crucial wickets of Ben Stokes (18), Ollie Pope (22), and Moeen Ali (6) to send England’s middle-order back in the hut. At the tea break, England’s score read as 106/8 in 49.2 overs with Ben Foakes unbeaten on 23 runs. In the second session, visitors added 67 runs. England was still trailing India by 223 runs. Stokes and Pope resumed the second session from 39/4 and had a brief 13-run stand for the fifth wicket. Ashwin ended Stokes’ 18-run stint and sent him back to the pavilion.
Watch back another dramatic day of cricket in this series.#INDvENG
Foakes joined Pope in the middle and tried to build a strong partnership for the sixth wicket. The duo played cautiously and added a 35-run partnership before pacer Mohammed Siraj joined the party and dismissed Pope (22). Foakes along with Ali guided the side to the 100-run mark and kept the team’s hope alive in the game. Axar Patel broke the stand and scalped Ali after scoring six runs. In the final over before tea, Ashwin got hold of Stone (1) and bagged his fourth wickets in the game.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday got a “fleeting view” of the MA Chidambaram Stadium, where the second Test between India and England is being played, during his visit to Chennai for inauguration and foundation stone laying ceremony of several key projects in the city. PM Modi took to Twitter and shared a mesmerizing aerial picture of the Chepauk stadium and captioned the post, “Caught a fleeting view of an interesting test match in Chennai.”
In the first session, after bundling out India for 329, England got off to the worst start possible as Rory Burns (0) was adjudged leg-before wicket of the delivery bowled by Ishant Sharma in the very first over of the innings. Soon after, Ravichandran Ashwin removed Sibley (16) and England was reduced to 16/2 in the eighth over. Skipper Root (6) failed to leave a mark as he top-edged the ball delivered by Axar Patel and as a result, the left-arm spinner got his first wicket in Tests. On the last ball before the lunch break, Ashwin removed Lawrence (9) and England went into the break at 39/4.
Earlier, Rishabh Pant’s (58*) unbeaten half-century guided the side to 329 in their first innings. India lost quick wickets in the first session of the second day and was only able to add 29 runs to their overnight total. On the first day, Rohit Sharma played a knock of 161 while Ajinkya Rahane provided him support with a knock of 67 to help the hosts gain an upper hand in the match.
February 14, 2021 marks two years of the Pulwama terror attack when 40 valiant Indian soldiers were killed after a suicide bomber rammed an IED-laden vehicle into the security convoy carrying them. Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) had claimed responsibility for the dastardly terror attack. The attack on the CRPF convoy took place in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14, 2019. A 22-year-old suicide bomber Adil Ahmad Dar rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the bus. The convoy had 78 buses in which around 2,500 personnel were traveling from Jammu to Srinagar. Days later India carried out an airstrike on JeM’s Balakot terror training camp in Pakistan.
India had also withdrawn the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan following the terror attack. The international community had expressed its strong support to India in the wake of the terror attack. The memorial having names of all 40 jawans killed in the attack was inaugurated on February 14, 2020 at CRPF’s Training Centre at Lethpora camp in Pulwama. The memorial is inscribed with the names of all the 40 troopers along with their photographs and the motto of the CRPF — “Seva and Nishtha” (Service and Loyalty).
Remembering the sacrifice of the Bravehearts, netizens took to social media to pay homage to the CRPF personnel who laid their lives for the nation. #PulwamaAttack is currently trending on Twitter with nearly 25,000 tweets. International sand artist and Padma Shri Awardee Sudarsan Pattnaik paid tribute to the fallen soldiers with sand art.
Another Twitter user said that bravehearts were attacked from behind. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) ASI Mohan Lal who lost his life during the Pulwama attack in 2019, was awarded the President Police Medal for Gallantry (PPMG) posthumously on the eve of Republic Day 2021. Mohan Lal was awarded the medal for spotting the IED-laden car and having fired to stop the car before it rammed into a bus in the convoy that killed the suicide bomber and 40 CRPF personnel on February 14, 2019.
Former US President Donald Trump has been acquitted in his second impeachment trial as the Senate fell short of supporters for convicting him of inciting Capitol riots. His acquittal comes over a month after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol as legislators were counting the electoral results that certified his loss. Five people died in the riot, including a police officer. According to a report by CNN, Trump got acquitted even after seven Republican senators joining 50 Democrats voting to convict, fewer than the 17 needed.
The U.S. Senate on Saturday acquitted former President Trump on an impeachment charge of inciting an insurrection. pic.twitter.com/SM6h4618b3
The vote was 57-43, with seven Republicans and the Senators needed a two-thirds majority to convict Trump. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer termed the Senate’s decision as “un-American”. “The former President inspired, directed, and propelled a mob to violently prevent the peaceful transfer of power, subvert the will of the people, and illegally keep that President in power,” Schumer said. “There is nothing, nothing more un-American than that…There is nothing, nothing more antithetical to our democracy… insulting to the generations of American patriots who gave their lives to defend our form of government,” he added. Following the Senate vote to acquit him, Trump thanked his legal team and said he will always have, and always will and be a champion for the unwavering rule of law.
“It is a sad commentary on our times that one political party in America is given a free pass to denigrate the rule of law, defame law enforcement, cheer mobs, excuse rioters, and transform justice into a tool of political vengeance, and persecute, blacklist, cancel and suppress all people and viewpoints with whom or which they disagree.” I always have, and always will, be a champion for the unwavering rule of law, the heroes of law enforcement, and the right of Americans to peacefully and honorably debate the issues of the day without malice and without hate,” he further said. Trump also thanked his legal team and “all of the United States Senators and Members of Congress who stood proudly for the Constitution we all revere and for the sacred legal principles at the heart of our country,” in the statement, CNN reported.
India's Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane during the 2nd test match against England at MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai on Saturday. (BCCI Twitter)
Three Indian wickets in the final hour of play tipped the opening day of the second Test slightly in favour of England after Rohit Sharma’s sensational knock had set the India innings up on Saturday. India lost Rohit, Ajinkya Rahane, and Ravichandran Ashwin in the final hour of the play as the hosts lost three wickets in the third session after holding the fort before tea. At stumps, India’s score reads 300/6 with Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel unbeaten at 33 and five runs respectively. For England, Jack Leach and Moeen Ali picked two while Olly Stone and skipper Joe Root scalped a wicket each.
Tamil Nadu, Feb 13 (ANI): India’s Rohit Sharma celebrates his century during the 2nd test match against England at MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai on Saturday. (BCCI Twitter/ ANI Photo)
Resuming the third session at 189/3, Rohit and Rahane continued their fine form in the game to put on 200 runs on board in the 58th over. Both the batsmen held the fort tight and didn’t give England any chance to take the driver’s seat. While Rahane scored his 23rd Test fifty, Rohit brought went past the 150-run mark as India batsmen continued a solid display of skills on day one of the second Test. Rohit brought up the 150-partnership with Rahane in style as he lofted the ball wide over mid-on dancing down the track against Jack Leach in the 71st over. However, a sensational inning from Rohit (161) came to an end as the batsman departed after sweeping Leach straight into Moeen’s hands at deep square leg.
Applause from the Chepauk crowd 👌 Dressing room on its feet 👏 A congratulatory hug from Ajinkya Rahane 👍
Minutes later, Moeen clean bowled Ajinkya Rahane bringing up two new batsmen, Rishabh Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin at the crease but Joe Root dismissed the India spinner as he was caught by Pope at short leg to collect his first wicket of the day. Pant and Axar Patel then ensured that England bowlers didn’t make any further inroads as India ended the opening day of the second Test at 300/6. In the second session, Rohit’s unbeaten century and Rahane’s composure had helped India revived their innings and gain an upper hand after being three down in the morning. Rahane and Rohit saw off the first hour with ease, and the duo accumulated runs at a good pace. The first hour (second session) also saw Rohit bringing up his century and the hopes of posting a big score relied heavily on the right-hander. Both the batters did not relent in their approach and they were quick to capitalise on the loose balls being dished out by the England bowlers. In the end, both Rohit and Rahane ensured that the hosts did not lose a single wicket.
The second session saw 83 runs being scored from 28 overs and India went into the break at 189/3 with seven wickets intact. Earlier in the day, India got off to the worst start possible as the hosts lost the wicket of Gill (0) in just the second over of the day. Pujara then joined Rohit in the middle and the duo retrieved the innings for the hosts. While Pujara played in his trademark fashion, Rohit brought up his fifty off just 47 balls in just the 15th over of the innings. Both the batters were not looking in any sort of trouble but just 20 minutes before the lunch break, spinner Leach got the better of Pujara (21) and as a result, the batsman was sent back to the pavilion. This dismissal also brought an end to an 85-run stand between Pujara and Rohit. In the very next over, Moeen Ali bowled a stunning delivery and it turned to rattle the stumps of Virat Kohli (0), reducing India to 86/3.
What happens when #TeamIndia's two premier batsmen get together on the microphone? 🗣️🗣️
Skipper Kohli had won the toss and he opted to bat first. The hosts made three changes to their lineup as they brought in Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mohammed Siraj in place of Shahbaz Nadeem, Washington Sundar, and Jasprit Bumrah. On the other hand, England made four changes as the side brought in Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, Olly Stone, and Ben Foakes in place of Dominic Bess, Jofra Archer, James Anderson, and Jos Buttler. Brief scores: India 300/6 (Rohit Sharma 161, Ajinkya Rahane 67; Jack Leach 2-78)
A principal at a Sydney girls’ school told students not to “compromise the employment” of male teachers by wearing skimpy and revealing outfits.
“Please remember girls, there are men teachers at this school and they don’t want to be looking at that either.”
Cheltenham Girls High School principal Suellen Lawrence made the above controversial comments in a video address to students.
The NSW Department of Education says the Principal will apologise.
Experts and parents have termed the Principals’ comments as “unfortunate” and “inappropriate”.
Cathy Brennan, the executive director of the school performance metropolitan north, told ABC:
“Certainly the comments that were made were not appropriate. We’ve taken that seriously … she’s absolutely ready to apologise [and] recognise those were not the comments that were aligned with our view of how we give confidence to our students.”
An Indian-Australian parent and Sydney resident, Indranil Halder, took to Facebook to express his disappointment over the remarks made by her daughter’s school Principal.
It is reported that after several students of the school confronted the principal, a whole-school muster was held where Ms Lawrence claimed the remarks had been taken out of context.
“I am not attacking any individual girl or any student that may have gender-identity issues or any of those things at all … I am simply saying to you girls, please make sure that you adhere to the request of the school which is that you are dressing appropriately.”
Cathy Brennan has said that support and counselling would be made available to the students of Cheltenham Girls High School (CGHS).
A friend of one of the parent’s commented:
“Is ‘skimpy’ clothes – part of the school uniform? Why would people wear something that’s not part of their uniform!”
Another parent countered:
“The principal’s statement yet again buys into the main idea of rape culture: that girls/women are somehow accountable for ‘inciting’ men and should take responsibility for that. Apparently men – male teachers, specifically – are incapable of self-control.”
Do you think it is just an issue regarding the school uniform or dress policy? Or, the real question in this debate is should girls be held responsible for how other people (especially men) look at them?
Thanks to researchers from the University of Wollongong (UOW) in Australia, prosthetists in India will have access to the latest advances in 3D bioprinting to correct ear deformities.
Researchers based at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) have dispatched two customised bioprinters designed and manufactured in Wollongong to Indian medical device manufacturers.
This is part of a strategic collaboration between UOW and Andhra Pradesh Medtech Zone (AMTZ) in India.
The 3D Genii will allow a prosthetist to complete their work faster and in a more streamlined manner.
This technology will providing simple scanning technology that can be used remotely to ensure the system is more accessible across the broader population.
ACES Director, Distinguished Professor Gordon Wallace AO, said this will help in creating new industries and building local medtech infrastructure for both Australia and India.
“Both India and Australia have challenges in delivering health innovations to their rural areas. We hope these latest developments will help in reaching out to those patients and healthcare professionals who can work remotely with us to access 3D printing technologies.”
UOW’s Global Brand Ambassador, former cricketer Adam Gilchrist AM, said the 3D bioprinting collaboration has much to offer both India and Australia in advancing research, training and manufacturing.
“UOW already has many strong connections with India, and there’s so much more we could do together. It’s exciting to see UOW share its internationally renowned expertise in bioprinting to help India establish a state-of-the-art, affordable and accessible industry that will have a real and significant impact in local communities in both India and Australia.”
This project is led in collaboration with RPA Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon Associate Professor Payal Mukherjee.
Indian Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that the statehood would be given to Jammu and Kashmir at an “appropriate” time. He was replying to the discussion on the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill of 2021 in the Indian parliament’s lower house, Lok Sabha.
Mr. Shah said, “Many MPs said that bringing the bill means that the union territory would not get statehood. I am piloting the Bill, I brought it. I have clarified the intentions.”
“Nowhere is it written that Jammu and Kashmir would not get the statehood. Where are you drawing the conclusion from? I have said in this House, and I say it again that this Bill has got nothing to do with the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir. Statehood would be given to the UT at an appropriate time,” he added.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha on J&K reorganisation (amendment) Bill-2021. https://t.co/GUmh8GQibT
Earlier on Monday, Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad reiterated the Congress party’s demand to restore statehood status to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. In August 2019, the Union Government abrogated Article 370 which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the region into two Union Territories- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Shah also slammed the Opposition and asked for an account of what they did in the past 70 years.
“I have no objection, I will give an account for everything. But those who were given the opportunity to govern for generations should look within if they are even fit to demand an account,” the minister said. “We were asked what did we do about promises made during abrogation of Article 370. It has been 17 months since the abrogation and you are demanding an account for it. Did you bring the account of what you did for 70 years? Had you worked properly, you need not have asked us,” he added.
Connecting far-flung hilly areas! Real time images of road construction work under Central scheme #PMGSY from Pathvar to Thatu and Kirmoo to Plasian in district #Udhampur, #JammuAndKashmir. Regions neglected for over 70 years receiving attention for the first time. pic.twitter.com/5BKSSAaOHe
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021was introduced by the Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy in Rajya Sabha on February 4 to replace Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021. The bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Monday. The new bill is aimed to merge the Jammu and Kashmir cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officers with that of the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, and Union Territory (AGMUT).
The 7th Combat Brigade of the Australian Army based at Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane, Queensland, recently shared a Facebook post.
The role of the 7th Brigade is “to force generate and strategically project high readiness land forces capable of conducting the full spectrum of joint and inter-agency operations in pursuit of Australia’s national security interests.”
the 7th Combat Brigade, known as “South Queensland’s Own”, is comprised entirely of full-time units and its ‘weapon’ Private Singh belongs to 6 RAR.
The 6th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment (6 RAR) is a mechanised infantry battalion.
The 7th Brigade integrates full-time and part-time soldiers, consisted of the 2nd /14th Light Horse Regiment (Queensland Mounted Infantry), 6th Royal Australian Regiment, the 9th Royal Queensland Regiment and 25th /49th Royal Queensland Regiment with combat support from, 1st Field Regiment, 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment, and 139th Signal Squadron and combat service support provided by 7th Combat Service Support Battalion.
The Army welcomes enquiries from people who are interested in a new career and a new life in Australia.
For reasons of national security, to join and serve the Australian Navy, Army or Air Force you must be an Australian citizen.
“In very rare and exceptional circumstances, if a position cannot be filled by an Australian citizen the citizenship requirement may be waived and applications may be accepted from Permanent Residents and Overseas Applicants.”
Please note that if, as a permanent resident, you refuse citizenship or fail in your application, your ADF service will be terminated.
Till date, India has shipped a total of 229.7 lakh doses of coronavirus vaccines to countries worldwide.
Out of this 64.7 lakh doses were donated as grants, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava informed media.
“As of date, we have supplied a total of 229.7 lakh doses to the global community. Of these, 64.7 lakh doses have been supplied as a grant while 165 lakh doses have been supplied on a commercial basis.”
India has also recently held talks with Canada to facilitate supplies of COVID vaccines.
Anurag Srivastava added that India is in the process of dispatching additional consignments to Africa, Latin America, and the Pacific island nations.
Under the grant assistance, India has already played a key role in kick-starting the vaccination campaign across Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Mauritius, and Seychelles.
It has shipped ‘Made in India’ vaccines to larger countries like Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa.
In addition, Government of India has also organised specialized training programme in India for experts from other countries on Covid-19 Management.
Earlier, calling India a “true friend”, the United States hailed India’s pharmaceutical industry’s contribution to the world.
US State Department’s South and Central Asia Bureau tweeted:
“We applaud India’s role in global health, sharing millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccine in South Asia. India’s free shipments of the vaccine began with Maldives, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal and will extend to others.”
Here’s a list of countries which have benefitted under Government of India’s Vaccine Maitri inititaive:
MEA Spokesperson added that the decision on these supplies will always be calibrated as per domestic production and the requirements of the national vaccination programme.
“As part of the circuit-breaker action taken today, we have paused all international passenger flights from tomorrow (Saturday, February 13) – excluding those already in transit.”
Victorians have been instructed to stay within 5 kilometres of their homes, and only go out to shop for essentials, caregiving, exercise and essential work.
All schools will also remain closed until Thursday.
This step won’t go down well with Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
These numbers were to be maintained till the end of April.
Now, Victorian Premier has decided to pause all international flights into Victoria.
PM Morrison believes the system in place right now can cope with the threat from new strains of the coronavirus without dropping numbers of international arrivals into the country.
Last week, Victoria agreed to raise the cap of international arrivals from 1120 to 1310 per week.
The Victorian Premier has now suggested the idea of accepting only “hundreds” in Victoria each week.
“If I were to form a view that we only want to do a small number of compassionate Aussies coming home, it wouldn’t be to save money, it wouldn’t be to avoid the hard work.”
There is a demand that Australia needs new facilities to quarantine international travellers.
In addition, there is a growing debate over who should be responsible for border control – federal and state?
A spokeswoman for the Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said:
“We know this will be difficult news for people who are overseas and want to get home but our focus right now has to be taking this short, sharp action in response to this outbreak. We will continue to assess the impact of the UK strain of the virus on our program and international arrivals, and will provide more information on the duration of this pause soon.”
International passengers who are already on flights to Victoria will be quarantined on arrival.
The Indian High Commission in Australia has recently announced that it will start accepting applications to re-issue International Driving Permits to Indian nationals.
The Indian consulates in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth will start accepting applications from eligible applicants 15 February 2021.
These changes have been made in the Motor Vehicle Rules considering the fact that sometimes the International Driving Permit gets expired and there is no mechanism for its renewal abroad.
The International Driving Permits issued by India are accepted across 15 countries including Australia.
To ensure your application can be processed, kindly ensure all documents are provided to VFS Centre as stated in the checklist.
Misc. Consular Service Form.
Current Valid Passport in original.
Expired/expiring International Driving Permit of the applicant in original.
Current valid Indian domestic driving license in original.
The fees for this service is AUD16 plus ICWF charge of AUD3 along with VFS Service charge.
The validity of International Driving Permit is one year from the date of its issue.
Victoria Covid19 Testing site; Picture Source: Twitter Vic Health
Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews has announced that stage four measures will be reintroduced and the state will go to lockdown from 11.59 pm tonight until 11.59 pm Wednesday for five days.
Premier in an emotional written statements said,
"I won’t waste words: today hurts. Victorians know, better than anyone, just how deeply.
But as we’ve seen – here in Australia and around the world – we are facing a new kind of enemy.
A virus that is smarter, and faster, and more infectious.
And until we have a vaccine, we need to do everything we can to keep this virus at bay.
In the past 24 hours, five new cases have been identified.
It shows just how incredibly infectious this virus is. And our public health team tell us it’s only getting faster.
Right now, we are reaching close contacts well within the 48-hour benchmark. But the time between exposure, incubation, symptoms and testing positive is rapidly shortening. So much so, that even secondary close contacts are potentially infectious within that 48-hour window.
In short: this hyper-infectious variant is moving at hyper-speed.
It’s why on the advice of our public health experts, the whole of Victoria will move to circuit-breaker action from 11:59pm tonight until 11:59pm on Wednesday, 17 February.
This is a short, sharp blast – the same as we’ve seen in Queensland and WA – that will give us the what we need to get ahead of this faster moving virus.
That means there will be four reasons to leave your home: shopping for the things you need, care and caregiving, exercise and work, if it is essential.
Exercise and shopping will be limited to five kilometres from your home. If there’s no shops in your five-kilometre radius, you’ll be able to travel to the ones closest to you.
Face masks will need to be worn indoors and outdoors – whenever you leave home.
You won’t be able to have visitors to your home. And any public gatherings won’t be able to go ahead.
For school students, that means learning from home, unless they need onsite supervision as the children of essential workers. Unis and TAFEs will close or move to remote learning. Childcare and kinders will remain open.
Gyms, pools, community centres, entertainment venues and libraries will all need to close.
And as with Stage 4 restrictions, all non-essential retail will close, but essential stores like supermarkets, bottle shops and pharmacies will remain open. Cafes and restaurants will only be able to offer take-away.
Hotel and accommodation providers will be able to stay open to support guests already staying onsite. No new bookings can be made.
Funerals will be able to go ahead with up to ten people. Weddings will need to be postponed.
A list of who is considered an essential worker will be made available online. But the short answer is – if you were a permitted worker during Stage 4 restrictions – you’ll most likely be an essential worker now too. For everyone else, we need you to work from home.
I know there’ll be plenty of questions about what people can and can’t do. We’ll do our best to answer these as quickly as possible.
But the most important thing you need to know is this: this is our opportunity – our brief window – to starve the virus of what it wants most. Movement.
By limiting our movement, we limit the potential spread of the virus.
And by going hard and going early – we’re giving ourselves every opportunity to get in front of this.
My message to every single Victorian:
I know today will be hard. Likely, tomorrow will be even harder.
But remember, no one else in the world – anywhere – has achieved what we have.
And just as we had the courage and conviction to win this war before – we can do it again."
DHHS has provided following information to guide community to what and how they should conduct their lives in next five days.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau that India would do its best to facilitate supplies of COVID vaccines sought by Canada.
This much needed telephone call comes after criticism from the opposition parties in Canada.
Michelle Rempel Garner, the shadow minister of health for the opposition Conservative Party
A few days ago Michelle Rempel Garner, the shadow minister of health for the opposition Conservative Party, questioned minister of public services and procurement Anita Anand, whether she or the Canadian Prime Minister had reached out to PM Modi.
Michelle Rempel Garner asked, “Has the minister or prime minister phoned Prime Minister Modi to ask if we could get vaccines from India?”
Canada’s Minister of public services and procurement Anita Anand
Anita Anand responded, “I personally have not phoned Prime Minister Modi and I cannot speak for anyone else in our government.”
To another follow-up whether PM Trudeau had placed such a call, Anita Anand said, “I do not know.”
PM Trudeau made a telephone call to Narendra Modi and said that if the world managed to conquer COVID-19, it would be significantly because of India’s tremendous pharmaceutical capacity and Modi’s leadership in sharing this capacity with the world, according to a Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) statement.
There are some strains in India-Canada bilateral ties at the moment because of the comments made by PM Trudeau about the protest by farmers in India.
In December 2020, during a Facebook interaction, PM Trudeau had said, “I would be remiss if I didn’t start also by recognising the news coming out of India about the protest by farmers. The situation is concerning and we’re all very worried about family and friends.”
“We have seen some ill-informed comments by Canadian leaders relating to farmers in India. Such comments are unwarranted, especially when pertaining to the internal affairs of a democratic country. It is also best that diplomatic conversations are not misrepresented for political purposes,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava told media.
Canada’s envoy to India, Nadir Patel, was on December 4 summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The senior MEA officials served him a démarche, conveying that the comments made by Prime Minister Trudeau and other ministers of the Canadian Government were below the expectations of India.
Canada’s envoy to India, Nadir Patel
Despite this tension between the two nations caused by a group of Indo-Canadian activists, PM Modi assured that India would do its best to support Canada’s vaccination efforts.
Canada is not part of the 25 countries to which India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has approved the supply of 24 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines on a commercial basis.
Canadian journalist and the host of The Counter Signal, Keean Bexte praising PM Modi’s unconditional help to Canada tweeted:
PM Modi and PM Trudeau reiterated to continue the close collaboration and keep working on the common perspective shared by India and Canada on important geo-political issues.
Melbourne’s North-Western suburbs Sunshine shopping centre has been put on COVID19 alert as an outbreak connected to the hotel Holiday Inn grows.
Late last night Victoria’s Department of Health issued a statement confirming that a third worker at Melbourne Airport’s quarantine hotel Holiday Inn and another guest has tested positive of coronavirus.
Total number of positive cases related to this cluster rises to eight.
Sunbury Square Shopping Centre has been classified as Tire 2 exposer site. Late on Wednesday night the health department also put the entire shopping center on alert as a “precautionary approach”.
Tier-2 exposer site:
10/02/21 10:30pm
Location
Site
Exposure period
Notes
Sunbury
Sunbury Square Shopping Centre, 2-28 Evans street, Sunbury
3:40pm – 4:30pm 5/2/2021
Case attended venue
Anyone who has visited a Tier 2 exposure site during the given times is strongly encouraged to urgently get a test and isolate until they receive a negative result.
Individuals who attended the shopping centre outside of this timeframe are not considered at risk, but should monitor for symptoms and immediately present for testing if they become unwell. For the latest list of testing sites, visit: https://t.co/ogHDjd53AD
However, Two Banks in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburb Glen Waverly were classified as Tier 1 exposer sites.
Commonwealth Bank, Glen Waverley
HSBC Bank, Glen Waverley
“Anyone who has visited these Tier 1 exposure sites during these times must immediately isolate, get a coronavirus (COVID-19) test, and remain isolated for 14 days” is the protocol by health authorities.
DHHS says, “If you have visited an exposure site lately but not in the specified time, please continue to monitor for symptoms. Isolate and get a coronavirus (COVID-19) test if symptoms develop.”
Here is the list of coronavirus Tier-1 exposer sites.
10/02/21 06:30 pm
Location
Site
Exposure period
Notes
Brighton
North Point Cafe 2B North Rd Brighton, VIC 3186
8:10am – 9:30am 31/1/2021
Case dined outside and used bathroom
Brandon Park
Kmart, Brandon Park Shopping Centre Cnr Springvale Rd and Ferntree Gully Rd Brandon Park, VIC 3170
4:35pm – 5:10pm 31/1/2021
Case attended venue
Clayton South
Nakama Workshop 85 Main Rd Clayton South, VIC 3169
11:15am – 12:00pm 1/2/2021
Case attended venue
Glen Waverley
Commonwealth Bank, 28-32 Kingsway, Glen Waverley
1:30pm-2:45pm 9/2/2021
Case attended venue
Glen Waverley
HSBC Bank, 38 Kingsway, Glen Waverley
2:15pm-3:30pm 9/2/2021
Case attended venue
Heatherton
Melbourne Golf Academy 385 Centre Dandenong Rd Heatherton, VIC 3202
5:19pm – 6:35pm 1/2/2021
Case attended venue
Keysborough
Aces Sporting Club (Driving Range) Cnr Springvale Rd and Hutton Rd Keysborough, VIC 3173
India’s Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai informed Loksabha that between 2015 to 2019, over 6.76 lakh Indians gave up their nationality and took up citizenship of other countries.
“As per information available with the Ministry of External Affairs, a total number of 1,24,99,395 Indian nationals are living in foreign countries”.
Minister Rai also added that 1,41,656 Indians up Indian citizenship in the year 2015, 1,44,942 in 2016, 1,27,905 in 2017, 1,25,130 in 2018 and 1,36,441 Indians gave up Indian nationality in 2019 repectively.
The Indian government also mentioned that it is not considering any proposal to grant dual citizenship.
Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi
The Indian Constitution does not allow holding Indian citizenship and citizenship of a foreign country simultaneously.
However, the Government of India grants Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) to Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) of certain category as long as their home countries allow dual citizenship in some form or the other under their local laws.
This is something like a partial ‘dual’ citizenship.
The Indian passport ranked globally at 59 in 2021 Passport Index.
This means Indians do not have easy access to developed countries.
Because of this and other issues, Indian migrants tend to give-up Indian citizenship.
At times, this decision is very emotional as many have parents, family and close friends still living in India.
At the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2016 census, 619,164 Indian origin people were living in Australia.
In 2019, the Indian population in Australia had grown to 660,000.
Do you think it is time that the Indian government should offer dual citizenship to Indians living abroad?
After almost two and a half months of advocacy by multiple stakeholders within the Indian Australian community, finally, the good news of retaining the ‘Hindi language course’ at La Trobe University was received with jubilations.
Prof Nick Bisley is Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at LaTrobe University.
He wrote an email to advise concerned community members of the decision.
Indian Consulate of Melbourne was the central point to coordinate the campaign to save the Hindi program. A number of meetings were organised with multiple stakeholders for community consultations.
Consul General Raj Kumar told The Australia Today, “We are delighted to hear about the retention of Hindi courses at La Trobe University.”
Twice, I met with Vice-Chancellor of the La Trobe University and appraised him with community sentiments, said, Mr. Raj Kumar.
He says, It was a consolidated effort by Hindi speaking and Hindi loving community members and groups.
However, He doesn’t forget to remind that work is only half done with the retention of the Hindi program, now it’s up to the community at large to help and secure enrollments so that the courses continue to run.
Yadu Singh is President of Federation of Indian Associations of NSW.
He says, “This is a welcome decision. Congratulations are due for the multitude of community groups, which actively campaigned on this matter. We speak Hindi at home and are thrilled that the Uni has listened to our appeals.”
But, Dr Singh is also concerned.
“While we are happy with the decision by La Trobe Uni, our community is concerned and unhappy about the agenda-driven activities of some academics of some Australian Universities.”
He explains, “These academics get a pedestal due to their position in the Universities, which they use for influence peddling. They are paid by the tax-payers like us and are required to be fair, neutral, and balanced in their views, activities, and behaviour, on and off-campus.”
Ragini Vasisht* is actively associated with Hindi teaching in Melbourne.
She says, my daughter had Hindi as a subject in VCE but I not comfortable to encourage her to study Hindi at University.
“I don’t want my daughter to be pushed or cornered because of her social, cultural, religious or political beliefs.”
Indian Consul General Raj Kumar says, “I can’t comment on an individual’s conduct, it’s up to the Universities who they want to employ to teach.”
We can facilitate a ‘Hindi Chair’ if La Trobe or any other University want to start Hindi course, said Mr Kumar.
Dr. Yadu Singh says, “The academicians should not be part of the hate brigade, spreading lies and misinformation in the name of activism. Such activities are hurtful and unacceptable to the vast majority of our community. They must not be allowed to inculcate and promote their agenda-driven politics. If they cannot stop themselves from their agenda-driven politics, they should quit their university employment or the universities should remove them from their respective positions.”
Note: * Name changed to protect the identity of the person.
A consignment of lehengas with intricate work of the colourful designs had hidden drugs.
A lehanga is a full ankle-length skirt worn by Indian women, usually on formal or ceremonial occasions.
According to custom officials the street price of these drugs has been estimated at ₹ 1.7 crore (approx. AUD300,000).
Delhi Customs tweeted that the lehengas were found inside a consignment box that was being sent to Australia.
ACC Export Commissionerate officials at the Foreign Post Office (PFO) in Delhi opened the consignment based on intelligence received.
The officials told the media that they found over 3,900 grams of the drug MDMA.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) is a synthetic drug that alters mood and perception (awareness of surrounding objects and conditions).
This drug is popular in the nightclub scene and is commonly called ‘Ecstasy’ or ‘Molly’.
It’s the second case in a Victorian quarantine hotel in less than a week, after a resident support worker from the Grand Hyatt in central Melbourne tested positive for the virus on Wednesday night.
It again raises a question many have been asking for months: why is hotel quarantine situated in big cities, often in the CBD itself?
I believe it’s well and truly time to move quarantine to remote locations, to reduce the risk of transmission into dense urban areas.
UPDATE: A worker at Holiday Inn at Melbourne Airport has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). This is in addition to the case announced at 4pm of a resident who has tested positive. Interviews are underway and we will provide more updates as soon as they are available.
On March 27 2020, the National Cabinet agreed that, from March 29, all incoming travellers would be required to undertake a 14-day supervised quarantine period in a designated facility, and that was the beginning of quarantine hotels. Crucially, however, states and territories were left to choose the facilities, and pass state and territory legislation to enforce the requirements.
When these regulations were put into place, Australia was in a desperate hurry to find some way of quarantining returning Australians, and hotels were seen as a good solution to the problem. But there are two major problems with this approach.
The first is that hotels are not built for quarantine. They’re not designed to limit the spread of infectious diseases. Many do not have adequate ventilation.
The spread of aerosols — tiny viral particles that can remain suspended in the air — has been implicated in many of these breaches.
The second problem is that most states are using hotels in the centre of their major cities. This means if the virus does escape, via an infected worker or otherwise, the potential for significant spread is higher because of the densely populated urban setting.
NSW Health has updated its advice for people who were at the Holiday Inn at Melbourne Airport recently, following the diagnosis today of two more cases in the hotel. pic.twitter.com/FWCPzze77W
It’s very hard to make a quarantine station 100% leak-free. At the end of the day, they’re run by humans, who occasionally make mistakes. And SARS-CoV-2 is a very contagious virus.
But if we move quarantine facilities out of cities to isolated places, any leaks would be much less likely to cause major transmission events.
The Northern Territory hosts returned travellers at its Howard Springs facility, 25km southeast of Darwin. So far, no quarantine staff have contracted the virus from residents.
The Queensland government is in talks with the federal government over a proposed quarantine facility in Toowoomba, 125km west of Brisbane. A local construction company said it can build a 1,000-bed accommodation facility for staff, including the first 500 beds in just six weeks.
Staff who would live and work at these facilities would also need to be paid extremely well. They would be living and working in remote areas, must live at the facility, and are putting themselves at risk of infection. Even cooks working at remote mining sites are paid handsomely.
The federal government needs to step in
One issue that arises from using rural quarantine is cost. It will be expensive to build and run these isolated facilities, and to fly workers in and out. It will also be expensive to fly returned travellers into these remote settings, presumably at the expense of the government. But what are the broader economic costs of continued outbreaks, and of the ensuing lockdowns? Any assessment of the costs should take this into account.
Another issue is that for rural or remote quarantine to work, the federal government would have to fund and implement the program. Under section 51 of the Constitution, it’s federal parliament’s responsibility to make laws about quarantine.
There will no doubt be arguments made that such a program isn’t worth it because we’re only a few weeks away from vaccinating border and quarantine staff.
But this misses the key point that vaccines won’t cause COVID to disappear overnight. The South African government has just stopped the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine because of its poor effectiveness against the South African variant. This virus will be with us for a long time to come, so relocating quarantine stations to remote settings is still a worthy investment.
Jack Leach picked four while James Anderson scalped three wickets as England defeated India by 227 runs in the first Test here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday. It was a perfect day for England despite India skipper Virat Kohli showing resilience in the second innings. The England bowlers dominated the hosts right from the start of the final day. Shubman Gill showed a glimmer of hope but that was short-lived as James Anderson dismantled top order dismissing Gill, Ajinkya Rahane, and Rishabh Pant.
With this win, England has taken a 1-0 lead in the four-match Test series. If Dom Bess stole the show for England in the first innings, it was Jack Leach and Anderson’s combined performance that hogged the limelight for the visitors in the second essay. The win over India in the first Test has also propelled England to the top of the ICC World Test Championship standings. In the second session, Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin stitched an important 54-run stand before Leach broke the partnership as England required just three wickets to go 1-0 up in the series.
28 Five wicket haul, 7 Ten wicket haul, 386 Wickets and 4 Test hundreds
Kohli registered his 24th half-century but Ben Stokes cleaned up the Indian skipper to leave hosts with no hope in the match. In the next over, Leach dismissed Shahbaz Nadeem to take his fourth wicket of the innings as India was reduced to 179/9. In the end, it was just a formality as Jofra Archer dismissed Jaspirt Bumrah to give England a win in the first Test. In the first session, India did not get off to a good start while resuming day five at 39/1, as Jack Leach continued from where he left off the other night. Leach sent back Cheteshwar Pujara (15) in just the seventh over of the final day.
FIFTY!
Captain @imVkohli brings up a fluent half-century on Day 5 of the 1st Test.
India skipper Kohli then joined Gill in the middle and the hopes of scrapping away with a draw relied heavily on these two batters. Gill took a special liking towards off-spinner Dominic Bess and this saw the right-handed batter bring up his third half-century in Test cricket. England skipper Joe Root then introduced Anderson into the attack, and the veteran did not disappoint as he produced a Jaffa to rattle the stumps of Gill (50). In the very same over, Anderson castled the stumps of Rahane (0), leaving India reeling at 92/4. Rishabh Pant who played a knock of 91 in the first innings, failed to leave a mark in the second innings as he was dismissed by Anderson. Pant just managed to score 11 in the second innings. Soon after, Washington Sundar (0) was sent back to the pavilion by Dominic Bess, and this reduced India to 117/6.
England win the first @Paytm#INDvENG Test!#TeamIndia will look to bounce back in the second Test.
India then went to lunch at 144/6 as the first session saw 105 runs being scored in 26 overs. On day four, England was bowled out for 178 in the second innings and as a result, India was set a target of 420 to win. In the dying minutes on day four of the ongoing first, Leach clean bowled Rohit Sharma and the hosts were given a major blow. Brief Scores: England 578 and 178; India 337 and 192/10 (Shubman Gill 50, Virat Kohli 72, Jack Leach 4-72).
A Western Sydney mayor has ignited a new debate with his recent comments on people’s expectations on councils paying for Diwali and Lunar New Year celebrations in Australia.
He was recently quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald advising that ratepayers should not be footing the bill for such events as they are not “a core essential item”.
“Australia Day, Anzac Day, Easter and Christmas are exceptions as they are significantly part of this country’s traditions and Western culture,” Cumberland City mayor Steve Christou told SMH.
Now, the question that we should ask ourselves is that in a multicultural country like Australia only ‘Australia Day, Anzac Day, Easter and Christmas’ form a significant part of core cultural values?
“I don’t support or endorse the statement by the Mayor, Cumberland City Council on #smh yesterday, 7th Feb 2021.Cumberland City Council is the second largest culturally and linguistically diverse community in #nsw, if not in #Australia. Council’s vision for the future “Welcome,Belong, Succeed” also welcomes people from different backgrounds.”
Cumberland Council in Sydney’s population is one of the most diverse and multicultural in Australia.
SMH pointed out that the City of Sydney has allocated $1.9 million for its Lunar New Year celebrations.
However, it was reported that Cr Christou said members of the diaspora should pay the bill for such celebrations.
“Same applies to other events like Diwali and the like … Council can provide in-kind support without having to dip into its pockets financially.”
Cr Christou pointed out that in the past the council had spent about $60,000 on Lunar New Year events.
“Whilst we encourage local ethnic groups to celebrate their beliefs and we all enjoy the experience, it should not be the responsibility of council and the ratepayers to financially foot the bill,” he was quoted sighting financial pressures caused by COVID19.
Every year the Australian Prime Minister wishes the diasporic communities on their respective religious and cultural events.
This shows that communities such as Indian and Chinese are part of the Australian identity and success of multiculturalism in the world’s most diverse nation.
If R nought was the number on your lips last year, then the statistic du jour this year will be the daily number of vaccinations administered.
This is the key number that will determine when we can stop living under the shadow of COVID, the ongoing sporadic seeding events from hotel quarantine, and the necessary but disruptive lockdowns that inevitably follow.
The federal government’s COVID vaccine rollout is due to start in late February with a target of vaccinating all Australian adults by October. Vaccinating some 20 million adult Australians with two doses each in around eight months is an immense logistical challenge.
Based on our preliminary analysis, uploaded today as a preprint manuscript and still awaiting peer review, it will require the health system to rapidly get up to speed to deliver around 200,000 jabs a day, and to maintain this rate for several months.
200,000 vaccinations a day is a truly furious pace. It’s possible, but will require dedicated large-scale vaccination sites capable of delivering thousands of doses a week in addition to the enthusiastic participation of general practices and community pharmacies countrywide.
A slower rollout will result in a longer and larger epidemic
The opening act of the government’s rollout strategy will be to vaccinate the highest priority groups, including border workers, front line health-care staff, and aged-care staff and residents with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Because the Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored at below -70℃, this phase will be delivered through hospital hubs with the necessary ultra-cold-chain storage facilities.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has suggested the rollout capacity will start at around 80,000 doses per week and increase from there. That’s 16,000 a day (over five-day weeks), well short of the required 200,000 a day. The planned peak capacity hasn’t been announced, but even back-of-the-beer-mat calculation would suggest a minimum of 167,000 vaccines per day to give two doses each to 20 million Australians in the eight months between March and October 2021. The longer it takes to reach such capacity, the higher that daily number will get — or we will not reach the target vaccination percentage this year.
There are huge benefits to getting the job done quickly as statistical modelling suggests even 50,000 doses a day in NSW will result in a longer and larger epidemic than 120,000 or more doses a day.
We ran a series of projections to estimate how long it would take to vaccinate the Australian population.
Our estimates used varied assumptions about the rate of vaccinations, the timing of the second dose, and the proportion of the population that would refuse to take a vaccine.
Author provided modelling/The Conversation, CC BY-ND
Our analysis finds 200,000 daily vaccinations from March would comfortably meet the October 2021 deadline. On the other hand, a rate of 80,000 per day — still seven times the PM’s starting point — would see the rollout drag on until mid-2022.
Is it feasible to administer 200,000 vaccinations a day?
As a useful point of comparison, we can look at countries where the vaccination rollout is already underway. To make it easier to compare across countries, we can standardise by population size. On this scale, our 200,000 vaccinations per day translates to around 7,700 doses per million population per day.
This rate exceeds the best efforts of the majority of countries to date, including the United Kingdom and the United States, where the rate of vaccine administration has peaked at around 5,800 and 4,000 daily doses per million population respectively.
The outlier is Israel, where between 7,000 and 20,000 vaccinations per million population have been delivered daily throughout January, and one third of its population is now vaccinated. Several factors may have contributed to this success, including a young, largely urbanised population and a strong public health infrastructure.
Returning to Australia, applications to recruit 1,000 GPs and an as-yet-unknown number of community pharmacies to join the vaccination rollout effort are currently underway.
Even if half of the 5,800 pharmacies across Australia joined with the targeted 1,000 GPs, each location would still need to administer an average of 50 doses per day, seven days a week, for about six months. Taking into account the necessary screening and record-keeping involved in addition to their usual workload, this may be quite a stretch for all but the largest practices and pharmacies.
It seems clear that to deliver at the scale needed to meet government targets won’t be possible through GPs and pharmacies alone. What’s needed are mass vaccination sites as proposed in the 2018 NSW Health Influenza Pandemic Plan. In a dedicated centre, trained nurses could vaccinate at a rate of between 80-100 people per hour. A similar approach in the UK has seen conference centres, sports stadiums, churches and mosques all co-opted as mass vaccination hubs, to great effect.
A complementary approach would be to set up drive-through vaccine clinics similar to the model of drive-through testing sites.
In the interest of openness and reproducibility, the program code base for our analysis is freely available here under an open source license.
India needs 381 runs on day 5 to win the first Test against England after Ravichandran Ashwin helped the hosts to end visitors’ second innings on 178 runs here at MA Chidambaram Stadium on Monday. At stumps on day four, India’s score read 39/1, with Shubman Gill (15*) and Cheteshwar Pujara (12*) on the field. Ashwin picked six wickets, restricting England to a very low total in the second innings and with this, a target of 420 runs was set for the hosts. Apart from Ashwin, Shahbaz Nadeem picked two wickets while Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah scalped one wicket each. India began their second innings brilliantly, with both Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill scoring regular boundaries. However, Rohit’s 12-run innings was brought to an end by Jack Leach in the sixth over. Pujara then came out to bat. Both Gill and Pujara played cautiously and ensured India do not lose more wickets on the day. India will now either have to score 381 runs on day 5 to win the match or bat for the whole day to draw the game.
A brilliant fightback by the bowlers has set up a mouthwatering Day 5⃣ in Chennai😎
Earlier, England witnessed a very dismal start to their second innings as Rory Burns was dismissed on the very first ball of the innings. He was caught by Ajinkya Rahane off Ravichandran Ashwin’s delivery. Opener Dom Sibley was then joined by Dan Lawrence on the field. Sibley and Lawrence added a brief stand of 32-run before Ashwin struck again and dismissed the former in the 11th over. Sibley was caught by Cheteshwar Pujara at leg-slip and departed after scoring 16 runs. Skipper Joe Root joined Lawrence in the middle and stitched a 26-run brief partnership. Ishant Sharma picked the wicket of Lawrence (18) which was the pacer’s 300th Test wicket. Ishant trapped Lawrence (18) in front of the stumps. The batsman took the review but the third umpire stayed with the on-field umpire’s decision. With this, Ishant became the third Indian pacer to do so after Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan. Overall, Ishant is the sixth Indian bowler to take 300 Test wickets. Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, and Ravichandran Ashwin are the other five bowlers who have taken 300 wickets in Test cricket.
Ben Stokes came in to bat at number four but in an attempt of adding quick runs to the board, he lost his wicket. Ashwin removed Stokes (7) in the 19th over. Bumrah then got hold of Root, reducing England to 101/5. Indian bowlers did not let England batsmen settle and took wickets in regular intervals. Ollie Pope (28) was sent back to the pavilion by Nadeem in the 29th over. Jos Buttler was then joined by Dom Bess on the field. Buttler played a knock of 24 runs before Nadeem picked his wicket in the 42nd over. In the next over, Ashwin removed Bess (25), who was given LBW. Ashwin then dismissed Archer to pick his fifth wicket of the innings. In the same over Ashwin removed Anderson which brought an end to England’s second innings. Resuming day four from 257/6, India’s Ashwin and Washington Sundar saw off the initial overs with relatable ease and the duo managed to move the scoreboard at a brisk pace. In the meanwhile, Sundar registered his second half-century in Test cricket. However, England skipper Joe Root introduced Jack Leach into the attack with the new ball and this resulted in Ashwin’s dismissal in the 87th over of the innings, reducing India to 305/7. Sundar and Ashwin had stitched together a partnership of 80 runs from 178 balls.
Soon after, Leach sent Shahbaz Nadeem (0) back to the pavilion as he had the right-hander caught at the hands of Ben Stokes at first slip, and this reduced India to 312/8 in the 91st over. Ishant Sharma (4) was then dismissed by James Anderson. In the end, Sundar hit a few aggressive shots off the bowling of Root, but Anderson dismissed Jasprit Bumrah (0) and as a result, India was bowled out for 337. On day three, India was left in a spot of bother at 73/4 with Virat Kohli (11), Rahane (1), Shubman Gill (29), and Rohit Sharma (6) back in the hut, but Rishabh Pant (91) and Cheteshwar Pujara (73) had revived the innings for the hosts. Brief scores: England 578 and 178 (Joe Root 40, Ollie Pope 28, Ashwin 6/61); India 337 and 39/1 (Shubman Gill 15*, Cheteshwar Pujara 12*, Jack Leach 1/21)
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to US President Joe Biden while expressing their commitment to a rule-based international order, discussed their shared priorities in the Indo-Pacific region. Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said that he conveyed his best wishes to Biden on his success. Both sides also agreed to combat climate change. “Spoke to @POTUS @JoeBiden and conveyed my best wishes for his success. We discussed regional issues and our shared priorities. We also agreed to further our co-operation against climate change,” he tweeted. The Prime Minister also said that he and the US President are looking forward to consolidating their strategic partnership to further peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region.
President @JoeBiden and I are committed to a rules-based international order. We look forward to consolidating our strategic partnership to further peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. @POTUS
“President @JoeBiden and I are committed to a rules-based international order. We look forward to consolidating our strategic partnership to further peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. @POTUS,” PM Modi said in a subsequent tweet. US President Joe Biden committed that the United States and India will work closely to combat COVID-19, climate change, rebuild the global economy and stand together against global terrorism. According to a statement from the White House, the leaders agreed to continue close cooperation to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, including support for freedom of navigation, territorial integrity, and a stronger regional architecture through the Quad initiative.
White House Readout on Modi-Biden phone call. ‘US-India will work closely together to win the fight against #COVID19 pandemic, renew partnership on climate change, rebuild global economy in a way that benefits people of both & stand together against scourge of global terrorism.’ pic.twitter.com/QnZMsvDnyK
Both the leaders agreed to stay in close touch on a range of global challenges and look forward to what the US and India will achieve together for their people and for their nations, as per the White House statement. Biden also underscored his desire to defend democratic institutions and norms around the world and noted that a shared commitment to democratic values is the bedrock for the US-India relationship. The US President and PM Modi further resolved that the rule of law and the democratic process must be upheld in Myanmar, the statement read. This is the first conversation between PM Modi and Biden since the latter’s inauguration as the US President on January 20.
The Australian federal government has revealed its plans for digital coronavirus vaccine certificates. Under the plan, Australians who are inoculated against COVID-19 will be able to show their proof of vaccination certificates on smartphones. The certificates will play a key role in the rollout of vaccines with the government considering making vaccines mandatory in high-risk settings including hospitals and aged care facilities. Planning is also underway for certificates that will be recognized by other countries in preparation for the resumption of international travel. Stuart Robert, the minister for government services, said that the government had built a “state-of-the-art cybersecurity” system to prepare for the certificate system.
— Australian Government Department of Health (@healthgovau) January 27, 2021
“In preparation for the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, Services Australia has made critical enhancements to the Australian Immunization Register, including increased system capacity so more customers can access their information on the register at the same time, new AIR functionality to capture more detailed information about vaccines given, and updating immunization history statements to show all COVID-19 vaccine doses,” he said, according to Nine Entertainment newspapers on Sunday. “We will continue to improve our systems throughout the COVID-19 vaccine rollout to support a faster return to normal life for Australians. “This includes making it faster and easier to securely access proof of COVID-19 vaccination, which could include improvements in how Australians store or access their immunization history statement.” Australia is set to begin administering vaccines at the end of February with an aim of having the entire population vaccinated by October.
After the devastating flash floods in Uttarakhand following a glacial collapse, Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday expressed support to India during the aftermath of the disaster. Taking to Twitter, Mr. Morrison commented that Austalia stands with ‘one of its closest friends at this very difficult time’.
Devastating news for India and @narendramodi following flash flooding in Uttarakhand. Australia stands with one of its closest friends at this very difficult time. https://t.co/uOnnHMAazY
“Devastating news for India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi following flash flooding in Uttarakhand. Australia stands with one of its closest friends at this very difficult time,” he tweeted. A glacier broke in the Tapovan-Reni area of Chamoli District of Uttarakhand on Sunday that triggered massive flooding in Dhauliganga and Alaknanda Rivers and damaged houses and the nearby Rishiganga power project.
#BREAKING: 16 people trapped inside a tunnel at Chamoli, Uttarakhand rescued by ITBP, Indian Army and local administrations. Some good news amidst this natural disaster. pic.twitter.com/9uC78Xlwt5
Following the incident, leaders across the world including French President Emmanuel Macron and Japanese Ambassador to India Satoshi Suzuki expressed condolences to the victims of the glacial burst. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the kin of those who lost their lives due to the glacial burst. “We are assuming that around 125 people are missing. The number can be higher,” Rawat said. He added that the government has all the needed assistance to handle the situation for now.
As Australia prepares to roll out a national vaccination program – aiming for a 95% uptake rate – big questions remain for employers and employees.
Employers have a clear incentive to want employees vaccinated, to protect clients and co-workers as well as to avoid legal liabilities of potential workplace COVID transmissions.
But can an employer insist on vaccination as a condition of employment?
That’s an ambiguous legal question, as indicated by two recent unfair dismissal cases taken to the federal Fair Work Commission. Both involve employers in 2020 making an influenza vaccination a requirement, and employees losing their jobs for refusing.
The bottom line from both cases is that an employer can make vaccination a condition of working – but with significant caveats. It depends on “balancing” the employer’s duty of care to others with the employee’s reason for refusal, and the circumstances of the work they do.
Employers have a duty of care
The first relevant case is the Fair Work Commission’s ruling in November 2020 on an unfair dismissal claim by child-care worker Nicole Arnold against Goodstart Early Learning, Australia’s largest early learning provider.
In April 2020 Goodstart made a flu vaccination a condition of employment, though allowing exceptions on medical grounds. Arnold objected. In correspondence with her employer she cited the Bible, the Nuremberg Principles and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But she gave no medical reasons. She was dismissed in August 2020.
The commission dismissed Arnold’s application to have her case heard on the basis Goodstart’s vaccination policy was arguably reasonable to satisfy its duty of care to children, while Arnold’s refusal was arguably unreasonable.
Commissioner Ingrid Asbury ruled:
While I do not go so far as to say that [Arnold’s] case lacks merit, it is my view that it is at least equally arguable that [Goodstart’s] policy requiring mandatory vaccination is lawful and reasonable in the context of its operations which principally involve the care of children, including children who are too young to be vaccinated or unable to be vaccinated for a valid health reason.
It was, Asbury said, a matter of balancing an employer’s duty of care with the needs of employees who may have reasonable grounds to refuse to be vaccinated. She saw no exceptional circumstances to rule Arnold was unfairly dismissed.
Work circumstances count
The second case involves an unfair dismissal claim by care assistant Maria Glover against Queensland aged and disability care provider Ozcare, for whom she had worked since 2009.
Ozcare provides free flu vaccinations to employees annually. Glover, 64, had previously declined to get the shot due to allergies and her understanding she had an adverse reaction to a flu shot as a child.
In April 2020, Ozcare introduced a policy making influenza vaccinations mandatory for all employees in its residential aged care facilities or having direct client contact in its community care services. Its reason was the risk to clients who caught the flu and then contracted COVID-19.
It required supporting evidence for a medical exemption. Glover did not do so. This resulted in Ozcare no longer rostering her for work from May. She filed her unfair dismissal claim in October.
A final ruling by the Fair Work Commission is still pending. The case was complicated by Ozcare’s lawyers arguing Glover had not been dismissed. But a preliminary decision on January 18 – in which Commissioner Jennifer Hunt ruled Glover had been dismissed – included observations relevant to the merits of future cases involving vaccination refusals.
Hunt considered a future scenario (in November 2021) when employers of men playing Santa Claus in shopping centers may be required to have a flu vaccination “and if a vaccination for COVID-19 is available, that too”. In such a situation, where social distancing is impossible, a vaccination might become an “inherent requirement” of the job. In the court of public opinion, Hunt said, this might not be considered unreasonable. But a court or tribunal would need to consider the context.
In particular, Commissioner Hunt noted:
In my view, each circumstance of the person’s role is important to consider, and the workplace in which they work in determining whether an employer’s decision to make a vaccination an inherent requirement of the role is a lawful and reasonable direction. Refusal of such may result in termination of employment, regardless of the employee’s reason, whether medical, or based on religious grounds, or simply the person being a conscientious objector.
What this all means
What these two rulings boil down to is that an employer can make a vaccination an inherent requirement of employment, and dismiss a worker for refusing – even if they have a legitimate reason. But it depends on the role and exposure risks.
But if risks to others can be minimised through social distancing and other measures – say, for instance an employee works from home – dismissing an employee for refusing to get vaccinated could be ruled unfair. Particularly if they have a good reason – that is a medical condition, not a pseudo-legal objection. It depends on the balance of the employer’s duty of care to others against the employee’s claims.
So it’s not clear-cut. As things stand it is risky for employers to adopt a blanket policy to make COVID-19 vaccinations compulsory.
Bringing greater clarity
Employer groups would like a more straightforward legal landscape. As the head of the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia, Peter Strong, has noted:
There is the issue of vaccinated employees refusing to work with non-vaccinated employees. Where does the employer stand, legally and practicably, in that situation? Where does the employee stand?
In the US the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (which enforces federal laws against workplace discrimination) has ruled employers can require all employees – with some religious or disability-related exemptions – to get vaccinated to enter a workplace.
Australia’s federal industrial relations minister Christian Porter has reportedly told employers the government will not mandate vaccines in workplaces.
That means making the legality of workplace vaccination policies more “black-and-white” will need to come from the state and territory governments, using their regulatory powers under their work health and safety acts.
“Annie and Arthur have been eagerly awaiting Bhagwan Singh’s next visit. What wondrous things will he have in his cart this time, among the silk and soap, spices and shirts? As the hawker makes his camp for the night, the children savour spun sugar and food from the Punjab, discovering the secret star anise.”
A new children’s illustrated book, Star of Anise by Jane Jolly and Di Wu tells the tale Sikh hawker in Australia in the late 1800s.
“Woo! Hoo! I have been waiting a long time for this book, so it will be very exciting to see it in real life. Can’t wait,” notes author Jane Jolly on her blog.
During the 1800s, there were an estimated 2,000-3,000 hawkers in Australia.
Many of the early hawkers in Australia were Europeans.
Later, British Indian ‘hawkers’ who were mostly Punjabis acted as intermediary salesmen to isolated farms in Australia by delivering supplies.
Before Federation in 1901, these British Indian subjects could move freely into Australia.
Some of the hawkers were able to spin sugar, like fairy floss and often brought small gifts for the children living in faraway stations.
According to them, “Indian Hawkers supplied a large range of items used in everyday life for people in cities and towns throughout Australia.”
In 2016, Len and Crystal located and purchased a rare 19th Century original Indian Hawker’s Wagon with an intention to restore it to its original state.
WATCH VIDEO: Australian Indian History – Meer Singh’s Wagon
The inside of an Indian hawker’s wagon was often crammed with shelves and racks carrying for sale jackets, flannel shirts, singlets, socks, night dress, boots, flour, butter, sugar, oil, baking powder, combs, scissors, shaving requisites, talcum powder, soap, perfumes, necklaces and medicines.
Charles Sturt University (CSU) Cultural heritage expert Professor Dirk Spennemann painstakingly gathered the stories of Punjabis to trace their impact on the rural landscape of colonial Australia.
“The hawkers faced marginalisation and racial prejudice. … But despite the racism, the hawkers made a living because they provided a vital intermediary service between country towns and outlying farms,” Professor Dirk Spennemann observes in the CSU blog post.
In December 1901, with the enactment of the Immigration Restriction Act, also known as the White Australia Policy, the doors were shut for the Indian hawkers.
Well-known Australian author Patrick White in his book The Aunt’s Story (1948) gives us a glimpse into the excitement of a hawker’s arrival:
“It was exciting as the cart grated through the yard. Turkeys gobbled. Dogs barked. The day was changed, which once had been flat as a pastry board. Now it was full of talk, and laughing … Now there was no question of work.”
Western Australia has introduced the history of Punjabi hawkers in its Year 5 history book: ‘Sikh and Indian Australians Learning sequence 3: Stepping into the daily life of the Indian hawker in the colonies’.
However, the contribution of the humble Indian hawkers have gone mostly unrecognized in Australia’s mainstream narrative.
It is hoped that this new illustrated book will enlighten the children on the contribution of Indians to Australia’s economy, society and culture.
A Hotel Quarantine worker at the Holiday Inn at Melbourne Airport has also tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). The individual was tested on 4 Feb, returning a negative result. After returning to work on 7 Feb, developed symptoms, was tested and returned a positive result.
The individual is being interviewed and a full public health response is underway. DHHS is contacting Holiday Inn Airport workers and others who are considered primary close contacts. All close contacts are required to immediately isolate, get tested, and remain isolated for 14 days.
Initial exposure sites and times include:
Friday 5th February 2021 –
Marciano’s Cakes: Maidstone – 9:45am – 10:25am –
Dan Murphy’s: Sunshine – 5:50pm – 6:30pm
Saturday 6th February 2021 –
Off Ya Tree Watergardens: Taylors Lakes – 1:17pm – 1:52pm –
Dan Murphy’s: Sunshine – 6:50pm – 7:30pm
If you have been at an exposure site in the specified times, you are required to immediately isolate, get tested and remain isolated for 14 days.
James Vince’s blistering 95 and disciplined bowling helped Sydney Sixers to beat Perth Scorchers by 27 runs in the Big Bash League (BBL) final at Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday to clinch their second successive title. The English gun posted the highest score by a Sixers’ batsman in the BBL final scoring 95 from 60 balls including 10 fours and three sixes. Perth posted 161/9 in their allotted 20 overs in reply to Sixers’ 188/6. However, he was not finished there as Vince took two catches, including one mid-air blinder to remove the dangerous Mitch Marsh (11).
🏆 It wasn't a dream, Sixers fans – we're back-to-back @BBL Champions!
Chasing 189, Marsh fell in the 15th over which proved crucial in the context of the match. Left-arm quick Ben Dwarshuis taking 3-37 and also picked up keeper-batsman Josh Inglis for 22. Dwarshuis finished the tournament with 24 wickets. Vince’s 95 followed his magnificent 98 not out against the Scorchers in The Qualifier, against the same opposition, at Canberra’s Manuka Oval.
It was his third consecutive half-century against Perth. He finished the campaign with 537 runs at an average of 38.35, the most by any Sixers player in one BBL season. Sixers seamer Jackson Bird was outstanding upfront taking 2-14 from three overs. His two scalps were openers Cameron Bancroft (30 from 19) and Liam Livingstone (45 from 35).
This one hurts. An incredible #BBL10 Final but credit goes to the Sixers who were very strong tonight 🤝 Despite the result, we’re so proud of our BBL journey this summer and thanks to our #MADETOUGH fans for coming along with us 🧡 pic.twitter.com/jzepugPP2s
Speedster Sean Abbott finished with figures of 2-33 while all-rounder Dan Christian also bagged two scalps. Brief Scores: Sydney Sixers 188/6 in 20 overs (James Vince 95, Andrew Tye 2-29, Jhye Richardson 2-45); Perth Scorchers 161/9 in 20 overs (Liam Livingstone 45, Ben Dwarshuis 3-37).
Joe Root and Dom Sibley put England in control of the first Test, forming a stunning 200-run partnership on the opening day of the match against India here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday. At stumps, England’s score read 263/3, with Root playing on 128 runs. However, India ended the day on a high as Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Sibley (87) in the 90th over. Opting to bat first, Sibley and Rory Burns provided England with a good start. India did have a very good opportunity to send Burns back to the pavilion cheaply but the wicket-keeper, Rishabh Pant, dropped the catch off Bumrah’s first delivery of the second over.
The duo then played cautiously to avoid any hiccups in the initial overs, taking the team over the 50-run mark. Ravichandran Ashwin handed India the first breakthrough as he got hold of Burns (33) in the 24th over. Dan Lawrence (0) then came out to bat but failed to impress as he was given LBW off Bumrah’s delivery in the 26th over, bringing Root on the field. Root, along with Sibley, steadied England’s innings and played some fine shots. Both kept the scoreboard ticking and took the team to the 100-run mark in the 44th over. Root and Sibley kept on building their partnership while Indian bowlers struggled to get a breakthrough.
Special day. Special innings. Special player.#R100T 👏
Their sublime performances saw them complete their respective half-centuries as the visitors started to take control of the game. England then went past the 200-run mark in the 74th over with Root inching closer to his century. Root, who was playing his 100th Test, got to his hundred in 164 balls. While Root and Sibley avoided risky shots, they never missed the opportunity to score a boundary on loose balls. Bumrah gave India the much-needed breakthrough after he dismissed Sibley in the 90th over. Brief scores: England 263/3 (Joe Root 128*, Dom Sibley 87, Jasprit Bumrah 2/40).
Australia’s National Cabinet met on 5 February 2021 to discuss Australia’s COVID-19 response, the Australian COVID-19 Vaccination Policy and management of Australia’s borders in the context of the emergence of new variants.
The Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, provided an update on the latest epidemiological data and medical advice in relation to COVID-19.
There have been 28,842 confirmed cases with 909 died and currently 9 people in hospital.
It was reported that more than 13.1 million tests have been undertaken in Australia.
To date Australia’s existing systems built around social distancing, testing, tracing, local health responses and quarantine have effectively mitigated the broader spread of COVID-19 virus and new variants of COVID-19 into the Australian community.
“Australia has done well on both the health and economic fronts compared to most countries around the world. National Cabinet noted the significant increase in COVID-19 cases in many countries and the comparative strength of Australia’s effort in addressing COVID compared to most other developed economies.”
CMO 2016
Professor Brendan Murphy reiterated the latest guidance that the COVID-19 vaccination rollout is on track to commence in late February 2021.
It is hoped that the COVID-19 vaccines will further strengthen Australia’s ability to control the virus.
National Cabinet reaffirmed its commitment to the Australian COVID-19 Vaccine and Treatment Strategy and the Australian COVID-19 Vaccination Policy, which sets out the roles and responsibilities of the Commonwealth, states and territories in rolling out COVID-19 vaccination.
Professor Paul Kelly outlined the importance of new COVID-19 vaccines in preventing severe disease and potentially transmission.
“A COVID-19 vaccination program which prevents severe diseases will ensure Australia can manage the virus in the same way as we manage other common diseases in society and will change the risk environment in Australian to COVID-19.”
National Cabinet further noted that the Commonwealth Government had entered an Advance Purchase Agreement with Pfizer/BioNTech for an additional 10 million vaccines in 2021. Australia now has access to over 150 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, with spare capacity (after Australians have been offered vaccines) to be made available for partners in the Pacific and South East Asia.
It welcomed the extension of the free access to COVID-19 vaccines for all visa holders in Australia.
“It is vital that we offer vaccines to all people living in Australia in order to achieve a maximum level of coverage for all Australians.”
It was also noted that to date there have been a small number of instances of COVID-19 linked to hotel quarantine in Australia.
National Cabinet agreed that hotel quarantine will continue to be the model used to quarantine returning Australians.
Australia’s National Cabinet met on 5 February 2021 to discuss Australia’s COVID-19 response, the Australian COVID-19 Vaccination Policy and management of Australia’s borders in the context of the emergence of new variants.
PM Scott Morrisson
The Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, provided an update on the latest epidemiological data and medical advice in relation to COVID-19.
Professor Paul Kelly
There have been 28,842 confirmed cases with 909 died and currently 9 people in hospital.
It was reported that more than 13.1 million tests have been undertaken in Australia.
It is hoped that the COVID-19 vaccines will further strengthen Australia’s ability to control the virus.
National Cabinet reaffirmed a shared priority to supporting Australians to return home through increased international passenger arrival caps.
From 12:01 am on 15 February, it is agreed that caps would return to pre-8 January levels in New South Wales (430 per day) and Queensland (1000 per week) as planned .
The current cap in Western Australia (512 per week) will remain in place pending further review.
The cap in Victoria will increase from 1120 to 1310 arrivals per week with additional increases to be considered, and South Australia will increase from 490 to 530 arrivals per week.
It noted that the agreed arrangements for international passenger arrival caps would continue until 11:59pm on 30 April.
National Cabinet will meet again on Friday 5 March 2021.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for 100,000 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca anti-coronavirus vaccine.
Recently, the Barbadian singer Rihannahas tweeted about farmers’ protest in India.
Her tweet resulted in a huge outcry and backlash in India.
India’s Home Minister Amit Shah, prominent ministers, Bollywood stars and cricketers have tweeted supporting India.
The Ministry of External Affairs said in a curt statement to tweets from Rihanna and other celebrities:
“The temptation of sensationalist social media hashtags and comments, especially when resorted to by celebrities and others, is neither accurate nor responsible.”
“Before rushing to comment on such matters, we would urge that the facts be ascertained, and a proper understanding of the issues at hand be undertaken”, the ministry added.
Police have detained 200 protesters following 26th January’s deadly violence in Delhi.
“We are making arrests after conducting proper verification. We are also looking into CCTVs near Red Fort, ITO, Nangloi and other areas where the violence erupted,” police officials told the Indian Express.
In January 2021, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley had requested India’s PM Modi for access to vaccines to provide immunisation coverage for their country, which has been ravaged by COVID-19.
In a letter to PM Modi sent on February 4, PM Mottley said:
“On behalf of my government and people, I wish you to express gratitude to you, your government and the people of the Republic of India for most generous donation of the Covishield vaccine (under the auspices of Oxford AstraZeneca).”
Her letter comes at a time when the international community has praised India’s support to the global COVID-19 response.
India has supplied COVID-19 vaccines to its neighbours including Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh and is working on plans to scale up vaccine manufacture to supply to 60 nations.
Anyone who has visited these Tier 1 exposure sites during these times must immediately isolate, get a coronavirus (COVID-19) test, and remain isolated for 14 days.
The locations on this list are not a current risk to the public and you can visit them in line with current restrictions. DHHS is making every effort to contact businesses prior to updating the exposure sites and appreciates the ongoing assistance of Victorian businesses in managing exposures to coronavirus (COVID-19).
04/02/21 1:30am
Location
Site
Exposure period
Notes
Brighton
North Point Cafe 2B North Rd Brighton, VIC 3186
08:10-09:30 31/1/2021
Case dined outside and used bathroom
Brandon Park
Kmart, Brandon Park Shopping Centre Cnr Springvale Rd and Ferntree Gully Rd Brandon Park, VIC 3170
16:35-17:10 31/1/2021
Case attended venue
Clayton South
Nakama Workshop 85 Main Rd Clayton South, VIC 3169
11:15-12:00 1/2/2021
Case attended venue
Heatherton
Melbourne Golf Academy 385 Centre Dandenong Rd Heatherton, VIC 3202
17:19-18:35 1/2/2021
Case attended venue
Keysborough
Aces Sporting Club (Driving Range) Cnr Springvale Rd and Hutton Rd Keysborough, VIC 3173
Kebab Kingz 438 Spencer St West Melbourne, VIC 3003
23:24-00:15 29/1/2021
Case dined outside
These premises have had confirmed cases visit during their infectious period. This does not mean that there is an ongoing risk associated with the premises, and you can safely visit the site in line with current restrictions.
Have you been to an exposure site at the specified timeframe? Then you need to get tested and isolate for 14 days. Check here ⤵️https://t.co/JAVfgxmiDO
The exposure period reflects the date or time that someone with coronavirus (COVID-19) visited that location. This visit occurred during the time that person was infectious. This includes 48 hours prior to them developing symptoms.
Locations are identified during contact tracing. Contact tracing occurs after someone tests positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).
Locations stay on the list for 14 days after the last time someone with coronavirus (COVID-19) visited during the period. 14 days is the longest period of time (incubation period) that someone who visited a location and came in to contact with someone who has coronavirus (COVID-19) could have the virus before they show symptoms.
The locations listed are where there is a higher risk you may have been exposed to coronavirus (COVID-19). It is not a complete list. The information is based on advice provided to the department by people who are confirmed cases.
Risk locations will remain on the list for 14 days from the most recent exposure.
In 2018–19, the gross value of agricultural production in South Australia alone was $6.8 billion, which was 11 per cent of the total gross value of agricultural production in Australia ($60 billion).
South Australia is in the southern central part of Australia and covers the most arid parts of Australia.
The state’s economy is dominated by the agricultural, manufacturing and mining industries.
It has a total land area of 983,482 square kilometres. Thus making it the fourth-largest of Australia’s states and territories by area, and fifth largest by population.
ABS data indicate that in 2017–18 there were 9,010 farms in South Australia with an estimated value of agricultural operations of $40,000 or more.
WATCH VIDEO: A great state
South Australia’s Skilled and Business Migration program released on 5 February 2021 provides qualified migrants a pathway to living, working or establishing their business in South Australia through the support of State Nomination.
The occupation list includes twenty types of Farmers and Farm Managers.
In addition to this South Australia is also interested in inviting Specialist Managers, Hospitality, Retail & Service Managers, Arts & Media Professionals, Business, Human Resource & Marketing Professionals, Design, Engineering, Science & Transport Professionals, Education Professionals, Health Professionals, ICT Professionals, Legal, Social & Welfare Professionals, Engineering, ICT & Science Technicians, Automotive & Engineering Trades Workers, Construction Trades Workers, Electrotechnology & Telecommunications Trades Workers, Food Trades Workers, Skilled Animal & Horticultural Workers, Other Technicians & Trades Workers, Health & Welfare Support Workers, Protective Services Workers, Sports & Personal Service Workers, Office Managers & Program Administrators, Other Clerical and Administrative Workers, and Sales Representatives & Agents.
In the 2016 census, the five largest groups of overseas-born were from England (5.8%), India (1.6%), China (1.5%), Italy (1.1%) and Vietnam (0.9%).
Interested migrants can submit their applications for state nomination are submitted online through the Skilled & Business Migration portal.
For skilled migrants, state nomination can assist you to qualify for a skilled migration visa, providing additional points towards your subclass 190 or subclass 491 application.
Once the application is submitted, it is assessed by the Department of Home Affairs against a number of visa-specific requirements.
WATCH VIDEO: The Story of Soil Conservation in South Australia
Micro-blogging site Twitter took action against Bollywood star Kangana Ranaut on Thursday by deleting some of her tweets, stating that the now-deleted posts were in violation of the platform’s guidelines.
This comes a day after Kangana reacted to international pop sensation Rihanna’s support for the ongoing farmers’ protest. And, after several Indian celebrities (film stars, cricketers) supported Rihanna’s tweet, Kangana responded to them with profanities in her tweet. This led to the twitter guidelines violation and deletion of some of her tweets.
#BREAKING: Twitter reacts on deleting tweets of Indian Actress Kangana Ranaut @KanganaTeam. Twitter Spokesperson says: ‘We have taken action on Tweets that were in violation of the Twitter Rules in line with our range of enforcement options’. @CNNnews18@news18dotcompic.twitter.com/FVxiAVLhhB
A Twitter spokesperson confirmed, “We have taken action on Tweets that were in violation of the Twitter Rules in line with our range of enforcement options.”
On Tuesday, Rihanna had taken to her Twitter handle and shared a news story by CNN on the internet shutdown in several districts of Delhi’s neighbouring state Haryana after protestors broke barricades to enter New Delhi and clashed with police in several parts of the national capital during the January 26 ‘tractor rally’ protest organised by farmers. The protestors also entered the iconic Mughal Era monument Red Fort and unfurled their flags from its ramparts.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India on Thursday said that India has issued a mutual legal assistance request to the USA for investigation in the matter of Sikhs for Justice/Referendum 2020.
“We have issued a mutual legal assistance request to the USA for investigation in the matter of Sikhs for Justice/Referendum 2020. As per procedure, the request has been sent directly by the concerned authorities to the US Department of Justice (DoJ),” MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said during the weekly virtual press conference on Khalistan linked terror groups from outside India trying to incite violence in New Delhi.
The secessionist outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), formed in 2007, is a US-based group seeking a separate homeland for Sikhs — a “Khalistan” in Punjab. On January 28, Delhi Police has registered a case against the banned organisation Sikhs for Justice under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and other sections of IPC for provoking people for Referendum-2020, demanding a separate Sikh state.
Earlier in December 2020, India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a charge sheet against 10 accused, including designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, at a special NIA court in Mohali in connection with a case related to violence by SFJ. The case pertains to a series of acts of violence, including arson in Punjab during 2017-18, carrying out propaganda activities, both online and on-ground, in support of the SFJ and Referendum-2020.
Cr Adele Hegedich, the Mayor of Wyndham City, recently posted on Facebook that she is taking the concerns of trucks parked in Truganina’s Allura estate seriously.
“I’ve recently heard from a number of residents concerned about trucks parking overnight and during other off-peak times along residential streets in Truganina’s Allura estate.”
She said that her team is working closely with Council officers to implement a solution.
So, what are the rules for truck drivers?
According to VicRoads, a driver of a heavy vehicle such as a truck must obey the same road rules as other drivers.
Mayor also noted that “While the practice of parking in indented spaces is not currently illegal, I understand many residents are concerned about safety and amenity impacts relating to this.”
VicRoads rules state that heavy or long vehicles cannot be parked on a road in a built-up area for longer than one hour.
But the driver of a heavy or long vehicle (7.5 metres long or longer), but not a bus, can stop on a road in a built-up area for longer than one hour provided the driver is dropping off or picking up goods.
So, a driver of a heavy vehicle must read the parking sign. And for more information see the Victorian Road Safety Road Rules 2017 rule 200.
According to the Mayor, the council has now engaged an independent road safety auditor to investigate this issue.
The investigator will submit this report by early next week and help best address the issue.
“Please be assured that myself and my fellow Harrison Ward Councillors, Cr Susan McIntyre, Cr Jasmine Hill and Cr Sahana Ramesh take these concerns seriously and we’re working closely with Council officers to implement a solution,” she added.
University of the South Pacific Vice-Chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia has been deported from Fiji to Australia.
Professor Ahluwalia and his wife, Sandra Price, were detained by Fiji Police and Immigration officials and declared Prohibited Immigrants under the Immigration Act with immediate effect.
A letter signed by Fiji’s Acting Director of Immigration Amelia Komaisavai notes that the Fijian government deemed Professor Ahluwalia to be “a person who is or has been conducting himself in a manner prejudicial to the peace, defence, public safety, public order, public morality, public health, security or good government of the Fiji Islands”.
Section 13, (2) (g) of the Immigration Act states, a person who prior to or after entry into the Fiji Islands, as a result of information received from any country through official or diplomatic channels, or from any other source the Minister considers reliable, is deemed by the Minister to be a person who is or has been conducting himself in a manner prejudicial to the peace, defence, public safety, public order, public morality, public health, security or good government of the Fiji Islands.
Last year, Fiji government had announced it was suspending its grants of more than $US10 million to the university.
The current Chancellor is the President of the Republic of Nauru, His Excellency Lionel Rouwen Aingimea is trying to call in an emergency meeting.
This move of the Fiji Government has stirred condemnation on social media from academics and local community.
Fiji Times reports that the National Federation Party leader Professor Biman Prasad said at a time when Fiji should be supporting victims of cyclones Yasa and Ana, Government was “instead focused its own petty jealousies”.
Professor Ahluwalia says he remains the VC of USP despite being deported, and he hopes the USP Council, which has to meet tomorrow, will make further decisions.
The University of the South Pacific Vice-Chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia and his wife has been taken in by Police and Immigration officials.
FIJI is expected to deport Professor Pal Ahlaluwiya later today. Ahlaluwiya was arrested at midnight with his wife and detained by immigration officers. Fiji attempted unsuccessfully to remove him through the university council last year. The detention comes less than 48 hours before a USP Council meeting.
Professor Pal Ahluwalia moved from Australia to Fiji in October 2018 to take up this position.
In his VC’s message on USP website, Professor Ahluwalia notes:
“We have great ambitions and have aspirations to grow our brand so that we are globally recognized for our excellence. Our greatest strength is our people, who are dedicated, well qualified and are world class researchers devoted to providing the best education possible. We work to advance our teaching, curriculum, and campus culture to meet the educational needs and aspirations of students in a rapidly changing world. “
Professor Ahluwalia studied for his Bachelors and Master of Arts from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada and later went to get his PhD from Flinders University in Australia.
Prior his appointment as the VC&P of USP, he served as the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the University of Portsmouth.
Professor Pal Ahluwalia began his tenure as USP vice-chancellor in January 2019.
Soon, he reported gross irregularities at USP. Professor Ahluwalia’s report sparked an independent investigation ordered by USP’s audit and risk committee.
Ahluwalia denies all allegations of misconduct and claims he has been the victim of a witch-hunt. “I have no doubt that it is a by-product of that initial report that I took. I was a whistleblower. Most places … in the world whistleblowers are protected. Here I have been thrown under the bus,” he told RNZ Pacific.
There were wide spread protests and the VC was reinstated and this was seen as a victory for good governance, activism and regional unity.
USP is jointly owned by 12 countries – with campuses in all – and 20,000 students from across the region.
Australia and New Zealand are also significant external funders of the university and are concerned about USP’s governance.
In 2019, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced:
“Today I announce a new partnership between Australia and the University of the South Pacific – see, it was worth waiting for – $84 million over the next six years. We do this because it matters and it counts and you get results. USP has a unique role in developing the skills needed to drive the region’s development and economic growth long into the future. Last year, USP – as you noted earlier – celebrated its 50th Anniversary. So did I, by the way. This is a remarkable achievement – not for me, for you … Australia is proud to have been associated with USP over the longer term. This agreement will see Australia support efforts to invest in the young people of our region, passionate people, vibrant people, intelligent people, through the focus on improving the quality of teacher education and through the education of students at the tertiary level in fields such as economics, human resource management and tourism management.”
As per local media reports. Pal and his wife were picked up from their home as Fiji’s Prime Minister participated in a Pacific Islands Forum leaders retreat that went well into the early hours of this morning and saw the election of former Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna to the role of PIF Secretary General ahead of four other candidates, including Fiji’s Ratu Inoke Kubuabola.
Fiji will Chair the PIF later this year, but maintaining regional unity, after the deportation of the Vice-Chancellor, particularly after the candidate endorsed by Micronesian Forum members missed out on the SG’s role, will be even more difficult now. Nauru’s President chairs the USP Council.
The University of the South pacific Students Council has published on it’s social media page that,
Victoria Covid19 Testing site; Picture Source: Twitter Vic Health
A Hotel Quarantine worker at the Grand Hyatt Hotel has tested positive to coronavirus (COVID-19).
The individual last worked at the Grand Hyatt on 29 January and was tested at the end of their shift, returning a negative result. Subsequently, he developed symptoms and was tested again on 2 February. He returned a positive result late today.
Victorian Public health teams are identifying exposure sites. Initial Tier 1 exposure sites and times are as follows:
Saturday 30th January 2021
Club Noble in Noble Park
46-56 Moodemere St Noble Park VIC 3174
14:36 – 15:30
Aces Sporting Club (Driving Range)
Cnr Springvale Rd and Hutton Rd, Keysborough, VIC 3173
22:00 – 23:15
Sunday 31st January 2021
Northpoint Café Brighton
2b North Road, Brighton VIC 3186
08:10 – 09:30
Kmart Keysborough
Parkmore Keysborough Shopping Centre, C/317 Cheltenham Rd, Keysborough VIC 3173
16:00 – 17:00
Kmart Brandon Park
Brandon Park Shopping Centre, Cnr Springvale & Ferntree Gully Rds, Brandon Park, VIC 3170
16:35 – 17:10
Coles Springvale
825 Dandenong Rd, Springvale VIC 3171
17:00 – 18:00
Monday 1 February 2021
Bunnings Springvale
849 Princes Hwy, Springvale VIC 3171
11:28 – 12:15
Melbourne Golf Academy
385 Centre Dandenong Rd, Heatherton VIC 3202
17:19 – 18:36
Anyone who has visited these Tier 1 exposure sites during these times must immediately isolate, get a coronavirus (COVID-19) test, and remain isolated for 14 days.
New statewide restrictions come into effect from 11:59pm tonight, 3 February.
The limit on the number of people gathering in a household will be reduced from 30 to 15, meaning the household members plus 15 visitors (excluding children under 12 months of age).
Masks will be mandatory in public indoor spaces. If you have visitors in your home, it is strongly recommended that masks are worn during the visit. Masks must be worn in indoor public spaces apart from when eating or drinking. If you are planning to leave your home – take a mask.
The 75 per cent ‘return to work’ cap in both public and private sectors scheduled for Monday 8 February will be paused and the current Cap of 50% will remain in place.
More updates, including exposure sites and possible changes to public health directions, will be provided throughout the evening and tomorrow. Exposure sites will also be published on the Case locations and outbreaks page of DHHS.
A Hotel Quarantine worker at the Grand Hyatt Hotel has tested positive to coronavirus (COVID-19).
Anyone who has visited these exposure sites during the times below must immediately isolate, get a coronavirus (COVID-19) test, and remain isolated for 14 days. pic.twitter.com/BNpSOEcpHY
Health authorities are contacting all Australian Open players, officials, and support staff who were staying at the Grand Hyatt during the entire period. For now, they are considered casual contacts however, they must immediately isolate and get tested.
All Hotel staff working at the Grand Hyatt who are considered primary close contacts. They must immediately isolate and get tested and remain isolated for 14 days.
Major testing sites in Melbourne’s South East will open early tomorrow 4 February. Additional lanes will open for drive-through testing sites. Rapid Response Team sites will also be set up.
The Delhi Police has just announces a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh each for information leading to arrest of actor-activist Deep Sidhu, Jugraj Singh, Gurjot Singh and Gurjant Singh.
They also announced Rs 50,000 each for the arrest of Jajbir Singh, Buta Singh, Sukhdev Singh and Iqbal Singh for their alleged involvement in Red Fort violence on January 26.
On 26th January a group of people had hoisted the religious and farmer unions’ flags parallel to the Tricolour at the Red Fort.
Deep Sidhu, the Punjabi actor-turne-activist had gone missing after January 26. In a video footage from the incident shared on Facebook, Sidhu was caught fleeing on a motorbike from the spot as the situation aggravated. He has posted videos from hiding.
In a Facebook Live video posted on January 31, Sidhu claimed that he feels “abandoned” after the events of January 26.
“Flags were hoisted as the people wanted to show their anger to the government. But nobody took a stand. I have been deeply hurt, not because of what the government said, but what the people are saying about me,” he said.
WATCH VIDEO: Royal Life Saving National Drowning Report 2020
Recently, the Australian Facebook group CPR Kids, which is run by registered nurses, shared this photo and issued a stark warning to parents.
“Going for a swim this weekend? Make sure you dress the kids in bright and colourful swimwear so that they are easier to see at all times. Remember; drowning is silent, and every second counts.”
CPR Kids’ experts advise all parents that their child should be dressed in bright colours so they are visible in a swimming pool.
Look at the image below. What do you see underneath the water here?
Take a good look at the image above. Can you see anything? A child?
At first the above photo appears to show an empty swimming pool.
CPR Kids Facebook post further notes, “It’s hard to believe, we know! Following on from our post recently on the importance of fluoro and bright coloured swimwear for kids, one of the CPR Kids Educators was at a pool party with friends and noticed how cloudy the water had become after being used all day. She asked one of the children who was wearing a pale blue swimsuit, to swim to the bottom. The result shocked her – as it did everyone in the CPR Kids team!”
“Just a note- this was taken at roughly 2pm, after a few hours of use. The cloudiness was likely due to sunscreen etc. in the water as this is usually a clear pool,” the post added.
At public swimming pool, lifeguards may find it harder to see children who are wearing blue or green bathing suits especially when they are at the bottom of the pool.
Therefore bright orange, red, or neon colors. are recommended for kids.
Royal Life Saving Australia under its Keep Watch program recommends that groups of adults allocated a designated ‘pool watcher’ when around kids playing in the water.
In and around a swimming pool, adults should Supervise, Restrict, Teach and Respond to keep children safe.
‘Kids can’t help themselves around water, you need to.’
In an exclusive interview for The Australia Today, Dr. Peter J. Middlebrook, a well-known Geo-strategist, Political scientist, Development economist, and Philanthropist spoke with senior journalist V. Kumar and gave vital insights into a number of global issues facing the world today. He is of the view that a crisis like Coviid-19 could bring interesting opportunities for future-ready firms.
He says India has done all it could to face this unprecedented health and economic crisis and is quite bullish on India bouncing back as a world leader.
What is the impact of Covid-19 on the global economy?
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and agenda have set many economies, firms, and households back years if not decades. Of course, a crisis creates both winners and losers, and given the rise in online and automated systems, future-ready firms have already reaped the benefit. For a large range of legacy industries, however, the long term impacts are probably devastating. In terms of government fiscal futures, increasing debt levels will reduce government spending on growth and employment enabling investments. For poverty, remittances, and foreign direct investment the results are also negative; over the near term.
COVID-19 will lead to a fresh surge in digitized services. Linked to AI, the emergent problem will be how to automate services without creating a spike in unemployment. In this context, COVID-19 is in some ways linked to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), which is why the biggest impact of COVID-19 on the global economy is not health related; its digital transformation.
In dealing with what I would now call the emerging COVID-19 agenda, the impact on the global economy over the long term will be how we respond to the virus, in order to build a better future. If we can do that – for example moving towards a universal basic income – it will have been a price worth paying. For those in society who cannot adapt and innovate, this crisis will last a lifetime.
Over the last few years there seems to be a perceptible shift, if only so slightly, towards reverse globalisation and the return of some form of protectionism to local businesses. How has Covid-19 changed the world in this aspect?
I see no reverse in globalization – globalization is unstoppable and in the aggregate it is desirable. If anything, I see globalization being accelerated; depending upon how you measure it. The question is what is being globalized? Banking – yes! Telecoms- yes! Vaccination – yes! Social media – yes! Travel – yes! Food – yes! Technology – yes! Culture – yes! Sports – yes! Blockchain – yes! Music – yes. Governments?
A couple of years ago I was a key expert to the Commission on Global Security, Justice and Governance. We realized that the future of globalization will be a hybrid model; what we called a hyper global and hyper local arrangement. In other words, globalization can only succeed when global rules are adopted locally and local rules are respected globally.
A common mistake analysts often make is by asking, you know, what does the UK or the US want? What does China, or India want? The truth is that nation states are no longer the currency of transaction that they once were, and globalization is therefore being run – and organized – by capitalized interest groups; most of which are not necessarily sovereign in the way most people think. Moreover, some of these wealthy groups are not necessarily only motivated by money, but also by trying to shape society to be – for example- more respectful of natural capital.
I see the future of globalization having multi-nationals and not nation states at the forefront. Like former religious states, nation states are in decline and a vast percentage of the services they currently provide to their citizens are going to be automated. Perhaps 30-50 per cent of what governments do, could be automated. Taxes could be lower, allowing incomes and consumption also to be reduced.
If you can imagine what we call a future ready world, and project out 20-30 years, each individual will have their own digital ID and all core services will be bundled around that. This is the next generation of globalization. Your digital ID will link to healthcare, financial services, food and sustainability, travel, insurance, mobility, eCommerce, eGovernment, social media and the telecoms and perhaps even your own personal carbon footprint will be measured; and perhaps one day taxed.
How would you evaluate the Indian response to economic hardships put forth by Covid-19? Do you think the response from the government has been adequate or more needs to be done? Where do you see Indian economy in the next few years?
I did my doctorate on India and lived there for many years. I think Indian poverty is something that pre-existed COVID-19 and the question is whether the pandemic will improve government policy to overcome such challenges. The response has been fine – all governments have been unsighted – and I expect India to re-emerge as the global powerhouse that it once was. India has land, capital, integrity, diplomacy, brilliant technical imagination and is strategic well placed. India will continue to grow, and play a more vocal role on the things that matter, including mother nature.
Has the pandemic brought the world together collaborating to fight the challenge, or do we see the divide widening further?
I think at the level of global leadership there has never been greater consensus that we need to collaborate more, and that Agenda 2030 and Global Environmental Concerns can only be achieved through a common agenda; in support of a common future. The pandemic is however chipping away at the social contract between citizens and the state; but many governments are not very good; so perhaps that is about time.
What trend do you foresee in global economy in the next 3-5 years as the world navigates the long-term impact of this pandemic?
The new normal as people refer to it will in my mind be the old normal but a major shift in the way technology is used to provide services and to track human impact on the environment. I see greater integration, crypto currencies (sovereign) increasing their domination and the blockchain emerging central to smart contracts and smart consumption. Global growth will remain low, central bank interest rates will remain low and in some cases will be negative, and levels of unemployment (particularly among the youth) will likely worsen. The current model of neo-liberal economies will need to evolve to better address environmental concerns, and the new Terra Carta may form part of that solution.
How can economies look to move beyond “recovering” from the crisis, and towards “thriving” in the long run?
There are probably far too many people in the world, and in Africa – where the population is likely to increase to 4 billion by the turn of the century – countries will struggle just to maintain standards of living, before bouncing forward. Governments need to establish socio-economic recovery programs and integrate these into the national budget process; and they need to execute ‘digital-by-default’ policies across all services and to fundamentally change the way investments affect natural capital, nature and our wider ecosystem. The most progressive governments – increasingly the City and Gulf States – will lead this drive be ahead of the pack – as they are not slowed by democratic traditions that require broad consensus before actions can be taken.
About Dr. Peter J. Middlebrook: He is a well-known British geo-strategist, political scientist, development economist, philanthropist, and businessman. He has worked in Central Asia for the US government leading projects in regional economic development and cooperation. He has also worked for the World Bank and the European Union in Afghanistan for a number of years. He is the CEO of Geopolicity Inc., as well as Chairman of a number of other companies. He specialises in emerging markets in the Middle East and North Africa, Central Asia, and the Horn of Africa and is a keen observer on issues related to globalisation. He is best known for his work as an economic, security, and political adviser to multilateral and bilateral organisations including the World Bank, European Union, United Nations, Government of the United Kingdom, as well as global corporations covering energy, infrastructure, mining, and water. Middlebrook currently resides in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Oxford Languages has named ‘Aatmanirbharta’ which means self-reliance as its Hindi word of the year 2020.
The word has “validated the day-to-day achievements of the countless Indians who dealt with and survived the perils of a pandemic.” An advisory panel consisting of language experts Kritika Agrawal, Poonam Nigam Sahay, and Imogen Foxell determined.
The Oxford Hindi word of the year is a word or expression that is chosen to reflect the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the passing year, and have lasting potential as a term of cultural significance.
In a written statement, Oxford Languages said in the early months of the pandemic when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced India’s COVID-19 recovery package, he emphasised the need to become self-reliant as a country, as an economy, as a society, and as individuals, in a bid to navigate the perils of the pandemic.
There was a massive increase in the usage of ‘aatmanirbharta’ following the Indian Prime Minister’s address, highlighting its increased prominence as a phrase and concept in the public lexicon of India, it said.
One of the standout successes of the entire Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign is the large-scale manufacturing of the COVID-19 vaccine in India. During the Republic Day parade, the Department of Biotechnology highlighted the Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign and showcased the COVID-19 vaccine development process in its tableau at Rajpath.
“In an unprecedented year, ‘aatmanirbharta’ found resonance with a wide cross-section of people as it is seen to be an answer to the revival of a COVID-impacted economy,” said Oxford University Press India managing director Sivaramarkrishnan Venkateswaran.
Agrawal said amid a number of interesting and topical entries received, ‘aatmanirbharta’ stood out because it validated the day-to-day achievements of the countless Indians who dealt with and survived the perils of a pandemic.
This word “gives a voice to the strength displayed by young and old alike in dealing with extended periods of isolation, lack of familial support, loss of livelihoods and other difficulties through sheer determination and self-reliance”, she said.
Previous Hindi words of the year are Aadhar (2017), Nari Shakti (2018) and Samvidhaan (2019).
While the Hindi word of the year has great resonance for the year in which it was chosen, however, it doesn’t mean that the word will automatically go into any Oxford dictionaries.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews has announced that office-based workplaces in both the public and private sectors can return to 75 percent capacity from Monday 8 February 2021.
This is the next step in Victoria’s staged return to work and will be accelerated next week with new health advice allowing office-based workers to return to three fourth capacity.
Premier Daniel Andrews said, we are here to help and support businesses to return to full capacity as soon as possible.
“Victorians have worked so hard to fight this virus. We’ve built something precious, and we need to protect it.”
“From our new permit system to hotel quarantine and workplace COVIDSafe plans – these measures are fundamentally about keeping Victoria safe and open.”
With no evidence of community transmission in Victoria for 27 days now, both public sector and private sector office-based workplaces will be able to return.
From 8 Feb, up to 75% of workers in both the public & private sector can return to on-site work.
Face masks are not required to be worn in offices. But remember to wear them on public transport and whenever you can't maintain 1.5m distance.
Record-keeping requirements for workplaces will remain unchanged, which means an employer must keep a record of all workers and all visitors who attend the premises for longer than 15 minutes.
Legislation will be introduced into the Victorian Parliament this week to ensure the public health directions protecting Victorians from coronavirus – including requiring workplaces to have a COVIDSafe Plan – can continue to be enforced.
A number of key health protections required to manage this pandemic are only available when a State of Emergency has been declared under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 – such as hotel quarantine, mandatory face coverings in certain settings, and other restrictions to help slow the spread of the virus.
It allows the Government to run Victoria’s traffic light permit system, which provides invaluable information about who has entered Victoria and from where and the ability to identify areas of risk in Australia and prevent travel from those areas when they are deemed a risk to public health.
It also ensures public health risk powers can be exercised – for example, by requiring positive cases of coronavirus to isolate.
The current State of Emergency declared in respect of the coronavirus pandemic has a maximum period of 12 months, which will expire at 11:59 pm on 15 March 2021. The new legislation will permit the Government to extend the State of Emergency for an additional nine months in four-week increments – expiring at 11.59pm on 15 December 2021.
Until the vaccine is rolled out, Victorians need to continue in the fight against coronavirus and work to keep the entire community safe – and the State of Emergency allows the government to do exactly that.
Are you ready for ‘Holiday Here This Year’? Which part of Australia would you like to visit in 2021?
A new advertisement campaign has been launched today with the purpose to drive local tourism in Australia.
A week-long tourism advertisement blitz will encourage Australians to book domestic holidays and give the local tourism industry a much-needed boost.
Tourism Australia Managing Director Phillipa Harrison said the advertising blitz was the first activation of Tourism Australia’s ‘Holiday Here This Year’ campaign for 2021.
“This campaign is all about capitalising on this pent up demand by providing those people with all the content and inspiration they need to convert this desire and yearning for a holiday into actual bookings,” Ms Harrison said. “Australians looking for further inspiration to plan their next Australian holiday should visit australia.com or talk to their local travel agent.”
This $5 million marketing push will inspire Australians to holiday in Australia by highlighting destinations, tourism products and experiences.
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan said the campaign was part of the Morrison Government’s ongoing support for the tourism industry.
Mr Tehan said, “We want Australians to get excited about holidaying in Australia. Our country is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world and this year is an opportunity for Australians to discover why.”
“This nation-wide advertising blitz will inspire Australians to plan and book their next domestic getaway in the weeks and months ahead. Domestic tourism is worth $100 billion to the Australian economy and our tourism industry supports more than 621,000 local jobs. My message to every Australian is do yourself a favour and start planning your next holiday in Australia because you’ll have the time of your life and you’ll also be supporting a lot of Australian jobs and businesses,” Mr Tehan added.
These are long-term awards administered with an aim to contribute to the development needs of Australia’s partner countries in line with bilateral and regional agreements.
These scholarships provide opportunities for people from developing countries to undertake full-time undergraduate or postgraduate study at participating Australian universities and Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions.
It is a great way to develop the skills and knowledge and contribute to the development of your home countries.
Please note that the study programs must relate to your country’s priority areas for development.
Australia Awards Scholarships cover:
full tuition fees
return air travel–payment of a single return, economy class airfare to and from Australia, via the most direct route
establishment allowance–a once only payment as a contribution towards accommodation expenses, text books, study materials
Contribution to Living Expenses (CLE) – a fortnightly contribution to basic living expenses paid at a rate determined by the department.
Introductory Academic Program (IAP)–a compulsory program prior to the commencement of formal academic studies covering information on living and studying in Australia
Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for the duration of the award (for award holder only)–provided to cover the scholar’s basic medical costs (with the exception of pre-existing conditions)
Pre-course English (PCE) fees–if deemed necessary PCE may be available for students for in-country and/or in-Australia training
supplementary academic support may be available to ensure a scholar’s academic success or enhance their academic experience
fieldwork (for research awards and Masters by coursework which have a research component where fieldwork is compulsory) may be available for eligible research students for one return economy class airfare via the most direct route to their country of citizenship or within Australia.
Please note that successful applicants will need to sign a contract with the Commonwealth of Australia declaring that they will comply with the conditions of the scholarship.
Scholars are required to leave Australia for a minimum of two years after completing their scholarship. Failure to do so will result in the scholar incurring a debt for the total accrued cost of their scholarship.
A Special Investigation Team probing fake degree racket in Himachal Pradesh (India) has found out that Manav Bharti University based in Solan sold 36,000 fake degrees for over a decade.
These degrees were sold across 17 states.
The investigation team comprising of local police, Enforcement Directorate and Income-Tax Department, also found out that only 5,000 degrees issued out of 41,000 were genuine.
According to the Tribune, the police team has arrested and revoked the passport of Mr Rajkumar Rana, Manav Bharti Charitable Trust’s Chairman.
While extradition proceedings to bring back Mr Raj Kumar Ran’a wife, son and daughter who are also trustees in the trust from Australia are in progress, reports the Times of India.
According to the Director General of Police Sanjay Kundu, this entire scam was run with cash transactions.
Under PMLA, the Enforcement Directorate has attached Rs 194.17-cr properties and fixed deposits of main accused Raj Kumar Rana .
The scam is set to multiply manifold as the police team are still scanning the remaining 41 hard disks out of the 55 recovered from the university campus.
University Grants Commission had alerted the relevant authorities in 2019 about the fake degree racket run by Manav Bharti University in Solan since 2009.
From today (February 1), when you receive a prescription in Australia, it will list the name of the medication’s active ingredient rather than the brand name. So, for example, instead of receiving a prescription for Ventolin, your script will say “salbutamol”.
Using the name of the drug — instead of the brand name, of which there are often many — will simplify how we talk about and use medications.
This could have a range of benefits, including fewer medication errors by both doctors and patients.
What is an active ingredient?
The active ingredient describes the main chemical compound in the medicine that affects your body. It’s the ingredient that helps control your asthma or headache, for example.
Drugs are tested to ensure they contain exactly the same active ingredients regardless of which brand you buy.
There’s only one active ingredient name for each type of medical compound, although they may come in different strengths. Some types of medications may contain multiple active ingredients, such as Panadeine Forte, which contains both paracetamol and codeine.
There can be several brand names
Until now, doctors and other prescribers have used a mixture of brand and active ingredient names when prescribing medicines. An Australian study found doctors used brand names for 80.5% of prescriptions.
Different brands are available for most medications — up to 12 for some. Combined with active ingredient names, this equates to thousands of different names — too many for any patient, doctor, nurse or pharmacist to remember.
Here’s an example of the problem.
I ask John, a patient whom I’ve just met, whether he takes cholesterol medications, commonly called statins. The active ingredient names for this group of medications all end in “statin” (for example, pravastatin, simvastatin).
“Ummm, I’m not sure, is it a blue pill?” John asks.
“It could come in many colours. It might be called atorvastatin, or Lipitor,” I reply. “Perhaps rosuvastatin, or Crestor, or Zocor?”
“Ah yes, Crestor, I am taking that,” John exclaims, after deliberating for some time.
This is a common and important conversation, but could be simpler for both of us if John was familiar with the active ingredient name.
And while we did eventually come to the answer, this medication could have easily been overlooked, by both John and myself. This may have significant implications and interact with other medicines I might prescribe.
Cause for confusion
The main problem with using brand names for medications is the potential for confusion, as we see with John.
A prescription written using a brand name doesn’t mean you can’t buy other brands. And your pharmacist may offer to substitute the brand specified for an equivalent generic drug. So, people often leave the pharmacy with a medication name or package that bears no resemblance to the prescription.
When the terms we use to describe medicines in conversation, on prescriptions and what’s written on the medication packet can all be different, patients might not understand which medications they’re taking, or why.
This often leads to doubling up (taking two brands of the same medication), or forgetting to take a certain medication because the name on the package doesn’t match what’s written on your medication list or prescription.
Confusion resulting from using brand names has been associated with serious medication errors, including overdoses. Elderly people are the most susceptible, as they’re most likely to take multiple medications.
Even when the confusion doesn’t cause harm, it can be problematic in other ways. If patients don’t understand their medicines, they may be less likely to be proactive in making decisions with their doctor or pharmacist about their health care.
Health professionals can also get confused, potentially leading to prescribing errors.
What are the benefits of active ingredient prescribing?
The main benefit of the switch is to simplify the language around medications.
Once we become accustomed to using one standardised name for each medicine, it will be easier to talk about medicines, whether with a family member, pharmacist or doctor.
The better we understand the medications we’re using, the fewer errors we make, and the more control we can take over our medication use and decisions.
This change will also serve to promote choice.
When you’re prescribed a medicine with a certain name, you’re more likely to buy that brand. In some cases there may be generic medicines that are cheaper and just as effective. Or there may be other forms of the medication that better suit your needs, such as a capsule only available in another brand.
Not too much will change
This new rule is not expected to lead to extra work for doctors, pharmacists or other health professionals who prescribe medicines, as most clinical software will make the transition automatically.
Doctors can elect to still include the brand name on the prescription, if they feel it’s important for the patient. But aside from some limited exceptions, the active ingredient name will need to be listed, and will be listed first.
Some active ingredient names may be a bit longer and more complex than certain brand names, so there might be a period of adjustment for consumers.
But in the long term, this change will streamline terminology around medicines and make things easier, and hopefully safer, for everyone.
Next time you receive your prescription, have a look at the name of the active ingredient. Remember it, and use that name when you talk to your family, doctor and pharmacist.
Farmer unions have decided to block the national highways and state highways across the country for three hours on February 6 to press their demand for the repeal of three farm laws, Bhartiya Kisan Morcha (R) president, Balbir Singh Rajewal said on Monday. “We will block both state highways and national highways for three hours from 12 noon to 3 pm on February 6. We will protest for our demand of complete rollback of farm laws, against the repressive measures being taken across Delhi, and against anti-farmer and pro-corporate budget,” he said at a press conference organised by Samyukt Kisan Morcha. He said Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SMU) has constituted a committee to provide legal assistance to 128 persons arrested by Delhi Police in connection with the tractor rally on January 26. He said the committee will have three advocates. Swaraj India President Yogendra Yadav said that there is apprehension among farmers that the government moves are aimed at closing down FCI.
Perth and the Peel and South West regions of Western Australia will go into a five-day hard lockdown from 6pm local time on Sunday, after one new local COVID-19 case was detected in the state.
The new case is a male security guard who was working on the same floor as a person in quarantine with the UK coronavirus variant.
Contact tracing is underway, and residents have been asked to get a COVID test if they visited any of several venues listed as potential exposure sites.
The lockdown is currently scheduled to last until 6pm on Friday February 5, although Premier Mark McGowan has not ruled out extending the restrictions if necessary.
What do the restrictions mean?
Residents will only be allowed to leave home for four essential reasons: work or study, exercise, to shop for essentials or to access healthcare.
Schools, many of which were scheduled to begin on February 1, will remain closed for the coming week.
Face masks will be mandatory in the state when leaving home for essential reasons.
The WA state election campaign has been suspended, and Big Bash cricket fixtures and Perth Fringe Festival events cancelled for the duration of the lockdown.
McGowan said the lockdown is “a crucial reaction to keep the community safe”.
First run during #perthlockdown ☝️ Nearly everyone wearing masks (the one dude running with no mask, I saw you 👀 If I can run with a mask on so can you) Keep up the good work WA 🖤💛 pic.twitter.com/mgzwa1AegH
— Caitlin Tilsed #kindnessinscience (@caitlintilsed) February 1, 2021
Border restrictions likely
McGowan has also recommended that other states suspend travel to WA — a blunt tool for dealing with outbreaks of this size.
Restricting travel from specific hotpots can be a successful circuit-breaker to disease transmission.
But hard border closures — particularly with no evidence of widespread community transmission — seem unnecessary and counterproductive at this stage, and are associated with a host of health and economic consequences.
Face masks, meanwhile, can certainly help reduce the risk of disease transmission, and thereby help keep borders open.
The lockdown will hopefully act as a circuit-breaker, minimising community transmission and allowing health authorities to trace and test anyone who might have been infected.
Disappointingly, meanwhile, Perth supermarkets were hit with a wave of panic-buying, similar to the scenes during previous lockdowns elsewhere.
This behavior is unnecessary and counterproductive. Shops will remain open, and people will still be able to buy what they need during the lockdown. Crowding into shops (especially without wearing masks) directly before the lockdown begins actually increases the risk of infection.
Is the lockdown an overreaction?
Back on January 13, WA’s chief health officer Andy Robertson suggested the state would likely enter a short, sharp lockdown if a coronavirus outbreak was detected within the community.
Going hard and fast was effective in South Australia, and also seems to have been quite effective in Queensland.
Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young said the January 2021 lockdown did indeed act as a circuit-breaker, similar to SA’s November 2020 response, to stop the virus spreading out of control.
“I think Adelaide managed their outbreak brilliantly … it was probably one of the best responses in the country,” she said.
Last year, at the height of Melbourne’s second COVID wave, UNSW professor and epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws suggested public health officials were likely to be criticised regardless of their strategy.
“If we call it early, then the public thinks that we’re saying the sky is falling in. If we call it late, then you’re said to not be able to handle an outbreak. So you’re not going to win,” she said.
If health authorities are going to cop criticism either way, this suggests the best strategy is to err on the side of overreacting, rather than underreacting, and aim to be safe rather than sorry.
By this logic, Perth’s five-day circuit-breaker is simple common sense.
Erin Smith, Associate Professor in Disaster and Emergency Response, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University
A novel strain of coronavirus — SARS-CoV-2 — was first detected in December 2019 in Wuhan, a city in China’s Hubei province with a population of 11 million, after an outbreak of pneumonia without an obvious cause. The virus has now spread to over 200 countries and territories across the globe, and was characterised as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020.
As of 10 January 2021, there were 88,828,387 laboratory-confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection globally, with 1,926,625 reported deaths. The number of cases and deaths outside of China overtook those within the country on 16 March 2020.
As of 31st January 2021, there have been 28811 confirmed cases of the virus in Australia and 909 of these have died. Infographic below from Department of Health indicated situation in various states and also other trends.
This gives a brief overview of the virus, with updates and general information. It does not substitute need for a consultation/ discussion with your doctor in specific situations.
What are coronaviruses?
SARS-CoV-2 belongs to a family of single-stranded RNA viruses known as coronaviridae, a common type of virus which affects mammals, birds and reptiles.
In humans, it commonly causes mild infections, similar to the common cold, and accounts for 10–30% of upper respiratory tract infections in adults[4]. More serious infections are rare, although coronaviruses can cause enteric and neurological disease. The incubation period of a coronavirus varies but is generally up to two weeks.
Previous coronavirus outbreaks include Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), first reported in Saudi Arabia in September 2012, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), identified in southern China in 2003. MERS infected around 2,500 people and led to more than 850 deaths while SARS infected more than 8,000 people and resulted in nearly 800 deaths. The case fatality rates for these conditions were 35% and 10%, respectively.
SARS-CoV-2 is a new strain of coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans. Although the incubation period of this strain is currently unknown, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that symptoms may appear in as few as 2 days or as long as 14 days after exposure[6]. Chinese researchers have indicated that SARS-CoV-2 may be infectious during its incubation period.
The number of cases and deaths outside of China overtook those within it on 16 March 2020
Where has the new coronavirus come from?
It is currently unclear where the virus has come from. Originally, the virus was understood to have originated in a food market in Wuhan and subsequently spread from animal to human. Some research has claimed that the cross-species transmission may be between snake and human; however, this claim has been contested.
Mammals such as camels and bats have been implicated in previous coronavirus outbreaks, but it is not yet clear the exact animal origin, if any, of SARS-CoV-2.
How contagious is COVID-19?
Increasing numbers of confirmed diagnoses, including in healthcare professionals, has indicated that person-to-person spread of SARS-CoV-2 is common and each infected individual could infect between 1.4 and 2.5 people.
Similarly to other common respiratory tract infections, MERS and SARS are spread by respiratory droplets produced by an infected person when they sneeze or cough. Measures to guard against the infection work under the current assumption that SARS-CoV-2 is spread in the same manner.
How is COVID-19 diagnosed?
As this coronavirus affects the respiratory tract, common presenting symptoms include fever and dry cough, with some patients presenting with respiratory symptoms (e.g. sore throat, nasal congestion, malaise, headache and myalgia) or even struggling for breath.
In severe cases, the coronavirus can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and death.
The case definition for COVID-19 is based on symptoms regardless of travel history or contact with confirmed cases. Diagnosis is suspected in patients with a new, continuous cough, fever or a loss or changed sense of normal smell or taste (anosmia). A diagnostic test is required in all suspected cases, and Australia has been quarantining suspected cases.
Who qualifies as a suspected COVID-19 case?
• fever
• dry cough
Other symptoms can include:
• shortness of breath
• sputum production
• fatigue
• sore throat
• loss of taste
• loss of smell
• diarrhoea
• nausea or vomiting
Less common symptoms include:
• headache
• myalgia/arthralgia
• chills
• nasal congestion
• haemoptysis
• conjunctival congestion
Older people may also have the following symptoms:
• increased confusion
• worsening chronic conditions of the lungs
• loss of appetite
Timeline of Covid 19 containment strategies in Australia
In March 2020, Australian government announced economic stimulus packages, closed international borders and implemented lockdown restrictions.
As the”curve flattened”, restrictions were eased in May 2020 but then reinstated in Victoria from June to October 2020.
31 December 2020
By this date, Australia recorded a total of 28,381 COVID cases and 909 deaths. The most affected state was Victoria, with 20,365 cases and 820 deaths, followed by NSW with 4,906 cases and 54 deaths, Queensland with 1,250 cases and 6 deaths, Western Australia with 859 cases and 9 deaths, South Australia with 575 cases and 4 deaths, the Australian Capital Territory with 118 cases and 3 deaths and the Northern Territory with 74 cases and 0 deaths.
The global tally reached 81, 475,053 confirmed COVID cases and 1,798,050 deaths reported to the WHO. The USA had the most confirmed cases (19,346,790), followed by India (10,266,674) and Brazil (7,563,551)
Australia’s response to Covid 19
Australia’s five-phase response to the pandemic included containment, reassurance amid uncertainty, cautious incrementalism, escalated national action and transition to a new normal.
Phase 1: Containment- mainly focussed on screening arrivals, quarantining vulnerable Australians and closing international borders.
Phase 2: Reassurance amid uncertainty- as number of cases remained low, health facilities were enhanced in preparation for increased demand.
Phase 3: Cautious incrementalism- self isolation of international arrivals, economic stimulus package and increased testing.
Phase 4: Escalated national action
As the number of cases began to increase, measures such as social distancing, canceling of elective surgery and progressive lockdown, school closures, increased testing, free childcare, increased economic support, and closure of interstate borders were initiated.
Phase 5: Transition to a new normal: measures such as social distancing, wearing of masks, contact tracing, ongoing requirements for testing, isolation, and quarantine.
The below infographic is from John Hopkins University and demonstrates quite clearly how effective Australia has been successful in containing Covid.
Testing for COVID-19
The following groups are prioritised for testing:
All people present with fever or acute respiratory illness (ARI). This represents the most important group on which to focus and increase testing.
Contacts of cases.
Asymptomatic testing in outbreak settings. There may be other circumstances where clinical and public health judgment lead to a decision to conduct asymptomatic testing. These groups include:
People at risk of exposure who present with atypical symptoms.
At-risk populations and settings where time-limited testing is used to provide an upper estimate of transmission in these groups or settings.
Economic stimulus package/ tax relief measures
Tax-free withdrawals from superannuation funds.
Tax-free payments made to certain employers (to support small and medium-sized businesses)
Tax depreciation write-off
Businesses can claim an immediate deduction for multiple assets, new or second-hand, provided each asset costs less than AU$150,000
Tasmania announced a waiver of payroll tax for the last four months of 2020
New South Wales announced AU$450 million for the waiver of payroll tax for businesses
Queensland businesses affected by the coronavirus outbreak can defer their payroll tax payment for six months
Victoria- businesses with annual taxable wages up to $3 million had payroll tax for the 2019-20 financial year waived.
Jobkeeper package to support businesses who suffered the loss of income due to COVID
Jobseeker package
Landlord land tax relief
Rent deferral and rent relief
Medications – any concerns with COVID –19?
Concerns raised over use of medications for blood pressure (ACE inhibitors) and anti inflammatories (Ibuprofen) were investigated- no clear evidence that any of these should be avoided.
Guidelines for managing COVID-19 patients:
Many international resources are available – including WHO, National Institute of Health, CDC in the US, NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, UK) guidelines on clinical management, treatment and use of experimental therapies. There are national guidelines developed by National Covid-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce.
Did the coronavirus cause any medicines shortages?
Anticipated shortages of chloroquine, azithromycin, dexamethasone, paracetamol and morphine, was managed by preventing parallel export of these medications. These were all tested as possible treatments for COVID 19. A further 150 medications, used in anaesthesia, intensive care and emergency were also banned from export. This preempted any serious drug shortages.
Are there drugs to treat COVID-19?
Information about COVID has evolved so quickly that it can be difficult for clinicians to feel confident that they are staying current.
While treatment for COVID-19 outside of the hospital setting is currently limited to supportive therapy, over 1000 clinical trials are underway looking at a range of drug treatments. Here is a quick summary of the current state of evidence.
Remdesivir
Bottom line on remdesivir. Remdesivir is administered intravenously, limiting its use to hospitalized patients. However, phase 1 trials of an inhaled nebulized version were initiated in late June 2020 to determine whether remdesivir can be used on an outpatient basis and at earlier stages of disease.
Dexamethasone
Bottom line on dexamethasone. While steroids are not generally recommended for treatment of COVID-19 or any viral pneumonia, the UK RECOVERY trial changed that. IDSA guidelines include low-dose dexamethasone (6 mg orally or intravenously daily for 10 days) in patients requiring respiratory support. At present, the World Health Organization has cautioned clinicians to reserve use for severely ill patients.
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ)
Bottom line on HCQ. While some continue to tout its benefit, particularly if given early in the course of infection, there is little evidence at this time to support its use at any stage of illness.
Other Antimicrobials
In the race to find an effective therapy, clinicians around the world have launched trials of a wide range of agents, with almost universally disappointing results.
Azithromycin: While some initial trials of azithromycin in combination with HCQ were promising, later results have not held up and major cardiology organizations now warn against the combination. There are no recommendations for use of this antimicrobial.
A Grab Bag of Other Drugs
Convalescent plasma.
Colchicine.
Nitric oxide.
Zinc.
Monoclonal antibodies.
Summary:
Since coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) emerged in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and spread around the world, over 3500 clinical studies have been registered as per WHO database.
Such rapid development and launch of clinical trials is impressive but presents challenges, including the potential for duplication and competition.
There is currently no known effective treatment for COVID‐19.
Is there a vaccine and how do vaccines work?
There are hundreds of Covid-19 vaccines in development, and some have produced very positive results in phase III clinical trials. Some countries including USA, UK, India, Brazil and china have vaccinated millions of people and are continuing this on a war footing.
All vaccines work by teaching our bodies to recognise and fight the pathogen in a safe way. They encourage our immune system to produce antibodies, T-cells or both, so that if we encounter the infection later our immune system knows how to defend against it.
Viral vector vaccines
A harmless virus is altered by introducing part of the disease-causing virus’ genetic code, such as the code for Covid-19’s ‘spike’ protein.
The harmless virus transports the code into our cells – in a similar way to RNA vaccines – which then start to produce the protein.
This triggers an immune response, priming our immune system to attack the real virus later.
Oxford-AstraZeneca is the first viral vector vaccine to be approved for Covid-19. More are in late-stage research, such as CanSino Biologics, Gamaleya Research Institute and Janssen. They all use adenoviruses – a group of viruses that cause the common cold – as the vector or carrier.
Another example of a viral vector vaccine is the Ervebo (rVSV-ZEBOV) Ebola vaccine – it uses the vesicular stomatitis virus as the carrier.
RNA vaccines
Messenger RNA is a sequence of genetic code which our bodies use all the time – it tells our cells what proteins to build so they can function.
To produce an RNA vaccine, scientists develop a synthetic version of the virus’ messenger RNA.
When this is injected into our bodies, cells read it as an instruction to start building the relevant viral protein, for example Covid-19’s ‘spike’ protein. This prompts our immune system to respond, and in doing so it learns how to protect against future Covid-19 infection.
Two RNA Covid-19 vaccines have been approved for use: Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Both have reported high levels of vaccine efficacy – around 95%.
They are the first RNA vaccines ever to be approved for use against any disease. However, researchers have been using the technology for a while, and people have been given RNA vaccines in clinical trials for other diseases, like cancer.
‘Whole’ virus vaccines
These vaccines could be:
Inactivated – a version of the virus is inactivated by being exposed to heat, chemicals or radiation.
Virus-like particle – a version of the virus, closely resembling the real thing, is created artificially, however it doesn’t contain any genetic material, so it’s not infectious.
These vaccines cannot cause the disease, but will cause our bodies to produce an immune response which will protect against future infection.
Some of the most advanced inactivated Covid-19 vaccines in development include Sinovac, Bharat Biotech and two by Sinopharm. Examples of existing inactivated vaccines include the whooping cough, rabies and hepatitis A vaccines.
One vaccine in phase III clinical trials is virus-like particle: Medicago Inc. An example of an existing vaccine is the HPV/cervical cancer vaccine.
Protein subunit vaccines
A small piece of the virus’ genetic code is inserted into another cell – perhaps a bacterial, yeast, mammalian or insect cell. The code contains instructions for this cell to start building the virus protein, for example the Covid-19 ‘spike’ protein.
Cells like this act as factories, building large quantities of the protein – which is then extracted, purified and used as the active ingredient in the vaccine.
When it is injected, our bodies learn to recognise the viral protein so that they can mount an immune response which protects against future infection.
Some of the most advanced Covid-19 vaccines using this approach include Novavax and Chinese Academy of Sciences.
An example of an existing protein subunit vaccine is for hepatitis B, which uses yeast cells to build the virus protein.
How do the different Covid-19 vaccines compare?
The different vaccine approaches present different opportunities and challenges, which is why we’ll need a range of vaccines to get control of the pandemic.
The containment of this pandemic depends on worldwide control, through vaccines that need to be made affordable and accessible to all countries.
Low-income countries may face challenges of procurement, storage, and distribution of vaccine- equitable access needs to be ensured.
In Short: Most people are not aware that numerous Hindu deities are very actively worshipped in Japan. In fact, there are hundreds of shrines to Saraswati alone. There are innumerable representations of Lakshmi, Indra, Brahma, Ganesha, Garuda and other deities. In fact, deities we have practically forgotten in India, such as Vayu and Varuna are still worshipped in Japan. Sanskrit letters are to be found in practically every home in Japan. The ‘havan’ is conducted in more than 1,200 temples every day in Japan, with Sanskrit chanting. In many ways, Japan has preserved ancient Hindu traditions, even when they may have evolved in India
Hindu Deities
Most people are not aware that at least a score of Hindu deities are very actively worshipped in Japan. In fact, there are hundreds of shrines to Saraswati alone. There are innumerable representations of Lakshmi, Indra, Brahma, Ganesha, Garuda and other deities. In fact, even deities practically forgotten in India, such as Vayu and Varuna, are still worshipped in Japan. In many ways, Japan has preserved very ancient Indian traditions, even when they may have evolved in India. As an instance, in Japan, Saraswati is depicted and venerated not only with the Veena, but also remembered for her association with water. (One may recall that Saraswati is originally the personification of the river by that name.) Therefore, she is also worshiped in pools of water in Japan. The most important lake in Japan is named after Saraswati’s Veena, called Biwa in Japanese.
Sanskrit
The 6th-century Siddham script is preserved in Japan, though it is not in current use in India. ‘Beejaksharas’ of Sanskrit in this script is regarded as holy and is given great importance. Each deity has a ‘Beejakshara’ and these are venerated by the people, even though most of them cannot read it.
Homa
The ‘havan’ is performed in more than 1,200 Japanese temples, at least once every day, along with Sanskrit chanting. Many links in the development of Vajrayana Buddhism can be found in a study of Japanese Buddhism. The continuance of the tradition of ‘homa’ is seen in some of the most important Japanese Buddhist sects, who call it ‘goma’. Sanskrit sutras are also chanted on the occasion.
Language
Very many words in the Japanese language are from Sanskrit. Sanskrit was also the basis for the formation of the Japanese alphabet ‘Kana’. This is what makes it possible for Japanese priests to chant in Sanskrit, even if they cannot read the Sanskrit alphabet.
In the prayer books, mantras are written both in Sanskrit and in Japanese ‘Kana’. ‘Kana’ is based on the phonetics of Sanskrit and this makes it possible for the priests to chant the mantras perfectly.
Japan and India
India’s relationship with Japan is far closer than most seem to be aware. It is time to understand this and to build upon this shared culture. In fact, culture provides the discipline, meaning and concentration in life, which makes us truly successful in all that we do.
Ancient India was the originator of great ethical traditions of Buddhism and Hinduism. Japan is to be credited with the continuance of ethical values in modern times. Japan is the one country where Buddhism is flourishing in all its facets, including the widespread worship of Hindu deities and the importance given to Sanskrit.
By Benoy K Behl,Culture Historian
“He is a film-maker, art historian, and photographer who is known for his tireless and prolific output of work over the past 44 years. He has taken over 53,000 photographs of Asian monuments and art heritage and made 145 documentaries which are regularly screened at major cultural institutions worldwide. His photographic exhibitions have been warmly received in 74 countries around the world. These have been inaugurated by ministers of the governments of various countries, ambassadors, archbishops, and other dignitaries. He holds the Limca Book Record for being the most traveled photographer and art historian.”
The last 72 hours have been filled with hectic meetings full of tension, anger, resolute to fight back for a large segment of the Indian Australian community in Melbourne after threats of harm to family and property both in Australia and India from banned terrorist organisation Babber Khalsa.
Amid, allegedly disrespect shown to the Indian national flag in India’s national capital New Delhi during the “Farmers Tractor Parade” on 26th January (Indian Republic day) a group of Indian Australians decided to organise “Stand with India” flag-raising ceremony at Victoria State Parliament.
This poster was relased on 27 January morning by the organising group on multiple social media channels in Melboune.
Unsuspecting community members liked and wrote comments about joining the gathering however within few hours a lot of them started receiving threat messages allegedly from terrorist organisation Babber Khalsa.
The text of the message is in the Punjabi language, however, a rough translation was done by a community member shows the gravity of the matter.
Translation:
“Today Sikh Panth is going through very hard times. Indian govt attacked Darbar sahib on 6th June and they killed many innocents including kids and ladies. Being the leader Bhai Sukhdev Singh Ji Babbar on 23 march 1983 announced that we will get our freedom from India and will make our own country. Indian govt trying pushdown so that Punjab cant fight against them. The people who are on the side of the Indian govt. against Khalistan will be monitored. The rally which is on the side of govt (who is a murderer of innocents and bought three farmer bills again against farmers) should not have happened). Especially in Australia, the rally which is happening on 31 Jan 2021 by Modi bhagats and many more places and countries will be our target. The people who are supporting the killer Indian govt if anything happens to them then they will be responsible for their loss. For Khalsa everyone’s equal but if anyone supporting them, this is a warning to them.“
Nikhil Wadhwa* is a software engineer living in Melbourne for the last 16 years. He says, I come from Jalandhar in Punjab state and have grown up in the time of terrorism in Punjab.
“Never in my dreams I thought of getting a threat from terorist outfit ‘Babber Khalsa’ that too living in Australia.”
“It was a shock, I immediately locked all my social media accounts and informed family in India to be vigilant, said Mr. Wadhwa.
The Australia Today has talked to a number of people who have reported the matter to the authorities.
Below email is one of them shared with us.
Ravi Prakash* comes from Gujarat state in India and runs his own business.
He told The Australia Today, “I have filed a complaint with Australian Federal Police and I am writing to Victorian and Federal MP’s to inform them of this problem cropping in Australia.”
Parvinder Singh* has worked with a lot of community organisations as a social worker in the last 20 years after coming to Melbourne as an international student.
“If action is not taken by the Government today, it will be very bad for the future of Australia, as these extremists will not stop only with threats. Something needs to be done before anything happens,”
“Definitely we are worried about our family’s safety in India. Even though we have decided to register a formal complaint with Australian Federal Police, what’s most concerning is the presence of overseas terror groups in Australia. We have sought support from migrant help organisations and will be presenting a request to the Australian Government through our local MP”s to investigate the terror group supporters and sympathisers in Australia.” said Mr. Singh.
Mr. Wadhwa says, There is no place for such threats in Australian democratic society and these threats can’t scare us. We will continue to work as ambassadors of India and Australia to enhance the relationship between the two great nations.
Note: *All names have been changed to protect the identity as per the request from security agency.
A new study has discovered that mobile apps can play a vital role in helping immigrants integrate into new cultures, as well as provide physical and mental health benefits. The findings of the study were published in the journal ‘Computers in Human Behavior’. Researchers at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) surveyed new migrants and refugees undertaking free beginners’ language classes in Greece, often the first destination for people arriving into Europe from Africa and Asia, over a 10-month period.
On mobile applications, artificial intelligence and immigrants’ societal integration and overall level of integration, health and mental health. Does Artificial Intelligence Enhance Outcomes? in Computers in Human Behavior, 117(Apr…https://t.co/7HpsnfOg5chttps://t.co/DUJj3sUWb8
Professor Nick Drydakis, Director of the Centre for Pluralist Economics at ARU, said, “AI apps work by providing services like customised search results, peer-reviewed e-learning, professional coaching on pronunciation, real-time translations, and virtual communication for finding possible explanations for health conditions. Our study found these to be of significant benefit for migrants in relation to integration, health, and mental health.” “The World Health Organisation recommends the use of health apps in improving services, particularly for vulnerable populations. Mobile applications and AI, if used correctly, can clearly benefit the lives of people arriving in an unfamiliar new country – however around a third of people we surveyed did not possess a smartphone, potentially providing a barrier to these benefits,” added Drydakis.
The findings showed that those using mobile apps aided by artificial intelligence (AI), such as language assistants, customised information sites, or health symptom trackers, experienced 5.3 percent better health status, and increased social integration by 2.7 percent. Other, non-AI applications, such as those to signpost public services, improved general health status by a much smaller amount, under 1 percent.
The professor further noted that the study is the first to examine the use of mobile applications to support migrants’ needs in relation to societal integration and quantify associations between mobile applications, health, mental health, and integration for migrants, and assess the role of AI in enhancing these outcomes.
The statue of the tallest leader of India and Father of Nation Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) was cut off at the ankles and had the head sawed in half in Davis’ Central Park, California.
It was found on Wednesday (27 January) morning toppled and lying on the grass next to its plinth. The 6-foot-tall, 950-pound bronze likeness appeared to have been sawed off at the ankles and half its face was severed and missing.
Incidently today 30 January is Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary.
As per the media reports The statue was found after a night when wind and heavy rainfall knocked out power in much of downtown Davis. “City staff discovered vandalism to the statue of ‘Mahatma Gandhi’ in Central Park this morning while surveying storm damage,” Davis City Councilman Lucas Frerichs wrote Wednesday night in a Facebook comment.
“The statue is being removed and will be stored in a safe place until it can be evaluated.”
The bronze statue was gifted by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations and erected in Davis Central Park, California in 2016.
Hindu American Foundation’s (HAF) California Advocacy Director Easan Katir, a former member of the Davis Business and Finance Commission, in a statement said,
“We condemn this cowardly desecration and call upon the Department of Homeland Security and FBI to investigate this hate crime, as it was likely done with the intention of intimidating the Indian American community. We urge local police to apprehend the perpetrators and call upon the city council to resurrect the statue as a statement that such destructive acts are not in harmony with our community standards.”
This is not the first time Mahatma Gandhi’s statue is being targeted.
Last month on 12 December 2020, the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Washington DC’s Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Plaza in front of the Indian embassy was defaced.
In a viral video doing the rounds of social media, one of the ‘Anti-Adani’ and anti farm bill protestors can be seen assaulting an Indian Consulate of Melbourne official.
The incident happened on 26 January at the foray of the Indian Consulate building in Melbourne while the Indian Australian community was celebrating the 72nd Republic Day of India.
See Video:
Between the republic day function, when a consulate staff tried to take photographs of the protestors, a man allegedly ‘elbowed’ the staff making him drop his mobile. The entire incident took place in the presence of a Victoria Police officer and hundreds of Facebook Live audience.
The group lead by predominantly Anti-Adani/Anti Farm law activists can be seen shouting slogans against India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, MP Amit Shah, and businessperson Gautam Adani.
“GO BACK, ADANI.”
Their banners read.
NO FARMER NO FOOD
Indian origin Tim Singh Laurence is Councillor with Darebin Council, also spoke at the protest gatthering.
However, when one of the speakers tried to incite separatist sentiment of the “Khalistan” movement some of the protesters left the gathering.
They were heard saying in the video, “We didn’t come here for this.”
A highly placed official in the Consulate has told THE AUSTRALIA TODAY, ‘No Police report’ is yet filled with Victoria Police however the whole incident happened in front of the police officers deployed at the consulate gates.
THE AUSTRALIA TODAY IS WAITING FOR A OFFICIAL RESPONSE FROM THE INDIAN CONSULATE IN MELBOURNE.
Story will be updated after receving responce from anyone linked to the incidence.
Please write to admin@theaustraliatoday.com.au for any information.
Mahatma Gandhi, regarded as ‘father of the nation’ in India, was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on January 30, 1948.
He had once said, “If I’m to die by the bullet of a mad man, I must do so smiling. God must be in my heart and on my lips.”
Uttering “Hey Ram”, the 79 yo had breathed his last breath.
To pay respect to ‘Bapu’, Martyrs Day or ‘Shaheed Divas’ is observed on January 30 every year in India.
WATCH VIDEO: ‘De Di Hamen Azadi Sabarmati Ke Sant’ from Jagriti (1954)
Before suffering the final fatal blow by Nathuram Godse, Gandhiji had been subjected to five failed assassination attempts.
In the book “Beyond Doubt – A Dossier on Gandhi’s Assassination” (2015), edited by the Indian journalist and civil rights activist, Teesta Setalvad, all the five murder attempts were documented.
First attempt – 25 June 1934 – Pune – Car bomb
Second attempt – July 1944 – Panchgani – Dagger
Third attempt – September 1944 – Mumbai – Dagger
Fourth attempt – June 1946 – near Pune – Train crash
Fifth attempt – 20 January 1948 – Delhi – Bomb
On 30 June 1946, speaking at a prayer meeting in Pune, Gandhiji said:
“By the grace of God, I have escaped from the jaws of death. I have not hurt anybody. I cant understand why there are so many attempts on my life. Yesterday’s attempt to failed. I will not die yet, I aim to live till the age of 125.”
Godse assassinated Gandhiji in the compound of Birla House (now Gandhi Smriti). He was waiting in the crowd and as soon as Gandhi began to walk toward the dais, Godse stepped out flanking Gandhiji’s path and fired three bullets into his chest and abdomen at point-blank range.
Godse was immediately captured by members of the crowd and handed over to the police. He was sentenced to death on 8 November 1949 and hanged in the Ambala Jail on 15 November 1949.
Nathuram Godse
Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, speech on the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi was telecasted on All India Radio on the evening of January 30, 1948.
WATCH VIDEO: “Light has gone out” by Jawaharlal Nehru on Gandhi’s death
The central government has instructed all states and union territories to observe two minutes’ silence at 11 am on January 30 to pay respect to those who lost their lives during the struggle for India’s freedom.
“In the past, it has been observed that while two minutes’ silence is observed in some offices, the general public goes about its occupation in the ordinary course, unmindful of the solemnity of the occasion. The State and Union territories governments are requested to ensure that the Martyrs’ Day is observed with due solemnity,” the Ministry of Home Affairs (India) said in its order.
March 23 is also celebrated as Martyrs Day or ‘Shaheed Divas’ to pay respect to Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar, who were hanged death on this day in 1931.
On this day, let us not forget the sacrifice of all our freedom fighters.
WATCH VIDEO: Lata Mangeshkar SINGING ‘Ae Mere Watan Ke Logo’
The hijab is now an official part of the New Zealand Police uniform with Constable Zeena Ali (30 yo) who has become the first member of NZ police to graduate wearing the hijab as part of her uniform.
Born in Fiji, Zeena Ali moved to New Zealand with her family when she was a child. She was inspired to join the NZ police to help her Muslim community after the Christchurch terror attack.
During her training, the Royal New Zealand Police College Staff arranged for her special Halal meals and made a prayer room available for her. This was revealed in a social media post of the New Zealand Police.
After receiving queries from young Muslim women as to why there was no hijab as part of the police uniform, police and design experts from Massey University developed a hijab that can be worn as part of the uniform.
“Having a police-branded hijab means women, who may not have previously considered policing can do so now. It’s great how the Police incorporated my religion and culture. … I am thrilled the Police went out of their way to make sure the hijab I have on meets health and safety requirements as well as my own personal needs,” Zeena Ali said in an Instagram post.
This new hijab has started attracting international attention with United Kingdom’s Leicestershire Muslim Police Association also trialling the new hijab.
In Australia, Maha Sukkar of Victoria Police wore a hijab in 2004 and in the UK, the Metropolitan Police in London and Police Scotland approved a uniform hijab in 2006 and 2016 respectively.
In 2020, Pc Uzma Amireddy, North Yorkshire Police’s positive action coordinator, had said that the hijab given to her by North Yorkshire Police was uncomfortable.
So, she along with Pc Arfan Rahouf, the operational lead for faith and belief in UK police, got involved in the development of a practical and comfortable hijab for UK police’s female officers.
With the success of developing and introducing hijab as part of police uniform in the UK and New Zealand, it is hoped that it would make inclusion and diversity a key agenda for the police service in non-Muslim countries.
Here are some other non-Muslim countries allowing hijab as part of female police officers’ uniform.
INZ’s two emails before Christmas (23 December 2020) were sent directly to applicants instead of their adviser or lawyer.
Who does this email error impact?
Partners and dependent children of migrant workers or student visa holders where the partner or parent (principal visa holder) does not hold one of the visas listed below (and expiring between 1 January and 30 June 2021) will not have had their visa extended.
•Essential Skills Visa •Some Work to Residence Visas •Special and Skilled work visas for China, Indonesia, South Korea, Philippines and Vietnam •Special category work visas for Japanese Interpreters and Thai Chefs •Employer-specific work visas granted under section 61 of the Immigration Act 2009 •Fishing Crew Visa •Religious Worker Visa •Silver Fern Practical Experience Visa
Education New Zealand (ENZ), New Zealand’s government agency for building international education, has reported about INZ’s email error on its webpage:
“Due to an administrative error, some partners and dependents of international students with work rights may have received an email from INZ on 23 December 2020 that incorrectly stated their visas may have been eligible for a six month extension. Student visas have not been extended.
Those who received the email incorrectly will need to apply for a further visa or arrange to depart New Zealand before their current visa expires. Further information on applying for visas is available on the Immigration New Zealand website or an immigration professional can help.
We acknowledge this is a stressful process for students and their families.”
INZ said about a third of the 13,000 people who were sent an email about visa extensions should not have received it. They are contacting visa holders who received these error emails to clarify eligibility and apologise for any confusion caused.
Indian Australians at Airport, PictureSource: Twitter @RameshDutta
The Government of India on Thursday extended the ban on international scheduled commercial flights to and from India till February 28 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). “In partial modification of circular dated 26-06-2020, the competent authority has further extended the validity of circular issued on the subject cited above regarding Scheduled International commercial passenger services to/from India till 2359 hrs IST of 28th February 2021. This restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by DGCA,” the government circular read.
“However, International Scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on case to case basis,” it added. Earlier, the DGCA had extended the restriction on flights between India and the UK till February 14 to contain the spread of a new strain of COVID-19.
International travel of more than 5.1 million people has been facilitated since 6 May 2020, the day we launched Vande Bharat Mission to reach out to our distressed & stranded citizens around the world. Now in Phase-8, the mission continues undaunted… pic.twitter.com/kegHwRUqpw
Prior to this, several countries, including India, had suspended flight operations to the UK last month in the wake of the new mutant strain which was discovered in the United Kingdom.
Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services, and Multicultural Affairs, Alex Hawke, said the government intends to make changes to allow further temporary concessions for Parent visa applicants.
He said in a written statement, “Morrison Government continues to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on visa holders and is actively reviewing the settings for various visas in response to the challenges posed by COVID-19 on an ongoing basis.”
Parent visa changes announced. This temporary measure will allow eligible applicants unable to travel offshore due to COVID-19 to be granted their visa here.
In November the federal government announced visa changes to support applicants in five Family visa subclasses impacted by COVID-19 travel restrictions.
“The Government is pursuing changes to allow certain Parent visa applicants who have applied for their visa outside Australia to be granted that visa while in Australia during the COVID-19 period,” Minister Hawke said.
The changes would apply to:
Parent (subclass 103) visa
Contributory Parent (subclass 173) visa
Contributory Parent (subclass 143) visa.
The minister said, “This temporary concession would apply to Parent visa subclasses and will allow eligible applicants who are in Australia and unable to travel offshore due to COVID-19 impacts to be granted that visa.”
The current processing arrangements and timeframes for Parent visa applications will not be impacted.
These changes are to take effect in the first quarter of 2021. Those unable to depart should refer to the Department of Home Affairs’ website for information about options for remaining lawfully in Australia.
Information about the measures the Government has taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is regularly updated and available on the Department’s website at https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/.
The report notes that the state’s universities enrol a majority of their international students from a small number of countries, namely China, India and Nepal.
Students from these three countries generated $2.4 billion in revenue to NSW universities.
In Chair’s foreword, the Chair Hon Mark Latham MLC has observed: “For many years they have been building up overseas student numbers and income, particularly from China, to cross-subsidise their research efforts. … Could a greater mess be constructed in modern Australia? Making our universities more reliant on China, and inevitably more exposed to Chinese political interference, while running down the quality of student teaching and undergraduate outcomes, solely for the purpose of cross-subsidising the post-modernist slosh that comes out of many faculties and research centres?” (page ix).
The NSW inquiry report observes on page 93 that during their inquiry, the committee received evidence about the risks of foreign political interference posed by foreign nationals especially from China.
The committee has received evidence of a number of other protective and risk mitigation strategies that the NSW universities have put in place against foreign political interference.
The report points out that universities with significant dependencies on students from the abovementioned countries could be vulnerable to changes in international education demand.
During the inquiry, many university representatives spoke very favourably of the financial, economic, cultural and reputational benefits of the NSW’s international student intake.
“International students represent over 38 per cent of the total tourism spend in Australia and one in four international students have family visit Australia, bringing another 300,000 visitors who spend over $1billion in Australia each year,” the report notes.
But the inquiry received conflicting evidence about where the revenue from international students was being invested.
Dr Salvatore Babones, Associate Professor at the University of Sydney, provided evidence to the committee that “over the past decade Australian universities had expanded their research capacity using international student income but had not invested the revenue into the university student experience.”
Given the challenges facing Australian universities, the report notes on page 22 that the committee is concerned with the vast disparity “between the salaries paid to senior university administrators and the casual and insecure payments made to so many of the staff who actually conduct the teaching and research in universities.”
In the current system many University Vice Chancellors are paid 25 or 30 times more than many of the people undertaking the core work of universities.
The committee has recommended that this matter should be reviewed by the Auditor-General.
Palaniswamy Subramanyan Karthigeyan Indian Foreign Services officer of the 2004 batch has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Fiji.
Presently, Mr Karthigeyan is serving as Deputy High Commissioner in the High Commission of India, Australia.
Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said, We are working on all newly appointed High Commissioners to take charge as soon as possible, however COVID19 situation in some countries will be a challenge.”
He is a Career Diplomat belonging to the Indian Foreign Service (IFS: 2004). A Post Graduate in Economics from the University of Madras, prior to joining the IFS, he worked in the Public Sector banking industry and also in the private manufacturing sector in India.
He has earlier served in Damascus (Syria) and Male (Maldives). Mr. Karthigeyan also headed the Passport Operations in Bangalore, with jurisdiction over the South Indian State of Karnataka, and was Director (North) during his stint in India. At the end of April 2018, he assumed charge as the Deputy High Commissioner in the High Commission of India to Australia. From October 2019 for few months he was also the Acting HighCommissioner.
Indian Australians will remember him for his approchability and soft mannerism. He spearheaded the “Vande Bharat Mission”, a massive repatriation process initiated by the Indian government amid COVID-19 pandamic.
In a TikTok video doing the rounds of social media, a group of young Indian men can be seen allegedly burning and then stomping a Khalistan flag.
The video is allegedly reported from Harris Park in Sydney, Australia.
The young men can be seen shouting slogans: ” Vande Maatram,” Hindustan Zindabad,” “Bharat Matram ki Jai,” “Har Har Mahadev,” and “Khalistan Murdabad.”
Few people who do not want to be named told The Australia Today these youths and community at large is dismayed by Pro-Khalistan rallies in Australia on Indian republic day 26 January.
In August 2020, a band of pro-India supporters had clashed with a group of pro-Khalistani supporters at Harris Park.
The 2020 brawl on the streets of western Sydney ensued over an argument on TikTok where pro-Khalistani and anti-India content was posted.
Two men were charged after the riot squad was called in to break up the brawl between a group of between 30 and 40 people.
WATCH VIDEO: (Profanity Alert)
Apparently, the matter has not deescalated with Framers’ tractor rally in India being hijacked by pro-Khalistan sympathisers.
A viral video was also circulated in social media groups where some men can be seen desecrating the Indian national flag while shouting slogans of “Khalistan zindabad”.
Others around the man can be heard shouting slogans such as “never forget 1984”, “Khalistan zindabad” and “India out of Khalistan”.
In their statements, the Sikhs of America (SoA) slammed the SFJ for the protest and American Hindu Coalition (AHC) expressed deep dismay at the SFJ attempt to burn the Indian flag.
Once again, Indian-origin people living in Australia have started commenting on social media by condemning the actions of the young men as “disgraceful behaviour” and called it “unacceptable.”
Many are of the opinion that such behaviour by Sikhs and Hindus will spoil the image of the community in Australia.
The protesting farmer who died at ITO during Indian Republic day’s tractor parade has been identified as Navreet Singh Hundal from the Rampur district of Uttar Pradesh.
As per media reports he had recently returned from Australia. He was camping at ‘Ghazipur border’ for around a week to participate in the tractor parade.
Navreet Singh Hundal.
A senior Delhi Police official told The Indian Express, “The family told us they didn’t know Navreet was in Delhi and protesting in Delhi. They had said Navreet had left home to meet a relative at Bajpur (located in Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar district).” The 27-year old protestor from Uttar Pradesh’s Bilaspur, who came to the Ghazipur border a week before the parade, was living in Australia with his wife and parents and was studying agriculture.
Video footage of the incident was circulated on social media, it shows a blue tractor crashing through yellow Delhi Police barricades at high speed before rolling over twice and coming to rest by the side of the road.
After the crash protestors draped the body in ‘Tricolour’ and kept it at the ITO crossing, not allowing the police to send it for post-mortem. The farmers kept insisting on taking back the body to the village at the earliest.
This is how the man tried to break the barricade at a high speed and crashed his Tractor. Died at the spot. pic.twitter.com/XBAtEIJfbE
Delhi Police has detained 200 people in connection with the violence that broke out in various parts of the national capital during the farmers’ tractor rally in the city on Tuesday. In a statement, the Delhi Police on Wednesday said that the “detained persons will be arrested soon.” A total of 22 FIRs have been registered regarding the violence in which over 300 police personnel were injured.
It has been brought to the media and Senator’s notice that perpetrator had been on bail when the crime occurred.
Senator Jacqui Lambie warned that more lives would be lost if there weren’t changes made to the law.
“I can tell you what the solution is … it’s time for tough love. Whether that means we put the discussion of national service back on the table. There’s some really great (boot) camps out there that have an 85 per cent success rate,” Senator Jacqui Lambie added.
National service is compulsory service in the military that involves boys from the age of 12 through to men in their mid-20s.
The last National Service Scheme was introduced in 1964 when conflicts in Southeast Asia raised fears about Australia’s security.
Between 1964 and 1972, more than 804,000 men registered for national service.